Chapter XXXVII: Why Christianity Prospered (1)

We now come to the question, Why did Christianity prosper, and why was Jesus of Nazareth believed to be a divine incarnation and Saviour?

There were many causes for this, but as we can devote but one chapter to the subject, we must necessarily treat it briefly.

For many centuries before the time of Christ Jesus there lived a sect of religious monks known as _Essenes_, or _Therapeutæ_;[419:1] _these entirely disappeared from history shortly after the time assigned for the crucifixion of Jesus_. There were thousands of them, and their _monasteries_ were to be counted by the score. Many have asked the question, "What became of them?" We now propose to show, 1. That they were expecting the advent of an _Angel-Messiah_; 2. That they considered Jesus of Nazareth to be _the_ Messiah; 3. That they came over to Christianity in a body; and, 4. That they brought the legendary histories of the former Angel-Messiahs with them.

The origin of the sect known as _Essenes_ is enveloped in mist, and will probably never be revealed. To speak of all the different ideas entertained as to their origin would make a volume of itself, we can therefore but glance at the subject. It has been the object of Christian writers up to a comparatively recent date, to claim that almost everything originated with God's chosen people, the _Jews_, and that even all languages can be traced to the _Hebrew_. Under these circumstances, then, it is not to be wondered at that we find they have also traced the Essenes to Hebrew origin.

Theophilus Gale, who wrote a work called "The Court of the Gentiles" (Oxford, 1671), to demonstrate that "the origin of _all human literature_, both philology and philosophy, is from the Scriptures and the Jewish church," undoubtedly hits upon the truth when he says:

"Now, the origination or rise of these Essenes (among the
Jews) I conceive by the best conjectures I can make from
antiquity, _to be in or immediately after the Babylonian
captivity_, though some make them later."

Some Christian writers trace them to Moses or some of the prophets, but that they originated in _India_, and were a sort of Buddhist sect, we believe is their true history.

Gfrörer, who wrote concerning them in 1835, and said that "_the Essenes and the Therapeutæ are the same sect, and hold the same views_," was undoubtedly another writer who was touching upon historical ground.

The identity of many of the precepts and practices of _Essenism_ and those of the _New Testament_ is unquestionable. Essenism urged on its disciples to seek first the kingdom of God and his righteousness.[420:1] The Essenes forbade the laying up of treasures upon earth.[420:2] The Essenes demanded of those who wished to join them to sell all their possessions, and to divide it among the poor brethren.[420:3] The Essenes had all things in common, and appointed one of the brethren as steward to manage the common bag.[420:4] Essenism put all its members on the same level, forbidding the exercise of authority of one over the other, and enjoining mutual service.[420:5] Essenism commanded its disciples to call no man master upon the earth.[420:6] Essenism laid the greatest stress upon being meek and lowly in spirit.[420:7] The Essenes commended the poor in spirit, those who hunger and thirst after righteousness, the merciful, the pure in heart, and the peacemaker. They combined the healing of the body with that of the soul. They declared that the power to cast out evil spirits, to perform miraculous cures, &c., should be possessed by their disciples as signs of their belief.[420:8] The Essenes did not swear at all; their answer was yea, yea, and nay, nay.[420:9] When the Essenes started on a mission of mercy, they provided neither gold nor silver, neither two coats, neither shoes, but relied on hospitality for support.[420:10] The Essenes, though repudiating offensive war, yet took weapons with them when they went on a perilous journey.[421:1] The Essenes abstained from connubial intercourse.[421:2] The Essenes did not offer animal sacrifices, but strove to present their bodies a living sacrifice, holy and acceptable unto God, which they regarded as a reasonable service.[421:3] It was the great aim of the Essenes to live such a life of purity and holiness as to be the temples of the Holy Spirit, and to be able to prophesy.[421:4]

Many other comparisons might be made, but these are sufficient to show that there is a great similarity between the two.[421:5] These similarities have led many Christian writers to believe that Jesus belonged to this order. Dr. Ginsburg, an advocate of this theory, says:

"It will hardly be doubted that _our_ Saviour himself belonged
to this holy brotherhood. This will especially be apparent
when we remember that the whole Jewish community, at the
advent of Christ, was divided into three parties, the
Pharisees, the Sadducees, and the Essenes, and that every Jew
had to belong to one of these sects. Jesus, who, in all
things, conformed to the Jewish law, and who was holy,
harmless, undefiled, and separate from sinners, would
therefore naturally associate himself with that order of
Judaism which was most congenial to his holy nature. Moreover,
the fact that Christ, with the exception of once, was not
heard of in public until his thirtieth year, implying that he
lived in seclusion with this fraternity, and that though he
frequently rebuked the scribes, Pharisees and Sadducees, he
never denounced the Essenes, strongly confirms this
conclusion."[421:6]

The _facts_--as Dr. Ginsburg calls them--which confirm his conclusions, are simply _no facts at all_. Jesus may or may not have been a member of this order; but when it is stated as a fact that he never rebuked the Essenes, it is implying too much. We know not whether the words _said to have been_ uttered by Jesus were ever uttered by him or not, and it is almost certain that _had he_ rebuked the Essenes, and had his words been written in the Gospels, _they would not remain there long_. We hear very little of the Essenes after A. D. 40,[421:7] therefore, when we read of the "_primitive Christians_," we are reading of _Essenes_, and others.

The statement that, with the exception of once, Jesus was not heard in public life till his _thirtieth_ year, is also uncertain. One of the early Christian Fathers (Irenæus) tells us that he did not begin to teach until he was _forty_ years of age, or thereabout, and that he lived to be nearly _fifty_ years old.[422:1] "_The records of his life are very scanty; and these have been so shaped and colored and modified by the hands of ignorance and superstition and party prejudice and ecclesiastical purpose, that it is hard to be sure of the original outlines._"

The similarity of the sentiments of the Essenes, or Therapeutæ, to those of the Church of Rome, induced the learned Jesuit, Nicolaus Serarius, to seek for them an honorable origin. He contended therefore, that they were Asideans, and derived them from the Rechabites, described so circumstantially in the thirty-fifth chapter of Jeremiah; at the same time, he asserted that the first Christian monks were Essenes.[422:2]

Mr. King, speaking of the _Christian_ sect called Gnostics, says:

"Their chief doctrines had been held for centuries before
(their time) in many of the cities of Asia Minor. There, it is
probable, they first came into existence as 'Mystæ,' _upon the
establishment of a direct intercourse with India under the
Seleucidæ and the Ptolemies_. The colleges of _Essenes_ and
Megabyzae at Ephesus, the Orphics of Thrace, the Curetes of
Crete, _are all merely branches of one antique and common
religion, and that originally Asiatic_."[422:3]

Again:

"The introduction of _Buddhism_ into Egypt and Palestine
_affords the only true solution of innumerable difficulties in
the history of religion_."[422:4]

Again:

"That Buddhism had actually been planted in the dominions of
the Seleucidæ and Ptolemies (Palestine belonging to the
former) before the beginning of the third century B. C., is
_proved to demonstration_ by a passage in the Edicts of Asoka,
grandson of the famous Chandragupta, the Sandracottus of the
Greeks. These edicts are engraven on a rock at Girnur, in
Guzerat."[422:5]

Eusebius, in quoting from Philo concerning the Essenes, seems to take it for granted that _they and the Christians were one and the same_, and from the manner in which he writes, it would appear that it was generally understood so. He says that Philo called them "Worshipers," and concludes by saying:

"But whether he himself gave them this name, or whether at the
_beginning_ they were so called, _when as yet the name of
Christians was not everywhere published_, I think it not
needful curiosity to sift out."[422:6]

This celebrated ecclesiastical historian considered it very probable that the writings of the Essenic Therapeuts in Egypt had been incorporated into the gospels of the New Testament, and into some Pauline epistles. His words are:

"It is very likely that the commentaries (Scriptures) which
were among them (the Essenes) were the Gospels, and the works
of the apostles, and certain expositions of the ancient
prophets, such as partly that epistle unto the Hebrews, and
also the other epistles of Paul do contain."[423:1]

The principal doctrines and rites of the Essenes can be connected with the _East_, with Parsism, and especially with _Buddhism_. Among the doctrines which Essenes and Buddhists had in common was that of the _Angel-Messiah_.[423:2]

Godfrey Higgins says:

"The _Essenes_ were called physicians of the soul, or
_Therapeutæ_; being resident both in Judea and Egypt, they
probably spoke or had their sacred books in Chaldee. They were
_Pythagoreans_, as is proved by all their forms, ceremonies,
and doctrines, and they called themselves sons of Jesse. If
the Pythagoreans or Conobitæ, as they are called by Jamblicus,
were Buddhists, the Essenes were Buddhists. The Essenes lived
in Egypt, on the lake of Parembole or Maria, in _monasteries_.
These are the very places in which we formerly found the
_Gymnosophists_, or _Samaneans_, or _Buddhist_ priests to have
lived; which Gymnosophistæ are placed also by Ptolemy in
north-eastern India."

"Their (the Essenes) parishes, churches, bishops, priests,
deacons, festivals are all identically the same (as the
Christians). They had apostolic founders; the manners which
distinguished the immediate apostles of Christ; scriptures
divinely inspired; the same allegorical mode of interpreting
them, which has since obtained among Christians, and the same
order of performing public worship. They had missionary
stations or colonies of their community established in Rome,
Corinth, Galatia, Ephesus, Phillippi, Colosse, and
Thessalonica, precisely such, and in the same circumstances,
as were those to whom St. Paul addressed his letters in those
places. All the fine moral doctrines which are attributed to
the Samaritan Nazarite, and I doubt not justly attributed to
him, are to be found among the doctrines of these
ascetics."[423:3]

And Arthur Lillie says:

"It is asserted by calm thinkers like Dean Mansel that within
two generations of the time of Alexander the Great, the
missionaries of Buddha made their appearance at
_Alexandria_.[423:4] This theory is confirmed--in the east by
the Asoka monuments--in the west by Philo. He expressly
maintains the identity in creed of the higher Judaism and that
of the _Gymnosophists_ of India who abstained from the
'sacrifice of living animals'--in a word, the BUDDHISTS. It
would follow from this that the priestly religion of
Babylonia, Palestine, Egypt, and Greece were undermined by
certain kindred mystical societies organized by Buddha's
missionaries under the various names of Therapeutes, Essenes,
Neo-Pythagoreans, Neo-Zoroastrians, &c. _Thus Buddhism
prepared the way for Christianity._"[424:1]

The Buddhists have the "eight-fold holy path" (Dhammapada), eight spiritual states leading up to Buddhahood. The first state of the Essenes resulted from baptism, and it seems to correspond with the first Buddhistic state, those who have entered the (mystic) stream. Patience, purity, and the mastery of passion were aimed at by both devotees in the other stages. In the last, magical powers, healing the sick, casting out evil spirits, etc., were supposed to be gained. Buddhists and Essenes seem to have doubled up this eight-fold path into four, for some reason or other. Buddhists and Essenes had three orders of ascetics or monks, but this classification is distinct from the spiritual classifications.[424:2]

The doctrine of the "_Anointed Angel_," of the man from heaven, the Creator of the world, the doctrine of the atoning sacrificial death of Jesus by the blood of his cross, the doctrine of the Messianic antetype of the Paschal lamb of the Paschal omer, and thus of the resurrection of Christ Jesus, the third day, according to the Scriptures, these doctrines of Paul can, with more or less certainty, be connected with the Essenes. It becomes almost a certainty that Eusebius was right in surmising that _Essenic writings have been used by Paul and the evangelists_. Not Jesus, but Paul, is the cause of the separation of the Jews from the Christians.[424:3]

The probability, then, that that sect of vagrant quack-doctors, the Therapeutæ, who were established in Egypt and its neighborhood many ages before the period assigned by later theologians as that of the birth of Christ Jesus, were the original fabricators of the writings contained in the New Testament, becomes a certainty on the basis of evidence, than which history has nothing more certain, furnished by the unguarded, but explicit, unwary, but most unqualified and positive statement of the historian Eusebius, that "_those ancient Therapeutæ were Christians, and that their ancient writings were our gospels and epistles_."

The Essenes, the Therapeuts, the Ascetics, the Monks, the Ecclesiastics, and the Eclectics, are but different names for one and the self-same sect.

The word "_Essene_" is nothing more than the Egyptian word for that of which Therapeut is the Greek, each of them signifying "healer" or "doctor," and designating the character of the sect as professing to be endued with the miraculous gift of healing; and more especially so with respect to diseases of the mind.

Their name of "_Ascetics_" indicated the severe discipline and exercise of self-mortification, long fastings, prayers, contemplation, and even making of themselves eunuchs for the kingdom of heaven's sake, as did Origen, Melito, and others who derived their Christianity from the same school; Jesus himself is represented to have recognized and approved their practice.

Their name of "_Monks_" indicated their delight in solitude, their contemplative life, and their entire segregation and abstraction from the world, which Jesus, in the Gospel, is in like manner represented as describing, as characteristic of the community of which he was a member.

Their name of "_Ecclesiastics_" was of the same sense, and indicated their being called out, elected, separated from the general fraternity of mankind, and set apart to the more immediate service and honor of God.

They had a flourishing university, or corporate body, established upon these principles, at Alexandria in Egypt, long before the period assigned for the birth of Christ Jesus.[425:1]

From this body they sent out missionaries, and had established colonies, auxiliary branches, and affiliated communities, in various cities of Asia Minor, which colonies were in a flourishing condition, before the preaching of St. Paul.

"_The very ancient and Eastern doctrine of an Angel-Messiah had been applied to Gautama-Buddha, and so it was applied to Jesus Christ by the Essenes of Egypt and of Palestine, who introduced this new Messianic doctrine into Essenic Judaism and Essenic Christianity._"[425:2]

In the Pali and Sanscrit texts the word _Buddha_ is always used as a _title_, not as a name. It means "The Enlightened One." Gautama Buddha is represented to have taught that he was only one of a long series of Buddhas, who appear at intervals in the world, and who all teach the same system. After the death of each Buddha his religion flourishes for a time, but finally wickedness and vice again rule over the land. Then a _new_ Buddha appears, who again preaches the lost _Dharma_ or truth. The names of twenty-four of these Buddhas who appeared previous to Gautama have been handed down to us. The _Buddhavansa_, or "History of the Buddhas," the last book of the _Khuddaka Nikaya_ in the second Pitca, gives the lives of all the previous Buddhas before commencing its account of Gautama himself; and the Pali commentary on the _Jatakas_ gives certain details regarding each of the twenty-four.[426:1]

An _Avatar_ was expected about every six hundred years.[426:2] At the time of Jesus of Nazareth an Avatar was expected, not by some of the Jews alone, but by most every eastern nation.[426:3] Many persons were thought at that time to be, and undoubtedly thought themselves to be, _the_ Christ, and the only reason why the name of Jesus of Nazareth succeeded above all others, is because the _Essenes_--who were expecting an Angel-Messiah--espoused it. Had it not been for this almost indisputable fact, the name of Jesus of Nazareth would undoubtedly not be known at the present day.

Epiphanius, a Christian bishop and writer of the fourth century, says, in speaking of the Essenes:

"They who believed on Christ were called JESSÆI (or Essenes),
_before they were called Christians_. These derived their
constitution from the signification of the name Jesus, which
in Hebrew signifies the same as _Therapeutes_, that is, a
saviour or physician."

Thus we see that, according to Christian authority, the Essenes and Therapeutes are one, and that the Essenes espoused the cause of Jesus of Nazareth, accepted him as an Angel-Messiah, and became known to history as _Christians_, or believers in the Anointed Angel.

This ascetic _Buddhist_ sect called Essenes were therefore expecting an Angel-Messiah, for had not Gautama announced to his disciples that another Buddha, and therefore another angel in human form, another organ or advocate of the wisdom from above, would descend from heaven to earth, and would be called the "Son of Love."

The learned Thomas Maurice says:

"From the earliest post-diluvian age, to that in which the
Messiah appeared, together with the traditions which so
expressly recorded the fall of the human race from a state of
original rectitude and felicity, there appears, from an
infinite variety of hieroglyphic monuments and of written
documents, to have prevailed, from generation to generation,
_throughout all the regions of the higher Asia_, an uniform
belief that, in the course of revolving ages, _there should
arise a sacred personage, a mighty deliverer of mankind from
the thraldom of sin and of death_. In fact, the memory of the
grand original promise, that the seed of the woman should
eventually crush the serpent, was carefully preserved in the
breasts of the _Asiatics_; it entered deeply into their
symbolic superstitions, and was engraved aloft amidst their
mythologic sculptures."[427:1]

That an Angel-Messiah was generally expected at this time may be inferred from the following facts: Some of the Gnostic sects of Christians, who believed that Jesus was an emanation from God, likewise supposed that there were several _Æons_, or emanations from the Eternal Father. Among those who taught this doctrine was _Basilides_ and his followers.[427:2]

SIMON MAGUS was believed to be "He who should come." Simon was worshiped in Samaria and other countries, as the expected Angel-Messiah, as a God.

Justin Martyr says:

"After the ascension of our Lord into heaven, certain _men_
were suborned by demons as their agents, who said that they
were gods (_i. e._, _the_ Angel Messiah). Among these was
_Simon_, a certain Samaritan, whom nearly all the Samaritans
and a few also of other nations, worshiped, confessing him as
a Supreme God."[427:3]

His miracles were notorious, and admitted by all. His followers became so numerous that they were to be found in all countries. In Rome, in the reign of Claudius, a statue was erected in his honor. Clement of Rome, speaking of Simon Magus, says that:

"He wishes to be considered an exalted person, and to be
considered 'the Christ.' He claims that he can never be
dissolved, asserting that he will endure to eternity."

Montanus was another person who evidently believed himself to be an Angel-Messiah. He was called by himself and his followers the "Paraclete," or "Holy Spirit."[428:1]

Socrates, in his Ecclesiastical History, tells us of one _Buddhas_ (who lived after Jesus):

"Who afore that time was called Terebynthus, which went to the
coasts of Babylon, inhabited by Persians, and there published
of himself many false wonders: that he was born of a virgin,
that he was bred and brought up in the mountains, etc."[428:2]

He was evidently one of the many fanatics who believed themselves to be the Paraclete or Comforter, the "Expected One."

Another one of these _Christs_ was _Apollonius_. This remarkable man was born a few years before the commencement of the Christian era, and during his career, sustained the role of a philosopher, religious teacher and reformer, and a worker of miracles. He is said to have lived to be a hundred years old. From the history of his life, written by the learned sophist and scholar, Philostratus, we glean the following:

Before his birth a god appeared to his mother and informed her that he himself should be born of her. At the time of her delivery, the most wonderful things happened. All the people of the country acknowledged that he was the "Son of God." As he grew in stature, his wonderful powers, greatness of memory, and marvelous beauty attracted the attention of all. A great part of his time was spent, when a youth, among the learned doctors; the disciples of Plato, Chrysippus and Aristotle. When he came to man's estate, he became an enthusiastic admirer and devoted follower of Pythagoras. His fame soon spread far and near, and wherever he went he reformed the religious worship of the day. He went to Ephesus, like Christ Jesus to Jerusalem, where the people flocked about him. While at Athens, in Greece, he cast out an evil spirit from a youth. As soon as Apollonius fixed his eyes upon him, the demon broke out into the most angry and horrid expressions, and then swore he would depart out of the youth. He put an end to a plague which was raging at Ephesus, and at Corinth he raised a dead maiden to life, by simply taking her by the hand and bidding her arise. The miracles of Apollonius were extensively believed, _by Christians as well as others_, for centuries after his time. In the fourth century Hierocles drew a parallel between the two Christs--Apollonius and Jesus--which was answered by Eusebius, the great champion of the Christian church. In it he admits the miracles of Apollonius, but attributes them to sorcery.

Apollonius was worshiped as a god, in different countries, as late as the fourth century. A beautiful temple was built in honor of him, and he was held in high esteem by many of the Pagan emperors. Eunapius, who wrote concerning him in the fifth century, says that his history should have been entitled "_The Descent of a God_ upon Earth." It is as Albert Reville says:

"The universal respect in which Apollonius was held by the
whole pagan world, testified to the deep impression which the
life of this _Supernatural Being_ had left indelibly fixed in
their minds; an expression which caused one of his
contemporaries to exclaim, '_We have a God living among us._'"

A Samaritan, by name Menander, who was contemporary with the apostles of Jesus, was another of these fanatics who believed himself to be the Christ. He went about performing miracles, claiming that he was a SAVIOUR, "sent down from above from the invisible worlds, _for the salvation of mankind_."[429:1] He baptized his followers in his own name. His influence was great, and continued for several centuries. Justin Martyr and other Christian Fathers wrote against him.

Manes evidently believed himself to be "the Christ," or "he who was to come." His followers also believed the same concerning him. Eusebius, speaking of him, says:

"He presumed to represent the person of Christ; he proclaimed
himself to be the Comforter and the Holy Ghost, and being
puffed up with this frantic pride, chose, as if he were
Christ, _twelve_ partners of his new-found doctrine, patching
into one heap false and detestable doctrines of old, rotten,
and rooted out heresies, _the which he brought out of
Persia_."[429:2]

The word Manes, says Usher in his Annals, has the meaning of Paraclete or Comforter or Saviour. This at once lets us into the secret--a new incarnation, an Angel-Messiah, a Christ--born from the side of his mother, and put to a violent death--flayed alive, and hung up, or crucified, by a king of Persia.[429:3] This is the teacher with his twelve apostles on the rock of Gualior.

Du Perron, in his life of Zoroaster, gives an account of certain prophecies to be found in the sacred books of the _Persians_. One of these is to the effect that, at successive periods of time, there will appear on earth certain "Sons of Zoroaster," who are to be the result of _immaculate conceptions_. These virgin-born gods will come upon earth for the purpose of establishing the law of God. It is also asserted that Zoroaster, when on earth, declared that in the "latter days" a pure virgin would conceive, and bear a son, and that as soon as the child was born a _star_ would appear, blazing even at noonday, with undiminished splendor. This Christ is to be called _Sosiosh_. He will redeem mankind, and subdue the Devs, who have been tempting and leading men astray ever since the fall of our first parents.

Among the Greeks the same prophecy was found. The Oracle of Delphi was the depository, according to Plato, of an ancient and _secret_ prophecy of the birth of a "Son of Apollo," who was to restore the reign of justice and virtue on the earth.[430:1]

Those who believed in successive emanations of Æons from the Throne of Light, pointed to the passage in the Gospels where Jesus is made to say that he will be succeeded by the Paraclete or Comforter. Mahommed was believed by many to be this Paraclete, and it is said that he too told his disciples that _another_ Paraclete would succeed him. From present appearances, however, there is some reason for believing that the Mohammedans are to have their ancient prophecy set at naught by the multiplicity of those who pretend to be divinely appointed to fulfill it. The present year was designated as the period at which this great reformer was to arise, who should be almost, if not quite, the equal of Mahommed. His mission was to be to to purify the religion from its corruptions; to overthrow those who had usurped its control, and to rule, as a great spiritual caliph, over the faithful. According to accepted tradition, the prophet himself designated the line of descent in which his most important successor would be found, and even indicated his personal appearance. The time having arrived, it is not strange that the man is forthcoming, only in this instance there is more than one claimant. There is a "holy man" in Morocco who has allowed it to be announced that he is the designated reformer, while cable reports show that a rival pretender has appeared in Yemen, in southern Arabia, and his supporters, sword in hand, are now advancing upon Mecca, for the purpose of proclaiming their leader as caliph within the sacred city itself.

History then relates to us the indisputable fact that at the time of Jesus of Nazareth an Angel-Messiah was expected, that many persons claimed, and were believed to be, _the_ "Expected One," and that the reason why _Jesus_ was accepted above all others was because the Essenes--a very numerous sect--believed him to be the true Messiah, and came over to his followers in a body. It was because there were so many of these _Christs_ in existence that some follower of Jesus--but no one knows _who_--wrote as follows:

"If any man shall say to you, Lo, _here is Christ_, or, lo, he
is _there_; believe him not; for _false Christs_ and false
prophets shall rise, _and shall show signs and wonders_ to
seduce, if it were possible, even the elect."[431:1]

The reasons why Jesus was not accepted as the Messiah by the _majority_ of the Jews was because the majority expected a daring and irresistible warrior and conqueror, who, armed with greater power than Cæsar, was to come upon earth to rend the fetters in which their hapless nation had so long groaned, to avenge them upon their haughty oppressors, and to re-establish the kingdom of Judah; and this Jesus--although he evidently claimed to be the Messiah--did not do.

Tacitus, the Roman historian, says:

"The generality had a strong persuasion that it was contained
in the ancient writings of the priests, that at that very time
the east should prevail: and that some one, who should come
out of Judea, _should obtain the empire of the world_; which
ambiguities foretold Vespasian and Titus. But the common
people (of the Jews), according to the influence of human
wishes, appropriated to themselves, by their interpretation,
this vast grandeur foretold by the fates, nor could be brought
to change their opinion for the true, by all their
adversities."

Suetonius, another Roman historian, says:

"There had been for a long time all over the east a constant
persuasion that it was recorded in the fates (books of the
fates, or foretellings), that at that time some one who should
come out of Judea _should obtain universal dominion_. It
appears by the event, that this prediction referred to the
Roman emperor; but the Jews, referring it to themselves,
rebelled."

This is corroborated by Josephus, the Jewish historian, who says:

"That which, chiefly excited them (the Jews) to war, was an
_ambiguous prophecy_, which was also found in the sacred
books, that at that time some one, within their country,
should arise, that should obtain _the empire of the whole
world_. For this they had received by tradition, that it was
spoken of one of their nation; and many wise men were deceived
with the interpretation. But, in truth, Vespasian's empire was
designed in this prophecy, who was created emperor (of Rome)
_in Judea_."

As the Rev. Dr. Geikie remarks, the central and dominant characteristic of the teaching of the rabbis, was the certain advent of a great national _Deliverer_--the Messiah--but not a God from heaven.

For a time _Cyrus_ appeared to realize the promised Deliverer, or, at least, to be the chosen instrument to prepare the way for him, and, in his turn, _Zerubabel_ became the centre of Messianic hopes. In fact, the national mind had become so inflammable, by constant brooding on this one theme, that any bold spirit, rising in revolt against the Roman power, could find an army of fierce disciples who trusted that it should be he who would redeem Israel.[432:1]

The "_taxing_" which took place under Cyrenius, Governor of Syria (A. D. 7), excited the wildest uproar against the Roman power. The Hebrew spirit was stung into exasperation; the puritans of the nation, the enthusiasts, fanatics, the zealots of the law, the literal constructionists of prophecy, appealed to the national temper, revived the national faith, and fanned into flame the combustible elements that smoldered in the bosom of the race. The Messianic hope was strong in these people; all the stronger on account of their political degradation. Born in sorrow, the anticipation grew keen in bitter hours. That Jehovah would abandon them could not be believed. The thought would be atheism. The hope kept the eastern Jews in a perpetual state of insurrection. The cry "Lo here, lo there!" was incessant. Claimant after claimant of the dangerous supremacy of the _Messiah_ appeared, pitched a camp in the wilderness, raised the banner, gathered a force, was attacked, defeated, banished, or crucified; but the frenzy did not abate.

The last insurrection among the Jews, that of Bar-Cochba--"Son of the Star"--revealed an astonishing frenzy of zeal. It was purely a _Messianic_ uprising. Judaism had excited the fears of the Emperor Hadrian, and induced him to inflict unusual severities on the people. The effect of the violence was to stimulate that conviction to fury. The night of their despair was once more illumined by the star of the east. The banner of the Messiah was raised. Portents, as of old, were seen in the sky; the clouds were watched for the glory that should appear. _Bar-Cochba_ seemed to fill out the popular idea of the deliverer. Miracles were ascribed to him; flames issued from his mouth. The vulgar imagination made haste to transform the audacious fanatic into a child of David. Multitudes flocked to his standard. The whole Jewish race throughout the world was in commotion. The insurrection gained head. The heights about Jerusalem were seized and occupied, and fortifications were erected; nothing but the "host of angels" was needed to insure victory. The angels did not appear; the Roman legions did. The "Messiah," not proving himself a conqueror, was held to have proved himself an impostor, the "son of a lie."[433:1]

The impetuous zeal with which the Jews rushed to the standard of this Messianic impostor, in the 130th year of the Christian era, demonstrates the true Jewish character, and shows how readily any one who made the claim, was believed to be "He who should come." Even the celebrated Rabbi Akiba sanctioned this daring fraud. Akiba declared that the so-called prophecy of Balaam,--"_a star shall rise out of Jacob_,"--was accomplished. Hence the impostor took his title of _Bar-Cochabas_, or _Son of the Star_; and Akiba not only publicly anointed him "KING OF THE JEWS," and placed an imperial diadem upon his head, but followed him to the field at the head of four-and-twenty thousand of his disciples, and acted in the capacity of master of his horse.

Those who believed on the meek and benevolent Jesus--and whose number was very small--were of that class who believed in the doctrine of the _Angel-Messiah_,[433:2] first heard of among them when taken captives to Babylon. These believed that just as Buddha appeared at different intervals, and as Vishnu appeared at different intervals, the avatars appeared among the Jews. Adam, and Enoch, and Noah, and Elijah or Elias, might in outward appearance be different men, but they were really the self-same divine person successively animating various human bodies.[433:3] Christ _Jesus_ was the _avatar_ of the ninth age, Christ _Cyrus_ was the _avatar_ of the eighth. Of the hero of the eighth age it is said: "Thus said the Lord to his Anointed (_i. e._, his _Christ_), his Messiah, to Cyrus, whose right hand I have holden to subdue nations."[434:1] The eighth period began about the Babylonish captivity, about six hundred years before Christ _Jesus_. The ninth began with Christ Jesus, making in all eight cycles before Jesus.

"What was known in Judea more than a century before the birth of Jesus Christ cannot have been introduced among Buddhists by Christian missionaries. It will become equally certain that the bishop and church-historian, Eusebius, was right when he wrote, that he considered it highly probable that the writings of the Essenic Therapeuts in Egypt had been incorporated into our Gospels, and into some Pauline epistles."[434:2]

For further information on the subject of the connection between Essenism and Christianity, the reader is referred to Taylor's Diegesis, Bunsen's Angel-Messiah, and the works of S. F. Dunlap. We shall now speak of another powerful lever which was brought to bear upon the promulgation of Christianity; namely, that of FRAUD.

It was a common thing among the early Christian Fathers and saints to lie and deceive, if their lies and deceits helped the cause of their Christ. Lactantius, an eminent Christian author who flourished in the fourth century, has well said:

"Among those who seek power and gain from their religion,
there will never be wanting an inclination to forge and lie
for it."[434:3]

Gregory of Nazianzus, writing to St. Jerome, says:

"A little jargon is all that is necessary to impose on the
people. The less they comprehend, the more they admire. Our
forefathers and doctors have often said, not what they
thought, but what circumstances and necessity
dictated."[434:4]

The celebrated _Eusebius_, Bishop of CÆSAREA, and friend of Constantine the Great, who is our chief guide for the early history of the Church, _confesses that he was by no means scrupulous to record the whole truth concerning the early Christians in the various works which he has left behind him_.[434:5] Edward Gibbon, speaking of him, says:

"The gravest of the ecclesiastical historians, Eusebius
himself, indirectly confesses that he has related what might
redound to the glory, and that he has suppressed all that
could tend to the disgrace of religion. Such an acknowledgment
will naturally excite a suspicion that a writer who has so
openly violated one of the fundamental laws of history, has
not paid a very strict regard to the observance of the other;
and the suspicion will derive additional credit from the
character of Eusebius, which was less tinctured with
credulity, and more practiced in the arts of courts, than that
of almost any of his contemporaries."[435:1]

The great theologian, Beausobre, in his "Histoire de Manichee," says:

"We see in the history which I have related, a sort of
hypocrisy, that has been perhaps, but too common at all times;
that churchmen not only do not say what they think, but they
do say the direct contrary of what they think. Philosophers in
their cabinets; out of them they are content with fables,
though they well know they are fables. Nay, more; they deliver
honest men to the executioner, for having uttered what they
themselves know to be true. How many atheists and pagans have
burned holy men under the pretext of heresy? Every day do
hypocrites consecrate, and make people adore the host, though
as well convinced as I am, that it is nothing but a bit of
bread."[435:2]

M. Daille says:

"This opinion has always been in the world, that to settle a
certain and assured estimation upon that which is good and
true, it is necessary to remove out of the way, whatsoever may
be an hinderance to it. _Neither ought we to wonder that even
those of the honest, innocent, primitive times made use of
these deceits, seeing for a good end they made no scruple to
forge whole books._"[435:3]

Reeves, in his "Apologies of the Fathers," says:

"It was a Catholic opinion among the philosophers, that pious
frauds were good things, and that the people ought to be
imposed on in matters of religion."[435:4]

Mosheim, the ecclesiastical historian, says:

"It was held as a maxim that it was not only lawful but
praiseworthy to _deceive_, and even to use the expedient of a
_lie_, in order to advance the cause of truth and
piety."[435:5]

Isaac de Casaubon, the great ecclesiastical scholar, says:

"It mightily affects me, to see how many there were in the
earliest times of the church, who considered it as a capital
exploit, to lend to heavenly truth the help of their own
inventions, in order that the new doctrine might be more
readily allowed by the wise among the Gentiles. _These
officious lies, they were wont to say, were devised for a good
end._"[435:6]

The Apostolic Father, Hermas, who was the fellow-laborer of St. Paul in the work of the ministry; who is greeted as such in the New Testament; and whose writings are expressly quoted as of divine inspiration, by the early Fathers, ingenuously confesses that lying was the easily-besetting sin of a Christian. His words are:

"O Lord, I never spake a true word in my life, but I have
always lived in dissimulation, and affirmed a lie for truth to
all men, and no man contradicted me, but all gave credit to my
words."

To which the holy angel, whom he addresses, condescendingly admonishes him, that as the lie was up, now, he had better keep it up, and as in time it would come to be believed, it would answer as well as truth.[436:1]

Dr. Mosheim admits, that the Platonists and Pythagoreans held it as a maxim, that it was not only lawful, but praiseworthy, to deceive, and even to use the expedient of a lie, in order to advance the cause of truth and piety. The Jews who lived in Egypt, had learned and received this maxim from them, before the coming of Christ Jesus, as appears incontestably from a multitude of ancient records, _and the Christians were infected from both these sources, with the same pernicious error_.[436:2]

Of the fifteen letters ascribed to Ignatius (Bishop of Antioch after 69 A. D.), _eight have been rejected by Christian writers as being forgeries_, having no authority whatever. "_The remaining seven_ epistles were accounted genuine by most critics, although disputed by some, previous to the discoveries of Mr. Cureton, _which have shaken, and indeed almost wholly destroyed the credit and authenticity of all alike_."[436:3]

Paul of Tarsus, who was preaching a doctrine which had already been preached to every nation on earth,[436:4] inculcates and avows the principle of deceiving the common people, talks of his having been upbraided by his own converts with being crafty and catching them with guile,[436:5] and of his known and willful lies, abounding to the glory of God.[436:6]

Even the orthodox Doctor Burnet, an eminent English author, in his treatise "_De Statu Mortuorum_," purposely written in Latin, that it might serve for the instruction of the clergy only, and not come to the knowledge of the laity, because, as he said, "_too much light is hurtful for weak eyes_," not only justified but recommended the practice of the most consummate hypocrisy, and would have his clergy seriously preach and maintain the reality and eternity of hell torments, even though they should believe nothing of the sort themselves.[437:1]

The incredible and very ridiculous stories related by Christian Fathers and ecclesiastical historians, _on whom we are obliged to rely for information on the most important of subjects_, show us how untrustworthy these men were. We have, for instance, the story related by St. Augustine, who is styled "the greatest of the Latin Fathers," of his preaching the Gospel to people _without heads_. In his 33d Sermon he says:

"I was already Bishop of Hippo, when I went into Ethiopia with
some servants of Christ there to preach the Gospel. In this
country we saw many men and women without heads, who had two
great eyes in their breasts; and in countries still more
southly, we saw people who had but one eye in their
foreheads."[437:2]

This same holy Father bears an equally unquestionable testimony to several resurrections of the dead, of _which he himself had been an eye-witness_.

In a book written "towards the close of the second century, by some zealous believer," and fathered upon one Nicodemus, who is said to have been a disciple of Christ Jesus, we find the following:

"We all know the blessed Simeon, the high priest, who took
Jesus when an infant into his arms in the temple. This same
Simeon had two sons of his own, _and we were all present at
their death and funeral_. Go therefore and see their tombs,
for these are open, and they are risen; and behold, _they are
in the city of Arimathæa, spending their time together in
offices of devotion_."[438:1]

Eusebius, "the Father of ecclesiastical history," Bishop of Cæsarea, and one of the most prominent personages at the Council of Nice, relates as truth, the ridiculous story of King Agbarus writing a letter to Christ Jesus, and of Jesus' answer to the same.[438:2] And Socrates relates how the Empress Helen, mother of the Emperor Constantine, went to Jerusalem for the purpose of finding, if possible, "the cross of Christ." This she succeeded in doing, also the nails with which he was nailed to the cross.[438:3]

Beside forging, lying, and deceiving for the cause of Christ, the Christian Fathers destroyed all evidence against themselves and their religion, which they came across. Christian divines seem to have always been afraid of too much light. In the very infancy of printing, Cardinal Wolsey foresaw its effect on Christianity, and in a speech to the clergy, publicly forewarned them, that, _if they did not destroy the Press, the Press would destroy them_.[438:4] There can be no doubt, that had the objections of Porphyry,[438:5] Hierocles,[438:6] Celsus,[438:7] and other opponents of the Christian faith, been permitted to come down to us, the plagiarism in the Christian Scriptures from previously existing Pagan documents, is the specific charge they would have presented us. But these were ordered to be burned, by the prudent piety of the Christian emperors.

In Alexandria, in Egypt, there was an immense library, founded by the Ptolemies. This library was situated in the Alexandrian Museum; the apartments which were allotted for it were beautifully sculptured, and crowded with the choicest statues and pictures; the building was built of marble. This library eventually comprised four hundred thousand volumes. In the course of time, probably on account of inadequate accommodation for so many books, an additional library was established, and placed in the temple of Serapis. The number of volumes in this library, which was called the daughter of that in the museum, was eventually three hundred thousand. There were, therefore, _seven hundred thousand volumes in these royal collections_.

In the establishment of the museum, Ptolemy Soter, and his son Philadelphus, had three objects in view: 1. The perpetuation of such knowledge as was then in the world; 2. Its increase; 3. Its diffusion.

1. _For the perpetuation of knowledge._ Orders were given to the chief librarian to buy, at the king's expense, whatever books he could. A body of transcribers was maintained in the museum, whose duty it was to make correct copies of such works as their owners were not disposed to sell. _Any books brought by foreigners into Egypt_ were taken at once to the museum, and when correct copies had been made, the transcript was given to the owner, and the original placed in the library. Often a very large pecuniary indemnity was paid.

2. _For the increase of knowledge._ One of the chief objects of the museum was that of serving as the home of a body of men who devoted themselves to study, and were lodged and maintained at the king's expense. In the original organization of the museum the residents were divided into four faculties,--Literature, Mathematics, Astronomy, and Medicine. An officer of very great distinction presided over the establishment, and had general charge of its interests. Demetius Phalareus, perhaps the most learned man of his age, who had been Governor of Athens for many years, was the first so appointed. Under him was the librarian, an office sometimes held by men whose names have descended to our times, as Eratosthenes and Apollonius Rhodius. In connection with the museum was a botanical and a zoological garden. These gardens, as their names imply, were for the purpose of facilitating the study of plants and animals. There was also an astronomical observatory, containing armillary spheres, globes, solstitial and equatorial armils, astrolabes, parallactic rules, and other apparatus then in use, the graduation on the divided instruments being into degrees and sixths.

3. _For the diffusion of knowledge._ In the museum was given, by lectures, conversation, or other appropriate methods, instruction in all the various departments of human knowledge.

_There flocked to this great intellectual centre, students from all countries._ It is said that at one time not fewer than fourteen thousand were in attendance. Subsequently even the Christian church received from it some of the most eminent of its Fathers, as Clemens Alexandrinus, Origen, Athanasius, &c.

The library in the museum was burned during the siege of Alexandria by Julius Cæsar. To make amends for this great loss, the library collected by Eumenes, King of Pergamus, was presented by Mark Antony to Queen Cleopatra. Originally it was founded as a rival to that of the Ptolemies. It was added to the collection in the Serapion, or the temple of Serapis.[440:1]

It was not destined, however, to remain there many centuries, as this very valuable library was willfully destroyed by the Christian Theophilus, and on the spot where this beautiful temple of Serapis stood, in fact, on its very foundation, was erected a church in honor of the "noble army of martyrs," who had never existed.

This we learn from the historian Gibbon, who says that, after this library was destroyed, "the appearance of the empty shelves excited the regret and indignation of every spectator, whose mind was not totally darkened by religious prejudice."[440:2]

The destruction of this library was almost the death-blow to free-thought--wherever Christianity ruled--for more than a thousand years.

The death-blow was soon to be struck, however, which was done by _Saint Cyril_, who succeeded _Theophilus_ as Bishop of Alexandria.

_Hypatia_, the daughter of Theon, the mathematician, endeavored to continue the old-time instructions. Each day before her academy stood a long train of chariots; her lecture-room was crowded with the wealth and fashion of _Alexandria_. They came to listen to her discourses on those questions which man in all ages has asked, but which have never yet been answered: "What am I? Where am I? What can I know?"

Hypatia and Cyril; philosophy and bigotry; they cannot exist together. As Hypatia repaired to her academy, she was assaulted by (Saint) Cyril's mob--_a mob of many monks_. Stripped naked in the street, she was dragged into a _church_, and there killed _by the club of Peter the Reader_. The corpse was cut to pieces, the flesh was scraped from the bones with shells, and the remnants cast into a fire. _For this frightful crime Cyril was never called to account. It seemed to be admitted that the end sanctified the means. So ended Greek philosophy in Alexandria_, so came to an untimely close the learning that the Ptolemies had done so much to promote.

The fate of Hypatia was a warning to all who would cultivate profane knowledge. _Henceforth there was to be no freedom for human thought. Every one must think as ecclesiastical authority ordered him_; A. D. 414. In Athens itself philosophy awaited its doom. Justinian at length prohibited its teaching and caused all its schools in that city to be closed.[441:1]

After this followed the long and dreary _dark ages_, but the _sun of science_, that bright and glorious luminary, was destined to rise again.

The history of this great Alexandrian library is one of the keys which unlock the door, and exposes to our view the manner in which the Hindoo incarnate god _Crishna_, and the meek and benevolent _Buddha_, came to be worshiped under the name of _Christ Jesus_. For instance, we have just seen:

1. That, "orders were given to the chief librarian to buy at the king's expense _whatever books he could_."

2. That, "one of the chief objects of the museum was that of serving as the home of a _body of men_ who devoted themselves to study."

3. That, "any books brought by foreigners into Egypt were taken at once to the museum and correct copies made."

4. That, "there flocked to this great intellectual centre students from all countries."

5. That, "the Christian church received from it some of the most eminent of its Fathers."

And also:

6. That, the chief doctrines of the Gnostic Christians "had been held for centuries before their time in many of the cities in Asia Minor. There, it is probable, they first came into existence as 'Mystæ,' _upon the establishment of a direct intercourse with India_ under the Seleucidæ and the Ptolemies."

7. That, "the College of ESSENES at Ephesus, the Orphics of Thrace, the Curetes of Crete, _are all merely branches of one_ antique and common religion, _and that originally Asiatic_."

8. That, "_the introduction of Buddhism into Egypt and Palestine affords the only true solution of innumerable difficulties in the history of religion_."

9. That, "_Buddhism_ had actually been planted in the dominions of the Seleucidæ and Ptolemies (Palestine belonging to the former) _before the beginning of the third century_ B. C. and is proved to demonstration by a passage in the edicts of Asoka."

10. That, "it is very likely that the commentaries (Scriptures) which were among them (the _Essenes_) were the Gospels."

11. That, "the principal doctrines and rites of the _Essenes_ can be connected with the East, with Parsism, and especially with _Buddhism_."

12. That, "among the doctrines which the _Essenes_ and _Buddhists_ had in common was that of the _Angel-Messiah_."

13. That, "they (the _Essenes_) had a flourishing university or corporate body, established at _Alexandria, in Egypt_, long before the period assigned for the birth of Christ."

14. That, "the _very ancient_ and Eastern doctrine of the _Angel-Messiah_ had been applied to Gautama Buddha, _and so it was applied to Jesus Christ by the Essenes of Egypt and Palestine_, who introduced this new Messianic doctrine into Essenic Judaism and Essenic Christianity."

15. That, "we hear very little of them (the _Essenes_) after A. D. 40; and there can hardly be any doubt that the _Essenes_ as a body must have embraced Christianity."