The central gazette. [volume] (Charlottesville, Va.) 1820-1827, 1827-03-24
A SKETCH OF THE CHARACTER OF JESUS
CHRIST.

CHRIST.
(By the celebrated EousSeau.
4" i confess, that the majesty OF The Scrip
lures astouishes me; that the sanctiss or the
Gospel speaks 10 my heart with ali their
pomp; what IA bitterness have t!ey when
compared with this Is il possible thal IL
book, ut once SO sublime and simple. that lie.
hose history it records, should be himself
mere man Is This The style OF an cnthusi-
asst; or of al ambitious sceiary !What sweet
ness, what purity. in his manners what uf-
iectnig grace ih his Instructions " hat Gle
walton In his maxims what profound wis
donna his discourse! " ha, presence of MUD,
what dciicary aud what business in his rec
plies! what empire over hi, passions! Where
Is the man, where is the philosopher, wiro
Knows how TO ack, To suffer and 10 die With-
ont weakness and without os,en,atiUn! W hen
Plato points to his imaginar, just man, Gov
cred with all ihe iGnOmiuy Of guilt, and de-
serving all the honors OF virtue, he pants
Jesus Christ IA every stroke of his prmcii;
ihe resemblance is 80 strong that all the ia
theirs have perceived II, and thal il Is not
possible 10 mistake il. What preiudhucs,
what blindness, must they have, " lo dare 10
draw comparison between the sun If eoph.
roniscus and the sou of Mar, What dis.
lance is there between The one und the o,hSr!
As Socrates died without pain and Without
disgrace, lie found no difficulty in support
ing his character TO the end and, If This eu-
sy death had not shed Iustre on his life,
we might have doubted whether Socrates,
with aii his genius, was any thing hut IL so"
phist-rhey say that he invented morality.
Others before him had pruclised it {: he only
| said what they had done, he only read les
SONS OH their examples. Arislides had been
just, before Socrates explained The nature Of
justice: LeOnidas had died for his country,
hnfn rutn .Ia IL,
love their country; Sparta had been temper
ate before Socrates praised temperance;
| Greece had nboundcd III yirtuous men, be-
| fore he defined virtue. But where could he
sus have taken among his coun,rymrn that
! cheated and pare morality, of Which he u.
lone furnished The precepts aud the exans-
Pie ?
1.-The most lofty wisdom was heard from
lhe bosom of The most furious fanuticisnr;
ana the simplicity OF the most heroic ,irtues
honored the Hest OF all peonle The death
OF Socrates, serenely phiiosuphisipr with
h's friends, III the NEST gentle u,anncr that
one can desire, Tha, of Jesus expiring in tor
ments, injured, derided, reyiIed by a " hole
people IS the most srible that one ca II fear.
!" men socrates takes the poisoned cup, lie
rn'esses nm who presents it, and who al the
same time weeps jesus in the midst of fl
horrid punishment Prays for his cnraged ex-
cculioners. Yes: if the life and death of
Socrates are those of a philosopher, the life
ana death Of Jesus Christ are those of a God,
Shall we say that the history of The Gosues
Is invented at pleasure My friend, il is
not thus that men invent : and the actiuns Of
socrates, concerning which no one doubt,
are less attested than those of Jesus Christ
After all, this is shifting the difficulty in
| stead OF solving it; for il would he more in
| conceivable that d number Of men should
forge tho book in concert, than that one
should furnish the subject of il. Jewish
authors would never have devised sueb q
morality and the Gospel has characters ne
truth so great, so striking; so perfectly mi
mltable, that its inventor would be s,;!
more astonishing than its hero"
SquirretS,--It is q cutious c;rcun.,o
ana not generally known that most of hosc
OAKS "hich are called spoDt aueous nre ,,I,,.
\ ted by The squirrel. This little animal j,no
performed Tie most essential service Tn thc
British navy. A gentleman wulkipr onn
day ID the woods belonging to the Duke or
beaufort, near Troy House, in the county NJ
Monmouth, his attention was diverted i've
sqnirrei, winch sat very composedIy uuon
.he ground. lie stopped 10 observe lis mo-
to The top OF tree, beneath which he had
been sitting. 10 att instant he wos L.,
WITH an acorn IN his mouth, and oftcr j;a
S'hg small hole, he stopped down and do
prsite" 'he acorn; then covering il, DARED
up the tree again. In a moment WINS down
with another, which he buried in like mau,
ner. This he continued TO do as lone = . ,bo
observer thought proper to watch him m,
industry of ibis little animal is direc,ed r.
the purpose OF securing him against wan, IN
the " infer and il is probable thai hi. mem
DRY IS not sufficiently reteptive TO cnntIa
MN mn, 10 remember the spot in which he drto.
snS every acorn Z; the industrious little fclyow.
10 uouo'' loses few every year these few
,Ps,ns up and are destined 10 supply The
g'"ce VI me parent tree. Thus is Britrin
IN some measure. indebted 10 tl,e Ind.
ana bad memory Off Squirrel for her nd
Fer g'or5, end her very existence.
E1f'"'g.. ErYtrs C,;rr9r-.