The Savannah morning news. (Savannah, Ga.) 1900-current, 1903-03-01

was soon shown to be a fraud. The
ingenious Jew, in despair at his failure,
committed suicide.
The motives of the poor fellow in
perpetrating this fraud are not clear,
but the case is cited in order to sug-
gest to the initiated the perils and pit
falls that lie before critical investiga-
tors. In ancient times such things were
far more common than at present, and
the motives are easily perceived. In
time when veneration for the ancient
was the ruling passion in the religious
and social world, genuine reform or
progress was impossible as in unawak-
ened China, unless the new principles
could be definitely correlated with the
past-"the faith of the fathers" Hence
it was necessary that the desired enact
ments should be discovered" some
where, in some place, or under circum-
stances suggestive of the one popularity
recognized authority. Manuscript after
manuscript of Egyptian ritual bears the
legend that it was discovered some
where: in some temple, the image of
some god, or some other sacred spot
In ancient Assyria and Babylonia
there stands out the same persistent re-
turn to the faith of the fathers as the
one fact sufficient to explain the fail
ure of this rich, powerful, and immense
ly ancient civilization, to teach the
world more than it did. Unsurpassed
in their devotion to the gods impress
ed with the idea of making their faith
known to the world, all the possibilities
of religious evolution are nullified by
the single factor mentioned, not to
speak of others. King after king
heralds his piety by recording the res
toration of some ancient and almost
forgotten shrine. 1t was a persistent
sin against the first law of evolution;
in such atmosphere progress was i'm
possible. Only where the impulse re-
ligiously was forward. rather than 20
ancient types of creed, was there hope
for the religious element in mankind.
OF course it will be recognized that
one who yielded to the passion for the
antique, in order to make his legislation
available, could give but little to his
race. The method was compromise,
if not deliberate surrender to the chief
bane of the age and the people. An
other mode was also operant in ancient
times to produce many forgeries-at
least we should call them so, though
they did not appear so to their authors.
When two ancient faiths, each appeal
ing to the past, each claiming a GER
tain oracular or inspired character,
came INTO competition, the jealous par
tisans of each would resort to tactics
analogous to those above mentioned.
One would strive to prove greater an
tiouity or great divinity than the
other, and if something of real value
was recognized in the rival creed,
clever forgeries strove to show that 1t
was original in the writer's own creed.
Or, on the other hand, efforts would be
made to secure the Endorsement of the
rival creed of that of the writer OF
such origin are the Sybaline Books,
purporting to be of Greek or Roman
origin, generally recognized as Jewish
forgeries. They are rather prosaic full
of repetition, and have as a principal
theme the Messiah who is to come of
the Jews. That these ever largely de-
ceived the Greek public is improbable,
though some, heather and Christian,
might be taken in Motives like
these, however could hardly animate
the intelligent forger of to-day.