, 1877-09-23

trssn,e ns Sd t,.t"a n1 partly Of these sayings
memory, memory, partly, OF the alessianic prophecie
which had to be satisfied. They had s,,ne
tnlne solid and something elastic at
naet,v re sane t TINE: thts pabi!ty explains
The tissue of tic lifo Of Christ was connpse5 sts
OF Ill the facts which are in accorlance witb A..
cent texts. Such work was neither persona]
nor conscious; the Gospels became. Ia one
sense Sense the unconscious work Of the believers
they existed before they we're written, they
were preserved in the heart before tler were
painted On parchment
According to Mr.. Renan, the first ATTEMPT to
dfAneate completely the life OF Jesus was made
IN IhaIs bashap and the first Gospel was written
nrsE conceived in Semitic Language, found its
perfect form in the Greek language. Only such
aaaansua2e could hold the proper proportion Of
haterlaitsm aud spiritualism, coan give the
proper mold to purely ideal doctrine:
for ds s,sap eplstlfs ofsI Paul would got have won
- w nsarLs was the Gospel TINT delicious mixture
pockry aaa OF moru1 sense, tbst narrative which
Where ts Is not sn s in paradise
nast os made in the success 1t the Gospel for The
assonishment aston caused among our stoiid {iourdss1
t.on, by those clever arr1ngements Of Sentences
hno o. speeches, by those conclusions (cAutes} 30
30 fy tSft q
oee9ne among all nslons what it is,--the old
latnily BOOK whose vorn leaves have been wet
with tears and 0;;:skd FIta -lhs aneer Ut many
S1aelas'Mphs5 S9 On s5esus himself. lie was, 30 to gheI-
n,a'msa tha ~: a15f OF His own biography.
me proto-Gospel, written in Syro-C -Chaldaic,
was preserved until the fifth century among the
Nazarencs OF Syria; it was translated into
Greek. All the Fathers Of the Church were
struck with the resemblance of this Hebraic
Gospel to the Gospel Of st. Matthew. The He
b1aic text disappeared with tue destruction Of
the Judeo Christians OF Syria. The translations
were equally lost, and We know it now only by
the numerous citations Of the Fathers: The
characteristic traits OF this proto~Gospcl were
IS follows: The virginia. birth of Christ was
not part of it; the supernatural element was,
however, very prominent. In this respect, eSpe-
cially, does it resemble the Gospel OF St. Mark.
The apparitions OF Jesus after the Resurrection
all take place in Jerusalem, the Apostle james,
Of Jerusalem, plays more important part than
in the following Gospels. Jesus makes His first
apparjtion in the house Of His brother, and for
him alone.
The Greek Churches received their Gospel
from Mark, the disciple Of Peter. Mark knew
some OF the Men who saw The drnma Of the last
dnys Of Jesus. He accompanied Peter to Rome,
md it was probably in that city that be wrote
the pages which became the first Greek Gospel.
Peter hardly kuew the Greek language, and the
Gospel of Mark was written a:ter his death;
still, Peter may be looked upon IS the insDirer
OF 1nis Gospel. As an historical document this
Gospel stands first Peter was dry, narrow, and
hard, but realistic and exact.
I'll can hardly be denied" says Renan. ".hat
Jesus appears III this Gospel, not the delicious
mornlast whom we love but us terrible magician
The sentiment which he chieay inspires in those
about him ID fear: the terror inspired BY his
psodigies is such that people beg him to
leave their frontiers. It must not lie concluded
from hls that the Gospel of Murk IL less historical
shock @ Us escee5insly were to Christ snd lis imme
date disciples Of the first Importance. The Roman
world was; eyen ,noFe than the Jewish world, the
snRS Is ess than biography b1
crcdu1ous mnl."
As the Gospels Of Matthew and Luke arose
from mere revision Of the Gospel Of Mark,
this last assumes an extraordinary importance.
Its characteristic trait is the absence Of any
geueaogy Of Christ aud Of ans details regarding
His infancy. 1t was in nil probability, written
during the first years Of calm which followed
the war Of Indea, when Mark vas hardly more
than IS years old. Rome was then, after
Syria, the most important centre of
Christianity. Renan believes that Peter went
to Rome; the Church Of this great Capital be-
came, so to speak, heir to the Church OF Jeru-
salem. The spirit OF traditional authority, Of
hierarchy, what may be called Judeo- Chrlstiani-
ty, soon became Dominant in the Church Of
Kome. Alexandria, Ephesus, Antioch, were
not yet great Christian centres.
Vespasian had done his best to repair the evils
Of the reign of Nero. After him came Titus;
under his mild rule the Christ of Rome lived
in peace Under the Flavian family the Chris
tim communities became almost free; the rcla-
tions between the disciples OF Christ and the
Gentiles were easy, and often friendly. In many
cities there were two episeop,- for the Chris
ttans Of Jewish extraction, the other for the
Christians Of pagan origin. 1t was supposed
that the second was instituted BY st. Paul, the
first BY some apostle Of Jerusalem. Egypt re-
ceiyed the germs Of Christianity under tue Fla
yians. 4 tradition will have it that Mark went
lave h,.4 he nf Nar- 10 hot.
ter known; he went, as we said before; to Rome,
and not to Alexandria.
The great detect of the Gospel Of Mark is the
abbreylation ot the beautiful speeches Of Christ.
from tile translation Of the Hcbraic Gospel
naturally were inclined to introduce them into
tue Greek Gospel. The Gospel Of Mark was
thus completed and corrected. TIE author Of
basis the Gospel of Mark, followed it, AMI made
interpretations. He introduced the long speeches
which gave so much charm to the Hcbraic Cos
pei, and be added also sosae traditions which
were the creations Of the times. The Sermon
on the Mount was thus added, as we'll as the
reproaches addressed at various times to the
phar7sees, and many parallels. This work OF
Interpolation was done without IN 1ch art, aud
many repetitions are the consequence Of this
carelessncss. The legends which found their
way into the new Gospel were the gcnealogy;
tine supernatural birth; the visit Of the Magi;
the flight into Egypt; the massacre at Bcthle-
hem; Peter walking OIL the waters, his prerog-
atiyes; the suicide OF judas. Pilates washing
his hands; the prodisies At the death OF Christ.
and few others. The new Gospel was e1auis-
ite, in literary point Of view tit is,n says
Renan, "the masterpiece OF popular literature.
and III one sense the most ancient popular work
ever written"
SHALL THE NAME BE CHANGED!
T~Jh4