Ottumwa semi-weekly courier. [volume] (Ottumwa, Iowa) 1899-1903, 1902-05-20

DR.. Cyrus Adler keeps it under locx
and key and carries the key himself.
What the Work Is.
Mr.. Jefferson was free thinker but
his clear and just mind appreciated the
teaching OF the founder of the Chris
tan religion, and he conceived the
idea of condensing everything pertain.
ing to the life and teachings of Christ
into one volume, emitting everything
pertaining to miracles and the super
natural.
In Creek Latin, English and French
The book is a duodecimo volume az
1854 pages, though Mr.. Jefferson PACED
only the left hand pages. On the lef2
hand he has pasted the clippings ii
two columns, first in Greek and then
in Latin. On the right hand he haA
put the French version first and tho
English in the last column. So th1
whole is neatly pasted in four finelA
printed columns in Greek, Latin
French and English. There are man
ginal notes in Jefferson's own hand
writing, with table in front giyin2
the pages and citing the CHAPTERS and
verses from which the clippings ard
taken. In his writings he saws thai
he has sent for two testaments in EACH
language for the purpose. The scop3
of the book is indicated by the title
page, which is in Jefferson's handwrit.
ing: The Life and Morals of Jesus az
Nazareth, Extracted Textually from
the Gospels in Greek, Latin. French
and English"
In marginal note Jefferson gives
the Roman law on sedition under
which Jesus was tried.
No Resurrection.
He has omitted everything of mi4
raculous nature and has confined his
clippings to the pure teachings of Je-
sus He has clipped from all the COS
pels, using the verses which make the
clearest statements where the texts
are practically the same, but he in
serts texts from all of them SO as to
include the entire teachings of the
Savior. The result is unique. In a
clear, lucid form, apart from all sur
roundings of the supernatural appear
the words and moral teachings of the
Son of Man.
In the concluding verse of the work
Jefferson takes John 10: AZ, and Mat
thew 81: so, and combines them, clip
ping out but the plain statement of the
burial, The result is as follows:
John 10: AZ: There laid they Jesus
Matthew %: go: . And roll
ed great stone to the door of the
sepulchre and departed.
So he leaves Jesus buried forever in
the grave and gives no hope of the
resurrection and the life"
Though it is blue-penciled and ex-
purgated New Testament, it has not
been prepared in any irreverent spirit.
The result is the consolidation of the
beautiful, pure teachings of the Savior
in compact form mingled with only
so much of narrative as a Virginia
lawyer would hold to be credible in
those matter-of-fact days, and the op-
portunity is given plain and unadorn-
ed. to compare these teachings with
Marcus Aurelius' and other pagan
morals" They are in striking con-
trast to Plutarch's or, rather. MS I'm.
morals. No greater practical test OF
the worth of the tenets OF the Chris
tial religion could be made than the
publication of this condensation py
Mr.. Jefferson. The jewels are taken
from their settings but they shine with
their own lustre. A verse OF John IS
combined with verse OF Matthew
with no interlineations, but is blend
ed into q harmonious whole. II
In these days of photol1thograpny
this little volume can be easily repro
-duced in facsimile. The work was ln-
tended to place the morals of Jesus IN
a form where, simple and alone, they
could be contrasted with the teachings
of the pagan philosophers. In doing
this work Mr.. Jefferson has builded
better than he knew, and / trust that
we may now have reproduction OF
this beautiful little volume in the form
to be accessible to the Christian world.
1t has been said by an eminent min-
lister OF the Gospel that Christianity
must be true or it could never have
survived SO much poor preaching. Mr..
Jefferson has put it to still better
test by this abridgment of the doc
trines of the Divine author.
Major Lacey was subjected to some
little cross,questioniRg concerning the
book, Congressman Grosvenor asking
if he would be permitted to add Dill
lingworth's spelling book as an appen-
dix; then humorously remarklng that
he was sorry the book had ever been
found. However, there was practical
ly no opposition to the. resolution to
permit the printing of 5000 copies, and
it passed. The senate has agreed to
the proposition, Senator Jones of Ar
kansaw fathering the proposition, and
the printers will soon be at work upon
the volume. Frank ]. Stillman.
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