The evening telegraph. [volume] (Philadelphia [Pa.]) 1864-1918, 1870-09-16
THE JESUS or HISTORY.

Fiske, of Harvard, is from The -H0deIR
Ihinker:-
of all the founders of religions, Jesus is at
once the best known and the least known to
the modern scholar. From the dogmatic
point of view he is the best known, from the
historic point of view he is the least known.
The Jesus of dogma is in every lineament
familiar to MS from early childhood; but con-
cernino the Jesus of history we possess but
few facts resting upon trustworthy evidence;
and in order to form picture of him at once
consistent, probable, aud distinct in its out
lines, it is necessary to enter upon long and
difficult investigation, in the course of which
some of the most delicate apparatus of
modern criticism will not fail to be required.
This circumstance is sufficiently singular to
require especial explanation. The case of
Sakyamuni, the founder of Buddhism, which
may perhaps be cited as parallel, is in reality
wholly different. Not only did Sakyamuni live
five centuries earlier than Jesus, among a
people that have at no time possessed the art
of insuring authenticity in their records of
events, and at an era which is at best but
dimly discerned through the mists of fable
and legend, but the work which he achieved
lies wholly out of the course of European
history, and it is only in recent times that
his career has presented itself to us as pro-
blem needing to be solved. Jesus, on the
other hand, appeared in an age which is fami-
liarly and in many respects minutely known
to us, and among people whose fortunes we
can trace with historic certainty for at least
seven centuries previous to his birth; while
his life and achievements have probably had
larger share in directing the entire subse-
uuent intellectual and moral development of
Europe than those of any other man who has
ever lived. Nevertheless, the details of his
personal career are shrouded in an obscurty
almost as dense as that which envelops the
life of the remote founder of Buddhism.
This phenomenon, however, appears less
strange and paradoxical when we come to
examine it more closely. A little reflection
will disclose to us several good reasons why
the historical records of the life of Jesus
should be so scanty as they are. In the first
place. the activity of Jesus was private rather
than public. Confined within exceedingly
narrow limits, both of space and of duration,
it made no impression whatever upon the
politics or the literature of the time. His
name did not occur in the pages of any con-
temporary writer, Roman, Greek, or Jewish.
Doubtless the case would have been wholly
different had he, like Mahomet, lived to a
ripe age, and had the exigencies of his pecu-
liar position as the Messiah of the Jewish
people brought him into relations with the
empire; though whether, in such case, the
success of his grand undertaking would have
been as complete as it has actually been, may
well be doubted.
Secondly, Jesus did not, like Mahomet and
Paul, leave behind him authentic writings
which might serve to throw light upon his
mental development as well as upon the ex-
ternal facts of his career. Without the Koran
and the four genuine Epistles of Paul, we
should be nearly as much in the dark con-
corning these great men as we now are con-
corning the historical Jesus. We should be
compelled to rely, in the one case, upon the
untrustworthy gossip of Mussulnnan chroni-
clers, and in the other case upon the garbled
statements of the "Acts of the Apostles, a
book written with distinct dogmatic pur-
pose, sixty or seventy years after the occur
renee of the events which it processes to re-
cord
1t is true, many of the words of Jesus, pre-
served by hearsay tradition through the gene
ration Immediately succeeding his death,
have come down to us, probably with little
alteration, in the pages of the three earlier
evangelists. These are priceless data, since,
as we shall see, they are almost the only ma
terial at our command for forming even a
partial conception of the character of Jesus
work. Nevertheless, even here the cautious
inquirer has only too often to pause in the
face of the difficulty of distinguishing the
authentic utterances of the great teacher from
the later interpretations suggested by the dog
matte necessities of the narrators. Bitterly
must the historian regret that Jesus had
no philosophic disciple, like Keno.
OF the various writings included in
the New Testament, the Apocalypse alone (and
possibly the Epistle of Jade) is from the per
of personal acquaintance of Jesus; and be-
sides this, the four epistles of Paul to the
Galatians, Corinthians, and Romans, make
up the sum of the writings from which We
may demand contemporary testimony. YET
from these we obtain absolutely nothing OF
that for which we are seeking. The bre1
writings of Paul are occupied exclusi Vely
with the internal significance of Jesus work
The epistle of Jude-if it be really writer
by Jesus brother of that name, which is
doubtful-is solely polemic directed agains
the innovations of Paul. And the Apocalypse
the work of the fiery and imaginative dis
ciple John, is confined to prophetic descrip
tion of the Messiah's anticipated return, AM
tells us nothing of the deeds of that MESSIAH
Hwhile on the earth.
Here we touch upon our third considera
tion--the consideration which best enables u
to see why the historic notices of Jesus are 8
meagre. Rightly considered, the statemen
with which we opened this article is it's ow
explanation. The Jesus of history is so littl
known, Just because the Jesus of dogma is S
well known. Other teachers-Paul, MahC
met, Sakyamuni-have come merely a
preachers of righteousness, speaking in tn
name of general principles with which thei
own personalities were not directly impl
Gated. But Jesus, as we shall see, before tn
close of his life, proclaimed himself to b
something more than preacher of righteous
ness. He announced himself-and iustly
from his own point of view-as the long -el
pected Messiah sent of Jehovah to liberat
the Jewish race. The success of his religion
teachings became at once implicated wit