,transcribed from the #aiac ,a4 ,c4 ,fifield edition by ,david ,price1 email ccx#jgdpglaf4org ,the ,fair ,haven ,a ,work in ,defence of the ,miraculous ,element in our ,lord's ,ministry upon ,earth1 both as against ,rationalistic ,impugners and certain ,orthodox ,defenders1 by the late ,john ,pickard ,owen1 with a ,memoir of the ,author by ,william ,bickersteth ,owen4 ,by ,samuel ,butler ,author of 8,erewhon0 ,,op4 #b 99 99 99 99 99 ,now ,reset2 and ,edited1 with an ,introduction1 by ,r4 ,a4 ,streatfeild 99 99 99 99 99 ,london ,a4 ,c4 ,fifield1 #ac ,clifford's ,inn1 ,e4,c4 #aiac 99 99 99 99 99 ,,william ,,brendon ,,and ,,son1 ,,ltd41 ,,printers1 ,,plymouth ,contents ,introduction by ,r4 ,a4 ,streatfeild ix ,butler's ,preface to the ,second ,edition xv ,memoir of the late ,john ,pickard ,owen #a ,,chapter ,i4 ,introduction #fa ,,ii4 ,strauss and the ,hallucination ,theory #hc ,,iii4 ,the ,character and ,conversion of ,st4 ,paul #aje ,,iv4 ,paul's ,testimony considered #abj ,v4 ,a ,consideration of ,certain ,ill-judged ,methods #acd of ,defence ,,vi4 ,more ,disingenuousness #aec ,,vii4 ,difficulties felt by our ,opponents #agj ,,viii4 ,the ,preceding ,chapter ,continued #aid ,,ix4 ,the ,christ-,ideal #bcj ,x4 ,conclusion #bee ,appendix #bgc ,,introduction ,by ,r4 ,a4 ,streatfeild ,,the demand for a new edition of ,the ,fair ,haven gives me an opportunity of saying a few words about the genesis of what1 though not one of the most popular of ,samuel ,butler's books1 is certainly one of the most characteristic4 ,few of his works1 indeed1 show more strikingly his brilliant powers as a controversialist and his implacable determination to get at the truth of whatever engaged his attention4 ,to find the germ of ,the ,fair ,haven we should probably have to go back to the year #aheh1 when ,butler1 after taking his degree at ,cambridge1 was preparing himself for holy orders by acting as a kind of lay curate in a ,london parish4 ,butler never took things for granted1 and he felt it to be his duty to examine independently a good many points of ,christian dogma which most candidates for ordination accept as matters of course4 ,the result of his investigations was that he eventually declined to take orders at all4 ,one of the stones upon which he then stumbled was the efficacy of infant baptism1 and ,i have no doubt that another was the miraculous element of ,christianity1 which1 it will be remembered1 was the cause of grievous searchings of heart to ,ernest ,pontifex in ,butler's semi-autobiographical novel1 ,the ,way of ,all ,flesh4 ,while ,butler was in ,new ,zealand 7#ahei-fd7 he had leisure for prosecuting his ,biblical studies1 the result of which he published in #ahfe1 after his return to ,england1 in an anonymous pamphlet entitled 8,the ,evidence for the ,resurrection of ,jesus ,christ as given by the ,four ,evangelists critically examined40 ,this pamphlet passed unnoticed2 probably only a few copies were printed and it is now extremely rare4 ,after the publication of ,erewhon in #ahgb1 ,butler returned once more to theology1 and made his anonymous pamphlet the basis of the far more elaborate ,fair ,haven1 which was originally published as the posthumous work of a certain ,john ,pickard ,owen1 preceded by a memoir of the deceased author by his supposed brother1 ,william ,bickersteth ,owen4 ,it is possible that the memoir was the fruit of a suggestion made by ,miss ,savage1 an able and witty woman with whom ,butler corresponded at the time4 ,miss ,savage was so much impressed by the narrative power displayed in ,erewhon that she urged ,butler to write a novel1 and we shall probably not be far wrong in regarding the biography of ,john ,pickard ,owen as ,butler's trial trip in the art of fiction--a prelude to ,the ,way of ,all ,flesh1 which he began in #ahgc4 ,it has often been supposed that the elaborate paraphernalia of mystification which ,butler used in ,the ,fair ,haven was deliberately designed in order to hoax the public4 ,i do not believe that this was the case4 ,butler1 ,i feel convinced1 provided an ironical framework for his arguments merely that he might render them more effective than they had been when plainly stated in the pamphlet of #ahfe4 ,he fully expected his readers to comprehend his irony1 and he anticipated that some at any rate of them would keenly resent it4 ,writing to ,miss ,savage in ,march1 #ahgc 7shortly before the publication of the book71 he said3 8,i should hope that attacks on ,the ,fair ,haven will give me an opportunity of excusing myself1 and if so ,i shall endeavour that the excuse may be worse than the fault it is intended to excuse40 ,a few days later he referred to the difficulties that he had encountered in getting the book accepted by a publisher3 8-- were frightened and even considered the scheme of the book unjustifiable4 -- urged me1 as politely as he could1 not to do it1 and evidently thinks ,i shall get myself into disgrace even among freethinkers4 ,it's all nonsense4 ,i dare say ,i shall get into a row--at least ,i hope ,i shall40 ,evidently there is here no anticipation of ,the ,fair ,haven being misunderstood4 ,misunderstood1 however1 it was1 not only by reviewers1 some of whom greeted it solemnly as a defence of orthodoxy1 but by divines of high standing1 such as the late ,canon ,ainger1 who sent it to a friend whom he wished to convert4 ,this was more than ,butler could resist1 and he hastened to issue a second edition bearing his name and accompanied by a preface in which the deceived elect were held up to ridicule4 ,butler used to maintain that ,the ,fair ,haven did his reputation no harm4 ,writing in #aija1 he said3 8,the ,fair ,haven got me into no social disgrace that ,i have ever been able to discover4 ,i might attack ,christianity as much as ,i chose and nobody cared one straw2 but when ,i attacked ,darwin it was a different matter4 ,for many years ,evolution1 ,old and ,new1 and ,unconscious ,memory made a shipwreck of my literary prospects4 ,i am only now beginning to emerge from the literary and social injury which those two perfectly righteous books inflicted on me4 ,i dare say they abound with small faults of taste1 but ,i rejoice in having written both of them40 ,very likely ,butler was right as to the social side of the question1 but ,i am convinced that ,the ,fair ,haven did him grave harm in the literary world4 ,reviewers fought shy of him for the rest of his life4 ,they had been taken in once1 and they took very good care that they should not be taken in again4 ,the word went forth that ,butler was not to be taken seriously1 whatever he wrote1 and the results of the decree were apparent in the conspiracy of silence that greeted not only his books on evolution1 but his ,homeric works1 his writings on art1 and his edition of ,shakespeare's sonnets4 ,now that he has passed beyond controversies and mystifications1 and now that his other works are appreciated at their true value1 it is not too much to hope that tardy justice will be accorded also to ,the ,fair ,haven4 ,it is true that the subject is no longer the burning question that it was forty years ago4 ,in the early seventies theological polemics were fashionable4 ,books like ,seeley's ,ecce ,homo and ,matthew ,arnold's ,literature and ,dogma were eagerly devoured by readers of all classes4 ,nowadays we take but a languid interest in the problems that disturbed our grandfathers1 and most of us have settled down into what ,disraeli described as the religion of all sensible men1 which no sensible man ever talks about4 ,there is1 however1 in ,the ,fair ,haven a good deal more than theological controversy1 and our ,laodicean age will appreciate ,butler's humour and irony if it cares little for his polemics4 ,the ,fair ,haven scandalised a good many people when it first appeared1 but ,i am not afraid of its scandalising anybody now4 ,i should be sorry1 nevertheless1 if it gave any reader a false impression of ,butler's ,christianity1 and ,i think ,i cannot do better than conclude with a passage from one of his essays which represents his attitude to religion perhaps more faithfully than anything in ,the ,fair ,haven3 8,what1 after all1 is the essence of ,christianity8 ,what is the kernel of the nut8 ,surely common sense and cheerfulness1 with unflinching opposition to the charlatanisms and ,pharisaisms of a man's own times4 ,the essence of ,christianity lies neither in dogma1 nor yet in abnormally holy life1 but in faith in an unseen world1 in doing one's duty1 in speaking the truth1 in finding the true life rather in others than in oneself1 and in the certain hope that he who loses his life on these behalfs finds more than he has lost4 ,what can ,agnosticism do against such ,christianity as this8 ,i should be shocked if anything ,i had ever written or shall ever write should seem to make light of these things40 ,r4 ,a4 ,,streatfeild4 ,august1 #aiac4 ,butler's ,preface to the ,second ,edition ,,the occasion of a ,second ,edition of ,the ,fair ,haven enables me to thank the public and my critics for the favourable reception which has been accorded to the ,first ,edition4 ,i had feared that the freedom with which ,i had exposed certain untenable positions taken by ,defenders of ,christianity might have given offence to some reviewers1 but no complaint has reached me from any quarter on the score of my not having put the best possible case for the evidence in favour of the miraculous element in ,christ's teaching--nor can ,i believe that ,i should have failed to hear of it1 if my book had been open to exception on this ground4 ,an apology is perhaps due for the adoption of a pseudonym1 and even more so for the creation of two such characters as ,,john ,,pickard ,,owen and his brother4 ,why could ,i not1 it may be asked1 have said all that ,i had to say in my own proper person8 ,are there not real ills of life enough already8 ,is there not a 8lo here60 from this school with its gushing 8earnestness10 it distinctions without differences1 its gnat strainings and camel swallowings1 its pretence of grappling with a question while resolutely bent upon shirking it1 its dust throwing and mystification1 its concealment of its own ineffable insincerity under an air of ineffable candour8 ,is there not a 8lo there60 from that other school with its bituminous atmosphere of exclusiveness and self-laudatory dilettanteism8 ,is there not enough actual exposition of boredom come over us from many quarters without drawing for new bores upon the imagination8 ,it is true ,i gave a single drop of comfort4 ,,john ,,pickard ,,owen was dead4 ,but his having ceased to exist 7to use the impious phraseology of the present day7 did not cancel the fact of his having once existed4 ,that he should have ever been born gave proof of potentialities in ,nature which could not be regarded lightly4 ,what hybrids might not be in store for us next8 ,moreover1 though ,,john ,,pickard was dead1 ,,william ,,bickersteth was still living1 and might at any moment rekindle his burning and shining lamp of persistent self-satisfaction4 ,even though the ,,owens had actually existed1 should not their existence have been ignored as a disgrace to ,nature8 ,who then could be justified in creating them when they did not exist8 ,i am afraid ,i must offer an apology rather than an excuse4 ,the fact is that ,i was in a very awkward position4 ,my previous work1 ,erewhon1 had failed to give satisfaction to certain ultra-orthodox ,christians1 who imagined that they could detect an analogy between the ,english ,church and the ,erewhonian ,musical ,banks4 ,it is inconceivable how they can have got hold of this idea2 but ,i was given to understand that ,i should find it far from easy to dispossess them of the notion that something in the way of satire had been intended4 ,there were other parts of the book which had also been excepted to1 and altogether ,i had reason to believe that if ,i defended ,christianity in my own name ,i should not find ,erewhon any addition to the weight which my remarks might otherwise carry4 ,if ,i had been suspected of satire once1 ,i might be suspected again with no greater reason4 ,instead of calmly reviewing the arguments which ,i adduced1 ,the ,rock might have raised a cry of non tali auxilio4 ,it must always be remembered that besides the legitimate investors in ,christian stocks1 if so homely a metaphor may be pardoned1 there are unscrupulous persons whose profession it is to be bulls1 bears1 stags1 and ,i know not what other creatures of the various ,christian markets4 ,it is all nonsense about hawks not picking out each other's eyes--there is nothing they like better4 ,i feared ,the ,guardian1 ,the ,record1 ,the ,john ,bull1 etc41 lest they should suggest that from a bear ,i now turned bull with a view to an eventual bishopric4 ,such insinuations would have impaired the value of ,the ,fair ,haven as an anchorage for well-meaning people4 ,i therefore resolved to obey the injunction of the ,gentile ,apostle and avoid all appearance of evil1 by dissociating myself from the author of ,erewhon as completely as possible4 ,at the moment of my resolution ,,john ,,pickard ,,owen came to my assistance2 ,i felt that he was the sort of man ,i wanted1 but that he was hardly sufficient in himself4 ,i therefore summoned his brother4 ,the pair have served their purpose2 a year nowadays produces great changes in men's thoughts concerning ,christianity1 and the little matter of ,erewhon having quite blown over ,i feel that ,i may safely appear in my true colours as the champion of orthodoxy1 discard the ,,owens as other than mouthpieces1 and relieve the public from uneasiness as to any further writings from the pen of the surviving brother4 ,nevertheless ,i am bound to own that1 in spite of a generally favourable opinion1 my critics have not been unanimous in their interpretation of ,the ,fair ,haven4 ,thus1 ,the ,rock 7,april #be1 #ahgc1 and ,may #i1 #ahgc71 says that the work is 8an extraordinary one1 whether regarded as a biographical record or a theological treatise4 ,indeed the importance of the volume compels us to depart from our custom of reviewing with brevity works entrusted to us1 and we shall in two consecutive numbers of ,the ,rock lay before its readers what appear to us to be the merits and demerits of this posthumous production40 99 99 99 99 99 8,his exhibition of the certain proofs furnished of the ,resurrection of our ,lord is certainly masterly and convincing40 99 99 99 99 99 8,to the sincerely inquiring doubter1 the striking way in which the truth of the ,resurrection is exhibited must be most beneficial1 but such a character we are compelled to believe is rare among those of the schools of neology40 99 99 99 99 99 8,mr4 ,,owen',s exposition and refutation of the hallucination and mythical theories of ,strauss and his followers is most admirable1 and all should read it who desire to know exactly what excuses men make for their incredulity4 ,the work also contains many beautiful passages on the discomfort of unbelief1 and the holy pleasure of a settled faith1 which cannot fail to benefit the reader40 ,on the other hand1 in spite of all my precautions1 the same misfortune which overtook ,erewhon has also come upon ,the ,fair ,haven4 ,it has been suspected of a satirical purpose4 ,the author of a pamphlet entitled ,jesus versus ,christianity says3-- 8,the ,fair ,haven is an ironical defence of orthodoxy at the expense of the whole mass of ,church tenet and dogma1 the character of ,christ only excepted4 ,such at least is our reading of it1 though critics of the ,rock and ,record order have accepted the book as a serious defence of ,christianity1 and proclaimed it as a most valuable contribution in aid of the faith4 ,affecting an orthodox standpoint it most bitterly reproaches all previous apologists for the lack of candour with which they have ignored or explained away insuperable difficulties and attached undue value to coincidences real or imagined4 ,one and all they have1 the author declares1 been at best1 but zealous #8liars for ,god1' or what to them was more than ,god1 their own religious system4 ,this must go on no longer4 ,we1 as ,christians having a sound cause1 need not fear to let the truth be known4 ,he proceeds accordingly to set forth the truth as he finds it in the ,new ,testament2 and in a masterly analysis of the account of the ,resurrection1 which he selects as the principal crucial miracle1 involving all other miracles1 he shows how slender is the foundation on which the whole fabric of supernatural theology has been reared40 99 99 99 99 99 8,as told by our author the whole affords an exquisite example of the natural growth of a legend40 99 99 99 99 99 8,if the reader can once fully grasp the intention of the style1 and its affectation of the tone of indignant orthodoxy1 and perceive also how utterly destructive are its #8candid admissions' to the whole fabric of supernaturalism1 he will enjoy a rare treat4 ,it is not however for the purpose of recommending what we at least regard as a piece of exquisite humour1 that we call attention to ,the ,fair ,haven1 but c4 c40 99 99 99 99 99 ,this is very dreadful2 but what can one do8 ,again1 ,the ,scotsman speaks of the writer as being 8throughout in downright almost pathetic earnestness40 ,while ,the ,national ,reformer seems to be in doubt whether the book is a covert attack upon ,christianity or a serious defence of it1 but declares that both orthodox and unorthodox will find matter requiring thought and answer4 ,i am not responsible for the interpretations of my readers4 ,it is only natural that the same work should present a very different aspect according as it is approached from one side or the other4 ,there is only one way out of it--that the reader should kindly interpret according to his own fancies4 ,if he will do this the book is sure to please him4 ,i have done the best ,i can for all parties1 and feel justified in appealing to the existence of the widely conflicting opinions which ,i have quoted1 as a proof that the balance has been evenly held1 and that ,i was justified in calling the book a defence--both as against impugners and defenders4 ,s4 ,,butler4 ,oct4 #h1 #ahgc4 ,memoir of ,the late ,john ,pickard ,owen ,chapter ,i ,,the subject of this ,memoir1 and ,author of the work which follows it1 was born in ,goodge ,street1 ,tottenham ,court ,road1 ,london1 on the #eth of ,february1 #ahcb4 ,he was my elder brother by about eighteen months4 ,our father and mother had once been rich1 but through a succession of unavoidable misfortunes they were left with but a very moderate income when my brother and myself were about three and four years old4 ,my father died some five or six years afterwards1 and we only recollected him as a singularly gentle and humorous playmate who doted upon us both and never spoke unkindly4 ,the charm of such a recollection can never be dispelled2 both my brother and myself returned his love with interest1 and cherished his memory with the most affectionate regret1 from the day on which he left us till the time came that the one of us was again to see him face to face4 ,so sweet and winning was his nature that his slightest wish was our law--and whenever we pleased him1 no matter how little1 he never failed to thank us as though we had done him a service which we should have had a perfect right to withhold4 ,how proud were we upon any of these occasions1 and how we courted the opportunity of being thanked6 ,he did indeed well know the art of becoming idolised by his children1 and dearly did he prize the results of his own proficiency2 yet truly there was no art about it2 all arose spontaneously from the wellspring of a sympathetic nature which knew how to feel as others felt1 whether old or young1 rich or poor1 wise or foolish4 ,on one point alone did he neglect us--,i refer to our religious education4 ,on all other matters he was the kindest and most careful teacher in the world4 ,love and gratitude be to his memory6 ,my mother loved us no less ardently than my father1 but she was of a quicker temper1 and less adept at conciliating affection4 ,she must have been exceedingly handsome when she was young1 and was still comely when we first remembered her2 she was also highly accomplished1 but she felt my father's loss of fortune more keenly than my father himself1 and it preyed upon her mind1 though rather for our sake than for her own4 ,had we not known my father we should have loved her better than any one in the world1 but affection goes by comparison1 and my father spoiled us for any one but himself2 indeed1 in after life1 ,i remember my mother's telling me1 with many tears1 how jealous she had often been of the love we bore him1 and how mean she had thought it of him to entrust all scolding or repression to her1 so that he might have more than his due share of our affection4 ,not that ,i believe my father did this consciously2 still1 he so greatly hated scolding that ,i dare say we might often have got off scot free when we really deserved reproof had not my mother undertaken the onus of scolding us herself4 ,we therefore naturally feared her more than my father1 and fearing more we loved less4 ,for as love casteth out fear1 so fear love4 ,this must have been hard to bear1 and my mother scarcely knew the way to bear it4 ,she tried to upbraid us1 in little ways1 into loving her as much as my father2 the more she tried this1 the less we could succeed in doing it2 and so on and so on in a fashion which need not be detailed4 ,not but what we really loved her deeply1 while her affection for us was unsurpassable still1 we loved her less than we loved my father1 and this was the grievance4 ,my father entrusted our religious education entirely to my mother4 ,he was himself1 ,i am assured1 of a deeply religious turn of mind1 and a thoroughly consistent member of the ,church of ,england2 but he conceived1 and perhaps rightly1 that it is the mother who should first teach her children to lift their hands in prayer1 and impart to them a knowledge of the ,one in whom we live and move and have our being4 ,my mother accepted the task gladly1 for in spite of a certain narrowness of view--the natural but deplorable result of her earlier surroundings--she was one of the most truly pious women whom ,i have ever known2 unfortunately for herself and us she had been trained in the lowest school of ,evangelical literalism--a school which in after life both my brother and myself came to regard as the main obstacle to the complete overthrow of unbelief2 we therefore looked upon it with something stronger than aversion1 and for my own part ,i still deem it perhaps the most insidious enemy which the cause of ,christ has ever encountered4 ,but of this more hereafter4 ,my mother1 as ,i said1 threw her whole soul into the work of our religious education4 ,whatever she believed she believed literally1 and1 if ,i may say so1 with a harshness of realisation which left very little scope for imagination or mystery4 ,her plans of ,heaven and solutions of life's enigmas were direct and forcible1 but they could only be reconciled with certain obvious facts--such as the omnipotence and all-goodness of ,god--by leaving many things absolutely out of sight4 ,and this my mother succeeded effectually in doing4 ,she never doubted that her opinions comprised the truth1 the whole truth1 and nothing but the truth2 she therefore made haste to sow the good seed in our tender minds1 and so far succeeded that when my brother was four years old he could repeat the ,apostles' ,creed1 the ,general ,confession1 and the ,lord's ,prayer without a blunder4 ,my mother made herself believe that he delighted in them2 but1 alas6 it was far otherwise2 for1 strange as it may appear concerning one whose later life was a continual prayer1 in childhood he detested nothing so much as being made to pray and to learn his ,catechism4 ,in this ,i am sorry to say we were both heartily of a mind4 ,as for ,sunday1 the less said the better4 ,i have already hinted 7but as a warning to other parents ,i had better1 perhaps1 express myself more plainly71 that this aversion was probably the result of my mother's undue eagerness to reap an artificial fruit of lip service1 which could have little meaning to the heart of one so young4 ,i believe that the severe check which the natural growth of faith experienced in my brother's case was due almost entirely to this cause1 and to the school of literalism in which he had been trained2 but1 however this may be1 we both of us hated being made to say our prayers--morning and evening it was our one bugbear1 and we would avoid it1 as indeed children generally will1 by every artifice which we could employ4 ,thus we were in the habit of feigning to be asleep shortly before prayer time1 and would gratefully hear my father tell my mother that it was a shame to wake us2 whereon he would carry us up to bed in a state apparently of the profoundest slumber when we were really wide awake and in great fear of detection4 ,for we knew how to pretend to be asleep1 but we did not know how we ought to wake again2 there was nothing for it therefore when we were once committed1 but to go on sleeping till we were fairly undressed and put to bed1 and could wake up safely in the dark4 ,but deceit is never long successful1 and we were at last ignominiously exposed4 ,it happened one evening that my mother suspected my brother ,john1 and tried to open his little hands which were lying clasped in front of him4 ,now my brother was as yet very crude and inconsistent in his theories concerning sleep1 and had no conception of what a real sleeper would do under these circumstances4 ,fear deprived him of his powers of reflection1 and he thus unfortunately concluded that because sleepers1 so far as he had observed them1 were always motionless1 therefore1 they must be quite rigid and incapable of motion1 and indeed that any movement1 under any circumstances 7for from his earliest childhood he liked to carry his theories to their legitimate conclusion71 would be physically impossible for one who was really sleeping2 forgetful1 oh6 unhappy one1 of the flexibility of his own body on being carried upstairs1 and1 more unhappy still1 ignorant of the art of waking4 ,he1 therefore1 clenched his fingers harder and harder as he felt my mother trying to unfold them while his head hung listless1 and his eyes were closed ,i as though he were sleeping sweetly4 ,it is needless to detail the agony of shame that followed4 ,my mother begged my father to box his ears1 which my father flatly refused to do4 ,then she boxed them herself1 and there followed a scene and a day or two of disgrace for both of us4 ,shortly after this there happened another misadventure4 ,a lady came to stay with my mother1 and was to sleep in a bed that had been brought into our nursery1 for my father's fortunes had already failed1 and we were living in a humble way4 ,we were still but four and five years old1 so the arrangement was not unnatural1 and it was assumed that we should be asleep before the lady went to bed1 and be downstairs before she would get up in the morning4 ,but the arrival of this lady and her being put to sleep in the nursery were great events to us in those days1 and being particularly wanted to go to sleep1 we of course sat up in bed talking and keeping ourselves awake till she should come upstairs4 ,perhaps we had fancied that she would give us something1 but if so we were disappointed4 ,however1 whether this was the case or not1 we were wide awake when our visitor came to bed1 and having no particular object to gain1 we made no pretence of sleeping4 ,the lady kissed us both1 told us to lie still and go to sleep like good children1 and then began doing her hair4 ,i remember that this was the occasion on which my brother discovered a good many things in connection with the fair sex which had hitherto been beyond his ken2 more especially that the mass of petticoats and clothes which envelop the female form were not1 as he expressed it to me1 8all solid woman10 but that women were not in reality more substantially built than men1 and had legs as much as he had1 a fact which he had never yet realised4 ,on this he for a long time considered them as impostors1 who had wronged him by leading him to suppose that they had far more 8body in them0 7so he said71 than he now found they had4 ,this was a sort of thing which he regarded with stern moral reprobation4 ,if he had been old enough to have a solicitor ,i believe he would have put the matter into his hands1 as well as certain other things which had lately troubled him4 ,for but recently my mother had bought a fowl1 and he had seen it plucked1 and the inside taken out2 his irritation had been extreme on discovering that fowls were not all solid flesh1 but that their insides--and these formed1 as it appeared to him1 an enormous percentage of the bird--were perfectly useless4 ,he was now beginning to understand that sheep and cows were also hollow as far as good meat was concerned2 the flesh they had was only a mouthful in comparison with what they ought to have considering their apparent bulk--insignificant1 mere skin and bone covering a cavern4 ,what right had they1 or anything else1 to assert themselves as so big1 and prove so empty8 ,and now this discovery of woman's falsehood was quite too much for him4 ,the world itself was hollow1 made up of shams and delusions1 full of sound and fury signifying nothing4 ,truly a prosaic young gentleman enough4 ,everything with him was to be exactly in all its parts what it appeared on the face of it1 and everything was to go on doing exactly what it had been doing hitherto4 ,if a thing looked solid1 it was to be very solid2 if hollow1 very hollow2 nothing was to be half and half1 and nothing was to change unless he had himself already become accustomed to its times and manners of changing2 there were to be no exceptions and no contradictions2 all things were to be perfectly consistent1 and all premises to be carried with extremest rigour to their legitimate conclusions4 ,heaven was to be very neat 7for he was always tidy himself71 and free from sudden shocks to the nervous system1 such as those caused by dogs barking at him1 or cows driven in the streets4 ,god was to resemble my father1 and the ,holy ,spirit to bear some sort of indistinct analogy to my mother4 ,such were the ideal theories of his childhood--unconsciously formed1 but very firmly believed in4 ,as he grew up he made such modifications as were forced upon him by enlarged perceptions1 but every modification was an effort to him1 in spite of a continual and successful resistance to what he recognised as his initial mental defect4 ,i may perhaps be allowed to say here1 in reference to a remark in the preceding paragraph1 that both my brother and myself used to notice it as an almost invariable rule that children's earliest ideas of ,god are modelled upon the character of their father--if they have one4 ,should the father be kind1 considerate1 full of the warmest love1 fond of showing it1 and reserved only about his displeasure1 the child having learned to look upon ,god as ,his ,heavenly ,father through the ,lord's ,prayer and our ,church ,services1 will feel towards ,god as he does towards his own father2 this conception will stick to a man for years and years after he has attained manhood--probably it will never leave him4 ,for all children love their fathers and mothers1 if these last will only let them2 it is not a little unkindness that will kill so hardy a plant as the love of a child for its parents4 ,nature has allowed ample margin for many blunders1 provided there be a genuine desire on the parent's part to make the child feel that he is loved1 and that his natural feelings are respected4 ,this is all the religious education which a child should have4 ,as he grows older he will then turn naturally to the waters of life1 and thirst after them of his own accord by reason of the spiritual refreshment which they1 and they only1 can afford4 ,otherwise he will shrink from them1 on account of his recollection of the way in which he was led down to drink against his will1 and perhaps with harshness1 when all the analogies with which he was acquainted pointed in the direction of their being unpleasant and unwholesome4 ,so soul-satisfying is family affection to a child1 that he who has once enjoyed it cannot bear to be deprived of the hope that he is possessed in ,heaven of a parent who is like his earthly father--of a friend and counsellor who will never1 never fail him4 ,there is no such religious nor moral education as kindly genial treatment and a good example2 all else may then be let alone till the child is old enough to feel the want of it4 ,it is true that the seed will thus be sown late1 but in what a soil6 ,on the other hand1 if a man has found his earthly father harsh and uncongenial1 his conception of his ,heavenly ,parent will be painful4 ,he will begin by seeing ,god as an exaggerated likeness of his father4 ,he will therefore shrink from ,him4 ,the rottenness of stillborn love in the heart of a child poisons the blood of the soul1 and hence1 later1 crime4 ,to return1 however1 to the lady4 ,when she had put on her night-gown1 she knelt down by her bedside and1 to our consternation1 began to say her prayers4 ,this was a cruel blow to both of us2 we had always been under the impression that grownup people were not made to say their prayers1 and the idea of any one saying them of his or her own accord had never occurred to us as possible4 ,of course the lady would not say her prayers if she were not obliged2 and yet she did say them2 therefore she must be obliged to say them2 therefore we should be obliged to say them1 and this was a very great disappointment4 ,awe-struck and open-mouthed we listened while the lady prayed in sonorous accents1 for many things which ,i do not now remember1 and finally for my father and mother and for both of us--shortly afterwards she rose1 blew out the light and got into bed4 ,every word that she said had confirmed our worst apprehensions2 it was just what we had been taught to say ourselves4 ,next morning we compared notes and drew the most painful inferences2 but in the course of the day our spirits rallied4 ,we agreed that there were many mysteries in connection with life and things which it was high time to unravel1 and that an opportunity was now afforded us which might not readily occur again4 ,all we had to do was to be true to ourselves and equal to the occasion4 ,we laid our plans with great astuteness4 ,we would be fast asleep when the lady came up to bed1 but our heads should be turned in the direction of her bed1 and covered with clothes1 all but a single peep-hole4 ,my brother1 as the eldest1 had clearly a right to be nearest the lady1 but ,i could see very well1 and could depend on his reporting faithfully whatever should escape me4 ,there was no chance of her giving us anything--if she had meant to do so she would have done it sooner2 she might1 indeed1 consider the moment of her departure as the most auspicious for this purpose1 but then she was not going yet1 and the interval was at our own disposal4 ,we spent the afternoon in trying to learn to snore1 but we were not certain about it1 and in the end regretfully concluded that as snoring was not de rigueur we had better dispense with it4 ,we were put to bed2 the light was taken away2 we were told to go to sleep1 and promised faithfully that we would do so2 the tongue indeed swore1 but the mind was unsworn4 ,it was agreed that we should keep pinching one another to prevent our going to sleep4 ,we did so at frequent intervals2 at last our patience was rewarded with the heavy creak1 as of a stout elderly lady labouring up the stairs1 and presently our victim entered4 ,to cut a long story short1 the lady on satisfying herself that we were asleep1 never said her prayers at all2 during the remainder of her visit whenever she found us awake she always said them1 but when she thought we were asleep1 she never prayed4 ,it is needless to add that we had the matter out with her before she left1 and that the consequences were unpleasant for all parties2 they added to the troubles in which we were already involved as to our prayers1 and were indirectly among the earliest causes which led my brother to look with scepticism upon religion4 ,for a while1 however1 all went on as though nothing had happened4 ,an effect of distrust1 indeed1 remained after the cause had been forgotten1 but my brother was still too young to oppose anything that my mother told him1 and to all outward appearance he grew in grace no less rapidly than in stature4 ,for years we led a quiet and eventless life1 broken only by the one great sorrow of our father's death4 ,shortly after this we were sent to a day school in ,bloomsbury4 ,we were neither of us very happy there1 but my brother1 who always took kindly to his books1 picked up a fair knowledge of ,latin and ,greek2 he also learned to draw1 and to exercise himself a little in ,english composition4 ,when ,i was about fourteen my mother capitalised a part of her income and started me off to ,america1 where she had friends who could give me a helping hand2 by their kindness ,i was enabled1 after an absence of twenty years1 to return with a handsome income1 but not1 alas1 before the death of my mother4 ,up to the time of my departure my mother continued to read the ,bible with us and explain it4 ,she had become deeply impressed with the millenarian fervour which laid hold of so many some twenty-five or thirty years ago4 ,the ,apocalypse was perhaps her favourite book in the ,bible1 and she was imbued with the fullest conviction that all the threatened horrors with which it teems were upon the eve of their accomplishment4 ,the year eighteen hundred and forty-eight was to be 7as indeed it was7 a time of general bloodshed and confusion1 while in eighteen hundred and sixty-six1 should it please ,god to spare her1 her eyes would be gladdened by the visible descent of the ,son of ,man with a shout1 with the voice of the ,archangel1 with the trump of ,god2 and the dead in ,christ should rise first2 then she1 as one of them that were alive1 would be caught up with other saints into the air1 and would possibly receive while rising some distinguishing token of confidence and approbation which should fall with due impressiveness upon the surrounding multitude2 then would come the consummation of all things1 and she would be ever with the ,lord4 ,she died peaceably in her bed before she could know that a commercial panic was the nearest approach to the fulfilment of prophecy which the year eighteen hundred and sixty-six brought forth4 ,these opinions of my mother's were positively disastrous--injuring her naturally healthy and vigorous mind by leading her to indulge in all manner of dreamy and fanciful interpretations of ,scripture1 which any but the most narrow literalist would feel at once to be untenable4 ,thus several times she expressed to us her conviction that my brother and myself were to be the two witnesses mentioned in the eleventh chapter of the ,book of ,revelation1 and dilated upon the gratification she should experience upon finding that we had indeed been reserved for a position of such distinction4 ,we were as yet mere children1 and naturally took all for granted that our mother told us2 we therefore made a careful examination of the passage which threw light upon our future2 but on finding that the prospect was gloomy and full of bloodshed we protested against the honours which were intended for us1 more especially when we reflected that the mother of the two witnesses was not menaced in ,scripture with any particular discomfort4 ,if we were to be martyrs1 my mother ought to wish to be a martyr too1 whereas nothing was farther from her intention4 ,her notion clearly was that we were to be massacred somewhere in the streets of ,london1 in consequence of the anti-,christian machinations of the ,pope2 that after lying about unburied for three days and a half we were to come to life again2 and1 finally1 that we should conspicuously ascend to heaven1 in front1 perhaps1 of the ,foundling ,hospital4 ,she was not herself indeed to share either our martyrdom or our glorification1 but was to survive us many years on earth1 living in an odour of great sanctity and reflected splendour1 as the central and most august figure in a select society4 ,she would perhaps be able indirectly1 through her sons' influence with the ,almighty1 to have a voice in most of the arrangements both of this world and of the next4 ,if all this were to come true 7and things seemed very like it71 those friends who had neglected us in our adversity would not find it too easy to be restored to favour1 however greatly they might desire it--that is to say1 they would not have found it too easy in the case of one less magnanimous and spiritually-minded than herself4 ,my mother said but little of the above directly1 but the fragments which occasionally escaped her were pregnant1 and on looking back it is easy to perceive that she must have been building one of the most stupendous aerial fabrics that have ever been reared4 ,i have given the above in its more amusing aspect1 and am half afraid that ,i may appear to be making a jest of weakness on the part of one of the most devotedly unselfish mothers who have ever existed4 ,but one can love while smiling1 and the very wildness of my mother's dream serves to show how entirely her whole soul was occupied with the things which are above4 ,to her1 religion was all in all2 the earth was but a place of pilgrimage--only so far important as it was a possible road to heaven4 ,she impressed this upon both of us by every word and action--instant in season and out of season1 so that she might fill us more deeply with a sense of ,god4 ,but the inevitable consequences happened2 my mother had aimed too high and had overshot her mark4 ,the influence indeed of her guileless and unworldly nature remained impressed upon my brother even during the time of his extremest unbelief 7perhaps his ultimate safety is in the main referable to this cause1 and to the happy memories of my father1 which had predisposed him to love ,god71 but my mother had insisted on the most minute verbal accuracy of every part of the ,bible2 she had also dwelt upon the duty of independent research1 and on the necessity of giving up everything rather than assent to things which our conscience did not assent to4 ,no one could have more effectually taught us to try to think the truth1 and we had taken her at her word because our hearts told us that she was right4 ,but she required three incompatible things4 ,when my brother grew older he came to feel that independent and unflinching examination1 with a determination to abide by the results1 would lead him to reject the point which to my mother was more important than any other--,i mean the absolute accuracy of the ,gospel records4 ,my mother was inexpressibly shocked at hearing my brother doubt the authenticity of the ,epistle to the ,hebrews2 and then1 as it appeared to him1 she tried to make him violate the duties of examination and candour which he had learnt too thoroughly to unlearn4 ,thereon came pain and an estrangement which was none the less profound for being mutually concealed4 ,this estrangement was the gradual work of some five or six years1 during which my brother was between eleven and seventeen years old4 ,at seventeen1 ,i am told that he was remarkably well informed and clever4 ,his manners were1 like my father's1 singularly genial1 and his appearance very prepossessing4 ,he had as yet no doubt concerning the soundness of any fundamental ,christian doctrine1 but his mind was too active to allow of his being contented with my mother's child-like faith4 ,there were points on which he did not indeed doubt1 but which it would none the less be interesting to consider2 such for example as the perfectibility of the regenerate ,christian1 and the meaning of the mysterious central chapters of the ,epistle to the ,romans4 ,he was engaged in these researches though still only a boy1 when an event occurred which gave the first real shock to his faith4 ,he was accustomed to teach in a school for the poorest children every ,sunday afternoon1 a task for which his patience and good temper well fitted him4 ,on one occasion1 however1 while he was explaining the effect of baptism to one of his favourite pupils1 he discovered to his great surprise that the boy had never been baptised4 ,he pushed his inquiries further1 and found that out of the fifteen boys in his class only five had been baptised1 and1 not only so1 but that no difference in disposition or conduct could be discovered between the regenerate boys and the unregenerate4 ,the good and bad boys were distributed in proportions equal to the respective numbers of the baptised and unbaptised4 ,in spite of a certain impetuosity of natural character1 he was also of a matter-of-fact and experimental turn of mind2 he therefore went through the whole school1 which numbered about a hundred boys1 and found out who had been baptised and who had not4 ,the same results appeared4 ,the majority had not been baptised2 yet the good and bad dispositions were so distributed as to preclude all possibility of maintaining that the baptised boys were better than the unbaptised4 ,the reader may smile at the idea of any one's faith being troubled by a fact of which the explanation is so obvious1 but in truth my brother was seriously and painfully shocked4 ,the teacher to whom he applied for a solution of the difficulty was not a man of any real power1 and reported my brother to the rector for having disturbed the school by his inquiries4 ,the rector was old and self-opinionated2 the difficulty1 indeed1 was plainly as new to him as it had been to my brother1 but instead of saying so at once1 and referring to any recognised theological authority1 he tried to put him off with words which seemed intended to silence him rather than to satisfy him2 finally he lost his temper1 and my brother fell under suspicion of unorthodoxy4 ,this kind of treatment might answer with some people1 but not with my brother4 ,he alludes to it resentfully in the introductory chapter of his book4 ,he became suspicious that a preconceived opinion was being defended at the expense of honest scrutiny1 and was thus driven upon his own unaided investigation4 ,the result may be guessed3 he began to go astray1 and strayed further and further4 ,the children of ,god1 he reasoned1 the members of ,christ and inheritors of the kingdom of ,heaven1 were no more spiritually minded than the children of the world and the devil4 ,was then the grace of ,god a gift which left no trace whatever upon those who were possessed of it--a thing the presence or absence of which might be ascertained by consulting the parish registry1 but was not discernible in conduct8 ,the grace of man was more clearly perceptible than this4 ,assuredly there must be a screw loose somewhere1 which1 for aught he knew1 might be jeopardising the salvation of all ,christendom4 ,where then was this loose screw to be found8 ,he concluded after some months of reflection that the mischief was caused by the system of sponsors and by infant baptism4 ,he therefore1 to my mother's inexpressible grief1 joined the ,baptists and was immersed in a pond near ,dorking4 ,with the ,baptists he remained quiet about three months1 and then began to quarrel with his instructors as to their doctrine of predestination4 ,shortly afterwards he came accidentally upon a fascinating stranger who was no less struck with my brother than my brother with him1 and this gentleman1 who turned out to be a ,roman ,catholic missionary1 landed him in the ,church of ,rome1 where he felt sure that he had now found rest for his soul4 ,but here1 too1 he was mistaken2 after about two years he rebelled against the stifling of all free inquiry2 on this rebellion the flood-gates of scepticism were opened1 and he was soon battling with unbelief4 ,he then fell in with one who was a pure ,deist1 and was shorn of every shred of dogma which he had ever held1 except a belief in the personality and providence of the ,creator4 ,on reviewing his letters written to me about this time1 ,i am painfully struck with the manner in which they show that all these pitiable vagaries were to be traced to a single cause--a cause which still exists to the misleading of hundreds of thousands1 and which1 ,i fear1 seems likely to continue in full force for many a year to come--,i mean1 to a false system of training which teaches people to regard ,christianity as a thing one and indivisible1 to be accepted entirely in the strictest reading of the letter1 or to be rejected as absolutely untrue4 ,the fact is1 that all permanent truth is as one of those coal measures1 a seam of which lies near the surface1 and even crops up above the ground1 but which is generally of an inferior quality and soon worked out2 beneath it there comes a layer of sand and clay1 and then at last the true seam of precious quality and in virtually inexhaustible supply4 ,the truth which is on the surface is rarely the whole truth4 ,it is seldom until this has been worked out and done with--as in the case of the apparent flatness of the earth--that unchangeable truth is discovered4 ,it is the glory of the ,lord to conceal a matter3 it is the glory of the king to find it out4 ,if my brother1 from whom ,i have taken the above illustration1 had had some judicious and wide-minded friend to correct and supplement the mainly admirable principles which had been instilled into him by my mother1 he would have been saved years of spiritual wandering2 but1 as it was1 he fell in with one after another1 each in his own way as literal and unspiritual as the other--each impressed with one aspect of religious truth1 and with one only4 ,in the end he became perhaps the widest-minded and most original thinker whom ,i have ever met2 but no one from his early manhood could have augured this result2 on the contrary1 he shewed every sign of being likely to develop into one of those who can never see more than one side of a question at a time1 in spite of their seeing that side with singular clearness of mental vision4 ,in after life1 he often met with mere lads who seemed to him to be years and years in advance of what he had been at their age1 and would say1 smiling1 8,with a great sum obtained ,i this freedom2 but thou wast free-born40 ,yet when one comes to think of it1 a late development and laborious growth are generally more fruitful than those which are over-early luxuriant4 ,drawing an illustration from the art of painting1 with which he was well acquainted1 my brother used to say that all the greatest painters had begun with a hard and precise manner from which they had only broken after several years of effort2 and that in like manner all the early schools were founded upon definiteness of outline to the exclusion of truth of effect4 ,this may be true2 but in my brother's case there was something even more unpromising than this2 there was a commonness1 so to speak1 of mental execution1 from which no one could have foreseen his after-emancipation4 ,yet in the course of time he was indeed emancipated to the very uttermost1 while his bonds will1 ,i firmly trust1 be found to have been of inestimable service to the whole human race4 ,for although it was so many years before he was enabled to see the ,christian scheme as a whole1 or even to conceive the idea that there was any whole at all1 other than each one of the stages of opinion through which he was at the time passing2 yet when the idea was at length presented to him by one whom ,i must not name1 the discarded fragments of his faith assumed shape1 and formed themselves into a consistently organised scheme4 ,then became apparent the value of his knowledge of the details of so many different sides of ,christian verity4 ,buried in the details1 he had hitherto ignored the fact that they were only the unessential developments of certain component parts4 ,awakening to the perception of the whole after an intimate acquaintance with the details1 he was able to realise the position and meaning of all that he had hitherto experienced in a way which has been vouchsafed to few1 if any others4 ,thus he became truly a broad ,churchman4 ,not broad in the ordinary and ill-considered use of the term 7for the broad ,churchman is as little able to sympathise with ,romanists1 extreme ,high ,churchmen and ,dissenters1 as these are with himself--he is only one of a sect which is called by the name broad1 though it is no broader than its own base71 but in the true sense of being able to believe in the naturalness1 legitimacy1 and truth qu ,christianity even of those doctrines which seem to stand most widely and irreconcilably asunder4 ,chapter ,,ii ,,but it was impossible that a mind of such activity should have gone over so much ground1 and yet in the end returned to the same position as that from which it started4 ,so far was this from being the case that the ,christianity of his maturer life would be considered dangerously heterodox by those who belong to any of the more definite or precise schools of theological thought4 ,he was as one who has made the circuit of a mountain1 and yet been ascending during the whole time of his doing so3 such a person finds himself upon the same side as at first1 but upon a greatly higher level4 ,the peaks which had seemed the most important when he was in the valley were now dwarfed to their true proportions by colossal cloud-capped masses whose very existence could not have been suspected from beneath3 and again1 other points which had seemed among the lowest turned out to be the very highest of all--as the ,finster-,aarhorn1 which hides itself away in the centre of the ,bernese ,alps1 is never seen to be the greatest till one is high and far off4 ,thus he felt no sort of fear or repugnance in admitting that the ,new ,testament writings1 as we now have them1 are not by any means accurate records of the events which they profess to chronicle4 ,this1 which few ,english ,churchmen would be prepared to admit1 was to him so much of an axiom that he despaired of seeing any sound theological structure raised until it was universally recognised4 ,and here he would probably meet with sympathy from the more advanced thinkers within the body of the ,church1 but so far as ,i know1 he stood alone as recognising the wisdom of the ,divine counsels in having ordained the wide and apparently irreconcilable divergencies of doctrine and character which we find assigned to ,christ in the ,gospels1 and as finding his faith confirmed1 not by the supposition that both the portraits drawn of ,christ are objectively true1 but that both are objectively inaccurate1 and that the ,almighty intended they should be inaccurate1 inasmuch as the true spiritual conception in the mind of man could be indirectly more certainly engendered by a strife1 a warring1 a clashing1 so to speak1 of versions1 all of them distorting slightly some one or other of the features of the original1 than directly by the most absolutely correct impression which human language could convey4 ,even the most perfect human speech1 as has been often pointed out1 is a very gross and imperfect vehicle of thought4 ,i remember once hearing him say that it was not till he was nearly thirty that he discovered 8what thick and sticky fluids were air and water10 how crass and dull in comparison with other more subtle fluids2 he added that speech had no less deceived him1 seeming1 as it did1 to be such a perfect messenger of thought1 and being after all nothing but a shuffler and a loiterer4 ,with most men the ,gospels are true in spite of their discrepancies and inconsistencies2 with him ,christianity1 as distinguished from a bare belief in the objectively historical character of each part of the ,gospels1 was true because of these very discrepancies2 as his conceptions of the ,divine manner of working became wider1 the very forces which had at one time shaken his faith to its foundations established it anew upon a firmer and broader base4 ,he was gradually led to feel that the ideal presented by the life and death of our ,saviour could never have been accepted by ,jews at all1 if its whole purport had been made intelligible during the ,redeemer's life-time2 that in order to insure its acceptance by a nucleus of followers it must have been endowed with a more local aspect than it was intended afterwards to wear2 yet that1 for the sake of its subsequent universal value1 the destruction of that local complexion was indispensable2 that the corruptions inseparable from viv voce communication and imperfect education were the means adopted by the ,creator to blur the details of the ideal1 and give it that breadth which could not be otherwise obtainable--and that thus the value of the ideal was indefinitely enhanced1 and designedly enhanced1 alike by the waste of time and by its incrustations2 that all ideals gain by a certain amount of vagueness1 which allows the beholder to fill in the details according to his own spiritual needs1 and that no ideal can be truly universal and permanents unless it have an elasticity which will allow of this process in the minds of those who contemplate it2 that it cannot become thus elastic unless by the loss of no inconsiderable amount of detail1 and that thus the half1 as ,dr4 ,arnold used to say1 8becomes greater than the whole10 the sketch more preciously suggestive than the photograph4 ,hence far from deploring the fragmentary1 confused1 and contradictory condition of the ,gospel records1 he saw in this condition the means whereby alone the human mind could have been enabled to conceive--not the precise nature of ,christ--but the highest ideal of which each individual ,christian soul was capable4 ,as soon as he had grasped these conceptions1 which will be found more fully developed in one of the later chapters of his book1 the spell of unbelief was broken4 ,but1 once broken1 it was dissolved utterly and entirely2 he could allow himself to contemplate fearlessly all sorts of issues from which one whose experiences had been less varied would have shrunk4 ,he was free of the enemy's camp1 and could go hither and thither whithersoever he would4 ,the very points which to others were insuperable difficulties were to him foundation-stones of faith4 ,for example1 to the objection that if in the present state of the records no clear conception of the nature of ,christ's life and teaching could be formed1 we should be compelled to take one for our model of whom we knew little or nothing certain1 ,i have heard him answer1 8,and so much the better for us all4 ,the truth1 if read by the light of man's imperfect understanding1 would have been falser to him than any falsehood4 ,it would have been truth no longer4 ,better be led aright by an error which is so adjusted as to compensate for the errors in man's powers of understanding1 than be misled by a truth which can never be translated from objectivity to subjectivity4 ,in such a case1 it is the error which is the truth and the truth the error40 ,fearless himself1 he could not understand the fears felt by others2 and this was perhaps his greatest sympathetic weakness4 ,he was impatient of the subterfuges with which untenable interpretations of ,scripture were defended1 and of the disingenuousness of certain harmonists2 indeed1 the mention of the word harmony was enough to kindle an outbreak of righteous anger1 which would sometimes go to the utmost limit of righteousness4 8,harmonies60 he would exclaim1 8the sweetest harmonies are those which are most full of discords1 and the discords of one generation of musicians become heavenly music in the hands of their successors4 ,which of the great musicians has not enriched his art not only by the discovery of new harmonies1 but by proving that sounds which are actually inharmonious are nevertheless essentially and eternally delightful8 ,what an outcry has there not always been against the #8unwarrantable licence' with the rules of harmony whenever a ,beethoven or a ,mozart has broken through any of the trammels which have been regarded as the safeguards of the art1 instead of in their true light of fetters1 and how gratefully have succeeding musicians acquiesced in and adopted the innovation40 ,then would follow a tirade with illustration upon illustration1 comparison of this passage with that1 and an exhaustive demonstration that one or other1 or both1 could have had no sort of possible foundation in fact2 he could only see that the persons from whom he differed were defending something which was untrue and which they ought to have known to be untrue1 but he could not see that people ought to know many things which they do not know4 ,had he himself seen all that he ought to have been able to see from his own standpoints8 ,can any of us do so8 ,the force of early bias and education1 the force of intellectual surroundings1 the force of natural timidity1 the force of dulness1 were things which he could appreciate and make allowance for in any other age1 and among any other people than his own2 but as belonging to ,england and the ,nineteenth ,century they had no place in his theory of ,nature2 they were inconceivable1 unnatural1 unpardonable1 whenever they came into contact with the subject of ,christian evidences4 ,deplorable1 indeed1 they are1 but this was just the sort of word to which he could not confine himself4 ,the criticisms upon the late ,dean ,alford's notes1 which will be given in the sequel1 display this sort of temper2 they are not entirely his own1 but he adopted them and endorsed them with a warmth which we cannot but feel to be unnecessary1 not to say more4 ,yet ,i am free to confess that whatever editorial licence ,i could venture to take has been taken in the direction of lenity4 ,on the whole1 however1 he valued ,dean ,alford's work very highly1 giving him great praise for the candour with which he not unfrequently set the harmonists aside4 ,for example1 in his notes upon the discrepancies between ,st4 ,luke's and ,st4 ,matthew's accounts of the early life of our ,lord1 the ,dean openly avows that it is quite beyond his purpose to attempt to reconcile the two4 8,this part of the ,gospel history10 he writes1 8is one where the harmonists1 by their arbitrary reconcilement of the two accounts1 have given great advantage to the enemies of the faith4 ,as the two accounts now stand1 it is wholly impossible to suggest any satisfactory method of uniting them1 every one who has attempted it has in some part or other of his hypothesis violated probability and common sense10 but in spite of this1 the ,dean had no hesitation in accepting both the accounts4 ,with reference to this the author of ,the ,jesus of ,history 7,williams and ,norgate1 #ahff7--;a work to which my brother admitted himself to be under very great obligations1 and which he greatly admired1 in spite of his utter dissent from the main conclusion arrived at1 has the following note3-- 8,dean ,alford1 ,n4,t4 for ,english readers1 admits that the narratives as they stand are contradictory1 but he believes both4 ,he is even severe upon the harmonists who attempt to frame schemes of reconciliation between the two1 on account of the triumph they thus furnish to the #8enemies of the faith1' a phrase which seems to imply all who believe less than he does4 ,the ,dean1 however1 forgets that the faith which can believe two 7apparently7 contradictory propositions in matters of fact is a very rare gift1 and that for one who is so endowed there are thousands who can be satisfied with a plausible though demonstrably false explanation4 ,to the latter class the despised harmonists render a real service40 ,upon this note my brother was very severe4 ,in a letter1 dated ,dec4 #ah1 #ahff1 addressed to a friend who had alluded to it1 and expressed his concurrence with it as in the main just1 my brother wrote3 8,you are wrong about the note in ,the ,jesus of ,history1 there is more of the ,christianity of the future in ,dean ,alford's indifference to the harmony between the discordant accounts of ,luke and ,matthew than there would have been even in the most convincing and satisfactory explanation of the way in which they came to differ4 ,no such explanation is possible2 both the ,dean and the author of ,the ,jesus of ,history were very well aware of this1 but the latter is unjust in assuming that his opponent was not alive to the absurdity of appearing to believe two contradictory propositions at one and the same time4 ,the ,dean takes very good care that he shall not appear to do this1 for it is perfectly plain to any careful reader that he must really believe that one or both narratives are inaccurate1 inasmuch as the differences between them are too great to allow of reconciliation by a supposed suppression of detail4 8,this1 though not said so clearly as it should have been1 is yet virtually implied in the admission that no sort of fact which could by any possibility be admitted as reconciling them had ever occurred to human ingenuity2 what1 then1 ,dean ,alford must have really felt was that the spiritual value of each account was no less precious for not being in strict accordance with the other2 that the objective truth lies somewhere between them1 and is of very little importance1 being long dead and buried1 and living in its results only1 in comparison with the subjective truth conveyed by both the narratives1 which lives in our hearts independently of precise knowledge concerning the actual facts4 ,moreover1 that though both accounts may perhaps be inaccurate1 yet that a very little natural inaccuracy on the part of each writer would throw them apparently very wide asunder1 that such inaccuracies are easily to be accounted for1 and would1 in fact1 be inevitable in the sixty years of oral communication which elapsed between the birth of our ,lord and the writing of the first ,gospel1 and again in the eighty or ninety years prior to the third1 so that the details of the facts connected with the conception1 birth1 genealogy1 and earliest history of our ,saviour are irrecoverable--a general impression being alone possible1 or indeed desirable4 8,it might perhaps have been more satisfactory if ,dean ,alford had expressed the above more plainly2 but if he had done this1 who would have read his book8 ,where would have been that influence in the direction of truly liberal ,christianity which has been so potent during the last twenty years8 ,as it was1 the freedom with which the ,dean wrote was the cause of no inconsiderable scandal4 ,or1 again1 he may not have been fully conscious of his own position3 few men are2 he had taken the right one1 but more perhaps by spiritual instinct than by conscious and deliberate exercise of his intellectual faculties4 ,finally1 compromise is not a matter of good policy only1 it is a solemn duty in the interests of ,christian peace1 and this not in minor matters only--we can all do this much--but in those concerning which we feel most strongly1 for here the sacrifice is greatest and most acceptable to ,god4 ,there are1 of course1 limits to this1 and ,dean ,alford may have carried compromise too far in the present instance1 but it is very transparent4 ,the narrowness which leads the author of ,the ,jesus of ,history to strain at such a gnat is the secret of his inability to accept the divinity and miracles of our ,lord1 and has marred the most exhaustively critical exegesis of the life and death of our ,saviour with an impotent conclusion40 ,it is strange that one who could write thus should occasionally have shown himself so little able to apply his own principles4 ,he seems to have been alternately under the influence of two conflicting spirits--at one time writing as though there were nothing precious under the sun except logic1 consistency1 and precision1 and breathing fire and smoke against even very trifling deviations from the path of exact criticism--at another1 leading the reader almost to believe that he disregarded the value of any objective truth1 and speaking of endeavour after accuracy in terms that are positively contemptuous4 ,whenever he was in the one mood he seemed to forget the possibility of any other2 so much so that ,i have sometimes thought that he did this deliberately and for the same reasons as those which led ,adam ,smith to exclude one set of premises in his ,theory of ,moral ,sentiments and another in his ,wealth of ,nations4 ,i believe1 however1 that the explanation lies in the fact that my brother was inclined to underrate the importance of belief in the objective truth of any other individual features in the life of our ,lord than his ,resurrection and ,ascension4 ,all else seemed dwarfed by the side of these events4 ,his whole soul was so concentrated upon the centre of the circle that he forgot the circumference1 or left it out of sight4 ,nothing less than the strictest objective truth as to the main facts of the ,resurrection and ,ascension would content him2 the other miracles and the life and teaching of our ,lord might then be left open2 whatever view was taken of them by each individual ,christian was probably the one most desirable for the spiritual wellbeing of each4 ,even as regards the ,resurrection and ,ascension1 he did not greatly value the detail4 ,provided these facts were so established that they could never henceforth be controverted1 he thought that the less detail the broader and more universally acceptable would be the effect4 ,hence1 when ,dean ,alford's notes seemed to jeopardise the evidences for these things1 he could brook no trifling2 for unless ,christ actually died and actually came to life again1 he saw no escape from an utter denial of any but natural religion4 ,christ would have been no more to him than ,socrates or ,shakespeare1 except in so far as his teaching was more spiritual4 ,the triune nature of the ,deity--the ,resurrection from the dead--the hope of ,heaven and salutary fear of ,hell--all would go but for the ,resurrection and ,ascension of ,jesus ,christ2 nothing would remain except a sense of the ,divine as a substitute for ,god1 and the current feeling of one's peers as the chief moral check upon misconduct4 ,indeed1 we have seen this view openly advocated by a recent writer1 and set forth in the very plainest terms4 ,my brother did not live to see it1 but if he had1 he would have recognised the fulfilment of his own prophecies as to what must be the inevitable sequel of a denial of our ,lord's ,resurrection4 ,it will be seen therefore that he was in no danger of being carried away by a 8pet theory40 ,where light and definition were essential1 he would sacrifice nothing of either2 but he was jealous for his highest light1 and felt 8that the whole effect of the ,christian scheme was indefinitely heightened by keeping all other lights subordinate0--this at least was the illustration which he often used concerning it4 ,but as there were limits to the value of light and 8finding0--limits which had been far exceeded1 with the result of an unnatural forcing of the lights1 and an effect of garishness and unreality--so there were limits to the as yet unrecognised preciousness of 8losing0 and obscurity2 these limits he placed at the objectivity of our ,lord's ,resurrection and ,ascension4 ,let there be light enough to show these things1 and the rest would gain by being in half-tone and shadow4 ,his facility of illustration was simply marvellous4 ,from his conversation any one would have thought that he was acquainted with all manner of arts and sciences of which he knew little or nothing4 ,it is true1 as has been said already1 that he had had some practice in the art of painting1 and was an enthusiastic admirer of the masterpieces of ,raphael1 ,titian1 ,guido1 ,domenichino1 and others2 but he could never have been called a painter2 for music he had considerable feeling2 ,i think he must have known thorough-bass1 but it was hard to say what he did or did not know4 ,of science he was almost entirely ignorant1 yet he had assimilated a quantity of stray facts1 and whatever he assimilated seemed to agree with him and nourish his mental being4 ,but though his acquaintance with any one art or science must be allowed to have been superficial only1 he had an astonishing perception of the relative bearings of facts which seemed at first sight to be quite beyond the range of one another1 and of the relations between the sciences generally2 it was this which gave him his felicity and fecundity of illustration--a gift which he never abused4 ,he delighted in its use for the purpose of carrying a clear impression of his meaning to the mind of another1 but ,i never remember to have heard him mistake illustration for argument1 nor endeavour to mislead an adversary by a fascinating but irrelevant simile4 ,the subtlety of his mind was a more serious source of danger to him1 though ,i do not know that he greatly lost by it in comparison with what he gained2 his sense1 however1 of distinctions was so fine that it would sometimes distract his attention from points of infinitely greater importance in connection with his subject than the particular distinction which he was trying to establish at the moment4 ,the reader may be glad to know what my brother felt about retaining the unhistoric passages of ,scripture4 ,would he wish to see them sought for and sifted out8 ,or1 again1 what would he propose concerning such of the parables as are acknowledged by every liberal ,churchman to be immoral1 as1 for instance1 the story of ,dives and ,lazarus and the ,unjust ,steward--parables which can never have been spoken by our ,lord1 at any rate not in their present shape8 ,and here we have a remarkable instance of his moderation and truly ,english good sense4 8,do not touch one word of them10 was his often-repeated exclamation4 8,if not directly inspired by the mouth of ,god they have been indirectly inspired by the force of events1 and the force of events is the power and manifestation of ,god2 they could not have been allowed to come into their present position if they had not been recognised in the counsels of the ,almighty as being of indirect service to mankind2 there is a subjective truth conveyed even by these parables to the minds of many1 that enables them to lay hold of other and objective truths which they could not else have grasped4 8,there can be no question that the communistic utterances of the third gospel1 as distinguished from ,st4 ,matthew's more spiritual and doubtless more historic rendering of the same teaching1 have been of inestimable service to ,christianity4 ,christ is not for the whole only1 but also for them that are sick1 for the ill-instructed and what we are pleased to call #8dangerous' classes1 as well as for the more sober thinkers4 ,to how many do the words1 #8,blessed be ye poor3 for your's is the kingdom of ,heaven' 7,luke vi41 #bj71 carry a comfort which could never be given by the #8,blessed are the poor in spirit' of ,matthew v41 #c4 ,in ,matthew we find1 #8,blessed are the poor in spirit3 for their's is the kingdom of ,heaven4 ,blessed are they that mourn3 for they shall be comforted4 ,blessed are the meek3 for they shall inherit the earth4 ,blessed are they which do hunger and thirst after righteousness3 for they shall be filled4 ,blessed are the merciful3 for they shall obtain mercy4 ,blessed are the pure in heart3 for they shall see ,god4 ,blessed are the peacemakers3 for they shall be called the children of ,god4 ,blessed are they which are persecuted for righteousness' sake3 for their's is the kingdom of heaven4 ,blessed are ye1 when men shall revile you1 and persecute you1 and shall say all manner of evil against you falsely1 for my sake4 ,rejoice1 and be exceeding glad3 for great is your reward in heaven3 for so persecuted they the prophets which were before you4' ,in ,luke we read1 #8,blessed are ye that hunger now3 for ye shall be filled4 ,blessed are ye that weep now3 for ye shall laugh4 4 4 4 ,but woe unto you that are rich6 for ye have received your consolation4 ,woe unto you that are full6 for ye shall hunger4 ,woe unto you that laugh now6 for ye shall mourn and weep4 ,woe unto you1 when all men shall speak well of you6 for so did their fathers to the false prophets1' where even the grammar of the last sentence1 independently of the substance1 is such as it is impossible to ascribe to our ,lord himself4 8,the #8upper' classes naturally turn to the version of ,matthew1 but the #8lower1' no less naturally to that of ,luke1 nor is it likely that the ideal of ,christ would be one-tenth part so dear to them had not this provision for them been made1 not by the direct teaching of the ,saviour1 but by the indirect inspiration of such events as were seen by the ,almighty to be necessary for the full development of the highest ideal of which mankind was capable4 ,all that we have in the ,new ,testament is the inspired word1 directly or indirectly1 of ,god1 the unhistoric no less than the historic2 it is for us to take spiritual sustenance from whatever meats we find prepared for us1 not to order the removal of this or that dish2 the coarser meats are for the coarser natures2 as they grow in grace they will turn from these to the finer3 let us ourselves partake of that which we find best suited to us1 but do not let us grudge to others the provision that ,god has set before them4 ,there are many things which though not objectively true are nevertheless subjectively true to those who can receive them2 and subjective truth is universally felt to be even higher than objective1 as may be shown by the acknowledged duty of obeying our consciences 7which is the right to us7 rather than any dictate of man however much more objectively true4 ,it is that which is true to us that we are bound each one of us to seek and follow40 ,having heard him thus far1 and being unable to understand1 much less to sympathise with teaching so utterly foreign to anything which ,i had heard elsewhere1 ,i said to him1 8,either our ,lord did say the words assigned to him by ,st4 ,luke or he did not4 ,if he did1 as they stand they are bad1 and any one who heard them for the first time would say that they were bad2 if he did not1 then we ought not to allow them to remain in our ,bibles to the misleading of people who will thus believe that ,god is telling them what he never did tell them--to the misleading of the poor1 whom even in low self-interest we are bound to instruct as fully and truthfully as we can40 ,he smiled and answered1 8,that is the ,peter ,bell view of the matter4 ,i thought so once1 as1 indeed1 no one can know better than yourself40 ,the expression upon his face as he said this was sufficient to show the clearness of his present perception1 nevertheless ,i was anxious to get to the root of the matter1 and said that if our ,lord never uttered these words their being attributed to him must be due to fraud2 to pious fraud1 but still to fraud4 8,not so10 he answered1 8it is due to the weakness of man's powers of memory and communication1 and perhaps in some measure to unconscious inspiration4 ,moreover1 even though wrong of some sort may have had its share in the origin of certain of the sayings ascribed to our ,saviour1 yet their removal now that they have been consecrated by time would be a still greater wrong4 ,would you defend the spoliation of the monasteries1 or the confiscation of the abbey lands8 ,i take it no--still less would you restore the monasteries or take back the lands2 a consecrated change becomes a new departure2 accept it and turn it to the best advantage4 ,these are things to which the theory of the ,church concerning lay baptism is strictly applicable4 ,fieri non debet1 factum valet4 ,if in our narrow and unsympathetic strivings after precision we should remove the hallowed imperfections whereby time has set the glory of his seal upon the gospels as well as upon all other aged things1 not for twenty generations will they resume that ineffable and inviolable aspect which our fussy meddlesomeness will have disturbed4 ,let them alone4 ,it is as they stand that they have saved the world4 8,no change is good unless it is imperatively called for4 ,not even the ,reformation was good2 it is good now2 ,i acquiesce in it1 as ,i do in anything which in itself not vital has received the sanction of many generations of my countrymen4 ,it is sanction which sanctifieth in matters of this kind4 ,i would no more undo the ,reformation now than ,i would have helped it forward in the sixteenth century4 ,leave the historic1 the unhistoric1 and the doubtful to grow together until the harvest3 that which is not vital will perish and rot unnoticed when it has ceased to have vitality2 it is living till it has done this4 ,note how the very passages which you would condemn have died out of the regard of any but the poor4 ,who quotes them8 ,who appeals to them8 ,who believes in them8 ,who indeed except the poorest of the poor attaches the smallest weight to them whatever8 ,to us they are dead1 and other passages will die to us in like manner1 noiselessly and almost imperceptibly1 as the services for the fifth of ,november died out of the ,prayer ,book4 ,one day the fruit will be hanging upon the tree1 as it has hung for months1 the next it will be lying upon the ground4 ,it is not ripe until it has fallen of itself1 or with the gentlest shaking2 use no violence towards it1 confident that you cannot hurry the ripening1 and that if shaken down unripe the fruit will be worthless4 ,christianity must have contained the seeds of growth within itself1 even to the shedding of many of its present dogmas4 ,if the dogmas fall quietly in their maturity1 the precious seed of truth 7which will be found in the heart of every dogma that has been able to take living hold upon the world's imagination7 will quicken and spring up in its own time3 strike at the fruit too soon and the seed will die40 ,i should be sorry to convey an impression that ,i am responsible for1 or that ,i entirely agree with1 the defence of the unhistoric which ,i have here recorded4 ,i have given it in my capacity of editor and in some sort biographer1 but am far from being prepared to maintain that it is likely1 or indeed ought1 to meet with the approval of any considerable number of ,christians4 ,but1 surely1 in these days of self-mystification it is refreshing to see the boldness with which my brother thought1 and the freedom with which he contemplated all sorts of issues which are too generally avoided4 ,what temptation would have been felt by many to soften down the inconsistencies and contradictions of the ,gospels4 ,how few are those who will venture to follow the lead of scientific criticism1 and admit what every scholar must well know to be indisputable4 ,yet if a man will not do this1 he shows that he has greater faith in falsehood than in truth4 ,chapter ,,iii ,,on my brother's death ,i came into possession of several of his early commonplace books filled with sketches for articles2 some of these are more developed than others1 but they are all of them fragmentary4 ,i do not think that the reader will fail to be interested with the insight into my brother's spiritual and intellectual progress which a few extracts from these writings will afford1 and have therefore1 after some hesitation1 decided in favour of making them public1 though well aware that my brother would never have done so4 ,they are too exaggerated to be dangerous1 being so obviously unfair as to carry their own antidote4 ,the reader will not fail to notice the growth not only in thought but also in literary style which is displayed by my brother's later writings4 ,in reference to the very subject of the parables above alluded to1 he had written during his time of unbelief3--8,why are we to interpret so literally all passages about the guilt of unbelief1 and insist upon the historical character of every miraculous account1 while we are indignant if any one demands an equally literal rendering of the precepts concerning human conduct8 ,he that hath two coats is not to give to him that hath none3 this would be #8visionary1' #8utopian1' #8wholly unpractical1' and so forth4 ,or1 again1 he that is smitten on the one cheek is not to turn the other to the smiter1 but to hand the offender over to the law2 nor are the commands relative to indifference as to the morrow and a neglect of ordinary prudence to be taken as they stand2 nor yet the warnings against praying in public2 nor can the parables1 any one of them1 be interpreted strictly with advantage to human welfare1 except perhaps that of the ,good ,samaritan2 nor the ,sermon on the ,mount1 save in such passages as were already the common property of mankind before the coming of ,christ4 ,the parables which every one praises are in reality very bad3 the ,unjust ,steward1 the ,labourers in the ,vineyard1 the ,prodigal ,son1 ,dives and ,lazarus1 the ,sower and the ,seed1 the ,wise and ,foolish ,virgins1 the ,marriage ,garment1 the ,man who planted a ,vineyard1 are all either grossly immoral1 or tend to engender a very low estimate of the character of ,god--an estimate far below the standard of the best earthly kings2 where they are not immoral1 or do not tend to degrade the character of ,god1 they are the merest commonplaces imaginable1 such as one is astonished to see people accept as having been first taught by ,christ4 ,such maxims as those which inculcate conciliation and a forgiveness of injuries 7wherever practicable7 are certainly good1 but the world does not owe their discovery to ,christ1 and they have had little place in the practice of his followers4 8,it is impossible to say that as a matter of fact the ,english people forgive their enemies more freely now than the ,romans did1 we will say in the time of ,augustus4 ,the value of generosity and magnanimity was perfectly well known among the ancients1 nor do these qualities assume any nobler guise in the teaching of ,christ than they did in that of the ancient heathen philosophers4 ,on the contrary1 they have no direct equivalent in ,christian thought or phraseology4 ,they are heathen words drawn from a heathen language1 and instinct with the same heathen ideas of high spirit and good birth as belonged to them in the ,latin language2 they are no part or parcel of ,christianity1 and are not only independent of it1 but savour distinctly of the flesh as opposed to the spirit1 and are hence more or less antagonistic to it1 until they have undergone a certain modification and transformation--until1 that is to say1 they have been mulcted of their more frank and genial elements4 ,the nearest approach to them in ,christian phrase is #8self-denial1' but the sound of this word kindles no smile of pleasure like that kindled by the ideas of generosity and nobility of conduct4 ,at the thought of self-denial we feel good1 but uncomfortable1 and as though on the point of performing some disagreeable duty which we think we ought to pretend to like1 but which we do not like4 ,at the thought of generosity1 we feel as one who is going to share in a delightfully exhilarating but arduous pastime--full of the most pleasurable excitement4 ,on the mention of the word generosity we feel as if we were going out hunting2 at the word #8self-denial1' as if we were getting ready to go to church4 ,generosity turns well-doing into a pleasure1 self-denial into a duty1 as of a servant under compulsion4 8,there are people who will deny this1 but there are people who will deny anything4 ,there are some who will say that ,st4 ,paul would not have condemned the ,falstaff plays1 ,twelfth ,night1 ,the ,tempest1 ,a ,midsummer ,night's ,dream1 and almost everything that ,shakspeare ever wrote2 but there is no arguing against this4 #8,every man1' said ,dr4 ,johnson1 #8has a right to his own opinion1 and every one else has a right to knock him down for it4' ,but even granting that generosity and high spirit have made some progress since the days of ,christ1 allowance must be made for the lapse of two thousand years1 during which time it is only reasonable to suppose that an advance would have been made in civilisation--and hence in the direction of clemency and forbearance--whether ,christianity had been preached or not1 but no one can show that the modern ,english1 if superior to the ancients in these respects1 show any greater superiority than may be ascribed justly to centuries of established order and good government40 99 99 99 99 99 8,again1 as to the ideal presented by the character of ,christ1 about which so much has been written2 is it one which would meet with all this admiration if it were presented to us now for the first time8 ,surely it offers but a peevish view of life and things in comparison with that offered by other highest ideals--the old ,roman and ,greek ideals1 the ,italian ideal1 and the ,shakespearian ideal40 99 99 99 99 99 8,as with the parables so with the ,sermon on the ,mount--where it is not commonplace it is immoral1 and vice vers2 the admiration which is so freely lavished upon the teachings of ,jesus ,christ turns out to be but of the same kind as that bestowed upon certain modern writers1 who have made great reputations by telling people what they perfectly well knew2 and were in no particular danger of forgetting4 ,there is1 however1 this excuse for those who have been carried away with such musical but untruthful sentences as #8,blessed are they that mourn3 for they shall be comforted1' namely1 that they have not come to the subject with unbiassed minds4 ,it is one thing to see no merit in a picture1 and another to see no merit in a picture when one is told that it is by ,raphael2 we are few of us able to stand against the prestige of a great name2 our self-love is alarmed lest we should be deficient in taste1 or1 worse still1 lest we should be considered to be so2 as if it could matter to any right-minded person whether the world considered him to be of good taste or not1 in comparison with the keeping of his own soul truthful to itself4 8,but if this holds good about things which are purely matters of taste1 how much more does it do so concerning those who make a distinct claim upon us for moral approbation or the reverse8 ,such a claim is most imperatively made by the teaching of ,jesus ,christ3 are we then content to answer in the words of others--words to which we have no title of our own--or shall we strip ourselves of preconceived opinion1 and come to the question with minds that are truly candid8 ,whoever shrinks from this is a liar to his own self1 and as such1 the worst and most dangerous of liars4 ,he is as one who sits in an impregnable citadel and trembles in a time of peace--so great a coward as not even to feel safe when he is in his own keeping4 ,how loose of soul if he knows that his own keeping is worthless1 how aspen-hearted if he fears lest others should find him out and hurt him for communing truthfully with himself6 99 99 99 99 99 8,that a man should lie to others if he hopes to gain something considerable--this is reckoned cheating1 robbing1 fraudulent dealing1 or whatever it may be2 but it is an intelligible offence in comparison with the allowing oneself to be deceived4 ,so in like manner with being bored4 ,the man who lets himself be bored is even more contemptible than the bore4 ,he who puts up with shoddy pictures1 shoddy music1 shoddy morality1 shoddy society1 is more despicable than he who is the prime agent in any of these things4 ,he has less to gain1 and probably deceives himself more2 so that he commits the greater crime for the less reward4 ,and ,i say emphatically that the morality which most men profess to hold as a ,divine revelation was a shoddy morality1 which would neither wash nor wear1 but was woven together from a tissue of dreams and blunders1 and steeped in blood more virulent than the blood of ,nessus4 8,oh6 if men would but leave off lying to themselves6 ,if they would but learn the sacredness of their own likes and dislikes1 and exercise their moral discrimination1 making it clear to themselves what it is that they really love and venerate4 ,there is no such enemy to mankind as moral cowardice4 ,a downright vulgar self-interested and unblushing liar is a higher being than the moral cur whose likes and dislikes are at the beck and call of bullies that stand between him and his own soul2 such a creature gives up the most sacred of all his rights for something more unsubstantial than a mess of pottage--a mental serf too abject even to know that he is being wronged4 ,wretched emasculator of his own reason1 whose jejune timidity and want of vitality are thus omnipresent in the most secret chambers of his heart6 8,we can forgive a man for almost any falsehood provided we feel that he was under strong temptation and well knew that he was deceiving4 ,he has done wrong--still we can understand it1 and he may yet have some useful stuff about him--but what can we feel towards one who for a small motive tells lies even to himself1 and does not know that he is lying8 ,what useless rotten fig-wood lumber must not such a thing be made of1 and what lies will there not come out of it1 falling in every direction upon all who come within its reach4 ,the common self-deceiver of modern society is a more dangerous and contemptible object than almost any ordinary felon1 a matter upon which those who do not deceive themselves need no enlightenment40 99 99 99 99 99 8,but why insist so strongly on the literal interpretation of one part of the sayings of ,christ1 and be so elastic about that of the passages which inculcate more than those ordinary precepts which all had agreed upon as early as the days of ,solomon and probably earlier8 ,we have cut down ,christianity so as to make it appear to sanction our own conventions2 but we have not altered our conventions so as to bring them into harmony with ,christianity4 ,we do not give to him that asketh2 we take good care to avoid him2 yet if the precept meant only that we should be liberal in assisting others--it wanted no enforcing3 the probability is that it had been enforced too much rather than too little already2 the more literally it has been followed the more terrible has the mischief been2 the saying only becomes harmless when regarded as a mere convention4 ,so with most parts of ,christ's teaching4 ,it is only conventional ,christianity which will stand a man in good stead to live by2 true ,christianity will never do so4 ,men have tried it and found it fail2 or1 rather1 its inevitable failure was so obvious that no age or country has ever been mad enough to carry it out in such a manner as would have satisfied its founders4 ,so said ,dean ,swift in his ,argument against abolishing ,christianity4 #8,i hope1' he writes1 #8no reader imagines me so weak as to stand up in defence of real ,christianity1 such as used in primitive times' 7if we may believe the authors of those ages7 #8to have an influence upon men's beliefs and actions4 ,to offer at the restoring of that would be1 indeed1 a wild project2 it would be to dig up foundations1 to destroy at one blow all the wit and half the learning of the kingdom1 to break the entire frame and constitution of things1 to ruin trade1 extinguish arts and sciences1 with the professors of them2 in short1 to turn our courts of exchange and shops into deserts2 and would be full as absurd as the proposal of ,horace where he advises the ,romans all in a body to leave their city1 and to seek a new seat in some remote part of the world by way of cure for the corruption of their manners4 8#8,therefore1 ,i think this caution was in itself altogether unnecessary 7which ,i have inserted only to prevent all possibility of cavilling71 since every candid reader will easily understand my discourse to be intended only in defence of nominal ,christianity1 the other having been for some time wholly laid aside by general consent as utterly inconsistent with our present schemes of wealth and power4' 8,yet but for these schemes of wealth and power the world would relapse into barbarianism2 it is they and not ,christianity which have created and preserved civilisation4 ,and what if some unhappy wretch1 with a serious turn of mind and no sense of the ridiculous1 takes all this talk about ,christianity in sober earnest1 and tries to act upon it8 ,into what misery may he not easily fall1 and with what life-long errors may he not embitter the lives of his children6 99 99 99 99 99 8,again1 we do not cut off our right hand nor pluck out our eyes if they offend us2 we conventionalise our interpretations of these sayings at our will and pleasure2 we do take heed for the morrow1 and should be inconceivably wicked and foolish were we not to do so2 we do gather up riches1 and indeed we do most things which the experience of mankind has taught us to be to our advantage1 quite irrespectively of any precept of ,christianity for or against4 ,but why say that it is ,christianity which is our chief guide1 when the words of ,christ point in such a very different direction from that which we have seen fit to take8 ,perhaps it is in order to compensate for our laxity of interpretation upon these points that we are so rigid in stickling for accuracy upon those which make no demand upon our comfort or convenience8 ,thus1 though we conventionalise practice1 we never conventionalise dogma4 ,here1 indeed1 we stickle for the letter most inflexibly2 yet one would have thought that we might have had greater licence to modify the latter than the former4 ,if we say that the teaching of ,christ is not to be taken according to its import--why give it so much importance8 ,teaching by exaggeration is not a satisfactory method1 nor one worthy of a being higher than man2 it might have been well once1 and in the ,east1 but it is not well now4 ,it induces more and more of that jarring and straining of our moral faculties1 of which much is unavoidable in the existing complex condition of affairs1 but of which the less the better4 ,at present the tug of professed principles in one direction1 and of necessary practice in the other1 causes the same sort of wear and tear in our moral gear as is caused to a steam-engine by continually reversing it when it is going it at full speed4 ,no mechanism can stand it40 ,the above extracts 7written when he was about twenty-three years old7 may serve to show how utter was the subversion of his faith4 ,his mind was indeed in darkness6 ,who could have hoped that so brilliant a day should have succeeded to the gloom of such mistrust8 ,yet as upon a winter's morning in ,november when the sun rises red through the smoke1 and presently the fog spreads its curtain of thick darkness over the city1 and then there comes a single breath of wind from some more generous quarter1 whereupon the blessed sun shines again1 and the gloom is gone2 or1 again1 as when the warm south-west wind comes up breathing kindness from the sea1 unheralded1 suspected1 when the earth is in her saddest frost1 and on the instant all the lands are thawed and opened to the genial influences of a sweet springful whisper--so thawed his heart1 and the seed which had lain dormant in its fertile soil sprang up1 grew1 ripened1 and brought forth an abundant harvest4 ,indeed now that the result has been made plain we can perhaps feel that his scepticism was precisely of that nature which should have given the greatest ground for hope4 ,he was a genuine lover of truth in so far as he could see it4 ,his lights were dim1 but such as they were he walked according to them1 and hence they burnt ever more and more clearly1 till in later life they served to show him what is vouchsafed to such men and to such only--the enormity of his own mistakes4 ,better that a man should feel the divergence between ,christian theory and ,christian practice1 that he should be shocked at it--even to the breaking away utterly from the theory until he has arrived at a wider comprehension of its scope--than that he should be indifferent to the divergence and make no effort to bring his principles and practice into harmony with one another4 ,a true lover of consistency1 it was intolerable to him to say one thing with his lips and another with his actions4 ,as long as this is true concerning any man1 his friends may feel sure that the hand of the ,lord is with him1 though the signs thereof be hidden from mortal eyesight4 ,chapter ,,iv ,,during the dark and unhappy time when he had1 as it seems to me1 bullied himself1 or been bullied into infidelity1 he had been utterly unable to realise the importance even of such a self-evident fact as that our ,lord addressing an ,eastern people would speak in such a way as ,eastern people would best understand2 it took him years to appreciate this4 ,he could not see that modes of thought are as much part of a language as the grammar and words which compose it1 and that before a passage can be said to be translated from one language into another it is often not the words only which must be rendered1 but the thought itself which must be transformed2 to a people habituated to exaggeration a saying which was not exaggerated would have been pointless--so weak as to arrest the attention of no one2 in order to translate it into such words as should carry precisely the same meaning to colder and more temperate minds1 the words would often have to be left out of sight altogether1 and a new sentence or perhaps even simile or metaphor substituted2 this is plainly out of the question1 and therefore the best course is that which has been taken1 i4e41 to render the words as accurately as possible1 and leave the reader to modify the meaning4 ,but it was years before my brother could be got to feel this1 nor did he ever do so fully1 simple and obvious though it must appear to most people1 until he had learned to recognise the value of a certain amount of inaccuracy and inconsistency in everything which is not comprehended in mechanics or the exact sciences4 8,it is this10 he used to say1 8which gives artistic or spiritual value as contrasted with mechanical precision40 ,in inaccuracy and inconsistency1 therefore 7within certain limits71 my brother saw the means whereby our minds are kept from regarding things as rigidly and immutably fixed which are not yet fully understood1 and perhaps may never be so while we are in our present state of probation4 ,life is not one of the exact sciences1 living is essentially an art and not a science4 ,every thing addressed to human minds at all must be more or less of a compromise2 thus1 to take a very old illustration1 even the definitions of a point and a line--the fundamental things in the most exact of the sciences--are mere compromises4 ,a point is supposed to have neither length1 breadth1 nor thickness--this in theory1 but in practice unless a point have a little of all these things there is nothing there4 ,so with a line2 a line is supposed to have length1 but no breadth1 yet in practice we never saw a line which had not breadth4 ,what inconsistency is there here1 in requiring us to conceive something which we cannot conceive1 and which can have no existence1 before we go on to the investigation of the laws whereby the earth can alone be measured and the orbits of the planets determined4 ,i do not think that this illustration was presented to my brother's mind while he was young1 but ,i am sure that if it had been it would have made him miserable4 ,he would have had no confidence in mathematics1 and would very likely have made a furious attack upon ,newton and ,galileo1 and been firmly convinced that he was discomfiting them4 ,indeed ,i cannot forget a certain look of bewilderment which came over his face when the idea was put before him1 ,i imagine1 for the first time4 ,fortunately he had so grown that the right inference was now in no danger of being missed4 ,he did not conclude that because the evidences for mathematics were founded upon compromises and definitions which are inaccurate--therefore that mathematics were false1 or that there were no mathematics1 but he learnt to feel that there might be other things which were no less indisputable than mathematics1 and which might also be founded on facts for which the evidences were not wholly free from inconsistencies and inaccuracies4 ,to some he might appear to be approaching too nearly to the 8,sed tu vera puta0 argument of ,juvenal4 ,i greatly fear that an attempt may be made to misrepresent him as taking this line2 that is to say1 as accepting ,christianity on the ground of the excellence of its moral teaching1 and looking upon it as1 indeed1 a superstition1 but salutary for women and young people4 ,hardly anything would have shocked him more profoundly4 ,this doctrine with its plausible show of morality appeared to him to be1 perhaps1 the most gross of all immoralities1 inasmuch as it cuts the ground from under the feet of truth1 luring the world farther and farther from the only true salvation--the careful study of facts and of the safest inferences that may be drawn from them4 ,every fact was to him a part of nature1 a thing sacred1 pregnant with ,divine teaching of some sort1 as being the expression of ,divine will4 ,it was through facts that he saw ,god2 to tamper with facts was1 in his view1 to deface the countenance of the ,almighty4 ,to say that such and such was so and so1 when the speaker did not believe it1 was to lead people to worship a false ,god instead of a true one2 an 2 setting them1 to quote the words of the ,psalmist1 8a-whoring after their own imaginations40 ,he saw the ,divine presence in everything--the evil as well as the good2 the evil being the expression of the ,divine will that such and such courses should not go unpunished1 but bring pain and misery which should deter others from following them1 and the good being his sign of approbation4 ,there was nothing good for man to know which could not be deduced from facts4 ,this was the only sound basis of knowledge1 and to found things upon fiction which could be made to stand upon facts was to try and build upon a quicksand4 ,he1 therefore1 loathed the reasoning of ,juvenal with all the intensity of his nature4 ,it was because he believed that the ,resurrection and ,ascension of our ,lord were just as much matters of actual history as the assassination of ,julius ,csar1 and that they happened precisely in the same way as every daily event happens at present--that he accepted the ,christian scheme in its essentials4 ,then came the details4 ,were these also objectively true8 ,he answered1 8,certainly not in every case40 ,he would not for the world have had any one believe that he so considered them2 but having made it perfectly clear that he was not going to deceive himself1 he set himself to derive whatever spiritual comfort he could from them1 just as he would from any noble fiction or work of art1 which1 while not professing to be historical1 was instinct with the soul of genius4 ,that there were unhistorical passages in the ,new ,testament was to him a fact2 therefore it was to be studied as an expression of the ,divine will4 ,what could be the meaning of it8 ,that we should consider them as true8 ,assuredly not this4 ,then what else8 ,this--that we should accept as subjectively true whatever we found spiritually precious1 and be at liberty to leave all the rest alone--the unhistoric element having been introduced purposely for the sake of giving greater scope and latitude to the value of the ideal4 ,of course one who was so firmly persuaded of the objective truth of the ,resurrection and ,ascension could be in no sort of danger of relapsing into infidelity as long as his reason remained4 ,during the years of his illness his mind was clearly impaired1 and no longer under his own control2 but while his senses were his own it was absolutely impossible that he could be shaken by discrepancies and inconsistencies in the gospels4 ,what small and trifling things are such discrepancies by the side of the great central miracle of the ,resurrection6 ,nevertheless their existence was indisputable1 and was no less indisputably a cause of stumbling to many1 as it had been to himself4 ,his experience of his own sufferings as an unbeliever gave him a keener sympathy with those who were in that distressing condition than could be felt by any one who had not so suffered1 and fitted him1 perhaps1 more than any one who has yet lived to be the interpreter of ,christianity to the ,rationalist1 and of ,rationalism to the ,christian4 ,this1 accordingly1 was the task to which he set himself1 having been singularly adapted for it by ,nature1 and as singularly disciplined by events4 ,it seemed to him that the first thing was to make the two parties understand one another--a thing which had never yet been done1 but which was not at all impossible4 ,for ,protestantism is raised essentially upon a ,rationalistic base4 ,when we come to a definition of ,rationalism nothing can be plainer than that it demands no scepticism from any one which an ,english ,protestant would not approve of4 ,it is another matter with the ,church of ,rome4 ,that ,church openly declares it as an axiom that religion and reason have nothing to do with one another1 and that religion1 though in flat contradiction to reason1 should yet be accepted from the hands of a certain order as an act of unquestioning faith4 ,the line of separation therefore between the ,romanist and the ,rationalist is clear1 and definitely bars any possibility of arrangement between the two4 ,not so with the ,protestant1 who as heartily as the ,rationalist admits that nothing is required to be believed by man except such things as can be reasonably proved--i4e41 proved to the satisfaction of the reason4 ,no ,protestant would say that the ,christian scheme ought to be accepted in spite of its being contrary to reason2 we say that ,christianity is to be believed because it can be shewn to follow as the necessary consequence of using our reason rightly4 ,we should be shocked at being supposed to maintain otherwise4 ,yet this is pure ,rationalism4 ,the ,rationalist would require nothing more2 he demurs to ,christianity because he maintains that if we bring our reason to bear upon the evidences which are brought forward in support of it1 we are compelled to reject it2 but he would accept it without hesitation if he believed that it could be sustained by arguments which ought to carry conviction to the reason4 ,thus both are agreed in principle that if the evidences of ,christianity satisfy human reason1 then ,christianity should be received1 but that on any other supposition it should be rejected4 ,here then1 he said1 we have a common starting-point and the main principle of ,rationalism turns out to be nothing but what we all readily admit1 and with which we and our fathers have been as familiar for centuries as with the air we breathe4 ,every ,protestant is a ,rationalist1 or else he ought to be ashamed of himself4 ,does he want to be called an 8,irrationalist08 ,hardly--yet if he is not a ,rationalist what else can he be8 ,no3 the difference between us is one of detail1 not of principle4 ,this is a great step gained4 ,the next thing therefore was to make each party understand the view which the other took concerning the position which they had agreed to hold in common4 ,there was no work1 so far as he knew1 which would be accepted both by ,christians and unbelievers as containing a fair statement of the arguments of the two contending parties3 every book which he had yet seen upon either side seemed written with the view of maintaining that its own side could hold no wrong1 and the other no right3 neither party seemed to think that they had anything to learn from the other1 and neither that any considerable addition to their knowledge of the truth was either possible or desirable4 ,each was in possession of truth already1 and all who did not see and feel this must be either wilfully blinded1 or intensely stupid1 or hypocrites4 ,so long as people carried on a discussion thus1 what agreement was possible between them8 ,yet where1 upon the ,christian side1 was the attempt to grapple with the real difficulties now felt by unbelievers8 ,simply nowhere4 ,all that had been done hitherto was antiquated4 ,modern ,christianity seemed to shrink from grappling with modern ,rationalism1 and displayed a timidity which could not be accounted for except by the supposition of secret misgiving that certain things were being defended which could not be defended fairly4 ,this was quite intolerable2 a misgiving was a warning voice from ,god1 which should be attended to as a man valued his soul4 ,on the other hand1 the conviction reasonably entertained by unbelievers that they were right on many not inconsiderable details of the dispute1 and that so-called orthodox ,christians in their hearts knew it but would not own it--or that if they did not know it1 they were only in ignorance because it suited their purpose to be so--this conviction gave an overweening self-confidence to infidels1 as though they must be right in the whole because they were so in part2 they therefore blinded themselves to all the more fundamental arguments in support of ,christianity1 because certain shallow ones had been put forward in the front rank1 and been far too obstinately defended4 ,they thus regarded the question too superficially1 and had erred even more through pride of intellect and conceit than their opponents through timidity4 ,what then was to be done8 ,surely this2 to explain the two contending parties to one another2 to show to ,rationalists that ,christians are right upon ,rationalistic principles in all the more important of their allegations2 that is to say1 to establish the ,resurrection and ,ascension of the ,redeemer upon a basis which should satisfy the most imperious demands of modern criticism4 ,this would form the first and most important part of the task4 ,then should follow a no less convincing proof that ,rationalists are right in demurring to the historical accuracy of much which has been too obstinately defended by so-called orthodox writers4 ,this would be the second part4 ,was there not reason to hope that when this was done the two parties might understand one another1 and meet in a common ,christianity8 ,he believed that there was1 and that the ground had been already cleared for such mutual compromise as might be accepted by both sides1 not from policy but conviction4 ,therefore he began writing the book which it has devolved upon myself to edit1 and which must now speak for itself4 ,for him it was to suffer and to labour2 almost on the very instant of his having done enough to express his meaning he was removed from all further power of usefulness4 ,the happy change from unbelief to faith had already taken place some three or four years before my return from ,america4 ,with it had also come that sudden development of intellectual and spiritual power which so greatly astonished even those who had known him best4 ,the whole man seemed changed--to have become possessed of an unusually capacious mind1 instead of one which was acute1 but acute only4 ,on looking over the earlier letters which ,i received from him when ,i was in ,america1 ,i can hardly believe that they should have been written by the same person as the one to whom1 in spite of not a few great mental defects1 ,i afterwards owed more spiritual enrichment than ,i have owed to any other person4 ,yet so it was4 ,it came upon me imperceptibly that ,i had been very stupid in not discovering that my brother was a genius2 but hardly had ,i made the discovery1 and hardly had the fragment which follows this memoir received its present shape1 when his overworked brain gave way and he fell into a state little better than idiocy4 ,his originally cheerful spirits left him1 and were succeeded by a religious melancholy which nothing could disturb4 ,he became incapable either of mental or physical exertion1 and was pronounced by the best physicians to be suffering from some obscure disease of the brain brought on by excitement and undue mental tension3 in this state he continued for about four years1 and died peacefully1 but still as one in the profoundest melancholy1 on the #aeth of ,march1 #ahgb1 aged #dj4 ,always hopeful that his health would one day be restored1 ,i never ventured to propose that ,i should edit his book during his own life-time4 ,on his death ,i found his papers in the most deplorable confusion4 ,the following chapters had alone received anything like a presentable shape--and these providentially are the most essential4 ,a dream is a dream only1 yet sometimes there follows a fulfilment which bears a strange resemblance to the thing dreamt of4 ,no one now believes that the ,book of ,revelation is to be taken as foretelling events which will happen in the same way as the massacre1 for instance1 of ,st4 ,bartholomew1 indeed it is doubtful how far the whole is not to be interpreted as an allegory1 descriptive of spiritual revolutions2 yet surely my mother's dream as to the future of one1 at least1 of her sons has been strangely verified1 and it is believed that the reader when he lays down this volume will feel that there have been few more potent witnesses to the truth of ,christ than ,john ,pickard ,owen4 ,the ,fair ,haven ,chapter ,i ,introduction ,,it is to be feared that there is no work upon the evidences of our faith1 which is as satisfactory in its completeness and convincing power as we have a right to expect when we consider the paramount importance of the subject and the activity of our enemies4 ,otherwise why should there be no sign of yielding on the part of so many sincere and eminent men who have heard all that has been said upon the ,christian side and are yet not convinced by it8 ,we cannot think that the many philosophers who make no secret of their opposition to the ,christian religion are unacquainted with the works of ,butler and ,paley--of ,mansel and ,liddon4 ,this cannot be3 they must be acquainted with them1 and find them fail4 ,now1 granting readily that in some minds there is a certain wilful and prejudiced self-blindness which no reasoning can overcome1 and granting also that men very much preoccupied with any one pursuit 7more especially a scientific one7 will be apt to give but scant and divided attention to arguments upon other subjects such as religion or politics1 nevertheless we have so many opponents who profess to have made a serious study of ,christian evidences1 and against whose opinion no exception can be fairly taken1 that it seems as though we were bound either to admit that our demonstrations require rearrangement and reconsideration1 or to take the ,roman position1 and maintain that revelation is no fit subject for evidence but is to be accepted upon authority4 ,this last position will be rejected at once by nine-tenths of ,englishmen4 ,but upon rejecting it we look in vain for a work which shall appear to have any such success in arresting infidelity as attended the works of ,butler and ,paley in the last century4 ,in their own day these two great men stemmed the current of infidelity3 but no modern writers have succeeded in doing so1 and it will scarcely be said that either ,butler or ,paley set at rest the many serious and inevitable questions in connection with ,christianity which have arisen during the last fifty years4 ,we could hardly expect one of the more intelligent students at ,oxford or ,cambridge to find his mind set once and for ever free from all rising doubt either by the ,analogy or the ,evidences4 ,suppose1 for example1 that he has been misled by the ,german writers of the ,tbingen school1 how will either of the above-named writers help him8 ,on the contrary1 they will do him harm1 for they will not meet the requirements of the case1 and the inference is too readily drawn that nothing else can do so4 ,it need hardly be insisted upon that this inference is a most unfair one1 but surely the blame of its being drawn rests in some measure at the door of those whose want of thoroughness has left people under the impression that no more can be said than what has been said already4 ,it is the object1 therefore1 of this book to contribute towards establishing ,christian evidences upon a more secure and self-evident base than any upon which they are made to rest at present1 so far1 that is to say1 as a work which deliberately excludes whole fields of ,christian evidence can tend towards so great a consummation4 ,in spite of the narrow limits within which ,i have resolved to keep my treatment of the subject1 ,i trust that ,i may be able to produce such an effect upon the minds of those who are in doubt concerning the evidences for the hope that is in them1 that henceforward they shall never doubt again4 ,i am not sanguine enough to suppose that ,i shall be able to induce certain eminent naturalists and philosophers to reopen a question which they have probably long laid aside as settled2 unfortunately it is not in any but the very noblest ,christian natures to do this1 nevertheless1 could they be persuaded to read these pages ,i believe that they would find so much which would be new to them1 that their prejudices would be greatly shaken4 ,to the younger band of scientific investigators ,i appeal more hopefully4 ,it may be asked why not have undertaken the whole subject and devoted a life-time to writing an exhaustive work8 ,the answer suggests itself that the believer is in no want of such a book1 while the unbeliever would be repelled by its size4 ,assuredly there can be no doubt as to the value of a great work which should meet objections derived from certain recent scientific theories1 and confute opponents who have arisen since the death of our two great apologists1 but as a preliminary to this a smaller and more elementary book seems called for1 which shall give the main outlines of our position with such boldness and effectiveness as to arrest the attention of any unbeliever into whose hands it may fall1 and induce him to look further into what else may be urged upon the ,christian side4 ,we are bound to adapt our means to our ends1 and shall have a better chance of gaining the ear of our adversaries if we can offer them a short and pregnant book than if we come to them with a long one from which whole chapters might be pruned4 ,we have to bring the ,christian religion to men who will look at no book which cannot be read in a railway train or in an arm-chair2 it is most deplorable that this should be the case1 nevertheless it is indisputably a fact1 and as such must be attended to by all who hope to be of use in bringing about a better state of things4 ,and let me add that never yet was there a time when it so much behoved all who are impressed with the vital power of religion to bestir themselves2 for the symptoms of a general indifference1 not to say hostility1 must be admitted to be widely diffused1 in spite of an imposing array of facts which can be brought forward to the contrary2 and not only this1 but the stream of infidelity seems making more havoc yearly1 as it might naturally be expected to do1 when met by no new works of any real strength or permanence4 ,bearing in mind1 therefore1 the necessity for prompt action1 it seemed best to take the most overwhelming of all miracles--the ,resurrection of our ,lord ,jesus ,christ1 and show that it can be so substantiated that no reasonable man should doubt it4 ,this ,i have therefore attempted1 and ,i humbly trust that the reader will feel that ,i have not only attempted it1 but done it1 once and for all so clearly and satisfactorily and with such an unflinching examination of the most advanced arguments of unbelievers1 that the question can never be raised hereafter by any candid mind1 or at any rate not until science has been made to rest on different grounds from those on which she rests at present4 ,but the truth of our ,lord's resurrection having been once established1 what need to encumber this book with further evidences of the miraculous element in his ministry8 ,the other miracles can be no insuperable difficulty to one who accepts the ,resurrection4 ,it is true that as ,christians we cannot dwell too minutely upon every act and incident in the life of the ,redeemer1 but unhappily we have to deal with those who are not ,christians1 and must consider rather what we can get them to take than what we should like to give them3 8,be ye wise as serpents and harmless as doves10 saith the ,saviour4 ,a single miracle is as good as twenty1 provided that it be well established1 and can be shewn to be so3 it is here that even the ablest of our apologists have too often failed2 they have professed to substantiate the historical accuracy of all the recorded miracles and sayings of our ,lord1 with a result which is in some instances feeble and conventional1 and occasionally even unfair 7oh6 what suicidal folly is there in even the remotest semblance of unfairness71 instead of devoting themselves to throwing a flood of brilliancy upon the most important features and leaving the others to shine out in the light reflected from these4 ,even granting that some of the miracles recorded of our ,lord are apocryphal1 what of that8 ,we do not rest upon them3 we have enough and more than enough without them1 and can afford to take the line of saying to the unbeliever1 8,disbelieve this miracle or that if you find that you cannot accept it1 but believe in the ,resurrection1 of which we will put forward such ample proofs that no healthy reason can withstand them1 and1 having accepted the ,resurrection1 admit it as the manifestation of supernatural power1 the existence of which can thus no longer be denied40 ,does not the reader feel that there is a ring of truth and candour about this which must carry more weight with an opponent than any strained defence of such a doubtful miracle as the healing of the impotent man at the pool of ,bethesda8 ,we weight ourselves as against our opponents by trying to defend too much2 no matter how sound and able the defence of one part of the ,christian scheme may have been1 its effect is often marred by contiguity with argument which the writer himself must have suspected1 or even known1 to be ingenious rather than sound3 the moment that this is felt in any book its value with an opponent is at an end1 for he must be continually in doubt whether the spirit which he has detected here or there may not be existing and at work in a hundred other places where he has not detected it4 ,what carries weight with an antagonist is the feeling that his position has been mastered and his difficulties grasped with thoroughness and candour4 ,on this point ,i am qualified to speak from long and bitter experience4 ,i say that want of candour and the failure to grasp the position occupied1 however untenably1 by unbelievers is the chief cause of the continuance of unbelief4 ,when this cause has been removed unbelief will die a natural death4 ,for years ,i was myself a believer in nothing beyond the personality and providence of ,god3 yet ,i feel 7not without a certain sense of bitterness1 which ,i know that ,i should not feel but cannot utterly subdue7 that if my first doubts had been met with patient endeavour to understand their nature and if ,i had felt that the one in whom ,i confided had been ready to go to the root of the matter1 and even to yield up the convictions of a life-time could it be shewn that they were unsafely founded1 my doubts would have been resolved in an hour or two's quiet conversation1 and would at once have had the effect1 which they have only had after long suffering and unrest1 of confirming me in my allegiance to ,christ4 ,but ,i was met with anger and impatience4 ,there was an instinct which told me that my opponent had never heard a syllable against his own convictions1 and was determined not to hear one3 on this ,i assumed rashly that he must have good reason for his resolution2 and doubt ripened into unbelief4 ,oh6 what years of heart-burning and utter drifting followed4 ,yet when ,i was at last brought within the influence of one who not only believed all that my first opponent did1 but who also knew that the more light was thrown upon it the more clearly would its truth be made apparent--a man who talked with me as though he was anxious that ,i should convince him if he were in error1 not as though bent on making me believe whatever habit and circumstances had imposed as a formula upon himself--my heart softened at once1 and the dry places of my soul were watered4 ,the above may seem too purely personal to warrant its introduction here1 yet the experience is one which should not be without its value to others4 ,its effect upon myself has been to give me an unutterable longing to save others from sufferings like my own2 ,i know so well where it is that1 to use a homely metaphor1 the shoe pinches4 ,and it is chiefly here--in the fact that the unbeliever does not feel as though we really wanted to understand him4 ,this feeling is in many cases lamentably well founded4 ,no one likes hearing doubt thrown upon anything which he regards as settled beyond dispute1 and this1 happily1 is what most men feel concerning ,christianity4 ,again1 indolence or impotence of mind indisposes many to intellectual effort2 others are pained by coming into contact with anything which derogates from the glory due to the great sacrifice of ,christ1 or to his ,divine nature1 and lastly not a few are withheld by moral cowardice from daring to bestow the pains upon the unbeliever which his condition requires4 ,but from whichever of these sources the disinclination to understand him comes1 its effect is equally disastrous to the unbeliever4 ,people do not mind a difference of opinion1 if they feel that the one who differs from them has got a firm grasp of their position2 or again1 if they feel that he is trying to understand them but fails from some defect either of intellect or education1 even in this case they are not pained by opposition4 ,what injures their moral nature and hardens their hearts is the conviction that another could understand them if he chose1 but does not choose1 and yet none the less condemns them4 ,on this they become imbued with that bitterness against ,christianity which is noticeable in so many free-thinkers4 ,can we greatly wonder8 ,for1 sad though the admission be1 it is only justice to admit that we ,christians have been too often contented to accept our faith without knowing its grounds1 in which case it is more by luck than by cunning that we are ,christians at all1 and our faith will be in continual danger4 ,the greater number even of those who have undertaken to defend the ,christian faith have been sadly inclined to avoid a difficulty rather than to face it1 unless it is so easy as to be no real difficulty at all4 ,i do not say that this is unnatural1 for the ,christian writer must be deeply impressed with the sinfulness of unbelief1 and will therefore be anxious to avoid raising doubts which will probably never yet have occurred to his reader1 and might possibly never do so2 nor does there at first sight appear to be much advantage in raising difficulties for the sole purpose of removing them2 nevertheless ,i cannot think that if either ,butler or ,paley could have foreseen the continuance of unbelief1 and the ruin of so many souls whom ,christ died to save1 they would have been contented to act so almost entirely upon the defensive4 ,yet it is impossible not to feel that we in their place should have done as they did4 ,infidelity was still in its infancy3 the nature of the disease was hardly yet understood2 and there seemed reason to fear lest it might be aggravated by the very means taken to cure it2 it seemed safer therefore in the first instance to confine attention to the matter actually in debate1 and leave it to time to suggest a more active treatment should the course first tried prove unsatisfactory4 ,who can be surprised that the earlier apologists should have felt thus in the presence of an enemy whose novelty made him appear more portentous than he can ever seem to ourselves8 ,they were bound to venture nothing rashly2 what they did they did1 for their own age1 thoroughly2 we owe it to their cautious pioneering that we so know the weakness of our opponents and our own strength as to be able to do fearlessly what may well have seemed perilous to our forefathers3 nevertheless it is easy to be wise after the event1 and to regret that a bolder course was not taken at the outset4 ,if ,butler and ,paley had fought as men eager for the fray1 as men who smelt the battle from afar1 it is impossible to believe that infidelity could have lasted as long as it has4 ,what can be done now could have been done just as effectively then1 and though we cannot be surprised at the caution shewn at first1 we are bound to deplore it as short-sighted4 ,the question1 however1 for ourselves is not what dead men might have done better long ago1 but what living men and women can do most wisely now2 and in answer to it ,i would say that there is no policy so unwise as fear in a good cause3 the bold course is also the wise one2 it consists in being on the lookout for objections1 in finding the very best that can be found and stating them in their most intelligible form1 in shewing what are the logical consequences of unbelief1 and thus carrying the war into the enemy's country2 in fighting with the most chivalrous generosity and a determination to take no advantage which is not according to the rules of war most strictly interpreted against ourselves1 but within such an interpretation showing no quarter4 ,this is the bold course and the true course3 it will beget a confidence which can never be felt in the wariness1 however well-intentioned1 of the old defenders4 ,let me1 therefore1 beg the reader to follow me patiently while ,i do my best to put before him the main difficulties felt by unbelievers4 ,when he is once acquainted with these he will run in no danger of confirming doubt through his fear in turning away from it in the first instance4 ,how many die hardened unbelievers through the treatment which they have received from those to whom their ,christianity has been a matter of circumstances and habit only8 ,hell is no fiction4 ,who1 without bitter sorrow1 can reflect upon the agonies even of a single soul as being due to the selfishness or cowardice of others8 ,awful thought6 ,yet it is one which is daily realised in the case of thousands4 ,in the commonest justice to brethren1 however sinful1 each one of us who tries to lead them to the ,saviour is bound not only to shew them the whole strength of our own arguments1 but to make them see that we understand the whole strength of theirs2 for men will not seriously listen to those whom they believe to know one side of a question only4 ,it is this which makes the educated infidel so hard to deal with2 he knows very well that an intelligent apprehension of the position held by an opponent is indispensable for profitable discussion2 but he very rarely meets with this in the case of those ,christians who try to argue with him2 he therefore soon acquires a habit of avoiding the subject of religion1 and can seldom be induced to enter upon an argument which he is convinced can lead to nothing4 ,he who would cure a disease must first know what it is1 and he who would convert an infidel must know what it is that he is to be converted from1 as well as what he is to be led to2 nothing can be laid hold of unless its whereabouts is known4 ,it is deplorable that such commonplaces should be wanted2 but1 alas6 it is impossible to do without them4 ,people have taken a panic on the subject of infidelity as though it were so infectious that the very nurses and doctors should run away from those afflicted with it2 but such conduct is no less absurd than cruel and disgraceful4 ,infidelity is only infectious when it is not understood4 ,the smallest reflection should suffice to remind us that a faith which has satisfied the most brilliant and profound of human intellects for nearly two thousand years must have had very sure foundations1 and that any digging about them for the purpose of demonstrating their depth and solidity1 will result1 not in their disturbance1 but in its being made clear to every eye that they are laid upon a rock which nothing can shake--that they do indeed satisfy every demand of human reason1 which suffers violence not from those who accept the scheme of the ,christian redemption1 but from those who reject it4 ,this being the case1 and that it is so will1 ,i believe1 appear with great clearness in the following pages1 what need to shrink from the just and charitable course of understanding the nature of what is urged by those who differ from us8 ,how can we hope to bring them to be of one mind in ,christ ,jesus with ourselves1 unless we can resolve their difficulties and explain them8 ,and how can we resolve their difficulties until we know what they are8 ,infidelity is as a reeking fever den1 which none can enter safely without due precautions1 but the taking these precautions is within our own power2 we can all rely upon the blessed promises of the ,saviour that he will not desert us in our hour of need if we will only truly seek him2 there is more infidelity in this shrinking and fear of investigation than in almost any open denial of ,christ2 the one who refuses to examine the doubts felt by another1 and is prevented from making any effort to remove them through fear lest he should come to share them1 shews either that he has no faith in the power of ,christianity to stand examination1 or that he has no faith in the promises of ,god to guide him into all truth4 ,in either case he is hardly less an unbeliever than those whom he condemns4 ,let the reader therefore understand that he will here find no attempt to conceal the full strength of the arguments relied on by unbelievers4 ,this manner of substantiating the truth of ,christianity has unhappily been tried already2 it has been tried and has failed as it was bound to fail4 ,infidelity lives upon concealment4 ,shew it in broad daylight1 hold it up before the world and make its hideousness manifest to all--then1 and not till then1 will the hours of unbelief be numbered4 ,we have been the mainstay of unbelief through our timidity4 ,far be it from me1 therefore1 that ,i should help any unbeliever by concealing his case for him4 ,this were the most cruel kindness4 ,on the contrary1 ,i shall insist upon all his arguments and state them1 if ,i may say so without presumption1 more clearly than they have ever been stated within the same limits4 ,no one knows what they are better than ,i do4 ,no one was at one time more firmly persuaded that they were sound4 ,may it be found that no one has so well known how also to refute them4 ,the reader must not therefore expect to find fictitious difficulties in the way of accepting ,christianity set up with one hand in order to be knocked down again with the other3 he will find the most powerful arguments against all that he holds most sacred insisted on with the same clearness as those on his own side2 it is only by placing the two contending opinions side by side in their utmost development that the strength of our own can be made apparent4 ,those who wish to cry peace1 peace1 when there is no peace1 those who would take their faith by fashion as the take their clothes1 those who doubt the strength of their own cause and do not in their heart of heart believe that ,christianity will stand investigation1 those1 again1 who care not who may go to ,hell provided they are comfortably sure of going to ,heaven themselves1 such persons may complain of the line which ,i am about to take4 ,they on the other hand whose faith is such that it knows no fear of criticism1 and they whose love for ,christ leads them to regard the bringing of lost souls into his flock as the highest earthly happiness--such will admit gladly that ,i have been right in tearing aside the veil from infidelity and displaying it uncloaked by the side of faith itself4 ,at the same time ,i am bound to confess that ,i never should have been able to see the expediency1 not to say the absolute necessity for such a course1 unless ,i had been myself for many years an unbeliever4 ,it is this experience1 so bitterly painful1 that has made me feel so strongly as to the only manner in which others can be brought from darkness into light4 ,the wisdom of the ,almighty recognised that if man was to be saved it must be done by the assumption of man's nature on the part of the ,deity4 ,god must make himself man1 or man could never learn the nature and attributes of ,god4 ,let us then follow the sublime example of the incarnation1 and make ourselves as unbelievers that we may teach unbelievers to believe4 ,if ,paley and ,butler had only been real infidels for a single year1 instead of taking the thoughts and reasonings of their opponents at second-hand1 what a difference should we not have seen in the nature of their work4 ,alas6 their clear and powerful intellects had been trained early in the severest exercises2 they could not be misled by any of the sophistries of their opponents2 but1 on the other hand1 never having been misled they knew not the thread of the labyrinth as one who has been shut up therein4 ,i should also warn the reader of another matter4 ,he must not expect to find that ,i can maintain everything which he could perhaps desire to see maintained4 ,i can prove1 to such a high degree of presumption as shall amount virtually to demonstration1 that our ,lord died upon the cross1 rose again from the dead upon the third day1 and ascended into ,heaven3 but ,i cannot prove that none of the accounts of these events which have come down to us have suffered from the hand of time3 on the contrary1 ,i must own that the reasons which led me to conclude that there must be confusion in some of the accounts of the ,resurrection continue in full force with me even now4 ,i see no way of escaping from this conclusion3 but it seems equally strange that the ,christian should have such an indomitable repugnance to accept it1 and that the unbeliever should conceive that it inflicts any damage whatever upon the ,christian evidences4 ,perhaps the error of each confirms that of the other1 as will appear hereafter4 ,i have spoken hitherto as though ,i were writing only for men1 but the help of good women can never be so precious as in the salvation of human souls2 if there is one work for which women are better fitted than another1 it is that of arresting the progress of unbelief4 ,can there be a nobler one8 ,their superior tact and quickness give them a great advantage over men2 men will listen to them when they would turn away from one of their own sex2 and though ,i am well aware that courtesy is no argument1 yet the natural politeness shewn by a man to a woman will compel attention to what falls from her lips1 and will thus perhaps be the means of bringing him into contact with ,divine truths which would never otherwise have reached him4 ,yet this is a work from which too many women recoil in horror--they know that they can do nothing unless they are intimately acquainted with the opinions of those from whom they differ1 and from such an intimacy they believe that they are right in shrinking4 ,oh1 my sisters1 my sisters1 ye who go into the foulest dens of disease and vice1 fearless of the pestilence and of man's brutality1 ye whose whole lives bear witness to the cross of ,christ and the efficacy of the ,divine love1 did one of you ever fear being corrupted by the vice with which you came in contact8 ,is there one of you who fears to examine why it is that even the most specious form of vice is vicious8 ,you fear not infection here1 for you know that you are on sure ground1 and that there is no form of vice of which the viciousness is not clearly provable2 but can you doubt that the foundation of your faith is sure also1 and can you not see that your cowardice in not daring to examine the foul and soul-destroying den of infidelity is a stumbling-block to those who have not yet known their ,saviour8 ,your fear is as the fear of children who dare not go in the dark2 but alas6 the unbeliever does not understand it thus4 ,he says that your fear is not of the darkness but of the light1 and that you dare not search lest you should find that which would make against you4 ,hideous blasphemy against the ,lord6 ,but is not the sin to be laid partly at the door of those whose cowardice has given occasion for it8 ,is there none of you who knows that as to the pure all things are pure1 so to the true and loyal heart all things will confirm its faith8 ,you shrink from this last trial of your allegiance1 partly from the pain of even seeing the wounds of your ,redeemer laid open--of even hearing the words of those enemies who have traduced him and crucified him afresh--but you lose the last and highest of the prizes1 for great as is your faith now1 be very sure that from this crowning proof of your devotion you would emerge with greater still4 ,has none of you seen a savage dog barking and tearing at the end of his chain as though he were longing to devour you1 and yet if you have gone bravely up to him and bade him be still1 he is cowed and never barks again8 ,such is the genius of infidelity2 it loves to threaten those who retreat1 yet it shrinks daunted back from those who meet it boldly2 it is the lack of boldness on the part of the ,christian which gives it all its power2 when ,christians are strong in the strength of their own cause infidels will know their impotence1 but as long as there are cowards there will be those who prey upon cowardice1 and as long as those who should defend the cross of ,christ hide themselves behind battlements1 so long will the enemy come up to the very walls of the defence and trouble them that are within4 ,the above words must have sounded harsh and will ,i fear have given pain to many a tender heart which is conscious of the depth of its own love for the ,redeemer1 and would be shocked at the thought that anything had been neglected in his service1 but has not the voice of such a heart returned answer to itself that what ,i have written is just8 ,again1 ,i have been told by some that they have been aware of the necessity of doing their best towards putting a stop to infidelity1 and that they have been unceasing in their prayers for friends or husbands or relations who know not ,christ1 but that with prayers their efforts have ended4 ,now1 there can be no one in the whole world who has had more signal proofs of the efficacy of prayer than the writer of these pages1 but he would lie if he were to say that prayer was ever answered when it was only another name for idleness1 a cloak for the avoidance of obvious duty4 ,god is no helper of the indolent and the coward2 if this were so1 what need to work at all8 ,why not sit still1 and trust in prayer for everything8 ,no2 to the women who have prayed1 and prayed only1 the answer is ready at hand1 that work without prayer is bad1 but prayer without work worse4 ,let them do their own utmost in the way of sowing1 planting1 and watering1 and then let them pray to ,god that he will vouchsafe them the increase2 but they can no more expect the increase to be of ,god's free gift without the toil of sowing than did the blessed ,apostle ,st4 ,paul4 ,if ,god did not convert the heathen for ,paul and ,apollos in answer to their prayers alone1 how can we expect that he will convert the infidel for ourselves1 unless we have first followed in the footsteps of the ,apostles8 ,the sin of infidelity will rest upon us and our children until we have done our best to shake it off2 and this not timidly and disingenuously as those who fear for the result1 but with the certainty that it is the infidel and not the ,christian who need fear investigation1 if the investigation only goes deep enough4 ,herein has lain our error1 we have feared to allow the unbeliever to put forth all his strength lest it should prove stronger than we thought it was1 when in truth the world would only have known the sooner of its weakness2 and this shall now at last be abundantly shewn1 for1 as ,i said above1 ,i will help no infidel by concealing his case2 it shall appear in full1 and as nearly in his own words as the limits at my disposal will allow4 ,out of his own mouth shall he be condemned1 and yet1 ,i trust1 not condemned alone2 but converted as ,i myself1 and by the same irresistible chain of purest reason2 one thing only is wanted on the part of the reader1 it is this1 the desire to attain truth regardless of past prejudices4 ,if an unbeliever has made up his mind that we must be wrong1 without having heard our side1 and if he presumes to neglect the most ordinary precaution against error--that of understanding the position of an opponent--,i can do nothing with him or for him4 ,no man can make another see1 if the other persists in shutting his eyes and bandaging them3 if it is a victory to be able to say that they cannot see the truth under these circumstances1 the victory is with our opponents2 but for those who can lay their hands upon their heart and say truly before ,god and man that they care nothing for the maintenance of their own opinions1 but only that they may come to know the truth1 for such ,i can do much4 ,i can put the matter before them in so clear a light that they shall never doubt hereafter4 ,never was there a time when such an exposition was wanted so much as now4 ,the specious plausibilities of a pseudo-science have led hundreds of thousands into error2 the misapplication of geology has ensnared a host of victims1 and a still greater misapplication of natural history seems likely to devour those whom the perversion of geology has spared4 ,not that ,i have a word to say against true science3 true science can never be an enemy of the ,bible1 which is the text-book of the science of the salvation of human souls as written by the great ,creator and ,redeemer of the soul itself1 but the ,enemy of ,mankind is never idle1 and no sooner does ,god vouchsafe to us any clearer illumination of his purposes and manner of working1 than the ,evil ,one sets himself to consider how he can turn the blessing into a curse2 and by the all-wise dispensation of ,providence he is allowed so much triumph as that he shall sift the wise from the foolish1 the faithful from the traitors4 ,god knoweth his own4 ,still there is no surer mark that one is among the number of those whom he hath chosen than the desire to bring all to share in the gracious promises which he has vouchsafed to those that will take advantage of them2 and there are few more certain signs of reprobation than indifference as to the existence of unbelief1 and faint-heartedness in trying to remove it4 ,it is the duty of all those who love ,christ to lead their brethren to love him also2 but how can they hope to succeed in this until they understand the grounds on which he is rejected8 ,for there are grounds1 insufficient ones1 untenable ones1 grounds which a little loving patience and1 if ,i may be allowed the word1 ingenuity1 will shew to be utterly rotten2 but as long as their rottenness is only to be asserted and not proved1 so long will deluded people build upon them in fancied security4 ,as yet the proof has never been made sufficiently clear4 ,if displayed sufficiently for one age it has been necessary to do the work again for the next4 ,as soon as the errors of one set of people have been made apparent1 another set has arisen with fresh objections1 or the old fallacies have reappeared in another shape4 ,it is not too much to say that it has never yet been so clearly proved that ,christ rose again from the dead1 that a jury of educated ,englishmen should be compelled to assent to it1 even though they had never before heard of ,christianity4 ,this therefore it is my object to do once and for ever now4 ,it is not for me to pry into the motives of the ,almighty1 nor to inquire why it is that for nearly two thousand years the perfection of proof should never have been duly produced1 but if ,i dare hazard an opinion ,i should say that such proof was never necessary until now1 but that it has lain ready to be produced at a moment's notice on the arrival of the fitting time4 ,in the early stages of the ,church the viv voce testimony of the ,apostles was still so near that its force was in no way spent2 from those times until recently the universality of belief was such that proof was hardly needed2 it is only for a hundred years or so 7which in the sight of ,god are but as yesterday7 that infidelity has made real progress4 ,then ,god raised his hand in wrath2 revolution taught men to see the nature of unbelief and the world shrank back in horror2 the time of fear passed by2 unbelief has again raised itself2 whereon we can see that other and even more fearful revolutions #hb are daily threatening4 ,what country is safe8 ,in what part of the world do not men feel an uneasy foreboding of the wrath which will surely come if they do not repent and turn unto the ,lord their ,god8 ,go where we will we are conscious of that heaviness and oppression which is the precursor of the hurricane and the earthquake2 none escape it3 an all-pervading sense of rottenness and fearful waiting upon judgment is upon the hearts of all men4 ,may it not be that this awe and silence have been ordained in order that the still small voice of the ,lord may be the more clearly heard and welcomed as salvation8 ,is it not possible that the infinite mercy of ,god is determined to give mankind one last chance1 before the day of that coming which no creature may abide8 ,i dare not answer3 yet ,i know well that the fire burneth within me1 and that night and day ,i take no rest but am consumed until the work committed to me is done1 that ,i may be clear from the blood of all men4 ,chapter ,,ii ,strauss and the ,hallucination ,theory ,,it has been well established by ,paley1 and indeed has seldom been denied1 that within a very few years of ,christ's crucifixion a large number of people believed that he had risen from the dead4 ,they believed that after having suffered actual death he rose to actual life1 as a man who could eat and drink and talk1 who could be seen and handled4 ,some who held this were near relations of ,christ1 some had known him intimately for a considerable time before his crucifixion1 many must have known him well by sight1 but all were unanimous in their assertion that they had seen him alive after he had been dead1 and in consequence of this belief they adopted a new mode of life1 abandoning in many cases every other earthly consideration save that of bearing witness to what they had known and seen4 ,i have not thought it worth while to waste time and space by introducing actual proof of the above4 ,this will be found in ,paley's opening chapters1 to which the reader is referred4 ,how then did this intensity of conviction come about8 ,differ as they might and did upon many of the questions arising out of the main fact which they taught1 as to the fact itself they differed not in the least degree4 ,in their own life-time and in that of those who could confute them their story gained the adherence of a very large and ever increasing number4 ,if it could be shewn that the belief in ,christ's reappearance did not arise until after the death of those who were said to have seen him1 when actions and teachings might have been imputed to them which were not theirs1 the case would then be different2 but this cannot be done2 there is nothing in history better established than that the men who said that they had seen ,christ alive after he had been dead1 were themselves the first to lay aside all else in order to maintain their assertion4 ,if it could be maintained that they taught what they did in order to sanction laxity of morals1 the case would again be changed4 ,but this too is impossible4 ,they taught what they did because of the intensity of their own conviction and from no other motive whatsoever4 ,what then can that thing have been which made these men so beyond all measure and one-mindedly certain8 ,were they thus before the ,crucifixion8 ,far otherwise4 ,yet the men who fled in the hour of their master's peril betrayed no signs of flinching when their own was no less imminent4 ,how came it that the cowardice and fretfulness of the ,gospels should be transformed into the lion-hearted steadfastness of the ,acts8 ,the ,crucifixion had intervened4 ,yes1 but surely something more than the ,crucifixion4 ,can we believe that if their experience of ,christ had ended with the ,cross1 the ,apostles would have been in that state of mind which should compel them to leave all else for the sake of preaching what he had taught them8 ,it is a hard thing for a man to change the scheme of his life2 yet this is not a case of one man but of many1 who became changed as if struck with an enchanter's wand1 and who1 though many1 were as one in the vehemence with which they protested that their master had reappeared to them alive4 ,their converse with ,christ did not probably last above a year or two1 and was interrupted by frequent absence4 ,if ,christ had died once and for all upon the ,cross1 ,christianity must have died with him2 but it did not die2 nay1 it did not begin to live with full energy until after its founder had been crucified4 ,we must ask again1 what could that thing have been which turned these querulous and faint-hearted followers into the most earnest and successful body of propagandists which the world has ever seen1 if it was not that which they said it was--namely1 that ,christ had reappeared to them alive after they had themselves known him to be dead8 ,this would account for the change in them1 but is there anything else that will8 ,they had such ample opportunities of knowing the truth that the supposition of mistake is fraught with the greatest difficulties2 they gave such guarantees of sincerity as that none have given greater2 their unanimity is perfect2 there is not the faintest trace of any difference of opinion amongst them as to the main fact of the ,resurrection4 ,these are things which never have been and never can be denied1 but if they do not form strong prim facie ground for believing in the truth and actuality of ,christ's ,resurrection1 what is there which will amount to a prim facie case for anything whatever8 ,nevertheless the matter does not rest here4 ,while there exists the faintest possibility of mistake we may be sure that we shall deal most wisely by examining its character and value4 ,let us inquire therefore whether there are any circumstances which seem to indicate that the early ,christians might have been mistaken1 and been firmly persuaded that they had seen ,christ alive1 although in point of fact they had not really seen him8 ,men have been very positive and very sincere about things wherein we should have conceived mistake impossible1 and yet they have been utterly mistaken4 ,a strong predisposition1 a rare coincidence1 an unwonted natural phenomenon1 a hundred other causes1 may turn sound judgments awry1 and we dare not assume forthwith that the first disciples of ,christ were superior to influences which have misled many who have had better chances of withstanding them4 ,visions and hallucinations are not uncommon even now4 ,how easily belief in a supernatural occurrence obtains among the peasantry of ,italy1 ,ireland1 ,belgium1 ,france1 and ,spain2 and how much more easily would it do so among ,jews in the days of ,christ1 when belief in supernatural interferences with this world's economy was1 so to speak1 omnipresent4 ,means of communication1 that is to say of verification1 were few1 and the tone of men's minds as regards accuracy of all kinds was utterly different from that of our own2 science existed not even in name as the thing we now mean by it2 few could read and fewer write1 so that a story could seldom be confined to its original limits2 error1 therefore1 had much chance and truth little as compared with our own times4 ,what more is needed to make us feel how possible it was for the purest and most honest of men to become parents of all fallacy8 ,strauss believes this to have been the case4 ,he supposes that the earliest ,christians were under hallucination when they thought that they had seen ,christ alive after his ,crucifixion2 in other words1 that they never saw him at all1 but only thought that they had done so4 ,he does not imagine that they conceived this idea at once1 but that it grew up gradually in the course of a few years1 and that those who came under its influence antedated it unconsciously afterwards4 ,he appears to believe that within a few months of the ,crucifixion1 and in consequence of some unexplained combination of internal and external causes1 some one of the ,apostles came to be impressed with the notion that he had seen ,christ alive2 the impression1 however made1 was exceedingly strong1 and was communicated as soon as might be to some other or others of the ,apostles3 the idea was welcome--as giving life to a hope which had been fondly cherished2 each inflamed the imagination of the other1 until the original basis of the conception slipped unconsciously from recollection1 while the intensity of the conviction itself became stronger and stronger the more often the story was repeated4 ,strauss supposes that on seeing the firm conviction of two or three who had hitherto been leaders among them1 the other ,apostles took heart1 and that thus the body grew together again perhaps within a twelve-month of the ,crucifixion4 ,according to him1 the idea of the ,resurrection having been once started1 and having once taken root1 the soil was so congenial that it grew apace2 the rest of the ,apostles1 perhaps assembled together in a high state of mental enthusiasm and excitement1 conceived that they saw ,christ enter the room in which they were sitting and afford some manifest proof of life and identity2 or some one else may have enlarged a less extraordinary story to these dimensions1 so that in a short time it passed current everywhere 7there have been instances of delusions quite as extraordinary gaining a foothold among men whose sincerity is not to be disputed71 and finally they conceived that these appearances of their master had commenced a few months--and what is a few months8--earlier than they actually had1 so that the first appearance was soon looked upon as having been vouchsafed within three days of the ,crucifixion4 ,the above is not in ,strauss's words1 but it is a careful rsum of what ,i gather to be his conception of the origin of the belief in the ,resurrection of ,christ4 ,the belief1 and the intensity of the belief1 need explanation2 the supernatural explanation1 as we should ourselves readily admit1 cannot be accepted unless all others are found wanting2 he therefore1 if ,i understand him rightly1 puts forward the above as being a reasonable and natural solution of the difficulty--the only solution which does not fail upon examination1 and therefore the one which should be accepted4 ,it is founded upon the affection which the ,apostles had borne towards their master1 and their unwillingness to give up their hope that they had been chosen1 as the favoured lieutenants of the promised ,messiah4 ,no man would be willing to give up such hope easily2 all men would readily welcome its renewal2 it was easy in the then intellectual condition of ,palestine for hallucination to originate1 and still easier for it to spread2 the story touched the hearts of men too nearly to render its propagation difficult4 ,men and women like believing in the marvellous1 for it brings the chance of good fortune nearer to their own doors2 but how much more so when they are themselves closely connected with the central figure of the marvel1 and when it appears to give a clue to the solution of that mystery which all would pry into if they could--our future after death8 ,there can be no great cause for wonder that an hallucination which arose under such conditions as these should have gained ground and conquered all opposition1 even though its origin may be traced to the brain of but a single person4 ,he would be a bold man who should say that this was impossible2 nevertheless it cannot be accepted4 ,for1 in the first place1 we collect most certainly from the ,gospel records that the ,apostles were not a compact and devoted body of adherents at the time of the ,crucifixion2 yet it is hard to see how ,strauss's hallucination theory can be accepted1 unless this was the case4 ,if ,strauss believed the earliest followers of ,christ to have been already immovably fixed in their belief that he was the ,son of ,god--the promised ,messiah1 of whom they were themselves the especially chosen ministers--if he considered that they believed in their master as the worker of innumerable miracles which they had themselves witnessed2 as one whom they had seen raise others from death to life1 and whom1 therefore1 death could not be expected to control--if he held the followers of ,christ to have been in this frame of mind at the time of the ,crucifixion1 it might be intelligible that he should suppose the strength of their faith to have engendered an imaginary reappearance in order to save them from the conclusion that their hopes had been without foundation2 that1 in point of fact1 they should have accepted a new delusion in order to prop up an old one2 but we know very well that ,strauss does not accept this position4 ,he denies that the ,apostles had seen any miracles2 independently therefore of the many and unmistakable traces of their having been but partial and wavering adherents1 which have made it a matter of common belief among those who have studied the ,new ,testament that the faith of the ,apostles was unsteadfast before the ,crucifixion1 he must have other and stronger reasons for thinking that this was so1 inasmuch as he does not look upon them as men who had seen our ,lord raise any one from the dead1 nor restore the eyes of the blind4 ,according to him1 they may have seen ,christ exercise unusual power over the insane1 and temporary alleviations of sickness1 due perhaps to mental excitement1 may have taken place in their presence and passed for miracles2 he would doubt how far they had even seen this much1 for he would insist on many passages in the ,gospels which would point in the direction of our ,lord's never having professed to work a single miracle2 but even though he granted that they had seen certain extraordinary cases of healing1 there is no amount of testimony which would for a moment satisfy him of their having seen more4 ,we see the ,apostles as men who before the ,crucifixion had seen ,lazarus raised from death to life after the corruption of the grave had begun its work1 and who had seen sight given to one that had been born sightless2 as men who had seen miracle after miracle1 with every loophole for escape from a belief in the miraculous carefully excluded2 who had seen their master walking upon the sea1 and bidding the winds be still2 our difficulty therefore is to understand the incredulity of the ,apostles as displayed abundantly in the ,gospels2 but ,strauss can have none such2 for he must see them as men over whom the influence of their master had been purely personal1 and due to nothing more than to a strength and beauty of character which his followers very imperfectly understood4 ,he does not believe that ,lazarus was raised at all1 or that the man who had been born blind ever existed2 he considers the fourth gospel1 which alone records these events1 to be the work of a later age1 and not to be depended on for facts1 save here and there2 certainly not where the facts recorded are miraculous4 ,he must therefore be even more ready than we are to admit that the faith of the ,apostles was weak before the ,crucifixion2 but whether he is or not1 we have it on the highest authority that their faith was not strong enough to maintain them at the very first approach of danger1 nor to have given them any hope whatever that our ,lord should rise again2 whereas for ,strauss's theory to hold good1 it must already have been in a white heat of enthusiasm4 ,but even granting that this was so--in the face of all the evidence we can reach--men so honest and sincere as the ,apostles proved themselves to be1 would have taken other ground than the assertion that their master had reappeared to them alive1 unless some very extraordinary occurrences had led them to believe that they had indeed seen him4 ,if their faith was glowing and intense at the time of the ,crucifixion--so intense that they believed in ,christ as much1 or nearly as much1 after the ,crucifixion as before it 7and unless this were so the hallucinations could never have arisen at all1 or at any rate could never have been so unanimously accepted7--it would have been so intense as to stand in no need of a reappearance4 ,in this case1 if they had found that their master did not return to them1 the ,apostles would probably have accepted the position that he had1 contrary to their expectation1 been put to a violent death2 they would1 perhaps1 have come sooner or later to the conclusion that he was immediately on death received into ,heaven1 and was sitting on the right hand of ,god2 while some extraordinary dream might have been construed into a revelation of the fact with the manner of its occurrence1 and been soon generally believed2 but the idea of our ,lord's return to earth in a gross material body whereon the wounds were still unhealed1 was perhaps the last thing that would have suggested itself to them by way of hallucination4 ,if their faith had been great enough1 and their spirits high enough to have allowed hallucination to originate at all1 their imagination would have presented them at once with a glorious throne1 and the splendours of the highest ,heaven as appearing through the opened firmament2 it would not surely have rested satisfied with a man whose hands and side were wounded1 and who could eat of a piece of broiled fish and of an honeycomb4 ,a fabric so utterly baseless as the reappearances of our ,lord 7on the supposition of their being unhistoric7 would have been built of gaudier materials4 ,to repeat1 it seems impossible that the ,apostles should have attempted to connect their hallucinations circumstantially and historically with the events which had immediately preceded them4 ,hallucination would have been conscious of a hiatus and not have tried to bridge it over4 ,it would not have developed the idea of our ,lord's return to this grovelling and unworthy earth prior to his assumption into glory1 unless those who were under its influence had either seen other resurrections from the dead--in which case there is no difficulty attaching to the ,resurrection of our ,lord himself--or been forced into believing it by the evidence of their own senses2 this1 on the supposition that the devotion of the first disciples was intense before the ,crucifixion2 but if1 on the other hand1 they were at that time anything but steadfast1 as both a priori and a posteriori evidence would seem to indicate1 if they were few and wavering1 and if what little faith they had was shaken to its foundations and apparently at an end for ever with the death of ,christ1 it becomes indeed difficult to see how the idea of his return to earth alive could have ever struck even a single one of them1 much less that hallucinations which could have had no origin but in the disordered brain of some one member of the ,apostolic body1 should in a short time have been accepted by all as by one man without a shadow of dissension1 and been strong enough to convert them1 as was said above1 into the most earnest and successful body of propagandists that the world has ever seen4 ,truly this is not too much to say of them2 and yet we are asked to believe that this faith1 so intensely energetic1 grew out of one which can hardly be called a faith at all1 in consequence of day-dreams whose existence presupposes a faith hardly if any less intense than that which it is supposed to have engendered4 ,are we not warranted in asserting that a movement which is confined to a few wavering followers1 and which receives any very decisive check1 which scatters and demoralises the few who have already joined it1 will be absolutely sure to die a speedy natural death unless something utterly strange and new occurs to give it a fresh impetus8 ,such a resuscitating influence would have been given to the ,christian religion by the reappearance of ,christ alive4 ,this would meet the requirements of the case1 for we can all feel that if we had already half believed in some gifted friend as a messenger from ,god1 and if we had seen that friend put to death before our eyes1 and yet found that the grave had no power over him1 but that he could burst its bonds and show himself to us again unmistakably alive1 we should from that moment yield ourselves absolutely his2 but our faith would die with him unless it had been utter before his death4 ,the devotion of the ,apostles is explained by their belief in the ,resurrection1 but their belief in the ,resurrection is not explained by a supposed hallucination2 for their minds were not in that state in which alone such a delusion could establish itself firmly1 and unless it were established firmly by the most apparently irrefragable evidence of many persons1 it would have had no living energy4 ,how an hallucination could occur in the requisite strength to the requisite number of people is neither explained nor explicable1 except upon the supposition that the ,apostles were in a very different frame of mind at the time of ,christ's ,crucifixion from that which all the evidence we can get would seem to indicate4 ,if ,strauss had first made this point clear we could follow him4 ,but he has not done so4 ,strauss says1 the conception that ,christ's body had been reawakened and changed1 8a double miracle1 exceeding far what had occurred in the case of ,enoch and ,elijah1 could only be credible to one who saw in him a prophet far superior to them0--i4e41 to one who notwithstanding his death was persuaded that he was the ,messiah3 8this conviction0 7that a double miracle had been performed7 8was the first to which the ,apostles had to attain in the days of their humiliation after the ,crucifixion40 ,yes--but how were they to attain to it1 being now utterly broken down and disillusioned8 ,strauss admits that before they could have come to hold what he supposes them to have held1 they must have seen in ,christ even after his ,crucifixion a prophet far greater than either ,moses or ,elias2 whereas in point of fact it is very doubtful whether they ever believed this much of their master even before the ,crucifixion1 and hardly questionable that after it they disbelieved in him almost entirely1 until he shewed himself to them alive4 ,is it possible that from the dead embers of so weak a faith1 so vast a conflagration should have been kindled8 ,i submit1 therefore1 that independently of any direct evidence as to the when and where of ,christ's reappearances1 the fact that the ,apostles before the ,crucifixion were irresolute1 and after it unspeakably resolute1 affords strong ground for believing that they must have seen something1 or come to know something1 which to their minds was utterly overwhelming in its convincing power3 when we find the earliest and most trustworthy records unanimously asserting that that something was the reappearance of ,christ alive1 we feel that such a reappearance was an adequate cause for the result actually produced2 and when we think over the condition of mind which both probability and evidence assign to the ,apostles1 we also feel that no other circumstance would have been adequate1 nor even this unless the proof had been such as none could reasonably escape from4 ,again1 ,strauss's supposition that the ,apostles antedated their hallucinations suggests no less difficulty4 ,suppose that1 after all1 ,strauss is right1 and that there was no actual reappearance2 whatever it was that led the ,apostles to believe in such reappearance must have been1 judging by its effect1 intense and memorable3 it must have been as a shock obliterating everything save the memory of itself and the things connected with it3 the time and manner of such a shock could never have been forgotten1 nor misplaced without deliberate intention to deceive1 and no one will impute any such intention to the ,apostles4 ,it may be said that if they were capable of believing in the reality of their visions they would be also capable of antedating them2 this is true2 but the double supposition of self-delusion1 first in seeing the visions at all1 and then in unconsciously antedating them1 reduces the ,apostles to such an exceedingly low level of intelligence and trustworthiness1 that no good and permanent work could come from such persons2 the men who could be weak enough1 and crazed enough1 if the reader will pardon the expression1 to do as ,strauss suggests1 could never have carried their work through in the way they did4 ,such men would have wrecked their undertaking a hundred times over in the perils which awaited it upon every side2 they would have become victims of their own fancies and desires1 with little or no other grounds than these for any opinions they might hold or teach3 from such a condition of mind they must have gone on to one still worse2 and their tenets would have perished with them1 if not sooner4 ,again1 as regards this antedating2 unless the visions happened at once1 it is inconceivable that they should have happened at all4 ,strauss believes that the disciples fled in their first terror to their homes3 that when there1 8outside the range to which the power of the enemies and murderers of their master extended1 the spell of terror and consternation which had been laid upon their minds gave way10 and that under the circumstances a reaction up to the point at which they might have visions of ,christ is capable of explanation4 ,the answer to this is that it is indeed likely that the spell of terror would give way when they found themselves safe at home1 but that it is not at all likely that any reaction would take place in favour of one to whom their allegiance had never been thorough1 and whom they supposed to have met with a violent and accursed end4 ,it might be easy to imagine such a reaction if we did not also attempt to imagine the circumstances that must have preceded it2 the moment we try to do this1 we find it to be an impossibility4 ,if once the ,apostles had been dispersed1 and had returned home to their former avocations without having seen or heard anything of their master's return to earth1 all their expectations would have been ended2 they would have remained peaceable fishermen for the rest of their lives1 and been cured once and for ever of their enthusiasm4 ,can we believe that the disciples1 returning to ,galilee in fear1 and bereaved of that master mind which had kept them from falling out with one another1 would have remained a united and enthusiastic body8 ,strauss admits that their enthusiasm was for the time ended4 ,is it then likely that they would have remained in any sense united1 or is it not much more likely that they would have shunned each other and disliked allusions to the past8 ,what but ,christ's actual reappearance could rekindle this dead enthusiasm1 and fan it to such a burning heat8 ,suppose that one or two disciples recovered faith and courage1 the majority would never do so4 ,if ,christ himself with the magic of his presence could not weld them into a devoted and harmonious company1 would the rumour arising at a later time that some one had seen him after death1 be acceptable enough to make the others believe that they too had actually seen and handled him8 ,perhaps--if the rumour was believed4 ,but would it have been believed8 ,or at any rate have been believed so utterly8 ,we cannot think it4 ,for the belief and assertion are absolutely without trace of dissent within the ,christian body1 and that body was in the first instance composed entirely of the very persons who had known and followed ,christ before the ,crucifixion4 ,if some of the original twelve had remained aloof and disputed the reappearances of ,christ1 is it possible that no trace of such dissension should appear in the ,epistles of ,st4 ,paul8 ,paul differed widely enough from those who were ,apostles before him1 and his language concerning them is occasionally that of ill-concealed contempt and hatred rather than of affection2 but is there a word or hint which would seem to indicate that a single one of those who had the best means of knowing doubted the ,resurrection8 ,there is nothing of the kind2 on the contrary1 whatever we find is such as to make us feel perfectly sure that none of them did doubt it4 ,is it then possible that this unanimity should have sprung from the original hallucinations of a small minority8 ,true--it is plain from the ,epistle to the ,corinthians that there were some of ,paul's contemporaries who denied the ,resurrection4 ,but who were they8 ,we should expect that many among the more educated ,gentile converts would throw doubt upon so stupendous a miracle1 but is there anything which would point in the direction of these doubts having been held within the original body of those who said that they had seen ,christ alive8 ,by the eleven1 or by the five hundred who saw him at once8 ,there is not one single syllable4 ,those who heard the story second-hand would doubtless some of them attempt to explain away its miraculous character1 but if it had been founded on hallucination it is not from these alone that the doubts would have come4 ,something is imperatively demanded in order to account for the intensity of conviction manifested by the earliest ,christians shortly after the ,crucifixion2 for until that time they were far from being firmly convinced1 and the ,crucifixion was the very last thing to have convinced them4 ,given 7to speak of our ,lord as he must probably appear to ,strauss7 an unusually gifted teacher of a noble and beautiful character3 given also1 a small body of adherents who were inclined to adopt him as their master and to regard him as the coming liberator1 but who were nevertheless far from settled in their conviction3 given such a man and such followers3 the teacher is put to a shameful death about two years after they had first known him1 and the followers forsake him instantly3 surely without his reappearing in some way upon the scene they would have concluded that their doubts had been right and their hopes without foundation3 but if he reappeared1 their faith would1 for the first time1 become intense1 all-absorbing4 ,surely also they might be trusted to know whether they had really seen their master return to them or not1 and not to sacrifice themselves in every way1 and spend their whole lives in bearing testimony to pure hallucination8 ,there is one other point on which a few words will be necessary1 before we proceed to the arguments in favour of the objective character of ,christ's ,resurrection as derivable from the conversion and testimony of ,st4 ,paul4 ,it is this4 ,strauss and those who agree with him will perhaps maintain that the ,apostles were in truth wholly devoted to ,christ before the ,crucifixion1 but that the ,evangelists have represented them as being only half-hearted1 in order to heighten the effect of their subsequent intense devotion4 ,but this looks like falling into the very error which ,rationalists condemn most loudly when it comes from so-called orthodox writers4 ,they complain1 and with too much justice1 that our apologists have made 8anything out of anything40 ,yet if the ,apostles were not unsteadfast1 and did not desert their master in his hour of peril1 and if all the accounts of ,christ's reappearances are the creations of disordered fancy1 we may as well at once declare the ,evangelists to be worthless as historians1 and had better give up all attempt at the construction of history with their assistance4 ,we cannot take whatever we wish1 and leave whatever we wish1 and alter whatever we wish4 ,if we admit that upon the whole the ,gospel writings or at any rate the first three ,gospels1 contain a considerable amount of historic matter1 we should also arrive at some general principles by which we will consistently abide in separating the historic from the unhistoric4 ,we cannot deal with them arbitrarily1 accepting whatever fits in with our fancies1 and rejecting whatever is at variance with them4 ,now can it be maintained that the ,evangelists would be so likely to overrate the half-heartedness of the ,apostles1 that we should look with suspicion upon the many and very plain indications of their having been only half-hearted8 ,certainly not4 ,if there was any likelihood of a tendency one way or the other it would be in the direction of overrating their faith4 ,would not the unbelief of the ,apostles in the face of all the recorded miracles be a most damaging thing in the eyes of the unconverted8 ,would not the ,apostles themselves1 after they were once firmly convinced1 be inclined to think that they had from the first believed more firmly than they really had done8 ,this at least would be in accordance with the natural promptings of human instinct3 we are all of us apt to be wise after the event1 and are far more prone to dwell upon things which seem to give some colour to a pretence of prescience1 than upon those which force from us a confession of our own stupidity4 ,it might seem a damaging thing that the ,apostles should have doubted as much as long as they clearly did2 would then the ,evangelists go out of their way to introduce more signs of hesitation8 ,would any one suggest that the signs of doubt and wavering had been overrated1 unless there were some theory or other to be supported1 in order to account for which this overrating was necessary8 ,would the opinion that the want of faith had been exaggerated arise prior to the formation of a theory1 or subsequently8 ,this is the fairest test2 let the reader apply it for himself4 ,on the other hand1 there are many reasons which should incline us to believe that1 before the ,resurrection1 the ,apostles were less convinced than is generally supposed1 but it would be dangerous to depart either to the right hand or to the left of that which we find actually recorded1 namely1 that in the main the ,apostles were prepared to accept ,christ before the ,crucifixion1 but that they were by no means resolute and devoted followers4 ,i submit that this is a fair rendering of the spirit of what we find in the ,gospels4 ,it is just because ,strauss has chosen to depart from it that he has found himself involved in the maze of self-contradiction through which we have been trying to follow him4 ,there is no position so absurd that it cannot be easily made to look plausible1 if the strictly scientific method of investigation is once departed from4 ,but if ,i had been in ,strauss's place1 and had wished to make out a case against ,christianity without much heed of facts1 ,i should not have done it by a theory of hallucinations4 ,a much prettier1 more novel and more sensational opening for such an attempt is afforded by an attack upon the ,crucifixion itself4 ,a very neat theory might be made1 that there may have been some disturbance at one of the ,jewish passovers1 during which some persons were crucified as an example by the ,romans3 that during this time ,christ happened to be missing2 that he reappeared1 and finally departed1 whither1 no man can say3 that the ,apostles1 after his last disappearance1 remembering that he had been absent during the tumult1 little by little worked themselves up into the belief that on his reappearance they had seen wounds upon him1 and that the details of the ,crucifixion were afterwards revealed in a vision to some favoured believer1 until in the course of a few years the narrative assumed its present shape3 that then the reappearance of ,christ was denied among the ,jews1 while the ,crucifixion as attaching disgrace to him was not disputed1 and that it thus became so generally accepted as to find its way into ,pliny and ,josephus4 ,this tissue of absurdity may serve as an example of what the unlicensed indulgence of theory might lead to2 but truly it would be found quite as easy of belief as that the early ,christian faith in the ,resurrection was due to hallucination only4 ,considering1 then1 that ,christianity was not crushed but overran the most civilised portions of the world2 that ,st4 ,paul was undoubtedly early told1 in such a manner as for him to be thoroughly convinced of the fact1 that on some few but sufficient occasions ,christ was seen alive after he had been crucified2 that the general belief in the reappearance of our ,lord was so strong that those who had the best means of judging gave up all else to preach it1 with a unanimity and singleness of purpose which is irreconcilable with hallucination2 that all our records most definitely insist upon this belief and that there is no trace of its ever having been disputed among the ,jewish ,christians1 it seems hard to see how we can escape from admitting that ,jesus ,christ was crucified1 dead1 and buried1 and yet that he was verily and indeed seen alive again by those who expected nothing less1 but who1 being once convinced1 turned the whole world after them4 ,it is now incumbent upon us to examine the testimony of ,st4 ,paul1 to which ,i would propose to devote a separate chapter4 ,chapter ,,iii ,the ,character and ,conversion of ,st4 ,paul ,,setting aside for the present the story of ,st4 ,paul's conversion as given in the ,acts of the ,apostles--for ,i am bound to admit that there are circumstances in connection with that account which throw doubt upon its historical accuracy--and looking at the broad facts only1 we are struck at once with the following obvious reflection1 namely1 that ,paul was an able man1 a cultivated man1 and a bitter opponent of ,christianity2 but that in spite of the strength of his original prejudices1 he came to see what he thought convincing reasons for going over to the camp of his enemies4 ,he went over1 and with the result we are all familiar4 ,now even supposing that the miraculous account of ,paul's conversion is entirely devoid of foundation1 or again1 as ,i believe myself1 that the story given in the ,acts is not correctly placed1 but refers to the vision alluded to by ,paul himself 7,i4 ,cor4 xv471 and to events which happened1 not coincidently with his conversion1 but some years after it--does not the importance of the conversion itself rather gain than lose in consequence8 ,a charge of unimportant inaccuracy may be thus sustained against one who wrote in a most inaccurate age2 but what is this in comparison with the testimony borne to the strength of the ,christian evidences by the supposition that of their own weight alone1 and without miraculous assistance1 they succeeded in convincing the most bitter1 and at the same time the ablest1 of their opponents8 ,this is very pregnant4 ,no man likes to abandon the side which he has once taken4 ,the spectacle of a man committing himself deeply to his original party1 changing without rhyme or reason1 and then remaining for the rest of his life the most devoted and courageous adherent of all that he had opposed1 without a single human inducement to make him do so1 is one which has never been witnessed since man was man4 ,when men who have been committed deeply and spontaneously to one cause1 leave it for another1 they do so either because facts have come to their knowledge which are new to them and which they cannot resist1 or because their temporal interests urge them1 or from caprice3 but if they change from caprice in important matters and after many pledges given1 they will change from caprice again3 they will not remain for twenty-five or thirty years without changing a jot of their capriciously formed opinions4 ,we are therefore warranted in assuming that ,st4 ,paul's conversion to ,christianity was not dictated by caprice3 it was not dictated by self-interest3 it must therefore have sprung from the weight of certain new facts which overbore all the resistance which he could make to them4 ,what then could these facts have been8 ,paul's conduct as a ,jew was logical and consistent3 he did what any seriously-minded man who had been strictly brought up would have done in his situation4 ,instead of half believing what he had been taught1 he believed it wholly4 ,christianity was cutting at the root of what was in his day accepted as fundamental3 it was therefore perfectly natural that he should set himself to attack it4 ,there is nothing against him in this beyond the fact of his having done it1 as far as we can see1 with much cruelty4 ,yet though cruel1 he was cruel from the best of motives--the stamping out of an error which was harmful to the service of ,god2 and cruelty was not then what it is now3 the age was not sensitive and the lot of all was harder4 ,from the first he proved himself to be a man of great strength of character1 and like many such1 deeply convinced of the soundness of his opinions1 and deeply impressed with the belief that nothing could be good which did not also commend itself as good to him4 ,he tested the truth of his earlier convictions not by external standards1 but by the internal standard of their own strength and purity--a fearful error which but for ,god's mercy towards him would have made him no less wicked than well-intentioned4 ,even after having been convinced by a weight of evidence which no prejudice could resist1 and after thus attaining to a higher conception of right and truth and goodness than was possible to him as a ,jew1 there remained not a few traces of the old character4 ,opposition beyond certain limits was a thing which to the end of his life he could not brook4 ,it is not too much to say that he regarded the other ,apostles--and was regarded by them--with suspicion and dislike2 even if an angel from ,heaven had preached any other doctrine than what ,paul preached1 the angel was to be accursed 7,gal4 i41 #h71 and it is not probable that he regarded his fellow ,apostles as teaching the same doctrine as himself1 or that he would have allowed them greater licence than an angel4 ,it is plain from his undoubted ,epistles to the ,corinthians and ,galatians that the other ,apostles1 no less than his converts1 exceedingly well knew that he was not a man to be trifled with4 ,if the arm of the law had been as much on his side after his conversion as before it1 it would have gone hardly with dissenters2 they would have been treated with politic tenderness the moment that they yielded1 but woe betide them if they presumed on having any very decided opinions of their own4 ,on the other hand1 his sagacity is beyond dispute2 it is certain that his perception of what the ,gentile converts could and could not bear was the main proximate cause of the spread of ,christianity4 ,he prevented it from becoming a mere ,jewish sect1 and it has been well said that but for him the ,jews would now be ,christians1 and the ,gentiles unbelievers4 ,who can doubt his tact and forbearance1 where matters not essential were concerned8 ,his strength in not yielding a fraction upon vital points was matched only by his suppleness and conciliatory bearing upon all others4 ,to use his own words1 he did indeed become 8all things to all men0 if by any means he could gain some1 and the probability is that he pushed this principle to its extreme 7see ,acts xxi41 #bj-bf74 ,now when we see a man so strong and yet so yielding--the writer moreover of letters which shew an intellect at once very vigorous and very subtle 7not to say more of them71 and when we know that there was no amount of hardship1 pain1 and indignity1 which he did not bear and count as gain in the service of ,jesus ,christ2 when we also remember that he continued thus for all the known years of his life after his conversion1 can we think that that conversion could have been the result of anything even approaching to caprice8 ,or again1 is it likely that it could have been due to contact with the hallucinations of his despised and hated enemies8 ,paul the ,christian appears to be the same sort of man in most respects as ,paul the ,jew1 yet can we imagine ,paul the ,christian as being converted from ,christianity to some other creed1 by the infection of hallucinations8 ,on the contrary1 no man would more quickly have come to the bottom of them1 and assigned them to diabolical agency4 ,what then can that thing have been1 which wrenched the strong and able man from all that had the greatest hold upon him1 and fixed him for the rest of his life as the most self-sacrificing champion of ,christianity8 ,in answer to this question we might say1 that it is of no great importance how the change was made1 inasmuch as the fact of its having been made at all is sufficiently pregnant4 ,nevertheless it will be interesting to follow ,strauss in his remarks upon the account given in the ,acts1 and ,i am bound to add that ,i think he has made out his case4 ,strange6 that he should have failed to see that the evidences in support of the ,resurrection are incalculably strengthened by his having done so4 ,how short-sighted is mere ingenuity6 ,and how weak and cowardly are they who shut their eyes to facts because they happen to come from an opponent6 ,strauss1 however1 writes as follows3--8,that we are not bound to the individual features of the account in the ,acts is shewn by comparing it with the substance of the statement twice repeated in the language of ,paul himself3 for there we find that the author's own account is not accurate1 and that he attributed no importance to a few variations more or less4 ,not only is it said on one occasion that the attendants stood dumb-foundered3 on another that they fell with ,paul to the ground2 on one occasion that they heard the voice but saw no one2 on another that they saw the light but did not hear the voice of him who spoke with ,paul3 but also the speech of ,jesus himself1 in the third repetition1 gets the well known addition about 8kicking against the pricks10 to say nothing of the fact that the appointment to the ,apostleship of the ,gentiles1 which according to the two earlier accounts was made partly by ,ananias1 partly on the occasion of a subsequent vision in the ,temple at ,jerusalem1 is in this last account incorporated in the speech of ,jesus4 ,there is no occasion to derive the three accounts of this occurrence in the ,acts from different sources1 and even in this case one must suppose that the author of the ,acts must have remarked and reconciled the discrepancies2 that he did not do so1 or rather that without following his own earlier narrative he repeated it in an arbitrary form1 proves to us how careless the ,new ,testament writers are about details of this kind1 important as they are to one who strives after strict historical accuracy4 8,but even if the author of the ,acts had gone more accurately to work1 still he was not an eye witness1 scarcely even a writer who took the history from the narrative of an eye witness4 ,even if we consider the person who in different places comprehends himself and the ,apostle ,paul under the word #8we' or #8us' to have been the composer of the whole work1 that person was not on the occasion of the occurrence before ,damascus as yet in the company of the ,apostle4 ,into this he did not enter until much later1 in the ,troad1 on the ,apostle's second missionary journey 7,acts xvi41 #aj74 ,but that hypothesis with regard to the author of the ,acts of the ,apostles is1 moreover1 as we have seen above1 erroneous4 ,he only worked up into different passages of his composition the memoranda of a temporary companion of the ,apostle about the journeys performed in his company1 and we are therefore not justified in considering the narrator to have been an eye witness in those passages and sections in which the #8we' is wanting4 ,now among these is found the very section in which appear the two accounts of his conversion which ,paul gives1 first1 to the ,jewish people in ,jerusalem1 secondly1 to ,agrippa and ,festus in ,csarea4 ,the last occasion on which the #8we' was found was xxi41 #ah1 that of the visit of ,paul to ,james1 and it does not appear again until xxvii41 #a1 when the subject is the ,apostle's embarkation for ,italy4 ,nothing therefore compels us to assume that we have in the reports of these speeches the account of any one who had been a party to the hearing of them1 and1 in them1 ,paul's own narrative of the occurrences that took place on his conversion40 ,the belief in the verbal inspiration of the ,scriptures having been long given up by all who have considered the awful consequences which it entails1 the ,bible records have been opened to modern criticism3--the result has been that their general accuracy is amply proved1 while at the same time the writers must be admitted to have fallen in with the feelings and customs of their own times1 and must accordingly be allowed to have been occasionally guilty of what would in our own age be called inaccuracies4 ,there is no dependence to be placed on the verbal1 or indeed the substantial1 accuracy of any ancient speeches1 except those which we know to have been reported verbatim1 they were 7as with the ,herodotean and ,thucydidean speeches7 in most cases the invention of the historian himself1 as being what seemed most appropriate to be said by one in the position of the speaker4 ,reporting was a rare art among the ancients1 and was confined to a few great centres of intellectual activity2 accuracy1 moreover1 was not held to be of the same importance as at the present day4 ,yet without accurate reporting a speech perishes as soon as it is uttered1 except in so far as it lives in the actions of those who hear it4 ,even a hundred years ago the invention of speeches was considered a matter of course1 as in the well-known case of ,dr4 ,johnson1 than whom none could be more conscientious1 and--according to his lights--accurate4 ,i may perhaps be pardoned for quoting the passage in full from ,boswell1 who gives it on the authority of ,mr4 ,john ,nichols2 the italics are mine4 8,he said that the ,parliamentary debates were the only part of his writings which then gave him any compunction3 but that at the time he wrote them he had no conception that he was imposing upon the world1 though they were frequently written from very slender materials1 and often from none at all--the mere coinage of his own imagination4 ,he never wrote any part of his works with equal velocity40 7,boswell's ,life of ,johnson1 chap4 lxxxii47 ,this is an extreme case1 yet there can be no question about its truth4 ,it is only one among the very many examples which could be adduced in order to shew that the appreciation of the value of accuracy is a thing of modern date only--a thing which we owe mainly to the chemical and mechanical sciences1 wherein the inestimable difference between precision and inaccuracy became most speedily apparent4 ,if the reader will pardon an apparent digression1 ,i would remark that that sort of care is wanted on behalf of ,christianity with which a cashier in a bank counts out the money that he tenders--counting it and recounting it as though he could never be sure enough before he allowed it to leave his hands4 ,this caution would have saved the wasting of many lives1 and the breaking of many hearts4 ,we1 on the other hand1 however reckless we may be ourselves1 are in the habit of assuming that any historian whom we may have occasion to consult1 and on whose testimony we would fain rely1 must have himself weighed and re-weighed his words as the cashier his money2 an error which arises from want of that sympathy which should make us bear constantly in mind what lights men had1 under what influences they wrote1 and what we should ourselves have done had we been so placed as they4 ,but if any will maintain that though the general run of ancient speeches were1 as those supposed to have been reported by ,johnson1 pure invention1 yet that it is not likely that one reporting the words of ,almighty ,god should have failed to feel the awful responsibility of his position1 we can only answer that the writer of the ,acts did most indisputably so fail1 as is shewn by the various reports of those words which he has himself given3 if he could in the innocency of his heart do this1 and at one time report the ,almighty as saying this1 and at another that1 as though1 more or less1 this or that were a matter of no moment1 what certainty can we have concerning such a man that inaccuracy shall not elsewhere be found in him8 ,none4 ,he is a warped mirror which will distort every object that it reflects4 ,it follows1 then1 that from the ,acts of the ,apostles we have no data for arriving at any conclusion as to the manner of ,paul's change of faith1 nor the circumstances connected with it4 ,to us the accounts there given should be simply non-existent2 but this is not easy1 for we have heard them too often and from too early an age to be able to escape their influence2 yet we must assuredly ignore them if we are anxious to arrive at truth4 ,we cannot let the story told in the ,acts enter into any judgement which we may form concerning ,paul's character4 ,the desire to represent him as having been converted by miracle was very natural4 ,he himself tells us that he saw visions1 and received his apostleship by revelation--not necessarily at the time of1 or immediately after1 his conversion1 but still at some period or other in his life2 it would be the most natural thing in the world for the writer of the ,acts to connect some version of one of these visions with the conversion itself3 the dramatic effect would be heightened by making the change1 while the change itself would be utterly unimportant in the eyes of such a writer2 be this however as it may1 we are only now concerned with the fact that we know nothing about ,paul's conversion from the ,acts of the ,apostles1 which should make us believe that that conversion was wrought in him by any other means1 than by such an irresistible pressure of evidence as no sane person could withstand4 ,from the ,apostle's own writings we can glean nothing about his conversion which would point in the direction of its having been sudden or miraculous4 ,it is true that in the ,epistle to the ,galatians he says1 8,after it had pleased ,god to reveal his ,son in me10 but this expression does not preclude the supposition that his conversion may have been led up to by a gradual process1 the culmination of which 7if that7 he alone regarded as miraculous4 ,thus we are forced to admit that we know nothing from any source concerning the manner and circumstances of ,st4 ,paul's change from ,judaism to ,christianity1 and we can only conclude therefore that he changed because he found the weight of the evidence to be greater than he could resist4 ,and this1 as we have seen1 is an exceedingly telling fact4 ,the probability is1 that coming much into contact with ,christians through his persecution of them1 and submitting them to the severest questioning1 he found that they were in all respects sober plainspoken men1 that their conviction was intense1 their story coherent1 and the doctrines which they had received simple and ennobling2 that these results of many inquisitions were so unvarying that he found conviction stealing gradually upon him against his will2 common honesty compelled him to inquire further2 the answers pointed invariably in one direction only2 until at length he found himself utterly unable to resist the weight of evidence which he had collected1 and resolved1 perhaps at the last suddenly1 to yield himself a convert to ,christianity4 ,strauss says that1 8in the presence of the believers in ,jesus10 the conviction that he was a false teacher--an impostor--8must have become every day more doubtful to him4 ,they considered it not only publicly honourable to be as convinced of his ,resurrection as they were of their own life--but they shewed also a state of mind1 a quiet peace1 a tranquil cheerfulness1 even under suffering1 which put to shame the restless and joyless zeal of their persecutor4 ,could he have been a false teacher who had adherents such as these8 ,could that have been a false pretence which gave such rest and security8 on the one hand1 he saw the new sect1 in spite of all persecutions1 nay1 in consequence of them1 extending their influence wider and wider round them2 on the other1 as their persecutor1 he felt that inward tranquillity growing less and less which he could observe in so many ways in the persecuted4 ,we cannot therefore be surprised if in hours of inward despondency and unhappiness he put to himself the question1 #8,who after all is right1 thou1 or the crucified ,galilean about whom these men are so enthusiastic8' ,and when he had got as far as this1 the result1 with his bodily and mental characteristics1 naturally followed in an ecstasy in which the very same ,christ whom up to this time he had so passionately persecuted1 appeared to him in all the glory of which his adherents spoke so much1 shewed him the perversity and folly of his conduct1 and called him to come over to his service40 ,the above comes simply to this1 that ,paul in his constant contact with ,christians found that they had more to say for themselves than he could answer1 and should1 one would have thought1 have suggested to ,strauss what he supposes to have occurred to ,paul1 namely1 that it was not likely that these men had made a mistake in thinking that they had seen ,christ alive after his ,crucifixion4 ,there can be no doubt about ,strauss's being right as to the ,christian intensity of conviction1 strenuousness of assertion1 and readiness to suffer for the sake of their faith in ,christ2 and these are the main points with which we are concerned4 ,we arrive therefore at the conclusion that the first ,christians were sufficiently unanimous1 coherent and undaunted to convince the foremost of their enemies4 ,they were not so before the ,crucifixion2 they could not certainly have been made so by the ,crucifixion alone2 something beyond the ,crucifixion must have occurred to give them such a moral ascendancy as should suffice to generate a revulsion of feeling in the mind of the persecuting ,saul4 ,strauss asks us to believe that this missing something is to be found in the hallucinations of two or three men whose names have not been recorded and who have left no mark of their own4 ,is there any occasion for answer8 ,it is inconceivable that he who could write the ,epistle to the ,romans should not also have been as able as any man who ever lived to question the early believers as to their converse with ,christ1 and to report faithfully the substance of what they told him4 ,that he knew the other ,apostles1 that he went up to ,jerusalem to hold conferences with them1 that he abode fifteen days with ,st4 ,peter--as he tells us1 in order 8to question him0--these things are certain4 ,the ,greek word is a very suggestive one4 ,it is so easy to make too much out of anything that ,i hardly dare to say how strongly the use of the verb suggests to me 8getting at the facts of the case10 8questioning as to how things happened10 yet such would be the most obvious meaning of the word from which our own 8history0 and 8story0 are derived4 ,fifteen days was time enough to give ,paul the means of coming to an understanding with ,peter as to what the value of ,peter's story was1 nor can we believe that ,paul should not both receive and transmit perfectly all that he was then told4 ,in fact1 without supposing these men to be so utterly visionary that nothing durable could come out of them1 there is no escape from holding that ,peter was justified in firmly believing that he had seen ,christ alive within a very few days of the ,crucifixion1 that he succeeded also in satisfying ,paul that this belief was well-founded1 and that in the account of ,christ's reappearances1 as given ,i4 ,cor4 xv41 we have a virtually verbatim report of what ,paul heard from ,peter and the other ,apostles4 ,of course the possibility remains that ,paul may have been too easily satisfied1 and not have cross-examined ,peter as closely as he might have done4 ,but then ,paul was converted before this interview2 and this implies that he had already found a general consent among the ,christians whom he had met with1 that the story which he afterwards heard from ,peter 7or one to the same effect7 was true4 ,whence then the unanimity of this belief8 ,strauss answers as before--from the hallucinations of an originally small minority4 ,we can only again reply that for the reasons already given we find it quite impossible to agree with him4 99 99 99 99 99 ,the quotation from ,strauss given in this chapter will be found pp4 #dad1 #dae1 #dbj1 of the first volume of the ,english translation1 published by ,williams and ,norgate1 #ahfe4 ,i believe that my brother intended to make a fresh translation from the original passages1 but he never carried out his intention1 and in his ,,ms4 the page of the ,english translation with the first and last words of each passage are alone given4 ,i could hardly venture to undertake the responsibility of making a fresh translation myself1 and have therefore adhered almost word for word to the published ,english translation--here and there1 however1 a trifling alteration was really irresistible on the scores alike of euphony and clearness4--,w4 ,b4 ,o4 ,chapter ,,iv ,paul's ,testimony ,considered ,,enough has perhaps been said to cause the reader to agree with the view of ,st4 ,paul's conversion taken above--that is to say1 to make him regard the conversion as mainly1 if not entirely1 due to the weight of evidence afforded by the courage and consistency of the early ,christians4 ,but1 the change in ,paul's mind being thus referred to causes which preclude all possibility of hallucination or ecstasy on his own part1 it becomes unnecessary to discuss the attempts which have been made to explain away the miraculous character of the account given in the ,acts4 ,i believe that this account is founded upon fact1 and that it is derived from some description furnished by ,st4 ,paul himself of the vision mentioned1 ,i4 ,cor4 xv41 which again is very possibly the same as that of ,,ii4 ,cor4 xii4 ,for the purposes of the present investigation1 however1 the whole story must be set aside4 ,at the same time it should be borne in mind1 that any detraction from the historical accuracy of the writer of the ,acts1 is more than compensated for1 by the additional weight given to the conversion of ,st4 ,paul1 whom we are now able to regard as having been converted by evidence which was in itself overpowering1 and which did not stand in need of any miraculous interference in order to confirm it4 ,it is important to observe that the testimony of ,paul should carry more weight with those who are bent upon close critical investigation than that even of the ,evangelists4 ,st4 ,paul is one whom we know1 and know well4 ,no syllable of suspicion has ever been breathed1 even in ,germany1 against the first four of the ,epistles which have been generally assigned to him2 friends and foes of ,christianity are alike agreed to accept them as the genuine work of the ,apostle4 ,few figures1 therefore1 in ancient history stand out more clearly revealed to us than that of ,st4 ,paul1 whereas a thick veil of darkness hangs over that of each one of the ,evangelists4 ,who ,st4 ,matthew was1 and whether the gospel that we have is an original work1 or a translation 7as would appear from ,papias1 our highest authority71 and how far it has been modified in translation1 are things which we shall never know4 ,the ,gospels of ,st4 ,mark and ,st4 ,luke are involved in even greater obscurity4 ,the authorship1 date1 and origin of the fourth ,gospel have been1 and are being1 even more hotly contested than those of the other three1 and all that can be affirmed with certainty concerning it is1 that no trace of its existence can be found before the latter half of the second century1 and that the spirit of the work itself is eminently anti-,judaistic1 whereas ,st4 ,john appears both from the ,gospels and from ,st4 ,paul's ,epistles to have been a pillar of ,judaism4 ,with ,st4 ,paul all is changed3 we not only know him better than we know nine-tenths of our own most eminent countrymen of the last century1 but we feel a confidence in him which grows greater and greater the more we study his character4 ,he combines to perfection the qualities that make a good witness--capacity and integrity3 add to this that his conclusions were forced upon him4 ,we therefore feel that1 whereas from a scientific point of view1 the ,gospel narratives can only be considered as the testimony of early and sincere writers of whom we know little or nothing1 yet that in the evidence of ,st4 ,paul we find the missing link which connects us securely with actual eye-witnesses and gives us a confidence in the general accuracy of the ,gospels which they could never of themselves alone have imparted4 ,we could indeed ill spare either the testimony of the ,evangelists or that of ,st4 ,paul1 but if we were obliged to content ourselves with one only1 we should choose the ,apostle4 ,turning then to the evidence of ,st4 ,paul as derivable from ,i4 ,cor4 xv4 we find the following3 8,moreover1 brethren1 ,i declare unto you the gospel which ,i preached unto you1 which also ye have received and wherein ye stand4 ,by which also ye are saved if ye keep in memory what ,i preached unto you1 unless ye have believed in vain4 ,for ,i delivered unto you first of all that which ,i also received1 how that ,christ died for our sins according to the ,scriptures3 and that ,he was buried1 and that ,he rose again the third day according to the ,scriptures2 and that ,he was seen of ,cephas1 then of the twelve3 after that ,he was seen of above five hundred brethren at once2 of whom the greater portion remain unto this present1 but some are fallen asleep4 ,after that ,he was seen of ,james2 then of all the ,apostles4 ,and last of all ,he was seen of me also1 as of one born out of due time40 ,in the first place we must notice ,paul's assertion that the ,gospel which he was then writing was identical with that which he had originally preached4 ,we may assume that each of the appearances of ,christ here mentioned had in ,paul's mind a definite time and place1 derived from the account which he had received and which probably led to his conversion2 the words 8that which ,i also received0 surely imply 8that which ,i also received in the first instance03 now we know from his own mouth 7,gal4 i41 #af1 #ag7 that after his conversion he 8conferred not with flesh and blood0--8neither10 he continues1 8went ,i up to ,jerusalem to them which were ,apostles before me1 but ,i went into ,arabia1 and returned again unto ,damascus3 then after three years ,i went up to ,jerusalem to see 77 ,peter1 and abode with him fifteen days1 but others of the ,apostles saw ,i none1 save ,james the ,lord's brother40 ,since1 then1 he must have heard some story concerning ,christ's reappearances before his conversion and subsequent sojourn in ,arabia1 and since he had heard nothing from eye-witnesses until the time of his going up to ,jerusalem three years later1 it is probable that the account quoted above is the substance of what he found persisted in by the ,christians whom he was persecuting at ,damascus1 and was at length compelled to believe4 ,but this is very unimportant3 it is more to the point to insist upon the fact that ,st4 ,paul must have received the account given ,i4 ,cor4 xv41 #c-h within a very few years of the ,crucifixion itself1 and that it was subsequently confirmed to him by ,peter1 and probably by ,james and ,john1 during his stay of fifteen days in ,peter's house4 ,this account can have been nothing new even then1 for it is plain that at the time of ,paul's conversion the ,christian ,church had spread far3 ,paul speaks of returning to ,damascus1 as though the writer of the ,acts was right as regards the place of his conversion2 but the fact of there having been a church in ,damascus of sufficient importance for ,paul to go thither to persecute it1 involves the lapse of considerable time since the original promulgation of our ,lord's ,resurrection1 and throws back the origin of the belief in that event to a time closely consequent upon the ,crucifixion itself4 ,now ,paul informs us that he was told 7we may assume by ,peter and ,james7 that ,christ first reappeared within three days of the ,crucifixion4 ,there is no sufficient reason for doubting this2 and one fact of weekly recurrence even to this day1 affords it striking confirmation--,i refer to the institution of ,sunday as the ,lord's day4 ,we know that the observance of this day in commemoration of the ,resurrection was a very early practice1 nor is there anything which would seem to throw doubt upon the fact of the first 8,sunday0 having been also the ,sunday of the ,resurrection4 ,another confirmation of the early date assigned to the ,resurrection by ,st4 ,paul1 is to be found in the fact that every instinct would warn the ,apostles against the third day as being dangerously early1 and as opening a door for the denial of the completeness of the death4 ,the fortieth day would far more naturally have been chosen4 ,turning now from the question of the date of the first reappearance to what is told us of the reappearances themselves1 we find that the earliest was vouchsafed to ,st4 ,peter1 which is at first sight opposed to the ,evangelistic records2 but this is a discrepancy upon which no stress should be laid2 ,st4 ,paul might well be aware that ,mary ,magdalene was the first to look upon her risen ,lord1 and yet have preferred to dwell upon the more widely known names of ,peter and his fellow ,apostles4 ,the facts are probably these1 that our ,lord first shewed ,himself to the women1 but that ,peter was the first of the ,apostolic body to see ,him2 it was natural that if our ,lord did not choose to show ,himself to the ,apostles without preparation1 ,peter should have been chosen as the one best fitted to prepare them3 ,peter probably collected the other ,apostles1 and then the ,redeemer shewed ,himself alive to all together4 ,this is what we should gather from ,st4 ,paul's narrative2 a narrative which it would seem arbitrary to set aside in the face of ,st4 ,paul's character1 opportunities and antecedent prejudices against ,christianity--in the face also of the unanimity of all the records we have1 as well as of the fact that the ,christian religion triumphed1 and of the endless difficulties attendant on the hallucination theory4 ,we conclude therefore that ,paul was satisfied by sufficient evidence that our ,lord had appeared to ,peter on the third day after the ,crucifixion1 nor can any reasonable doubt be thrown upon the other appearances of which he tells us4 ,it is true that on the occasion of his visit to ,peter he saw none other of the ,apostles save ,james--but there is nothing to lead us to suppose that there was any want of unanimity among them3 no trace of this has come down to us1 and would surely have done so if it had existed4 ,if any dependence at all is to be placed on the writers of the ,new ,testament it did not exist4 ,stronger evidence than this unanimity it would be hard to find4 ,another most noticeable feature is the fewness of the recorded appearances of ,christ4 ,they commenced according to ,paul 7and this is virtually according to ,peter and ,james7 immediately after the ,crucifixion4 ,paul mentions only five appearances3 this does not preclude the supposition that he knew of more1 nor that the women who came to the sepulchre had also seen ,him1 but it does seem to imply that the reappearances were few in number1 and that they continued only for a very short time4 ,they were sufficient for their purpose3 one of preparation to ,peter--another to the ,apostles--another to the outside world1 and then one or two more--but still not more than enough to establish the fact beyond all possibility of dispute4 ,the writer of the ,acts tells us that ,christ was seen for a space of forty days--presumably not every day1 but from time to time4 ,now forty days is a mystical period1 and one which may mean either more or less1 within a week or two1 than the precise time stated2 it seems upon the whole most reasonable to conclude that the reappearances recorded by ,paul1 and some few others not recorded1 extended over a period of one or two months after the ,crucifixion1 and that they then came to an end2 for there can be no doubt that ,st4 ,paul conceived them as having ended with the appearance to the assembled ,apostles mentioned ,i4 ,cor4 xv41 #g1 and1 though he does not say so expressly1 there is that in the context which suggests their having been confined to a short space of time4 ,it is perfectly clear that ,st4 ,paul did not believe that any one had seen ,christ in the interval between the last recorded appearance to the eleven1 and the vision granted to himself4 ,the words 8and last of all he was seen also of me as of one born out of due time0 point strongly in the direction of a lapse of some years between the second appearance to the eleven and his own vision4 ,this confirms and is confirmed by the writer of the ,acts4 ,st4 ,paul never could have used the words quoted above1 if he had held that the appearances which he records had been spread over a space of years intervening between the ,crucifixion and his own vision4 ,where would be the force of 8born out of due time0 unless the time of the previous appearances had long passed by8 ,but if1 at the time of ,st4 ,paul's conversion1 it was already many years since the last occasion upon which ,christ had been seen by his disciples1 we find ourselves driven back to a time closely consequent upon the ,crucifixion as the only possible date of the reappearances4 ,but this is in itself sufficient condemnation of ,strauss's theory3 that theory requires considerable time for the development of a perfectly unanimous and harmonious belief in the hallucinations1 while every particle of evidence which we can get points in the direction of the belief in the ,resurrection having followed very closely upon the ,crucifixion4 ,to repeat3 had the reappearances been due to hallucination only1 they would neither have been so few in number nor have come to an end so soon4 ,when once the mind has begun to run riot in hallucination1 it is prodigal of its own inventions4 ,favoured believers would have been constantly seeing ,christ even up to the time of ,paul's letter to the ,corinthians1 and the ,apostle would have written that even then ,christ was still occasionally seen of those who trusted in him1 and served him faithfully4 ,but we meet with nothing of the sort3 we are told that ,christ was seen a few times shortly after the ,crucifixion1 then after a lapse of several years 7,i am surely warranted in saying this7 ,paul himself saw ,him--but no one in the interval1 and no one afterwards4 ,this is not the manner of the hallucinations of uneducated people4 ,it is altogether too sober3 the state of mind from which alone so baseless a delusion could spring1 is one which never could have been contented with the results which were evidently all1 or nearly all1 that ,paul knew of4 ,st4 ,paul's words cannot be set aside without more cause than ,strauss has shewn3 instead of betraying a tendency towards exaggeration1 they contain nothing whatever1 with the exception of his own vision1 that is not imperatively demanded in order to account for the rise and spread of ,christianity4 ,concerning that vision ,strauss writes as follows3 8,with regard to the appearance he 7,paul7 witnessed--he uses the same word 77 as with regard to the others3 he places it in the same category with them only in the last place1 as he names himself the last of the ,apostles1 but in exactly the same rank with the others4 ,thus much1 therefore1 ,paul knew--or supposed--that the appearances which the elder disciples had seen soon after the ,resurrection of ,jesus had been of the same kind as that which had been1 only later1 vouchsafed to himself4 ,of what sort then was this80 ,i confess that ,i am wholly unable to feel the force of the above4 ,strauss says that ,paul's vision was ecstatic--subjective and not objective--that ,paul thought he saw ,christ1 although he never really saw him4 ,but1 says ,strauss1 he uses the same word for his own vision and for the appearances to the earlier ,apostles3 it is plain therefore that he did not suppose the earlier ,apostles to have seen ,christ in the same sort of way in which they saw themselves and other people1 but to have seen him as ,paul himself did1 i4e41 by supernatural revelation4 ,but would it not be more fair to say that ,paul's using the same word for all the appearances--his own vision included--implies that he considered this last to have been no less real than those vouchsafed earlier1 though he may have been perfectly well aware that it was different in kind8 ,the use of the same word for all the appearances is quite compatible with a belief in ,paul's mind that the manner in which he saw ,christ was different from that in which the ,apostles had seen him3 indeed1 so long as he believed that he had seen ,christ no less really than the others1 one cannot see why he should have used any other word for his own vision than that which he had applied to the others3 we should even expect that he would do so1 and should be surprised at his having done otherwise4 ,that ,paul did believe in the reality of his own vision is indisputable1 and his use of the word was probably dictated by a desire to assert this belief in the strongest possible way1 and to place his own vision in the same category with others1 which were so universally known among ,christians to have been material and objective1 that there was no occasion to say so4 ,nevertheless there is that in ,paul's words on which ,strauss does not dwell1 but which cannot be passed over without notice4 ,paul does not simply say1 8and last of all he was seen also of me0--but he adds the words 8as of one born out of due time40 ,it is impossible to say decisively that this addition implies that ,paul recognised a difference in kind between the appearances1 inasmuch as the words added may only refer to time--still they would explain the possible use of in a somewhat different sense1 and ,i cannot but think that they will suggest this possibility to the reader4 ,they will make him feel1 if he does not feel it without them1 how strained a proceeding it is to bind ,paul down to a rigorously identical meaning on every occasion on which the same word came from his pen1 and to maintain that because he once uses it on the occasion of an appearance which he held to be vouchsafed by revelation1 therefore1 wherever else he uses it1 he must have intended to refer to something seen by revelation3 the words 8as of one born out of due time0 imply the utterly unlooked for and transcendent nature of the favour1 and suggest1 even though they do not compel1 the inference that while the other ,apostles had seen ,christ in the common course of nature1 as a visible tangible being before their waking eyes1 he had himself seen ,him not less truly1 but still only by special and unlooked for revelation4 ,if such thoughts were in his mind he would not probably have expressed them farther than by the touching words which he has added concerning his own vision4 ,so much for the objection that the evidence of ,paul concerning the earlier appearances is impaired by his having used the same word for them1 and for the appearance to himself4 ,it only remains therefore to review in brief the general bearings of ,paul's testimony as given ,i4 ,cor4 xv41 #a-h4 ,firstly1 there is the early commencement of the reappearances3 this is incompatible with hallucination1 for the hallucination must be supposed to have occurred when most easy to refute1 and when the spell of shame and fear was laid most heavily upon the ,apostles4 ,strauss maintains that the appearances were unconsciously antedated by ,peter2 we can only say that the circumstances of the case1 as entered into more fully above1 render this very improbable2 that if ,peter told ,paul that he saw ,christ on the third day after the ,crucifixion1 he probably firmly believed that he did see ,him2 and that if he believed this1 he was also probably right in so believing4 ,secondly1 there is the fact that the reappearances were few1 and extended over a short time only4 ,had they been due to hallucination there would have been no limit either to their number or duration4 ,paul seems to have had no idea that there ever had been1 or ever would be1 successors to the five hundred brethren who saw ,christ at one time4 ,some were fallen asleep--the rest would in time follow them4 ,it is incredible that men should have so lost all count of fact1 so debauched their perception of external objects1 so steeped themselves in belief in dreams which had no foundation but in their own disordered brains1 as to have turned the whole world after them by the sheer force of their conviction of the truth of their delusions1 and yet that suddenly1 within a few weeks from the commencement of this intoxication1 they should have come to a dead stop and given no further sign of like extravagance4 ,the hallucinations must have been so baseless1 and would argue such an utter subordination of judgement to imagination1 that instead of ceasing they must infallibly have ended in riot and disorganisation2 the fact that they did cease 7which cannot be denied7 and that they were followed by no disorder1 but by a solemn sober steadfastness of purpose1 as of reasonable men in deadly earnest about a matter which had come to their knowledge1 and which they held it vital for all to know--this fact alone would be sufficient to overthrow the hallucination theory4 ,such intemperance could never have begotten such temperance3 from such a frame of mind as ,strauss assigns to the ,apostles no religion could have come which should satisfy the highest spiritual needs of the most civilised nations of the earth for nearly two thousand years4 ,when1 therefore1 we look at the want of faith of the ,apostles before the ,crucifixion1 and to their subsequent intense devotion2 at their unanimity at their general sobriety2 at the fact that they succeeded in convincing the ablest of their enemies and ultimately the whole of ,europe2 at the undeviating consent of all the records we have2 at the early date at which the reappearances commenced1--at their small number and short duration--things so foreign to the nature of hallucination2 at the excellent opportunities which ,paul had for knowing what he tells us2 at the plain manner in which he tells it1 and the more than proof which he gave of his own conviction of its truth2 at the impossibility of accounting for the rise of ,christianity without the reappearance of its ,founder after ,his ,crucifixion2 when we look at all these things we shall admit that it is impossible to avoid the belief that after having died1 ,christ did reappear to his disciples1 and that in this fact we have the only intelligible explanation of the triumph of ,christianity4 ,chapter ,v ,a ,consideration of ,certain ,ill-,judged ,methods of ,defence ,,the reader has now heard the utmost that can be said against the historic character of the ,resurrection by the ablest of its impugners4 ,i know of nothing in any of ,strauss's works which can be considered as doing better justice to his opinions than the passages which ,i have quoted and1 ,i trust1 refuted4 ,i have quoted fully1 and have kept nothing in the background4 ,if ,i had known of anything stronger against the ,resurrection from any other source1 ,i should certainly have produced it4 ,i have answered in outline only1 but ,i do not believe that ,i have passed any difficulty on one side4 ,what then does the reader think8 ,was the attack so dangerous1 or the defence so far to seek8 ,i believe he will agree with me that the combat was one of no great danger when it was once fairly entered upon4 ,but the wonder1 and1 let me add1 the disgrace1 to ,english divines1 is that the battle should have been shirked so long4 ,what is it that has made the name of ,strauss so terrible to the ears of ,english ,churchmen8 ,surely nothing but the ominous silence which has been maintained concerning him in almost all quarters of our ,church4 ,for what can he say or do against the other miracles if he be powerless against the ,resurrection8 ,he can make sentences which sound plausible1 but that is no great feat4 ,can he show that there is any a priori improbability whatever1 in the fact of miracles having been wrought by one who died and rose from the dead8 ,if a man did this it is a small thing that he should also walk upon the waves and command the winds4 ,but if there is no a priori difficulty with regard to these miracles1 there is certainly none other4 ,let this1 however1 for the present pass1 only let me beg of the reader to have patience while ,i follow out the plan which ,i have pursued up to the present point1 and proceed to examine certain difficulties of another character4 ,i propose to do so with the same unflinching examination as heretofore1 concealing nothing that has been said1 or that can be said2 going out of my way to find arguments for opponents1 if ,i do not think that they have put forward all that from their own point of view they might have done1 and careless how many difficulties ,i may bring before the reader which may never yet have occurred to him1 provided ,i feel that ,i can also shew him how little occasion there is to fear them4 ,i must1 however1 maintain two propositions1 which may perhaps be unfamiliar to some of those who have not as yet given more than a conventional and superficial attention to the ,scriptural records1 but which will meet with ready assent from all whose studies have been deeper4 ,fain would ,i avoid paining even a single reader1 but ,i am convinced that the arresting of infidelity depends mainly upon the general recognition of two broad facts4 ,the first is this--that the ,apostles1 even after they had received the gift of the ,holy ,spirit were still fallible though holy men2 the second--that there are certain passages in each of the ,gospels as we now have them1 which were not originally to be found therein1 and others which1 though genuine1 are still not historic4 ,this much of concession we must be prepared to make1 and we shall find 7as in the case of the conversion of ,st4 ,paul7 that our position is indefinitely strengthened by doing so4 ,when shall we ,christians learn that the truest ground is also the strongest8 ,we may be sure that until we have done so we shall find a host of enemies who will say that truth is not ours4 ,it is we who have created infidelity1 and who are responsible for it4 ,we are the true infidels1 for we have not sufficient faith in our own creed to believe that it will bear the removal of the incrustations of time and superstition4 ,when men see our cowardice1 what can they think but that we must know that we have cause to be afraid8 ,we drive men into unbelief in spite of themselves1 by our tenacious adherence to opinions which every unprejudiced person must see at a glance that we cannot rightfully defend1 and then we pride ourselves upon our love for ,christ and our hatred of ,his enemies4 ,if ,christ accepts this kind of love ,he is not such as ,he has declared ,himself4 ,we mistake our love of our own immediate ease for the love of ,christ1 and our hatred of every opinion which is strange to us1 for zeal against ,his enemies4 ,if those to whom the unfamiliarity of an opinion or its inconvenience to themselves is a test of its hatefulness to ,christ1 had been born ,jews1 they would have crucified ,him whom they imagine that they are now serving3 if ,turks1 they would have massacred both ,jew and ,christian2 if ,papists at the time of the ,reformation they would have persecuted ,protestants3 if ,protestants1 under ,elizabeth1 ,papists4 ,truth is to them an accident of birth and training1 and the ,christian faith is in their eyes true because these accidents1 as far as they are concerned1 have decided in its favour4 ,but such persons are not ,christians4 ,it is they who crucify ,christ1 who drive men from coming to ,him whose every instinct would lead them to love and worship ,him1 but who are warned off by observing the crowd of sycophants and time-servers who presume to call ,him ,lord4 ,but to look at the matter from another point of view2 when there is a long sustained contest between two bodies of capable and seriously disposed people1 7and none can deny that many of our adversaries have been both one and the other71 and when this contest shews no sign of healing1 but rather widens from generation to generation1 and each party accuses the other of disingenuousness1 obstinacy and other like serious defects of mind--it may be certainly assumed that the truth lies wholly with neither side1 but that each should make some concessions to the other4 ,a third party sees this at a glance1 and is amazed because neither of the disputants can perceive that his opponent must be possessed of some truths1 in spite of his trying to defend other positions which are indefensible4 ,strange6 that a thing which it seems so easy to avoid1 should so seldom be avoided6 ,homer said well3 8,perish strife1 both from among gods and men1 ,and wrath which maketh even him that is considerate1 cruel1 ,which getteth up in the heart of a man like smoke1 ,and the taste thereof is sweeter than drops of honey40 ,but strife can never cease without concessions upon both sides4 ,we agree to this readily in the abstract1 but we seldom do so when any given concession is in question4 ,we are all for concession in the general1 but for none in the particular1 as people who say that they will retrench when they are living beyond their income1 but will not consent to any proposed retrenchment4 ,thus many shake their heads and say that it is impossible to live in the present age and not be aware of many difficulties in connection with the ,christian religion2 they have studied the question more deeply than perhaps the unbeliever imagines2 and having said this much they give themselves credit for being wide-minded1 liberal and above vulgar prejudices3 but when pressed as to this or that particular difficulty1 and asked to own that such and such an objection of the infidel's needs explanation1 they will have none of it1 and will in nine cases out of ten betray by their answers that they neither know nor want to know what the infidel means1 but on the contrary that they are resolute to remain in ignorance4 ,i know this kind of liberality exceedingly well1 and have ever found it to harbour more selfishness1 idleness1 cowardice and stupidity than does open bigotry4 ,the bigot is generally better than his expressed opinions1 these people are invariably worse than theirs4 ,the above principle has been largely applied in the writings of so-called orthodox commentators1 not unfrequently even by men who might have been assumed to be above condescending to such trickery4 ,a great preface concerning candour1 with a flourish of trumpets in the praise of truth1 seems to have exhausted every atom of truth and candour from the work that follows it4 ,it will be said that ,i ought not to make use of language such as this without bringing forward examples4 ,i shall therefore adduce them4 ,one of the most serious difficulties to the unbeliever is the inextricable confusion in which the accounts of the ,resurrection have reached us3 no one can reconcile these accounts with one another1 not only in minute particulars1 but in matters on which it is of the highest importance to come to a clear understanding4 ,thus1 to omit all notice of many other discrepancies1 the accounts of ,mark1 ,luke1 and ,john concur in stating that when the women came to the tomb of ,jesus very early on the ,sunday morning1 they found it already empty3 the stone was gone when they came there1 and1 according to ,john1 there was not even an angelic vision for some time afterwards4 ,there is nothing in any of these three accounts to preclude the possibility of the stone's having been removed within an hour or two of the body's having been laid in the tomb4 ,but when we turn to ,matthew we find all changed3 we are told that the stone was gone not when the women came1 but that on their arrival there was a great earthquake1 and that an angel came down from ,heaven1 and rolled away the stone1 and sat upon it1 and that the guard who had been set over the tomb 7of whom we hear nothing from any of the other evangelists7 became as dead men while the angel addressed the women4 ,now this is not one of those cases in which the supposition can be tolerated that all would be clear if the whole facts of the case were known to us4 ,no additional facts can make it come about that the tomb should have been sealed and guarded1 and yet not sealed and guarded2 that the same women1 at the same time and place1 should have witnessed an earthquake1 and yet not witnessed one2 have found a stone already gone from a tomb1 and yet not found it gone2 have seen it rolled away1 and not seen it1 and so on2 those who say that we should find no difficulty if we knew all the facts are still careful to abstain from any example 7so far as ,i know7 of the sort of additional facts which would serve their purpose4 ,they cannot give one2 any mind which is truly candid--white--not scrawled and scribbled over till no character is decipherable--will feel at once that the only question to be raised is1 which is the more correct account of the ,resurrection--,matthew's or those given by the other three ,evangelists8 ,how far is ,matthew's account true1 and how far is it exaggerated8 ,for there must be either exaggeration or invention somewhere4 ,it is inconceivable that the other writers should have known the story told by ,matthew1 and yet not only made no allusion to it1 but introduced matter which flatly contradicts it1 and it is also inconceivable that the story should be true1 and yet that the other writers should not have known it4 ,this is how the difficulty stands--a difficulty which vanishes in a moment if it be rightly dealt with1 but which1 when treated after our unskilful ,english method1 becomes capable of doing inconceivable mischief to the ,christian religion4 ,let us see then what ,dean ,alford--a writer whose professions of candour and talk about the duty of unflinching examination leave nothing to be desired--has to say upon this point4 ,i will first quote the passage in full from ,matthew1 and then give the ,dean's note4 ,i have drawn the greater part of the comments that will follow it from an anonymous pamphlet #ada upon the ,resurrection1 dated #ahfe1 but without a publisher's name1 so that ,i presume it must have been printed for private circulation only4 ,st4 ,matthew's account runs3-- 8,now the next day1 that followed the day of the preparation1 the chief priests and ,pharisees came together unto ,pilate1 saying1 #8,sir1 we remember that that deceiver said1 while he was yet alive1 8,after three days ,i will rise again40 ,command therefore that the sepulchre be made sure until the third day1 lest his disciples come by night and steal him away and say unto the people1 8,he is risen from the dead30 so the last error shall be worse than the first4' ,pilate said unto them1 #8,ye have a watch3 go your way1 make it as sure as ye can4' ,so they went and made the sepulchre sure1 sealing the stone and setting a watch4 ,in the end of the ,sabbath1 as it began to dawn towards the first day of the week1 came ,mary ,magdalene and the other ,mary to see the sepulchre4 ,and1 behold1 there was a great earthquake3 for the angel of the ,lord descended from heaven1 and came and rolled back the stone from the door1 and sat upon it4 ,his countenance was like lightning1 and his raiment white as snow3 ,and for fear of him the keepers did shake1 and became as dead men4 ,and the angel answered and said unto the women1 #8,fear not ye3 for ,i know that ye seek ,jesus1 which was crucified4 ,he is not here3 for he is risen1 as he said4 ,come1 see the place where the ,lord lay4 ,and go quickly1 and tell his disciples that he is risen from the dead2 and1 behold1 he goeth before you into ,galilee2 there shall ye see him3 lo1 ,i have told you4' ,and they departed quickly from the sepulchre with fear and great joy2 and did run to bring his disciples word4 ,and as they went to tell his disciples1 ,jesus met them1 saying1 #8,all hail4' ,and they came and held him by the feet1 and worshipped him 7cf4 ,john xx41 #af1 #ag74 ,then said ,jesus unto them1 #8,be not afraid3 go tell my brethren that they go into ,galilee1 and there shall they see me4' ,now when they were going1 behold1 some of the watch came into the city1 and shewed unto the chief priests all the things that were done4 ,and when they were assembled with the elders1 and had taken counsel1 they gave large money unto the soldiers1 saying1 #8,say ye1 ,his disciples came by night1 and stole him away while we slept4 ,and if this come to the governor's ears1 we will persuade him and secure you4' ,so they took the money1 and did as they were taught3 and this saying is commonly reported among the ,jews until this day40 ,let us turn now to the ,dean's note on ,matt4 xxvii41 #fb-ff4 ,with regard to the setting of the watch and sealing of the stone1 he tells us that the narrative following 7i4e41 the account of the guard and the earthquake7 8has been much impugned and its historical accuracy very generally given up even by the best of the ,german commentators 7,olshausen1 ,meyer2 also ,de ,wette1 ,hase1 and others74 ,the chief difficulties found in it seem to be3 7#a7 ,how should the chief priests1 c41 know of ,his having said #8in three days ,i will rise again1' when the saying was hid even from ,his own disciples8 ,the answer to this is easy4 ,the meaning of the saying may have been1 and was hid from the disciples2 but the fact of its having been said could be no secret4 ,not to lay any stress on ,john ii41 #ai 7,jesus answered and said unto them1 #8,destroy this temple and in three days ,i will build it up'71 we have the direct prophecy of ,matt4 xii41 #dj 7#8,for as ,jonah was three days and three nights in the whale's belly1 so shall the ,son of ,man be three days and three nights in the heart of the earth73 besides this there would be a rumour current1 through the intercourse of the ,apostles with others1 that ,he had been in the habit of so saying4 7,from what source can ,dean ,alford know that our ,lord was in the habit of so saying8 ,what particle of authority is there for this alleged habit of our ,lord87 ,as to the understanding of the words we must remember that hatred is keener sighted than love3 that the raising of ,lazarus would shew what sort of a thing rising from the dead was to be2 and the fulfilment of the ,lord's announcement of his crucifixion would naturally lead them to look further to what more he had announced4 7#b7 ,how should the women who were solicitous about the removal of the stone not have been still more so about its being sealed and a guard set8 ,the answer to this last has been given above--they were not aware of the circumstance because the guard was not set till the evening before4 ,there would be no need of the application before the approach of the third day--it is only made for a watch1 7ver4 #fd71 and it is not probable that the circumstance would transpire that night--certainly it seems not to have done so4 7#c7 ,that ,gamaliel was of the council1 and if such a thing as this and its sequel 7chap4 xxviii41 #aa-ae7 had really happened1 he need not have expressed himself doubtfully 7,acts v41 #ci71 but would have been certain that this was from ,god4 ,but1 first1 it does not necessarily follow that every member of the ,sanhedrim was present1 and applied to ,pilate1 or even had they done so1 that all bore a part in the act of xxviii41 #ab0 7the bribing of the guard to silence74 8,one who like ,joseph had not consented to the deed before--and we may safely say that there were others such--would naturally withdraw himself from further proceedings against the person of ,jesus4 7#d7 ,had this been so the three other ,evangelists would not have passed over so important a testimony to the ,resurrection4 ,but surely we cannot argue in this way--for thus every important fact narrated by one ,evangelist alone must be rejected1 e4g4 7which stands in much the same relation71 the satisfaction of ,thomas--another such narrations4 ,till we know more about the circumstances under which1 and the scope with which1 each ,gospel was compiled1 all a priori arguments of this kind are good for nothing40 7,the italics in the above1 and throughout the notes quoted1 are the ,dean's1 unless it is expressly stated otherwise47 ,i will now proceed to consider this defence of ,matthew's accuracy against the objections of the ,german commentators4 ,i4 ,the ,german commentators maintain that the chief priests are not likely to have known of any prophecy of ,christ's ,resurrection when ,his own disciples had evidently heard of nothing to this effect4 ,dean ,alford's answer amounts to this3-- #a4 ,they had heard the words but did not understand their meaning2 hatred enabled the chief priests to see clearly what love did not reveal to the understanding of the ,apostles4 ,true1 according to ,matthew1 ,christ had said that as ,jonah was three days and three nights in the whale's belly1 so the ,son of ,man should be three days and three nights in the heart of the earth2 but it would be only hatred which would suggest the interpretation of so obscure a prophecy3 love would not be sufficiently keen-sighted to understand it4 ,but in the first place ,i would urge that if the ,apostles had ever heard any words capable of suggesting the idea that ,christ should rise1 after they had already seen the raising of ,lazarus1 on whom corruption had begun its work1 they must have expected the ,resurrection4 ,after having seen so stupendous a miracle1 any one would expect anything which was even suggested by the ,one who had performed it4 ,and1 secondly1 hatred is not keener sighted than love4 #b4 ,dean ,alford says that the raising of ,lazarus would shew the chief priests what sort of a thing the ,resurrection from the dead was to be1 and that the fulfilment of ,christ's prophecy concerning his ,crucifixion would naturally lead them to look further to what else he had announced4 ,but1 if the raising of ,lazarus would shew the chief priests what sort of thing the ,resurrection was to be1 it would shew the ,apostles also2 and again if the fulfilment of the prophecy of the ,crucifixion would lead the chief priests to look further to the fulfilment of the prophecy of the ,resurrection1 so would it lead the ,apostles2 this supposition of one set of men who can see everything1 and of another with precisely the same opportunities and no less interest1 who can see nothing1 is vastly convenient upon the stage1 but it is not supported by a reference to ,nature2 self-interest would have opened the eyes of the ,apostles4 ,,ii4 ,the ,german commentators ask how was it possible that the women who were solicitous about the removal of the stone1 should not be still more so about 8its being sealed and a guard set80 ,if the ,german commentators have asked their question in this shape1 they have asked it badly1 and ,dean ,alford's answer is sufficient3 they might have asked1 how the other three writers could all tell us that the stone was already gone when the women got there1 and yet ,matthew's story be true8 and how ,matthew's story could be true without the other writers having known it8 and how the other writers could have introduced matter contradictory to it1 if they had known it to be true8 ,,iii4 ,the ,german commentators say that in the ,acts of the ,apostles we find ,gamaliel expressing himself as doubtful whether or no ,christianity was of ,god1 whereas had he known the facts related by ,matthew he could have had no doubt at all4 ,he must have known that ,christianity was of ,god4 ,dean ,alford answers that perhaps ,gamaliel was not there4 ,to which ,i would rejoin that though ,gamaliel might have had no hand in the bribery1 supposing it to have taken place1 it is inconceivable that such a story should have not reached him2 the matter could never have been kept so quiet but that it must have leaked out4 ,men are not so utterly bad or so utterly foolish as ,dean ,alford seems to imply2 and whether ,gamaliel was or was not present when the guard were bribed1 he must have been equally aware of the fact before making the speech which is assigned to him in the ,acts4 ,,iv4 ,the ,german commentators argue from the silence of the other ,evangelists3 ,dean ,alford replies by denying that this silence is any argument3 but ,i would answer1 that on a matter which the other three writers must have known to have been of such intense interest1 their silence is a conclusive proof either of their ignorance or their indolence as historians4 ,dean ,alford has well substantiated the independence of the four narratives1 he has well proved that the writer of the fourth ,gospel could never have seen the other ,gospels1 and yet he supposes that that writer either did not know the facts related by ,matthew1 or thought it unnecessary to allude to them4 ,neither of these suppositions is tenable3 but there would nevertheless be a shadow of ground for ,dean ,alford to stand upon if the other ,evangelists were simply silent3 but why does he omit all notice of their introducing matter which is absolutely incompatible with ,matthew's accuracy8 ,there is one other consideration which must suggest itself to the reader in connection with this story of the guard4 ,it refers to the conduct of the chief priests and the soldiers themselves4 ,the conduct assigned to the chief priests in bribing the guard to lie against one whom they must by this time have known to be under supernatural protection1 is contrary to human nature4 ,the chief priests 7according to ,matthew7 knew that ,christ had said he should rise3 in spite of their being well aware that ,christ had raised ,lazarus from the dead but very recently they did not believe that he would rise1 but feared 7so ,matthew says7 that the ,apostles would steal the body and pretend a resurrection3 up to this point we admit that the story1 though very improbable1 is still possible3 but when we read of their bribing the guards to tell a lie under such circumstances as those which we are told had just occurred1 we say that such conduct is impossible3 men are too great cowards to be capable of it4 ,the same applies to the soldiers3 they would never dare to run counter to an agency which had nearly killed them with fright on that very selfsame morning4 ,let any man put himself in their position3 let him remember that these soldiers were previously no enemies to ,christ1 nor1 as far as we can judge1 is it likely that they were a gang of double-dyed villains3 but even if they were1 they would not have dared to act as ,matthew says they acted4 ,and now let us turn to another note of ,dean ,alford's4 ,speaking of the independence of the four narratives 7in his note on ,matt4 xxviii41 #a-aj7 and referring to their 8minor discrepancies10 the ,dean says1 8,supposing us to be acquainted with every thing said and done in its order and exactness1 we should doubtless be able to reconcile1 or account for1 the present forms of the narratives2 but not having this key to the harmonising of them1 all attempts to do so in minute particulars must be full of arbitrary assumptions1 and carry no certainty with them3 and ,i may remark that of all harmonies those of the incidents of these chapters are to me the most unsatisfactory4 ,giving their compilers all credit for the best intentions1 ,i confess they seem to me to weaken instead of strengthening the evidence1 which now rests 7speaking merely objectively7 on the unexceptionable testimony of three independent narrators1 and one who besides was an eye witness of much that happened4 ,if we are to compare the four and ask which is to be taken as most nearly reporting the exact words and incidents1 on this there can1 ,i think1 be no doubt4 ,on internal as well as external ground that of ,john takes the highest place1 but not of course to the exclusion of those parts of the narrative which he does not touch40 ,surely the above is a very extraordinary note4 ,the difficulty of the irreconcilable differences between the four narratives is not met nor attempted to be met3 the ,dean seems to consider the attempt as hopeless3 no one1 according to him1 has been as yet successful1 neither can he see any prospect of succeeding better himself3 the expedient therefore which he proposes is that the whole should be taken on trust2 that it should be assumed that no discrepancy which could not be accounted for would be found1 if the facts were known in the exact order in which they occurred4 ,in other words1 he leaves the difficulty where it was4 ,yet surely it is a very grave one4 ,the same events are recorded by three writers 7one being professedly an eye-witness1 and the others independent writers71 in a way which is virtually the same1 in spite of some unimportant variations in the manner of telling it1 while a fourth gives a totally different and irreconcilable account2 the matter stands in such confusion at present that even ,dean ,alford admits that any attempt to reconcile the differences leaves them in worse confusion than ever2 the ablest and most spiritually minded of the ,german commentators suggest a way of escape2 nevertheless1 according to the ,dean we are not to profit by it1 but shall avoid the difficulty better by a simpler process--the process of passing it over4 ,a man does well to be angry when he sees so solemn and momentous a subject treated thus4 ,what is trifling if this is not trifling8 ,what is disingenuousness if not this8 ,it involves some trouble and apparent danger to admit that the same thing has happened to the ,christian records which has happened to all others--i4e41 that they have suffered--miraculously little1 but still something--at the hands of time2 people would have to familiarise themselves with new ideas1 and this can seldom be done without a certain amount of wrangling1 disturbance1 and unsettling of comfortable ease3 it is therefore by all means and at all risks to be avoided4 ,who can doubt that some such feeling as this was in ,dean ,alford's mind when the notes above criticised were written8 ,yet what are the means taken to avoid the recognition of obvious truth8 ,they are disingenuous in the very highest degree4 ,can this prosper8 ,not if ,christ is true4 ,what is the practical result8 ,the loss of many souls who would gladly come to the ,saviour1 but who are frightened off by seeing the manner in which his case is defended4 ,and what after all is the danger that would follow upon candour8 ,none4 ,not one particle4 ,nevertheless1 danger or no danger1 we are bound to speak the truth4 ,we have nothing to do with consequences and moral tendencies and risk to this or that fundamental principle of our belief1 nor yet with the possibility of lurid lights being thrown here or there4 ,what are these things to us8 ,they are not our business or concern1 but rest with the ,being who has required of us that we should reverently1 patiently1 unostentatiously1 yet resolutely1 strive to find out what things are true and what false1 and that we should give up all1 rather than forsake our own convictions concerning the truth4 ,this is our plain and immediate duty1 in pursuance of which we proceed to set aside the account of the ,resurrection given in ,st4 ,matthew's ,gospel4 ,that account must be looked upon as the invention of some copyist1 or possibly of the translator of the original work1 at a time when men who had been eye-witnesses to the actual facts of the ,resurrection were becoming scarce1 and when it was felt that some more unmistakably miraculous account than that given in the other three ,gospels would be a comfort and encouragement to succeeding generations4 ,we1 however1 must now follow the example of 8even the best0 of the ,german commentators1 and discard it as soon as possible4 ,on having done this the whole difficulty of the confusion of the four accounts of the ,resurrection vanishes like smoke1 and we find ourselves with three independent writers whose differences are exactly those which we might expect1 considering the time and circumstances in which they wrote1 but which are still so trifling as to disturb no man's faith4 ,chapter ,,vi ,more ,disingenuousness ,here1 perhaps1 will be the fittest place for introducing a letter to my brother from a gentleman who is well known to the public1 but who does not authorise me to give his name4 ,i found this letter among my brother's papers1 endorsed with the words 8this must be attended to10 but with nothing more4 ,i imagine that my brother would have incorporated the substance of his correspondent's letter into this or the preceding chapter1 but not venturing to do so myself1 ,i have thought it best to give the letter and extract in full1 and thus to let them speak for themselves4--,w4 ,b4 ,o4 ,june #ae1 #ahfh4 ,my dear ,owen1 ,your brother has told me what you are doing1 and the general line of your argument4 ,i am sorry that you should be doing it1 for ,i need not tell you that ,i do not and cannot sympathise with the great and unexpected change in your opinions4 ,you are the last man in the world from whom ,i should have expected such a change3 but1 as you well know1 you are also the last man in the world whose sincerity in making it ,i should be inclined to question4 ,may you find peace and happiness in whatever opinions you adopt1 and let me trust also that you will never forget the lessons of toleration which you learnt as the disciple of what you will perhaps hardly pardon me for calling a freer and happier school of thought than the one to which you now believe yourself to belong4 ,your brother tells me that you are ill2 ,i need not say that ,i am sorry1 and that ,i should not trouble you with any personal matter--,i write solely in reference to the work which ,i hear that you have undertaken1 and which ,i am given to understand consists mainly in the endeavour to conquer unbelief1 by really entering into the difficulties felt by unbelievers4 ,the scheme is a good one if thoroughly carried out4 ,we imagine that we stand in no danger from any such course as this1 and should heartily welcome any book which tried to grapple with us1 even though it were to compel us to admit a great deal more than ,i at present think it likely that even you can extort from us4 ,much more should we welcome a work which made people understand us better than they do2 this would indeed confer a lasting benefit both upon them and us4 ,however1 ,i know you wish to do your work thoroughly2 ,i want1 therefore1 to make a trifling suggestion which you will take pro tanto3 it is this3--,paley1 in his third book1 professes to give 8a brief consideration of some popular objections10 and begins ,chap4 ,i4 with 8,the discrepancies between the several ,gospels40 ,now1 ,i know you have a ,paley1 but ,i know also that you are ill1 and that people who are ill like being saved from small exertions4 ,i have1 therefore1 bought a second-hand ,paley for a shilling1 and have cut out the chapter to which ,i especially want to call your attention4 ,will you kindly read it through from beginning to end8 ,is it fair8 ,is the statement of our objections anything like what we should put forward ourselves8 ,and can you believe that ,paley with his profoundly critical instinct1 and really great knowledge of the ,new ,testament1 should not have been perfectly well aware that he was misrepresenting and ignoring the objections which he professed to be removing8 ,he must have known very well that the principle of confirmation by discrepancy is one of very limited application1 and that it will not cover anything approaching to such wide divergencies as those which are presented to us in the ,gospels4 ,besides1 how can he talk about ,matthew's object as he does1 and yet omit all allusion to the wide and important differences between his account of the ,resurrection1 and those of ,mark1 ,luke1 and ,john8 ,very few know what those differences really are1 in spite of their having the ,bible always open to them4 ,i suppose that ,paley felt pretty sure that his readers would be aware of no difficulty unless he chose to put them up to it1 and wisely declined to do so4 ,very prudent1 but very 7as it seems to me7 wicked4 ,now don't do this yourself4 ,if you are going to meet us1 meet us fairly1 and let us have our say4 ,don't pretend to let us have our say while taking good care that we get no chance of saying it4 ,i know you won't4 ,however1 will you point out ,paley's unfairness in heading this part of his work 8,a brief consideration of some popular objections10 and then proceeding to give a chapter on 8the discrepancies between the several ,gospels10 without going into the details of any of those important discrepancies which can have been known to none better than himself8 ,this is the only place1 so far as ,i remember1 in his whole book1 where he even touches upon the discrepancies in the ,gospels4 ,does he do so as a man who felt that they were unimportant and could be approached with safety1 or as one who is determined to carry the reader's attention away from them1 and fix it upon something else by a coup de main8 ,this chapter alone has always convinced me that ,paley did not believe in his own book4 ,no one could have rested satisfied with it for moment1 if he felt that he was on really strong ground4 ,besides1 how insufficient for their purpose are his examples of discrepancies which do not impair the credibility of the main fact recorded6 ,how would it have been if ,lord ,clarendon and three other historians had each told us that the ,marquis of ,argyll came to life again after being beheaded1 and then set to work to contradict each other hopelessly as to the manner of his reappearance8 ,how if ,burnet1 ,woodrow1 and ,heath had given an account which was not at all incompatible with a natural explanation of the whole matter1 while ,clarendon gave a circumstantial story in flat contradiction to all the others1 and carefully excluded any but a supernatural explanation8 ,ought we to1 or should we1 allow the discrepancies to pass unchallenged8 ,not for an hour--if indeed we did not rather order the whole story out of court at once1 as too wildly improbable to deserve a hearing4 ,you will1 ,i know1 see all this1 and a great deal more1 and will point it better than ,i can4 ,let me as an old friend entreat you not to pass this over1 but to allow me to continue to think of you as ,i always have thought of you hitherto1 namely1 as the most impartial disputant in the world4--,yours1 c4 99 99 99 99 99 7,extract from ,paley's 8,evidences40--,part ,,iii41 ,chapter #a4 8,the ,discrepancies between the ,gospels407 8,i know not a more rash or unphilosophical conduct of the understanding1 than to reject the substance of a story1 by reason of some diversity in the circumstances with which it is related4 ,the usual character of human testimony is substantial truth under circumstantial variety4 ,this is what the daily experience of courts of justice teaches4 ,when accounts of a transaction come from the mouths of different witnesses1 it is seldom that it is not possible to pick out apparent or real inconsistencies between them4 ,these inconsistencies are studiously displayed by an adverse pleader1 but oftentimes with little impression upon the minds of the judges4 ,on the contrary1 close and minute agreement induces the suspicion of confederacy and fraud4 ,when written histories touch upon the same scenes of action1 the comparison almost always affords ground for a like reflection4 ,numerous and sometimes important variations present themselves2 not seldom1 also1 absolute and final contradictions2 yet neither one nor the other are deemed sufficient to shake the credibility of the main fact4 ,the embassy of the ,jews to deprecate the execution of ,claudian's order to place his statue in their temple ,philo places in harvest1 ,josephus in seed-time1 both contemporary writers4 ,no reader is led by this inconsistency to doubt whether such an embassy was sent1 or whether such an order was given4 ,our own history supplies examples of the same kind4 ,in the account of the ,marquis of ,argyll's death in the reign of ,charles ,,ii41 we have a very remarkable contradiction4 ,lord ,clarendon relates that he was condemned to be hanged1 which was performed the same day2 on the contrary1 ,burnet1 ,woodrow1 ,heath1 ,echard1 concur in stating that he was condemned upon the ,saturday1 and executed upon a ,monday4 #aeh;a ,was any reader of ,english history ever sceptic enough to raise from hence a question1 whether the ,marquis of ,argyll was executed or not8 ,yet this ought to be left in uncertainty1 according to the principles upon which the ,christian religion has sometimes been attacked4 ,dr4 ,middleton contended that the different hours of the day assigned to the ,crucifixion of ,christ by ,john and the other ,evangelists1 did not admit of the reconcilement which learned men had proposed2 and then concludes the discussion with this hard remark3 #8,we must be forced1 with several of the critics1 to leave the difficulty just as we found it1 chargeable with all the consequences of manifest inconsistency4' #aeh;b ,but what are these consequences8 ,by no means the discrediting of the history as to the principal fact1 by a repugnancy 7even supposing that repugnancy not to be resolvable into different modes of computation7 in the time of the day in which it is said to have taken place4 8,a great deal of the discrepancy observable in the ,gospels arises from omission2 from a fact or a passage of ,christ's life being noticed by one writer1 which is unnoticed by another4 ,now1 omission is at all times a very uncertain ground of objection4 ,we perceive it not only in the comparison of different writers1 but even in the same writer1 when compared with himself4 ,there are a great many particulars1 and some of them of importance1 mentioned by ,josephus in his ,antiquities1 which as we should have supposed1 ought to have been put down by him in their place in the ,jewish ,wars4 #aei;a ,suetonius1 ,tacitus1 ,dion ,cassius have all three written of the reign of ,tiberius4 ,each has mentioned many things omitted by the rest1 #aei;b yet no objection is from thence taken to the respective credit of their histories4 ,we have in our own times1 if there were not something indecorous in the comparison1 the life of an eminent person1 written by three of his friends1 in which there is very great variety in the incidents selected by them1 some apparent1 and perhaps some real1 contradictions3 yet without any impeachment of the substantial truth of their accounts1 of the authenticity of the books1 of the competent information or general fidelity of the writers4 8,but these discrepancies will be still more numerous1 when men do not write histories1 but memoirs2 which is perhaps the true name and proper description of our ,gospels2 that is1 when they do not undertake1 or ever meant to deliver1 in order of time1 a regular and complete account of all the things of importance which the person who is the subject of their history did or said2 but only1 out of many similar ones1 to give such passages1 or such actions and discourses1 as offered themselves more immediately to their attention1 came in the way of their enquiries1 occurred to their recollection1 or were suggested by their particular design at the time of writing4 8,this particular design may appear sometimes1 but not always1 nor often4 ,thus ,i think that the particular design which ,st4 ,matthew had in view whilst he was writing the history of the ,resurrection1 was to attest the faithful performance of ,christ's promise to his disciples to go before them into ,galilee2 because he alone1 except ,mark1 who seems to have taken it from him1 has recorded this promise1 and he alone has confined his narrative to that single appearance to the disciples which fulfilled it4 ,it was the preconcerted1 the great and most public manifestation of our ,lord's person4 ,it was the thing which dwelt upon ,st4 ,matthew's mind1 and he adapted his narrative to it4 ,but1 that there is nothing in ,st4 ,matthew's language which negatives other appearances1 or which imports that this his appearance to his disciples in ,galilee1 in pursuance of his promise1 was his first or only appearance1 is made pretty evident by ,st4 ,mark's ,gospel1 which uses the same terms concerning the appearance in ,galilee as ,st4 ,matthew uses1 yet itself records two other appearances prior to this3 #8,go your way1 tell his disciples and ,peter that he goeth before you into ,galilee3 there shall ye see him1 as he said unto you' 7xvi41 #g74 ,we might be apt to infer from these words1 that this was the first time they were to see him3 at least1 we might infer it with as much reason as we draw the inference from the same words in ,matthew2 yet the historian himself did not perceive that he was leading his readers to any such conclusion1 for in the twelfth and two following verses of this chapter1 he informs us of two appearances1 which1 by comparing the order of events1 are shown to have been prior to the appearance in ,galilee4 #8,he appeared in another form unto two of them1 as they walked1 and went into the country3 and they went and told it unto the residue3 neither believed they them4 ,afterward ,he appeared unto the eleven as they sat at meat1 and upbraided them with their unbelief1 because they believed not them which had seen ,him after ,he was risen4' ,probably the same observation1 concerning the particular design which guided the historian1 may be of use in comparing many other passages of the ,gospels40 99 99 99 99 99 ,my brother's work1 which has been interrupted by the letter and extract just given1 will now be continued4 ,what follows should be considered as coming immediately after the preceding chapter4--,w4 ,b4 ,o4 99 99 99 99 99 ,,but there is a much worse set of notes than those on the twenty-eighth chapter of ,st4 ,matthew1 and so important is it that we should put an end to such a style of argument1 and get into a manner which shall commend itself to sincere and able adversaries1 that ,i shall not apologise for giving them in full here4 ,they refer to the spear wound recorded in ,st4 ,john's ,gospel as having been inflicted upon the body of our ,lord4 ,the passage in ,st4 ,john's ,gospel stands thus 7,john xix41 #cb-cg7--8,then came the soldiers and brake the legs of the first and of the other which was crucified with ,him4 ,but when they came to ,jesus and saw that ,he was dead already they brake not ,his legs3 but one of the soldiers with a spear pierced ,his side1 and forthwith came there out blood and water4 ,and he that saw it bare record1 and we know that his record is true1 and he knoweth that he saith true that ye might believe4 ,for these things were done that the ,scripture should be fulfilled1 #8,a bone of ,him shall not be broken' and again another ,scripture saith1 #8,they shall look on ,him whom they pierced4'0 ,in his note upon the thirty-fourth verse ,dean ,alford writes--8,the lance must have penetrated deep1 for the object was to ensure death40 ,now what warrant is there for either of these assertions8 ,we are told that the soldiers saw that our ,lord was dead already1 and that for this reason they did not break his legs3 if there had been any doubt about ,his being dead can we believe that they would have hesitated8 ,there is ample proof of the completeness of the death in the fact that those whose business it was to assure themselves of its having taken place were so satisfied that they would be at no further trouble2 what need to kill a dead man8 ,if there had been any question as to the possibility of life remaining1 it would not have been resolved by the thrust of the spear1 but in a way which we must shudder to think of4 ,it is most painful to have had to write the foregoing lines1 but are they not called for when we see a man so well intentioned and so widely read as the late ,dean ,alford condescending to argument which must only weaken the strength of his cause in the eyes of those who have not yet been brought to know the blessings and comfort of ,christianity8 ,from the words of ,st4 ,john no one can say whether the wound was a deep one1 or why it was given--yet the ,dean continues1 8and see ,john xx41 #bg10 thereby implying that the wound must have been large enough for ,thomas to get his hand into it1 because our ,lord says1 8reach hither thine hand and thrust it into my side40 ,this is simply shocking4 ,words cannot be pressed in this way4 ,dean ,alford then says that the spear was thrust 8probably into the left side on account of the position of the soldier0 7no one can arrive at the position of the soldier1 and no one would attempt to do so1 unless actuated by a nervous anxiety to direct the spear into the heart of the ,redeemer71 8and of what followed0 7the ,dean here implies that the water must have come from the pericardium2 yet in his next note we are led to infer that he rejects this supposition1 inasmuch as the quantity of water would have been 8so small as to have scarcely been observed074 ,is this fair and manly argument1 and can it have any other effect than to increase the scepticism of those who doubt8 ,here this note ends4 ,the next begins upon the words 8blood and water40 8,the spear10 says the ,dean1 8perhaps pierced the pericardium or envelope of the heart0 7but why introduce a 8perhaps0 when there is ample proof of the death without it871 8in which case a liquid answering to the description of water may have0 7may have7 8flowed with the blood1 but the quantity would have been so small as scarcely to have been observed0 7yet in the preceding note he has led us to suppose that he thinks the water 8probably0 came from near the heart74 8,it is scarcely possible that the separation of the blood into placenta and serum should have taken place so soon1 or that if it had1 it should have been described by an observe as blood and water4 ,it is more probable that the fact here so strongly testified was a consequence of the extreme exhaustion of the body of the ,redeemer40 7,now if this is the case1 the spear-wound does not prove the death of ,him on whom it was inflicted1 and ,dean ,alford has weakened a strong case for nothing47 8,the medical opinions on the subject are very various and by no means satisfactory40 ,satisfactory6 ,what does ,dean ,alford mean by satisfactory8 ,if the evidence does not go to prove that the spear-wound must have been necessarily fatal why not have said so at once1 and have let the whole matter rest in the obscurity from which no human being can remove it4 ,the wound may have been severe or may not have been severe1 it may have been given in mere wanton mockery of the dead ,king of the ,jews1 for the indignity's sake3 or it may have been the savage thrust of an implacable foe1 who would rejoice at the mutilation of the dead body of his enemy3 none can say of what nature it was1 nor why it was given2 but the object of its having been recorded is no mystery1 for we are expressly told that it was in order to shew that prophecy was thus fulfilled3 the ,evangelist tells us so in the plainest language3 he even goes farther1 for he says that these things were done for this end 7not only that they were recorded7--so that the primary motive of the ,almighty in causing the soldier to be inspired with a desire to inflict the wound is thus graciously vouchsafed to us1 and we have no reason to harrow our feelings by supposing that a deeper thrust was given than would suffice for the fulfilment of the prophecy4 ,may we not then well rest thankful with the knowledge which the ,holy ,spirit has seen fit to impart to us1 without causing the weak brother to offend by our special pleading8 ,the reader has now seen the two first of ,dean ,alford's notes upon this subject1 and ,i trust he will feel that ,i have used no greater plainness1 and spoken with no greater severity than the case not only justifies but demands4 ,we can hardly suppose that the ,dean himself is not firmly convinced that our ,lord died upon the ,cross1 but there are millions who are not convinced1 and whose conviction should be the nearest wish of every ,christian heart4 ,how deeply1 therefore1 should we not grieve at meeting with a style of argument from the pen of one of our foremost champions1 which can have no effect but that of making the sceptic suspect that the evidences for the death of our ,lord are felt1 even by ,christians1 to be insufficient4 ,for this is what it comes to4 ,let us1 however1 go on to the note on ,john xix41 #ce1 that is to say on ,st4 ,john's emphatic assertion of the truth of what he is recording4 ,the note stands thus1 8,this emphatic assertion of the fact seems rather to regard the whole incident than the mere outflowing of the blood and water4 ,it was the object of ,john to shew that the ,lord's body was a real body and underwent real death40 7,this is not ,john's own account--supposing that ,john is the writer of the fourth ,gospel--either of his own object in recording1 or yet of the object of the wound's having been inflicted2 his words1 as we have seen above1 run thus3--8and he that saw it bare record1 and we know that his record is true2 and he knoweth that he saith true that ye might believe4 ,for these things were done that the ,scripture should be fulfilled which saith #8a bone of him shall not be broken1' and1 again1 another ,scripture saith1 #8they shall look upon' him whom they pierced4'0 ,who shall dare to say that ,st4 ,john had any other object than to show that the event which he relates had been long foreseen1 and foretold by the words of the ,almighty87 ,and both these were shewn by what took place1 not so much by the phenomenon of the water and blood0 7then here we have it admitted that so much disingenuousness has been resorted to for no advantage1 inasmuch as the fact of the water and blood having flowed is not per se proof of a necessarily fatal wound7 8as by the infliction of such a wound0 7,such a wound6 ,what can be the meaning of this8 ,what has ,dean ,alford made clear about the wound8 ,we know absolutely nothing about the severity or intention of the wound1 and it is mere baseless conjecture and assumption to say that we do2 neither do we know anything concerning its effect unless it be shewn that the issuing of the blood and water prove that death must have ensued1 and this ,dean ,alford has just virtually admitted to be not shewn71 after which1 even if death had not taken place before 7this is intolerable71 there could not by any possibility be life remaining40 7,the italics on this page are mine47 ,with this climax of presumptuous assertion these disgraceful notes are ended4 ,they have shewn clearly that the wound does not in itself prove the death3 they shew no less clearly that the ,dean does not consider that the death is proved beyond possibility of doubt without the wound2 what therefore should be the legitimate conclusion8 ,surely that we have no proof of the completeness of ,christ's death upon the ,cross--or in other words no proof of ,his having died at all6 ,couple this with the notes upon the ,resurrection considered above1 and we feel rather as though we were in the hands of some ,jesuitical unbeliever1 who was trying to undermine our faith in our most precious convictions under the guise of defending them1 than in those of one whom it is almost impossible to suspect of such any design4 ,what should we say if we had found ,newton1 ,adam ,smith or ,darwin1 arguing for their opinions thus8 ,what should we think concerning any scientific cause which we found thus defended8 ,we should exceedingly well know that it was lost4 ,and yet our leading theologians are to be applauded and set in high places for condescending to such sharp practice as would be despised even by a disreputable attorney1 as too transparently shallow to be of the smallest use to him4 ,after all that has been said either by ,dean ,alford or any one else1 we know nothing more than what we are told by the ,apostle1 namely1 that immediately before being taken down from the ,cross our ,lord's body was wounded more severely1 or less severely1 as the case may be1 with the point of a spear1 that from this wound there flowed something which to the eyes of the writer resembled blood and water1 and that the whole was done in order that a well-known prophecy might be fulfilled4 ,yet his sentences in reference to this fact being ended1 without his having added one iota to our knowledge upon the subject1 the ,dean gravely winds up by throwing a doubt upon the certainty of our ,lord's death which was not felt by a single one of those upon the spot1 and resting his clenching proof of its having taken place upon a wound1 which he has just virtually admitted to have not been necessarily fatal4 ,nothing can be more deplorable either as morality or policy4 ,yet the ,dean is justified by the event4 ,one would have thought he could have been guilty of nothing short of infatuation in hoping that the above notes would pass muster with any ordinarily intelligent person1 but he knew that he might safely trust to the force of habit and prejudice in the minds of his readers1 and his confidence has not been misplaced4 ,of all those engaged in the training of our young men for ,holy ,orders1 of all our ,bishops and clergy and tutors at colleges1 whose very profession it is to be lovers of truth and candour1 who are paid for being so1 and who are mere shams and wolves in sheep's clothing if they are not ever on the look-out for falsehood1 to make war upon it as the enemy of our souls--not one1 no1 not a single one1 so far as ,i know1 has raised his voice in protest4 ,if a man has not lost his power of weeping let him weep for this2 if there is any who realises the crime of self-deception1 as perhaps the most subtle and hideous of all forms of sin1 let him lift up his voice and proclaim it now2 for the times are not of peace1 but of a sowing of wind for the reaping of whirlwinds1 and of the calm that is the centre of the hurricane4 ,either ,christianity is the truth of truths--the one which should in this world overmaster all others in the thoughts of all men1 and compared with which all other truths are insignificant except as grouping themselves around it--or it is at the best a mistake which should be set right as soon as possible4 ,there is no middle course4 ,either ,jesus ,christ was the ,son of ,god1 or ,he was not4 ,if ,he was1 ,his great ,father forbid that we should juggle in order to prove ,him so--that we should higgle for an inch of wound more1 or an inch less1 and haggle for the root y in the ,greek word 4 ,better admit that the death of ,christ must be ever a matter of doubt1 should so great a sacrifice be demanded of us1 than go near to the handling of a lie in order to make assurance doubly sure4 ,no truthful mind can doubt that the cause of ,christ is far better served by exposing an insufficient argument than by silently passing it over1 or else that the cause of ,christ is one to be attacked and not defended4 ,chapter ,,vii ,difficulties felt by our ,opponents ,,there are some who avoid all close examination into the circumstances attendant upon the death of our ,lord1 using the plea that however excellent a quality intellect may be1 and however desirable that the facts connected with the ,crucifixion should be intelligently considered1 yet that after all it is spiritual insight which is wanted for a just appreciation of spiritual truths1 and that the way to be preserved from error is to cultivate holiness and purity of life4 ,this is well for those who are already satisfied with the evidences for their convictions4 ,we could hardly give them any better advice than simply to 8depart from evil1 do good1 seek peace and ensue it0 7,psalm xxxiv41 #ad71 if we could only make sure that their duty would never lead them into contact with those who hold the external evidences of ,christianity to be insufficient4 ,when1 however1 they meet with any of these unhappy persons they will find their influence for good paralysed2 for unbelievers do not understand what is meant by appealing to their spiritual insight as a thing which can in any way affect the evidence for or against an alleged fact in history--or at any rate as forming evidence for a fact which they believe to be in itself improbable and unsupported by external proof4 ,they have not got any spiritual insight in matters of this sort2 nor1 indeed1 do they recognise what is meant by the words at all1 unless they be interpreted as self-respect and regard for the feelings and usages of other people4 ,what spiritual insight they have1 they express by the very nearly synonymous terms1 8current feeling10 or 8common sense10 and however deep their reverence for these things may be1 they will never admit that goodness or right feeling can guide them into intuitive accuracy upon a matter of history4 ,on the contrary1 in any such case they believe that sentiment is likely to mislead1 and that the well-disciplined intellect is alone trustworthy4 ,the question is1 whether it is worth while to try and rescue those who are in this condition or not4 ,if it is worth while1 we must deal with them according to their sense of right and not ours3 in other words1 if we meet with an unbeliever we must not expect him to accept our faith unless we take much pains with him1 and are prepared to make great sacrifice of our own peace and patience4 ,yet how many shrink from this1 and think that they are doing ,god service by shrinking2 the only thing from which they should really shrink1 is the falsehood which has overlaid the best established fact in all history with so much sophistry1 that even our own side has come to fear that there must be something lurking behind which will not bear daylight2 to such a pass have we been brought by the desire to prove too much4 ,now for the comfort of those who may feel an uneasy sense of dread1 as though any close examination of the events connected with the ,crucifixion might end in suggesting a natural instead of a miraculous explanation of the ,resurrection1 for the comfort of such--and they indeed stand in need of comfort--let me say at once that the ablest of our adversaries would tell them that they need be under no such fear4 ,strauss himself admits that our ,lord died upon the ,cross2 he does not even attempt to dispute it1 but writes as though he were well aware that there was no room for any difference of opinion about the matter4 ,he has therefore been compelled to adopt the hallucination theory1 with a result which we have already considered4 ,yet who can question that ,strauss would have maintained the position that our ,lord did not die upon the ,cross1 unless he had felt that it was one in which he would not be able to secure the support even of those who were inclined to disbelieve8 ,we cannot doubt that the conviction of the reality of our ,lord's death has been forced upon him by a weight of testimony which1 like ,st4 ,paul1 he has found himself utterly unable to resist4 ,here then1 we might almost pause4 ,strauss admits that our ,lord died upon the ,cross4 ,yet can the reader help feeling that the vindication of the reality of our ,lord's reappearances1 and the refutation of ,strauss's theories with which this work opened1 was triumphant and conclusive8 ,then what follows8 ,that ,christ died and rose again6 ,the central fact of our faith is proved4 ,it is proved externally by the most solid and irrefragable proofs1 such as should appeal even to minds which reject all spiritual evidence1 and recognise no canons of investigation but those of the purest reason4 ,but anything and everything is believable concerning one whose resurrection from death to life has been established4 ,what need1 then1 to enter upon any consideration of the other miracles8 ,of the ,ascension8 ,of the descent of the ,holy ,spirit8 ,who can feel difficulty about these things8 ,would not the miracle rather be that they should not have happened6 ,may we not now let the wings of our soul expand1 and soar into the heaven of heavens1 to the footstool of the ,throne of ,grace1 secure that we have earned the right to hope and to glory by having consented to the pain of understanding8 ,we may3 and ,i have given the reader this foretaste of the prize which he may justly claim1 lest he should be swallowed up in overmuch grief at the journey which is yet before him ere he shall have done all which may justly be required of him4 ,for it is not enough that his own sense of security should be perfected4 ,this is well2 but let him also think of others4 ,what then is their main difficulty1 now that it has been shewn that the reappearances of our ,lord were not due to hallucination8 ,i propose to shew this by collecting from all the sources with which ,i was familiar in former years1 and throwing the whole together as if it were my own4 ,i shall spare no pains to make the argument tell with as much force as fairness will allow4 ,i shall be compelled to be very brief1 but the unbeliever will not1 ,i hope1 feel that anything of importance to his side has been passed over4 ,the believer1 on the other hand1 will be thankful both to know the worst and to see how shallow and impotent it will appear when it comes to be tested4 ,oh6 that this had been done at the beginning of the controversy1 instead of 7as ,i heartily trust7 at the end of it4 ,our opponents1 therefore1 may be supposed to speak somewhat after the following manner3--8,granted10 they will say1 8for the sake of argument1 that ,jesus ,christ did reappear alive after his ,crucifixion2 it does not follow that we should at once necessarily admit that his reappearance was due to miracle4 ,what was enough1 and reasonably enough1 to make the first ,christians accept the ,resurrection1 and hence the other miracles of ,christ1 is not enough and ought not to be enough to make men do so now4 ,if we were to hear now of the reappearance of a man who had been believed to be dead1 our first impulse would be to learn the when and where of the death1 and the when and where of the first reappearance4 ,what had been the nature of the death8 ,what conclusive proof was there that the death had been actual and complete8 ,what examination had been made of the body8 ,and to whom had it been delivered on the completeness of the death having been established8 ,how long had the body been in the grave--if buried8 ,what was the condition of the grave on its being first revisited8 ,it is plain to any one that at the present day we should ask the above questions with the most jealous scrutiny and that our opinion of the character of the reappearance would depend upon the answers which could be given to them4 8,but it is no less plain that the distance of the supposed event from our own time and country is no bar to the necessity for the same questions being as jealously asked concerning it1 as would be asked if it were alleged to have happened recently and nearer home4 ,on the contrary1 distance of time and space introduces an additional necessity for caution4 ,it is one thing to know that the first ,christians unanimously believed that their master had miraculously risen from death to life2 it is another to know their reasons for so thinking4 ,times have changed1 and tests of truth are infinitely better understood1 so that the reasonable of those days is reasonable to us no longer4 ,nor would it be enough that the answers given could be just strained into so much agreement with one another as to allow of a modus vivendi between them1 and not to exclude the possibility of death1 they must exclude all possibility of life having remained1 or we should not hesitate for a moment about refusing to believe that the reappearance had been miraculous3 indeed1 so long as any chink or cranny or loophole for escape from the miraculous was afforded to us1 we should unhesitatingly escape by it2 this1 at least1 is the course which would be adopted by any judge and jury of sensible men if such a case were to come before their unprejudiced minds in the common course of affairs4 8,we should not refuse to believe in a miracle even now1 if it were supported by such evidence as was considered to be conclusive by the bench of judges and by the leading scientific men of the day3 in such a case as this we should feel bound to accept it2 but we cannot believe in a miracle1 no matter how deeply it has been engrained into the creeds of the civilised world1 merely because it was believed by #8unlettered fishermen' two thousand years ago4 ,this is not a source from which such an event as a miracle should be received without the closest investigation4 ,we know1 indeed1 that the ,apostles were sincere men1 and that they firmly believed that ,jesus ,christ had risen from the dead2 their lives prove their faith2 but we cannot forget that the fact itself of ,christ's having been crucified and afterwards seen alive1 would be enough1 under the circumstances1 to incline the men of that day to believe that he had died and had been miraculously restored to life1 although we should ourselves be bound to make a far more searching inquiry before we could arrive at any such conclusion4 ,a miracle was not and could not be to them1 what it is and ought to be to ourselves--a matter to be regarded a priori with the very gravest suspicion4 ,to them it was what it is now to the lower and more ignorant classes of ,irish1 ,french1 ,spanish and ,italian peasants3 that is to say1 a thing which was always more or less likely to happen1 and which hardly demanded more than a prim facie case in order to establish its credibility4 ,if we would know what the ,apostles felt concerning a miracle1 we must ask ourselves how the more ignorant peasants of to-day feel3 if we do this we shall have to admit that a miracle might have been accepted upon very insufficient grounds1 and that1 once accepted1 it would not have had one-hundredth part so good a chance of being refuted as it would have now4 8,it should be borne in mind1 and is too often lost sight of1 that we have no account of the ,resurrection from any source whatever4 ,we have accounts of the visit of certain women to a tomb which they found empty2 but this is not an account of a resurrection4 ,we are told that ,jesus ,christ was seen alive after being thought to have been dead1 but this again is not an account of a resurrection4 ,it is a statement of a fact1 but it is not an account of the circumstances which attended that fact4 ,in the story told by ,matthew we have what comes nearest to an account of the ,resurrection1 but even here the principal figure is wanting2 the angel rolls away the stone and sits upon it1 but we hear nothing about the body of ,christ emerging from the tomb2 we only meet with this1 when we come to the ,italian painters4 8,moreover1 ,st4 ,matthew's account is utterly incredible from first to last2 we are therefore thrown back upon the other three ,evangelists1 none of whom professes to give us the smallest information as to the time and manner of ,christ's ,resurrection4 ,there is nothing in any of their accounts to preclude his having risen within two hours from his having been laid in the tomb4 8,if a man of note were condemned to death1 crucified and afterwards seen alive1 the almost instantaneous conclusion in the days of the ,apostles1 and in such minds as theirs1 would be that he had risen from the dead2 but the almost instantaneous conclusion now1 among all whose judgement would carry the smallest weight1 would be that he had never died--that there must have been some mistake4 ,children and inexperienced persons believe readily in all manner of improbabilities and impossibilities1 which when they become older and wiser they cannot conceive their having ever seriously accepted4 ,as with men1 so with ages2 an unusual train of events brings about unusual results1 whereon the childlike age turns instinctively to miracle for a solution of the difficulty4 ,in the days of ,christ men would ask for evidence of the ,crucifixion and the reappearance2 when these two points had been established they would have been satisfied--not unnaturally--that a great miracle had been performed3 but no sane man would be contented now with the evidence that was sufficient then1 any more than he would be content to accept many things which a child must take upon authority1 and authority only4 ,we ought to require the most ample evidence that not only the appearance of death1 but death itself1 must have inevitably ensued upon the ,crucifixion1 and if this were not forthcoming we should not for a moment hesitate about refusing to believe that the reappearance was miraculous4 8,and this is what would most assuredly be done now by impartial examiners--by men of scientific mind who had no wish either to believe or disbelieve except according to the evidence2 but even now1 if their affections and their hopes of a glorious kingdom in a world beyond the grave were enlisted on the side of the miracle1 it would go hard with the judgement of most men4 ,how much more would this be so1 if they had believed from earliest childhood that miracles were still occasionally worked in ,england1 and that a few generations ago they had been much more signal and common8 8,can we wonder then1 if we ourselves feel so strongly concerning events which are hull down upon the horizon of time1 that those who lived in the very thick of them should have been possessed with an all absorbing ecstasy or even frenzy of excitement8 ,assuredly there is no blame on the score of credulity to be attached to those who propagated the ,christian religion1 but the beliefs which were natural and lawful to them1 are1 if natural1 yet not lawful to ourselves3 they should be resisted3 they are neither right nor wise1 and do not form any legitimate ground for faith3 if faith means only the believing facts of history upon insufficient evidence1 we deny the merit of faith2 on the contrary1 we regard it as one of the most deplorable of all errors--as sapping the foundations of all the moral and intellectual faculties4 ,it is grossly immoral to violate one's inner sense of truth by assenting to things which1 though they may appear to be supported by much1 are still not supported by enough4 ,the man who can knowingly submit to such a derogation from the rights of his self-respect1 deserves the injury to his mental eye-sight which such a course will surely bring with it4 ,but the mischief will unfortunately not be confined to himself2 it will devolve upon all who are ill-fated enough to be in his power2 he will be reckless of the harm he works them1 provided he can keep its consequences from being immediately offensive to himself4 ,no3 if a good thing can be believed legitimately1 let us believe it and be thankful1 otherwise the goodness will have departed out of it2 it is no longer ours2 we have no right to it1 and shall suffer for it1 we and our children1 if we try to keep it4 ,it has been said that the fathers have eaten sour grapes1 and the children's teeth are set on edge1 but1 more truly1 it is the eating of sweet and stolen fruit by the fathers that sets the teeth of the children jarring4 ,let those who love their children look to this1 for on their own account they may be mainly trusted to avoid the sour4 ,hitherto the intensity of the belief of the ,apostles has been the mainstay of our own belief4 ,but that mainstay is now no longer strong enough4 ,a rehearing of the evidence is imperatively demanded1 that it may either be confirmed or overthrown40 ,it cannot be denied that there is much in the above with which all true ,christians will agree1 and little to find fault with except the self-complacency which would seem to imply that common sense and plain dealing belong exclusively to the unbelieving side4 ,it is time that this spirit should be protested against not in word only but in deed4 ,the fact is1 that both we and our opponents are agreed that nothing should be believed unless it can be proved to be true4 ,we repudiate the idea that faith means the accepting historical facts upon evidence which is insufficient to establish them4 ,we do not call this faith2 we call it credulity1 and oppose it to the utmost of our power4 ,our opponents imply that we regard as a virtue well-pleasing in the sight of ,god1 and dignify with the name of faith1 a state of mind which turns out to be nothing but a willingness to stand by all sorts of wildly improbable stories which have reached us from a remote age and country1 and which1 if true1 must lead us to think otherwise of the whole course of nature than we should think if we were left to ourselves4 ,this accusation is utterly false and groundless4 ,faith is the 8evidence of things not seen10 but it is not 8insufficient evidence for things alleged to have been seen40 ,it is 8the substance of things hoped for10 but 8reasonably hoped for0 was unquestionably intended by the ,apostle4 ,we base our faith in the deeper mysteries of our religion1 as in the nature of the ,trinity and the sacramental graces1 upon the certainty that other things which are within the grasp of our reason can be shewn to be beyond dispute4 ,we know that ,christ died and rose again2 therefore we believe whatever ,he sees fit to tell us1 and follow ,him1 or endeavour to follow ,him1 whereinsoever ,he commands us1 but we are not required to take both the commands of the ,mediator and ,his credentials upon faith4 ,it is because certain things within our comprehension are capable of the most irrefragable proof1 that certain others out of it may justly be required to be believed1 and indeed cannot be disbelieved without contumacy and presumption4 ,and this applies to a certain extent to the credentials also3 for although no man should be captious1 nor ask for more evidence than would satisfy a well-disciplined mind concerning the truth of any ordinary fact 7as one who not contented with the evidence of a seal1 a handwriting and a matter not at variance with probability1 would nevertheless refuse to act upon instructions because he had not with his own eyes actually seen the sender write and sign and seal71 yet it is both reasonable and indeed necessary that a certain amount of care should be taken before the credentials are accepted4 ,if our opponents mean no more than this we are at one with them1 and may allow them to proceed4 8,turn then10 they say1 8to the account of the events which are alleged to have happened upon the morning of the ,resurrection1 as given in the fourth ,gospel3 and assume for the sake of the argument that that account1 if not from ,john's own hand1 is nevertheless from a ,johannean source1 and virtually the work of the ,apostle4 ,the account runs as follows3 8#8,the first day of the week cometh ,mary ,magdalene while it was yet dark unto the sepulchre1 and seeth the stone taken away from the sepulchre4 ,then she runneth and cometh to ,simon ,peter and to the other disciple whom ,jesus loved1 and saith unto them1 #8,they have taken away the ,lord out of the sepulchre1 and we know not where they have laid ,him4' ,peter therefore went forth and that other disciple1 and came to the sepulchre4 ,so they both ran together3 and the other disciple did outrun ,peter1 and came first to the sepulchre4 ,and he stooping down and looking in1 saw the linen clothes lying1 yet went he not in4 ,then cometh ,simon ,peter following him and went into the sepulchre and seeth the linen clothes lie1 and the napkin that was about ,his head not lying with the linen clothes but wrapped together in a place by itself4 ,then went in also that other disciple1 which came first to the sepulchre1 and he saw and believed4 ,for as yet they knew not the ,scripture that he must rise from the dead4 ,then the disciples went away again to their own home4 ,but ,mary stood without at the sepulchre weeping2 and as she wept1 she stooped down1 and looked into the sepulchre1 and seeth two angels in white sitting1 the one at the head1 the other at the feet1 where the body of ,jesus had lain1 and they say unto her1 #8,woman1 why weepest thou8' ,she saith unto them1 #8,because they have taken away my ,lord and ,i know not where they have laid him4'0 8,then ,mary sees ,jesus himself1 but does not at first recognise him4 8,now1 let us see what the above amounts to1 and1 dividing it into two parts1 let us examine first what we are told as having come actually under ,john's own observation1 and1 secondly1 what happened afterwards4 ,i4 8,it is clear that ,mary had seen nothing miraculous before she came running to the two ,apostles1 ,peter and ,john4 ,she had found the tomb empty when she reached it4 ,she did not know where the body of her ,lord then was1 nor was there anything to shew how long it had been removed3 all she knew was that within thirty-six hours from the time of its having been laid in the tomb it had disappeared1 but how much earlier it had been gone neither did she know1 nor shall we4 ,peter and ,john went into the sepulchre and thoroughly examined it3 they saw no angel1 nor anything approaching to the miraculous1 simply the grave clothes 7which were probably of white linen71 lying in two separate places4 ,then1 and not till then1 do they appear to have entertained their first belief or hope that ,christ might have risen from the dead4 8,this is plain and credible2 but it amounts to an empty tomb1 and to an empty tomb only4 8,here1 for a moment1 we must pause4 ,had these men but a few weeks previously seen ,lazarus raised from the corruption of the grave--to say nothing of other resurrections from the dead8 ,had they seen their master override every known natural law1 and prove that1 as far as he was concerned1 all human experience was worthless1 by walking upon rough water1 by actually talking to a storm of wind and making it listen to him1 by feeding thousands with a few loaves1 and causing the fragments that remained after all had eaten1 to be more than the food originally provided8 ,had they seen events of this kind continually happening for a space of some two years1 and finally had they seen their master transfigured1 conversing with the greatest of their prophets 7men who had been dead for ages71 and recognised by a voice from heaven as the ,son of the ,almighty1 and had they also heard anything approaching to an announcement that he should himself rise from the dead--or had they not8 ,they might have seen the raising of ,lazarus and the rest of the miracles1 but might not have anticipated that ,christ himself would rise1 for want of any announcement that this should be so2 or1 again1 they might have heard a prophecy of his ,resurrection from the lips of ,christ1 but disbelieved it for the want of any previous miracles which should convince them that the prophecy came from no ordinary person2 so that their not having expected the ,resurrection is explicable by giving up either the prophecies1 or the miracles1 but it is impossible to believe that in spite both of the miracles and the prophecies1 the ,apostles should have been still without any expectation of the ,resurrection4 ,if they had both seen the miracles and heard the prophecies1 they must have been in a state of inconceivably agitated excitement in anticipation of their master's reappearance4 ,and this they were not2 on the contrary1 they were expecting nothing of the kind4 ,the condition of mind ascribed to them considering their supposed surroundings1 is one which belongs to the drama only2 it is not of nature3 it is so utterly at variance with all human experience that it should be dismissed at once as incredible4 8,but it is very credible if ,christ was seen alive after his ,crucifixion1 and his reappearance1 though due to natural causes1 was once believed to be miraculous1 that this one seemingly well substantiated miracle should become the parent of all the others1 and of the prophecies of the ,resurrection4 ,thirty years in all probability elapsed between the reappearances of ,christ and the earliest of the four ,gospels2 thirty years of oral communication and spiritual enthusiasm1 among an oriental people1 and in an unscientific age2 an age by which the idea of an interference with the modes of the universe from a point outside of itself1 was taken as a matter of course2 an age which believed in an anthropomorphic ,deity who had back parts1 which ,moses had been allowed to see through the hand of ,god2 an age which1 over and above all this1 was at the time especially convulsed with expectations of deliverance from the ,roman yoke4 ,have we not here a soil suitable for the growth of miracles1 if the seed once fell upon it8 ,under such conditions they would even spring up of themselves1 seedless4 8,once let the reappearances of ,christ have been believed to be miraculous 7and under all the circumstances they might easily have been believed to be so1 though due to natural causes71 and it is not wonderful that1 in such an age and among such a people1 the other miracles and the prophecies of the ,resurrection should have become current within thirty years4 ,even we ourselves1 with all our incalculably greater advantages1 could not withstand so great a temptation to let our wish become father to our thoughts4 ,if we had been the especially favoured friends of one whom we believed to have died1 but who yet was not to beholden by death1 no matter how careful and judicially minded we might be by nature1 we should be blind to everything except the fact that we had once been the chosen companions of an immortal4 ,there lives no one who could withstand the intoxication of such an idea4 ,a single well-substantiated miracle in the present day1 even though we had not seen it ourselves1 would uproot the hedges of our caution2 it would rob us of that sense of the continuity of nature1 in which our judgements are1 consciously or unconsciously1 anchored2 but if we were very closely connected with it in our own persons1 we should dwell upon the recollection of it and on little else4 8,few of us can realise what happened so very long ago4 ,men believe in the ,christian miracles1 though they would reject the notion of a modern miracle almost with ridicule1 and would hardly even examine the evidence in its favour4 ,but the ,christian miracles stand in their minds as things apart2 their prestige is greater than that attaching to any other events in the whole history of mankind4 ,they are hallowed by the unhesitating belief of many1 many generations4 ,every circumstance which should induce us to bow to their authority surrounds them with a bulwark of defences which may make us well believe that they must be impregnable1 and sacred from attack4 ,small wonder then that the many should still believe them4 ,nevertheless they do not believe them so fully1 nor nearly so fully1 as they think they do4 ,for even the strongest imagination can travel but a very little way beyond a man's own experience2 it will not bear the burden of carrying him to a remote age and country2 it will flag1 wander and dream2 it will not answer truly1 but will lay hold of the most obvious absurdity1 and present it impudently to its tired master1 who will accept it gladly and have done with it4 ,even recollection fails1 but how much more imagination6 ,it is a high flight of imagination to be able to realise how weak imagination is4 8,we cannot therefore judge what would be the effect of immediate contact even with the wild hope of a miracle1 from our conventional acceptance of the ,christian miracles4 ,if we would realise this we must look to modern alleged miracles--to the enthusiasm of the ,irish and ,american revivals1 when mind inflames mind till strong men burst into hysterical tears like children2 we must look for it in the effect produced by the supposed ,irvingite miracles on those who believed in them1 or in the miracles that followed the ,port ,royal miracle of the holy thorn4 ,there never was a miracle solitary yet3 one will soon become the parent of many4 ,the minds of those who have believed in a single miracle as having come within their own experience become ecstatic2 so deeply impressed are they with the momentous character of what they have known1 that their power of enlisting sympathy becomes immeasurably greater than that of men who have never believed themselves to have come into contact with the miraculous2 their deep conviction carries others along with it1 and so the belief is strengthened till adverse influences check it1 or till it reaches a pitch of grotesque horror1 as in the case of the later ,jansenist miracles4 ,there is nothing1 therefore1 extraordinary in the gradual development within thirty years of all the ,christian miracles1 if the ,resurrection were once held to be well substantiated2 and there is nothing wonderful1 under the circumstances1 in the reappearance of ,christ alive after his ,crucifixion having been assigned to miracle4 ,he had already made sufficient impression upon his followers to require but little help from circumstances4 ,he had not so impressed them as to want no help from any supposed miracle1 but nevertheless any strange event in connection with him would pass muster1 with little or no examination1 as being miraculous4 ,he had undoubtedly professed himself to be1 and had been half accepted as1 the promised ,messiah4 ,he had no less undoubtedly appeared to be dead1 and had been believed to be so both by friends and foes4 ,let us also grant that he reappeared alive4 ,would it1 then1 be very astonishing that the little missing link in the completeness of the chain of evidence--absolute certainty concerning the actuality of the death--should have been allowed to drop out of sight8 8,round such a centre1 and in such an age1 the other miracles would spring up spontaneously1 and be accepted the moment that they arose2 there is nothing in this which is foreign to the known tendencies of the human mind1 but there would be something utterly foreign to all we know of human nature1 in the fact of men not anticipating that ,christ would rise1 if they had already seen him raise others from the dead and work the miracles ascribed to him1 and if they had also heard him prophesy that he should himself rise from the dead4 ,in fact nothing can explain the universally recorded incredulity of the ,apostles as to the reappearance of ,christ1 except the fact that they had never seen him work a single miracle1 or else that they had never heard him say anything which could lead them to suppose that he was to rise from the dead4 8,we are therefore not unwilling to accept the facts recorded in the fourth ,gospel1 in so far as they inform us of things which came under the knowledge of the writer4 ,mary found the tomb empty4 ,ignorant alike of what had taken place and of what was going to happen1 she came to ,peter and ,john to tell them that the body was gone2 this was all she knew4 ,the two go to the tomb1 and find all as ,mary had said2 on this it is not impossible that a wild dream of hope may have flashed upon their minds1 that the aspirations which they had already indulged in were to prove well founded4 ,within an hour or two ,christ was seen alive1 nor can we wonder if the years which intervened between the morning of the ,resurrection and the writing of the fourth ,gospel1 should have sufficed to make the writer believe that ,john had had an actual belief in the ,resurrection1 while in truth he had only wildly hoped it4 ,this much is at any rate plain1 that neither he nor ,peter had as yet heard any clearly intelligible prophecy that their master should rise from the dead4 ,whatever subsequent interpretation may have been given to some of the sayings of ,jesus ,christ1 no saying was yet known which would of itself have suggested any such inference4 ,we may justly doubt the caution and accuracy of the first founders of ,christianity1 without1 even in our hearts1 for one moment impugning the honesty of their intentions4 ,we are ready to admit that had we been in their places we should in all likelihood have felt1 believed1 and1 we will hope1 acted as they did2 but we cannot and will not admit1 in the face of so much evidence to the contrary1 that they were superior to the intelligence of their times1 or1 in other words1 that they were capable critics of an event1 in which both their feelings and the prim facie view of the facts would be so likely to mislead them4 ,,ii4 8,turning now to the narrative of what passed when ,peter and ,john were gone1 we find that ,mary1 stooping down1 looked through her tears into the darkness of the tomb1 and saw two angels clothed in white1 who asked her why she wept4 ,we must remember the wide difference between believing what the writer of the fourth ,gospel tells us that ,john saw1 and what he tells us that ,mary ,magdalene saw4 ,all we know on this point is that he believed that ,mary had spoken truly4 ,peter and ,john were men1 they went into the tomb itself1 and we may say for a certainty that they saw no angel1 nor indeed anything at all1 but the grave clothes 7which were probably of white linen71 lying in two separate places within it4 ,mary was a woman--a woman whose parallel we must look for among ,spanish or ,italian women of the lower orders at the present day2 she had1 we are elsewhere told1 been at one time possessed with devils2 she was in a state of tearful excitement1 and looking through her tears from light into comparative darkness4 ,is it possible not to remember what ,peter and ,john did see when they were in the tomb8 ,is it possible not to surmise that ,mary in good truth saw nothing more8 ,she thought she saw more1 but the excitement under which she was labouring at the time1 an excitement which would increase tenfold after she had seen ,christ 7as she did immediately afterwards and before she had had time to tell her story71 would easily distort either her vision or her memory1 or both4 8,the evidence of women of her class--especially when they are highly excited--is not to be relied upon in a matter of such importance and difficulty as a miracle4 ,who would dare to insist upon such evidence now8 ,and why should it be considered as any more trustworthy eighteen hundred years ago8 ,we are indeed told that the angels spoke to her2 but the speech was very short2 the angels simply ask her why she weeps2 she answers them as though it were the common question of common people1 and then leaves them4 ,this is in itself incredible2 but it is not incredible that if ,mary looking into the tomb saw two white objects within1 she should have drawn back affrighted1 and that her imagination1 thrown into a fever by her subsequent interview with ,christ1 should have rendered her utterly incapable of recollecting the true facts of the case2 or1 again1 it is not incredible that she should have been believed to have seen things which she never did see4 ,all we can say for certain is that before the fourth ,gospel was written1 and probably shortly after the first reappearance of ,christ1 ,mary ,magdalene believed1 or was thought to have believed1 that she had seen angels in the tomb2 and this being so1 the development of the short and pointless question attributed to them--possibly as much due to the eager cross-questioning of others as to ,mary herself--is not surprising4 8,before the ,sunday of the ,resurrection was over1 the facts as derivable from the fourth ,gospel would stand thus4 ,jesus ,christ1 who was supposed to have been verily and indeed dead1 was known to be alive again4 ,he had been seen1 and heard to speak4 ,he had been seen by those who were already prepared to accept him as their leader1 and whose previous education1 and tone of mind1 would lead them rather to an excess of faith in a miracle1 than of scepticism concerning its miraculous character4 ,the ,apostles would be in no impartial nor sceptical mood when they saw that ,christ was alive4 ,the miracle was too near themselves--too fascinating in its supposed consequences for themselves--to allow of their going into curious questions about the completeness of the death4 ,the ,master whom they had loved1 and in whom they had hoped1 had been crucified and was alive again4 ,is it a harsh or strained supposition1 that what would have assuredly been enough for ourselves1 if we had known and loved ,christ and had been attuned in mind as the ,apostles were1 should also have been enough for them8 ,who can say so8 ,the nature of our belief in our ,master would have been changed once and for ever2 and so we find it to have been with the ,christian ,apostles4 8,over and above the reappearance of ,christ1 there would also be a report 7probably current upon the very ,sunday of the ,resurrection71 that ,mary ,magdalene had seen a vision of angels in the tomb in which ,christ's body had been laid2 and this1 though a matter of small moment in comparison with the reappearance of ,christ himself1 will nevertheless concern us nearly when we come to consider the narratives of the other ,evangelists40 ,chapter ,,viii ,the ,preceding ,chapter ,continued 8,,let us now turn to ,luke4 ,his account runs as follows3-- 8#8,now upon the first day of the week1 very early in the morning1 they came unto the sepulchre bringing the spices which they had prepared1 and certain others with them4 ,and they found the stone rolled away from the sepulchre4 ,and they entered in1 and found not the body of the ,lord ,jesus4 ,and it came to pass as they were much perplexed thereabout1 behold1 two men stood by them in shining garments1 and as they were afraid1 and bowed their faces to the earth1 they said unto them1 8,why seek ye the living among the dead8 ,he is not here1 but is risen3 remember how he spake unto you when he was yet in ,galilee1 saying1 #8,the ,son of ,man must be delivered into the hands of sinful men and be crucified1 and the third day rise again40 ,and they remembered his words1 and returned from the sepulchre1 and told all these things unto the eleven1 and to all the rest4 ,it was ,mary ,magdalene and ,joanna1 and ,mary the mother of ,james1 and other women that were with them which told these things unto the ,apostles4 ,and their words seemed unto them as idle tales1 and they believed them not4 ,then arose ,peter1 and went unto the sepulchre3 and1 stooping down1 he beheld the linen clothes laid by themselves1 and departed wondering in himself at that which was come to pass4' 8,when we compare this account with ,john's we are at once struck with the resemblances and the discrepancies4 ,luke and ,john indeed are both agreed that ,christ was seen alive after the ,crucifixion4 ,both agree that the tomb was found empty very early on the ,sunday morning 7i4e41 within thirty-six hours of the deposition from the ,cross71 and neither writer affords us any clue whatever as to the time and manner of the removal of the body2 but here the resemblances end2 the angelic vision of ,mary1 seen after ,peter and ,john had departed from the tomb1 and seen apparently by ,mary alone1 in ,luke finds its way into the van of the narrative1 and ,peter is represented as having gone to the tomb1 not in consequence of having been simply told that the body of ,christ was missing1 but because he refused to believe the miraculous story which was told him by the women4 ,in the fourth ,gospel we heard of no miraculous story being carried by ,mary to ,peter and ,john4 ,the angels instead of being seen by one person only1 as would have appeared from the fourth ,gospel1 are now seen by many2 and the women instead of being almost stolidly indifferent to the presence of supernatural beings1 are afraid1 and bow down their faces to the earth2 instead of merely wanting to be informed why ,mary was weeping1 the angels speak with definite point1 and as angels might be expected to speak2 they allude1 also1 to past prophecy1 which the women at once remember4 8,strange1 that they should want reminding6 ,and stranger still that a few verses lower down we should find the ,apostles remembering no prophetic saying1 but regarding the story of the women as mere idle tales4 ,what shall we say8 ,are not these differences precisely similar to those which we are continually meeting with1 when a case of exaggeration comes before us8 ,can we accept both the stories8 ,is this one of those cases in which all would be made clear if we did but know all the facts1 or is it rather one in which we can understand how easily the story given by the one writer might become distorted into the version of the other8 ,does it seem in any way improbable that within the forty years or so between the occurrences recorded by ,john and the writing of ,luke's ,gospel1 the apparently trifling1 yet truly most important1 differences between the two writers should have been developed8 8,no one will venture to say that the facts1 upon the face of them1 do not strongly suggest such an inference1 and that1 too1 with no conscious fraud on the part of any of those through whose mouths the story must have passed4 ,if the fourth ,gospel be assigned to ,john 7and if it is not assigned to ,john the difficulties on the ,christian side become so great that the cause may be declared lost71 his story is that of a principal actor and eye-witness2 it bears every impress of truth and none of exaggeration upon any point which came under his own observation4 ,even when he tells of what ,mary ,magdalene said she saw1 we see the myth in its earliest and crudest form2 there is no attempt at circumstance in connection with it1 and abundant reason for suspecting its supernatural character is given along with it2 reason which to our minds is at any rate sufficient to make us doubt it1 but which would naturally have no weight whatever with ,john after he had once seen ,christ alive1 or indeed with us if we had been in his place4 ,it is not to be wondered at that in such times many a fresh bud should be grafted on to the original story2 indeed it was simply inevitable that this should have been the case4 ,no one would mean to deceive1 but we know how1 among uneducated and enthusiastic persons1 the marvellous has an irresistible tendency to become more marvellous still2 and1 as far as we can gather1 all the causes which bring this about were more actively at work shortly after the time of ,christ's first reappearance than at any other time which can be readily called to mind4 ,the main facts1 as we derive them from the consent of both writers1 were simply these3--,that the tomb of ,christ was found unexpectedly empty on the ,sunday morning2 that this fact was reported to the ,apostles2 that ,peter went into the tomb and saw the linen clothes laid by themselves2 that ,mary ,magdalene said that she had seen angels2 and that eventually ,christ shewed himself undoubtedly alive4 ,both writers agree so far1 but it is impossible to say that they agree farther4 8,some may say that it is of little moment whether the angels appeared first or last2 whether they were seen by many or by one2 whether1 if seen only by one1 that one had previously been insane2 whether they spoke as angels might be expected to speak1 i4e41 to the point1 and are shewn to have been recognised as angels by the fear which their appearance caused2 or whether they caused no alarm1 and said nothing which was in the least equal to the occasion4 ,but most men will feel that the whole complexion of the story changes according to the answers which can be made to these very questions4 ,surely they will also begin to feel a strong suspicion that the story told by ,luke is one which has not lost in the telling4 ,how natural was it that the angelic vision should find its way into the foreground of the picture1 and receive those little circumstantial details of which it appeared most to stand in need2 how desirable also that the testimony of ,mary should be corroborated by that of others who were with her1 and out of whom no devils had been cast4 ,the first ,christians would not have been men and women at all unless they had felt thus2 but they were men and women1 and hence they acted after the fashion of their age and unconsciously exaggerated2 the only wonder is that they did not exaggerate more1 for we must remember that even though the ,apostles themselves be supposed to have been more judicially unimpassioned and less liable to inaccuracy than we have reason to believe they were1 yet that from the very earliest ages of the ,church there would be some converts of an inferior stamp4 ,no matter how small a society is1 there will be bad in it as well as good--there was a ,judas even in the twelve4 8,but to speak less harshly1 there must from the first have been some converts who would be capable of reporting incautiously2 visions and dreams were vouchsafed to many1 and not a few marvels may be referable to this source2 there is no trusting an age in which men are liable to give a supernatural interpretation to an extraordinary dream1 nor is there any end to what may come of it1 if people begin seriously confounding their sleeping and waking impressions4 ,in such times1 then1 ,luke may have said with a clear conscience that he had carefully sifted the truth of what he wrote2 but the world has not passed through the last two thousand years in vain1 and we are bound to insist upon a higher standard of credibility4 ,luke would believe at once1 and as a matter of course1 things which we should as a matter of course reject2 yet it is probable that he too had heard much that he rejected2 he seems to have been dissatisfied with all the records with the existence of which he was aware2 the account which he gives is possibly derived from some very early report2 even if this report arose at ,jerusalem1 and within a week after the ,crucifixion1 it might well be very inaccurate1 though apparently supported by excellent authority1 so that there is no necessity for charging ,luke with unusual credulity4 ,no one can be expected to be greatly in advance of his surroundings2 it is well for every one except himself if he should happen to be so1 but no man is to be blamed if he is not2 it is enough to save him if he is fairly up to the standard of his own times4 #8,morality' is rather of the custom which is1 than of the custom which ought to be4 8,turning now to the account of ,mark1 we find the following3-- 8#8,and when the ,sabbath was past1 ,mary ,magdalene1 and ,mary the mother of ,james1 and ,salome had bought sweet spices that they might come and anoint him4 ,and very early in the morning1 the first day of the week1 they came unto the sepulchre at the rising of the sun4 ,and they said among themselves1 8,who shall roll us away the stone from the door of the sepulchre80 ,and when they looked they saw that the stone was rolled away2 for it was very great4 ,and entering into the sepulchre they saw a young man sitting on the right side1 clothed in a long white garment2 and they were affrighted4 ,and he saith unto them1 8,be not affrighted2 ye seek ,jesus of ,nazareth which was crucified2 he is risen2 he is not here2 behold the place where they laid him4 ,but go your way1 tell his disciples and ,peter that he goeth before you into ,galilee3 there ye shall see him1 as he said unto you40 ,and they went out quickly1 and fled from the sepulchre2 for they trembled and were amazed1 neither said they any thing to any man1 for they were afraid4 ,now when ,jesus was risen early the first day of the week1 he appeared first to ,mary ,magdalene1 out of whom he had cast seven devils4 ,and she went and told them that had been with him as they mourned and wept4 ,and they1 when they heard that he was alive1 and had been seen of her1 believed not4' 8,here we have substantially the same version as that given by ,luke2 there is only one angel mentioned1 but it may be said that it is possible that there may have been another who is not mentioned1 inasmuch as he remained silent2 the angelic vision1 however1 is again brought into the foreground of the story and the fear of the women is even more strongly insisted on than it was in ,luke4 ,the angel reminds the women that ,christ had said that he should be seen by his ,apostles in ,galilee1 of which saying we again find that the ,apostles seem to have had no recollection4 ,the linen clothes have quite dropped out of the story1 and we can detect no trace of ,peter and ,john's visit to the tomb1 but it is remarkable that the women are represented as not having said anything about the presence of the angel immediately on their having seen him2 and this fact1 which might be in itself suspicious1 is apologised for on the score of fear1 notwithstanding that their silence was a direct violation of the command of the being whom they so greatly feared4 ,we should have expected that if they had feared him so much they would have done as he told them1 but here again everybody seems to act as in a dream or drama1 in defiance of all the ordinary principles of human action4 8,throughout the preceding paragraph we have assumed that ,mark intended his readers to understand that the young man seen in the tomb was an angel2 but1 after all1 this is rather a bold assumption4 ,on what grounds is it supported8 ,because ,luke tells us that when the women reached the tomb they found two white angels within it1 are we therefore to conclude that ,mark1 who wrote many years earlier1 and as far as we can gather with much greater historical accuracy1 must have meant an angel when he spoke of a #8young man'8 ,yet this can be the only reason1 unless the young man's having worn a long white robe is considered as sufficient cause for believing him to have been an angel2 and this1 again1 is rather a bold assumption4 ,but if ,st4 ,mark meant no more than he said1 and when he wrote of a #8young man' intended to convey the idea of a young man and of nothing more1 what becomes of the angelic visions at the tomb of ,christ8 ,for ,st4 ,matthew's account is wholly untenable2 ,st4 ,luke is a much later writer1 who must have got all his materials second or third hand2 and although we granted1 and are inclined to believe1 that the accounts of the visits of ,mary ,magdalene1 and subsequently of ,peter and ,john to the tomb1 which are given in the fourth ,gospel1 are from a ,johannean source1 if we were asked our reasons for this belief1 we should be very hard put to it to give them4 ,nevertheless we think it probable4 8,but take it either way2 if the account in the fourth ,gospel is supposed to have been derived from the ,apostle ,john1 we have already seen that there is nothing miraculous about it1 so far as it deals with what came under ,john's own observation2 if1 on the other hand1 it is not authentic we are thrown back upon ,st4 ,mark as incomparably our best authority for the facts that occurred on the ,sunday after the ,crucifixion1 and he tells us of nothing but a tomb found empty1 with the exception that there was a young man in it who wore a long white dress and told the women to tell the ,apostles to go to ,galilee1 where they should see ,christ4 ,on the strength of this we are asked to believe that the reappearance of ,christ alive1 after a hurried crucifixion1 must have been due to supernatural causes1 and supernatural causes only6 ,it will be easily seen what a number of threads might be taken up at this point1 and followed with not uninteresting results4 ,for the sake1 however1 of brevity1 we grant it as most probable that ,st4 ,mark meant the young man said to have been seen in the tomb1 to be considered as an angel2 but we must also express our conviction that this supposed angelic vision is a misplaced offshoot of the report that ,mary ,magdalene had seen angels in the tomb after ,peter and ,john had left it4 8,it is possible that ,mark's account may be the most historic of all those that we have2 but we incline to think otherwise1 inasmuch as the angelic vision placed in the foreground by ,mark and ,luke1 would not be likely to find its way into the background again1 as it does in the fourth ,gospel1 unless in consequence of really authentic information2 no unnecessary detraction from the miraculous element is conceivable as coming from the writer who has handed down to us the story of the raising of ,lazarus1 where we have1 indeed1 a real account of a resurrection1 the continuity of the evidence being unbroken1 and every link in the chain forged fast and strong1 even to the unwrapping of the grave clothes from the body as it emerged from the sepulchre4 ,is it possible that the writer may have given the story of the raising of ,lazarus 7of which we find no trace except in the fourth ,gospel71 because he felt that in giving the ,apostolic version with absolute or substantial accuracy1 he was so weakening the miraculous element in connection with the ,resurrection of ,jesus ,christ himself1 that it became necessary to introduce an incontrovertible account of the resurrection of some other person1 which should do1 as it were1 vicarious duty8 8,nevertheless there are some points on which all the three writers are agreed3 we have the same substratum of facts1 namely1 the tomb found already empty when the women reached it1 a confused and contradictory report of an angel or angels seen within it1 and the subsequent reappearance of ,christ4 ,not one of the three writers affords us the slightest clue as to the time and manner of the removal of the body from the tomb2 there is nothing in any of the narratives which is incompatible with its having been taken away on the very night of the ,crucifixion itself4 8,is this a case in which the defenders of ,christianity would clamour for all the facts1 unless they exceedingly well knew that there was no chance of their getting them8 ,all the facts1 indeed--what tricks does our imagination play us6 ,one would have thought that there were quite enough facts given as the matter stands to make the defenders of ,christianity wish that there were not so many2 and then for them to say that if we had more1 those that we have would become less contradictory6 ,what right have they to assume that if they had all the facts1 the accounts of the ,resurrection would cease to puzzle us1 more than we have to say that if we had all the facts1 we should find these accounts even more inexplicable than we do at present8 ,had we argued thus we should have been accused of shameless impudence2 of a desire to maintain any position in which we happened to find ourselves1 and by which we made money1 regardless of every common principle of truth or honour1 or whatever else makes the difference between upright men and self-deceivers4 8,it may be said by some that the discrepancies between the three accounts given above are discrepancies concerning details only1 but that all three writers agree about the #8main fact4' ,we are continually hearing about this #8main fact1' but nobody is good enough to tell us precisely what fact is meant4 ,is the main fact the fact that ,jesus ,christ was crucified8 ,then no one denies it4 ,we all admit that ,jesus ,christ was crucified4 ,or1 is it that he was seen alive several times after the ,crucifixion8 ,this also we are not disposed to deny4 ,we believe that there is a considerable preponderance of evidence in its favour4 ,but if the #8main fact' turns out to be that ,christ was crucified1 died1 and then came to life again1 we admit that here too all the writers are agreed1 but we cannot find with any certainty that one of them was present when ,christ died or when his body was taken down from the ,cross1 or that there was any such examination of the body as would be absolutely necessary in order to prove that a man had been dead who was afterwards seen alive4 ,if ,christ reappeared alive1 there is not only no tittle of evidence in support of his death which would be allowed for a moment in an ,english court of justice1 but there is an overwhelming amount of evidence which points inexorably in the direction of his never having died4 ,if he reappeared1 there is no evidence of his having died4 ,if he did not reappear1 there is no evidence of his having risen from the dead4 8,we are inclined1 however1 as has been said already1 to believe that ,jesus ,christ really did reappear shortly after the ,crucifixion1 and that his reappearance1 though due to natural causes1 was conceived to be miraculous4 ,we believe also that ,mary fancied that she had seen angels in the tomb1 and openly said that she had done so2 who would doubt her when so far greater a marvel than this had been made palpably manifest to all8 ,who would care to inquire very particularly whether there were two angels or only one8 ,whether there were other women with ,mary or whether she was quite alone8 ,who would compare notes about the exact moment of their appearing1 and what strictly accurate account of their words could be expected in the ferment of such excitement and such ignorance8 ,any speech which sounded tolerably plausible would be accepted under the circumstances1 and none will complain of ,mark as having wilfully attempted to deceive1 any more than he will of ,luke3 the amplification of the story was inevitable1 and the very candour and innocence with which the writers leave loophole after loophole for escape from the miraculous1 is alone sufficient proof of their sincerity2 nevertheless1 it is also proof that they were all more or less inaccurate2 we can only say in their defence1 that in the reappearance of ,christ himself we find abundant palliation of their inaccuracy4 ,given one great miracle1 proved with a sufficiency of evidence for the capacities and proclivities of the age1 and the rest is easy4 ,the groundwork of the after-structure of the other miracles is to be found in the fact that ,christ was crucified1 and was afterwards seen alive40 ,there is no occasion for me to examine ,st4 ,matthew's account of the ,resurrection in company with the unhappy men whose views ,i have been endeavouring to represent above4 ,for reasons which have already been sufficiently dwelt upon ,i freely own that ,i agree with them in rejecting it4 ,i shall therefore admit that the story of the sealing of the tomb1 and setting of the guard1 the earthquake1 the descent of the angel from ,heaven1 his rolling away the stone1 sitting upon it1 and addressing the women therefrom1 is to be treated for all controversial purposes as though it had never been written4 ,by this admission1 ,i confess to complete ignorance of the time when the stone was removed from the mouth of the tomb1 or the hour when the ,redeemer rose4 ,i should add that ,i agree with our opponents in believing that our ,lord never foretold ,his ,resurrection to the ,apostles4 ,but how little does it matter whether ,he foretold ,his ,resurrection or not1 and whether ,he rose at one hour or another4 ,it is enough for me that he rose at all2 for the rest ,i care not4 8,yet1 see10 our opponents will exclaim in answer1 8what a mighty river has come from a little spring4 ,we heard first of two men going into an empty tomb1 finding two bundles of grave clothes1 and departing4 ,then there comes a certain person1 concerning whom we are elsewhere told a fact which leaves us with a very uncomfortable impression1 and she sees1 not two bundles of grave clothes1 but two white angels1 who ask a dreamy pointless question1 and receive an appropriate answer4 ,then we find the time of this apparition shifted2 it is placed in the front1 not in the background1 and is seen by many1 instead of being vouchsafed to no one but to a weeping woman looking into the bottom of a tomb4 ,the speech of the angels1 also1 becomes effective1 and the linen clothes drop out of sight entirely1 unless some faint trace of them is to be found in the #8long white garment' which ,mark tells us was worn by the young man who was in the tomb when the women reached it4 ,finally1 we have a guard set upon the tomb1 and the stone which was rolled in front of it is sealed2 the angel is seen to descend from ,heaven1 to roll away the stone1 and sit upon it1 and there is a great earthquake4 ,oh6 how things grow1 how things grow6 ,and1 oh6 how people believe6 8,see by what easy stages the story has grown up from the smallest seed1 as the mustard tree in the parable1 and how the account given by ,matthew changes the whole complexion of the events4 ,and see how this account has been dwelt upon to the exclusion of the others by the great painters and sculptors from whom1 consciously or unconsciously1 our ideas of the ,christian era are chiefly drawn4 ,yes4 ,these men have been the most potent of theologians1 for their theology has reached and touched most widely4 ,we have mistaken their echo of the sound for the sound itself1 and what was to them an aspiration1 has1 alas6 been to us in the place of science and reality4 8,truly the ease with which the plainest inferences from the ,gospel narratives have been overlooked is the best apology for those who have attributed unnatural blindness to the ,apostles4 ,if we are so blind1 why not they also8 ,a pertinent question1 but one which raises more difficulties than it solves4 ,the seeing of truth is as the finding of gold in far countries1 where the shepherd has drunk of the stream and used it daily to cleanse the sweat of his brow1 and recked little of the treasure which lay abundantly concealed therein1 until one luckier than his fellows espies it1 and the world comes flocking thither4 ,so with truth2 a little care1 a little patience1 a little sympathy1 and the wonder is that it should have lain hidden even from the merest child1 not that it should now be manifest4 8,how early must it have been objected that there was no evidence that the tomb had not been tampered with 7not by the ,apostles1 for they were scattered1 and of him who laid the body in the tomb--,joseph of ,arimatha--we hear no more7 and that the body had been delivered not to enemies1 but friends2 how natural that so desirable an addition to the completeness of the evidences in favour of a miraculous ,resurrection should have been early and eagerly accepted4 ,would not twenty years of oral communication and ,spanish or ,italian excitability suffice for the rooting of such a story8 ,yet1 as far as we can gather1 the ,gospel according to ,st4 ,matthew was even then unwritten4 ,and who was ,matthew8 ,and what was his original ,gospel8 8,there is one part of his story1 and one only1 which will stand the test of criticism1 and that is this3--,that the saying that the disciples came by night and stole the body of ,jesus away was current among the ,jews1 at the time when the ,gospel which we now have appeared4 ,not that they did so--no one will believe this2 but the allegation of the rumour 7which would hardly have been ventured unless it would command assent as true7 points in the direction of search having been made for the body of ,jesus--and made in vain4 8,we have now seen that there is no evidence worth the name1 for any miracle in connection with the tomb of ,christ4 ,he probably reappeared alive1 but not with any circumstances which we are justified in regarding as supernatural4 ,we are therefore at length led to a consideration of the ,crucifixion itself4 ,is there evidence for more than this--that ,christ was crucified1 was afterwards seen alive1 and that this was regarded by his first followers as a sufficient proof of his having risen from the dead8 ,this would account for the rise of ,christianity1 and for all the other miracles4 ,take the following passage from ,gibbon3--#8,the grave and learned ,augustine1 whose understanding scarcely admits the excuse of credulity1 has attested the innumerable prodigies which were worked in ,africa by the relics of ,st4 ,stephen1 and this marvellous narrative is inserted in the elaborate work of 8,the ,city of ,god10 which the ,bishop designed as a solid and immortal proof of the truth of ,christianity4 ,augustine solemnly declares that he had selected those miracles only which had been publicly certified by persons who were either the objects or the spectators of the powers of the martyr4 ,many prodigies were omitted or forgotten1 and ,hippo had been less favourably treated than the other cities of the province1 yet the ,bishop enumerates above seventy miracles1 of which three were resurrections from the dead1 within the limits of his own diocese4 ,if we enlarge our view to all the dioceses and all the saints of the ,christian world1 it will not be easy to calculate the fables and errors which issued from this inexhaustible source4 ,but we may surely be allowed to observe that a miracle in that age of superstition and credulity lost its name and its merits1 since it could hardly be considered as a deviation from the established laws of ,nature4'--7,gibbon's ,decline and ,fall1 chap4 xxviii41 sec4 #b74 8,who believes in the miracles1 or who would dare to quote them8 ,yet on what better foundation do those of the ,new ,testament rest8 ,for the death of ,christ there is no evidence at all4 ,there is evidence that he was believed to have been dead 7under circumstances where a misapprehension was singularly likely to arise71 by men whose minds were altogether in a different clef to ours as regards the miraculous1 and whom we cannot therefore fairly judge by any modern standard4 ,we cannot judge them1 but we are bound to weigh the facts which they relate1 not in their balance1 but in our own4 ,it is not what might have seemed reasonably believable to them1 but what is reasonably believable in our own more enlightened age which can be alone accepted sinlessly by ourselves4 ,men's modes of thought concerning facts change from age to age2 but the facts change not at all1 and it is of them that we are called to judge4 8,we turn to the fourth ,gospel1 as that from which we shall derive the most accurate knowledge of the facts connected with the ,crucifixion4 ,here we find that it was about twelve o'clock when ,pilate brought out ,christ for the last time2 the dialogue that followed1 the preparations for the ,crucifixion1 and the leading ,christ outside the city to the place where the ,crucifixion was to take place1 could hardly have occupied less than an hour4 ,by six o'clock 7by consent of all writers7 the body was entombed1 so that the actual time during which ,christ hung upon the cross was little more than four hours4 ,let us be thankful to hope that the time of suffering may have been so short--but say five hours1 say six1 say whatever the reader chooses1 the ,crucifixion was avowedly too hurried for death in an ordinary case to have ensued4 ,the thieves had to be killed1 as yet alive4 ,immediately before being taken down from the cross the body was delivered to friends4 ,within thirty-six hours afterwards the tomb in which it had been laid was discovered to have been opened2 for how long it had been open we do not know1 but a few hours later ,christ was seen alive4 8,let it be remembered also that the fact of the body having been delivered to ,joseph before the taking down from the cross1 greatly enhanced the chance of an escape from death1 inasmuch as the duties of the soldiers would have ended with the presentation of the order from ,pilate4 ,if any faint symptom of returning animation shewed itself in consequence of the mere change of position and the inevitable shock attendant upon being moved1 the soldiers would not know it2 their task was ended1 and they would not be likely either to wish1 or to be allowed1 to have anything to do with the matter4 ,joseph appears to have been a rich man1 and would be followed by attendants4 ,moreover1 although we are told by ,mark that ,pilate sent for the centurion to inquire whether ,christ was dead1 yet the same writer also tells us that this centurion had already come to the conclusion that ,christ was the ,son of ,god1 a statement which is supported by the accounts of ,matthew and ,luke2 ,mark is the only ,evangelist who tells us that the centurion was sent for1 but even granting that this was so1 would not one who had already recognised ,christ as the ,son of ,god be inclined to give him every assistance in his power8 ,he would be frightened1 and anxious to get the body down from the cross as fast as possible4 ,so long as ,christ appeared to be dead1 there would be no unnecessary obstacle thrown in the way of the delivery of the body to ,joseph1 by a centurion who believed that he had been helping to crucify the ,son of ,god4 ,besides ,joseph was rich1 and rich people have many ways of getting their wishes attended to4 8,we know of no one as assisting at the taking down or the removal of the body1 except ,joseph of ,arimatha1 for the presence of ,nicodemus1 and indeed his existence1 rests upon the slenderest evidence4 ,none of the ,apostles appear to have had anything to do with the deposition1 nor yet the women who had come from ,galilee1 who are represented as seeing where the body was laid 7and by ,luke as seeing how it was laid71 but do not seem to have come into close contact with the body4 8,would any modern jury of intelligent men believe under similar circumstances that the death had been actual and complete8 ,would they not regard--and ought they not to regard--reappearance as constituting ample proof that there had been no death8 ,most assuredly1 unless ,christ had had his head cut off1 or had been seen to be burnt to ashes4 ,again1 if unexceptionable medical testimony as to the completeness of the death had reached us1 there would be no help for it2 we should have to admit that something had happened which was at variance with all our experience of the course of nature2 or again if his legs had been broken1 or his feet pierced1 we could say nothing2 but what irreparable mischief is done to any vital function of the body by the mere act of crucifixion8 ,the feet were not always1 #8nor perhaps generally1' pierced 7so ,dean ,alford tells us1 quoting from ,justin ,martyr71 nor is there a particle of evidence to shew that any exception was made in the present instance4 ,a man who is crucified dies from sheer exhaustion1 so that it cannot be deemed improbable that he might swoon away1 and that every outward appearance of death might precede death by several hours4 8,are we to suppose that a handful of ignorant soldiers should be above error1 when we remember that men have been left for dead1 been laid out for burial and buried by their best friends--nay1 that they have over and over again been pronounced dead by skilled physicians1 when the facilities for knowing the truth were far greater1 and when a mistake was much less likely to occur1 than at the hurried ,crucifixion of ,jesus ,christ8 ,the soldiers would apply no polished mirror to the lips1 nor make use of any of those tests which1 under the circumstances1 would be absolutely necessary before life could be pronounced to be extinct2 they would see that the body was lifeless1 inanimate1 to all outward appearance like the few other dead bodies which they had probably observed closely2 with this they would rest contented4 8,it is true1 they probably believed ,christ to be dead at the time they handed over the body to his friends1 and if we had heard nothing more of the matter we might assume that they were right2 but the reappearance of ,christ alive changes the whole complexion of the story4 ,it is not very likely that the ,roman soldiers would have been mistaken in believing him to be dead1 unless the hurry of the whole affair1 and the order from ,pilate1 had disposed them to carelessness1 and to getting the matter done as fast as possible2 but it is much less likely that a dead man should come to life again than that a mistake should have been made about his having being dead4 ,the latter is an event which probably happens every week in one part of the world or another2 the former has never yet been known4 8,it is not probable that a man officially executed should escape death2 but that a dead man should escape from it is more improbable still2 in addition to the enormous preponderance of probability on the side of ,christ's never having died which arises from this consideration alone1 we are told many facts which greatly lessen the improbability of his having escaped death1 inasmuch as the ,crucifixion was hurried1 and the body was immediately delivered to friends without the known destruction of any organic function1 and while still hanging upon the cross4 8,joseph and ,nicodemus 7supposing that ,nicodemus was indeed a party to the entombment7 may be believed to have thought that ,christ was dead when they received the body1 but they could not refuse him their assistance when they found out their mistake1 nor1 again1 could they forfeit their high position by allowing it to be known that they had restored the life of one who was so obnoxious to the authorities4 ,they would be in a very difficult position1 and would take the prudent course of backing out of the matter at the first moment that humanity would allow1 of leaving the rest to chance1 and of keeping their own counsel4 ,it is noticeable that we never hear of them again2 for there were no two people in the world better able to know whether the ,resurrection was miraculous or not1 and none who would be more deeply interested in favour of the miracle4 ,they had been faithful when the ,apostles themselves had failed1 and if their faith had been so strong while everything pointed in the direction of the utter collapse of ,christianity1 what would it be1 according to every natural impulse of self-approbation1 when so transcendent a miracle as a resurrection had been worked almost upon their own premises1 and upon one whose remains they had generously taken under their protection at a time when no others had ventured to shew them respect8 8,we should have fancied that ,mary would have run to ,joseph and ,nicodemus1 not to the ,apostles2 that ,joseph and ,nicodemus would then have sent for the ,apostles1 or that1 to say the least of it1 we should have heard of these two persons as having been prominent members of the ,church at ,jerusalem2 but here again the experience of the ordinary course of nature fails us1 and we do not find another word or hint concerning them4 ,this may be the result of accident1 but if so1 it is a very unfortunate accident1 and we have already had a great deal too much of unfortunate accidents1 and of truths which may be truths1 but which are uncommonly like exaggeration4 ,stories are like people1 whom we judge of in no small degree by the dress they wear1 the company they keep1 and that subtle indefinable something which we call their expression4 8,nevertheless1 there arise the questions how far the spear wound recorded by the writer of the fourth ,gospel must be regarded1 firstly1 as an actual occurrence1 and1 secondly1 as having been necessarily fatal1 for unless these things are shewn to be indisputable we have seen that the balance of probability lies greatly in favour of ,christ's having escaped with life4 ,if1 however1 it can be proved that it is a matter of certainty both that the wound was actually inflicted1 and that death must have inevitably followed1 then the death of ,christ is proved4 ,the ,resurrection becomes supernatural2 the ,ascension forthwith ceases to be marvellous2 the ,miraculous ,conception1 the ,temptation in the ,wilderness1 all the other miracles of ,christ and his ,apostles1 become believable at once upon so signal a failure of human experience2 human experience ceases to be a guide at all1 inasmuch as it is found to fail on the very point where it has been always considered to be most firmly established--the remorselessness of the grip of death4 ,but before we can consent to part with the firm ground on which we tread1 in the confidence of which we live1 move1 and have our being--the trust in the established experience of countless ages--we must prove the infliction of the wound and its necessarily fatal character beyond all possibility of mistake4 ,we cannot be expected to reject a natural solution of an event however mysterious1 and to adopt a supernatural in its place1 so long as there is any element of doubt upon the supernatural side4 8,the natural solution of the origin of belief in the ,resurrection lies very ready to our hands2 once admit that ,christ was crucified hurriedly1 that there is no proof of the destruction of any organic function of the body1 that the body itself was immediately delivered to friends1 and that thirty-six hours afterwards ,christ was seen alive1 and it is impossible to understand how any human being can doubt what he ought to think4 ,we must own also that once let ,joseph have kept his own counsel 7and he had a great stake to lose if he did not keep it71 once let the ,apostles believe that ,christ's restoration to life was miraculous 7and under the circumstances they would be sure to think so71 and their reason would be so unsettled that in a very short time all the recognised and all the apocryphal miracles of ,christ would pass current with them without a shadow of difficulty40 ,it will be observed that throughout both this and the preceding chapter ,i have been dealing with those of our opponents who1 while admitting the reappearances of our ,lord1 ascribe them to natural causes only4 ,i consider this position to be only second in importance to the one taken by ,strauss1 and as perhaps in some respects capable of being supported with an even greater outward appearance of probability4 ,i therefore resolved to combat it1 and as a preliminary to this1 have taken care that it shall be stated in the clearest and most definite manner possible4 ,but it is plain that those who accept the fact that our ,lord reappeared after the ,crucifixion differ hardly less widely from ,strauss than they do from ourselves2 it will therefore be expedient to shew how they maintain their ground against so formidable an antagonist4 ,let it be remembered that ,strauss and his followers admit that the ,death of our ,lord is proved1 while those of our opponents who would deny this1 nevertheless admit that we can establish the reappearances2 it follows therefore that each of our most important propositions is admitted by one section or other of the enemy1 and each section would probably be heartily glad to be able to deny what it admits4 ,can there be any doubt about the significance of this fact8 ,would not a little reflection be likely to suggest to the distracted host of our adversaries that each of its two halves is right1 as far as it goes1 but that agreement will only be possible between them when each party has learnt that it is in possession of only half the truth1 and has come to admit both the ,death of our ,lord and ,his ,resurrection8 ,returning1 however1 to the manner in which the section of our opponents with whom ,i am now dealing meet ,strauss1 they may be supposed to speak as follows3-- 8,strauss believes that ,christ died1 and says 7,new ,life of ,jesus1 ,vol4 ,i41 p4 #daa7 that #8the account of the ,evangelists of the death of ,jesus is clear1 unanimous1 and connected4' ,if this means that the ,evangelists would certainly know whether ,christ died or not1 we demur to it at once4 ,strauss would himself admit that not one of the writers who have recorded the facts connected with the ,crucifixion was an eyewitness of that event1 and he must also be aware that the very utmost which any of these writers can have known1 was that ,christ was believed to have been dead4 ,it is strange to see ,strauss so suddenly struck with the clearness1 unanimity1 and connectedness of the ,evangelists4 ,in the very next sentence he goes on to say1 #8,equally fragmentary1 full of contradiction and obscurity1 is all that they tell us of the opportunities of observing him which his adherents are supposed to have had after his resurrection4' ,now1 this seems very unfair1 for1 after all1 the gospel writers are quite as unanimous in asserting the main fact that ,christ reappeared1 as they are in asserting that he died2 they would seem to be just as #8clear1 unanimous1 and connected1' about the former event as the latter 7for the accounts of the ,crucifixion vary not a little71 and they must have had infinitely better means of knowing whether ,christ reappeared than whether he had actually died4 ,there is not the same scope for variation in the bare assertion that a man died1 as there is in the narration of his sayings and doings upon the several occasions of his reappearance4 ,besides1 in support of the reappearances1 we have the evidence of ,paul1 who1 though not an eye-witness1 was well acquainted with those who were2 whereas no man can make more out of the facts recorded concerning the death of ,jesus1 than that he was believed to be dead under circumstances in which mistake might easily arise1 that there is no reason to think that any organic function of the body had been destroyed at the time that it was delivered over to friends1 and that none of those who testified to ,christ's death appear to have verified their statement by personal inspection of the body4 ,on these points the ,evangelists do indeed appear to be #8clear1 unanimous1 and connected4' 8,later on ,strauss is even more unsatisfactory1 for on the page which follows the one above quoted from1 he writes3 #8,besides which1 it is quite evident that this 7the natural7 view of the resurrection of ,jesus1 apart from the difficulties in which it is involved1 does not even solve the problem which is here under consideration3 the origin1 that is1 of the ,christian ,church by faith in the miraculous resurrection of the ,messiah4 ,it is impossible that a being who had stolen half-dead out of a sepulchre1 who crept about weak and ill1 wanting medical treatment1 who required bandaging1 strengthening1 and indulgence1 and who still1 at last1 yielded to his sufferings1 could have given to the disciples the impression that he was a conqueror over death and the grave1 the ,prince of ,life1 an impression which lay at the bottom of their future ministry4 ,such a resuscitation could only have weakened the impression which he had made upon them in life and in death2 at the most could only have given it an elegiac voice1 but could by no possibility have changed their sorrow into enthusiasm1 have elevated their reverence into worship4' 8,now1 the fallacy in the above is obvious2 it assumes that ,christ was in such a state as to be compelled to creep about1 weak and ill1 c41 and ultimately to die from the effects of his sufferings2 whereas there is not a word of evidence in support of all this4 ,he may have been weak and ill when he forbade ,mary to touch him1 on the first occasion of his being seen alive2 but it would be hard to prove even this1 and on no subsequent occasion does he shew any sign of weakness4 ,the supposition that he died of the effects of his sufferings is quite gratuitous2 one would like to know where ,strauss got it from4 ,he may have done so1 or he may have been assassinated by some one commissioned by the ,jewish ,sanhedrim1 or he may have felt that his work was done1 and that any further interference upon his part would only mar it1 and therefore resolved upon withdrawing himself from ,palestine for ever1 or ,joseph of ,arimatha may have feared the revolution which he saw approaching--or twenty things besides might account for ,christ's final disappearance4 ,the only thing1 however1 which we can say with any certainty is that he disappeared1 and that there is no reason to believe that he died of his wounds4 ,all over and above this is guesswork4 8,again1 if ,christ on reappearing had continued in daily intercourse with his disciples1 it might have been impossible that they should not find out that he was in all respects like themselves4 ,but he seems to have been careful to avoid seeing them much4 ,paul only mentions five reappearances1 only one of which was to any considerable number of people4 ,according also to the gospel writers1 the reappearances were few2 they were without preparation1 and nothing seems to have been known of where he resided between each visit2 this rarity and mysteriousness of the reappearances of ,christ 7whether dictated by fear of his enemies or by policy7 would heighten their effect1 and prevent the ,apostles from knowing much more about their master than the simple fact that he was indisputably alive4 ,they saw enough to assure them of this1 but they did not see enough to prevent their being able to regard their master as a conqueror over death and the grave1 even though it could be shewn 7which certainly cannot be done7 that he continued in infirm health1 and ultimately died of his wounds4 8,if the ,apostles had been highly educated ,english or ,german ,professors1 it might be hard to believe them capable of making any mistake2 but they were nothing of the kind2 they were ignorant ,eastern peasants1 living in the very thick of every conceivable kind of delusive influence4 ,strauss himself supposes their minds to have been so weak and unhinged that they became easy victims to hallucination4 ,but if this was the case1 they would be liable to other kinds of credulity1 and it seems strange that one who would bring them down so low1 should be here so suddenly jealous for their intelligence4 ,there is no reason to suppose that ,christ was weak and ill after the first day or two1 any more than there is for believing that he died of his wounds4 ,this being so1 is it not more simple and natural to believe that the ,apostles were really misled by a solid substratum of strange events--a substratum which seems to be supported by all the evidence which we can get--than that the whole story of the appearances of ,christ after the ,crucifixion should be due to baseless dreams and fancies8 ,at any rate1 if the ,apostles could be misled by hallucination1 much more might they be misled by a natural reappearance1 which looked not unlike a supernatural one4 8,the belief in the miraculous character of the ,resurrection is the central point of the whole ,christian system4 ,let this be once believed1 and considering the times1 which1 it must always be remembered1 were in respect of credulity widely different from our own1 considering the previous hopes and expectations of the ,apostles1 considering their education1 ,oriental modes of thought and speech1 familiarity with the ideas of miracle and demonology1 and unfamiliarity with the ideas of accuracy and science1 and considering also the unquestionable beauty and wisdom of much which is recorded as having been taught by ,christ1 and the really remarkable circumstances of the case--we say1 once let the ,resurrection be believed to be miraculous1 and the rest is clear2 there is no further mystery about the origin of the ,christian religion4 8,so the matter has now come to this pass1 that we are to jeopardise our faith in all human experience1 if we are unable to see our way clearly out of a few words about a spear wound1 recorded as having been inflicted in a distant country nearly two thousand years ago1 by a writer concerning whom we are entirely ignorant1 and whose connection with any eye-witness of the events which he records is a matter of pure conjecture4 ,we will see about this hereafter2 all that is necessary now is to make sure that we do not jeopardise it1 if we do see a way of escape1 and this assuredly exists40 ,i will not pain either the reader or myself by a recapitulation of the arguments which have led our opponents as well as the ,dean of ,canterbury1 and ,i may add1 with due apology1 myself1 to conclude that nothing is known as to the severity or purpose of the spear wound4 ,the case1 therefore1 of our adversaries will rest thus3--that there is not only no sufficient reason for believing that ,christ died upon the cross1 but that there are the strongest conceivable reasons for believing that ,he did not die2 that the shortness of time during which ,he remained upon the cross1 the immediate delivery of the body to friends1 and1 above all1 the subsequent reappearance alive1 are ample grounds for arriving at such a conclusion4 ,they add further that it would seem a monstrous supposition to believe that a good and merciful ,god should have designed to redeem the world by the infliction of such awful misery upon ,his own ,son1 and yet determined to condemn every one who did not believe in this design1 in spite of such a deficiency of evidence that disbelief would appear to be a moral obligation4 ,no good ,god1 they say1 would have left a matter of such unutterable importance in a state of such miserable uncertainty1 when the addition of a very small amount of testimony would have been sufficient to establish it4 ,in the two following chapters ,i shall show the futility and irrelevancy of the above reasoning--if1 indeed1 that can be called reasoning which is from first to last essentially unreasonable4 ,plausible as1 in parts1 it may have appeared1 ,i have little doubt that the reader will have already detected the greater number of the fallacies which underlie it4 ,but before ,i can allow myself to enter upon the welcome task of refutation1 a few more words from our opponents will yet be necessary4 ,however strongly ,i disapprove of their views1 ,i trust they will admit that ,i have throughout expressed them as one who thoroughly understands them4 ,i am convinced that the course ,i have taken is the only one which can lead to their being brought into the way of truth1 and ,i mean to persevere in it until ,i have explained the views which they take concerning our ,lord's ,ascension1 with no less clearness than ,i shewed forth their opinions concerning the ,resurrection4 8,in ,st4 ,matthew's ,gospel10 they will say1 8we find no trace whatever of any story concerning the ,ascension4 ,the writer had either never heard anything about the matter at all1 or did not consider it of sufficient importance to deserve notice4 8,dean ,alford1 indeed1 maintains otherwise4 ,in his notes on the words1 #8,and lo6 ,i am with you always unto the end of the world1' he says1 #8,these words imply and set forth the ,ascension'2 it is true that he adds1 #8the manner of which is not related by the ,evangelist'3 but how do the words quoted1 #8imply and set forth' the ,ascension8 ,they imply a belief that ,christ's spirit would be present with his disciples to the end of time2 but how do they set forth the fact that his body was seen by a number of people to rise into the air and actually to mount up far into the region of the clouds8 8,the fact is simply this--and nobody can know it better than ,dean ,alford--that ,matthew tells us nothing about the ,ascension4 8,the last verses of ,mark's ,gospel are admitted by ,dean ,alford himself to be not genuine1 but even in these the subject is dismissed in a single verse1 and although it is stated that ,christ was received into ,heaven1 there is not a single word to imply that any one was supposed to have seen him actually on his way thither4 8,the author of the fourth ,gospel is also silent concerning the ,ascension4 ,there is not a word1 nor hint1 nor faintest trace of any knowledge of the fact1 unless an allusion be detected in the words1 #8,what and if ye shall see the ,son of ,man ascending where he was before8' 7,john vi41 #fb7 in reference to which passage ,dean ,alford1 in his note on ,luke xxiv41 #eb1 writes as follows3--#8,and might not we have concluded from the wording of ,john vi41 #fb1 that our ,lord must have intended an ascension insight of some of those to whom he spoke1 and that the ,evangelist gives that hint1 by recording those words without comment1 that he had seen it8' ,that is to say1 we are to conclude that the writer of the fourth ,gospel actually saw the ,ascension1 because he tells us that ,christ uttered the words1 #8,what and if ye shall see the ,son of ,man ascending where he was before8' 8,but who was the author of the fourth ,gospel8 ,and what reason is there for thinking that that work is genuine8 ,let us make another extract from ,dean ,alford4 ,in his prolegomena1 chapter v41 section #f1 on the genuineness of the fourth ,gospel1 he writes3--#8,neither ,papias1 who carefully sought out all that ,apostles and ,apostolic men had related regarding the life of ,christ2 nor ,polycarp1 who was himself a disciple of the ,apostle ,john2 nor ,barnabas1 nor ,clement of ,rome1 in their epistles2 nor1 lastly1 ,ignatius 7in his genuine writings71 makes any mention of1 or allusion to1 this gospel4 ,so that in the most ancient circle of ecclesiastical testimony1 it appears to be unknown or not recognised4' ,we may add that there is no trace of its existence before the latter half of the second century1 and that the internal evidence against its genuineness appears to be more and more conclusive the more it is examined4 8,st4 ,paul1 when enumerating the last appearances of his master1 in a passage where the absence of any allusion to the ,ascension is almost conclusive as to his never having heard a word about it1 is also silent4 ,in no part of his genuine writings does he give any sign of his having been aware that any story was in existence as to the manner in which ,christ was received into ,heaven4 8,where1 then1 does the story come from1 if neither ,matthew1 ,mark1 ,john1 nor ,paul appear to have heard of it8 8,it comes from a single verse in ,st4 ,luke's ,gospel--written more than half a century after the supposed event1 when few1 or more probably none1 of those who were supposed to have seen it were either living or within reach to contradict it4 ,luke writes 7xxiv41 #ea71 #8,and it came to pass that while he blessed them1 he was parted from them1 and carried up into ,heaven4' ,this is the only account of the ,ascension given in any part of the ,gospels which can be considered genuine4 ,it gives ,bethany as the place of the miracle1 whereas1 if ,dean ,alford is right in saying that the words of ,matthew #8set forth' the ,ascension1 they set it forth as having taken place on a mountain in ,galilee4 ,but here1 as elsewhere1 all is haze and contradiction4 ,perhaps some ,christian writers will maintain that it happened both at ,bethany and in ,galilee4 8,in his subsequent work1 written some sixty or seventy years after the ,ascension1 ,st4 ,luke gives us that more detailed account which is commonly present to the imagination of all men 7thanks to the ,italian painters71 when the ,ascension is alluded to4 ,the details1 it would seem1 came to his knowledge after he had written his ,gospel1 and many a long year after ,matthew and ,mark and ,paul had written4 ,how he came by the additional details we do not know4 ,nobody seems to care to know4 ,he must have had them revealed to him1 or been told them by some one1 and that some one1 whoever he was1 doubtless knew what he was saying1 and all ,europe at one time believed the story1 and this is sufficient proof that mistake was impossible4 8,it is indisputable that from the very earliest ages of the ,church there existed a belief that ,christ was at the right hand of ,god2 but no one who professes to have seen him on his way thither has left a single word of record4 ,it is easy to believe that the facts may have been revealed in a night vision1 or communicated in one or other of the many ways in which extraordinary circumstances are communicated1 during the years of oral communication and enthusiasm which elapsed between the supposed ,ascension of ,christ and the writing of ,luke's second work4 ,it is not surprising that a firm belief in ,christ's having survived death should have arisen in consequence of the actual circumstances connected with the ,crucifixion and entombment4 ,was it then strange that this should develop itself into the belief that he was now in ,heaven1 sitting at the right hand of ,god the ,father8 ,and finally was it strange that a circumstantial account of the manner in which he left this earth should be eagerly accepted80 99 99 99 99 99 ,in an appendix at the end of the book ,i have given the extracts from the ,gospels which are necessary for a full comprehension of the preceding chapters4--,w4 ,b4 ,o4 ,chapter ,,ix ,the ,christ-,ideal ,i ,,have completed a task painful to myself and the reader4 ,painful to myself inasmuch as ,i am humiliated upon remembering the power which arguments1 so shallow and so easily to be refuted1 once had upon me2 painful to the reader1 as everything must be painful which even appears to throw doubt upon the most sublime event that has happened in human history4 ,how little does all that has been written above touch the real question at issue1 yet1 what self-discipline and mental training is required before we learn to distinguish the essential from the unessential4 ,before1 however1 we come to close quarters with our opponents concerning the views put forward in the preceding chapters1 it will be well to consider two questions of the gravest and most interesting character1 questions which will probably have already occurred to the reader with such force as to demand immediate answer4 ,they are these4 ,firstly1 what will be the consequences of admitting any considerable deviation from historical accuracy on the part of the sacred writers8 ,secondly1 how can it be conceivable that ,god should have permitted inaccuracy or obscurity in the evidence concerning the ,divine commission of ,his ,son8 ,if ,god so loved the ,world that ,he sent ,his only begotten ,son into it to rescue those who believed in ,him from destruction1 how is it credible that ,he should not have so arranged matters as that all should find it easy to believe8 ,if ,he wanted to save mankind and knew that the only way in which mankind could be saved was by believing certain facts1 how can it be that the records of the facts should have been allowed to fall into confusion8 ,to both these questions ,i trust that the following answers may appear conclusive4 ,i4 ,as regards the consequences which may be supposed to follow upon giving up any part of the sacred writings1 no matter how seemingly unimportant1 it is undoubtedly true that to many minds they have appeared too dangerous to be even contemplated4 ,thus through fear of some supposed unutterable consequences which would happen to the cause of truth if truth were spoken1 people profess to believe in the genuineness of many passages in the ,bible which are universally acknowledged by competent judges of every shade of theological opinion to be interpolations into the original text4 ,to say nothing of the ,old ,testament1 where many whole books are of disputed genuineness or authenticity1 there are portions of the ,new which none will seriously defend2--for example1 the last verses of ,st4 ,mark's ,gospel1--containing1 as they do1 the sentence of damnation against all who do not believe--the second half of the third1 and the whole of the fourth verse of the fifth chapter of ,st4 ,john's ,gospel1 the story of the woman taken in adultery1 and probably the whole of the last chapter of ,st4 ,john's ,gospel1 not to mention the ,epistle to the ,hebrews1 the ,epistles to ,timothy1 ,titus1 and to the ,ephesians1 the ,epistles of ,peter and ,james1 the famous verses as to the three witnesses in the ,first ,epistle of ,st4 ,john1 and perhaps also the book of ,revelation4 ,these are passages and works about which there is either no doubt at all as to their not being genuine1 or over which there hangs so much uncertainty that no dependence can be placed upon them4 ,but over and above these1 there are not a few parts of each of the ,gospels which1 though of undisputed genuineness1 cannot be accepted as historical2 thus the account of the ,resurrection given by ,st4 ,matthew1 and parts of those by ,luke and ,mark1 the cursing of the barren fig-tree1 and the prophecies of ,his ,resurrection ascribed to our ,lord ,himself1 will not stand the tests of criticism which we are bound to apply to them if we are to exercise the right of private judgement2 instead of handing ourselves over to a priesthood as the sole custodians and interpreters of the ,bible4 ,it has been said by some that the miracle of the penny found in the fish's mouth should be included in the above category1 but it should be remembered that we have only the injunction of our ,lord to ,st4 ,peter that he should catch the fish and the promise that he should find the penny in its mouth1 but that we have no account of the sequel1 it is therefore possible that in the event of ,st4 ,peter's faith having failed him he may have procured the money from some other source1 and that thus the miracle1 though undoubtedly intended1 was never actually performed4 ,how unnecessary therefore as well as presumptuous are the ,rationalistic interpretations which have been put upon the event by certain ,german writers6 ,now there are few1 if any1 who would be so illiberal as to wish for the exclusion from the sacred volume of all those books or passages which1 though neither genuine nor perhaps edifying1 have remained in the ,canon of ,scripture for many centuries4 ,any serious attempt to reconstruct the ,canon would raise a theological storm which would not subside in this century4 ,the work could never be done perfectly1 and even if it could1 it would have to be done at the expense of tearing all ,christendom in pieces4 ,the passages do little or no harm where they are1 and have received the sanction of time2 let them therefore by all means remain in their present position4 ,but the question is still forced upon us whether the consequences of openly admitting the certain spuriousness of many passages1 and the questionable nature of others as regards morality1 genuineness and authenticity1 should be feared as being likely to prejudice the main doctrines of ,christianity4 ,the answer is very plain4 ,he who has vouchsafed to us the ,christian dispensation may be safely trusted to provide that no harm shall happen1 either to it or to us1 from an honest endeavour to attain the truth concerning it4 ,what have we to do with consequences8 ,these are in the hands of ,god4 ,our duty is to seek out the truth in prayer and humility1 and when we believe that we have found it1 to cleave to it through evil and good report2 to fail in this is to fail in faith2 to fail in faith is to be an infidel4 ,those who suppose that it is wiser to gloss over this or that1 and who consider it 8injudicious0 to announce the whole truth in connection with ,christianity1 should have learnt by this time that no admission which can by any possibility be required of them can be so perilous to the cause of ,christ as the appearance of shirking investigation4 ,it has already been insisted upon that cowardice is at the root of the infidelity which we see around us2 the want of faith in the power of truth which exists in certain pious but timid hearts has begotten utter unbelief in the minds of all superficial investigators into ,christian evidences4 ,such persons see that the defenders have something in the background1 something which they would cling to although they are secretly aware that they cannot justly claim it4 ,this is enough for many1 and hence more harm is done by fear than could ever have been done by boldness4 ,boldness goes out into the fight1 and if in the wrong gets slain1 childless4 ,fear stays at home and is prolific of a brood of falsehoods4 ,it is immoral to regard consequences at all1 where truth and justice are concerned2 the being impregnated with this conviction to the inmost core of one's heart is an axiom of common honesty--one of the essential features which distinguish a good man from a bad one4 ,nevertheless1 to make it plain that the consequences of outspoken truthfulness in connection with the scriptural writings would have no harmful effect whatever1 but would1 on the contrary1 be of the utmost service as removing a stumbling-block from the way of many--let us for the moment suppose that very much more would have to be given up than can ever be demanded4 ,suppose we were driven to admit that nothing in the life of our ,lord can be certainly depended upon beyond the facts that ,he was begotten by the ,holy ,ghost of the ,virgin ,mary2 that ,he worked many miracles upon earth1 and delivered ,st4 ,matthew's version of the sermon on the mount and most of the parables as we now have them2 finally1 that ,he was crucified1 dead1 and buried1 that ,he rose again from the dead upon the third day1 and ascended unto ,heaven4 ,granting for the sake of argument that we could rely on no other facts1 what would follow8 ,nothing which could in any way impair the living power of ,christianity4 ,the essentials of ,christianity1 i4e41 a belief in the ,divinity of the ,saviour and in ,his ,resurrection and ,ascension1 have stood1 and will stand1 for ever against any attacks that can be made upon them1 and these are probably the only facts in which belief has ever been absolutely necessary for salvation2 the answer1 therefore1 to the question what ill consequences would arise from the open avowal of things which every student must know to be the fact concerning the biblical writings is that there would be none at all4 ,the ,christ-ideal which1 after all1 is the soul and spirit of ,christianity would remain precisely where it was1 while its recognition would be far more general1 owing to the departure on the part of its apologists from certain lines of defence which are irreconcilable with the ideal itself4 ,,ii4 ,returning to the objection how it could be possible that ,god should have left the records of our ,lord's history in such a vague and fragmentary condition1 if it were really of such intense importance for the world to understand it and believe in it1 we find ourselves face to face with a question of far greater importance and difficulty4 ,the old theory that ,god desired to test our faith1 and that there would be no merit in believing if the evidence were such as to commend itself at once to our understanding1 is one which need only be stated to be set aside4 ,it is blasphemy against the goodness of ,god to suppose that ,he has thus laid as it were an ambuscade for man1 and will only let him escape on condition of his consenting to violate one of the very most precious of ,god's own gifts4 ,there is an ingenious cruelty about such conduct which it is revolting even to imagine4 ,indeed1 the whole theory reduces our ,heavenly ,father to a level of wisdom and goodness far below our own2 and this is sufficient answer to it4 ,but when1 turning aside from the above1 we try to adopt some other and more reasonable view1 we naturally set ourselves to consider why the ,almighty should have required belief in the ,divinity of ,his ,son from man4 ,what is there in this belief on man's part which can be so grateful to ,god that ,he should make it a sine qu non for man's salvation8 ,as regards ,himself1 how can it matter to ,him what man should think of ,him8 ,nay1 it must be for man's own good that the belief is demanded4 ,and why8 ,surely we can see plainly that it is the beauty of the ,christ-ideal which constitutes the working power of ,christianity over the hearts and lives of men1 leading them to that highest of all worships which consists in imitation4 ,now the sanction which is given to this ideal by belief in the ,divinity of our ,lord1 raises it at once above all possibility of criticism4 ,if it had not been so sanctioned it might have been considered open to improvement2 one critic would have had this1 and another that2 comparison would have been made with ideals of purely human origin such as the ,greek ideal1 exemplified in the work of ,phidias1 and in later times with the medival ,italian ideal1 as deducible from the best fifteenth and early sixteenth ,italian painting and sculpture1 the ,madonnas of ,bellini and ,raphael1 or the ,st4 ,george of ,donatello2 or again with the ideal derivable from the works of our own ,shakespeare1 and there are some even now among those who deny the ,divinity of ,christ who will profess that each one of these ideals is more universal1 more fitted for the spiritual food of a man1 and indeed actually higher1 than that presented by the life and death of our ,saviour4 ,but once let the ,divine origin of this last ideal be admitted1 and there can be no further uncertainty2 hence the absolute necessity for belief in ,christ's ,divinity as closing the most important of all questions1 ,whereunto should a man endeavour to liken both himself and his children8 ,seeing then that we have reasonable ground for thinking that belief in the ,divinity of our ,lord is mainly required of us in order to exalt our sense of the paramount importance of following and obeying the life and commands of ,christ1 it is natural also to suppose that whatever may have happened to the records of that life should have been ordained with a view to the enhancing of the preciousness of the ideal4 ,now1 the fragmentary character1 and the partial obscurity--,i might have almost written1 the incomparable chiaroscuro--of the ,evangelistic writings have added to the value of our ,lord's character as an ideal1 not only in the case of ,christians1 but as bringing the ,christ-ideal within the reach and comprehension of an infinitely greater number of minds than it could ever otherwise have appealed to4 ,it is true that those who are insensible to spiritual influences1 and whose materialistic instinct leads them to deny everything which is not as clearly demonstrable by external evidence as a fact in chemistry1 geography1 or mathematics1 will fail to find the hardness1 definition1 tightness1 and1 let me add1 littleness of outline1 in which their souls delight2 they will find rather the gloom and gleam of ,rembrandt1 or the golden twilight of the ,venetians1 the losing and the finding1 and the infinite liberty of shadow2 and this they hate1 inasmuch as it taxes their imagination1 which is no less deficient than their power of sympathy2 they would have all found1 as in one of those laboured pictures wherein each form is as an inflated bladder and1 has its own uncompromising outline remorselessly insisted upon4 ,looking to the ideals of purely human creation which have come down to us from old times1 do we find that the ,theseus suffers because we are unable to realise to ourselves the precise features of the original8 ,or again do the works of ,john ,bellini suffer because the hand of the painter was less dexterous than his intention pure8 ,it is not what a man has actually put upon his canvas1 but what he makes us feel that he felt1 which makes the difference between good and bad in painting4 ,bellini's hand was cunning enough to make us feel what he intended1 and did his utmost to realise2 but he has not realised it1 and the same hallowing effect which has been wrought upon the ,theseus by decay 7to the enlarging of its spiritual influence71 has been wrought upon the work of ,bellini by incapacity--the incapacity of the painter to utter perfectly the perfect thought which was within4 ,the early ,italian paintings have that stamp of individuality upon them which assures us that they are not only portraits1 but as faithful portraits as the painter could make them1 more than this we know not1 but more is unnecessary4 ,do we not detect an analogy to this in the records of the ,evangelists8 ,do we not see the child-like unself-seeking work of earnest and loving hearts1 whose innocence and simplicity more than atone for their many shortcomings1 their distorted renderings1 and their omissions8 ,we can see through these things as through a glass darkly1 or as one looking upon some ineffable masterpiece of ,venetian portraiture by the fading light of an autumnal evening1 when the beauty of the picture is enhanced a hundredfold by the gloom and mystery of dusk4 ,we may indeed see less of the actual lineaments themselves1 but the echo is ever more spiritually tuneful than the sound1 and the echo we find within us4 ,our imagination is in closer communion with our longings than the hand of any painter4 ,those who relish definition1 and definition only1 are indeed kept away from ,christianity by the present condition of the records1 but even if the life of our ,lord had been so definitely rendered as to find a place in their system1 would it have greatly served their souls8 ,and would it not repel hundreds and thousands of others1 who find in the suggestiveness of the sketch a completeness of satisfaction1 which no photographic reproduction could have given8 ,the above may be difficult to understand1 but let me earnestly implore the reader to endeavour to master its import4 ,people misunderstand the aim and scope of religion4 ,religion is only intended to guide men in those matters upon which science is silent4 ,god illumines us by science as with a mechanical draughtsman's plan2 ,he illumines us in the ,gospels as by the drawing of a great artist4 ,we cannot build a 8,great ,eastern0 from the drawings of the artist1 but what poetical feeling1 what true spiritual emotion was ever kindled by a mechanical drawing8 ,how cold and dead were science unless supplemented by art and by religion6 ,not joined with them1 for the merest touch of these things impairs scientific value--which depends essentially upon accuracy1 and not upon any feeling for the beautiful and lovable4 ,in like manner the merest touch of science chills the warmth of sentiment--the spiritual life4 ,the mechanical drawing is spoiled by being made artistic1 and the work of the artist by becoming mechanical4 ,the aim of the one is to teach men how to construct1 of the other how to feel4 ,for the due conservation therefore of both the essential requisites of human well-being--science1 and religion--it is requisite that they be kept asunder and reserved for separate use at different times4 ,religion is the mistress of the arts1 and every art which does not serve religion truly is doomed to perish as a lying and unprofitable servant4 ,science is external to religion1 being a separate dispensation1 a distinct revelation to mankind1 whereby we are put into full present possession of more and more of ,god's modes of dealing with material things1 according as we become more fitted to receive them through the apprehension of those modes which have been already laid open to us4 ,we ought not therefore to have expected scientific accuracy from the ,gospel records--much less should we be required to believe that such accuracy exists4 ,does any great artist ever dream of aiming directly at imitation8 ,he aims at representation--not at imitation4 ,in order to attain true mastery here1 he must spend years in learning how to see2 and then no less time in learning how not to see4 ,finally1 he learns how to translate4 ,take ,turner for example4 ,who conveys so living an impression of the face of nature8 ,yet go up to his canvas and what does one find thereon8 ,imitation8 ,nay--blotches and daubs of paint2 the combination of these daubs1 each one in itself when taken alone absolutely untrue1 forms an impression which is quite truthful4 ,no combination of minute truths in a picture will give so faithful a representation of nature as a wisely arranged tissue of untruths4 ,absolute reproduction is impossible even to the photograph4 ,the work of a great artist is far more truthful than any photograph2 but not even the greatest artist can convey to our minds the whole truth of nature2 no human hand nor pigments can expound all that lies hidden in 8,nature's infinite book of secrecy02 the utmost that can be done is to convey an impression1 and if the impression is to be conveyed truthfully1 the means must often be of the most unforeseen character4 ,the old ,pre-,raphaelites aimed at absolute reproduction4 ,they were succeeded by a race of men who saw all that their predecessors had seen1 but also something higher4 ,the ,van ,eycks and ,memling paved the way for painters who found their highest representatives in ,rubens1 ,vandyke1 and ,rembrandt--the mightiest of them all4 ,giovanni ,bellini1 ,carpaccio and ,mantegna were succeeded by ,titian1 ,giorgione1 and ,tintoretto2 ,perugino was succeeded by ,raphael4 ,it is everywhere the same story2 a reverend but child-like worship of the letter1 followed by a manful apprehension of the spirit1 and1 alas6 in due time by an almost total disregard of the letter2 then rant and cant and bombast1 till the value of the letter is reasserted4 ,in theology the early men are represented by the ,evangelicals1 the times of utter decadence by infidelity--the middle race of giants is yet to come1 and will be found in those who1 while seeing something far beyond either minute accuracy or minute inaccuracy1 are yet fully alive both to the letter and to the spirit of the ,gospels4 ,again1 do not the seeming wrongs which the greatest ideals of purely human origin have suffered at the hands of time1 add to their value instead of detracting from it8 ,is it not probable that if we were to see the glorious fragments from the ,parthenon1 the ,theseus and the ,ilyssus1 or even the ,venus of ,milo1 in their original and unmutilated condition1 we should find that they appealed to us much less forcibly than they do at present8 ,all ideals gain by vagueness and lose by definition1 inasmuch as more scope is left for the imagination of the beholder1 who can thus fill in the missing detail according to his own spiritual needs4 ,this is how it comes that nothing which is recent1 whether animate or inanimate1 can serve as an ideal unless it is adorned by more than common mystery and uncertainty4 ,a new ,cathedral is necessarily very ugly4 ,there is too much found and too little lost4 ,much less could an absolutely perfect ,being be of the highest value as an ideal1 as long as ,he could be clearly seen1 for it is impossible that ,he could be known as perfect by imperfect men1 and ,his very perfections must perforce appear as blemishes to any but perfect critics4 ,to give therefore an impression of perfection1 to create an absolutely unsurpassable ideal1 it became essential that the actual image of the original should become blurred and lost1 whereon the beholder now supplies from his own imagination that which is to him more perfect than the original1 though objectively it must be infinitely less so4 ,it is probably to this cause that the incredulity of the ,apostles during our ,lord's life-time must be assigned4 ,the ideal was too near them1 and too far above their comprehension2 for it must be always remembered that the convincing power of miracles in the days of the ,apostles must have been greatly weakened by the current belief in their being events of no very unusual occurrence1 and in the existence both of good and evil spirits who could take possession of men and compel them to do their bidding4 ,a resurrection from the dead or a restoration of sight to the blind1 must have seemed even less portentous to them1 than an unusually skilful treatment of disease by a physician is to us4 ,we can therefore understand how it happened that the faith of the ,apostles was so little to be depended upon even up to the ,crucifixion1 inasmuch as the convincing power of miracles had been already1 so to speak1 exhausted1 a fact which may perhaps explain the early withdrawal of the power to work them2 we cannot indeed believe that it could have been so far weakened as to make the ,apostles disregard the prophecies of their ,master that ,he should rise from the dead1 if ,he had ever uttered them1 and we have already seen reason to think that these prophecies are the ex post facto handiwork of time2 but the incredulity of the disciples1 when seen through the light now thrown upon it1 loses that wholly inexplicable character which it would otherwise bear4 ,but to return to the subject of the ideal presented by the life and death of our ,lord4 ,in the earliest days of the ,church there can have been no want of the most complete and irrefragable evidence for the objective reality of the miracles1 and especially of the ,resurrection and ,ascension4 ,the character of ,christ would also stand out revealed to all1 with the most copious fulness of detail4 ,the limits within which so sharply defined an ideal could be acceptable were narrow1 but as the radius of ,christian influence increased1 so also would the vagueness and elasticity of the ideal2 and as the elasticity of the ideal1 so also the range of its influence4 ,a beneficent and truly marvellous provision for the greater complexity of man's spiritual needs was thus provided by a gradual loss of detail and gain of breadth4 ,enough evidence was given in the first instance to secure authoritative sanction for the ideal4 ,during the first thirty or forty years after the death of our ,lord no one could be in want of evidence1 and the guilt of unbelief is therefore brought prominently forward4 ,then came the loss of detail which was necessary in order to secure the universal acceptability of the ideal2 but the same causes which blurred the distinctness of the features1 involved the inevitable blurring of no small portions of the external evidences whereby the ,divine origin of the ideal was established4 ,the primary external evidence became less and less capable of compelling instantaneous assent1 according as it was less wanted1 owing to the greater mass of secondary evidence1 and to the growth of appreciation of the internal evidences1 a growth which would be fostered by the growing adaptability of the ideal4 ,some thirty or forty years1 then1 from the death of our ,saviour the case would stand thus4 ,the ,christ-ideal would have become infinitely more vague1 and hence infinitely more universal3 but the causes which had thus added to its value would also have destroyed whatever primary evidence was superabundant1 and the vagueness which had overspread the ideal would have extended itself in some measure over the evidences which had established its ,divine origin4 ,but there would of course be limits to the gain caused by decay4 ,time came when there would be danger of too much vagueness in the ideal1 and too little distinctness in the evidences4 ,it became necessary therefore to provide against this danger4 ,precisely at that epoch the ,gospels made their appearance4 ,not simultaneously1 not in concert1 and not in perfect harmony with each other1 yet with the error distributed skilfully among them1 as in a well-tuned instrument wherein each string is purposely something out of tune with every other4 ,their divergence of aim1 and different authorship1 secured the necessary breadth of effect when the accounts were viewed together2 their universal recognition afforded the necessary permanency1 and arrested further decay4 ,if ,i may be pardoned for using another illustration1 ,i would say that as the roundness of the stereoscopic image can only be attained by the combination of two distinct pictures1 neither of them in perfect harmony with the other1 so the highest possible conception of ,christ1 cannot otherwise be produced than through the discrepancies of the ,gospels4 ,from the moment of the appearing of the ,gospels1 and1 ,i should add1 of the ,epistles of ,st4 ,paul1 the external evidences of ,christianity became secured from further change2 as they were then1 so are they now1 they can neither be added to nor subtracted from2 they have lain as it were sleeping1 till the time should come to awaken them4 ,and the time is surely now1 for there has arisen a very numerous and increasing class of persons1 whose habits of mind unfit them for appreciating the value of vagueness1 but who have each one of them a soul which may be lost or saved1 and on whose behalf the evidences for the authority whereby the ,christ-ideal is sanctioned1 should be restored to something like their former sharpness4 ,christianity contains provision for all needs upon their arising4 ,the work of restoration is easy4 ,it demands this much only--the recognition that time has made incrustations upon some parts of the evidences1 and that it has destroyed others2 when this is admitted1 it becomes easy1 after a little practice1 to detect the parts that have been added1 and to remove them1 the parts that are wanting1 and to supply them4 ,only let this be done outside the pages of the ,bible itself1 and not to the disturbance of their present form and arrangement4 ,the above explanation of the causes for the obscurity which rests upon much of our ,lord's life and teaching1 may give us ground for hoping that some of those who have failed to feel the force of the external evidences hitherto1 may yet be saved1 provided they have fully recognised the ,christ-ideal and endeavoured to imitate it1 although irrespectively of any belief in its historical character4 ,it is reasonable to suppose that the duty of belief was so imperatively insisted upon1 in order that the ideal might thus be exalted above controversy1 and made more sacred in the eyes of men than it could have been if referable to a purely human source4 ,may not1 then1 one who recognises the ideal as his summum bonum find grace although he knows not1 or even cares not1 how it should have come to be so8 ,for even a sceptic who regarded the whole ,new ,testament as a work of art1 a poem1 a pure fiction from beginning to end1 and who revered it for its intrinsic beauty only1 as though it were a picture or statue1 even such a person might well find that it engendered in him an ideal of goodness and power and love and human sympathy1 which could be derived from no other source4 ,if1 then1 our blessed ,lord so causes the sun of ,his righteousness to shine upon these men1 shall we presume to say that ,he will not in another world restore them to that full communion with ,himself which can only come from a belief in ,his ,divinity8 ,we can understand that it should have been impossible to proclaim this in the earliest ages of the ,church1 inasmuch as no weakening of the sanctions of the ideal could be tolerated1 but are we bound to extend the operation of the many passages condemnatory of unbelief to a time so remote as our own1 and to circumstances so widely different from those under which they were uttered8 ,do we so extend the command not to eat things strangled or blood1 or the assertion of ,st4 ,paul that the unmarried state is higher than the married8 ,may we not therefore hope that certain kinds of unbelief have become less hateful in the sight of ,god inasmuch as they are less dangerous to the universal acceptance of our ,lord as the one model for the imitation of all men8 ,for1 after all1 it is not belief in the facts which constitutes the essence of ,christianity1 but rather the being so impregnated with love at the contemplation of ,christ that imitation becomes almost instinctive2 this it is which draws the hearts of men to ,god the ,father1 far more than any intellectual belief that ,god sent our ,lord into the world1 ordaining that he should be crucified and rise from the dead4 ,christianity is addressed rather to the infinite spirit of man than to his finite intelligence1 and the believing in ,christ through love is more precious in the sight of ,god than any loving through belief4 ,may we not hope1 then1 that those whose love is great may in the end find acceptance1 though their belief is small8 ,we dare not answer this positively2 but we know that there are times of transition in the clearness of the ,christian evidences as in all else1 and the treatment of those whose lot is cast in such times will surely not escape the consideration of our ,heavenly ,father4 ,but with reference to the many-sidedness of the ,christ-ideal1 as having been part of the design of ,god1 and not attainable otherwise than as the creation of destruction--as coming out of the waste of time--it is clear that the perception of such a design could only be an offspring of modern thought2 the conception of such an apparently self-frustrating scheme could only arise in minds which were familiar with the manner in which it is necessary 8to hound nature in her wanderings0 before her feints can be eluded1 and her prevarications brought to book4 ,a deep distrust of the over-obvious is wanted1 before men can be brought to turn aside from objections which at the first blush appear to be very serious1 and to take refuge in solutions which seem harder than the problems which they are intended to solve4 ,what a shock must the discovery of the rotation of the earth have given to the moral sense of the age in which it was made4 ,how it contradicted all human experience4 ,how it must have outraged common sense4 ,how it must have encouraged scepticism even about the most obvious truths of morality4 ,no question could henceforth be considered settled2 everything seemed to require reopening2 for if man had once been deceived by ,nature so entirely1 if he had been so utterly led astray and deluded by the plausibility of her pretence that the earth was immovably fixed1 what else1 that seemed no less incontrovertible1 might not prove no less false8 ,it is probable that the opposition to ,galileo on the part of the ,roman church was as much due to some such feelings as these1 as to theological objections2 the discovery was felt to unsettle not only the foundations of the earth1 but those of every branch of human knowledge and polity1 and hence to be an outrage upon morality itself4 ,a man has no right to be very much in advance of other people2 he is as a sheep1 which may lead the mob1 but must not stray forward a quarter of a mile in front of it2 if he does this1 he must be rounded up again1 no matter how right may have been his direction4 ,he has no right to be right1 unless he can get a certain following to keep him company2 the shock to morality and the encouragement to lawlessness do more harm than his discovery can atone for4 ,let him hold himself back till he can get one or two more to come with him4 ,in like manner1 had reflections as to the advantage gained by the ,christ ideal in consequence of the inaccuracies and inconsistencies of the ,gospels--reflections which must now occur to any one--been put forward a hundred years ago1 they would have met justly with the severest condemnation4 ,but now1 even those to whom they may not have occurred already will have little difficulty in admitting their force4 ,but be this as it may1 it is certain that the inability to understand how the sense of ,christ in the souls of men could be strengthened by the loss of much knowledge of ,his character1 and of the facts connected with ,his history1 lies at the root of the error even of the ,apostle ,st4 ,paul1 who exclaims with his usual fervour1 but with less than his usual wisdom1 8,has ,christ been divided80 7,i4 ,cor4 i41 #ac74 8,yea10 we may make answer1 8,he is divided and is yet divisible that all may share in ,him40 ,st4 ,paul himself had realised that it was the spiritual value of the ,christ-ideal which was the purifier and refresher of our souls1 inasmuch as he elsewhere declares that even though he had known ,christ ,himself after the flesh1 he knew ,him no more2 the spiritual ,christ1 that is to say the spirit of ,christ as recognisable by the spirits of men1 was to him all in all4 ,but he lived too near the days of our ,lord for a full comprehension of the ,christian scheme1 and it is possible that had he known ,christ after the flesh1 his soul might have been less capable of recognising the spiritual essence1 rather than more so4 ,have we here a faint glimmering of the motive of the ,almighty in not having allowed the ,gentile ,apostle to see ,christ after the flesh8 ,we cannot say4 ,but we may say this much with certainty1 that had he been living now1 ,st4 ,paul would have rejoiced at the many-sidedness of ,christ1 which he appears to have hardly recognised in his own life-time4 ,the apparently contradictory portraits of our ,lord which we find in the ,gospels--so long a stumbling-block to unbelievers--are now seen to be the very means which enable men of all ranks1 and all shades of opinion1 to accept ,christ as their ideal2 they are like the sea1 which from having seemed the most impassable of all objects1 turns out to be the greatest highway of communication4 ,to the artisan1 for instance1 who may have long been out of work1 or who may have suffered from the greed and selfishness of his employers1 or again1 to the farm labourer who has been discharged perhaps at the approach of winter1 the parable of 8the ,labourers in the ,vineyard0 offers itself as a divinely sanctioned picture of the dealings of ,god with man2 few but those who have mixed much with the less educated classes1 can have any idea of the priceless comfort which this parable affords daily to those whose lot it has been to remain unemployed when their more fortunate brethren have been in full work4 ,how many of the poor1 again1 are drawn to ,christianity by the parable of ,dives and ,lazarus4 ,how many a humble-minded ,christian while reflecting upon the hardness of his lot1 and tempted to cast a longing eye upon the luxuries which are at the command of his richer neighbours1 is restrained from seriously coveting them1 by remembering the awful fate of ,dives1 and the happy future which was in store for ,lazarus4 8,dives10 they exclaim1 8in his life-time possessed good things and in like manner ,lazarus evil things1 but now the one is comforted in the bosom of ,abraham1 and the other tormented in a lake of fire40 ,they remember1 also1 that it is easier for a camel to go through the eye of a needle than for a rich man to enter into the kingdom of ,heaven4 ,it has been said by some that the poor are thus encouraged to gloat over the future misery of the rich1 and that many of the sayings ascribed to our ,lord have an unhealthy influence over their minds4 ,i remember to have thought so once myself1 but ,i have seen reason to change my mind4 ,hope is given by these sayings to many whose lives would be otherwise very nearly hopeless1 and though ,i fully grant that the parable of ,dives and ,lazarus can only afford comfort to the very poor1 yet it is most certain that it does afford comfort to this numerous class1 and helps to keep them contented with many things which they would not otherwise endure4 ,on the other hand1 though the poor are first provided for1 the rich are not left without their full share of consolation4 ,joseph of ,arimatha was rich1 and modern criticism forbids us to believe that the parable of ,dives and ,lazarus was ever actually spoken by our ,lord--at any rate not in its present form4 ,neither are the children of the rich forgotten2 the son who repents at length of a course of extravagant or riotous living is encouraged to return to virtue1 and to seek reconciliation with his father1 by reflecting upon the parable of the ,prodigal ,son1 wherein he will find an everlasting model for the conduct of all earthly fathers4 ,i will say nothing of the parable of the ,unjust ,steward1 for it is one of which the interpretation is most uncertain2 nevertheless ,i am sure that it affords comfort to a very large number of persons4 ,christ came not to the whole1 but to those that were sick2 he came not to call the righteous but sinners to repentance4 ,even our fallen sisters are remembered in the story of the woman taken in adultery1 which reminds them that they can only be condemned justly by those who are without sin4 ,it is to the poor1 the weak1 the ignorant and the infirm that ,christianity appeals most strongly1 and to whose needs it is most especially adapted--but these form by far the greater portion of mankind4 8,blessed are they that mourn60 ,whose sorrow is not assuaged by the mere sound of these words8 ,who again is not reassured by being reminded that our ,heavenly ,father feeds the sparrows and clothes the lilies of the field1 and that if we will only seek the kingdom of ,god and ,his righteousness we need take no heed for the morrow what we shall eat1 and what we shall drink1 nor wherewithal we shall be clothed4 ,god will provide these things for us if we are true ,christians1 whether we take heed concerning them or not4 8,i have been young and now am old10 saith the ,psalmist1 8yet never saw ,i the righteous forsaken nor his seed begging their bread40 ,how infinitely nobler and more soul-satisfying is the ideal of the ,christian saint with wasted limbs1 and clothed in the garb of poverty--his upturned eyes piercing the very heavens in the ecstasy of a divine despair--than any of the fleshly ideals of gross human conception such as have already been alluded to4 ,if a man does not feel this instinctively for himself1 let him test it thus--whom does his heart of hearts tell him that his son will be most like ,god in resembling8 ,the ,theseus8 ,the ,discobolus8 or the ,st4 ,peters and ,st4 ,pauls of ,guido and ,domenichino8 ,who can hesitate for a moment as to which ideal presents the higher development of human nature8 ,and this ,i take it should suffice2 the natural instinct which draws us to the ,christ-ideal in preference to all others as soon as it has been once presented to us1 is a sufficient guarantee of its being the one most tending to the general well-being of the world4 ,chapter ,x ,conclusion ,,it only remains to return to the seventh and eighth chapters1 and to pass in review the reasons which will lead us to reject the conclusions therein expressed by our opponents4 ,these conclusions have no real bearing upon the question at issue4 ,our opponents can make out a strong case1 so long as they confine themselves to maintaining that exaggeration has to a certain extent impaired the historic value of some of the ,gospel records of the ,resurrection4 ,they have made out this much1 but have they made out more8 ,they have mistaken the question--which is this--8,did ,jesus ,christ die and rise from the dead80 ,and in the place of it they have raised another1 namely1 8,has there been any inaccuracy in the records of the time and manner of ,his reappearing80 ,our error has been that instead of demurring to the relevancy of the issue raised by our opponents1 we have accepted it4 ,we have thus placed ourselves in a false position1 and have encouraged our opponents by doing so4 ,we have undertaken to fight them upon ground of their own choosing4 ,we have been discomfited2 but instead of owning to our defeat1 and beginning the battle anew from a fresh base of operations1 we have declared that we have not been defeated2 hence those lamentable and suicidal attempts at disingenuous reasoning which we have seen reason to condemn so strongly in the works of ,dean ,alford and others4 ,how deplorable1 how unchristian they are6 ,the moment that we take a truer ground1 the conditions of the strife change4 ,the same spirit of candid criticism which led us to reject the account of ,matthew in toto1 will make it easy for us to admit that those of ,mark1 ,luke1 and ,john1 may not be so accurate as we could have wished1 and yet to feel that our cause has sustained no injury4 ,there are probably very few who would pin their faith to the fact that ,julius ,csar fell exactly at the feet of ,pompey's statue1 or that he uttered the words 8,et tu1 ,brute40 ,yet there are still fewer who would dispute the fact that ,julius ,caesar was assassinated by conspirators of whom ,brutus and ,cassius were among the leaders4 ,as long as we can be sure that our ,lord died and rose from the dead1 we may leave it to our opponents to contend about the details of the manner in which each event took place4 ,we had thought that these details were known1 and so thinking1 we had a certain consolation in realising to ourselves the precise manner in which every incident occurred2 yet on reflection we must feel that the desire to realise is of the essence of idolatry1 which1 not content with knowing that there is a ,god1 will be satisfied with nothing if it has not an effigy of ,his face and figure4 ,if it has not this it falls straight-way to the denial of ,god's existence1 being unable to conceive how a ,being should exist and yet be incapable of representation4 ,we are as those who would fall down and worship the idol2 our opponents1 as those who upon the destruction of the idol would say that there was no ,god4 ,we have met sceptics hitherto by adhering to the opinions as to the necessity of accuracy which prevailed among our forefathers1 and instead of saying1 8,you are right--we do not know all that we thought we did--nevertheless we know enough--we know the fact1 though the manner of the fact be hidden10 we have preferred to say1 8,you are mistaken1 our severe outline1 our hard-and-fast lines are all perfectly accurate1 there is not a detail of our theories which we are not prepared to stand by40 ,on this comes recrimination and mutual anger1 and the strife grows hotter and hotter4 ,let us now rather say to the unbeliever1 8,we do not deny the truth of much which you assert4 ,we give up ,matthew's account of the ,resurrection2 we may perhaps accept parts of those of ,mark and ,luke and ,john1 but it is impossible to say which parts1 unless those in which all three agree with one another2 and this being so1 it becomes wiser to regard all the accounts as early and precious memorials of the certainty felt by the ,apostles that ,christ died and rose again1 but as having little historic value with regard to the time and manner of the ,resurrection40 ,once take this ground1 and instead of demurring to the truth of many of the assertions of our opponents1 demur to their relevancy1 and the unbeliever will find the ground cut away from under his feet independently of the fact that the reasonableness of the concession1 and the discovery that we are not fighting merely to maintain a position1 will incline him to calmness and to the reconsideration of his own opinions--which will in itself be a great gain--he will soon perceive that we are really standing upon firm ground1 from which no enemy can dislodge us4 ,the discovery that we know less of the time and manner of our ,lord's death and ,resurrection than we thought we did1 does not invalidate a single one of the irresistible arguments whereby we can establish the fact of ,his having died and risen again4 ,the reader will now perhaps begin to perceive that the sad division between ,christians and unbelievers has been one of those common cases in which both are right and both wrong2 ,christians being right in their chief assertion1 and wrong in standing out for the accuracy of their details1 while unbelievers are right in denying that our details are accurate1 but wrong in drawing the inference that because certain facts have been inaccurately recorded1 therefore certain others never happened at all4 ,both the errors are natural2 it is high time1 however1 that upon both sides they should be recognised and avoided4 ,but as regards the demolition of the structure raised in the seventh and eighth chapters of this book1 whereinsoever1 that is to say1 it seems to menace the more vital part of our faith1 the ease with which this will effected may perhaps lead the reader to think that ,i have not fulfilled the promise made in the outset1 and have failed to put the best possible case for our opponents4 ,this supposition would be unjust2 ,i have done the very best for them that ,i could4 ,for it is plain that they can only take one of two positions1 namely1 either that ,christ really died upon the ,cross but was never seen alive again afterwards at all1 and that the stories of ,his having been so seen are purely mythical1 or1 if they admit that ,he was seen alive after ,his ,crucifixion1 they must deny the completeness of the death2 in other words1 if they are to escape miracle1 they must either deny the reappearances or the death4 ,now in the commencement of this work ,i dealt with those who deny that our ,lord rose from the dead1 and as the exponent of those who take this view ,i selected ,strauss1 who is undoubtedly the ablest writer they have4 ,whether ,i shewed sufficient reason for thinking that his theory was unsound must remain for the decision of the reader1 but ,i certainly believe that ,i succeeded in doing so4 ,perhaps the ablest of all the writers who have treated the facts given us in the ,gospels from the ,rationalistic point of view1 is the author of an anonymous work called ,the ,jesus of ,history 7,williams and ,norgate1 #ahff72 but this writer 7and it is a characteristic feature of the ,rationalistic school to become vague precisely at this very point7 leaves us entirely in doubt as to whether he accepts the reappearances of ,christ or not1 and his treatment of the facts connected both with the ,crucifixion and ,resurrection is less definite than that of any other part of the life of our ,lord4 ,he does not seem to see his own way clearly1 and appears to consider that it must for ever remain a matter of doubt whether the ,death of ,christ or ,his reappearance is to be rejected4 ,it is evident that it was most desirable to examine both sets of arguments1 i4e41 those against the ,resurrection1 and those against the completeness of the ,death2 ,i have therefore mainly drawn the opinions of those who deny the ,death from the same pamphlet as that from which ,i drew the criticisms on ,dean ,alford's notes4 ,i know of no other ,english work1 indeed1 in which whatever can be said against us upon this all-important head has been put forward1 and was therefore compelled to draw from this source1 or to invent the arguments for our opponents1 which would have subjected me to the accusation of stating them in such way as should best suit my own purpose4 ,the reader1 however1 must now feel that since there can be no other position taken but one or other of the two alluded to above1 and since the one taken by ,strauss has been shewn to be untenable1 there remains nothing but to shew that the other is untenable also1 whereupon it will follow that our ,saviour did actually die1 and did actually shew ,himself subsequently alive2 and this amounts to a demonstration of the miraculous character of the ,resurrection4 ,if1 then1 this one miracle be established1 ,i think it unnecessary to defend the others1 because ,i cannot think that any will attack them4 ,but1 as has been seen already1 ,strauss admits that our ,lord died upon the ,cross1 and denies the reality of the reappearances4 ,it is not probable that ,strauss would have taken refuge in the hallucination theory if he had felt that there was the remotest chance of successfully denying our ,lord's death2 for the difficulties of his present position are overwhelming1 as was fully pointed out in the second1 third1 and fourth chapters of this work4 ,i regret1 however1 to say that ,i can nowhere find any detailed account of the reasons which have led him to feel so positively about our ,lord's ,death4 ,such reasons must undoubtedly be at his command1 or he would indisputably have referred the ,resurrection to natural causes4 ,is it possible that he has thought it better to keep them to himself1 as proving the ,death of our ,lord too convincingly8 ,if so1 the course which he has adopted is a cruel one4 ,we must endeavour1 however1 to dispense with ,strauss's assistance1 and will proceed to inquire what it is that those who deny the ,death of our ,lord1 call upon us to reject4 ,i regret to pass so quickly over one great field of evidence which in justice to myself ,i must allude to1 though ,i cannot dwell upon it1 for in the outset ,i declared that ,i would confine myself to the historical evidence1 and to this only4 ,i refer to spiritual insight2 to the testimony borne by the souls of living persons1 who from personal experience know that their ,redeemer liveth1 and that though worms destroy this body1 yet in their flesh shall they see ,god4 ,how many thousands are there in the world at this moment1 who have known ,christ as a personal friend and comforter1 and who can testify to the work which ,he has wrought upon them6 ,i cannot pass over such testimony as this in silence4 ,i must assign it a foremost place in reviewing the reasons for holding that our hope is not in vain1 but ,i may not dwell upon it1 inasmuch as it would carry no weight with those for whom this work is designed1 ,i mean with those to whom this precious experience of ,christ has not yet been vouchsafed4 ,such persons require the external evidence to be made clear to demonstration before they will trust themselves to listen to the voices of hope or fear1 and it is of no use appealing to the knowledge and hopes of others without making it clear upon what that knowledge and those hopes are grounded4 ,nevertheless1 ,i may be allowed to point out that those who deny the ,death and ,resurrection of our ,lord1 call upon us to believe that an immense multitude of most truthful and estimable people are no less deceivers of their own selves and others1 than ,mohammedans1 ,jews and ,buddhists are4 ,how many do we not each of us know to whom ,christ is the spiritual meat and drink of their whole lives4 ,yet our opponents call upon us to ignore all this1 and to refer the emotions and elation of soul1 which the love of ,christ kindles in his true followers1 to an inheritance of delusion and blunder4 ,truly a melancholy outlook4 ,again1 let a man travel over ,england1 ,north1 ,south1 ,east1 and ,west1 and in his whole journey he shall hardly find a single spot from which he cannot see one or several churches4 ,there is hardly a hamlet which is not also a centre for the celebration of our ,redemption by the ,death and ,resurrection of ,christ4 ,not one of these churches1 say the ,rationalists1 not one of the clergymen who minister therein1 not one single village school in all ,england1 but must be regarded as a fountain of error1 if not of deliberate falsehood4 ,look where they may1 they cannot escape from the signs of a vital belief in the ,resurrection4 ,all these signs1 they will tell us1 are signs of superstition only2 it is superstition which they celebrate and would confirm2 they are founded upon fanaticism1 or at the best upon sheer delusion2 they poison the fountain heads of moral and intellectual well-being1 by teaching men to set human experience on the one side1 and to refer their conduct to the supposed will of a personal anthropomorphic ,god who was actually once a baby--who was born of one of his own creatures--and who is now locally and corporeally in ,heaven1 8of reasonable soul and human flesh subsisting40 ,thus do our opponents taunt us1 but when we think not only of the present day1 but of the nearly two thousand years during which ,christianity has flourished1 not in ,england only1 but over all ,europe1 that is to say1 over the quarter of the globe which is most civilised1 and whose civilisation is in itself proof both of capacity to judge and of having judged rightly--what an awful admission do unbelievers require us to make1 when they bid us think that all these ages and countries have gone astray to the imagining of a vain thing4 ,all the self-sacrifice of the holiest men for sixty generations1 all the wars that have been waged for the sake of ,christ and ,his truth1 all the money spent upon churches1 clergy1 monasteries and religious education1 all the blood of martyrs1 all the celibacy of priests and nuns1 all the self-denying lives of those who are now ministers of the ,gospel--according to the ,rationalist1 no part of all this devotion to the cause of ,christ has had any justifiable base on actual fact4 ,the bare contemplation of such a stupendous misapplication of self-sacrifice and energy1 should be enough to prevent any one from ever smiling again to whose mind such a deplorable view was present3 we wonder that our opponents do not shrink back appalled from the contemplation of a picture which they must regard as containing so much of sin1 impudence and folly2 yet it is to the contemplation of such a picture1 and to a belief in its truthfulness to nature1 that they would invite us2 they cannot even see a clergyman without saying to themselves1 8,there goes one whose trade is the promotion of error2 whose whole life is devoted to the upholding of the untrue40 ,to them the sight of people flocking to a church must be as painful as it would be to us to see a congregation of ,jews or ,mohammedans3 they ought to have no happiness in life so long as they believe that the vast majority of their fellow-countrymen are so lamentably deluded2 yet they would call on us to join them1 and half despise us upon our refusing to do so4 ,but upon this view also ,i may not dwell2 it would have been easy and ,i think not unprofitable1 had my aim been different1 to have drawn an ampler picture of the heart-rending amount of falsehood1 stupidity1 cruelty and folly which must be referable to a belief in ,christianity1 if1 as our opponents maintain1 there is no solid ground for believing it2 but my present purpose is to prove that there is such ground1 and having said enough to shew that ,i do not ignore the fields of evidence which lie beyond the purpose of my work1 ,i will return to the ,crucifixion and ,resurrection4 ,what1 then1 let me ask of freethinkers1 became of ,christ eventually8 ,several answers may be made to this question1 but there is none but the one given in ,scripture which will set it at rest4 ,thus it has been said that ,christ survived the ,cross1 lingered for a few weeks1 and in the end succumbed to the injuries which ,he had sustained4 ,on this there arises the question1 did the ,apostles know of ,his death8 ,and if so1 were they likely to mistake the reappearance of a dying man1 so shattered and weak as ,he must have been1 for the glory of an immortal being8 ,we know that people can idealise a great deal1 but they cannot idealise as much as this4 ,the ,apostles cannot have known of any death of ,christ except ,his ,death upon the ,cross1 and it is not credible that if ,he had died from the effects of the ,crucifixion the ,apostles should not have been aware of it4 ,no one will pretend that they were1 so it is needless to discuss this theory further4 ,it has also been said that our ,lord1 having seen the effect of ,his reappearance on the ,apostles1 considered that further converse with them would only weaken it2 and that ,he may have therefore thought it wiser to withdraw ,himself finally from them1 and to leave ,his teaching in their hands1 with the certainty that it would never henceforth be lost sight of2 but this view is inconsistent with the character which even our adversaries themselves assign to our ,saviour4 ,the idea is one which might occur to a theorist sitting in his study1 and enlightened by a knowledge of events1 but it would not suggest itself to a leader in the heat of action4 ,another supposition has been that our ,lord on recovering consciousness after ,he had been left alone in the tomb1 or perhaps even before ,joseph had gone1 may have been unable to realise to ,himself the nature of the events that had befallen ,him1 and may have actually believed that ,he had been dead1 and been miraculously restored to life2 that ,he may yet have felt a natural fear of again falling into the hands of ,his enemies2 and partly from this cause1 and partly through awe at the miracle that ,he supposed had been worked upon ,him1 have only shewn ,himself to ,his disciples hurriedly1 in secret1 and on rare occasions1 spending the greater part of ,his time in some one or other of the secret places of resort1 in which ,he had been wont to live apart from the ,apostles before the ,crucifixion4 ,i have known it urged that our ,lord never said or even thought that ,he had risen from the dead1 but shewed ,himself alive secretly and fearfully1 and bade ,his disciples follow ,him to ,galilee1 where ,he might1 and perhaps did1 appear more openly1 though still rarely and with caution2 that the rarity and mystery of the reappearances would add to the impression of a miraculous resurrection which had instantly presented itself to the minds of the ,apostles on seeing ,christ alive2 that this impression alone would prevent them from heeding facts which must have been obvious to any whose minds were not already unhinged by the knowledge that ,christ was alive1 and by the belief that ,he had been dead2 and that they would be blinded by awe1 which awe would be increased by the rarity of the reappearances--a rarity that was in reality due1 perhaps to fear1 perhaps to self-delusion1 perhaps to both1 but which was none the less politic for not having been dictated by policy2 finally that the report of ,christ's having been seen alive reached the ,chief ,priests 7or perhaps ,joseph of ,arimatha71 and that they determined at all hazards to nip the coming mischief in the bud2 that they therefore watched their opportunity1 and got rid of so probable a cause of disturbance by the knife of the assassin1 or induced ,him to depart by threats1 which ,he did not venture to resist4 ,but if our ,lord was secretly assassinated how could it have happened that the body should never have been found1 and produced1 when the ,apostles began declaring publicly that ,christ had risen8 ,what could be easier than to bring it forward and settle the whole matter8 ,it cannot be doubted that the body must have been looked for when the ,apostles began publishing their story2 we saw reason for believing this when we considered the account of the ,resurrection given by ,st4 ,matthew4 ,now those that hide can find2 and if the enemies of ,christ had got rid of ,him by foul play1 they would know very well where to lay their hands upon that which would be the death blow to ,christianity4 ,if then ,christ did not go away of ,his own accord1 as feeling that ,his teaching would be better preserved by ,his absence1 and if ,he did not die from wounds received upon the ,cross1 and if ,he was not assassinated secretly1 what remains as the most reasonable view to be taken concerning ,his disappearance8 ,surely the one that was taken2 the view which commended itself to those who were best able to judge--namely1 that ,he had ascended bodily into ,heaven and was sitting at the right hand of ,god the ,father4 ,where else could ,he be8 ,for that ,he disappeared1 and disappeared finally1 within six weeks of the ,crucifixion must be considered certain2 there is no one who will be bold enough even to hazard a conjecture that the appearance of ,christ alluded to by ,st4 ,paul1 as having been vouchsafed to him some years later1 was that of the living ,christ1 who had chosen upon this one occasion to depart from the seclusion and secrecy which he had maintained hitherto4 ,but if ,christ was still living on earth1 how was it possible that no human being should have the smallest clue to ,his whereabouts8 ,if ,he was dead how is it that no one should have produced the body8 ,such a mysterious and total disappearance1 even in the face of great jeopardy1 has never yet been known1 and can only be satisfactorily explained by adopting the belief which has prevailed for nearly the last two thousand years1 and which will prevail more and more triumphantly so long as the world shall last--the belief that ,christ was restored to the glory which ,he had shared with the ,father1 as soon as ever ,he had given sufficient proofs of ,his being alive to ensure the devotion of ,his followers4 ,before we can reject the supernatural solution of a mystery otherwise inexplicable1 we should have some natural explanation which will meet the requirements of the case4 ,a confession of ignorance is not enough here4 ,we are not ignorant2 we know that ,christ died1 inasmuch as we have the testimony of all the four ,evangelists to this effect1 the testimony of the ,apostle ,paul1 and through him that of all the other ,apostles2 we have also the certainty that the centurion in charge of the soldiers at the ,crucifixion would not have committed so grave a breach of discipline as the delivery of the body to ,joseph and ,nicodemus1 unless he had felt quite sure that life was extinct2 and finally we have the testimony of the ,church for sixty generations1 and that of myriads now living1 whose experience assures them that ,christ died and rose from the dead2 in addition to this tremendous body of evidence we have also the story of the spear wound recorded in a ,gospel which even our opponents believe to be from a ,johannean source in its later chapters2 and though1 as has been already stated1 this wound cannot be insisted upon as in itself sufficient to prove our ,lord's death1 yet it must assuredly be allowed its due weight in reviewing the evidence4 ,the unbeliever cannot surely have considered how shallow are all the arguments which he can produce1 in comparison with those that make against him4 ,he cannot say that ,i have not done him justice1 and ,i feel confident that when he reconsiders the matter in that spirit of humility without which he cannot hope to be guided to a true conclusion1 he will feel sure that ,strauss is right in believing that the death of our ,lord cannot be seriously called in question4 ,but this being so1 the reappearances1 which we have seen to be established by the collapse of the hallucination theory1 must be referred to supernatural or miraculous agency2 that is to say1 our ,lord died and rose again on the third day1 according to the ,scriptures4 ,whereon ,his disappearance some six weeks later must be looked upon very differently from that of any ordinary person4 ,if our ,lord could have been shewn to have been a mere man1 who had escaped death only by a hair's breadth1 but still escaped it1 perhaps some one of the theories for ,his disappearance1 or some combination of them1 or some other explanation which has not yet been thought of1 might be held to be sufficient2 but in the case of ,one who died and rose from the dead1 there is no theory which will stand1 except the one which it has been reserved for our own lawless and self-seeking times to question4 ,through the light of the ,resurrection the ,ascension is clearly seen4 99 99 99 99 99 ,my task is now completed4 ,in an age when ,rationalism has become recognised as the only basis upon which faith can rest securely1 ,i have established the ,christian faith upon a ,rationalistic basis4 ,i have made no concession to ,rationalism which did not place all the vital parts of ,christianity in a far stronger position than they were in before1 yet ,i have conceded everything which a sincere ,rationalist is likely to desire4 ,i have cleared the ground for reconciliation4 ,it only remains for the two contending parties to come forward and occupy it in peace jointly4 ,may it be mine to see the day when all traces of disagreement have been long obliterated6 ,to the unbeliever ,i can say1 8,never yet in any work upon the ,christian side have your difficulties been so fully and fairly stated2 never yet has orthodox disingenuousness been so unsparingly exposed40 ,to the ,christian ,i can say with no less justice1 8,never yet have the true reasons for the discrepancies in the ,gospels been so put forward as to enable us to look these discrepancies boldly in the face1 and to thank ,god for having graciously allowed them to exist40 ,i do not say this in any spirit of self-glorification4 ,we are children of the hour1 and creatures of our surroundings4 ,as it has been given unto us1 so will it be required at our hands1 and we are at best unprofitable servants4 ,nevertheless ,i cannot refrain from expressing my gratitude at having been born in an age when ,christianity and ,rationalism are not only ceasing to appear antagonistic to one another1 but have each become essential to the very existence of the other4 ,may the reader feel this no less strongly than ,i do1 and may he also feel that ,i have supplied the missing element which could alone cause them to combine4 ,if he asks me what element ,i allude to1 ,i answer ,candour4 ,this is the pilot that has taken us safely into the ,fair ,haven of universal brotherhood in ,christ4 ,appendix ,i ,the ,burial 7,john xix4 #ch-db7 ,and after this ,joseph of ,arimatha1 being a disciple of ,jesus1 but secretly for fear of the ,jews1 besought ,pilate that he might take away the body of ,jesus3 and ,pilate gave him leave4 ,he came therefore1 and took the body of ,jesus4 ,and there came also ,nicodemus1 which at the first came to ,jesus by night1 and brought a mixture of myrrh and aloes1 about an hundred pound weight4 ,then took they the body of ,jesus1 and wound it in linen clothes with the spices1 as the manner of the ,jews is to bury4 ,now in the place where he was crucified there was a garden2 and in the garden a new sepulchre1 wherein was never man yet laid4 ,there laid they ,jesus therefore because of the ,jews' preparation day2 for the sepulchre was nigh at hand4 7,luke xxiii4 #ej-ef7 ,and1 behold1 there was a man named ,joseph1 a counsellor2 and he was a good man1 and a just3 7the same had not consented to the counsel and deed of them27 he was of ,arimatha1 a city of the ,jews3 who also himself waited for the kingdom of ,god4 ,this man went unto ,pilate1 and begged the body of ,jesus4 ,and he took it down1 and wrapped it in linen1 and laid it in a sepulchre that was hewn in stone1 wherein never man before was laid4 ,and that day was the preparation1 and the sabbath drew on4 ,and the women also1 which came with him from ,galilee1 followed after1 and beheld the sepulchre1 and how his body was laid4 ,and they returned1 and prepared spices and ointments2 and rested the sabbath day according to the commandment4 7,mark xv4 #db-dg7 ,and now when the even was come1 because it was the preparation1 that is1 the day before the sabbath1 ,joseph of ,arimatha1 an honourable counsellor1 which also waited for the kingdom of ,god1 came1 and went in boldly unto ,pilate1 and craved the body of ,jesus4 ,and ,pilate marvelled if he were already dead3 and calling unto him the centurion1 he asked him whether he had been any while dead4 ,and when he knew it of the centurion1 he gave the body to ,joseph4 ,and he bought fine linen1 and took him down1 and wrapped him in the linen1 and laid him in a sepulchre which was hewn out of a rock1 and rolled a stone unto the door of the sepulchre4 ,and ,mary ,magdalene and ,mary the mother of ,joseph beheld where he was laid4 7,matthew xxvii4 #eg-fa7 ,when the even was come1 there came a rich man of ,arimatha1 named ,joseph1 who also himself was ,jesus' disciple4 ,he went to ,pilate1 and begged the body of ,jesus4 ,then ,pilate commanded the body to be delivered4 ,and when ,joseph had taken the body1 he wrapped it in a clean linen cloth4 ,and laid it in his own new tomb1 which he had hewn out in the rock3 and he rolled a great stone to the door of the sepulchre1 and departed4 ,and there was ,mary ,magdalene1 and the other ,mary1 sitting over against the sepulchre4 ,,ii ,the ,guard set upon the ,tomb 7,peculiar to ,matthew7 7,matthew xxvii4 #fb-ff7 ,now the next day1 that followed the day of the preparation1 the chief priests and ,pharisees came together unto ,pilate4 ,saying1 ,sir1 we remember that that deceiver said1 while he was yet alive1 ,after three days ,i will rise again4 ,command therefore that the sepulchre be made sure until the third day1 lest his disciples come by night1 and steal him away1 and say unto the people1 ,he is risen from the dead3 so the last error shall be worse than the first4 ,pilate said unto them1 ,ye have a watch3 go your way1 make it as sure as ye can4 ,so they went1 and made the sepulchre sure1 sealing the stone1 and setting a watch4 ,,iii ,visit of ,mary ,magdalene1 and ,others1 to the ,tomb 7,john xx4 #a-ac7 ,the first day of the week cometh ,mary ,magdalene early1 when it was yet dark1 unto the sepulchre1 and seeth the stone taken away from the sepulchre4 ,then she runneth1 and cometh to ,simon ,peter1 and to the other disciple1 whom ,jesus loved1 and saith unto them1 ,they have taken away the ,lord out of the sepulchre1 and we know not where they have laid him4 ,peter therefore went forth1 and that other disciple1 and came to the sepulchre4 ,so they ran both together3 and the other disciple did outrun ,peter1 and came first to the sepulchre4 ,and he stooping down1 and looking in1 saw the linen clothes lying2 yet went he not in4 ,then cometh ,simon ,peter following him1 and went into the sepulchre1 and seeth the linen clothes lie4 ,and the napkin1 that was about his head1 not lying with the linen clothes1 but wrapped together in a place by itself4 ,then went in also that other disciple1 which came first to the sepulchre1 and he saw1 and believed4 ,for as yet they knew not the scripture1 that he must rise again from the dead4 ,then the disciples went away again unto their own home4 ,but ,mary stood without the sepulchre weeping3 and as she wept1 she stooped down1 and looked into the sepulchre1 ,and seeth two angels in white sitting1 the one at the head1 and the other at the feet1 where the body of ,jesus had lain4 ,and they say unto her1 ,woman1 why weepest thou8 ,she saith unto them1 ,because they have taken away my ,lord1 and ,i know not where they have laid him4 7,luke xxiv4 #a-ab7 ,now upon the first day of the week very early in the morning1 they came unto the sepulchre1 bringing the spices which they had prepared1 and certain others with them4 ,and they found the stone rolled away from the sepulchre4 ,and they entered in1 and found not the body of the ,lord ,jesus4 ,and it came to pass1 as they were much perplexed thereabout1 behold1 two men stood by them in shining garments3 and as they were afraid1 and bowed down their faces to the earth1 they said unto them1 ,why seek ye the living among the dead8 ,he is not here1 but is risen3 remember how he spake unto you when he was yet in ,galilee1 saying1 ,the ,son of man must be delivered into the hands of sinful men1 and be crucified1 and the third day rise again4 ,and they remembered his words1 and returned from the sepulchre1 and told all these things unto the eleven1 and to all the rest4 ,it was ,mary ,magdalene1 and ,joanna1 and ,mary the mother of ,james1 and other women that were with them1 which told these things unto the apostles4 ,and their words seemed to them as idle tales1 and they believed them not4 ,then arose ,peter1 and ran unto the sepulchre2 and stooping down1 he beheld the linen clothes laid by themselves1 and departed1 wondering in himself at that which was come to pass4 7,mark xvi4 #a-h7 ,and when the sabbath was past1 ,mary ,magdalene1 and ,mary the mother of ,james1 and ,salome1 had bought sweet spices1 that they might come and anoint him4 ,and very early in the morning the first day of the week1 they came unto the sepulchre at the rising of the sun4 ,and they said among themselves1 ,who shall roll us away the stone from the door of the sepulchre8 ,and when they looked1 they saw that the stone was rolled away3 for it was very great4 ,and entering into the sepulchre1 they saw a young man sitting on the right side1 clothed in a long white garment2 and they were affrighted4 ,and he saith unto them1 ,be not affrighted3 ,ye seek ,jesus of ,nazareth1 which was crucified3 he is risen2 he is not here3 behold the place where they laid him4 ,but go your way1 tell his disciples and ,peter that he goeth before you into ,galilee3 there shall ye see him1 as he said unto you4 ,and they went out quickly1 and fled from the sepulchre2 for they trembled and were amazed3 neither said they anything to any man2 for they were afraid4 7,matthew xxviii4 #a-h7 ,in the end of the sabbath1 as it began to draw toward the first day of the week1 came ,mary ,magdalene and the other ,mary to see the sepulchre4 ,and1 behold1 there was a great earthquake3 for the angel of the ,lord descended from heaven1 and came and rolled back the stone from the door1 and sat upon it4 ,his countenance was like lightning1 and his raiment white as snow1 and for fear of him the keepers did shake1 and became as dead men4 ,and the angel answered and said unto the women1 ,fear not ye3 for ,i know that ye seek ,jesus1 which was crucified4 ,he is not here3 for he is risen1 as he said4 ,come1 see the place where the ,lord lay4 ,and go quickly1 and tell his disciples that he is risen from the dead2 and1 behold1 he goeth before you into ,galilee2 there shall ye see him3 lo1 ,i have told you4 ,and they departed quickly from the sepulchre with fear and great joy2 and did run to bring his disciples word4 ,,iv ,appearance of ,christ to ,mary ,magdalene and ,others 7,john xx4 #ad-ah7 ,and when she had thus said1 she turned herself back1 and saw ,jesus standing1 and knew not that it was ,jesus4 ,jesus saith unto her1 ,woman1 why weepest thou8 ,whom seekest thou8 ,she1 supposing him to be the gardener1 saith unto him1 ,sir1 if thou have borne him hence1 tell me where thou hast laid him1 and ,i will take him away4 ,jesus saith unto her1 ,mary4 ,she turned herself1 and saith unto him1 ,rabboni2 which is to say1 ,master4 ,jesus saith unto her1 ,touch me not2 for ,i am not yet ascended to my ,father3 but go to my brethren1 and say unto them1 ,i ascend unto my ,father1 and your ,father2 and to my ,god1 and your ,god4 ,mary ,magdalene came and told the disciples that she had seen the ,lord1 and that he had spoken these things unto her4 7,mark xvi4 #i-aa7 ,now when ,jesus was risen early the first day of the week1 he appeared first to ,mary ,magdalene1 out of whom he had cast seven devils4 ,and she went and told them that had been with him1 as they mourned and wept4 ,and they1 when they had heard that he was alive1 and had been seen of her1 believed not4 7,matthew xxvii4 #i-aj7 ,and as they went to tell his disciples1 behold1 ,jesus met them1 saying1 ,all hail4 ,and they came and held him by the feet1 and worshipped him4 ,then said ,jesus unto them1 ,be not afraid3 go tell my brethren that they go into ,galilee1 and there shall they see me4 ,v ,the ,bribing of the ,guard 7,peculiar to ,matthew7 7,matthew xxviii4 #aa-ae7 ,now when they were going1 behold1 some of the watch came into the city1 and shewed unto the chief priests all the things that were done4 ,and when they were assembled with the elders1 and had taken counsel1 they gave large money unto the soldiers1 saying1 ,say ye1 ,his disciples came by night1 and stole him away while we slept4 ,and if this come to the governor's ears1 we will persuade him1 and secure you4 ,so they took the money1 and did as they were taught3 and this saying is commonly reported among the ,jews until this day4 ,,vi ,appearance to ,cleopas 7and ,james87 7,luke xxiv4 #ac-ce7 ,and1 behold1 two of them went that same day to a village called ,emmaus1 which was from ,jerusalem about threescore furlongs4 ,and they talked together of all these things which had happened4 ,and it came to pass1 that1 while they communed together and reasoned1 ,jesus himself drew near1 and went with them4 ,but their eyes were holden that they should not know him4 ,and he said unto them1 ,what manner of communications are these that ye have one to another1 as ye walk1 and are sad8 ,and the one of them1 whose name was ,cleopas1 answering said unto him1 ,art thou only a stranger in ,jerusalem1 and hast not known the things which are come to pass there in these days8 ,and he said unto them1 ,what things8 ,and they said unto him1 ,concerning ,jesus of ,nazareth1 which was a prophet mighty in deed and word before ,god and all the people3 ,and how the chief priests and our rulers delivered him to be condemned to death1 and have crucified him4 ,but we trusted that it had been he which should have redeemed ,israel3 and beside all this1 to-day is the third day since these things were done4 ,yea1 and certain women also of our company made us astonished1 which were early at the sepulchre2 and when they found not his body1 they came1 saying1 that they had also seen a vision of angels1 which said that he was alive1 and certain of them which were with us went to the sepulchre1 and found it even so as the women had said3 but him they saw not4 ,then he said unto them1 ,o fools1 and slow of heart to believe all that the prophets have spoken3 ,ought not ,christ to have suffered these things1 and to enter into his glory8 ,and beginning at ,moses and all the prophets1 he expounded unto them in all the scriptures the things concerning himself4 ,and they drew nigh unto the village1 whither they went3 and he made as though he would have gone further4 ,but they constrained him1 saying1 ,abide with us3 for it is toward evening1 and the day is far spent4 ,and he went in to tarry with them4 ,and it came to pass1 as he sat at meat with them1 he took bread1 and blessed it1 and brake1 and gave to them4 ,and their eyes were opened1 and they knew him2 and he vanished out of their sight4 ,and they said one to another1 ,did not our heart burn within us1 while he talked with us by the way1 and while he opened to us the scriptures8 ,and they rose up the same hour1 and returned to ,jerusalem1 and found the eleven gathered together1 and them that were with them1 saying1 ,the ,lord is risen indeed1 and hath appeared to ,simon4 ,and they told what things were done in the way1 and how he was known of them in breaking of bread4 7,mark xvi4 #ab-ac7 ,after that he appeared in another form unto two of them1 as they walked1 and went into the country4 ,and they went and told it unto the residue3 neither believed they them4 ,,vii ,appearance to the ,apostles 7,twice in ,john7 7,john xx4 #ai-bi7 ,then the same day at evening1 being the first day of the week1 when the doors were shut where the disciples were assembled for fear of the ,jews1 came ,jesus and stood in the midst1 and saith unto them1 ,peace be unto you4 ,and when he had so said1 he shewed them his hands and his side4 ,then were the disciples glad1 when they saw the ,lord4 ,then said ,jesus to them again1 ,peace be unto you3 as my ,father hath sent me1 even1 so send ,i you4 ,and when he had said this1 he breathed on them1 and saith unto them1 ,receive ye the ,holy ,ghost4 ,whose soever sins ye remit1 they are remitted unto them2 and whose soever sins ye retain1 they are retained4 ,but ,thomas1 one of the twelve1 called ,didymus1 was not with them when ,jesus came4 ,the other disciples therefore said unto him1 ,we have seen the ,lord4 ,but he said unto them1 ,except ,i shall see in his hands the print of the nails1 and put my finger into the print of the nails1 and thrust my hand into his side1 ,i will not believe4 ,and after eight days again his disciples were within1 and ,thomas with them3 then came ,jesus1 the doors being shut1 and stood in the midst1 and said1 ,peace be unto you4 ,then saith he to ,thomas1 ,reach hither thy finger1 and behold my hands2 and reach hither thy hand1 and thrust it into my side3 and be not faithless1 but believing4 ,and ,thomas answered and said unto him1 ,my ,lord and my ,god4 ,jesus saith unto him1 ,thomas1 because thou hast seen me1 thou hast believed3 blessed are they that have not seen1 and yet have believed4 99 99 99 99 99 ,i have not quoted the twenty-first chapter of ,st4 ,john's ,gospel on account of its exceedingly doubtful genuineness4--,w4 ,b4 ,o4 7,luke xxiv4 #cf-di7 ,and as they thus spake1 ,jesus himself stood in the midst of them1 and saith unto them1 ,peace be unto you4 ,but they were terrified and affrighted1 and supposed that they had seen a spirit4 ,and he said unto them1 ,why are ye troubled8 and why do thoughts arise in your hearts8 ,behold my hands and my feet1 that it is ,i myself2 handle me1 and see2 for a spirit hath not flesh and bones1 as ye see me have4 ,and when he had thus spoken1 he shewed them his hands and his feet4 ,and while they yet believed not for joy1 and wondered1 he said unto them1 ,have ye here any meat8 ,and they gave him a piece of a broiled fish1 and of an honeycomb4 ,and he took it1 and did eat before them4 ,and he said unto them1 ,these are the words which ,i spake unto you1 while ,i was yet with you1 that all things must be fulfilled1 which were written in the law of ,moses1 and in the prophets1 and in the psalms concerning me4 ,then opened he their understanding1 that they might understand the scriptures4 ,and said unto them1 ,thus it is written1 and thus it behoved ,christ to suffer1 and to rise from the dead the third day3 ,and that repentance and remission of sins should be preached in his name among all nations1 beginning at ,jerusalem4 ,and ye are witnesses of these things4 ,and1 behold1 ,i send the promise of my ,father upon you3 but tarry ye in the city of ,jerusalem1 until ye be endued with power from on high4 7,mark xvi4 #ad-ah7 ,afterward he appeared unto the eleven as they sat at meat1 and upbraided them with their unbelief and hardness of heart1 because they believed not them which had seen him after he was risen4 ,and he saith unto them1 ,go ye into all the world1 and preach the gospel to every creature4 ,he that believeth and is baptized shall be saved2 but he that believeth not shall be damned4 ,and these signs shall follow them that believe2 ,in my name shall they cast out devils2 they shall speak with new tongues2 ,they shall take up serpents2 and if they drink any deadly thing1 it shall not hurt them2 they shall lay hands on the sick1 and they shall recover4 7,matthew xviii4 #af-bj7 ,then the eleven disciples went away into ,galilee1 into a mountain where ,jesus had appointed them4 ,and when they saw him1 they worshipped him3 but some doubted4 ,and ,jesus came and spake unto them1 saying1 ,all power is given unto me in heaven and in earth1 go ye therefore1 and teach all nations1 baptizing them in the name of the ,father1 and of the ,son1 and of the ,holy ,ghost3 teaching them to observe all things whatsoever ,i have commanded you3 and1 lo1 ,i am with you alway1 even unto the end of the world4 ,amen4 ,,viii ,the ,ascension 7,luke xxiv4 #ej-ec7 ,and he led them out as far as to ,bethany1 and he lifted up his hands1 and blessed them4 ,and it came to pass1 while he blessed them1 he was parted from them1 and carried up into heaven4 ,and they worshipped him1 and returned to ,jerusalem with great joy4 ,and were continually in the temple1 praising and blessing ,god4 ,amen4 7,mark xvi4 #ai-bj7 ,so then after the ,lord had spoken unto them1 he was received up into heaven1 and sat on the right hand of ,god4 ,and they went forth1 and preached every where1 the ,lord working with them1 and confirming the word with signs following4 ,amen4 7,acts i4 #a-ab7 ,the former treatise have ,i made1 ,o ,theophilus1 of all that ,jesus began both to do and teach1 ,until the day in which he was taken up1 after that he through the ,holy ,ghost had given commandments unto the apostles whom he had chosen4 ,to whom also he shewed himself alive after his passion by many infallible proofs1 being seen of them forty days1 and speaking of the things pertaining to the kingdom of ,god3 and1 being assembled together with them1 commanded them that they should not depart from ,jerusalem1 but wait for the promise of the ,father1 which1 saith he1 ye have heard of me4 ,for ,john truly baptized with water1 but ye shall be baptized with the ,holy ,ghost not many days hence4 ,when they therefore were come together1 they asked of him1 saying1 ,lord1 wilt thou at this time restore again the kingdom to ,israel8 ,and he said unto them1 ,it is not for you to know the times or the seasons1 which the ,father hath put in his own power4 ,but ye shall receive power1 after that the ,holy ,ghost is come upon you3 and ye shall be witnesses unto me both in ,jerusalem1 and in all ,juda1 and in ,samaria1 and unto the uttermost part of the earth4 ,and when he had spoken these things1 while they beheld1 he was taken up2 and a cloud received him out of their sight1 ,and while they looked stedfastly toward heaven as he went up1 behold1 two men stood by them in white apparel2 ,which also said1 ,ye men of ,galilee1 why stand ye gazing up into heaven8 ,this same ,jesus1 which is taken up from you into heaven1 shall so come in like manner as ye have seen him go into heaven4 ,then returned they unto ,jerusalem from the mount called ,olivet1 which is from ,jerusalem a sabbath day's journey4 ,,ix ,st4 ,paul's account of our ,lord's ,reappearances 7,i4 ,corinthians xv4 #c-h7 ,for ,i delivered unto you first of all that which ,i also received1 how that ,christ died for our sins according to the scriptures2 and that he was buried1 and that he rose again the third day according to the scriptures3 and that he was seen of ,cephas1 then of the twelve2 after that he was seen of above five hundred brethren at once2 of whom the greater part remain unto this present1 but some are fallen asleep4 ,after that1 he was seen of ,james3 then of all the apostles4 ,and last of all he was seen of me also as of one born out of due time4 ,,footnotes #hb ,it should be borne in mind that this passage was written five or six years ago1 before the commencement of the ,franco-,prussian war1 ,what would my brother have said had he been able to comprehend the events of #ahgj and #ahga8--,w4 ,b4 ,o4 #ada ,this pamphlet was by ,butler himself4 #aeh;a ,see ,biog4 ,britann4 #aeh;b ,middleton's ,reflections answered by ,benson4 ,hist4 ,christ1 vol4 iii41 p4 #ej4 #aei;a ,lardner1 part ,i41 vol4 ii41 p4 #ace et seq4 #aei;b ,ibid41 part ,i41 vol4 ii41 p4 #gdb4