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diff --git a/.gitattributes b/.gitattributes new file mode 100644 index 0000000..d7b82bc --- /dev/null +++ b/.gitattributes @@ -0,0 +1,4 @@ +*.txt text eol=lf +*.htm text eol=lf +*.html text eol=lf +*.md text eol=lf diff --git a/LICENSE.txt b/LICENSE.txt new file mode 100644 index 0000000..6312041 --- /dev/null +++ b/LICENSE.txt @@ -0,0 +1,11 @@ +This eBook, including all associated images, markup, improvements, +metadata, and any other content or labor, has been confirmed to be +in the PUBLIC DOMAIN IN THE UNITED STATES. + +Procedures for determining public domain status are described in +the "Copyright How-To" at https://www.gutenberg.org. + +No investigation has been made concerning possible copyrights in +jurisdictions other than the United States. Anyone seeking to utilize +this eBook outside of the United States should confirm copyright +status under the laws that apply to them. diff --git a/README.md b/README.md new file mode 100644 index 0000000..3ba435a --- /dev/null +++ b/README.md @@ -0,0 +1,2 @@ +Project Gutenberg (https://www.gutenberg.org) public repository for +eBook #60488 (https://www.gutenberg.org/ebooks/60488) diff --git a/old/60488-8.txt b/old/60488-8.txt deleted file mode 100644 index ded4474..0000000 --- a/old/60488-8.txt +++ /dev/null @@ -1,7534 +0,0 @@ -The Project Gutenberg EBook of Meditations On The Essence Of Christianity, -And On The Religious Questions Of The Day., by François Guizot - -This eBook is for the use of anyone anywhere in the United States and most -other parts of the world at no cost and with almost no restrictions -whatsoever. You may copy it, give it away or re-use it under the terms of -the Project Gutenberg License included with this eBook or online at -www.gutenberg.org. If you are not located in the United States, you'll have -to check the laws of the country where you are located before using this ebook. - -Title: Meditations On The Essence Of Christianity, And On The Religious Questions Of The Day. - -Author: François Guizot - -Release Date: October 15, 2019 [EBook #60488] - -Language: English - -Character set encoding: ISO-8859-1 - -*** START OF THIS PROJECT GUTENBERG EBOOK MEDITATIONS ON ESSENCE OF CHRISTIANITY *** - - - - -Produced by Don Kostuch - - - - -[Transcriber's note: This production is based on -https://archive.org/details/meditationsoness00guiz/page/n6 -Additional citations indicated by "USCCB", are -based on the United States Conference of Catholic -Bishops Bible found at -http://usccb.org/bible/books-of-the-bible. ] - - - - -{i} - Meditations - -{ii} - -{iii} - Meditations On - - The Essence Of Christianity, - - And On - - The Religious Questions Of The Day. - - - By M. Guizot. - - - - Translated From The French, Under The - Superintendence Of The Author. - - - - London: - - John Murray, Albemarle Street. - 1864. - - -{iv} - - London: - - Bradbury And Evans, Printers, Whitefriars. - -{v} - - Contents. - - Page - -I. Natural Problems 1 - -II. Christian Dogmas 11 - -III. The Supernatural 84 - -IV. The Limits Of Science 109 - -V. Revelation 132 - -VI. The Inspiration Of Holy Scripture 142 - -VII. God According To The Bible 157 - -VIII. Jesus Christ According To The Gospels 230 - - Note 299 - -{vi} - -{vii} - - Preface. - - -During the last nineteen centuries, Christianity has been often -assailed, and has successfully resisted every attack. Of these -attacks, some have been more violent, but none more serious than -that of which it is, in _these_ days, the object. - -For eighteen hundred years Christians were in turn persecutors -and persecuted; Christians persecuted as Christians, Christians -persecutors of every one who was not Christian--Christians -mutually persecuting each other. This persecution varied, it is -true, in degree of cruelty with the age and the country, as it -also did in the degree of inflexibility evinced and success -attained in the prosecution of its object; but whatever the -diversity of state, church, or punishment, whatever the degree of -severity or laxity in the application of the principle, this -principle was ever the same. -{viii} -After having had to endure proscription and martyrdom under the -imperial government of Paganism, the Christian religion lived, in -its turn, under the guard of the civil law, defended by the arms -of secular power. - -In these days it exists in the very presence of Liberty. It has -to deal with free thought,--with free discussion. It is called -upon to defend, to guard itself, to prove incessantly and against -every comer its moral and historical veracity, to vindicate its -claims upon man's intelligence and man's soul. Roman Catholics, -Protestants, or Jews, Christians or philosophers, all, at least -in our country, are sheltered from every persecution; for no one -without incurring the risk of ridicule could characterise as -persecution the sacrifices or the inconveniences to which the -expression of his opinion may occasionally subject him. To every -man such expression of opinion is permitted, and can never lead -to the forfeiture, on the part of any single individual, of any -of his political rights or privileges. -{ix} -Religious Liberty--that is to say, the liberty of believing; of -believing differently or of disbelieving--may be but imperfectly -accepted and guaranteed as a principle in certain states; but it -still is evident that it is becoming so every day more and more, -and that it will eventually become the Common Law of the -civilised world. - -One of the circumstances that render this fact pregnant with -importance is that it does not stand isolated; but holds its -place in the great Intellectual and Social Revolution, which, -after the fermentation and the preparation of centuries, has -broken out and is in course of accomplishment in our own days. -The scientific spirit, the preponderance of the democratic -principle, and that of political liberty, are the essential -characteristics and invincible tendencies of this revolution. -These new forces may fall into enormous errors and commit -enormous faults, the penalty for which they will ever dearly pay; -still they are definitively installed in modern society; the -sciences will continue to develop themselves in its bosom in the -full independence of their methods and of their results; the -democracy will establish itself in the positions which it has -conquered, and on the ground which has been opened to it; -political liberty in the midst of its storms and its -disappointments will still, sooner or later, cause itself to be -accepted as the necessary guarantee for all the acquisitions and -all the progress possible in society. -{x} -These are the grand predominant facts to which all public -institutions will now have to adapt themselves, and with which -all authority whose action is upon the mind requires to live at -peace. - -Christianity also must submit to the same tests and trials. As it -has surmounted all others, so also will it surmount this; its -essence and origin would not be divine did they not permit it to -adapt itself to all the different forms of human institutions, to -serve them now as a guide, now as a support in their vicissitudes -whether of adversity or prosperity. -{xi} -It is, however, of the most serious importance for Christians not -to deceive themselves, either as to the nature of the struggle -which they will have to sustain, or as to its perils and the -legitimate arms which they may use to combat them. The attack -directed against the Christian religion is one hotly carried on, -now with a brutal fanaticism, now with a dexterous learning; at -one time with the appeal to sincere convictions, and at another -invoking the worst passions; some contest Christianity as false, -others reject it as too exacting and imposing too much restraint; -the greater part apprehend it as a tyranny. Injustice and -suffering are not so soon forgotten; nor does one readily recover -from the effect of terror. The memory of religious persecutions -still lives, and this it is that maintains, in multitudes, whose -opinions vacillate, aversion, prejudice, and a lively sentiment -of alarm. Christians on their side are loth to recognise and -accommodate themselves to the new order of society; every moment -they are shocked, irritated, terrified by the ideas and language -to which that society gives utterance. -{xii} -Men do not so readily pass from a state of privilege to one of -community of rights--from a state of dominion to one of liberty; -they do not resign themselves without a struggle to the audacious -obstinacy of contradiction, to the daily necessity of resisting -and conquering. Government according to principles of liberty is -still more influenced by passion, and entails a necessity of -still more exertion in the sphere of religion than of civil -politics: believers find it still more difficult to support -incredulity than governments to bear with oppositions; and, -nevertheless, these themselves are forced to do so, and can only -find in free discussion and in the full exercise of their -peculiar liberties the force which they require to rise above -their perilous condition, and reduce--not to silence, for that -is impossible, but to an idle warfare--their inveterate enemies. - -To leave that civil society, in which the different sects of -religion are now-a-days compelled to live in peace and side by -side, and to enter religious society itself, the Christian Church -of our days:--what is its actual position with respect to these -grand questions which it has to discuss with the spirit of human -liberty and audacity? -{xiii} -Does it comprehend properly, does it suitably carry on the -warfare in which it is engaged? Does it tend in its proceedings -to a re-establishment of a real peace, and active harmonious -relations between itself and that general society in the midst of -which it is living? - -I say _Christian Church_. It is, in effect, the whole Church -of Christ, and not such or such a church that is in these days -attacked, and vitally attacked. When men deny the Supernatural -World, the Inspiration of the Scriptures, and the Divinity of -Jesus Christ, they really assail the whole body of -Christians--Romanists, Protestants or Greeks: they are virtually -destroying the foundations of faith in all the belief of -Christians, what ever their particular difference of religious -opinion or forms of ecclesiastical government.. -{xiv} -It is by faith that all Christian Churches live; there is no form -of government, monarchical or republican, concentrated or -diffused, that suffices to maintain a church; there is no -authority so strong, no liberty so broad, as to be able in a -religious society to dispense with the necessity of faith. For -what is it that unites in a church if it is not faith? Faith is -the bond of souls. When then the foundations of their common -faith are attacked, the differences existing between Christian -Churches upon special questions, or the diversities of their -organization or government, become secondary interests; it is -from a common peril that they have to defend themselves; or they -must reconcile themselves to see dried up the common source from -which they all derive sustenance and life. - -I fear that the sentiment of this common peril is not, in all the -Christian Churches, as clear and well defined, as deep and -predominant, as their common safety requires. In presence of -similar questions everywhere varied, of identical attacks -everywhere directed against the vital facts and dogmas of -Christianity, I dread Christians of the different communions not -concentrating all their forces upon the mighty struggles in which -they are, all, to engage. -{xv} -My dread, however, is unattended by astonishment. Although the -danger is the same for all, the traditional opinions and habits, -and consequently the actual dispositions, are very different. -Many Romanists feel the persuasion that Faith would be saved were -they only delivered from liberty of thought. Many Protestants -believe that they are but employing their right of free -examination, and do not lose their title to be regarded as -Christians, when they are in effect abandoning the foundations -and withdrawing from the source of Faith. Roman Catholicism has -not sufficient reliance on its roots, and respects too much its -branches; no tree exists that does not need culture and clearing -in accordance with climate and season, if it is to be expected to -continue to bear always good fruit; but the roots should be -especially defended from every attack. Protestantism is too -forgetful that it also has roots from which it cannot be -separated without perishing, and that religion is not what an -annual is in vegetation: a plant that men cultivate and renew at -their pleasure. -{xvi} -Whilst the Romanists dread freedom of thought too much, the -Protestants on their side have too great a fear of authority. -Some believe that inasmuch as religious Faith has firm and fixed -points, movement and progress are incompatible with religious -society; others affirm that a religious society can never have -fixed points, and that religion consists in religious sentiment -and individual belief. What would have become of Christianity, -had it from its birth been condemned to the immobility which the -former recommend; and what would become of it at the present day, -were it surrendered, as the latter would have it, to the caprice -of every mind, and the wind of every day? - -Happily, God permits not that, at this crisis, the true -principles and the true interests of the Christian Religion -should remain without sufficient defenders. -{xvii} -Romanists there are who understand their age and the new -constitution of society, who accept frankly its liberty, -religious and politic: it is precisely they who have most boldly -testified their attachment to the faith of Rome, who have claimed -with most ardor the essential liberties of their church, and -defended with most energy the rights of its chief. Nor are -Protestants wanting who have used with the most untiring zeal all -the liberty acquired in our days by Protestantism; they have -founded all those associations and originated all those -undertakings which have manifested the vital energy and extended -the action of the Protestant Church; they have demanded and they -continue to demand, for this church, the reestablishment of its -Synods, that is to say, its religious autonomy. Amongst these -Protestants, where men have appeared who have not found in the -Protestant Church as by law established the entire satisfaction -of their convictions, they have felt no hesitation to separate -from it and to found, with their own means alone, independent -churches. -{xviii} -It may be affirmed also of the Protestants that they have most -largely put in practice all the rights and all the liberties of -Protestantism, in the internal ordeal through which Christianity -is at present passing; it is precisely they who assert most -loudly the dogmas of the Christian Faith and maintain most -inflexibly the authoritative rights established by law in the -bosom of their church. The Liberal Romanists of the present day -are the most zealous defenders of the fundamental traditions and -institutions of Catholicism. The Protestants who have been the -most active during the last half-century in the exercise of the -liberties of Protestantism are the firmest maintainers of its -doctrines and of its vital rules. - -Humanly speaking, it is upon the influence exercised and to be -exercised in their respective churches and on the public, by -these two classes of Christians, that depends the peaceable issue -of the crisis through which Christianity is in these days -passing. -{xix} -Our society is, doubtless, far from meriting the title of a -Christian one; still it cannot be characterised as -anti-Christian; considered as one vast whole, it has no hostile -or general prejudice against the Christian religion: it maintains -the habits, the instincts, I would willingly add the longings, of -Christians; it is conscious that Christian Faith and Ordinance -serve powerfully its interests with respect to order and peace; -the fanatical opponents of Christianity exercise upon it far more -disquieting than seductive influences, for it has already had -experience of their empire; and where society appears to offer a -silent acquiescence or even to pride itself upon them, still at -bottom it dreads their progress. - -Such being the state of the case, and such the constitution of -society, how are we to draw men away from their apathy and their -ignorance in matters of religion? How lead them back to -Christianity? They alone can accomplish this object, who, in -their defence and propagation of the religion of Jesus, shall not -wound society itself in the ideas, sentiments, rights and -interests which have at present rooted themselves in its very -life and energies. -{xx} -Like religion, modern society has also its fixed points and its -invincible tendencies: it can never be set on terms of harmony -with the former unless by the concurring action of men who have -with each of them a genuine and deep sentiment of sympathy. Since -the Christian Religion lives in these times confronting civil -liberty, those alone can be efficient champions of religion who -at the same time profess fully the Christian Faith and accept -with sincerity the tests of Liberty. - -But in pursuing their pious and salutary enterprise, let not -these liberal Christians flatter themselves with the probability -of any prompt or complete success: maintain and propagate the -Christian faith they may, but they will never be able in the -bosom of society to get rid either of incredulity or doubt; even -while combating them they must learn to endure their presence; in -institutions of freedom there is essentially an intermixture of -good and evil, of truth and error; contrary ideas and -dispositions produce and develop themselves in it simultaneously. -{xxi} -"Think not that I am come to send peace on earth: I came not," -said Jesus to his apostles, "to send peace, but a sword." -[Footnote 1] The sword of Jesus Christ, that is, Christianity, at -war with human error and shortcomings; a victory, still a victory -ever incomplete in an incessant struggle,--_that_ is the -condition to which those must submit with resignation who, in the -bosom of liberty, defend the truth of Christianity. - - [Footnote 1: Matthew x. 34.] - -Were these valiant and intelligent champions of the faith of -Jesus not adopted and accredited as such in the churches to which -they belong; did the Church of Rome furnish ground for thinking -her essentially hostile to the fundamental principles and rights -of modern society, and that she only tolerates them as Moses -tolerated divorce amongst the Jews, "because of the hardness of -their heart"; and, on the other hand, did the rejectors of the -Supernatural, of the Inspiration of the Scriptures, and of the -Divinity of Jesus Christ, predominate in the bosom of -Protestantism; and finally, did the latter then become nought but -a hesitating system of philosophy; -{xxii} -if all these deplorable things were to be realised, I am far from -thinking that, owing to such faults, such disasters, the religion -of Christ would vanish from the world and definitively withdraw -from men its light and its support: the destinies of religion are -far above human errors; but still, beyond all doubt, for mankind -to be turned back from them, and for the light to return to their -soul and harmony to modern society, there would have again to -burst out in the human soul and in society one of those immense -troubles, one of those revolutionary whirlwinds, whose evils man -is compelled actually to undergo before he can derive benefit -from its lessons. - -On the point of addressing myself to questions more profound and -of a less transitory nature, I content myself with having merely -indicated what I think of the crisis that agitates Christendom at -the present day, as also of its main cause, its perils, and the -chances, good or bad, that it holds out for the future. -{xxiii} -In the work of which the first part is now before the public, I -omit all the circumstantial facts and details as well as the -discussions that grow out of them, and it is only with the -Christian Religion as it is in itself, with its fundamental -belief and its reasonableness, that I occupy myself; it has been -my purpose to illustrate the truth of Christianity by contrasting -it with the systems and the doubts that men set in array against -it. It is my intention to avoid all direct and personal polemics; -express reference to individuals embarrasses and envenoms all -questions in controversy, and gives rise to ill-judged deference -or unjust invective, two descriptions of falsity for which alike -I feel no sympathy: let me have then for adversaries ideas alone; -and whatever these may be, I admit beforehand the possibility of -sincerity on the part of those that prefer them. Without this -admission all serious discussion is out of the question; and -neither the intellectual enormity of the error, nor its awful -practical consequences, positively precludes sincerity on the -part of him that promulgates it. -{xxiv} -The mind of man is still more easily led astray than his heart, -and is still more egotistical; after having once conceived and -expressed an idea, it attaches itself to it as to its own -offspring, takes a pride in imprisoning itself in it, as if it -were so taking possession of the pure and entire truth. - -These _Meditations_ will be divided into four series. In the -first, which forms this volume, I explain and establish what -constitutes, in my opinion, the essence of the Christian -religion; that is to say, what those natural problems are, that -correspond with the fundamental dogmas that offer their solution, -the supernatural facts upon which these same dogmas -repose--Creation, Revelation, the Inspiration of the Scriptures, -God according to the Biblical account, and Jesus according to the -Gospel narrative. -{xxv} -Next to the Essence of the Christian religion comes its history; -and this will be the subject of a second series of -_Meditations_, in which I shall examine the authenticity of -the Scriptures, the primary causes of the foundation of -Christianity, Christian Faith, as it has always existed -throughout its different ages and in spite of all its -vicissitudes; the great religious crisis in the sixteenth century -which divided the Church and Europe between Roman Catholicism and -Protestantism; finally those different anti-Christian crises, -which at different epochs and in different countries have set in -question and imperilled Christianity itself, but which dangers it -has ever surmounted. The third _Meditation_ will be -consecrated to the study of the actual state of the Christian -religion, its internal and external condition: I shall retrace -the regeneration of Christianity which occurred amongst us at the -commencement of the nineteenth century, both in the Church of -Rome and in the Protestant churches; the impulse imparted to it -at the same epoch by the Spiritualistic Philosophy that then -began again to flourish, and the movement in the contrary -direction which showed itself very remarkably soon afterwards in -the resurrection of Materialism, of Pantheism, of Scepticism, and -in works of historical criticism. -{xxvi} -I shall attempt to determine the idea, and consequently, in my -opinion, the fundamental error of these different systems, the -avowed and active enemies of Christianity. Finally, in the fourth -series of these _Meditations_ I shall endeavour to -discriminate and to characterise the future destiny of the -Christian religion, and to indicate by what course it is called -upon to conquer completely and to sway morally this little corner -of the universe termed by us our earth, in which unfold -themselves the designs and power of God, just as, doubtless, they -do in an infinity of worlds unknown to us. - -I have passed thirty-five years of my life in struggling, on a -bustling arena, for the establishment of political liberty and -the maintenance of order as established by law. I have learnt, in -the labours and trials of this struggle, the real worth of -Christian Faith and of Christian Liberty. -{xxvii} -God permits me, in the repose of my retreat, to consecrate to -their cause what remains to me of life and of strength. It is the -most salutary favour and the greatest honour that I can receive -from His goodness. - - Guizot. - Val-Richer, _June_, 1864. - -{xxviii} - -{1} - - Meditations - - On The Essence Of - - The Christian Religion. - - - - First Meditation. - - Natural Problems. - - -From the very origin of the human race, wherever man has existed, -or still exists, certain questions have peculiarly and -irresistibly fixed his attention, and they continue to do so at -the present hour. -{2} -This arises not alone from a feeling of natural curiosity, or the -ardent thirst for knowledge, but from a deeper and more powerful -motive: the destiny of man is intimately involved in these -questions; they contain the secret not only of all that he sees -around him, but of his own being; and when he aspires to solve -them, it is not merely because he desires to understand the -spectacle of which he is a beholder, but because he feels, and is -conscious of being himself an actor in the great drama of -existence, and because he seeks to ascertain his own part there, -and comprehend his own destiny. His present conduct and his -future lot are as much at issue as the satisfaction of his -thought. These great problems are, for man, not questions of -science, but questions of life: in considering them he feels -himself compelled to say, with Hamlet, "To be or not to be, that -is the question." - -Whence does the world proceed, and whence does man appear in the -midst of it? What is the origin of each, and whither does each -tend? What are their beginning and their end? Laws there are -which govern them;--is there a legislator? -{3} -Under the empire of these laws, man feels and calls himself free: -is he so in reality? How is his liberty compatible with the laws -which govern him and the world? Is he a passive instrument of -fate, or a responsible agent? What are the ties and relations -which connect him with the Legislator of the world? - -The world and man himself present a strange and painful -spectacle. Good and evil, both moral and physical, order and -disorder, joy and sorrow, are here intimately blended and yet in -continual antagonism. Whence come this commingling and this -strife? Is good or is evil the condition and the law of man and -of the world? If good, how then has evil found admission? -Wherefore suffering and death? Why this moral disorder?--the -calamities which so frequently befall the good, and the -prosperity, so abhorrent to our feelings, which attends the -wicked? Is this the normal and definitive state of man and of the -world? - -{4} - -Man is conscious that he is at the same time great and little, -strong and feeble, powerful and impotent. He finds in himself -matter for admiration and for love, and yet he suffices not to -himself in any respect; he seeks an aid, a support, beyond and -above himself: he asks, he invokes, he prays. What mean these -inward disquietudes,--these alternate impulses of pride and -weakness? Have they, or not, a meaning and an object? Why prayer? - -Such are the natural problems, now dimly felt, now clearly -defined, which in all ages and among all nations, in every form -and in every degree of civilization, by instinct or by reflexion, -have arisen, and still arise, in the human mind. I indicate only -the greatest, the most apparent: I might recall many others which -are connected with them. - -Not only are these problems natural to man; they appertain to him -alone; they are his peculiar privilege. Man alone, among all -creatures known to us, perceives and states them, and feels -himself imperiously called upon to solve them. -{5} -I borrow the following admirable observations from M. de -Châteaubriand:--"Why does not the ox as I do? It can lie down -upon the grass, raise its head toward heaven, and in its lowings -call upon that unknown Being who fills this immensity of space. -But no: content with the turf on which it tramples, it -interrogates not those suns in the firmament above, which are the -grand evidence of the existence of God. Animals are not troubled -with those hopes which fill the heart of man; the spot on which -they tread yields them all the happiness of which they are -susceptible; a little grass satisfies the sheep; a little blood -gluts the tiger. The only creature that looks beyond himself, and -is not all in all to himself, is man." [Footnote 2] - - [Footnote 2: Genie du Christianisme, vol. i. p. 208, edit, of - 1831.] - -From these problems, natural and peculiar to man, all religions -have sprung. The object of them all is to satisfy man's thirst -for their solution. As these problems are the source of religion, -the solutions they receive are its substance and foundation. -{6} -There prevails in our days a very general tendency to regard -religion as consisting essentially--I might say wholly--in -religious sentiment, in those lofty and vague aspirations which -are termed the poetry of the soul, beyond and above the realities -of life. Through the religious sentiment, the soul enters into -relation with the Divine order of things; and this relation, of a -wholly personal and intimate character, independent of all -positive dogma, of any organized Church, is deemed to be -all-sufficient for man, the true and needful religion. - -Unquestionably the religious sentiment, the intimate and personal -relation of the soul with the Divine order, is essential and -necessary to religion; but religion is more than this--much more. -The human soul is not to be divided and restricted to certain -faculties selected and exalted, whilst the rest are condemned to -slumber. Man is not a mere sensitive and poetic being, aspiring -to rise above the present and material world by love and -imagination: he not only feels, but he thinks; he requires to -know and believe as well as love; it is not enough that his soul -should be capable of emotion and aspiration; he requires that it -should be fixed, and rest upon convictions in harmony with his -emotions. -{7} -This it is that man seeks in religion; he requires something more -than a pure and noble rapture; he requires enlightenment, as well -as sympathy. But if the moral problems that beset his thought are -not solved, what he experiences may be poetry,--it is not -religion. - -I cannot contemplate unmoved the troubles of men of lofty minds, -seeking in the religious sentiment alone a refuge against doubt -and impiety. It is well to preserve, in the shipwreck of faith -and the chaos of thought, the great instincts of our nature, and -not to lose sight of the sublime requirements which remain -unsatisfied. I know not to what extent, men of eminent minds may -thus compensate, by their sincerity and fervour of sentiment, for -the void in their belief; but let them not deceive themselves; -barren aspirations and specious doubts satisfy a man as little as -to his future spiritual interests as with respect to his -condition in the present life; the natural problems to which I -have alluded will ever be the great weight pressing upon the -soul, and religious sentiment will never alone suffice to be the -religion of mankind. - -{8} - -Besides this apotheosis of religious sentiment, some at the -present day have essayed a different, a more serious and more -daring theory. Far from sounding the natural problems to which -religions correspond, schools of philosophy, occupying a -prominent intellectual position,--the Pantheistic School, and the -so-called Positive School,--suppress and deny them altogether. In -their view, the world has existed, of itself, from all eternity, -as have the laws also by which it is sustained and developed. In -their elementary principles, and taken altogether, all things -have ever been what they now are, and what they will ever -continue to be. There is no mystery in this universe; there exist -only facts and laws, naturally and necessarily linked together; -and these furnish the field for human science, which, although -incomplete, is yet indefinitely progressive, in its power as well -as in its operations. - -{9} - -According to these views, Divine Providence and human liberty, -the origin of evil, the commingling and the strife of good and -evil in the world, and in man, the imperfection of the present -order of things, and the destiny of man, the prospect of the -re-establishment of order in the future--these are all mere -dreams, freaks of man's thought: no such questions indeed exist, -inasmuch as the world is eternal, it is in its actual state -complete, normal, and definitive, though at the same time -progressive. The remedy for the moral and physical evils which -afflict mankind, must then be sought, not in any power superior -to the world, but simply in the progress of the sciences and the -advance of human enlightenment. - -{10} - -I shall not here discuss this system; I do not even qualify it by -its true name; I merely recapitulate its tenets. But, at the -first and simple aspect, what contempt does it manifest of the -spontaneous and universal instincts of man! What heedlessness of -the facts which fill and never cease to characterize the -universal history of the human race! - -Nevertheless to this we are come: not a solution, but the -negation of the natural problems, which irresistibly occupy the -human soul, is presented to man for his full satisfaction and -repose. Let him follow the mathematical or physical sciences; let -him be a mechanician, chemist, critic, novelist, or poet; but let -him not enter upon what is termed the sphere of religious and -theological inquiry: here are no real questions to solve, nought -to investigate, nothing to do,--nothing to expect,--absolutely -nothing. - -{11} - - Second Meditation. - - Christian Dogmas. - - -The Christian religion knows man better, and treats man better: -it has other answers to his questions; and it is between the -absolute negation of the problems of religion and the Christian -solution of these problems that the discussion lies at the -present day. - -Some words there are which we now regard with distrust and alarm: -we suspect their masking illegitimate pretensions and tyranny. -Such, in our days, has been the lot of the word _dogma_. To -many this word imparts an imperious necessity to believe, at once -offending and disquieting. Singular contrast! On all sides we -seek for principles, and we take alarm at dogmas. - -{12} - -This sentiment, however absurd in itself, is in no way strange; -Christian dogmas have served as motive and pretext for so much -iniquity, so many acts of oppression and cruelty, that their very -name has become tainted and suspected. The word bears the penalty -of the reminiscences which it awakens: and justly. All attacks -upon the liberty of conscience, all employment of force to -extirpate or to impose religious belief, is, and ever has been, -an iniquitous and tyrannical act. All powers, all parties, all -churches, have held such acts to be not only permissible, but -enjoined by the Divine Law: all have deemed it not merely their -right, but their duty, to prevent and to punish by law and human -force, error in matters of religion. They may all allege in -excuse, the sincerity of their belief in the legitimacy of this -usurpation. The usurpation is not the less enormous and fatal, -and perhaps indeed it is, of all human usurpations, the one which -has inflicted on men the most odious torments and the grossest -errors. -{13} -It will constitute the glory of our time to have discarded this -pretension: nevertheless it yet exists, with persistency, in -certain states, in certain laws, in certain recesses of the human -soul and of Christian society; and there is, and ever will be, -need to watch and to combat it, to render its banishment -unconditional and without appeal. Subdued, however, it is: civil -freedom in matters of faith and religious life has become a -fundamental principle of civilization and of law. These -questions, affecting the relations of man to God, are no longer -discussed or adjusted in the arena and by a recourse to the hand -of political and executive power; but they are transported to the -sphere of the intellect and left to the uncontrolled working of -the mind itself. - -But again, in this sphere of the intellect, these questions still -start up and call loudly for their peculiar solution--that is, -for the fundamental facts and ideas, the principles in effect -which their nature requires. The Christian religion has its own -principles, which constitute the rational basis of the faith it -inculcates and the life which it enjoins. These are termed its -dogmas. -{14} -The -Christian dogmas are the principles of the Christian religion, -and the Christian solutions of the problems of natural religion. - -Let men of a serious mind, who have not entirely rejected the -Christian religion, and who still admire it, whilst denying its -fundamental dogmas, beware of this: the flowers whose perfume -captivates them will quickly fade, the fruits they delight in -will soon cease to grow when the axe shall have been applied to -the roots of the tree that bears them. - -For myself, arrived at the term of a long life, one of labour, of -reflection, and of trials,--of trials in thought as well as in -action,--I am convinced that, the Christian dogmas are the -legitimate and satisfactory solutions of those religious problems -which, as I have said, nature suggests and man carries in his own -breast, and from which he cannot escape. - -{15} - -I beg, at the outset, Theologians, whether Catholic or -Protestant, to pardon me. I have no design to cite or to explain, -or to maintain, all the various doctrinal points, all the -articles of faith, which have been included in the term of -Christian dogmas. During eighteen centuries, Christian theology -has very often ventured to advance out of and beyond the limits -of the Christian religion: man has confounded his own labours -with the work of God. It is the natural consequence of the union -of human activity and human imperfection. This same result may be -traced throughout the history of the world, especially in the -history of the society and religion upon which God has grafted -the Christian religion. - -At the time when God raised up Jesus Christ among the Jews, the -faith and the law of the Jews were no longer solely and purely -the faith and law which God had given to them by Moses: the -Pharisees, the Sadducees, and many others, had essentially -modified, enlarged, and altered both. Christianity too has had -its Pharisees and its Sadducees; in its turn it has been made to -feel the workings of human thought and the influence of human -passions on its Divine revelation. -{16} -I cannot recognize, in all the uncertain fruits of these labours, -the claim to the title of Christian dogmas. Nevertheless I have -no intention here to specify particularly and to combat such -tenets in the Church and in Christian theology, as I can neither -accept nor defend. It is not for me--and I venture to say, it is -not for any Christian--to scan critically the interior of the -Edifice, at a moment when its foundations are ardently attacked. -Far rather I prefer to rally in a common defence all who abide -within its walls. I shall here allude only to the dogmas common -to them all, which I sum up in these terms:--The Creation, -Providence, Original Sin, the Incarnation, and the Redemption. -These constitute the essence of the Christian religion, and all -who believe in these dogmas I hold to be Christians. - -One leading and common characteristic in these dogmas strikes me -at the outset: they deal frankly with the religious problems -natural to and inherent in man, and offer at once the solution. -{17} -The dogma of Creation attests the existence of God, as Creator -and Legislator, and it attests also the link which unites man -with God. The dogma of Providence explains and justifies prayer, -that instinctive recourse of man to the living God, to that -supreme Power which is ever present with him in life, and which -influences his destiny. The dogma of Original Sin accounts for -the presence of evil and disorder in mankind and in the world. -The dogmas of the Incarnation and of Redemption, rescue man from -the consequences of evil, and open to him a prospect in another -life of the re-establishment of order. Unquestionably, the system -is grand, complete, well connected, and forcible: it answers to -the requirements of the human soul, removes the burden which -oppresses it, imparts the strength which it needs, and the -satisfaction to which it aspires. Has it a rightful claim to all -this power? Is its influence legitimate, as well as efficacious? - -{18} - -In my own mind I have borne the burthen of the objections to the -Christian system, and to each of its essential dogmas; I have -experienced the anxieties of doubt: I shall state how I have -escaped from doubt, and the ground upon which my convictions have -been founded. - - - - I. Creation. - -The only serious opponents of the dogma of the Creation are those -who maintain that the universe, the earth, the man upon the -earth, have existed from all eternity, and, collectively, in the -state in which they now are. No one however can hold this -language, to which facts are invincibly opposed. How many ages -man has existed on the earth, is a question that has been largely -discussed, and is still under discussion. The inquiry in no way -affects the dogma of the Creation itself: it is a certain and -recognized fact, that man has not always existed on the earth, -and that the earth has for long periods undergone different -changes incompatible with man's existence. Man therefore had a -beginning: man has come upon the earth. How has he come there? - -{19} - -Here the opponents of the dogma of Creation are divided: some -uphold the theory of spontaneous generation; others, the -transformation of species. According to one party, matter -possesses, under certain circumstances and by the simple -development of its own proper power, the faculty of creating -animated beings. According to others, the different species of -animated beings which still exist, or have existed at various -epochs and in the different conditions of the earth, are derived -from a small number of primitive types, which have possessed, -through the lapse of millions and thousands of millions of ages, -the power of developing and perfecting themselves, so as to gain -admission, through transformation, into higher species. Hence -they conclude, with more or less hesitation, that the human race -is the result of a transformation, or a series of -transformations. - -{20} - -The attempt to establish the theory of spontaneous production -dates from a remote period. Science has ever baffled it: the more -its observations have been exact and profound, the more have they -refuted the hypothesis of the innate creative power of matter. -This result has been again recently established by the attentive -examination of men of eminent scientific attainments, within and -without the walls of the Academy of Sciences. But were it even -otherwise,--could the advocates of the theory of spontaneous -production refer to experiments hitherto irrefutable, these would -furnish no better explanation of the first appearance of man upon -earth, and I should retain my right to repeat here what I have -advanced elsewhere on this subject:[Footnote 3]-- - - [Footnote 3: L'Eglise et la Société Chrétienne en 1861, - p. 27.] - -{21} - -"Such a mode of generation cannot, nor ever could, produce any -but infant beings, in the first hour and in the first state of -incipient life. It has, I believe, never been asserted, nor will -any person ever affirm, that, by spontaneous generation, man-- -that is to say, man and woman, the human couple--can have issued, -or that they have issued at any period, from matter, of full form -and stature, in possession of all their powers and faculties, as -Greek paganism represented Minerva issuing from the brain of -Jupiter. Yet it is only upon this supposition, that man, -appearing for the first time upon earth, could have lived there -to perpetuate his species and to found the human race. Let any -one picture to himself the first man, born in a state of the -earliest infancy, alive but inert, devoid of intelligence, -powerless, incapable of satisfying his own wants even for a -moment, trembling, sobbing, with no mother to listen to or feed -him! And yet we have in this a picture of the first man, as -presented by the system of spontaneous generation. It is -manifestly not thus that the human race first appeared upon -earth." - -The system of the transformation of species is no less refuted by -science than by the instincts of common sense. It rests upon no -tangible fact, on no principle of scientific observation or -historic tradition. -{22} -All the facts ascertained, all the monuments collected in -different ages and different places, respecting the existence of -living species, disprove the hypothesis of their having undergone -any transformation, any notable and permanent change: we meet -with them a thousand, two thousand, three thousand years ago, the -same as they are at the present day. In the same species the -races may vary and undergo mutual changes: the species do not -change; and all attempts to transform them artificially, by -crossings with allied species, have only resulted in -modifications, which, after two or three generations, have been -struck with barrenness, as if to attest the impotence of man to -effect, by the progressive transformation of existing species, a -creation of new species. Man is not an ape transformed and -perfected by some dim imperceptible fermentation of the elements -of nature and by the operation of ages: this assumed explanation -of the origin of the human species is a mere vague hypothesis, -the fruit of an imagination ill comprehending the spectacle that -nature presents, and therefore easily seduced to form ingenious -conjectures: these their authors sow in the stream of events -unknown and of time infinite, and trust to them for the -realization of their dreams. -{23} -The principle of the fundamental diversity and the permanence of -species--firmly upheld by M. Cuvier, M. Flourens, M. Coste, M. -Quatrefages, and by all exact observers of facts--remains -dominant in science as in reality. [Footnote 4] - - [Footnote 4: Cuvier--Discours sur les Révolutions du Globe, - pp. 117, 120, 124 (edit. 1825); Flourens--Ontologie - Naturelle, pp. 10-87 (1861); Journal des Savants (October, - November, and December, 1863); three articles on the work of - Ch. Darwin, On the Origin of Species and the Laws of Progress - among Organised Beings; Coste--Histoire Générale et - Particulière du Développement des Corps Organisés; Discours - Préliminaire, vol. i. p. 23; Quatrefages--Metamorphoses de - l'Homme et des Animaux, p. 225 (1862); and his articles On - the Unity of the Human Species, published in the "Revue des - Deux Mondes," in 1860 and 1861, and collected in one volume - (1861).] - -{24} - -Besides these vain attempts to supersede God the Creator, and to -explain by the inherent and progressive power of matter, the -origin of man and of the world, the Christian dogma of Creation -has yet other adversaries. One party, to combat it, seizes its -arms from the Bible itself, alleging the account there given of -the successive facts of the creation, of which the world and man -were the result; they cite and enumerate the difficulties of -reconciling this account with the observations and the -conclusions of science. I shall weigh the force of this class of -objections in treating of the inspiration of the Holy Scriptures, -of their real object and true meaning; but I at once raise the -dogma of Creation above this attack,--placing it at its proper -height and isolation: it is the general fact, it is the very -principle of creation which constitutes the dogma; what ever may -be the obscurities or the scientific difficulties presented by -the biblical narrative, the principle and the general fact of the -Creation remain unaffected: God the Creator does not the less -remain in possession of His work. The Christian religion, in its -essence, asserts and demands nothing more. - -{25} - -But lastly, the Christian dogma of Creation is met by the general -objection raised against all the facts and all the acts which are -termed supernatural: that is to say, against the existence of God -as well as the dogma of Creation, against all religions in common -with Christianity. Such a question requires to be considered, not -with reference to any particular dogma, or with a view to defend -one side only of the edifice of Christianity. This point, then, I -shall presently examine frankly and in all its bearings. - - - II. Providence. - -God the Creator is also God the Preserver. He lives, and is at -the same time the source of life. The union between Him and his -creature does not cease when the creature is brought into -existence. The dogma of Providence is consequent upon that of -Creation. - -{26} - -Prayer is more than the mere outburst of the desires or sorrows -of the soul, seeking that satisfaction, strength, or consolation -which it does not find within itself; it is the expression of a -faith, instinctive or reflective, obscure or clear, wavering or -steadfast, in the existence, the presence, the power, and the -sympathy of the Being to whom prayer is addressed. Without a -certain measure of faith and trust in God, prayer would not burst -forth, or would suddenly be dried up in the soul. If faith -everywhere resists, and everywhere outlives all the denials, all -the doubts, and all the darkness which oppress mankind, it is -that man bears within himself an imperishable consciousness of -the enduring bond which connects him with God, and God with him. - -Far from destroying this sentiment, experience and the spectacle -of life explain and confirm it. In reflecting on his destiny, man -recognises in it three different sources, and divides, so to say, -into three classes the facts which make up the whole. He is -conscious of being subject to events which are the consequence of -laws, general, permanent, and independent of his will, but which -by his intelligence he observes and comprehends. -{27} -By the act of his free will he also himself creates events, of -which he knows himself to be author, and these have their own -consequences and enter too into the tissue of his life. Lastly, -he passes through events, in his view, neither the result of -those general laws from which nothing can withdraw him, nor the -act of his own liberty,--events of which he perceives neither the -cause, the reason, nor the author. - -Man attributes this last class of events sometimes to a blind -cause, which he terms chance; at another, to an intelligent and -supreme intention which is in God. His mind at times revolts at -the inanity of this word _chance_, which explains and -defines nothing; and he then pictures to himself a mysterious, -impenetrable power, a merely necessary chain of unknown facts, to -which he gives the name of fatality, destiny. To account for this -obscure and accidental part of human life, which originates -neither from any general and conceivable laws, nor from the free -will of man himself, we must choose between fatality and -Providence, chance and God. - -{28} - -I express my meaning without hesitation. Who ever accepts as a -satisfactory explanation the theory of fatality and chance, does -not truly believe in God. Whoever believes truly in God, relies -upon Providence. God is not an expedient, invented to explain the -first link in the chain of causation, an actor called to open by -creation the drama of the world, then to relapse into a state of -inert uselessness. By the very fact of his existence, God is -present with his work, and sustains it. Providence is the natural -and necessary development of God's existence; his constant -presence and permanent action in creation. The universal and -insuperable instinct which leads man to prayer, is in harmony -with this great fact; he who believes in God cannot but have -recourse to Him and pray to Him. - -{29} - -Objections are raised to the name itself of God. He acts, it is -said, only by general and permanent laws: how can we implore His -interference in favour of our special and exceptional desires? He -is immutable, ever perfect, and ever the same: how is it -conceivable that He lends Himself to the fickleness of human -sentiments and wishes? The prayer which ascends to Him is -forgetful of his real nature. Men have treated the attributes of -God as furnishing an objection to his Providence. - -This objection, so often repeated, never fails to astonish me. -The majority of those who urge it, assert at the same time that -God is incomprehensible, and that we cannot penetrate the secret -of his nature. What then is this but to pretend to comprehend -God? and by what right do they oppose his nature to his -providence, if his nature is, to us, an impenetrable mystery? I -refrain from reproaching them for their ambition; ambition is the -privilege and the glory of man; but in retaining it, let them not -overlook its legitimate limits. There is only this alternative: -either man must cease to believe in God, because he cannot -comprehend Him, or in effect admit his incomprehensibility, and -still at the same time believe in Him. -{30} -He cannot pass and repass incessantly from one system to the -other, now declaring God to be incomprehensible; now speaking of -Him, of his nature and his attributes, as if He were within the -province of human science. Great as is the question of -Providence, the one I have here to consider is still greater, for -it is the question of the very existence of God; and the -fundamental inquiry is to know whether He exists, or does not -exist. God is at once light and mystery: in intimate relation -with man, and yet beyond the limits of his knowledge. I shall -presently endeavour to mark the limit at which human knowledge -stops, and indicate its proper sphere; but this I at once assume -as certain: whoever, believing in God and speaking of Him as -incomprehensible, yet persists in endeavouring to define Him -scientifically, and seeks to penetrate the mystery, which he has -yet admitted, is in great risk of destroying his own belief, and -of setting God aside, which is one way of denying Him. - -{31} - -But I leave for a moment these two simultaneous propositions, -namely, the impossibility of comprehending God, and the necessity -of believing in Him; and I proceed at once to that objection to -the special providence of God which is drawn from the general -character of the laws of nature. This objection results from -confounding very different things, and overlooking a fundamental -one,--the fact characteristic indeed of human nature. It is true -that the providence of God presides over the order of the world -which He governs by general and permanent laws: these laws would -be more accurately designated by another name; they are the Will -of God, continually acting upon the world, for not only the laws -but the Lawgiver are there ever present. But when God created -man, He created him different from the physical world; free, and -a moral agent; and hence there is a fundamental difference -between the action of God on the physical world, and his action -on man. -{32} -I shall subsequently state my opinion as to the full meaning of -the expression, "Man is a free being," and as to the nature of -the consequences to which it leads; for the present, I assume, as -a certain and incontestable fact, this principle of human -liberty,--of the free determination of man considered as a moral -agent. Admitting this, it cannot be said that God governs mankind -at large by general and permanent laws; for what would this be -but to ignore or annul the liberty granted to man, that is to -say, to misconceive and mutilate the Work of God himself. Man -exercises a free determination, and in his own life actually -gives birth to events which are not the result of any general and -external laws. Divine Providence watches the operations of man's -volition, and records the manner in which it has been exercised. -It does not treat man as it deals with the stars in heaven and -the waves of the ocean, which have neither thought nor will; with -man it has other relations than with nature, and employs a -different mode of action. - -{33} - -There is little wisdom in instituting comparisons between objects -or facts not essentially analogous; and the idea of God has been -so often disfigured by representing Him in the image of man, that -I mistrust the efficacy of any analogies borrowed from humanity -to convey a conception of God. I cannot, however, overlook the -fact, that God has created man in his own image, nor can I -absolutely refrain from seeking, in nature or the life of man, -some type to shadow forth the features of God. Let us consider -the human family: the father and mother assist in directing the -active development of the child; they watch over it with -authority and tenderness; they control its liberty without -annulling it, and they listen to its little prayers--now granting -them, now refusing them, as their reason dictates, and with a -view to the child's main and future interests. -{34} -The child, without thought or design, by the spontaneous instinct -of its nature, recognizes the authority and feels the tenderness -of its parents; as it advances in age, it sometimes obeys and -sometimes resists their injunctions, using or misusing its -natural liberty; but in all the fickleness of its will, it asks, -it entreats, full of confidence--joyous and thankful when it -obtains from its parents what it desires; yet, when denied, still -ready again to ask and to entreat with the same confidence as -before. - -This is what takes place in the government of the human family -when ruled according to the dictates of nature and right. An -image we have here, imperfect but still true--a shadowing-forth, -faint yet faithful--of Divine Providence. Thus it is that the -Christian religion qualifies and describes the action of God in -the life of man. It exhibits God as ever present and accessible -to man, as a father to his child; it exhorts, encourages, invites -man to implore, to confide in, to pray to God. It reserves -absolutely the answer of God to that prayer; He will grant, or He -will refuse: we cannot penetrate his motives--"The ways of God -are not our ways." -{35} -Nevertheless, to prayer, ceaseless and ever renewed, the -Christian dogma associates the firm hope that "nothing is -impossible with God." This dogma is thus in full and intimate -harmony with the nature of man; whilst recognizing his liberty, -it does homage to his dignity; in tendering to him the resource -of an appeal to God it provides for his weakness. In science, it -suppresses not the mystery which cannot be suppressed; but, in -man's life, it solves the natural problem which weighs upon the -soul. - - - - - III. Original Sin. - -The dogmas of Creation and Providence bring us into the presence -of God; it is the action of God upon the world and man that they -proclaim and affirm. The dogma of Original Sin brings us back to -man; it is the act of man towards God, which stands at the very -beginning of the history of mankind. - -{36} - -In what does this dogma consist? What are the elements and the -essential facts which constitute it, and upon which it is -founded? - -The dogma of Original Sin implies and affirms these propositions: - -1. That God, in creating man, has created him an agent, moral, -free, and fallible; - -2. That the will of God is the moral law of man, and obedience to -the will of God is the duty of man, inasmuch as he is a moral and -free agent; - -3. That, by an act of his own free will, man has knowingly failed -in his duty, by disobeying the law of God; - -4. That the free man is a responsible being, and that -disobedience to the law of God has justly entailed on him -punishment; - -5. That that responsibility and that punishment are hereditary, -and that the fault of the first man has weighed and does weigh -upon the human race. - -{37} - -The authority of God, the duty of obedience to the law of God, -the liberty and responsibility of man, the heritage of human -responsibility are, in their moral chronology, the principles and -the facts comprised in the dogma of Original Sin. - -I turn away my attention for a moment from the dogma itself, its -source, its history, the Biblical and Christian tradition of this -first step in evil of the human race. And considering man, his -nature, and his destiny in their actual and general state, I -investigate and verify the moral facts as they manifest -themselves at the present day, to the eyes of good sense, amidst -the disputes of the learned. - -Man, at his birth, is subjected to the moral authority, as well -as the physical power of the parents who, humanly speaking, -created him. Obedience is to him a duty, and at the same time a -necessity. This physical necessity and this moral obligation, -however ultimately connected with each other, are not one and -identical; and the child, in its spontaneous development, -instinctively feels the moral obligation long before it is -conscious of the physical necessity. -{38} -The instinctive feeling of the obligation is united with the -growing sentiment of affection; and the child obeys the look, the -voice of its mother, unconscious of its absolute dependence upon -her. As the sentiment of affection and the instinct of obligatory -obedience are the first dawn of moral good in the development of -the child, so the impulse to disobedience is the first symptom, -the first appearance of moral evil. It is with the voluntary -disobedience of the child to the will of its mother that the -moral infraction commences, and it is in disobedience that it -resides. It considers neither the motives nor the consequences of -its act; it is simply conscious that it disobeys, and regards its -mother with a mingled feeling of restlessness and defiance; it -tries, with hesitation, the maternal authority; it strives to be, -and especially to appear, independent of the natural and -legitimate power which rules it, and which it recognises at the -very moment when it opposes its own will to that higher law. - -{39} - -As the child, so is the man. As man is born free, so he lives -free; and as he is born subject, so he lives subject. Liberty -co-exists with authority and resists without annulling it. -Authority exists before liberty, and as it does not yield to it, -so neither does it supersede it. Man, inasmuch as he knows that -he disobeys, renders homage to authority by the very fact of his -disobedience. Authority, on its side, recognizes the liberty of -man, by the condemnation which it passes on him for having -misused it; for he would not be responsible for his acts were he -not free. In the co-existence of these two powers, authority and -liberty, at one time in accordance, at another in conflict, lies -the great secret of nature and of human destiny, the fundamental -principle of man and of the world. - -Let it be clearly understood that I speak here of the moral -world, of the world of thought and of will. In the physical world -there is neither authority nor liberty; there are merely certain -forces, forces acting inevitably and unequally. -{40} -If the question concerned the material world, could I do better -than repeat what Pascal has admirably said: "Man is but a -reed--the weakest in nature--but he is a reed which thinks; the -universe need not rise in arms to crush him; a vapour, a drop of -water suffices to kill him. But were the universe to crush him, -man would still be nobler than the power which killed him, for he -knows that he dies; and of the advantage which the universe has -over him, the universe knows nothing." When man obeys or -disobeys, he knows just as well that authority confronts him, as -that liberty of action abides with himself. He knows what he -does, and he charges himself with the responsibility. Moral order -is here complete. - -Throughout all times and in all places, in all men, as in the -first man, disobedience to legitimate authority is the principle -and foundation of moral evil, or, to call it by its religious -name, of sin. - -{41} - -Disobedience has various and complicated sources; it may spring -from a thirst for independence, from ambition or presumptuous -curiosity, or from giving rein to human inclinations and -temptations; but, whatever its origin, disobedience is ever the -essential characteristic of that free act which constitutes sin, -as it is also the source of the responsibility which accompanies -it. - -Eminent men, eminently pious men, have combated the doctrine of -human liberty; unable to reconcile it with what they term the -divine prescience, they have denied the fundamental fact of the -nature of man, rather than fully acknowledge the mystery of the -nature of God. Others, equally eminent and sincere, have limited -themselves to raising doubts regarding human liberty, and denying -it the value of an absolute and peremptory fact. In my opinion, -they have confounded facts essentially different, although -intimately blended; they have ignored the special and simple -character of the very fact of free will. During a course of -lectures which I delivered thirty-five years ago at the Sorbonne, -on the history of civilization in France, having occasion to -examine the controversy of St. Augustine with Pelagius on free -will, predestination, and grace, I explained these subjects in -terms which I repeat here, finding no others which appear to me -more exact and more complete:-- - -{42} - - "The fact which lies at the foundation of the whole dispute," I - said in 1829, "is liberty, free will, the human will. To - comprehend this fact exactly, we must divest it of every - foreign element, and confine it strictly to itself. It is the - want of this precaution that has led to such frequent - misconception of the thing itself; men have not looked simply - at the fact of liberty, and at that alone. It has been viewed - and described, so to speak, _péle-méle_ with other facts, - closely connected to it, it is true, in the moral life of man, - but which are no less essentially different. For example, human - liberty has been said to consist in the act of deliberating - upon and choosing between motives; that deliberation, and that - choice and judgment consequent upon it, have been regarded as - the essence of free will. -{43} - Not so at all. These are acts of the intellect, not of liberty; - it is before the intellect that the various motives of - resolution and action, interests, passions, opinions, and such - like, present themselves; the intellect considers, compares, - estimates, weighs, and judges them. This is a preparatory task, - which precedes the act of volition, but which does not in any - way constitute it. When, after deliberation, man has taken full - cognisance of the motives presented to him, and of their value, - there takes place a process entirely new, and wholly different, - that of free will; man forms a resolution--that is to say, he - commences a series of facts having their source in himself, of - which he regards himself as the author; and these are - effectuated because he wills them; they would have no existence - did he not will it, and would be different if he desired to - produce them otherwise. Now, let us imagine all remembrance of - this process of intellectual deliberation obliterated, the - motives so known and appreciated, forgotten; concentrate your - thought, and that of the man who takes a resolution, upon the - moment when he says, 'It is my will, therefore I shall do so; - and ask yourself, ask too the man, whether he could not will - and act otherwise. -{44} - Without doubt, you will reply, as he will do, 'Assuredly,' and - this it is that reveals the fact of liberty; it consists wholly - in the resolution which man takes after the deliberation is at - an end; it is the resolution that is the proper act of man, - which is through him and through him alone; a simple act, - independent of all the facts which precede or accompany it, - identical in the most varied circumstances, always the same, - whatever be its motives or its results. - - "At the same time that man feels himself free, and is conscious - of the power of commencing by his own will alone a series of - facts, he recognises that his will is subjected to the empire - of a certain law, which takes different names, according to the - circumstances to which it is applied--moral law, reason, good - sense, &c ... Man is free, but according even to man's own way - of thinking, his will is not arbitrary; he may use it in an - absurd, senseless, unjust, and culpable manner, and whenever he - uses it a certain rule must govern it. The observance of this - rule is his duty, the task assigned to his liberty." - -{45} - -It is that act of a will (that is to say of a will strictly -brought back to its central and essential limits) acting freely -in the intimate recesses of his being, which, in the case of -disobedience to the law of duty, constitutes in man sin, and -entails on him its responsibility. - -Is this responsibility exclusively personal, and limited to the -author of the act, or communicated, so to say, by contagion, and -transmitted in a certain measure to his descendants? - -I am still considering only actual appreciable acts, such as they -produce and manifest themselves in the moral life of the human -race. - -We find the poetry and mythology of nearly all nations expressing -the idea of an Utopian state of existence, referred to times -remote and primitive, to which they assign different names, as -the Golden Age, the Age of the Gods, and which they picture as an -epoch when there existed no moral and physical evil in the -world,--an era of peace, bliss, and innocence. -{46} -This is the more remarkable, as it has no foundation, and finds -no pretext in any tradition of historical times, however remote; -for from the commencement of history, from the time that we can -discern any trace of facts at all precise and authentic, it is -not the Golden Age, on the contrary, it is the Iron Age which -appears--an epoch of violence and ignorance and barbarism, in -which war and force are rampant, and which has not in effect the -least resemblance to those beautiful dreams of ancient poetry. -Without now seeking to establish any relation between these -mythological dreams and the Biblical traditions; or, for the -moment, drawing from the Golden Age any argument in support of -the Garden of Eden; I merely point it out as a great fact, as -evidence of a general instinct, so to say, of the human -imagination. What is the meaning of this? Whence comes this -Utopia of innocence and bliss in the cradle of the human race? -{47} -To what does this idea of a primal time, without strife, without -sin, and without pain, correspond? - -But from this cradle of man and this primitive poetry, to revert -to the present time, to real life, to the cradle of the infant, -why is it that, apart from all personal affection, we so readily -term infancy the age of innocence? How is it that we find it so -charming to give it this name, and regard it under this aspect? -Physical ill is already present, for it begins with the very -beginning of life; but moral ill has not yet appeared; life has -not yet brought to the soul its trials, nor called forth its -failings, and the idea of the soul without spot or stain has for -us an inexpressible attraction; we feel a deep joy in witnessing -innocence, or at least its image in the child, when we no longer -see it around us, nor find it within ourselves. - -What means this universal instinct, which in the dreams of the -imagination, as well as in the intimate scenes of domestic life, -whether we turn in thought to the cradle of the human race or to -that of the infant, leads us to regard innocence as the primitive -and normal state of man, and makes us place in the spot where -innocence resides that which some term Paradise, and others the -Golden Age? - -{48} - -Manifestly between the soul without spot and the soul tainted -with evil, between the creature who is merely fallible and the -creature who has sinned, there is a very great change of state, a -distance immense, an abyss. We have a secret feeling of this -deplorable change, of the fall into this abyss; and it is without -premeditation, by the mere impulse of our nature, that we suffer -our thoughts to bear us far--far beyond that abyss, and to pause -on the rapturous contemplation of a state anterior to the fall. -Hence spring, and thus are explained, the power and the charm -which the idea of innocence has for us; absolute innocence we -have never seen, but the idea is still vouchsafed to us; and so -it appears to us in the cradle of the world, and in the cradle of -the infant, and the pleasure is infinite which we derive from the -ideal spectacle of purity which they each suggest. - -{49} - -Is this a pleasure foreign to all personal sentiment, to all -secret reference to ourselves, the pleasure, that is to say, of a -simple spectator? No: these impressions, which the picture of -innocence awakens in us, are connected with and carry us back to -ourselves; this change in the state of man, that mysterious Past -which has thrown him so far from innocence, leaving him, -nevertheless, the idea and the worship of it--these were not the -lot of the first man alone: the entire human race was, and -remains, subject to them. Our present evil does not proceed -solely from ourselves; we have received it as a heritage before -having brought it upon us as a penalty: we are not merely -fallible beings, we are the children of a being who has sinned. - -{50} - -How can we feel surprise at this inheritance of woe! Have we not -daily the example and the spectacle before our eyes? It is an -incontestable and undisputed fact, that two elements enter into -the moral life of man: on the one side, his innate dispositions, -his natural and involuntary inclinations,--on the other, his -inmost and individual will. The natural inclinations of a man do -not destroy his moral liberty nor enslave his will, but they -render its exercise more laborious and more difficult to him; it -is not a chain which he carries, it is a burden that he bears. -Equally incontestable and undisputed is it that the natural -dispositions of men are different and unequally distributed; no -one is entirely exempt from evil inclinations; every man is not -only fallible, but prone to transgress, and prone not only to -transgress, but to transgress in some particular direction or -other. Nor can the fact be disputed, although appreciable with -more difficulty, that the natural and special dispositions of the -individual descend to him in a certain measure from his origin, -and that parents transmit to their children such or such moral -propensities just as they do such or such physical temperament, -or such or such features. Hereditary transmission enters into the -moral as well as the physical order of the world. - -{51} - -This inheritance must take effect, it has done so from the first -days of man's existence upon earth, for man has been created -complete in his whole nature. And whilst, at the same time as -complete, he has been created fallible, I ask, who shall measure -the distance between man fallible, but still without fault, and -the first transgression? Who shall sound the depth of the fall, -and of the change which it brought into the moral condition of -its author? Who shall weigh the consequences of this change to -the state and the moral dispositions of man's descendants? To -appreciate the extent and gravity of this awful fact, of this -first appearance and this first heritage of moral evil, we have -but one test,--the instinct we still preserve of a state of -innocence, and of the immense space which this instinct -irresistibly compels us to place between native innocence and -man's first transgression; but this test is unexceptionable; it -dimly reveals to us, in this fatal transformation, the whole -infirmity and responsibility of the human race. - -{52} - -An objection is raised to this as an injustice: how, it is said, -can each man be responsible for a fault which he has not himself -committed--for the transgression of another man, separated from -himself by so many ages? I consider this objection weak and -frivolous. Such an objection would attach to all the inequalities -which exist among men, to the inequality of the destinies as well -as that of the nature of man, to the inequality of his moral -disposition as well as to that of his physical powers. The -objection would attach to the solidarity of successive -generations, and the controlling influence which the ideas, the -acts, the destiny of each of them exert on the ideas, the acts, -the destiny of those which follow it. The objection would attach -to the ties which unite the child with its parents, and which are -the cause of its sometimes inheriting their evil dispositions, -and sometimes suffering for their faults. It is in short the -general order of the world to which such an objection must apply; -it is the very existence of evil, and its unequal distribution in -a manner wholly independent of individual merit which assumes the -character of a monstrous iniquity. -{53} -And when we come to this point, that we no longer refer the -source of evil to the fault and the responsibility of man, placed -here on earth in a scene and period of transition and of trial, -see to what alternative we are brought. We must either regard -evil as natural, eternal, necessary, in the future as in the -past, as the normal state of man and of the world; that is to -say, we must deny God, the creation, the Divine Providence, human -morality, liberty, responsibility and hope; or, on the other -hand, it is to God Himself that we must impute evil, and whom we -must render accountable. - -The dogma of Original Sin alone relieves the human mind from this -odious and unacceptable alternative: far from being in -contradiction either with the history of humanity, or with the -facts and instincts which constitute man's moral nature, this -dogma admits, illustrates, and explains them. -{54} -The fact of original sin presents nothing strange, nothing -obscure; it consists essentially in disobedience to the will of -God, which will is the moral law of man. This disobedience, the -sin of Adam, is an act committed everywhere and every day, -arising from the same causes, marked by the same characters, and -attended by the same consequences as the Christian dogma assigns -to it. At the present day, as in the Garden of Eden, this act is -occasioned by a thirst for absolute independence, the ambitious -aspirings of curiosity and pride, or weakness in the face of -temptation. At the present day, as in the Garden of Eden, it -produces an immense change in the inmost state of man, a change, -the mere idea of which seizes upon the human soul, and disturbs -it to its very depths; it transports man from the state of -innocence to the state of sin. At the present day, as in the -Garden of Eden, the act which produces this change involves and -entails the responsibility not only of its author but of his -descendants; sin is contagious in time as in space, it is -transmitted, as well as diffused. -{55} -The Christian dogma exhibits the first man created fallible, but -born innocent; innocent at the age of man, proud in the plenitude -of his faculties, not the subject of any evil and fatal heritage. -All at once, for the first time, of his own will, man disobeys -God. Here lies Original Sin, the same in its nature as sin at the -present day, for they both consist in disobedience to the law of -God, but it is the first in date in the history of man's liberty, -and the human source of that evil for which the Christian -religion, whilst pointing it out, offers to man the remedy and -the cure. - - - - IV. The Incarnation. - -All religions have given a prominent place to the problem of -existence and the origin of evil; all have attempted its -solution. -{56} -The good and the evil genius, Ormuzd and Ahriman among the -Persians; God the Creator, God the Preserver, and God the -Destroyer--Brahma, Vishnu, and Siva--in India; the Titans -overwhelmed by the thunderbolts of Jove while scaling Olympus; -Prometheus chained to the rock for having snatched fire from -heaven; all are so many hypotheses to explain the conflict -between good and evil, between order and disorder in the world -and in man. But all these hypotheses are complicated, confused, -and encumbered with chimeras and fables; all attribute the -derivation of evil to incongruous causes, none assign any term to -the conflict, nor find a remedy for the evil. The Christian -religion alone clearly states and effectually solves the -question; it alone imputes to man himself, and to him alone, the -origin of evil; it alone represents God as intervening to raise -man from his fall, and to save him from his peril. - -{57} - -In the course of the sixth and fifth centuries before the -Christian era, a great fact appears in history; a breath of -reform, religious, moral and social, arises, and spreads from -east to west, among all the nations then at all progressing in -the path of civilization. Notwithstanding the uncertainties of -chronology, it may be said, according to the most recent and -accurate researches, that Confucius in China, the Buddha -Càkya-Mouni in India, Zoroaster in Persia, Pythagoras and -Socrates in Greece, are all included in the limits of this epoch; -[Footnote 5] men as dissimilar as they are celebrated, but who -have all, in different ways and in unequal degrees, undertaken a -great work of reforming both the men and the social institutions -of their times. - - [Footnote 5: These researches give the following dates:--1. - Confucius, from 551 to 478 B.C.; 2. Zoroaster, from 564 to - 487, or from 589 to 512 B.C.; 3. Buddha Càkya-Mouni, in the - seventh and sixth centuries B.C. (he died, according to - Burnouf, 543 B.C.); 4. Pythagoras, from 580 to 500 B.C.; 5. - Socrates, 470 to 400 or 399 B.C.] - -{58} - -Confucius was above all a practical moralist, skilled in -observation, counsel, and discipline; Buddha Càkya-Mouni, a -dreamer, and a mystical and popular preacher; Zoroaster, a -legislator, religious and political; Pythagoras and Socrates, -philosophers, bent upon instructing the distinguished bands of -disciples whom they gathered around them. There is no doubt, -notwithstanding the trials of their life, that neither power nor -glory amongst their contemporaries was wanting to them. Confucius -and Zoroaster were the favourites and counsellors of kings. -Buddha Càkya-Mouni, himself the son of a king, became the idol of -innumerable multitudes. Pythagoras and Socrates formed schools -and pupils who were an honour to the human mind. By their -personal genius and by the excellence of some of their ideas and -actions, these men have ensured themselves the admiration of all -posterity. Did they act up to their teachings, and accomplish -what they attempted? Did they really change the moral and social -condition of nations? Did they cause humanity to make any great -progress, and open to it horizons which it had not before known? -{59} -By no means. Whatever fame attaches to the names of these men, -whatever influence they may have exerted, what ever trace of -their passage may have remained, they rather appeared to have -power than really to possess it; they agitated the surface far -more than they stirred the depths; they did not draw nations out -of the beaten tracks in which they had lived. They did not -transform souls. In considering the facts at large, and -notwithstanding the political and material revolutions which they -underwent, China after Confucius, India after Buddha, Persia -after Zoroaster, Greece after Pythagoras and Socrates, followed -in the same ways, retained the same propensities, as before. -Still more, among these very different nations, stagnation was -only be succeeded by decay. Where are these nations at the -present day, more than two thousand years after the appearance of -these glorious characters in their history? What great progress, -what salutary changes, have been effected? What are they in -comparison and in contact with Christian nations? -{60} -Outside of Christianity there have been grand spectacles of -activity and force, brilliant phenomena of genius and virtue, -generous attempts at reform, learned philosophical systems, and -beautiful mythological poems; no real profound or fruitful -regeneration of humanity and of society. - -A few ages only after these barren efforts among the great -nations of the world, Jesus Christ appears among a small, obscure -people, weak and despised. He Himself is weak and despised in the -midst of his people; He neither possesses nor seeks any social -power, any temporal means of action and of success; He collects -around Him only disciples weak and despised as Himself. Not only -are they weak and despised, they proclaim it themselves, and, far -from being troubled at this, they glory in it, and derive from it -confidence. St. Paul writes to the Corinthians: "And I, brethren, -when I came to you, came not with excellency of speech or of -wisdom, declaring unto you the testimony of God. For I determined -not to know any thing among you, save Jesus Christ, and him -crucified. -{61} -And I was with you in weakness, and in fear, and in much -trembling. ... Therefore I take pleasure in infirmities, in -reproaches, in necessities, in persecutions, in distresses for -Christ's sake; for when I am weak, then I am strong." [Footnote -6] - - [Footnote 6: 1 Corinthians ii. 13; 2 Corinthians xii. 10.] - -And in truth, Jesus Christ, the Master of St. Paul, is strong in -his sufferings, and imparts his strength to his disciples; from -his cross, He accomplishes what erewhile, in Asia and Europe, -princes and philosophers, the powerful of the earth, and sages, -attempted without success; He changes the moral state and the -social state of the world; He pours into the souls of men new -enlightenment and new powers; for all classes, for all human -conditions, He prepares destinies before his advent unknown; He -liberates them at the same time that He lays down rules for their -guidance; He quickens them and stills them; He places the divine -law and human liberty face to face, and yet still in harmony; He -offers an effectual remedy for the evil which weighs upon -humanity; to sin He opens the path of salvation, to unhappiness -the door of hope. - -{62} - -Whence comes this power? What are its source and its nature? How -did those who were its witnesses and instruments think and speak -of it at the moment when it was manifested? - -They all, unanimously, saw in Jesus Christ, God; most of them, -from the first moment, suddenly moved and enlightened by his -presence and his words; some, with rather more surprise and -hesitation, but soon penetrated and convinced in their turn. -"When Jesus came into the coasts of Cæsarea Philippi, he asked -his disciples, saying, Whom do men say that I the Son of man am? -And they said, Some say that thou art John the Baptist; some, -Elias; and others, Jeremias, or one of the prophets. He saith -unto them, But whom say ye that I am? And Simon Peter answered -and said, Thou art the Christ, the son of the living God. -{63} -And Jesus answered and said unto him, Blessed art thou, Simon -Barjona; for flesh and blood hath not revealed it unto thee, but -my Father which is in heaven." [Footnote 7] Another day, meeting -with a similar instance of doubt, Jesus says to Thomas, "If ye -had known me, ye should have known my Father also: and from -henceforth ye know him, and have seen him. Philip saith unto him, -Lord, shew us the Father, and it sufficeth us. Jesus saith unto -him, Have I been so long time with you, and yet hast thou not -known me, Philip? he that hath seen me hath seen the Father." -[Footnote 8] - - [Footnote 7: Matthew xvi. 13-17.] - - [Footnote 8: John, xiv. 7-9.] - -It has been remarked, that there are certain variations in the -language of the Apostles, and certain shades of difference in -their leading impressions; and this is indeed true: they call -Jesus Christ at one time the Son of God, at another the Son of -Man; they regard Him and represent Him now under his divine -aspect, at another under his human aspect; they do not present -exactly the same image of Him; they do not all equally dwell upon -the same traits of his nature, or the same facts of his earthly -life. -{64} -St. Matthew is more a narrator and moralist; it is he who relates -with fuller details the birth and childhood of Jesus Christ, and -who gives at the greatest length the Sermon on the Mount. St. -John is more in the habit of contemplating and depicting the -divine nature of Jesus Christ and his relation to God: "In the -beginning was the Word, and the Word was with God, and the Word -was God. ... And the Word was made flesh, and dwelt amongst us, -and we beheld his glory, the glory as of the only-begotten of the -Father, full of grace and truth. ... No man hath seen God at any -time; the only-begotten Son, which is in the bosom of the Father, -he hath declared him." [Footnote 9] - - [Footnote 9: John, i. 1, 14, 18.] - -{65} - -It is also St. John who relates the testimony of the Forerunner, -St. John the Baptist, answering to those who had said to him that -all men come to Jesus Christ: "Ye yourselves bear me witness, -that I said, I am not the Christ, but that I am sent before him. -... He that cometh from above is above all. ... He whom God hath -sent speaketh the words of God: for God giveth not the Spirit by -measure unto him. ... The Father loveth the Son, and hath given -all things into his hand" [Footnote 10] St. Paul is more -systematic, and enters more fully into the questions and -principles of the Christian doctrine, and he regards the divinity -of Jesus Christ as the first of these principles. He writes to -the Philippians: "Let this mind be in you, which was also in -Christ Jesus: who, being in the form of God, thought it no -usurpation to be equal with God: but made himself of no -reputation, and took upon him the form of a servant, and was made -in the likeness of men: and being found in fashion as a man, he -humbled himself, and became obedient unto death, even the death -of the cross." [Footnote 11] - - [Footnote 10: John iii. 28, 31, 34, and 35.] - - [Footnote 11: Philippians ii. 5-6. I have given this verse in - Osterwald's translation, which is also that of the Vulgate; - but my son Guillaume, who is following out a careful course - of study of Latin and Greek philology in sacred and profane - literature, reminds me that the text of this passage presents - a difficulty which furnished a field for the labours of - Erasmus, Cameron, Grotius, Méric Casaubon, in the sixteenth - century, as well as many others before and after them. The - Greek word [Greek text] admits of two meanings, an active and - a passive sense--it may designate the _action of - ravishing, of carrying off by force,_ or the _object - carried off_--the act of depredation, or the spoil. - Substantives derived from verbs frequently waver between - these two acceptations, and the word [Greek text], which is - merely another form of [Greek text], is unquestionably a case - in point. Æschylus, Euripides, Herodotus, have employed it in - the first sense; Æschylus, Euripides, Thucydides, and - Polybius in the second sense. Now, in the passage of St. - Paul, accordingly as one or the other sense is adopted, these - words must either be translated thus: "He did not consider it - a usurpation to be equal to God;" or thus, "He did not - display as a trophy his equality to God;" that is to say: He - did not display His equality with God as the conquerors of - the earth display the spoils and booty which they have - amassed; He did not make use of His divinity to reign, to - triumph, to pride himself in it; He was not the Messiah whom - the carnal Jews expected, a visible king and victorious in - arms; but, on the contrary, "he humbled himself, and took - upon him the form of a servant," etc., etc. This second - interpretation seems more probable; the reasoning on which it - is founded is thus more connected and flowing; and at the - same time, it leaves the doctrine of the Apostle intact; it - changes nothing in his conception or his conclusions. In this - passage, as in many others, St. Paul likewise affirms the - divinity of the Saviour whom he announces to men; and it is - from this majesty, subjected to a voluntary humiliation, - veiled under the form of a servant, obedient unto the death - of the cross, that He presents an august example and an - imperative lesson for Christians of humility and mutual - support. It is thus that this interpretation has been - admitted and defended by two eminent men, a scholar of the - sixteenth and a theologian of the nineteenth century, both of - whom were strongly attached to the dogma of the divinity of - Jesus Christ--I allude to Méric Casaubon (De Verborum Usu, - pp. 138-146, at the end of the letters of his father), and M. - A. Vinet (Homilétique, p. 116).] - -{66} - -.... It is he "who is the image of the invisible God, the -first-born of every creature: for by him were all things created, -that are in heaven, and that are in earth, visible and invisible, -whether they be thrones, or dominions, or principalities, or -powers: all things were created by him, and for him: and he is -before all things, and by him all things consist." [Footnote 12] - - [Footnote 12: Colossians i. 15-17.] - -{67} - -St. Peter and St. John, in their Epistles, speak in the same -terms as St. Paul. St. Peter says, "We have not followed -cunningly devised fables, when we made known unto you the power -and coming of our Lord Jesus Christ, but were eyewitnesses of his -majesty. For he received from God the Father honour and glory, -when there came such a voice to him from the excellent glory, -This is my beloved Son, in whom I am well pleased; hear ye him." -[Footnote 13] - - [Footnote 13: 2 Peter i. 16, 17.] - -{68} - -St. John writes: "Whosoever denieth the Son, the same hath not -the Father; but he that acknowledgeth the Son hath the Father -also." [Footnote 14] "Hereby know ye the Spirit of God: every -Spirit that confesseth that Jesus Christ is come in the flesh is -of God; and every spirit that confesseth not that Jesus Christ is -come in the flesh is not of God." [Footnote 14] - - [Footnote 13: 1 John ii. 23.] - - [Footnote 14: 1 John iv. 2, 3.] - -Such is the language of the Apostles; such are, at the same time, -its shades of variance and its harmony. They have all evidently -the same conception of Jesus Christ, they have all the same faith -in Him. St. Matthew, as well as St. John, St. Peter and St. Paul, -alike regard Jesus Christ as at once God and man, the -representative of God on earth, and the Mediator between God and -men--come from God, and re-ascended unto Him as the source and -centre of His being. The dogma of the Incarnation, that is to -say, of the divinity of Jesus Christ, pervades the Holy -Scriptures--the Gospels, the Acts of the Apostles, the Epistles -of the Apostles, the writings of the first Fathers. It is the -common and fixed basis, the source and essence of the Christian -faith. - -{69} - -This was affirmed and declared by Jesus Christ himself. What His -disciples believed and related of Him, is what He himself told -them of himself, as well as what they themselves witnessed and -thought of Him: "All things are delivered unto me of my Father: -and no man knoweth the Son, but the Father: neither knoweth any -man the Father, save the Son, and he to whomsoever the Son will -reveal him." [Footnote 15] --"I and my Father are one." [Footnote -16] - - [Footnote 15: Matthew xi. 27.] - - [Footnote 16: John x. 30.] - -And when He approaches the term of His mission, when, after -having announced to His disciples that the hour was coming when -they would be dispersed, each going his own way, leaving Him -alone, Jesus Christ raises His thoughts to God and says, "Father, -the hour is come; glorify thy Son, that thy Son also may glorify -thee: as thou hast given him power over all flesh, that he should -give eternal life to as many as thou hast given him. -{70} -And this is life eternal, that they might know thee the only true -God, and Jesus Christ whom thou hast sent. I have glorified thee -on the earth: I have finished the work which thou gavest me to -do. And now, O Father, glorify thou me with thine own self with -the glory which I had with thee before the world was. I have -manifested thy name unto the men which thou gavest me out of the -world: thine they were, and thou gavest them me; and they have -kept thy word. Now they have known that all things whatsoever -thou hast given me are of thee. For I have given unto them the -words which thou gavest me; and they have received them, and have -known surely that I came out from thee, and they have believed -that thou didst send me. I pray for them: I pray not for the -world, but for them which thou hast given me; for they are thine. -And all mine are thine, and thine are mine; and I am glorified in -them. And now I am no more in the world, but these are in the -world, and I come to thee. Holy Father, keep through thine own -name those whom thou hast given me, that they may be one, as we -are." [Footnote 17] - - [Footnote 17: John xvii. 1-11.] - -{71} - -I might multiply these texts; but these surely suffice to show -that the words of Jesus Christ in relation to himself, and those -of His Apostles, are in perfect unison; He speaks of himself as -they speak of Him; He qualifies himself as they qualify Him; He -calls God His "Father," as His disciples call Him "the Son of -God." He has the same faith in himself, in His nature, and in His -mission, as St. Matthew, St. John, St. Peter, and St. Paul had in -Him. - -It is a great source of error, in the study of facts, not to know -how to stop at their general and essential features, and, losing -sight of these, to give prominence to partial and secondary -features. On the subject of the divinity of Jesus Christ, that -fundamental principle of the Christian religion, the precise -meaning and import of such or such a word may be disputed; such -or such an expression may be thought an interpolation, and so -eliminated in any particular Gospel, in any particular Epistle; -nevertheless there will always remain infinitely more than -sufficient evidence of the fact that those who at the present day -believe in the divinity of Jesus Christ, believe simply what the -Apostles believed and said, and that the Apostles themselves only -believed and said, nearly nineteen centuries ago, what Jesus -Christ himself said to them. - -{72} - -The opponents of the dogma of the Incarnation and of the divinity -of Jesus Christ disregard equally man and history, the complex -elements of human nature, and the meaning of the great facts -which mark the religious life of the human race. - -What is man himself, but an incomplete and imperfect incarnation -of God? The materialists who deny the soul, and the naturalists -who deny creation, are alone consistent in rejecting the -Christian dogma. All who believe in the distinction of spirit and -matter, who do not believe that man is the result of the -fermentation of matter, or of the transformation of species, are -constrained to admit the presence in human nature of the divine -element, and they must necessarily accept these words in Genesis: -"God created man in his own image;" that is to say, they must -acknowledge the presence of God in frail and fallible humanity. - -{73} - -I open the histories of all religions, of all mythologies, the -most refined as well as the grossest; I find at every step the -idea and the assertion of the Divine Incarnation. Brahmanism, -Buddhism, Paganism, all faiths, all religious idolatries, abound -in incarnations of every kind and date, primitive or successive, -connected with this or that historical event, adapted to explain -this or that fact, to satisfy this or that human propensity. It -is the natural and universal instinct of men to picture to -themselves the action of God upon the human race under the form -of the incarnation of God in man. - -{74} - -Like all religious instincts, that of the belief in the Divine -Incarnation may engender, and has engendered, the most absurd -superstitions, the most extravagant hypotheses. In the same way -as the natural faith in God has been the source of all -idolatries, so the tendency to incarnate God in man has given -rise to, and admitted, every kind of strange imagining and -spurious tradition. Are we then to pronounce all divine -incarnation false, every tradition of it spurious? Rather let us -say that it proceeds from the infirmity of the human mind, if we -see realities and mere chimeras, truths and errors, in such close -proximity, if we find them calling one another by the same names -and unceasingly confounding one another's attributes. The -pretended incarnation of Brahma, or of Buddha, proves no more -against the divinity of Jesus Christ than the adoration of idols -proves against the existence of God. Jesus Christ, God and Man, -has characteristics which appertain to Him alone. These have -founded His power and occasioned the success of His works, a -power and a success which belong to Him alone. -{75} -It is not a human reformer, but God himself, who, through Jesus -Christ, has accomplished what no human reformer has ever -accomplished, or even conceived,--the reform of the moral and -social condition of the world, the regeneration of the human -soul, and the solution of the problems of human destiny. It is by -these signs, by these results, that the divinity of Jesus Christ -is manifested. How was the Divine Incarnation accomplished in -man? Here, as in the union of the soul and the body, as in the -creation, arises the mystery; but if we cannot fathom the reason -of it, the fact not the less exists. When this fact has taken the -form of dogma, theology has sought to explain it. In my opinion, -this was a mistake; theology has obscured the fact in developing -and commenting upon it. It is the fact itself of the Incarnation -which constitutes the Christian faith, and which rises above all -definitions and all theological controversies. To disregard this -fact--to deny the divinity of Jesus Christ--is to deny, to -overthrow the Christian religion, which would never have been -what it is, and would never have accomplished what it has, but -that the Divine Incarnation was its principle, and Jesus -Christ--God and Man--its author. - -{76} - - - V. The Redemption. - - -I enter into the sanctuary of the Christian faith. - -God has done more than manifest himself in Jesus Christ. He has -done more than place upon the earth and before men His own living -image, the type of sanctity and the model of life. The Creator -has accomplished, through Jesus Christ, toward man, His creature, -an act of His beneficence and at the same time of His sovereign -power. Jesus Christ is not only God made man to spread the divine -light upon men; He is God made man to conquer and efface in man -moral evil, the fruit of the sin of man. He brings not only light -and law, but pardon and salvation. -{77} -And it is at the price of His own suffering, of His own -sacrifice, that He brings these to them. He is the type of -self-devotion at the same time as of sanctity. He has submitted -to be a victim in order to be a saviour. The Incarnation leads to -the Cross, and the Cross to the Redemption. - -Here are the supreme dogma and mystery. Here are revealed plainly -the sense and the import of Christianity. By what ways did Jesus -Christ penetrate the human soul to accomplish this great work? -How did He win the human soul to the Christian faith, in order to -snatch it from evil and to save it? - -When man fails in the duty of which he recognises the law,--when -he commits the wrong which he is bound to shun,--when, after sin, -repentance arises within him, and a sense of the necessity of -expiation is soon joined with this sentiment of repentance, the -moral instinct of man teaches that repentance does not suffice to -efface the fault, and that it requires to be expiated: reparation -supposes suffering. - -{78} - -And when the religious sentiment is joined to the moral -sentiment,--when man believes in God, and sees in Him the author -and dispenser of the moral law, he regards himself as guilty of -transgression toward God whom he has disobeyed, he feels the need -of being pardoned and of being restored to the favour of the -Sovereign Master whom he has offended. - -Among all nations, in all religions, under all social forms, -these two instincts--as to the necessity of expiation to ensue -upon the fault, and the necessity of pardon to follow the -transgression--appear natural and inherent in the human soul. -They have been at all times and in all places, the source of a -multitude of beliefs and practices; some pure and touching, -others foolish and odious: these may all be briefly comprised in -the single expression, _sacrifices_. The histories of all -nations, barbarous or civilized, ancient or modern, teem with -sacrificial rites of every description, whether they be of a -nature gross or mystical, of a performance mild or bloody; rites -invented and celebrated either to expiate the sins of man, or to -appease the anger of God and regain His favour. - -{79} - -Nor is this all; we have here to note another moral fact, not -less real although it seems stranger to the eyes of superficial -reason. Mankind has believed that a fault might be expiated by -another than its author, that innocent victims might be -efficaciously offered up to influence God, and to save the -guilty. This belief has led to sacrifices no less absurd than -atrocious: the pretended expiation has become an additional -crime: it has at the same time been also the source of heroic -acts and sublime examples of self-devotion. Both the domestic -records of families and the public histories of nations have -furnished us with admirable instances of innocence voluntarily -offering itself as a sacrifice, taking upon itself the penalty, -the suffering, the death, to expiate the sin of others, and to -win from Divine Justice--now satisfied--the pardon of the -offender. - -{80} - -And are we then to regard this merely as a pious, a generous -illusion, a devotedness as vain as admirable? Yes, such is the -view that all those must adopt who believe neither in Providence -nor prayer, nor in the existence of any efficacious relation -between the actions of man and the purposes of God; no solidarity -between men, no connection between the sacrifice of him who -practises the act of self-devotion, and the destiny of him who is -its object. But those who have faith in the living God, in His -continued presence, and His never-sleeping providence, those who -believe that nothing in man, whether it be good or whether it be -evil, is in vain, that every moral act bears its fruit visible or -invisible, immediate or remote, such as these cannot fail to -feel, to have, as it were, a presentiment, that in such -self-sacrifice of the innocent for the salvation of the guilty, -there exists a mysterious virtue. The secret of this it may not -be given them to fathom, but it nevertheless gives life in their -bosom to the hope that such sublime devotion will not fail of its -object. - -{81} - -And now, to pass from this feeling, and from the acts of man, -whose reality no one can dispute, to the corresponding dogmas of -Christianity, let me, by the side of these acts of devotedness -and self-sacrifice of the human creature in his innocence seeking -to atone for the sins of the human creature who is guilty, place -the self-devotion and the self-sacrifice of Jesus Christ, the -Man-God, tendered to ransom from sin the race of mankind and to -open to it the way of salvation; who is not struck by this -sublime analogy? What connection and harmony between the purest, -the most generous, instincts of the human soul, and the dogma of -God's Redemption? I touch upon none of the questions, I enter -into none of the controversies which have sprung up with respect -to this dogma of Redemption; I do not weigh with a view to -compare faith and works, nor do I essay to assign the part due to -divine grace or to human virtue; I do not define or seek to -number the elect, but I pause upon the fact itself of the -Redemption by Jesus Christ, the fact upon which the dogma itself -reposes. -{82} -All that the most renowned heroes, the most glorious saints of -humanity have striven to accomplish, in order to expiate the sins -of any creature or any nation, Jesus Christ the Elect of God, the -Son of God, the God-Man, came to effect for all mankind, by means -of incomparable sorrow, humiliation, and sufferings. And, as was -affirmed by St. Paul in the first century, and by Bossuet in the -seventeenth, this very suffering, this humiliation, this -martyrdom of Jesus Christ, have constituted his victory and his -empire. And I would ask, what other spectacle than that of God -made man to constitute himself victim--made victim to become the -saviour--could have excited in the soul of mankind those -outbursts of admiration, of respect, and of love, that ardent, -invincible, and contagious faith, of which the Apostles and the -primitive Christians have left us the evidences and the example? -It was requisite that the victim and the sacrifice should be -equal to the work. -{83} -That work was the Christian religion, that incomparable system of -facts, dogmas, precepts, promises, which, in the midst of all the -doubts and all the controversies of the mind of man, have for -nineteen centuries afforded satisfaction and solution to those -aspirings of the human race, which nature prompts, whether they -assume the form of religious instincts or religious problems. - -{84} - - Third Meditation. - - The Supernatural. - - -To a system so grand, and in such profound harmony with man's own -nature, an objection is made which is thought decisive; that -system proclaims the Supernatural, has the Supernatural for its -principle and foundation. It is objected that the Supernatural -itself has no existence. - -This objection is not novel, but it has at this moment in -appearance assumed a more serious and formidable shape than ever. -It is in the name of science itself, of all the human sciences, -of the physical sciences, historical science, philosophical -science, that the pretension is made that is to reduce the -Supernatural to a nonentity, and to banish it from the world and -from man. - -{85} - -The reverence that I feel for science is infinite. I would have -it as free and unshackled as I would desire to see it honoured. -But I would at the same time like to see it deal somewhat more -rigorously and logically with itself. I would like to see it less -exclusively absorbed by its own peculiar labours and occupations, -its momentary successes; more careful not to forget or omit any -of the ideas or any of the facts which bear upon the subject with -which it deals, and for which in its solution it has still to -account. - -In whatever quarter, at this day, the wind may be, the abolition -of the Supernatural is a difficult enterprise, for the belief in -the Supernatural is a fact natural, primitive, universal, -constant in the life and history of the human race. We may -interrogate mankind in all times and places, in all states of -society and degrees of civilization, we find it always and -everywhere spontaneously believing in facts and causes beyond the -sphere of this palpable world, of this living piece of mechanism -termed nature. In vain do we extend, explain, amplify nature -itself; the instinct of man, the instinct of human masses, has -never suffered that nature to confine it: it has always sought -and seen something beyond. - -{86} - -It is this belief--instinctive, and hitherto -indestructible--which is qualified as a radical error; this -universal and enduring fact in man's history it is which men seek -to abolish. They go farther; they affirm that it is already -abolished--that the _people_ no longer believe in the -Supernatural, and that any attempt to bring them back to it would -be vain. Incredible conceit of man! What, because in a corner of -the world in one day among ages brilliant progress may have been -made in natural and historical science--because in the name of -the sciences, and in brilliant books, the Supernatural has been -combated, they proclaim the Supernatural vanquished, abolished; -and we hear the judgment pronounced, not merely in the name of -the learned, but of the people! Have you then completely -forgotten, or have you never thoroughly comprehended, humanity -and the history of humanity? -{87} -Do you ignore absolutely what the people really is, and what all -those nations are that cover the surface of the earth? Have you -never then penetrated into those millions of souls in which the -belief in the Supernatural is and abides, present and active even -when the words which move their lips disown it? Are you then -unconscious of the immense distance which there is between the -depths and the surface of those souls, between the variable -breaths which only ruffle the minds of men, and the immutable -instincts which preside over their very being? True, there are, -in our days, amongst the people, many fathers, mothers, children, -who believe themselves incredulous, and mock scorn fully at -miracles; but follow them in the intimacy of their homes, amongst -the trials of their lives, how do these parents act, when their -child is ill, those farmers when their crops are threatened, -those sailors when they float upon the waters a prey to the -tempest? They elevate their eyes to heaven, they burst forth in -prayer, they invoke that Supernatural power said by you to be -abolished in their very thought. By their spontaneous and -irresistible acts they give to your words and to their own a -striking disavowal. - -{88} - -But to advance a step towards you, admitted that the faith in the -Supernatural is abolished; let us enter together that society and -those classes to whom this moral ruin is a triumph and a vaunt. -What then ensues? In the place of God's miracles, man's miracles -make their appearance. They are searched for, they are called -for; men are found to invent them, and to contrive them to be -recognised by thousands of beholders. It is not necessary to go -either far in time or wide in space to see the Supernatural of -Superstition raising itself in the place of the Supernatural of -Religion, and Credulity hurrying to meet Falsehood half-way. - -{89} - -But away with these unhealthy paroxysms of humanity; and to -return to its sober and enduring history. We will admit that the -instinctive belief in the Supernatural has been the source and -abides the foundation of all religions, of religion in the most -general sense of the word, and of essential religion. The most -serious, at the same time the most perplexed, of the thinkers who -in our days have approached the subject, M. Edmond Scherer, saw -plainly enough that that was the question at issue, and he has so -put it in the third of his "Conversations Théologiques," noble -yet sad imaging forth of the fermentation in his own ideas and -the struggles which they occasion in his soul. "The Supernatural -is not a something external to religion," says one of the two -speakers between whom M. Scherer supposes the discussion, "it is -religion itself." "No," says the other, "the Supernatural is not -the peculiar element of religion, but rather of superstition: the -Supernatural fact has no relation with the human soul, for it is -the essence of the Supernatural that it goes beyond all those -conditions which constitute credibility; its essence indeed is -the being _anti-human_." -{90} -The discussion continues and becomes animated: the contrary -nature of the perplexities experienced by the two speakers -becomes manifest. "Perhaps," says the Rationalist, "the -Supernatural was a necessary form of religion for ill cultivated -minds: but rightly or wrongly, our modern civilization rejects -miracles; without positive denial, it remains indifferent to -them. Even the preacher knows not how to deal with them; the more -he is in earnest, the more his Christian feeling has inwardness -and vitality, the more does the miracle also disappear from his -teaching. Miracles formerly constituted the great force of the -sermon, at the present day what are they but a secret source of -embarrassment? Everybody feels vaguely when confronted by the -marvellous accounts in our sacred volumes, what he feels when -confronted by the Legends of the Saints; it is impossible for -that to be religion, it is only its superfoetation." "It is -true," exclaims with sorrow the hesitating Christian, "we believe -no longer in miracles; you might have added that neither do we -any more believe in God himself; the two things go together. -{91} -We hear much now-a-days of Christian Spiritualism--of the -religion of the conscience, and you yourself seem to see that men -in giving up miracles are making progress in religion. Ah! why is -it that the intimate experience of my own heart cannot express -itself in a forcible protest against any such opinion? Whenever I -find my faith in miraculous agency vacillating within me, the -image of my God seems to be fading away from my eyes: He ceases -to be for me God the free, the living, the personal; the God with -whom the soul converses, as with a master and friend; and this -holy dialogue once interrupted, what is left us? How does life -become sad? how does it lose its illusions? Reduced to the -satisfaction of mere physical wants, to eat, to drink, to sleep, -to make money, deprived of all horizon, how puerile does our -maturity appear, how sorrowful our old age, how meaningless our -anxieties! - -{92} - -"No more mystery, no more innocence, no more infinity, no longer -any heaven above our heads, no more poesy. Ah! be sure: the -incredulity which rejects the miracle has a tendency to unpeople -heaven, and to disenchant the earth. The Supernatural is the -natural sphere of the soul. It is the essence of its faith, of -its hope, of its love. I know how specious criticism is, how -victorious its arguments often appear; but I know one thing -besides, and perhaps I might here even appeal to your own -testimony; in ceasing to believe in what is miraculous, the soul -finds that it has lost the secret of divine life; henceforth it -is urged downwards towards the abyss, soon it lies on the earth, -and not seldom in the dirt." - -In his turn the disbeliever in the Supernatural is troubled and -saddened: "Listen," he says: "the history of humanity seems to be -sometimes moving in obedience to the following scheme. The world -begins with religion, and, referring all phenomena to a first -cause, it sees God everywhere. -{93} -Then comes philosophy, which, having discovered the connection of -secondary causes, and the laws of their operation, makes a -corresponding deduction from the direct intervention of divinity, -and then founding itself upon the idea of necessity (for it is -only necessity which falls within the domain of science, and -science is in fact but the knowledge of what is necessary); -philosophy tends in its very fundamental principle to exclude God -from the world. It does more; it finishes by denying human -liberty as it has denied God. The reason is evident: liberty is a -cause beyond the sphere of the necessary connection of causes, a -first cause, a cause which serves as cause to itself: and from -that moment philosophy, unequal to any explanation, feels itself -disposed to deny that first cause. A philosophy true to itself -will ever be fatalistic. For from that moment philosophy corrupts -and destroys itself. When it has no other God than the universe, -no other man than the chief of the mammalia, what is it but a -mere system of Zoology? -{94} -Zoology constitutes the whole science of the epoch, of the -Materialists, and to speak plainly, that is our position at the -present day. But materialism can never be the be-all and the -end-all of the human race. Corrupt and enervated, society is -passing through immense catastrophes, is falling in ruins; the -iron harrow of Revolution is breaking up mankind like the clods -of the field; in the bloody furrows germinate new races; the soul -in the agony of its distress believes once more; it resumes its -faith in virtue, it finds again the language of prayer. To the -age of the Renaissance succeeded that of the Reformation; to the -Germany of Frederick the Great, the Germany of 1812. So faith -springs up for ever and ever out of its ashes. Ah, that I must -add it, humanity rises again but to resume the march which I have -just described. But can it be said of it besides, that like this -Globe of ours it is making any movement in advance whilst it is -so turning round itself, and if it does so advance, towards what -is it gravitating? - -{95} - - 'Whither, whither, O Lord, - marches the earth in the heavens?'" [Footnote 18] - - [Footnote 18: Mélange de Critique Religieuse, par Edmond - Scherer--Conversations Théologiques, pp. 169-187.] - -But it is not towards heaven that the earth would march if it -followed the path in which the adversaries of the Supernatural -are impelling it. It is this peculiarity, they say, of the -Supernatural, that being incredible, it is in its very essence -anti-human. Now it is precisely to something not anti-human but -superhuman that the human soul aspires, and there seeks to -realize these aspirations in the Supernatural. We should be never -weary of repeating it; the whole finite world in its entirety, -with all its facts and all its laws, comprising indeed man -himself, suffices not for the soul of man; it requires something -grander and more perfect for the subject of its contemplation, -the object of its love; it desires to fix its trust in something -more stable; to lean upon something less fragile. -{96} -This supreme and sublime ambition it is to which religion, in its -widest sense, gives birth and supplies nourishment; and this -supreme and sublime ambition it is also that the religion of -Christ more particularly responds to and satisfies. Let those, -therefore, who flatter themselves that although abolishing the -belief in the Supernatural, they leave Christians still -Christians, undeceive themselves; what they are abolishing, -destroying, is very religion, for their arguments assail all -religion in general, and Christianity in particular. It may be -that they do not inflict upon themselves all this evil, and that -in retaining a sincere religious sentiment they really believe -themselves nearly Christians; the soul struggles against the -errors of the thought, and a moral suicide is a rare spectacle. -But the evil even in spreading unveils more plainly its nature -and increases in intensity; besides men, in masses, draw from -error far more logical conclusions than the man ever did in whom -the error had its origin. The people are not the learned, neither -are they philosophers, and only once succeed in destroying in -them all faith in the Supernatural, and you may consider it -certain that the faith in Christ must have previously -disappeared. -{97} -Have you well weighed all this? Have you pictured to yourself -what a man, what mankind, what the soul of man, what human -society itself would become if religion were in effect abolished, -if religious faith entirely disappeared? I will not give way to -anguish of soul or sinister presentiments, but I do not hesitate -to affirm that no imagination can represent with adequate -fidelity what would take place in us and around us if the place -at present occupied by Christian belief were on a sudden to -become vacant, and its empire annihilated. No one could pronounce -to what degree of disorder and degradation humanity would be -precipitated. But awful indeed would be the result if all faith -in the Supernatural were extinct in the soul, and if man had in a -supernatural state neither trust nor hope. - -It is not my design, however, to confine myself here to the -question regarded merely in its moral, practical light; I -approach the Supernatural as viewed with the eyes of free and -speculative reason. - -{98} - -It is condemned for its very name's sake. Nothing is or can be, -it is said, beyond and above nature. Nature is one and complete; -everything is comprised in it; in it, of necessity, all things -cohere, enchain, and develop themselves. - -We are here in thorough pantheism--that is to say, in absolute -atheism. I do not hesitate to give to pantheism its real name. -Amongst the men who at the present day declare themselves the -opponents of the Supernatural, most, certainly, do not believe -that they are nor do they desire to be atheists. But let me tell -them that they are leading others whither they neither think nor -wish themselves to go. The negation of the Supernatural, and that -in the name of the unity and universality of nature, is -pantheism, and pantheism is nothing more nor less than atheism. -{99} -In the sequel of these Meditations, when I come to speak -particularly of the actual state of the Christian religion, and -of the different systems which combat it, I will in this respect -justify my assertion; at present, I have to repel direct attacks -upon the Supernatural--attacks less fundamental than those of -pantheism, but not less serious, for in truth, whether men know -it or not, and whether they mean it or not, all attacks in this -warfare reach the same object, and as soon as the Supernatural is -the aim it is religion itself that receives the shaft. - -The fixity of the laws of nature is appealed to; that, say they, -is the palpable and incontestable fact established by the -experience of mankind, and upon which rests the conduct of human -life. In presence of the permanent order of nature and the -immutability of its laws, we cannot admit any partial, any -momentary infractions; we cannot believe in the Supernatural, in -miracles. - -True, general and constant laws do govern nature. Are we, -therefore, to affirm that those laws are necessary, and that no -deviation from them is possible in nature? Who is there that does -not discern an essential, an absolute difference between what is -general and what is necessary? -{100} -The permanence of the actual laws of nature is a fact established -by experience, but it is not the only fact possible, the only -fact conceivable by reason; those laws might have been other -laws, they may change. Several of them have not always been what -they now are, for science itself proves that the condition of the -universe has been different from what it is at present; the -universal and permanent order of which we form part, and in which -we confide, has not always been what we now see it; it has had a -beginning; the creation of the actual system of nature and of its -laws is a fact as certain as the system itself is certain. And -what is creation but a supernatural fact, the act of a Power -superior to the actual laws of nature, and which has power to -modify them just as much as it has had power to establish them? -The first of miracles is God himself. - -{101} - -There is a second miracle--man. I resume what I have already -said; by his title as a moral being and free agent, man lives -beyond and above the influence of the general and permanent laws -of nature; he creates by his will effects which are not at all -the necessary consequence of any pre-existent law; and those -effects take their place in a system absolutely distinct and -independent from the visible order which governs the universe. -The moral liberty of man is a fact as certain, and natural, as -the order of nature, and it is at the same time a supernatural -fact--that is to say, essentially foreign to the order of nature -and to its laws. - -God is the being moral and free _par excellence_, that is to -say, the being excellently capable of acting as first cause -beyond the influence of causation. By his title as a moral being -and free agent, man is in intimate relation with God. Who shall -define the possible contingencies, or fathom the mysteries of -this relation? Who dare to say that God cannot modify, that He -never does modify, according to his plans with respect to the -moral system and to man, the laws which He has made and which He -maintains in the material order of nature? - -{102} - -Some have hesitated absolutely to deny the possibility of -supernatural facts; and so their attack is indirect. If those -facts, say they, are not impossible, they are incredible, for no -particular testimony of man in favour of a miracle can give a -certitude equal to that which, on the opposite side, results from -the experience which men have of the fixity of the laws of -nature. - -"It is experience only," says Hume, "which gives authority to -human testimony; and it is the same experience which assures us -of the laws of nature. When therefore these two kinds of -experience are contrary, we have nothing to do, but subtract the -one from the other, and embrace an opinion, either on one side or -the other, with that assurance which arises from the remainder. -But according to the principles here explained, this subtraction, -with regard to all popular religions, amounts to an entire -annihilation: and therefore we may establish it as a maxim, that -no human testimony can have such force as to prove a miracle, and -make it a just foundation for any such system of religion." -[Footnote 19] - - [Footnote 19: Essays and Treatises on Several Subjects, by - David Hume; Essay on Miracles, vol. iii. p. 119-145, Bâle, - 1793. [Same work, p. 91, London, 16mo, 1860.--TRANSLATOR.]] -{103} - -It is in this reasoning of Hume that the opponents of miracles -shut themselves up as in an impregnable fortress to refuse them -all credence. - -What confusion of facts and ideas! What a superficial solution of -one of the grandest problems of our nature! What! a simple -operation of arithmetic, with respect to two experimental -observations, estimated in ciphers, is to decide the question -whether the universal belief of the race of man in the -Supernatural is well-founded or simply absurd; whether God only -acts upon the world and upon man by laws established once for -all, or whether He still continues to make, in the exercise of -his power, use of his liberty! -{104} -Not only does the sceptic Hume here show himself unconscious of -the grandeur of the problem; he mistakes even in the motives upon -which he founds his shallow conclusion; for it is not from human -experience alone that human testimony draws her authority: this -authority has sources more profound, and a worth anterior to -experience: it is one of the natural bonds, one of the -spontaneous sympathies which unite with one another men and the -generations of men. Is it by virtue of experience that the child -trusts to the words of its mother, that it has faith in all she -tells it? The mutual trust that men repose in what they say or -transmit to each other is an instinct, primitive, spontaneous, -which experience confirms or shakes, sets up again or sets bounds -to, but which experience does not originate. - -I find in the same essay of Hume, [Footnote 20] this other -passage: "The passion of surprise and wonder, arising from -miracles, being an agreeable emotion, gives a sensible tendency -towards the belief of those events from which it is derived." - - [Footnote 20: Hume's Essay on Miracles, p. 128, - _ubi supra_.] - -{105} - -Thus, if we are to credit Hume, it is merely for his pleasure, -for the diversion of the imaginative faculty, that man believes -in the Supernatural; and beneath this impression--though real, -still only of a secondary nature--which does no more than skim -the surface of the human soul, the philosopher has no glimpse at -all of the profound instincts and superior requisitions which -have sway over him. - -But why an attack of this character, so indirect and little -complete? Why should Hume limit himself to the proposition that -miracles can never be historically proved, instead of at once -affirming the impossibility of miracles themselves? This is what -the opponents of the Supernatural virtually think; and it is -because they commence by regarding miracles as impossible that -they apply themselves to destroy the value of the evidences by -which they are supported. -{106} -If the evidence which surrounds the cradle of Christianity, if -the fourth, if even the tenth part of it were adduced in support -of facts of a nature extra-ordinary, unexpected, or unheard of, -but still not having a character positively supernatural, the -proof would be accepted as unexceptionable: the facts for -certain. In appearance, it is merely the proof by witnesses of -the Supernatural that is contested; whereas, in reality, the very -possibility of the thing is denied that is sought to be proved. -The question ought to be put as it really is, instead of such a -solution being offered as is a mere evasion. - -Lately, however, men of logical minds and daring spirits have not -hesitated to speak more frankly and plainly. "The new dogma, they -say, the fundamental principle of criticism, is the negation of -the Supernatural. ... Those still disposed to reject this -principle have nothing to do with our books, and we, on our side, -have no cause to feel disquietude at their opposition and their -censure, for we do not write for them. And if this discussion is -altogether avoided, it is because it is impossible to enter into -it with out admitting an unacceptable proposition, viz., one -which presumes that the Supernatural can in any given case be -possible. [Footnote 21] - - [Footnote 21: Conservation, Involution, et Positivisme, par - M. Littré, Preface, p. xxvi, and following pages--M. Havet, - Revue des Deux Mondes, 1 Août, 1863.] - -{107} - -I do not reproach the disciples of the school of Hume for having -evinced greater timidity: if they attacked the Supernatural by a -side way, not as being impossible in itself, but as being merely -incapable of proof by human testimony, they did not do so -designedly and with deceitful purpose. Let us render them more -justice, and do them more honour. A prudent and an honest -instinct held them back on the declivity upon which they had -placed themselves; they felt that to deny even the possibility of -the Supernatural, was to enter at full sail into pantheism and -fatalism, that is to say, was the same thing as at once -dispensing with God and doing away with the free agency of man. -Their moral sense, their good sense, withheld them from any such -course. -{108} -The fundamental error of the adversaries of the Supernatural is -that they contest it in the name of human science, and that they -class the Supernatural amongst facts within the domain of -science, whereas the Supernatural does not fall within that -domain, and the very attempt so to treat it has led, indeed, to -its being entirely rejected. - -{109} - - Fourth Meditation. - - The Limits Of Science. - - -An eminent moralist, who was at the same time not only a -theologian, but a philosopher well versed in the physical -sciences, I mean Dr. Chalmers, professor at the University of -Edinburgh, and corresponding member of the Institute of France, -wrote in his work on _Natural Theology_, a chapter entitled: -_On man's partial and limited knowledge of divine things._ -The first pages are as follows:-- - - "The true modern philosophy never makes more characteristic - exhibition of itself, than at the limit which separates the - known from the unknown. It is there that we behold it in a - twofold aspect--that of the utmost deference and respect for - all the findings of experience within this limit; that, on the - other hand, of the utmost disinclination and distrust for all - those fancies of ingenious or plausible speculation which have - their place in the ideal region beyond it. -{110} - To call in the aid of a language which far surpasses our own in - expressive brevity, its office is '_indagare_' rather than - '_divinare_.' The products of this philosophy are copies - and not creations. It may discover a system of nature, but not - devise one. It proceeds first on the observation of individual - facts and if these facts are ever harmonised into a system, - this is only in the exercise of a more extended observation. In - the work of systematising, it makes no excursion beyond the - territory of actual nature--for they are the actual phenomena - of nature which form the first materials of this - philosophy--and they are the actual resemblances of these - phenomena that form, as it were, the cementing principle, to - which the goodly fabrics of modern science owe all the solidity - and all the endurance that belong to them. -{111} - It is this chiefly which distinguishes the philosophy of the - present day from that of by-gone ages. The one was mainly an - excogitative, the other mainly a descriptive process--a - description however extending to the likenesses as well as to - the peculiarities of things; and, by means of these likenesses, - these observed likenesses alone, often realising a more - glorious and magnificent harmony than was ever pictured forth - by all the imaginations of all the theorists. - - "In the mental characteristics of this philosophy, the strength - of a full-grown understanding is blended with the modesty of - childhood. The ideal is sacrificed to the actual--and, however - splendid or fondly cherished a hypothesis may be, yet if but - one phenomenon in the real history of nature stand in the way, - it is forthwith and conclusively abandoned. To some the - renunciation may be as painful as the cutting off a right hand, - or the plucking out a right eye--yet, if true to the great - principle of the Baconian school, it must be submitted to. -{112} - With its hardy disciples one valid proof outweighs a thousand - plausibilities--and the resolute firmness wherewith they bid - away the speculations of fancy is only equalled by the - childlike compliance wherewith they submit themselves to the - lessons of experience. - - "It is thus that the same principle which guides to a just and - a sound philosophy in all that lies within the circle of human - discovery, leads also to a most unpresuming and unpronouncing - modesty in reference to all that lies beyond it. And should - some new light spring up on this exterior region, should the - information of its before hidden mysteries break in upon us - from some quarter that was before inaccessible, it will be at - once perceived (on the supposition of its being a genuine and - not an illusory light) that, of all other men, they are the - followers of Bacon and Newton who should pay the most - unqualified respect to all its revelations. -{113} - In their case it comes upon minds which are without prejudice, - because on that very principle, which is most characteristic of - our modern science, upon minds without preoccupation. ... The - strength of his confidence in all the ascertained facts of the - _terra cognita_ is at one or in perfect harmony with the - humility of his diffidence in regard to all the conceived - plausibilities of the _terra incognita_. - - "And let it further be remarked of the self-denial which is - laid upon us by Bacon's Philosophy, that, like all other - self-denial in the cause of truth or virtue, it hath its - reward. In giving ourselves up to its guidance, we have often - to quit the fascinations of beautiful theory; but in exchange - for them, we are at length regaled by the higher and - substantial beauties of actual nature. There is a stubbornness - in facts before which the specious imagination is compelled to - give way; and perhaps the mind never suffers more painful - laceration than when, after having vainly attempted to force - nature into a compliance with her own splendid generalizations, - she, on the appearance of some rebellious and impracticable - phenomenon, has to practise a force upon herself--when she thus - finds the goodly speculation superseded by the homely and - unwelcome experience. -{114} - It seemed at the outset a cruel sacrifice, when the world of - speculation, with all its manageable and engaging simplicities, - had to be abandoned; and on becoming the pupils of observation, - we, amid the varieties of the actual world around us, felt as - if bewildered, if not lost, among the perplexities of a chaos. - This was a period of greatest sufferance; but it has had a - glorious termination. In return for the assiduity wherewith the - study of nature hath been prosecuted, she hath made a more - abundant revelation of her charms. Order hath arisen out of - confusion, and in the ascertained structure of the universe - there are now found to be a state and a sublimity beyond all - that was ever pictured by the mind in the days of her - adventurous and unfettered imagination. -{115} - Even viewed in the light of a noble and engaging spectacle for - the fancy to dwell upon, who would ever think of comparing with - the system of Newton, either that celestial machinery of Des - Cartes, which was impelled by whirlpools of ether, or that - still more cumbrous planetarium of cycles and epicycles which - was the progeny of a remoter age? It is thus that at the - commencement of the observational process there is the - abjuration of beauty. But it soon reappears in another form, - and brightens as we advance, and at length there arises on - solid foundation, a fairer and goodlier system than ever - floated in airy romance before the eye of genius. Nor is it - difficult to perceive the reason of this. What we discover by - observation is the product of divine imagination bodied forth - by creative power into a stable and enduring reality. What we - devise by our own ingenuity is but the product of human - imagination. The one is the solid archetype of those - conceptions which are in the mind of God: the other is the - shadowy representation of those conceptions which are in the - mind of man. It is just as with the labourer, who, by - excavating the rubbish which hides and besets some noble - architecture, does more for the gratification of our taste, - than if by his unpractised hand he should attempt to regale us - with plans and sketches of his own. -{116} - And so the drudgery of experimental science, in exchange for - that beauty whose fascinations it withstood at the outset of - its career, has evolved a surpassing beauty from among the - realities of truth and nature. ... - - "The views contemplated through the medium of observation, are - found not only to have a justness in them, but to have a grace - and a grandeur in them far beyond all the visions which are - contemplated through the medium of fancy, or which ever regaled - the fondest enthusiast in the enchanted walks of speculation - and poetry. But neither the grace nor the grandeur alone would, - without evidence, have secured acceptance for any opinion. It - must first be made to undergo, and without ceremony, the freest - treatment from human eyes and human hands. It is at one time - stretched on the rack of an experiment, at another it has to - pass through fiery trial in the bottom of a crucible. -{117} - In another it undergoes a long questioning process among the - fumes and the filtrations and the intense heat of a laboratory; - and not till it has been subjected to all this inquisitorial - torture and survived it, is it preferred to a place in the - temple of Truth, or admitted among the laws and lessons of a - sound philosophy." - -No one certainly will contest that this is the language of a -fervent disciple of science. It is impossible to have a keener -apprehension of its beauty, and to accept more completely its -laws. What mathematician, natural philosopher, physiologist, or -chemist, could speak in terms of greater respect and submission -of the necessity of observation, and of the authority of -experience? Dr. Chalmers is not the less for that a true and -fervent Christian; his religious faith equals his scientific -exactitude: he receives Christ, and professes Christ's doctrine -with as firm a voice as he does Bacon and Bacon's method. -{118} -Not that for him religious belief is the mere result of -education, of tradition, of habit; but it, on the contrary, -springs as much from reflection and learning, as his acquirements -in natural science themselves; in each sphere he has probed the -very sources and weighed the motives of his convictions. How did -he, in each instance, reach such a haven of repose? Whence in him -this harmony between the philosopher and the Christian? - -Let us again allow Dr. Chalmers to speak for himself:-- - - "It is of importance here to remark that the enlargement of our - knowledge in all the natural sciences, so far from adding to - our presumption, should only give a profounder sense of our - natural incapacity and ignorance in reference to the science of - theology. It is just as if in studying the policy of some - earthly monarch we had made the before unknown discovery of - other empires and distant territories whereof we knew nothing - but the existence and the name. This might complicate the study - without making the object of it at all more comprehensible, and - so of every new wonder which philosophy might lay open to the - gaze of inquirers. -{119} - It might give us a larger perspective of the creation than - before, yet, in _fact_, cast a deeper shade of obscurity - over the counsels and ways of the Creator. We might at once - obtain a deeper insight into the secrets of the workmanship, - and yet feel, and legitimately feel, to be still more deeply - out of reach, the secret purposes of Him who worketh all in - all. Every discovery of an addition to the greatness of his - works may bring with it an addition to the unsearchableness of - his ways. .... - - "That telescope which has opened our way to suns and systems - innumerable, leaves the moral administration connected with - them in deepest secrecy. It has made known to us the bare - existence of other worlds; but it would require another - instrument of discovery ere we could understand their relation - to ourselves, as products of the same Almighty Hand, as parts - or members of a family under the same paternal guardianship. - This more extended survey of the Material Universe just tells - us how little we know of the Moral or Spiritual Universe. -{120} - It reveals nothing to us of the worlds that roll in space, but - the bare elements of Motion, and Magnitude, and Number--and so - leaves us at a more hopeless distance from the secret of the - Divine administration than when we reasoned of the Earth as the - Universe, of our species as the alone rational family of God - that He had implicated with body, or placed in the midst of a - corporeal system. ... - - "To know that we cannot know certain things, is in itself - positive knowledge, and a knowledge of the most safe and - valuable nature. ... There are few services of greater value to - the cause of knowledge than the delineation of its boundaries." - [Footnote 22] - - [Footnote 22: Chalmers's Works: Natural Theology, pp. 249-265; - Glasgow.] - -In holding this language, what in effect is Dr. Chalmers doing? -He is separating what is finite from what is infinite, the thing -created from the Creator, the world subject to government from -the Sovereign that governs it; and in marking this line of -demarcation, he says in his modesty to science, what God in his -power says to the ocean: "Thus far shalt thou go, and no -farther." - -{121} - -Doctor Chalmers was right; the limits of the finite world are -those also of human science: how far within these vast limits -science may extend her empire, who shall affirm? But what we -certainly may assert is, that she never can exceed them. The -finite world alone is within her reach, the only world that she -can fathom. It is only in the finite world that man's mind can -fully grasp the facts, observe them in all their extent, and -under all their aspects, discriminate their relations and their -laws (which constitute also a species of facts), and so verify -the system to which they should be referred. This it is that -makes what we term scientific processes and labour, and human -sciences are the results. - -What need to mention that in speaking of the finite world, I do -not mean to speak of the material world alone? Moral facts there -also are which fall under observation, and enter into the domain -of science. -{122} -The study of man in his actual condition, whether considered as -an individual or as forming a member of a nation, is also a -scientific study, subject to the same method as that of the -material world: and it is its legitimate province also to detect -in the actual order of this world the laws of those particular -facts to which it addresses itself. - -But if the limits of the finite world are those of human science, -they are not those of the human soul. Man contains in himself -ideas and ambitious aspirations extending far beyond and rising -far above the finite world, ideas of and aspirations towards the -Infinite, the Ideal, the Perfect, the Immutable, the Eternal. -These ideas and aspirations are themselves realities admitted by -the human mind; but even in admitting them man's mind comes to a -halt; they give him a presentiment of, or to speak with more -precision, a revelation of, an order of things different from the -facts and laws of the finite world which lies under his -observation; but whilst man has of this superior order the -instinct and the perspective, he can have of it no positive -knowledge. -{123} -It proceeds from the sublimity of his nature if he has a glimpse -of Infinity--if he aspires to it; whereas it results from the -infirmity of his actual condition if his positive knowledge is -limited by the world in which he exists. - -I was born in the south, under the very sun. I have yet, for the -most part, lived in regions either of the north, or bordering -upon the north, regions so frequently immersed in mists. When -under their pale sky we look towards the horizon, a fog of -greater or less density limits the view; the vision itself might -penetrate much farther, but an external obstacle arrests it; it -does not find there the light it needs. Regard now the horizon -under the pure and brilliant sky of the south; the plains, -distant as well as near, are bathed in light; the human eye can -penetrate there as far as its organization permits. If it pierces -no farther, it is not for want of light, but because its proper -and natural force has attained its limit: the mind knows that -there are spaces beyond that which the eye traverses, but the eye -penetrates them not. -{124} -This is an image of what happens to the mind itself when -contemplating and studying the universe: it reaches a point where -its clear sight, that is to say its positive appreciation, halts, -not that it finds there the end of things themselves, but the -limit of man's scientific appreciation of them; other realities -present themselves to him; he has a glimpse of them; he believes -in them spontaneously and naturally; it is not given to him to -grasp them and to measure them; but he can neither ignore them, -nor know them, neither have positive knowledge of them, nor -refrain from having faith in them. - -I cannot deny myself the pleasure of citing what I wrote thirteen -years ago upon the same subject, when philosophically examining -the real meaning of the word _faith_. "The object of every -religious belief," said I, "is in a certain, a large measure, -inaccessible to human science. Human science may establish that -object's reality; it may arrive at the boundary of this -mysterious world; and assure itself of the existence there of -facts with which man's destiny is connected; but it is not given -to it so to attain the facts themselves as to subject them to its -examination. - -{125} - -"Their incapacity to do so has struck more than one philosopher, -and has led them to the conclusion that no such reality exists, -that every religious belief contemplates subjects simply -chimerical. Others, shutting their eyes to their own -incompetency, have dashed daringly forwards towards the sphere of -the supernatural; and just as if they had succeeded in -penetrating into it, they have described its facts, resolved its -problems, assigned its laws. It is difficult to say who shows -more foolish arrogance, the man who maintains that that of which -he cannot have positive knowledge has no real existence, or the -man who pretends to be able to know everything that actually -exists. However this may be, mankind has never for a single day -assented to either assertion: man's instincts and his actions -have constantly disavowed both the negation of the disbeliever -and the confidence of the theologian. -{126} -In spite of the former, he has persisted in believing in the -existence of the unknown world, and in the reality of the -relations which connect him with it: and notwithstanding the -powerful influences of the latter, he has refused to admit their -having attained their object--raised the veil; and so man has -continued to agitate the same problems, to pursue the same -truths, as ardently and as laboriously as at the first day, just -as if nothing had been done at all." [Footnote 23] - - [Footnote 23: Meditations et Êtudes Morales, - p. 170. Paris, 1851.] - -I have just read again the excellent compendium given by M. -Cousin in his _General History of Philosophy from the most -Ancient Times to the End of the Eighteenth Century_. He -establishes that all the philosophical labours of the human -understanding have terminated in four great systems--sensualism, -idealism, scepticism, and mysticism--the sole actors in that -intellectual arena where, in all ages and amongst all nations, -they are in turn in the position of combatants and of sovereigns. -{127} -And, after having clearly characterised in their origin and their -development these four systems, M. Cousin adds, "As for their -intrinsic merits, habituate yourselves to this principle: they -have existed; therefore they had their reason to exist; therefore -they are true at least in part. Error is the law of our nature: -to it we are condemned; and in all our opinions and all our words -there is always a large allowance to be made for error, and too -often for absurdity. But absolute absurdity does not enter into -the mind of man; it is the excellence of man's thought, that -without some leaven of truth it admits nothing, and absolute -error is impossible. The four systems which have just been -rapidly laid before you have had each their existence; therefore -they contain truth, still without being entirely true. Partially -true, and partially false, these systems reappear at all the -great epochs. Time cannot destroy any one of them, nor can it -beget any new one, because time develops and perfects the human -mind, though without changing its nature and its fundamental -tendencies. -{128} -Time does no more than multiply and vary almost infinitely the -combinations of the four simple and elementary systems. Hence -originate those countless systems which history collects and -which it is its office to explain." [Footnote 24] - - [Footnote 24: Histoire Générale de la Philosophic depuis les - temps les plus anciens jusqu'à la fin du XVIII Siècle, par M. - Victor Cousin, pp. 4-31. 1863.] - -M. Cousin excels in explaining these numberless philosophical -combinations, and in tracing them all back to the four great -systems which he has defined; but there is a fact still more -important than the variety of these combinations, and which calls -itself for explanation. Why did these four essential -systems--sensualism, idealism, scepticism, and mysticism, appear -from the most ancient times? why have they continued to reproduce -themselves always and everywhere, with deductions more or less -logical, with greater or less ability, but still fundamentally -always and everywhere the same? Why, upon these supreme -questions, did the human mind achieve at so early a period, what -may be termed, it is true, but essays at a solution, but which -essays in some sort have exhausted the mind rather than satisfied -it? -{129} -How is it that these different systems, invented with such -promptitude, have never been able either to come to an accord, -nor has any one been able to prevail decidedly against another -and to cause itself to be received as the truth? Why has -philosophy, or, to speak more precisely, why have metaphysics, -remained essentially stationary; great at their birth, but -destined not to grow: whereas the other sciences--those styled -natural sciences--have been essentially progressive: at first -feeble, and making in succession conquest after conquest; these -they have been able to retain, until they have formed a domain -day by day more extended and less contested? - -The very fact that suggests these questions contains the answer -to them. Man has, upon the fundamental subject of metaphysics, a -primitive light, rather the heritage and dowry of human nature, -than the conquest of human science. -{130} -The metaphysician appropriates it as a torch to lighten him on -his obscure and ill-defined path. He finds in man himself a point -of departure at once profound and certain; but his aim is God; -that is to say, an aim above his reach. - -Must we, then, renounce the study of the great questions which -form the subject of metaphysics as a vain labour, where the human -mind is turning indefinitely in the same circle, incapable not -only of attaining the object which it is pursuing, but of making -any advance in its pursuit? - -Often, and with more ability than has been evinced by the -Positive school of the present day, has this judgment been -pronounced against metaphysics. But that judgment man's mind has -never accepted, and never will accept; the great problems which -pass beyond the finite world lie propounded before him; never -will he renounce the attempt to solve them; he is impelled to it -by an irresistible instinct, an instinct full of faith and of -hope, in spite of the repeated failure of his efforts. -{131} -As man is in the sphere of action, so is he also in that of -thought; he aspires higher than it is possible to achieve: this -is his nature and his glory; to renounce his aspirations would be -declaring his own forfeiture. But without any such abdication, it -is still necessary that he should know himself, it is necessary -that he should understand that his strength here below is -infinitely less than his ambition, and that it is not given him -to have any positive scientific knowledge of that infinite and -ideal world towards which he dashes. The facts and the problems -which he there encounters are such, that the methods and the laws -which direct the human mind in the study of the finite world are -inapplicable. The infinite is for us the object not of science -but belief, and it is alike impossible for us either to reject or -penetrate it. -{132} -Let man, then, feel a profound sentiment of that double truth: -let him, without sacrificing the ambitious aspirations of his -intelligence, recognise the limits imposed upon his achievements -in science; he will not then be long in also recognising that, in -the relations of the finite with the infinite--of himself with -God--he stands in need of superhuman assistance, and that this -does not fail him. God has given to man what man never can -conquer, and revelation opens to him that world of the infinite -over which, by its own exertions and of itself alone, man's mind -never could spread light. The light man receives from God -himself. - -{133} - - Fifth Meditation. - - Revelation. - - -When it was objected to Leibnitz "that there is nothing in the -intelligence that has not first been in the sense," Leibnitz -replied, "if not the intelligence itself." [Footnote 25] - - [Footnote 25: Nihil est in intellectu quod non prius fuerit - in sensu.--Nisi intellectus ipse.] - -In the answer of Leibnitz I will change but a single word, and -substitute for _intelligence, soul_. _Soul_ is a term -more comprehensive and more complete than _intelligence;_ it -embraces everything in the human being that is not body and -matter; it is not the mere intelligence, a special faculty of -man; it is all the intellectual and moral man. - -{134} - -The soul possesses itself and carries with it into life native -faculties and an inborn light: these manifest and develop -themselves more and more as they come into relation with the -exterior world; but they had still an existence prior to those -relations, and they exercise an important influence upon what -results. The external world does not create nor essentially -change the intellectual and moral being that has just come into -life, but it opens to it a stage where that being acts in -accordance at once with its proper nature, and the conditions and -influences in the midst of which the action takes place. The -hypothesis of a statue endowed with sensibility is a -contradiction; in seeking to explain man's first growth, it loses -sight of the entire intellectual and moral being. - -When, as I said before, man first entered the world, he did not -enter it, he could not enter it, as a new-born babe, with the -mere breath of life; he was created full grown, with instincts -and faculties complete in their power and capable of immediate -action. -{135} -We must either deny the creation and be driven to monstrous -hypotheses, or admit that the human being who now develops -himself slowly and laboriously, was at his first appearance -mature in body and in mind. - -The creation implies then the Revelation, a revelation which -lighted man at his entrance into the world, and qualified him -from that very moment to use his faculties and his instincts. Do -we, can we, picture to ourselves the first man, the first human -couple, with a complete physical development, and yet without the -essential conditions of intellectual activity, physically strong -and morally a nonentity, the body of twenty years and the soul in -the first hour of infancy? Such a fact is self-contradictory, and -impossible of conception. - -What was the positive extent of this primal revelation, the -necessary attendant upon creation, which occurred in the first -relation of God with man? No man can say. I open the book of -Genesis and there I read: - -{136} - -"And the Lord God took the man, and put him into the garden of -Eden to dress it and to keep it. And the Lord God commanded the -man, saying, Of every tree of the garden thou mayest freely eat: -But of the tree of the knowledge of good and evil, thou shalt not -eat of it: for in the day that thou eatest thereof thou shalt -surely die. And the Lord God said, It is not good that the man -should be alone; I will make him an help meet for him. And out of -the ground the Lord God formed every beast of the field, and -every fowl of the air; and brought them unto Adam to see what he -would call them: and whatsoever Adam called every living -creature, that was the name thereof. And Adam gave names to all -cattle, and to the fowl of the air, and to every beast of the -field; but for Adam there was not found an help meet for him. And -the Lord God caused a deep sleep to fall upon Adam, and he slept: -and he took one of his ribs, and closed up the flesh instead -thereof; and the rib, which the Lord God had taken from man, made -he a woman, and brought her unto the man. -{137} -And Adam said, This is now bone of my bones, and flesh of my -flesh. ... Therefore shall a man leave his father and his mother, -and shall cleave unto his wife: and they shall be one flesh." -[Footnote 26] - - [Footnote 26: Genesis ii. 15-24.] - -According, then, to the Bible, the primitive revelation -essentially bore upon the three points,--marriage, language, and -the duty of man's obedience to God his Creator: Adam received at -the hand of God the moral law of his liberty, the companion of -his life, and the faculty by which he was enabled to name the -creatures that were around him: in other words, the three sources -of religion, of family, and of science were immediately unclosed -to him. It is not necessary here to enter upon any of the -questions which have been raised, as to the human origin of -language, the primitive language, or the formation of families, -with their influence upon the great organisation of society: the -limits of the primitive revelation cannot be determined -scientifically; the fact of the revelation itself is certain. -{138} -This is the light which lighted the first man from his first -entrance upon life, and without which it is impossible to -conceive that he could have survived. - -The primitive revelation did not abandon mankind on its -development and dispersion; it accompanied it everywhere, as a -general and permanent revelation. The light which had lighted the -first man spread amongst all nations and throughout all ages, -assuming the character of ideas, universal and uncontested; of -instincts, spontaneous and indestructible. No nation has been -without this light, none left to its own unassisted efforts to -grope its way through the darkness of life. Let not the human -understanding pride itself too much upon its works; the glory -does not belong to it alone: what it has accomplished it has -accomplished by aid of the primitive principles received from -God; in all his works and all his progress man has had for point -of departure and support that primitive revelation. -{139} -All the grand doctrines, all the mighty institutions, which have -governed the world, whatever intermixture of monstrous and fatal -errors they may have contained, have preserved a trace of the -fundamental verities which were the dowry of humanity at its -birth. God has forsaken no portion of the human race; and not -less amidst the errors into which it has fallen, than in the -noble developments which constitute its glory, we recognise signs -of the primitive teaching derived from its Divine Author. - -After the revelation made to the first man, and in the midst of -the general revelation diffused over all mankind, a great event -occurs in history: a special revelation takes place, and has for -its seat the bosom of an inconsiderable nation, that had been -shut in during sixteen centuries in a little corner of the world; -and it was thence that, nineteen centuries ago, that revelation -proceeded to enlighten and to subdue, according to the -predictions of its Author, all the human race. - -{140} - -A man of an imagination as fertile as his knowledge is profound, -who, with an admirable candour has in his works associated -hypothesis and faith, M. Ewald, professor at the University of -Göttingen, has recently thus characterised this event:--"The -history of the old Jewish people is fundamentally the history of -the true religion, proceeding from step to step to its complete -development, rising through all kinds of struggles, until it -achieves a supreme victory, and finally manifesting itself in all -its majesty and power, in order to spread irresistibly, by its -proper virtue, so as to become the eternal possession and -blessing of all nations." [Footnote 27] - - [Footnote 27: H. Ewald, Geschichte des Volkes Israel, bis - Christus. 2nd ed., vol. i. p. 9. Göttingen, 1851. ] - -How is the great event thus characterised by M. Ewald proved? By -what marks can we distinguish the Divine origin of this special -revelation that became the Christian religion? What does it -affirm itself in support of its claim to the moral conquest of -mankind? - -{141} - -At the very outset, in proving her dogmas and precepts to have -come from God, the Christian revelation asserts that the -documents in which it is written are themselves of divine origin. -The divine inspiration of the sacred volume is the first basis of -the Christian Faith, the external title of Christianity to -authority over souls. What is the full import of this title? What -the signification of the inspiration of the sacred volumes? - -{142} - - Sixth Meditation. - - The Inspiration Of The Scriptures. - - -I have read the sacred volumes over and over again, I have -perused them in very different dispositions of mind, at one time -studying them as great historical documents, at another admiring -them as sublime works of poetry. I have experienced an -extraordinary impression, quite different from either curiosity -or admiration. I have felt myself the listener of a language -other than that of the chronicler or the poet; and under the -influence of a breath issuing from other sources than human. Not -that man does not occupy a great place in the sacred volumes; he -displays himself there, on the contrary, with all his passions, -his vices, his weaknesses, his ignorance, his errors; the Hebrew -people shows itself rude, barbarous, changeable, superstitious, -accessible to all the imperfections, to all the failings, of -other nations. -{143} But the Hebrew is not the sole actor in his history; he has -an Ally, a Protector, a Master, who intervenes incessantly to -command, inspire, direct, strike, or save. God is there, always -present, acting-- - - "Et ce n'est pas un Dieu comme vos dieux frivoles, - Insensibles et sourds, impuissants, mutilés, - De bois, de marbre, ou d'or, comme vous le voulez." [Footnote 28] - - "Not such a god as are _your_ friv'lous gods, - Insensible and deaf, weak, mutilated, - Of wood, or stone, or gold, as _you_ will have them." - - [Footnote 28: Corneille, Polyeucte, acte iv. sc. 3.] - -It is the God One and Supreme, All Powerful, the Creator, the -Eternal. And even in their forgetfulness and their disobedience, -the Hebrews believe still in God: He is still the object at once -of their fear, of their hope, and of a faith that persists in the -midst of the infidelity of their lives. The Bible is no poem in -which man recounts and sings the adventures of his God combined -with his own; it is a real drama, a continued dialogue between -God and man personified in the Hebrews; it is, on the one side, -God's will and God's action, and, on the other, man's liberty and -man's faith, now in pious association, now at fatal variance. - -{144} - -The more I have perused the Scriptures, the more surprised I feel -that earnest readers should not have been impressed as I have -been, and that several should have failed to see the -characteristic of divine inspiration, so foreign to every other -book, so remarkable in this one. That men who absolutely deny all -supernatural action of God in the world, should not be more -disposed to admit it in the sources of the Bible than elsewhere, -is perfectly comprehensible; but the attack upon the divine -inspiration of the sacred books has another motive, and one more -likely to prove contagious. It is not without deep regret that I -proceed in this place to contradict ancient traditions, at once -respected and respectable, and perhaps to offend sober and -sincere convictions. But my own conviction is stronger than my -regret, and it is still more so because accompanied by another -conviction, which is, that the system that it is my intention to -contest, has occasioned, continues to occasion, and may still -occasion, an immense ill to Christianity. - -{145} - -Whoever reads without prejudice in the Hebrew and Greek the -original texts of the Scriptures, whether of the Old or New -Testament, meets there often in the midst of their sublime -beauties, I do not say merely faults of style, but of grammar, in -violation of those logical and natural rules of language common -to all tongues. Are we to infer that these faults have the same -origin as the doctrines with which they are intermixed, and that -they are both divinely inspired? [Footnote 29] - - [Footnote 29: I indicate, in a note placed at the end of this - volume, some instances of these grammatical faults met with - in the Scriptures, and to which it is impossible to assign - the character of divine inspiration.] - -And yet this is what is pretended by fervent and learned men, who -maintain that all, absolutely all, in the Scriptures is divinely -inspired--the words as well as the ideas, all the words used -upon all subjects, the material of language as well as the -doctrine which lies at its base. - -{146} - -In this assertion I see but deplorable confusion, leading to -profound misapprehension both of the meaning and the object of -the sacred books. It was not God's purpose to give instruction to -men in grammar, and if not in grammar, neither was it, any more -God's purpose to give instruction in geology, astronomy, -geography, or chronology. It is on their relations with their -Creator, upon duties of men towards Him and towards each other, -upon the rule of faith and of conduct in life, that God has -lighted them by light from heaven. It is to the subject of -religion and morals, and to these alone, that the inspiration of -the Scriptures is directed. - -Amongst the principal arguments alleged to prove that everything -in the sacred volumes is divinely inspired, particular use has -been made of the Second Epistle of St. Paul to Timothy, where in -effect we find the passage:-- - - "All Scripture is given by inspiration of God, and is - profitable for doctrine, for reproof, for correction, for - instruction in righteousness: - - "That the man of God may be perfect, thoroughly furnished unto - all good works." [Footnote 30] - - [Footnote 30: 2 Timothy iii. 16, 17.] - -{147} - -Is it possible to determine in words of greater precision the -religious and moral object of the inspiration? - -Appeal is made to a consideration of a different description. If, -it is said, we at the same time admit, on the one side, the -inspiration of the sacred books, and on the other, that this -inspiration is not universal and absolute, who shall make the -selection between these two parts?--who mark the limit of the -inspiration?--who say which texts, which passages are inspired, -and which are not? So to divide the Holy Scriptures is to strip -them of their supernatural character, to destroy their -authenticity, by surrendering them to all the incertitudes, all -the disputes of men: a complete and uninterrupted inspiration -alone is capable of commanding faith. - -{148} - -Never-dying pretension of man's weakness! Created intelligent and -free, he proposes to use largely his intelligence and his -freedom; at the same time, conscious how feeble his means are, -how inadequate to his aspirations, he invokes a guide, a support; -and from the very moment that his hope fixes upon it, he will -have it immutable, infallible. He searches a fixed point to which -to attach himself with absolute and permanent assurance. In -creating man, God did not leave him without fixed points; the -Divine revelation, and the inspiration of the Scriptures, had -precisely for object and effect to supply these, but not on all -subjects alike and without distinction. I refer here again to -what I lately said respecting the separation of the finite and -the infinite, of the world created, and of its Creator. At the -same time that the limits of the finite world are those of human -science, it is to human study and human science that God has -surrendered the finite world; it is not there that God has set up -his divine torch; He has dictated to Moses the laws which -regulate the duties of man towards God, and of man towards man; -but He has left to Newton the discovery of the laws which preside -over the universe. -{149} -The Scriptures speak upon all subjects; circumstances connected -with the finite world are there incessantly mixed with -perspectives of infinity; but it is only to the latter, to that -future of which they permit us to snatch a view, and to the laws -which they impose upon men, that the divine inspiration addresses -itself; God only pours his light in quarters which man's eye and -man's labour cannot reach; for all that remains, the sacred books -speak the language used and understood by the generations to whom -they are addressed. God does not, even when He inspires them, -transport into future domains of science the interpreters He -uses, or the nations to whom He sends them; He takes them both as -He finds them, with their traditions, their notions, their degree -of knowledge or ignorance as respects the finite world, of its -phenomena and its laws. -{150} -It is not the condition, the scientific progress of the human -understanding; it is the condition and moral progress of the -human soul which are the object of the Divine action, and God -requires not for the exercise of his power on the human soul, -science either as a precursor or a companion; He addresses -himself to instincts and desires the most intimate and most -sublime as well as the most universal in man's nature, to -instincts and desires of which science is neither the object nor -the measure, and which require to be satisfied from other -sources. Whatever true or false science we find in the Scriptures -upon the subject of the finite world, proceeds from the writers -themselves or their contemporaries; they have spoken as they -believed, or as those believed who surrounded them when they -spoke: on the other hand, the light thrown over the infinite, the -law laid down, and the perspective opened by that same light, -these are what proceed from God, and which He has inspired in the -Scriptures. Their object is essentially and exclusively moral and -practical; they express the ideas, employ the images, and speak -the language best calculated to produce a powerful effect upon -the soul, to regenerate and to save it. I open the Gospel -according to St. Luke, and I there read the admirable parable:-- - -{151} - - "There was a certain rich man, which was clothed in purple and - fine linen, and fared sumptuously every day: - - "And there was a certain beggar named Lazarus, which was laid - at his gate, full of sores, - - "And desiring to be fed with the crumbs which fell from the - rich man's table: moreover the dogs came and licked his sores. - - "And it came to pass, that the beggar died, and was carried by - the angels into Abraham's bosom: the rich man also died, and - was buried; - - "And in hell he lift up his eyes, being in torments, and seeth - Abraham afar off, and Lazarus in his bosom. - - "And he cried and said, Father Abraham, have mercy on me, and - send Lazarus, that he may dip the tip of his finger in water, - and cool my tongue; for I am tormented in this flame. - - "But Abraham said, Son, remember that thou in thy lifetime - receivedst thy good things, and likewise Lazarus evil things; - but now he is comforted, and thou art tormented. - - "And beside all this, between us and you there is a great gulf - fixed: so that they which would pass from hence to you cannot; - neither can they pass to us, that would come from thence. - - "Then he said, I pray thee therefore, father, that thou - wouldest send him to my father's house: - -{152} - - "For I have five brethren; that he may testify unto them, lest - they also come into this place of torment. - - "Abraham saith unto him, They have Moses and the prophets; let - them hear them. - - "And he said, Nay, father Abraham: but if one went unto them - from the dead, they will repent. - - "And he said unto him, If they hear not Moses and the prophets, - neither will they be persuaded, though one rose from the dead." - [Footnote 31] - - [Footnote 31: Luke xvi. 19-31.] - -Was it the intention of Jesus, and of the Evangelist who has -repeated his words, to describe, as they really are, the -condition of men after their earthly existence, their positive -local position after God's judgment, and their relations either -with each other or with the world which they have quitted? -Certainly not; the material circumstances intermixed with this -dialogue are only images borrowed from actual common life. But -what images so strike, so penetrate the soul? What more solemn -warning addressed to men in this life, to rouse them to a sense -of their duties towards God and their fellow creatures, in the -name of the mysterious future that awaits them? - -{153} - -Nothing is further from my thought than to see in the sacred -books mere poetical images and symbols; those books are really, -with respect to the religious problems that beset man's thoughts, -the Light and the voice of God; still, that Light only lights, -that voice only reveals revelations of God with man, duties which -God enjoins men in the course of their present life, and -prospects which He opens to them beyond the imperfect and limited -world where this life passes. As for this life itself, it is the -object of human study and science, not of the inspiration of the -sacred Scriptures. In disregarding this limit, in pretending to -attribute to the language of the Scriptures, used with reference -to the phenomena of the finite world, the character of divine -inspiration, men have fallen with respect both to thought and act -into deplorable errors. Hence proceeded the trial of Galileo, and -numerous other controversies, numerous other condemnations still -more absurd, still more to be regretted, in which Christianity -was immediately placed in opposition to human science, and -constrained to inflict or receive remarkable disavowals. -{154} -The same is the case at the present day with respect to numerous -objections made in the name of the natural sciences to -Christianity, and which from the learned circles where they have -their birth, spread over a world at once curious and frivolous, -where they cause the Christian faith itself to be regarded as -ignorant credulity. Nothing of this kind could ever occur, no -necessity of such conflict could await the Christian religion, if -on the one side the limits of human science, and on the other -those of divine inspiration, were recognised as they really are, -and respected according to their rightful claims. - -I might cite in aid of the opinion I support numerous and great -authorities. I will refer to but three, appealed to by Galileo -himself in 1615 in his letters to the Grand Duchess Christina of -Lorraine" [Footnote 32]--(who could appeal to authorities more -august?)--"Many things," says St. Jerome, "are recounted in the -Scriptures according to the judgment of the times when they -happened, and not according to the truth." [Footnote 33] - - [Footnote 32: Opere Complete di Galileo-Galilei, t. ii. chap. - ii. pp. 26-64. Florence, 1843.] - - [Footnote 33: OEuvres de St. Jérôme, Comment, in Jeremiam, ed. - Vallars. t. ix. p. 1040.] - -{155} - - "The purpose of the Holy Scriptures," says the Cardinal - Baronius, "is to teach us how to go to heaven, and not how the - heavens go." "This," says Kepler, "is the counsel I give to the - man so ill informed as not to understand the science of - astronomy, or so weak as to regard adhesion to Copernicus as - proof of want of piety:--Let him at once leave the study of - astronomy and the examination of the opinions of philosophers; - instead of devoting himself to those arduous researches, let - him remain at home, till his fields, and occupy himself with - his proper business; and thence, raising towards the admirable - vault of heaven his eyes, which constitute for him his sole - mode of vision, let him pour forth his heart in thanksgivings - and praises to God his Creator. He may rest assured that he is - thus rendering to God a worship as perfect as that of the - astronomer himself, to whom God has accorded the gift of seeing - clearer with the eyes of his intelligence; but who, above all - the worlds and all the heavens that he attains, knows and wills - to find his God." [Footnote 34] - - [Footnote 34: Kepler, Nova Astronomia, Introductio, p. 9. - Prague, 1609.] - -{156} - -I discard, then, as absolutely foreign to the grand question that -occupies me, all the difficulties suggested to the Scriptures in -the name of those sciences whose province is finite nature. I -seek and consider in these books only what is their sole -object,--the relations of God with man, and the solution of those -problems which these relations cause to weigh upon the human -soul. The deeper we go in the study of the sacred volumes, -restored to their real object, the more the divine inspiration -becomes manifest and striking. God and man are there ever both -present, both actors in the same history. Of this history it is -my present object to illustrate the grand features. - -{157} - - Seventh Meditation. - - God According To The Bible. - - -It is far from my intention to evade the questions which concern -the authenticity of the Bible, and of the respective books which -compose it. I shall enter upon them in the second series of these -_Meditations_, when I touch upon the history of the -Christian religion. Those questions, however, have no bearing -upon the subject which occupies me at the present moment; the -Bible, whatever its antiquity, whatever the comparative antiquity -of its different parts, has been ever that witness of God in -which the Hebrews believed, and under the law of which they -lived, the great monument of the religion in the bosom of which -the Christian religion took its birth. It is this God of whom in -the Bible, and in the Bible alone, it is my purpose to seek the -peculiar and true character. - -{158} - -The nations of Semitic origin have been honoured for their -primitive and persistent faith in the unity of God. Under -different forms, and amidst events very dissimilar, nearly all -nations have been polytheistic; the Semitic nations alone have -believed firmly in the one God. This great moral fact has been -attributed to different and to complex causes; but the fact -itself is generally acknowledged and admitted. - -In two respects in this assertion there is exaggeration. On one -side, among the nations of Semitic origin, several were -polytheistic; the descendants of Abraham, the Hebrews, and the -Arab Ishmaelites, alone remained really monotheistic; on the -other side, the idea of the unity of God was not entirely strange -even to the polytheistic nations. The greater part, like the -Hindoos and the Greeks, admitted one sole and primordial Power -anterior and superior to their gods;--idea, vague and searched -from afar, derived from the instinct of man or the reflection of -the philosopher, and which amongst those nations became neither -the basis of any religion that deserves the name, nor any -efficacious obstacle to idolatry. -{159} -The God of the Bible is no such sterile abstraction; He is the -one God at the present time as in the origin of all things, the -personal God, living, acting, and presiding efficiently over the -destinies of the world that He has created. - -He has besides another characteristic, one far more striking, -which belongs to Him more exclusively than that of Unity. The -gods of the polytheistic nations have histories filled with -events, vicissitudes, transformations, adventures. The mythology -of the Egyptians, of the Hindoos, of the Greeks, of the -Scandinavians, and numerous others, is but the poetical or -symbolical recital of the varied and agitated lives of their -gods. We detect in these recitals sometimes the personification -of the fancies of nations described in accordance with their -actual phenomena, some times the reminiscences of human -personages who have struck the imagination of the people. -{160} -But whatever their origin, whatever their name, each of those -gods has his individual history more or less overladen with -incidents and acts, now heroic, now licentious, now elegantly -fantastic, now grossly eccentric. All the polytheistic religions -are collections of biographies, divine or legendary, allegorical -or completely fabulous, in which the careers and the passions, -the actions and the dreams of men, reproduce themselves under the -forms and names of deities. - -The God of the Bible has no biography, neither has He any -personal adventures. Nothing occurs to Him and nothing changes in -Him; He is always and invariably the same, a Being real and -personal, absolutely distinct from the finite world and from -humanity, identical and immutable in the bosom of the universal -diversity and movement. "I Am That I Am," is the sole definition -that He vouchsafes of himself, and the constant expression of -what He is in all the course of the history of the Hebrews, to -which He is present and over which He presides without ever -receiving from it any reflex of influence. -{161} -Such is the God of the Bible, in evident and permanent contrast -with all the gods of polytheism, still more distinct and more -solitary by his nature than by his Unity. - -This is, indeed, so peculiarly the proper and essential character -of the God of the Bible, that this character has passed into the -very language of the Hebrews, and has become there the very name -of God. Several words are employed in the Bible as appellations -of God. One of these _El, Eloah,_ in the plural -_Elohïm_, expresses force, _creative power_, and is -applied to the manifold gods of Paganism as well as to the one -God of the Hebrews. _El Shaddaï_ is translated by _the -all-powerful_. _Adonai_ signifies _Lord_. The word -_Yahwe_ or _Yehwe_, which becomes in Hebrew -pronunciation _Jehovah_, means simply _He is_, and -means self-existence, the Being Absolute and Eternal. -{162} -This name occurs in no other of the Semitic languages, and it is -at the epoch of Moses that it appears for the first time amongst -the Hebrews: "And God spake unto Moses, and said unto him, I am -the Eternal" (_Yahwe, Jehovah_). "And I appeared unto -Abraham, Isaac, and unto Jacob, by the name of the All-powerful -(_El Shaddaï_), but by my name Eternal was I not known to -them." [Footnote 35 ] _Yahwe, Jehovah_, is at once the true -God and the national God of Israel. [Footnote 36] - - [Footnote 35: Exodus vi. 2, 3.] - - [Footnote 36: I have consulted respecting the precise sense - and the different shades of meaning of the terms expressing - God in Hebrew, my learned _confrère_ at the Academy of - Inscriptions, M. Munk, who has replied to all my inquiries - with as much clearness as courtesy.] - -The history of the Hebrews is neither less significant nor less -expressive than their language; it is the history of the -relations of the God, One and Immutable with the people chosen by -Him to be the special representative of the religious principle, -and the regenerating source of religious life in the human race. -{163} -This people undergoes the destiny and trials common to all -nations; it demands, and becomes subject to, a variety of -different governments; it falls into the errors and faults usual -to nations; it frequently succumbs to the temptations of -idolatry; like the others, it has its days of virtue and of vice, -of prosperity and of reverses, of glory and of abasement. Amidst -all the vicissitudes and errors of the people of the Bible, the -God of the Bible remains invariably the same, without any -tincture of anthropomorphism, without any alteration in the idea -which the Hebrews conceive of his nature, either during their -fidelity or disobedience to his Commandments. It is always the -God who has said, "I Am That I Am," of whom his people demand no -other explanation of himself, and who, ever present and -sovereign, pursues the designs of his providence with men, who -either use or abuse the liberty of action which that God had -accorded to them at their creation. I wish to retrace, according -to the Bible, the principal phases and the principal actors in -this history. -{164} -The more I study, the more I feel that I am watching, as M. Ewald -has expressed it, "the career of the true religion, advancing -step by step to its complete development," that is to say, that I -am there observing the action of God upon the first steps and -upon the religious progress of the human race. - - - I. God And Abraham. - - -The history of the Hebrews, temporal and spiritual, opens with -Abraham. At his first appearance in the Bible, Abraham is a nomad -chief, who has quitted Chaldæa and the town of Haran, where his -father, Terah, descended from Shem, is still living. He is -wandering with his family, his servants, and his flocks, at first -on the frontiers and afterwards in the interior of the land of -Canaan, halting wherever he finds water and pasturage, and -conducting his tents and his tribe at one time through the -mountainous districts, at another along the plains below. Why has -he left Chaldæa? -{165} -According to the Bible itself, his father was an idolater: "Your -fathers," said Joshua to the people of Israel, "dwelt on the -other side of the flood" (the Euphrates) "in old time, even -Terah, the father of Abraham, and the father of Nachor: and they -served other gods." [Footnote 37] The book of Judith contains a -similar assertion; [Footnote 38] and the Jewish and Arabian -traditions confirm, at the same time that they amplify, the -statement: the father of Abraham, they say, was an idolatrous -fanatic, and his son Abraham, having set himself against the -practice of idolatry, was upon his charge thrown into a burning -furnace, from which a miracle alone preserved him. The historian -Josephus speaks of the insurrections which took place amongst the -Chaldæans on the occasion of their religious dissensions. - - [Footnote 37: Joshua xxiv. 2.] - - [Footnote 38: Judith v. 6-9. ] - - [USCCB: Judith v. 6-9. - "These people are descendants of the Chaldeans. They formerly - dwelt in Mesopotamia, for they did not wish to follow the - gods of their forefathers who were born in the land of the - Chaldeans. Since they abandoned the way of their ancestors, - and acknowledged with divine worship the God of heaven, their - forefathers expelled them from the presence of their gods. So - they fled to Mesopotamia and dwelt there a long time. Their - God bade them leave their abode and proceed to the land of - Canaan. Here they settled, and grew very rich in gold, - silver, and a great abundance of livestock."] - -The Bible makes no allusion to these traditions; from the very -beginning God intervenes in the history of the father of the -Hebrews. -{166} -"The Eternal had said unto Abram, Get thee out of thy country, -and from thy kindred, and from thy father's house, unto a land -that I will shew thee: I will make thee a great nation, and I -will bless thee, and make thy name great; ... and in thee shall -all families of the earth be blessed. ... So Abram departed, ... -and Abram took Sarai his wife, and Lot his brother's son, and all -their substance that they had gathered, and the sons that they -had gotten in Haran; and they went forth to go into the land of -Canaan; and into the land of Canaan they came." [Footnote 39] - - [Footnote 39: Genesis xii. 1-5.] - -How had God spoken to Abraham? By a voice from without or by an -internal inspiration? The writer of the Biblical narrative -occupies himself in no respect with the question. God is for him, -present and an actor in the history just as much as Abraham is; -the intervention of God has in his eyes nothing but what is -perfectly simple and natural. The same faith animates Abraham; he -issues forth from Chaldæa and wanders through Palestine, -according to the word and under the direction of the Eternal. - -{167} - -He wanders through the midst of populations already established -upon the land of Canaan, and with these he lives in peace, but -still, not uniting with them; bringing them succour when attacked -by foreign chieftains; fighting in their behalf as a faithful -ally, sometimes, perhaps, in the character of a valiant -_condottiere_ [mercenary], but remaining isolated in his -capacity of nomad Patriarch, with his family and his tribe; -repelling even the gifts and favours which might perhaps lower -his character or affect his independence. Everywhere that he -halts, or that any incident of importance occurs to him, at -Sichem, Bethel, Beersheba, Hebron, he raises an altar to his God. -In his wandering uncertain life a famine impels him on one -occasion even as far as Egypt:--the first perhaps of those -shepherd chiefs who issued from Asia, and who were so soon to -invade that rich country. Abraham passes in Egypt several years, -well treated by the reigning Pharaoh; on excellent terms with the -Egyptian priests, imparting to them and receiving from them such -knowledge of astronomy or of natural philosophy as they mutually -possessed; but maintaining ever carefully the isolation of his -family, of his tribe, and of his religion. Of his own accord, or -at the instance of the Pharaoh, he quits Egypt, carrying with him -not only his flocks and his camels, but his Egyptian slaves, and -amongst others Hagar. -{168} -He returns to the country of Canaan, again wanders through -several of its districts, takes part in different -events--internal troubles or foreign wars, and finally settles -with his family and dependents at Hebron, near the oaks of Mamre, -amongst the tribe of the children of Heth; but still always in -his capacity as a foreigner, and always careful as such to -preserve his character and his independence. When his wife Sarah -died, the book of Genesis tells us that, - - "Abraham stood up from before his dead, and spake unto the sons - of Heth, saying, - - "I am a stranger and a sojourner with you: give me a possession - of a buryingplace with you, that I may bury my dead out of my - sight. - - "And the children of Heth answered Abraham, saying unto him, - -{169} - - "Hear us, my lord: thou art a mighty prince among us: in the - choice of our sepulchres bury thy dead; none of us shall - withhold from thee his sepulchre, but that thou mayest bury thy - dead. - - "And Abraham stood up, and bowed himself to the people of the - land, even to the children of Heth. - - "And he communed with them, saying, If it be your mind that I - should bury my dead out of my sight; hear me, and entreat for - me to Ephron the son of Zohar, - - "That he may give me the cave of Machpelah, which he hath, - which is in the end of his field; for as much money as it is - worth he shall give it me for a possession of a buryingplace - amongst you. - - "And Ephron dwelt among the children of Heth: and Ephron the - Hittite answered Abraham in the audience of the children of - Heth, even of all that went in at the gate of his city, saying, - - "Nay, my lord, hear me: the field give I thee, and the cave - that is therein, I give it thee; in the presence of the sons of - my people give I it thee: bury thy dead. - - "And Abraham bowed down himself before the people of the land. - - "And he spake unto Ephron in the audience of the people of the - land, saying, But if thou wilt give it, I pray thee, hear me: I - will give thee money for the field; take it of me, and I will - bury my dead there. - - "And Ephron answered Abraham, saying unto him, - - "My lord, hearken unto me: the land is worth four hundred - shekels of silver; what is that betwixt me and thee? bury - therefore thy dead. - -{170} - - "And Abraham hearkened unto Ephron; and Abraham weighed to - Ephron the silver, which he had named in the audience of the - sons of Heth, four hundred shekels of silver, current money - with the merchant. - - "And the field of Ephron, which was in Machpelah, which was - before Mamre, the field, and the cave which was therein, and - all the trees that were in the field, that were in all the - borders round about, were made sure - - "Unto Abraham for a possession in the presence of the children - of Heth, before all that went in at the gate of his city. - - "And after this, Abraham buried Sarah his wife in the cave of - the field of Machpelah before Mamre: the same is Hebron in the - land of Canaan. - - "And the field, and the cave that is therein, were made sure - unto Abraham for a possession of a buryingplace by the sons of - Heth." [Footnote 40] - - [Footnote 40: Genesis xxiii. 3-20.] - -Little importance does Abraham attach to his precarious condition -as a wanderer and a stranger; he has faith in God. God commands, -and Abraham obeys. God promises, and Abraham trusts. One day, -however, with a feeling of anxious humility, Abraham makes the -following prayer to God:-- - "Lord Eternal, what wilt thou give me, seeing I go childless, - and there is Eliezer of Damascus shall be my heir? -{171} - And behold the word of the Lord came unto him, saying, This - shall not be thine heir, but he that shall come forth out of - thine own bowels shall be thine heir. I am God, the mighty, - all-powerful; walk before my face, be thou perfect. I will - establish my covenant between me and thee, and thy seed after - thee, in their generation, for an everlasting possession, and I - will be their God. But thou shalt keep my covenant therefore, - thou and thy seed after thee, in their generations. And Abraham - believed in the Lord; and the Eternal counted it to him for - righteousness." [Footnote 41] - - [Footnote 41: Genesis xv. 1-6. and xvii. 1-9.] - -In these days, in the bosom of Christian civilization, obedience -to God and confidence in God are the first precepts, the first -virtues of Christianity. They were also the virtues of Abraham, -and the precepts inculcated by Abraham's history in the Bible. -{172} -And the God of Abraham, the God of the Bible, is the same who is -the object of adoration to the Christian of the present day; the -same conception as that of those philosophers of the present day -who believe in God, and believe in Him as in God Absolute and -Perfect, Self-dependent, Eternal, without the possibility or -attempt to define Him otherwise. Thousands of years have changed -nothing as to the biblical notion of God in the human soul, nor -as to the essential laws regulating the relation of man with God. - -Historical tradition fully confirms the moral fact here -mentioned. Abraham has not been the object of any mystical -conception, or any mythological metamorphosis; nowhere has he -been transformed into demigod or son of God; he has ever remained -the model of religious faith and submission, the type of the -pious man in intimate relation with God. Throughout all -antiquity, and in all the East, as much for the primitive -Christians as for the Jews and Arabs, as much for the Mussulmans -as for the Jews and Christians, God is the God of Abraham; -Abraham is the friend of God, the father and the prince of -believers; these are the very names that the Gospel gives him; -[Footnote 42] and the Koran, too, celebrates him in these -words:-- - - [Footnote 42: St. Paul's Epistle to the Romans iv.; Galatians - iii.; Epistle of St. James ii. 23.] - -{173} - - "And when the night overshadowed him, he saw a star, and he - said, This is my Lord; but when it set, he said, I like not - gods which set. And when he saw the moon rising, he said, This - is my Lord; but when he saw it set, he said, Verily, if my Lord - direct me not, I shall become one of the people who go astray. - And when he saw the sun rising, he said, This is my Lord, this - is the greatest; but when it set, he said, my people, verily I - am clear of that which ye associate with God. I direct my face - unto him who hath created the heavens and the earth." [Footnote - 43] - - [Footnote 43: Koran vi.] - -The Eternal, the God One and Immutable, is the God of Abraham; -Abraham is the servant and adorer of the true God. - -{174} - - II. God And Moses. - - -The true idea of God, and the faith in his effectual and -continued providence, are the two great religious principles -which the name of Abraham suggests. This is the beginning of the -history of the Hebrews, and the origin of that ancient Covenant -which, in passing from the Pentateuch to the Gospel, has become -the new Covenant, the Christian Religion. - -About five centuries later, we find the Hebrews settled in Egypt, -in the land of Goshen, between the lower Nile, the Red Sea, and -the Desert, in a condition very different from that in which they -had first been when attracted to the court of Pharaoh by the -prosperity of Joseph, the great-grandson of Abraham. The new -Pharaoh oppresses them cruelly; they are a prey to the miseries -of slavery, the contagion of idolatry, to all the evils, all the -perils, physical and moral, which can afflict a nation -numerically weak, fallen under the yoke of one powerful and -civilized. -{175} -The Hebrews nevertheless persist in their religious faith, cling -to their national reminiscences; they do not suffer their -nationality to be lost in and confounded with that of their -masters; they endure without offering any active resistance; they -will not deliver themselves, but they have never ceased to -believe in their God, and they await their Deliverer. - -Moses has been saved from the waters of the Nile by Pharaoh's own -daughter. He has been brought up at Heliopolis, in the midst of -the pomp of the court, and instructed in the sciences of the -Egyptian priests. He has served the sovereign of Egypt; he has -commanded his troops and made war for him against the Æthiopians. -He has received an Egyptian name, Osarsiph, or Tisithen. -Everything seems to concur to make him an Egyptian. But he -remains a faithful Israelite: true to the faith and to the -fortunes of his brethren. Their oppression rouses his -indignation; he avenges one of them by killing his oppressor. -{176} -The victims of oppression, alarmed, disavow Moses, instead of -supporting him. Moses flees from Egypt and takes refuge in the -Desert, amongst a tribe of wandering Arabs, the Midianites, -sprung, like himself, from Abraham. Their chief, the sheick of -the tribe, Jethro, called also Hobab, receives him as a son, and -gives him his daughter Zipporah in marriage. The proud Israelite, -who has declined to remain an Egyptian, becomes an Arab, and -leads, several years, the nomadic life of the hospitable tribe. -It is now in the peninsula of Sinai that Moses wanders with the -servants and flocks of his father-in-law. In the centre of that -peninsula, of yore a province in the empire of the Pharaohs, but -which had fallen into the possession of the pastoral Arabs, rises -Sinai, a mount with which from time immemorial, among the -neighbouring tribes, have been connected as many sacred -traditions as have ever been assigned to Mount Ararat in Armenia, -or the Himalayas in India. In this venerable spot, before a -burning bush, Moses, with a heart full of faith, hears God -calling him and commanding him to lead his people, the children -of Israel, out of Egypt. -{177} -Moses is humble, distrustful of himself, just as Abraham before -him had been. "Who am I, that I should go unto Pharaoh, and that -I should bring forth the children of Israel out of Egypt? ... -When I come unto the children of Israel, and shall say unto them, -The God of your fathers hath sent me unto you; and they shall say -to me, What is his name? What shall I say unto them? And God said -unto Moses I AM THAT I AM: and he said, Thus shalt thou say unto -the children of Israel, I AM hath sent me unto you." [Footnote -44] - - [Footnote 44: Exodus iii. 11, 13, 14.] - -Moses receives his mission from Jehovah, and feels no other -disquietude than arises from the desire to accomplish it. - -In presence of such facts, with this association of God and man -in the same work, the opponents of the Supernatural still -clamour: "Why," ask they, "this confusion of divine action and of -human action? Has God need of man's concurrence? -{178} -Can He not, if He will, accomplish all his designs by himself, -and through the fulness of his omnipotence?" In my turn, I would -ask them if they know why God created man, and if God has put -them into the secret of his intentions towards the instrument -whom He employs for his designs? There precisely lies the -privilege of humanity: man is God's associate, subject to Him, -yet a free agent independent of Him; he intervenes by his proper -action in plans of which only an infinitely small part is -revealed to his intelligence and reserved for his execution. -Western Asia and its history are full of the name of Moses: Jews, -Christians, and Mahometans style him the First Prophet, the Great -Lawgiver, the Great Theologian; everywhere, in the scene of the -events themselves, the places retain a memory of him: the -traveller meets there the Well of Moses, the Ravine of Moses, the -Mountain of Moses, the Valley of Moses. -{179} -In other countries and other ages, this name has been given as -the most glorious that the saints could receive: St. Peter has -been styled the Moses of the Christian Church; St. Benedict, the -Moses of the Monastic Orders; Ulphilas, the Moses of the Goths. -What did Moses do to obtain a renown so great and so enduring? He -gained no battles; he conquered no territory; he founded no -cities; he governed no state; he was not even a man in whom -eloquence replaced other sources of influence and power: "And -Moses said unto the Lord, my Lord, I am not eloquent, neither -heretofore, nor since thou hast spoken unto thy servant: but I am -slow of speech, and of a slow tongue." [Footnote 45] - - [Footnote 45: Exodus iv. 10.] - -There is not in this whole history a single grand human action, a -single grand event, proceeding from human agency; all, all is the -work of God; and Moses is nothing on any occasion but the -interpreter and instrument of God: to this mission he has -consecrated soul and life; it is only by virtue of this title -that he is powerful, and that he shares, as far as his capacity -as a man permits, a work infinitely grander and more enduring -than that accomplished by all the heroes and all the masters that -the world ever acknowledged. - -{180} - -I know no more striking spectacle than that of the unshakeable -faith and inexhaustible energy of Moses in the pursuit of a work -not his own, in which he executes what he has not conceived, in -which he obeys rather than commands. Obstacles and -disappointments meet him at each turn; he has to struggle with -weaknesses, infidelity, caprices, jealousies, and seditions, and -these not merely in his own nation, but in his own family. He has -himself his moments of sadness, of disquietude: "And Moses cried -unto the Lord, saying, What shall I do unto this people? they be -almost ready to stone me.... [Footnote 46] I beseech thee, shew -me thy glory." - - [Footnote 46: Exodus xvii. 4; xxxiii. 18-20.] - -And God answers him, "I will make all my goodness pass before -thee. ... Thou canst not see my face: for there shall no man see -me, and live." And Moses trusts in God, and continues to triumph -whilst he obeys Him. - -{181} - -The work of deliverance is consummated; Moses has led the people -of Israel out of Egypt, has surmounted the first perils and the -first sufferings of the Desert. They advance through the group of -mountains in the peninsula of Sinai Passing from valley to -valley, they arrive "at the entrance of a large basin surrounded -by lofty peaks. Of these the one which commands the most -extensive view is covered with enormous blocks, as if the -mountain had been overthrown by an earthquake. A deep cleft -divides the peak into two. - -"No one who has approached the Râs Sufsâfeh through that noble -plain, or who has looked down upon the plain from that majestic -height, will willingly part with the belief that these are the -two essential features of the view of the Israelitish camp. That -such a plain should exist at all in front of such a cliff is so -remarkable a coincidence with the sacred narrative, as to furnish -a strong internal argument, not merely of its identity with the -scene, but of the scene itself having been described by an -eyewitness. -{182} -The awful and lengthened approach, as to some natural sanctuary, -would have been the fittest preparation for the coming scene. The -low line of alluvial mounds at the foot of the cliff exactly -answers to the 'bounds' which were to keep the people off from -'touching the Mount.' [Footnote 47] - - [Footnote 47: Exodus xix. 12.] - -The plain itself is not broken and uneven, and narrowly shut in, -like almost all others in the range, but presenting a long -retiring sweep, against which the people could remove and stand -afar off.' The cliff, rising like a huge altar in front of the -whole congregation, and visible against the sky in lonely -grandeur from end to end of the whole plain, is the very image of -the 'mount that might not be touched,' and from which 'the voice' -of God might be heard far and wide over the stillness of the -plain below, widened at that point to its utmost extent by the -confluence of all the contiguous valleys. -{183} -Here, beyond all other parts of the peninsula, is the adytum, -withdrawn, as if in the end of the world,' from all the stir and -confusion of earthly things." [Footnote 48] Such was three -thousand five hundred years ago, and such is still, the place -where Moses received from God and gave to the people of Israel -that law of the Ten Commandments which resound still through all -the Christian Churches as the first foundation of their faith and -the first moral rule of Christian nations. - - [Footnote 48: Sinai and Palestine in connection with their - History. By Arthur Stanley, Dean of Westminster, pp. 42, 43. - London, 1862.] - -The Hebrews, at the moment when the Decalogue became their -fundamental law, were in a crisis of social transformation; they -were upon the point of passing from the pastoral nomadic -condition to that of farmers and settlers. It seems that, at such -an epoch, the political institutions of a people would, as the -basis of their government, be its most natural and most urgent -business. -{184} -The Decalogue leaves the subject entirely untouched; makes to it -not the remotest, the most indirect allusion. It is a law -exclusively religious and moral, which only busies itself about -the duties of man to God and to his fellow-creatures, and admits -by its very silence all the varying forms of government that the -external or internal state of society may seem to require. -Characteristic, grand, and original, not to be met with in the -primitive laws of any other nascent state, and an admirable and -remarkable manifestation of the Divine origin of this one! It is -to man's natural and his moral destiny that the Decalogue -addresses itself; it is to guide man's soul and his inmost will -that it lays down rules; whereas it surrenders his external, his -civil condition to all the varying chances of place and of time. - -{185} - -Another characteristic of this law is not less original or less -urgent: it places God, and man's duties towards God, at the head -and front of man's life and man's duties; it unites intimately -religion and morality, and regards them as inseparable. If -philosophers, in studying, discriminate between them; if they -seek in human nature the special principle or principles of -morality; if they consider the latter by itself and apart from -religion, it is the right of science to do so. But still the -result is but a scientific work--only a partial dissection of -man's soul, addressed to only one part of its faculties, and -holding no account of the entirety and the reality of the soul's -life. The Human Body, taken as one whole, is by nature at once -moral and religious; the moral law that he finds in himself needs -an author and a judge; and God is to him the source and -guarantee, the Alpha and Omega of morality. - -A metaphysician may, from time to time, affirm the moral law, and -yet forget its Divine Author. A man may, now and then, admit, may -respect the principles of morality, and yet remain estranged from -religion; all this is possible, for all this we see. -{186} -So small a portion of Truth sometimes satisfies the human mind! -Man is so ready and so prone to misconceive and to mutilate -himself! His ideas are by nature so incomplete and inconsequent, -so easily dimmed or perverted by his Passions or the action of -his free will! These are but the exceptional conditions of the -human mind, mere scientific abstractions; if men admit them, -their influence is neither general nor durable. In the natural -and actual life of the human race, Morality and Religion are -necessarily united; and it is one of the divine characteristics -of the Decalogue, as it is also one of the causes of that -authority which has remained to it after the lapse of so many -centuries, that it has proclaimed and taken as its foundation -their intimate union. - -This is not the place to consider the laws of Moses in civil and -penal matters, nor to refer to his ordinances respecting the -worship, or to those that regard the organization of the -priesthood of the Hebrews. In the former of these two branches of -the Mosaic code, numerous dispositions, singularly moral, -equitable, and humane, are found in connection with circumstances -indicating a state of manners gross and cruel even to barbarism. - -{187} - -The legislator is evidently under the empire of ideas and -sentiments infinitely superior to those of the people, to whom, -nevertheless, his strong sympathies attach him. When we consider -the Mosaic Legislation, we find that in everything which concerns -the external forms and practices of worship, the ideas of Egypt -have made great impression upon the mind of the Lawgiver, and the -frequent use that he has made of Egyptian customs and ceremonies -is not less visible. But far above these institutions and these -traditions, which seem not seldom out of place and incoherent, -soars and predominates constantly the Idea of the God of Abraham -and of Jacob, of the God One and Eternal, of the True God. The -Laws of Moses omit no occasion of inculcating the belief in that -God, and of recalling Him to the recollection of the Hebrews. And -this, not as if they were recalling a principle, an institution, -a system; but as if they propose to place a sovereign, a lawful -and living sovereign, in the presence of those whom he governs, -and to whom they owe obedience and fidelity. - -{188} - -Moses never speaks in his own name, or in the name of any human -power, or of any portion of the Hebrew nation. God alone speaks -and commands. God's word and his commands Moses repeats to the -people. At his first ascending Mount Sinai, when he had received -the first inspiration from the Eternal, "Moses came and called -for the elders of the people, and laid before their faces all -these words which the Lord commanded him. And all the people -answered together, and said, All that the Lord hath spoken we -will do." [Footnote 49] - - [Footnote 49: Exodus xix. 7, 8.] - -When Moses, again ascending Mount Sinai, had received from God -the Decalogue, he returned, "And he took the book of the -covenant, and read in the audience of the people: and they said, -All that the Lord hath said will we do, and be obedient." -[Footnote 50] - - [Footnote 50: Exodus xxiv. 7.] - -{189} - -As the events develop themselves, the Hebrews are found far from -rendering a constant obedience: they forget, they infringe--and -that frequently--these laws of God which they have accepted; and -God sometimes punishes, sometimes pardons them; still it is -always God alone that is acting; it is from Him alone that all -emanates; neither the priests who preside over the ceremonies of -his worship, nor the elders of Israel whom He summons to -prostrate themselves from afar before Him, nor Moses himself--his -sole and constant interpreter--do anything by themselves, demand -anything for themselves. The Pentateuch is the history and the -picture of the personal government by God of the Israelites. "Our -legislator," says the historian Josephus, "had in his thoughts -not monarchies, nor oligarchies, nor democracies, nor any one of -those political institutions: he commanded that our government -should be (if it is permitted to make use of an expression -somewhat exaggerated) what may be styled a Theocracy." [Footnote -51] - - [Footnote 51: Joseph. contra Apionem, ii. c. 17.] - -{190} - -The eminent writers who have recently studied most profoundly the -Mosaic system--M. Ewald in Germany,[Footnote 52] Mr. Milman and -Mr. Arthur Stanley in England, M. Nicolas in France--have adopted -the expression of Josephus, attaching to it its real and complete -sense. "The term Theocracy," says Mr. Stanley, "has been often -employed since the time of Moses, but in the sense of a -sacerdotal government: a sense the very contrary to that in which -its first author conceived it. The theocracy of Moses was not at -all a government by priests, or opposed to kings; it was the -government by God himself, as opposed to a government by priests -or by kings." [Footnote 53] - - [Footnote 52: Geschichte des Volkes Israel, bis Christus, ii. - 188. Göttingen, 1853.] - - [Footnote 53: Lectures on the Jewish Church, p. 157] - -{191} - -"Mosaism," says M. Nicolas, "is a theocracy in the proper sense -of the word. It would be a complete error to understand this word -in the sense which usage has given to it in our language. There -is no question here in effect of a government exercised by a -sacerdotal caste in the name and under the inspiration, real or -pretended, of God. In the Mosaic legislation the priests are not -the ministers and instruments of the Divine Will; God reigns and -governs by himself. It is He who has given his laws to the -Hebrews. Moses has been, it is true, the medium between the -Eternal and the people, but the people has taken part in the -grand spectacle of the Revelation of the Law; of this the people, -in the exercise of its freedom, has evinced its acceptance; and -in the covenant set on foot between the Eternal and the family of -Jacob, Moses has been, if I may be allowed the expression, only -the public officer who has propounded the contract. He was -himself, besides, not within the pale of the sacerdotal caste; -and the charge of keeping, amending, and seeing to the carrying -out of the body of laws was not confided to the priests." -[Footnote 54 ] - - [Footnote 54: Études Critiques sur la Bible--Ancien - Testament, p. 172.] - -{192} - -Let the learned men who thus characterise the Mosaic theocracy -pause here and measure the whole bearing of the fact which they -comprehend so well. It is a fact unique in the history of the -world. The idea of God is, amongst all nations, the source of -religions; but in every case, except that of the Hebrews, -scarcely has the source appeared before it deviates and becomes -troubled; men take the place of God; God's name is made to cover -every kind of usurpation and falsehood; sometimes sacerdotal -corporations take possession of all government, civil and -religious; sometimes secular power overrules and enslaves -Religious Faith and Religious Life. In the Mosaic Dispensation we -have nothing of the kind; its very origin and its fundamental -principles condemn and prohibit even the attempt at any such -deviations. No paramount priesthood here; no secular power -playing the part of the oppressor. God is constantly present, and -sole Master. All passes between God and the people; all, I say, -so passes through the agency of a single man whom God inspires, -and in whom the people have faith, asking no other authority than -that of the revelation which he receives. -{193} -No sign here of a fact of human origin: just as the God of the -Bible is the true God, the religion that descended, by Moses, -from Sinai upon the elect people of God is the true Religion -destined to become, when Jesus Christ ascends Calvary, the -Religion of the Human Race. - - - III. God And The Kings. - -Moses having brought out of Egypt the people of Israel, and -having conducted it through the Desert as far as the eastern bank -of the Jordan, in sight of Canaan, the Promised Land, his mission -terminates. "Get thee up," says the Eternal to him; "get thee up -into the top of Pisgah, and lift up thine eyes westward, and -northward, and southward, and eastward, and behold it with thine -eyes: for thou shalt not go over this Jordan. But charge Joshua, -and encourage him, and strengthen him: for he shall go over -before this people, and he shall cause them to inherit the land -which thou shalt see." [Footnote 55] - - [Footnote 55: Deuteronomy iii. 27, 28.] - -{194} - -Moses has been, in the name of Jehovah, the liberator and the -legislator; Joshua is the conqueror, the rough warrior, of yet -signal piety and modesty, the ardent servant of Jehovah, the -faithful disciple of Moses. After passing the Jordan, traversing -the land of Canaan in every direction, and giving battle in -succession to the greater part of the tribes that inhabit it, he -destroys, or expels, or negotiates with them, and divides their -lands among the twelve tribes of Israel. These exchange their -wandering life for that settled agricultural life of which Moses -has given them the law. The descendants of Abraham settle as -masters in the soil in which Abraham had demanded as a favour the -privilege of purchasing a tomb. - -{195} - -The consequences of this new situation are not long in showing -themselves. The conquest is protracted and difficult: the -violence and rapine that characterise a state of war--one of -dispossession and of extermination--replace amongst the Hebrews -the adventures and the pious emotions of the Desert. In spite of -their successes, the conquest nevertheless remains incomplete: -several of the Canaanitish tribes defend themselves -efficaciously, and cling, side by side with the new comers, to -their territory, their laws, their gods. The twelve tribes of -Israel disperse and settle, each on its own account, upon -different and distant points, some being even separated by the -Jordan. The unity of the Hebrew nation, of its faith, of its law, -of its government, and of its destiny weakens rapidly; the -tendency to idolatry, which the Hebrews had so often evinced when -wandering in the Desert, reappears and developes itself, fomented -by the vicinity of the Polytheistic tribes of Canaan. Not, -however, that we can precisely say that Polytheism prevails -against the One God; but rather that material images of Jehovah -become, in the midst of particular tribes, the object of the -idolatrous worship so strongly prohibited by the Decalogue. "And -the children of Israel did evil in the sight of the Lord, and -forgat the Lord their God, and served Baalim and the groves." -[Footnote 56] - - [Footnote 56: Judges iii. 7.] - -{196} - -Under such influences the moral and social state of the people of -Israel undergoes profound changes; the barbarism, which had been -formerly amongst them fanatical and austere, becomes unruly and -licentious; their chiefs, their Judges, during the epoch which -bears their name, no longer possess, sometimes no longer merit, -their confidence; even the heroic acts of some amongst them--of -Gideon, of Deborah, of Samson,--present rather a strange than an -august character. The Mosaic Theocracy veils itself; the Hebrew -nation becomes disorganized; day by day, the religious and -political anarchy in Israel extends and becomes aggravated. - -{197} - -But where the Divine Light has once shone, it is never completely -extinguished; and when the voice of God has once spoken, the -sound is never entirely lost, even to ears that no longer listen. -It has been affirmed that after Joshua, in the lapse of time that -took place between the government of the Judges and the end of -the reign of Solomon, the recollection of Moses, of his actions -and his laws, had almost entirely disappeared--had lost all -authority in Israel. Some passages from the biblical narrative -will suffice to remove this error. I read in the Book of Judges, -with respect to the Canaanitish tribes who resisted and survived -in their countries the conquest and settlement of the Hebrew -tribes:--These nations "were to prove Israel, to know whether -they would hearken unto the commandments of the Lord, which he -commanded their fathers by the hand of Moses." [Footnote 57] - - [Footnote 57: Judges iii. 4.] - -And again, in the Book of Samuel, it is the Eternal "that -advanced Moses and Aaron .... which brought forth your fathers -out of the land of Egypt, and made them dwell in this place." -[Footnote 58] -{198} -And in the Book of Kings,[Footnote 59] David, on the point of -expiring, says to his son Solomon, "Keep the charge of the Lord -thy God, to walk in his ways, to keep his statutes, and his -commandments, and his judgments, and his testimonies, as it is -written in the law of Moses." - - [Footnote 58: 1 Samuel xii. 6, 8.] - - [Footnote 59: 1 Kings ii. 3.] - -And when Solomon, after the solemn dedication of his Temple, had -addressed to God his prayer of thanksgiving, "he stood, and -blessed all the congregation of Israel with a loud voice, saying, -Blessed be the Lord, that hath given rest unto his people Israel, -according to all that he promised: there hath not failed one word -of all his good promise, which he promised by the hand of Moses -his servant." [Footnote 60] - - [Footnote 60: 1 Kings viii. 55, 56.] - -In the customs and lives of the Israelites these "good promises" -had not practically, it is true, preserved all their efficacy: -the worship of Jehovah and the legislation of Moses had fallen -into sad oblivion, and undergone serious changes. But, in the -national sentiment, Jehovah the Eternal was ever the One God, the -True God; and Moses his interpreter. -{199} -Moral and social disorder had invaded the Hebrew Confederation; -the Divine Law and Tradition were incessantly violated, still not -ignored: they ever continued the Divine Law and Tradition, the -objects of the faith and veneration of Israel. - -When the evil of anarchy had brought with it great national -reverses,--when the Philistines on the south, the Ammonites on -the east, and the Mesopotamians on the north, had placed in -jeopardy the Hebrew settlement in Canaan,--a general cry arose; -on all sides, the tribes demanded a strong government, a single -chief, one capable of maintaining order within, and supporting -abroad the position and the honour of Israel. A great and -faithful servant of Jehovah, the last of the judges, and the -greatest of the prophets since Moses,--Samuel,--had recently -governed Israel, and strenuously struggled to arrest the progress -of popular vice and misfortune; but he had become old, and his -sons whom he had made "judges over Israel ... walked not in his -ways, but turned aside after lucre, and took bribes, and -perverted judgment. -{200} -Then all the elders of Israel gathered themselves together, and -came to Samuel unto Ramah, and said unto him, Behold, thou art -old, and thy sons walk not in thy ways: now make us a king to -judge us like all the nations." [Footnote 61 ] - - [Footnote 61: 1 Samuel viii. 1-5.] - -The demand had in it nothing singular; even at the epoch when -God, by his servant Moses, was personally governing Israel, the -chance of the establishment of a human kingdom had been foreseen -and provided for beforehand by the Divine Law: "When thou art -come unto the land which the Lord thy God giveth thee, and shalt -possess it, and shalt dwell therein, and shalt say, I will set a -king over me, like as all the nations that are about me; thou -shalt in any wise set him king over thee, whom the Lord thy God -shall choose: one from among thy brethren shalt thou set king -over thee: thou mayest not set a stranger over thee, which is not -thy brother." [Footnote 62] - - [Footnote 62: Deuteronomy xvii. 14, 15.] - -{201} - -Although thus provided for by the Divine Law, the demand of a -king was extremely displeasing to Samuel; "for the kingly rule -was odious to him," says the historian Josephus; "he had an -innate love of justice, and was ardently attached to the -aristocratical form of government, as to the form of polity which -rendered men happy and worthy of God." [Footnote 63] - - [Footnote 63: Josephus, Ant. Jud. vol. vi. ch. iii. 3.] - -But the Eternal "said unto Samuel, Hearken unto the voice of the -people in all that they say unto thee: for they have not rejected -thee, but they have rejected me, that I should not reign over -them ... Now therefore hearken unto their voice; howbeit yet -protest solemnly unto them, and shew them the manner of the king -that shall reign over them." [Footnote 64] - - [Footnote 64: 1 Samuel viii. 7-9.] - -Samuel predicted to the Hebrews how much the kingly form of -government would cost them, all that they would have to suffer in -their families, their property, and their liberties: -"Nevertheless the people refused to obey the voice of Samuel; and -they said, Nay; but we will have a king over us; that we also may -be like all the nations; and that our king may judge us, and go -out before us, and fight our battles. -{202} -And Samuel heard all the words of the people, and he rehearsed -them in the ears of the Lord. And the Lord said to Samuel, -Hearken unto their voice, and make them a king." [Footnote 65] - - [Footnote 65: 1 Samuel viii. 19-22.] - -The world's history offers no example where the merits and -defects of absolute monarchy were so rapidly developed, where -they were displayed so strikingly, as in this little Hebrew -monarchy, instituted with the view of escaping from anarchy by -the express desire of the people itself. Three kings succeed to -the throne, in origin, character, conduct, and reign absolutely -dissimilar. Saul is a warrior, chosen by Samuel for his strength, -bodily beauty, and courage; ever ready for the combat, but -without foresight, without perseverance in his military -operations; easily intoxicated with good fortune; hurried away by -brutal, capricious, or jealous passions; now engaged in furious -struggles, now appearing in a dependent position, with his patron -Samuel, his son Jonathan, his son-in-law David; a genuine -barbarian king, arrogant, changeable of humour, impatient of -control, prone to superstition, a moment serving Israel against -her enemies, but incapable of governing Israel in the name of its -God. - -{203} - -David, on the contrary, is the faithful and consistent -representative of religious faith and religious life in Israel; -the fervent and submissive adorer of the Eternal; he is so at all -the epochs and in the most varying aspects of his career, whether -of humility or of grandeur; at once warrior, king, prophet, poet; -as ardent to celebrate his God in his character of poet, as to -serve Him in the capacity of warrior, or to obey Him in that of -king; equally sublime in his thanksgiving to the Eternal for his -triumphs as in his invocation to Him in his distresses; -accessible to the most culpable human weaknesses, but prompt to -repent the offence once committed; and giving always to impulses -of joy or pious sadness the first place in his soul; very king of -the nation that adores the very God. -{204} -David accomplishes the work of his time: he obtains the object -for which the monarchy had been demanded and instituted: he -leaves behind him the tribes of Israel reunited at home, and -reassured against foreign enemies, proceeding too in the path of -good order and confidence. Heir to his father's work, his -father's success, Solomon comes next, and reigns forty -years--years of almost as much repose as splendour: "God gave -Solomon wisdom and understanding exceeding much, and largeness of -heart, even as the sand that is on the sea shore." [Footnote 66] -"And he had peace on all sides round about him. And Judah and -Israel dwelt safely, every man under his vine and under his fig -tree, from Dan even to Beersheba, all the days of Solomon." -[Footnote 67] - - [Footnote 66: 1 Kings iv. 29.] - - [USCCB: Footnote 66 should be: 1 Kings iv. 9.] - - [Footnote 67: Ibid. 24, 25.] - - [USCCB: Footnote 67 should be: 1 Kings iv. 4, 5.] - -The kingdom and the kingly authority rose under the government of -Solomon, and throughout all Western Asia, to a degree of power -and splendour before unknown to the Hebrews. A prosperity out of -all proportion with the position of a new king and a small state, -and which reminds us of the rapid histories and the political -comets of the East. -{205} -Solomon at this point lost sight of both wisdom and virtue: the -first hereditary prince of the Hebrew monarchy terminated his -life like a voluptuous sovereign of Ecbatana or of Nineveh; the -son of the pious King David became a sceptical moralist; although -a profound observer of the nature and destiny of man, such -observation had led but to feelings of disgust. Nor did the -monarchy survive the monarch: the nation became effeminate and -corrupt, in the effeminacy and corruption of its sovereign. -Scarcely was Solomon dead, when his monarchy was divided into two -kingdoms, which, at first rivals, became soon openly hostile to -each other; sometimes a prey to tyranny, sometimes to anarchy, -and almost always to war. It was not, as formerly, merely a bad -phase of transition in the history of the Hebrew nation; it was -the commencement of national decline--decline irremediable, -hopeless. - -{206} - -But what, in this decline, will become of the law revealed on -Sinai to Moses? Is it destined to fall with the monarchy of -Solomon, or to languish and die out in the midst of the struggles -and disasters of Judah and of Israel? Quite the contrary: the -religious faith and law of the Hebrews will not only perpetuate -themselves, but will again shine forth at this epoch of political -ruin. - -Above the fortune of states are the designs of God, to which -instruments are never wanting; the kings continue to perpetrate -acts of violence, and the people to show marks of weakness; but -amidst all, the prophets of Israel will maintain the ancient -Covenant, and prepare the coming of that new Covenant which is to -make of the God of Israel the God of mankind. - - - IV. God And The Prophets. - - -A celebrated political writer--a freethinker belonging to the -Radical school, somewhat also to the school of Positivism--Mr. -John Stuart Mill, has recently said, in his work on Government, -"The Egyptian hierarchy, the paternal despotism of China, were -very fit instruments for carrying those nations up to the point -of civilisation which they attained. -{207} -But, having reached that point, they were brought to a permanent -halt, for want of mental liberty and individuality; requisites of -improvement which the institutions that had carried them thus -far, entirely incapacitated them from acquiring; and, as the -institutions did not break down and give place to others, further -improvement stopped. In contrast with these nations, let us -consider the example of an opposite character afforded by another -and a comparatively insignificant Oriental people--the Jews. -They, too, had an absolute monarchy and a hierarchy, and their -organised institutions were as obviously of sacerdotal origin as -those of the Hindoos. These did for them what was done for other -Oriental races by their institutions--subdued them to industry -and order, and gave them a national life. But neither their kings -nor their priests ever obtained, as in those other countries, the -exclusive moulding of their character. -{208} -Their religion, which enabled persons of genius and a high -religious tone to be regarded and to regard themselves as -inspired from Heaven, gave existence to an inestimably precious -unorganized institution--the Order (if it may be so termed) of -Prophets. Generally under the protection--it was not always -effectual--of their sacred character, the prophets were a power -in the nation, often more than a match for kings and priests, and -kept up in that little corner of the earth the antagonism of -influence, which is the only real security for continued -progress. Religion consequently was not there--what it has been -in so many other places--a consecration of all that was once -established, and a barrier against further improvement. The -remark of a distinguished Hebrew, M. Salvador, that the prophets -were, in Church and State, the equivalent to the modern liberty -of the press, gives a just but not an adequate conception of the -part fulfilled in national and universal histories by this great -element of Jewish life; by means of which, the canon of -inspiration never being complete, the persons most eminent in -genius and moral feeling could not only denounce and reprobate, -with the direct authority of the Almighty, whatever appeared to -them deserving of such treatment, but could give forth better and -higher interpretations of the national religion. -{209} -Conditions more favourable to progress could not easily exist; -accordingly the Jews, instead of being stationary like other -Asiatics, were, next to the Greeks, the most progressive people -of antiquity, and, jointly with them, have been the -starting-point and main propelling agency of modern cultivation." -[Footnote 68] - - [Footnote 68: Considerations on Representative Government. By - John Stuart Mill, pp. 41-43. London.] - -Mr. Mill is right, only he does not go far enough. Modern -civilization is in effect derived from the Jews and from the -Greeks. To the latter it is indebted for its human and -intellectual, to the former for its Divine and moral, element. Of -these two sources, we owe to the Jews, if not the more brilliant, -at all events the more sublime and dearly acquired one. -{210} -After the development of power and grandeur which took place -amongst the Jews in the reigns of David and Solomon, their -history is but a long series of misfortunes and reverses,--an -eventful, painful decline. The Hebrew state is divided into two -kingdoms, almost constantly at war with each other. And whilst -the kingdom of Israel is a prey to continual usurpations and -revolutions, making it the scene of all the violence and all the -vicissitudes of a tyranny, the kingdom of Judah has a line of -princes, in turn good or bad, who keep it unceasingly in a state -of trouble and of jeopardy. Religion falls beneath the yoke of -secular government; idolatry appears in the kingdom of Israel, -and braves audaciously the ancient national faith. The kingdom of -Judah, however, remains more faithful to Jehovah and his law, to -the traditions of Moses, and to the race of David; but its -languishing faith is no longer strong enough to arrest its march -in the path of decline. -{211} -In the two kingdoms, internal disorders are aggravated by -reverses abroad; in the meantime, around them mighty empires -spring up and succeed to each other. First Israel and then Judah -are invaded by strangers; they are subjugated in turn by the -Assyrians, the Egyptians, the Syrians, the Babylonians. The -Hebrews are not only vanquished and reduced to subjection, but -exiled, transported, led captive far from their country. A new -conqueror, Cyrus, permits them to return to Jerusalem; but not to -resume their independence; at first subjects of the Persian -kings, they soon pass from their empire to that of the Greek -generals, who have divided amongst one another the conquests of -Alexander; then to the rule of the Greeks succeeds that of the -Romans. During this succession of servitudes, scarcely are they -allowed any moments of existence as a free nation, and even this -freedom is more apparent than real. Judea, like Greece, is -subjugated, but under circumstances of greater humiliation and -distress. - -{212} - -And shall, then, the Hebrews oppose no efficacious resistance to -these reverses? What is to become, in this absolute ruin of the -nationality of the Jews, of their God, and their faith? Shall the -miracles of Sinai have no more virtue than the mysteries of -Eleusis, and Jehovah languish away and vanish in the routine of -sacerdotal ceremonies, or in philosophical scepticism? - -By no means: in the midst of his people's decay, the God of -Israel maintains interpreters who struggle with indomitable -fidelity against public calamities and popular errors. The first -of the prophets, Moses, had spoken in the name and according to -the commandment of Jehovah. After him there never were wanting to -Israel men who inherited or pretended to the heritage of the same -Divine mission. "I will raise them up a Prophet from among their -brethren, like unto thee," said the Eternal unto Moses, "and will -put my words in his mouth; and he shall speak unto them all that -I shall command him. ... -{213} -But the prophet, which shall presume to speak a word in my name, -which I have not commanded him to speak, or that shall speak in -the name of other gods, even that prophet shall die." [Footnote -69] - - [Footnote 69: Deuteronomy xviii. 18, 20.] - -From Moses to Samuel, the series of the prophets is continued; -some of them are of renown, like Nathan in the reigns of David -and Solomon; but the greater number, without name in history, and -appearing scattered over a long course of years. They are called -the _Seers_, [Footnote 70] or the Inspired. [Footnote 71] - - [Footnote 70: Roêh or Chozeh, in Hebrew.] - - [Footnote 71: Nabi.] - -Their speech gushes forth like a well under the breath of God. -When the government of the Judges gives place to that of the -Kings, the great actor in this drama of transition, Samuel, opens -for the prophets a new era; dedicated from his infancy to God's -service, he feels beforehand and abides the divine inspiration: -"Speak, Lord; for thy servant heareth." [Footnote 72] - - [Footnote 72: 1 Samuel iii. 9, 10.] - -{214} - -Not long after, his renown spreads amongst the people; he is not -pontiff, he is not even priest. [Footnote 73] - - [Footnote 73: Samuel propheta fuit, judex fuit, levita fuit, - non pontifex, ne saoerdos quidem.--St. Jerom adv. - Jovinianum.] - -But he is pre-eminently the seer: "Is not the seer here?" Such is -the question addressed to some young maidens by the men who are -in search of Samuel. Saul meets him without knowing him, and says -to him, "I pray thee tell me where the house of the seer is." "I -am the seer," replied Samuel; and soon after, it is Samuel -himself, who, in compliance with the popular vote, approved by -God, proclaims Saul king. But at the moment when he thus changes -the theocracy in Israel into a monarchy, he foresees the vices -and perils attendant upon the new government, and opposes to them -the element of resistance drawn from their national beliefs and -traditions; he transforms the order of prophets into a permanent -institution; he founds schools of prophets, independent servants -of Jehovah, consecrated to the defence of his law and the -enunciation of his will; -{215} -constituting a sort of congregation independent of both Church -and State; leading, in fixed and appointed places,--at Rama, -Bethel, Jericho, Jerusalem,--a life in common, but with out -exclusive privileges; the sons of the prophets are brought up -near their fathers; but still the mission of prophecy is -accessible to all who have the call from God: "Go, thou seer," -said the priest Amaziah, in his anger, to the prophet Amos, "flee -thee away into the land of Judah, and there eat bread, and -prophesy there: but prophesy not again any more at Bethel: for it -is the king's chapel, and it is the king's court. Then answered -Amos, and said to Amaziah, I was no prophet, neither was I a -prophet's son: but I was a herdman, and a gatherer of sycomore -fruit: and the Eternal took me as I followed the flock, and the -Lord said unto me, Go, prophesy unto my people Israel." [Footnote -74] - - [Footnote 74: Amos vii. 12-15.] - -{216} - -The prophets are neither priests nor monks: sprung from all the -classes of the Jewish nation, their vocation is essentially -independent. They belong to God alone, and await divine -inspiration to oppose, as it may happen, at one time the tyranny -of the kings, at another the passions of the populace, at another -the corruption of the priesthood: their only arms, the commands -of God and the gift of prophecy. The functions assigned to them -are as different as the places and circumstances of their life; -but they are ready to take any part and to encounter any peril: -some of them, like Elijah and Elisha, are men of action and of -combat; the others, like Isaiah, Jeremiah, Ezekiel, Amos, are -narrators, moralists, prophets; some devote themselves to attacks -upon the acts of violence and impiety committed by the kings, the -others to the vices and corruption of the people; the same -spirit, however, animates them all; they are all interpreters and -labourers of Jehovah; they defend, all of them, the faith of God -against idolatry, justice and right against tyranny, the national -independence against foreign dominion. -{217} -In the name of the God of Abraham and of Jacob, they labour and -succeed in maintaining or in reanimating religious and moral life -amidst the decay and servitude of Israel. "All the time," says -St. Augustine, "from the epoch when the holy Samuel began to -prophesy, to the day when the people of Israel was led captive -into Babylonia, is the period of the prophets." [Footnote 75] - - [Footnote 75: De Civitate Dei, l. xvii. ch. 1.] - -To accomplish their mission, to ensure their hard-earned -successes, they had other arms than lamentations and -exhortations, arising out of what was past and inevitable; other -expedients than pious reproaches and expressions of regret. These -defenders of the ancient faith of Moses do not shut themselves up -within the external forms and rites of their religion; they -pursue the moral object that it proposes; they insist upon the -spirit that vivifies it. "Your new moons and your appointed -feasts my soul hateth" (said the Lord, according to Isaiah): -"they are a trouble unto me; I am weary to bear them. -{218} -And when ye spread forth your hands, I will hide mine eyes from -you: yea, when ye make many prayers, I will not hear: your hands -are full of blood. Wash you, make you clean; put away the evil of -your doings from before mine eyes; cease to do evil; learn to do -well; seek judgment, relieve the oppressed, judge the fatherless, -plead for the widow." [Footnote 76] - - [Footnote 76: Isaiah i. 14-17.] - -"Wherewith shall I come before the Lord" (said the prophet -Micah), "and bow myself before the high God? shall I come before -him with burnt offerings, with calves of a year old? Will the -Lord be pleased with thousands of rams, or with ten thousands of -rivers of oil? shall I give my firstborn for my transgression, -the fruit of my body for the sin of my soul? He hath shewed thee, -O man, what is good; and what doth the Lord require of thee, but -to do justly, and to love mercy, and to walk humbly with thy -God?" [Footnote 77] - - [Footnote 77: Micah vi. 6-8.] - -{219} - -Even whilst calling the people of Israel back to the faith of -their fathers, the prophets open to them new perspectives: whilst -reproaching them with the errors that have led to their decay and -servitude, they permit them yet to see the future delivery and -regeneration. It is their divine character to live at once in the -past and in the future; to confide alike to the ordinances of the -Eternal and to his promises: they move forward, but they change -not; they believe, they hope; they are faithful to Moses whilst -they announce the Messiah. - - - V. Expectation Of The Messiah. - - -Controversy has the mischievous power of the Homeric Jupiter: it -collects clouds amidst which the light that we seek for -disappears. - -The Old and the New Testament, the history of the Jews and the -history of Jesus Christ, lie before us. Do these two monuments -form but one single edifice? That second history, is it comprised -and written beforehand in the first? -{220} -Such is the question which has for the last eighteen centuries -occupied and divided the learned. Some affirm that Jesus Christ -was foreseen and predicted among the Jews, and that the series of -prophecies continued from the very time of Moses until the advent -of Christ. Others lay stress upon the hiatus--the want of -connection and cohesion--the contradictions to be detected here -between the Old and New Testament; and thence they conclude that -the text of the Old Testament by no means contains the facts that -appear in the New Testament, and that the miraculous history of -Jesus Christ was, in the bosom of Israel, neither miraculously -foreseen nor predicted. - -Why was it, and how was it possible, that two assertions so -contradictory came to be both adopted and maintained by men most -of them as sincere as learned? - -{221} - -They have all committed the fault of plunging into the petty -details of facts and texts, searching in all places, without -exception, for the complete demonstration of their particular -theses, and losing sight of the great fact, the general and -dominant fact to which we should refer as alone capable of -solving the question. They descend into the mazy paths which -perplex the plain below, instead of grasping from the summit of -the mountains, the whole comprehensive view, and the grand road -leading to the goal itself. Believers have insisted upon -discovering, fact by fact, in the biblical prophecies the whole -mission and all the life of Jesus. The incredulous, on the other -hand, have minutely adverted to all the discrepancies, all the -difficulties, suggested by a comparison of the texts of the Old -Testament and of the Gospel narrative; they have contrasted the -glories of the Messiah, the powerful King of Israel, so often -announced by the prophets, with the humble life, the cruel death -of Jesus, and with the ruin of Jerusalem. -{222} -In my opinion, they have on both sides lost sight of the inward -and essential characteristic of this sublime history; the special -action of God is revealed therein, but without suppressing the -action of men; miracles take their place in the midst of the -natural course of events; the ambitious aspirations of the Jews -connect themselves with the religious perspective opened to them -by the prophets; the divine and the human, the inspiration from -on high and the impulse of the national imagination, appear -together. These two elements should be disentangled: the mind -should be raised above the perplexing influences which they -exercise, and the attention directed to that heavenly beam which -pierces the vapours of this earthly atmosphere. Thus, all the -embarrassment that controversy occasioned vanishing, the history -yields to us its profound meanings, and, in spite of -complications having their origin in the wordy explanations of -man, the design of God makes itself manifest in all its majestic -simplicity. - -Discarding all discussion and commentary, let us merely collect, -from epoch to epoch, the principal texts which speak of the -advent of the future Messiah. I might here multiply citations, -but I limit myself to those where the allusion is evident. It is -the Bible, and the Bible alone, that is speaking. - -{223} - -The first act of disobedience to God, the act of original sin, -has just been committed. The Eternal God says to the serpent that -has seduced Eve: "Because thou hast done this, thou art cursed -above all cattle, and above every beast of the field. ... And I -will put enmity between thee and the woman, and between thy seed -and her seed; it shall bruise thy head, and thou shalt bruise his -heel." [Footnote 78] - - [Footnote 78: Genesis iii. 14, 15.] - -He that shall bruise the head of the serpent shall belong, says -the Book of Genesis, to the race of Shem, to the posterity of -Abraham and Jacob, to the kingdom of Judah. "But thou, Beth-lehem -Ephratah, though thou be little among the thousands of Judah, yet -out of thee shall he come forth unto me that is to be Ruler in -Israel." [Footnote 79] - - [Footnote 79: Genesis ix. 26; xii. 3; xlix. 10; Micah v. 2.] - -{224} - -Israel is at its apogee of splendour: David prophesies alike the -sufferings and the glory of that Saviour of the world who is to -be not merely the King of Zion, but "the Son and the Anointed of -the Eternal:" "My God, my God, why hast thou forsaken me?" is the -expression attributed to him by the prophet king. ... "All they -that see me laugh me to scorn: they shoot out the lip, they shake -the head. ... They gave me also gall for my meat, and in my -thirst they gave me vinegar to drink. ... They part my garments -among them, and cast lots upon my vesture. ... He trusted on the -Lord that he would deliver him; let him deliver him, seeing he -delighted in him. ... Ye that fear the Lord, praise him; all ye -the seed of Jacob, glorify him; and fear him, all ye the seed of -Israel. ... All the ends of the earth shall remember and turn -unto the Lord: and all the kindreds of the nations shall worship -before thee." [Footnote 80] - - [Footnote 80: Psalms ii. 2, 6, 7; xxii. 1, 7; lxix. 21; xxii. - 18, 8, 23, 27.] - -{225} - -The kingdom of David and of Solomon has begun to decay; Judah and -Israel are separating; both kingdoms have their prophets, who at -one time struggle against the crimes and evils of their -respective ages, and, at another, occupy themselves in disclosing -prospects of the future. - - "Hear ye now, O house of David. ... - - "Therefore the Lord himself shall give you a sign; Behold, a - virgin shall conceive, and bear a son, and shall call his name - Immanuel. ... - - "The people that walked in darkness have seen a great light: - they that dwell in the land of the shadow of death, upon them - hath the light shined. ... - - "For unto us a child is born, unto us a son is given: and the - government shall be upon his shoulder: and his name shall be - called Wonderful, Counsellor, The mighty God, The everlasting - Father, The Prince of Peace. ... - - "And there shall come forth a rod out of the stem of Jesse, and - a Branch shall grow out of his roots: - - "And the spirit of the Lord shall rest upon him, the spirit of - wisdom and understanding, the spirit of counsel and might, the - spirit of knowledge and of the fear of the Lord; - - "... and he shall not judge after the sight of his eyes, - neither reprove after the hearing of his ears: - - "But with righteousness shall he judge the poor, and reprove - with equity, for the meek of the earth. ... - -{226} - - "Listen, O isles, unto me; and hearken, ye people, from far; - The Lord hath called me from the womb; from the bowels of my - mother hath he made mention of my name. ... - - "And said unto me, Thou art my servant, O Israel, in whom I - will be glorified. - - "Then I said, I have laboured in vain, I have spent my strength - for nought, and in vain: yet surely my judgment is with the - Lord, and my work with my God. - - "And now, saith the Lord that formed me from the womb to be his - servant, to bring Jacob again to him, Though Israel be not - gathered, yet shall I be glorious in the eyes of the Lord, and - my God shall be my strength. - - "And he said, It is a light thing that thou shouldest be my - servant to raise up the tribes of Jacob, and to restore the - preserved of Israel: I will also give thee for a light to the - Gentiles, that thou mayest be my salvation unto the end of the - earth. ... - - "Rejoice greatly, O daughter of Zion; shout, O daughter of - Jerusalem: behold, thy King cometh unto thee: he is just, and - having salvation; lowly, and riding upon an ass, and upon a - colt the foal of an ass. - - "... For he shall grow up before him as a tender plant, and as - a root out of a dry ground: he hath no form nor comeliness; and - when we shall see him, there is no beauty that we should desire - him. - - "He is despised and rejected of men; a man of sorrows, and - acquainted with grief: and we hid as it were our faces from - him; he was despised, and we esteemed him not. - -{227} - - "Surely he hath borne our griefs, and carried our sorrows: yet - we did esteem him stricken, smitten of God, and afflicted. - - "But he was wounded for our trangressions, he was bruised for - our iniquities: the chastisement of our peace was upon him; and - with his stripes we are healed. - - "All we like sheep have gone astray; we have turned every one - to his own way; and the Lord hath laid on him the iniquity of - us all. - - "He was oppressed, and he was afflicted, yet he opened not his - mouth: he is brought as a lamb to the slaughter, and as a sheep - before her shearers is dumb, so he openeth not his mouth. - - "He was taken from prison and from judgment: and who shall - declare his generation? for he was cut off out of the land of - the living: for the transgression of my people was he stricken. - ... - - "Yet it pleased the Lord to bruise him; he hath put him to - grief: when thou shalt make his soul an offering for sin, he - shall see his seed, he shall prolong his days, and the pleasure - of the Lord shall prosper in his hand. - - "He shall see of the travail of his soul, and shall be - satisfied: by his knowledge shall my righteous servant justify - many; for he shall bear their iniquities. - - "Therefore will I divide him a portion with the great, and he - shall divide the spoil with the strong; because he hath poured - out his soul unto death: and he was numbered with the - transgressors; and he bare the sin of many, and made - intercession for the transgressors." [Footnote 81] - - [Footnote 81: Isaiah vii. 13-14; ix. 26; xi. 14; xlix. 1-6; - Zechariah ix. 9; Isaiah liii.] - -{228} - -Whatever controversies may arise out of these texts, and many -others which I might cite, one fact subsists and rises above all -question and all controversy. Seventeen centuries passed in the -interval between the Decalogue being received by Moses upon Mount -Sinai, and the actual approach of the Messiah announced by the -prophets; and at the end of these seventeen centuries, the God, -from whom Moses received the Decalogue, He who defined himself to -be "I am that I am." Jehovah, still is, has never ceased to be -the God, the sole God of Israel. Israel has passed through all -governments, undergone all vicissitudes, fallen into all the -errors to which it is possible for a nation to succumb: the Jews -have had a hierarchy, and judges, and kings; they have been -alternately conquerors and conquered, masters and slaves; they -have had their days of power and their days of humiliation, their -temptation to idolatry and paroxysms of impiety; still they have -ever returned to the One God: to the true God; their faith has -survived all their faults and all their misfortunes; and after -those seventeen centuries, Israel is waiting at the hand of -Jehovah a Messiah, to be, according to the affirmation of its -greatest prophets, the Liberator and the Saviour, not of Israel -alone, but of all nations. -{229} -Fact without parallel in history! In vain shall men exhaust -against it all their science, and all their scepticism: there is -here more than the work of man; the fact itself is not human. But -what more shall that fact become, and what shall be our belief, -when all shall have received its consummation,--the prophecies -their accomplishment,--when Jehovah shall have given to the -world Jesus Christ? - -{230} - - Eighth Meditation. - - Jesus Christ According To The Gospel. - - -Need I say that by the words, "the Gospel," here used, I -understand the four Gospels, the Acts of the Apostles, the -Epistles, all the books, in fact, which compose the Canon of the -New Testament as it is received by all Christians? - -These books have been variously studied: now with the design of -disproving, now of explaining the life of Jesus Christ; now with -the object of a Controversialist, now with that of a Commentator. -I approach the subject in neither character. I would wish to -study Jesus Christ in the New Testament solely to know Him well, -and to make Him well known; to place Him before the reader, and -to depict Him faithfully according to the evidence of his -history. -{231} -I propose hereafter, in a second series of these -_Meditations_, to examine its authenticity, and the degree -of credit to which it is entitled. For the moment I assume the -testimony as good and valid. Beyond all doubt, at the outset, it -is at least entitled to this respect. The powerful influence of -these books, and of the accounts which they contain, such as they -remain to us, has been put to the test and proved. They have -overcome Paganism. They have conquered Greece, Rome, and -barbarous Europe. They are actually overcoming the world. And the -sincerity of the authors is no less certain than the virtue of -the books: however possible it may be to contest the -enlightenment, the critical sagacity of the original historians -of Jesus Christ, their good faith is beyond all question: it -appears in their language; they believed what they said; they -sealed their assertions with their blood: "I believe," said -Pascal, "only those histories, the witnesses to which confirm -their attestation by submitting to death." Although not always a -sufficient reason to believe an account, it constitutes a -decisive motive to believe in the sincerity of the witness. - -{232} - -I have before cited from the Old Testament some of the texts -which contain the promises made to Israel of the Messiah. These -promises had evidently excited lively attention amongst the Jews; -the satisfaction felt at their accomplishment expressed itself -loudly at the birth of Jesus Christ: "And behold, there was a man -in Jerusalem, whose name was Simeon ... waiting for the -consolation of Israel: and the Holy Ghost was upon him. ... Lord, -now lettest thou thy servant depart in peace, according to thy -word: For mine eyes have seen thy salvation, which thou hast -prepared before the face of all people; a light to lighten the -Gentiles, and the glory of thy people Israel." [Footnote 82] - - [Footnote 82: Luke ii. 25-32.] - -{233} - -Besides Simeon, a pious woman, Anna, "of about fourscore and four -years, which departed not from the temple, but served God with -fastings and prayers night and day. And she coming in that -instant gave thanks unto the Lord, and spake of him to all them -that looked for redemption in Jerusalem." [Footnote 83] - - [Footnote 83: Luke ii. 37, 38.] - -But there was far more than merely the demonstrations of Simeon -and Anna,--than these impulses of joy on the part of the faithful -followers of Jehovah: "In those days came John the Baptist, -preaching in the wilderness of Judæa. ... And the same John had -his raiment of camel's hair, and a leathern girdle about his -loins; and his meat was locusts and wild honey. ... And saying, -Repent ye, for the kingdom of heaven is at hand. For this is he -that was spoken of by the prophet Esaias, saying, The voice of -one crying in the wilderness, Prepare ye the way of the Lord, -make his paths straight. ... I indeed baptize you with water unto -repentance. ... But there standeth one among you, whom ye know -not. -{234} -He it is who, coming after me, is preferred before me, whose -shoe's latchet I am not worthy to unloose. ... And I knew him -not: but that he should be made manifest to Israel, therefore am -I come baptizing with water. ... And I saw, and bare record that -this is the Son of God." [Footnote 84] - - [Footnote 84: Matthew iii. 1-5; Mark i. 2-11; Luke iii. 1-18; - John i. 26-34.] - -Attempts have sometimes been made, although with no very great -confidence on the part of the propounders of the theory, to -represent Jesus as the most eminent among several reformers, who, -about the same epoch, aspired to the title and character of the -Messiah predicted by the prophets and expected by Israel. -Reference has been particularly made to one of His predecessors, -Judas the Gaulonite, who, a few years after the birth of Jesus, -on the occasion of a census ordered by the Imperial Legate -Quirinius, undertook to raise Judæa in insurrection against this -measure--against the tribute that it imposed, and against the -Emperor himself--proclaiming that to God alone belonged the -appellation _Master_, and that liberty was worth more than -life. [Footnote 85] - - [Footnote 85: Joseph. Antiq. Jud. 1. xvii. ch. 6; 1. xviii. - ch. 1. Acts of the Apostles, ch. v. 34-39.] - -{235} - -These comparisons--I forbear to use the word assimilations--are -entirely without foundation. These men, who, as it is pretended, -anticipated the career of Jesus, were simply men who opposed the -Roman dominion, and who stood up, like the Maccabees before them, -in the name of national independence, and in a spirit of reaction -in favor of the Mosaic government. Jesus was not so anticipated: -His mission had no relation with any previous essay; and his sole -forerunner was John the Baptist, as strange as himself to any -political view or conspiracy, and as humble before Him--before -the true, the sole Messiah--as Judas the Gaulonite and his -adherents were bold and daring towards the Emperor. - -{236} - -There is an interval of thirty years between the birth of Jesus -and the day when He enters actively on the performance of his -divine mission. [Footnote 86] - - [Footnote 86: The question as to the precise epoch of the - birth of Jesus Christ, as well as of the commencement and the - duration of His public career, has been well and concisely - considered in the Synopsis Evangelica of M. Constantin - Tischendorf (p. 16-19. Leipzig, 1864). The preferable - conclusion from these researches is, that Jesus Christ was - born in the year of Roma 750, that he commenced his divine - mission towards the end of the year of Rome 780, and that his - death took place in the fourth month of the year of Rome - 783.] - -These thirty years, however, were not idly passed, nor were they -without their peculiar testimony to Christ and the future in -store for Him:-- - - "And Joseph and his mother marvelled at those things which were - spoken of him. ... - - "And the child grew, and waxed strong in spirit, filled with - wisdom: and the grace of God was upon him. - - "Now his parents went to Jerusalem every year at the feast of - the Passover. - - "And when he was twelve years old, they went up to Jerusalem - after the custom of the feast. - - "And when they had fulfilled the days, as they returned, the - child Jesus tarried behind in Jerusalem; and Joseph and his - mother knew not of it. - - "But they, supposing him to have been in the company, went a - day's journey; and they sought him among their kinsfolk and - acquaintance. - -{237} - - "And when they found him not, they turned back again to - Jerusalem, seeking him. - - "And it came to pass, that after three days they found him in - the temple, sitting in the midst of the doctors, both hearing - them, and asking them questions. - - "And all that heard him were astonished at his understanding - and answers. - - "And when they saw him, they were amazed: and his mother said - unto him, Son, why hast thou thus dealt with us? Behold, thy - father and I have sought thee sorrowing. - - "And he said unto them, How is it that ye sought me? wist ye - not that I must be about my Father's business? - - "And they understood not the saying which he spake unto them. - - "And he went down with them, and came to Nazareth, and was - subject unto them: but his mother kept all these sayings in her - heart. - - "And Jesus increased in wisdom and stature, and in favour with - God and man." [Footnote 87] - - [Footnote 87: Luke ii. 33, 40-52.] - -{238} - -Thus begins that manifestation in the person of the child Jesus -Christ, that mixture of humanity and divinity, of natural life -and miraculous life, which is his peculiar and sublime -characteristic. In the opinion of the men who, in principle, -reject the supernatural, this mixed divine-human nature, and -consequently Jesus Christ himself, is at once incomprehensible -and inadmissible. What wonder if Christ has in these days to -encounter such adversaries? Had He not to do so when invested -with the attributes of humanity, among contemporaries, and even -in his own family? In his first days of human existence, his -mother, Mary, saw Him and understood Him not. And nevertheless -"Mary kept all these sayings in her heart." Expression, at once -profound and touching; revealing the mysterious complication of -the nature of man! Man is not content to resign himself to the -limits imposed by the actual laws of the finite world; his -aspirations tend elsewhere. And still, when called upon to rise -above the present order of nature--that order which he is able to -appreciate--he experiences a certain astonishment, a certain -hesitation; he does not know if he ought to believe in that -supernatural that he was recently invoking, and that he never -ceases to invoke; for, like Mary, he preserves the instinct in -his heart! -{239} -It is just at the present day as it was nineteen centuries ago. -Jesus has ever to encounter such contradictory moods of human -nature: He is confronted at once by the hope of, the thirsting -after, the supernatural inherent in the human soul, and by all -the objections, all the doubts that the supernatural itself -suggests to the human mind. He has to satisfy that hope, to -surmount those doubts. The Gospel opens the history of this -solemn struggle, that gave rise to Christianity, and is the -source of all those agitations which afflict Christians at the -present day. - - - I. Jesus Christ And His Apostles. - - -On entering upon the active purposes of his mission, it is the -will of Jesus to have, and He has Disciples--Apostles. He knows -the power of an association founded upon faith and love. He knows -also that faith and love are virtues as rare as they are -efficacious. It is not numbers that He seeks. He surrounds -himself with a select band of believers, and lives with them in a -complete and enduring intimacy. - -{240} - -In the midst of these intimate relations, Jesus declares his -authority primitive and supreme:--"Ye have not chosen me, but I -have chosen you, and ordained you, that ye should go and bring -forth fruit." [Footnote 88] - - [Footnote 88: John xv. 16.] - -But the authority of the Master does not prevent Him from -evincing a tenderness full of trust, and from respecting himself -the dignity of his disciples:--"Henceforth I call you not -servants; for the servant knoweth not what his lord doeth: but I -have called you friends; for all things that I have heard of my -Father I have made known unto you." [Footnote 89] - - [Footnote 89: John xv. 15.] - -{241} - -He evinces on all occasions towards his apostles the trust that -He feels in them, and shows his sense of the superiority of the -position to which He has elevated them. His language sometimes -fills them with astonishment, and they are more peculiarly struck -by the numerous parables in which, whilst addressing the -assembled multitude, He clothes his precepts:--"And the disciples -came, and said unto him, Why speakest thou unto them in parables? -He answered and said unto them, Because it is given unto you to -know the mysteries of the kingdom of heaven, but to them it is -not given. ... But unto those that are without, all these things -are done in parables." [Footnote 90] - - [Footnote 90: Matthew xiii. 10, 11; Mark iv. 10, 11.] - -The confidingness of Jesus, however, never descends to weak -compliance; when, in an impulse of vanity and ambition, one of -his apostles asks for a particular favour, Jesus rebukes him with -severity:--"James and John, the sons of Zebedee, come unto him, -saying, Master, we would that thou shouldest do for us whatsoever -we shall desire. And he said unto them, What would ye that I -should do for you? They said unto him, Grant unto us that we may -sit, one on thy right hand, and the other on thy left hand, in -thy glory. But Jesus said unto them, Ye know not what ye ask: can -ye drink of the cup that I drink of? and be baptized with the -baptism that I am baptized with? -{242} -And they said unto him, We can. And Jesus said unto them, Ye -shall indeed drink of the cup that I drink of; and with the -baptism that I am baptized withal shall ye be baptized: But to -sit on my right hand and on my left hand is not mine to give; but -it shall be given to them for whom it is prepared. ... Ye know -that they which are accounted to rule over the Gentiles exercise -lordship over them; and their great ones exercise authority upon -them. But so shall it not be among you: but whosoever will be -great among you, shall be your minister." [Footnote 91] - - [Footnote 91: Mark x. 35-43; Matthew xx. 20-26.] - -Jesus having thus selected and intimately attached to Him his -apostles, commissions them to carry forth his law:--"Go not into -the way of the Gentiles, and into any city of the Samaritans -enter ye not: But go rather to the lost sheep of the house of -Israel. And as ye go, preach, saying, The kingdom of heaven is at -hand. -{243} -Heal the sick, cleanse the lepers, raise the dead, cast out -devils: freely ye have received, freely give. Provide neither -gold, nor silver, nor brass in your purses, nor scrips for your -journey, neither two coats, neither shoes, nor yet staves: for -the workman is worthy of his meat. ... Behold, I send ye forth as -sheep in the midst of wolves: be ye therefore wise as serpents -and harmless as doves." [Footnote 92] - - [Footnote 92: Matthew x. 5-10, 16; Luke x. 1-12.] - -It is, in effect, prudence side by side with absolute -self-denegation that Jesus, in his first instructions, enjoins -upon his disciples; at the very commencement of their mission He -limits its object; He recommends to them particularly "the lost -sheep of the house of Israel;" He declares his will to be that, -instead of a pertinacity with out bounds, "they should depart, -shaking off the dust from their feet, out of the city that should -not receive them nor hear their words." But He adds immediately, -as if to give to their mission all its grandeur:--"What I tell -you in darkness, that speak ye in light: and what ye hear in the -ear, that preach ye upon the house-tops. And fear not them which -kill the body, but are not able to kill the soul: but rather fear -him which is able to destroy both soul and body in hell." -[Footnote 93] - - [Footnote 93: Matthew x. 27, 28.] - -{244} - -Jesus knows that his disciples will need the firmest courage, -and, far from promising them any of the goods of this world, any -temporal successes, He discloses to them unceasingly all the -perils they will incur, all the invectives they will have to -endure. "But beware of men: for they will deliver you up to the -councils, and they will scourge you in their synagogues; and ye -shall be brought before governors and kings for my sake, for a -testimony against them and the Gentiles ... And ye shall be -betrayed both by parents, and brethren, and kinsfolks and -friends; and some of you shall they cause to be put to death. And -ye shall be hated of all men for my name's sake." [Footnote 94] - - [Footnote 94: Matthew x. 17-22. Luke xxi. 12-17.] - -{245} - -What Reformer, other than Jesus Christ, ever held to his -followers such language? Who else than God could have imparted to -their language such virtue that they would in obedience to it -sacrifice with joy not merely all the good things of this life, -but life itself? Nevertheless, one of those apostles, and the -first of them all, Peter, evinces some disquietude, if not at -their lot in this world, at least at their destinies in the -kingdom of heaven. "Then answered Peter and said unto him, -Behold, we have forsaken all, and followed thee; what shall we -have therefore? And Jesus said unto them, Verily I say unto you, -That ye which have followed me, in the regeneration when the Son -of man shall sit in the throne of his glory, ye also shall sit -upon twelve thrones, judging the twelve tribes of Israel. And -every one that hath forsaken houses, or brethren, or sisters, or -father, or mother, or wife, or children, or lands, for my name's -sake, shall receive an hundredfold, and shall inherit everlasting -life." [Footnote 95] - - [Footnote 95: Matthew xix. 27-29.] - -{246} - -But Jesus does not intend that the prospect of their lofty -inheritance should inspire in the minds of any of his apostles, -and not more in that of Peter than the rest, any proud -presumptuousness, and He immediately adds, "But many that are -first, shall be last; and the last shall be first." [Footnote 96] - - [Footnote 96: Matthew xix. 30.] - -The world's history may be perused and reperused; the causes of -all the revolutions that have taken place in the world, whether -religious or political, may be probed and investigated; but we -shall nowhere be able to trace in the dealings of chiefs and -accomplices, of originators and fellow-workmen, the divine -characteristics of absolute and uncompromising sincerity that -reign throughout the actions and language of Jesus Christ in His -conduct towards His apostles. Them He has chosen and loved; to -them He has entrusted His work; but He practises with them no -arts of worldly wisdom; He withholds nothing from them; here is -no faltering encouragement, no exaggeration in the promises that -He makes or in the hope that He holds forth; He speaks to them -the language of pure truth, and it is in the name of that truth -that He gives them His commands and transfers to them His -mission. "Never did man speak like this man," [Footnote 97] nor -so deal with men. - - [Footnote 97: John vii. 46.] - -{247} - - II. Jesus Christ And His Precepts. - - -Jesus speaks:--and it is at one time with His disciples alone, at -another surrounded by eager, astonished multitudes; now from the -mount, now on the shore of the sea of Gennesareth, from a bark; -by the road side; in the house of the Pharisee, Simon, and the -toll-gatherer, Levi; in the synagogue of Nazareth, in the Temple -of Jerusalem:--Jesus speaks, "not like the scribes," not like -the philosophers; He expounds no system; He discusses no -question; He does not pace up and down like Socrates with his -learned friends in the gardens of the Academy, nor lose himself -in the mazes of the human understanding. Jesus speaks to men, to -all men without distinction; He speaks to them of man's life, -man's soul, man's destiny, of matters that touch all alike. And -He speaks to them "as one having authority." - -{248} - -What does He say to them? What teach, what command, in that -speech full of authority? - -He teaches them, He enjoins them, to have faith, hope, charity: -those virtues which have now borne His name nineteen centuries, -those virtues which are essentially Christian. - -Is it, then, in His own name that Jesus Christ teaches and -commands? By no means: "My doctrine is not mine, but his that -sent me. If any man will do his will, he shall know of the -doctrine, whether it be of God, or whether I speak of myself. - -"He that speaketh of himself seeketh his own glory: but he that -seeketh his glory that sent him, the same is true, and no -unrighteousness is in him. ... Then cried Jesus in the Temple as -he taught, saying, Ye both know me, and ye know whence I am: I am -not come of myself, but he that sent me is true, whom ye know -not. - -{249} - -"But I know him: for I am from him, and he hath sent me." -[Footnote 98] - - [Footnote 98: John vii. 16-18, 28, 29.] - -Whilst He refers everything to God, Jesus Christ seeks not to -define or explain Him; He affirms Him and demonstrates Him; God -is the first cause, the point from which all things spring; faith -in God is the paramount source of virtue, and of power, as well -as virtue, of hope and of resignation. - -For Jesus Christ has not only a perfect faith in God, He has also -a profound knowledge of man: He knows that, unaided, man's soul -cannot, with out despair, without withering, bear the burthen -imposed by the injustice of the world and of life, of the -miseries and erroneous appreciation of mankind. To this injustice -and this wretchedness Jesus Christ never ceases to oppose God, -God's justice, God's benevolence, God's succour: He recommends to -Him all the forsaken, all the oppressed, all the wretched, all -the victims of society. He enjoins to these not resignation -alone, but Hope as the sister and companion of Faith. -{250} -Nor does He hold forth to those that suffer the realization of -earthly expectations, the restoration of worldly prosperity, as -their resource and their consolation. He has nothing to do with -remedies deceitful like these. He acts with the most perfect -truthfulness and sincerity towards mankind in general, as He also -does with His disciples: He only promises them the -re-establishment of justice, and the reward of virtue, in that -mysterious future where God alone reigns, and of which He -discloses to them the perspective without unfolding the secrets. - -Nothing strikes me more in the Gospel than this double character -of austerity and of love, of severe purity and tender sympathy, -which constantly appears, which reigns in the actions and the -words of Jesus Christ in everything that touches the relation of -God and mankind. -{251} -To Jesus Christ the law of God is absolute, sacred; the violation -of the law, and sin, are odious to Him; but the sinner himself -irresistibly moves him and attracts him: "What man of you, having -an hundred sheep, if he lose one of them, doth not leave the -ninety and nine in the wilderness, and go after that which is -lost, until he find it? And when he hath found it, he layeth it -on his shoulders, rejoicing. And when he cometh home, he calleth -together his friends and neighbours, saying unto them, Rejoice -with me; for I have found my sheep which was lost. I say unto -you, that likewise joy shall be in heaven over one sinner that -repenteth, more than over ninety and nine just persons, which -need no repentance." [Footnote 99] - - [Footnote 99: Luke xv. 4-7.] - -Jesus said unto them, "They that are whole need not a physician, -but they that are sick. ... For I am not come to call the -righteous, but sinners to repentance." [Footnote 100] - - [Footnote 100: Matthew ix. 12, 13.] - -What is the signification of this sublime fact; what the meaning -in Jesus of this union, this harmony of severity and of love, of -saint-like holiness and of human sympathy? It is Heaven's -revelation of the nature of Jesus him-self, of the God-man. -{252} -God, he made himself man. God is his father, men are his -brethren. He is pure and holy like God: He is accessible and -sensible to all that man feels. Thus the vital principles of the -Christian faith, the divine and the human nature united in Jesus, -start to evidence, in his sentiments and language respecting the -relations between God and man. The dogma is the foundation of the -principles. - -Another fact is not less significant. At the same time that the -divine and mysterious character of Jesus Christ appears in the -Gospel, his acts and his words have a character essentially -simple and practical. He pursues no learned object, no scientific -plan; He develops no system; his object is something infinitely -grander than the triumph of any logical abstraction: it is to -pervade the human soul, to establish himself in it--to save it. -He speaks the language--He appeals to the ideas most calculated -to ensure Him success. -{253} -Sometimes He addresses himself to the task of inspiring in men -the most poignant disquietude as to their future destiny, if they -violate the laws of God; at other times He causes to shine before -their eyes the realisation of the most magnificent hopes, if with -sincerity they persist in faith. He knows the generation that He -is addressing; He knows human nature in its universality, and -what it will be in future generations: his object is to produce -upon it an effect at once positive, general, durable; He chooses -the ideas, He employs the images suitable to his design for the -regeneration and the salvation of all. God's Ambassador is the -most penetrating and able of human moralists. - -More than once, the attempt has been made to find Him at fault, -to detect in his language exaggerations, contradictions, -incoherencies irreconcilable with his divine authority. Surprise, -for instance, has been expressed, that He should have one day -said, according to St. Matthew: "He that is not with me is -against me; and he that gathereth not with me scattereth abroad;" -[Footnote 101] and that He should another day, according to St. -Mark, have used the expression, "For he that is not against us is -on our part." [Footnote 102] - - [Footnote 101: Matthew xii. 30.] - - [Footnote 102: Mark ix. 40.] - -{254} - -These two passages have been characterised as furnishing "two -rules of proselytism entirely opposed to each other, and as -involving a contradiction growing out of some impassioned -struggle." [Footnote 103] - - [Footnote 103: Vie de Jesus, par M. Renan, p. 229.] - -In my turn I observe that it astonishes me how earnest men can -fall into any such error. Jesus does not lay down in these two -passages two contradictory rules of proselytism, He merely -observes and refers in turn to two different facts: who has not -learnt, in the course of actual life, that, according to the -difference of circumstances and persons, the man who abstains -from active concurrence, who keeps himself aloof, by that very -fact may at one time give support and strength, and at another -injure and impede? These two assertions, far from being in -contradiction, may be both true, and Jesus Christ, in uttering -them, spoke as a sagacious observer, not as a moralist who is -enunciating precepts. -{255} -I have heard other critics reproachfully regard another passage -as a sort of blasphemy. According to St Luke: "There was in a -city a judge, which feared not God, neither regarded man: and -there was a widow in that city; and she came unto him, saying, -Avenge me of mine adversary. And he would not for a while: but -afterward he said within himself, Though I fear not God, nor -regard man; yet because this widow troubleth me, I will avenge -her, lest by her continual coming she weary me." [Footnote 104] - - [Footnote 104: Luke xviii. 1-5.] - -Is it possible to infer from these words an intention on the part -of Jesus to liken God to an unjust judge, and to make the mere -importunate persistence in praying a claim to God's grace? He -only cited an occurrence which made noise in his time, in order -to instil a lively impression of the utility of perseverance. To -attain his end, He never makes use of out-of-the-way or impure -expedients; but He draws from the ordinary events of human life -examples and reasons to illustrate and render intelligible the -divine precepts, and to insure their acceptance. All the parables -have this meaning and object. - -{256} - -Next to the precepts which refer to the relations of man with God -come those which respect the relations of men with one another. -Whilst Faith and Hope regard God, Charity has man for its object. - -Charity, it has often been repeated, is the great principle of -Jesus Christ, pre-eminently the Christian virtue. I know, not, -however, whether the source whence Christian charity derives its -character and grandeur has been adequately perceived or remarked. - -In the different pagan religions, whether of character gross or -learned, we have deifications of the different forces of nature -or of men themselves. And even in those religions in which gods -in their turn are said to assume man's shape, it is man -particularly that is predominant, and that lives in the -incarnation of God. -{257} -Whereas in Christianity, it is not a god sprung from nature or of -human origin that becomes man, but the God self-existent, -anterior, and superior to all beings, the God, One, Eternal. The -Hebrew religion, alone of all religions, shows God essentially -and eternally distinct from the nature and the mankind that He -has created, and that He governs. The Christian Faith alone shows -God one and eternal; the God of Abraham and of Moses making -himself man, and the divine nature uniting itself to the human -nature in the person of Jesus. And in this union it is the divine -nature that shines forth, that speaks, that sets in movement. And -this incarnation is unparalleled like the God its author. - -And why did God make himself man? "What is the object of this -unparalleled, this mysterious incarnation? It is God's purpose to -rescue man from the evil and the peril which have continued to -weigh upon him since the fault committed by his first progenitor. -It is God's purpose to ransom the human race from the sin of -Adam, the heritage of Adam's children, and to bring it back to -the ways of eternal life. These are the designs, loudly -proclaimed, of the divine incarnation in Jesus, and the price of -all the sufferings and agonies which He endured in its -accomplishment. - -{258} - -Need I say more? Who does not see how this sublime fact exalts -man's dignity at the same time that it illustrates the worth of -man's nature? By the mere fact of God having assumed his form is -man's nature glorified; and all men, so to say, have their share -of the honour done by God to humanity in uniting himself with it, -and in accepting, for a moment of time, all the conditions of -humanity. But as far as mankind is here concerned, it is far more -than a mere accession of an honour or a glorifying of his nature: -it is a striking manifestation of the value that all men have in -the eyes of God. For it is not for some of them only, for some -class or nation, or portion of humanity, it is for all humanity -that God became incarnate in Jesus Christ, and that Jesus Christ -has submitted to all human sufferings. Every human soul is the -object of this divine sacrifice, and called upon to gather the -fruit. - -{259} - -This is the source, this the privilege of Christian charity. The -dogma makes the force of the precept itself. Jesus crucified is -God's charity towards man. Impossible that men should not feel -themselves bound to act towards each other as God has done to -them; and towards what man is not charity a duty? Without the -divinity and sacrifice of Jesus Christ, the value of man's soul, -if I may be pardoned the expression, sinks,--neither his -salvation nor the example of his Saviour is any longer the -question,--charity becomes nothing more than human goodness; a -sentiment, however noble and useful, still limited both in -impulsive energy and in efficacy; having its source in man alone, -it can but incompletely solace the unequally distributed -sufferings of mortality. It is not suited to inspire any long -effort or great sacrifice: it is not adequate to convert the -longing desire for the moral amendment, the physical relief of -humanity, into that inextinguishable sympathy and untiring and -impassioned emotion which really constitute charity, and which -the Christian Faith, in the history of the world, has alone been -able to inspire. - -{260} - -Thus the essential precepts of Jesus, the virtues which He -commands as the basis and source of all the others, have an -intimate connection with his doctrine, a doctrine "which is not," -He tells us himself, "_his_, but of him that sent him;" that -is to say, they are connected with the fundamental dogmas of the -Christian religion. No one denies the perfection, the sublimity -of the Gospel morality; men indeed seem to feel a sort of -self-complacency, a satisfaction in celebrating it, with a view -to the conclusion, more or less explicitly stated, that that -morality constitutes the whole Gospel. This is, however, not less -than absolutely to mistake the bond which unites in man thought -with sentiment, and belief with action. Man is grander and less -easy to satisfy than superficial moralists pretend; the law of -his life is for him, in the profound instinct of his soul, -necessarily connected with the secret of his destiny; and it is -only the Christian dogma that gives to Christian ethics the Royal -authority of which they stand in need to govern and to regenerate -humanity. - -{261} - - III. Jesus And His Miracles. - -I have called myself one of those who admit the supernatural; and -I have stated my reasons. I might stop there and enter into no -special reflection as to the Gospel Miracles. The possibility of -miracles once accorded in principle, nothing remains but to weigh -the value of the testimony in their support. In the second series -of these _Meditations_, where I treat of the authenticity of -the localities specified in the Holy Scriptures, I shall occupy -myself with this examination. It is not, however, my wish to -elude, upon the subjects that lie at the bottom of this question, -any of the difficulties that it presents: for here we find the -point of attack sought by the adversaries of the Christian faith. -The image of Christ as it results from the Gospel would be -besides singularly unfaithful, did we not range in it his -miracles by the side of his precepts. - -{262} - -I avow once more my belief in God, in God the Creator, the -Sovereign Master of the Universe, who orders it and governs it by -that independent and constant action of his providence and power -styled the Laws of Nature. To those who regard nature as having -existed from all eternity of itself, and governed by laws -immutable and proceeding from fate, I have nothing to say of -Jesus or his miracles; the question at issue between them and me -is more important than that which respects miracles; it involves -the very question of Pantheism or Christianity, of Fatalism or -Liberty, affecting both God and man. Upon these subjects I have -already expressed my general opinion and its grounds. I propose -to enter further upon it in the third series of these -_Meditations_, when I come to speak of the different systems -which are now in conflict throughout Christendom. But at this -moment I address myself to Deists and to men of wavering minds, -and to these alone. - -{263} - -One thing is beyond all doubt: the perfect sincerity of the -apostles and of the primitive Christians as to their faith in the -miracles of Jesus. Sincerity still more striking that it is -united to every sort of hesitation in the mind and weakness in -the conduct, and that it only triumphs gradually and slowly when -Jesus has quitted his disciples and has left them alone charged -with his work. Whilst He was with them, St. Peter has failed, St. -Thomas has doubted; after several miracles have been performed by -Jesus, his disciples are astonished, put questions to Him, yet -still doubt of Him and of his power. Upon several occasions Jesus -addresses them as men "of little faith," and at the moment when -He is arrested, they abandon Him, they fly from Him. No -impassioned enthusiasm, no exaggeration in their trustfulness and -their devotedness; even with them Jesus sees himself confronted -by all the vacillations and pusillanimity of humanity; He -persuades them, He wins them, He preserves them only by great -exertion, and by dint, so to say, of divine power and divine -virtue. -{264} -They only really believe in Him after having witnessed the -accomplishment of his sacrifice and his last miracle, when they -had seen his Crucifixion and his Resurrection. Only then they -believed; but from that moment their faith became absolute, -superior to all perils and all trials: full of the Holy Spirit, -and associated in a certain measure to their divine Master, they -pursue his work with unshaken confidence and firmness, without -pretending to any merit, without any impulse of personal pride. -Before "the gate of the Temple which is called Beautiful," St. -Peter has healed a lame man and made him to walk. "And as the -lame man which was healed held Peter and John, all the people ran -together unto them in the porch that is called Solomon's, greatly -wondering. And when Peter saw it, he answered unto the people, Ye -men of Israel, why marvel ye at this? or why look ye so earnestly -on us, as though by our own power or holiness we had made this -man to walk? ... Ye killed the Prince of life, whom God hath -raised from the dead; whereof we are witnesses. -{265} -And his name through faith in his name hath made this man strong, -whom ye see and know: yea, the faith which is by him hath given -him this perfect soundness in the presence of you all." [Footnote -105] - - [Footnote 105: Acts iii. 1-16.] - -It was not the people only that felt astonishment, but "the -rulers and elders; the scribes, the high priest, and all those -who were of the kindred of the high priest, were gathered -together at Jerusalem, and set in their midst "Peter and John, -and after a deliberation full of anxiety, they "commanded them -not to speak at all, nor teach in the name of Jesus. But Peter -and John answered and said unto them, Whether it be right in the -sight of God to hearken unto you more than unto God, judge ye. -For we cannot but speak the things we have seen and heard." -[Footnote 106] - - [Footnote 106: Acts iv. 5, 6, 18-20.] - -What sincerity and what firmness ever showed themselves more -strikingly than those that grew out of the faith of St. Paul? -From such faith he had been originally farther removed than the -other apostles; he had done far more than merely err like Peter -or doubt like Thomas; he had hotly persecuted the first followers -of Christ. -{266} -In his turn penetrated and subdued on the road to Damascus by the -voice of Jesus, he devotes himself to Him life and soul; he -recounts himself his miraculous conversion, [Footnote 107] and as -little doubt can be entertained of the authenticity of his -Epistles as of the sincerity that dictated them. - - [Footnote 107: 1 Corinthians xv. 8. 2 Corinthians xi. 32, 33; - xii. 1-5. Galatians i. 1-4.] - -The history of all religions abounds in miracles; but in all -religions except the Christian, the miracles recounted by their -historians are evidently either contrivances of the founder to -induce persuasion, or they spring from the play of the human -imagination, ever disposed to delight in the marvellous, ever -particularly prone to give way in the sphere of religion to its -fantastic suggestions. In the Gospel miracles, on the contrary, -we have nothing of the kind; no artifice in their Author; none of -the marvellous machinery of poetry, nor any hasty credulity in -the historians. -{267} -The miraculous agency of Christ is essentially simple, practical, -and moral: He does not go in search of miracles; neither does He -make any vain display of them: they are wrought when a pressing -emergency or a natural occasion calls for them; and when they are -demanded in faith and in trust, He then works them without -ostentation and in right of his divine mission; whilst at the -very moment He makes the doubt and the coldness with which He is -received, the subject of complaint: "Woe unto thee, Chorazin! wo -unto thee, Bethsaida! for if the mighty works, which were done in -you, had been done in Tyre and Sidon, they would have repented -long ago in sackcloth and ashes." [Footnote 108] Jesus has full -confidence in himself, in the miracles that He effects, in the -doctrine that He inculcates. He feels no astonishment, but merely -sorrow, that His work, the work of light and of salvation, -pursued by Him in accordance with the will of God his Father, -should not obtain a more rapid, a more general success. - - [Footnote 108: Matthew xi. 21.] - -{268} - -As for us, remote spectators, the astonishment must be not the -slowness or limited nature of that success, but its rapidity and -its extent. All religions that have taken place in the world's -history, have been established by moral and by material agency; -all appealed from their very commencement as much to force as to -persuasion, as much to the arm as to the tongue. Christianity -alone lived and grew during three centuries by its own single -native virtue, without any other appeal than that made to Truth, -without any other aid than that of Faith. During those three -centuries the dogmas, the precepts, and the miracles of its -Author constituted its only weapons, and weapons which have -prevailed against all other arms. Those dogmas, those precepts, -and those miracles effected the conquest of man's mind and of -human society in spite of the resistance of Greek philosophy, -Roman power, and all the poetical or mystical mythologies of -antiquity marshalled against them. -{269} -The victory has not, it is true, put an end to all struggle of -man's intelligence: neither has the light from Christ dissipated -all darkness, nor satisfied all minds; the explanation and -commentaries of man have obscured the doctrines of Christ; human -prejudices have mistaken his precepts; and legends have been -grafted upon his miracles. But the fact does not the less exist, -that the dogmas, the precepts, and the miracles of Christ, -without any aid from human sources, sufficed to found and ensure -the triumph of the Christian religion: this is a fact primitive -and supreme. And from this single result shines forth the divine -character of the Christian religion, for its triumph without the -miraculous agency of God, would be of all miracles the most -impossible to receive. - - - - IV. Jesus, The Jews, And The Gentiles. - - - -Think not that I am come to destroy the law, or the prophets: I -am not come to destroy, but to fulfil." [Footnote 109] - - [Footnote 109: Matthew v. 17.] - - -{270} - -"Do not think that I will accuse you to the Father: there is one -that accuseth you, even Moses, in whom ye trust. For had ye -believed Moses, ye would have believed me: for he wrote of me. -But if ye believe not his writings, how shall ye believe my -words?" [Footnote 110] - - [Footnote 110: John v. 45-47.] - -This was the language that Jesus used to the Jews. It was in the -name of their history and of their faith, in the name of the God -of Abraham and of Jacob, that He called them to Him, presenting -himself to them in the double capacity of conservative and -reformer, and appealing to the ancient law against those who, -whilst observing it outwardly, really changed its character. -"Then came to Jesus scribes and Pharisees, which were of -Jerusalem, saying, Why do thy disciples transgress the tradition -of the elders? for they wash not their hands when they eat bread. -But He answered and said unto them, "Why do ye also transgress -the commandment of God by your tradition? For God commanded, -saying, Honour thy father and mother: and, He that curseth father -or mother, let him die the death. -{271} -But ye say, Whosoever shall say to his father or his mother, It -is a gift, by whatsoever thou mightest be profited by me; and -honour not his father or his mother, he shall be free. Thus ye -have made the commandment of God of none effect by your -tradition![Footnote 111] ... Woe unto you, scribes and Pharisees, -hypocrites! for ye pay tithe of mint and anise and cummin, and -have omitted the weightier matters of the law, judgment, mercy, -and faith: these ought ye to have done, and not to leave the -other undone." [Footnote 112] - - [Footnote 111: Matthew xv. 1-6.] - - [Footnote 112: Matthew xxiii. 23.] - -Jesus was incessantly warning, making appeals to the Jews; and -when He saw that they pertinaciously disavowed and rejected Him, -He cried, in an impulse of patriotic, affectionate sadness:--"O -Jerusalem, Jerusalem, which killest the prophets, and stonest -them that are sent unto thee; how often would I have gathered thy -children together, as a hen doth gather her brood under her -wings, and ye would not!" [Footnote 113] - - [Footnote 113: Matthew xxiii. 37. Luke xiii. 34.] - -{272} - -I know nothing more imposing than the apparition of a grand idea, -a divine idea rising and mounting rapidly upon the human horizon. -Such is the spectacle afforded to us in its short duration by the -history of Jesus Christ. In his first instructions to his -apostles, He said to them, "Go not to the Gentiles and enter not -into any city of the Samaritans; but go ye rather to the lost -sheep of the people of Israel." Thus he carefully avoided -offending the sentiments of the day, and only enjoined upon his -apostles what they might do with success at the very beginning of -their mission. But soon the light increases that issues from the -words and the actions of Jesus; as I advance in the books of the -Gospel, I there read: "And when Jesus was entered into Capernaum, -there came unto him a centurion, beseeching him, and saying, -Lord, my servant lieth at home sick of the palsy, grievously -tormented. -{273} -And Jesus saith unto him, I will come and heal him. The centurion -answered and said, Lord, I am not worthy that thou shouldest come -under my roof: but speak the word only, and my servant shall be -healed. For I am a man under authority, having soldiers under me: -and I say to this man, Go, and he goeth; and to another, Come, -and he cometh; and to my servant, Do this, and he doeth it. When -Jesus heard it, he marvelled, and said to them that followed, -Verily I say unto you, I have not found so great faith, no, not -in Israel. And I say unto you, That many shall come from the east -and west, and shall sit down with Abraham, and Isaac, and Jacob, -in the kingdom of heaven." [Footnote 114] - - [Footnote 114: Matthew viii. 5-11.] - -Thus a great stride has been made; it is no longer for the sheep -of the house of Israel that Jesus has come; from the East and -from the West will men come to Him, and He will receive them all. -To continue the Gospel narrative: departing from the borders of -the lake of Gennesareth, Jesus "departed into the coasts of Tyre -and Sidon. -{274} -And, behold, a woman of Canaan came out of the same coasts, and -cried unto him, saying, Have mercy on me, O Lord, thou son of -David; my daughter is grievously vexed with a devil. But he -answered her not a word. And his disciples came and besought him, -saying, Send her away; for she crieth after us. But he answered -and said, I am not sent but unto the lost sheep of the house of -Israel. Then came she and worshipped him, saying, Lord, help me. -But he answered and said, It is not meet to take the children's -bread, and to cast it to dogs. And she said, Truth, Lord: yet the -dogs eat of the crumbs which fall from their master's table. Then -Jesus answered and said unto her, O woman, great is thy faith: be -it unto thee even as thou wilt." [Footnote 115] - - [Footnote 115: Matthew xv. 21-28.] - -{275} - -Another day, near the city Sychar and the well of Jacob, Jesus -conversed with a woman of Samaria, who had come there to draw -water:--"The woman saith unto him, Sir, I perceive that thou art -a prophet. Our fathers worshipped in this mountain; and ye say, -that in Jerusalem is the place where men ought to worship. Jesus -saith unto her, Woman, believe me, the hour cometh, when ye shall -neither in this mountain, nor yet at Jerusalem, worship the -Father. ... But the hour cometh, and now is, when the true -worshippers shall worship the Father in spirit and in truth: for -the Father seeketh such to worship him. God is a Spirit: and they -that worship him must worship him in spirit and in truth." -[Footnote 116] - - [Footnote 116: John iv. 5-24.] - -Thus disappears gradually, in the name of the God of the Jews -himself, the exclusive privilege of the Jews to the divine -revelation and to divine grace. And thus, too, the restricted -religion of Israel gives place to the grand catholicity of the -religion of Christ. The benefit of the true faith and of -salvation is no longer limited to one people, whether great or -small, ancient or modern; but is imparted to all the races of -mankind. -{276} -"Go ye therefore, and teach all nations, baptizing them in the -name of the Father, and of the Son, and of the Holy Ghost." -[Footnote 117] "And he said unto them, Go ye into all the world, -and preach the gospel to every creature."[Footnote 118] - - [Footnote 117: Matthew xxviii. 19.] - - [Footnote 118: Mark xvi. 15.] - -These were the last words which Christ addressed to his apostles, -and the apostles execute faithfully the instructions of their -divine Master; they go forth in effect, preaching in all places -and to all nations his history, his doctrine, his precepts, and -his parables. St. Paul is the special apostle of the Gentiles. -From Jesus, says this apostle, "We have received grace and -apostleship, for obedience to the faith among all nations, for -his name." "Is he the God of the Jews only? is he not also of the -Gentiles? Yes, of the Gentiles also." "For there is no difference -between the Jew and the Greek: for the same Lord over all is rich -unto all that call upon him." [Footnote 119] - - [Footnote 119: Romans i. 5.; iii. 29; x. 12.] - -{277} - -In spite of his prejudices as a Jew, and of the differences that -took place in the infancy of the Church, St. Peter adheres to St. -Paul; the apostles and the elders assembled at Jerusalem adhere -to St. Peter and St. Paul. The God of Abraham and of Jacob is now -not merely the One God, He is the God of the whole human race; to -all men alike He prescribes the same faith, the same law, and -promises the same salvation. - -Another question, more temporal in its nature, still a great, a -delicate one, is raised in the presence of Jesus Christ. He -withdraws from the Jews their exclusive privilege to the -knowledge and the grace of the true God; but what does He think -of that which touches their existence as a nation, and as a great -one? Does He direct them to rebel and to struggle against their -earthly governor and sovereign?--"Then went the Pharisees, and -took counsel how they might entangle him in his talk. And they -sent out unto him their disciples with the Herodians, saying, -Master, we know that thou art true, and teachest the way of God -in truth, neither carest thou for any man: for thou regardest not -the person of men. Tell us therefore, What thinkest thou? -{278} -Is it lawful to give tribute unto Cesar, or not? But Jesus -perceived their wickedness, and said, Why tempt ye me, ye -hypocrites? Shew me the tribute money. And they brought unto him -a penny. And he saith unto them, Whose is this image and -superscription? They say unto him, Cesar's. Then saith he unto -them, Render therefore unto Cesar the things which are Cesar's; -and unto God the things that are God's. When they had heard these -words, they marvelled, and left him, and went their way." -[Footnote 120] - - [Footnote 120: Matthew xxii. 15-22. - Mark xii. 12-17. Luke xx. 19-25.] - -{279} - -In this reply of Christ there was much more matter for admiration -than the Pharisees supposed; it was in effect much more than an -adroit evasion of the snare that had been extended for Him; it -defined in principle the distinction of man's life as it regards -religion, and man's life as it concerns society; the bounds, in -fact, of Church and of State. Cæsar has no right to intervene, -with his laws and material force, between the soul of man and his -God; and on his side, the faithful worshipper of God is bound to -fulfil towards Cæsar the duties which the necessity of the -maintenance of civil order imposes. The independence of religious -faith, and at the same time its subjection to the laws of -society, are alike the sense of Christ's reply to the Pharisees, -and the divine source of the greatest progress ever made by human -society since it began to feel the troubles and agitations of -this earth. - -I take again these two grand principles, these two great acts of -Jesus,--the abolition of every privilege in the relations of God -and man, and the distinction of man's religious and his civil -life: I confront with these two principles all the history, and -every state of society previous to the advent of Jesus Christ, -and I am unable to discover in those essentially Christian -principles any kindred, any human origin. Everywhere before -Christ, religions were national local religions; they were -religions which established between nations, classes, -individuals, enormous differences and inequalities. -{280} Everywhere, also, before Christ, man's civil life and his -religious life were confounded, and mutually oppressed each -other; that religion or those religions were institutions -incorporated in the state, which the state regulated or repressed -as its interest dictated. But in this catholicity of religious -faith, in this independence of religious communities, I am -constrained to recognise new and sublime principles, and to see -in them flashes from the light of heaven. It needed many -centuries before mental vision was capable of receiving that -light; and no one shall pronounce how many centuries will be -needed before it will pervade and penetrate the entire world. But -whatever difficulties and shortcomings may be reserved in the -womb of the future for the two great truths to which I have just -referred, it is clear that God caused them first to beam forth -from the life and teaching of Jesus Christ. - -{281} - - - V. Jesus And Women. - - -At the very source of all religions, as well as in their -subsequent history, women find a place to fill and a part to -perform. At one time they constitute the material and furnish the -ornament of licentious systems of mythology. At another, on the -contrary, they are, for the heroes of those religions, objects -either of pious horror or of observances at once rigorous and -austere: women are considered by them as creatures full of evil -and of peril; and they are accordingly thrust from their lives as -men thrust from them what is a temptation and an impurity. -Voluptuous pictures and adventures on the one hand, and zealous -impulses of rigid asceticism on the other, constitute the two -extremes to which religions in their ages of youth and of vigour -are alternately prone. -{282} -Sometimes--and it is more fortunate for women when it is the -case--they are described in the narrative of these religions, -such as they really are in human life, charmers and at the same -time charmed, seducers and seduced, idols and slaves; at first -votaries of the enthusiasm, the victims of the errors and the -passions which they at once inspire and feel. Whether Asiatic or -European, rude or refined, such are the striking features with -which all systems of religion, excepting Christianity, have -characterised the women whom they have introduced in their -narratives. - -Neither of these characteristics, nor anything analogous, is met -with in the Gospel and in the relations of Jesus with women. They -seem irresistibly attracted towards Him, with hearts moved, -imaginations struck by his manner of life, his precepts, his -miracles, his language. He inspires them with feelings of tender -respect and confiding admiration. The Canaanitish woman comes and -addresses to Him a timid prayer for the healing of her daughter. -The woman of Samaria listens to Him with eagerness, though she -does not know Him: Mary seats herself at his feet, absorbed in -reflections suggested by his words; and Martha proffers to Him -the frank complaint that her sister assists her not, but leaves -her unaided in the performance of her domestic duties. -{283} -The sinner draws near to Him in tears, pouring upon his feet a -rare perfume, and wiping them with her hair. The adulteress, -hurried into his presence by those who wished to stone her in -accordance with the precepts of the Mosaic Law, remains -motionless in his presence, even after her accusers have -withdrawn, waiting in silence what He is about to say. Jesus -receives the homage, and listens to the prayers of all these -women, with the gentle gravity and impartial sympathy of a being -superior and strange to earthly passion. Pure and inflexible -interpreter of the Divine law, He knows and understands man's -nature, and judges it with that equitable severity which nothing -escapes, the excuse as little as the fault. Faith, sincerity, -humanity, sorrow, repentance, touch Him without biassing the -charity and the justice of his conclusions; and He expresses -blame or announces pardon with the same calm serenity of -authority, certain that his eye has read the depths of the heart -to which his words will penetrate. -{284} -In his relations with the women who approach Him, there is, in -short, not the slightest trace of man; nowhere does the Godhead -manifest itself more winningly and with greater purity. And when -there is no longer any question of these particular relations and -conversations, when Jesus has no longer before him women -suppliants and sinners, who are invoking his power or imploring -his clemency; when it is with the position and the destiny of -women in general that He is occupying himself, He affirms and -defends their claims and their dignity with a sympathy at once -penetrating and severe. He knows that the happiness of mankind, -as well as the moral position of women, depends essentially upon -the married state; He makes of the sanctity of marriage a -fundamental law of Christian religion and society; He pursues -adultery even into the recesses of the human heart, the human -thought; He forbids divorce; He says of men, "Have ye not read, -that he which made them at the beginning made them male and -female? ... For this cause shall a man leave father and mother, -and shall cleave to his wife: and they twain shall be one flesh. -{283} -Wherefore they are no more twain, but one flesh. What therefore -God hath joined together, let not man put asunder. They say unto -him, Why did Moses then command to give a writing of divorcement, -and to put her away? He saith unto them, Moses because of the -hardness of your hearts suffered you to put away your wives: but -from the beginning it was not so. And I say unto you, Whosoever -shall put away his wife, except it be for fornication, and shall -marry another, committeth adultery: and whoso marrieth her which -is put away doth commit adultery." [Footnote 121] - - [Footnote 121: Matthew xix. 4-9; v. 27, 28 Mark x. 2-12. - Romans vii. 2, 3. 1 Corinthians vi. 16-18; vii. 1-11.] - -Signal and striking testimony to the progressive action of God -upon the human race! Jesus Christ restores to the divine law of -marriage the purity and the authority that Moses had not enjoined -to the Hebrews "because of the hardness of their hearts." - -{286} - - VI. Jesus Christ And Children. - - -The sentiments expressed by Jesus Christ towards children, and -the language that He uses towards them, as these appear in the -Gospel narrative, must strike even the most careless reader. Let -me refer to the passages themselves:-- - - "And they brought young children to him, that he should touch - them: and his disciples rebuked those that brought them. But - when Jesus saw it, he was much displeased, and said unto them, - Suffer the little children to come unto me, and forbid them - not: for of such is the kingdom of God. Verily I say unto you, - Whosoever shall not receive the kingdom of God as a little - child, he shall not enter therein. And he took them up in his - arms, put his hands upon them, and blessed them." [Footnote - 122] - - [Footnote 122: Mark x. 13-16; Matthew xix. 13-15. - Luke xviii. 15-17.] - -{287} - -Another day, "came the disciples unto Jesus, saying, Who is the -greatest in the kingdom of heaven? And Jesus called a little -child unto him, and set him in the midst of them, and said, -Verily I say unto you, Except ye be converted, and become as -little children, ye shall not enter into the kingdom of heaven. -Whosoever therefore shall humble himself as this little child, -the same is greatest in the kingdom of heaven." [Footnote 123] - - [Footnote 123: Matthew xviii. 1-4; Mark ix. 33-37.] - -Again another day, Jesus, deploring the coldness that his -preaching and his miracles frequently encountered, and that even -in his closest vicinity, exclaimed, here no longer addressing his -disciples, but God himself, "I thank thee, O Father, Lord of -heaven and earth, because thou hast hid these things from the -wise and prudent, and hast revealed them unto babes." [Footnote -124] - - [Footnote 124: Matthew xi. 25.] - -What is the full meaning of these words? They are not simply the -expression of that impulse of gentle benevolence excited in all -hearts at the sight of children, and their innocent confidence in -all who come near them. -{288} -Jesus Christ no doubt experienced the influence of this feeling, -for He was strange to none of man's noble emotions; but his -thoughts passed far beyond the children whose approach he -permitted, and they merely furnished Him with the living occasion -to address to men themselves his solemn warnings. - -The child, I have already mentioned in these -Meditations,[Footnote 125] is, for us, the image of innocence, -the type of the creature fallible, yet who has not yet sinned, -who knows not yet either error of understanding, or the seduction -of passion, or the blinding influence of pride, or the troubles -of doubt, or the extreme folly of sin, or the anguish of -repentance; who follows in the first impulses of infancy only the -spontaneous instincts of tender confidence in the parent to whom -he is indebted for security and for love, for the first joys and -the earliest blessings. - - [Footnote 125: Meditation II., Christian Dogmas, p. 48.] - -{289} - -Jesus does not pretend to bring men back to that fair condition, -to restore to them their primitive innocence: but He comes to -ransom them from sin; He brings them the hope of pardon and -salvation. Confidence in God, a confidence sincere, unpretending, -and loving, is that disposition which opens the soul of man to -the divine blessing. This is also the disposition that the child -evinces towards its parents; he calls upon them, and he hopes in -them. Hence those words of Jesus: "Suffer little children to come -unto me, and forbid them not, for of such is the kingdom of -heaven." The way of innocence is a far better way than that of -science to lead man up to God. - -Science is a splendid thing; it is also a noble privilege of man -that God, in creating him an intelligent and a free agent, has -given him a capacity to desire and to pursue through study the -truths of science, and even to attain them in a certain measure, -and in a certain sphere. -{290} -But when science attempts to exceed that measure and to quit that -sphere; when it ignores and scorns the instincts,--natural, -universal, and permanent instincts, of the human soul; when it -essays to set up everywhere its own torch in the place of that -primitive light that lights mankind: then, and from that cause -alone, science fills itself with error; and this is the very case -which called forth those words of Jesus: "I praise thee, Father, -Lord of heaven and of earth, that thou hast hidden these things -from the wise and prudent, and hast revealed them unto babes." -[Footnote 126] - - [Footnote 126: Matthew xi. 25. The words [Greek text] are - better rendered, "from the learned and the prudent," than - "wise and intelligent;" "sages et intelligents," as in the - French version by Osterwald.] - - - VII. Jesus Christ Himself. - -I have sought to gather from the Gospels the scattered facts that -constitute the life of Jesus. I have searched for them in his -acts, his precepts, his words: in his different relations in -life. I have added nothing, exaggerated nothing; on the contrary, -the life of Jesus is infinitely grander and more sublime than I -have made it; his words are infinitely more profound and admiral -than I have described them. And I have said nothing of the seal -affixed to _his work_ and _his mission_ by his Passion; -nor have I shown Jesus at Gethsemane and upon the Cross. - -{291} - -According to the Bible, God is without parallel--ever the same. -Jesus is also so according to the Gospel. The most perfect, the -most constant unity reigns in Him: in his life as in his soul; in -his language as in his acts. His action is progressive, and -proportionate to the circumstances which call it forth and in the -midst of which He lives; but his progress never entails any -change of character or purpose. As He appears at the age of -twelve, in the Temple, already full of the sentiment of his -divine nature, in his reply to his mother who was searching for -Him with disquietude, "Knowest thou not that I must be about my -Father's business?" the same He remains and manifests himself in -the whole course of his active mission--in Galilee and at -Jerusalem, with his apostles and with the people, amongst the -Pharisees and the Publicans, whether they be men, or women, or -children who approach Him; alike before Caiaphas and Pilate, and -under the eyes of the crowd pressing around to listen to Him. -{292} -Everywhere and in every circumstance, the same spirit animates -Him; He diffuses the same light, proclaims the same law. Perfect -and immutable, always at once Son of God and Son of Man, He -pursues and consummates amidst all the trials and all the sorrows -of human existence his divine work for the salvation of mankind. - -What need to add more? How speak in detail of Jesus himself when -one believes in Him, when one sees in Him God made man, acting as -God alone can act, and suffering all that man can suffer to -ransom mankind from sin, and save it by bringing it back to God? -How sound closely the mysteries of such a person and such a -purpose? What passed in that divine soul during that human -existence? Who shall explain those cries of agony of Jesus in the -bosom of the most absolute faith in God his father and in -himself, and those moments of horror at the approach of the -sacrifice without the slightest hesitation in the sacrifice, -without the smallest doubt as to its efficaciousness? -{293} -This sublime fact, this intimate and continual intermixture of -the divine and human finds no competent, no adequate expression -in human speech, and the more we consider it the more difficult -we find it to speak of it. - -Those who have no faith in Jesus, who admit not the supernatural -character of his person, of his life, and of his work, do not -feel this difficulty. Having beforehand done away with God and -with miracles, the history of Jesus is for them nothing more than -an ordinary history, which they narrate and explain like any -other biography of man. But such historians fall into a far -different difficulty, and wreck themselves on a far different -rock. The supernatural being and power of Jesus may be disputed, -but the perfection, the sublimity of his actions and of his -precepts, of his life and of his moral law, are incontestable. -{294} -And in effect, not only are they not contested, but they are -admired and celebrated enthusiastically, and complacently, too; -it would seem as if it were desired to restore to Jesus as man, -and man alone, the superiority of which men deprive Him in -refusing to see in Him the Godhead. But then, what incoherence, -what contradictions, what falsehood, what moral impossibility in -his history, such as they make it; what a series of suppositions, -irreconcilable with fact, nevertheless admitted! The man they -make so perfect, so sublime, becomes by turns a dreamer or a -charlatan; at once dupe and deceiver: dupe of his own mystical -enthusiasm in believing in his own miracles; deceiver in -tampering with evidence in order to accredit himself. The history -of Jesus Christ is thus but a tissue of fables and falsehood. And -nevertheless the hero of this history remains perfect, sublime, -incomparable; the greatest genius, the noblest heart that the -world ever saw; the type of virtue and moral beauty, the supreme -and rightful chief of mankind. -{295} -And his disciples, in their turn justly admirable, have braved -everything, suffered everything, in order to abide faithful to -Him and to accomplish his work. And, in effect, the work has been -accomplished: the pagan world has become Christian, and the whole -world has nothing better to do than to follow the example. - -What a contradictory and insolvable problem they present to us -instead of the one they are so anxious to suppress! - -History reposes upon two foundations--positive written evidence -as to facts and persons, and presumptive evidence resulting from -the connection of facts and the action of persons. These two -foundations are entirely lost sight of in the history of Jesus -such as it is recounted, or rather constructed, in these days; it -is, on the one hand, in evident and shocking contradiction with -the testimony of the men who saw Jesus, or of the men who lived -nearly in the time of those who had seen Him; on the other side, -with the natural laws presiding over the actions of men and the -course of events. -{296} -This does not deserve the name of historical criticism; it is a -philosophical system and a romantic narrative substituted for the -substantial proof and the circumstantial evidence; it is a Jesus -false and impossible, made by the hand of man pretending to -dethrone the real living Jesus--the Son of God. - -The choice lies between the system and the mystery; between the -romance of man and the purpose of God. Even in revealing himself -God still interposes veils, but these veils are no falsehoods. -The Gospel history of Jesus shows us God acting in ways which are -not his ways of every day. This special action of God -characterises also many other facts in the history of the -universe; amongst others, the great fact of the actual creation, -where man, at his appearance upon earth, received the first -divine revelation. The supernatural does not merely date from -Jesus Christ; and if a man from this motive rejects the history -of Jesus, he will have to deny also a far different thing. -{297} -To escape this fatal necessity, men of learning have recently -striven to curtail indefinitely the proportion of the -supernatural in the history of Jesus, and to explain by natural -means, most of the acts and circumstances of his life. A puerile -attempt, which has altogether failed in the details, still -leaving untouched the substance of the problem. No better success -will attend the new attempt that has in these days been made, and -which consists in placing the Ideal in the place of the -Supernatural, and in elevating religious sentiment upon the ruins -of the Christian faith. This is doing either too much or too -little. The human soul is not satisfied with these leavings, nor -human pride with such refusals, When one is so hardy as to -pretend, in the name of the science of man in this finite world, -to determine the limits of the power of God, one must be still -more hardy and--dethrone God himself. - -{298} - -{299} - - Note. - -I said (p. 145) that I would indicate some instances of -grammatical faults to be met with in the Scriptures, to which the -character of divine inspiration cannot be assigned. Upon the -subject of the books of the Old Testament I have consulted my -learned confrère, M. Munk; his reply is in the precise words -which follow: - - "The biblical authors," he writes to me, "whose style is most - incorrect, are Ezekiel and Jeremiah. These authors, and - particularly the first, err frequently against grammar and - orthography; they are not merely influenced by the Aramean - dialect, but they disclose grammatical faults capable of being - traced to no source in any of the Semitic dialects. This remark - has also been made by Hebrew grammarians of the middle ages, - and Isaac Abrabanel (towards the close of the 15th century), in - the preface to his commentary upon Ezekiel, does not hesitate - to declare that this prophet was but superficially acquainted - with Hebrew grammar and orthography. -{300} - Nevertheless, neither Jeremiah nor Ezekiel, of whom both are - distinguished by a certain originality of style, unlike that of - any of the other Hebrew writers, is wanting in elegance, - energy, and boldness in images, and they display in the highest - degree their proficiency in the art of composition. The - following are some instances of the grave faults against - grammar to be met with in their writings:-- - - _Examples of Incorrect Expressions in Ezekiel._ - - [Transcriber's note: Hebrew text is indicated by "HHHHHH". - Some Latin characters are not exact. See the html version - for the original text.] - - HHHHHH (_mischta' hawithem_), "and they worshipped" (viii. - 16), a barbarism for HHHHHH (_mischta'hawîm_). - - HHHHHH (_we-néschaar ani_), "and I remained" (xi. 8), for - HHHHHH (_wa-ëschaër_) or HHHHHH (_we-nischarti_). - (There are here faults both of orthography and grammar.) - - HHHHHH (_ischôth_), "women" (xxiii. 44), for HHHHHH - (_nesché_). HHHHHH (_schib'a_), "his seven burnt - offerings" (xl. 26), for HHHHHH (_scheba'_). In the number - seven the masculine is used instead of the feminine. - - HHHHHH (_bi-benôthayikh_), "in that thou buildest" (xvi. - 31), instead of HHHHHH (_bi-benotihékh_). - - HHHHHH (_be-schoubéni_), "when I returned" (xlvi. 7), - instead of HHHHHH (_be-schoubi_). - - HHHHHH (_gabehâ_), "his height was exalted" (xxxi. 5), - instead of HHHHHH (_gabehâ_). The last letter is - _aleph_, for _hé_. - -{301} - -The Chaldean plural is used in several words, for instance: - - HHHHHH (_'hittîn_), "wheat" (iv. 9), for HHHHHH - (_'hittîm_); HHHHHH (_ha-iyyîn_), "the isles," or "the - isles in the sea" (xxvi. 18), instead of HHHHHH - _(ha-iyyim_), an error in both orthography and grammar. - - - _Examples of Incorrect Expressions in Jeremiah._ - - - HHHHHH (_ôbîdâ_), "I will destroy" (xlvi. 8), for HHHHHH - (_aabîdâ_). - - HHHHHH (_nibbetha_), "hast thou prophesied" (xxvi. 9), - instead of HHHHHH (_nibbetha_). The syllable _bé_ has - a _yod_ instead of an _aleph_. - - HHHHHH (_athanou_) "we come" (iii. 22), instead of HHHHHH - (_athinou_.). - - HHHHHH (_att_), "thee" in the feminine (terminating with - _yod_ mute), for HHHHHH (_att_), a Syriasm very - frequent in Jeremiah, who often forms the second person of the - perfect fem. in HHHHHH (_t_ followed by _yod_) - instead of HHHHHH (_t_). HHHHHH (_lô_ written with - _waw_ quiescent), "not" very often for HHHHHH (_lô_ - without the _waw_). - - HHHHHH (_hoglath_), "shall be carried away captive" (xiii. - 19), instead of HHHHHH (_hoglethâ_). The latter Chaldaism - we meet also in the Pentateuch (Leviticus xxv. 22), HHHHHH - (_we'asath_), her fruits (shall) come in." for HHHHHH - (_we'asetah_), and ibid xxvi. 34; HHHHHH - (_we-hirzath_), "she shall enjoy," for HHHHHH - (_we-hircethâ_). - -{302} - -With respect to the New Testament, I have required a similar -notice from my son William, who has made the Greek language in -general, and its deviations in the writings of the Gospel, the -object of particular and careful study. I insert, also, the note -which he has drawn up upon the subject:-- - - "On first approaching the text of the New Testament, after - having learnt the Greek language and grammar in the classical - writers, we are struck by numerous irregularities of - expression: amongst these, however, we must carefully - distinguish those which constitute merely particular and - singular modes of expression from those which are real faults. - The former are susceptible of explanation and justification by - different examples and different arguments; the latter are not - capable of being reconciled with the elementary and necessary - laws of language. Thus we may justify such or such a strange - form of conjugation or of declension, which would be accounted - a barbarism by a school boy, but which was nevertheless in - actual use in some one or other of the local dialects, written - and spoken by the Greeks. -{303} - Again, however it may have been the rule in Greek to set the - verb in the singular when used with a neuter substantive in the - plural, the rule has not been invariably observed even by the - purest classical writers, and we may justify by exceptions - collected here and there in their compositions, several - passages of the New Testament which, at first sight, might - appear amenable to a charge of solecism. Thus, in short, after - our attention having, at first sight, been arrested and our - minds disconcerted by other passages in which the sacred writer - has confounded the sense of two words which resemble each - other, as [Greek text], which signifies _summon a - witness_, and which St. Peter employs instead of [Greek - text] which means, _give testimony_,[Footnote 127] as - [Greek text], which signifies _to be incapable_, and which - St. Matthew and St. Mark employ in the sense of _being - impossible_, [Footnote 128]--as [Greek text], which - signifies the _meridian or zenith of a star_, and which, - on three occasions in the New Testament, is used in the sense - of _in the middle of the air_,--or, even when we meet - words, not merely strange to the ear, but formed without - attention to the rules and in contradiction to analogy, as - [Greek text] for [Greek text][Footnote 129]--we may again, - without any departure from logical rules, by judicious or - subtle distinctions, escape from the difficulties which the - passages suggest, and have a perfect right to do so. But after - having made allowances for the irregularities susceptible of - explanation in the language of the New Testament, there still - remain some which are real faults. The same word cannot be - written by the same hand, at an interval of but three pages, - both masculine and feminine, as the word [Greek text], - _rainbow_, in the _Apocalypse_. [Footnote 130] When - the substantive is feminine, the adjective cannot be masculine, - as [Greek text]. [Footnote 131] - - [Footnote 127: 1 Peter i. 11.] - - [Footnote 128: Matthew xvii. 20; Luke i. 37.] - - [Footnote 129: 1 Corinthians ii 1.] - - [Footnote 130: Compare iv. 3, and x. 1.] - - [Footnote 131: Apocalypse xiv. 19.] - -{304} - -When the substantive is in the accusative, the adjective cannot -be in the nominative. In such an employment of words we are able -to trace in the sacred writings the hand of man, marks of human -imperfection and error; and we must not forget that these faults -become more numerous and grosser the greater the antiquity of the -MS. in which we find them, and the purer the Jewish origin of the -writer. Thus the Greek of the Apocalypse is singularly incorrect, -at the same time that the imaginative turn of the expression is -remarkably Hebraic. [Footnote 132] In the text, styled the -received text, and which was fixed in the 16th century, many of -these faults have disappeared, because it has borrowed from MSS. -of then recent date. But now that biblical philosophy has mounted -higher, we can discern how the copyists, one after the other, -actuated by pious scruples, or thinking only to correct some -error of their predecessors, have little by little effaced what -appeared to them too great a departure from rules to have been -written by an evangelist or an apostle. At the present day, these -admitted irregularities are an element indispensible to every -serious discussion respecting the nature and extent of the divine -inspiration to be met with in the sacred volume. - - [Footnote 132: Apocalypse i. 16; iii. 12; iv. 7; - ix. 13 & 14; xiv. 12; xvi. 13; xx. 2, &c.] - - - THE END. - - Bradpury And Evans, Printers, Whitefriars. - -{305} - - Albemarle Street, - _July_, 1864 - - - Mr. Murray's - List Of New Works. - - The Quarterly Review, No. CCXXXI. 8vo. 6s. - - Contents: - - I. Words And Places. - - II. Ludwig Uhland. - - III. Free Thinking; Its History And Tendencies, - - IV. The Circassian Exodus. - - V. Lacordaire. - - VI. Christian Art. - - VII. Public Schools. - - VIII. Travelling In England. - - IX. 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Thus, we do not -necessarily keep eBooks in compliance with any particular paper -edition. - -Most people start at our Web site which has the main PG search -facility: www.gutenberg.org - -This Web site includes information about Project Gutenberg-tm, -including how to make donations to the Project Gutenberg Literary -Archive Foundation, how to help produce our new eBooks, and how to -subscribe to our email newsletter to hear about new eBooks. - diff --git a/old/60488-8.zip b/old/60488-8.zip Binary files differdeleted file mode 100644 index 44e07fe..0000000 --- a/old/60488-8.zip +++ /dev/null diff --git a/old/60488-h.zip b/old/60488-h.zip Binary files differdeleted file mode 100644 index 31739cb..0000000 --- a/old/60488-h.zip +++ /dev/null diff --git a/old/60488-h/60488-h.htm b/old/60488-h/60488-h.htm deleted file mode 100644 index a2d6a6f..0000000 --- a/old/60488-h/60488-h.htm +++ /dev/null @@ -1,7958 +0,0 @@ -<!DOCTYPE html PUBLIC "-//W3C//DTD HTML 4.01 Transitional//EN"> -<html> - -<head> -<meta content="text/html;charset=ISO-8859-1" http-equiv="Content-Type"> -<title> -Meditations On The Essence Of Christianity, -And On The Religious Questions Of The Day. -By M. Guizot. -</title> - -<style type="text/css"> - -body -{ - /* margin-left: 10%; */ - margin-right: 10%; - word-spacing: .05em; -} - -h1 {font-size:160%; text-align:center;} - -h2 {font-size:130%; text-align:center;} - -h3 {font-size:100%; text-align:center;} - -i { font-weight:bold; } - -hr { height:2px; background-color:black ; - margin-left:15%; margin-right:15%;} - -table { border-collapse:collapse; - margin-left:auto; - margin-right:auto; - } - -table, th, td -{ - border:0px solid black; - border-collapse:collapse; - text-align:left; -} - -td -{ - padding:5px ; -} -.cite { margin-left:5%; } - -.cite2 { margin-left:10%; } - -.footnote { margin-left:8%; - margin-right:8%;} - -.pagenum { /* uncomment the next line for invisible page numbers */ - /* visibility: hidden; */ - position: absolute; - left: 92%; - font-size: smaller; - text-align: right; -} /* page numbers */ - -</style> - -</head> - -<body> - - -<pre> - -The Project Gutenberg EBook of Meditations On The Essence Of Christianity, -And On The Religious Questions Of The Day., by François Guizot - -This eBook is for the use of anyone anywhere in the United States and most -other parts of the world at no cost and with almost no restrictions -whatsoever. You may copy it, give it away or re-use it under the terms of -the Project Gutenberg License included with this eBook or online at -www.gutenberg.org. If you are not located in the United States, you'll have -to check the laws of the country where you are located before using this ebook. - -Title: Meditations On The Essence Of Christianity, And On The Religious Questions Of The Day. - -Author: François Guizot - -Release Date: October 15, 2019 [EBook #60488] - -Language: English - -Character set encoding: ISO-8859-1 - -*** START OF THIS PROJECT GUTENBERG EBOOK MEDITATIONS ON ESSENCE OF CHRISTIANITY *** - - - - -Produced by Don Kostuch - - - - - -</pre> - - - -<p> -[Transcriber's note: This production is based on -https://archive.org/details/meditationsoness00guiz/page/n6 -Additional citations indicated by "USCCB", are -based on the United States Conference of Catholic -Bishops Bible found at -http://usccb.org/bible/books-of-the-bible.] -</p> - - - -<span class="pagenum"><a id="Page_i">{i}</a></span> - <h1>Meditations</h1> - -<span class="pagenum"><a id="Page_ii">{ii}</a></span> - -<span class="pagenum"><a id="Page_iii">{iii}</a></span> - - <h1>Meditations On<br> - - The Essence Of Christianity,<br> - - And On The Religious Questions Of The Day.</h1> -<br> - - <h2>By M. Guizot.</h2> - - - - <h3>Translated From The French, Under The - Superintendence Of The Author.</h3> - - - - <h3>London:<br> -<br> - John Murray, Albemarle Street.<br> - 1864.</h3> - - -<span class="pagenum"><a id="Page_iv">{iv}</a></span> - - <h3>London:<br><br> - - Bradbury And Evans, Printers, Whitefriars.</h3> - -<span class="pagenum"><a id="Page_v">{v}</a></span> -<br> - <h2>Contents.</h2> -<table class="center"> -<tr><td></td><td></td><td> Page</td></tr> - -<tr><td>I. </td><td>Natural Problems</td><td><a href="#Page_1">1</a></td></tr> - -<tr><td>II.</td><td>Christian Dogmas</td><td><a href="#Page_11">11</a></td></tr> - -<tr><td>III.</td><td>The Supernatural</td><td><a href="#Page_84">84</a></td></tr> - -<tr><td>IV.</td><td>The Limits Of Science</td><td><a href="#Page_109">109</a></td></tr> - -<tr><td>V.</td><td>Revelation</td><td><a href="#Page_132">132</a></td></tr> - -<tr><td>VI.</td><td>The Inspiration Of Holy Scripture</td><td><a href="#Page_142">142</a></td></tr> - -<tr><td>VII. </td><td>God According To The Bible</td><td><a href="#Page_157">157</a></td></tr> - -<tr><td>VIII.</td><td>Jesus Christ According To The Gospels </td><td><a href="#Page_230">230</a></td></tr> - -<tr><td></td><td>Note</td><td><a href="#Page_299">299</a></td></tr> -</table> -<br> -<span class="pagenum"><a id="Page_vi">{vi}</a></span> -<br> -<span class="pagenum"><a id="Page_vii">{vii}</a></span> - - <h2>Preface.</h2> - -<p> -During the last nineteen centuries, Christianity has been often -assailed, and has successfully resisted every attack. Of these -attacks, some have been more violent, but none more serious than -that of which it is, in <i>these</i> days, the object. -</p> -<p> -For eighteen hundred years Christians were in turn persecutors -and persecuted; Christians persecuted as Christians, Christians -persecutors of every one who was not Christian—Christians -mutually persecuting each other. This persecution varied, it is -true, in degree of cruelty with the age and the country, as it -also did in the degree of inflexibility evinced and success -attained in the prosecution of its object; but whatever the -diversity of state, church, or punishment, whatever the degree of -severity or laxity in the application of the principle, this -principle was ever the same. -<span class="pagenum"><a id="Page_viii">{viii}</a></span> -After having had to endure proscription and martyrdom under the -imperial government of Paganism, the Christian religion lived, in -its turn, under the guard of the civil law, defended by the arms -of secular power. -</p> -<p> -In these days it exists in the very presence of Liberty. It has -to deal with free thought,—with free discussion. It is called -upon to defend, to guard itself, to prove incessantly and against -every comer its moral and historical veracity, to vindicate its -claims upon man's intelligence and man's soul. Roman Catholics, -Protestants, or Jews, Christians or philosophers, all, at least -in our country, are sheltered from every persecution; for no one -without incurring the risk of ridicule could characterise as -persecution the sacrifices or the inconveniences to which the -expression of his opinion may occasionally subject him. To every -man such expression of opinion is permitted, and can never lead -to the forfeiture, on the part of any single individual, of any -of his political rights or privileges. -<span class="pagenum"><a id="Page_ix">{ix}</a></span> -Religious Liberty—that is to say, the liberty of believing; of -believing differently or of disbelieving—may be but imperfectly -accepted and guaranteed as a principle in certain states; but it -still is evident that it is becoming so every day more and more, -and that it will eventually become the Common Law of the -civilised world. -</p> -<p> -One of the circumstances that render this fact pregnant with -importance is that it does not stand isolated; but holds its -place in the great Intellectual and Social Revolution, which, -after the fermentation and the preparation of centuries, has -broken out and is in course of accomplishment in our own days. -The scientific spirit, the preponderance of the democratic -principle, and that of political liberty, are the essential -characteristics and invincible tendencies of this revolution. -These new forces may fall into enormous errors and commit -enormous faults, the penalty for which they will ever dearly pay; -still they are definitively installed in modern society; the -sciences will continue to develop themselves in its bosom in the -full independence of their methods and of their results; the -democracy will establish itself in the positions which it has -conquered, and on the ground which has been opened to it; -political liberty in the midst of its storms and its -disappointments will still, sooner or later, cause itself to be -accepted as the necessary guarantee for all the acquisitions and -all the progress possible in society. -<span class="pagenum"><a id="Page_x">{x}</a></span> -These are the grand predominant facts to which all public -institutions will now have to adapt themselves, and with which -all authority whose action is upon the mind requires to live at -peace. -</p> -<p> -Christianity also must submit to the same tests and trials. As it -has surmounted all others, so also will it surmount this; its -essence and origin would not be divine did they not permit it to -adapt itself to all the different forms of human institutions, to -serve them now as a guide, now as a support in their vicissitudes -whether of adversity or prosperity. -<span class="pagenum"><a id="Page_xi">{xi}</a></span> -It is, however, of the most serious importance for Christians not -to deceive themselves, either as to the nature of the struggle -which they will have to sustain, or as to its perils and the -legitimate arms which they may use to combat them. The attack -directed against the Christian religion is one hotly carried on, -now with a brutal fanaticism, now with a dexterous learning; at -one time with the appeal to sincere convictions, and at another -invoking the worst passions; some contest Christianity as false, -others reject it as too exacting and imposing too much restraint; -the greater part apprehend it as a tyranny. Injustice and -suffering are not so soon forgotten; nor does one readily recover -from the effect of terror. The memory of religious persecutions -still lives, and this it is that maintains, in multitudes, whose -opinions vacillate, aversion, prejudice, and a lively sentiment -of alarm. Christians on their side are loth to recognise and -accommodate themselves to the new order of society; every moment -they are shocked, irritated, terrified by the ideas and language -to which that society gives utterance. -<span class="pagenum"><a id="Page_xii">{xii}</a></span> -Men do not so readily pass from a state of privilege to one of -community of rights—from a state of dominion to one of liberty; -they do not resign themselves without a struggle to the audacious -obstinacy of contradiction, to the daily necessity of resisting -and conquering. Government according to principles of liberty is -still more influenced by passion, and entails a necessity of -still more exertion in the sphere of religion than of civil -politics: believers find it still more difficult to support -incredulity than governments to bear with oppositions; and, -nevertheless, these themselves are forced to do so, and can only -find in free discussion and in the full exercise of their -peculiar liberties the force which they require to rise above -their perilous condition, and reduce—not to silence, for that -is impossible, but to an idle warfare—their inveterate enemies. -</p> -<p> -To leave that civil society, in which the different sects of -religion are now-a-days compelled to live in peace and side by -side, and to enter religious society itself, the Christian Church -of our days:—what is its actual position with respect to these -grand questions which it has to discuss with the spirit of human -liberty and audacity? -<span class="pagenum"><a id="Page_xiii">{xiii}</a></span> -Does it comprehend properly, does it suitably carry on the -warfare in which it is engaged? Does it tend in its proceedings -to a re-establishment of a real peace, and active harmonious -relations between itself and that general society in the midst of -which it is living? -</p> -<p> -I say <i>Christian Church</i>. It is, in effect, the whole Church -of Christ, and not such or such a church that is in these days -attacked, and vitally attacked. When men deny the Supernatural -World, the Inspiration of the Scriptures, and the Divinity of -Jesus Christ, they really assail the whole body of -Christians—Romanists, Protestants or Greeks: they are virtually -destroying the foundations of faith in all the belief of -Christians, what ever their particular difference of religious -opinion or forms of ecclesiastical government.. -<span class="pagenum"><a id="Page_xiv">{xiv}</a></span> -It is by faith that all Christian Churches live; there is no form -of government, monarchical or republican, concentrated or -diffused, that suffices to maintain a church; there is no -authority so strong, no liberty so broad, as to be able in a -religious society to dispense with the necessity of faith. For -what is it that unites in a church if it is not faith? Faith is -the bond of souls. When then the foundations of their common -faith are attacked, the differences existing between Christian -Churches upon special questions, or the diversities of their -organization or government, become secondary interests; it is -from a common peril that they have to defend themselves; or they -must reconcile themselves to see dried up the common source from -which they all derive sustenance and life. -</p> -<p> -I fear that the sentiment of this common peril is not, in all the -Christian Churches, as clear and well defined, as deep and -predominant, as their common safety requires. In presence of -similar questions everywhere varied, of identical attacks -everywhere directed against the vital facts and dogmas of -Christianity, I dread Christians of the different communions not -concentrating all their forces upon the mighty struggles in which -they are, all, to engage. -<span class="pagenum"><a id="Page_xv">{xv}</a></span> -My dread, however, is unattended by astonishment. Although the -danger is the same for all, the traditional opinions and habits, -and consequently the actual dispositions, are very different. -Many Romanists feel the persuasion that Faith would be saved were -they only delivered from liberty of thought. Many Protestants -believe that they are but employing their right of free -examination, and do not lose their title to be regarded as -Christians, when they are in effect abandoning the foundations -and withdrawing from the source of Faith. Roman Catholicism has -not sufficient reliance on its roots, and respects too much its -branches; no tree exists that does not need culture and clearing -in accordance with climate and season, if it is to be expected to -continue to bear always good fruit; but the roots should be -especially defended from every attack. Protestantism is too -forgetful that it also has roots from which it cannot be -separated without perishing, and that religion is not what an -annual is in vegetation: a plant that men cultivate and renew at -their pleasure. -<span class="pagenum"><a id="Page_xvi">{xvi}</a></span> -Whilst the Romanists dread freedom of thought too much, the -Protestants on their side have too great a fear of authority. -Some believe that inasmuch as religious Faith has firm and fixed -points, movement and progress are incompatible with religious -society; others affirm that a religious society can never have -fixed points, and that religion consists in religious sentiment -and individual belief. What would have become of Christianity, -had it from its birth been condemned to the immobility which the -former recommend; and what would become of it at the present day, -were it surrendered, as the latter would have it, to the caprice -of every mind, and the wind of every day? -</p> -<p> -Happily, God permits not that, at this crisis, the true -principles and the true interests of the Christian Religion -should remain without sufficient defenders. -<span class="pagenum"><a id="Page_xvii">{xvii}</a></span> -Romanists there are who understand their age and the new -constitution of society, who accept frankly its liberty, -religious and politic: it is precisely they who have most boldly -testified their attachment to the faith of Rome, who have claimed -with most ardor the essential liberties of their church, and -defended with most energy the rights of its chief. Nor are -Protestants wanting who have used with the most untiring zeal all -the liberty acquired in our days by Protestantism; they have -founded all those associations and originated all those -undertakings which have manifested the vital energy and extended -the action of the Protestant Church; they have demanded and they -continue to demand, for this church, the reestablishment of its -Synods, that is to say, its religious autonomy. Amongst these -Protestants, where men have appeared who have not found in the -Protestant Church as by law established the entire satisfaction -of their convictions, they have felt no hesitation to separate -from it and to found, with their own means alone, independent -churches. -<span class="pagenum"><a id="Page_xviii">{xviii}</a></span> -It may be affirmed also of the Protestants that they have most -largely put in practice all the rights and all the liberties of -Protestantism, in the internal ordeal through which Christianity -is at present passing; it is precisely they who assert most -loudly the dogmas of the Christian Faith and maintain most -inflexibly the authoritative rights established by law in the -bosom of their church. The Liberal Romanists of the present day -are the most zealous defenders of the fundamental traditions and -institutions of Catholicism. The Protestants who have been the -most active during the last half-century in the exercise of the -liberties of Protestantism are the firmest maintainers of its -doctrines and of its vital rules. -</p> -<p> -Humanly speaking, it is upon the influence exercised and to be -exercised in their respective churches and on the public, by -these two classes of Christians, that depends the peaceable issue -of the crisis through which Christianity is in these days -passing. -<span class="pagenum"><a id="Page_xix">{xix}</a></span> -Our society is, doubtless, far from meriting the title of a -Christian one; still it cannot be characterised as -anti-Christian; considered as one vast whole, it has no hostile -or general prejudice against the Christian religion: it maintains -the habits, the instincts, I would willingly add the longings, of -Christians; it is conscious that Christian Faith and Ordinance -serve powerfully its interests with respect to order and peace; -the fanatical opponents of Christianity exercise upon it far more -disquieting than seductive influences, for it has already had -experience of their empire; and where society appears to offer a -silent acquiescence or even to pride itself upon them, still at -bottom it dreads their progress. -</p> -<p> -Such being the state of the case, and such the constitution of -society, how are we to draw men away from their apathy and their -ignorance in matters of religion? How lead them back to -Christianity? They alone can accomplish this object, who, in -their defence and propagation of the religion of Jesus, shall not -wound society itself in the ideas, sentiments, rights and -interests which have at present rooted themselves in its very -life and energies. -<span class="pagenum"><a id="Page_xx">{xx}</a></span> -Like religion, modern society has also its fixed points and its -invincible tendencies: it can never be set on terms of harmony -with the former unless by the concurring action of men who have -with each of them a genuine and deep sentiment of sympathy. Since -the Christian Religion lives in these times confronting civil -liberty, those alone can be efficient champions of religion who -at the same time profess fully the Christian Faith and accept -with sincerity the tests of Liberty. -</p> -<p> -But in pursuing their pious and salutary enterprise, let not -these liberal Christians flatter themselves with the probability -of any prompt or complete success: maintain and propagate the -Christian faith they may, but they will never be able in the -bosom of society to get rid either of incredulity or doubt; even -while combating them they must learn to endure their presence; in -institutions of freedom there is essentially an intermixture of -good and evil, of truth and error; contrary ideas and -dispositions produce and develop themselves in it simultaneously. -<span class="pagenum"><a id="Page_xxi">{xxi}</a></span> -"Think not that I am come to send peace on earth: I came not," -said Jesus to his apostles, "to send peace, but a sword." -[Footnote 1] The sword of Jesus Christ, that is, Christianity, at -war with human error and shortcomings; a victory, still a victory -ever incomplete in an incessant struggle,—<i>that</i> is the -condition to which those must submit with resignation who, in the -bosom of liberty, defend the truth of Christianity. -</p> -<p class="footnote"> - [Footnote 1: Matthew x. 34.] -</p> -<p> -Were these valiant and intelligent champions of the faith of -Jesus not adopted and accredited as such in the churches to which -they belong; did the Church of Rome furnish ground for thinking -her essentially hostile to the fundamental principles and rights -of modern society, and that she only tolerates them as Moses -tolerated divorce amongst the Jews, "because of the hardness of -their heart"; and, on the other hand, did the rejectors of the -Supernatural, of the Inspiration of the Scriptures, and of the -Divinity of Jesus Christ, predominate in the bosom of -Protestantism; and finally, did the latter then become nought but -a hesitating system of philosophy; -<span class="pagenum"><a id="Page_xxii">{xxii}</a></span> -if all these deplorable things were to be realised, I am far from -thinking that, owing to such faults, such disasters, the religion -of Christ would vanish from the world and definitively withdraw -from men its light and its support: the destinies of religion are -far above human errors; but still, beyond all doubt, for mankind -to be turned back from them, and for the light to return to their -soul and harmony to modern society, there would have again to -burst out in the human soul and in society one of those immense -troubles, one of those revolutionary whirlwinds, whose evils man -is compelled actually to undergo before he can derive benefit -from its lessons. -</p> -<p> -On the point of addressing myself to questions more profound and -of a less transitory nature, I content myself with having merely -indicated what I think of the crisis that agitates Christendom at -the present day, as also of its main cause, its perils, and the -chances, good or bad, that it holds out for the future. -<span class="pagenum"><a id="Page_xxiii">{xxiii}</a></span> -In the work of which the first part is now before the public, I -omit all the circumstantial facts and details as well as the -discussions that grow out of them, and it is only with the -Christian Religion as it is in itself, with its fundamental -belief and its reasonableness, that I occupy myself; it has been -my purpose to illustrate the truth of Christianity by contrasting -it with the systems and the doubts that men set in array against -it. It is my intention to avoid all direct and personal polemics; -express reference to individuals embarrasses and envenoms all -questions in controversy, and gives rise to ill-judged deference -or unjust invective, two descriptions of falsity for which alike -I feel no sympathy: let me have then for adversaries ideas alone; -and whatever these may be, I admit beforehand the possibility of -sincerity on the part of those that prefer them. Without this -admission all serious discussion is out of the question; and -neither the intellectual enormity of the error, nor its awful -practical consequences, positively precludes sincerity on the -part of him that promulgates it. -<span class="pagenum"><a id="Page_xxiv">{xxiv}</a></span> -The mind of man is still more easily led astray than his heart, -and is still more egotistical; after having once conceived and -expressed an idea, it attaches itself to it as to its own -offspring, takes a pride in imprisoning itself in it, as if it -were so taking possession of the pure and entire truth. -</p> -<p> -These <i>Meditations</i> will be divided into four series. In the -first, which forms this volume, I explain and establish what -constitutes, in my opinion, the essence of the Christian -religion; that is to say, what those natural problems are, that -correspond with the fundamental dogmas that offer their solution, -the supernatural facts upon which these same dogmas -repose—Creation, Revelation, the Inspiration of the Scriptures, -God according to the Biblical account, and Jesus according to the -Gospel narrative. -<span class="pagenum"><a id="Page_xxv">{xxv}</a></span> -Next to the Essence of the Christian religion comes its history; -and this will be the subject of a second series of -<i>Meditations</i>, in which I shall examine the authenticity of -the Scriptures, the primary causes of the foundation of -Christianity, Christian Faith, as it has always existed -throughout its different ages and in spite of all its -vicissitudes; the great religious crisis in the sixteenth century -which divided the Church and Europe between Roman Catholicism and -Protestantism; finally those different anti-Christian crises, -which at different epochs and in different countries have set in -question and imperilled Christianity itself, but which dangers it -has ever surmounted. The third <i>Meditation</i> will be -consecrated to the study of the actual state of the Christian -religion, its internal and external condition: I shall retrace -the regeneration of Christianity which occurred amongst us at the -commencement of the nineteenth century, both in the Church of -Rome and in the Protestant churches; the impulse imparted to it -at the same epoch by the Spiritualistic Philosophy that then -began again to flourish, and the movement in the contrary -direction which showed itself very remarkably soon afterwards in -the resurrection of Materialism, of Pantheism, of Scepticism, and -in works of historical criticism. -<span class="pagenum"><a id="Page_xxvi">{xxvi}</a></span> -I shall attempt to determine the idea, and consequently, in my -opinion, the fundamental error of these different systems, the -avowed and active enemies of Christianity. Finally, in the fourth -series of these <i>Meditations</i> I shall endeavour to -discriminate and to characterise the future destiny of the -Christian religion, and to indicate by what course it is called -upon to conquer completely and to sway morally this little corner -of the universe termed by us our earth, in which unfold -themselves the designs and power of God, just as, doubtless, they -do in an infinity of worlds unknown to us. -</p> -<p> -I have passed thirty-five years of my life in struggling, on a -bustling arena, for the establishment of political liberty and -the maintenance of order as established by law. I have learnt, in -the labours and trials of this struggle, the real worth of -Christian Faith and of Christian Liberty. -<span class="pagenum"><a id="Page_xxvii">{xxvii}</a></span> -God permits me, in the repose of my retreat, to consecrate to -their cause what remains to me of life and of strength. It is the -most salutary favour and the greatest honour that I can receive -from His goodness. -</p> -<p class="cite"> - Guizot.<br> - Val-Richer, <i>June</i>, 1864. -</p> -<span class="pagenum"><a id="Page_xxviii">{xxviii}</a></span> -<br> -<span class="pagenum"><a id="Page_1">{1}</a></span> - - <h1>Meditations<br> - - On The Essence Of<br> - - The Christian Religion.</h1> - -<br> - - <h2>First Meditation.<br> - - Natural Problems.</h2> -<br> -<p> -From the very origin of the human race, wherever man has existed, -or still exists, certain questions have peculiarly and -irresistibly fixed his attention, and they continue to do so at -the present hour. -<span class="pagenum"><a id="Page_2">{2}</a></span> -This arises not alone from a feeling of natural curiosity, or the -ardent thirst for knowledge, but from a deeper and more powerful -motive: the destiny of man is intimately involved in these -questions; they contain the secret not only of all that he sees -around him, but of his own being; and when he aspires to solve -them, it is not merely because he desires to understand the -spectacle of which he is a beholder, but because he feels, and is -conscious of being himself an actor in the great drama of -existence, and because he seeks to ascertain his own part there, -and comprehend his own destiny. His present conduct and his -future lot are as much at issue as the satisfaction of his -thought. These great problems are, for man, not questions of -science, but questions of life: in considering them he feels -himself compelled to say, with Hamlet, "To be or not to be, that -is the question." -</p> -<p> -Whence does the world proceed, and whence does man appear in the -midst of it? What is the origin of each, and whither does each -tend? What are their beginning and their end? Laws there are -which govern them;—is there a legislator? -<span class="pagenum"><a id="Page_3">{3}</a></span> -Under the empire of these laws, man feels and calls himself free: -is he so in reality? How is his liberty compatible with the laws -which govern him and the world? Is he a passive instrument of -fate, or a responsible agent? What are the ties and relations -which connect him with the Legislator of the world? -</p> -<p> -The world and man himself present a strange and painful -spectacle. Good and evil, both moral and physical, order and -disorder, joy and sorrow, are here intimately blended and yet in -continual antagonism. Whence come this commingling and this -strife? Is good or is evil the condition and the law of man and -of the world? If good, how then has evil found admission? -Wherefore suffering and death? Why this moral disorder?—the -calamities which so frequently befall the good, and the -prosperity, so abhorrent to our feelings, which attends the -wicked? Is this the normal and definitive state of man and of the -world? -</p> -<span class="pagenum"><a id="Page_4">{4}</a></span> -<p> -Man is conscious that he is at the same time great and little, -strong and feeble, powerful and impotent. He finds in himself -matter for admiration and for love, and yet he suffices not to -himself in any respect; he seeks an aid, a support, beyond and -above himself: he asks, he invokes, he prays. What mean these -inward disquietudes,—these alternate impulses of pride and -weakness? Have they, or not, a meaning and an object? Why prayer? -</p> -<p> -Such are the natural problems, now dimly felt, now clearly -defined, which in all ages and among all nations, in every form -and in every degree of civilization, by instinct or by reflexion, -have arisen, and still arise, in the human mind. I indicate only -the greatest, the most apparent: I might recall many others which -are connected with them. -</p> -<p> -Not only are these problems natural to man; they appertain to him -alone; they are his peculiar privilege. Man alone, among all -creatures known to us, perceives and states them, and feels -himself imperiously called upon to solve them. -<span class="pagenum"><a id="Page_5">{5}</a></span> -I borrow the following admirable observations from M. de -Châteaubriand:—"Why does not the ox as I do? It can lie down -upon the grass, raise its head toward heaven, and in its lowings -call upon that unknown Being who fills this immensity of space. -But no: content with the turf on which it tramples, it -interrogates not those suns in the firmament above, which are the -grand evidence of the existence of God. Animals are not troubled -with those hopes which fill the heart of man; the spot on which -they tread yields them all the happiness of which they are -susceptible; a little grass satisfies the sheep; a little blood -gluts the tiger. The only creature that looks beyond himself, and -is not all in all to himself, is man." [Footnote 2] -</p> -<p class="footnote"> - [Footnote 2: Genie du Christianisme, vol. i. p. 208, edit, of - 1831.] -</p> -<p> -From these problems, natural and peculiar to man, all religions -have sprung. The object of them all is to satisfy man's thirst -for their solution. As these problems are the source of religion, -the solutions they receive are its substance and foundation. -<span class="pagenum"><a id="Page_6">{6}</a></span> -There prevails in our days a very general tendency to regard -religion as consisting essentially—I might say wholly—in -religious sentiment, in those lofty and vague aspirations which -are termed the poetry of the soul, beyond and above the realities -of life. Through the religious sentiment, the soul enters into -relation with the Divine order of things; and this relation, of a -wholly personal and intimate character, independent of all -positive dogma, of any organized Church, is deemed to be -all-sufficient for man, the true and needful religion. -</p> -<p> -Unquestionably the religious sentiment, the intimate and personal -relation of the soul with the Divine order, is essential and -necessary to religion; but religion is more than this—much more. -The human soul is not to be divided and restricted to certain -faculties selected and exalted, whilst the rest are condemned to -slumber. Man is not a mere sensitive and poetic being, aspiring -to rise above the present and material world by love and -imagination: he not only feels, but he thinks; he requires to -know and believe as well as love; it is not enough that his soul -should be capable of emotion and aspiration; he requires that it -should be fixed, and rest upon convictions in harmony with his -emotions. -<span class="pagenum"><a id="Page_7">{7}</a></span> -This it is that man seeks in religion; he requires something more -than a pure and noble rapture; he requires enlightenment, as well -as sympathy. But if the moral problems that beset his thought are -not solved, what he experiences may be poetry,—it is not -religion. -</p> -<p> -I cannot contemplate unmoved the troubles of men of lofty minds, -seeking in the religious sentiment alone a refuge against doubt -and impiety. It is well to preserve, in the shipwreck of faith -and the chaos of thought, the great instincts of our nature, and -not to lose sight of the sublime requirements which remain -unsatisfied. I know not to what extent, men of eminent minds may -thus compensate, by their sincerity and fervour of sentiment, for -the void in their belief; but let them not deceive themselves; -barren aspirations and specious doubts satisfy a man as little as -to his future spiritual interests as with respect to his -condition in the present life; the natural problems to which I -have alluded will ever be the great weight pressing upon the -soul, and religious sentiment will never alone suffice to be the -religion of mankind. -</p> -<span class="pagenum"><a id="Page_8">{8}</a></span> -<p> -Besides this apotheosis of religious sentiment, some at the -present day have essayed a different, a more serious and more -daring theory. Far from sounding the natural problems to which -religions correspond, schools of philosophy, occupying a -prominent intellectual position,—the Pantheistic School, and the -so-called Positive School,—suppress and deny them altogether. In -their view, the world has existed, of itself, from all eternity, -as have the laws also by which it is sustained and developed. In -their elementary principles, and taken altogether, all things -have ever been what they now are, and what they will ever -continue to be. There is no mystery in this universe; there exist -only facts and laws, naturally and necessarily linked together; -and these furnish the field for human science, which, although -incomplete, is yet indefinitely progressive, in its power as well -as in its operations. -</p> -<span class="pagenum"><a id="Page_9">{9}</a></span> -<p> -According to these views, Divine Providence and human liberty, -the origin of evil, the commingling and the strife of good and -evil in the world, and in man, the imperfection of the present -order of things, and the destiny of man, the prospect of the -re-establishment of order in the future—these are all mere -dreams, freaks of man's thought: no such questions indeed exist, -inasmuch as the world is eternal, it is in its actual state -complete, normal, and definitive, though at the same time -progressive. The remedy for the moral and physical evils which -afflict mankind, must then be sought, not in any power superior -to the world, but simply in the progress of the sciences and the -advance of human enlightenment. -</p> -<span class="pagenum"><a id="Page_10">{10}</a></span> -<p> -I shall not here discuss this system; I do not even qualify it by -its true name; I merely recapitulate its tenets. But, at the -first and simple aspect, what contempt does it manifest of the -spontaneous and universal instincts of man! What heedlessness of -the facts which fill and never cease to characterize the -universal history of the human race! -</p> -<p> -Nevertheless to this we are come: not a solution, but the -negation of the natural problems, which irresistibly occupy the -human soul, is presented to man for his full satisfaction and -repose. Let him follow the mathematical or physical sciences; let -him be a mechanician, chemist, critic, novelist, or poet; but let -him not enter upon what is termed the sphere of religious and -theological inquiry: here are no real questions to solve, nought -to investigate, nothing to do,—nothing to expect,—absolutely -nothing. -</p> -<span class="pagenum"><a id="Page_11">{11}</a></span> -<br> - <h2>Second Meditation.<br> - - Christian Dogmas.</h2> -<br> -<p> -The Christian religion knows man better, and treats man better: -it has other answers to his questions; and it is between the -absolute negation of the problems of religion and the Christian -solution of these problems that the discussion lies at the -present day. -</p> -<p> -Some words there are which we now regard with distrust and alarm: -we suspect their masking illegitimate pretensions and tyranny. -Such, in our days, has been the lot of the word <i>dogma</i>. To -many this word imparts an imperious necessity to believe, at once -offending and disquieting. Singular contrast! On all sides we -seek for principles, and we take alarm at dogmas. -</p> -<span class="pagenum"><a id="Page_12">{12}</a></span> -<p> -This sentiment, however absurd in itself, is in no way strange; -Christian dogmas have served as motive and pretext for so much -iniquity, so many acts of oppression and cruelty, that their very -name has become tainted and suspected. The word bears the penalty -of the reminiscences which it awakens: and justly. All attacks -upon the liberty of conscience, all employment of force to -extirpate or to impose religious belief, is, and ever has been, -an iniquitous and tyrannical act. All powers, all parties, all -churches, have held such acts to be not only permissible, but -enjoined by the Divine Law: all have deemed it not merely their -right, but their duty, to prevent and to punish by law and human -force, error in matters of religion. They may all allege in -excuse, the sincerity of their belief in the legitimacy of this -usurpation. The usurpation is not the less enormous and fatal, -and perhaps indeed it is, of all human usurpations, the one which -has inflicted on men the most odious torments and the grossest -errors. -<span class="pagenum"><a id="Page_13">{13}</a></span> -It will constitute the glory of our time to have discarded this -pretension: nevertheless it yet exists, with persistency, in -certain states, in certain laws, in certain recesses of the human -soul and of Christian society; and there is, and ever will be, -need to watch and to combat it, to render its banishment -unconditional and without appeal. Subdued, however, it is: civil -freedom in matters of faith and religious life has become a -fundamental principle of civilization and of law. These -questions, affecting the relations of man to God, are no longer -discussed or adjusted in the arena and by a recourse to the hand -of political and executive power; but they are transported to the -sphere of the intellect and left to the uncontrolled working of -the mind itself. -</p> -<p> -But again, in this sphere of the intellect, these questions still -start up and call loudly for their peculiar solution—that is, -for the fundamental facts and ideas, the principles in effect -which their nature requires. The Christian religion has its own -principles, which constitute the rational basis of the faith it -inculcates and the life which it enjoins. These are termed its -dogmas. -<span class="pagenum"><a id="Page_14">{14}</a></span> -The -Christian dogmas are the principles of the Christian religion, -and the Christian solutions of the problems of natural religion. -</p> -<p> -Let men of a serious mind, who have not entirely rejected the -Christian religion, and who still admire it, whilst denying its -fundamental dogmas, beware of this: the flowers whose perfume -captivates them will quickly fade, the fruits they delight in -will soon cease to grow when the axe shall have been applied to -the roots of the tree that bears them. -</p> -<p> -For myself, arrived at the term of a long life, one of labour, of -reflection, and of trials,—of trials in thought as well as in -action,—I am convinced that, the Christian dogmas are the -legitimate and satisfactory solutions of those religious problems -which, as I have said, nature suggests and man carries in his own -breast, and from which he cannot escape. -</p> -<span class="pagenum"><a id="Page_15">{15}</a></span> -<p> -I beg, at the outset, Theologians, whether Catholic or -Protestant, to pardon me. I have no design to cite or to explain, -or to maintain, all the various doctrinal points, all the -articles of faith, which have been included in the term of -Christian dogmas. During eighteen centuries, Christian theology -has very often ventured to advance out of and beyond the limits -of the Christian religion: man has confounded his own labours -with the work of God. It is the natural consequence of the union -of human activity and human imperfection. This same result may be -traced throughout the history of the world, especially in the -history of the society and religion upon which God has grafted -the Christian religion. -</p> -<p> -At the time when God raised up Jesus Christ among the Jews, the -faith and the law of the Jews were no longer solely and purely -the faith and law which God had given to them by Moses: the -Pharisees, the Sadducees, and many others, had essentially -modified, enlarged, and altered both. Christianity too has had -its Pharisees and its Sadducees; in its turn it has been made to -feel the workings of human thought and the influence of human -passions on its Divine revelation. -<span class="pagenum"><a id="Page_16">{16}</a></span> -I cannot recognize, in all the uncertain fruits of these labours, -the claim to the title of Christian dogmas. Nevertheless I have -no intention here to specify particularly and to combat such -tenets in the Church and in Christian theology, as I can neither -accept nor defend. It is not for me—and I venture to say, it is -not for any Christian—to scan critically the interior of the -Edifice, at a moment when its foundations are ardently attacked. -Far rather I prefer to rally in a common defence all who abide -within its walls. I shall here allude only to the dogmas common -to them all, which I sum up in these terms:—The Creation, -Providence, Original Sin, the Incarnation, and the Redemption. -These constitute the essence of the Christian religion, and all -who believe in these dogmas I hold to be Christians. -</p> -<p> -One leading and common characteristic in these dogmas strikes me -at the outset: they deal frankly with the religious problems -natural to and inherent in man, and offer at once the solution. -<span class="pagenum"><a id="Page_17">{17}</a></span> -The dogma of Creation attests the existence of God, as Creator -and Legislator, and it attests also the link which unites man -with God. The dogma of Providence explains and justifies prayer, -that instinctive recourse of man to the living God, to that -supreme Power which is ever present with him in life, and which -influences his destiny. The dogma of Original Sin accounts for -the presence of evil and disorder in mankind and in the world. -The dogmas of the Incarnation and of Redemption, rescue man from -the consequences of evil, and open to him a prospect in another -life of the re-establishment of order. Unquestionably, the system -is grand, complete, well connected, and forcible: it answers to -the requirements of the human soul, removes the burden which -oppresses it, imparts the strength which it needs, and the -satisfaction to which it aspires. Has it a rightful claim to all -this power? Is its influence legitimate, as well as efficacious? -</p> -<span class="pagenum"><a id="Page_18">{18}</a></span> -<p> -In my own mind I have borne the burthen of the objections to the -Christian system, and to each of its essential dogmas; I have -experienced the anxieties of doubt: I shall state how I have -escaped from doubt, and the ground upon which my convictions have -been founded. -</p> -<br> - - <h3>I. Creation.</h3> -<br> -<p> -The only serious opponents of the dogma of the Creation are those -who maintain that the universe, the earth, the man upon the -earth, have existed from all eternity, and, collectively, in the -state in which they now are. No one however can hold this -language, to which facts are invincibly opposed. How many ages -man has existed on the earth, is a question that has been largely -discussed, and is still under discussion. The inquiry in no way -affects the dogma of the Creation itself: it is a certain and -recognized fact, that man has not always existed on the earth, -and that the earth has for long periods undergone different -changes incompatible with man's existence. Man therefore had a -beginning: man has come upon the earth. How has he come there? -</p> -<span class="pagenum"><a id="Page_19">{19}</a></span> -<p> -Here the opponents of the dogma of Creation are divided: some -uphold the theory of spontaneous generation; others, the -transformation of species. According to one party, matter -possesses, under certain circumstances and by the simple -development of its own proper power, the faculty of creating -animated beings. According to others, the different species of -animated beings which still exist, or have existed at various -epochs and in the different conditions of the earth, are derived -from a small number of primitive types, which have possessed, -through the lapse of millions and thousands of millions of ages, -the power of developing and perfecting themselves, so as to gain -admission, through transformation, into higher species. Hence -they conclude, with more or less hesitation, that the human race -is the result of a transformation, or a series of -transformations. -</p> -<span class="pagenum"><a id="Page_20">{20}</a></span> -<p> -The attempt to establish the theory of spontaneous production -dates from a remote period. Science has ever baffled it: the more -its observations have been exact and profound, the more have they -refuted the hypothesis of the innate creative power of matter. -This result has been again recently established by the attentive -examination of men of eminent scientific attainments, within and -without the walls of the Academy of Sciences. But were it even -otherwise,—could the advocates of the theory of spontaneous -production refer to experiments hitherto irrefutable, these would -furnish no better explanation of the first appearance of man upon -earth, and I should retain my right to repeat here what I have -advanced elsewhere on this subject:[Footnote 3]— -</p> -<p class="footnote"> - [Footnote 3: L'Eglise et la Société Chrétienne en 1861, - p. 27.] -</p> -<span class="pagenum"><a id="Page_21">{21}</a></span> -<p> -"Such a mode of generation cannot, nor ever could, produce any -but infant beings, in the first hour and in the first state of -incipient life. It has, I believe, never been asserted, nor will -any person ever affirm, that, by spontaneous generation, man— -that is to say, man and woman, the human couple—can have issued, -or that they have issued at any period, from matter, of full form -and stature, in possession of all their powers and faculties, as -Greek paganism represented Minerva issuing from the brain of -Jupiter. Yet it is only upon this supposition, that man, -appearing for the first time upon earth, could have lived there -to perpetuate his species and to found the human race. Let any -one picture to himself the first man, born in a state of the -earliest infancy, alive but inert, devoid of intelligence, -powerless, incapable of satisfying his own wants even for a -moment, trembling, sobbing, with no mother to listen to or feed -him! And yet we have in this a picture of the first man, as -presented by the system of spontaneous generation. It is -manifestly not thus that the human race first appeared upon -earth." -</p> -<p> -The system of the transformation of species is no less refuted by -science than by the instincts of common sense. It rests upon no -tangible fact, on no principle of scientific observation or -historic tradition. -<span class="pagenum"><a id="Page_22">{22}</a></span> -All the facts ascertained, all the monuments collected in -different ages and different places, respecting the existence of -living species, disprove the hypothesis of their having undergone -any transformation, any notable and permanent change: we meet -with them a thousand, two thousand, three thousand years ago, the -same as they are at the present day. In the same species the -races may vary and undergo mutual changes: the species do not -change; and all attempts to transform them artificially, by -crossings with allied species, have only resulted in -modifications, which, after two or three generations, have been -struck with barrenness, as if to attest the impotence of man to -effect, by the progressive transformation of existing species, a -creation of new species. Man is not an ape transformed and -perfected by some dim imperceptible fermentation of the elements -of nature and by the operation of ages: this assumed explanation -of the origin of the human species is a mere vague hypothesis, -the fruit of an imagination ill comprehending the spectacle that -nature presents, and therefore easily seduced to form ingenious -conjectures: these their authors sow in the stream of events -unknown and of time infinite, and trust to them for the -realization of their dreams. -<span class="pagenum"><a id="Page_23">{23}</a></span> -The principle of the fundamental diversity and the permanence of -species—firmly upheld by M. Cuvier, M. Flourens, M. Coste, M. -Quatrefages, and by all exact observers of facts—remains -dominant in science as in reality. [Footnote 4] -</p> -<p class="footnote"> - [Footnote 4: Cuvier—Discours sur les Révolutions du Globe, - pp. 117, 120, 124 (edit. 1825); Flourens—Ontologie - Naturelle, pp. 10-87 (1861); Journal des Savants (October, - November, and December, 1863); three articles on the work of - Ch. Darwin, On the Origin of Species and the Laws of Progress - among Organised Beings; Coste—Histoire Générale et - Particulière du Développement des Corps Organisés; Discours - Préliminaire, vol. i. p. 23; Quatrefages—Metamorphoses de - l'Homme et des Animaux, p. 225 (1862); and his articles On - the Unity of the Human Species, published in the "Revue des - Deux Mondes," in 1860 and 1861, and collected in one volume - (1861).] -</p> -<span class="pagenum"><a id="Page_24">{24}</a></span> -<p> -Besides these vain attempts to supersede God the Creator, and to -explain by the inherent and progressive power of matter, the -origin of man and of the world, the Christian dogma of Creation -has yet other adversaries. One party, to combat it, seizes its -arms from the Bible itself, alleging the account there given of -the successive facts of the creation, of which the world and man -were the result; they cite and enumerate the difficulties of -reconciling this account with the observations and the -conclusions of science. I shall weigh the force of this class of -objections in treating of the inspiration of the Holy Scriptures, -of their real object and true meaning; but I at once raise the -dogma of Creation above this attack,—placing it at its proper -height and isolation: it is the general fact, it is the very -principle of creation which constitutes the dogma; what ever may -be the obscurities or the scientific difficulties presented by -the biblical narrative, the principle and the general fact of the -Creation remain unaffected: God the Creator does not the less -remain in possession of His work. The Christian religion, in its -essence, asserts and demands nothing more. -</p> -<span class="pagenum"><a id="Page_25">{25}</a></span> -<p> -But lastly, the Christian dogma of Creation is met by the general -objection raised against all the facts and all the acts which are -termed supernatural: that is to say, against the existence of God -as well as the dogma of Creation, against all religions in common -with Christianity. Such a question requires to be considered, not -with reference to any particular dogma, or with a view to defend -one side only of the edifice of Christianity. This point, then, I -shall presently examine frankly and in all its bearings. -</p> -<br> - <h3>II. Providence.</h3> -<br> -<p> -God the Creator is also God the Preserver. He lives, and is at -the same time the source of life. The union between Him and his -creature does not cease when the creature is brought into -existence. The dogma of Providence is consequent upon that of -Creation. -</p> -<span class="pagenum"><a id="Page_26">{26}</a></span> -<p> -Prayer is more than the mere outburst of the desires or sorrows -of the soul, seeking that satisfaction, strength, or consolation -which it does not find within itself; it is the expression of a -faith, instinctive or reflective, obscure or clear, wavering or -steadfast, in the existence, the presence, the power, and the -sympathy of the Being to whom prayer is addressed. Without a -certain measure of faith and trust in God, prayer would not burst -forth, or would suddenly be dried up in the soul. If faith -everywhere resists, and everywhere outlives all the denials, all -the doubts, and all the darkness which oppress mankind, it is -that man bears within himself an imperishable consciousness of -the enduring bond which connects him with God, and God with him. -</p> -<p> -Far from destroying this sentiment, experience and the spectacle -of life explain and confirm it. In reflecting on his destiny, man -recognises in it three different sources, and divides, so to say, -into three classes the facts which make up the whole. He is -conscious of being subject to events which are the consequence of -laws, general, permanent, and independent of his will, but which -by his intelligence he observes and comprehends. -<span class="pagenum"><a id="Page_27">{27}</a></span> -By the act of his free will he also himself creates events, of -which he knows himself to be author, and these have their own -consequences and enter too into the tissue of his life. Lastly, -he passes through events, in his view, neither the result of -those general laws from which nothing can withdraw him, nor the -act of his own liberty,—events of which he perceives neither the -cause, the reason, nor the author. -</p> -<p> -Man attributes this last class of events sometimes to a blind -cause, which he terms chance; at another, to an intelligent and -supreme intention which is in God. His mind at times revolts at -the inanity of this word <i>chance</i>, which explains and -defines nothing; and he then pictures to himself a mysterious, -impenetrable power, a merely necessary chain of unknown facts, to -which he gives the name of fatality, destiny. To account for this -obscure and accidental part of human life, which originates -neither from any general and conceivable laws, nor from the free -will of man himself, we must choose between fatality and -Providence, chance and God. -</p> -<span class="pagenum"><a id="Page_28">{28}</a></span> -<p> -I express my meaning without hesitation. Who ever accepts as a -satisfactory explanation the theory of fatality and chance, does -not truly believe in God. Whoever believes truly in God, relies -upon Providence. God is not an expedient, invented to explain the -first link in the chain of causation, an actor called to open by -creation the drama of the world, then to relapse into a state of -inert uselessness. By the very fact of his existence, God is -present with his work, and sustains it. Providence is the natural -and necessary development of God's existence; his constant -presence and permanent action in creation. The universal and -insuperable instinct which leads man to prayer, is in harmony -with this great fact; he who believes in God cannot but have -recourse to Him and pray to Him. -</p> -<span class="pagenum"><a id="Page_29">{29}</a></span> -<p> -Objections are raised to the name itself of God. He acts, it is -said, only by general and permanent laws: how can we implore His -interference in favour of our special and exceptional desires? He -is immutable, ever perfect, and ever the same: how is it -conceivable that He lends Himself to the fickleness of human -sentiments and wishes? The prayer which ascends to Him is -forgetful of his real nature. Men have treated the attributes of -God as furnishing an objection to his Providence. -</p> -<p> -This objection, so often repeated, never fails to astonish me. -The majority of those who urge it, assert at the same time that -God is incomprehensible, and that we cannot penetrate the secret -of his nature. What then is this but to pretend to comprehend -God? and by what right do they oppose his nature to his -providence, if his nature is, to us, an impenetrable mystery? I -refrain from reproaching them for their ambition; ambition is the -privilege and the glory of man; but in retaining it, let them not -overlook its legitimate limits. There is only this alternative: -either man must cease to believe in God, because he cannot -comprehend Him, or in effect admit his incomprehensibility, and -still at the same time believe in Him. -<span class="pagenum"><a id="Page_30">{30}</a></span> -He cannot pass and repass incessantly from one system to the -other, now declaring God to be incomprehensible; now speaking of -Him, of his nature and his attributes, as if He were within the -province of human science. Great as is the question of -Providence, the one I have here to consider is still greater, for -it is the question of the very existence of God; and the -fundamental inquiry is to know whether He exists, or does not -exist. God is at once light and mystery: in intimate relation -with man, and yet beyond the limits of his knowledge. I shall -presently endeavour to mark the limit at which human knowledge -stops, and indicate its proper sphere; but this I at once assume -as certain: whoever, believing in God and speaking of Him as -incomprehensible, yet persists in endeavouring to define Him -scientifically, and seeks to penetrate the mystery, which he has -yet admitted, is in great risk of destroying his own belief, and -of setting God aside, which is one way of denying Him. -</p> -<span class="pagenum"><a id="Page_31">{31}</a></span> -<p> -But I leave for a moment these two simultaneous propositions, -namely, the impossibility of comprehending God, and the necessity -of believing in Him; and I proceed at once to that objection to -the special providence of God which is drawn from the general -character of the laws of nature. This objection results from -confounding very different things, and overlooking a fundamental -one,—the fact characteristic indeed of human nature. It is true -that the providence of God presides over the order of the world -which He governs by general and permanent laws: these laws would -be more accurately designated by another name; they are the Will -of God, continually acting upon the world, for not only the laws -but the Lawgiver are there ever present. But when God created -man, He created him different from the physical world; free, and -a moral agent; and hence there is a fundamental difference -between the action of God on the physical world, and his action -on man. -<span class="pagenum"><a id="Page_32">{32}</a></span> -I shall subsequently state my opinion as to the full meaning of -the expression, "Man is a free being," and as to the nature of -the consequences to which it leads; for the present, I assume, as -a certain and incontestable fact, this principle of human -liberty,—of the free determination of man considered as a moral -agent. Admitting this, it cannot be said that God governs mankind -at large by general and permanent laws; for what would this be -but to ignore or annul the liberty granted to man, that is to -say, to misconceive and mutilate the Work of God himself. Man -exercises a free determination, and in his own life actually -gives birth to events which are not the result of any general and -external laws. Divine Providence watches the operations of man's -volition, and records the manner in which it has been exercised. -It does not treat man as it deals with the stars in heaven and -the waves of the ocean, which have neither thought nor will; with -man it has other relations than with nature, and employs a -different mode of action. -</p> -<span class="pagenum"><a id="Page_33">{33}</a></span> -<p> -There is little wisdom in instituting comparisons between objects -or facts not essentially analogous; and the idea of God has been -so often disfigured by representing Him in the image of man, that -I mistrust the efficacy of any analogies borrowed from humanity -to convey a conception of God. I cannot, however, overlook the -fact, that God has created man in his own image, nor can I -absolutely refrain from seeking, in nature or the life of man, -some type to shadow forth the features of God. Let us consider -the human family: the father and mother assist in directing the -active development of the child; they watch over it with -authority and tenderness; they control its liberty without -annulling it, and they listen to its little prayers—now granting -them, now refusing them, as their reason dictates, and with a -view to the child's main and future interests. -<span class="pagenum"><a id="Page_34">{34}</a></span> -The child, without thought or design, by the spontaneous instinct -of its nature, recognizes the authority and feels the tenderness -of its parents; as it advances in age, it sometimes obeys and -sometimes resists their injunctions, using or misusing its -natural liberty; but in all the fickleness of its will, it asks, -it entreats, full of confidence—joyous and thankful when it -obtains from its parents what it desires; yet, when denied, still -ready again to ask and to entreat with the same confidence as -before. -</p> -<p> -This is what takes place in the government of the human family -when ruled according to the dictates of nature and right. An -image we have here, imperfect but still true—a shadowing-forth, -faint yet faithful—of Divine Providence. Thus it is that the -Christian religion qualifies and describes the action of God in -the life of man. It exhibits God as ever present and accessible -to man, as a father to his child; it exhorts, encourages, invites -man to implore, to confide in, to pray to God. It reserves -absolutely the answer of God to that prayer; He will grant, or He -will refuse: we cannot penetrate his motives—"The ways of God -are not our ways." -<span class="pagenum"><a id="Page_35">{35}</a></span> -Nevertheless, to prayer, ceaseless and ever renewed, the -Christian dogma associates the firm hope that "nothing is -impossible with God." This dogma is thus in full and intimate -harmony with the nature of man; whilst recognizing his liberty, -it does homage to his dignity; in tendering to him the resource -of an appeal to God it provides for his weakness. In science, it -suppresses not the mystery which cannot be suppressed; but, in -man's life, it solves the natural problem which weighs upon the -soul. -</p> -<br> - - <h3>III. Original Sin.</h3> -<br> -<p> -The dogmas of Creation and Providence bring us into the presence -of God; it is the action of God upon the world and man that they -proclaim and affirm. The dogma of Original Sin brings us back to -man; it is the act of man towards God, which stands at the very -beginning of the history of mankind. -</p> -<span class="pagenum"><a id="Page_36">{36}</a></span> -<p> -In what does this dogma consist? What are the elements and the -essential facts which constitute it, and upon which it is -founded? -</p> -<p> -The dogma of Original Sin implies and affirms these propositions: -</p> -<p> -1. That God, in creating man, has created him an agent, moral, -free, and fallible; -</p> -<p> -2. That the will of God is the moral law of man, and obedience to -the will of God is the duty of man, inasmuch as he is a moral and -free agent; -</p> -<p> -3. That, by an act of his own free will, man has knowingly failed -in his duty, by disobeying the law of God; -</p> -<p> -4. That the free man is a responsible being, and that -disobedience to the law of God has justly entailed on him -punishment; -</p> -<p> -5. That that responsibility and that punishment are hereditary, -and that the fault of the first man has weighed and does weigh -upon the human race. -</p> -<span class="pagenum"><a id="Page_37">{37}</a></span> -<p> -The authority of God, the duty of obedience to the law of God, -the liberty and responsibility of man, the heritage of human -responsibility are, in their moral chronology, the principles and -the facts comprised in the dogma of Original Sin. -</p> -<p> -I turn away my attention for a moment from the dogma itself, its -source, its history, the Biblical and Christian tradition of this -first step in evil of the human race. And considering man, his -nature, and his destiny in their actual and general state, I -investigate and verify the moral facts as they manifest -themselves at the present day, to the eyes of good sense, amidst -the disputes of the learned. -</p> -<p> -Man, at his birth, is subjected to the moral authority, as well -as the physical power of the parents who, humanly speaking, -created him. Obedience is to him a duty, and at the same time a -necessity. This physical necessity and this moral obligation, -however ultimately connected with each other, are not one and -identical; and the child, in its spontaneous development, -instinctively feels the moral obligation long before it is -conscious of the physical necessity. -<span class="pagenum"><a id="Page_38">{38}</a></span> -The instinctive feeling of the obligation is united with the -growing sentiment of affection; and the child obeys the look, the -voice of its mother, unconscious of its absolute dependence upon -her. As the sentiment of affection and the instinct of obligatory -obedience are the first dawn of moral good in the development of -the child, so the impulse to disobedience is the first symptom, -the first appearance of moral evil. It is with the voluntary -disobedience of the child to the will of its mother that the -moral infraction commences, and it is in disobedience that it -resides. It considers neither the motives nor the consequences of -its act; it is simply conscious that it disobeys, and regards its -mother with a mingled feeling of restlessness and defiance; it -tries, with hesitation, the maternal authority; it strives to be, -and especially to appear, independent of the natural and -legitimate power which rules it, and which it recognises at the -very moment when it opposes its own will to that higher law. -</p> -<span class="pagenum"><a id="Page_39">{39}</a></span> -<p> -As the child, so is the man. As man is born free, so he lives -free; and as he is born subject, so he lives subject. Liberty -co-exists with authority and resists without annulling it. -Authority exists before liberty, and as it does not yield to it, -so neither does it supersede it. Man, inasmuch as he knows that -he disobeys, renders homage to authority by the very fact of his -disobedience. Authority, on its side, recognizes the liberty of -man, by the condemnation which it passes on him for having -misused it; for he would not be responsible for his acts were he -not free. In the co-existence of these two powers, authority and -liberty, at one time in accordance, at another in conflict, lies -the great secret of nature and of human destiny, the fundamental -principle of man and of the world. -</p> -<p> -Let it be clearly understood that I speak here of the moral -world, of the world of thought and of will. In the physical world -there is neither authority nor liberty; there are merely certain -forces, forces acting inevitably and unequally. -<span class="pagenum"><a id="Page_40">{40}</a></span> -If the question concerned the material world, could I do better -than repeat what Pascal has admirably said: "Man is but a -reed—the weakest in nature—but he is a reed which thinks; the -universe need not rise in arms to crush him; a vapour, a drop of -water suffices to kill him. But were the universe to crush him, -man would still be nobler than the power which killed him, for he -knows that he dies; and of the advantage which the universe has -over him, the universe knows nothing." When man obeys or -disobeys, he knows just as well that authority confronts him, as -that liberty of action abides with himself. He knows what he -does, and he charges himself with the responsibility. Moral order -is here complete. -</p> -<p> -Throughout all times and in all places, in all men, as in the -first man, disobedience to legitimate authority is the principle -and foundation of moral evil, or, to call it by its religious -name, of sin. -</p> -<span class="pagenum"><a id="Page_41">{41}</a></span> -<p> -Disobedience has various and complicated sources; it may spring -from a thirst for independence, from ambition or presumptuous -curiosity, or from giving rein to human inclinations and -temptations; but, whatever its origin, disobedience is ever the -essential characteristic of that free act which constitutes sin, -as it is also the source of the responsibility which accompanies -it. -</p> -<p> -Eminent men, eminently pious men, have combated the doctrine of -human liberty; unable to reconcile it with what they term the -divine prescience, they have denied the fundamental fact of the -nature of man, rather than fully acknowledge the mystery of the -nature of God. Others, equally eminent and sincere, have limited -themselves to raising doubts regarding human liberty, and denying -it the value of an absolute and peremptory fact. In my opinion, -they have confounded facts essentially different, although -intimately blended; they have ignored the special and simple -character of the very fact of free will. During a course of -lectures which I delivered thirty-five years ago at the Sorbonne, -on the history of civilization in France, having occasion to -examine the controversy of St. Augustine with Pelagius on free -will, predestination, and grace, I explained these subjects in -terms which I repeat here, finding no others which appear to me -more exact and more complete:— -</p> -<span class="pagenum"><a id="Page_42">{42}</a></span> -<p class="cite"> - "The fact which lies at the foundation of the whole dispute," I - said in 1829, "is liberty, free will, the human will. To - comprehend this fact exactly, we must divest it of every - foreign element, and confine it strictly to itself. It is the - want of this precaution that has led to such frequent - misconception of the thing itself; men have not looked simply - at the fact of liberty, and at that alone. It has been viewed - and described, so to speak, <i>péle-méle</i> with other facts, - closely connected to it, it is true, in the moral life of man, - but which are no less essentially different. For example, human - liberty has been said to consist in the act of deliberating - upon and choosing between motives; that deliberation, and that - choice and judgment consequent upon it, have been regarded as - the essence of free will. -<span class="pagenum"><a id="Page_43">{43}</a></span> - Not so at all. These are acts of the intellect, not of liberty; - it is before the intellect that the various motives of - resolution and action, interests, passions, opinions, and such - like, present themselves; the intellect considers, compares, - estimates, weighs, and judges them. This is a preparatory task, - which precedes the act of volition, but which does not in any - way constitute it. When, after deliberation, man has taken full - cognisance of the motives presented to him, and of their value, - there takes place a process entirely new, and wholly different, - that of free will; man forms a resolution—that is to say, he - commences a series of facts having their source in himself, of - which he regards himself as the author; and these are - effectuated because he wills them; they would have no existence - did he not will it, and would be different if he desired to - produce them otherwise. Now, let us imagine all remembrance of - this process of intellectual deliberation obliterated, the - motives so known and appreciated, forgotten; concentrate your - thought, and that of the man who takes a resolution, upon the - moment when he says, 'It is my will, therefore I shall do so; - and ask yourself, ask too the man, whether he could not will - and act otherwise. -<span class="pagenum"><a id="Page_44">{44}</a></span> - Without doubt, you will reply, as he will do, 'Assuredly,' and - this it is that reveals the fact of liberty; it consists wholly - in the resolution which man takes after the deliberation is at - an end; it is the resolution that is the proper act of man, - which is through him and through him alone; a simple act, - independent of all the facts which precede or accompany it, - identical in the most varied circumstances, always the same, - whatever be its motives or its results. -<br><br> - "At the same time that man feels himself free, and is conscious - of the power of commencing by his own will alone a series of - facts, he recognises that his will is subjected to the empire - of a certain law, which takes different names, according to the - circumstances to which it is applied—moral law, reason, good - sense, &c … Man is free, but according even to man's own way - of thinking, his will is not arbitrary; he may use it in an - absurd, senseless, unjust, and culpable manner, and whenever he - uses it a certain rule must govern it. The observance of this - rule is his duty, the task assigned to his liberty." -</p> -<span class="pagenum"><a id="Page_45">{45}</a></span> -<p> -It is that act of a will (that is to say of a will strictly -brought back to its central and essential limits) acting freely -in the intimate recesses of his being, which, in the case of -disobedience to the law of duty, constitutes in man sin, and -entails on him its responsibility. -</p> -<p> -Is this responsibility exclusively personal, and limited to the -author of the act, or communicated, so to say, by contagion, and -transmitted in a certain measure to his descendants? -</p> -<p> -I am still considering only actual appreciable acts, such as they -produce and manifest themselves in the moral life of the human -race. -</p> -<p> -We find the poetry and mythology of nearly all nations expressing -the idea of an Utopian state of existence, referred to times -remote and primitive, to which they assign different names, as -the Golden Age, the Age of the Gods, and which they picture as an -epoch when there existed no moral and physical evil in the -world,—an era of peace, bliss, and innocence. -<span class="pagenum"><a id="Page_46">{46}</a></span> -This is the more remarkable, as it has no foundation, and finds -no pretext in any tradition of historical times, however remote; -for from the commencement of history, from the time that we can -discern any trace of facts at all precise and authentic, it is -not the Golden Age, on the contrary, it is the Iron Age which -appears—an epoch of violence and ignorance and barbarism, in -which war and force are rampant, and which has not in effect the -least resemblance to those beautiful dreams of ancient poetry. -Without now seeking to establish any relation between these -mythological dreams and the Biblical traditions; or, for the -moment, drawing from the Golden Age any argument in support of -the Garden of Eden; I merely point it out as a great fact, as -evidence of a general instinct, so to say, of the human -imagination. What is the meaning of this? Whence comes this -Utopia of innocence and bliss in the cradle of the human race? -<span class="pagenum"><a id="Page_47">{47}</a></span> -To what does this idea of a primal time, without strife, without -sin, and without pain, correspond? -</p> -<p> -But from this cradle of man and this primitive poetry, to revert -to the present time, to real life, to the cradle of the infant, -why is it that, apart from all personal affection, we so readily -term infancy the age of innocence? How is it that we find it so -charming to give it this name, and regard it under this aspect? -Physical ill is already present, for it begins with the very -beginning of life; but moral ill has not yet appeared; life has -not yet brought to the soul its trials, nor called forth its -failings, and the idea of the soul without spot or stain has for -us an inexpressible attraction; we feel a deep joy in witnessing -innocence, or at least its image in the child, when we no longer -see it around us, nor find it within ourselves. -</p> -<p> -What means this universal instinct, which in the dreams of the -imagination, as well as in the intimate scenes of domestic life, -whether we turn in thought to the cradle of the human race or to -that of the infant, leads us to regard innocence as the primitive -and normal state of man, and makes us place in the spot where -innocence resides that which some term Paradise, and others the -Golden Age? -</p> -<span class="pagenum"><a id="Page_48">{48}</a></span> -<p> -Manifestly between the soul without spot and the soul tainted -with evil, between the creature who is merely fallible and the -creature who has sinned, there is a very great change of state, a -distance immense, an abyss. We have a secret feeling of this -deplorable change, of the fall into this abyss; and it is without -premeditation, by the mere impulse of our nature, that we suffer -our thoughts to bear us far—far beyond that abyss, and to pause -on the rapturous contemplation of a state anterior to the fall. -Hence spring, and thus are explained, the power and the charm -which the idea of innocence has for us; absolute innocence we -have never seen, but the idea is still vouchsafed to us; and so -it appears to us in the cradle of the world, and in the cradle of -the infant, and the pleasure is infinite which we derive from the -ideal spectacle of purity which they each suggest. -</p> -<span class="pagenum"><a id="Page_49">{49}</a></span> -<p> -Is this a pleasure foreign to all personal sentiment, to all -secret reference to ourselves, the pleasure, that is to say, of a -simple spectator? No: these impressions, which the picture of -innocence awakens in us, are connected with and carry us back to -ourselves; this change in the state of man, that mysterious Past -which has thrown him so far from innocence, leaving him, -nevertheless, the idea and the worship of it—these were not the -lot of the first man alone: the entire human race was, and -remains, subject to them. Our present evil does not proceed -solely from ourselves; we have received it as a heritage before -having brought it upon us as a penalty: we are not merely -fallible beings, we are the children of a being who has sinned. -</p> -<span class="pagenum"><a id="Page_50">{50}</a></span> -<p> -How can we feel surprise at this inheritance of woe! Have we not -daily the example and the spectacle before our eyes? It is an -incontestable and undisputed fact, that two elements enter into -the moral life of man: on the one side, his innate dispositions, -his natural and involuntary inclinations,—on the other, his -inmost and individual will. The natural inclinations of a man do -not destroy his moral liberty nor enslave his will, but they -render its exercise more laborious and more difficult to him; it -is not a chain which he carries, it is a burden that he bears. -Equally incontestable and undisputed is it that the natural -dispositions of men are different and unequally distributed; no -one is entirely exempt from evil inclinations; every man is not -only fallible, but prone to transgress, and prone not only to -transgress, but to transgress in some particular direction or -other. Nor can the fact be disputed, although appreciable with -more difficulty, that the natural and special dispositions of the -individual descend to him in a certain measure from his origin, -and that parents transmit to their children such or such moral -propensities just as they do such or such physical temperament, -or such or such features. Hereditary transmission enters into the -moral as well as the physical order of the world. -</p> -<span class="pagenum"><a id="Page_51">{51}</a></span> -<p> -This inheritance must take effect, it has done so from the first -days of man's existence upon earth, for man has been created -complete in his whole nature. And whilst, at the same time as -complete, he has been created fallible, I ask, who shall measure -the distance between man fallible, but still without fault, and -the first transgression? Who shall sound the depth of the fall, -and of the change which it brought into the moral condition of -its author? Who shall weigh the consequences of this change to -the state and the moral dispositions of man's descendants? To -appreciate the extent and gravity of this awful fact, of this -first appearance and this first heritage of moral evil, we have -but one test,—the instinct we still preserve of a state of -innocence, and of the immense space which this instinct -irresistibly compels us to place between native innocence and -man's first transgression; but this test is unexceptionable; it -dimly reveals to us, in this fatal transformation, the whole -infirmity and responsibility of the human race. -</p> -<span class="pagenum"><a id="Page_52">{52}</a></span> -<p> -An objection is raised to this as an injustice: how, it is said, -can each man be responsible for a fault which he has not himself -committed—for the transgression of another man, separated from -himself by so many ages? I consider this objection weak and -frivolous. Such an objection would attach to all the inequalities -which exist among men, to the inequality of the destinies as well -as that of the nature of man, to the inequality of his moral -disposition as well as to that of his physical powers. The -objection would attach to the solidarity of successive -generations, and the controlling influence which the ideas, the -acts, the destiny of each of them exert on the ideas, the acts, -the destiny of those which follow it. The objection would attach -to the ties which unite the child with its parents, and which are -the cause of its sometimes inheriting their evil dispositions, -and sometimes suffering for their faults. It is in short the -general order of the world to which such an objection must apply; -it is the very existence of evil, and its unequal distribution in -a manner wholly independent of individual merit which assumes the -character of a monstrous iniquity. -<span class="pagenum"><a id="Page_53">{53}</a></span> -And when we come to this point, that we no longer refer the -source of evil to the fault and the responsibility of man, placed -here on earth in a scene and period of transition and of trial, -see to what alternative we are brought. We must either regard -evil as natural, eternal, necessary, in the future as in the -past, as the normal state of man and of the world; that is to -say, we must deny God, the creation, the Divine Providence, human -morality, liberty, responsibility and hope; or, on the other -hand, it is to God Himself that we must impute evil, and whom we -must render accountable. -</p> -<p> -The dogma of Original Sin alone relieves the human mind from this -odious and unacceptable alternative: far from being in -contradiction either with the history of humanity, or with the -facts and instincts which constitute man's moral nature, this -dogma admits, illustrates, and explains them. -<span class="pagenum"><a id="Page_54">{54}</a></span> -The fact of original sin presents nothing strange, nothing -obscure; it consists essentially in disobedience to the will of -God, which will is the moral law of man. This disobedience, the -sin of Adam, is an act committed everywhere and every day, -arising from the same causes, marked by the same characters, and -attended by the same consequences as the Christian dogma assigns -to it. At the present day, as in the Garden of Eden, this act is -occasioned by a thirst for absolute independence, the ambitious -aspirings of curiosity and pride, or weakness in the face of -temptation. At the present day, as in the Garden of Eden, it -produces an immense change in the inmost state of man, a change, -the mere idea of which seizes upon the human soul, and disturbs -it to its very depths; it transports man from the state of -innocence to the state of sin. At the present day, as in the -Garden of Eden, the act which produces this change involves and -entails the responsibility not only of its author but of his -descendants; sin is contagious in time as in space, it is -transmitted, as well as diffused. -<span class="pagenum"><a id="Page_55">{55}</a></span> -The Christian dogma exhibits the first man created fallible, but -born innocent; innocent at the age of man, proud in the plenitude -of his faculties, not the subject of any evil and fatal heritage. -All at once, for the first time, of his own will, man disobeys -God. Here lies Original Sin, the same in its nature as sin at the -present day, for they both consist in disobedience to the law of -God, but it is the first in date in the history of man's liberty, -and the human source of that evil for which the Christian -religion, whilst pointing it out, offers to man the remedy and -the cure. -</p> -<br> - - <h3>IV. The Incarnation.</h3> -<br> -<p> -All religions have given a prominent place to the problem of -existence and the origin of evil; all have attempted its -solution. -<span class="pagenum"><a id="Page_56">{56}</a></span> -The good and the evil genius, Ormuzd and Ahriman among the -Persians; God the Creator, God the Preserver, and God the -Destroyer—Brahma, Vishnu, and Siva—in India; the Titans -overwhelmed by the thunderbolts of Jove while scaling Olympus; -Prometheus chained to the rock for having snatched fire from -heaven; all are so many hypotheses to explain the conflict -between good and evil, between order and disorder in the world -and in man. But all these hypotheses are complicated, confused, -and encumbered with chimeras and fables; all attribute the -derivation of evil to incongruous causes, none assign any term to -the conflict, nor find a remedy for the evil. The Christian -religion alone clearly states and effectually solves the -question; it alone imputes to man himself, and to him alone, the -origin of evil; it alone represents God as intervening to raise -man from his fall, and to save him from his peril. -</p> -<span class="pagenum"><a id="Page_57">{57}</a></span> -<p> -In the course of the sixth and fifth centuries before the -Christian era, a great fact appears in history; a breath of -reform, religious, moral and social, arises, and spreads from -east to west, among all the nations then at all progressing in -the path of civilization. Notwithstanding the uncertainties of -chronology, it may be said, according to the most recent and -accurate researches, that Confucius in China, the Buddha -Càkya-Mouni in India, Zoroaster in Persia, Pythagoras and -Socrates in Greece, are all included in the limits of this epoch; -[Footnote 5] men as dissimilar as they are celebrated, but who -have all, in different ways and in unequal degrees, undertaken a -great work of reforming both the men and the social institutions -of their times. -</p> -<p class="footnote"> - [Footnote 5: These researches give the following dates:—1. - Confucius, from 551 to 478 B.C.; 2. Zoroaster, from 564 to - 487, or from 589 to 512 B.C.; 3. Buddha Càkya-Mouni, in the - seventh and sixth centuries B.C. (he died, according to - Burnouf, 543 B.C.); 4. Pythagoras, from 580 to 500 B.C.; 5. - Socrates, 470 to 400 or 399 B.C.] -</p> -<span class="pagenum"><a id="Page_58">{58}</a></span> -<p> -Confucius was above all a practical moralist, skilled in -observation, counsel, and discipline; Buddha Càkya-Mouni, a -dreamer, and a mystical and popular preacher; Zoroaster, a -legislator, religious and political; Pythagoras and Socrates, -philosophers, bent upon instructing the distinguished bands of -disciples whom they gathered around them. There is no doubt, -notwithstanding the trials of their life, that neither power nor -glory amongst their contemporaries was wanting to them. Confucius -and Zoroaster were the favourites and counsellors of kings. -Buddha Càkya-Mouni, himself the son of a king, became the idol of -innumerable multitudes. Pythagoras and Socrates formed schools -and pupils who were an honour to the human mind. By their -personal genius and by the excellence of some of their ideas and -actions, these men have ensured themselves the admiration of all -posterity. Did they act up to their teachings, and accomplish -what they attempted? Did they really change the moral and social -condition of nations? Did they cause humanity to make any great -progress, and open to it horizons which it had not before known? -<span class="pagenum"><a id="Page_59">{59}</a></span> -By no means. Whatever fame attaches to the names of these men, -whatever influence they may have exerted, what ever trace of -their passage may have remained, they rather appeared to have -power than really to possess it; they agitated the surface far -more than they stirred the depths; they did not draw nations out -of the beaten tracks in which they had lived. They did not -transform souls. In considering the facts at large, and -notwithstanding the political and material revolutions which they -underwent, China after Confucius, India after Buddha, Persia -after Zoroaster, Greece after Pythagoras and Socrates, followed -in the same ways, retained the same propensities, as before. -Still more, among these very different nations, stagnation was -only be succeeded by decay. Where are these nations at the -present day, more than two thousand years after the appearance of -these glorious characters in their history? What great progress, -what salutary changes, have been effected? What are they in -comparison and in contact with Christian nations? -<span class="pagenum"><a id="Page_60">{60}</a></span> -Outside of Christianity there have been grand spectacles of -activity and force, brilliant phenomena of genius and virtue, -generous attempts at reform, learned philosophical systems, and -beautiful mythological poems; no real profound or fruitful -regeneration of humanity and of society. -</p> -<p> -A few ages only after these barren efforts among the great -nations of the world, Jesus Christ appears among a small, obscure -people, weak and despised. He Himself is weak and despised in the -midst of his people; He neither possesses nor seeks any social -power, any temporal means of action and of success; He collects -around Him only disciples weak and despised as Himself. Not only -are they weak and despised, they proclaim it themselves, and, far -from being troubled at this, they glory in it, and derive from it -confidence. St. Paul writes to the Corinthians: "And I, brethren, -when I came to you, came not with excellency of speech or of -wisdom, declaring unto you the testimony of God. For I determined -not to know any thing among you, save Jesus Christ, and him -crucified. -<span class="pagenum"><a id="Page_61">{61}</a></span> -And I was with you in weakness, and in fear, and in much -trembling. … Therefore I take pleasure in infirmities, in -reproaches, in necessities, in persecutions, in distresses for -Christ's sake; for when I am weak, then I am strong." [Footnote -6] -</p> -<p class="footnote"> - [Footnote 6: 1 Corinthians ii. 13; 2 Corinthians xii. 10.] -</p> -<p> -And in truth, Jesus Christ, the Master of St. Paul, is strong in -his sufferings, and imparts his strength to his disciples; from -his cross, He accomplishes what erewhile, in Asia and Europe, -princes and philosophers, the powerful of the earth, and sages, -attempted without success; He changes the moral state and the -social state of the world; He pours into the souls of men new -enlightenment and new powers; for all classes, for all human -conditions, He prepares destinies before his advent unknown; He -liberates them at the same time that He lays down rules for their -guidance; He quickens them and stills them; He places the divine -law and human liberty face to face, and yet still in harmony; He -offers an effectual remedy for the evil which weighs upon -humanity; to sin He opens the path of salvation, to unhappiness -the door of hope. -</p> -<span class="pagenum"><a id="Page_62">{62}</a></span> -<p> -Whence comes this power? What are its source and its nature? How -did those who were its witnesses and instruments think and speak -of it at the moment when it was manifested? -</p> -<p> -They all, unanimously, saw in Jesus Christ, God; most of them, -from the first moment, suddenly moved and enlightened by his -presence and his words; some, with rather more surprise and -hesitation, but soon penetrated and convinced in their turn. -"When Jesus came into the coasts of Cæsarea Philippi, he asked -his disciples, saying, Whom do men say that I the Son of man am? -And they said, Some say that thou art John the Baptist; some, -Elias; and others, Jeremias, or one of the prophets. He saith -unto them, But whom say ye that I am? And Simon Peter answered -and said, Thou art the Christ, the son of the living God. -<span class="pagenum"><a id="Page_63">{63}</a></span> -And Jesus answered and said unto him, Blessed art thou, Simon -Barjona; for flesh and blood hath not revealed it unto thee, but -my Father which is in heaven." [Footnote 7] Another day, meeting -with a similar instance of doubt, Jesus says to Thomas, "If ye -had known me, ye should have known my Father also: and from -henceforth ye know him, and have seen him. Philip saith unto him, -Lord, shew us the Father, and it sufficeth us. Jesus saith unto -him, Have I been so long time with you, and yet hast thou not -known me, Philip? he that hath seen me hath seen the Father." -[Footnote 8] -</p> -<p class="footnote"> - [Footnote 7: Matthew xvi. 13-17.] -<br><br> - [Footnote 8: John, xiv. 7-9.] -</p> -<p> -It has been remarked, that there are certain variations in the -language of the Apostles, and certain shades of difference in -their leading impressions; and this is indeed true: they call -Jesus Christ at one time the Son of God, at another the Son of -Man; they regard Him and represent Him now under his divine -aspect, at another under his human aspect; they do not present -exactly the same image of Him; they do not all equally dwell upon -the same traits of his nature, or the same facts of his earthly -life. -<span class="pagenum"><a id="Page_64">{64}</a></span> -St. Matthew is more a narrator and moralist; it is he who relates -with fuller details the birth and childhood of Jesus Christ, and -who gives at the greatest length the Sermon on the Mount. St. -John is more in the habit of contemplating and depicting the -divine nature of Jesus Christ and his relation to God: "In the -beginning was the Word, and the Word was with God, and the Word -was God. … And the Word was made flesh, and dwelt amongst us, -and we beheld his glory, the glory as of the only-begotten of the -Father, full of grace and truth. … No man hath seen God at any -time; the only-begotten Son, which is in the bosom of the Father, -he hath declared him." [Footnote 9] -</p> -<p class="footnote"> - [Footnote 9: John, i. 1, 14, 18.] -</p> -<span class="pagenum"><a id="Page_65">{65}</a></span> -<p> -It is also St. John who relates the testimony of the Forerunner, -St. John the Baptist, answering to those who had said to him that -all men come to Jesus Christ: "Ye yourselves bear me witness, -that I said, I am not the Christ, but that I am sent before him. -… He that cometh from above is above all. … He whom God hath -sent speaketh the words of God: for God giveth not the Spirit by -measure unto him. … The Father loveth the Son, and hath given -all things into his hand" [Footnote 10] St. Paul is more -systematic, and enters more fully into the questions and -principles of the Christian doctrine, and he regards the divinity -of Jesus Christ as the first of these principles. He writes to -the Philippians: "Let this mind be in you, which was also in -Christ Jesus: who, being in the form of God, thought it no -usurpation to be equal with God: but made himself of no -reputation, and took upon him the form of a servant, and was made -in the likeness of men: and being found in fashion as a man, he -humbled himself, and became obedient unto death, even the death -of the cross." [Footnote 11] -</p> -<p class="footnote"> - [Footnote 10: John iii. 28, 31, 34, and 35.] -<br><br> - [Footnote 11: Philippians ii. 5-6. I have given this verse in - Osterwald's translation, which is also that of the Vulgate; - but my son Guillaume, who is following out a careful course - of study of Latin and Greek philology in sacred and profane - literature, reminds me that the text of this passage presents - a difficulty which furnished a field for the labours of - Erasmus, Cameron, Grotius, Méric Casaubon, in the sixteenth - century, as well as many others before and after them. The - Greek word ἁρπαγμός admits of two meanings, an active and - a passive sense—it may designate the <i>action of - ravishing, of carrying off by force,</i> or the <i>object - carried off</i>—the act of depredation, or the spoil. - Substantives derived from verbs frequently waver between - these two acceptations, and the word ἁρπαγή, which is - merely another form of ἁρπαγμός, is unquestionably a case - in point. Æschylus, Euripides, Herodotus, have employed it in - the first sense; Æschylus, Euripides, Thucydides, and - Polybius in the second sense. Now, in the passage of St. - Paul, accordingly as one or the other sense is adopted, these - words must either be translated thus: "He did not consider it - a usurpation to be equal to God;" or thus, "He did not - display as a trophy his equality to God;" that is to say: He - did not display His equality with God as the conquerors of - the earth display the spoils and booty which they have - amassed; He did not make use of His divinity to reign, to - triumph, to pride himself in it; He was not the Messiah whom - the carnal Jews expected, a visible king and victorious in - arms; but, on the contrary, "he humbled himself, and took - upon him the form of a servant," etc., etc. This second - interpretation seems more probable; the reasoning on which it - is founded is thus more connected and flowing; and at the - same time, it leaves the doctrine of the Apostle intact; it - changes nothing in his conception or his conclusions. In this - passage, as in many others, St. Paul likewise affirms the - divinity of the Saviour whom he announces to men; and it is - from this majesty, subjected to a voluntary humiliation, - veiled under the form of a servant, obedient unto the death - of the cross, that He presents an august example and an - imperative lesson for Christians of humility and mutual - support. It is thus that this interpretation has been - admitted and defended by two eminent men, a scholar of the - sixteenth and a theologian of the nineteenth century, both of - whom were strongly attached to the dogma of the divinity of - Jesus Christ—I allude to Méric Casaubon (De Verborum Usu, - pp. 138-146, at the end of the letters of his father), and M. - A. Vinet (Homilétique, p. 116).] -</p> -<span class="pagenum"><a id="Page_66">{66}</a></span> -<p> -…. It is he "who is the image of the invisible God, the -first-born of every creature: for by him were all things created, -that are in heaven, and that are in earth, visible and invisible, -whether they be thrones, or dominions, or principalities, or -powers: all things were created by him, and for him: and he is -before all things, and by him all things consist." [Footnote 12] -</p> -<p class="footnote"> - [Footnote 12: Colossians i. 15-17.] -</p> -<span class="pagenum"><a id="Page_67">{67}</a></span> -<p> -St. Peter and St. John, in their Epistles, speak in the same -terms as St. Paul. St. Peter says, "We have not followed -cunningly devised fables, when we made known unto you the power -and coming of our Lord Jesus Christ, but were eyewitnesses of his -majesty. For he received from God the Father honour and glory, -when there came such a voice to him from the excellent glory, -This is my beloved Son, in whom I am well pleased; hear ye him." -[Footnote 13] -</p> -<p class="footnote"> - [Footnote 13: 2 Peter i. 16, 17.] -</p> -<span class="pagenum"><a id="Page_68">{68}</a></span> -<p> -St. John writes: "Whosoever denieth the Son, the same hath not -the Father; but he that acknowledgeth the Son hath the Father -also." [Footnote 14] "Hereby know ye the Spirit of God: every -Spirit that confesseth that Jesus Christ is come in the flesh is -of God; and every spirit that confesseth not that Jesus Christ is -come in the flesh is not of God." [Footnote 14] -</p> -<p class="footnote"> - [Footnote 13: 1 John ii. 23.] -<br><br> - [Footnote 14: 1 John iv. 2, 3.] -</p> -<p> -Such is the language of the Apostles; such are, at the same time, -its shades of variance and its harmony. They have all evidently -the same conception of Jesus Christ, they have all the same faith -in Him. St. Matthew, as well as St. John, St. Peter and St. Paul, -alike regard Jesus Christ as at once God and man, the -representative of God on earth, and the Mediator between God and -men—come from God, and re-ascended unto Him as the source and -centre of His being. The dogma of the Incarnation, that is to -say, of the divinity of Jesus Christ, pervades the Holy -Scriptures—the Gospels, the Acts of the Apostles, the Epistles -of the Apostles, the writings of the first Fathers. It is the -common and fixed basis, the source and essence of the Christian -faith. -</p> -<span class="pagenum"><a id="Page_69">{69}</a></span> -<p> -This was affirmed and declared by Jesus Christ himself. What His -disciples believed and related of Him, is what He himself told -them of himself, as well as what they themselves witnessed and -thought of Him: "All things are delivered unto me of my Father: -and no man knoweth the Son, but the Father: neither knoweth any -man the Father, save the Son, and he to whomsoever the Son will -reveal him." [Footnote 15] —"I and my Father are one." [Footnote -16] -</p> -<p class="footnote"> - [Footnote 15: Matthew xi. 27.] -<br><br> - [Footnote 16: John x. 30.] -</p> -<p> -And when He approaches the term of His mission, when, after -having announced to His disciples that the hour was coming when -they would be dispersed, each going his own way, leaving Him -alone, Jesus Christ raises His thoughts to God and says, "Father, -the hour is come; glorify thy Son, that thy Son also may glorify -thee: as thou hast given him power over all flesh, that he should -give eternal life to as many as thou hast given him. -<span class="pagenum"><a id="Page_70">{70}</a></span> -And this is life eternal, that they might know thee the only true -God, and Jesus Christ whom thou hast sent. I have glorified thee -on the earth: I have finished the work which thou gavest me to -do. And now, O Father, glorify thou me with thine own self with -the glory which I had with thee before the world was. I have -manifested thy name unto the men which thou gavest me out of the -world: thine they were, and thou gavest them me; and they have -kept thy word. Now they have known that all things whatsoever -thou hast given me are of thee. For I have given unto them the -words which thou gavest me; and they have received them, and have -known surely that I came out from thee, and they have believed -that thou didst send me. I pray for them: I pray not for the -world, but for them which thou hast given me; for they are thine. -And all mine are thine, and thine are mine; and I am glorified in -them. And now I am no more in the world, but these are in the -world, and I come to thee. Holy Father, keep through thine own -name those whom thou hast given me, that they may be one, as we -are." [Footnote 17] -</p> -<p class="footnote"> - [Footnote 17: John xvii. 1-11.] -<br> -<span class="pagenum"><a id="Page_71">{71}</a></span> -<p> -I might multiply these texts; but these surely suffice to show -that the words of Jesus Christ in relation to himself, and those -of His Apostles, are in perfect unison; He speaks of himself as -they speak of Him; He qualifies himself as they qualify Him; He -calls God His "Father," as His disciples call Him "the Son of -God." He has the same faith in himself, in His nature, and in His -mission, as St. Matthew, St. John, St. Peter, and St. Paul had in -Him. -</p> -<p> -It is a great source of error, in the study of facts, not to know -how to stop at their general and essential features, and, losing -sight of these, to give prominence to partial and secondary -features. On the subject of the divinity of Jesus Christ, that -fundamental principle of the Christian religion, the precise -meaning and import of such or such a word may be disputed; such -or such an expression may be thought an interpolation, and so -eliminated in any particular Gospel, in any particular Epistle; -nevertheless there will always remain infinitely more than -sufficient evidence of the fact that those who at the present day -believe in the divinity of Jesus Christ, believe simply what the -Apostles believed and said, and that the Apostles themselves only -believed and said, nearly nineteen centuries ago, what Jesus -Christ himself said to them. -</p> -<span class="pagenum"><a id="Page_72">{72}</a></span> -<p> -The opponents of the dogma of the Incarnation and of the divinity -of Jesus Christ disregard equally man and history, the complex -elements of human nature, and the meaning of the great facts -which mark the religious life of the human race. -</p> -<p> -What is man himself, but an incomplete and imperfect incarnation -of God? The materialists who deny the soul, and the naturalists -who deny creation, are alone consistent in rejecting the -Christian dogma. All who believe in the distinction of spirit and -matter, who do not believe that man is the result of the -fermentation of matter, or of the transformation of species, are -constrained to admit the presence in human nature of the divine -element, and they must necessarily accept these words in Genesis: -"God created man in his own image;" that is to say, they must -acknowledge the presence of God in frail and fallible humanity. -</p> -<span class="pagenum"><a id="Page_73">{73}</a></span> -<p> -I open the histories of all religions, of all mythologies, the -most refined as well as the grossest; I find at every step the -idea and the assertion of the Divine Incarnation. Brahmanism, -Buddhism, Paganism, all faiths, all religious idolatries, abound -in incarnations of every kind and date, primitive or successive, -connected with this or that historical event, adapted to explain -this or that fact, to satisfy this or that human propensity. It -is the natural and universal instinct of men to picture to -themselves the action of God upon the human race under the form -of the incarnation of God in man. -</p> -<span class="pagenum"><a id="Page_74">{74}</a></span> -<p> -Like all religious instincts, that of the belief in the Divine -Incarnation may engender, and has engendered, the most absurd -superstitions, the most extravagant hypotheses. In the same way -as the natural faith in God has been the source of all -idolatries, so the tendency to incarnate God in man has given -rise to, and admitted, every kind of strange imagining and -spurious tradition. Are we then to pronounce all divine -incarnation false, every tradition of it spurious? Rather let us -say that it proceeds from the infirmity of the human mind, if we -see realities and mere chimeras, truths and errors, in such close -proximity, if we find them calling one another by the same names -and unceasingly confounding one another's attributes. The -pretended incarnation of Brahma, or of Buddha, proves no more -against the divinity of Jesus Christ than the adoration of idols -proves against the existence of God. Jesus Christ, God and Man, -has characteristics which appertain to Him alone. These have -founded His power and occasioned the success of His works, a -power and a success which belong to Him alone. -<span class="pagenum"><a id="Page_75">{75}</a></span> -It is not a human reformer, but God himself, who, through Jesus -Christ, has accomplished what no human reformer has ever -accomplished, or even conceived,—the reform of the moral and -social condition of the world, the regeneration of the human -soul, and the solution of the problems of human destiny. It is by -these signs, by these results, that the divinity of Jesus Christ -is manifested. How was the Divine Incarnation accomplished in -man? Here, as in the union of the soul and the body, as in the -creation, arises the mystery; but if we cannot fathom the reason -of it, the fact not the less exists. When this fact has taken the -form of dogma, theology has sought to explain it. In my opinion, -this was a mistake; theology has obscured the fact in developing -and commenting upon it. It is the fact itself of the Incarnation -which constitutes the Christian faith, and which rises above all -definitions and all theological controversies. To disregard this -fact—to deny the divinity of Jesus Christ—is to deny, to -overthrow the Christian religion, which would never have been -what it is, and would never have accomplished what it has, but -that the Divine Incarnation was its principle, and Jesus -Christ—God and Man—its author. -</p> -<span class="pagenum"><a id="Page_76">{76}</a></span> -<br> - - <h3>V. The Redemption.</h3> -<br> -<p> -I enter into the sanctuary of the Christian faith. -</p> -<p> -God has done more than manifest himself in Jesus Christ. He has -done more than place upon the earth and before men His own living -image, the type of sanctity and the model of life. The Creator -has accomplished, through Jesus Christ, toward man, His creature, -an act of His beneficence and at the same time of His sovereign -power. Jesus Christ is not only God made man to spread the divine -light upon men; He is God made man to conquer and efface in man -moral evil, the fruit of the sin of man. He brings not only light -and law, but pardon and salvation. -<span class="pagenum"><a id="Page_77">{77}</a></span> -And it is at the price of His own suffering, of His own -sacrifice, that He brings these to them. He is the type of -self-devotion at the same time as of sanctity. He has submitted -to be a victim in order to be a saviour. The Incarnation leads to -the Cross, and the Cross to the Redemption. -</p> -<p> -Here are the supreme dogma and mystery. Here are revealed plainly -the sense and the import of Christianity. By what ways did Jesus -Christ penetrate the human soul to accomplish this great work? -How did He win the human soul to the Christian faith, in order to -snatch it from evil and to save it? -</p> -<p> -When man fails in the duty of which he recognises the law,—when -he commits the wrong which he is bound to shun,—when, after sin, -repentance arises within him, and a sense of the necessity of -expiation is soon joined with this sentiment of repentance, the -moral instinct of man teaches that repentance does not suffice to -efface the fault, and that it requires to be expiated: reparation -supposes suffering. -</p> -<span class="pagenum"><a id="Page_78">{78}</a></span> -<p> -And when the religious sentiment is joined to the moral -sentiment,—when man believes in God, and sees in Him the author -and dispenser of the moral law, he regards himself as guilty of -transgression toward God whom he has disobeyed, he feels the need -of being pardoned and of being restored to the favour of the -Sovereign Master whom he has offended. -</p> -<p> -Among all nations, in all religions, under all social forms, -these two instincts—as to the necessity of expiation to ensue -upon the fault, and the necessity of pardon to follow the -transgression—appear natural and inherent in the human soul. -They have been at all times and in all places, the source of a -multitude of beliefs and practices; some pure and touching, -others foolish and odious: these may all be briefly comprised in -the single expression, <i>sacrifices</i>. The histories of all -nations, barbarous or civilized, ancient or modern, teem with -sacrificial rites of every description, whether they be of a -nature gross or mystical, of a performance mild or bloody; rites -invented and celebrated either to expiate the sins of man, or to -appease the anger of God and regain His favour. -</p> -<span class="pagenum"><a id="Page_79">{79}</a></span> -<p> -Nor is this all; we have here to note another moral fact, not -less real although it seems stranger to the eyes of superficial -reason. Mankind has believed that a fault might be expiated by -another than its author, that innocent victims might be -efficaciously offered up to influence God, and to save the -guilty. This belief has led to sacrifices no less absurd than -atrocious: the pretended expiation has become an additional -crime: it has at the same time been also the source of heroic -acts and sublime examples of self-devotion. Both the domestic -records of families and the public histories of nations have -furnished us with admirable instances of innocence voluntarily -offering itself as a sacrifice, taking upon itself the penalty, -the suffering, the death, to expiate the sin of others, and to -win from Divine Justice—now satisfied—the pardon of the -offender. -</p> -<span class="pagenum"><a id="Page_80">{80}</a></span> -<p> -And are we then to regard this merely as a pious, a generous -illusion, a devotedness as vain as admirable? Yes, such is the -view that all those must adopt who believe neither in Providence -nor prayer, nor in the existence of any efficacious relation -between the actions of man and the purposes of God; no solidarity -between men, no connection between the sacrifice of him who -practises the act of self-devotion, and the destiny of him who is -its object. But those who have faith in the living God, in His -continued presence, and His never-sleeping providence, those who -believe that nothing in man, whether it be good or whether it be -evil, is in vain, that every moral act bears its fruit visible or -invisible, immediate or remote, such as these cannot fail to -feel, to have, as it were, a presentiment, that in such -self-sacrifice of the innocent for the salvation of the guilty, -there exists a mysterious virtue. The secret of this it may not -be given them to fathom, but it nevertheless gives life in their -bosom to the hope that such sublime devotion will not fail of its -object. -</p> -<span class="pagenum"><a id="Page_81">{81}</a></span> -<p> -And now, to pass from this feeling, and from the acts of man, -whose reality no one can dispute, to the corresponding dogmas of -Christianity, let me, by the side of these acts of devotedness -and self-sacrifice of the human creature in his innocence seeking -to atone for the sins of the human creature who is guilty, place -the self-devotion and the self-sacrifice of Jesus Christ, the -Man-God, tendered to ransom from sin the race of mankind and to -open to it the way of salvation; who is not struck by this -sublime analogy? What connection and harmony between the purest, -the most generous, instincts of the human soul, and the dogma of -God's Redemption? I touch upon none of the questions, I enter -into none of the controversies which have sprung up with respect -to this dogma of Redemption; I do not weigh with a view to -compare faith and works, nor do I essay to assign the part due to -divine grace or to human virtue; I do not define or seek to -number the elect, but I pause upon the fact itself of the -Redemption by Jesus Christ, the fact upon which the dogma itself -reposes. -<span class="pagenum"><a id="Page_82">{82}</a></span> -All that the most renowned heroes, the most glorious saints of -humanity have striven to accomplish, in order to expiate the sins -of any creature or any nation, Jesus Christ the Elect of God, the -Son of God, the God-Man, came to effect for all mankind, by means -of incomparable sorrow, humiliation, and sufferings. And, as was -affirmed by St. Paul in the first century, and by Bossuet in the -seventeenth, this very suffering, this humiliation, this -martyrdom of Jesus Christ, have constituted his victory and his -empire. And I would ask, what other spectacle than that of God -made man to constitute himself victim—made victim to become the -saviour—could have excited in the soul of mankind those -outbursts of admiration, of respect, and of love, that ardent, -invincible, and contagious faith, of which the Apostles and the -primitive Christians have left us the evidences and the example? -It was requisite that the victim and the sacrifice should be -equal to the work. -<span class="pagenum"><a id="Page_83">{83}</a></span> -That work was the Christian religion, that incomparable system of -facts, dogmas, precepts, promises, which, in the midst of all the -doubts and all the controversies of the mind of man, have for -nineteen centuries afforded satisfaction and solution to those -aspirings of the human race, which nature prompts, whether they -assume the form of religious instincts or religious problems. -</p> -<span class="pagenum"><a id="Page_84">{84}</a></span> -<br><h2> - Third Meditation.<br> - - The Supernatural.</h2> -<br> -<p> -To a system so grand, and in such profound harmony with man's own -nature, an objection is made which is thought decisive; that -system proclaims the Supernatural, has the Supernatural for its -principle and foundation. It is objected that the Supernatural -itself has no existence. -</p> -<p> -This objection is not novel, but it has at this moment in -appearance assumed a more serious and formidable shape than ever. -It is in the name of science itself, of all the human sciences, -of the physical sciences, historical science, philosophical -science, that the pretension is made that is to reduce the -Supernatural to a nonentity, and to banish it from the world and -from man. -</p> -<span class="pagenum"><a id="Page_85">{85}</a></span> -<p> -The reverence that I feel for science is infinite. I would have -it as free and unshackled as I would desire to see it honoured. -But I would at the same time like to see it deal somewhat more -rigorously and logically with itself. I would like to see it less -exclusively absorbed by its own peculiar labours and occupations, -its momentary successes; more careful not to forget or omit any -of the ideas or any of the facts which bear upon the subject with -which it deals, and for which in its solution it has still to -account. -</p> -<p> -In whatever quarter, at this day, the wind may be, the abolition -of the Supernatural is a difficult enterprise, for the belief in -the Supernatural is a fact natural, primitive, universal, -constant in the life and history of the human race. We may -interrogate mankind in all times and places, in all states of -society and degrees of civilization, we find it always and -everywhere spontaneously believing in facts and causes beyond the -sphere of this palpable world, of this living piece of mechanism -termed nature. In vain do we extend, explain, amplify nature -itself; the instinct of man, the instinct of human masses, has -never suffered that nature to confine it: it has always sought -and seen something beyond. -</p> -<span class="pagenum"><a id="Page_86">{86}</a></span> -<p> -It is this belief—instinctive, and hitherto -indestructible—which is qualified as a radical error; this -universal and enduring fact in man's history it is which men seek -to abolish. They go farther; they affirm that it is already -abolished—that the <i>people</i> no longer believe in the -Supernatural, and that any attempt to bring them back to it would -be vain. Incredible conceit of man! What, because in a corner of -the world in one day among ages brilliant progress may have been -made in natural and historical science—because in the name of -the sciences, and in brilliant books, the Supernatural has been -combated, they proclaim the Supernatural vanquished, abolished; -and we hear the judgment pronounced, not merely in the name of -the learned, but of the people! Have you then completely -forgotten, or have you never thoroughly comprehended, humanity -and the history of humanity? -<span class="pagenum"><a id="Page_87">{87}</a></span> -Do you ignore absolutely what the people really is, and what all -those nations are that cover the surface of the earth? Have you -never then penetrated into those millions of souls in which the -belief in the Supernatural is and abides, present and active even -when the words which move their lips disown it? Are you then -unconscious of the immense distance which there is between the -depths and the surface of those souls, between the variable -breaths which only ruffle the minds of men, and the immutable -instincts which preside over their very being? True, there are, -in our days, amongst the people, many fathers, mothers, children, -who believe themselves incredulous, and mock scorn fully at -miracles; but follow them in the intimacy of their homes, amongst -the trials of their lives, how do these parents act, when their -child is ill, those farmers when their crops are threatened, -those sailors when they float upon the waters a prey to the -tempest? They elevate their eyes to heaven, they burst forth in -prayer, they invoke that Supernatural power said by you to be -abolished in their very thought. By their spontaneous and -irresistible acts they give to your words and to their own a -striking disavowal. -</p> -<span class="pagenum"><a id="Page_88">{88}</a></span> -<p> -But to advance a step towards you, admitted that the faith in the -Supernatural is abolished; let us enter together that society and -those classes to whom this moral ruin is a triumph and a vaunt. -What then ensues? In the place of God's miracles, man's miracles -make their appearance. They are searched for, they are called -for; men are found to invent them, and to contrive them to be -recognised by thousands of beholders. It is not necessary to go -either far in time or wide in space to see the Supernatural of -Superstition raising itself in the place of the Supernatural of -Religion, and Credulity hurrying to meet Falsehood half-way. -</p> -<span class="pagenum"><a id="Page_89">{89}</a></span> -<p> -But away with these unhealthy paroxysms of humanity; and to -return to its sober and enduring history. We will admit that the -instinctive belief in the Supernatural has been the source and -abides the foundation of all religions, of religion in the most -general sense of the word, and of essential religion. The most -serious, at the same time the most perplexed, of the thinkers who -in our days have approached the subject, M. Edmond Scherer, saw -plainly enough that that was the question at issue, and he has so -put it in the third of his "Conversations Théologiques," noble -yet sad imaging forth of the fermentation in his own ideas and -the struggles which they occasion in his soul. "The Supernatural -is not a something external to religion," says one of the two -speakers between whom M. Scherer supposes the discussion, "it is -religion itself." "No," says the other, "the Supernatural is not -the peculiar element of religion, but rather of superstition: the -Supernatural fact has no relation with the human soul, for it is -the essence of the Supernatural that it goes beyond all those -conditions which constitute credibility; its essence indeed is -the being <i>anti-human</i>." -<span class="pagenum"><a id="Page_90">{90}</a></span> -The discussion continues and becomes animated: the contrary -nature of the perplexities experienced by the two speakers -becomes manifest. "Perhaps," says the Rationalist, "the -Supernatural was a necessary form of religion for ill cultivated -minds: but rightly or wrongly, our modern civilization rejects -miracles; without positive denial, it remains indifferent to -them. Even the preacher knows not how to deal with them; the more -he is in earnest, the more his Christian feeling has inwardness -and vitality, the more does the miracle also disappear from his -teaching. Miracles formerly constituted the great force of the -sermon, at the present day what are they but a secret source of -embarrassment? Everybody feels vaguely when confronted by the -marvellous accounts in our sacred volumes, what he feels when -confronted by the Legends of the Saints; it is impossible for -that to be religion, it is only its superfoetation." "It is -true," exclaims with sorrow the hesitating Christian, "we believe -no longer in miracles; you might have added that neither do we -any more believe in God himself; the two things go together. -<span class="pagenum"><a id="Page_91">{91}</a></span> -We hear much now-a-days of Christian Spiritualism—of the -religion of the conscience, and you yourself seem to see that men -in giving up miracles are making progress in religion. Ah! why is -it that the intimate experience of my own heart cannot express -itself in a forcible protest against any such opinion? Whenever I -find my faith in miraculous agency vacillating within me, the -image of my God seems to be fading away from my eyes: He ceases -to be for me God the free, the living, the personal; the God with -whom the soul converses, as with a master and friend; and this -holy dialogue once interrupted, what is left us? How does life -become sad? how does it lose its illusions? Reduced to the -satisfaction of mere physical wants, to eat, to drink, to sleep, -to make money, deprived of all horizon, how puerile does our -maturity appear, how sorrowful our old age, how meaningless our -anxieties! -</p> -<span class="pagenum"><a id="Page_92">{92}</a></span> -<p> -"No more mystery, no more innocence, no more infinity, no longer -any heaven above our heads, no more poesy. Ah! be sure: the -incredulity which rejects the miracle has a tendency to unpeople -heaven, and to disenchant the earth. The Supernatural is the -natural sphere of the soul. It is the essence of its faith, of -its hope, of its love. I know how specious criticism is, how -victorious its arguments often appear; but I know one thing -besides, and perhaps I might here even appeal to your own -testimony; in ceasing to believe in what is miraculous, the soul -finds that it has lost the secret of divine life; henceforth it -is urged downwards towards the abyss, soon it lies on the earth, -and not seldom in the dirt." -</p> -<p> -In his turn the disbeliever in the Supernatural is troubled and -saddened: "Listen," he says: "the history of humanity seems to be -sometimes moving in obedience to the following scheme. The world -begins with religion, and, referring all phenomena to a first -cause, it sees God everywhere. -<span class="pagenum"><a id="Page_93">{93}</a></span> -Then comes philosophy, which, having discovered the connection of -secondary causes, and the laws of their operation, makes a -corresponding deduction from the direct intervention of divinity, -and then founding itself upon the idea of necessity (for it is -only necessity which falls within the domain of science, and -science is in fact but the knowledge of what is necessary); -philosophy tends in its very fundamental principle to exclude God -from the world. It does more; it finishes by denying human -liberty as it has denied God. The reason is evident: liberty is a -cause beyond the sphere of the necessary connection of causes, a -first cause, a cause which serves as cause to itself: and from -that moment philosophy, unequal to any explanation, feels itself -disposed to deny that first cause. A philosophy true to itself -will ever be fatalistic. For from that moment philosophy corrupts -and destroys itself. When it has no other God than the universe, -no other man than the chief of the mammalia, what is it but a -mere system of Zoology? -<span class="pagenum"><a id="Page_94">{94}</a></span> -Zoology constitutes the whole science of the epoch, of the -Materialists, and to speak plainly, that is our position at the -present day. But materialism can never be the be-all and the -end-all of the human race. Corrupt and enervated, society is -passing through immense catastrophes, is falling in ruins; the -iron harrow of Revolution is breaking up mankind like the clods -of the field; in the bloody furrows germinate new races; the soul -in the agony of its distress believes once more; it resumes its -faith in virtue, it finds again the language of prayer. To the -age of the Renaissance succeeded that of the Reformation; to the -Germany of Frederick the Great, the Germany of 1812. So faith -springs up for ever and ever out of its ashes. Ah, that I must -add it, humanity rises again but to resume the march which I have -just described. But can it be said of it besides, that like this -Globe of ours it is making any movement in advance whilst it is -so turning round itself, and if it does so advance, towards what -is it gravitating? -</p> -<span class="pagenum"><a id="Page_95">{95}</a></span> -<p class="cite"> - 'Whither, whither, O Lord,<br> - marches the earth in the heavens?'" [Footnote 18] -</p> -<p class="footnote"> - [Footnote 18: Mélange de Critique Religieuse, par Edmond - Scherer—Conversations Théologiques, pp. 169-187.] -</p> -<p> -But it is not towards heaven that the earth would march if it -followed the path in which the adversaries of the Supernatural -are impelling it. It is this peculiarity, they say, of the -Supernatural, that being incredible, it is in its very essence -anti-human. Now it is precisely to something not anti-human but -superhuman that the human soul aspires, and there seeks to -realize these aspirations in the Supernatural. We should be never -weary of repeating it; the whole finite world in its entirety, -with all its facts and all its laws, comprising indeed man -himself, suffices not for the soul of man; it requires something -grander and more perfect for the subject of its contemplation, -the object of its love; it desires to fix its trust in something -more stable; to lean upon something less fragile. -<span class="pagenum"><a id="Page_96">{96}</a></span> -This supreme and sublime ambition it is to which religion, in its -widest sense, gives birth and supplies nourishment; and this -supreme and sublime ambition it is also that the religion of -Christ more particularly responds to and satisfies. Let those, -therefore, who flatter themselves that although abolishing the -belief in the Supernatural, they leave Christians still -Christians, undeceive themselves; what they are abolishing, -destroying, is very religion, for their arguments assail all -religion in general, and Christianity in particular. It may be -that they do not inflict upon themselves all this evil, and that -in retaining a sincere religious sentiment they really believe -themselves nearly Christians; the soul struggles against the -errors of the thought, and a moral suicide is a rare spectacle. -But the evil even in spreading unveils more plainly its nature -and increases in intensity; besides men, in masses, draw from -error far more logical conclusions than the man ever did in whom -the error had its origin. The people are not the learned, neither -are they philosophers, and only once succeed in destroying in -them all faith in the Supernatural, and you may consider it -certain that the faith in Christ must have previously -disappeared. -<span class="pagenum"><a id="Page_97">{97}</a></span> -Have you well weighed all this? Have you pictured to yourself -what a man, what mankind, what the soul of man, what human -society itself would become if religion were in effect abolished, -if religious faith entirely disappeared? I will not give way to -anguish of soul or sinister presentiments, but I do not hesitate -to affirm that no imagination can represent with adequate -fidelity what would take place in us and around us if the place -at present occupied by Christian belief were on a sudden to -become vacant, and its empire annihilated. No one could pronounce -to what degree of disorder and degradation humanity would be -precipitated. But awful indeed would be the result if all faith -in the Supernatural were extinct in the soul, and if man had in a -supernatural state neither trust nor hope. -</p> -<p> -It is not my design, however, to confine myself here to the -question regarded merely in its moral, practical light; I -approach the Supernatural as viewed with the eyes of free and -speculative reason. -</p> -<span class="pagenum"><a id="Page_98">{98}</a></span> -<p> -It is condemned for its very name's sake. Nothing is or can be, -it is said, beyond and above nature. Nature is one and complete; -everything is comprised in it; in it, of necessity, all things -cohere, enchain, and develop themselves. -</p> -<p> -We are here in thorough pantheism—that is to say, in absolute -atheism. I do not hesitate to give to pantheism its real name. -Amongst the men who at the present day declare themselves the -opponents of the Supernatural, most, certainly, do not believe -that they are nor do they desire to be atheists. But let me tell -them that they are leading others whither they neither think nor -wish themselves to go. The negation of the Supernatural, and that -in the name of the unity and universality of nature, is -pantheism, and pantheism is nothing more nor less than atheism. -<span class="pagenum"><a id="Page_99">{99}</a></span> -In the sequel of these Meditations, when I come to speak -particularly of the actual state of the Christian religion, and -of the different systems which combat it, I will in this respect -justify my assertion; at present, I have to repel direct attacks -upon the Supernatural—attacks less fundamental than those of -pantheism, but not less serious, for in truth, whether men know -it or not, and whether they mean it or not, all attacks in this -warfare reach the same object, and as soon as the Supernatural is -the aim it is religion itself that receives the shaft. -</p> -<p> -The fixity of the laws of nature is appealed to; that, say they, -is the palpable and incontestable fact established by the -experience of mankind, and upon which rests the conduct of human -life. In presence of the permanent order of nature and the -immutability of its laws, we cannot admit any partial, any -momentary infractions; we cannot believe in the Supernatural, in -miracles. -</p> -<p> -True, general and constant laws do govern nature. Are we, -therefore, to affirm that those laws are necessary, and that no -deviation from them is possible in nature? Who is there that does -not discern an essential, an absolute difference between what is -general and what is necessary? -<span class="pagenum"><a id="Page_100">{100}</a></span> -The permanence of the actual laws of nature is a fact established -by experience, but it is not the only fact possible, the only -fact conceivable by reason; those laws might have been other -laws, they may change. Several of them have not always been what -they now are, for science itself proves that the condition of the -universe has been different from what it is at present; the -universal and permanent order of which we form part, and in which -we confide, has not always been what we now see it; it has had a -beginning; the creation of the actual system of nature and of its -laws is a fact as certain as the system itself is certain. And -what is creation but a supernatural fact, the act of a Power -superior to the actual laws of nature, and which has power to -modify them just as much as it has had power to establish them? -The first of miracles is God himself. -</p> -<span class="pagenum"><a id="Page_101">{101}</a></span> -<p> -There is a second miracle—man. I resume what I have already -said; by his title as a moral being and free agent, man lives -beyond and above the influence of the general and permanent laws -of nature; he creates by his will effects which are not at all -the necessary consequence of any pre-existent law; and those -effects take their place in a system absolutely distinct and -independent from the visible order which governs the universe. -The moral liberty of man is a fact as certain, and natural, as -the order of nature, and it is at the same time a supernatural -fact—that is to say, essentially foreign to the order of nature -and to its laws. -</p> -<p> -God is the being moral and free <i>par excellence</i>, that is to -say, the being excellently capable of acting as first cause -beyond the influence of causation. By his title as a moral being -and free agent, man is in intimate relation with God. Who shall -define the possible contingencies, or fathom the mysteries of -this relation? Who dare to say that God cannot modify, that He -never does modify, according to his plans with respect to the -moral system and to man, the laws which He has made and which He -maintains in the material order of nature? -</p> -<span class="pagenum"><a id="Page_102">{102}</a></span> -<p> -Some have hesitated absolutely to deny the possibility of -supernatural facts; and so their attack is indirect. If those -facts, say they, are not impossible, they are incredible, for no -particular testimony of man in favour of a miracle can give a -certitude equal to that which, on the opposite side, results from -the experience which men have of the fixity of the laws of -nature. -</p> -<p> -"It is experience only," says Hume, "which gives authority to -human testimony; and it is the same experience which assures us -of the laws of nature. When therefore these two kinds of -experience are contrary, we have nothing to do, but subtract the -one from the other, and embrace an opinion, either on one side or -the other, with that assurance which arises from the remainder. -But according to the principles here explained, this subtraction, -with regard to all popular religions, amounts to an entire -annihilation: and therefore we may establish it as a maxim, that -no human testimony can have such force as to prove a miracle, and -make it a just foundation for any such system of religion." -[Footnote 19] -</p> -<p class="footnote"> - [Footnote 19: Essays and Treatises on Several Subjects, by - David Hume; Essay on Miracles, vol. iii. p. 119-145, Bâle, - 1793. [Same work, p. 91, London, 16mo, 1860.—TRANSLATOR.]] -</p> -<span class="pagenum"><a id="Page_103">{103}</a></span> -<p> -It is in this reasoning of Hume that the opponents of miracles -shut themselves up as in an impregnable fortress to refuse them -all credence. -</p> -<p> -What confusion of facts and ideas! What a superficial solution of -one of the grandest problems of our nature! What! a simple -operation of arithmetic, with respect to two experimental -observations, estimated in ciphers, is to decide the question -whether the universal belief of the race of man in the -Supernatural is well-founded or simply absurd; whether God only -acts upon the world and upon man by laws established once for -all, or whether He still continues to make, in the exercise of -his power, use of his liberty! -<span class="pagenum"><a id="Page_104">{104}</a></span> -Not only does the sceptic Hume here show himself unconscious of -the grandeur of the problem; he mistakes even in the motives upon -which he founds his shallow conclusion; for it is not from human -experience alone that human testimony draws her authority: this -authority has sources more profound, and a worth anterior to -experience: it is one of the natural bonds, one of the -spontaneous sympathies which unite with one another men and the -generations of men. Is it by virtue of experience that the child -trusts to the words of its mother, that it has faith in all she -tells it? The mutual trust that men repose in what they say or -transmit to each other is an instinct, primitive, spontaneous, -which experience confirms or shakes, sets up again or sets bounds -to, but which experience does not originate. -</p> -<p> -I find in the same essay of Hume, [Footnote 20] this other -passage: "The passion of surprise and wonder, arising from -miracles, being an agreeable emotion, gives a sensible tendency -towards the belief of those events from which it is derived." -</p> -<p class="footnote"> - [Footnote 20: Hume's Essay on Miracles, p. 128, - <i>ubi supra</i>.] -</p> -<span class="pagenum"><a id="Page_105">{105}</a></span> -<p> -Thus, if we are to credit Hume, it is merely for his pleasure, -for the diversion of the imaginative faculty, that man believes -in the Supernatural; and beneath this impression—though real, -still only of a secondary nature—which does no more than skim -the surface of the human soul, the philosopher has no glimpse at -all of the profound instincts and superior requisitions which -have sway over him. -</p> -<p> -But why an attack of this character, so indirect and little -complete? Why should Hume limit himself to the proposition that -miracles can never be historically proved, instead of at once -affirming the impossibility of miracles themselves? This is what -the opponents of the Supernatural virtually think; and it is -because they commence by regarding miracles as impossible that -they apply themselves to destroy the value of the evidences by -which they are supported. -<span class="pagenum"><a id="Page_106">{106}</a></span> -If the evidence which surrounds the cradle of Christianity, if -the fourth, if even the tenth part of it were adduced in support -of facts of a nature extra-ordinary, unexpected, or unheard of, -but still not having a character positively supernatural, the -proof would be accepted as unexceptionable: the facts for -certain. In appearance, it is merely the proof by witnesses of -the Supernatural that is contested; whereas, in reality, the very -possibility of the thing is denied that is sought to be proved. -The question ought to be put as it really is, instead of such a -solution being offered as is a mere evasion. -</p> -<p> -Lately, however, men of logical minds and daring spirits have not -hesitated to speak more frankly and plainly. "The new dogma, they -say, the fundamental principle of criticism, is the negation of -the Supernatural. … Those still disposed to reject this -principle have nothing to do with our books, and we, on our side, -have no cause to feel disquietude at their opposition and their -censure, for we do not write for them. And if this discussion is -altogether avoided, it is because it is impossible to enter into -it with out admitting an unacceptable proposition, viz., one -which presumes that the Supernatural can in any given case be -possible. [Footnote 21] -</p> -<p class="footnote"> - [Footnote 21: Conservation, Involution, et Positivisme, par - M. Littré, Preface, p. xxvi, and following pages—M. Havet, - Revue des Deux Mondes, 1 Août, 1863.] -</p> -<span class="pagenum"><a id="Page_107">{107}</a></span> -<p> -I do not reproach the disciples of the school of Hume for having -evinced greater timidity: if they attacked the Supernatural by a -side way, not as being impossible in itself, but as being merely -incapable of proof by human testimony, they did not do so -designedly and with deceitful purpose. Let us render them more -justice, and do them more honour. A prudent and an honest -instinct held them back on the declivity upon which they had -placed themselves; they felt that to deny even the possibility of -the Supernatural, was to enter at full sail into pantheism and -fatalism, that is to say, was the same thing as at once -dispensing with God and doing away with the free agency of man. -Their moral sense, their good sense, withheld them from any such -course. -<span class="pagenum"><a id="Page_108">{108}</a></span> -The fundamental error of the adversaries of the Supernatural is -that they contest it in the name of human science, and that they -class the Supernatural amongst facts within the domain of -science, whereas the Supernatural does not fall within that -domain, and the very attempt so to treat it has led, indeed, to -its being entirely rejected. -</p> -<span class="pagenum"><a id="Page_109">{109}</a></span> -<br> - <h2>Fourth Meditation.<br> - - The Limits Of Science.</h2> -<br> -<p> -An eminent moralist, who was at the same time not only a -theologian, but a philosopher well versed in the physical -sciences, I mean Dr. Chalmers, professor at the University of -Edinburgh, and corresponding member of the Institute of France, -wrote in his work on <i>Natural Theology</i>, a chapter entitled: -<i>On man's partial and limited knowledge of divine things.</i> -The first pages are as follows:— -</p> -<p class="cite"> - "The true modern philosophy never makes more characteristic - exhibition of itself, than at the limit which separates the - known from the unknown. It is there that we behold it in a - twofold aspect—that of the utmost deference and respect for - all the findings of experience within this limit; that, on the - other hand, of the utmost disinclination and distrust for all - those fancies of ingenious or plausible speculation which have - their place in the ideal region beyond it. -<span class="pagenum"><a id="Page_110">{110}</a></span> - To call in the aid of a language which far surpasses our own in - expressive brevity, its office is '<i>indagare</i>' rather than - '<i>divinare</i>.' The products of this philosophy are copies - and not creations. It may discover a system of nature, but not - devise one. It proceeds first on the observation of individual - facts and if these facts are ever harmonised into a system, - this is only in the exercise of a more extended observation. In - the work of systematising, it makes no excursion beyond the - territory of actual nature—for they are the actual phenomena - of nature which form the first materials of this - philosophy—and they are the actual resemblances of these - phenomena that form, as it were, the cementing principle, to - which the goodly fabrics of modern science owe all the solidity - and all the endurance that belong to them. -<span class="pagenum"><a id="Page_111">{111}</a></span> - It is this chiefly which distinguishes the philosophy of the - present day from that of by-gone ages. The one was mainly an - excogitative, the other mainly a descriptive process—a - description however extending to the likenesses as well as to - the peculiarities of things; and, by means of these likenesses, - these observed likenesses alone, often realising a more - glorious and magnificent harmony than was ever pictured forth - by all the imaginations of all the theorists. -<br><br> - "In the mental characteristics of this philosophy, the strength - of a full-grown understanding is blended with the modesty of - childhood. The ideal is sacrificed to the actual—and, however - splendid or fondly cherished a hypothesis may be, yet if but - one phenomenon in the real history of nature stand in the way, - it is forthwith and conclusively abandoned. To some the - renunciation may be as painful as the cutting off a right hand, - or the plucking out a right eye—yet, if true to the great - principle of the Baconian school, it must be submitted to. -<span class="pagenum"><a id="Page_112">{112}</a></span> - With its hardy disciples one valid proof outweighs a thousand - plausibilities—and the resolute firmness wherewith they bid - away the speculations of fancy is only equalled by the - childlike compliance wherewith they submit themselves to the - lessons of experience. -<br><br> - "It is thus that the same principle which guides to a just and - a sound philosophy in all that lies within the circle of human - discovery, leads also to a most unpresuming and unpronouncing - modesty in reference to all that lies beyond it. And should - some new light spring up on this exterior region, should the - information of its before hidden mysteries break in upon us - from some quarter that was before inaccessible, it will be at - once perceived (on the supposition of its being a genuine and - not an illusory light) that, of all other men, they are the - followers of Bacon and Newton who should pay the most - unqualified respect to all its revelations. -<span class="pagenum"><a id="Page_113">{113}</a></span> - In their case it comes upon minds which are without prejudice, - because on that very principle, which is most characteristic of - our modern science, upon minds without preoccupation. … The - strength of his confidence in all the ascertained facts of the - <i>terra cognita</i> is at one or in perfect harmony with the - humility of his diffidence in regard to all the conceived - plausibilities of the <i>terra incognita</i>. -<br><br> - "And let it further be remarked of the self-denial which is - laid upon us by Bacon's Philosophy, that, like all other - self-denial in the cause of truth or virtue, it hath its - reward. In giving ourselves up to its guidance, we have often - to quit the fascinations of beautiful theory; but in exchange - for them, we are at length regaled by the higher and - substantial beauties of actual nature. There is a stubbornness - in facts before which the specious imagination is compelled to - give way; and perhaps the mind never suffers more painful - laceration than when, after having vainly attempted to force - nature into a compliance with her own splendid generalizations, - she, on the appearance of some rebellious and impracticable - phenomenon, has to practise a force upon herself—when she thus - finds the goodly speculation superseded by the homely and - unwelcome experience. -<span class="pagenum"><a id="Page_114">{114}</a></span> - It seemed at the outset a cruel sacrifice, when the world of - speculation, with all its manageable and engaging simplicities, - had to be abandoned; and on becoming the pupils of observation, - we, amid the varieties of the actual world around us, felt as - if bewildered, if not lost, among the perplexities of a chaos. - This was a period of greatest sufferance; but it has had a - glorious termination. In return for the assiduity wherewith the - study of nature hath been prosecuted, she hath made a more - abundant revelation of her charms. Order hath arisen out of - confusion, and in the ascertained structure of the universe - there are now found to be a state and a sublimity beyond all - that was ever pictured by the mind in the days of her - adventurous and unfettered imagination. -<span class="pagenum"><a id="Page_115">{115}</a></span> - Even viewed in the light of a noble and engaging spectacle for - the fancy to dwell upon, who would ever think of comparing with - the system of Newton, either that celestial machinery of Des - Cartes, which was impelled by whirlpools of ether, or that - still more cumbrous planetarium of cycles and epicycles which - was the progeny of a remoter age? It is thus that at the - commencement of the observational process there is the - abjuration of beauty. But it soon reappears in another form, - and brightens as we advance, and at length there arises on - solid foundation, a fairer and goodlier system than ever - floated in airy romance before the eye of genius. Nor is it - difficult to perceive the reason of this. What we discover by - observation is the product of divine imagination bodied forth - by creative power into a stable and enduring reality. What we - devise by our own ingenuity is but the product of human - imagination. The one is the solid archetype of those - conceptions which are in the mind of God: the other is the - shadowy representation of those conceptions which are in the - mind of man. It is just as with the labourer, who, by - excavating the rubbish which hides and besets some noble - architecture, does more for the gratification of our taste, - than if by his unpractised hand he should attempt to regale us - with plans and sketches of his own. -<span class="pagenum"><a id="Page_116">{116}</a></span> - And so the drudgery of experimental science, in exchange for - that beauty whose fascinations it withstood at the outset of - its career, has evolved a surpassing beauty from among the - realities of truth and nature. … -<br><br> - "The views contemplated through the medium of observation, are - found not only to have a justness in them, but to have a grace - and a grandeur in them far beyond all the visions which are - contemplated through the medium of fancy, or which ever regaled - the fondest enthusiast in the enchanted walks of speculation - and poetry. But neither the grace nor the grandeur alone would, - without evidence, have secured acceptance for any opinion. It - must first be made to undergo, and without ceremony, the freest - treatment from human eyes and human hands. It is at one time - stretched on the rack of an experiment, at another it has to - pass through fiery trial in the bottom of a crucible. -<span class="pagenum"><a id="Page_117">{117}</a></span> - In another it undergoes a long questioning process among the - fumes and the filtrations and the intense heat of a laboratory; - and not till it has been subjected to all this inquisitorial - torture and survived it, is it preferred to a place in the - temple of Truth, or admitted among the laws and lessons of a - sound philosophy." -</p> -<p> -No one certainly will contest that this is the language of a -fervent disciple of science. It is impossible to have a keener -apprehension of its beauty, and to accept more completely its -laws. What mathematician, natural philosopher, physiologist, or -chemist, could speak in terms of greater respect and submission -of the necessity of observation, and of the authority of -experience? Dr. Chalmers is not the less for that a true and -fervent Christian; his religious faith equals his scientific -exactitude: he receives Christ, and professes Christ's doctrine -with as firm a voice as he does Bacon and Bacon's method. -<span class="pagenum"><a id="Page_118">{118}</a></span> -Not that for him religious belief is the mere result of -education, of tradition, of habit; but it, on the contrary, -springs as much from reflection and learning, as his acquirements -in natural science themselves; in each sphere he has probed the -very sources and weighed the motives of his convictions. How did -he, in each instance, reach such a haven of repose? Whence in him -this harmony between the philosopher and the Christian? -</p> -<p> -Let us again allow Dr. Chalmers to speak for himself:— -</p> -<p class="cite"> - "It is of importance here to remark that the enlargement of our - knowledge in all the natural sciences, so far from adding to - our presumption, should only give a profounder sense of our - natural incapacity and ignorance in reference to the science of - theology. It is just as if in studying the policy of some - earthly monarch we had made the before unknown discovery of - other empires and distant territories whereof we knew nothing - but the existence and the name. This might complicate the study - without making the object of it at all more comprehensible, and - so of every new wonder which philosophy might lay open to the - gaze of inquirers. -<span class="pagenum"><a id="Page_119">{119}</a></span> - It might give us a larger perspective of the creation than - before, yet, in <i>fact</i>, cast a deeper shade of obscurity - over the counsels and ways of the Creator. We might at once - obtain a deeper insight into the secrets of the workmanship, - and yet feel, and legitimately feel, to be still more deeply - out of reach, the secret purposes of Him who worketh all in - all. Every discovery of an addition to the greatness of his - works may bring with it an addition to the unsearchableness of - his ways. …. -<br><br> - "That telescope which has opened our way to suns and systems - innumerable, leaves the moral administration connected with - them in deepest secrecy. It has made known to us the bare - existence of other worlds; but it would require another - instrument of discovery ere we could understand their relation - to ourselves, as products of the same Almighty Hand, as parts - or members of a family under the same paternal guardianship. - This more extended survey of the Material Universe just tells - us how little we know of the Moral or Spiritual Universe. -<span class="pagenum"><a id="Page_120">{120}</a></span> - It reveals nothing to us of the worlds that roll in space, but - the bare elements of Motion, and Magnitude, and Number—and so - leaves us at a more hopeless distance from the secret of the - Divine administration than when we reasoned of the Earth as the - Universe, of our species as the alone rational family of God - that He had implicated with body, or placed in the midst of a - corporeal system. … -<br><br> - "To know that we cannot know certain things, is in itself - positive knowledge, and a knowledge of the most safe and - valuable nature. … There are few services of greater value to - the cause of knowledge than the delineation of its boundaries." - [Footnote 22] -</p> -<p class="footnote"> - [Footnote 22: Chalmers's Works: Natural Theology, pp. 249-265; - Glasgow.] -</p> -<p> -In holding this language, what in effect is Dr. Chalmers doing? -He is separating what is finite from what is infinite, the thing -created from the Creator, the world subject to government from -the Sovereign that governs it; and in marking this line of -demarcation, he says in his modesty to science, what God in his -power says to the ocean: "Thus far shalt thou go, and no -farther." -</p> -<span class="pagenum"><a id="Page_121">{121}</a></span> -<p> -Doctor Chalmers was right; the limits of the finite world are -those also of human science: how far within these vast limits -science may extend her empire, who shall affirm? But what we -certainly may assert is, that she never can exceed them. The -finite world alone is within her reach, the only world that she -can fathom. It is only in the finite world that man's mind can -fully grasp the facts, observe them in all their extent, and -under all their aspects, discriminate their relations and their -laws (which constitute also a species of facts), and so verify -the system to which they should be referred. This it is that -makes what we term scientific processes and labour, and human -sciences are the results. -</p> -<p> -What need to mention that in speaking of the finite world, I do -not mean to speak of the material world alone? Moral facts there -also are which fall under observation, and enter into the domain -of science. -<span class="pagenum"><a id="Page_122">{122}</a></span> -The study of man in his actual condition, whether considered as -an individual or as forming a member of a nation, is also a -scientific study, subject to the same method as that of the -material world: and it is its legitimate province also to detect -in the actual order of this world the laws of those particular -facts to which it addresses itself. -</p> -<p> -But if the limits of the finite world are those of human science, -they are not those of the human soul. Man contains in himself -ideas and ambitious aspirations extending far beyond and rising -far above the finite world, ideas of and aspirations towards the -Infinite, the Ideal, the Perfect, the Immutable, the Eternal. -These ideas and aspirations are themselves realities admitted by -the human mind; but even in admitting them man's mind comes to a -halt; they give him a presentiment of, or to speak with more -precision, a revelation of, an order of things different from the -facts and laws of the finite world which lies under his -observation; but whilst man has of this superior order the -instinct and the perspective, he can have of it no positive -knowledge. -<span class="pagenum"><a id="Page_123">{123}</a></span> -It proceeds from the sublimity of his nature if he has a glimpse -of Infinity—if he aspires to it; whereas it results from the -infirmity of his actual condition if his positive knowledge is -limited by the world in which he exists. -</p> -<p> -I was born in the south, under the very sun. I have yet, for the -most part, lived in regions either of the north, or bordering -upon the north, regions so frequently immersed in mists. When -under their pale sky we look towards the horizon, a fog of -greater or less density limits the view; the vision itself might -penetrate much farther, but an external obstacle arrests it; it -does not find there the light it needs. Regard now the horizon -under the pure and brilliant sky of the south; the plains, -distant as well as near, are bathed in light; the human eye can -penetrate there as far as its organization permits. If it pierces -no farther, it is not for want of light, but because its proper -and natural force has attained its limit: the mind knows that -there are spaces beyond that which the eye traverses, but the eye -penetrates them not. -<span class="pagenum"><a id="Page_124">{124}</a></span> -This is an image of what happens to the mind itself when -contemplating and studying the universe: it reaches a point where -its clear sight, that is to say its positive appreciation, halts, -not that it finds there the end of things themselves, but the -limit of man's scientific appreciation of them; other realities -present themselves to him; he has a glimpse of them; he believes -in them spontaneously and naturally; it is not given to him to -grasp them and to measure them; but he can neither ignore them, -nor know them, neither have positive knowledge of them, nor -refrain from having faith in them. -</p> -<p> -I cannot deny myself the pleasure of citing what I wrote thirteen -years ago upon the same subject, when philosophically examining -the real meaning of the word <i>faith</i>. "The object of every -religious belief," said I, "is in a certain, a large measure, -inaccessible to human science. Human science may establish that -object's reality; it may arrive at the boundary of this -mysterious world; and assure itself of the existence there of -facts with which man's destiny is connected; but it is not given -to it so to attain the facts themselves as to subject them to its -examination. -</p> -<span class="pagenum"><a id="Page_125">{125}</a></span> -<p> -"Their incapacity to do so has struck more than one philosopher, -and has led them to the conclusion that no such reality exists, -that every religious belief contemplates subjects simply -chimerical. Others, shutting their eyes to their own -incompetency, have dashed daringly forwards towards the sphere of -the supernatural; and just as if they had succeeded in -penetrating into it, they have described its facts, resolved its -problems, assigned its laws. It is difficult to say who shows -more foolish arrogance, the man who maintains that that of which -he cannot have positive knowledge has no real existence, or the -man who pretends to be able to know everything that actually -exists. However this may be, mankind has never for a single day -assented to either assertion: man's instincts and his actions -have constantly disavowed both the negation of the disbeliever -and the confidence of the theologian. -<span class="pagenum"><a id="Page_126">{126}</a></span> -In spite of the former, he has persisted in believing in the -existence of the unknown world, and in the reality of the -relations which connect him with it: and notwithstanding the -powerful influences of the latter, he has refused to admit their -having attained their object—raised the veil; and so man has -continued to agitate the same problems, to pursue the same -truths, as ardently and as laboriously as at the first day, just -as if nothing had been done at all." [Footnote 23] -</p> -<p class="footnote"> - [Footnote 23: Meditations et Êtudes Morales, - p. 170. Paris, 1851.] -</p> -<p> -I have just read again the excellent compendium given by M. -Cousin in his <i>General History of Philosophy from the most -Ancient Times to the End of the Eighteenth Century</i>. He -establishes that all the philosophical labours of the human -understanding have terminated in four great systems—sensualism, -idealism, scepticism, and mysticism—the sole actors in that -intellectual arena where, in all ages and amongst all nations, -they are in turn in the position of combatants and of sovereigns. -<span class="pagenum"><a id="Page_127">{127}</a></span> -And, after having clearly characterised in their origin and their -development these four systems, M. Cousin adds, "As for their -intrinsic merits, habituate yourselves to this principle: they -have existed; therefore they had their reason to exist; therefore -they are true at least in part. Error is the law of our nature: -to it we are condemned; and in all our opinions and all our words -there is always a large allowance to be made for error, and too -often for absurdity. But absolute absurdity does not enter into -the mind of man; it is the excellence of man's thought, that -without some leaven of truth it admits nothing, and absolute -error is impossible. The four systems which have just been -rapidly laid before you have had each their existence; therefore -they contain truth, still without being entirely true. Partially -true, and partially false, these systems reappear at all the -great epochs. Time cannot destroy any one of them, nor can it -beget any new one, because time develops and perfects the human -mind, though without changing its nature and its fundamental -tendencies. -<span class="pagenum"><a id="Page_128">{128}</a></span> -Time does no more than multiply and vary almost infinitely the -combinations of the four simple and elementary systems. Hence -originate those countless systems which history collects and -which it is its office to explain." [Footnote 24] -</p> -<p class="footnote"> - [Footnote 24: Histoire Générale de la Philosophic depuis les - temps les plus anciens jusqu'à la fin du XVIII Siècle, par M. - Victor Cousin, pp. 4-31. 1863.] -</p> -<p> -M. Cousin excels in explaining these numberless philosophical -combinations, and in tracing them all back to the four great -systems which he has defined; but there is a fact still more -important than the variety of these combinations, and which calls -itself for explanation. Why did these four essential -systems—sensualism, idealism, scepticism, and mysticism, appear -from the most ancient times? why have they continued to reproduce -themselves always and everywhere, with deductions more or less -logical, with greater or less ability, but still fundamentally -always and everywhere the same? Why, upon these supreme -questions, did the human mind achieve at so early a period, what -may be termed, it is true, but essays at a solution, but which -essays in some sort have exhausted the mind rather than satisfied -it? -<span class="pagenum"><a id="Page_129">{129}</a></span> -How is it that these different systems, invented with such -promptitude, have never been able either to come to an accord, -nor has any one been able to prevail decidedly against another -and to cause itself to be received as the truth? Why has -philosophy, or, to speak more precisely, why have metaphysics, -remained essentially stationary; great at their birth, but -destined not to grow: whereas the other sciences—those styled -natural sciences—have been essentially progressive: at first -feeble, and making in succession conquest after conquest; these -they have been able to retain, until they have formed a domain -day by day more extended and less contested? -</p> -<p> -The very fact that suggests these questions contains the answer -to them. Man has, upon the fundamental subject of metaphysics, a -primitive light, rather the heritage and dowry of human nature, -than the conquest of human science. -<span class="pagenum"><a id="Page_130">{130}</a></span> -The metaphysician appropriates it as a torch to lighten him on -his obscure and ill-defined path. He finds in man himself a point -of departure at once profound and certain; but his aim is God; -that is to say, an aim above his reach. -</p> -<p> -Must we, then, renounce the study of the great questions which -form the subject of metaphysics as a vain labour, where the human -mind is turning indefinitely in the same circle, incapable not -only of attaining the object which it is pursuing, but of making -any advance in its pursuit? -</p> -<p> -Often, and with more ability than has been evinced by the -Positive school of the present day, has this judgment been -pronounced against metaphysics. But that judgment man's mind has -never accepted, and never will accept; the great problems which -pass beyond the finite world lie propounded before him; never -will he renounce the attempt to solve them; he is impelled to it -by an irresistible instinct, an instinct full of faith and of -hope, in spite of the repeated failure of his efforts. -<span class="pagenum"><a id="Page_131">{131}</a></span> -As man is in the sphere of action, so is he also in that of -thought; he aspires higher than it is possible to achieve: this -is his nature and his glory; to renounce his aspirations would be -declaring his own forfeiture. But without any such abdication, it -is still necessary that he should know himself, it is necessary -that he should understand that his strength here below is -infinitely less than his ambition, and that it is not given him -to have any positive scientific knowledge of that infinite and -ideal world towards which he dashes. The facts and the problems -which he there encounters are such, that the methods and the laws -which direct the human mind in the study of the finite world are -inapplicable. The infinite is for us the object not of science -but belief, and it is alike impossible for us either to reject or -penetrate it. -<span class="pagenum"><a id="Page_132">{132}</a></span> -Let man, then, feel a profound sentiment of that double truth: -let him, without sacrificing the ambitious aspirations of his -intelligence, recognise the limits imposed upon his achievements -in science; he will not then be long in also recognising that, in -the relations of the finite with the infinite—of himself with -God—he stands in need of superhuman assistance, and that this -does not fail him. God has given to man what man never can -conquer, and revelation opens to him that world of the infinite -over which, by its own exertions and of itself alone, man's mind -never could spread light. The light man receives from God -himself. -</p> -<span class="pagenum"><a id="Page_133">{133}</a></span> -<br> - <h2>Fifth Meditation.<br> - - Revelation.</h2> -<br> -<p> -When it was objected to Leibnitz "that there is nothing in the -intelligence that has not first been in the sense," Leibnitz -replied, "if not the intelligence itself." [Footnote 25] -</p> -<p class="footnote"> - [Footnote 25: Nihil est in intellectu quod non prius fuerit - in sensu.—Nisi intellectus ipse.] -</p> -<p> -In the answer of Leibnitz I will change but a single word, and -substitute for <i>intelligence, soul</i>. <i>Soul</i> is a term -more comprehensive and more complete than <i>intelligence;</i> it -embraces everything in the human being that is not body and -matter; it is not the mere intelligence, a special faculty of -man; it is all the intellectual and moral man. -</p> -<span class="pagenum"><a id="Page_134">{134}</a></span> -<p> -The soul possesses itself and carries with it into life native -faculties and an inborn light: these manifest and develop -themselves more and more as they come into relation with the -exterior world; but they had still an existence prior to those -relations, and they exercise an important influence upon what -results. The external world does not create nor essentially -change the intellectual and moral being that has just come into -life, but it opens to it a stage where that being acts in -accordance at once with its proper nature, and the conditions and -influences in the midst of which the action takes place. The -hypothesis of a statue endowed with sensibility is a -contradiction; in seeking to explain man's first growth, it loses -sight of the entire intellectual and moral being. -</p> -<p> -When, as I said before, man first entered the world, he did not -enter it, he could not enter it, as a new-born babe, with the -mere breath of life; he was created full grown, with instincts -and faculties complete in their power and capable of immediate -action. -<span class="pagenum"><a id="Page_135">{135}</a></span> -We must either deny the creation and be driven to monstrous -hypotheses, or admit that the human being who now develops -himself slowly and laboriously, was at his first appearance -mature in body and in mind. -</p> -<p> -The creation implies then the Revelation, a revelation which -lighted man at his entrance into the world, and qualified him -from that very moment to use his faculties and his instincts. Do -we, can we, picture to ourselves the first man, the first human -couple, with a complete physical development, and yet without the -essential conditions of intellectual activity, physically strong -and morally a nonentity, the body of twenty years and the soul in -the first hour of infancy? Such a fact is self-contradictory, and -impossible of conception. -</p> -<p> -What was the positive extent of this primal revelation, the -necessary attendant upon creation, which occurred in the first -relation of God with man? No man can say. I open the book of -Genesis and there I read: -</p> -<span class="pagenum"><a id="Page_136">{136}</a></span> -<p> -"And the Lord God took the man, and put him into the garden of -Eden to dress it and to keep it. And the Lord God commanded the -man, saying, Of every tree of the garden thou mayest freely eat: -But of the tree of the knowledge of good and evil, thou shalt not -eat of it: for in the day that thou eatest thereof thou shalt -surely die. And the Lord God said, It is not good that the man -should be alone; I will make him an help meet for him. And out of -the ground the Lord God formed every beast of the field, and -every fowl of the air; and brought them unto Adam to see what he -would call them: and whatsoever Adam called every living -creature, that was the name thereof. And Adam gave names to all -cattle, and to the fowl of the air, and to every beast of the -field; but for Adam there was not found an help meet for him. And -the Lord God caused a deep sleep to fall upon Adam, and he slept: -and he took one of his ribs, and closed up the flesh instead -thereof; and the rib, which the Lord God had taken from man, made -he a woman, and brought her unto the man. -<span class="pagenum"><a id="Page_137">{137}</a></span> -And Adam said, This is now bone of my bones, and flesh of my -flesh. … Therefore shall a man leave his father and his mother, -and shall cleave unto his wife: and they shall be one flesh." -[Footnote 26] -</p> -<p class="footnote"> - [Footnote 26: Genesis ii. 15-24.] -</p> -<p> -According, then, to the Bible, the primitive revelation -essentially bore upon the three points,—marriage, language, and -the duty of man's obedience to God his Creator: Adam received at -the hand of God the moral law of his liberty, the companion of -his life, and the faculty by which he was enabled to name the -creatures that were around him: in other words, the three sources -of religion, of family, and of science were immediately unclosed -to him. It is not necessary here to enter upon any of the -questions which have been raised, as to the human origin of -language, the primitive language, or the formation of families, -with their influence upon the great organisation of society: the -limits of the primitive revelation cannot be determined -scientifically; the fact of the revelation itself is certain. -<span class="pagenum"><a id="Page_138">{138}</a></span> -This is the light which lighted the first man from his first -entrance upon life, and without which it is impossible to -conceive that he could have survived. -</p> -<p> -The primitive revelation did not abandon mankind on its -development and dispersion; it accompanied it everywhere, as a -general and permanent revelation. The light which had lighted the -first man spread amongst all nations and throughout all ages, -assuming the character of ideas, universal and uncontested; of -instincts, spontaneous and indestructible. No nation has been -without this light, none left to its own unassisted efforts to -grope its way through the darkness of life. Let not the human -understanding pride itself too much upon its works; the glory -does not belong to it alone: what it has accomplished it has -accomplished by aid of the primitive principles received from -God; in all his works and all his progress man has had for point -of departure and support that primitive revelation. -<span class="pagenum"><a id="Page_139">{139}</a></span> -All the grand doctrines, all the mighty institutions, which have -governed the world, whatever intermixture of monstrous and fatal -errors they may have contained, have preserved a trace of the -fundamental verities which were the dowry of humanity at its -birth. God has forsaken no portion of the human race; and not -less amidst the errors into which it has fallen, than in the -noble developments which constitute its glory, we recognise signs -of the primitive teaching derived from its Divine Author. -</p> -<p> -After the revelation made to the first man, and in the midst of -the general revelation diffused over all mankind, a great event -occurs in history: a special revelation takes place, and has for -its seat the bosom of an inconsiderable nation, that had been -shut in during sixteen centuries in a little corner of the world; -and it was thence that, nineteen centuries ago, that revelation -proceeded to enlighten and to subdue, according to the -predictions of its Author, all the human race. -</p> -<span class="pagenum"><a id="Page_140">{140}</a></span> -<p> -A man of an imagination as fertile as his knowledge is profound, -who, with an admirable candour has in his works associated -hypothesis and faith, M. Ewald, professor at the University of -Göttingen, has recently thus characterised this event:—"The -history of the old Jewish people is fundamentally the history of -the true religion, proceeding from step to step to its complete -development, rising through all kinds of struggles, until it -achieves a supreme victory, and finally manifesting itself in all -its majesty and power, in order to spread irresistibly, by its -proper virtue, so as to become the eternal possession and -blessing of all nations." [Footnote 27] -</p> -<p class="footnote"> - [Footnote 27: H. Ewald, Geschichte des Volkes Israel, bis - Christus. 2nd ed., vol. i. p. 9. Göttingen, 1851. ] -</p> -<p> -How is the great event thus characterised by M. Ewald proved? By -what marks can we distinguish the Divine origin of this special -revelation that became the Christian religion? What does it -affirm itself in support of its claim to the moral conquest of -mankind? -</p> -<span class="pagenum"><a id="Page_141">{141}</a></span> -<p> -At the very outset, in proving her dogmas and precepts to have -come from God, the Christian revelation asserts that the -documents in which it is written are themselves of divine origin. -The divine inspiration of the sacred volume is the first basis of -the Christian Faith, the external title of Christianity to -authority over souls. What is the full import of this title? What -the signification of the inspiration of the sacred volumes? -</p> -<span class="pagenum"><a id="Page_142">{142}</a></span> -<br> - <h2>Sixth Meditation.<br> - - The Inspiration Of The Scriptures.</h2> -<br> -<p> -I have read the sacred volumes over and over again, I have -perused them in very different dispositions of mind, at one time -studying them as great historical documents, at another admiring -them as sublime works of poetry. I have experienced an -extraordinary impression, quite different from either curiosity -or admiration. I have felt myself the listener of a language -other than that of the chronicler or the poet; and under the -influence of a breath issuing from other sources than human. Not -that man does not occupy a great place in the sacred volumes; he -displays himself there, on the contrary, with all his passions, -his vices, his weaknesses, his ignorance, his errors; the Hebrew -people shows itself rude, barbarous, changeable, superstitious, -accessible to all the imperfections, to all the failings, of -other nations. -<span class="pagenum"><a id="Page_143">{143}</a></span> But the Hebrew is not the sole actor in his history; he has -an Ally, a Protector, a Master, who intervenes incessantly to -command, inspire, direct, strike, or save. God is there, always -present, acting— -</p> -<p class="cite"> - "Et ce n'est pas un Dieu comme vos dieux frivoles, - Insensibles et sourds, impuissants, mutilés, - De bois, de marbre, ou d'or, comme vous le voulez." [Footnote 28] -<br><br> - "Not such a god as are <i>your</i> friv'lous gods, - Insensible and deaf, weak, mutilated, - Of wood, or stone, or gold, as <i>you</i> will have them." -</p> -<p class="footnote"> - [Footnote 28: Corneille, Polyeucte, acte iv. sc. 3.] -</p> -<p> -It is the God One and Supreme, All Powerful, the Creator, the -Eternal. And even in their forgetfulness and their disobedience, -the Hebrews believe still in God: He is still the object at once -of their fear, of their hope, and of a faith that persists in the -midst of the infidelity of their lives. The Bible is no poem in -which man recounts and sings the adventures of his God combined -with his own; it is a real drama, a continued dialogue between -God and man personified in the Hebrews; it is, on the one side, -God's will and God's action, and, on the other, man's liberty and -man's faith, now in pious association, now at fatal variance. -</p> -<span class="pagenum"><a id="Page_144">{144}</a></span> -<p> -The more I have perused the Scriptures, the more surprised I feel -that earnest readers should not have been impressed as I have -been, and that several should have failed to see the -characteristic of divine inspiration, so foreign to every other -book, so remarkable in this one. That men who absolutely deny all -supernatural action of God in the world, should not be more -disposed to admit it in the sources of the Bible than elsewhere, -is perfectly comprehensible; but the attack upon the divine -inspiration of the sacred books has another motive, and one more -likely to prove contagious. It is not without deep regret that I -proceed in this place to contradict ancient traditions, at once -respected and respectable, and perhaps to offend sober and -sincere convictions. But my own conviction is stronger than my -regret, and it is still more so because accompanied by another -conviction, which is, that the system that it is my intention to -contest, has occasioned, continues to occasion, and may still -occasion, an immense ill to Christianity. -</p> -<span class="pagenum"><a id="Page_145">{145}</a></span> -<p> -Whoever reads without prejudice in the Hebrew and Greek the -original texts of the Scriptures, whether of the Old or New -Testament, meets there often in the midst of their sublime -beauties, I do not say merely faults of style, but of grammar, in -violation of those logical and natural rules of language common -to all tongues. Are we to infer that these faults have the same -origin as the doctrines with which they are intermixed, and that -they are both divinely inspired? [Footnote 29] -</p> -<p class="footnote"> - [Footnote 29: I indicate, in a note placed at the end of this - volume, some instances of these grammatical faults met with - in the Scriptures, and to which it is impossible to assign - the character of divine inspiration.] -</p> -<p> -And yet this is what is pretended by fervent and learned men, who -maintain that all, absolutely all, in the Scriptures is divinely -inspired—the words as well as the ideas, all the words used -upon all subjects, the material of language as well as the -doctrine which lies at its base. -</p> -<span class="pagenum"><a id="Page_146">{146}</a></span> -<p> -In this assertion I see but deplorable confusion, leading to -profound misapprehension both of the meaning and the object of -the sacred books. It was not God's purpose to give instruction to -men in grammar, and if not in grammar, neither was it, any more -God's purpose to give instruction in geology, astronomy, -geography, or chronology. It is on their relations with their -Creator, upon duties of men towards Him and towards each other, -upon the rule of faith and of conduct in life, that God has -lighted them by light from heaven. It is to the subject of -religion and morals, and to these alone, that the inspiration of -the Scriptures is directed. -</p> -<p> -Amongst the principal arguments alleged to prove that everything -in the sacred volumes is divinely inspired, particular use has -been made of the Second Epistle of St. Paul to Timothy, where in -effect we find the passage:— -</p> -<p class="cite"> - "All Scripture is given by inspiration of God, and is - profitable for doctrine, for reproof, for correction, for - instruction in righteousness: -<br><br> - "That the man of God may be perfect, thoroughly furnished unto - all good works." [Footnote 30] -</p> -<p class="footnote"> - [Footnote 30: 2 Timothy iii. 16, 17.] -</p> -<span class="pagenum"><a id="Page_147">{147}</a></span> -<p> -Is it possible to determine in words of greater precision the -religious and moral object of the inspiration? -</p> -<p> -Appeal is made to a consideration of a different description. If, -it is said, we at the same time admit, on the one side, the -inspiration of the sacred books, and on the other, that this -inspiration is not universal and absolute, who shall make the -selection between these two parts?—who mark the limit of the -inspiration?—who say which texts, which passages are inspired, -and which are not? So to divide the Holy Scriptures is to strip -them of their supernatural character, to destroy their -authenticity, by surrendering them to all the incertitudes, all -the disputes of men: a complete and uninterrupted inspiration -alone is capable of commanding faith. -</p> -<span class="pagenum"><a id="Page_148">{148}</a></span> -<p> -Never-dying pretension of man's weakness! Created intelligent and -free, he proposes to use largely his intelligence and his -freedom; at the same time, conscious how feeble his means are, -how inadequate to his aspirations, he invokes a guide, a support; -and from the very moment that his hope fixes upon it, he will -have it immutable, infallible. He searches a fixed point to which -to attach himself with absolute and permanent assurance. In -creating man, God did not leave him without fixed points; the -Divine revelation, and the inspiration of the Scriptures, had -precisely for object and effect to supply these, but not on all -subjects alike and without distinction. I refer here again to -what I lately said respecting the separation of the finite and -the infinite, of the world created, and of its Creator. At the -same time that the limits of the finite world are those of human -science, it is to human study and human science that God has -surrendered the finite world; it is not there that God has set up -his divine torch; He has dictated to Moses the laws which -regulate the duties of man towards God, and of man towards man; -but He has left to Newton the discovery of the laws which preside -over the universe. -<span class="pagenum"><a id="Page_149">{149}</a></span> -The Scriptures speak upon all subjects; circumstances connected -with the finite world are there incessantly mixed with -perspectives of infinity; but it is only to the latter, to that -future of which they permit us to snatch a view, and to the laws -which they impose upon men, that the divine inspiration addresses -itself; God only pours his light in quarters which man's eye and -man's labour cannot reach; for all that remains, the sacred books -speak the language used and understood by the generations to whom -they are addressed. God does not, even when He inspires them, -transport into future domains of science the interpreters He -uses, or the nations to whom He sends them; He takes them both as -He finds them, with their traditions, their notions, their degree -of knowledge or ignorance as respects the finite world, of its -phenomena and its laws. -<span class="pagenum"><a id="Page_150">{150}</a></span> -It is not the condition, the scientific progress of the human -understanding; it is the condition and moral progress of the -human soul which are the object of the Divine action, and God -requires not for the exercise of his power on the human soul, -science either as a precursor or a companion; He addresses -himself to instincts and desires the most intimate and most -sublime as well as the most universal in man's nature, to -instincts and desires of which science is neither the object nor -the measure, and which require to be satisfied from other -sources. Whatever true or false science we find in the Scriptures -upon the subject of the finite world, proceeds from the writers -themselves or their contemporaries; they have spoken as they -believed, or as those believed who surrounded them when they -spoke: on the other hand, the light thrown over the infinite, the -law laid down, and the perspective opened by that same light, -these are what proceed from God, and which He has inspired in the -Scriptures. Their object is essentially and exclusively moral and -practical; they express the ideas, employ the images, and speak -the language best calculated to produce a powerful effect upon -the soul, to regenerate and to save it. I open the Gospel -according to St. Luke, and I there read the admirable parable:— -</p> -<span class="pagenum"><a id="Page_151">{151}</a></span> -<p class="cite"> - "There was a certain rich man, which was clothed in purple and - fine linen, and fared sumptuously every day: -<br><br> - "And there was a certain beggar named Lazarus, which was laid - at his gate, full of sores, -<br><br> - "And desiring to be fed with the crumbs which fell from the - rich man's table: moreover the dogs came and licked his sores. -<br><br> - "And it came to pass, that the beggar died, and was carried by - the angels into Abraham's bosom: the rich man also died, and - was buried; -<br><br> - "And in hell he lift up his eyes, being in torments, and seeth - Abraham afar off, and Lazarus in his bosom. -<br><br> - "And he cried and said, Father Abraham, have mercy on me, and - send Lazarus, that he may dip the tip of his finger in water, - and cool my tongue; for I am tormented in this flame. -<br><br> - "But Abraham said, Son, remember that thou in thy lifetime - receivedst thy good things, and likewise Lazarus evil things; - but now he is comforted, and thou art tormented. -<br><br> - "And beside all this, between us and you there is a great gulf - fixed: so that they which would pass from hence to you cannot; - neither can they pass to us, that would come from thence. -<br><br> - "Then he said, I pray thee therefore, father, that thou - wouldest send him to my father's house: -<br> -<span class="pagenum"><a id="Page_152">{152}</a></span> -<br> - "For I have five brethren; that he may testify unto them, lest - they also come into this place of torment. -<br><br> - "Abraham saith unto him, They have Moses and the prophets; let - them hear them. -<br><br> - "And he said, Nay, father Abraham: but if one went unto them - from the dead, they will repent. -<br><br> - "And he said unto him, If they hear not Moses and the prophets, - neither will they be persuaded, though one rose from the dead." - [Footnote 31] -</p> -<p class="footnote"> - [Footnote 31: Luke xvi. 19-31.] -</p> -<p> -Was it the intention of Jesus, and of the Evangelist who has -repeated his words, to describe, as they really are, the -condition of men after their earthly existence, their positive -local position after God's judgment, and their relations either -with each other or with the world which they have quitted? -Certainly not; the material circumstances intermixed with this -dialogue are only images borrowed from actual common life. But -what images so strike, so penetrate the soul? What more solemn -warning addressed to men in this life, to rouse them to a sense -of their duties towards God and their fellow creatures, in the -name of the mysterious future that awaits them? -</p> -<span class="pagenum"><a id="Page_153">{153}</a></span> -<p> -Nothing is further from my thought than to see in the sacred -books mere poetical images and symbols; those books are really, -with respect to the religious problems that beset man's thoughts, -the Light and the voice of God; still, that Light only lights, -that voice only reveals revelations of God with man, duties which -God enjoins men in the course of their present life, and -prospects which He opens to them beyond the imperfect and limited -world where this life passes. As for this life itself, it is the -object of human study and science, not of the inspiration of the -sacred Scriptures. In disregarding this limit, in pretending to -attribute to the language of the Scriptures, used with reference -to the phenomena of the finite world, the character of divine -inspiration, men have fallen with respect both to thought and act -into deplorable errors. Hence proceeded the trial of Galileo, and -numerous other controversies, numerous other condemnations still -more absurd, still more to be regretted, in which Christianity -was immediately placed in opposition to human science, and -constrained to inflict or receive remarkable disavowals. -<span class="pagenum"><a id="Page_154">{154}</a></span> -The same is the case at the present day with respect to numerous -objections made in the name of the natural sciences to -Christianity, and which from the learned circles where they have -their birth, spread over a world at once curious and frivolous, -where they cause the Christian faith itself to be regarded as -ignorant credulity. Nothing of this kind could ever occur, no -necessity of such conflict could await the Christian religion, if -on the one side the limits of human science, and on the other -those of divine inspiration, were recognised as they really are, -and respected according to their rightful claims. -</p> -<p> -I might cite in aid of the opinion I support numerous and great -authorities. I will refer to but three, appealed to by Galileo -himself in 1615 in his letters to the Grand Duchess Christina of -Lorraine" [Footnote 32]—(who could appeal to authorities more -august?)—"Many things," says St. Jerome, "are recounted in the -Scriptures according to the judgment of the times when they -happened, and not according to the truth." [Footnote 33] -</p> -<p class="footnote"> - [Footnote 32: Opere Complete di Galileo-Galilei, t. ii. chap. - ii. pp. 26-64. Florence, 1843.] -<br><br> - [Footnote 33: OEuvres de St. Jérôme, Comment, in Jeremiam, ed. - Vallars. t. ix. p. 1040.] -</p> -<span class="pagenum"><a id="Page_155">{155}</a></span> -<p class="cite"> - "The purpose of the Holy Scriptures," says the Cardinal - Baronius, "is to teach us how to go to heaven, and not how the - heavens go." "This," says Kepler, "is the counsel I give to the - man so ill informed as not to understand the science of - astronomy, or so weak as to regard adhesion to Copernicus as - proof of want of piety:—Let him at once leave the study of - astronomy and the examination of the opinions of philosophers; - instead of devoting himself to those arduous researches, let - him remain at home, till his fields, and occupy himself with - his proper business; and thence, raising towards the admirable - vault of heaven his eyes, which constitute for him his sole - mode of vision, let him pour forth his heart in thanksgivings - and praises to God his Creator. He may rest assured that he is - thus rendering to God a worship as perfect as that of the - astronomer himself, to whom God has accorded the gift of seeing - clearer with the eyes of his intelligence; but who, above all - the worlds and all the heavens that he attains, knows and wills - to find his God." [Footnote 34] -</p> -<p class="footnote"> - [Footnote 34: Kepler, Nova Astronomia, Introductio, p. 9. - Prague, 1609.] -</p> -<span class="pagenum"><a id="Page_156">{156}</a></span> -<p> -I discard, then, as absolutely foreign to the grand question that -occupies me, all the difficulties suggested to the Scriptures in -the name of those sciences whose province is finite nature. I -seek and consider in these books only what is their sole -object,—the relations of God with man, and the solution of those -problems which these relations cause to weigh upon the human -soul. The deeper we go in the study of the sacred volumes, -restored to their real object, the more the divine inspiration -becomes manifest and striking. God and man are there ever both -present, both actors in the same history. Of this history it is -my present object to illustrate the grand features. -</p> -<span class="pagenum"><a id="Page_157">{157}</a></span> -<br> - <h2>Seventh Meditation.<br> - - God According To The Bible.</h2> -<br> -<p> -It is far from my intention to evade the questions which concern -the authenticity of the Bible, and of the respective books which -compose it. I shall enter upon them in the second series of these -<i>Meditations</i>, when I touch upon the history of the -Christian religion. Those questions, however, have no bearing -upon the subject which occupies me at the present moment; the -Bible, whatever its antiquity, whatever the comparative antiquity -of its different parts, has been ever that witness of God in -which the Hebrews believed, and under the law of which they -lived, the great monument of the religion in the bosom of which -the Christian religion took its birth. It is this God of whom in -the Bible, and in the Bible alone, it is my purpose to seek the -peculiar and true character. -</p> -<span class="pagenum"><a id="Page_158">{158}</a></span> -<p> -The nations of Semitic origin have been honoured for their -primitive and persistent faith in the unity of God. Under -different forms, and amidst events very dissimilar, nearly all -nations have been polytheistic; the Semitic nations alone have -believed firmly in the one God. This great moral fact has been -attributed to different and to complex causes; but the fact -itself is generally acknowledged and admitted. -</p> -<p> -In two respects in this assertion there is exaggeration. On one -side, among the nations of Semitic origin, several were -polytheistic; the descendants of Abraham, the Hebrews, and the -Arab Ishmaelites, alone remained really monotheistic; on the -other side, the idea of the unity of God was not entirely strange -even to the polytheistic nations. The greater part, like the -Hindoos and the Greeks, admitted one sole and primordial Power -anterior and superior to their gods;—idea, vague and searched -from afar, derived from the instinct of man or the reflection of -the philosopher, and which amongst those nations became neither -the basis of any religion that deserves the name, nor any -efficacious obstacle to idolatry. -<span class="pagenum"><a id="Page_159">{159}</a></span> -The God of the Bible is no such sterile abstraction; He is the -one God at the present time as in the origin of all things, the -personal God, living, acting, and presiding efficiently over the -destinies of the world that He has created. -</p> -<p> -He has besides another characteristic, one far more striking, -which belongs to Him more exclusively than that of Unity. The -gods of the polytheistic nations have histories filled with -events, vicissitudes, transformations, adventures. The mythology -of the Egyptians, of the Hindoos, of the Greeks, of the -Scandinavians, and numerous others, is but the poetical or -symbolical recital of the varied and agitated lives of their -gods. We detect in these recitals sometimes the personification -of the fancies of nations described in accordance with their -actual phenomena, some times the reminiscences of human -personages who have struck the imagination of the people. -<span class="pagenum"><a id="Page_160">{160}</a></span> -But whatever their origin, whatever their name, each of those -gods has his individual history more or less overladen with -incidents and acts, now heroic, now licentious, now elegantly -fantastic, now grossly eccentric. All the polytheistic religions -are collections of biographies, divine or legendary, allegorical -or completely fabulous, in which the careers and the passions, -the actions and the dreams of men, reproduce themselves under the -forms and names of deities. -</p> -<p> -The God of the Bible has no biography, neither has He any -personal adventures. Nothing occurs to Him and nothing changes in -Him; He is always and invariably the same, a Being real and -personal, absolutely distinct from the finite world and from -humanity, identical and immutable in the bosom of the universal -diversity and movement. "I Am That I Am," is the sole definition -that He vouchsafes of himself, and the constant expression of -what He is in all the course of the history of the Hebrews, to -which He is present and over which He presides without ever -receiving from it any reflex of influence. -<span class="pagenum"><a id="Page_161">{161}</a></span> -Such is the God of the Bible, in evident and permanent contrast -with all the gods of polytheism, still more distinct and more -solitary by his nature than by his Unity. -</p> -<p> -This is, indeed, so peculiarly the proper and essential character -of the God of the Bible, that this character has passed into the -very language of the Hebrews, and has become there the very name -of God. Several words are employed in the Bible as appellations -of God. One of these <i>El, Eloah,</i> in the plural -<i>Elohïm</i>, expresses force, <i>creative power</i>, and is -applied to the manifold gods of Paganism as well as to the one -God of the Hebrews. <i>El Shaddaï</i> is translated by <i>the -all-powerful</i>. <i>Adonai</i> signifies <i>Lord</i>. The word -<i>Yahwe</i> or <i>Yehwe</i>, which becomes in Hebrew -pronunciation <i>Jehovah</i>, means simply <i>He is</i>, and -means self-existence, the Being Absolute and Eternal. -<span class="pagenum"><a id="Page_162">{162}</a></span> -This name occurs in no other of the Semitic languages, and it is -at the epoch of Moses that it appears for the first time amongst -the Hebrews: "And God spake unto Moses, and said unto him, I am -the Eternal" (<i>Yahwe, Jehovah</i>). "And I appeared unto -Abraham, Isaac, and unto Jacob, by the name of the All-powerful -(<i>El Shaddaï</i>), but by my name Eternal was I not known to -them." [Footnote 35 ] <i>Yahwe, Jehovah</i>, is at once the true -God and the national God of Israel. [Footnote 36] -</p> -<p class="footnote"> - [Footnote 35: Exodus vi. 2, 3.] -<br><br> - [Footnote 36: I have consulted respecting the precise sense - and the different shades of meaning of the terms expressing - God in Hebrew, my learned <i>confrère</i> at the Academy of - Inscriptions, M. Munk, who has replied to all my inquiries - with as much clearness as courtesy.] -</p> -<p> -The history of the Hebrews is neither less significant nor less -expressive than their language; it is the history of the -relations of the God, One and Immutable with the people chosen by -Him to be the special representative of the religious principle, -and the regenerating source of religious life in the human race. -<span class="pagenum"><a id="Page_163">{163}</a></span> -This people undergoes the destiny and trials common to all -nations; it demands, and becomes subject to, a variety of -different governments; it falls into the errors and faults usual -to nations; it frequently succumbs to the temptations of -idolatry; like the others, it has its days of virtue and of vice, -of prosperity and of reverses, of glory and of abasement. Amidst -all the vicissitudes and errors of the people of the Bible, the -God of the Bible remains invariably the same, without any -tincture of anthropomorphism, without any alteration in the idea -which the Hebrews conceive of his nature, either during their -fidelity or disobedience to his Commandments. It is always the -God who has said, "I Am That I Am," of whom his people demand no -other explanation of himself, and who, ever present and -sovereign, pursues the designs of his providence with men, who -either use or abuse the liberty of action which that God had -accorded to them at their creation. I wish to retrace, according -to the Bible, the principal phases and the principal actors in -this history. -<span class="pagenum"><a id="Page_164">{164}</a></span> -The more I study, the more I feel that I am watching, as M. Ewald -has expressed it, "the career of the true religion, advancing -step by step to its complete development," that is to say, that I -am there observing the action of God upon the first steps and -upon the religious progress of the human race. -</p> -<br> - - <h3>I. God And Abraham.</h3> -<br> -<p> -The history of the Hebrews, temporal and spiritual, opens with -Abraham. At his first appearance in the Bible, Abraham is a nomad -chief, who has quitted Chaldæa and the town of Haran, where his -father, Terah, descended from Shem, is still living. He is -wandering with his family, his servants, and his flocks, at first -on the frontiers and afterwards in the interior of the land of -Canaan, halting wherever he finds water and pasturage, and -conducting his tents and his tribe at one time through the -mountainous districts, at another along the plains below. Why has -he left Chaldæa? -<span class="pagenum"><a id="Page_165">{165}</a></span> -According to the Bible itself, his father was an idolater: "Your -fathers," said Joshua to the people of Israel, "dwelt on the -other side of the flood" (the Euphrates) "in old time, even -Terah, the father of Abraham, and the father of Nachor: and they -served other gods." [Footnote 37] The book of Judith contains a -similar assertion; [Footnote 38] and the Jewish and Arabian -traditions confirm, at the same time that they amplify, the -statement: the father of Abraham, they say, was an idolatrous -fanatic, and his son Abraham, having set himself against the -practice of idolatry, was upon his charge thrown into a burning -furnace, from which a miracle alone preserved him. The historian -Josephus speaks of the insurrections which took place amongst the -Chaldæans on the occasion of their religious dissensions. -</p> -<p class="footnote"> - [Footnote 37: Joshua xxiv. 2.] -<br><br> - [Footnote 38: Judith v. 6-9. ] -<br><br> - [USCCB: Judith v. 6-9. - "These people are descendants of the Chaldeans. They formerly - dwelt in Mesopotamia, for they did not wish to follow the - gods of their forefathers who were born in the land of the - Chaldeans. Since they abandoned the way of their ancestors, - and acknowledged with divine worship the God of heaven, their - forefathers expelled them from the presence of their gods. So - they fled to Mesopotamia and dwelt there a long time. Their - God bade them leave their abode and proceed to the land of - Canaan. Here they settled, and grew very rich in gold, - silver, and a great abundance of livestock."] -</p> -<p> -The Bible makes no allusion to these traditions; from the very -beginning God intervenes in the history of the father of the -Hebrews. -<span class="pagenum"><a id="Page_166">{166}</a></span> -"The Eternal had said unto Abram, Get thee out of thy country, -and from thy kindred, and from thy father's house, unto a land -that I will shew thee: I will make thee a great nation, and I -will bless thee, and make thy name great; … and in thee shall -all families of the earth be blessed. … So Abram departed, … -and Abram took Sarai his wife, and Lot his brother's son, and all -their substance that they had gathered, and the sons that they -had gotten in Haran; and they went forth to go into the land of -Canaan; and into the land of Canaan they came." [Footnote 39] -</p> -<p class="footnote"> - [Footnote 39: Genesis xii. 1-5.] -</p> -<p> -How had God spoken to Abraham? By a voice from without or by an -internal inspiration? The writer of the Biblical narrative -occupies himself in no respect with the question. God is for him, -present and an actor in the history just as much as Abraham is; -the intervention of God has in his eyes nothing but what is -perfectly simple and natural. The same faith animates Abraham; he -issues forth from Chaldæa and wanders through Palestine, -according to the word and under the direction of the Eternal. -</p> -<span class="pagenum"><a id="Page_167">{167}</a></span> -<p> -He wanders through the midst of populations already established -upon the land of Canaan, and with these he lives in peace, but -still, not uniting with them; bringing them succour when attacked -by foreign chieftains; fighting in their behalf as a faithful -ally, sometimes, perhaps, in the character of a valiant -<i>condottiere</i> [mercenary], but remaining isolated in his -capacity of nomad Patriarch, with his family and his tribe; -repelling even the gifts and favours which might perhaps lower -his character or affect his independence. Everywhere that he -halts, or that any incident of importance occurs to him, at -Sichem, Bethel, Beersheba, Hebron, he raises an altar to his God. -In his wandering uncertain life a famine impels him on one -occasion even as far as Egypt:—the first perhaps of those -shepherd chiefs who issued from Asia, and who were so soon to -invade that rich country. Abraham passes in Egypt several years, -well treated by the reigning Pharaoh; on excellent terms with the -Egyptian priests, imparting to them and receiving from them such -knowledge of astronomy or of natural philosophy as they mutually -possessed; but maintaining ever carefully the isolation of his -family, of his tribe, and of his religion. Of his own accord, or -at the instance of the Pharaoh, he quits Egypt, carrying with him -not only his flocks and his camels, but his Egyptian slaves, and -amongst others Hagar. -<span class="pagenum"><a id="Page_168">{168}</a></span> -He returns to the country of Canaan, again wanders through -several of its districts, takes part in different -events—internal troubles or foreign wars, and finally settles -with his family and dependents at Hebron, near the oaks of Mamre, -amongst the tribe of the children of Heth; but still always in -his capacity as a foreigner, and always careful as such to -preserve his character and his independence. When his wife Sarah -died, the book of Genesis tells us that, -</p> -<p class="cite"> - "Abraham stood up from before his dead, and spake unto the sons - of Heth, saying, -<br><br> - "I am a stranger and a sojourner with you: give me a possession - of a buryingplace with you, that I may bury my dead out of my - sight. -<br><br> - "And the children of Heth answered Abraham, saying unto him, -<br> -<span class="pagenum"><a id="Page_169">{169}</a></span> -<br> - "Hear us, my lord: thou art a mighty prince among us: in the - choice of our sepulchres bury thy dead; none of us shall - withhold from thee his sepulchre, but that thou mayest bury thy - dead. -<br><br> - "And Abraham stood up, and bowed himself to the people of the - land, even to the children of Heth. -<br><br> - "And he communed with them, saying, If it be your mind that I - should bury my dead out of my sight; hear me, and entreat for - me to Ephron the son of Zohar, -<br><br> - "That he may give me the cave of Machpelah, which he hath, - which is in the end of his field; for as much money as it is - worth he shall give it me for a possession of a buryingplace - amongst you. -<br><br> - "And Ephron dwelt among the children of Heth: and Ephron the - Hittite answered Abraham in the audience of the children of - Heth, even of all that went in at the gate of his city, saying, -<br><br> - "Nay, my lord, hear me: the field give I thee, and the cave - that is therein, I give it thee; in the presence of the sons of - my people give I it thee: bury thy dead. -<br><br> - "And Abraham bowed down himself before the people of the land. -<br><br> - "And he spake unto Ephron in the audience of the people of the - land, saying, But if thou wilt give it, I pray thee, hear me: I - will give thee money for the field; take it of me, and I will - bury my dead there. -<br><br> - "And Ephron answered Abraham, saying unto him, -<br><br> - "My lord, hearken unto me: the land is worth four hundred - shekels of silver; what is that betwixt me and thee? bury - therefore thy dead. -<br> -<span class="pagenum"><a id="Page_170">{170}</a></span> -<br> - "And Abraham hearkened unto Ephron; and Abraham weighed to - Ephron the silver, which he had named in the audience of the - sons of Heth, four hundred shekels of silver, current money - with the merchant. -<br><br> - "And the field of Ephron, which was in Machpelah, which was - before Mamre, the field, and the cave which was therein, and - all the trees that were in the field, that were in all the - borders round about, were made sure -<br><br> - "Unto Abraham for a possession in the presence of the children - of Heth, before all that went in at the gate of his city. -<br><br> - "And after this, Abraham buried Sarah his wife in the cave of - the field of Machpelah before Mamre: the same is Hebron in the - land of Canaan. -<br><br> - "And the field, and the cave that is therein, were made sure - unto Abraham for a possession of a buryingplace by the sons of - Heth." [Footnote 40] -</p> -<p class="footnote"> - [Footnote 40: Genesis xxiii. 3-20.] -</p> -<p> -Little importance does Abraham attach to his precarious condition -as a wanderer and a stranger; he has faith in God. God commands, -and Abraham obeys. God promises, and Abraham trusts. One day, -however, with a feeling of anxious humility, Abraham makes the -following prayer to God:— -</p> -<p class="cite"> - "Lord Eternal, what wilt thou give me, seeing I go childless, - and there is Eliezer of Damascus shall be my heir? -<span class="pagenum"><a id="Page_171">{171}</a></span> - And behold the word of the Lord came unto him, saying, This - shall not be thine heir, but he that shall come forth out of - thine own bowels shall be thine heir. I am God, the mighty, - all-powerful; walk before my face, be thou perfect. I will - establish my covenant between me and thee, and thy seed after - thee, in their generation, for an everlasting possession, and I - will be their God. But thou shalt keep my covenant therefore, - thou and thy seed after thee, in their generations. And Abraham - believed in the Lord; and the Eternal counted it to him for - righteousness." [Footnote 41] -</p> -<p class="footnote"> - [Footnote 41: Genesis xv. 1-6. and xvii. 1-9.] -</p> -<p> -In these days, in the bosom of Christian civilization, obedience -to God and confidence in God are the first precepts, the first -virtues of Christianity. They were also the virtues of Abraham, -and the precepts inculcated by Abraham's history in the Bible. -<span class="pagenum"><a id="Page_172">{172}</a></span> -And the God of Abraham, the God of the Bible, is the same who is -the object of adoration to the Christian of the present day; the -same conception as that of those philosophers of the present day -who believe in God, and believe in Him as in God Absolute and -Perfect, Self-dependent, Eternal, without the possibility or -attempt to define Him otherwise. Thousands of years have changed -nothing as to the biblical notion of God in the human soul, nor -as to the essential laws regulating the relation of man with God. -</p> -<p> -Historical tradition fully confirms the moral fact here -mentioned. Abraham has not been the object of any mystical -conception, or any mythological metamorphosis; nowhere has he -been transformed into demigod or son of God; he has ever remained -the model of religious faith and submission, the type of the -pious man in intimate relation with God. Throughout all -antiquity, and in all the East, as much for the primitive -Christians as for the Jews and Arabs, as much for the Mussulmans -as for the Jews and Christians, God is the God of Abraham; -Abraham is the friend of God, the father and the prince of -believers; these are the very names that the Gospel gives him; -[Footnote 42] and the Koran, too, celebrates him in these -words:— -</p> -<p class="footnote"> - [Footnote 42: St. Paul's Epistle to the Romans iv.; Galatians - iii.; Epistle of St. James ii. 23.] -</p> -<span class="pagenum"><a id="Page_173">{173}</a></span> -<p class="cite"> - "And when the night overshadowed him, he saw a star, and he - said, This is my Lord; but when it set, he said, I like not - gods which set. And when he saw the moon rising, he said, This - is my Lord; but when he saw it set, he said, Verily, if my Lord - direct me not, I shall become one of the people who go astray. - And when he saw the sun rising, he said, This is my Lord, this - is the greatest; but when it set, he said, my people, verily I - am clear of that which ye associate with God. I direct my face - unto him who hath created the heavens and the earth." [Footnote - 43] -</p> -<p class="footnote"> - [Footnote 43: Koran vi.] -</p> -<p> -The Eternal, the God One and Immutable, is the God of Abraham; -Abraham is the servant and adorer of the true God. -</p> -<span class="pagenum"><a id="Page_174">{174}</a></span> -<br> - <h3>II. God And Moses.</h3> -<br> -<p> -The true idea of God, and the faith in his effectual and -continued providence, are the two great religious principles -which the name of Abraham suggests. This is the beginning of the -history of the Hebrews, and the origin of that ancient Covenant -which, in passing from the Pentateuch to the Gospel, has become -the new Covenant, the Christian Religion. -</p> -<p> -About five centuries later, we find the Hebrews settled in Egypt, -in the land of Goshen, between the lower Nile, the Red Sea, and -the Desert, in a condition very different from that in which they -had first been when attracted to the court of Pharaoh by the -prosperity of Joseph, the great-grandson of Abraham. The new -Pharaoh oppresses them cruelly; they are a prey to the miseries -of slavery, the contagion of idolatry, to all the evils, all the -perils, physical and moral, which can afflict a nation -numerically weak, fallen under the yoke of one powerful and -civilized. -<span class="pagenum"><a id="Page_175">{175}</a></span> -The Hebrews nevertheless persist in their religious faith, cling -to their national reminiscences; they do not suffer their -nationality to be lost in and confounded with that of their -masters; they endure without offering any active resistance; they -will not deliver themselves, but they have never ceased to -believe in their God, and they await their Deliverer. -</p> -<p> -Moses has been saved from the waters of the Nile by Pharaoh's own -daughter. He has been brought up at Heliopolis, in the midst of -the pomp of the court, and instructed in the sciences of the -Egyptian priests. He has served the sovereign of Egypt; he has -commanded his troops and made war for him against the Æthiopians. -He has received an Egyptian name, Osarsiph, or Tisithen. -Everything seems to concur to make him an Egyptian. But he -remains a faithful Israelite: true to the faith and to the -fortunes of his brethren. Their oppression rouses his -indignation; he avenges one of them by killing his oppressor. -<span class="pagenum"><a id="Page_176">{176}</a></span> -The victims of oppression, alarmed, disavow Moses, instead of -supporting him. Moses flees from Egypt and takes refuge in the -Desert, amongst a tribe of wandering Arabs, the Midianites, -sprung, like himself, from Abraham. Their chief, the sheick of -the tribe, Jethro, called also Hobab, receives him as a son, and -gives him his daughter Zipporah in marriage. The proud Israelite, -who has declined to remain an Egyptian, becomes an Arab, and -leads, several years, the nomadic life of the hospitable tribe. -It is now in the peninsula of Sinai that Moses wanders with the -servants and flocks of his father-in-law. In the centre of that -peninsula, of yore a province in the empire of the Pharaohs, but -which had fallen into the possession of the pastoral Arabs, rises -Sinai, a mount with which from time immemorial, among the -neighbouring tribes, have been connected as many sacred -traditions as have ever been assigned to Mount Ararat in Armenia, -or the Himalayas in India. In this venerable spot, before a -burning bush, Moses, with a heart full of faith, hears God -calling him and commanding him to lead his people, the children -of Israel, out of Egypt. -<span class="pagenum"><a id="Page_177">{177}</a></span> -Moses is humble, distrustful of himself, just as Abraham before -him had been. "Who am I, that I should go unto Pharaoh, and that -I should bring forth the children of Israel out of Egypt? … -When I come unto the children of Israel, and shall say unto them, -The God of your fathers hath sent me unto you; and they shall say -to me, What is his name? What shall I say unto them? And God said -unto Moses I AM THAT I AM: and he said, Thus shalt thou say unto -the children of Israel, I AM hath sent me unto you." [Footnote -44] -</p> -<p class="footnote"> - [Footnote 44: Exodus iii. 11, 13, 14.] -</p> -<p> -Moses receives his mission from Jehovah, and feels no other -disquietude than arises from the desire to accomplish it. -</p> -<p> -In presence of such facts, with this association of God and man -in the same work, the opponents of the Supernatural still -clamour: "Why," ask they, "this confusion of divine action and of -human action? Has God need of man's concurrence? -<span class="pagenum"><a id="Page_178">{178}</a></span> -Can He not, if He will, accomplish all his designs by himself, -and through the fulness of his omnipotence?" In my turn, I would -ask them if they know why God created man, and if God has put -them into the secret of his intentions towards the instrument -whom He employs for his designs? There precisely lies the -privilege of humanity: man is God's associate, subject to Him, -yet a free agent independent of Him; he intervenes by his proper -action in plans of which only an infinitely small part is -revealed to his intelligence and reserved for his execution. -Western Asia and its history are full of the name of Moses: Jews, -Christians, and Mahometans style him the First Prophet, the Great -Lawgiver, the Great Theologian; everywhere, in the scene of the -events themselves, the places retain a memory of him: the -traveller meets there the Well of Moses, the Ravine of Moses, the -Mountain of Moses, the Valley of Moses. -<span class="pagenum"><a id="Page_179">{179}</a></span> -In other countries and other ages, this name has been given as -the most glorious that the saints could receive: St. Peter has -been styled the Moses of the Christian Church; St. Benedict, the -Moses of the Monastic Orders; Ulphilas, the Moses of the Goths. -What did Moses do to obtain a renown so great and so enduring? He -gained no battles; he conquered no territory; he founded no -cities; he governed no state; he was not even a man in whom -eloquence replaced other sources of influence and power: "And -Moses said unto the Lord, my Lord, I am not eloquent, neither -heretofore, nor since thou hast spoken unto thy servant: but I am -slow of speech, and of a slow tongue." [Footnote 45] -</p> -<p class="footnote"> - [Footnote 45: Exodus iv. 10.] -</p> -<p> -There is not in this whole history a single grand human action, a -single grand event, proceeding from human agency; all, all is the -work of God; and Moses is nothing on any occasion but the -interpreter and instrument of God: to this mission he has -consecrated soul and life; it is only by virtue of this title -that he is powerful, and that he shares, as far as his capacity -as a man permits, a work infinitely grander and more enduring -than that accomplished by all the heroes and all the masters that -the world ever acknowledged. -</p> -<span class="pagenum"><a id="Page_180">{180}</a></span> -<p> -I know no more striking spectacle than that of the unshakeable -faith and inexhaustible energy of Moses in the pursuit of a work -not his own, in which he executes what he has not conceived, in -which he obeys rather than commands. Obstacles and -disappointments meet him at each turn; he has to struggle with -weaknesses, infidelity, caprices, jealousies, and seditions, and -these not merely in his own nation, but in his own family. He has -himself his moments of sadness, of disquietude: "And Moses cried -unto the Lord, saying, What shall I do unto this people? they be -almost ready to stone me…. [Footnote 46] I beseech thee, shew -me thy glory." -</p> -<p class="footnote"> - [Footnote 46: Exodus xvii. 4; xxxiii. 18-20.] -</p> -<p> -And God answers him, "I will make all my goodness pass before -thee. … Thou canst not see my face: for there shall no man see -me, and live." And Moses trusts in God, and continues to triumph -whilst he obeys Him. -</p> -<span class="pagenum"><a id="Page_181">{181}</a></span> -<p> -The work of deliverance is consummated; Moses has led the people -of Israel out of Egypt, has surmounted the first perils and the -first sufferings of the Desert. They advance through the group of -mountains in the peninsula of Sinai Passing from valley to -valley, they arrive "at the entrance of a large basin surrounded -by lofty peaks. Of these the one which commands the most -extensive view is covered with enormous blocks, as if the -mountain had been overthrown by an earthquake. A deep cleft -divides the peak into two. -</p> -<p> -"No one who has approached the Râs Sufsâfeh through that noble -plain, or who has looked down upon the plain from that majestic -height, will willingly part with the belief that these are the -two essential features of the view of the Israelitish camp. That -such a plain should exist at all in front of such a cliff is so -remarkable a coincidence with the sacred narrative, as to furnish -a strong internal argument, not merely of its identity with the -scene, but of the scene itself having been described by an -eyewitness. -<span class="pagenum"><a id="Page_182">{182}</a></span> -The awful and lengthened approach, as to some natural sanctuary, -would have been the fittest preparation for the coming scene. The -low line of alluvial mounds at the foot of the cliff exactly -answers to the 'bounds' which were to keep the people off from -'touching the Mount.' [Footnote 47] -</p> -<p class="footnote"> - [Footnote 47: Exodus xix. 12.] -</p> -<p> -The plain itself is not broken and uneven, and narrowly shut in, -like almost all others in the range, but presenting a long -retiring sweep, against which the people could remove and stand -afar off.' The cliff, rising like a huge altar in front of the -whole congregation, and visible against the sky in lonely -grandeur from end to end of the whole plain, is the very image of -the 'mount that might not be touched,' and from which 'the voice' -of God might be heard far and wide over the stillness of the -plain below, widened at that point to its utmost extent by the -confluence of all the contiguous valleys. -<span class="pagenum"><a id="Page_183">{183}</a></span> -Here, beyond all other parts of the peninsula, is the adytum, -withdrawn, as if in the end of the world,' from all the stir and -confusion of earthly things." [Footnote 48] Such was three -thousand five hundred years ago, and such is still, the place -where Moses received from God and gave to the people of Israel -that law of the Ten Commandments which resound still through all -the Christian Churches as the first foundation of their faith and -the first moral rule of Christian nations. -</p> -<p class="footnote"> - [Footnote 48: Sinai and Palestine in connection with their - History. By Arthur Stanley, Dean of Westminster, pp. 42, 43. - London, 1862.] -</p> -<p> -The Hebrews, at the moment when the Decalogue became their -fundamental law, were in a crisis of social transformation; they -were upon the point of passing from the pastoral nomadic -condition to that of farmers and settlers. It seems that, at such -an epoch, the political institutions of a people would, as the -basis of their government, be its most natural and most urgent -business. -<span class="pagenum"><a id="Page_184">{184}</a></span> -The Decalogue leaves the subject entirely untouched; makes to it -not the remotest, the most indirect allusion. It is a law -exclusively religious and moral, which only busies itself about -the duties of man to God and to his fellow-creatures, and admits -by its very silence all the varying forms of government that the -external or internal state of society may seem to require. -Characteristic, grand, and original, not to be met with in the -primitive laws of any other nascent state, and an admirable and -remarkable manifestation of the Divine origin of this one! It is -to man's natural and his moral destiny that the Decalogue -addresses itself; it is to guide man's soul and his inmost will -that it lays down rules; whereas it surrenders his external, his -civil condition to all the varying chances of place and of time. -</p> -<span class="pagenum"><a id="Page_185">{185}</a></span> -<p> -Another characteristic of this law is not less original or less -urgent: it places God, and man's duties towards God, at the head -and front of man's life and man's duties; it unites intimately -religion and morality, and regards them as inseparable. If -philosophers, in studying, discriminate between them; if they -seek in human nature the special principle or principles of -morality; if they consider the latter by itself and apart from -religion, it is the right of science to do so. But still the -result is but a scientific work—only a partial dissection of -man's soul, addressed to only one part of its faculties, and -holding no account of the entirety and the reality of the soul's -life. The Human Body, taken as one whole, is by nature at once -moral and religious; the moral law that he finds in himself needs -an author and a judge; and God is to him the source and -guarantee, the Alpha and Omega of morality. -</p> -<p> -A metaphysician may, from time to time, affirm the moral law, and -yet forget its Divine Author. A man may, now and then, admit, may -respect the principles of morality, and yet remain estranged from -religion; all this is possible, for all this we see. -<span class="pagenum"><a id="Page_186">{186}</a></span> -So small a portion of Truth sometimes satisfies the human mind! -Man is so ready and so prone to misconceive and to mutilate -himself! His ideas are by nature so incomplete and inconsequent, -so easily dimmed or perverted by his Passions or the action of -his free will! These are but the exceptional conditions of the -human mind, mere scientific abstractions; if men admit them, -their influence is neither general nor durable. In the natural -and actual life of the human race, Morality and Religion are -necessarily united; and it is one of the divine characteristics -of the Decalogue, as it is also one of the causes of that -authority which has remained to it after the lapse of so many -centuries, that it has proclaimed and taken as its foundation -their intimate union. -</p> -<p> -This is not the place to consider the laws of Moses in civil and -penal matters, nor to refer to his ordinances respecting the -worship, or to those that regard the organization of the -priesthood of the Hebrews. In the former of these two branches of -the Mosaic code, numerous dispositions, singularly moral, -equitable, and humane, are found in connection with circumstances -indicating a state of manners gross and cruel even to barbarism. -</p> -<span class="pagenum"><a id="Page_187">{187}</a></span> -<p> -The legislator is evidently under the empire of ideas and -sentiments infinitely superior to those of the people, to whom, -nevertheless, his strong sympathies attach him. When we consider -the Mosaic Legislation, we find that in everything which concerns -the external forms and practices of worship, the ideas of Egypt -have made great impression upon the mind of the Lawgiver, and the -frequent use that he has made of Egyptian customs and ceremonies -is not less visible. But far above these institutions and these -traditions, which seem not seldom out of place and incoherent, -soars and predominates constantly the Idea of the God of Abraham -and of Jacob, of the God One and Eternal, of the True God. The -Laws of Moses omit no occasion of inculcating the belief in that -God, and of recalling Him to the recollection of the Hebrews. And -this, not as if they were recalling a principle, an institution, -a system; but as if they propose to place a sovereign, a lawful -and living sovereign, in the presence of those whom he governs, -and to whom they owe obedience and fidelity. -</p> -<span class="pagenum"><a id="Page_188">{188}</a></span> -<p> -Moses never speaks in his own name, or in the name of any human -power, or of any portion of the Hebrew nation. God alone speaks -and commands. God's word and his commands Moses repeats to the -people. At his first ascending Mount Sinai, when he had received -the first inspiration from the Eternal, "Moses came and called -for the elders of the people, and laid before their faces all -these words which the Lord commanded him. And all the people -answered together, and said, All that the Lord hath spoken we -will do." [Footnote 49] -</p> -<p class="footnote"> - [Footnote 49: Exodus xix. 7, 8.] -</p> -<p> -When Moses, again ascending Mount Sinai, had received from God -the Decalogue, he returned, "And he took the book of the -covenant, and read in the audience of the people: and they said, -All that the Lord hath said will we do, and be obedient." -[Footnote 50] -</p> -<p class="footnote"> - [Footnote 50: Exodus xxiv. 7.] -</p> -<span class="pagenum"><a id="Page_189">{189}</a></span> -<p> -As the events develop themselves, the Hebrews are found far from -rendering a constant obedience: they forget, they infringe—and -that frequently—these laws of God which they have accepted; and -God sometimes punishes, sometimes pardons them; still it is -always God alone that is acting; it is from Him alone that all -emanates; neither the priests who preside over the ceremonies of -his worship, nor the elders of Israel whom He summons to -prostrate themselves from afar before Him, nor Moses himself—his -sole and constant interpreter—do anything by themselves, demand -anything for themselves. The Pentateuch is the history and the -picture of the personal government by God of the Israelites. "Our -legislator," says the historian Josephus, "had in his thoughts -not monarchies, nor oligarchies, nor democracies, nor any one of -those political institutions: he commanded that our government -should be (if it is permitted to make use of an expression -somewhat exaggerated) what may be styled a Theocracy." [Footnote -51] -</p> -<p class="footnote"> - [Footnote 51: Joseph. contra Apionem, ii. c. 17.] -</p> -<span class="pagenum"><a id="Page_190">{190}</a></span> -<p> -The eminent writers who have recently studied most profoundly the -Mosaic system—M. Ewald in Germany,[Footnote 52] Mr. Milman and -Mr. Arthur Stanley in England, M. Nicolas in France—have adopted -the expression of Josephus, attaching to it its real and complete -sense. "The term Theocracy," says Mr. Stanley, "has been often -employed since the time of Moses, but in the sense of a -sacerdotal government: a sense the very contrary to that in which -its first author conceived it. The theocracy of Moses was not at -all a government by priests, or opposed to kings; it was the -government by God himself, as opposed to a government by priests -or by kings." [Footnote 53] -</p> -<p class="footnote"> - [Footnote 52: Geschichte des Volkes Israel, bis Christus, ii. - 188. Göttingen, 1853.] -<br><br> - [Footnote 53: Lectures on the Jewish Church, p. 157] -</p> -<span class="pagenum"><a id="Page_191">{191}</a></span> -<p> -"Mosaism," says M. Nicolas, "is a theocracy in the proper sense -of the word. It would be a complete error to understand this word -in the sense which usage has given to it in our language. There -is no question here in effect of a government exercised by a -sacerdotal caste in the name and under the inspiration, real or -pretended, of God. In the Mosaic legislation the priests are not -the ministers and instruments of the Divine Will; God reigns and -governs by himself. It is He who has given his laws to the -Hebrews. Moses has been, it is true, the medium between the -Eternal and the people, but the people has taken part in the -grand spectacle of the Revelation of the Law; of this the people, -in the exercise of its freedom, has evinced its acceptance; and -in the covenant set on foot between the Eternal and the family of -Jacob, Moses has been, if I may be allowed the expression, only -the public officer who has propounded the contract. He was -himself, besides, not within the pale of the sacerdotal caste; -and the charge of keeping, amending, and seeing to the carrying -out of the body of laws was not confided to the priests." -[Footnote 54 ] -</p> -<p class="footnote"> - [Footnote 54: Études Critiques sur la Bible—Ancien - Testament, p. 172.] -</p> -<span class="pagenum"><a id="Page_192">{192}</a></span> -<p> -Let the learned men who thus characterise the Mosaic theocracy -pause here and measure the whole bearing of the fact which they -comprehend so well. It is a fact unique in the history of the -world. The idea of God is, amongst all nations, the source of -religions; but in every case, except that of the Hebrews, -scarcely has the source appeared before it deviates and becomes -troubled; men take the place of God; God's name is made to cover -every kind of usurpation and falsehood; sometimes sacerdotal -corporations take possession of all government, civil and -religious; sometimes secular power overrules and enslaves -Religious Faith and Religious Life. In the Mosaic Dispensation we -have nothing of the kind; its very origin and its fundamental -principles condemn and prohibit even the attempt at any such -deviations. No paramount priesthood here; no secular power -playing the part of the oppressor. God is constantly present, and -sole Master. All passes between God and the people; all, I say, -so passes through the agency of a single man whom God inspires, -and in whom the people have faith, asking no other authority than -that of the revelation which he receives. -<span class="pagenum"><a id="Page_193">{193}</a></span> -No sign here of a fact of human origin: just as the God of the -Bible is the true God, the religion that descended, by Moses, -from Sinai upon the elect people of God is the true Religion -destined to become, when Jesus Christ ascends Calvary, the -Religion of the Human Race. -</p> -<br> - <h3>III. God And The Kings.</h3> -<br> -<p> -Moses having brought out of Egypt the people of Israel, and -having conducted it through the Desert as far as the eastern bank -of the Jordan, in sight of Canaan, the Promised Land, his mission -terminates. "Get thee up," says the Eternal to him; "get thee up -into the top of Pisgah, and lift up thine eyes westward, and -northward, and southward, and eastward, and behold it with thine -eyes: for thou shalt not go over this Jordan. But charge Joshua, -and encourage him, and strengthen him: for he shall go over -before this people, and he shall cause them to inherit the land -which thou shalt see." [Footnote 55] -</p> -<p class="footnote"> - [Footnote 55: Deuteronomy iii. 27, 28.] -</p> -<span class="pagenum"><a id="Page_194">{194}</a></span> -<p> -Moses has been, in the name of Jehovah, the liberator and the -legislator; Joshua is the conqueror, the rough warrior, of yet -signal piety and modesty, the ardent servant of Jehovah, the -faithful disciple of Moses. After passing the Jordan, traversing -the land of Canaan in every direction, and giving battle in -succession to the greater part of the tribes that inhabit it, he -destroys, or expels, or negotiates with them, and divides their -lands among the twelve tribes of Israel. These exchange their -wandering life for that settled agricultural life of which Moses -has given them the law. The descendants of Abraham settle as -masters in the soil in which Abraham had demanded as a favour the -privilege of purchasing a tomb. -</p> -<span class="pagenum"><a id="Page_195">{195}</a></span> -<p> -The consequences of this new situation are not long in showing -themselves. The conquest is protracted and difficult: the -violence and rapine that characterise a state of war—one of -dispossession and of extermination—replace amongst the Hebrews -the adventures and the pious emotions of the Desert. In spite of -their successes, the conquest nevertheless remains incomplete: -several of the Canaanitish tribes defend themselves -efficaciously, and cling, side by side with the new comers, to -their territory, their laws, their gods. The twelve tribes of -Israel disperse and settle, each on its own account, upon -different and distant points, some being even separated by the -Jordan. The unity of the Hebrew nation, of its faith, of its law, -of its government, and of its destiny weakens rapidly; the -tendency to idolatry, which the Hebrews had so often evinced when -wandering in the Desert, reappears and developes itself, fomented -by the vicinity of the Polytheistic tribes of Canaan. Not, -however, that we can precisely say that Polytheism prevails -against the One God; but rather that material images of Jehovah -become, in the midst of particular tribes, the object of the -idolatrous worship so strongly prohibited by the Decalogue. "And -the children of Israel did evil in the sight of the Lord, and -forgat the Lord their God, and served Baalim and the groves." -[Footnote 56] -</p> -<p class="footnote"> - [Footnote 56: Judges iii. 7.] -</p> -<span class="pagenum"><a id="Page_196">{196}</a></span> -<p> -Under such influences the moral and social state of the people of -Israel undergoes profound changes; the barbarism, which had been -formerly amongst them fanatical and austere, becomes unruly and -licentious; their chiefs, their Judges, during the epoch which -bears their name, no longer possess, sometimes no longer merit, -their confidence; even the heroic acts of some amongst them—of -Gideon, of Deborah, of Samson,—present rather a strange than an -august character. The Mosaic Theocracy veils itself; the Hebrew -nation becomes disorganized; day by day, the religious and -political anarchy in Israel extends and becomes aggravated. -</p> -<span class="pagenum"><a id="Page_197">{197}</a></span> -<p> -But where the Divine Light has once shone, it is never completely -extinguished; and when the voice of God has once spoken, the -sound is never entirely lost, even to ears that no longer listen. -It has been affirmed that after Joshua, in the lapse of time that -took place between the government of the Judges and the end of -the reign of Solomon, the recollection of Moses, of his actions -and his laws, had almost entirely disappeared—had lost all -authority in Israel. Some passages from the biblical narrative -will suffice to remove this error. I read in the Book of Judges, -with respect to the Canaanitish tribes who resisted and survived -in their countries the conquest and settlement of the Hebrew -tribes:—These nations "were to prove Israel, to know whether -they would hearken unto the commandments of the Lord, which he -commanded their fathers by the hand of Moses." [Footnote 57] -</p> - [Footnote 57: Judges iii. 4.] -<p> -And again, in the Book of Samuel, it is the Eternal "that -advanced Moses and Aaron …. which brought forth your fathers -out of the land of Egypt, and made them dwell in this place." -[Footnote 58] -<span class="pagenum"><a id="Page_198">{198}</a></span> -And in the Book of Kings,[Footnote 59] David, on the point of -expiring, says to his son Solomon, "Keep the charge of the Lord -thy God, to walk in his ways, to keep his statutes, and his -commandments, and his judgments, and his testimonies, as it is -written in the law of Moses." -</p> -<p class="footnote"> - [Footnote 58: 1 Samuel xii. 6, 8.] -<br><br> - [Footnote 59: 1 Kings ii. 3.] -</p> -<p> -And when Solomon, after the solemn dedication of his Temple, had -addressed to God his prayer of thanksgiving, "he stood, and -blessed all the congregation of Israel with a loud voice, saying, -Blessed be the Lord, that hath given rest unto his people Israel, -according to all that he promised: there hath not failed one word -of all his good promise, which he promised by the hand of Moses -his servant." [Footnote 60] -</p> -<p class="footnote"> - [Footnote 60: 1 Kings viii. 55, 56.] -</p> -<p> -In the customs and lives of the Israelites these "good promises" -had not practically, it is true, preserved all their efficacy: -the worship of Jehovah and the legislation of Moses had fallen -into sad oblivion, and undergone serious changes. But, in the -national sentiment, Jehovah the Eternal was ever the One God, the -True God; and Moses his interpreter. -<span class="pagenum"><a id="Page_199">{199}</a></span> -Moral and social disorder had invaded the Hebrew Confederation; -the Divine Law and Tradition were incessantly violated, still not -ignored: they ever continued the Divine Law and Tradition, the -objects of the faith and veneration of Israel. -</p> -<p> -When the evil of anarchy had brought with it great national -reverses,—when the Philistines on the south, the Ammonites on -the east, and the Mesopotamians on the north, had placed in -jeopardy the Hebrew settlement in Canaan,—a general cry arose; -on all sides, the tribes demanded a strong government, a single -chief, one capable of maintaining order within, and supporting -abroad the position and the honour of Israel. A great and -faithful servant of Jehovah, the last of the judges, and the -greatest of the prophets since Moses,—Samuel,—had recently -governed Israel, and strenuously struggled to arrest the progress -of popular vice and misfortune; but he had become old, and his -sons whom he had made "judges over Israel … walked not in his -ways, but turned aside after lucre, and took bribes, and -perverted judgment. -<span class="pagenum"><a id="Page_200">{200}</a></span> -Then all the elders of Israel gathered themselves together, and -came to Samuel unto Ramah, and said unto him, Behold, thou art -old, and thy sons walk not in thy ways: now make us a king to -judge us like all the nations." [Footnote 61 ] -</p> -<p class="footnote"> - [Footnote 61: 1 Samuel viii. 1-5.] -</p> -<p> -The demand had in it nothing singular; even at the epoch when -God, by his servant Moses, was personally governing Israel, the -chance of the establishment of a human kingdom had been foreseen -and provided for beforehand by the Divine Law: "When thou art -come unto the land which the Lord thy God giveth thee, and shalt -possess it, and shalt dwell therein, and shalt say, I will set a -king over me, like as all the nations that are about me; thou -shalt in any wise set him king over thee, whom the Lord thy God -shall choose: one from among thy brethren shalt thou set king -over thee: thou mayest not set a stranger over thee, which is not -thy brother." [Footnote 62] -</p> -<p class="footnote"> - [Footnote 62: Deuteronomy xvii. 14, 15.] -</p> -<span class="pagenum"><a id="Page_201">{201}</a></span> -<p> -Although thus provided for by the Divine Law, the demand of a -king was extremely displeasing to Samuel; "for the kingly rule -was odious to him," says the historian Josephus; "he had an -innate love of justice, and was ardently attached to the -aristocratical form of government, as to the form of polity which -rendered men happy and worthy of God." [Footnote 63] -</p> -<p class="footnote"> - [Footnote 63: Josephus, Ant. Jud. vol. vi. ch. iii. 3.] -</p> -<p> -But the Eternal "said unto Samuel, Hearken unto the voice of the -people in all that they say unto thee: for they have not rejected -thee, but they have rejected me, that I should not reign over -them … Now therefore hearken unto their voice; howbeit yet -protest solemnly unto them, and shew them the manner of the king -that shall reign over them." [Footnote 64] -</p> -<p class="footnote"> - [Footnote 64: 1 Samuel viii. 7-9.] -</p> -<p> -Samuel predicted to the Hebrews how much the kingly form of -government would cost them, all that they would have to suffer in -their families, their property, and their liberties: -"Nevertheless the people refused to obey the voice of Samuel; and -they said, Nay; but we will have a king over us; that we also may -be like all the nations; and that our king may judge us, and go -out before us, and fight our battles. -<span class="pagenum"><a id="Page_202">{202}</a></span> -And Samuel heard all the words of the people, and he rehearsed -them in the ears of the Lord. And the Lord said to Samuel, -Hearken unto their voice, and make them a king." [Footnote 65] -</p> -<p class="footnote"> - [Footnote 65: 1 Samuel viii. 19-22.] -</p> -<p> -The world's history offers no example where the merits and -defects of absolute monarchy were so rapidly developed, where -they were displayed so strikingly, as in this little Hebrew -monarchy, instituted with the view of escaping from anarchy by -the express desire of the people itself. Three kings succeed to -the throne, in origin, character, conduct, and reign absolutely -dissimilar. Saul is a warrior, chosen by Samuel for his strength, -bodily beauty, and courage; ever ready for the combat, but -without foresight, without perseverance in his military -operations; easily intoxicated with good fortune; hurried away by -brutal, capricious, or jealous passions; now engaged in furious -struggles, now appearing in a dependent position, with his patron -Samuel, his son Jonathan, his son-in-law David; a genuine -barbarian king, arrogant, changeable of humour, impatient of -control, prone to superstition, a moment serving Israel against -her enemies, but incapable of governing Israel in the name of its -God. -</p> -<span class="pagenum"><a id="Page_203">{203}</a></span> -<p> -David, on the contrary, is the faithful and consistent -representative of religious faith and religious life in Israel; -the fervent and submissive adorer of the Eternal; he is so at all -the epochs and in the most varying aspects of his career, whether -of humility or of grandeur; at once warrior, king, prophet, poet; -as ardent to celebrate his God in his character of poet, as to -serve Him in the capacity of warrior, or to obey Him in that of -king; equally sublime in his thanksgiving to the Eternal for his -triumphs as in his invocation to Him in his distresses; -accessible to the most culpable human weaknesses, but prompt to -repent the offence once committed; and giving always to impulses -of joy or pious sadness the first place in his soul; very king of -the nation that adores the very God. -<span class="pagenum"><a id="Page_204">{204}</a></span> -David accomplishes the work of his time: he obtains the object -for which the monarchy had been demanded and instituted: he -leaves behind him the tribes of Israel reunited at home, and -reassured against foreign enemies, proceeding too in the path of -good order and confidence. Heir to his father's work, his -father's success, Solomon comes next, and reigns forty -years—years of almost as much repose as splendour: "God gave -Solomon wisdom and understanding exceeding much, and largeness of -heart, even as the sand that is on the sea shore." [Footnote 66] -"And he had peace on all sides round about him. And Judah and -Israel dwelt safely, every man under his vine and under his fig -tree, from Dan even to Beersheba, all the days of Solomon." -[Footnote 67] -</p> -<p class="footnote"> - [Footnote 66: 1 Kings iv. 29.] -<br><br> - [USCCB: Footnote 66 should be: 1 Kings iv. 9.] -<br><br> - [Footnote 67: Ibid. 24, 25.] -<br><br> - [USCCB: Footnote 67 should be: 1 Kings iv. 4, 5.] -</p> -<p> -The kingdom and the kingly authority rose under the government of -Solomon, and throughout all Western Asia, to a degree of power -and splendour before unknown to the Hebrews. A prosperity out of -all proportion with the position of a new king and a small state, -and which reminds us of the rapid histories and the political -comets of the East. -<span class="pagenum"><a id="Page_205">{205}</a></span> -Solomon at this point lost sight of both wisdom and virtue: the -first hereditary prince of the Hebrew monarchy terminated his -life like a voluptuous sovereign of Ecbatana or of Nineveh; the -son of the pious King David became a sceptical moralist; although -a profound observer of the nature and destiny of man, such -observation had led but to feelings of disgust. Nor did the -monarchy survive the monarch: the nation became effeminate and -corrupt, in the effeminacy and corruption of its sovereign. -Scarcely was Solomon dead, when his monarchy was divided into two -kingdoms, which, at first rivals, became soon openly hostile to -each other; sometimes a prey to tyranny, sometimes to anarchy, -and almost always to war. It was not, as formerly, merely a bad -phase of transition in the history of the Hebrew nation; it was -the commencement of national decline—decline irremediable, -hopeless. -</p> -<p></p> -<span class="pagenum"><a id="Page_206">{206}</a></span> -<p> -But what, in this decline, will become of the law revealed on -Sinai to Moses? Is it destined to fall with the monarchy of -Solomon, or to languish and die out in the midst of the struggles -and disasters of Judah and of Israel? Quite the contrary: the -religious faith and law of the Hebrews will not only perpetuate -themselves, but will again shine forth at this epoch of political -ruin. -</p> -<p> -Above the fortune of states are the designs of God, to which -instruments are never wanting; the kings continue to perpetrate -acts of violence, and the people to show marks of weakness; but -amidst all, the prophets of Israel will maintain the ancient -Covenant, and prepare the coming of that new Covenant which is to -make of the God of Israel the God of mankind. -</p> -<br> - <h3>IV. God And The Prophets.</h3> -<br> -<p> -A celebrated political writer—a freethinker belonging to the -Radical school, somewhat also to the school of Positivism—Mr. -John Stuart Mill, has recently said, in his work on Government, -"The Egyptian hierarchy, the paternal despotism of China, were -very fit instruments for carrying those nations up to the point -of civilisation which they attained. -<span class="pagenum"><a id="Page_207">{207}</a></span> -But, having reached that point, they were brought to a permanent -halt, for want of mental liberty and individuality; requisites of -improvement which the institutions that had carried them thus -far, entirely incapacitated them from acquiring; and, as the -institutions did not break down and give place to others, further -improvement stopped. In contrast with these nations, let us -consider the example of an opposite character afforded by another -and a comparatively insignificant Oriental people—the Jews. -They, too, had an absolute monarchy and a hierarchy, and their -organised institutions were as obviously of sacerdotal origin as -those of the Hindoos. These did for them what was done for other -Oriental races by their institutions—subdued them to industry -and order, and gave them a national life. But neither their kings -nor their priests ever obtained, as in those other countries, the -exclusive moulding of their character. -<span class="pagenum"><a id="Page_208">{208}</a></span> -Their religion, which enabled persons of genius and a high -religious tone to be regarded and to regard themselves as -inspired from Heaven, gave existence to an inestimably precious -unorganized institution—the Order (if it may be so termed) of -Prophets. Generally under the protection—it was not always -effectual—of their sacred character, the prophets were a power -in the nation, often more than a match for kings and priests, and -kept up in that little corner of the earth the antagonism of -influence, which is the only real security for continued -progress. Religion consequently was not there—what it has been -in so many other places—a consecration of all that was once -established, and a barrier against further improvement. The -remark of a distinguished Hebrew, M. Salvador, that the prophets -were, in Church and State, the equivalent to the modern liberty -of the press, gives a just but not an adequate conception of the -part fulfilled in national and universal histories by this great -element of Jewish life; by means of which, the canon of -inspiration never being complete, the persons most eminent in -genius and moral feeling could not only denounce and reprobate, -with the direct authority of the Almighty, whatever appeared to -them deserving of such treatment, but could give forth better and -higher interpretations of the national religion. -<span class="pagenum"><a id="Page_209">{209}</a></span> -Conditions more favourable to progress could not easily exist; -accordingly the Jews, instead of being stationary like other -Asiatics, were, next to the Greeks, the most progressive people -of antiquity, and, jointly with them, have been the -starting-point and main propelling agency of modern cultivation." -[Footnote 68] -</p> -<p class="footnote"> - [Footnote 68: Considerations on Representative Government. By - John Stuart Mill, pp. 41-43. London.] -</p> -<p> -Mr. Mill is right, only he does not go far enough. Modern -civilization is in effect derived from the Jews and from the -Greeks. To the latter it is indebted for its human and -intellectual, to the former for its Divine and moral, element. Of -these two sources, we owe to the Jews, if not the more brilliant, -at all events the more sublime and dearly acquired one. -<span class="pagenum"><a id="Page_210">{210}</a></span> -After the development of power and grandeur which took place -amongst the Jews in the reigns of David and Solomon, their -history is but a long series of misfortunes and reverses,—an -eventful, painful decline. The Hebrew state is divided into two -kingdoms, almost constantly at war with each other. And whilst -the kingdom of Israel is a prey to continual usurpations and -revolutions, making it the scene of all the violence and all the -vicissitudes of a tyranny, the kingdom of Judah has a line of -princes, in turn good or bad, who keep it unceasingly in a state -of trouble and of jeopardy. Religion falls beneath the yoke of -secular government; idolatry appears in the kingdom of Israel, -and braves audaciously the ancient national faith. The kingdom of -Judah, however, remains more faithful to Jehovah and his law, to -the traditions of Moses, and to the race of David; but its -languishing faith is no longer strong enough to arrest its march -in the path of decline. -<span class="pagenum"><a id="Page_211">{211}</a></span> -In the two kingdoms, internal disorders are aggravated by -reverses abroad; in the meantime, around them mighty empires -spring up and succeed to each other. First Israel and then Judah -are invaded by strangers; they are subjugated in turn by the -Assyrians, the Egyptians, the Syrians, the Babylonians. The -Hebrews are not only vanquished and reduced to subjection, but -exiled, transported, led captive far from their country. A new -conqueror, Cyrus, permits them to return to Jerusalem; but not to -resume their independence; at first subjects of the Persian -kings, they soon pass from their empire to that of the Greek -generals, who have divided amongst one another the conquests of -Alexander; then to the rule of the Greeks succeeds that of the -Romans. During this succession of servitudes, scarcely are they -allowed any moments of existence as a free nation, and even this -freedom is more apparent than real. Judea, like Greece, is -subjugated, but under circumstances of greater humiliation and -distress. -</p> -<span class="pagenum"><a id="Page_212">{212}</a></span> -<p> -And shall, then, the Hebrews oppose no efficacious resistance to -these reverses? What is to become, in this absolute ruin of the -nationality of the Jews, of their God, and their faith? Shall the -miracles of Sinai have no more virtue than the mysteries of -Eleusis, and Jehovah languish away and vanish in the routine of -sacerdotal ceremonies, or in philosophical scepticism? -</p> -<p> -By no means: in the midst of his people's decay, the God of -Israel maintains interpreters who struggle with indomitable -fidelity against public calamities and popular errors. The first -of the prophets, Moses, had spoken in the name and according to -the commandment of Jehovah. After him there never were wanting to -Israel men who inherited or pretended to the heritage of the same -Divine mission. "I will raise them up a Prophet from among their -brethren, like unto thee," said the Eternal unto Moses, "and will -put my words in his mouth; and he shall speak unto them all that -I shall command him. … -<span class="pagenum"><a id="Page_213">{213}</a></span> -But the prophet, which shall presume to speak a word in my name, -which I have not commanded him to speak, or that shall speak in -the name of other gods, even that prophet shall die." [Footnote -69] -</p> -<p class="footnote"> - [Footnote 69: Deuteronomy xviii. 18, 20.] -</p> -<p> -From Moses to Samuel, the series of the prophets is continued; -some of them are of renown, like Nathan in the reigns of David -and Solomon; but the greater number, without name in history, and -appearing scattered over a long course of years. They are called -the <i>Seers</i>, [Footnote 70] or the Inspired. [Footnote 71] -</p> -<p class="footnote"> - [Footnote 70: Roêh or Chozeh, in Hebrew.] -<br><br> - [Footnote 71: Nabi.] -</p> -<p> -Their speech gushes forth like a well under the breath of God. -When the government of the Judges gives place to that of the -Kings, the great actor in this drama of transition, Samuel, opens -for the prophets a new era; dedicated from his infancy to God's -service, he feels beforehand and abides the divine inspiration: -"Speak, Lord; for thy servant heareth." [Footnote 72] -</p> -<p class="footnote"> - [Footnote 72: 1 Samuel iii. 9, 10.] -</p> -<span class="pagenum"><a id="Page_214">{214}</a></span> -<p> -Not long after, his renown spreads amongst the people; he is not -pontiff, he is not even priest. [Footnote 73] -</p> -<p class="footnote"> - [Footnote 73: Samuel propheta fuit, judex fuit, levita fuit, - non pontifex, ne saoerdos quidem.—St. Jerom adv. - Jovinianum.] -</p> -<p> -But he is pre-eminently the seer: "Is not the seer here?" Such is -the question addressed to some young maidens by the men who are -in search of Samuel. Saul meets him without knowing him, and says -to him, "I pray thee tell me where the house of the seer is." "I -am the seer," replied Samuel; and soon after, it is Samuel -himself, who, in compliance with the popular vote, approved by -God, proclaims Saul king. But at the moment when he thus changes -the theocracy in Israel into a monarchy, he foresees the vices -and perils attendant upon the new government, and opposes to them -the element of resistance drawn from their national beliefs and -traditions; he transforms the order of prophets into a permanent -institution; he founds schools of prophets, independent servants -of Jehovah, consecrated to the defence of his law and the -enunciation of his will; -<span class="pagenum"><a id="Page_215">{215}</a></span> -constituting a sort of congregation independent of both Church -and State; leading, in fixed and appointed places,—at Rama, -Bethel, Jericho, Jerusalem,—a life in common, but with out -exclusive privileges; the sons of the prophets are brought up -near their fathers; but still the mission of prophecy is -accessible to all who have the call from God: "Go, thou seer," -said the priest Amaziah, in his anger, to the prophet Amos, "flee -thee away into the land of Judah, and there eat bread, and -prophesy there: but prophesy not again any more at Bethel: for it -is the king's chapel, and it is the king's court. Then answered -Amos, and said to Amaziah, I was no prophet, neither was I a -prophet's son: but I was a herdman, and a gatherer of sycomore -fruit: and the Eternal took me as I followed the flock, and the -Lord said unto me, Go, prophesy unto my people Israel." [Footnote -74] -</p> -<p class="footnote"> - [Footnote 74: Amos vii. 12-15.] -</p> -<span class="pagenum"><a id="Page_216">{216}</a></span> -<p> -The prophets are neither priests nor monks: sprung from all the -classes of the Jewish nation, their vocation is essentially -independent. They belong to God alone, and await divine -inspiration to oppose, as it may happen, at one time the tyranny -of the kings, at another the passions of the populace, at another -the corruption of the priesthood: their only arms, the commands -of God and the gift of prophecy. The functions assigned to them -are as different as the places and circumstances of their life; -but they are ready to take any part and to encounter any peril: -some of them, like Elijah and Elisha, are men of action and of -combat; the others, like Isaiah, Jeremiah, Ezekiel, Amos, are -narrators, moralists, prophets; some devote themselves to attacks -upon the acts of violence and impiety committed by the kings, the -others to the vices and corruption of the people; the same -spirit, however, animates them all; they are all interpreters and -labourers of Jehovah; they defend, all of them, the faith of God -against idolatry, justice and right against tyranny, the national -independence against foreign dominion. -<span class="pagenum"><a id="Page_217">{217}</a></span> -In the name of the God of Abraham and of Jacob, they labour and -succeed in maintaining or in reanimating religious and moral life -amidst the decay and servitude of Israel. "All the time," says -St. Augustine, "from the epoch when the holy Samuel began to -prophesy, to the day when the people of Israel was led captive -into Babylonia, is the period of the prophets." [Footnote 75] -</p> -<p class="footnote"> - [Footnote 75: De Civitate Dei, l. xvii. ch. 1.] -</p> -<p> -To accomplish their mission, to ensure their hard-earned -successes, they had other arms than lamentations and -exhortations, arising out of what was past and inevitable; other -expedients than pious reproaches and expressions of regret. These -defenders of the ancient faith of Moses do not shut themselves up -within the external forms and rites of their religion; they -pursue the moral object that it proposes; they insist upon the -spirit that vivifies it. "Your new moons and your appointed -feasts my soul hateth" (said the Lord, according to Isaiah): -"they are a trouble unto me; I am weary to bear them. -<span class="pagenum"><a id="Page_218">{218}</a></span> -And when ye spread forth your hands, I will hide mine eyes from -you: yea, when ye make many prayers, I will not hear: your hands -are full of blood. Wash you, make you clean; put away the evil of -your doings from before mine eyes; cease to do evil; learn to do -well; seek judgment, relieve the oppressed, judge the fatherless, -plead for the widow." [Footnote 76] -</p> -<p class="footnote"> - [Footnote 76: Isaiah i. 14-17.] -</p> -<p> -"Wherewith shall I come before the Lord" (said the prophet -Micah), "and bow myself before the high God? shall I come before -him with burnt offerings, with calves of a year old? Will the -Lord be pleased with thousands of rams, or with ten thousands of -rivers of oil? shall I give my firstborn for my transgression, -the fruit of my body for the sin of my soul? He hath shewed thee, -O man, what is good; and what doth the Lord require of thee, but -to do justly, and to love mercy, and to walk humbly with thy -God?" [Footnote 77] -</p> -<p class="footnote"> - [Footnote 77: Micah vi. 6-8.] -</p> -<span class="pagenum"><a id="Page_219">{219}</a></span> -<p> -Even whilst calling the people of Israel back to the faith of -their fathers, the prophets open to them new perspectives: whilst -reproaching them with the errors that have led to their decay and -servitude, they permit them yet to see the future delivery and -regeneration. It is their divine character to live at once in the -past and in the future; to confide alike to the ordinances of the -Eternal and to his promises: they move forward, but they change -not; they believe, they hope; they are faithful to Moses whilst -they announce the Messiah. -</p> -<br> - <h3>V. Expectation Of The Messiah.</h3> -<br> -<p> -Controversy has the mischievous power of the Homeric Jupiter: it -collects clouds amidst which the light that we seek for -disappears. -</p> -<p> -The Old and the New Testament, the history of the Jews and the -history of Jesus Christ, lie before us. Do these two monuments -form but one single edifice? That second history, is it comprised -and written beforehand in the first? -<span class="pagenum"><a id="Page_220">{220}</a></span> -Such is the question which has for the last eighteen centuries -occupied and divided the learned. Some affirm that Jesus Christ -was foreseen and predicted among the Jews, and that the series of -prophecies continued from the very time of Moses until the advent -of Christ. Others lay stress upon the hiatus—the want of -connection and cohesion—the contradictions to be detected here -between the Old and New Testament; and thence they conclude that -the text of the Old Testament by no means contains the facts that -appear in the New Testament, and that the miraculous history of -Jesus Christ was, in the bosom of Israel, neither miraculously -foreseen nor predicted. -</p> -<p> -Why was it, and how was it possible, that two assertions so -contradictory came to be both adopted and maintained by men most -of them as sincere as learned? -</p> -<span class="pagenum"><a id="Page_221">{221}</a></span> -<p> -They have all committed the fault of plunging into the petty -details of facts and texts, searching in all places, without -exception, for the complete demonstration of their particular -theses, and losing sight of the great fact, the general and -dominant fact to which we should refer as alone capable of -solving the question. They descend into the mazy paths which -perplex the plain below, instead of grasping from the summit of -the mountains, the whole comprehensive view, and the grand road -leading to the goal itself. Believers have insisted upon -discovering, fact by fact, in the biblical prophecies the whole -mission and all the life of Jesus. The incredulous, on the other -hand, have minutely adverted to all the discrepancies, all the -difficulties, suggested by a comparison of the texts of the Old -Testament and of the Gospel narrative; they have contrasted the -glories of the Messiah, the powerful King of Israel, so often -announced by the prophets, with the humble life, the cruel death -of Jesus, and with the ruin of Jerusalem. -<span class="pagenum"><a id="Page_222">{222}</a></span> -In my opinion, they have on both sides lost sight of the inward -and essential characteristic of this sublime history; the special -action of God is revealed therein, but without suppressing the -action of men; miracles take their place in the midst of the -natural course of events; the ambitious aspirations of the Jews -connect themselves with the religious perspective opened to them -by the prophets; the divine and the human, the inspiration from -on high and the impulse of the national imagination, appear -together. These two elements should be disentangled: the mind -should be raised above the perplexing influences which they -exercise, and the attention directed to that heavenly beam which -pierces the vapours of this earthly atmosphere. Thus, all the -embarrassment that controversy occasioned vanishing, the history -yields to us its profound meanings, and, in spite of -complications having their origin in the wordy explanations of -man, the design of God makes itself manifest in all its majestic -simplicity. -</p> -<p> -Discarding all discussion and commentary, let us merely collect, -from epoch to epoch, the principal texts which speak of the -advent of the future Messiah. I might here multiply citations, -but I limit myself to those where the allusion is evident. It is -the Bible, and the Bible alone, that is speaking. -</p> -<span class="pagenum"><a id="Page_223">{223}</a></span> -<p> -The first act of disobedience to God, the act of original sin, -has just been committed. The Eternal God says to the serpent that -has seduced Eve: "Because thou hast done this, thou art cursed -above all cattle, and above every beast of the field. … And I -will put enmity between thee and the woman, and between thy seed -and her seed; it shall bruise thy head, and thou shalt bruise his -heel." [Footnote 78] -</p> -<p class="footnote"> - [Footnote 78: Genesis iii. 14, 15.] -</p> -<p> -He that shall bruise the head of the serpent shall belong, says -the Book of Genesis, to the race of Shem, to the posterity of -Abraham and Jacob, to the kingdom of Judah. "But thou, Beth-lehem -Ephratah, though thou be little among the thousands of Judah, yet -out of thee shall he come forth unto me that is to be Ruler in -Israel." [Footnote 79] -</p> -<p class="footnote"> - [Footnote 79: Genesis ix. 26; xii. 3; xlix. 10; Micah v. 2.] -</p> -<span class="pagenum"><a id="Page_224">{224}</a></span> -<p> -Israel is at its apogee of splendour: David prophesies alike the -sufferings and the glory of that Saviour of the world who is to -be not merely the King of Zion, but "the Son and the Anointed of -the Eternal:" "My God, my God, why hast thou forsaken me?" is the -expression attributed to him by the prophet king. … "All they -that see me laugh me to scorn: they shoot out the lip, they shake -the head. … They gave me also gall for my meat, and in my -thirst they gave me vinegar to drink. … They part my garments -among them, and cast lots upon my vesture. … He trusted on the -Lord that he would deliver him; let him deliver him, seeing he -delighted in him. … Ye that fear the Lord, praise him; all ye -the seed of Jacob, glorify him; and fear him, all ye the seed of -Israel. … All the ends of the earth shall remember and turn -unto the Lord: and all the kindreds of the nations shall worship -before thee." [Footnote 80] -</p> -<p class="footnote"> - [Footnote 80: Psalms ii. 2, 6, 7; xxii. 1, 7; lxix. 21; xxii. - 18, 8, 23, 27.] -</p> -<span class="pagenum"><a id="Page_225">{225}</a></span> -<p> -The kingdom of David and of Solomon has begun to decay; Judah and -Israel are separating; both kingdoms have their prophets, who at -one time struggle against the crimes and evils of their -respective ages, and, at another, occupy themselves in disclosing -prospects of the future. -</p> -<p class="cite"> - "Hear ye now, O house of David. … -<br><br> - "Therefore the Lord himself shall give you a sign; Behold, a - virgin shall conceive, and bear a son, and shall call his name - Immanuel. … -<br><br> - "The people that walked in darkness have seen a great light: - they that dwell in the land of the shadow of death, upon them - hath the light shined. … -<br><br> - "For unto us a child is born, unto us a son is given: and the - government shall be upon his shoulder: and his name shall be - called Wonderful, Counsellor, The mighty God, The everlasting - Father, The Prince of Peace. … -<br> - "And there shall come forth a rod out of the stem of Jesse, and - a Branch shall grow out of his roots: -<br><br> - "And the spirit of the Lord shall rest upon him, the spirit of - wisdom and understanding, the spirit of counsel and might, the - spirit of knowledge and of the fear of the Lord; -<br><br> - "… and he shall not judge after the sight of his eyes, - neither reprove after the hearing of his ears: -<br><br> - "But with righteousness shall he judge the poor, and reprove - with equity, for the meek of the earth. … -<br> -<span class="pagenum"><a id="Page_226">{226}</a></span> -<br> - "Listen, O isles, unto me; and hearken, ye people, from far; - The Lord hath called me from the womb; from the bowels of my - mother hath he made mention of my name. … -<br><br> - "And said unto me, Thou art my servant, O Israel, in whom I - will be glorified. -<br><br> - "Then I said, I have laboured in vain, I have spent my strength - for nought, and in vain: yet surely my judgment is with the - Lord, and my work with my God. -<br><br> - "And now, saith the Lord that formed me from the womb to be his - servant, to bring Jacob again to him, Though Israel be not - gathered, yet shall I be glorious in the eyes of the Lord, and - my God shall be my strength. -<br><br> - "And he said, It is a light thing that thou shouldest be my - servant to raise up the tribes of Jacob, and to restore the - preserved of Israel: I will also give thee for a light to the - Gentiles, that thou mayest be my salvation unto the end of the - earth. … -<br><br> - "Rejoice greatly, O daughter of Zion; shout, O daughter of - Jerusalem: behold, thy King cometh unto thee: he is just, and - having salvation; lowly, and riding upon an ass, and upon a - colt the foal of an ass. -<br><br> - "… For he shall grow up before him as a tender plant, and as - a root out of a dry ground: he hath no form nor comeliness; and - when we shall see him, there is no beauty that we should desire - him. -<br><br> - "He is despised and rejected of men; a man of sorrows, and - acquainted with grief: and we hid as it were our faces from - him; he was despised, and we esteemed him not. -<br> -<span class="pagenum"><a id="Page_227">{227}</a></span> -<br> - "Surely he hath borne our griefs, and carried our sorrows: yet - we did esteem him stricken, smitten of God, and afflicted. -<br><br> - "But he was wounded for our trangressions, he was bruised for - our iniquities: the chastisement of our peace was upon him; and - with his stripes we are healed. -<br><br> - "All we like sheep have gone astray; we have turned every one - to his own way; and the Lord hath laid on him the iniquity of - us all. -<br><br> - "He was oppressed, and he was afflicted, yet he opened not his - mouth: he is brought as a lamb to the slaughter, and as a sheep - before her shearers is dumb, so he openeth not his mouth. -<br><br> - "He was taken from prison and from judgment: and who shall - declare his generation? for he was cut off out of the land of - the living: for the transgression of my people was he stricken. - … -<br><br> - "Yet it pleased the Lord to bruise him; he hath put him to - grief: when thou shalt make his soul an offering for sin, he - shall see his seed, he shall prolong his days, and the pleasure - of the Lord shall prosper in his hand. -<br><br> - "He shall see of the travail of his soul, and shall be - satisfied: by his knowledge shall my righteous servant justify - many; for he shall bear their iniquities. -<br><br> - "Therefore will I divide him a portion with the great, and he - shall divide the spoil with the strong; because he hath poured - out his soul unto death: and he was numbered with the - transgressors; and he bare the sin of many, and made - intercession for the transgressors." [Footnote 81] -</p> -<p class="footnote"> - [Footnote 81: Isaiah vii. 13-14; ix. 26; xi. 14; xlix. 1-6; - Zechariah ix. 9; Isaiah liii.] -</p> -<span class="pagenum"><a id="Page_228">{228}</a></span> -<p> -Whatever controversies may arise out of these texts, and many -others which I might cite, one fact subsists and rises above all -question and all controversy. Seventeen centuries passed in the -interval between the Decalogue being received by Moses upon Mount -Sinai, and the actual approach of the Messiah announced by the -prophets; and at the end of these seventeen centuries, the God, -from whom Moses received the Decalogue, He who defined himself to -be "I am that I am." Jehovah, still is, has never ceased to be -the God, the sole God of Israel. Israel has passed through all -governments, undergone all vicissitudes, fallen into all the -errors to which it is possible for a nation to succumb: the Jews -have had a hierarchy, and judges, and kings; they have been -alternately conquerors and conquered, masters and slaves; they -have had their days of power and their days of humiliation, their -temptation to idolatry and paroxysms of impiety; still they have -ever returned to the One God: to the true God; their faith has -survived all their faults and all their misfortunes; and after -those seventeen centuries, Israel is waiting at the hand of -Jehovah a Messiah, to be, according to the affirmation of its -greatest prophets, the Liberator and the Saviour, not of Israel -alone, but of all nations. -<span class="pagenum"><a id="Page_229">{229}</a></span> -Fact without parallel in history! In vain shall men exhaust -against it all their science, and all their scepticism: there is -here more than the work of man; the fact itself is not human. But -what more shall that fact become, and what shall be our belief, -when all shall have received its consummation,—the prophecies -their accomplishment,—when Jehovah shall have given to the -world Jesus Christ? -</p> -<span class="pagenum"><a id="Page_230">{230}</a></span> -<br> - <h2>Eighth Meditation.<br> - - Jesus Christ According To The Gospel.</h2> -<br> -<p> -Need I say that by the words, "the Gospel," here used, I -understand the four Gospels, the Acts of the Apostles, the -Epistles, all the books, in fact, which compose the Canon of the -New Testament as it is received by all Christians? -</p> -<p> -These books have been variously studied: now with the design of -disproving, now of explaining the life of Jesus Christ; now with -the object of a Controversialist, now with that of a Commentator. -I approach the subject in neither character. I would wish to -study Jesus Christ in the New Testament solely to know Him well, -and to make Him well known; to place Him before the reader, and -to depict Him faithfully according to the evidence of his -history. -<span class="pagenum"><a id="Page_231">{231}</a></span> -I propose hereafter, in a second series of these -<i>Meditations</i>, to examine its authenticity, and the degree -of credit to which it is entitled. For the moment I assume the -testimony as good and valid. Beyond all doubt, at the outset, it -is at least entitled to this respect. The powerful influence of -these books, and of the accounts which they contain, such as they -remain to us, has been put to the test and proved. They have -overcome Paganism. They have conquered Greece, Rome, and -barbarous Europe. They are actually overcoming the world. And the -sincerity of the authors is no less certain than the virtue of -the books: however possible it may be to contest the -enlightenment, the critical sagacity of the original historians -of Jesus Christ, their good faith is beyond all question: it -appears in their language; they believed what they said; they -sealed their assertions with their blood: "I believe," said -Pascal, "only those histories, the witnesses to which confirm -their attestation by submitting to death." Although not always a -sufficient reason to believe an account, it constitutes a -decisive motive to believe in the sincerity of the witness. -</p> -<span class="pagenum"><a id="Page_232">{232}</a></span> -<p> -I have before cited from the Old Testament some of the texts -which contain the promises made to Israel of the Messiah. These -promises had evidently excited lively attention amongst the Jews; -the satisfaction felt at their accomplishment expressed itself -loudly at the birth of Jesus Christ: "And behold, there was a man -in Jerusalem, whose name was Simeon … waiting for the -consolation of Israel: and the Holy Ghost was upon him. … Lord, -now lettest thou thy servant depart in peace, according to thy -word: For mine eyes have seen thy salvation, which thou hast -prepared before the face of all people; a light to lighten the -Gentiles, and the glory of thy people Israel." [Footnote 82] -</p> -<p class="footnote"> - [Footnote 82: Luke ii. 25-32.] -</p> -<span class="pagenum"><a id="Page_233">{233}</a></span> -<p> -Besides Simeon, a pious woman, Anna, "of about fourscore and four -years, which departed not from the temple, but served God with -fastings and prayers night and day. And she coming in that -instant gave thanks unto the Lord, and spake of him to all them -that looked for redemption in Jerusalem." [Footnote 83] -</p> -<p class="footnote"> - [Footnote 83: Luke ii. 37, 38.] -</p> -<p> -But there was far more than merely the demonstrations of Simeon -and Anna,—than these impulses of joy on the part of the faithful -followers of Jehovah: "In those days came John the Baptist, -preaching in the wilderness of Judæa. … And the same John had -his raiment of camel's hair, and a leathern girdle about his -loins; and his meat was locusts and wild honey. … And saying, -Repent ye, for the kingdom of heaven is at hand. For this is he -that was spoken of by the prophet Esaias, saying, The voice of -one crying in the wilderness, Prepare ye the way of the Lord, -make his paths straight. … I indeed baptize you with water unto -repentance. … But there standeth one among you, whom ye know -not. -<span class="pagenum"><a id="Page_234">{234}</a></span> -He it is who, coming after me, is preferred before me, whose -shoe's latchet I am not worthy to unloose. … And I knew him -not: but that he should be made manifest to Israel, therefore am -I come baptizing with water. … And I saw, and bare record that -this is the Son of God." [Footnote 84] -</p> -<p class="footnote"> - [Footnote 84: Matthew iii. 1-5; Mark i. 2-11; Luke iii. 1-18; - John i. 26-34.] -</p> -<p> -Attempts have sometimes been made, although with no very great -confidence on the part of the propounders of the theory, to -represent Jesus as the most eminent among several reformers, who, -about the same epoch, aspired to the title and character of the -Messiah predicted by the prophets and expected by Israel. -Reference has been particularly made to one of His predecessors, -Judas the Gaulonite, who, a few years after the birth of Jesus, -on the occasion of a census ordered by the Imperial Legate -Quirinius, undertook to raise Judæa in insurrection against this -measure—against the tribute that it imposed, and against the -Emperor himself—proclaiming that to God alone belonged the -appellation <i>Master</i>, and that liberty was worth more than -life. [Footnote 85] -</p> -<p class="footnote"> - [Footnote 85: Joseph. Antiq. Jud. 1. xvii. ch. 6; 1. xviii. - ch. 1. Acts of the Apostles, ch. v. 34-39.] -</p> -<span class="pagenum"><a id="Page_235">{235}</a></span> -<p> -These comparisons—I forbear to use the word assimilations—are -entirely without foundation. These men, who, as it is pretended, -anticipated the career of Jesus, were simply men who opposed the -Roman dominion, and who stood up, like the Maccabees before them, -in the name of national independence, and in a spirit of reaction -in favor of the Mosaic government. Jesus was not so anticipated: -His mission had no relation with any previous essay; and his sole -forerunner was John the Baptist, as strange as himself to any -political view or conspiracy, and as humble before Him—before -the true, the sole Messiah—as Judas the Gaulonite and his -adherents were bold and daring towards the Emperor. -</p> -<span class="pagenum"><a id="Page_236">{236}</a></span> -<p> -There is an interval of thirty years between the birth of Jesus -and the day when He enters actively on the performance of his -divine mission. [Footnote 86] -</p> -<p class="footnote"> - [Footnote 86: The question as to the precise epoch of the - birth of Jesus Christ, as well as of the commencement and the - duration of His public career, has been well and concisely - considered in the Synopsis Evangelica of M. Constantin - Tischendorf (p. 16-19. Leipzig, 1864). The preferable - conclusion from these researches is, that Jesus Christ was - born in the year of Roma 750, that he commenced his divine - mission towards the end of the year of Rome 780, and that his - death took place in the fourth month of the year of Rome - 783.] -</p> -<p> -These thirty years, however, were not idly passed, nor were they -without their peculiar testimony to Christ and the future in -store for Him:— -</p> -<p class="cite"> - "And Joseph and his mother marvelled at those things which were - spoken of him. … -<br><br> - "And the child grew, and waxed strong in spirit, filled with - wisdom: and the grace of God was upon him. -<br><br> - "Now his parents went to Jerusalem every year at the feast of - the Passover. -<br><br> - "And when he was twelve years old, they went up to Jerusalem - after the custom of the feast. -<br><br> - "And when they had fulfilled the days, as they returned, the - child Jesus tarried behind in Jerusalem; and Joseph and his - mother knew not of it. -<br><br> - "But they, supposing him to have been in the company, went a - day's journey; and they sought him among their kinsfolk and - acquaintance. -<br> -<span class="pagenum"><a id="Page_237">{237}</a></span> -<br> - "And when they found him not, they turned back again to - Jerusalem, seeking him. -<br><br> - "And it came to pass, that after three days they found him in - the temple, sitting in the midst of the doctors, both hearing - them, and asking them questions. -<br><br> - "And all that heard him were astonished at his understanding - and answers. -<br><br> - "And when they saw him, they were amazed: and his mother said - unto him, Son, why hast thou thus dealt with us? Behold, thy - father and I have sought thee sorrowing. -<br><br> - "And he said unto them, How is it that ye sought me? wist ye - not that I must be about my Father's business? -<br><br> - "And they understood not the saying which he spake unto them. -<br><br> - "And he went down with them, and came to Nazareth, and was - subject unto them: but his mother kept all these sayings in her - heart. -<br><br> - "And Jesus increased in wisdom and stature, and in favour with - God and man." [Footnote 87] -</p> -<p class="footnote"> - [Footnote 87: Luke ii. 33, 40-52.] -</p> -<span class="pagenum"><a id="Page_238">{238}</a></span> -<p> -Thus begins that manifestation in the person of the child Jesus -Christ, that mixture of humanity and divinity, of natural life -and miraculous life, which is his peculiar and sublime -characteristic. In the opinion of the men who, in principle, -reject the supernatural, this mixed divine-human nature, and -consequently Jesus Christ himself, is at once incomprehensible -and inadmissible. What wonder if Christ has in these days to -encounter such adversaries? Had He not to do so when invested -with the attributes of humanity, among contemporaries, and even -in his own family? In his first days of human existence, his -mother, Mary, saw Him and understood Him not. And nevertheless -"Mary kept all these sayings in her heart." Expression, at once -profound and touching; revealing the mysterious complication of -the nature of man! Man is not content to resign himself to the -limits imposed by the actual laws of the finite world; his -aspirations tend elsewhere. And still, when called upon to rise -above the present order of nature—that order which he is able to -appreciate—he experiences a certain astonishment, a certain -hesitation; he does not know if he ought to believe in that -supernatural that he was recently invoking, and that he never -ceases to invoke; for, like Mary, he preserves the instinct in -his heart! -<span class="pagenum"><a id="Page_239">{239}</a></span> -It is just at the present day as it was nineteen centuries ago. -Jesus has ever to encounter such contradictory moods of human -nature: He is confronted at once by the hope of, the thirsting -after, the supernatural inherent in the human soul, and by all -the objections, all the doubts that the supernatural itself -suggests to the human mind. He has to satisfy that hope, to -surmount those doubts. The Gospel opens the history of this -solemn struggle, that gave rise to Christianity, and is the -source of all those agitations which afflict Christians at the -present day. -</p> -<br> - <h3>I. Jesus Christ And His Apostles.</h3> -<br> -<p> -On entering upon the active purposes of his mission, it is the -will of Jesus to have, and He has Disciples—Apostles. He knows -the power of an association founded upon faith and love. He knows -also that faith and love are virtues as rare as they are -efficacious. It is not numbers that He seeks. He surrounds -himself with a select band of believers, and lives with them in a -complete and enduring intimacy. -</p> -<span class="pagenum"><a id="Page_240">{240}</a></span> -<p> -In the midst of these intimate relations, Jesus declares his -authority primitive and supreme:—"Ye have not chosen me, but I -have chosen you, and ordained you, that ye should go and bring -forth fruit." [Footnote 88] -</p> -<p class="footnote"> - [Footnote 88: John xv. 16.] -</p> -<p> -But the authority of the Master does not prevent Him from -evincing a tenderness full of trust, and from respecting himself -the dignity of his disciples:—"Henceforth I call you not -servants; for the servant knoweth not what his lord doeth: but I -have called you friends; for all things that I have heard of my -Father I have made known unto you." [Footnote 89] -</p> -<p class="footnote"> - [Footnote 89: John xv. 15.] -</p> -<span class="pagenum"><a id="Page_241">{241}</a></span> -<p> -He evinces on all occasions towards his apostles the trust that -He feels in them, and shows his sense of the superiority of the -position to which He has elevated them. His language sometimes -fills them with astonishment, and they are more peculiarly struck -by the numerous parables in which, whilst addressing the -assembled multitude, He clothes his precepts:—"And the disciples -came, and said unto him, Why speakest thou unto them in parables? -He answered and said unto them, Because it is given unto you to -know the mysteries of the kingdom of heaven, but to them it is -not given. … But unto those that are without, all these things -are done in parables." [Footnote 90] -</p> -<p class="footnote"> - [Footnote 90: Matthew xiii. 10, 11; Mark iv. 10, 11.] -</p> -<p> -The confidingness of Jesus, however, never descends to weak -compliance; when, in an impulse of vanity and ambition, one of -his apostles asks for a particular favour, Jesus rebukes him with -severity:—"James and John, the sons of Zebedee, come unto him, -saying, Master, we would that thou shouldest do for us whatsoever -we shall desire. And he said unto them, What would ye that I -should do for you? They said unto him, Grant unto us that we may -sit, one on thy right hand, and the other on thy left hand, in -thy glory. But Jesus said unto them, Ye know not what ye ask: can -ye drink of the cup that I drink of? and be baptized with the -baptism that I am baptized with? -<span class="pagenum"><a id="Page_242">{242}</a></span> -And they said unto him, We can. And Jesus said unto them, Ye -shall indeed drink of the cup that I drink of; and with the -baptism that I am baptized withal shall ye be baptized: But to -sit on my right hand and on my left hand is not mine to give; but -it shall be given to them for whom it is prepared. … Ye know -that they which are accounted to rule over the Gentiles exercise -lordship over them; and their great ones exercise authority upon -them. But so shall it not be among you: but whosoever will be -great among you, shall be your minister." [Footnote 91] -</p> -<p class="footnote"> - [Footnote 91: Mark x. 35-43; Matthew xx. 20-26.] -</p> -<p> -Jesus having thus selected and intimately attached to Him his -apostles, commissions them to carry forth his law:—"Go not into -the way of the Gentiles, and into any city of the Samaritans -enter ye not: But go rather to the lost sheep of the house of -Israel. And as ye go, preach, saying, The kingdom of heaven is at -hand. -<span class="pagenum"><a id="Page_243">{243}</a></span> -Heal the sick, cleanse the lepers, raise the dead, cast out -devils: freely ye have received, freely give. Provide neither -gold, nor silver, nor brass in your purses, nor scrips for your -journey, neither two coats, neither shoes, nor yet staves: for -the workman is worthy of his meat. … Behold, I send ye forth as -sheep in the midst of wolves: be ye therefore wise as serpents -and harmless as doves." [Footnote 92] -</p> -<p class="footnote"> - [Footnote 92: Matthew x. 5-10, 16; Luke x. 1-12.] -</p> -<p> -It is, in effect, prudence side by side with absolute -self-denegation that Jesus, in his first instructions, enjoins -upon his disciples; at the very commencement of their mission He -limits its object; He recommends to them particularly "the lost -sheep of the house of Israel;" He declares his will to be that, -instead of a pertinacity with out bounds, "they should depart, -shaking off the dust from their feet, out of the city that should -not receive them nor hear their words." But He adds immediately, -as if to give to their mission all its grandeur:—"What I tell -you in darkness, that speak ye in light: and what ye hear in the -ear, that preach ye upon the house-tops. And fear not them which -kill the body, but are not able to kill the soul: but rather fear -him which is able to destroy both soul and body in hell." -[Footnote 93] -</p> -<p class="footnote"> - [Footnote 93: Matthew x. 27, 28.] -</p> -<span class="pagenum"><a id="Page_244">{244}</a></span> -<p> -Jesus knows that his disciples will need the firmest courage, -and, far from promising them any of the goods of this world, any -temporal successes, He discloses to them unceasingly all the -perils they will incur, all the invectives they will have to -endure. "But beware of men: for they will deliver you up to the -councils, and they will scourge you in their synagogues; and ye -shall be brought before governors and kings for my sake, for a -testimony against them and the Gentiles … And ye shall be -betrayed both by parents, and brethren, and kinsfolks and -friends; and some of you shall they cause to be put to death. And -ye shall be hated of all men for my name's sake." [Footnote 94] -</p> -<p class="footnote"> - [Footnote 94: Matthew x. 17-22. Luke xxi. 12-17.] -</p> -<span class="pagenum"><a id="Page_245">{245}</a></span> -<p> -What Reformer, other than Jesus Christ, ever held to his -followers such language? Who else than God could have imparted to -their language such virtue that they would in obedience to it -sacrifice with joy not merely all the good things of this life, -but life itself? Nevertheless, one of those apostles, and the -first of them all, Peter, evinces some disquietude, if not at -their lot in this world, at least at their destinies in the -kingdom of heaven. "Then answered Peter and said unto him, -Behold, we have forsaken all, and followed thee; what shall we -have therefore? And Jesus said unto them, Verily I say unto you, -That ye which have followed me, in the regeneration when the Son -of man shall sit in the throne of his glory, ye also shall sit -upon twelve thrones, judging the twelve tribes of Israel. And -every one that hath forsaken houses, or brethren, or sisters, or -father, or mother, or wife, or children, or lands, for my name's -sake, shall receive an hundredfold, and shall inherit everlasting -life." [Footnote 95] -</p> -<p class="footnote"> - [Footnote 95: Matthew xix. 27-29.] -</p> -<span class="pagenum"><a id="Page_246">{246}</a></span> -<p> -But Jesus does not intend that the prospect of their lofty -inheritance should inspire in the minds of any of his apostles, -and not more in that of Peter than the rest, any proud -presumptuousness, and He immediately adds, "But many that are -first, shall be last; and the last shall be first." [Footnote 96] -</p> -<p class="footnote"> - [Footnote 96: Matthew xix. 30.] -</p> -<p> -The world's history may be perused and reperused; the causes of -all the revolutions that have taken place in the world, whether -religious or political, may be probed and investigated; but we -shall nowhere be able to trace in the dealings of chiefs and -accomplices, of originators and fellow-workmen, the divine -characteristics of absolute and uncompromising sincerity that -reign throughout the actions and language of Jesus Christ in His -conduct towards His apostles. Them He has chosen and loved; to -them He has entrusted His work; but He practises with them no -arts of worldly wisdom; He withholds nothing from them; here is -no faltering encouragement, no exaggeration in the promises that -He makes or in the hope that He holds forth; He speaks to them -the language of pure truth, and it is in the name of that truth -that He gives them His commands and transfers to them His -mission. "Never did man speak like this man," [Footnote 97] nor -so deal with men. -</p> -<p class="footnote"> - [Footnote 97: John vii. 46.] -</p> -<span class="pagenum"><a id="Page_247">{247}</a></span> -<br> - <h3>II. Jesus Christ And His Precepts.</h3> -<br> -<p> -Jesus speaks:—and it is at one time with His disciples alone, at -another surrounded by eager, astonished multitudes; now from the -mount, now on the shore of the sea of Gennesareth, from a bark; -by the road side; in the house of the Pharisee, Simon, and the -toll-gatherer, Levi; in the synagogue of Nazareth, in the Temple -of Jerusalem:—Jesus speaks, "not like the scribes," not like -the philosophers; He expounds no system; He discusses no -question; He does not pace up and down like Socrates with his -learned friends in the gardens of the Academy, nor lose himself -in the mazes of the human understanding. Jesus speaks to men, to -all men without distinction; He speaks to them of man's life, -man's soul, man's destiny, of matters that touch all alike. And -He speaks to them "as one having authority." -</p> -<span class="pagenum"><a id="Page_248">{248}</a></span> -<p> -What does He say to them? What teach, what command, in that -speech full of authority? -</p> -<p> -He teaches them, He enjoins them, to have faith, hope, charity: -those virtues which have now borne His name nineteen centuries, -those virtues which are essentially Christian. -</p> -<p> -Is it, then, in His own name that Jesus Christ teaches and -commands? By no means: "My doctrine is not mine, but his that -sent me. If any man will do his will, he shall know of the -doctrine, whether it be of God, or whether I speak of myself. -</p> -<p> -"He that speaketh of himself seeketh his own glory: but he that -seeketh his glory that sent him, the same is true, and no -unrighteousness is in him. … Then cried Jesus in the Temple as -he taught, saying, Ye both know me, and ye know whence I am: I am -not come of myself, but he that sent me is true, whom ye know -not. -</p> -<span class="pagenum"><a id="Page_249">{249}</a></span> -<p> -"But I know him: for I am from him, and he hath sent me." -[Footnote 98] -</p> -<p class="footnote"> - [Footnote 98: John vii. 16-18, 28, 29.] -</p> -<p> -Whilst He refers everything to God, Jesus Christ seeks not to -define or explain Him; He affirms Him and demonstrates Him; God -is the first cause, the point from which all things spring; faith -in God is the paramount source of virtue, and of power, as well -as virtue, of hope and of resignation. -</p> -<p> -For Jesus Christ has not only a perfect faith in God, He has also -a profound knowledge of man: He knows that, unaided, man's soul -cannot, with out despair, without withering, bear the burthen -imposed by the injustice of the world and of life, of the -miseries and erroneous appreciation of mankind. To this injustice -and this wretchedness Jesus Christ never ceases to oppose God, -God's justice, God's benevolence, God's succour: He recommends to -Him all the forsaken, all the oppressed, all the wretched, all -the victims of society. He enjoins to these not resignation -alone, but Hope as the sister and companion of Faith. -<span class="pagenum"><a id="Page_250">{250}</a></span> -Nor does He hold forth to those that suffer the realization of -earthly expectations, the restoration of worldly prosperity, as -their resource and their consolation. He has nothing to do with -remedies deceitful like these. He acts with the most perfect -truthfulness and sincerity towards mankind in general, as He also -does with His disciples: He only promises them the -re-establishment of justice, and the reward of virtue, in that -mysterious future where God alone reigns, and of which He -discloses to them the perspective without unfolding the secrets. -</p> -<p> -Nothing strikes me more in the Gospel than this double character -of austerity and of love, of severe purity and tender sympathy, -which constantly appears, which reigns in the actions and the -words of Jesus Christ in everything that touches the relation of -God and mankind. -<span class="pagenum"><a id="Page_251">{251}</a></span> -To Jesus Christ the law of God is absolute, sacred; the violation -of the law, and sin, are odious to Him; but the sinner himself -irresistibly moves him and attracts him: "What man of you, having -an hundred sheep, if he lose one of them, doth not leave the -ninety and nine in the wilderness, and go after that which is -lost, until he find it? And when he hath found it, he layeth it -on his shoulders, rejoicing. And when he cometh home, he calleth -together his friends and neighbours, saying unto them, Rejoice -with me; for I have found my sheep which was lost. I say unto -you, that likewise joy shall be in heaven over one sinner that -repenteth, more than over ninety and nine just persons, which -need no repentance." [Footnote 99] -</p> -<p class="footnote"> - [Footnote 99: Luke xv. 4-7.] -</p> -<p> -Jesus said unto them, "They that are whole need not a physician, -but they that are sick. … For I am not come to call the -righteous, but sinners to repentance." [Footnote 100] -</p> -<p class="footnote"> - [Footnote 100: Matthew ix. 12, 13.] -</p> -<p> -What is the signification of this sublime fact; what the meaning -in Jesus of this union, this harmony of severity and of love, of -saint-like holiness and of human sympathy? It is Heaven's -revelation of the nature of Jesus him-self, of the God-man. -<span class="pagenum"><a id="Page_252">{252}</a></span> -God, he made himself man. God is his father, men are his -brethren. He is pure and holy like God: He is accessible and -sensible to all that man feels. Thus the vital principles of the -Christian faith, the divine and the human nature united in Jesus, -start to evidence, in his sentiments and language respecting the -relations between God and man. The dogma is the foundation of the -principles. -</p> -<p> -Another fact is not less significant. At the same time that the -divine and mysterious character of Jesus Christ appears in the -Gospel, his acts and his words have a character essentially -simple and practical. He pursues no learned object, no scientific -plan; He develops no system; his object is something infinitely -grander than the triumph of any logical abstraction: it is to -pervade the human soul, to establish himself in it—to save it. -He speaks the language—He appeals to the ideas most calculated -to ensure Him success. -<span class="pagenum"><a id="Page_253">{253}</a></span> -Sometimes He addresses himself to the task of inspiring in men -the most poignant disquietude as to their future destiny, if they -violate the laws of God; at other times He causes to shine before -their eyes the realisation of the most magnificent hopes, if with -sincerity they persist in faith. He knows the generation that He -is addressing; He knows human nature in its universality, and -what it will be in future generations: his object is to produce -upon it an effect at once positive, general, durable; He chooses -the ideas, He employs the images suitable to his design for the -regeneration and the salvation of all. God's Ambassador is the -most penetrating and able of human moralists. -</p> -<p> -More than once, the attempt has been made to find Him at fault, -to detect in his language exaggerations, contradictions, -incoherencies irreconcilable with his divine authority. Surprise, -for instance, has been expressed, that He should have one day -said, according to St. Matthew: "He that is not with me is -against me; and he that gathereth not with me scattereth abroad;" -[Footnote 101] and that He should another day, according to St. -Mark, have used the expression, "For he that is not against us is -on our part." [Footnote 102] -</p> -<p class="footnote"> - [Footnote 101: Matthew xii. 30.] -<br><br> - [Footnote 102: Mark ix. 40.] -</p> -<span class="pagenum"><a id="Page_254">{254}</a></span> -<p> -These two passages have been characterised as furnishing "two -rules of proselytism entirely opposed to each other, and as -involving a contradiction growing out of some impassioned -struggle." [Footnote 103] -</p> -<p class="footnote"> - [Footnote 103: Vie de Jesus, par M. Renan, p. 229.] -</p> -<p> -In my turn I observe that it astonishes me how earnest men can -fall into any such error. Jesus does not lay down in these two -passages two contradictory rules of proselytism, He merely -observes and refers in turn to two different facts: who has not -learnt, in the course of actual life, that, according to the -difference of circumstances and persons, the man who abstains -from active concurrence, who keeps himself aloof, by that very -fact may at one time give support and strength, and at another -injure and impede? These two assertions, far from being in -contradiction, may be both true, and Jesus Christ, in uttering -them, spoke as a sagacious observer, not as a moralist who is -enunciating precepts. -<span class="pagenum"><a id="Page_255">{255}</a></span> -I have heard other critics reproachfully regard another passage -as a sort of blasphemy. According to St Luke: "There was in a -city a judge, which feared not God, neither regarded man: and -there was a widow in that city; and she came unto him, saying, -Avenge me of mine adversary. And he would not for a while: but -afterward he said within himself, Though I fear not God, nor -regard man; yet because this widow troubleth me, I will avenge -her, lest by her continual coming she weary me." [Footnote 104] -</p> -<p class="footnote"> - [Footnote 104: Luke xviii. 1-5.] -</p> -<p> -Is it possible to infer from these words an intention on the part -of Jesus to liken God to an unjust judge, and to make the mere -importunate persistence in praying a claim to God's grace? He -only cited an occurrence which made noise in his time, in order -to instil a lively impression of the utility of perseverance. To -attain his end, He never makes use of out-of-the-way or impure -expedients; but He draws from the ordinary events of human life -examples and reasons to illustrate and render intelligible the -divine precepts, and to insure their acceptance. All the parables -have this meaning and object. -</p> -<span class="pagenum"><a id="Page_256">{256}</a></span> -<p> -Next to the precepts which refer to the relations of man with God -come those which respect the relations of men with one another. -Whilst Faith and Hope regard God, Charity has man for its object. -</p> -<p> -Charity, it has often been repeated, is the great principle of -Jesus Christ, pre-eminently the Christian virtue. I know, not, -however, whether the source whence Christian charity derives its -character and grandeur has been adequately perceived or remarked. -</p> -<p> -In the different pagan religions, whether of character gross or -learned, we have deifications of the different forces of nature -or of men themselves. And even in those religions in which gods -in their turn are said to assume man's shape, it is man -particularly that is predominant, and that lives in the -incarnation of God. -<span class="pagenum"><a id="Page_257">{257}</a></span> -Whereas in Christianity, it is not a god sprung from nature or of -human origin that becomes man, but the God self-existent, -anterior, and superior to all beings, the God, One, Eternal. The -Hebrew religion, alone of all religions, shows God essentially -and eternally distinct from the nature and the mankind that He -has created, and that He governs. The Christian Faith alone shows -God one and eternal; the God of Abraham and of Moses making -himself man, and the divine nature uniting itself to the human -nature in the person of Jesus. And in this union it is the divine -nature that shines forth, that speaks, that sets in movement. And -this incarnation is unparalleled like the God its author. -</p> -<p> -And why did God make himself man? "What is the object of this -unparalleled, this mysterious incarnation? It is God's purpose to -rescue man from the evil and the peril which have continued to -weigh upon him since the fault committed by his first progenitor. -It is God's purpose to ransom the human race from the sin of -Adam, the heritage of Adam's children, and to bring it back to -the ways of eternal life. These are the designs, loudly -proclaimed, of the divine incarnation in Jesus, and the price of -all the sufferings and agonies which He endured in its -accomplishment. -</p> -<span class="pagenum"><a id="Page_258">{258}</a></span> -<p> -Need I say more? Who does not see how this sublime fact exalts -man's dignity at the same time that it illustrates the worth of -man's nature? By the mere fact of God having assumed his form is -man's nature glorified; and all men, so to say, have their share -of the honour done by God to humanity in uniting himself with it, -and in accepting, for a moment of time, all the conditions of -humanity. But as far as mankind is here concerned, it is far more -than a mere accession of an honour or a glorifying of his nature: -it is a striking manifestation of the value that all men have in -the eyes of God. For it is not for some of them only, for some -class or nation, or portion of humanity, it is for all humanity -that God became incarnate in Jesus Christ, and that Jesus Christ -has submitted to all human sufferings. Every human soul is the -object of this divine sacrifice, and called upon to gather the -fruit. -</p> -<span class="pagenum"><a id="Page_259">{259}</a></span> -<p> -This is the source, this the privilege of Christian charity. The -dogma makes the force of the precept itself. Jesus crucified is -God's charity towards man. Impossible that men should not feel -themselves bound to act towards each other as God has done to -them; and towards what man is not charity a duty? Without the -divinity and sacrifice of Jesus Christ, the value of man's soul, -if I may be pardoned the expression, sinks,—neither his -salvation nor the example of his Saviour is any longer the -question,—charity becomes nothing more than human goodness; a -sentiment, however noble and useful, still limited both in -impulsive energy and in efficacy; having its source in man alone, -it can but incompletely solace the unequally distributed -sufferings of mortality. It is not suited to inspire any long -effort or great sacrifice: it is not adequate to convert the -longing desire for the moral amendment, the physical relief of -humanity, into that inextinguishable sympathy and untiring and -impassioned emotion which really constitute charity, and which -the Christian Faith, in the history of the world, has alone been -able to inspire. -</p> -<span class="pagenum"><a id="Page_260">{260}</a></span> -<p> -Thus the essential precepts of Jesus, the virtues which He -commands as the basis and source of all the others, have an -intimate connection with his doctrine, a doctrine "which is not," -He tells us himself, "<i>his</i>, but of him that sent him;" that -is to say, they are connected with the fundamental dogmas of the -Christian religion. No one denies the perfection, the sublimity -of the Gospel morality; men indeed seem to feel a sort of -self-complacency, a satisfaction in celebrating it, with a view -to the conclusion, more or less explicitly stated, that that -morality constitutes the whole Gospel. This is, however, not less -than absolutely to mistake the bond which unites in man thought -with sentiment, and belief with action. Man is grander and less -easy to satisfy than superficial moralists pretend; the law of -his life is for him, in the profound instinct of his soul, -necessarily connected with the secret of his destiny; and it is -only the Christian dogma that gives to Christian ethics the Royal -authority of which they stand in need to govern and to regenerate -humanity. -</p> -<span class="pagenum"><a id="Page_261">{261}</a></span> -<p> -<br> - <h3>III. Jesus And His Miracles.</h3> -<br> -<p> -I have called myself one of those who admit the supernatural; and -I have stated my reasons. I might stop there and enter into no -special reflection as to the Gospel Miracles. The possibility of -miracles once accorded in principle, nothing remains but to weigh -the value of the testimony in their support. In the second series -of these <i>Meditations</i>, where I treat of the authenticity of -the localities specified in the Holy Scriptures, I shall occupy -myself with this examination. It is not, however, my wish to -elude, upon the subjects that lie at the bottom of this question, -any of the difficulties that it presents: for here we find the -point of attack sought by the adversaries of the Christian faith. -The image of Christ as it results from the Gospel would be -besides singularly unfaithful, did we not range in it his -miracles by the side of his precepts. -</p> -<span class="pagenum"><a id="Page_262">{262}</a></span> -<p> -I avow once more my belief in God, in God the Creator, the -Sovereign Master of the Universe, who orders it and governs it by -that independent and constant action of his providence and power -styled the Laws of Nature. To those who regard nature as having -existed from all eternity of itself, and governed by laws -immutable and proceeding from fate, I have nothing to say of -Jesus or his miracles; the question at issue between them and me -is more important than that which respects miracles; it involves -the very question of Pantheism or Christianity, of Fatalism or -Liberty, affecting both God and man. Upon these subjects I have -already expressed my general opinion and its grounds. I propose -to enter further upon it in the third series of these -<i>Meditations</i>, when I come to speak of the different systems -which are now in conflict throughout Christendom. But at this -moment I address myself to Deists and to men of wavering minds, -and to these alone. -</p> -<span class="pagenum"><a id="Page_263">{263}</a></span> -<p> -One thing is beyond all doubt: the perfect sincerity of the -apostles and of the primitive Christians as to their faith in the -miracles of Jesus. Sincerity still more striking that it is -united to every sort of hesitation in the mind and weakness in -the conduct, and that it only triumphs gradually and slowly when -Jesus has quitted his disciples and has left them alone charged -with his work. Whilst He was with them, St. Peter has failed, St. -Thomas has doubted; after several miracles have been performed by -Jesus, his disciples are astonished, put questions to Him, yet -still doubt of Him and of his power. Upon several occasions Jesus -addresses them as men "of little faith," and at the moment when -He is arrested, they abandon Him, they fly from Him. No -impassioned enthusiasm, no exaggeration in their trustfulness and -their devotedness; even with them Jesus sees himself confronted -by all the vacillations and pusillanimity of humanity; He -persuades them, He wins them, He preserves them only by great -exertion, and by dint, so to say, of divine power and divine -virtue. -<span class="pagenum"><a id="Page_264">{264}</a></span> -They only really believe in Him after having witnessed the -accomplishment of his sacrifice and his last miracle, when they -had seen his Crucifixion and his Resurrection. Only then they -believed; but from that moment their faith became absolute, -superior to all perils and all trials: full of the Holy Spirit, -and associated in a certain measure to their divine Master, they -pursue his work with unshaken confidence and firmness, without -pretending to any merit, without any impulse of personal pride. -Before "the gate of the Temple which is called Beautiful," St. -Peter has healed a lame man and made him to walk. "And as the -lame man which was healed held Peter and John, all the people ran -together unto them in the porch that is called Solomon's, greatly -wondering. And when Peter saw it, he answered unto the people, Ye -men of Israel, why marvel ye at this? or why look ye so earnestly -on us, as though by our own power or holiness we had made this -man to walk? … Ye killed the Prince of life, whom God hath -raised from the dead; whereof we are witnesses. -<span class="pagenum"><a id="Page_265">{265}</a></span> -And his name through faith in his name hath made this man strong, -whom ye see and know: yea, the faith which is by him hath given -him this perfect soundness in the presence of you all." [Footnote -105] -</p> -<p class="footnote"> - [Footnote 105: Acts iii. 1-16.] -</p> -<p> -It was not the people only that felt astonishment, but "the -rulers and elders; the scribes, the high priest, and all those -who were of the kindred of the high priest, were gathered -together at Jerusalem, and set in their midst "Peter and John, -and after a deliberation full of anxiety, they "commanded them -not to speak at all, nor teach in the name of Jesus. But Peter -and John answered and said unto them, Whether it be right in the -sight of God to hearken unto you more than unto God, judge ye. -For we cannot but speak the things we have seen and heard." -[Footnote 106] -</p> -<p class="footnote"> - [Footnote 106: Acts iv. 5, 6, 18-20.] -</p> -<p> -What sincerity and what firmness ever showed themselves more -strikingly than those that grew out of the faith of St. Paul? -From such faith he had been originally farther removed than the -other apostles; he had done far more than merely err like Peter -or doubt like Thomas; he had hotly persecuted the first followers -of Christ. -<span class="pagenum"><a id="Page_266">{266}</a></span> -In his turn penetrated and subdued on the road to Damascus by the -voice of Jesus, he devotes himself to Him life and soul; he -recounts himself his miraculous conversion, [Footnote 107] and as -little doubt can be entertained of the authenticity of his -Epistles as of the sincerity that dictated them. -</p> -<p class="footnote"> - [Footnote 107: 1 Corinthians xv. 8. 2 Corinthians xi. 32, 33; - xii. 1-5. Galatians i. 1-4.] -</p> -<p> -The history of all religions abounds in miracles; but in all -religions except the Christian, the miracles recounted by their -historians are evidently either contrivances of the founder to -induce persuasion, or they spring from the play of the human -imagination, ever disposed to delight in the marvellous, ever -particularly prone to give way in the sphere of religion to its -fantastic suggestions. In the Gospel miracles, on the contrary, -we have nothing of the kind; no artifice in their Author; none of -the marvellous machinery of poetry, nor any hasty credulity in -the historians. -<span class="pagenum"><a id="Page_267">{267}</a></span> -The miraculous agency of Christ is essentially simple, practical, -and moral: He does not go in search of miracles; neither does He -make any vain display of them: they are wrought when a pressing -emergency or a natural occasion calls for them; and when they are -demanded in faith and in trust, He then works them without -ostentation and in right of his divine mission; whilst at the -very moment He makes the doubt and the coldness with which He is -received, the subject of complaint: "Woe unto thee, Chorazin! wo -unto thee, Bethsaida! for if the mighty works, which were done in -you, had been done in Tyre and Sidon, they would have repented -long ago in sackcloth and ashes." [Footnote 108] Jesus has full -confidence in himself, in the miracles that He effects, in the -doctrine that He inculcates. He feels no astonishment, but merely -sorrow, that His work, the work of light and of salvation, -pursued by Him in accordance with the will of God his Father, -should not obtain a more rapid, a more general success. -</p> -<p class="footnote"> - [Footnote 108: Matthew xi. 21.] -</p> -<span class="pagenum"><a id="Page_268">{268}</a></span> -<p> -As for us, remote spectators, the astonishment must be not the -slowness or limited nature of that success, but its rapidity and -its extent. All religions that have taken place in the world's -history, have been established by moral and by material agency; -all appealed from their very commencement as much to force as to -persuasion, as much to the arm as to the tongue. Christianity -alone lived and grew during three centuries by its own single -native virtue, without any other appeal than that made to Truth, -without any other aid than that of Faith. During those three -centuries the dogmas, the precepts, and the miracles of its -Author constituted its only weapons, and weapons which have -prevailed against all other arms. Those dogmas, those precepts, -and those miracles effected the conquest of man's mind and of -human society in spite of the resistance of Greek philosophy, -Roman power, and all the poetical or mystical mythologies of -antiquity marshalled against them. -<span class="pagenum"><a id="Page_269">{269}</a></span> -The victory has not, it is true, put an end to all struggle of -man's intelligence: neither has the light from Christ dissipated -all darkness, nor satisfied all minds; the explanation and -commentaries of man have obscured the doctrines of Christ; human -prejudices have mistaken his precepts; and legends have been -grafted upon his miracles. But the fact does not the less exist, -that the dogmas, the precepts, and the miracles of Christ, -without any aid from human sources, sufficed to found and ensure -the triumph of the Christian religion: this is a fact primitive -and supreme. And from this single result shines forth the divine -character of the Christian religion, for its triumph without the -miraculous agency of God, would be of all miracles the most -impossible to receive. -</p> -<br> - <h3>IV. Jesus, The Jews, And The Gentiles.</h3> -<br> -<p> -Think not that I am come to destroy the law, or the prophets: I -am not come to destroy, but to fulfil." [Footnote 109] -</p> -<p class="footnote"> - [Footnote 109: Matthew v. 17.] -</p> -<span class="pagenum"><a id="Page_270">{270}</a></span> -<p> -"Do not think that I will accuse you to the Father: there is one -that accuseth you, even Moses, in whom ye trust. For had ye -believed Moses, ye would have believed me: for he wrote of me. -But if ye believe not his writings, how shall ye believe my -words?" [Footnote 110] -</p> -<p class="footnote"> - [Footnote 110: John v. 45-47.] -</p> -<p> -This was the language that Jesus used to the Jews. It was in the -name of their history and of their faith, in the name of the God -of Abraham and of Jacob, that He called them to Him, presenting -himself to them in the double capacity of conservative and -reformer, and appealing to the ancient law against those who, -whilst observing it outwardly, really changed its character. -"Then came to Jesus scribes and Pharisees, which were of -Jerusalem, saying, Why do thy disciples transgress the tradition -of the elders? for they wash not their hands when they eat bread. -But He answered and said unto them, "Why do ye also transgress -the commandment of God by your tradition? For God commanded, -saying, Honour thy father and mother: and, He that curseth father -or mother, let him die the death. -<span class="pagenum"><a id="Page_271">{271}</a></span> -But ye say, Whosoever shall say to his father or his mother, It -is a gift, by whatsoever thou mightest be profited by me; and -honour not his father or his mother, he shall be free. Thus ye -have made the commandment of God of none effect by your -tradition![Footnote 111] … Woe unto you, scribes and Pharisees, -hypocrites! for ye pay tithe of mint and anise and cummin, and -have omitted the weightier matters of the law, judgment, mercy, -and faith: these ought ye to have done, and not to leave the -other undone." [Footnote 112] -</p> -<p class="footnote"> - [Footnote 111: Matthew xv. 1-6.] -<br><br> - [Footnote 112: Matthew xxiii. 23.] -</p> -<p> -Jesus was incessantly warning, making appeals to the Jews; and -when He saw that they pertinaciously disavowed and rejected Him, -He cried, in an impulse of patriotic, affectionate sadness:—"O -Jerusalem, Jerusalem, which killest the prophets, and stonest -them that are sent unto thee; how often would I have gathered thy -children together, as a hen doth gather her brood under her -wings, and ye would not!" [Footnote 113] -</p> -<p class="footnote"> - [Footnote 113: Matthew xxiii. 37. Luke xiii. 34.] -</p> -<span class="pagenum"><a id="Page_272">{272}</a></span> -<p> -I know nothing more imposing than the apparition of a grand idea, -a divine idea rising and mounting rapidly upon the human horizon. -Such is the spectacle afforded to us in its short duration by the -history of Jesus Christ. In his first instructions to his -apostles, He said to them, "Go not to the Gentiles and enter not -into any city of the Samaritans; but go ye rather to the lost -sheep of the people of Israel." Thus he carefully avoided -offending the sentiments of the day, and only enjoined upon his -apostles what they might do with success at the very beginning of -their mission. But soon the light increases that issues from the -words and the actions of Jesus; as I advance in the books of the -Gospel, I there read: "And when Jesus was entered into Capernaum, -there came unto him a centurion, beseeching him, and saying, -Lord, my servant lieth at home sick of the palsy, grievously -tormented. -<span class="pagenum"><a id="Page_273">{273}</a></span> -And Jesus saith unto him, I will come and heal him. The centurion -answered and said, Lord, I am not worthy that thou shouldest come -under my roof: but speak the word only, and my servant shall be -healed. For I am a man under authority, having soldiers under me: -and I say to this man, Go, and he goeth; and to another, Come, -and he cometh; and to my servant, Do this, and he doeth it. When -Jesus heard it, he marvelled, and said to them that followed, -Verily I say unto you, I have not found so great faith, no, not -in Israel. And I say unto you, That many shall come from the east -and west, and shall sit down with Abraham, and Isaac, and Jacob, -in the kingdom of heaven." [Footnote 114] -</p> -<p class="footnote"> - [Footnote 114: Matthew viii. 5-11.] -</p> -<p> -Thus a great stride has been made; it is no longer for the sheep -of the house of Israel that Jesus has come; from the East and -from the West will men come to Him, and He will receive them all. -To continue the Gospel narrative: departing from the borders of -the lake of Gennesareth, Jesus "departed into the coasts of Tyre -and Sidon. -<span class="pagenum"><a id="Page_274">{274}</a></span> -And, behold, a woman of Canaan came out of the same coasts, and -cried unto him, saying, Have mercy on me, O Lord, thou son of -David; my daughter is grievously vexed with a devil. But he -answered her not a word. And his disciples came and besought him, -saying, Send her away; for she crieth after us. But he answered -and said, I am not sent but unto the lost sheep of the house of -Israel. Then came she and worshipped him, saying, Lord, help me. -But he answered and said, It is not meet to take the children's -bread, and to cast it to dogs. And she said, Truth, Lord: yet the -dogs eat of the crumbs which fall from their master's table. Then -Jesus answered and said unto her, O woman, great is thy faith: be -it unto thee even as thou wilt." [Footnote 115] -</p> -<p class="footnote"> - [Footnote 115: Matthew xv. 21-28.] -</p> -<span class="pagenum"><a id="Page_275">{275}</a></span> -<p> -Another day, near the city Sychar and the well of Jacob, Jesus -conversed with a woman of Samaria, who had come there to draw -water:—"The woman saith unto him, Sir, I perceive that thou art -a prophet. Our fathers worshipped in this mountain; and ye say, -that in Jerusalem is the place where men ought to worship. Jesus -saith unto her, Woman, believe me, the hour cometh, when ye shall -neither in this mountain, nor yet at Jerusalem, worship the -Father. … But the hour cometh, and now is, when the true -worshippers shall worship the Father in spirit and in truth: for -the Father seeketh such to worship him. God is a Spirit: and they -that worship him must worship him in spirit and in truth." -[Footnote 116] -</p> -<p class="footnote"> - [Footnote 116: John iv. 5-24.] -</p> -<p> -Thus disappears gradually, in the name of the God of the Jews -himself, the exclusive privilege of the Jews to the divine -revelation and to divine grace. And thus, too, the restricted -religion of Israel gives place to the grand catholicity of the -religion of Christ. The benefit of the true faith and of -salvation is no longer limited to one people, whether great or -small, ancient or modern; but is imparted to all the races of -mankind. -<span class="pagenum"><a id="Page_276">{276}</a></span> -"Go ye therefore, and teach all nations, baptizing them in the -name of the Father, and of the Son, and of the Holy Ghost." -[Footnote 117] "And he said unto them, Go ye into all the world, -and preach the gospel to every creature."[Footnote 118] -</p> -<p class="footnote"> - [Footnote 117: Matthew xxviii. 19.] -<br><br> - [Footnote 118: Mark xvi. 15.] -</p> -<p> -These were the last words which Christ addressed to his apostles, -and the apostles execute faithfully the instructions of their -divine Master; they go forth in effect, preaching in all places -and to all nations his history, his doctrine, his precepts, and -his parables. St. Paul is the special apostle of the Gentiles. -From Jesus, says this apostle, "We have received grace and -apostleship, for obedience to the faith among all nations, for -his name." "Is he the God of the Jews only? is he not also of the -Gentiles? Yes, of the Gentiles also." "For there is no difference -between the Jew and the Greek: for the same Lord over all is rich -unto all that call upon him." [Footnote 119] -</p> -<p class="footnote"> - [Footnote 119: Romans i. 5.; iii. 29; x. 12.] -</p> -<span class="pagenum"><a id="Page_277">{277}</a></span> -<p> -In spite of his prejudices as a Jew, and of the differences that -took place in the infancy of the Church, St. Peter adheres to St. -Paul; the apostles and the elders assembled at Jerusalem adhere -to St. Peter and St. Paul. The God of Abraham and of Jacob is now -not merely the One God, He is the God of the whole human race; to -all men alike He prescribes the same faith, the same law, and -promises the same salvation. -</p> -<p> -Another question, more temporal in its nature, still a great, a -delicate one, is raised in the presence of Jesus Christ. He -withdraws from the Jews their exclusive privilege to the -knowledge and the grace of the true God; but what does He think -of that which touches their existence as a nation, and as a great -one? Does He direct them to rebel and to struggle against their -earthly governor and sovereign?—"Then went the Pharisees, and -took counsel how they might entangle him in his talk. And they -sent out unto him their disciples with the Herodians, saying, -Master, we know that thou art true, and teachest the way of God -in truth, neither carest thou for any man: for thou regardest not -the person of men. Tell us therefore, What thinkest thou? -<span class="pagenum"><a id="Page_278">{278}</a></span> -Is it lawful to give tribute unto Cesar, or not? But Jesus -perceived their wickedness, and said, Why tempt ye me, ye -hypocrites? Shew me the tribute money. And they brought unto him -a penny. And he saith unto them, Whose is this image and -superscription? They say unto him, Cesar's. Then saith he unto -them, Render therefore unto Cesar the things which are Cesar's; -and unto God the things that are God's. When they had heard these -words, they marvelled, and left him, and went their way." -[Footnote 120] -</p> -<p class="footnote"> - [Footnote 120: Matthew xxii. 15-22. - Mark xii. 12-17. Luke xx. 19-25.] -</p> -<span class="pagenum"><a id="Page_279">{279}</a></span> -<p> -In this reply of Christ there was much more matter for admiration -than the Pharisees supposed; it was in effect much more than an -adroit evasion of the snare that had been extended for Him; it -defined in principle the distinction of man's life as it regards -religion, and man's life as it concerns society; the bounds, in -fact, of Church and of State. Cæsar has no right to intervene, -with his laws and material force, between the soul of man and his -God; and on his side, the faithful worshipper of God is bound to -fulfil towards Cæsar the duties which the necessity of the -maintenance of civil order imposes. The independence of religious -faith, and at the same time its subjection to the laws of -society, are alike the sense of Christ's reply to the Pharisees, -and the divine source of the greatest progress ever made by human -society since it began to feel the troubles and agitations of -this earth. -</p> -<p> -I take again these two grand principles, these two great acts of -Jesus,—the abolition of every privilege in the relations of God -and man, and the distinction of man's religious and his civil -life: I confront with these two principles all the history, and -every state of society previous to the advent of Jesus Christ, -and I am unable to discover in those essentially Christian -principles any kindred, any human origin. Everywhere before -Christ, religions were national local religions; they were -religions which established between nations, classes, -individuals, enormous differences and inequalities. -<span class="pagenum"><a id="Page_280">{280}</a></span> -Everywhere, also, before Christ, man's civil life and his -religious life were confounded, and mutually oppressed each -other; that religion or those religions were institutions -incorporated in the state, which the state regulated or repressed -as its interest dictated. But in this catholicity of religious -faith, in this independence of religious communities, I am -constrained to recognise new and sublime principles, and to see -in them flashes from the light of heaven. It needed many -centuries before mental vision was capable of receiving that -light; and no one shall pronounce how many centuries will be -needed before it will pervade and penetrate the entire world. But -whatever difficulties and shortcomings may be reserved in the -womb of the future for the two great truths to which I have just -referred, it is clear that God caused them first to beam forth -from the life and teaching of Jesus Christ. -</p> -<span class="pagenum"><a id="Page_281">{281}</a></span> -<br> - <h3>V. Jesus And Women.</h3> -<br> -<p> -At the very source of all religions, as well as in their -subsequent history, women find a place to fill and a part to -perform. At one time they constitute the material and furnish the -ornament of licentious systems of mythology. At another, on the -contrary, they are, for the heroes of those religions, objects -either of pious horror or of observances at once rigorous and -austere: women are considered by them as creatures full of evil -and of peril; and they are accordingly thrust from their lives as -men thrust from them what is a temptation and an impurity. -Voluptuous pictures and adventures on the one hand, and zealous -impulses of rigid asceticism on the other, constitute the two -extremes to which religions in their ages of youth and of vigour -are alternately prone. -<span class="pagenum"><a id="Page_282">{282}</a></span> -Sometimes—and it is more fortunate for women when it is the -case—they are described in the narrative of these religions, -such as they really are in human life, charmers and at the same -time charmed, seducers and seduced, idols and slaves; at first -votaries of the enthusiasm, the victims of the errors and the -passions which they at once inspire and feel. Whether Asiatic or -European, rude or refined, such are the striking features with -which all systems of religion, excepting Christianity, have -characterised the women whom they have introduced in their -narratives. -</p> -<p> -Neither of these characteristics, nor anything analogous, is met -with in the Gospel and in the relations of Jesus with women. They -seem irresistibly attracted towards Him, with hearts moved, -imaginations struck by his manner of life, his precepts, his -miracles, his language. He inspires them with feelings of tender -respect and confiding admiration. The Canaanitish woman comes and -addresses to Him a timid prayer for the healing of her daughter. -The woman of Samaria listens to Him with eagerness, though she -does not know Him: Mary seats herself at his feet, absorbed in -reflections suggested by his words; and Martha proffers to Him -the frank complaint that her sister assists her not, but leaves -her unaided in the performance of her domestic duties. -<span class="pagenum"><a id="Page_283">{283}</a></span> -The sinner draws near to Him in tears, pouring upon his feet a -rare perfume, and wiping them with her hair. The adulteress, -hurried into his presence by those who wished to stone her in -accordance with the precepts of the Mosaic Law, remains -motionless in his presence, even after her accusers have -withdrawn, waiting in silence what He is about to say. Jesus -receives the homage, and listens to the prayers of all these -women, with the gentle gravity and impartial sympathy of a being -superior and strange to earthly passion. Pure and inflexible -interpreter of the Divine law, He knows and understands man's -nature, and judges it with that equitable severity which nothing -escapes, the excuse as little as the fault. Faith, sincerity, -humanity, sorrow, repentance, touch Him without biassing the -charity and the justice of his conclusions; and He expresses -blame or announces pardon with the same calm serenity of -authority, certain that his eye has read the depths of the heart -to which his words will penetrate. -<span class="pagenum"><a id="Page_284">{284}</a></span> -In his relations with the women who approach Him, there is, in -short, not the slightest trace of man; nowhere does the Godhead -manifest itself more winningly and with greater purity. And when -there is no longer any question of these particular relations and -conversations, when Jesus has no longer before him women -suppliants and sinners, who are invoking his power or imploring -his clemency; when it is with the position and the destiny of -women in general that He is occupying himself, He affirms and -defends their claims and their dignity with a sympathy at once -penetrating and severe. He knows that the happiness of mankind, -as well as the moral position of women, depends essentially upon -the married state; He makes of the sanctity of marriage a -fundamental law of Christian religion and society; He pursues -adultery even into the recesses of the human heart, the human -thought; He forbids divorce; He says of men, "Have ye not read, -that he which made them at the beginning made them male and -female? … For this cause shall a man leave father and mother, -and shall cleave to his wife: and they twain shall be one flesh. -<span class="pagenum"><a id="Page_285">{285}</a></span> -Wherefore they are no more twain, but one flesh. What therefore -God hath joined together, let not man put asunder. They say unto -him, Why did Moses then command to give a writing of divorcement, -and to put her away? He saith unto them, Moses because of the -hardness of your hearts suffered you to put away your wives: but -from the beginning it was not so. And I say unto you, Whosoever -shall put away his wife, except it be for fornication, and shall -marry another, committeth adultery: and whoso marrieth her which -is put away doth commit adultery." [Footnote 121] -</p> -<p class="footnote"> - [Footnote 121: Matthew xix. 4-9; v. 27, 28 Mark x. 2-12. - Romans vii. 2, 3. 1 Corinthians vi. 16-18; vii. 1-11.] -</p> -<p> -Signal and striking testimony to the progressive action of God -upon the human race! Jesus Christ restores to the divine law of -marriage the purity and the authority that Moses had not enjoined -to the Hebrews "because of the hardness of their hearts." -</p> -<span class="pagenum"><a id="Page_286">{286}</a></span> -<br> - <h3>VI. Jesus Christ And Children.</h3> -<br> -<p> -The sentiments expressed by Jesus Christ towards children, and -the language that He uses towards them, as these appear in the -Gospel narrative, must strike even the most careless reader. Let -me refer to the passages themselves:— -</p> -<p class="cite"> - "And they brought young children to him, that he should touch - them: and his disciples rebuked those that brought them. But - when Jesus saw it, he was much displeased, and said unto them, - Suffer the little children to come unto me, and forbid them - not: for of such is the kingdom of God. Verily I say unto you, - Whosoever shall not receive the kingdom of God as a little - child, he shall not enter therein. And he took them up in his - arms, put his hands upon them, and blessed them." [Footnote - 122] -</p> -<p class="footnote"> - [Footnote 122: Mark x. 13-16; Matthew xix. 13-15. - Luke xviii. 15-17.] -</p> -<span class="pagenum"><a id="Page_287">{287}</a></span> -<p> -Another day, "came the disciples unto Jesus, saying, Who is the -greatest in the kingdom of heaven? And Jesus called a little -child unto him, and set him in the midst of them, and said, -Verily I say unto you, Except ye be converted, and become as -little children, ye shall not enter into the kingdom of heaven. -Whosoever therefore shall humble himself as this little child, -the same is greatest in the kingdom of heaven." [Footnote 123] -</p> -<p class="footnote"> - [Footnote 123: Matthew xviii. 1-4; Mark ix. 33-37.] -</p> -<p> -Again another day, Jesus, deploring the coldness that his -preaching and his miracles frequently encountered, and that even -in his closest vicinity, exclaimed, here no longer addressing his -disciples, but God himself, "I thank thee, O Father, Lord of -heaven and earth, because thou hast hid these things from the -wise and prudent, and hast revealed them unto babes." [Footnote -124] -</p> -<p class="footnote"> - [Footnote 124: Matthew xi. 25.] -</p> -<p> -What is the full meaning of these words? They are not simply the -expression of that impulse of gentle benevolence excited in all -hearts at the sight of children, and their innocent confidence in -all who come near them. -<span class="pagenum"><a id="Page_288">{288}</a></span> -Jesus Christ no doubt experienced the influence of this feeling, -for He was strange to none of man's noble emotions; but his -thoughts passed far beyond the children whose approach he -permitted, and they merely furnished Him with the living occasion -to address to men themselves his solemn warnings. -</p> -<p> -The child, I have already mentioned in these -Meditations,[Footnote 125] is, for us, the image of innocence, -the type of the creature fallible, yet who has not yet sinned, -who knows not yet either error of understanding, or the seduction -of passion, or the blinding influence of pride, or the troubles -of doubt, or the extreme folly of sin, or the anguish of -repentance; who follows in the first impulses of infancy only the -spontaneous instincts of tender confidence in the parent to whom -he is indebted for security and for love, for the first joys and -the earliest blessings. -</p> -<p class="footnote"> - [Footnote 125: Meditation II., Christian Dogmas, p. 48.] -</p> -<span class="pagenum"><a id="Page_289">{289}</a></span> -<p> -Jesus does not pretend to bring men back to that fair condition, -to restore to them their primitive innocence: but He comes to -ransom them from sin; He brings them the hope of pardon and -salvation. Confidence in God, a confidence sincere, unpretending, -and loving, is that disposition which opens the soul of man to -the divine blessing. This is also the disposition that the child -evinces towards its parents; he calls upon them, and he hopes in -them. Hence those words of Jesus: "Suffer little children to come -unto me, and forbid them not, for of such is the kingdom of -heaven." The way of innocence is a far better way than that of -science to lead man up to God. -</p> -<p> -Science is a splendid thing; it is also a noble privilege of man -that God, in creating him an intelligent and a free agent, has -given him a capacity to desire and to pursue through study the -truths of science, and even to attain them in a certain measure, -and in a certain sphere. -<span class="pagenum"><a id="Page_290">{290}</a></span> -But when science attempts to exceed that measure and to quit that -sphere; when it ignores and scorns the instincts,—natural, -universal, and permanent instincts, of the human soul; when it -essays to set up everywhere its own torch in the place of that -primitive light that lights mankind: then, and from that cause -alone, science fills itself with error; and this is the very case -which called forth those words of Jesus: "I praise thee, Father, -Lord of heaven and of earth, that thou hast hidden these things -from the wise and prudent, and hast revealed them unto babes." -[Footnote 126] -</p> -<p class="footnote"> - [Footnote 126: Matthew xi. 25. The words ἀπὸ σοφῶν καὶ συνετῶν are - better rendered, "from the learned and the prudent," than - "wise and intelligent;" "sages et intelligents," as in the - French version by Osterwald.] -</p> - - <h3>VII. Jesus Christ Himself.</h3> -<br> -<p> -I have sought to gather from the Gospels the scattered facts that -constitute the life of Jesus. I have searched for them in his -acts, his precepts, his words: in his different relations in -life. I have added nothing, exaggerated nothing; on the contrary, -the life of Jesus is infinitely grander and more sublime than I -have made it; his words are infinitely more profound and admiral -than I have described them. And I have said nothing of the seal -affixed to <i>his work</i> and <i>his mission</i> by his Passion; -nor have I shown Jesus at Gethsemane and upon the Cross. -</p> -<span class="pagenum"><a id="Page_291">{291}</a></span> -<p> -According to the Bible, God is without parallel—ever the same. -Jesus is also so according to the Gospel. The most perfect, the -most constant unity reigns in Him: in his life as in his soul; in -his language as in his acts. His action is progressive, and -proportionate to the circumstances which call it forth and in the -midst of which He lives; but his progress never entails any -change of character or purpose. As He appears at the age of -twelve, in the Temple, already full of the sentiment of his -divine nature, in his reply to his mother who was searching for -Him with disquietude, "Knowest thou not that I must be about my -Father's business?" the same He remains and manifests himself in -the whole course of his active mission—in Galilee and at -Jerusalem, with his apostles and with the people, amongst the -Pharisees and the Publicans, whether they be men, or women, or -children who approach Him; alike before Caiaphas and Pilate, and -under the eyes of the crowd pressing around to listen to Him. -<span class="pagenum"><a id="Page_292">{292}</a></span> -Everywhere and in every circumstance, the same spirit animates -Him; He diffuses the same light, proclaims the same law. Perfect -and immutable, always at once Son of God and Son of Man, He -pursues and consummates amidst all the trials and all the sorrows -of human existence his divine work for the salvation of mankind. -</p> -<p> -What need to add more? How speak in detail of Jesus himself when -one believes in Him, when one sees in Him God made man, acting as -God alone can act, and suffering all that man can suffer to -ransom mankind from sin, and save it by bringing it back to God? -How sound closely the mysteries of such a person and such a -purpose? What passed in that divine soul during that human -existence? Who shall explain those cries of agony of Jesus in the -bosom of the most absolute faith in God his father and in -himself, and those moments of horror at the approach of the -sacrifice without the slightest hesitation in the sacrifice, -without the smallest doubt as to its efficaciousness? -<span class="pagenum"><a id="Page_293">{293}</a></span> -This sublime fact, this intimate and continual intermixture of -the divine and human finds no competent, no adequate expression -in human speech, and the more we consider it the more difficult -we find it to speak of it. -</p> -<p> -Those who have no faith in Jesus, who admit not the supernatural -character of his person, of his life, and of his work, do not -feel this difficulty. Having beforehand done away with God and -with miracles, the history of Jesus is for them nothing more than -an ordinary history, which they narrate and explain like any -other biography of man. But such historians fall into a far -different difficulty, and wreck themselves on a far different -rock. The supernatural being and power of Jesus may be disputed, -but the perfection, the sublimity of his actions and of his -precepts, of his life and of his moral law, are incontestable. -<span class="pagenum"><a id="Page_294">{294}</a></span> -And in effect, not only are they not contested, but they are -admired and celebrated enthusiastically, and complacently, too; -it would seem as if it were desired to restore to Jesus as man, -and man alone, the superiority of which men deprive Him in -refusing to see in Him the Godhead. But then, what incoherence, -what contradictions, what falsehood, what moral impossibility in -his history, such as they make it; what a series of suppositions, -irreconcilable with fact, nevertheless admitted! The man they -make so perfect, so sublime, becomes by turns a dreamer or a -charlatan; at once dupe and deceiver: dupe of his own mystical -enthusiasm in believing in his own miracles; deceiver in -tampering with evidence in order to accredit himself. The history -of Jesus Christ is thus but a tissue of fables and falsehood. And -nevertheless the hero of this history remains perfect, sublime, -incomparable; the greatest genius, the noblest heart that the -world ever saw; the type of virtue and moral beauty, the supreme -and rightful chief of mankind. -<span class="pagenum"><a id="Page_295">{295}</a></span> -And his disciples, in their turn justly admirable, have braved -everything, suffered everything, in order to abide faithful to -Him and to accomplish his work. And, in effect, the work has been -accomplished: the pagan world has become Christian, and the whole -world has nothing better to do than to follow the example. -</p> -<p> -What a contradictory and insolvable problem they present to us -instead of the one they are so anxious to suppress! -</p> -<p> -History reposes upon two foundations—positive written evidence -as to facts and persons, and presumptive evidence resulting from -the connection of facts and the action of persons. These two -foundations are entirely lost sight of in the history of Jesus -such as it is recounted, or rather constructed, in these days; it -is, on the one hand, in evident and shocking contradiction with -the testimony of the men who saw Jesus, or of the men who lived -nearly in the time of those who had seen Him; on the other side, -with the natural laws presiding over the actions of men and the -course of events. -<span class="pagenum"><a id="Page_296">{296}</a></span> -This does not deserve the name of historical criticism; it is a -philosophical system and a romantic narrative substituted for the -substantial proof and the circumstantial evidence; it is a Jesus -false and impossible, made by the hand of man pretending to -dethrone the real living Jesus—the Son of God. -</p> -<p> -The choice lies between the system and the mystery; between the -romance of man and the purpose of God. Even in revealing himself -God still interposes veils, but these veils are no falsehoods. -The Gospel history of Jesus shows us God acting in ways which are -not his ways of every day. This special action of God -characterises also many other facts in the history of the -universe; amongst others, the great fact of the actual creation, -where man, at his appearance upon earth, received the first -divine revelation. The supernatural does not merely date from -Jesus Christ; and if a man from this motive rejects the history -of Jesus, he will have to deny also a far different thing. -<span class="pagenum"><a id="Page_297">{297}</a></span> -To escape this fatal necessity, men of learning have recently -striven to curtail indefinitely the proportion of the -supernatural in the history of Jesus, and to explain by natural -means, most of the acts and circumstances of his life. A puerile -attempt, which has altogether failed in the details, still -leaving untouched the substance of the problem. No better success -will attend the new attempt that has in these days been made, and -which consists in placing the Ideal in the place of the -Supernatural, and in elevating religious sentiment upon the ruins -of the Christian faith. This is doing either too much or too -little. The human soul is not satisfied with these leavings, nor -human pride with such refusals, When one is so hardy as to -pretend, in the name of the science of man in this finite world, -to determine the limits of the power of God, one must be still -more hardy and—dethrone God himself. -</p> -<span class="pagenum"><a id="Page_298">{298}</a></span> -<br> -<span class="pagenum"><a id="Page_299">{299}</a></span> -<br> - <h2>Note.</h2> -<br> -<p> -I said (p. 145) that I would indicate some instances of -grammatical faults to be met with in the Scriptures, to which the -character of divine inspiration cannot be assigned. Upon the -subject of the books of the Old Testament I have consulted my -learned confrère, M. Munk; his reply is in the precise words -which follow: -</p> -<p class="cite"> - "The biblical authors," he writes to me, "whose style is most - incorrect, are Ezekiel and Jeremiah. These authors, and - particularly the first, err frequently against grammar and - orthography; they are not merely influenced by the Aramean - dialect, but they disclose grammatical faults capable of being - traced to no source in any of the Semitic dialects. This remark - has also been made by Hebrew grammarians of the middle ages, - and Isaac Abrabanel (towards the close of the 15th century), in - the preface to his commentary upon Ezekiel, does not hesitate - to declare that this prophet was but superficially acquainted - with Hebrew grammar and orthography. -<span class="pagenum"><a id="Page_300">{300}</a></span> - Nevertheless, neither Jeremiah nor Ezekiel, of whom both are - distinguished by a certain originality of style, unlike that of - any of the other Hebrew writers, is wanting in elegance, - energy, and boldness in images, and they display in the highest - degree their proficiency in the art of composition. The - following are some instances of the grave faults against - grammar to be met with in their writings:— -</p> - <h3><i>Examples of Incorrect Expressions in Ezekiel.</i></h3> -<ul> -<li> - והמה משתחויתם (<i>mischta’ hawithem</i>), "and they worshipped" (viii. - 16), a barbarism for משתחוים (<i>mischta’hawîm</i>). -</li><li> - ונאשאר אני (<i>we-néschaar ani</i>), "and I remained" (xi. 8), for - ואשאר (<i>wa-ëschaër</i>) or ונשארתי (<i>we-nischarti</i>). - (There are here faults both of orthography and grammar.) -</li><li> - אשת (<i>ischôth</i>), "women" (xxiii. 44), for נשי - (<i>nesché</i>). -</li><li> - שבעה עולותו (<i>schib’a</i>), "his seven burnt - offerings" (xl. 26), for שבע (<i>scheba’</i>). In the number - seven the masculine is used instead of the feminine. -</li><li> - בבנותיך (<i>bi-benôthayikh</i>), "in that thou buildest" (xvi. - 31), instead of בבנותך (<i>bi-benotihékh</i>). -</li><li> - בשובני (<i>be-schoubéni</i>), "when I returned" (xlvi. 7), - instead of בשובי (<i>be-schoubi</i>). -</li><li> - גבהא קמתו (<i>gabehâ</i>), "his height was exalted" (xxxi. 5), - instead of גבהה (<i>gabehâ</i>). The last letter is - <i>aleph</i>, for <i>hé</i>. -</li></ul> -<span class="pagenum"><a id="Page_301">{301}</a></span> -<p> -The Chaldean plural is used in several words, for instance: -</p> -<ul> -<li> - חטין (<i>’hittîn</i>), "wheat" (iv. 9), for חטים - (<i>’hittîm</i>); האין (<i>ha-iyyîn</i>), "the isles," or "the - isles in the sea" (xxvi. 18), instead of האים - <i>(ha-iyyim</i>), an error in both orthography and grammar. -</li></ul> - - <h3><i>Examples of Incorrect Expressions in Jeremiah.</i></h3> - -<ul> -<li> - אובידה (<i>ôbîdâ</i>), "I will destroy" (xlvi. 8), for אאבידה - (<i>aabîdâ</i>). -</li><li> - נבית (<i>nibbĕtha</i>), "hast thou prophesied" (xxvi. 9), - instead of נבאת (<i>nibbētha</i>). The syllable <i>bé</i> has - a <i>yod</i> instead of an <i>aleph</i>. -</li><li> - אתנו (<i>athanou</i>) "we come" (iii. 22), instead of אתינו - (<i>athinou</i>.). -</li><li> - אתי (<i>att</i>), "thee" in the feminine (terminating with - <i>yod</i> mute), for את (<i>att</i>), a Syriasm very - frequent in Jeremiah, who often forms the second person of the - perfect fem. in ־תי (<i>t</i> followed by <i>yod</i>) - instead of ־ת (<i>t</i>). -</li><li> - לוא (<i>lô</i> written with <i>waw</i> quiescent), "not" - very often for לא (<i>lô</i> without the <i>waw</i>). -</li><li> - הגלת (<i>hoglath</i>), "shall be carried away captive" (xiii. - 19), instead of הגלתה (<i>hoglethâ</i>). The latter Chaldaism - we meet also in the Pentateuch (Leviticus xxv. 22), ועשת - (<i>we’asath</i>), her fruits (shall) come in." for ועשתה - (<i>we’asetah</i>), and ibid xxvi. 34; והרצת - (<i>we-hirzath</i>), "she shall enjoy," for והרצתה - (<i>we-hircethâ</i>). -</li></ul> - -<span class="pagenum"><a id="Page_302">{302}</a></span> -<p> -With respect to the New Testament, I have required a similar -notice from my son William, who has made the Greek language in -general, and its deviations in the writings of the Gospel, the -object of particular and careful study. I insert, also, the note -which he has drawn up upon the subject:— -</p> -<p class="cite"> - "On first approaching the text of the New Testament, after - having learnt the Greek language and grammar in the classical - writers, we are struck by numerous irregularities of - expression: amongst these, however, we must carefully - distinguish those which constitute merely particular and - singular modes of expression from those which are real faults. - The former are susceptible of explanation and justification by - different examples and different arguments; the latter are not - capable of being reconciled with the elementary and necessary - laws of language. Thus we may justify such or such a strange - form of conjugation or of declension, which would be accounted - a barbarism by a school boy, but which was nevertheless in - actual use in some one or other of the local dialects, written - and spoken by the Greeks. -<span class="pagenum"><a id="Page_303">{303}</a></span> - Again, however it may have been the rule in Greek to set the - verb in the singular when used with a neuter substantive in the - plural, the rule has not been invariably observed even by the - purest classical writers, and we may justify by exceptions - collected here and there in their compositions, several - passages of the New Testament which, at first sight, might - appear amenable to a charge of solecism. Thus, in short, after - our attention having, at first sight, been arrested and our - minds disconcerted by other passages in which the sacred writer - has confounded the sense of two words which resemble each - other, as μαρτύρομαι, which signifies <i>summon a - witness</i>, and which St. Peter employs instead of μαρτυρέω - which means, <i>give testimony</i>,[Footnote 127] as - ἀδυνάτειν, which signifies <i>to be incapable</i>, and which - St. Matthew and St. Mark employ in the sense of <i>being - impossible</i>, [Footnote 128]—as μεσουράνημα, which - signifies the <i>meridian or zenith of a star</i>, and which, - on three occasions in the New Testament, is used in the sense - of <i>in the middle of the air</i>,—or, even when we meet - words, not merely strange to the ear, but formed without - attention to the rules and in contradiction to analogy, as - πειθός for πείθανος[Footnote 129]—we may again, - without any departure from logical rules, by judicious or - subtle distinctions, escape from the difficulties which the - passages suggest, and have a perfect right to do so. But after - having made allowances for the irregularities susceptible of - explanation in the language of the New Testament, there still - remain some which are real faults. The same word cannot be - written by the same hand, at an interval of but three pages, - both masculine and feminine, as the word ἶρις, - <i>rainbow</i>, in the <i>Apocalypse</i>. [Footnote 130] When - the substantive is feminine, the adjective cannot be masculine, - as τὴν ληνὸν ... τὸν μέγαν. [Footnote 131] -</p> -<p class="footnote"> - [Footnote 127: 1 Peter i. 11.] -<br><br> - [Footnote 128: Matthew xvii. 20; Luke i. 37.] -<br><br> - [Footnote 129: 1 Corinthians ii 1.] -<br><br> - [Footnote 130: Compare iv. 3, and x. 1.] -<br><br> - [Footnote 131: Apocalypse xiv. 19.] -</p> -<span class="pagenum"><a id="Page_304">{304}</a></span> -<p> -When the substantive is in the accusative, the adjective cannot -be in the nominative. In such an employment of words we are able -to trace in the sacred writings the hand of man, marks of human -imperfection and error; and we must not forget that these faults -become more numerous and grosser the greater the antiquity of the -MS. in which we find them, and the purer the Jewish origin of the -writer. Thus the Greek of the Apocalypse is singularly incorrect, -at the same time that the imaginative turn of the expression is -remarkably Hebraic. [Footnote 132] In the text, styled the -received text, and which was fixed in the 16th century, many of -these faults have disappeared, because it has borrowed from MSS. -of then recent date. But now that biblical philosophy has mounted -higher, we can discern how the copyists, one after the other, -actuated by pious scruples, or thinking only to correct some -error of their predecessors, have little by little effaced what -appeared to them too great a departure from rules to have been -written by an evangelist or an apostle. At the present day, these -admitted irregularities are an element indispensible to every -serious discussion respecting the nature and extent of the divine -inspiration to be met with in the sacred volume. -</p> -<p class="footnote"> - [Footnote 132: Apocalypse i. 16; iii. 12; iv. 7; - ix. 13 & 14; xiv. 12; xvi. 13; xx. 2, &c.] -</p> - - <h3>THE END.<br><br> - - Bradpury And Evans, Printers, Whitefriars.</h3> - -<span class="pagenum"><a id="Page_305">{305}</a></span> - - <h3>Albemarle Street,<br> - <i>July</i>, 1864</h3> -<br> -<hr> -<br> - <h3>Mr. Murray's<br> - List Of New Works.</h3> -<br> -<p class="cite"> - The Quarterly Review, No. CCXXXI. 8vo. 6s. -<br><br> - Contents: -</p> -<p class="cite2"> - I. Words And Places. -<br><br> - II. Ludwig Uhland. -<br><br> - III. Free Thinking; Its History And Tendencies, -<br><br> - IV. The Circassian Exodus. -<br><br> - V. Lacordaire. -<br><br> - VI. Christian Art. -<br><br> - VII. Public Schools. -<br><br> - VIII. 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