, 1877-09-23
ST. JOHN.
tAS. ~

REN ANS GOSPE ELS.
ST. JOHN.
Ne,o 1ork Nation.
II. Ernest Renan has added a fifth volume to
his "History of the Origins Of Christianity. ~
After the .sLifc Of Jesus" the s.Apostles," !"
"Saint Paul." the ssAntichrist,' - he gives us the
'Eyangiles," and informs his readers that, as
he could not exhaust the difficult subject OF the
authorship OF the Gospels in one velume, the
series will therefore include d sixth volume.
There is something truly admirable in the
serenity OF Renan; he continues his researches
aud his studies as quietly as Bsne-
dic,ine monl:: imrasad.na .}srieat yui'ae.
Not that he is Indifferent to the
misfortunes Of his time amt Of his country; he
has shown in> his "keformc 1ntellectuelle ct
Morale dc In France - that he can feel as we'll
as think; but nature has giFen him sweet
and calm disposition, great simplicity Of
heart, and an almost childiike faculty Of
curiosity, which preserves him from melancholy
and sadness. He, besides, discovered long ago
that intellectual labor is the great, perhaps the
only remedy against acute mental sufferings.
The astronomer who studies the movements
Of double star is for while far away from
the present; so are the historian and the critic.
Tie traveller, says Boileau, cannot escape his
own thoughts:
L. chasrin monte en- cronpe ct galope ayec lui.
Travelling is too easy. The same tan hardly be
said Of Remains fayoritc science Of exegesis
To all the difficulties OF positive SCIENCE OF
grammar, Of phlology, OF history: you must
add the peculiar difficulties Vi what I can only
call the science Of rclaEions,-a science which Is
almost new, and which tends to discover the
laws OF the development Of religious Nleas, Of
%1,. r. n bF. rf
myths and their transformations, OF tie rela-
tion5 between the characters OF the vanous hui
u,an races aud the spontaneous growth OF the
religious instinct in different directions.
Kefan has always been guided since his ear
lest studies By this fundamental idea, viz:
that the Semitic races had peculiar fitness
for religion. His study OF the Sem
itic languages Is the cornerstone Of all
his work tie likes the society Of naturalsts
and OF scientific men generally, and it is psoha-
bly in the society Of such men that I've has
learned to classify everything: he has tried, ut
any rate to classify the human races, in point
OF their religious dispositions, aud, il may
sar so, OF their religious aillni;ies. Nothing, i'll
this respect, is more admirable than the con
trast which he draws in this new volume be-
tween the Roman world, still in possession Of
the political supremacy, aud the embryonic
Christian world, still UNKNOWN and uerggcd i'll
the despiscd Jewish community. Let lis CON
slider 4 moment the situation OF ths Jews alter
left Of their institntions; Pharisasm nlone
survived the Temple, but Pharsaism had no
life-it was the blindcst form OF obedience to
the Law Israel became more exclusive than
ever. Jerusalem was heap ei s.oucs. the
Jews spread themselves in the towns and vii
laees which were between the mountains OF
,Ju,1ea aud the sen. The Christians llasl been as
much surprised Is the Jews when the Temple
wus destroyed; they looked upon this mlstor-
tuuc as the chassisetncnt for the condemnation
of Christ. They expected that Christ would
soon rcappcar, and Kept faithfully the tradi-
ton OF Ills teachings. The nearest disciples
called themselves e3iotina or Eblonitcs. Christ
had sall: Happy arc the ediu,ttm-" Therc are
ebiou represents the saints Of Israel, the hum
bic, desuised OF men, beloved Of Goi. This
chosen congregation uf tho tJtoAina lived in Ba-
shan; their nc,ghbors called them Nazarenes, IS
it was known that Christ and his family were
from Nazareth. All over the east the Chris
t,ans have to this day Dccn known under this
name. These early Christians were not the
eucr,ics of the old Law; they celebrated the
Sabbath as well Is Sunday, and followed all the
prescriptions Of the Law. Jesus was considered
by them as the chosen ot Gs'u, but Us , n;aa,
tier churches werc called syna.o9ues- These
churches Of Basllan and Of Galllcc tor the
e5ioainl were allowed to return even to Jcsnsa~
lem after whitley were in constant fciattons
witt, the Jews. Thest Mazarcucs did not give
Christianity its final character but they had
tA'~
words Of christ; aud tue Gospel was born
among them in its lcflni.ive FORM .
This question Of the Gospels Is tue great
problem Of cxegcsis:
.sNhile tho origin of the fourth Goepct," ecys
Rcnap, - attributed TO st. John. retnnins enycl~
opcd in mystery. in a corresponding degree the
hypothescs on tie mode of composition OF the go
called syEontc Gospels have attained high degree
Of probability. There have been. in REALITY three
sorls OF Gospels: first. the original or frst~hanu
Gospels, composed solely hom oral tradition, and
without anJ anterior text bcfore the nnthor5 eyes
tin my opinion there were two Of this kind, one
written III Hebrew, or rather in Syfiac, now lost,
but many fragments OF which have been kept,
translated in Greek In Latin by Clement OF Alex
audria t)rigen. Eu.ebins, EpipianiEs, ~ JGron'e
ETC., the utl1cr in Greek. written w ST. MafSl'
second the Gospels which aTe partly original
partly second hand. made BY combining anterior
texts and oral traditions like the Gospel falsely
attributed to the Apostle Matthew. and the GosPei
composed by Lukc}: third. the Gospels Or second
or ttird- hand cooIy composed by the aid OF VIII
ten documents, and whose authors drew by no nv.
ing root upon tradition tsuch WAS the Gospel %
Murcon, nnd such The Gospels called aroetypnoi,;
taken from the canonic Gospels xuo ah'pHneat'
/ have given here the condensed form o1
Remains opinion, based on the most complex
and elaborate criticism. Ut
The life OF Jesus had not been Written III nls
lifetime; His sayings were conndco 70 the
memory OF His disciples, and It was onIf alter
a while that some OF them were Wr2ttcn. AanF
collections Of the words OF Jesus WcTe mauc.
and these collections BECAME the framework OF