wonderful, that to Polytheists who in Art excelled the Jews this people appeared conceited, narrow-minded and unamiable. So indeed did the ancient Christians appear to Romans and others. Polytheists in general could tolerate foreign religions, and fancy that each, rightly interpreted, was right on its own soil; nay, could without compunction allow resident aliens to erect sacred edifices for strange rites nativ to themselves, if morally innoxious. But Jews, while glad to raise temples to Jehovah abroad, could not, at least in those days, willingly endure foreign religion on Jewish soil: indeed their sacred laws forbad it. All this is so like to Christendom, that Christians can ill afford to brand the Jews of that day for too much pride in their nativ religion, too much zeal to propagate it, or too abject a submission to their sacred books. But Polytheists, as known to us by Greeks and Romans, had neither exclusiveness nor any depth in their religious notions. Athenian Comedy bitterly resented serious criticism of the traditional Pantheon, and recklessly slandered Athenian teachers who were thought to undermine it; yet without moral scruple itself made impure fun out of its own creed, nor did any poet shrink from using it as material for wild fancy, and moral aspersion on its gods and goddesses. Of course such Pagans disliked a strict and serious religion, sharply set, morally confident, and eager to proselyte. The same causes seem to make modern Agnostics bitter against Jews, and greedy believers of every aspersion broad-cast on the ancient Pharisee. No one would expect our Agnostics to praise the Hebrews for upholding against heathenism the doctrin that the Supreme Power is righteous and loves righteousness in man: yet some might hav expected far less animosity from Christians, and fairer judgment of those whose excellencies and peculiar points they hav so largely inherited.

In spite of royal pride and violence (for the high-priest at last assumed the title of King) Palestine under the Mosaic doctors flourished greatly, until Roman tyranny galled, tormented and drove to madness a high-spirited and free people.

Soon after the death of that cruel Antiochus the prophecy called Daniel's must hav been written. Criticism for which we hav no room, shows abundantly that the narrativ is opposed to history and truth. The wars of the kings of Syria and Egypt ar detailed accurately in chapter xi. but at the very next step the prophecy is false for, Resurrection of the dead follows, in which Jewish saints rise to everlasting life and glory: all earthly affairs seem suddenly to close. Special remarks on this "prophecy" may here be in place.

This book has astonishing diversities from all the previous Judaic literature. In Ezekiel, in Jeremiah, in the later Isaiah and all the earlier prophets, there is no word to suggest resurrection from the dead or renewed life for individuals. Jeremiah's endless laments hav no assuagement from that topic, which was needed then, if ever, for his bleeding and crushed people. He, like the rest, sees in their sufferings nothing but the anger of Jehovah, and proof of their guilt. No such idea is found in this book called Daniel's. The saints whom he records by name hav miraculous triumphs over their imperial persecutors; king Nebuchadnezzar (ii. 46) falls on his face and worships Daniel!! Concerning the rest, the tone is jubilant, even in looking forward to a time of unprecedented suffering (xii. 2). "At that time," says the Angel to Daniel, "thy people shall be delivered, "every one that shall be found written in the book." Here the Apocalyptic "Lamb's book of life" is anticipated. It proceeds: "Many who sleep in the dust of the earth "shall awake, some to everlasting life, some to shame

"and everlasting contempt." This magnificent announcement was unknown to Isaiah and his patron king Hezekiah; nothing like it appears in Ezra or Nehemiah. Then as to his notions of the human world: he represents each kingdom to hav its guardian angel, who is called its prince. Michael is the great prince of Israel. Another tutelary angel was "withstood" for 21 days by the prince of the kingdom of Persia, until Michael came to aid him in the conflict (x. 13). "Afterwards," says he, "I must return to fight with the prince of Persia '(x. 20) and when I am gone forth, the prince of Graecia "will come." These notions certainly ar not Judaic; apparently they ar Persian. One step more, and the guardian angels of Gentile powers were degraded into demons, thus completing the Rabbinical idea of "prin'cipalities aloft," subject to Satan, potentate of the air. Here a vast mass of Oriental mythology corrupted Hebrew simplicity.

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In the book of Daniel we also find a Theatrical Tribunal held by the Supreme God. In the Psalms and Prophets hitherto, the throne of judgment was but a metaphor and poetical ornament. The thrones ar cast down (angelic or human), the Ancient of Days takes his seat; a fiery stream issues from him, millions (of angels) minister to him, myriads of myriads (of mankind ?) stand before him, the judgment is set, and the books ar opened,—as in an Egyptian trial? Beyond this, a novel annunciation is made. One like unto a son of man* comes with the clouds of heaven, and receives over all peoples, nations and languages a dominion which shall never pass away. This appears to be the earliest state

*By some fatuity our translators here write "one like unto the Son of Man;" and in iii. 25 give us "the Son of God," where the sense clearly needs and the original plainly says, a son of God. [Both now corrected in the Revised Version.]

ment, that some one in human shape, but coming in the clouds of heaven, is to rule permanently over this earth and its inhabitants.-But was it the earliest statement? We cannot be sure; for we do not know the date of the prophecy called the Book of Enoch. Concerning this, a few words may be appropriate.

To some of us the chief interest of the Book of Enoch turns on the fact, that in the Canonical Epistle of Jude it is quoted as the writing of Enoch the seventh from Adam (14) without any suspicion that it was a recent fraud. German critics, whose pride it is to disintegrate ancient books, think it has been interpolated by Christians. When discovered, early in this century, it was translated by our Archbishop Lawrence. Unless large parts of it ar generated by fraud upon fraud, it may have co-operated with the book of Daniel in preparing the Jewish mind for the idea of a son of man who should be a son of God, a Judge of the dead, and a universal Ruler over the living. But the idea of Messiah is so important, as to deserve a chapter for itself.

CHAPTER III.

MESSIAH, THE DESIRE OF ALL NATIONS.

WHO can read the miserable tale of Western Asia with intelligence and without sympathy? After nations hav begun to be consolidated, cultivated and softened, they ar again torn in pieces by imperial encroachment. Industry is interrupted, families ar broken up, prosperity is wrecked, those tenderly reared ar carried into exile or actual slavery; national as well as personal love is

trampled down and dishonoured merely for the aggrandizement of some foreigner. The Assyrian, after conquering widely both eastward and northward, wielded a vast population of mountaineers as his weapon for western conquest. But the Medes and Persians revolt, and a Median dynasty rears its head. Babylon joins the Medes, and at length lays Assyria prostrate. Babylon clutches Syria and Palestine; indeed invades Egypt, with no advantage to herself. Cyrus the Persian subdues first in a civil war the Medes, next Babylonia and Syria, finally all Asia Minor and its highly cultivated population of many races and languages. His son conquers Egypt: after his death usurpers arise in ten different centres whom Darius conquers, one by one, in complex war. Darius next crosses the Bosporus and conquers all Thrace (the modern Roumelia), Paeonia and Macedonia. Incensed by Athenian attack (for the Athenians had as yet no understanding of his vast resources) he and his son made war on Greece. The Greeks ar saved by their mountains and by the enemy's pride, and forthwith begin an endless harassing of his innocent and injured subjects. This culminates in the irruption of Alexander the Great into Asia, who perpetrates cruelties and horrors unmatched in the Persian invasion of Greece. On his death, his generals carry on civil war for twenty years, till they can agree on a fourfold division of his kingdom. Great standing armies hav become the organ of empire. Greece has now nominally conquered Asia; but this merely means, that her youth ar dragged from home or migrate to be tools of bloodshed, and her population rapidly wastes. Barbarians whose nerves and hearts ar hard may think perpetual warfare the natural state; but with industrious populations, trained to gentleness and proud of nationality, a series of successiv Empires involves intense suffering.