New-York tribune., 1881-12-05
MARCUS AURELluS.
CONCLUSION OF THE "sOURCEs OF Chhi'-
TIANITY."


One of The most brilliant assemblies ever Scot soon
a place which has seen many, "Ir I.st,tution
hS ,oo,nre room of the Royal INSTITUTION
:" '"V 80 evening April 10, leoo
M ,ecturer was NJ. Renan, his subject, Ma!ou9
Anuolius Nobody who heard NJ. Renan that hiRn'
Ill foroet the charm of his manner Inc lihpie'
sion he left was a durable one singularly so i0i
Iondon. where life hurries at pace unknown ois',
where and the topic of to-day succeeus 'n"V
of Yesterday with pitiless rapidly. Marouo
Aurelius became for at least week. 'ne
fashion in circles where a tlncture OF literature
is permitted NJ. Renan himself was ION oi no
mean celebrity Before the Royal INSTITUTION WEI.
coined him. he had been giving course OF hiooo''
Lectures and as the HILBERT Lectures are OF aio
supposed TO be- religious in their character tno i
yitation to the author of the we dc Jesus nau
disturbed some pious souls and provoked some
~o,hor charm Comment from ecclesiastical dignlta-
ries slight scandal of that sort inlictS no sool"l
iniurv. adds. perhaps, piquaucy TO the popularity
OF ITS object.
There could be no doubt about NJ. Remains popn-
larity. Nobody quite like him had ever before
been in London drawing-rooms. People looheu
with some wonderland some incredulity on the snol'
man with short thin legs and vast body, Oroau III
the shoulders and still more capacous III the
abdominal regions, who was pointed out as NJ.
Renan. The ample but rapidly recedlng uo'e VI
the head, thinly covered with white locks sur
mounted, features of which none were iine Inc
ewes were small and restless. the nose long ana
rather bulbous, the chm square, and seeming in"io
SQUARE than it was from the masses OF pehuuiouS
flesh which hung about and below it; the iesh OF +"
Ufelonp student to whom all rules OF health were
matters of indiference sedentary, lndelatisaolc,
eapable alike of the patient half-mechancal Uoii
which is a condition of mastering any great S"pJo'''
and of hard thinking not less patient lhele "o'e
fine lines in the face when you came TO stndy H. puV
in the general contour of the man was VlSDie ho'h
ing whatever Of~the ascete quality when an Eng
lishman associates with the idea OF Scholarship.
Between the grossness of the physical frame ah'l
the refinement of NJ. Remains conversation anu
manner. the contrast was violent; and that also
added to the attraction he exercised on all VINO
came in contact with him. What he endured from
being left to stand for hours in crowded roOms be-
sieeed by admirers, will never be known. lie bore
it with that polite stoicsm which is supposed to be
characteristic of the French in general, but which
recalls in his case what he said of his latest hero,
"Comme les gems Qui ont etc Ares bien eleVeS'
Marc-Auree Sc genait sans cesse" Altogether
people found him charming. lie was received Oy
his brilliant audience at the Royal Institution WIN
enthusiasm He acknowledged it with grace and
returned it with warmth going so far as to identity
himself in a sort with his English hosts by virtue
of his Breton origin 1t was said OF INN that' Win
the exception of 81. Louis Blanc, no Frencbman
had ever been known to speak French so easily in
telligibe TO the English ear. The truth was NJ.
Renan never forgot that he was addressing an
audience to whom French, though more or less
familiar for certain purposes, a foreign tongue.
He spoke slowly artculated each word clearly,
and when he came 70 a colloquial phrase, pro-
nounced at least twothirds of the syables compos-
ing it.
These and many other memories of NJ Renan are
revived by the publication of the elaborate work on
Marcus Aureius- of which he gave us that night
a foretaste The discourse as delivered omlttng
few words. was after published with the HID
bert Lectures in small volume entitled q Comic
rences dAngleterre" There is certainly sketch in
existence from which so vivid notion of the author
of the Thoughts can be got That which Mr. George
Long prefxed to his translation of the Emperors
immortal legacy, exhibits Mr.. Longs usual diligence
In the collection of facts, and that is the best that
can be said of it. IL is an inventory OF matters
relating to Marcus Aurelius. NJ. Remains is por-
trait and portrait in which the most delicate
traits of character and the inmost secrets of the
soul are made visible.
The lecture was not the basis of the present
book; far from it. The book must then have been
well on toward completion; the materials OF It, at
any rate all gathered and sitted and parts Of the
text taking shape. 1t was out of these that the
lecture was made. The lecture will not be found
as WHOLE nor in whole, anywhere i'll this volume;
which itself is by means work separate and
complete in itself but the seventh and concluding
volume of the HistOire des Orgines du Christian
isme' NJ Renan modestly refers to these volumes
as series of essays. No one OF them has made so
deep mark as the nrst the Vie de Jesus" but the
European public long since accepted NJ. Renan as
an AUTHORITY, and his work as the most serious
contribution of the time TO the immense subject he
dealt with. The Preface to this volume contains a
most interesting account of the spirit in which its
author has wrought, of his object and of what he
proposes lii the future. q have sought" he says,
awithout any other passion than very keen
curiosity to apply methods of criticism which in
these delicate matters are OF recognized authority in
our days to the most important religious appar-
ton which has place in history. Ever since my
youth have been busy at this work Tie prepara-
zion of the seven volumes of which it consists has
taken me twenty years"
NJ. Renan adds: thank Ia bont6 atinie for hav
ing given me the time and zeal necessary for carry
ing out this difficult programme" La bOnH intHie
can only mean infinite goodness, but the way IN
which the phrase is used, and the unemployment
of capital letters. leave it open TO conjecture
whether the deity to whom NJ. Renan expresses his
gratitude be or be not personal deity. 1t is still
more interesting to know that VI. Renan does not
even now consider his task complete. lie began. so
to speak, in the middle he is about to begin again
with the beginning He began with Jesus, but
Christianity his view really dates its origin from
the eighth century before Christ. The prophets,
and among the prophets Isaiah especially, were the
true founders of Christianity. "Ml Jesus really
did was to repeat. in popular and charming Ian
guage what had been said seven hundred and fifty
wears before him in classical Hebrew" This was
NJ Remains opinion when he wrote his first book it
is his opinion still. 1t is stated in language too
precise and remarkable TO he abridged. The whole