New-York tribune. [volume] (New York [N.Y.]) 1866-1924, 1883-02-11

of historical fact in that document to dsprove
utterly the statement (p. 500: That his lJesuss
biography as recorded in the books of the New
Testament, contains some few grains OF ac'u"i
history is all that the historian or philosopher can
nationally venture to urge" But the "Gospei Oh INC
Hebrews" has had its day an explanation OF the
canonical gospels. For the order and date OF tneSo
the best authority would perhaps be WEISS puV he
would doubtless be rejected as too orthodox Ior our
author. similar accusation viii not lie against
Kejm. n keen historical student and investigator.
Kcim. while holding to certain legendary eleilen''
introduced later puts the Gospel Of Matthew ior III
stance. before A. d. 20, Luke c. A. d. 90 Mark c.
A. ID. 100. and John. c. A. ID. 100-117 Our earliest
record of j sus's life and words dates from period
less than forty years after his death. The lmpor-
tance of this result will be speedily seen.
Now lot Ms illustrate the authors methods and the
nature of his conclusions by particular attention 10
the parallels between Jesus and KriShna and Jesus
and Buddha to each Of which topics, besides much
incidental MENTION lie dcvotes an entire chapter. In
regard 10 Krshna, Weber's authority IS probably
the best Our author, as remarked above, does hot
seem TO know Of Weber; perhaps, therefore, some
of the subjOined facts viii be new to nun. II VIII
serve chr purpose If we here limit ourselves TO the
story of Krishnas BIRTH upon which the author lays
great emphasis as one source whence the account
of Jesus birth with its attendant circumstances,
was derived. The facts are these o. OF the texts
which deal more or less fully with the brth-estlva
of Krishna there are about dozen whose date can
be approximately fixed. The oldest OF these was
written in the thirteenth century, ID. W INC
great epic of the Mahabhirata many parts OF when
postdate the commencement of the Chilstlah era
far from knowing anything OF TINS FESTIVAL
represents Krishua, not "a babe at MS
mothers breast, but a 4 great hero ana warrior
There is connected with this conception, IL Is Tue'
the idea that he IA half divine but there i'd nothing
Of his incarnation. 81 The same epic speakS OF wlse
men Of India who iourneyed over sea 70 Crado0pa
Alexan.lra? p. and found there, in full bloom the
worship of Christ d" the son of the divine virgin
II was probably from this time that the k'ishna
legend began to take on the features which rcScn-
bic the beginning of Jesus life. a. The date Of
this Journey cannot be certainly determined. IL
must precede the cOnqucSts OF Mahnnet, Whch
cxtnguishel Christianity N Alexandria iu' follow
the time when Marioatry first became prominent;
il may have been i'm the fifth century y. d. 'ol The
features emphasized in the bir5h-foslvai ci hrish-
ma are at variance with the character he bears III
the epic and they unique IN India. Ihey are
not connected with the name either Of Rama or OF
Buddha or OF 5 landa. 1t may be added that 90 the
miracles of the child Kri,hna, supposed 10 be men
t,ored in the Maha6haraia. belong. with the excep
non If single notice to very late nser ions in the
orig nal epic "a The Oldest Buddhist texts are
silent as TO the worship Of krishna. ~ Narlhami-
him "A. d. ssh mentions Krishna side by side with
his brother Yaadeva, making no distinction in
rank or dignity (0l Elsewhere, it is
true. KaHddsa probably in the sixth
century A. d. Identifies Krshna with
Vshnu but this is the very earliest trace OF him ~
Avatar In view OF these facts nothing can be moro
evident than that the Brahmans borrowed and
adapted forms of Christian teaching with which
they became acquainted, and thus constructed by
degrees the whole fabric Of later Krishna legends
which are so paraded as the originals of gospel
stories This il most Ineligible, because, preced
ing and underlying the process, there was q power
full motive at work. namely the desire TO Offset the
influence of Buddha, through whom his adhcrcnts
claimed that divine power was brought close to
men, by the doctrine of the Avatars OF Nishnu.
KrIshna being the most conspicuous example.
From Krishna then, orr author cannot get much
support for his theories. But perhaps hTlshna II
not his strong point Let Us try HIM on Buddha.
Here. alas. the case is not happier. Here, too he
collects wonderful stories with as utter disregard
Of the date and general value of his sources rs a
church historian of the twentylith century would
show If he should ignore little matters of 100
wears and argue that the Bishop Of Rome was in the
fourth century held to BE- infallible, because b.
10 be so. The most trustworthy accounts Of carly
Buddhistic belief are to be found in the sacred
Pail texts preserved in Ceyion, siuce these have
been least tempered with. But the mythical ele-
ments in the story of Buddha diminish
wonderfully when we get back to these
texts 1t ia quite apart from the issue to dwell,
as our author repeatedly does on similarity IN the
teaching of Buddha and of Jesus. srce that - man
ifestly due in important features TO the moral ear
nestness and spiritual insight which, in similar sit
uations, comes to like oppression; and since,
further, it would be difficult to find anything
mythical" in this teaching. BIT the book from
which the greatest number Of mythical" parallels |
between the lives OF Budt tina and Jesus can most
plausibly be taken is the Lalita Vs,arl. Now the
Lalita Vstara cannot be placed even by Seydel, an
able writer on our authors side, earlier than 4. d.
1915 Granting that we have il in the form in |
which it was first written, and remembering that |
the gospels began TO be composed before A. ID. !
TO- 1t requires a stout faith to believe that in |
the intervening time the Lalita Vistara could |
have gained such a footho.d in Palestine or Egypt |
where we never hear Of il or its teachngs-as 70 |
capture the minds OF the writers Of the gospels %
that they wrote, as their own "reminiscences the
statements Of eyewitnesses what really waited
over to them from distant India. VIII any hstor-
ical student believe that while hundreds Of those
who had seen Jesus on earth were still alive; at n
time when John was hardly an old man, and Paul. |
in whose preaching and writing we have all the |
essential features of the Gospel Of Christ, had |
not been more than four or five years DID, |
there could have sprung up about the |
actual form of Jesus and intertwined Itself |
with his actual history, such mass of foreign |
matter as to obscure the real JesusY Not till n |
hundred years after Buddhas time did legend begin
to weave itself in rank growth about his name. The
LalitaVstara follows at interval Of 800 years, and
even If it based older works, these sepa-
rated by centuries from the founder OF Buddhism |
himself If it takes such time for stories to grow
up i'm congenia SOIL what shall be said of a theory
;nvoIyaa tha hodilv onnrnnria ion of sucl,