Evening star. [volume] (Washington, D.C.) 1854-1972, 1928-07-03
NEW BOOKS
AT RANDOM
/. G. NJ.

THE SON OF MAN: The Story of
Jesus Emil Ludwig. Boni d Live
right.
The crosses made Of young trees
| toughened and soaked in their own sap,
were, on the backs of their bearers,
an agony of sheer weight, unspeakaole-
And one of the three, so burdeneo,
staggered and stumbled as they were
moving painfully up the hillside. In
compassion, bystander TOOK the loau
from him carrying 1t forward a rev
PAGES. The hilltop gained. the crosses
we're placed on the ground. Upon each
OF these one of the three men was
! laid His arms we're stretched along
the thwarts Through his hands heavy
| spikes of iron were driven into the
wood, and spikes were driven through
| his feet into the solid upright OF the
cross. This done, the crosses were set
| upright and planted In the ground.
! like trees And So the official part OF
the program of crucifxion came to an
end The rest was left to the endur-
ance of the victim Through every day
| long hour the sun sent a thousand
shafts of fire upon his barred head and
| naked body. Wounded hands and feet
| grew to an agony, inconceiyable. Thirst
ravaged him. Fever consumed him.
Over him singing insects played in
tiendish orgies of inSenSate attack. Tor
mentS aSSailed him. Fears possessed
him. Yet, we are told. that now and
then some obdurate creature refused for
| days to yield his body to the grave and
his soul to the good God presumably
waiting near by to receive it. In such
case the bones of the legs were broken
| --sardonic touch against any dream of
| escape The pretext for this, however.
was to hasten. in mercy. an exit from
the world of suffering. And who are the
three whom we have seen here? One
Is thief One is murderer. One IS
Jesus of Galilee. The record runs that
Jesus died within a few hours and that
| his body was given over TO the waiting
| women who loved Him.
| Such, in a most inadequate substance.
is the final scene in Emil Lud"ig's story,
| The Son OF Man
Years and years ago there might have
| been seen off in Galilee almost any day
toward nightfall boy lying on the hill
! side not far from his home. He liked
/ the feel of the cool grass under him.
| He liked the look of the Frightening
| stars above him and the velvet softness
! VI lIfe SKY. 0klilllIiS. tiG IASCcllCd W
| sleepy chirp of birds. to the furtive
rustic of small night things in the
| bushes beside him. So he gazed and
| dreamed and, maybe. slept a little.
Like all boys, he wondered what he
would do when he grew to be man.
| He made pictures of the world outside
| of which he heard a little now and
| then A serious lad he thought some
times about God, the stern God of his
people, the Jews All his life he had
/ heard from them about a Messiah to
come. about their restoration to ancient
| greatness and power. And, oddly
| enough, the beautiful world at hand
was dearer to him than these old visions
| of the elders And he began to talk a
| little in this way AS he grew older
| and thought more deeply he had more
| to say. And the people liked to listen
| to him. They followed him. The
nearby folks gathered around him. He
had a way of taking their own simple
work-their fishing, their sowing, their
reaping-and weaving 1t into bright
patterns of happiness for them through
| the things that they themselves could
do Being kind, being honest and really
| helpful, slow to anger, quick TO forgive,
here was something for any man TO
get hold of. something to do not only
for his own happiness but for the quite
glorious business OF making better
world For long time not much heed
was paid to this young man. going
about by that time with many word
of wisdom, with many deed of USE
. flilness. AS his small fame grew to
be not so small the elders began TO
take notice. reformer was a fire.
brand infiaming the people. He was a
diSturber, a menace to things as they
are--an ultimate danger. mayhap. to
the foundations of the true religion.
He already. in effect, was casting re-
Elections upon the essence of the ancient
faith: he was already making light of
the intricacies of ritual and ceremonial.
AS q jew. he ate with sinners and out
siders. He associated with the people
of all classes. he was genial and
friendly man, even playful at times.
Certainly not prophet. yet there were
those who already were acclaiming him
as such. You know the story. You
have read 1t all your life. over and over
from childhood on to old age.
From a new standpoint. Emil Ludwig
recasts the story of Jesus. In a SINGER
ity that carries. no slant OF irreverence
with it, he holds himself to study of
the actual medium through which Jesus
Vi tAtN lAklC tttA0 H4aNN va sAAS
existence upon earth. Therefore the
background of this story is a greatly
painstaking reproduction OF the social
political and religious complex OF the
period and the locality. II Is within
such setting that he places the boy the
youth. the man, the martyr Upon Jesus
play Just the external forces to which
all are subject He is not singled out
MS the possible prophet for whom the
Jews have so long been looking. Instead,
the study Is. in large part devoted to
the changing mental states OF Jesus as
He moves on toward manhood, as He
slowly defines To Himself the course
that He is pursuing, and very gradually
comes TO feel the certainty of clear
mission as q leader in His immediate
world That Jesus had doubts and fears,
that He had very human reactions TO
certain influences, that He saw these
and in as great measure as possible
overcame them, Is by all odds the |
strongest point In this great story.
And where did Ludwig find material
for such a novel building? No, he did
not come upon some hitherto undiscov-
cred original source of Information, such
as a thousand writers are today finding !
with so little apparent effort No. he I
used, instead Just the New Testament, |
the same one that We have all been |
brought up on Added 10 this, of course, |
is the authors deep-seeing hold on the |
mind OF man in its various manifesto |
lions, is, also, his sense of any historic |
whole in its essence and significance. |
Is, again. a vision that Is clearly poetic |
and, once more, is his skill In dramatic !
portrayal. Beside all this. there was |
obviously the determination ON his part !
to delete from this body OF material /
all disputations as such on the subject |
OF creation with its Heaven-and- hell /
dogmas. This is not book on religion |
distinctly and avowedly not SO, all |
matters pertaining to that theme are |
81 n.i.la, 81. il,., commentaries of this l