New-York tribune. [volume] (New York [N.Y.]) 1866-1924, 1915-11-20

hem and Judea. II Is not clear wheth-
er she does this for the purpose OF
discredting his Messiahship, or simply
for the sake of realistic" effect and
without regard to its significance. In
like fashion she insists that John the
BAPTIST must have been Galilean"
because of the natural temper OF MS
mind and because of the fact that IN
the last part of his life he was amenabie
TO the civil authority of Herod; the
fact that he is most explicitly declared
70 have been a Judean. and the rea-
sonable supposition that in the course
of his peripatetie ministry he traV'
elled from Judea into Galilee, belhg
quite ignored.
In some places the love Of scenic
effect. local color and up-to-date real
ism leads the author into strange con-
tradictions Of the record and OF the
weight of reasonable assumption. Thus
she describes the baptism OF Jesus az
being performed by sprinkling "on the
muddy bank" of the river. Yet the two
Gospel writer's who tell Of the scene IN
detail specifically speak of His coming
up out Of the water after the cere-
mony; and, entirely apart from the
controversy over the valid form OF
baptism at the present time, the prac-
tically universal agreement OF BIBLICAL
scholars and historians has been that
John led his disciples down into the
water TO be baptized. Again, she re-
CARDS Jesus as having been an "un-
learned" man, and yet decries the
medieval notion that He was a sort
Of respectable mendicant, insisting that
Ho was 8 member Of well-to-do fam
ily and probably Himself household
err. Now, there is nothing in the rec
ord that suggests that He was "un-
learned" On the contrary, it is to be
supposed that the eldest son in we'll
TODD family would receive good edu-
cation. Certainly, He was exception
ally we'll versed in the Hebrew Script
ures and in all the Rabbinical lore, and
as a logician and rhetorician He had
no rival among His contemporaries.
Nor are we sure that it is Judicious
TO say that while the old prophets
spoke "words full of the terrible things
-thunders. earthquakes, fire OH the
mountains" the words of Jesus are "ail
Of the small town: the candle and the
bushel, the housewives measure or
Yeast, the children playing in the
street" He did adapt Himself TO His
audience. and the circum stances OF HIS
preaching were far different from those
Of Elijah's. Yet He, too, on occasion
could speak of the lightning and of the
clouds of heaven and of earthquakes
and of nations warning against nations:
His parallels dealt with kings as we'll
as with shepherds, and His discourses
touched upon the most tremendous as
we'll as the simplest themes.
The narrative of Jesus temptation
: in the wilderness is set down by Mrs.
Austin as a "Godtale," related by
Jesus to His disciples as sort OF
allegory. of things felt rather than
actually seen: and she emphasizes the
point that this was the only thing in
all His career which He did tell to
them. But there is at least one other
transcendent incident in His career Of
which the same might be said; though
it is scarcely credible that in that case
/ He was the informant OF the disciples
we refer to the prayer IN the garden
of Gethsemane.
Inc rlSL OF tne matter IL tndl MIS-.
Austin has in this volume INDUCED in
the very thing which she would prob
/ ably decry in others namely, dog
matte exegesis. She has interpreted
! and explained the Gospels in accord
ance with and for the support of her
own conception of Jesus. She may
have done so unconsciously and unin-
tentionally She has certainly done
so in reverent and earnest manner.
with unimpeachable motives. We NAV
\ add that in spite of some blemishes the
book is marked with an agreeable
measure of literary and dramatic art
| Such colloauialisms as The kingdom
/ of heaven is up to u.s." and "Said
Jesus, I'm with you!'" add nothing
to the strength Of the book, and they
may be unpleasant to many who are
not given TO the psalm saying and
long countenance" which Mrs. Austin
decries. Nor are we sure that il is
quite iudicious to intimate that the
world to-day understands the brother
hood of man better than il was under
stood by. Jesus, who thought first of
Israel and then of the little dogs under
the table" But even where it pro-
vokes criticism the book will stimulate
thought ana stuGy. and in those who
discreetly yield 20 that stimulus it will
oonduce to more profound and sim
,,ta 81 4