CHAPTER IX.Of the Morals of Jesus Christ.I.As for hisMorals, we see nothing more divine therein than in the writings of the ancients, or rather we find only what are only extracts or imitations.St. Augustin(ch. 9 and v. 20 of the Confessions, Book 7,) even admits that he has found in some of their works nearly all of the beginning of the Gospel according toSt. John. As far as may be seen, that Apostle is believed, in many places, to have stolen from other authors, and that it was not difficult to rob the Prophets of their enigmas and visions to make hisApocalypse. Whence comes the conformity which we find between the doctrine of the Old Testament and that ofPlato? to say nothing of what the Rabbins have done, and those who have fabricated theHoly Writingsfrom a mass of fragments stolen from this Grand Philosopher.Certainly the birth of the world has a thousand times more probability in hisTimaeusthan in Genesis, and it cannot be said that that comes from whatPlatohadreadin the books of the Jews during his travels in Egypt, for according toSt. Augustinhimself, (Confessions, Book 7, ch. 9, v. 20,)Ptolemyhad not yet translated them. The description of the country of whichSocratesspeaks toSimiasin thePhaedon(?) has infinitely more grace than theTerrestrial Paradise(of Eden) and theAndrogynus1is without comparison,better conceived than whatGenesissays of the extraction of Eve from one of the sides of Adam. Is there anything that more resembles the two accidents ofSodomandGomorrahthan that which happened toPhaeton? Is there anything more alike than the fall ofLuciferand that ofVulcan, or that of the giants cast down by the lightnings of Jupiter? Anything more similar thanSamsonandHercules,ElijahandPhaeton,JosephandHippolitus,NebuchadnezzarandLycaon,Tantalusand the tormented rich man (Luke xvi, 24), themanna of the Israelitesand theambrosia of the Gods?St. Augustin—quoted from God, Book 6, chap. 14,—St. CyrileandTheophylactuscompareJonahwithHercules, surnamedTrinsitium(?Trinoctius), because he had dwelt three days and three nights in the belly of a whale. Theriver of Daniel, spoken of in theProphets, ch. vii, is a visible imitation ofPeriphlegeton, which is mentioned by Plato in the Dialogue on the “Immortality of the Soul.”Original sinhas been taken fromPandora’s box, the sacrifice ofIsaacandJephthahfrom the story ofIphigenia, although in the latter ahindwas substituted. What is said ofLot and his wifeis quite like the tale which is told ofBaucisandPhilemon. In short, it is unquestionable that the authors of the Scriptures have transcribed word for word the works ofHesiodandHomer.II.But it seems that I have made quite a digression which, however, may not be unprofitable. Let us return then to Jesus, or rather, to hisMorals.Celsusproves, by the account ofOrigen(Book VI, againstCelsus), that he had taken fromPlatohisfinest sentiments, such as that which says (Luke, c. xviii, v. 25),that a camel might sooner pass through the eye of a needle than a rich man should enter the Kingdom of God. It was thesect of Phariseesof which he was, and who believed in him, which gave birth to this. What is said of theImmortality of the Soul, of theResurrection, ofHell, and the greater part of hisMorals, I see nothing more admirable than in the works ofEpictetus,Epicurusand many others. In fact, the latter was cited bySt. Jerome(Book VIII, againstJovian, ch. viii),as a man whose virtue puts to the blush better Christians, observing that all his works were filled with but herbs, fruits and abstinence, and whose delights were so temperate that his finest repasts were but a little cheese, bread and water. With a life so frugal, this Philosopher, pagan as he was, said that it wasbetter to be unlucky and rational, than rich and opulent without having good sense, adding,that it is rare that fortune and wisdom are found in the same individual, andthat one could have no knowledge of happiness nor live with pleasure unless felicity was accompanied by prudence, justice and honesty, which are qualifications of a true and lasting delight.As forEpictetusI do not believe that any man, not exceptingJesushimself, was more austere, more firm, more equitable, or more moral. I say nothing but what is easy to prove, and not to pass my prescribed limit I will not mention all the exemplary acts of his life, but give one single example of constancy which puts to shame the weakness and cowardice ofJesusin the sight of death. Being a slave to a freeman namedEpaphroditus, captain of the guards of Nero, it took the fancy of this brute to twist the leg of Epictetus. Epictetus perceiving that it gave him pleasure said to him, smiling, that he was well convinced that the gamewould not end until he had broken his leg; in fact, this crisis happened. “Well,” said Epictetus with an even smiling face, “did I not say that you would break my leg?” Was there ever courage equal to that? and could it have been said ofJesus Christhad he been the victim? He who wept and trembled with fear at the least alarm, and who evinced at his death a lack of spirit that never was witnessed in the majority of his martyrs.I doubt not but what it might be said of this action ofEpictetuswhat the ignorant remark of the virtues of the Philosophers, that vanity was their principle, and that they were not what they seemed. But I say also that those who use such language are people who, in the pulpit, say all that comes into their heads—either good or evil—and they want the privilege of telling it all. I know also that when these babblers, sellers of air, wind and smoke, have vented all their strength against the champions of common sense they think they have well earned the revenues of their livings: that they have not merited a call to instruct the people unless they have declared against those who know what common sense and true virtue is.So it is true that nothing in the world approaches so little to the manners of true scholars as the actions of the ignorant who decry them and who appear to have studied only to procure preferment which gives them bread; and which preferment they worship and magnify when this height is attained, as if they had reached a condition of perfection, which, to those who succeed, is a condition of self-love, ease, pride and pleasure, following nothing less than the maxims of the religion which they profess.But let us leave these people who know not what virtue is, and examine the divinity of their Master.1Hermaphrodites.↑
CHAPTER IX.Of the Morals of Jesus Christ.I.As for hisMorals, we see nothing more divine therein than in the writings of the ancients, or rather we find only what are only extracts or imitations.St. Augustin(ch. 9 and v. 20 of the Confessions, Book 7,) even admits that he has found in some of their works nearly all of the beginning of the Gospel according toSt. John. As far as may be seen, that Apostle is believed, in many places, to have stolen from other authors, and that it was not difficult to rob the Prophets of their enigmas and visions to make hisApocalypse. Whence comes the conformity which we find between the doctrine of the Old Testament and that ofPlato? to say nothing of what the Rabbins have done, and those who have fabricated theHoly Writingsfrom a mass of fragments stolen from this Grand Philosopher.Certainly the birth of the world has a thousand times more probability in hisTimaeusthan in Genesis, and it cannot be said that that comes from whatPlatohadreadin the books of the Jews during his travels in Egypt, for according toSt. Augustinhimself, (Confessions, Book 7, ch. 9, v. 20,)Ptolemyhad not yet translated them. The description of the country of whichSocratesspeaks toSimiasin thePhaedon(?) has infinitely more grace than theTerrestrial Paradise(of Eden) and theAndrogynus1is without comparison,better conceived than whatGenesissays of the extraction of Eve from one of the sides of Adam. Is there anything that more resembles the two accidents ofSodomandGomorrahthan that which happened toPhaeton? Is there anything more alike than the fall ofLuciferand that ofVulcan, or that of the giants cast down by the lightnings of Jupiter? Anything more similar thanSamsonandHercules,ElijahandPhaeton,JosephandHippolitus,NebuchadnezzarandLycaon,Tantalusand the tormented rich man (Luke xvi, 24), themanna of the Israelitesand theambrosia of the Gods?St. Augustin—quoted from God, Book 6, chap. 14,—St. CyrileandTheophylactuscompareJonahwithHercules, surnamedTrinsitium(?Trinoctius), because he had dwelt three days and three nights in the belly of a whale. Theriver of Daniel, spoken of in theProphets, ch. vii, is a visible imitation ofPeriphlegeton, which is mentioned by Plato in the Dialogue on the “Immortality of the Soul.”Original sinhas been taken fromPandora’s box, the sacrifice ofIsaacandJephthahfrom the story ofIphigenia, although in the latter ahindwas substituted. What is said ofLot and his wifeis quite like the tale which is told ofBaucisandPhilemon. In short, it is unquestionable that the authors of the Scriptures have transcribed word for word the works ofHesiodandHomer.II.But it seems that I have made quite a digression which, however, may not be unprofitable. Let us return then to Jesus, or rather, to hisMorals.Celsusproves, by the account ofOrigen(Book VI, againstCelsus), that he had taken fromPlatohisfinest sentiments, such as that which says (Luke, c. xviii, v. 25),that a camel might sooner pass through the eye of a needle than a rich man should enter the Kingdom of God. It was thesect of Phariseesof which he was, and who believed in him, which gave birth to this. What is said of theImmortality of the Soul, of theResurrection, ofHell, and the greater part of hisMorals, I see nothing more admirable than in the works ofEpictetus,Epicurusand many others. In fact, the latter was cited bySt. Jerome(Book VIII, againstJovian, ch. viii),as a man whose virtue puts to the blush better Christians, observing that all his works were filled with but herbs, fruits and abstinence, and whose delights were so temperate that his finest repasts were but a little cheese, bread and water. With a life so frugal, this Philosopher, pagan as he was, said that it wasbetter to be unlucky and rational, than rich and opulent without having good sense, adding,that it is rare that fortune and wisdom are found in the same individual, andthat one could have no knowledge of happiness nor live with pleasure unless felicity was accompanied by prudence, justice and honesty, which are qualifications of a true and lasting delight.As forEpictetusI do not believe that any man, not exceptingJesushimself, was more austere, more firm, more equitable, or more moral. I say nothing but what is easy to prove, and not to pass my prescribed limit I will not mention all the exemplary acts of his life, but give one single example of constancy which puts to shame the weakness and cowardice ofJesusin the sight of death. Being a slave to a freeman namedEpaphroditus, captain of the guards of Nero, it took the fancy of this brute to twist the leg of Epictetus. Epictetus perceiving that it gave him pleasure said to him, smiling, that he was well convinced that the gamewould not end until he had broken his leg; in fact, this crisis happened. “Well,” said Epictetus with an even smiling face, “did I not say that you would break my leg?” Was there ever courage equal to that? and could it have been said ofJesus Christhad he been the victim? He who wept and trembled with fear at the least alarm, and who evinced at his death a lack of spirit that never was witnessed in the majority of his martyrs.I doubt not but what it might be said of this action ofEpictetuswhat the ignorant remark of the virtues of the Philosophers, that vanity was their principle, and that they were not what they seemed. But I say also that those who use such language are people who, in the pulpit, say all that comes into their heads—either good or evil—and they want the privilege of telling it all. I know also that when these babblers, sellers of air, wind and smoke, have vented all their strength against the champions of common sense they think they have well earned the revenues of their livings: that they have not merited a call to instruct the people unless they have declared against those who know what common sense and true virtue is.So it is true that nothing in the world approaches so little to the manners of true scholars as the actions of the ignorant who decry them and who appear to have studied only to procure preferment which gives them bread; and which preferment they worship and magnify when this height is attained, as if they had reached a condition of perfection, which, to those who succeed, is a condition of self-love, ease, pride and pleasure, following nothing less than the maxims of the religion which they profess.But let us leave these people who know not what virtue is, and examine the divinity of their Master.1Hermaphrodites.↑
CHAPTER IX.Of the Morals of Jesus Christ.I.As for hisMorals, we see nothing more divine therein than in the writings of the ancients, or rather we find only what are only extracts or imitations.St. Augustin(ch. 9 and v. 20 of the Confessions, Book 7,) even admits that he has found in some of their works nearly all of the beginning of the Gospel according toSt. John. As far as may be seen, that Apostle is believed, in many places, to have stolen from other authors, and that it was not difficult to rob the Prophets of their enigmas and visions to make hisApocalypse. Whence comes the conformity which we find between the doctrine of the Old Testament and that ofPlato? to say nothing of what the Rabbins have done, and those who have fabricated theHoly Writingsfrom a mass of fragments stolen from this Grand Philosopher.Certainly the birth of the world has a thousand times more probability in hisTimaeusthan in Genesis, and it cannot be said that that comes from whatPlatohadreadin the books of the Jews during his travels in Egypt, for according toSt. Augustinhimself, (Confessions, Book 7, ch. 9, v. 20,)Ptolemyhad not yet translated them. The description of the country of whichSocratesspeaks toSimiasin thePhaedon(?) has infinitely more grace than theTerrestrial Paradise(of Eden) and theAndrogynus1is without comparison,better conceived than whatGenesissays of the extraction of Eve from one of the sides of Adam. Is there anything that more resembles the two accidents ofSodomandGomorrahthan that which happened toPhaeton? Is there anything more alike than the fall ofLuciferand that ofVulcan, or that of the giants cast down by the lightnings of Jupiter? Anything more similar thanSamsonandHercules,ElijahandPhaeton,JosephandHippolitus,NebuchadnezzarandLycaon,Tantalusand the tormented rich man (Luke xvi, 24), themanna of the Israelitesand theambrosia of the Gods?St. Augustin—quoted from God, Book 6, chap. 14,—St. CyrileandTheophylactuscompareJonahwithHercules, surnamedTrinsitium(?Trinoctius), because he had dwelt three days and three nights in the belly of a whale. Theriver of Daniel, spoken of in theProphets, ch. vii, is a visible imitation ofPeriphlegeton, which is mentioned by Plato in the Dialogue on the “Immortality of the Soul.”Original sinhas been taken fromPandora’s box, the sacrifice ofIsaacandJephthahfrom the story ofIphigenia, although in the latter ahindwas substituted. What is said ofLot and his wifeis quite like the tale which is told ofBaucisandPhilemon. In short, it is unquestionable that the authors of the Scriptures have transcribed word for word the works ofHesiodandHomer.II.But it seems that I have made quite a digression which, however, may not be unprofitable. Let us return then to Jesus, or rather, to hisMorals.Celsusproves, by the account ofOrigen(Book VI, againstCelsus), that he had taken fromPlatohisfinest sentiments, such as that which says (Luke, c. xviii, v. 25),that a camel might sooner pass through the eye of a needle than a rich man should enter the Kingdom of God. It was thesect of Phariseesof which he was, and who believed in him, which gave birth to this. What is said of theImmortality of the Soul, of theResurrection, ofHell, and the greater part of hisMorals, I see nothing more admirable than in the works ofEpictetus,Epicurusand many others. In fact, the latter was cited bySt. Jerome(Book VIII, againstJovian, ch. viii),as a man whose virtue puts to the blush better Christians, observing that all his works were filled with but herbs, fruits and abstinence, and whose delights were so temperate that his finest repasts were but a little cheese, bread and water. With a life so frugal, this Philosopher, pagan as he was, said that it wasbetter to be unlucky and rational, than rich and opulent without having good sense, adding,that it is rare that fortune and wisdom are found in the same individual, andthat one could have no knowledge of happiness nor live with pleasure unless felicity was accompanied by prudence, justice and honesty, which are qualifications of a true and lasting delight.As forEpictetusI do not believe that any man, not exceptingJesushimself, was more austere, more firm, more equitable, or more moral. I say nothing but what is easy to prove, and not to pass my prescribed limit I will not mention all the exemplary acts of his life, but give one single example of constancy which puts to shame the weakness and cowardice ofJesusin the sight of death. Being a slave to a freeman namedEpaphroditus, captain of the guards of Nero, it took the fancy of this brute to twist the leg of Epictetus. Epictetus perceiving that it gave him pleasure said to him, smiling, that he was well convinced that the gamewould not end until he had broken his leg; in fact, this crisis happened. “Well,” said Epictetus with an even smiling face, “did I not say that you would break my leg?” Was there ever courage equal to that? and could it have been said ofJesus Christhad he been the victim? He who wept and trembled with fear at the least alarm, and who evinced at his death a lack of spirit that never was witnessed in the majority of his martyrs.I doubt not but what it might be said of this action ofEpictetuswhat the ignorant remark of the virtues of the Philosophers, that vanity was their principle, and that they were not what they seemed. But I say also that those who use such language are people who, in the pulpit, say all that comes into their heads—either good or evil—and they want the privilege of telling it all. I know also that when these babblers, sellers of air, wind and smoke, have vented all their strength against the champions of common sense they think they have well earned the revenues of their livings: that they have not merited a call to instruct the people unless they have declared against those who know what common sense and true virtue is.So it is true that nothing in the world approaches so little to the manners of true scholars as the actions of the ignorant who decry them and who appear to have studied only to procure preferment which gives them bread; and which preferment they worship and magnify when this height is attained, as if they had reached a condition of perfection, which, to those who succeed, is a condition of self-love, ease, pride and pleasure, following nothing less than the maxims of the religion which they profess.But let us leave these people who know not what virtue is, and examine the divinity of their Master.
I.As for hisMorals, we see nothing more divine therein than in the writings of the ancients, or rather we find only what are only extracts or imitations.St. Augustin(ch. 9 and v. 20 of the Confessions, Book 7,) even admits that he has found in some of their works nearly all of the beginning of the Gospel according toSt. John. As far as may be seen, that Apostle is believed, in many places, to have stolen from other authors, and that it was not difficult to rob the Prophets of their enigmas and visions to make hisApocalypse. Whence comes the conformity which we find between the doctrine of the Old Testament and that ofPlato? to say nothing of what the Rabbins have done, and those who have fabricated theHoly Writingsfrom a mass of fragments stolen from this Grand Philosopher.Certainly the birth of the world has a thousand times more probability in hisTimaeusthan in Genesis, and it cannot be said that that comes from whatPlatohadreadin the books of the Jews during his travels in Egypt, for according toSt. Augustinhimself, (Confessions, Book 7, ch. 9, v. 20,)Ptolemyhad not yet translated them. The description of the country of whichSocratesspeaks toSimiasin thePhaedon(?) has infinitely more grace than theTerrestrial Paradise(of Eden) and theAndrogynus1is without comparison,better conceived than whatGenesissays of the extraction of Eve from one of the sides of Adam. Is there anything that more resembles the two accidents ofSodomandGomorrahthan that which happened toPhaeton? Is there anything more alike than the fall ofLuciferand that ofVulcan, or that of the giants cast down by the lightnings of Jupiter? Anything more similar thanSamsonandHercules,ElijahandPhaeton,JosephandHippolitus,NebuchadnezzarandLycaon,Tantalusand the tormented rich man (Luke xvi, 24), themanna of the Israelitesand theambrosia of the Gods?St. Augustin—quoted from God, Book 6, chap. 14,—St. CyrileandTheophylactuscompareJonahwithHercules, surnamedTrinsitium(?Trinoctius), because he had dwelt three days and three nights in the belly of a whale. Theriver of Daniel, spoken of in theProphets, ch. vii, is a visible imitation ofPeriphlegeton, which is mentioned by Plato in the Dialogue on the “Immortality of the Soul.”Original sinhas been taken fromPandora’s box, the sacrifice ofIsaacandJephthahfrom the story ofIphigenia, although in the latter ahindwas substituted. What is said ofLot and his wifeis quite like the tale which is told ofBaucisandPhilemon. In short, it is unquestionable that the authors of the Scriptures have transcribed word for word the works ofHesiodandHomer.
I.
As for hisMorals, we see nothing more divine therein than in the writings of the ancients, or rather we find only what are only extracts or imitations.St. Augustin(ch. 9 and v. 20 of the Confessions, Book 7,) even admits that he has found in some of their works nearly all of the beginning of the Gospel according toSt. John. As far as may be seen, that Apostle is believed, in many places, to have stolen from other authors, and that it was not difficult to rob the Prophets of their enigmas and visions to make hisApocalypse. Whence comes the conformity which we find between the doctrine of the Old Testament and that ofPlato? to say nothing of what the Rabbins have done, and those who have fabricated theHoly Writingsfrom a mass of fragments stolen from this Grand Philosopher.Certainly the birth of the world has a thousand times more probability in hisTimaeusthan in Genesis, and it cannot be said that that comes from whatPlatohadreadin the books of the Jews during his travels in Egypt, for according toSt. Augustinhimself, (Confessions, Book 7, ch. 9, v. 20,)Ptolemyhad not yet translated them. The description of the country of whichSocratesspeaks toSimiasin thePhaedon(?) has infinitely more grace than theTerrestrial Paradise(of Eden) and theAndrogynus1is without comparison,better conceived than whatGenesissays of the extraction of Eve from one of the sides of Adam. Is there anything that more resembles the two accidents ofSodomandGomorrahthan that which happened toPhaeton? Is there anything more alike than the fall ofLuciferand that ofVulcan, or that of the giants cast down by the lightnings of Jupiter? Anything more similar thanSamsonandHercules,ElijahandPhaeton,JosephandHippolitus,NebuchadnezzarandLycaon,Tantalusand the tormented rich man (Luke xvi, 24), themanna of the Israelitesand theambrosia of the Gods?St. Augustin—quoted from God, Book 6, chap. 14,—St. CyrileandTheophylactuscompareJonahwithHercules, surnamedTrinsitium(?Trinoctius), because he had dwelt three days and three nights in the belly of a whale. Theriver of Daniel, spoken of in theProphets, ch. vii, is a visible imitation ofPeriphlegeton, which is mentioned by Plato in the Dialogue on the “Immortality of the Soul.”Original sinhas been taken fromPandora’s box, the sacrifice ofIsaacandJephthahfrom the story ofIphigenia, although in the latter ahindwas substituted. What is said ofLot and his wifeis quite like the tale which is told ofBaucisandPhilemon. In short, it is unquestionable that the authors of the Scriptures have transcribed word for word the works ofHesiodandHomer.
As for hisMorals, we see nothing more divine therein than in the writings of the ancients, or rather we find only what are only extracts or imitations.St. Augustin(ch. 9 and v. 20 of the Confessions, Book 7,) even admits that he has found in some of their works nearly all of the beginning of the Gospel according toSt. John. As far as may be seen, that Apostle is believed, in many places, to have stolen from other authors, and that it was not difficult to rob the Prophets of their enigmas and visions to make hisApocalypse. Whence comes the conformity which we find between the doctrine of the Old Testament and that ofPlato? to say nothing of what the Rabbins have done, and those who have fabricated theHoly Writingsfrom a mass of fragments stolen from this Grand Philosopher.
Certainly the birth of the world has a thousand times more probability in hisTimaeusthan in Genesis, and it cannot be said that that comes from whatPlatohadreadin the books of the Jews during his travels in Egypt, for according toSt. Augustinhimself, (Confessions, Book 7, ch. 9, v. 20,)Ptolemyhad not yet translated them. The description of the country of whichSocratesspeaks toSimiasin thePhaedon(?) has infinitely more grace than theTerrestrial Paradise(of Eden) and theAndrogynus1is without comparison,better conceived than whatGenesissays of the extraction of Eve from one of the sides of Adam. Is there anything that more resembles the two accidents ofSodomandGomorrahthan that which happened toPhaeton? Is there anything more alike than the fall ofLuciferand that ofVulcan, or that of the giants cast down by the lightnings of Jupiter? Anything more similar thanSamsonandHercules,ElijahandPhaeton,JosephandHippolitus,NebuchadnezzarandLycaon,Tantalusand the tormented rich man (Luke xvi, 24), themanna of the Israelitesand theambrosia of the Gods?St. Augustin—quoted from God, Book 6, chap. 14,—St. CyrileandTheophylactuscompareJonahwithHercules, surnamedTrinsitium(?Trinoctius), because he had dwelt three days and three nights in the belly of a whale. Theriver of Daniel, spoken of in theProphets, ch. vii, is a visible imitation ofPeriphlegeton, which is mentioned by Plato in the Dialogue on the “Immortality of the Soul.”
Original sinhas been taken fromPandora’s box, the sacrifice ofIsaacandJephthahfrom the story ofIphigenia, although in the latter ahindwas substituted. What is said ofLot and his wifeis quite like the tale which is told ofBaucisandPhilemon. In short, it is unquestionable that the authors of the Scriptures have transcribed word for word the works ofHesiodandHomer.
II.But it seems that I have made quite a digression which, however, may not be unprofitable. Let us return then to Jesus, or rather, to hisMorals.Celsusproves, by the account ofOrigen(Book VI, againstCelsus), that he had taken fromPlatohisfinest sentiments, such as that which says (Luke, c. xviii, v. 25),that a camel might sooner pass through the eye of a needle than a rich man should enter the Kingdom of God. It was thesect of Phariseesof which he was, and who believed in him, which gave birth to this. What is said of theImmortality of the Soul, of theResurrection, ofHell, and the greater part of hisMorals, I see nothing more admirable than in the works ofEpictetus,Epicurusand many others. In fact, the latter was cited bySt. Jerome(Book VIII, againstJovian, ch. viii),as a man whose virtue puts to the blush better Christians, observing that all his works were filled with but herbs, fruits and abstinence, and whose delights were so temperate that his finest repasts were but a little cheese, bread and water. With a life so frugal, this Philosopher, pagan as he was, said that it wasbetter to be unlucky and rational, than rich and opulent without having good sense, adding,that it is rare that fortune and wisdom are found in the same individual, andthat one could have no knowledge of happiness nor live with pleasure unless felicity was accompanied by prudence, justice and honesty, which are qualifications of a true and lasting delight.As forEpictetusI do not believe that any man, not exceptingJesushimself, was more austere, more firm, more equitable, or more moral. I say nothing but what is easy to prove, and not to pass my prescribed limit I will not mention all the exemplary acts of his life, but give one single example of constancy which puts to shame the weakness and cowardice ofJesusin the sight of death. Being a slave to a freeman namedEpaphroditus, captain of the guards of Nero, it took the fancy of this brute to twist the leg of Epictetus. Epictetus perceiving that it gave him pleasure said to him, smiling, that he was well convinced that the gamewould not end until he had broken his leg; in fact, this crisis happened. “Well,” said Epictetus with an even smiling face, “did I not say that you would break my leg?” Was there ever courage equal to that? and could it have been said ofJesus Christhad he been the victim? He who wept and trembled with fear at the least alarm, and who evinced at his death a lack of spirit that never was witnessed in the majority of his martyrs.I doubt not but what it might be said of this action ofEpictetuswhat the ignorant remark of the virtues of the Philosophers, that vanity was their principle, and that they were not what they seemed. But I say also that those who use such language are people who, in the pulpit, say all that comes into their heads—either good or evil—and they want the privilege of telling it all. I know also that when these babblers, sellers of air, wind and smoke, have vented all their strength against the champions of common sense they think they have well earned the revenues of their livings: that they have not merited a call to instruct the people unless they have declared against those who know what common sense and true virtue is.So it is true that nothing in the world approaches so little to the manners of true scholars as the actions of the ignorant who decry them and who appear to have studied only to procure preferment which gives them bread; and which preferment they worship and magnify when this height is attained, as if they had reached a condition of perfection, which, to those who succeed, is a condition of self-love, ease, pride and pleasure, following nothing less than the maxims of the religion which they profess.But let us leave these people who know not what virtue is, and examine the divinity of their Master.
II.
But it seems that I have made quite a digression which, however, may not be unprofitable. Let us return then to Jesus, or rather, to hisMorals.Celsusproves, by the account ofOrigen(Book VI, againstCelsus), that he had taken fromPlatohisfinest sentiments, such as that which says (Luke, c. xviii, v. 25),that a camel might sooner pass through the eye of a needle than a rich man should enter the Kingdom of God. It was thesect of Phariseesof which he was, and who believed in him, which gave birth to this. What is said of theImmortality of the Soul, of theResurrection, ofHell, and the greater part of hisMorals, I see nothing more admirable than in the works ofEpictetus,Epicurusand many others. In fact, the latter was cited bySt. Jerome(Book VIII, againstJovian, ch. viii),as a man whose virtue puts to the blush better Christians, observing that all his works were filled with but herbs, fruits and abstinence, and whose delights were so temperate that his finest repasts were but a little cheese, bread and water. With a life so frugal, this Philosopher, pagan as he was, said that it wasbetter to be unlucky and rational, than rich and opulent without having good sense, adding,that it is rare that fortune and wisdom are found in the same individual, andthat one could have no knowledge of happiness nor live with pleasure unless felicity was accompanied by prudence, justice and honesty, which are qualifications of a true and lasting delight.As forEpictetusI do not believe that any man, not exceptingJesushimself, was more austere, more firm, more equitable, or more moral. I say nothing but what is easy to prove, and not to pass my prescribed limit I will not mention all the exemplary acts of his life, but give one single example of constancy which puts to shame the weakness and cowardice ofJesusin the sight of death. Being a slave to a freeman namedEpaphroditus, captain of the guards of Nero, it took the fancy of this brute to twist the leg of Epictetus. Epictetus perceiving that it gave him pleasure said to him, smiling, that he was well convinced that the gamewould not end until he had broken his leg; in fact, this crisis happened. “Well,” said Epictetus with an even smiling face, “did I not say that you would break my leg?” Was there ever courage equal to that? and could it have been said ofJesus Christhad he been the victim? He who wept and trembled with fear at the least alarm, and who evinced at his death a lack of spirit that never was witnessed in the majority of his martyrs.I doubt not but what it might be said of this action ofEpictetuswhat the ignorant remark of the virtues of the Philosophers, that vanity was their principle, and that they were not what they seemed. But I say also that those who use such language are people who, in the pulpit, say all that comes into their heads—either good or evil—and they want the privilege of telling it all. I know also that when these babblers, sellers of air, wind and smoke, have vented all their strength against the champions of common sense they think they have well earned the revenues of their livings: that they have not merited a call to instruct the people unless they have declared against those who know what common sense and true virtue is.So it is true that nothing in the world approaches so little to the manners of true scholars as the actions of the ignorant who decry them and who appear to have studied only to procure preferment which gives them bread; and which preferment they worship and magnify when this height is attained, as if they had reached a condition of perfection, which, to those who succeed, is a condition of self-love, ease, pride and pleasure, following nothing less than the maxims of the religion which they profess.But let us leave these people who know not what virtue is, and examine the divinity of their Master.
But it seems that I have made quite a digression which, however, may not be unprofitable. Let us return then to Jesus, or rather, to hisMorals.
Celsusproves, by the account ofOrigen(Book VI, againstCelsus), that he had taken fromPlatohisfinest sentiments, such as that which says (Luke, c. xviii, v. 25),that a camel might sooner pass through the eye of a needle than a rich man should enter the Kingdom of God. It was thesect of Phariseesof which he was, and who believed in him, which gave birth to this. What is said of theImmortality of the Soul, of theResurrection, ofHell, and the greater part of hisMorals, I see nothing more admirable than in the works ofEpictetus,Epicurusand many others. In fact, the latter was cited bySt. Jerome(Book VIII, againstJovian, ch. viii),as a man whose virtue puts to the blush better Christians, observing that all his works were filled with but herbs, fruits and abstinence, and whose delights were so temperate that his finest repasts were but a little cheese, bread and water. With a life so frugal, this Philosopher, pagan as he was, said that it wasbetter to be unlucky and rational, than rich and opulent without having good sense, adding,that it is rare that fortune and wisdom are found in the same individual, andthat one could have no knowledge of happiness nor live with pleasure unless felicity was accompanied by prudence, justice and honesty, which are qualifications of a true and lasting delight.
As forEpictetusI do not believe that any man, not exceptingJesushimself, was more austere, more firm, more equitable, or more moral. I say nothing but what is easy to prove, and not to pass my prescribed limit I will not mention all the exemplary acts of his life, but give one single example of constancy which puts to shame the weakness and cowardice ofJesusin the sight of death. Being a slave to a freeman namedEpaphroditus, captain of the guards of Nero, it took the fancy of this brute to twist the leg of Epictetus. Epictetus perceiving that it gave him pleasure said to him, smiling, that he was well convinced that the gamewould not end until he had broken his leg; in fact, this crisis happened. “Well,” said Epictetus with an even smiling face, “did I not say that you would break my leg?” Was there ever courage equal to that? and could it have been said ofJesus Christhad he been the victim? He who wept and trembled with fear at the least alarm, and who evinced at his death a lack of spirit that never was witnessed in the majority of his martyrs.
I doubt not but what it might be said of this action ofEpictetuswhat the ignorant remark of the virtues of the Philosophers, that vanity was their principle, and that they were not what they seemed. But I say also that those who use such language are people who, in the pulpit, say all that comes into their heads—either good or evil—and they want the privilege of telling it all. I know also that when these babblers, sellers of air, wind and smoke, have vented all their strength against the champions of common sense they think they have well earned the revenues of their livings: that they have not merited a call to instruct the people unless they have declared against those who know what common sense and true virtue is.
So it is true that nothing in the world approaches so little to the manners of true scholars as the actions of the ignorant who decry them and who appear to have studied only to procure preferment which gives them bread; and which preferment they worship and magnify when this height is attained, as if they had reached a condition of perfection, which, to those who succeed, is a condition of self-love, ease, pride and pleasure, following nothing less than the maxims of the religion which they profess.
But let us leave these people who know not what virtue is, and examine the divinity of their Master.
1Hermaphrodites.↑
1Hermaphrodites.↑