{"collection":"scripture-revelation","full_text_available":true,"graph_url":"https://unchartedknowledge.5gfusion.net/v2/api/page/gutenberg_40775/graph","html_url":"https://unchartedknowledge.5gfusion.net/v2/page/gutenberg_40775","id":"gutenberg_40775","license":"Public Domain (US)","rights_basis":"gutenberg_metadata_copyright_false","source":"gutenberg","source_url":"https://www.gutenberg.org/ebooks/40775","summary":null,"tags":["Bible. Epistles of John -- Commentaries","Category: History - Religious","Category: Religion/Spirituality"],"text":"Produced by Douglas L. Alley, III, Marcia Brooks, Colin\nBell and the Online Distributed Proofreading Team at\nhttp://www.pgdp.net (This file was produced from images\ngenerously made available by The Internet Archive/Canadian\nLibraries)\n\n\n\n\n\n\n\n\n\n\n\n                        THE EXPOSITOR'S BIBLE\n\n\n\n\n                          EDITED BY THE REV.\n\n                   W. ROBERTSON NICOLL, M.A., LL.D.\n\n                  _Editor of \"The Expositor,\" etc._\n\n\n\n\n\n                       THE EPISTLES OF ST. JOHN\n\n                                  BY\n\n                       WILLIAM ALEXANDER, D.D.\n\n\n\n\n\n                                LONDON\n                         HODDER AND STOUGHTON\n\n                         27, PATERNOSTER ROW\n                              MDCCCXCVI\n\n\n\n                        THE EXPOSITOR'S BIBLE.\n\n             _Crown 8vo, cloth, price 7s. 6d. each vol._\n\n\n                        FIRST SERIES, 1887-8.\n\n  Colossians.\n    By A. MACLAREN, D.D.\n\n  St. Mark.\n    By Very Rev. the Dean of Armagh.\n\n  Genesis.\n    By Prof. MARCUS DODS, D.D.\n\n  1 Samuel.\n    By Prof. W. G. BLAIKIE, D.D.\n\n  2 Samuel.\n    By the same Author.\n\n  Hebrews.\n    By Principal T. C. EDWARDS, D.D.\n\n\n                        SECOND SERIES, 1888-9\n\n  Galatians.\n    By Prof. G. G. FINDLAY, B.A.\n\n  The Pastoral Epistles.\n    By Rev. A. PLUMMER, D.D.\n\n  Isaiah I.--XXXIX.\n    By Prof. G. A. SMITH, D.D. Vol. I.\n\n  The Book of Revelation.\n    By Prof. W. MILLIGAN, D.D.\n\n  1 Corinthians.\n    By Prof. MARCUS DODS, D.D.\n\n  The Epistles of St. John.\n    By Right Rev. W. ALEXANDER, D.D.\n\n\n                        THIRD SERIES, 1889-90.\n\n  Judges and Ruth.\n    By R. A. WATSON, M.A., D.D.\n\n  Jeremiah.\n    By Rev. C. J. BALL, M.A.\n\n  Isaiah XL.--LXVI.\n    By Prof. G. A. SMITH, D.D. Vol. II.\n\n  St. Matthew.\n    By Rev. J. MONRO GIBSON, D.D.\n\n  Exodus.\n    By Very Rev. the Dean of Armagh.\n\n  St. Luke.\n    By Rev. H. BURTON, M.A.\n\n\n                        FOURTH SERIES, 1890-1.\n\n  Ecclesiastes.\n    By Rev. SAMUEL COX, D.D.\n\n  St. James and St. Jude.\n    By Rev. A. PLUMMER, D.D.\n\n  Proverbs.\n    By Rev. R. F. HORTON, D.D.\n\n  Leviticus.\n    By Rev. S. H. KELLOGG, D.D.\n\n  The Gospel of St. John.\n    By. Prof. M. DODS, D.D. Vol. I.\n\n  The Acts of the Apostles.\n    By Prof. STOKES, D.D. Vol. I.\n\n\n                        FIFTH SERIES, 1891-2.\n\n  The Psalms.\n    By A. MACLAREN, D.D. Vol. I.\n\n  1 and 2 Thessalonians.\n    By JAMES DENNEY, D.D.\n\n  The Book of Job.\n    By R. A. WATSON, M.A., D.D.\n\n  Ephesians.\n    By Prof. G. G. FINDLAY, B.A.\n\n  The Gospel of St. John.\n    By Prof. M. DODS, D.D. Vol. II.\n\n  The Acts of the Apostles.\n    By Prof. STOKES, D.D. Vol. II.\n\n\n                        SIXTH SERIES, 1892-3.\n\n  1 Kings.\n    By Very Rev. the Dean of Canterbury.\n\n  Philippians.\n    By Principal RAINY, D.D.\n\n  Ezra, Nehemiah, Esther.\n    By Prof. W. F. ADENEY, M.A.\n\n  Joshua.\n    By Prof. W. G. BLAIKIE, D.D.\n\n  The Psalms.\n    By A. MACLAREN, D.D. Vol. II.\n\n  The Epistles of St. Peter.\n    By Prof. RAWSON LUMBY, D.D.\n\n\n                       SEVENTH SERIES, 1893-4.\n\n  2 Kings.\n    By Very Rev. the Dean of Canterbury.\n\n  Romans.\n    By H. C. G. MOULE, M.A., D.D.\n\n  The Books of Chronicles.\n    By Prof. W. H. BENNETT, M.A., B.D.\n\n  2 Corinthians.\n    By JAMES DENNEY, D.D.\n\n  Numbers.\n    By R. A. WATSON, M.A., D.D.\n\n  The Psalms.\n    By A. MACLAREN, D.D. Vol. III.\n\n\n                        EIGHTH SERIES 1895-6.\n\n  Daniel.\n    By Ven. Archdeacon FARRAR.\n\n  The Book of Jeremiah.\n    By Prof. W. H. BENNETT, M.A., B.D.\n\n  Deuteronomy.\n    By Prof. ANDREW HARPER, B.D.\n\n  The Song of Solomon and\n  Lamentations.\n    By Prof. W. F. ADENEY, M.A.\n\n  Ezekiel.\n    By Prof. JOHN SKINNER, M.A.\n\n  The Minor Prophets.\n    By Prof. G. A. SMITH, D.D. Two\n    Vols.\n\n\n\n                                 THE\n                         EPISTLES OF ST. JOHN\n\n                       _TWENTY-ONE DISCOURSES_\n\n           With Greek Text, Comparative Versions, and Notes\n                          Chiefly Exegetical\n\n\n\n\n\n                                  BY\n                          WILLIAM ALEXANDER\n                D.D., D.C.L. OXON., HON. LL.D. DUBLIN\n                      BRASENOSE COLLEGE, OXFORD\n                   LORD BISHOP OF DERRY AND RAPHOE\n\n\n\n\n\n                           _FOURTH EDITION_\n\n\n\n\n\n                                London\n                         HODDER AND STOUGHTON\n                         27, PATERNOSTER ROW\n\n                              MDCCCXCVI\n\n  Hujus scriptis illustratur,\n  Illustrata solidatur\n             Unitas Ecclesi\u00e6.\n\n                        ADAM OF ST. VICTOR\n                  _Seq._ xxxi. (_S. Johannes Evangelista_).\n\n\n\n\n                               PREFACE.\n\n\nIt is now many years ago since I entered upon a study of the Epistles\nof St. John, as serious and prolonged as was consistent with the often\ndistracting cares of an Irish Bishop. Such fruit as my labours\nproduced enjoyed the advantage of appearing in the last volume of the\n_Speaker's Commentary_ in 1881.\n\nSince that period I have frequently turned again to these\nEpistles--subsequent reflection or study not seldom filling in gaps in\nmy knowledge, or leading me to modify former interpretations. When\ninvited last year to resume my old work, I therefore embraced\nwillingly the opportunity which was presented to me.\n\nLet me briefly state the method pursued in this book.\n\nI. The First Part contains four Discourses.\n\n(1) In the first Discourse I have tried to place the reader in the\nhistorical surroundings from which (unless all early Church history is\nunreal, a past that never was present) these Epistles emanated.\n\n(2) In the second Discourse I compare the Epistle with the Gospel.\nThis is the true point of orientation for the commentator. Call the\nconnection between the two documents what we may; be the Epistle\npreface, appendix, moral and devotional commentary, or accompanying\nencyclical address to the Churches, which were \"the nurslings of\nJohn\"; that connection is constant and pervasive. Unless this\nprinciple is firmly grasped, we not only lose a defence and\nconfirmation of the Gospel, but dissolve the whole consistency of the\nEpistle, and leave it floating--the thinnest cloud in the whole\ncloudland of mystic idealism.\n\n(3) The third Discourse deals with the polemical element in these\nEpistles. Some commentators indeed, like the excellent Henry Hammond,\n\"spy out Gnostics where there are none.\" They confuse us with uncouth\nnames, and conjure up the ghosts of long-forgotten errors until we\nseem to hear a theological bedlam, or to see theological scarecrows.\nYet Gnosticism, Doketism, Cerinthianism, certainly sprang from the\nteeming soil of Ephesian thought; and without a recognition of this\nfact, we shall never understand the Epistle. Undoubtedly, if the\nApostle had addressed himself only to contemporary error, his great\nEpistle would have become completely obsolete for us. To subsequent\nages an antiquated polemical treatise is like a fossil scorpion with a\nsting of stone. But a divinely taught polemic under transitory forms\nof error finds principles as lasting as human nature.\n\n(4) The object of the fourth Discourse is to bring out the image of\nSt. John's soul--the essentials of the spiritual life to be found in\nthose precious chapters which still continue to be an element of the\nlife of the Church.\n\nSuch a view, if at all accurate, will enable the reader to contemplate\nthe whole of the Epistle with the sense of completeness, of remoteness,\nand of unity which arises from a general survey apart from particular\ndifficulties. An ancient legend insisted that St. John exercised\nmiraculous power in blending again into one the broken pieces of a\nprecious stone. We may try in an humble way to bring these fragmentary\nparticles of spiritual gem-dust together, and fuse them into one.\n\nII. The plan pursued in the second part is this. The First Epistle (of\nwhich only I need now speak) is divided into ten sections.\n\nThe sections are thus arranged--\n\n(1) The _text_ is given in Greek. In this matter I make no pretence to\noriginal research; and have simply adopted Tischendorf's text, with\noccasional amendments from Dr. Scrivener or Prof. Westcott. At one\ntime I might have been tempted to follow Lachmann; but experience\ntaught me that he is \"audacior qu\u00e0m limatior,\" and I held my hand. The\nadvantage to every studious reader of having the divine original close\nby him for comparison is too obvious to need a word more.\n\nWith the Greek I have placed in parallel columns the translations most\nuseful for ordinary readers--the Latin, the English A.V. and R.V. The\nLatin text is that of the \"Codex Amiatinus,\" after Tischendorf's\nsplendid edition of 1854. In this the reader will find the Hieronymian\ninterpretation as it stood not more than a hundred and twenty years\nafter the death of St. Jerome, an interpretation more diligent and more\naccurate than that which is supplied by the ordinary Vulgate text. The\nsaint felt \"the peril of presuming to judge others where he himself\nwould be judged by all; of changing the tongue of the old, and carrying\nback a world which was growing hoary to the initial essay of infancy.\"\nThe Latin is of that form to which ancient Latin Church writers gave the\nname of \"rusticitas.\" But it is a happy--I had almost said a\ndivine--rusticity. In translating from the Hebrew of the Old Testament,\nSt. Jerome has given a new life, a strange tenderness or awful cadence,\nto prophets and psalmists. The voice of the fields is the voice of\nHeaven also. The tongue of the people is for once the tongue of God.\nThis Hebraistic Latin or Latinised Hebrew forms the strongest link in\nthat mysterious yet most real spell wherewith the Latin of the Church\nenthrals the soul of the world. But to return to our immediate subject.\nThe student can seldom go wrong by more than a hair's breadth when he\nhas before him three such translations. In the first column stands St.\nJerome's vigorous Latin. The second contains the English A.V., of which\neach clause seems to be guarded by the spirits of the holy dead, as well\nas by the love of the living Church; and to tell the innovator that he\n\"does wrong to show it violence, being so majestical.\" The third column\noffers to view the scholarlike--if sometimes just a little pedantic and\nprovoking--accuracy of the R.V. To this comparison of versions I attach\nmuch significance. Every translation is an additional commentary, every\ngood translation the best of commentaries.\n\nI have ventured with much hesitation to add upon another column in\neach section a translation drawn up by myself for my own private use;\nthe greater portion of which was made a year or two before the\npublication of the R.V. Its right to be here is this, that it affords\nthe best key to my meaning in any place where the exposition may be\nimperfectly expressed.[1]\n\n(2) One or more Discourses are attached to most of the sections. In\nthese I may have seemed sometimes to have given myself a wide scope,\nbut I have tried to make a sound and careful exegesis the basis of\neach. And I have throughout considered myself bound to draw out some\ngreat leading idea of St. John with conscientious care.\n\n(3) The Discourses (or if there be no Discourse in the section, the\ntext and versions) are followed by short notes, chiefly exegetical, in\nwhich I have not willingly passed by any real difficulty.\n\nI have not wished to cumber my pages with constant quotations. But in\nformer years I have read, in some cases with much care, the following\ncommentators--St. Augustine's _Tractatus_, St. John Chrysostom's\nHomilies on the Gospel (full of hints upon the Epistles), Cornelius \u00e0\nLapide; of older post-Reformation commentators, the excellent Henry\nHammond, the eloquent Dean Hardy, the precious fragments in Pole's\n_Synopsis_--above all, the inimitable Bengel; of moderns, D\u00fcsterdieck,\nHuther, Ebrard, Neander; more recently, Professor Westcott, whose\nsubtle and exquisite scholarship deserves the gratitude of every\nstudent of St. John. Of Haupt I know nothing, with the exception of an\nanalysis of the Epistle, which is stamped with the highest praise of\nso refined and competent a judge as Archdeacon Farrar. But having read\nthis list fairly in past years, I am now content to have before me\nnothing but a Greek Testament, the Grammars of Winer and Donaldson,\nthe New Testament lexicons of Bretschneider, Grimm, and Mintert, with\nTromm's \"Concordantia LXX.\" For, on the whole, I really prefer St.\nJohn to his commentators. And I hope I am not ungrateful for help\nwhich I have received from them, when I say that I now seem to myself\nto understand him better without the dissonance of their many voices.\n\"Johannem nisi ex Johanne ipso non intellexeris.\"\n\nIII. It only remains to commend this book, such as it is, not only to\ntheological students, but to general readers, who I hope will not be\nalarmed by a few Greek words here and there.\n\nI began my fuller study of St. John's Epistle in the noonday of life;\nI am closing it with the sunset in my eyes. I pray God to sanctify\nthis poor attempt to the edification of souls, and the good of the\nChurch. And I ask all who may find it useful, to offer their\nintercessions for a blessing upon the book, and upon its author.\n\n               WILLIAM DERRY AND RAPHOE.\n\n  THE PALACE, LONDONDERRY,\n          _February 6th, 1889_.\n\nMERCIFUL GOD, we beseech Thee to cast Thy bright beams of light upon\nThy Church, that it being enlightened by the doctrine of Thy blessed\nApostle and Evangelist St. John, may so walk in the light of Thy\ntruth, that it may at length attain to the light of everlasting life,\nthrough Jesus Christ our Lord. Amen.\n\nFOOTNOTE:\n\n[1] I venture to call attention to the rendering \"very.\" It enables\nthe translator to mark the important distinction between two words:\n\u03b1\u03bb\u03b7\u03b8\u03b7\u03c2, _factually_ true and real, as opposed to that which in point\nof fact is mendacious; \u03b1\u03bb\u03b7\u03b8\u03b9\u03bd\u03bf\u03c2, _ideally_ true and real, that which\nalone realizes the idea imperfectly expressed by something else. This\nis one of St. John's favourite words. In regard to \u03b1\u03b3\u03b1\u03c0\u03b7 I have not\nhad the courage of my convictions. The word \"charity\" seems to me\nalmost providentially preserved for the rendering of that term. It is\nnot without a purpose that \u03b5\u03c1\u03c9\u03c2 is so rigorously excluded from the New\nTestament. [So also from the Epp. of Ignatius.] The objection that\n\"charity\" conveys to ordinary English people the notion of mere\nmaterial alms is of little weight. If \"charity\" is sometimes a little\n_metallic_, is not \"love\" sometimes a little _maundering_? I agree\nwith Canon Evans that the word, strictly speaking, should be always\ntranslated \"charity\" when alone, \"love\" when in regimen. Yet I have\nnot been bold enough to put \"God is charity\" for \"God is love.\"\n\n\n\n\n\n                              CONTENTS.\n\n\n                                                                 PAGE\n  PREFACE                                                           v\n\n\n                              _PART I_.\n\n\n                             DISCOURSE I.\n\n  THE SURROUNDINGS OF THE FIRST EPISTLE OF ST. JOHN                 3\n\n\n                            DISCOURSE II.\n\n  THE CONNECTION OF THE EPISTLE WITH THE GOSPEL OF\n      ST. JOHN                                                     21\n\n\n                            DISCOURSE III.\n\n  THE POLEMICAL ELEMENT IN THE FIRST EPISTLE OF\n      ST. JOHN                                                     39\n\n\n                            DISCOURSE IV.\n\n  THE IMAGE OF ST. JOHN'S SOUL IN HIS EPISTLE                      54\n\n\n                               PART II.\n\n  SOME GENERAL RULES FOR THE INTERPRETATION OF THE\n      FIRST EPISTLE OF ST. JOHN                                    75\n\n\n                              SECTION I.\n\n  TEXT AND VERSIONS                                                79\n\n\n                             DISCOURSE I.\n\n  ANALYSIS AND THEORY OF ST. JOHN'S GOSPEL                         80\n\n\n                            DISCOURSE II.\n\n  ST. JOHN'S GOSPEL HISTORICAL NOT IDEOLOGICAL                     88\n\n\n                             SECTION II.\n\n  TEXT AND VERSIONS                                               100\n\n\n                            DISCOURSE III.\n\n  EXTENT OF THE ATONEMENT                                         102\n\n\n                            DISCOURSE IV.\n\n  MISSIONARY APPLICATION OF THE EXTENT OF THE\n      ATONEMENT                                                   106\n\n\n                           SECTION III. (1)\n\n  TEXT AND VERSIONS                                               117\n\n\n                             DISCOURSE V.\n\n  THE INFLUENCE OF THE GREAT LIFE WALK A PERSONAL\n      INFLUENCE                                                   118\n\n\n                           SECTION III. (2)\n\n  TEXT AND VERSIONS                                               133\n\n\n                           SECTION III. (3)\n\n  TEXT AND VERSIONS                                               134\n\n\n                            DISCOURSE VI.\n\n  THE WORLD WHICH WE MUST NOT LOVE                                136\n\n\n                            DISCOURSE VII.\n\n  USE AND ABUSE OF THE SENSE OF THE VANITY OF THE\n      WORLD                                                       149\n\n\n                             SECTION IV.\n\n  TEXT AND VERSIONS                                               164\n\n\n                           DISCOURSE VIII.\n\n  KNOWING ALL THINGS                                              166\n\n\n                              SECTION V.\n\n  TEXT AND VERSIONS                                               179\n\n\n                             SECTION VI.\n\n  TEXTS AND VERSIONS                                              185\n\n\n                            DISCOURSE IX.\n\n  LOFTY IDEALS PERILOUS UNLESS APPLIED                            188\n\n\n                             SECTION VII.\n\n  TEXT AND VERSIONS                                               204\n\n\n                            SECTION VIII.\n\n  TEXT AND VERSIONS                                               207\n\n\n                             DISCOURSE X.\n\n  BOLDNESS IN THE DAY OF JUDGMENT                                 210\n\n\n                             SECTION IX.\n\n  TEXT AND VERSIONS                                               220\n\n\n                            DISCOURSE XI.\n\n  BIRTH AND VICTORY                                               223\n\n\n                            DISCOURSE XII.\n\n  THE GOSPEL AS A GOSPEL OF WITNESS; THE THREE\n      WITNESSES                                                   236\n\n\n                           DISCOURSE XIII.\n\n  THE WITNESS OF MEN (APPLIED TO THE RESURRECTION)                241\n\n\n                            DISCOURSE XIV.\n\n  SIN UNTO DEATH                                                  254\n\n\n                            DISCOURSE XV.\n\n  THE TERRIBLE TRUISM WHICH HAS NO EXCEPTION                      260\n\n\n                              SECTION X.\n\n  TEXT AND VERSIONS                                               274\n\n\n                          _SECOND EPISTLE_.\n\n  TEXT AND VERSIONS                                               279\n\n\n                            DISCOURSE XVI.\n\n  THEOLOGY AND LIFE IN KYRIA'S LETTER                             282\n\n\n                           _THIRD EPISTLE_.\n\n  TEXT AND VERSIONS                                               297\n\n\n                           DISCOURSE XVII.\n\n  THE QUIETNESS OF TRUE RELIGION                                  300\n\n\n\n\n                               PART I.\n\n\n\n\n \"JOHANNIS EPISTOL\u00c6, ULTIMUSQUE PRIM\u00c6 VERSICULUS, IN EPHESUM IMPRIMIS\n                             CONVENIUNT.\"\n\n                                     (BENGEL _in Act._ xix. 21.)\n\n\n\n\n                             DISCOURSE I.\n\n         _THE SURROUNDINGS OF THE FIRST EPISTLE OF ST. JOHN._\n\n    \"Little children, keep yourselves from idols.\"--I JOHN V. 21.\n\n\nAfter the example of a writer of genius, preachers and essayists for the\nlast forty years have constantly applied--or misapplied--some lines from\none of the greatest of Christian poems. Dante sings of St. John--\n\n                   \"As he, who looks intent,\n      And strives with searching ken, how he may see\n      The sun in his eclipse, and, through decline\n      Of seeing, loseth power of sight: so I\n      Gazed on that last resplendence.\"[2]\n\nThe poet meant to be understood of the Apostle's spiritual splendour of\nsoul, of the absorption of his intellect and heart in his conception of\nthe Person of Christ and of the dogma of the Holy Trinity. By these\nexpositors of Dante the image is transferred to the style and structure\nof his writings. But confusion of thought is not magnificence, and mere\nobscurity is never sunlike. A blurred sphere and undecided outline is\nnot characteristic of the sun even in eclipse. Dante never intended us\nto understand that St. John as a writer was distinguished by a\nbeautiful vagueness of sentiment, by bright but tremulously drawn lines\nof dogmatic creed. It is indeed certain that round St. John himself, at\nthe time when he wrote, there were many minds affected by this vague\nmysticism. For them, beyond the scanty region of the known, there was a\nworld of darkness whose shadows they desired to penetrate. For them this\nlittle island of life was surrounded by waters into whose depths they\naffected to gaze. They were drawn by a mystic attraction to things which\nthey themselves called the \"shadows,\" the \"depths,\" the \"silences.\" But\nfor St. John these shadows were a negation of the message which he\ndelivered that \"God is light, and darkness in Him is none.\" These\nsilences were the contradiction of the Word who has once for all\ninterpreted God. These depths were \"depths of Satan.\"[3] For the men who\nwere thus enamoured of indefiniteness, of shifting sentiments and\nflexible creeds, were Gnostic heretics. Now St. John's style, as such,\nhas not the artful variety, the perfect balance in the masses of\ncomposition, the finished logical cohesion of the Greek classical\nwriters. Yet it can be loftily or pathetically impressive. It can touch\nthe problems and processes of the moral and spiritual world with a\npencil-tip of deathless light, or compress them into symbols which are\nsolemnly or awfully picturesque.[4] Above all St. John has the faculty\nof enshrining dogma in forms of statement which are firm and\nprecise--accurate enough to be envied by philosophers, subtle enough to\ndefy the passage of heresy through their finely drawn yet powerful\nlines. Thus in the beginning of his Gospel all false thought upon the\nPerson of Him who is the living theology of His Church is refuted by\nanticipation--that which in itself or in its certain consequences\nunhumanises or undeifies the God Man; that which denies the singularity\nof the One Person who was Incarnate, or the reality and entireness of\nthe Manhood of Him who fixed His Tabernacle[5] of humanity in us.[6]\n\nIt is therefore a mistake to look upon the First Epistle of St. John\nas a creedless composite of miscellaneous sweetnesses, a disconnected\nrhapsody upon philanthropy. And it will be well to enter upon a\nserious perusal of it, with a conviction that it did not drop from the\nsky upon an unknown place, at an unknown time, with an unknown\npurpose. We can arrive at some definite conclusions as to the\ncircumstances from which it arose, and the sphere in which it was\nwritten--at least if we are entitled to say that we have done so in\nthe case of almost any other ancient document of the same nature.\n\nOur simplest plan will be, in the first instance, to trace in the\nbriefest outline the career of St. John after the Ascension of our Lord,\nso far as it can be followed certainly by Scripture, or with the highest\nprobability from early Church history. We shall then be better able to\nestimate the degree in which the Epistle fits into the framework of\nlocal thought and circumstances in which we desire to place it.\n\nMuch of this biography can best be drawn out by tracing the contrast\nbetween St. John and St. Peter, which is conveyed with such subtle and\nexquisite beauty in the closing chapter of the fourth Gospel.\n\nThe contrast between the two Apostles is one of _history_ and of\n_character_.\n\n_Historically_ the work done by each of them for the Church differs in\na remarkable way from the other.\n\nWe might have anticipated for one so dear to our Lord a distinguished\npart in spreading the Gospel among the nations of the world. The tone\nof thought revealed in parts of his Gospel might even have seemed to\nindicate a remarkable aptitude for such a task. St. John's peculiar\nappreciation of the visit of the Greeks to Jesus, and his preservation\nof words which show such deep insight into Greek religious ideas,\nwould apparently promise a great missionary, at least to men of lofty\nspeculative thought.[7] But in the Acts of the Apostles St. John is\nfirst overshadowed, then effaced, by the heroes of the missionary\nepic, St. Peter and St. Paul. After the close of the Gospels he is\nmentioned five times only. Once his name occurs in a list of the\nApostles.[8] Thrice he passes before us with Peter.[9] Once again (the\nfirst and last time when we hear of St. John in personal relation with\nSt. Paul) he appears in the Epistle to the Galatians with two others,\nJames and Cephas, as reputed to be pillars of the Church.[10] But\nwhilst we read in the Acts of his taking a certain part in miracles,\nin preaching, in confirmation; while his boldness is acknowledged by\nadversaries of the faith; not a line of his individual teaching is\nrecorded. He walks in silence by the side of the Apostle who was more\nfitted to be a missionary pioneer.[11]\n\nWith the materials at our command, it is difficult to say how St. John\nwas employed whilst the first great advance of the cross was in\nprogress. We know for certain that he was at Jerusalem during the\nsecond visit of St. Paul. But there is no reason for conjecturing that\nhe was in that city when it was visited by St. Paul on his last\nvoyage[12] (A.D. 60); while we shall presently have occasion to show\nhow markedly the Church tradition connects St. John with Ephesus.\n\nWe have next to point out that this contrast in the _history_ of the\nApostles is the result of a contrast in their _characters_. This\ncontrast is brought out with a marvellous prophetic symbolism in the\nmiraculous draught of fishes after the Resurrection.\n\nFirst as regards St. Peter.\n\n\"When Simon Peter heard that it was the Lord, he girt his fisher's\ncoat unto him (for he was naked), and did cast himself into the\nsea.\"[13] His was the warm energy, the forward impulse of young life,\nthe free bold plunge of an impetuous and chivalrous nature into the\nwaters which are nations and peoples. _In_ he _must_; _on_ he _will_.\nThe prophecy which follows the thrice renewed restitution of the\nfallen Apostle is as follows: \"Verily, verily, I say unto thee, When\nthou wast young, thou girdest thyself, and walkedst whither thou\nwouldest: but when thou shalt be old, thou shalt stretch forth thy\nhands, and another shall gird thee, and carry thee whither thou\nwouldest not. This spake He, signifying by what death He should\nglorify God, and when He had spoken this, He saith unto him, Follow\nMe.\"[14] This, we are told, is obscure; but it is obscure only as to\ndetails. To St. Peter it could have conveyed no other impression than\nthat it foretold his martyrdom. \"When thou wast young,\" points to the\ntract of years up to old age. It has been said that forty is the old\nage of youth, fifty the youth of old age. But our Lord does not\nactually define old age by any precise date. He takes what has\noccurred as a type of Peter's youthfulness of heart and\nframe--\"girding himself,\" with rapid action, as he had done shortly\nbefore; \"walking,\" as he had walked on the white beach of the lake in\nthe early dawn; \"whither thou wouldest,\" as when he had cried with\nimpetuous half defiant independence, \"I go a fishing,\" invited by the\nauguries of the morning, and of the water. The form of expression\nseems to indicate that Simon Peter was not to go far into the dark and\nfrozen land; that he was to be growing old, rather than absolutely\nold.[15] Then should he stretch forth his hands, with the dignified\nresignation of one who yields manfully to that from which nature would\nwillingly escape. \"This spake He,\" adds the evangelist, \"signifying by\nwhat death he shall glorify God.\"[16] What fatal temptation leads so\nmany commentators to minimise such a prediction as this? If the\nprophecy were the product of a later hand added after the martyrdom of\nSt. Peter, it certainly would have wanted its present inimitable\nimpress of distance and reserve.\n\nIt is in the context of this passage that we read most fully and truly\nthe contrast of our Apostle's nature with that of St. Peter. St. John,\nas Chrysostom has told us in deathless words, was loftier, saw more\ndeeply, pierced right into and through spiritual truths,[17] was more\nthe lover of Jesus than of Christ, as Peter was more the lover of\nChrist than of Jesus. Below the different work of the two men, and\ndetermining it, was this essential difference of nature, which they\ncarried with them into the region of grace. St. John was not so much\nthe great missionary with his sacred restlessness; not so much the\noratorical expositor of prophecy with his pointed proofs of\ncorrespondence between prediction and fulfilment, and his passionate\ndeclamation driving in the conviction of guilt like a sting that\npricked the conscience. He was the theologian; the quiet master of the\nsecrets of the spiritual life; the calm strong controversialist who\nexcludes error by constructing truth. The work of such a spirit as his\nwas rather like the finest product of venerable and long established\nChurches. One gentle word of Jesus sums up the biography of long years\nwhich apparently were without the crowded vicissitudes to which other\nApostles were exposed. If the old Church history is true, St. John was\neither not called upon to die for Jesus, or escaped from that death by\na miracle. That one word of the Lord was to become a sort of motto of\nSt. John. It occurs some twenty-six times in the brief pages of these\nEpistles. \"If I will that he abide\"--abide in the bark, in the Church,\nin one spot, in life, in spiritual communion with Me. It is to be\nremembered finally, that not only spiritual, but ecclesiastical\nconsolidation is attributed to St. John by the voice of history. He\noccupied himself with the visitation of his Churches and the\ndevelopment of Episcopacy.[18] So in the sunset of the Apostolic age\nstands before us the mitred form of John the Divine. Early\nChristianity had three successive capitals--Jerusalem, Antioch,\nEphesus. Surely, so long as St. John lived, men looked for a Primate\nof Christendom not at Rome but at Ephesus.\n\nHow different were the two deaths! It was as if in His words our Lord\nallowed His two Apostles to look into a magic glass, wherein one saw\ndimly the hurrying feet, the prelude to execution which even the saint\nwills not; the other the calm life, the gathered disciples, the quiet\nsinking to rest. In the clear obscure of that prophecy we may discern\nthe outline of Peter's cross, the bowed figure of the saintly old man.\nLet us be thankful that John \"_tarried_.\" He has left the Church three\npictures that can never fade--in the Gospel the picture of Christ, in\nthe Epistles the picture of his own soul, in the Apocalypse the\npicture of Heaven.\n\nSo far we have relied almost exclusively upon indications supplied by\nScripture. We now turn to Church history to fill in some particulars\nof interest.\n\nAncient tradition unhesitatingly believed that the latter years of St.\nJohn's prolonged life, were spent in the city of Ephesus, or province\nof Asia Minor, with the Virgin-Mother, the sacred legacy from the\ncross, under his fostering care for a longer or shorter portion of\nthose years. Manifestly he would not have gone to Ephesus during the\nlifetime of St. Paul. Various circumstances point to the period of his\nabode there as beginning a little after the fall of Jerusalem (A.D.\n67). He lived on until towards the close of the first century of the\nChristian era, possibly two years later (A.D. 102). With the date of\nthe Apocalypse we are not directly concerned, though we refer it to a\nvery late period in St. John's career, believing that the Apostle did\nnot return from Patmos until just after Domitian's death. The date of\nthe Gospel may be placed between A.D. 80 and 90. And the First Epistle\naccompanied the Gospel, as we shall see in a subsequent discourse.\n\nThe Epistle then, like the Gospel, and contemporaneously with it, saw\nthe light in Ephesus, or in its vicinity. This is proved by three\npieces of evidence of the most unquestionable solidity.\n\n(1) The opening chapters of the Apocalypse contain an argument, which\ncannot be explained away, for the connection of St. John with Asia\nMinor and with Ephesus. And the argument is independent of the\nauthorship of that wonderful book. _Whoever_ wrote the Book of the\nRevelation must have felt the most absolute conviction of St. John's\nabode in Ephesus and temporary exile to Patmos. To have written with a\nspecial view of acquiring a hold upon the Churches of Asia Minor,\nwhile assuming from the very first as _fact_ what _they_, more than\nany other Churches in the world, must have known to be _fiction_,\nwould have been to invite immediate and contemptuous rejection. The\nthree earliest chapters of the Revelation are unintelligible, except\nas the real or assumed utterance of a Primate (in later language) of\nthe Churches of Asia Minor. To the inhabitants of the barren and\nremote isle of Patmos, Rome and Ephesus almost represented the world;\ntheir rocky nest among the waters was scarcely visited except as a\nbrief resting-place for those who sailed from one of those great\ncities to the other, or for occasional traders from Corinth.\n\n(2) The second evidence is the fragment of the Epistle of Iren\u00e6us to\nFlorinus preserved in the fifth book of the Ecclesiastical History of\nEusebius. Iren\u00e6us mentions no dim tradition, appeals to no past which\nwas never present. He has but to question his own recollections of\nPolycarp, whom he remembered in early life. \"Where he sat to talk, his\nway, his manner of life, his personal appearance, how he used to tell\nof his intimacy with John, and with the others who had seen the\nLord.\"[19] Iren\u00e6us elsewhere distinctly says that \"John himself issued\nthe Gospel while living at Ephesus in Asia Minor, and that he survived\nin that city until Trajan's time.\"[20]\n\n(3) The third great historical evidence which connects St. John with\nEphesus is that of Polycrates, Bishop of Ephesus, who wrote a synodical\nepistle to Victor and the Roman Church on the quartodeciman question,\ntoward the close of the second century. Polycrates speaks of the great\nashes which sleep in Asia Minor until the Advent of the Lord, when He\nshall raise up His saints. He proceeds to mention Philip who sleeps in\nHierapolis; two of his daughters; a third who takes her rest in Ephesus,\nand \"John moreover, who leaned upon the breast of Jesus, who was a high\npriest bearing the radiant plate of gold upon his forehead.\"[21]\n\nThis threefold evidence would seem to render the sojourn of St. John\nat Ephesus for many years one of the most solidly attested facts of\nearlier Church history.\n\n       *       *       *       *       *\n\nIt will be necessary for our purpose to sketch the general condition\nof Ephesus in St. John's time.\n\nA traveller coming from Antioch of Pisidia (as St. Paul did A.D. 54)\ndescended from the mountain chain which separates the Meander from the\nCayster. He passed down by a narrow ravine to the \"Asian meadow\"\ncelebrated by Homer. There, rising from the valley, partly running up\nthe slope of Mount Coressus, and again higher along the shoulder of\nMount Prion, the traveller saw the great city of Ephesus towering upon\nthe hills, with widely scattered suburbs. In the first century the\npopulation was immense, and included a strange mixture of races and\nreligions. Large numbers of Jews were settled there, and seem to have\npossessed a full religious organisation under a High Priest or Chief\nRabbi. But the prevailing superstition was the worship of the\nEphesian Artemis. The great temple, the priesthood whose chief seems\nto have enjoyed a royal or quasi-royal rank, the affluence of pilgrims\nat certain seasons of the year, the industries connected with objects\nof devotion, supported a swarm of devotees, whose fanaticism was\nintensified by their material interest in a vast religious\nestablishment. Ephesus boasted of being a theocratic city, the\npossessor and keeper of a temple glorified by art as well as by\ndevotion. It had a civic calendar marked by a round of splendid\nfestivities associated with the cultus of the goddess. Yet the moral\nreputation of the city stood at the lowest point, even in the\nestimation of Greeks. The Greek character was effeminated in Ionia by\nAsiatic manners, and Ephesus was the most dissolute city of Ionia. Its\nonce superb schools of art became infected by the ostentatious\nvulgarity of an ever-increasing parvenu opulence. The place was\nchiefly divided between dissipation and a degrading form of\nliterature. Dancing and music were heard day and night; a protracted\nrevel was visible in the streets. Lascivious romances whose infamy was\nproverbial were largely sold and passed from hand to hand. Yet there\nwere not a few of a different character. In that divine climate, the\nvery lassitude, which was the reaction from excessive amusement and\nperpetual sunshine, disposed many minds to seek for refuge in the\nshadows of a visionary world. Some who had received or inherited\nChristianity from Aquila and Priscilla, or from St. Paul himself,\nthirty or forty years before, had contaminated the purity of the faith\nwith inferior elements derived from the contagion of local heresy, or\nfrom the infiltration of pagan thought. The Ionian intellect seems to\nhave delighted in imaginative metaphysics; and for minds\nundisciplined by true logic or the training of severe science\nimaginative metaphysics is a dangerous form of mental recreation. The\nadept becomes the slave of his own formul\u00e6, and drifts into partial\ninsanity by a process which seems to himself to be one of indisputable\nreasoning. Other influences outside Christianity ran in the same\ndirection. Amulets were bought by trembling believers. Astrological\ncalculations were received with the irresistible fascination of\nterror. Systems of magic, incantations, forms of exorcism, traditions\nof theosophy, communications with demons--all that we should now sum\nup under the head of spiritualism--laid their spell upon thousands. No\nChristian reader of the nineteenth chapter of the Acts of the Apostles\nwill be inclined to doubt that beneath all this mass of superstition\nand imposture there lay some dark reality of evil power. At all events\nthe extent of these practices, these \"curious arts\" in Ephesus at the\ntime of St. Paul's visit, is clearly proved by the extent of the local\nliterature which spiritualism put forth. The value of the books of\nmagic which were burned by penitents of this class, is estimated by\nSt. Luke at fifty thousand pieces of silver--probably about thirteen\nhundred and fifty pounds of our money![22]\n\nLet us now consider what ideas or allusions in the Epistles of St.\nJohn coincide with, and fit into, this Ephesian contexture of life and\nthought.\n\nWe shall have occasion in the third discourse to refer to forms of\nChristian heresy or of semi-Christian speculation indisputably\npointed to by St. John, and prevalent in Asia Minor when the Apostle\nwrote. But besides this, several other points of contact with Ephesus\ncan be detected in the Epistles before us. (1) The first Epistle\ncloses with a sharp decisive warning, expressed in a form which could\nonly have been employed when those who were addressed habitually lived\nin an atmosphere saturated with idolatry, where the social temptations\nto come to terms with idolatrous practices were powerful and\nubiquitous. This was no doubt true of many other places at the time,\nbut it was pre-eminently true of Ephesus. Certain of the Gnostic\nChristian sects in Ionia held lax views about \"eating things\nsacrificed unto idols,\" although fornication was a general\naccompaniment of such a compliance. Two of the angels of the Seven\nChurches of Asia within the Ephesian group--the angels of Pergamum and\nof Thyatira--receive especial admonition from the Lord upon this\nsubject. These considerations prove that the command, \"Children, guard\nyourselves from the idols,\" had a very special suitability to the\nconditions of life in Ephesus. (2) The population of Ephesus was of a\nvery composite kind. Many were attracted to the capital of Ionia by\nits reputation as the capital of the pleasures of the world. It was\nalso the centre of an enormous trade by land and sea. Ephesus,\nAlexandria, Antioch and Corinth were the four cities where at that\nperiod all races and all religions of civilised men were most largely\nrepresented. Now the First Epistle of St. John has a peculiar breadth\nin its representation of the purposes of God. Christ is not merely the\nfulfilment of the hopes of one particular people. The Church is not\nmerely destined to be the home of a handful of spiritual citizens. The\nAtonement is as wide as the race of man. \"He is the propitiation for\nthe whole world;\" \"we have seen, and bear witness that the Father sent\nthe Son as Saviour of the world.\"[23] A cosmopolitan population is\naddressed in a cosmopolitan epistle. (3) We have seen that the gaiety\nand sunshine of Ephesus was sometimes darkened by the shadows of a\nworld of magic, that for some natures Ionia was a land haunted by\nspiritual terrors. He must be a hasty student who fails to connect the\nextraordinary narrative in the nineteenth chapter of the Acts with the\nample and awful recognition in the Epistle to the Ephesians of the\nmysterious conflict in the Christian life against evil intelligences,\nreal, though unseen.[24] The brilliant rationalist may dispose of such\nthings by the convenient and compendious method of a sneer. \"Such\nnarratives as that\" (of St. Paul's struggle with the exorcists at\nEphesus) \"are disagreeable little spots in everything that is done by\nthe people. Though we cannot do a thousandth part of what St. Paul\ndid, we have a system of physiology and of medicine very superior to\nhis.\"[25] Perhaps _he_ had a system of spiritual diagnosis very\nsuperior to ours. In the epistle to the Angel of the Church of\nThyatira, mention is made of \"the woman Jezebel, which calleth herself\na prophetess,\"[26] who led astray the servants of Christ. St. John\nsurely addresses himself to a community where influences precisely of\nthis kind exist, and are recognised when he writes,--\"Beloved,\nbelieve not every spirit, but try the spirits whether they are of\nGod: because many false prophets are gone out into the world.... Every\nspirit that confesseth not Jesus is not of God.\"[27] The Church or\nChurches, which the First Epistle directly contemplates, did not\nconsist of men just converted. Its whole language supposes Christians,\nsome of whom had grown old and were \"fathers\" in the faith, while\nothers who were younger enjoyed the privilege of having been born and\nbrought up in a Christian atmosphere. They are reminded again and\nagain, with a reiteration which would be unaccountable if it had no\nspecial significance, that the commandment \"that which they heard,\"\n\"the word,\" \"the message,\" is the same which they \"had from the\n_beginning_.\"[28] Now this will exactly suit the circumstances of a\nChurch like the Ephesian, to which another Apostle had originally\npreached the Gospel many years before.[29]\n\nOn the whole, we have in favour of assigning these Epistles to Ionian\nand Ephesian surroundings a considerable amount of external evidence.\nThe general characteristics of the First Epistle consonant with the\nview of their origin which we have advocated are briefly these. (1) It\nis addressed to readers who were encompassed by peculiar temptations\nto make a compromise with idolatry. (2) It has an amplitude and\ngenerality of tone which befitted one who wrote to a Church which\nembraced members from many countries, and was thus in contact with men\nof many races and religions. (3) It has a peculiar solemnity of\nreference to the invisible world of spiritual evil and to its terrible\ninfluence upon the human mind. (4) The Epistle is pervaded by a desire\nto have it recognised that the creed and law of practice which it\nasserts is absolutely one with that which had been proclaimed by\nearlier heralds of the cross to the same community. Every one of these\ncharacteristics is consistent with the destination of the Epistle for\nthe Christians of Ephesus in the first instance. Its polemical\nelement, which we are presently to discuss, adds to an accumulation\nof coincidences which no ingenuity can volatilise away. The Epistle\nmeets Ephesian circumstances; it also strikes at Ionian heresies.\n\nA\u00efa-so-Louk,[30] the modern name of Ephesus, appears to be derived\nfrom two Greek words which speak of St. John the divine, the\ntheologian of the Church. As the memory of the Apostle haunts the city\nwhere he so long lived, even in its fall and long decay under its\nTurkish conquerors,--and the fatal spread of the malaria from the\nmarshes of the Cayster--so a memory of the place seems to rest in turn\nupon the Epistle, and we read it more satisfactorily while we assign\nto it the origin attributed to it by Christian antiquity, and keep\nthat memory before our minds.\n\nFOOTNOTES:\n\n[2] Cary's _Dante_, _Paradiso_, xxv. 117. Stanley's _Sermons and\nEssays on the Apostolic Age_, 242.\n\n[3] Apoc. ii. 24.\n\n[4] John xiii. 30 cf. 1 John ii, 11.\n\n[5] \u03b5\u03c3\u03ba\u03b7\u03bd\u03c9\u03c3\u03b5\u03bd \u03b5\u03bd \u1f21\u03bc\u03b9\u03bd.\n\n[6] This characteristic of St. John's style is powerfully expressed by\nthe great hymn-writer of the Latin Church.\n\n      \"Hebet sensus exors styli;\n      Stylo scribit tam subtili,\n        Fide tam catholic\u00e2,\n      Ne de Verbo salutari\n      Posset quicquam refragari\n           Pravitas h\u00e6retica.\"\n                   _Adam of St. Victor, Seq._ xxxii.\n\n\n[7] John xii. 20-34, especially ver. 24.\n\n[8] Acts i. 13.\n\n[9] Acts iii. 4, v. 13, viii. 14.\n\n[10] Gal. ii. 9.\n\n[11] Acts iii. 4, iv. 13, viii. 14. The singular and interesting\nmanuscript of Patmos (\u0391\u03b9 \u03c0\u03b5\u03c1\u03b9\u03bf\u03b4\u03bf\u03b9 \u03c4\u03bf\u03c5 \u03b8\u03b5\u03bf\u03bb\u03bf\u03b3\u03bf\u03c5) attributed to St.\nJohn's disciple, Prochorus, seems to recognise that St. John's chief\nmission was not that of working miracles. Even in a kind of duel of\nprodigies between him and the sinister magician of Patmos, the\nfollowing occurs. \"Kynops asked a young man in the multitude where his\nfather then was. 'My father is dead,' he replied, 'he went down yonder\nin a storm.' Turning to John, the magician said,--'Now then, bring up\nthis young man's father from the dead.' 'I have not come here,'\nanswered the Apostle, 'to raise the dead, but to deliver the living\nfrom their errors.'\"\n\n[12] Gal. ii. 9; Acts xxi. 17, _sqq._\n\n[13] John xxi. 7.\n\n[14] Ibid., vers. 17, 18, 19.\n\n[15] The beginning of old age would account sufficiently for the\nanticipation of death in 2 Peter i. 13, 14, 15.\n\n[16] \u03b4\u03bf\u03be\u03b1\u03c3\u03b5\u03b9 ver. 19. The lifelike _shall_ (not _should_) is part of\nthe many minute but vivid touches which make the whole of this scene\nso full of motion and reality--\"I go a fishing\" (ver. 3); \"_about_ two\nhundred cubits\" (ver. 8); the accurate \u03b1\u03b9\u03b3\u03b9\u03b1\u03bb\u03bf\u03c2 (ver. 4. See Trench,\n_On Parables_, 57; Stanley, _Apostolic Age_, 135).\n\n[17] \u03b4\u03b9\u03bf\u03c1\u03b1\u03c4\u03b9\u03ba\u03c9\u03c4\u03b5\u03c1\u03bf\u03c2. S. Joann. Chrysost.--_Hom. in Joann._\n\n[18] _Euseb. H. E._, iii. 23. See other quotations in Bilson,\n_Government of Christ's Church_, p. 365.\n\n[19] _Ap. Euseb. H. E._, v. 20.\n\n[20] _Adv. H\u00e6res._, lib. iii., ch. 1.\n\n[21] \u1f31\u03b5\u03c1\u03b5\u03c5\u03c2 \u03c4\u03bf \u03c0\u03b5\u03c4\u03b1\u03bb\u03bf\u03bd \u03c0\u03b5\u03c6\u03bf\u03c1\u03b5\u03ba\u03c9\u03c2--\"Pontifex ejus (sc. _Domini_) auream\nlaminam in fronte habens.\" So translated by S. Hieron. _Lib. de Vir.\nIllust._, xlv. The \u03c0\u03b5\u03c4\u03b1\u03bb\u03bf\u03bd is the LXX. rendering of \u05e6\u05b4\u05d9\u05e5, the\nprojecting leaf or plate of radiant gold (Exod. xxviii. 26, xxxix.\n30), associated with the \"mitre\" (Lev. viii. 9). Whether Polycrates\nspeaks literally, or wishes to convey by a metaphor the impression of\nholiness radiating from St. John's face, we probably cannot decide.\n\n[22] Acts xix. 20, 21. In this description of Ephesus the writer has\nconstantly had in view the passages to which he referred in the\n_Speakers Commentary, N.T._, iv., 274, 276. He has also studied M.\nRenan's _Saint Paul_, chap, xii., and the authorities cited in the\nnotes, pp. 329, 350.\n\n[23] St. John ii. 2, iv. 14.\n\n[24] \"We wrestle not against flesh and blood, but against,\" etc. Eph.\nvi. 12-17.\n\n[25] _Saint Paul_, Renan, 318, 319.\n\n[26] For the almost certain reference here to the Chaldean Sybil\nSambethe, see Apoc ii. 20, Archdeacon Lee's note in _Speaker's\nCommentary, N.T._, iv. 527, 534, 535, and Dean Blakesley (art.\n_Thyatira, Dict. of the Bible_).\n\n[27] 1 John iv. 1, 3.\n\n[28] 1 John ii. 7, ii. 24, iii. 11; 2 John vv. 5, 6. The passage in\nii. 24 is a specimen of that simple emphasis, that presentation of a\ntruth or duty under two aspects, which St. John often produces merely\nby an inversion of the order of the words. \"Ye--what ye _heard_ from\nthe beginning let it abide in you. If what from the _beginning_ ye\nheard abide in you\" (\u1f41 \u03b7\u03ba\u03bf\u03c5\u03c3\u03b1\u03c4\u03b5 \u03b1\u03c0' \u03b1\u03c1\u03c7\u03b7\u03c2 ... \u1f41 \u03b1\u03c0' \u03b1\u03c1\u03c7\u03b7\u03c2 \u03b7\u03ba\u03bf\u03c5\u03c3\u03b1\u03c4\u03b5).\nThe emphasis in the first clause is upon the _fact_ of their having\n_heard_ the message; in the second upon this feature of the\nmessage--that it was given in the _beginning_ of Christianity amongst\nthem, and kept unchanged until the present time. Cf. \u03b5\u03bd\u03c4\u03bf\u03bb\u03b7 \u03c0\u03b1\u03bb\u03b1\u03b9\u03b1\n(ii. 7) with \u03b1\u03c1\u03c7\u03b1\u03b9\u03bf\u03c2 = \"of the early Christian time,\" in Polycarp,\n_Ep. ad Philipp._, i.\n\n[29] Acts xviii. 18-21. To these general links connecting our Epistles\nwith Ephesus, a few of less importance, yet not without significance,\nmay be added. (1) The name of Demetrius (3 John 12) is certainly\nsuggestive of the holy city of the earth-mother (Acts xix. 24, 38).\nVitruvius assigns the completion of the temple of Ephesus to an\narchitect of the name, and calls him \"servus Dian\u00e6.\" (2) St. John in\nhis Gospel adopts, as if instinctively, the computation of time which\nwas used in Asia Minor (John iv. 6, xix. 4--Hefel. _Martyrium S.\nPolycarp_. xxi.). On the same principle he speaks in the Apocalypse of\n\"day and night\" (Apoc. iv. 8, vii. 15, xii. 10, xiv. 11, xx. 10); St.\nPaul, on the other hand, speaks of \"night and day\" (1 Tim. v. 5). It\nis a very real indication of the accuracy of the report of words in\nthe Acts that, while St. Luke himself uses either form indifferently\n(Luke ii. 37, xviii. 2), St. Paul, as quoted by him, always says\n\"night and day\" (Acts xx. 31, xxvi. 7). (3) Is it merely fanciful to\nconjecture that the unusual \u03b1\u03b3\u03b1\u03b8\u03bf\u03c0\u03bf\u03b9\u03c9\u03bd (3 John 11) may be an allusion\nto the astrological language in which alone the term is ever used\noutside a very few instances in the sacred writers? \"He only is under\na good star, and has beneficent omens for his life.\" Balbillus, one of\nthe most famous astrologers of antiquity, the confidant of Nero and\nVespasian, was an Ephesian, and almost supreme in Ephesus, not long\nbefore St. John's arrival there. Sueton., _Neron._, 36.\n\n[30] A\u00efa-so-Louk, a corruption of \u1f01\u03b3\u03b9\u03bf\u03c2 \u03b8\u03b5\u03bf\u03bb\u03bf\u03b3\u03bf\u03c2, _holy theologian_\n(or \u1f01\u03b3\u03b9\u03b1 \u03b8\u03b5\u03bf\u03bb\u03bf\u03b3\u03bf\u03c5, _holy city of the theologian_). Some scholars,\nhowever, assert that the word is often pronounced and written\n_aiaslyk_, with the common Turkish termination _lyk_. See _S. Paul_\n(Renan, 342, note 2).\n\n\n\n\n                            DISCOURSE II.\n\n     _THE CONNECTION OF THE EPISTLE WITH THE GOSPEL OF ST. JOHN._\n\n   \u03a3\u03c5\u03bd\u03b1\u03b4\u03c5\u03c3\u03b9 \u03bc\u03b5\u03bd \u03b3\u03b1\u03c1 \u03b1\u03bb\u03bb\u03b7\u03bb\u03bf\u03b9\u03c2 \u03c4\u03bf \u03b5\u03c5\u03b1\u03b3\u03b3\u03b5\u03bb\u03b9\u03bf\u03bd \u03ba\u03b1\u03b9 \u1f21 \u03b5\u03c0\u03b9\u03c3\u03c4\u03bf\u03bb\u03b7. _Dionys.\n                Alexandr. ap Euseb., H. E., vii., 25._\n\n    \"And these things write we unto you, that your joy may be\n    full.\"--1 JOHN i. 4.\n\n\nFrom the wholesale burning of books at Ephesus, as a consequence of\nawakened convictions, the most pregnant of all commentators upon the\nNew Testament has drawn a powerful lesson. \"True religion,\" says the\nwriter, \"puts bad books out of the way.\" Ephesus at great expense\nburnt curious and evil volumes, and the \"word of God grew and\nprevailed.\" And he proceeds to show how just in the very matter where\nEphesus had manifested such costly penitence, she was rewarded by\nbeing made a sort of depository of the most precious books which ever\ncame from human pens. St. Paul addresses a letter to the Ephesians.\nTimothy was Bishop of Ephesus when the two great pastoral Epistles\nwere sent to him.[31] All St. John's writings point to the same place.\nThe Gospel and Epistles were written there, or with primary reference\nto the capital of Ionia.[32] The Apocalypse was in all probability\nfirst read at Ephesus.\n\nOf this group of Ephesian books we select two of primary\nimportance--the Gospel and First Epistle of St. John. Let us dwell\nupon the close and thorough connection of the two documents, upon the\ninterpenetration of the Epistle by the Gospel, by whatever name we may\nprefer to designate the connection.\n\nIt is said indeed by a very high authority, that while the \"whole\nEpistle is permeated with thoughts of the person and work of Christ,\"\nyet \"direct references to facts of the Gospel are singularly rare.\" More\nparticularly it is stated that \"we find here none of the foundation and\n(so to speak) crucial events summarised in the earliest Christian\nconfession as we still find them in the Apostles' creed.\" And among\nthese events are placed, \"the Birth of the Virgin Mary, the Crucifixion,\nthe Resurrection, the Ascension, the Session, the Coming to Judgment.\"\n\nTo us there seems to be some exaggeration in this way of putting the\nmatter. A writing which accompanied a sacred history, and which was a\nspiritual comment upon that very history, was not likely to repeat the\nhistory upon which it commented, just in the same shape. Surely the\nBirth is the necessary condition of having come in the flesh. The\nincident of the piercing of the side, and the water and blood which\nflowed from it, is distinctly spoken of; and in that the Crucifixion\nis implied. Shrinking with shame from Jesus at His Coming, which is\nspoken of in another verse, has no meaning unless that Coming be to\nJudgment.[33] The sixth chapter is, if we may so say, the section of\n\"the Blood,\" in the fourth Gospel. That section standing in the\nGospel, standing in the great Sacrament of the Church, standing in the\nperpetually cleansing and purifying efficacy of the Atonement--ever\npresent as a witness, which becomes personal, because identified with\na Living Personality[34]--finds its echo and counterpart in the\nEpistle towards the beginning and near the close.[35]\n\nWe now turn to that which is the most conclusive evidence of connection\nbetween two documents--one historical, the other moral and spiritual--of\nwhich literary composition is capable. Let us suppose that a writer of\nprofound thoughtfulness has finished, after long elaboration, the\nhistorical record of an eventful and many-sided life--a life of supreme\nimportance to a nation, or to the general thought and progress of\nhumanity. The book is sent to the representatives of some community or\nschool. The ideas which its subject has uttered to the world, from their\nbreadth and from the occasional obscurity of expression incident to all\ngreat spiritual utterances, need some elucidation. The plan is really\nexhaustive, and combines the facts of the life with a full insight into\ntheir relations; but it may be missed by any but thoughtful readers. The\nauthor will accompany this main work by something which in modern\nlanguage we might call an introduction, or appendix, or advertisement,\nor explanatory pamphlet, or encyclical letter. Now the ancient form of\nliterary composition rendered books packed with thought doubly difficult\nboth to read and write; for they did not admit foot-notes, or marginal\nanalyses, or abstracts. St. John then practically says, first to his\nreaders in Asia Minor, then to the Church for ever--\"with this life of\nJesus I send you not only thoughts for your spiritual benefit, moulded\nround His teaching, but something more; I send you an _abstract_, a\ncompendium of contents, at the beginning of this letter; I also send you\nat its close a key to the plan on which my Gospel is conceived.\" And\nsurely a careful reader of the Gospel at its first publication would\nhave desired assistance exactly of this nature. He would have wished to\nhave a synopsis of contents, short but comprehensive, and a synoptical\nview of the author's plan--of the idea which guided him in his choice of\nincidents so momentous and of teaching so varied.\n\nWe have in the First Epistle two synopses of the Gospel which\ncorrespond with a perfect precision to these claims.[36] We have: (1)\na synopsis of the _contents_ of the Gospel; (2) a synoptical view of\nthe _conception_ from which it was written.\n\n1. We find in the Epistle at the very outset a synopsis of the\ncontents of the Gospel.\n\n\"That which was from the beginning, that which we have heard, that\nwhich we have seen with our eyes, that which we gazed upon, and our\nhands handled--_I speak_ concerning the Word who is the Life--that\nwhich we have seen and heard, declare we unto you also.\"\n\nWhat are the contents of the Gospel? (1) A lofty and dogmatic\n_pro\u0153mium_, which tells us of \"the Word who was in the beginning with\nGod--in Whom was life.\" (2) _Discourses_ and utterances, sometimes\nrunning on through pages, sometimes brief and broken. (3) _Works_,\nsometimes miraculous, sometimes wrought into the common contexture of\nhuman life--looks, influences, seen by the very eyes of St. John and\nothers, gazed upon with ever deepening joy and wonder. (4) _Incidents_\nwhich proved that all this issued from One who was intensely human;\nthat it was as real as life and humanity--historical not visionary;\nthe doing and the effluence of a Manhood which could be, and which\nwas, grasped by human hands.\n\nSuch is a synopsis of the Gospel precisely as it is given in the\nbeginning of the First Epistle. (1) The Epistle mentions _first_,\n\"that which was from the beginning.\" There is the compendium of the\npro\u0153mium of the Gospel. (2) One of the most important constituent\nparts of the Gospel is to be found in its ample preservation of\ndialogues, in which the Saviour is one interlocutor; of monologues\nspoken to the hushed hearts of the disciples, or to the listening\nHeart of the Father, yet not in tones so low that their love did not\nfind it audible. This element of the narrative is summed up by the\nwriter of the Epistle in two words--\"That which we heard.\"[37] (3) The\n_works_ of benevolence or power, the doings and sufferings; the\npathos or joy which spring up from them in the souls of the disciples,\noccupy a large portion of the Gospel. All these come under the\nheading, \"that which we have seen with our eyes,[38] that which we\ngazed upon,\"[39] with one unbroken gaze of wonder as so beautiful, and\nof awe as so divine.[40] (4) The assertion of the _reality of the\nManhood_[41] of Him who was yet the Life manifested--a reality through\nall His words, works, sufferings--finds its strong, bold summary in\nthis compendium of the contents of the Gospel, \"and our hands have\nhandled.\" Nay, a still shorter compendium follows: (1) The Life with\nthe Father. (2) The Life manifested.[42]\n\n2. But we have more than a synopsis which embraces the contents of the\nGospel at the beginning of the Epistle. We have towards its close a\n_second_ synopsis of the whole framework of the Gospel; not now the\ntheory of the Person of Christ, which in such a life was necessarily\nplaced at its beginning, but of the human conception which pervaded\nthe Evangelist's composition.\n\nThe second synopsis, not of the contents of the Gospel, but of the aim\nand conception which it assumed in the form into which it was moulded\nby St. John, is given by the Epistle with a fulness which omits\nscarcely a paragraph of the Gospel. In the space of six verses of the\nfifth chapter the word _witness_, as verb or substantive, is repeated\n_ten_ times.[43] The simplicity of St. John's artless rhetoric can\nmake no more emphatic claim on our attention. The Gospel is indeed a\ntissue woven out of many lines of evidence human and divine. Compress\nits purpose into one single word. No doubt it is supremely the Gospel\nof the Divinity of Jesus. But, next to that, it may best be defined as\nthe Gospel of _Witness_. These witnesses we may take in the order of\nthe Epistle. St. John feels that his Gospel is more than a book; it is\na past made everlastingly present. Such as the great Life was in\nhistory, so it stands for ever. Jesus _is_ \"the propitiation, _is_\nrighteous,\" \"is _here_.\"[44] So the great influences round His Person,\nthe manifold witnesses of His Life, stand witnessing for ever in the\nGospel and in the Church. What are these? (1) The Spirit is ever\n_witnessing_. So our Lord in the Gospel--\"when the Comforter is come,\nHe shall witness of Me.\"[45] No one can doubt that the Spirit is one\npre-eminent subject of the Gospel. Indeed, teaching about Him, above\nall as the witness to Christ, occupies three unbroken chapters in one\nplace.[46] (2) The _water_ is ever witnessing. So long as St. John's\nGospel lasts, and permeates the Church with its influence, the water\nmust so testify. There is scarcely a paragraph of it where water is\nnot; almost always with some relation to Christ. The witness of the\nBaptist[47] is, \"I baptize with water.\" The Jordan itself bears\nwitness that all its waters cannot give that which He bestows who is\n\"preferred before\" John.[48] Is not the water of Cana that was made\nwine a witness to His glory?[49] The birth of \"water and of the\nSpirit,\"[50] is another witness. And so in the Gospel section after\nsection. The water of Jacob's well; the water of the pool of Bethesda;\nthe waters of the sea of Galilee, with their stormy waves upon which\nHe walked; the water outpoured at the feast of tabernacles, with its\napplication to the river of living water; the water of Siloam; the\nwater poured into the basin, when Jesus washed the disciples' feet;\nthe water which, with the blood, streamed from the riven side upon the\ncross; the water of the sea of Galilee in its gentler mood, when Jesus\nshowed Himself on its beach to the seven; as long as all this is\nrecorded in the Gospel, as long as the sacrament of Baptism, with its\nvisible water and its invisible grace working in the regenerate,\nabides among the faithful;--so long is the water ever witnessing.[51]\n(3) The Blood is ever \"witnessing.\" Expiation once for all;\npurification continually from the blood outpoured; drinking the blood\nof the Son of Man by participation in the sacrament of His love, with\nthe grace and strength that it gives day by day to innumerable souls;\nthe Gospel concentrated into that great sacrifice; the Church's gifts\nof benediction summarised in the unspeakable Gift; this is the\nunceasing witness of the _Blood_. (4) Men are ever witnessing. \"The\nwitness of men\" fills the Gospel from beginning to end. The glorious\nseries of confessions wrung from willing and unwilling hearts form the\npoints of division round which the whole narrative may be grouped. Let\nus think of all those attestations which lie between the Baptist's\nprecious testimony with the sweet yet fainter utterances of Andrew,\nPhilip, Nathanael, and the perfect creed of Christendom condensed into\nthe burning words of Thomas--\"my Lord and my God.\"[52] What a range of\nfeeling and faith; what a variety of attestation coming from human\nsouls, sometimes wrung from them half unwillingly, sometimes uttered\nat crisis-moments with an impulse that could not be resisted! The\nwitness of men in the Gospel, and the assurance of one testimony that\nwas to be given by the Apostles individually and collectively,[53]\nbesides the evidences already named includes the following--the\nwitness of Nicodemus, of the Samaritan woman, of the Samaritans, of\nthe impotent man at the pool of Bethesda, of Simon Peter, of the\nofficers of the Jewish authorities, of the blind man, of Pilate.[54]\n(5) The witness of God occupies also a great position in the fourth\nGospel. That witness may be said to be given in five forms: the\nwitness of the Father,[55] of Christ Himself,[56] of the Holy\nSpirit,[57] of Scripture,[58] of miracles.[59] This great cloud of\nwitnesses, human and divine, finds its appropriate completion in\nanother subjective witness.[60] The whole body of evidence passes from\nthe region of the intellectual to that of the moral and spiritual\nlife. The _evidence_ acquires that _evidentness_ which is to all our\nknowledge what the sap is to the tree. The faithful carries it in his\nheart; it goes about with him, rests with him day and night, is close\nto him in life and death. He, the principle of whose being is belief\never going out of itself and resting its acts of faith on the Son of\nGod, has all that manifold witness in him.[61]\n\nIt would be easy to enlarge upon the verbal connection between the\nEpistle before us and the Gospel which it accompanied. We might draw out\n(as has often been done) a list of quotations from the Gospel, a whole\ncommon treasury of mystic language; but we prefer to leave an undivided\nimpression upon the mind. A document which gives us a synopsis of the\n_contents_ of another document at the beginning, and a synoptical\nanalysis of its predominant idea at the close, covering the entire work,\nand capable of absorbing every part of it (except some necessary\nadjuncts of a rich and crowded narrative), has a connection with it\nwhich is vital and absorbing. The Epistle is at once an abstract of the\ncontents of the Gospel, and a key to its purport. To the Gospel, at\nleast to it and the Epistle considered as integrally one, the Apostle\nrefers when he says: \"these things write we unto you.\"[62]\n\nSt. John had asserted that one end of his declaration was to make his\nreaders hold fast \"fellowship with us,\" _i.e._, with the Church as the\nApostolic Church; aye, and that fellowship of ours is \"with the\nFather, and with His Son Jesus Christ;\" \"and these things,\" he\ncontinues (with special reference to his Gospel, as spoken of in his\nopening words), \"we write unto you, that your joy may be fulfilled.\"\n\nThere is as truly a joy as a \"patience and comfort of the Scriptures.\"\nThe Apostle here speaks of \"your joy,\" but that implied _his_ also.\n\nAll great literature, like all else that is beautiful, is a \"joy for\never.\" To the true student his books are this. But this is so only\nwith a few really great books. We are not speaking of works of exact\nscience. Butler, Pascal, Bacon, Shakespeare, Homer, Scott, theirs is\nwork of which congenial spirits never grow quite tired. But to be\ncapable of giving out joy, books must have been written with it. The\nScotch poet tells us, that no poet ever found the Muse, until he had\nlearned to walk beside the brook, and \"no think long.\" That which is\nnot thought over with pleasure; that which, as it gradually rises\nbefore the author in its unity, does not fill him with delight; will\nnever permanently give pleasure to readers. He must know joy before he\ncan say--\"these things write we unto you, that your joy may be full.\"\n\nThe book that is to give joy must be a part of a man's self. That is\njust what most books are not. They are laborious, diligent, useful\nperhaps; they are not interesting or delightful. How touching it is,\nwhen the poor old stiff hand must write, and the overworked brain\nthink, for bread! Is there anything so pathetic in literature as Scott\nsetting his back bravely to the wall, and forcing from his imagination\nthe reluctant creations which used to issue with such splendid\nprofusion from its haunted chambers?\n\nOf the conditions under which an inspired writer pursued his labours\nwe know but little. But some conditions are apparent in the books of\nSt. John with which we are now concerned. The fourth Gospel is a book\nwritten without _arri\u00e8re pens\u00e9e_, without literary conceit, without\nthe paralysing dread of criticism. What verdict the polished society\nof Ephesus would pronounce; what sneers would circulate in philosophic\nquarters; what the numerous heretics would murmur in their\nconventicles; what critics within the Church might venture to whisper,\nmissing perhaps favourite thoughts and catch-words;[63] St. John cared\nno more than if he were dead. He communed with the memories of the\npast; he listened for the music of the Voice which had been the\nteacher of his life. To be faithful to these memories, to recall these\nwords, to be true to Jesus, was his one aim. No one can doubt that the\nGospel was written with a full delight. No one who is capable of\nfeeling, ever has doubted that it was written as if with \"a feather\ndropped from an angel's wing;\" that without aiming at anything but\ntruth, it attains in parts at least a transcendent beauty. At the\nclose of the pro\u0153mium, after the completest theological _formula_\nwhich the Church has ever possessed--the still, even pressure of a\ntide of thought--we have a parenthetic sentence, like the splendid\nunexpected rush and swell of a sudden wave (\"we beheld the glory, the\nglory as of the Only-Begotten of the Father\"); then after the\nparenthesis a soft and murmuring fall of the whole great tide (\"full\nof grace and truth\"). Can we suppose that the Apostle hung over his\nsentence with literary zest? The number of writers is small who can\ngive us an everlasting truth by a single word, a single pencil touch;\nwho, having their mind loaded with thought, are wise enough to keep\nthat strong and eloquent silence which is the prerogative only of the\nhighest genius. St. John gives us one of these everlasting pictures,\nof these inexhaustible symbols, in three little words--\"He then having\nreceived the sop, went immediately out, and _it was night_.\"[64] Do we\nsuppose that he admired the perfect effect of that powerful\nself-restraint? Just before the crucifixion he writes--\"Then came\nJesus forth, wearing the crown of thorns, and the purple robe, and\nPilate saith unto them, Behold the Man!\"[65] The pathos, the majesty,\nthe royalty of sorrow, the admiration and pity of Pilate, have been\nfor centuries the inspiration of Christian art. Did St. John\ncongratulate himself upon the image of sorrow and of beauty which\nstands for ever in these lines? With St. John as a writer it is as\nwith St. John delineated in the fresco at Padua by the genius of\nGiotto. The form of the ascending saint is made visible through a\nreticulation of rays of light in colours as splendid as ever came from\nmortal pencil; but the rays issue entirely from the Saviour, whose\nface and form are full before him.\n\nThe feeling of the Church has always been that the Gospel of St. John\nwas a solemn work of faith and prayer. The oldest extant fragment upon\nthe canon of the New Testament tells us that the Gospel was undertaken\nafter earnest invitations from the brethren and the bishops, with solemn\nunited fasting; not without special revelation to Andrew the Apostle\nthat John was to do the work.[66] A later and much less important\ndocument connected in its origin with Patmos embodies one beautiful\nlegend about the composition of the Gospel. It tells how the Apostle was\nabout to leave Patmos for Ephesus; how the Christians of the island\nbesought him to leave in writing an account of the Incarnation, and\nmysterious life of the Son of God; how St. John and his chosen friends\nwent forth from the haunts of men about a mile, and halted in a quiet\nspot called the gorge of Rest,[67] and then ascended the mountain which\noverhung it. There they remained three days. \"Then,\" writes Prochorus,\n\"he ordered me to go down to the town for paper and ink. And after two\ndays I found him standing rapt in prayer. Said he to me--'take the ink\nand paper, and stand on my right hand.' And I did so. And there was a\ngreat lightning and thunder, so that the mountain shook. And I fell on\nthe ground as if dead. Whereupon John stretched forth his hand and took\nhold of me, and said--'stand up at this spot at my right hand.' After\nwhich he prayed again, and after his prayer said unto me--'son\nProchorus, what thou hearest from my mouth, write upon the sheets.' And\nhaving opened his mouth as he was standing praying, and looking up to\nheaven, he began to say--'in the beginning was the Word, and the Word\nwas with God, and the Word was God.' And so following on, he spake in\norder, standing as he was, and I wrote sitting.\"[68]\n\nTrue instinct which tells us that the Gospel of St. John was the fruit\nof prayer as well as of memory; that it was thought out in some valley\nof rest, some hush among the hills; that it came from a solemn joy which\nit breathed forth upon others! \"These things write I unto you, that your\njoy may be fulfilled.\" Generation after generation it has been so. In\nthe numbers numberless of the Redeemed, there can be very few who have\nnot been brightened by the joy of that book. Still, at one funeral after\nanother, hearts are soothed by the word in it which says--\"I am the\nResurrection and the Life.\" Still the sorrowful and the dying ask to\nhear again and again--\"let not your heart be troubled, neither let it be\nafraid.\" A brave young officer sent to the war in Africa, from a\nregiment at home, where he had caused grief by his extravagance,\npenitent, and dying in his tent, during the fatal day of Isandula,\nscrawled in pencil--\"dying, dear father and mother--happy--for Jesus\nsays, 'He that cometh to Me I will in no wise cast out.'\" Our English\nCommunion Office, with its divine beauty, is a texture shot through and\nthrough with golden threads from the discourse at Capernaum. Still are\nthe disciples glad when they see the Lord in that record. It is the book\nof the Church's smiles; it is the gladness of the saints; it is the\npurest fountain of joy in all the literature of earth.\n\n       *       *       *       *       *\n\n\n                               NOTE A.\n\nThe thorough connection of the Epistle with the Gospel may be made\nmore clear by the following tabulated analysis:--\n\nThe (A) _beginning_ and (B) the _close_ of the Epistle contain _two_\nabstracts, longer and shorter, of the contents and bearing of the\nGospel.\n\n\n                                  A.\n\n                          _i._--1 John i. 1.\n\n1. \"That which was from the beginning--concerning the Word of Life\" =\nJohn i. 1-15.\n\n2. (_a_) \"Which we have _heard_\" = John i. 38, 39, 42, 47, 50, 51, ii.\n4, 7, 8, 16, 19, iii. 3, 22, iv. 7, 39, 48, 50, v. 6, 47, vi. 5, 70,\nvii. 6, 39, viii. 7, 58, ix. 3, 41, x. 1, 39, xi. 4, 45, xii. 7, 50,\nxiii. 6, 38, xiv., xvii., xviii. 14, 37, xix. 11, 26, 27, 28, 30, xx.\n15, 16, 17, 19, 21, 23, 27, 29, xxi. 5, 6, 10, 12, 22.\n\n(_b_) \"Which we have seen _with our eyes_\" = John i. 29, 36, 39, ii.\n11, vi. 2, 14, 19, ix., xi. 44, xiii. 4, 5, xvii. 1, xviii. 6, xix. 5,\n17, 18, 34, 38, xx. 5, 14, 20, 25, 29, xxi. 1, 14.\n\n(_c_) \"Which we gazed upon\" = _ibid._\n\n(_d_) \"Which we have handled\" = John xx. 27 (refers also to a\nsynoptical Gospel, Luke xxiv. 39, 40).\n\n\n                         _ii._--1 John i. 2.\n\n1. \"The Life was manifested\" = John i. 29--xxi. 25.\n\n2. (_a_) \"We have seen\" = (A. _i._ 2 (_b_)).\n\n(_b_) \"And bear witness\" = John i. 7, 19, 37, iii. 2, 27, 33, iv. 39,\nvi. 69, xx. 28, 30, 31, xxi. 24.\n\n(_c_) \"And declare unto you\" = John _passim_.\n\n\"The Life, the Eternal Life, which\"\n\n  \u05d0 \"Was with the Father\" = John i. 1-4.\n\n  \u05d1 \"And was manifested unto us\" = John _passim_.\n\n\n                                  B.\n\n                        _i._--1 John v. 6-10.\n\n           Summary of the Gospel as a Gospel of _witness_.\n\n1. \"The Spirit beareth witness\" = John i. 32, xiv., xv., xx. 22.\n\n2. \"The water beareth witness\" = John i. 28, ii. 9, iii. 5, iv. 13,\n14, v. 1, 9, vi. 19, vii. 37, ix. 7, xiii. 5, xix. 34, xxi. 1.\n\n3. \"The blood beareth witness\" = John vi. 53, 54, 55, 56, xix. 34.\n\n4. \"The witness of men\" = (A. _ii._ 1 (_b_)) Also John i. 45, 49, iii.\n2, iv. 39, vii. 46, xii. 12, 13, 17, 19, 20, 21, xviii. 38, xix. 35,\nxx. 28.\n\n5. \"The witness of God\" =\n\n(_a_) Scripture = John i. 45, v. 39, 46, xix. 36, 37.\n\n(_b_) Christ's own = John viii. 17, 18, 46, xv. 30, xviii. 37.\n\n(_c_) His Father's = John v. 37, viii. 18, xii. 28.\n\n(_d_) His works = John v. 36, x. 25, xv. 24.\n\n\n                         _ii._--1 John v. 20.\n\nWe know (_i.e._, by the Gospel) that--\n\n1. \"The Son of God is come\" (\u1f21\u03ba\u03b5\u03bd), \"has come and is here.\"\n\nNote.--\u05d1\u05b8\u05d0\u05d7\u05b4\u05d9 = \u1f21\u03ba\u03c9, LXX. Psalm xl. 7. \"_Venio_ symbolum quasi Domini\nJesu fuit.\" (Bengel on Heb. x. 7), the _Ich Dien_ of the Son of the\nFather--\u03b5\u03b3\u03c9 \u03b3\u03b1\u03c1 \u03b5\u03ba \u03c4\u03bf\u03c5 \u03b8\u03b5\u03bf\u03c5 \u03b5\u03be\u03b7\u03bb\u03b8\u03bf\u03bd \u03ba\u03b1\u03b9 \u1f21\u03ba\u03c9. \"I came forth from God,\nand am here\" (John viii. 4) = John i. 29--xxi. 23 (John xiv. 18, 21,\n23, xvi. 16, 22, form part of the thought \"is here\").\n\n2. \"And hath given us an understanding\" = gift of the Spirit, John\nxiv., xv., xvi. (especially 13, 16).\n\n3. \"This is the very God and eternal Life\" = John i. 1, 4.\n\nThe whole Gospel of St. John brings out these primary principles of\nthe Faith,--\n\nThat the Son of God has come. That He is now and ever present with His\npeople. That the Holy Spirit gives them a new faculty of spiritual\ndiscernment. That Christ is the very God and the Life of men.\n\nFOOTNOTES:\n\n[31] Bengel, on Acts xix. 19, 20, finds a reference to manuscripts of\nsome of the synoptical Gospels and of the Epistles in 2 Tim. iv. 13,\nand conjectures that, after St. Paul's martyrdom, Timothy carried them\nwith him to Ephesus.\n\n[32] Renan's curious theory that Rom. xvi. 1-16 is a sheet of the\nEpistle to the Ephesians accidentally misplaced, rests upon a supposed\nprevalence of Ephesian names in the case of those who are greeted.\nArchdeacon Gifford's refutation, and his solution of an unquestionable\ndifficulty, seems entirely satisfactory. (_Speaker's Commentary, in\nloc._, vol. iii., New Testament.)\n\n[33] It has become usual to say that the Epistle does not advert to\nJohn iii. or John vi. To us it seems that _every_ mention of the Birth\nof God _is_ a reference to John iii. (1 John ii. 23, iii. 9, iv. 7, v.\n1-4.) The word \u03b1\u03b9\u03bc\u03b1 occurs _once_ only in the fourth Gospel outside\nthe sixth chapter (xix. 34; for i. 13 belongs to physiology). Four\ntimes we find it in that chapter--vi. 53, 54, 55, 56. Each mention of\nthe \"Blood\" in connection with our Lord _does_ advert to John vi.\n\n[34] The masc. part. \u03bf\u03b9 \u03bc\u03b1\u03c1\u03c4\u03c5\u03c1\u03bf\u03c5\u03bd\u03c4\u03b5\u03c2 is surely very remarkable with\nthe three neuters (\u03c4\u03bf \u03c0\u03bd\u03b5\u03c5\u03bc\u03b1, \u03c4\u03bf \u1f51\u03b4\u03c9\u03c1, \u03c4\u03bf \u03b1\u03b9\u03bc\u03b1) 1 John v. 7, 8.\n\n[35] 1 John i. 7, v. 6, 8.\n\n[36] See note A. at the end of this Discourse, which shows that there\nare, in truth, _four_ such summaries.\n\n[37] \u1f41 \u03b1\u03ba\u03b7\u03ba\u03bf\u03b1\u03bc\u03b5\u03bd.\n\n[38] \u1f41 \u03b5\u03c9\u03c1\u03b1\u03ba\u03b1\u03bc\u03b5\u03bd \u03c4\u03bf\u03b9\u03c2 \u03bf\u03c6\u03b8\u03b1\u03bb\u03bc\u03bf\u03b9\u03c2 \u1f21\u03bc\u03c9\u03bd.\n\n[39] John xx. 20.\n\n[40] \u1f41 \u03b5\u03b8\u03b5\u03b1\u03c3\u03b1\u03bc\u03b5\u03b8\u03b1, 1 John i. 1. The same word is used in John i. 14.\n\n[41] John xix. 27 would express this in the most palpable form. But it\nis constantly understood through the Gospel. The tenacity of Doketic\nerror is evident from the fact that Chrysostom, preaching at Antioch,\nspeaks of it as a popular error in his day. A little later, orthodox\nears were somewhat offended by some beautiful lines of a Greek sacred\npoet, too little known among us, who combines in a singular degree\nRoman gravity with Greek grace. St. Romanus (A.D. 491) represents our\nLord as saying of the sinful woman who became a penitent,\n\n      \u03c4\u03b7\u03bd \u03b2\u03c1\u03b5\u03be\u03b1\u03c3\u03b1\u03bd \u03b9\u03c7\u03bd\u03b7\n      \u1f01 \u03bf\u03c5\u03ba \u1f11\u03b2\u03c1\u03b5\u03be\u03b5 \u03b2\u03c5\u03b8\u03bf\u03c2\n      \u03c8\u03b9\u03bb\u03bf\u03b9\u03c2 \u03c4\u03bf\u03c4\u03b5 \u03c4\u03bf\u03b9\u03c2 \u03b4\u03b1\u03ba\u03c1\u03c5\u03c3\u03b9\u03bd.\n\n      \"Which with her tears, then pure,\n       Wetted the feet the sea-depth wetted not.\"\n\n(_Spicil. Solesmen._ Edidit T. B. Pitra, _S. Romanus_, xvi. 13, _Cant.\nde Passione._ 120.)\n\n[42] 1 John i. 2. The Life with the Father = John i. 1, 14. The Life\nmanifested = John i. 14 to end.\n\n[43] The A.V. (1 John v. 6-12) obscures this by a too great\nsensitiveness to monotony. The language of the verses is varied\nunfortunately by \"bear record\" (ver. 7), \"hath testified\" (ver. 9),\n\"believeth not the record\" (ver. 10), \"this is the record\" (ver. 11).\n\n[44] 1 John ii. 2-29, iii. 7, iv. 3, v. 20.\n\n[45] John xv. 26.\n\n[46] John xiv., xv., xvi., Cf. vii. 39. The witness of the Spirit in\nthe Apostolic ministry will be found John xx. 22.\n\n[47] John i. 19.\n\n[48] John i. 16, 31, 33.\n\n[49] John ii. 9, iv. 46.\n\n[50] John iii. 5.\n\n[51] John iv. 5, 7, 11, 12, v. 1, 8, vi. 19, vii. 35, 37, ix. 7, xiii.\n1, 14, xix. 34, xxi. 1, 8. In the other great Johannic book water is\nconstantly mentioned. Apoc. vii. 7, xiv. 7, xvi. 5, xxi. 6, xxii. 1,\nxxii. 17. (Cf. the \u03c4\u03bf \u1f51\u03b4\u03c9\u03c1, Acts x. 47.)\n\n[52] John i. 19, 29, 32, 34, 35, 36, 41, 45, 47, xix. 27.\n\n[53] John xv. 27.\n\n[54] John iii. 2. The Baptist's final witness (iii. 25, 33, iv. 39,\n42, v. 15, vi. 68, 69, vii. 46, xix. 4, 6). Note, too, the\naccentuation of the idea of _witness_ (John v. 31, 39). It is to be\nregretted that the R.V. also has sometimes obscured this important\nterm by substituting a different English word, _e.g._, \"the word of\nthe woman who _testified_\" (John iv. 39).\n\n[55] John viii. 18, xii. 28.\n\n[56] Ibid. viii. 17, 18.\n\n[57] Ibid. xv. 26.\n\n[58] Ibid. v. 39, 46, xix. 35, 36, 37.\n\n[59] Ibid. v. 36.\n\n[60] This sixth witness (1 John v. 10) exactly answers to John xx. 30,\n31.\n\n[61] \u1f41 \u03c0\u03b9\u03c3\u03c4\u03b5\u03c5\u03c9\u03bd \u03b5\u03b9\u03c2 \u03c4\u03bf\u03bd \u03c5\u03b9\u03bf\u03bd, \u03ba\u03c4\u03bb (v. 10). The construction is different\nin the words which immediately follow (\u1f41 \u03bc\u03b7 \u03c0\u03b9\u03c3\u03c4\u03b5\u03c5\u03c9\u03bd \u03c4\u03c9 \u03b8\u03b5\u03b3), not even\ngiving Him credence, not _believing Him_, much less _believing on Him_.\n\n[62] The view here advocated of the relation of the Epistle to the\nGospel of St. John, and of the brief but complete analytical synopsis\nin the opening words of the Epistle, appears to us to represent the\nearliest known interpretation as given by the author of the famous\nfragment of the Muratorian Canon, the first catalogue of the books of\nthe N. T. (written between the middle and close of the second\ncentury). After his statement of the circumstances which led to the\ncomposition of the fourth Gospel, and an assertion of the perfect\ninternal unity of the Evangelical narratives, the author of the\nfragment proceeds. \"What wonder then if John brings forward each\nmatter, point by point, with such consecutive order (tam constanter\nsingula), even in his Epistles saying, when he comes to write in his\nown person (dicens in semetipso), 'what we have seen with our eyes,\nand heard with our ears, and our hands have handled, these things have\nwe written.' For thus, in orderly arrangement and consecutive language\nhe professes himself not only an eye-witness, but a hearer, and yet\nfurther a writer of the wonderful things of the Lord.\" [So we\nunderstand the writer. \"Sic enim non solum visorem, sed et auditorem,\nsed et scriptorem omnium mirabilium Domini, per ordinem profitetur.\"\nThe fragment, with copious annotations, may be found in _Reliqu\u00e6\nSacr\u00e6_, Routh, Tom. i., 394, 434.]\n\n[63] For whatever reason, four classical terms (if we may so call them)\nof the Christian religion are excluded, or nearly excluded, from the\nGospel of St. John, and from its companion document. _Church_, _gospel_,\n_repentance_, occur nowhere. _Grace_ only once (John i. 14; see,\nhowever, 2 John 3; Apoc. i. 4; xxii. 21), _faith_ as a substantive only\nonce. (1 John v. 4, but in Apoc. ii. 13-19; xiii. 10; xiv. 123.)\n\n[64] \u1f21\u03bd \u03b4\u03b5 \u03bd\u03c5\u03be. John xiii. 30.\n\n[65] John xix. 5.\n\n[66] Canon. Murator. (apud Routh., _Reliq. Sacr\u00e6_, Tom. i., 394).\n\n[67] \u03b5\u03bd \u03c4\u03bf\u03c0\u03c9 \u1f21\u03c3\u03c5\u03c7\u03c9 \u03bb\u03b5\u03b3\u03bf\u03bc\u03b5\u03bd\u03c9 \u03ba\u03b1\u03c4\u03b1\u03c0\u03b1\u03c5\u03c3\u03b9\u03c2.\n\n[68] This passage is translated from the Greek text of the manuscript\nof Patmos, attributed to Prochorus, as given by M. Gu\u00e9rin.\n(_Description de l'Isle de Patmos_, pp. 25-29.)\n\n\n\n\n                            DISCOURSE III.\n\n      _THE POLEMICAL ELEMENT IN THE FIRST EPISTLE OF ST. JOHN._\n\n      \"Dum Magistri super pectus\n       Fontem haurit intellect\u00fbs\n           Et doctrin\u00e6 flumina,\n       Fiunt, ipso situ loci,\n       Verbo fides, auris voci,\n           Mens Deo contermina.\n\n      \"Unde mentis per excessus,\n       Carnis, sens\u00fbs super gressus,\n           _Errorumque nubila_,\n       Contra veri solis lumen\n       Visum cordis et acumen\n           Figit velut aquila.\"\n                 _Adam of St. Victor_, Seq. xxxii.\n\n    \"Every spirit that confesseth that Jesus Christ is come in the\n    flesh is of God. Every spirit that confesseth not [that] Jesus\n    Christ [is come in the flesh] is not of God.\"--1 JOHN iv. 2, 3.\n\n\nA discussion (however far from technical completeness) of the\npolemical element in St. John's Epistle, probably seems likely to be\ndestitute of interest or of instruction, except to ecclesiastical or\nphilosophical antiquarians. Those who believe the Epistle to be a\n_divine_ book must, however, take a different view of the matter. St.\nJohn was not merely dealing with forms of human error which were local\nand fortuitous. In refuting _them_ he was enunciating principles of\nuniversal import, of almost illimitable application. Let us pass by\nthose obscure sects, those subtle curiosities of error, which the\ndiligence of minute research has excavated from the masses of\nerudition under which they have been buried; which theologians, like\nother antiquarians, have sometimes labelled with names at once uncouth\nand imaginative. Let us fix our attention upon such broad and\nwell-defined features of heresy as credible witnesses have indelibly\nfixed upon the contemporaneous heretical thought of Asia Minor; and we\nshall see not only a great precision in St. John's words, but a\nradiant image of truth, which is equally adapted to enlighten us in\nthe peculiar dangers of our age.\n\nControversy is the condition under which all truth must be held, which\nis not in necessary subject-matter--which is not either mathematical\nor physical. In the case of the second, controversy is active, until\nthe fact of the physical law is established beyond the possibility of\nrational discussion; until self-consistent thought can only think upon\nthe postulate of its admission. Now in these departments all the\nargument is on one side. We are not in a state of suspended\nspeculation, leaning neither to affirmation nor denial, which is\n_doubt_. We are not in the position of inclining either to one side or\nthe other, by an almost impalpable overplus of evidence, which is\n_suspicion_; or by those additions to this slender stock, which\nconvert suspicion into _opinion_. We are not merely yielding a strong\nadhesion to one side, while we must yet admit, to ourselves at least,\nthat our knowledge is not perfect, nor absolutely manifest--which is\nthe mental and moral position of _belief_. In necessary\nsubject-matter, we know and see with that perfect intellectual vision\nfor which controversy is impossible.[69]\n\nThe region of belief must therefore, in our present condition, be a\nregion from which controversy cannot be excluded.\n\nReligious controversialists may be divided into three classes, for each\nof which we may find an emblem in the animal creation. The first are the\nnuisances, at times the numerous nuisances, of Churches. These\ncontroversialists delight in showing that the convictions of persons\nwhom they happen to dislike, can, more or less plausibly, be pressed to\nunpopular conclusions. They are incessant fault-finders. Some of them,\nif they had an opportunity, might delight in finding the sun guilty in\nhis daily worship of the many-coloured ritualism of the western clouds.\nControversialists of this class, if minute are venomous, and capable of\ninflicting a degree of pain quite out of proportion to their strength.\nTheir emblem may be found somewhere in the range of \"every creeping\nthing that creepeth upon the earth.\" The second class of\ncontroversialists is of a much higher nature. Their emblem is the hawk\nwith his bright eye, with the forward throw of his pinions, his rushing\nflight along the woodland skirt, his unerring stroke. Such hawks of the\nChurches, whose delight is in pouncing upon fallacies, fulfil an\nimportant function. They rid us of tribes of mischievous winged errors.\nThe third class of controversialists is that which embraces St. John\nsupremely--such minds also as Augustine's in his loftiest and most\ninspired moments, such as those which have endowed the Church with the\nNicene Creed. Of such the eagle is the emblem. Over the grosser\natmosphere of earthly anger or imperfect motives, over the clouds of\nerror, poised in the light of the True Sun, with the eagle's upward wing\nand the eagle's sunward eye, St. John looks upon the truth. He is indeed\nthe eagle of the four Evangelists, the eagle of God. If the eagle could\nspeak with our language, his style would have something of the purity of\nthe sky and of the brightness of the light. He would warn his nestlings\nagainst losing their way in the banks of clouds that lie below him so\nfar. At times he might show that there is a danger or an error whose\nposition he might indicate by the sweep of his wing, or by descending\nfor a moment to strike.\n\nThere are then _polemics_ in the Epistle and in the Gospel of St.\nJohn. But we refuse to hunt down some obscure heresy in every\nsentence. It will be enough to indicate the master heresy of Asia\nMinor, to which St. John undoubtedly refers, with its intellectual and\nmoral perils. In so doing, we shall find the very truth which our own\ngeneration especially needs.\n\nThe prophetic words addressed by St. Paul to the Church of Ephesus\nthirty years before the date of this Epistle had found only too\ncomplete a fulfilment. \"From among their own selves,\" at Ephesus in\nparticular, through the Churches of Asia Minor in general, men _had_\narisen \"speaking perverse things, to draw away the disciples after\nthem.\"[70] The prediction began to justify itself when Timothy was\nBishop of Ephesus only five or six years later. A few significant\nwords in the First Epistle to Timothy let us see the heretical\ninfluences that were at work. St. Paul speaks with the solemnity of a\nclosing charge when he warns Timothy against what were at once[71]\n\"profane babblings,\" and \"antitheses of the Gnosis which is falsely so\ncalled.\" In an earlier portion of the same Epistle the young Bishop is\nexhorted to charge certain men not to teach a \"different doctrine,\"\nneither to give \"heed to myths and genealogies,\" out of whose endless\nmazes no intellect entangled in them can ever find its way.[72] Those\ncommentators put us on a false scent who would have us look after\nJudaizing error, Jewish \"stemmata.\" The reference is not to Judaistic\nritualism, but to semi-Pagan philosophical speculation. The\n\"genealogies\" are systems of divine potencies which the Gnostics (and\nprobably some Jewish Rabbis of Gnosticising tendency) called\n\"\u00e6ons,\"[73] and so the earliest Christian writers understood the word.\n\nNow without entering into the details of Gnosticism, this may be said\nof its general method and purpose. It aspired at once to accept and to\ntransform the Christian creed; to elevate its faith into a philosophy,\na _knowledge_--and then to make this knowledge cashier and supersede\nfaith, love, holiness, redemption itself.\n\nThis system was strangely eclectic, and amalgamated certain elements not\nonly of Greek and Egyptian, but of Persian and Indian Pantheistic\nthought. It was infected throughout with dualism and doketism. Dualism\nheld that all good and evil in the universe proceeded from two first\nprinciples, good and evil. Matter was the power of evil whose home is in\nthe region of darkness. Minds which started from this fundamental view\ncould only accept the Incarnation provisionally and with reserve, and\nmust at once proceed to explain it away. \"The Word was made flesh;\" but\nthe Word of God, the True Light, could not be personally united to an\nactual material system called a human body, plunged in the world of\nmatter, darkened and contaminated by its immersion. The human flesh in\nwhich Jesus appeared to be seen was fictitious. Redemption was a drama\nwith a shadow for its hero. The phantom of a redeemer was nailed to the\nphantom of a cross. Philosophical dualism logically became theological\n_doketism_. Doketism logically evaporated dogmas, sacraments, duties,\nredemption.[74]\n\nIt may be objected that this doketism has been a mere temporary and\nlocal aberration of the human intellect; a metaphysical curiosity,\nwith no real roots in human nature. If so, its refutation is an\nobsolete piece of an obsolete controversy; and the Epistle in some of\nits most vital portions is a dead letter.\n\nNow of course literal doketism is past and gone, dead and buried. The\nprogress of the human mind, the slow and resistless influence of the\nlogic of common sense, the wholesome influence of the sciences of\nobservation in correcting visionary metaphysics, have swept away \u00e6ons,\nemanations, dualism,[75] and the rest. But a subtler, and to modern\nminds infinitely more attractive, doketism is round us, and accepted,\nas far as words go, with a passionate enthusiasm.\n\nWhat is this doketism?\n\nLet us refer to the history and to the language of a mind of singular\nsubtlety and power.\n\nIn George Eliot's early career she was induced to prepare for the\npress a translation of Strauss's mythical explanation of _the Life of\nJesus_. It is no disrespect to so great a memory to say, that at that\nperiod of her career, at least, Miss Evans must have been unequal to\ngrapple with such a work, if she desired to do so from a Christian\npoint of view. She had not apparently studied the history or the\nstructure of the Gospels. What she knew of their meaning she had\nimbibed from an antiquated and unscientific school of theologians. The\nfaith of a sciolist engaged in a struggle for its life with the fatal\nstrength of a critical giant instructed in the negative lore of all\nages, and sharpened by hatred of the Christian religion, met with the\nresult which was to be expected. Her faith expired, not without some\npainful throes. She fell a victim to the fallacy of youthful\nconceit--I cannot answer this or that objection, _therefore_ it is\nunanswerable. She wrote at first that she was \"Strauss-sick.\" It made\nher ill to dissect the beautiful story of the crucifixion. She took to\nherself a consolation singular in the circumstances. The sight of an\nivory crucifix, and of a pathetic picture of the Passion, made her\ncapable of enduring the first shock of the loss which her heart had\nsustained. That is, she found comfort in looking at tangible reminders\nof a scene which had ceased to be an historical reality, of a sufferer\nwho had faded from a living Redeemer into the spectre of a visionary\npast. After a time, however, she feels able to propose to herself and\nothers \"a new starting point. We can never have a satisfactory basis\nfor the history of the man Jesus, but that negation does not affect\nthe Idea of the Christ, either in its historical influence, or its\ngreat symbolic meanings.\"[76] Yes! a Christ who has no history, of\nwhom we do not possess one undoubted word, of whom we know, and can\nknow, nothing; who has no flesh of fact, no blood of life; an idea,\nnot a man; this is the Christ of modern doketism. The method of this\nwidely diffused school is to separate the _sentiments_ of admiration\nwhich the history inspires from the _history_ itself; to sever the\n_ideas_ of the faith from the _facts_ of the faith, and then to\npresent the _ideas_ thus surviving the dissolvents of criticism, as at\nonce the refutation of the facts and the substitute for them.\n\nThis may be pretty writing, though false and illogical writing is\nrarely even _that_; but a little consideration will show that this new\nstarting point is not even a plausible substitute for the old belief.\n\n(1) We question simple believers in the first instance. We ask them\nwhat is the great religious power in Christianity for themselves, and\nfor others like-minded? What makes people pure, good, self-denying,\nnurses of the sick, missionaries to the heathen? They will tell us\nthat the power lies, not in any doketic idea of a Christ-life which\nwas never lived, but in \"the conviction that that idea was really and\nperfectly incarnated in an actual career,\"[77] of which we have a\nrecord literally and absolutely true in all essential particulars.\nWhen we turn to the past of the Church, we find that as it is with\nthese persons, so it has ever been with the saints. For instance, we\nhear St. Paul speaking of his whole life. He tells us that \"whether we\nwent out of ourselves it was unto God, or whether we be sober, it is\nfor you;\" that is to say, such a life has two aspects, one God-ward,\none man-ward. Its God-ward aspect is a noble insanity, its man-ward\naspect a noble sanity; the first with its beautiful enthusiasm, the\nsecond with its saving common sense. What is the source of this?\n\"_For_ the love of Christ constraineth us,\"--forces the whole stream\nof life to flow between these two banks without the deviations of\nselfishness--\"because we thus judge, that He died for all, that they\nwhich live should no longer live unto themselves, but to Him who for\ntheir sakes died and rose again.\"[78] It was the real unselfish life\nof a real unselfish Man which made such a life as that of St. Paul a\npossibility. Or we may think of the first beginning of St. John's love\nfor our Lord. When he turned to the past, he remembered one bright day\nabout ten in the morning, when the real Jesus turned to him and to\nanother with a real look, and said with a human voice, \"what seek ye?\"\nand then--\"come, and ye shall see.\"[79] It was the real living love\nthat won the only kind of love which could enable the old man to write\nas he did in this Epistle so many years afterwards--\"we love because\nHe first loved us.\"[80]\n\n(2) We address ourselves next to those who look at Christ simply as an\nideal. We venture to put to them a definite question. You believe that\nthere is no solid basis for the history of the man Jesus; that His life\nas an historical reality is lost in a dazzling mist of legend and\nadoration. Has the idea of a Christ, divorced from all accompaniment of\nauthentic fact, unfixed in a definite historical form, uncontinued in an\nabiding existence, been operative or inoperative for yourselves? Has it\nbeen a practical power and motive, or an occasional and evanescent\nsentiment? There can be no doubt about the answer. It is not a\nmake-belief but a belief which gives purity and power. It is not an\nideal of Jesus but the blood of Jesus which cleanseth us from all sin.\n\nThere are other lessons of abiding practical importance to be drawn\nfrom the polemical elements in St. John's Epistle. These, however, we\ncan only briefly indicate because we wish to leave an undivided\nimpression of that which seems to be St. John's chief object\n_controversially_. There were Gnostics in Asia Minor for whom the\nmere _knowledge_ of certain supposed spiritual truths was all in all,\nas there are those amongst ourselves who care for little but what are\ncalled clear views. For such St. John writes--\"and hereby we do _know_\nthat we _know_ Him, if we keep His commandments.\"[81] There were\nheretics in and about Ephesus who conceived that the special favour of\nGod, or the illumination which they obtained by junction with the sect\nto which they had \"gone out\" from the Church, neutralised the poison\nof sin, and made innocuous for _them_ that which might have been\ndeadly for others. They suffered, as they thought, no more\ncontamination by it, than \"gold by lying upon the dunghill\" (to use a\nfavourite metaphor of their own). St. John utters a principle which\ncleaves through every fallacy in every age, which says or insinuates\nthat sin subjective can in any case cease to be sin objective.\n\"Whosoever committeth sin transgresseth also the law, for sin is the\ntransgression of the law. All unrighteousness is sin.\"[82] Possibly\nwithin the Church itself, certainly among the sectarians without it,\nthere was a disposition to lessen the glory of the Incarnation, by\nlooking upon the Atonement as narrow and partial in its aim. St.\nJohn's unhesitating statement is that \"He is the propitiation for the\nwhole world.\" Thus does the eagle of the Church ever fix his gaze\nabove the clouds of error, upon the Sun of universal truth.\n\nAbove all, over and through his negation of temporary and local errors\nabout the person of Christ, St. John leads the Church in all ages to\nthe true Christ. Cerinthus, in a form which seems to us eccentric and\nrevolting, proclaimed a Jesus not born of a virgin, temporarily\nendowed with the sovereign power of the Christ, deprived of Him\nbefore his passion and resurrection, while the Christ remained\nspiritual and impassible. He taught a _commonplace_ Jesus. At the\nbeginning of his Epistle and Gospel, John \"wings his soul, and leads\nhis readers onward and upward.\" He is like a man who stands upon the\nshore and looks upon town and coast and bay. Then another takes the\nman off with him far to sea. All that he surveyed before is now lost\nto him; and as he gazes ever oceanward, he does not stay his eye upon\nany intervening object, but lets it range over the infinite azure. So\nthe Apostle leads us above all creation, and transports us to the ages\nbefore it; makes us raise our eyes, not suffering us to find any end\nin the stretch above, since end is none.[83] That \"in the beginning,\"\n\"from the beginning,\" of the Epistle and Gospel, includes nothing\nshort of the eternal God. The doketics of many shades proclaimed an\nideological, a misty Christ. \"Every spirit which confesseth Jesus\nChrist as in flesh having come is of God, and every spirit which\nconfesseth not Jesus, is not of God.\" \"Many deceivers have gone out\ninto the world, they who confess not Jesus Christ coming in\nflesh.\"[84] Such a Christ of mist as these words warn us against is\nagain shaped by more powerful intellects and touched with tenderer\nlights. But the shadowy Christ of George Eliot and of Mill is equally\narraigned by the hand of St. John. Each believer may well think within\nhimself--I must die, and that, it may be, very soon; I must be alone\nwith God, and my own soul; with that which I am, and have been; with\nmy memories, and with my sins. In that hour the weird desolate\nlanguage of the Psalmist will find its realisation: \"lover and friend\nhast thou put from me, and mine acquaintance are--_darkness_.\"[85]\nThen we want, and then we may find, a real Saviour. Then we shall know\nthat if we have only a doketic Christ, we shall indeed be alone--for\n\"except ye eat the flesh of the Son of Man, and drink His blood, ye\nhave no life in you.\"[86]\n\n       *       *       *       *       *\n\n                                NOTE.\n\nThe two following extracts, in addition to what has been already said\nin this discourse, will supply the reader with that which it is most\nnecessary for him to know upon the heresies of Asia Minor. 1. \"Two\nprincipal heresies upon the nature of Christ then prevailed, each\ndiametrically opposite to the other, as well as to the Catholic faith.\nOne was the heresy of the Doket\u00e6, which destroyed the verity of the\n_Human Nature_ in Christ; the other was the heresy of the Ebionites,\nwho denied the _Divine Nature_, and the eternal Generation, and\ninclined to press the observation of the ceremonial law. Ancient\nwriters allow these as heresies of the first century; all admit that\nthey were powerful in the age of Ignatius. Hence Theodoret (_Pro\u0153m._)\ndivided the books of these heresies into two categories. In the first\nhe included those who put forward the idea of a second Creator, and\nasserted that the Lord had appeared illusively. In the second he\nplaced those who maintained that the Lord was merely a man. Of the\nfirst, Jerome observed (_Adv. Lucifer._ xxiii.) 'that while the\nApostles yet remained upon the earth, while the blood of Christ was\nalmost smoking upon the sod of Jud\u00e6a, some asserted that the body of\nthe Lord was a phantom.' Of the second, the same writer remarked that\n'St. John, at the invitation of the bishops of Asia Minor, wrote his\nGospel against Cerinthus and other heretics--and especially against\nthe dogma of the Ebionites then rising into existence, who asserted\nthat Christ did not exist before Mary.' Epiphanius notes that these\nheresies were mainly of Asia Minor (\u03c6\u03b7\u03bc\u03b9 \u03b4\u03b5 \u03b5\u03bd \u03c4\u03b7' \u0391\u03c3\u03b9\u03b1). _H\u00e6res._\nlvi.\" (Pearson, _Vindic. Ignat._, ii., c. i., p. 351.)\n\n2. \"Two of these sects or schools are very ancient, and seem to have\nbeen referred to by St. John. The first is that of the Naassenians or\nOphites. The antiquity of this sect is guaranteed to us by the author\nof the _Philosophumena_, who represents them as the real founders of\nGnosticism. \"Later,\" he says, \"they were called _Gnostics_, pretending\nthat they only _knew the depths_.\" (To this allusion is made Apoc. ii.\n24, which would identify these sectaries with the Balaamites and\nNicolaitans.) The second of these great heresies of Asia Minor is the\ndoketic. The publication of the _Philosophumena_ has furnished us with\nmuch more precise information about their tenets. We need not say much\nabout the divine emanation--the fall of souls into matter, their\ncorporeal captivity, their final rehabilitation (these are merely the\nordinary Gnostic ideas). But we may follow what they assert about the\nSaviour and His manifestation in the world. They admit in Him the only\nSon of the Father (\u1f41 \u03bc\u03bf\u03bd\u03bf\u03b3\u03b5\u03bd\u03b7\u03c2 \u03c0\u03b1\u03b9\u03c2 \u03b1\u03bd\u03c9\u03b8\u03b5\u03bd \u03b1\u03b9\u03c9\u03bd\u03b9\u03bf\u03c2), who descended to\nthe reign of shadows and the Virgin's womb, where He clothed Himself\nin a gross, human material body. But this was a vestment of no\nintegrally personal and permanent character; it was, indeed, a sort of\nmasquerade, an artifice or fiction imagined to deceive the prince of\nthis world. The Saviour at His baptism received a second birth, and\nclad Himself with a subtler texture of body, formed in the bosom of\nthe waters--if that can be termed a body which was but a fantastic\ntexture woven or framed upon the model of His earthly body. During the\nhours of the Passion, the flesh formed in Mary's womb, and it alone,\nwas nailed to the tree. The great Archon or Demiurgus, whose work that\nflesh was, was played upon and deceived, in pouring His wrath only\nupon the work of His hands. For the soul, or spiritual substance,\nwhich had been wounded in the flesh of the Saviour, extricated itself\nfrom this as from an unmeet and hateful vesture; and itself\ncontributing to nailing it to the cross, triumphed by that very flesh\nover principalities and powers. It did not, however, remain naked, but\nclad in the subtler form which it had assumed in its baptismal second\nbirth (_Philosoph._, viii. 10). What is remarkable in this theory is,\nfirst, the admission of the reality of the terrestrial body, formed in\nthe Virgin's womb, and then nailed to the cross. The _negation_ is\nonly of the _real_ and permanent union of this body with the heavenly\nspirit which inhabits it. We shall, further, note the importance which\nit attaches to the Saviour's baptism, and the part played by water, as\nif an intermediate element between flesh and spirit. This may bear\nupon 1 John v. 8.\"\n\n[This passage is from a _Dissertation--les Trois T\u00e9moins C\u00e9lestes_, in\na collection of religious and literary papers by French scholars (Tom.\nii., Sept. 1868, pp. 388-392). The author, since deceased, was the\nAbb\u00e9 Le Hir, M. Renan's instructor in Hebrew at Saint Sulpice, and\npronounced by his pupil one of the first of European Hebraists and\nscientific theologians.]\n\nFOOTNOTES:\n\n[69] \"Proprium est credentis ut cum assensu cogitet.\" \"The intellect\nof him who believes assents to the thing believed, not because he sees\nthat thing either in itself or by logical reference to first\nself-evident principles; but because it is so far convinced by Divine\nauthority as to assent to things which it does not see, and on account\nof the dominance of the will in setting the intellect in motion.\" This\nsentence is taken from a passage of Aquinas which appears to be of\ngreat and permanent value. _Summa Theolog._ 2^a, 2^\u00e6 qu\u00e6st. i. art. 4.\nqu\u00e6st. v. art. 2.\n\n[70] Acts xx. 30.\n\n[71] \u03c4\u03b1\u03c2 \u03b2\u03b5\u03b2\u03b7\u03bb\u03bf\u03c5\u03c2 \u03ba\u03b5\u03bd\u03bf\u03c6\u03c9\u03bd\u03b9\u03b1\u03c2, \u03ba\u03b1\u03b9 \u03b1\u03bd\u03c4\u03b9\u03b8\u03b5\u03c3\u03b5\u03b9\u03c2 \u03c4\u03b7\u03c2 \u03c8\u03b5\u03c5\u03b4\u03c9\u03bd\u03c5\u03bc\u03bf\u03c5 \u03b3\u03bd\u03c9\u03c3\u03b5\u03c9\u03c2. 1\nTim. vi. 20. The \"antitheses\" may either touch with slight sarcasm upon\npompous pretensions to scientific logical method; or may denote the\nreally self-contradictory character of these elaborate compositions; or\nagain, their polemical opposition to the Christian creed.\n\n[72] \u03bc\u03c5\u03b8\u03bf\u03b9\u03c2 \u03ba\u03b1\u03b9 \u03b3\u03b5\u03bd\u03b5\u03b1\u03bb\u03bf\u03b3\u03b9\u03b1\u03b9\u03c2 \u03b1\u03c0\u03b5\u03c1\u03b1\u03bd\u03c4\u03bf\u03b9\u03c2. 1 Tim. i. 3, 4.\n\n[73] Iren\u00e6us quotes 1 Tim. i. 4, and interprets it of the Gnostic\n'\u00e6ons.' _Adv. H\u00e6res._, i. Pro\u0153m.\n\n[74] Few phenomena of criticism are more unaccountable than the desire\nto evade any acknowledgment of the historical existence of these\nsingular heresies. Not long after St. John's death, Polycarp, in\nwriting to the Philippians, quotes 1 John iv. 3, and proceeds to show\nthat doketism had consummated its work down to the last fibres of the\nroot of the creed, by two negations--no resurrection of the body, no\njudgment. (Polycarp, _Epist. ad Philip._, vii.) Ignatius twice deals\nwith the Doket\u00e6 at length. To the Trallians he delivers what may be\ncalled an antidoketic creed, concluding in the tone of one who was\nwounded by what he was daily hearing. \"Be deaf then when any man\nspeaks unto you without Jesus Christ, who is of Mary, who truly was\nborn, truly suffered under Pontius Pilate, truly was crucified and\ndied, truly also was raised from the dead. But if some who are\nunbelieving say that He suffered apparently, _as if in vision, being\nvisionary themselves_, why am I a prisoner? why do I choose to fight\nwith wild beasts?\" (Ignat., _Ep. ad Trall._, iv. x.) The play upon the\nname doket\u00e6 cannot be mistaken (\u03bb\u03b5\u03b3\u03bf\u03c5\u03c3\u03b9\u03bd \u03c4\u03bf \u03b4\u03bf\u03ba\u03b5\u03b9\u03bd \u03c0\u03b5\u03c0\u03bf\u03bd\u03b8\u03b5\u03bd\u03b1\u03b9 \u03b1\u03c5\u03c4\u03bf\u03bd,\n\u03b1\u03c5\u03c4\u03bf\u03b9 \u03bf\u03bd\u03c4\u03b5\u03c2 \u03c4\u03bf \u03b4\u03bf\u03ba\u03b5\u03b9\u03bd). Ignatius writes to another Church--\"What\nprofited it me if one praiseth me but blasphemeth my Lord, not\nconfessing that He bears true human flesh. They abstain from Eucharist\nand prayer, because they confess not that the Eucharist is flesh of\nour Saviour Jesus Christ.\" (_Ep. ad Smyrn._, v. vi. vii.)\n\n[75] The elder Mr. Mill, however, appears to have seriously leaned to\nthis as a conceivable solution of the contradictory phenomena of\nexistence.\n\n[76] _Life_ vol. ii., 359, 360.\n\n[77] Much use has here been made of a truly remarkable article in the\n_Spectator_, Jan. 31st, 1885.\n\n[78] 2 Cor. v. 13-15.\n\n[79] John i. 43.\n\n[80] 1 John iv. 19.\n\n[81] 1 John ii. 3.\n\n[82] 1 John iii. 4, v. 17.\n\n[83] Every one who reads Greek should refer to the magnificent\npassage, _S. Joann. Chrysos., in Joann., Homil._ ii. 4.\n\n[84] 1 John iv. 2; 2 John v. 7. See notes on the passages.\n\n[85] Psalm lviii. 18.\n\n[86] John vi. 53.\n\n\n\n\n                            DISCOURSE IV.\n\n            _THE IMAGE OF ST. JOHN'S SOUL IN HIS EPISTLE._\n\n  \"He that loveth pureness of heart, for the grace of his lips the king\n                shall be his friend.\"--PROV. xxii. 11.\n\n         \u1f41 \u03b8\u03b5\u03bc\u03b5\u03bb\u03b9\u03bf\u03c2.... \u1f41 \u03b4\u03b5\u03c5\u03c4\u03b5\u03c1\u03bf\u03c2 \u03c3\u03b1\u03c0\u03c6\u03b5\u03b9\u03c1\u03bf\u03c2.--APOC. xxi. 19.\n\n    \"We know that whosoever is born of God sinneth not; but he that is\n    begotten of God keepeth himself, and that wicked one toucheth him\n    not. And we know that we are of God, and the whole world lieth in\n    wickedness. And we know that the Son of God is come, and hath\n    given us an understanding that we may know Him that is true, and\n    we are in Him that is true, even in His Son Jesus Christ. This is\n    the true God and eternal life.\"--1 JOHN v. 18-20.\n\n\nMuch has been said in the last few years of a series of subtle and\ndelicate experiments in sound. Means have been devised of doing for\nthe ear something analogous to that which glasses do for another\nsense, and of making the results palpable by a system of notation. We\nare told that every tree for instance, according to its foliage, its\nposition, and the direction of the winds, has its own prevalent note\nor tone, which can be marked down, and its _timbre_ made first visible\nby this notation, and then audible. So is it with the souls of the\nsaints of God, and chiefly of the Apostles. Each has its own note, the\nprevalent key on which its peculiar music is set. Or we may employ\nanother image which possibly has St. John's own authority. Each of the\ntwelve has his peculiar emblem among the twelve vast and precious\nfoundation stones which underlie the whole wall of the Church. St.\nJohn may thus differ from St. Peter, as the sapphire's azure differs\nfrom the jasper's strength and radiance. Each is beautiful, but with\nits own characteristic tint of beauty.[87]\n\nWe propose to examine the peculiarities of St. John's spiritual nature\nwhich may be traced in this Epistle. We try to form some conception of\nthe key on which it is set, of the colour which it reflects in the\nlight of heaven, of the image of a soul which it presents. In this\nattempt we cannot be deceived. St. John is so transparently honest; he\ntakes such a deep, almost terribly severe view of truth. We find him\nusing an expression about truth which is perhaps without a parallel in\nany other writer. \"If we say that we have fellowship with Him and walk\nin darkness we lie, and are not _doing the truth_.\"[88] The truth then\nfor him is something co-extensive with our whole nature and whole\nlife. Truth is not only to be _spoken_--that is but a fragmentary\nmanifestation of it. It is to be _done_. It would have been for him\nthe darkest of lies to have put forth a spiritual commentary on his\nGospel which was not realised in himself. In the Epistle, no doubt, he\nuses the first person singular sparingly, modestly including himself\nin the simple _we_ of Christian association. Yet we are as sure of the\nperfect accuracy of the picture of his soul, of the music in his heart\nwhich he makes visible and audible in his letter, as we are that he\nheard the voice of many waters, and saw the city coming down from God\nout of heaven; as sure, as if at the close of this fifth chapter he\nhad added with the triumphant emphasis of truth, in his simple and\nstately way, \"I John heard these things and saw them.\"[89] He closes\nthis letter with a threefold affirmation of certain primary postulates\nof the Christian life; of its _purity_,[90] of its _privilege_[91], of\nits _Presence_,[92]--\"we know,\" \"we know,\" \"we know.\" In each case the\nplural might be exchanged for the singular. He says \"_we_ know,\"\nbecause he is sure \"_I_ know.\"\n\nIn studying the Epistles of St. John we may well ask what we see and\nhear therein of St. John's character, (1) as a sacred writer, (2) as a\nsaintly soul.\n\n\n                                  I.\n\nWe consider first the indications in the Epistle of the Apostle's\ncharacter as a sacred writer.\n\nFor help in this direction we do not turn with much satisfaction to\nessays or annotations pervaded by the modern spirit. The textual\ncriticism of minute scholarship is no doubt much, but it is not all.\nAorists are made for man, not man for the aorist. He indeed who has\nnot traced every fibre of the sacred text with grammar and lexicon\ncannot quite honestly claim to be an _expositor_ of it. But in the\ncase of a book like Scripture this, after all, is but an important\npreliminary. The frigid subtlety of the commentator who always seems\nto have the questions for a divinity examination before his eyes,\nfails in the glow and elevation necessary to bring us into communion\nwith the spirit of St. John. Led by such guides, the Apostle passes\nunder our review as a third-rate writer of a magnificent language in\ndecadence, not as the greatest of theologians and masters of the\nspiritual life--with whatever defects of literary style, at once the\nPlato of the twelve in one region, and the Aristotle in the other; the\nfirst by his \"lofty inspiration,\" the second by his \"judicious\nutilitarianism.\" The deepest thought of the Church has been brooding\nfor seventeen centuries over these pregnant and many-sided words, so\nmany of which are the very words of Christ. To separate ourselves from\nthis vast and beautiful commentary is to place ourselves out of the\natmosphere in which we can best feel the influence of St. John.\n\nLet us read Chrysostom's description of the style and thought of the\nauthor of the fourth Gospel. \"The son of thunder, the loved of Christ,\nthe pillar of the Churches, who leaned on Jesus' bosom, makes his\nentrance. He plays no drama, he covers his head with no mask. Yet he\nwears array of inimitable beauty. For he comes having his feet shod\nwith the preparation of the Gospel of peace, and his loins girt, not\nwith fleece dyed in purple, or bedropped with gold, but woven through\nand through with, and composed of, the truth itself. He will now\nappear before us, not dramatically, for with him there is no\ntheatrical effect or fiction, but with his head bared he tells the\nbare truth. All these things he will speak with absolute accuracy,\nbeing the friend of the King Himself--aye, having the King speaking\nwithin him, and hearing all things from Him which He heareth from the\nFather; as He saith--'you I have called friends, for all things that I\nhave heard from My Father, I have made known unto you.' Wherefore, as\nif we all at once saw one stooping down from yonder heaven, and\npromising to tell us truly of things there, we should all flock to\nlisten to him, so let us now dispose ourselves. For it is from up\nthere that this man speaks down to us. And the fisherman is not\ncarried away by the whirling current of his own exuberant verbosity;\nbut all that he utters is with the steadfast accuracy of truth, and as\nif he stood upon a rock he budges not. All time is his witness. Seest\nthou the boldness, and the great authority of his words! how he utters\nnothing by way of doubtful conjecture, but all demonstratively, as if\npassing sentence. Very lofty is this Apostle, and full of dogmas, and\nlingers over them more than over other things!\"[93] This admirable\npassage, with its fresh and noble enthusiasm, nowhere reminds us of\nthe glacial subtleties of the schools. It is the utterance of an\nexpositor who spoke the language in which his master wrote, and\nbreathed the same spiritual atmosphere. It is scarcely less true of\nthe Epistle than of the Gospel of St. John.\n\nHere also \"he is full of dogmas,\" here again he is the theologian of\nthe Church. But we are not to estimate the amount of dogma merely by\nthe number of words in which it is expressed. Dogma, indeed, is not\nreally composed of isolated texts--as pollen showered from conifers\nand germs scattered from mosses, accidentally brought together and\ncompacted, are found upon chemical analysis to make up certain lumps\nof coal. It is primary and structural. The Divinity and Incarnation of\nJesus pervade the First Epistle. Its whole structure is\n_Trinitarian_.[94] It contains two of the three great three-word\ndogmatic utterances of the New Testament about the nature of God (the\nfirst being in the fourth Gospel)--\"God is Spirit,\" \"God is light,\"\n\"God is love.\" The chief dogmatic statements of the Atonement are\nfound in these few chapters. \"The blood of Jesus His Son cleanseth us\nfrom all sin.\" \"We have an Advocate with the Father, Jesus Christ the\nRighteous.\" \"He is the propitiation for the whole world.\" \"God loved\nus, and sent His Son the propitiation for our sins.\" Where the Apostle\npasses on to deal with the spiritual life, he once more \"is full of\ndogmas,\" _i.e._, of eternal self-evidenced oracular sentences, spoken\nas if \"down from heaven,\" or by one \"whose foot is upon a\nrock,\"--apparently identical propositions, all-inclusive, the dogmas\nof moral and spiritual life, as those upon the Trinity, the\nIncarnation, the Atonement, are of strictly theological truth. A\nfurther characteristic of St. John as a sacred writer in his Epistle\nis, that he appears to indicate throughout the moral and spiritual\nconditions which were necessary for receiving the Gospel with which he\nendowed the Church as the life of their life. These conditions are\nthree. The first is _spirituality_, submission to the teaching of the\nSpirit, that they may know by it the meaning of the words of\nJesus--the \"anointing\" of the Holy Ghost, which is ever \"teaching all\nthings\" that He said.[95] The second condition is _purity_, at least,\nthe continuing effort after self-purification which is incumbent even\nupon those who have received the great pardon.[96] This involves the\nfollowing in life's daily walk of the One perfect life-walk,[97] the\nimitation of that which is supremely good,[98] \"incarnated in an\nactual earthly career.\" All must be purity, or effort after purity, on\nthe side of those who would read aright the Gospel of the immaculate\nLamb of God. The third condition for such readers is love--_charity_.\nWhen he comes to deal fully with that great theme, the eagle of God\nwheels far out of sight. In the depths of His Eternal Being, \"God is\nlove.\"[99] Then this truth comes closer to us as believers. It stands\ncompletely and for ever _manifested_ in its work _in us_,[100] because\n\"God _hath sent_\" (a mission in the past, but with abiding\nconsequences)[101] \"His Son, His only-begotten Son into the world,\nthat we may live through Him.\" Yet again, he rises higher from the\n_manifestation_ of this love to the eternal and essential principle in\nwhich it stands present for ever. \"In this _is_ the love, not that we\nloved God, but that God loved us, and once for all sent His Son a\npropitiation for our sins.\"[102] Then follows the manifestation of\n_our_ love. \"If God so loved us, we also are bound to love one\nanother.\" Do we think it strange that St. John does not first draw the\nlesson--\"if God so loved us, we also are bound to love God\"? It has\nbeen in his heart all along, but he utters it in his own way, in the\nsolemn pathetic question--\"he that loveth not his brother whom he\nhath seen, God whom he hath not seen how can he love?\"[103] Yet once\nmore he sums up the creed in a few short words. \"We have believed the\nlove that God hath in us.\"[104] Truly and deeply has it been said that\nthis creed of the heart, suffused with the softest tints and sweetest\ncolours, goes to the root of all heresies upon the Incarnation,\nwhether in St. John's time or later. That God should give up His Son\nby sending Him forth in humanity; that the Word made flesh should\nhumble Himself to the death upon the cross, the Sinless offer Himself\nfor sinners, this is what heresy cannot bring itself to understand. It\nis the excess of such love which makes it incredible. \"We have\nbelieved the love\" is the whole faith of a Christian man. It is St.\nJohn's creed in three words.[105]\n\nSuch are the chief characteristics of St. John as a sacred writer,\nwhich may be traced in his Epistle. These characteristics of the\nauthor imply corresponding characteristics of the man. He who states\nwith such inevitable precision, with such noble and self-contained\nenthusiasm, the great dogmas of the Christian faith, the great laws of\nthe Christian life, must himself have entirely believed them. He who\ninsists upon these conditions in the readers of his Gospel, must\nhimself have aimed at, and possessed, spirituality, purity, and love.\n\n\n                                 II.\n\nWe proceed to look at the First Epistle as a picture of the soul of\nits author.\n\n(1) His was a life free from the dominion of wilful and habitual sin\nof any kind. \"Whosoever is born of God doth not commit sin, and he\ncannot continue sinning.\" \"Whosoever abideth in Him sinneth not;\nwhosoever sinneth hath not seen Him, neither known Him.\" A man so\nentirely true, if conscious to himself of any reigning sin, dare not\nhave deliberately written these words.\n\n(2) But if St. John's was a life free from subjection to any form of\nthe power of sin, he shows us that sanctity is not sinlessness, in\nlanguage which it is alike unwise and unsafe to attempt to explain\naway. \"If we say that we have no sin, we deceive ourselves.\" \"If we\nsay that we have not sinned and are not sinners, we make Him a liar.\"\nBut so long as we do not fall back into darkness, the blood of Jesus\nis ever purifying us from all sin. This he has written that the\nfulness of the Christian life may be realised in believers; that each\nstep of their walk may follow the blessed footprints of the most holy\nlife; that each successive act of a consecrated existence may be free\nfrom sin.[106] And yet, if any fail in some such single act,[107] if\nhe swerve, for a moment, from the \"true tenour\" of the course which he\nis shaping, there is no reason to despair. Beautiful humility of this\npure and lofty soul! How tenderly, with what lowly graciousness he\nplaces himself among those who have and who need an Advocate. \"Mark\nJohn's humility,\" cries St. Augustine; \"he says not '_ye_ have,' nor\n'ye have _me_,' nor even '_ye_ have Christ.' But he puts forward\nChrist, not himself; and he says '_we_ have,' not '_ye_ have,' thus\nplacing himself in the rank of sinners.\"[108] Nor does St. John cover\nhimself under the subterfuges by which men at different times have\ntried to get rid of a truth so humiliating to spiritual\npride--sometimes by asserting that they so stand accepted in Christ\nthat no sin is accounted to them for such; sometimes by pleading\npersonal exemption for themselves as believers.\n\nThis Epistle stands alone in the New Testament in being addressed to\ntwo generations--one of which after conversion had grown old in a\nChristian atmosphere, whilst the other had been educated from the\ncradle under the influences of the Christian Church. It is therefore\nnatural that such a letter should give prominence to the constant need\nof pardon. It certainly does not speak so much of the great initial\npardon,[109] as of the continuing pardons needed by human frailty. In\ndwelling upon pardon once given, upon sanctification once begun, men\nare possibly apt to forget the pardon that is daily wanting, the\npurification that is never to cease. We are to walk daily from pardon\nto pardon, from purification to purification. Yesterday's surrender of\nself to Christ may grow ineffectual if it be not renewed to-day. This\nis sometimes said to be a humiliating view of the Christian life.\nPerhaps so--but it is the view of the Church, which places in its\noffices a daily confession of sin; of St. John in this Epistle; nay,\nof Him who teaches us, after our prayers for bread day by day, to pray\nfor a daily forgiveness. This may be more humiliating, but it is safer\nteaching than that which proclaims a pardon to be appropriated in a\nmoment for all sins past, present, and to come.\n\nThis humility may be traced incidentally in other regions of the\nChristian life. Thus he speaks of the possibility at least of his\nbeing among those who might \"shrink with shame from Christ in His\ncoming.\" He does not disdain to write as if, in hours of spiritual\ndepression, there were tests by which he too might need to lull and\n\"persuade his heart before God.\"[110]\n\n(3) St. John again has a boundless faith in prayer. It is the key put\ninto the child's hand by which he may let himself into the house, and\ncome into his Father's presence when he will, at any hour of the night\nor day. And prayer made according to the conditions which God has laid\ndown is never quite lost. The particular thing asked for may not\nindeed be given; but the substance of the request, the holier wish,\nthe better purpose underlying its weakness and imperfection, never\nfails to be granted.[111]\n\n(4) All but superficial readers must perceive that in the writings and\ncharacter of St. John there is from time to time a tonic and wholesome\n_severity_. Art and modern literature have agreed to bestow upon the\nApostle of love the features of a languid and inert tenderness. It is\nforgotten that St. John was the son of thunder; that he could once wish\nto bring down fire from heaven; and that the natural character is\ntransfigured not inverted by grace. The Apostle uses great plainness of\nspeech. For him a lie is a lie, and darkness is never courteously called\nlight. He abhors and shudders at those heresies which rob the soul first\nof Christ, and then of God.[112] Those who undermine the Incarnation\nare for him not interesting and original speculators, but \"lying\nprophets.\" He underlines his warnings against such men with his roughest\nand blackest pencil mark. \"Whoso sayeth to him 'good speed' hath\nfellowship with his _works_, those wicked _works_\"[113]--for such heresy\nis not simply one work, but a series of works. The schismatic prelate or\npretender Diotrephes may \"babble;\" but his babblings are wicked words\nfor all that, and are in truth the \"works which he is doing.\"\n\nThe influence of every great Christian teacher lasts long beyond the day\nof his death. It is felt in a general tone and spirit, in a special\nappropriation of certain parts of the creed, in a peculiar method of the\nChristian life. This influence is very discernible in the remains of two\ndisciples of St. John,[114] Ignatius and Polycarp. In writing to the\nEphesians, Ignatius does not indeed explicitly refer to St. John's\nEpistle, as he does to that of St. Paul to the Ephesians. But he draws\nin a few bold lines a picture of the Christian life which is imbued with\nthe very spirit of St. John. The character which the Apostle loved was\nquiet and real; we feel that his heart is not with \"him that\nsayeth.\"[115] So Ignatius writes--\"it is better to keep silence, and yet\nto _be_, than to talk and _not to be_. It is good to teach if 'he that\nsayeth doeth.' He who has gotten to himself the word of Jesus truly is\nable to hear the silence of Jesus also, so that he may _act_ through\nthat which he _speaks_, and _be known_ through the things wherein he is\n_silent_. Let us therefore do all things as in His presence who dwelleth\nin us, that we may be His temple, and that He may be in us our God.\"\nThis is the very spirit of St. John. We feel in it at once his severe\ncommon sense and his glorious mysticism.\n\nWe must add that the influence of St. John may be traced in matters\nwhich are often considered alien to his simple and spiritual piety. It\nseems that Episcopacy was consolidated and extended under his fostering\ncare. The language of Ignatius (probably his disciple) upon the\nnecessity of union with the Episcopate is, after all conceivable\ndeductions, of startling strength. A few decades could not possibly have\nremoved Ignatius so far from the lines marked out to him by St. John as\nhe must have advanced, if this teaching upon Church government was a new\ndeparture. And with this conception of Church government we must\nassociate other matters also. The immediate successors of St. John, who\nhad learned from his lips, held deep sacramental views. The Eucharist is\n\"the bread of God, the bread of heaven, the bread of life, the flesh of\nChrist.\" Again Ignatius cries--\"desire to use one Eucharist, for one is\nthe flesh of our Lord Jesus Christ, and one cup unto oneness of His\nblood, one altar, as one Bishop, with the Presbytery and deacons.\"[117]\nHints are not wanting that sweetness and life in public worship derived\ninspiration from the same quarter. The language of Ignatius is deeply\ntinged with his passion for _music_.[118] The beautiful story, how he\nset down, immediately after a vision, the melody to which he had heard\nthe angels chanting, and caused it to be used in his church at Antioch,\nattests the impression of enthusiasm and care for sacred song which was\nassociated with the memory of Ignatius.[119] Nor can we be surprised at\nthese features of Ephesian Christianity, when we remember who was the\nfounder of those Churches. He was the writer of _three_ books. These\nbooks come to us with a continuous living interpretation of more than\nseventeen centuries of historical Christianity. From the fourth Gospel\nin large measure has arisen the sacramental instinct, from the\nApocalypse the \u00e6sthetic instinct, which has been certainly exaggerated\nboth in the East and West. The third and sixth chapters of St. John's\nGospel permeate every baptismal and eucharistic office. Given an\ninspired book which represents the worship of the redeemed as one of\nperfect majesty and beauty, men may well in the presence of noble\nchurches and stately liturgies, adopt the words of our great English\nChristian poet--\n\n            \"things which shed upon the outward frame\n      Of worship glory and grace--which who shall blame\n      That ever look'd to heaven for final rest?\"\n\nThe third book in this group of writings supplies the sweet and quiet\nspirituality which is the foundation of every regenerate nature.\n\nSuch is the image of the soul which is presented to us by St. John\nhimself. It is based upon a firm conviction of the nature of God, of\nthe Divinity, the Incarnation, the Atonement of our Lord. It is\nspiritual. It is pure, or being purified. The highest theological\ntruth--\"God is Love\"--supremely _realised_ in the Holy Trinity,\nsupremely manifested in the sending forth of God's only Son, becomes\nthe law of its common social life, made visible in gentle patience, in\ngiving and forgiving.[120] Such a life will be free from the\ndegradation of habitual sin. Yet it is at best an imperfect\nrepresentation of the one perfect life.[121] It needs unceasing\npurification by the blood of Jesus, the continual advocacy of One who\nis sinless. Such a nature, however full of charity, will not be weakly\nindulgent to vital error or to ambitious schism;[122] for it knows the\nvalue of truth and unity. It feels the sweetness of a calm conscience,\nand of a simple belief in the efficacy of prayer. Over every such\nlife--over all the grief that may be, all the temptation that must\nbe--is the purifying hope of a great Advent, the ennobling assurance\nof a perfect victory, the knowledge that if we continue true to the\nprinciple of our new birth we are safe. And our safety is, not that we\nkeep ourselves, but that we are kept by arms which are as soft as\nlove, and as strong as eternity.[123]\n\nThese Epistles are full of instruction and of comfort for us, just\nbecause they are written in an atmosphere of the Church which, in one\nrespect at least, resembles our own. There is in them no reference\nwhatever to a continuance of miraculous powers, to raptures, or to\nextraordinary phenomena. All in them which is supernatural continues\neven to this day, in the possession of an inspired record, in\nsacramental grace, in the pardon and holiness, the peace and strength\nof believers. The apocryphal \"Acts of John\" contain some fragments of\nreal beauty almost lost in questionable stories and prolix declamation.\nIt is probably not literally true that when St. John in early life\nwished to make himself a home, his Lord said to him, \"I have need of\nthee, John;\" that that thrilling voice once came to him, wafted over the\nstill darkened sea--\"John, hadst thou not been Mine, I would have\nsuffered thee to marry.\"[124] But the Epistle shows us much more\neffectually that he had a pure heart and virgin will. It is scarcely\nprobable that the son of Zebedee ever drained a cup of hemlock with\nimpunity; but he bore within him an effectual charm against the poison\nof sin.[125] We of this nineteenth century may smile when we read that\nhe possessed the power of turning leaves into gold, of transmuting\npebbles into jewels, of fusing shattered gems into one; but he carried\nwith him wherever he went that most excellent gift of charity, which\nmakes the commonest things of earth radiant with beauty.[126] He may\nnot actually have praised his Master during his last hour in words which\nseem to us not quite unworthy even of such lips--\"Thou art the only\nLord, the root of immortality, the fountain of incorruption. Thou who\nmadest our rough wild nature soft and quiet, who deliveredst me from the\nimagination of the moment, and didst keep me safe within the guard of\nthat which abideth for ever.\" But such thoughts in life or death were\nnever far from him for whom Christ was the Word and the Life; who knew\nthat while \"the world passeth away and the lust thereof, he that doeth\nthe will of God abideth for ever.\"[127]\n\nMay we so look upon this image of the Apostle's soul in his Epistle\nthat we may reflect something of its brightness! May we be able to\nthink, as we turn to this threefold assertion of knowledge--\"_I_ know\nsomething of the security of this keeping.[128] _I_ know something of\nthe sweetness of being in the Church, that isle of light surrounded by\na darkened world.[129] _I_ know something of the beauty of the perfect\nhuman life recorded by St. John, something of the continued presence\nof the Son of God, something of the new sense which He gives, that we\nmay know Him who is the Very God.\"[130] Blessed exchange not to be\nvaunted loudly, but spoken reverently in our own hearts--the exchange\nof we, for I. There is much divinity in these pronouns.[131]\n\n\n\n                                NOTES.\n\n                               NOTE A.\n\n1 John iv. 8, 9, 10. Modern theological schools of a Calvinistic bias\nhave tended to overlook the conception of the nature of God as\nessential or substantive Love, and to consider love only as\n_manifested_ in redemption. Socinianising interpreters understand the\nproposition to mean that God is simply and exclusively benevolent. (On\nthe inadequacy of this, see Butler, _Anal._, Part I., ch. iii., and\nDissertation II. of the Nature of Virtue.) The highest Christian\nthought has ever recognised that the proposition 'God is Love'\nnecessarily involves the august truth that God if _sole_ is not\n_solitary_. (\"Credimur et confitemur omnipotentem Trinitatem--unum\nDeum _solum_ non _solitarium_.\" Concil. Tolet., vi. 1.) \"Let it not be\nsupposed,\" said St. Bernard, \"that I here account Love as an attribute\nor accident, but as the Divine essence--no new doctrine, seeing that\nSt. John saith 'God is love.' It may rightly be said both that _Love_\nis _God_, and that love is _the gift of God_. For Love gives love; the\nessential Love gives that which is accidental. When Love signifies the\nGiver, it is the name of His essence; when it signifies His gift, it\nis the name of a quality or attribute.\" (_S. Bernard., de dil. Deo_,\nxii.). \"This is nobly said. God is love. Thus love is the eternal law\nwhereby all things were created and are governed--wherewith He who is\nthe law of all things is unto Himself His own law, and that a law of\nlove--wherewith He bindeth His Trinity into Unity.\" (_Thomassin. Dogm.\nTheol._, lib. iii., 23.)\n\n\n                               NOTE B.\n\n\u1f21 \u1fe5\u03b9\u03b6\u03b1 \u03c4\u03b7\u03c2 \u03b1\u03b8\u03b1\u03bd\u03b1\u03c3\u03b9\u03b1\u03c2 \u03ba\u03b1\u03b9 \u1f21 \u03c0\u03b7\u03b3\u03b7 \u03c4\u03b7\u03c2 \u03b1\u03c6\u03b8\u03b1\u03c1\u03c3\u03b9\u03b1\u03c2\u00b7 \u1f41 \u03c4\u03b7\u03bd \u03b5\u03c1\u03b7\u03bc\u03bf\u03bd \u03ba\u03b1\u03b9\n\u03b1\u03b3\u03c1\u03b9\u03c9\u03b8\u03b5\u03b9\u03c3\u03b1\u03bd \u03c6\u03c5\u03c3\u03b9\u03bd \u1f21\u03bc\u03c9\u03bd \u03b7\u03c1\u03b5\u03bc\u03bf\u03bd \u03ba\u03b1\u03b9 \u1f21\u03c3\u03c5\u03c7\u03b9\u03bf\u03bd \u03c0\u03bf\u03b9\u03b7\u03c3\u03b1\u03c2, \u1f41 \u03c4\u03b7\u03c2 \u03c0\u03c1\u03bf\u03c3\u03ba\u03b1\u03b9\u03c1\u03bf\u03c5\n\u03c6\u03b1\u03bd\u03c4\u03b1\u03c3\u03b9\u03b1\u03c2 \u1fe5\u03c5\u03c3\u03b1\u03bc\u03b5\u03bd\u03bf\u03c2 \u03bc\u03b5 \u03ba\u03b1\u03b9 \u03b5\u03b9\u03c2 \u03c4\u03b7\u03bd \u03b1\u03b5\u03b9 \u03bc\u03b5\u03bd\u03bf\u03c5\u03c3\u03b1\u03bd \u03c6\u03c1\u03bf\u03c5\u03c1\u03b7\u03c3\u03b1\u03c2 (_Acta\nJohannis_, 21). These sentences are surely not without freshness and\npower. One other passage is worth translating, because it seems to\nhave just that imaginative cast which makes the Greek Liturgies, like\nso much else that is Greek, stand midway between the East and West;\nand because it apparently refers to St. John's Gospel. \"Jesus! Thou\nwho hast woven this coronal with Thy plaiting, who hast blended these\nmany flowers into the flower of Thy presence, not blown through by the\nwinds of any storm; Thou who hast scattered thickly abroad the seed of\nthese words of Thine\"--(_Acta Johannis_, 17).\n\nFOOTNOTES:\n\n[87] Apoc. xxi. 19, 20.\n\n[88] 1 John i. 6, cf. John iii. 21. In the LXX. the phrase is only\nfound once, and is then applied to God: \u03b1\u03bb\u03b7\u03b8\u03b5\u03b9\u03b1\u03bd \u03b5\u03c0\u03bf\u03b9\u03b7\u03c3\u03b1\u03c2 (Neh. ix.\n33). It is characteristic of St. John's style that _doing a lie_ is\nfound in Apoc. xxi. 27, xxii. 15.\n\n[89] Apoc. xxii. 8.\n\n[90] 1 John v. 18.\n\n[91] Ibid. 19.\n\n[92] \u1f21\u03ba\u03b5\u03b9, \"has come,--and is here.\"--Ibid. 20.\n\n[93] _S. Joann. Chrysost., in Johan._, Homil. iii., Tom. viii., 25,\n36, Edit. Migne.\n\n[94] Huther, while rejecting with all impartial critics the\ninterpolation (1 John v. 7), writes thus: \"when we embrace in one\nsurvey the contents of the Epistle as a whole, it is certainly easy to\n_adapt the conception_ of the three Heavenly witnesses to one place\nafter another in the document. But it does not follow that the mention\nof it just here would be in its right place.\" (_Handbuch \u00fcber der drei\nBriefe des Johannes._ Dr. J. E. Huther.)\n\n[95] 1 John ii. 20.\n\n[96] 1 John i. 7, iii. 3.\n\n[97] 1 John ii. 6.\n\n[98] \"Imitate not that which is evil, but that which is good\" (3 John\n12). A comparison of this verse with John xxi. 24 would lead to the\nsupposition that the writer of the letter is quoting the Gospel, and\nassumes an intimate knowledge of it on the part of Caius. See\nDiscourse XVII. Part ii. of this vol.\n\n[99] See note A at the end of this discourse.\n\n[100] 1 John iv. 9.\n\n[101] \u03b1\u03c0\u03b5\u03c3\u03c4\u03b1\u03bb\u03ba\u03b5\u03bd.\n\n[102] \u03b1\u03c0\u03b5\u03c3\u03c4\u03b5\u03b9\u03bb\u03b5\u03bd.\n\n[103] 1 John iv. 20.\n\n[104] 1 John iv. 16.\n\n[105] \u03c0\u03b5\u03c0\u03b9\u03c3\u03c4\u03b5\u03c5\u03ba\u03b1\u03bc\u03b5\u03bd \u03c4\u03b7\u03bd \u03b1\u03b3\u03b1\u03c0\u03b7\u03bd, 1 John iv. 16.\n\n[106] For the aor. conj. in this place as distinguished from the pres.\nconj. cf. John v. 20, 23, vi. 28, 29, 30. Professor Westcott's refined\nscholarship corrects the error of many commentators, \"that the Apostle\nis simply warning us not to draw encouragement for license from the\ndoctrine of forgiveness.\" The tense is decisive against this, the\nthought is of the single _act_ not of the _state_.\n\n[107] \u03b5\u03b1\u03bd \u03c4\u03b9\u03c2 \u1f01\u03bc\u03b1\u03c1\u03c4\u03b7, 1 John ii. 1.\n\n[108] _In Epist. Johann._, Tract. I.\n\n[109] 1 John ii. 12, is, of course, an important exception.\n\n[110] 1 John iii. 19, 20.\n\n[111] See Prof. Westcott's valuable note on 1 John v. 15. The very\nthings literally asked for would be \u03c4\u03b1 \u03b1\u03b9\u03c4\u03b7\u03b8\u03b5\u03bd\u03c4\u03b1, not \u03c4\u03b1 \u03b1\u03b9\u03c4\u03b7\u03bc\u03b1\u03c4\u03b1.\n\n[112] 2 John 11.\n\n[113] 3 John 10.\n\n[114] _Mart. Ignat._, i. _S. Hieron, de Script. Eccles._, xvii.\n\n[115] \u1f41 \u03bb\u03b5\u03b3\u03c9\u03bd, 1 John ii. 4, 6, 9.\n\n[116] _Ignat. Epist. ad Ephes._, xv., cf. 1 John ii. 14, iv. 9, 17,\niii. 2.\n\n[117] _S. Ignat. Epist. ad Philad._, iv.; cf. _Epist. ad Smyrn._,\nvii.; _Epist. ad Ephes._, xx.\n\n[118] The most elaborate passage in the Ignatian remains is probably\nthis. \"Your Presbytery is fitted together harmoniously with the Bishop\nas chords with the cithara. Hereby in your symphonious love Jesus\nChrist is sung in concord. Taking your part man by man become one\nchoir, that being harmoniously accordant in your like-mindedness,\nhaving received in unity the chromatic music of God (\u03c7\u03c1\u03c9\u03bc\u03b1 \u0398\u03b5\u03bf\u03c5\n\u03bb\u03b1\u03b2\u03bf\u03bd\u03c4\u03b5\u03c2), ye may sing with one voice through Jesus Christ unto the\nFather.\"--_Epist. ad Ephes._, iv. The same image is differently\napplied, _Epist. ad Philad._, i.\n\n[119] The story is given by Socrates. (_H. E._, vi. 8.)\n\n[120] 1 John iv. 7, 12.\n\n[121] 1 John ii. 6, 9, i. 7-10, ii. 1, 2.\n\n[122] 1 John i. 7, ii. 2, iv. 3, 6; 2 John 7-11; 3 John 9, 10.\n\n[123] 1 John iii. 19, v. 14, 15, iv. 2, 3, v. 4, 5, 18.\n\n[124] These sentences do not go so far as the mischievous and\nantiscriptural legend of later ascetic heretics, who marred the beauty\nand the purpose of the miracle at Cana, by asserting that John was the\nbridegroom, and that our Lord took him away from his bride. _Acta\nJohannis_, XXI. _Act. Apost. Apoc._, Tisch., 275).\n\n[125] This legend no doubt arose from the promise--\"if they drink any\ndeadly thing it shall not hurt them\" (Mark xvi. 18).\n\n  \"Virus fidens sorbuit.\" Adam of St. Victor, _Seq._ XXXIII.\n\n\n[126]\n\n      \"Aurum hic de frondibus,\n       Gemmas de silicibus,\n       Fractis de fragminibus,\n          Fecit firmas.\"--_Ibid._\n\nThere is something interesting in the persistency of legends about St.\nJohn's power over gems, when connected with the passage, flashing all\nover with the light of precious stones, whose exquisite disposition is\nthe wonder of lapidaries. Apoc. xxi, 18, 22.\n\n[127] See note B at the end of the Discourse.\n\n[128] 1 John v. 18.\n\n[129] Ibid. v. 19.\n\n[130] Ibid. v. 20.\n\n[131] Said by Luther of Psalm xxii. 1.\n\n\n\n\n                               PART II.\n\n\n\n\n  SOME GENERAL RULES FOR THE INTERPRETATION OF THE FIRST EPISTLE OF ST.\n                                JOHN.\n\n                          I. SUBJECT MATTER.\n\n\n(1) The _Epistle_ is to be read through with constant reference to the\n_Gospel_. In what _precise form_ the former is related to the latter\n(whether as a preface or as an appendix, as a spiritual commentary or\nan encyclical) critics may decide. But there is a vital and constant\nconnection. The two documents not only touch each other in thought,\nbut _interpenetrate_ each other; and the Epistle is constantly\n_suggesting_ questions which the Gospel only can answer, _e.g._, 1\nJohn i. 1, cf. John i. 1-14; 1 John v. 9, \"witness of men,\" cf. John\ni. 15-36, 41, 45, 49, iii. 2, 27-36, iv. 29-42, vi. 68, 69, vii. 46,\nix. 38, xi. 27, xviii. 38, xix. 5, 6, xx. 28.\n\n(2) Such eloquence of _style_ as St. John possesses is _real_ rather\nthan _verbal_. The interpreter must look not only at the words\nthemselves, but at that which _precedes_ and _follows_; above all he\nmust fix his attention not only upon the _verbal expression_ of the\nthought, but upon the _thought itself_. For the formal connecting link\nis not rarely omitted, and must be supplied by the devout and candid\ndiligence of the reader. The \"root below the stream\" can only be traced\nby our bending over the water until it becomes translucent to us.\n\n_E.g._ 1 John i. 7, 8. Ver. 7, \"the root below the stream\" is a\nquestion of this kind, which naturally arises from reading ver.\n6--\"must it be said that the sons of light need a constant cleansing\nby the blood of Jesus, which implies a constant guilt\"? Some such\nthought is the latent root of connection. The answer is supplied by\nthe following verse. [\"It is so\" for] \"if we say that we have no sin,\"\netc. Cf. also iii. 16, 17, xiv. 8, 9, 10, 11, v. 3 (ad. fin.), 4.\n\n\n                            II. LANGUAGE.\n\n1. _Tenses._\n\nIn the New Testament generally tenses are employed very much in the same\nsense, and with the same general accuracy, as in other Greek authors.\nThe so-called \"enallage temporum,\" or perpetual and convenient Hebraism,\nhas been proved by the greatest Hebrew scholars to be no Hebraism at\nall. But it is one of the simple secrets of St. John's quiet thoughtful\npower, that he uses tenses with the most rigorous precision.\n\n(_a_) The _Present_ of continuing uninterrupted action, _e.g._, i. 8,\nii. 6, iii. 7, 8, 9.\n\nHence the so-called _substantized_ participle with article \u1f41 has in St.\nJohn the sense of the continuous and constitutive temper and conduct of\nany man, the principle of his moral and spiritual life--_e.g._, \u1f41 \u03bb\u03b5\u03b3\u03c9\u03bd,\nhe who is ever vaunting, ii. 4; \u03c0\u03b1\u03c2 \u1f41 \u03bc\u03b9\u03c3\u03c9\u03bd, every one the abiding\nprinciple of whose life is hatred, iii. 15; \u03c0\u03b1\u03c2 \u1f41 \u03b1\u03b3\u03b1\u03c0\u03c9\u03bd, every one the\nabiding principle of whose life is love, iv. 7.\n\nThe Infin. Present is generally used to express an action now in\ncourse of performing or _continued_ in itself or in its results, or\n_frequently repeated--e.g._, 1 John ii. 6, iii. 8, 9, v. 18. (Winer,\n_Gr. of N. T. Diction_, Part 3, xliv., 348).\n\n(_b_) The _Aorist_.\n\nThis tense is generally used either of a thing occurring only once,\nwhich does not admit, or at least does not require, the notion of\ncontinuance and perpetuity; or of something which is brief and as it\nwere only momentary in duration (Stallbaum, _Plat. Enthyd._, p. 140).\nThis limitation or isolation of the predicated action is most\naccurately indicated by the usual form of this tense in Greek. The\naorist verb is encased between the augment \u03b5- past time, and the\nadjunct \u03c3- future time, _i.e._, the act is fixed on within certain\nlimits of previous and consequent time (Donaldson, _Gr. Gr._, 427, B.\n2). The aorist is used with most significant accuracy in the Epistle\nof St. John, _e.g._, ii. 6, 11, 27, iv. 10, v. 18.\n\n(_c_) The _Perfect_.\n\nThe Perfect denotes action absolutely past which lasts on in its\neffects. \"The idea of completeness conveyed by the aorist must be\ndistinguished from that of a state consequent on an act, which is the\nmeaning of the perfect\" (Donaldson, _Gr. Gr._, 419). Careful\nobservation of this principle is the key to some of the chief\ndifficulties of the Epistle (iii. 9, v. 4, 18).\n\n(2) The form of _accessional parallelism_ is to be carefully noticed.\nThe second member is always in advance of the first; and a third is\noccasionally introduced in advance of the second, denoting the highest\npoint to which the thought is thrown up by the tide of thought,\n_e.g._, 1 John ii. 4, 5, 6, v. 11, v. 27.\n\n(3) The _preparatory touch_ upon the chord which announces a theme to be\namplified afterwards,--_e.g._, ii. 29, iii. 9--iv. 7, v. 3, 4; iii.\n21--v. 14, ii. 20, iii. 24, iv. 3, v. 6, 8, ii. 13, 14, iv. 4--v. 4, 5.\n\n(4) One secret of St. John's simple and solemn rhetoric consists in an\n_impressive change_ in the order in which a leading word is used,\n_e.g._, 1 John ii. 24, iv. 20.\n\nThese principles carefully applied will be the best commentary upon\nthe letter of the Apostle, to whom not only when his subject is--\n\n      \"De Deo Deum verum\n       Alpha et Omega, Patrem rerum\";\n\nbut when he unfolds the principles of our spiritual life, we may apply\nAdam of St. Victor's powerful and untranslatable line,\n\n      \"Solers scribit idiota.\"\n\n\n\n\n                              SECTION I.\n\n\n        GREEK TEXT.                        LATIN.\n\n  \u1f49 \u1f29\u039d \u03b1\u03c0' \u03b1\u03c1\u03c7\u03b7\u03c2, \u1f41                  Quod fuit ab initio,\n  \u03b1\u03ba\u03b7\u03ba\u03bf\u03b1\u03bc\u03b5\u03bd, \u1f41 \u1f11\u03c9\u03c1\u03b1\u03ba\u03b1\u03bc\u03b5\u03bd             quod audivimus, et\n  \u03c4\u03bf\u03b9\u03c2 \u03bf\u03c6\u03b8\u03b1\u03bb\u03bc\u03bf\u03b9\u03c2 \u1f21\u03bc\u03c9\u03bd,               vidimus oculis nostris,\n  \u1f41 \u03b5\u03b8\u03b5\u03b1\u03c3\u03b1\u03bc\u03b5\u03b8\u03b1, \u03ba\u03b1\u03b9 \u03b1\u03b9               quod perspeximus, et\n  \u03c7\u03b5\u03b9\u03c1\u03b5\u03c2 \u1f21\u03bc\u03c9\u03bd \u03b5\u03c8\u03b7\u03bb\u03b1\u03c6\u03b7\u03c3\u03b1\u03bd             manus nostr\u00e6 temtaverunt,\n  \u03c0\u03b5\u03c1\u03b9 \u03c4\u03bf\u03c5 \u03bb\u03bf\u03b3\u03bf\u03c5 \u03c4\u03b7\u03c2 \u03b6\u03c9\u03b7\u03c2\u00b7           de Verbo vit\u00e6;\n  \u03ba\u03b1\u03b9 \u1f21 \u03b6\u03c9\u03b7 \u03b5\u03c6\u03b1\u03bd\u03b5\u03c1\u03c9\u03b8\u03b7,               et vita manifestata\n  \u03ba\u03b1\u03b9 \u1f11\u03c9\u03c1\u03b1\u03ba\u03b1\u03bc\u03b5\u03bd, \u03ba\u03b1\u03b9                 est, et vidimus et testamur,\n  \u03bc\u03b1\u03c1\u03c4\u03c5\u03c1\u03bf\u03c5\u03bc\u03b5\u03bd, \u03ba\u03b1\u03b9 \u03b1\u03c0\u03b1\u03b3\u03b3\u03b5\u03bb\u03bb\u03bf\u03bc\u03b5\u03bd      et adnuntiamus\n  \u1f51\u03bc\u03b9\u03bd \u03c4\u03b7\u03bd                           vobis vitam \u00e6ternam,\n  \u03b6\u03c9\u03b7\u03bd \u03c4\u03b7\u03bd \u03b1\u03b9\u03c9\u03bd\u03b9\u03bf\u03bd, \u1f21\u03c4\u03b9\u03c2             qu\u00e6 erat apud Patrem,\n  \u03b7\u03bd \u03c0\u03c1\u03bf\u03c2 \u03c4\u03bf\u03bd \u03c0\u03b1\u03c4\u03b5\u03c1\u03b1,                et apparuit nobis: quod\n  \u03ba\u03b1\u03b9 \u03b5\u03c6\u03b1\u03bd\u03b5\u03c1\u03c9\u03b8\u03b7 \u1f21\u03bc\u03b9\u03bd\u00b7                vidimus et audivimus,\n  \u1f41 \u1f11\u03c9\u03c1\u03b1\u03ba\u03b1\u03bc\u03b5\u03bd \u03ba\u03b1\u03b9 \u03b1\u03ba\u03b7\u03ba\u03bf\u03b1\u03bc\u03b5\u03bd,         et adnuntiamus vobis,\n  \u03b1\u03c0\u03b1\u03b3\u03b3\u03b5\u03bb\u03bb\u03bf\u03bc\u03b5\u03bd                       ut et vos societatem\n  \u1f51\u03bc\u03b9\u03bd, \u1f31\u03bd\u03b1 \u03ba\u03b1\u03b9 \u1f51\u03bc\u03b5\u03b9\u03c2                habeatis nobiscum, et\n  \u03ba\u03bf\u03b9\u03bd\u03c9\u03bd\u03b9\u03b1\u03bd \u03b5\u03c7\u03b7\u03c4\u03b5 \u03bc\u03b5\u03b8'               societas nostra sit cum\n  \u1f21\u03bc\u03c9\u03bd\u00b7 \u03ba\u03b1\u03b9 \u1f21 \u03ba\u03bf\u03b9\u03bd\u03c9\u03bd\u03b9\u03b1               Patre, et Filio eius Iesu\n  \u03b4\u03b5 \u1f21 \u1f21\u03bc\u03b5\u03c4\u03b5\u03c1\u03b1 \u03bc\u03b5\u03c4\u03b1 \u03c4\u03bf\u03c5              Christo. Et h\u00e6c scripsimus\n  \u03c0\u03b1\u03c4\u03c1\u03bf\u03c2 \u03ba\u03b1\u03b9 \u03bc\u03b5\u03c4\u03b1 \u03c4\u03bf\u03c5                vobis ut gaudium\n  \u03c5\u03b9\u03bf\u03c5 \u03b1\u03c5\u03c4\u03bf\u03c5 \u0399\u03b7\u03c3\u03bf\u03c5                   nostrum sit plenum.\n  \u03a7\u03c1\u03b9\u03c3\u03c4\u03bf\u03c5\u00b7 \u03ba\u03b1\u03b9 \u03c4\u03b1\u03c5\u03c4\u03b1\n  \u03b3\u03c1\u03b1\u03c6\u03bf\u03bc\u03b5\u03bd \u1f51\u03bc\u03b9\u03bd, \u1f31\u03bd\u03b1 \u1f21\n  \u03c7\u03b1\u03c1\u03b1 \u1f51\u03bc\u03c9\u03bd \u1f21 \u03c0\u03b5\u03c0\u03bb\u03b7\u03c1\u03c9\u03bc\u03b5\u03bd\u03b7.\n\n\n     AUTHORISED VERSION.                REVISED VERSION.\n\n  That which was from                That which was from\n  the beginning, which               the beginning, that\n  we have heard, which               which we have heard,\n  we have seen with our              that which we have\n  eyes, which we have                seen with our eyes,\n  looked upon, and our               that which we beheld,\n  hands have handled,                and our hands handled,\n  of the Word of Life;               concerning the Word\n  (for the life was                  of life (and the life was\n  manifested, and we                 manifested, and we\n  have seen _it_, and bear           have seen, and bear\n  witness, and show unto             witness, and declare\n  you that eternal life,             unto you the life, the\n  which was with the                 eternal _life_, which was\n  Father, and was manifested         with the Father, and\n  unto us;) that                     was manifested unto\n  which we have seen                 us); that which we\n  and heard declare we               have seen and heard\n  unto you, that ye                  declare we unto you\n  also may have fellowship           also, that ye also may\n  with us: and truly                 have fellowship with\n  our fellowship _is_ with           us: yea, and our fellowship\n  the Father, and with               is with the\n  his Son Jesus Christ.              Father, and with his\n  And these things write             Son Jesus Christ: and\n  we unto you, that your             these things we write,\n  joy may be full.                   that our joy may be\n                                     fulfilled.\n\n\n     ANOTHER RENDERING.\n\n  That which was ever\n  from the beginning,\n  that which we have\n  heard, that which we\n  have seen with our\n  eyes, that which we\n  gazed upon, and our\n  hands handled--_I\n  speak_ concerning the\n  Word who is the\n  Life--and the Life\n  was manifested, and\n  we have seen, and\n  bear witness, and declare\n  unto you the\n  life, the eternal _life_,\n  as being that which\n  was ever with the\n  Father, and was manifested\n  unto us: that\n  which we have seen\n  and heard declare we\n  unto you, that ye also\n  may have fellowship\n  with us: yea, and that\n  fellowship, which is\n  our _fellowship_, is with\n  the Father and with\n  His Son Jesus Christ.\n  And these things write\n  we unto you, that your\n  joy may be fulfilled.\n\n\n\n\n                             DISCOURSE I.\n\n             _ANALYSIS AND THEORY OF ST. JOHN'S GOSPEL._\n\n                 \"Of the Word of Life.\"--1 JOHN i. 1.\n\n\nIn the opening verses of this Epistle we have a sentence whose ample\nand prolonged prelude has but one parallel in St. John's\nwritings.[132] It is, as an old divine says, \"prefaced and brought in\nwith more magnificent ceremony than any passage in Scripture.\"\n\nThe very emotion and enthusiasm with which it is written, and the\nsublimity of the exordium as a whole, tends to make the highest sense\nalso the most natural sense. Of what or of whom does St. John speak in\nthe phrase \"concerning the Word of Life,\" or \"the Word who is the\nLife\"? The neuter \"that which\" is used for the masculine--\"He\nwho\"--according to St. John's practice of employing the neuter\ncomprehensively when a collective whole is to be expressed. The phrase\n\"from the beginning,\" taken by itself, might no doubt be employed to\nsignify the beginning of Christianity, or of the ministry of Christ.\nBut even viewing it as entirely isolated from its context of language\nand circumstance, it has a greater claim to be looked upon as _from\neternity_ or _from the beginning of the creation_. Other\nconsiderations are decisive in favour of the last interpretation.\n\n(1) We have already adverted to the lofty and transcendental tone of\nthe whole passage, elevating as it does each clause by the\nirresistible upward tendency of the whole sentence. The climax and\nresting place cannot stop short of the bosom of God. (2) But again, we\nmust also bear in mind that the Epistle is everywhere to be read with\nthe Gospel before us, and the language of the Epistle to be connected\nwith that of the Gospel. The pro\u0153mium of the Epistle is the subjective\nversion of the objective historical point of view which we find at the\nclose of the preface to the Gospel. \"The Word was made flesh and dwelt\namong us;\" so St. John begins his sentence in the Gospel with a\nstatement of an historical fact. But he proceeds, \"and we delightedly\nbeheld His glory;\" that is a statement of the personal impression\nattested by his own consciousness and that of other witnesses. But let\nus note carefully that in the Epistle, which is in subjective relation\nto the Gospel, this process is exactly reversed. The Apostle begins\nwith the personal impression; pauses to affirm the reality of the many\nproofs in the realm of fact of that which produced this impression\nthrough the senses upon the conceptions and emotions of those who were\nbrought into contact with the Saviour; and then returns to the\nsubjective impression from which he had originally started. (3) Much\nof the language in this passage is inconsistent with our understanding\nby the Word the first announcement of the Gospel preaching. One might\nof course speak of hearing the commencement of the Gospel message, due\nsurely not of seeing and handling it. (4) It is a noteworthy fact that\nthe Gospel and the Apocalypse begin with the mention of the personal\nWord. This may well lead us to expect that Logos should be used in the\nsame sense in the pro\u0153mium of the great Epistle by the same author.\n\nWe conclude then that when St. John here speaks of the Word of Life,\nhe refers to something higher again than the preaching of life, and\nthat he has in view both the manifestation of the life which has taken\nplace in our humanity, and Him who is personally at once the Word and\nthe Life.[133] The pro\u0153mium may be thus paraphrased. \"That which in\nall its collective influence was from the beginning as understood by\nMoses, by Solomon, and Micah;[134] which we have first and above all\nheard in divinely human utterances, but which we have also seen with\nthese very eyes; which we gazed upon with the full and entranced sight\nthat delights in the object contemplated;[135] and which these hands\nhandled reverentially at His bidding.[136] I speak all this concerning\nthe Word who is also the Life.\"\n\nTracts and sheets are often printed in our day with anthologies of\ntexts which are supposed to contain the very essence of the Gospel.\nBut the sweetest scents, it is said, are not distilled exclusively\nfrom flowers, for the flower is but an exhalation. The seeds, the\nleaf, the stem, the very bark should be macerated, because they\ncontain the odoriferous substance in minute sacs. So the purest\nChristian doctrine is distilled, not only from a few exquisite flowers\nin a textual anthology, but from the whole substance, so to speak, of\nthe message. Now it will be observed that at the beginning of the\nEpistle which accompanied the fourth Gospel, our attention is directed\nnot to a sentiment, but to a fact and to a Person. In the collections\nof texts to which reference has been made, we should probably never\nfind two brief passages which may not unjustly be considered to\nconcentrate the essence of the scheme of salvation more nearly than\nany others. \"The Word was made flesh.\" \"Concerning the Word of Life\n(and that Life was once manifested, and we have seen and consequently\nare witnesses and announce to you from Him who sent us that Life, that\neternal Life whose it is to have been in eternal relation with the\nFather, and manifested to us); That which we have seen and heard\ndeclare we from Him who sent us unto you, to the end that you too may\nhave fellowship with us.\"\n\nIt would be disrespectful to the theologian of the New Testament to\npass by the great dogmatic term never, so far as we are told, applied\nby our Lord to Himself, but with which St. John begins each of his\nthree principal writings--THE WORD.[137]\n\nSuch mountains of erudition have been heaped over this term that it has\nbecome difficult to discover the buried thought. The Apostle adopted a\nword which was already in use in various quarters simply because if,\nfrom the nature of the case necessarily inadequate,[138] it was yet more\nsuitable than any other. He also, as profound ancient thinkers\nconceived, looked into the depths of the human mind, into the first\nprinciples of that which is the chief distinction of man from the lower\ncreation--language. The human word, these thinkers taught, is twofold;\ninner and outer--now as the manifestation to the mind itself of\nunuttered thought, now as a part of language uttered to others. The word\nas signifying unuttered thought, the mould in which it exists in the\nmind, illustrates the eternal relation of the Father to the Son. The\nword as signifying uttered thought illustrates the relation as conveyed\nto man by the Incarnation. \"No man hath seen God at any time; the only\nbegotten God which is in the bosom of the Father He interpreted Him.\"\nFor the theologian of the Church Jesus is thus the Word; because He had\nHis being from the Father in a way which presents some analogy to the\nhuman word, which is sometimes the inner vesture, sometimes the outward\nutterance of thought--sometimes the human thought in that language\nwithout which man cannot think, sometimes the speech whereby the speaker\ninterprets it to others. Christ is the Word Whom out of the fulness of\nHis thought and being the Father has eternally inspoken and outspoken\ninto personal existence.[139]\n\nOne too well knows that such teaching as this runs the risk of\nappearing uselessly subtle and technical, but its practical value will\nappear upon reflection. Because it gives us possession of the point of\nview from which St. John himself surveys, and from which he would have\nthe Church contemplate, the history of the life of our Lord. And\nindeed for that life the theology of the Word, _i.e._, of the\nIncarnation, is simply necessary.\n\nFor we must agree with M. Renan so far at least as this, that a great\nlife, even as the world counts greatness, is an organic whole with an\nunderlying vitalising idea; which must be construed as such, and\ncannot be adequately rendered by a mere narration of facts. Without\nthis unifying principle the facts will be not only incoherent but\ninconsistent. There must be a point of view from which we can embrace\nthe life as one. The great test here, as in art, is the formation of\na living, consistent, unmutilated whole.[140]\n\nThus a general point of view (if we are to use modern language easily\ncapable of being misunderstood we must say a theory) is wanted of the\nPerson, the work, the character of Christ. The synoptical Evangelists\nhad furnished the Church with the narrative of His earthly origin. St.\nJohn in his Gospel and Epistle, under the guidance of the Spirit,\nendowed it with the theory of His Person.\n\nOther points of view have been adopted, from the heresies of the early\nages to the speculations of our own. All but St. John's have failed to\nco-ordinate the elements of the problem. The earlier attempts essayed\nto read the history upon the assumption that He was merely human or\nmerely divine. They tried in their weary round to unhumanise or\nundeify the God-Man, to degrade the perfect Deity, to mutilate the\nperfect Humanity--to present to the adoration of mankind a something\nneither entirely human nor entirely divine, but an impossible mixture\nof the two. The truth on these momentous subjects was fused under the\nfires of controversy. The last centuries have produced theories less\nsubtle and metaphysical, but bolder and more blasphemous. Some have\nlooked upon Him as a pretender or an enthusiast. But the depth and\nsobriety of His teaching upon ground where we are able to test it--the\ntexture of circumstantial word and work which will bear to be\ninspected under any microscope or cross-examined by any\nprosecutor--have almost shamed such blasphemy into respectful silence.\nOthers of later date admit with patronising admiration that the\nmartyr of Calvary is a saint of transcendent excellence. But if He who\ncalled Himself Son of God was not much more than saint, He was\nsomething less. Indeed He would have been something of three\ncharacters; saint, visionary, pretender--at moments the Son of God in\nHis elevated devotion, at other times condescending to something of\nthe practice of the charlatan, His unparalleled presumption only\nexcused by His unparalleled success.\n\nNow the point of view taken by St. John is the only one which is\npossible or consistent--the only one which reconciles the humiliation\nand the glory recorded in the Gospels, which harmonises the otherwise\ninsoluble contradictions that beset His Person and His work. One after\nanother, to the question, \"what think ye of Christ?\" answers are\nattempted, sometimes angry, sometimes sorrowful, always confused. The\nfrank respectful bewilderment of the better Socinianism, the gay\nbrilliance of French romance, the heavy insolence of German criticism,\nhave woven their revolting or perplexed christologies. The Church\nstill points with a confidence, which only deepens as the ages pass,\nto the enunciation of the theory of the Saviour's Person by St.\nJohn--in his Gospel, \"The Word was made flesh\"--in his Epistle,\n\"concerning the Word of Life.\"\n\nFOOTNOTES:\n\n[132] See the noble and enthusiastic preface to the washing of the\ndisciples' feet (John xiii. 1, 2, 3).\n\n[133] The phrase probably means the Logos, the Personal \"Word who is\nat once both the Word and the Life.\" For the double genitive, the\nsecond almost appositional to the first, conf. John ii. 21, xi. 13.\nThis interpretation would seem to be that of Chrysostom. \"If then the\nWord is the Life; and if this Christ who is at once the Word and the\nLife became flesh; then the Life became flesh.\" (_In Joan. Evang._ v.)\n\n[134] Gen. i. 1; Prov. viii. 23; Micah v. 2.\n\n[135] Cf. John vi. 36, 40. The word is applied by the angel to the\ndisciples gazing on the Ascension, Acts i. 11. The Transfiguration may\nbe here referred to. Such an incident as that in John vii. 37 attests\na vivid delighted remembrance of the Saviour's very attitude.\n\n[136] Luke xxiv. 39; John xx. 27.\n\n[137] Gospel i. 1-14; 1 John i. 1; Apoc. i. 9.\n\n[138] \"He hath a name written which _no one knoweth but He\nHimself_,--and His name is called THE WORD OF GOD\" (Apoc. xix. 12,\n13). Gibbons' adroit italics may here be noted. \"The Logos, TAUGHT in\nthe school of Alexandria BEFORE Christ 100--REVEALED to the Apostle\nSt. John, ANNO DOMINI, 97\" (_Decline and Fall_, ch. xxi.). Just so\nvery probably--though whether St. John ever read a page of Philo or\nPlato we have no means of knowing.\n\n[139] The following table may be found useful:--\n\n  +------------------------------------------------------------------+\n  |               THE WORD IN ST. JOHN IS OPPOSED.                   |\n  +------------------------------+----+------------------------------+\n  |(A) To the Gnostic Word,      |    |(A) Uncreated and Eternal.    |\n  |         created and temporal | as |\"In the beginning was         |\n  |                              |    |the Word.\"                    |\n  +------------------------------+----+------------------------------+\n  |(B) To the Platonic Word,     |    |(B) Personal and Divine.      |\n  |         ideal and abstract   | as |\"The Word was God.\"           |\n  |                              |    |\"He\"--\"His.\"                  |\n  +------------------------------+----+------------------------------+\n  |(C) To the Judaistic and      |    |(C) Creative and First Cause. |\n  |Philonic Word--the type       |    |\"All things were made         |\n  |and idea of God in            | as |by Him.\"                      |\n  |creation ...                  |    |                              |\n  +------------------------------+----+------------------------------+\n  |(D) To the Dualistic Word--   |    |(D) Unique and Universally    |\n  |limitedly and partially       |    |Creative. \"Without Him        |\n  |instrumental in creation.     | as |was not anything made         |\n  |                              |    |that hath been made.\"         |\n  +------------------------------+----+------------------------------+\n  |(E) To the Doketic Word--     | as |(E) Real and Permanent. \"The  |\n  |impalpable and visionary      |    |Word became flesh.\"           |\n  +------------------------------+----+------------------------------+\n\n\n[140] _Vie de Jesus_, Int. 4.\n\n\n\n\n                            DISCOURSE II.\n\n           _ST. JOHN'S GOSPEL HISTORICAL NOT IDEOLOGICAL._\n\n              \"That which we have heard.\"--1 JOHN i. 1.\n\n\nOur argument so far has been that St. John's Gospel is dominated by a\ncentral idea and by a theory which harmonises the great and many-sided\nlife which it contains, and which is repeated again at the beginning of\nthe Epistle in a form analogous to that in which it had been cast in the\npro\u0153mium of the Gospel--allowing for the difference between a history\nand a document of a more subjective character moulded upon that history.\n\nThere is one objection to the accuracy, almost to the veracity, of a\nlife written from such a theory or point of view. It may disdain to be\nshackled by the bondage of facts. It may become an essay in which\npossibilities and speculations are mistaken for actual events, and\nhistory is superseded by metaphysics. It may degenerate into a romance\nor prose-poem; if the subject is religious, into a mystic effusion. In\nthe case of the fourth Gospel the cycles in which the narrative moves,\nthe unveiling as of the progress of a drama, are thought by some to\nconfirm the suspicion awakened by the point of view given in its\npro\u0153mium, and in the opening of the Epistle. The Gospel, it is said, is\n_ideological_. To us it appears that those who have entered most deeply\ninto the spirit of St. John will most deeply feel the significance of\nthe two words which we place at the head of this discourse--\"which we\nhave heard,\" \"which we have seen with our very eyes,\" (which we\ncontemplated with entranced gaze) \"which our hands have handled.\"\n\nMore truly than any other, St. John could say of this letter in the\nwords of an American poet:\n\n      \"This is not a book--It is I!\"\n\nIn one so true, so simple, so profound, so oracular, there is a\nspecial reason for this prolonged appeal to the senses, and for the\nplace which is assigned to each. In the fact that _hearing_ stands\nfirst, there is a reference to one characteristic of that Gospel to\nwhich the Epistle throughout refers. Beyond the synoptical\nEvangelists, St. John records the words of Jesus. The position which\n_hearing_ holds in the sentence, above and prior to _sight_ and\n_handling_, indicates the reverential estimation in which the Apostle\nheld his Master's teaching.[141] The expression places us on solid\nhistorical ground, because it is a moral demonstration that one like\nSt. John would not have dared to invent whole discourses and place\nthem in the lips of Jesus. Thus in the \"_we have heard_\" there is a\nguarantee of the sincerity of the report of the discourses, which\nforms so large a proportion of the narrative that it practically\nguarantees the whole Gospel.\n\nOn this accusation of ideology against St. John's Gospel, let us make\na further remark founded upon the Epistle.\n\nIt is said that the Gospel systematically subordinates chronological\norder and historical sequence of facts to the necessity imposed by the\ntheory of the Word which stands in the forefront of the Epistle and\nGospel.\n\nBut mystic ideology, indifference to historical veracity as compared\nwith adherence to a conception or theory, is absolutely inconsistent\nwith that strong, simple, severe appeal to the validity of the\nhistorical principle of belief upon sufficient evidence which pervades\nSt. John's writings. His Gospel is a tissue woven of many lines of\nevidence. \"Witness\" stands in almost every page of that Gospel, and\nindeed is found there nearly as often as in the whole of the rest of\nthe New Testament. The word occurs _ten_ times in five short verses of\nthe Epistle.[142] There is no possibility of mistaking this prolixity\nof reiteration in a writer so simple and so sincere as our Apostle.\nThe theologian is an historian. He has no intention of sacrificing\nhistory to dogma, and no necessity for doing so. His theory, and that\nalone, harmonises his facts. His facts have passed in the domain of\nhuman history, and have had that evidence of witness which proves that\nthey did so.\n\nA few of the stories of the earliest ages of Christianity have ever been\nrepeated, and rightly so, as affording the most beautiful illustrations\nof St. John's character, the most simple and truthful idea of the\nimpression left by his character and his work. His tender love for\nsouls, his deathless desire to promote mutual love among his people, are\nenshrined in two anecdotes which the Church has never forgotten. It has\nscarcely been noticed that a tradition of not much later date (at least\nas old as Tertullian, born probably about A.D. 150) credits St. John\nwith a stern reverence for the accuracy of historical truth, and tells\nus what, in the estimation of those who were near him in time, the\nApostle thought of the lawfulness of ideological religious romance. It\nwas said that a presbyter of Asia Minor confessed that he was the author\nof certain apocryphal Acts of Paul and Thecla--probably the same strange\nbut unquestionably very ancient document with the same title which is\nstill preserved. The man's motive does not seem to have been selfish.\nHis work was apparently the composition of an ardent and romantic nature\npassionately attracted by a saint so wonderful as St. Paul.[143] The\ntradition went on to assert that St. John without hesitation degraded\nthis clerical romance-writer from his ministry. But the offence of the\nAsiatic presbyter would have been light indeed compared with that of\nthe mendacious Evangelist, who could have deliberately fabricated\ndiscourses and narrated miracles which he dared to attribute to the\nIncarnate Son of God. The guilt of publishing to the Church apocryphal\nActs of Paul and Thecla would have paled before the crimson sin of\nforging a Gospel.\n\nThese considerations upon St. John's prolonged and circumstantial\nclaim to personal acquaintance with the Word made flesh, confirmed by\nevery avenue of communication between man and man--and first in order\nby the hearing of that sweet yet awful teaching--point to the fourth\nGospel again and again. And the simple assertion--\"that which we have\nheard\"--accounts for one characteristic of the fourth Gospel which\nwould otherwise be a perplexing enigma--its _dramatic_ vividness and\nconsistency.\n\nThis dramatic truth of St. John's narrative, manifested in various\ndevelopments, deserves careful consideration. There are three notes in\nthe fourth Gospel which indicate either a consummate dramatic instinct\nor a most faithful record. (1) The delineation of _individual\ncharacters_. The Evangelist tells us with no unmeaning distinction,\nthat Jesus \"knew all men, and knew what is in man!\"[144] For some\npersons take an apparently profound view of human nature in the\nabstract. They pass for being sages so long as they confine themselves\nto sounding generalizations, but they are convicted on the field of\nlife and experience. They claim to know what is in man; but they know\nit vaguely, as one might be in possession of the outlines of a map,\nyet totally ignorant of most places within its limits. Others, who\nmostly affect to be keen men of the world, refrain from\ngeneralizations; but they have an insight, which at times is\nstartling, into the characters of the individual men who cross their\npath. There is a sense in which they superficially seem to know all\nmen, but their knowledge after all is capricious and limited. One\nclass affects to know men, but does not even affect to know man; the\nother class knows something about man, but is lost in the infinite\nvariety of the world of real men. Our Lord knew both--both the\nabstract ultimate principles of human nature and the subtle\ndistinctions which mark off every human character from every other. Of\nthis peculiar knowledge he who was brought into the most intimate\ncommunion with the Great Teacher was made in some degree a partaker in\nthe course of His earthly ministry. With how few touches yet how\nclearly are delineated the Baptist, Nathanael, the Samaritan woman,\nthe blind man, Philip, Thomas, Martha and Mary, Pilate! (2) More\nparticularly the _appropriateness_ and _consistency_ of the language\nused by the various persons introduced in the narrative is, in the\ncase of a writer like St. John, a multiplied proof of historical\nveracity.[145] For instance, of St. Thomas only one single sentence,\ncontaining seven words, is preserved,[146] outside the memorable\nnarrative in the twentieth chapter; yet how unmistakably does that\nbrief sentence indicate the same character--tender, impetuous, loving,\nyet ever inclined to take the darker view of things because from the\nvery excess of its affection it cannot believe in that which it most\ndesires, and demands accumulated and convincing proof of its own\nhappiness. (3) Further, the _language_ of our Lord which St. John\npreserves is both morally and intellectually a marvellous witness to\nthe proof of his assertion here in the outset of his Epistle.\n\nThis may be exemplified by an illustration from modern literature.\nVictor Hugo, in his _L\u00e9gende des Si\u00e8cles_, has in one passage only\nplaced in our Lord's lips a few words which are not found in the\nEvangelist.[147] Every one will at once feel that these words ring\nhollow, that there is in them something exaggerated and factitious--and\n_that_ although the dramatist had the advantage of having a _type_ of\nstyle already constructed for him. People talk as if the representation\nin detail of a perfect character were a comparatively easy performance.\nYet every such representation shows some flaw when closely inspected.\nFor instance, a character in which Shakespeare so evidently delighted as\nBuckingham, whose end is so noble and martyr-like, is thus described,\nwhen on his trial, by a sympathising witness:\n\n                   \"'How did he bear himself?'\n      'When he was bought again to the bar, to hear,\n      His knell rung out, his judgment, he was struck\n      With such an agony, he sweat extremely,\n      And something spoke in choler, _ill and hasty_;\n      But he fell to himself again, and sweetly\n      In all the rest show'd a most noble patience.'\"[148]\n\nOur argument comes to this point. Here is one man of all but the\nhighest rank in dramatic genius, who utterly fails to invent even one\nsentence which could possibly be taken for an utterance of our Lord.\nHere is another, the most transcendent in the same order whom the\nhuman race has ever known, who tacitly confesses the impossibility of\nrepresenting a character which shall be \"one entire and perfect\nchrysolite,\" without speck or flaw. Take yet another instance. Sir\nWalter Scott appeals for \"the fair licence due to the author of a\nfictitious composition;\" and admits that he \"cannot pretend to the\nobservation of complete accuracy even in outward costume, much less in\nthe more important points of language and manners.\"[149] But St. John\nwas evidently a man of no such pretensions as these kings of the human\nimagination--no Scott or Victor Hugo, much less a Shakespeare. How\nthen--except on the assumption of his being a faithful reporter, of\nhis recording words actually spoken, and witnessing incidents which he\nhad seen with his very eyes and contemplated with loving and admiring\nreverence--can we account for his having given us long successions of\nsentences, continuous discourses in which we trace a certain unity and\nadaptation;[150] and a character which stands alone among all recorded\nin history or conceived in fiction, by presenting to us an excellence\nfaultless in every detail? We assert that the one answer to this\nquestion is boldly given us by St. John in the forefront of his\nEpistle--\"That which we have heard, which we have seen with our\neyes--concerning the Word who is the Life--declare we unto you.\"\n\nSt. John's mode of writing history may profitably be contrasted with\nthat of one who in his own line was a great master, as it has been\nably criticised by a distinguished statesman. Voltaire's historical\nmasterpiece is a portion of the life of Maria Theresa, which is\nunquestionably written from a partly ideological point of view. For,\nthose who have patience to go back to the \"sources,\" and to compare\nVoltaire's narrative with them, will see the process by which a\nliterary master has produced his effect. The writer works as if he\nwere composing a classical tragedy restricted to the unities of time\nand place. The three days of the coronation and of the successive\nvotes are brought into one effect, of which we are made to feel that\nit is due to a magic inspiration of Maria Theresa. Yet, as the great\nhistorical critic to whom we refer proceeds to demonstrate, a\ndifferent charm, very much more real because it comes from truth, may\nbe found in literal historical accuracy without this academic rouge.\nWriters more conscientious than Voltaire would not have assumed that\nMaria Theresa was degraded by a husband who was inferior to her. They\nwould not have substituted some pretty and pretentious phrases for the\ngenuine emotion not quite veiled under the official Latin of the\nQueen. \"However high a thing art may be, reality, truth, which is the\nwork of God, is higher!\"[151] It is this conviction, this entire\nintense adhesion to truth, this childlike ingenuousness which has made\nSt. John as an historian attain the higher region which is usually\nreached by genius alone--which has given us narratives and passages\nwhose ideal beauty or awe is so transcendent or solemn, whose\npictorial grandeur or pathos is so inexhaustible, whose philosophical\ndepth is so unfathomable.[152]\n\nHe stands with spell-bound delight before his work without the\ndisappointment which ever attends upon men of genius; because that work\nis not drawn from himself, because he can say three words--which we have\n_heard_, which we have _seen_ with our eyes, which we have _gazed_ upon.\n\n\n                                NOTES.\n\n                             Ch. i. 2, 4.\n\nVer. 2. _Us_, _we_.] \"The nominative plural first person is not always\nof _majesty_ but often of _modesty_, when we share our privilege and\ndignity with others\" (_Grotius_). The context must decide what shade\nof meaning is to be read into the text, _e.g._, here it is the we of\nmodesty, as also (very tenderly and beautifully) in ii. 1, 2, v. 5. It\nrises into _majesty_ with the majestic, \"we announce.\"\n\nVer. 4. \"_These things._\"] Not even the _fellowship_ with the Church\nand with the Father and with the Son is so much in the Apostle's\nintention here as the record in the _Gospel_.\n\n_We write unto you._] In days when men's minds were still freshly full\nof the privilege of free access to the Scriptures, these words suggested\n(and they naturally enough do so still) the use of the written word, and\nthe guilt of the Church or of individuals in neglecting it. This has\nbeen well expressed by an old divine. \"That which is able to give us\nfull joy must not be deficient in anything which conduceth to our\nhappiness; but the holy Scriptures give fulness of joy, and therefore\nthe way to happiness is perfectly laid down in them. The _major_ of this\nsyllogism is so clear, that it needs no probation; for who can or will\ndeny, that full joy is only to be had in a state of bliss? The _minor_\nis plain from this scripture, and may thus be drawn forth. That which\nthe Apostles aimed at in, may doubtless be attained to by, their\nwritings; for they being inspired of God, it is no other than the end\nthat God purposed in inspiring which they had in writing; and either God\nHimself is wanting in the means which He hath designed for this end, or\nthese writings contain in them what will yield fulness of joy, and to\nthat end bring us to a state of blessedness.\n\n\"How odious is the profaneness of those Christians who neglect the holy\nScriptures, and give themselves to reading other books! How many\nprecious hours do many spend, and that not only on work days, but holy\ndays, in foolish romances, fabulous histories, lascivious poems! And why\nthis, but that they may be cheered and delighted, when as full joy is\nonly to be had in these holy books. Alas, the joy you find in those\nwritings is perhaps pernicious, such as tickleth your lust, and\npromoteth contemplative wickedness. At the best it is but vain, such as\nonly pleaseth the fancy and affecteth the wit; whereas these holy\nwritings (to use David's expression, Psalm xix. 8), are 'right,\nrejoicing the heart.' Again, are there not many who more set by\nPlutarch's morals, Seneca's epistles, and suchlike books, than they do\nby the holy Scriptures? It is true, there are excellent truths in those\nmoral writings of the heathen, but yet they are far short of these\nsacred books. Those may comfort against outward trouble, but not against\ninward fears; they may rejoice the mind, but cannot quiet the\nconscience; they may kindle some flashy sparkles of joy, but they cannot\nwarm the soul with a lasting fire of solid consolation. And truly, if\never God give you a spiritual ear to judge of things aright, you will\nthen acknowledge there are no bells like to those of Aaron, no harp like\nto that of David, no trumpet like to that of Isaiah, no pipes like to\nthose of the Apostles.\" (_First Epistle of St. John, unfolded and\napplied_ by Nathaniel Hardy, D.D., Dean of Rochester, about 1660.)\n\nFOOTNOTES:\n\n[141] The appeal to the senses of _seeing_ and _hearing_ is a trait\ncommon to _all_ the group of St. John's writings (John i. 14, xix. 35;\n1 John i. 1, 2, iv. 14; Apoc. i. 2). The true reading (\u03ba\u03b1\u03b3\u03c9 \u0399\u03c9\u03b1\u03bd\u03bd\u03b7\u03c2 \u1f41\n\u03b1\u03ba\u03bf\u03c5\u03c9\u03bd \u03ba\u03b1\u03b9 \u03b2\u03bb\u03b5\u03c0\u03c9\u03bd \u03c4\u03b1\u03c5\u03c4\u03b1. Apoc. xxi. 8, where _hearing_ stands before\n_seeing_) is indicative of John's style.\n\n[142] 1 John v. 6-12.\n\n[143] That the \"Acts of Paul and Thecla\" are of high antiquity there\ncan be no rational doubt. Tertullian writes: \"But if those who read\nSt. Paul's writings rashly use the example of Thecla, to give licence\nto women to teach and baptize publicly, let them know that a presbyter\nof Asia Minor, who put together that piece, crowning it with the\nauthority of a Pauline title, convicted by his own confession of doing\nthis from love of St. Paul, was deprived of his orders.\" (Tertullian,\n_De Baptismo_, xvii.) On which St. Jerome remarks--\"We therefore\nrelegate to the class of apocryphal writings, the \u03c0\u03b5\u03c1\u03b9\u03bf\u03b4\u03bf\u03c2 of Paul and\nThecla, and the whole fable of the baptized lion. For how could it be\nthat the sole real companion of the Apostle\" (Luke) \"while so well\nacquainted with the rest of the history, should have known nothing of\nthis? And further, Tertullian, who touched so nearly upon those times,\nrecords that a certain presbyter in Asia Minor, convicted before\n_John_ of being the author of that book, and confessing that as a\n\u03c3\u03c0\u03bf\u03c5\u03b4\u03b1\u03c3\u03c4\u03b7\u03c2 of the Apostle Paul he had done this from loving devotion\nto that great memory, was deposed from his ministry.\" (St. Hieron.,\n_de Script. Eccles._, VII.) See the mass of authority for the\nantiquity of this document, which gives a considerable degree of\nprobability to the statement about St. John, in _Acta Apost. Apoc._,\nEdit. Tischendorf.--Proleg. xxi., xxvi.\n\n[144] John iii, 24, 25.\n\n[145] Those who are perplexed by the identity in style and turn of\nlanguage between the Epistle and the discourse of our Lord in St.\nJohn's Gospel may be referred to the writer's remarks in _The Speakers\nCommentary_ (N. T. iv. 286-89). It should be added that the Epp. to\nthe Seven Churches (Apoc. ii., iii.)--especially to Sardis--interweave\nsayings of Jesus recorded by the Synoptical evangelists, _e.g._, \"as a\nthief,\" Apoc. iii. 3, cf. Mark xiii. 37; \"book of life,\" Apoc. iii. 5,\ncf. Luke x. 20; \"confessing a name,\" Apoc. iii. 5, cf. Matt. x. 32;\n\"He that hath an ear,\" Apoc. iii. 6, 13, 22, and ii. 7, 11, 17, 29.\nThis phrase, found in each of the seven Epp., occurs nowhere in the\nfourth Gospel, but constantly in the Synoptics. Cf. Matt. x. 27, xi.\n15, xiii. 19, 43; Mark iv. 9, 23, vii. 16; Luke viii. 8, xiv. 35; cf.\nalso \"giving power over the nations,\" Apoc. ii. 26--with the\nconception in Matt. xix. 28; Luke xxii. 29, 30. The word _repentance_\nis nowhere in the fourth Gospel, nor given as part of our Lord's\nteaching; but we find it Apoc. ii. 5, 16, iii. 3, 19. If the author of\nthe fourth Gospel was also the author of the Apocalypse, his choice of\nthe style which he attributes to the Saviour was at least decided by\nno lack of knowledge of the Synoptical type of expression, and by no\nincapacity to use it with freedom and power.\n\n[146] John xi. 16.\n\n[147]\n\n         \"Qui me suit, aux anges est pareil.\n      Quand un homme a march\u00e9 tout le jour au soleil\n      Dans un chemin sans puits et sans h\u00f4tellerie,\n      S'il ne croit pas quand vient le soir il pleure, il crie,\n      Il est las; sur la terre il tombe haletant.\n      S'il croit en moi, qu'il prie, il peut au m\u00eame instant.\n      Continuer sa route avec des forces triples.\"\n\n                        (_Le Christ et le Tombeau._) Tom. i. 44.\n\n\n[148] King Henry VIII., Act 2, Sc. 1. Contrast again our Lord before\nthe council with St. Paul before that tribunal. In the case of one of\nthe chief of saints there is the touch of human infirmity, the\n\"something spoken in choler, ill and hasty,\" the angry and\ncontemptuous \"whited wall\"--the confession of hasty inconsiderateness\n(\u03bf\u03c5\u03ba \u1f21\u03b4\u03b5\u03b9\u03bd--\u1f41\u03c4\u03b9 \u03b5\u03c3\u03c4\u03b9\u03bd \u03b1\u03c1\u03c7\u03b9\u03b5\u03c1\u03b5\u03c5\u03c2) which led to a violation of a precept\nof the law (Exod. xxii. 28).\n\n[149] Preface to _Ivanhoe_.\n\n[150] _How_ the great sayings were accurately collected has not been\nthe question before us in this discourse. But it presents little\ndifficulty. It is not absurd to suppose (if we are required to\npostulate no divine assistance) that notes may have been taken in some\nform by certain members of the company of disciples. The profoundly\nthoughtful remark of Iren\u00e6us upon his own unfailing recollection of\nearly lessons from Polycarp, would apply with indefinitely greater\nforce to such a pupil as John, of such a teacher as Jesus. \"I can\nthoroughly recollect things so far back better than those which have\nlately occurred; for lessons which have grown with us since boyhood\nare compacted into a unity with the very soul itself.\" (\u03c4\u03b7 \u03c8\u03c5\u03c7\u03b7\n\u1f11\u03bd\u03bf\u03c5\u03bd\u03c4\u03b1\u03b9 \u03b1\u03c5\u03c4\u03b7) _Euseb._, v. 29. But above all, whatever subordinate\nagency may have been employed in the preservation of those precious\nwords, every Christian reverently acknowledges the fulfilment of the\nSaviour's promise--\"The Comforter, the Holy Ghost, He shall teach you\nall things, and bring all things to your remembrance _whatsoever I\nhave said unto you_\" (John xiv. 26).\n\n[151] Duc de Broglie. _Revue des deux Mondes._ 15 Jan. 1882. Coxe,\n_House of Austria_, vol. iii., chap. xcix., p. 415, sqq.\n\n[152] John xiii. 30, xi. 35, xix. 5, xxii. 29-35.\n\n\n\n\n                             SECTION II.\n\n\n          GREEK.                           LATIN.\n\n  \u039a\u03b1\u03b9 \u03b1\u03c5\u03c4\u03b7 \u03b5\u03c3\u03c4\u03b9\u03bd \u1f21                   Et h\u00e6c est adnuntiatio\n  \u03b1\u03b3\u03b3\u03b5\u03bb\u03b9\u03b1 \u1f21\u03bd \u03b1\u03ba\u03b7\u03ba\u03bf\u03b1\u03bc\u03b5\u03bd               quam audivimus\n  \u03b1\u03c0' \u03b1\u03c5\u03c4\u03bf\u03c5, \u03ba\u03b1\u03b9                     ab eo, et adnuntiamus\n  \u03b1\u03bd\u03b1\u03b3\u03b3\u03b5\u03bb\u03bb\u03bf\u03bc\u03b5\u03bd \u1f51\u03bc\u03b9\u03bd, \u1f41\u03c4\u03b9             vobis, quoniam Deus\n  \u1f41 \u0398\u03b5\u03bf\u03c2 \u03c6\u03c9\u03c2 \u03b5\u03c3\u03c4\u03b9\u03bd, \u03ba\u03b1\u03b9              lux est, et tenebr\u00e6 in\n  \u03c3\u03ba\u03bf\u03c4\u03b9\u03b1 \u03b5\u03bd \u03b1\u03c5\u03c4\u03c9 \u03bf\u03c5\u03ba \u03b5\u03c3\u03c4\u03b9\u03bd           eo non sunt ull\u00e6. Si\n  \u03bf\u03c5\u03b4\u03b5\u03bc\u03b9\u03b1. \u03b5\u03b1\u03bd \u03b5\u03b9\u03c0\u03c9\u03bc\u03b5\u03bd               dixerimus quoniam societatem\n  \u1f41\u03c4\u03b9 \u03ba\u03bf\u03b9\u03bd\u03c9\u03bd\u03b9\u03b1\u03bd \u03b5\u03c7\u03bf\u03bc\u03b5\u03bd \u03bc\u03b5\u03c4'          habemus cum\n  \u03b1\u03c5\u03c4\u03bf\u03c5, \u03ba\u03b1\u03b9 \u03b5\u03bd \u03c4\u03c9 \u03c3\u03ba\u03bf\u03c4\u03b5\u03b9            eo et in tenebris ambulamus,\n  \u03c0\u03b5\u03c1\u03b9\u03c0\u03b1\u03c4\u03c9\u03bc\u03b5\u03bd, \u03c8\u03b5\u03c5\u03b4\u03bf\u03bc\u03b5\u03b8\u03b1,            mentimur, et\n  \u03ba\u03b1\u03b9 \u03bf\u03c5 \u03c0\u03bf\u03b9\u03bf\u03c5\u03bc\u03b5\u03bd \u03c4\u03b7\u03bd                non facimus veritatem:\n  \u03b1\u03bb\u03b7\u03b8\u03b5\u03b9\u03b1\u03bd\u00b7 \u03b5\u03b1\u03bd \u03b4\u03b5 \u03b5\u03bd                si autem in luce ambulamus\n  \u03c4\u03c9 \u03c6\u03c9\u03c4\u03b9 \u03c0\u03b5\u03c1\u03b9\u03c0\u03b1\u03c4\u03c9\u03bc\u03b5\u03bd,               sicut et ipse\n  \u1f61\u03c2 \u03b1\u03c5\u03c4\u03bf\u03c2 \u03b5\u03c3\u03c4\u03b9\u03bd \u03b5\u03bd                  est in luce, societatem\n  \u03c4\u03c9 \u03c6\u03c9\u03c4\u03b9, \u03ba\u03bf\u03b9\u03bd\u03c9\u03bd\u03b9\u03b1\u03bd \u03b5\u03c7\u03bf\u03bc\u03b5\u03bd          habemus ad invicem,\n  \u03bc\u03b5\u03c4' \u03b1\u03bb\u03bb\u03b7\u03bb\u03c9\u03bd, \u03ba\u03b1\u03b9                  et sanguis Iesu Christi,\n  \u03c4\u03bf \u03b1\u03b9\u03bc\u03b1 \u0399\u03b7\u03c3\u03bf\u03c5 \u03c4\u03bf\u03c5                  Filii eius, mundat nos\n  \u03c5\u03b9\u03bf\u03c5 \u03b1\u03c5\u03c4\u03bf\u03c5 \u03ba\u03b1\u03b8\u03b1\u03c1\u03b9\u03b6\u03b5\u03b9               omni peccato. Si\n  \u1f21\u03bc\u03b1\u03c2 \u03b1\u03c0\u03bf \u03c0\u03b1\u03c3\u03b7\u03c2 \u1f01\u03bc\u03b1\u03c1\u03c4\u03b9\u03b1\u03c2.           dixerimus quoniam\n  \u0395\u03b1\u03bd \u03b5\u03b9\u03c0\u03c9\u03bc\u03b5\u03bd \u1f41\u03c4\u03b9                    peccatum non habemus,\n  \u1f01\u03bc\u03b1\u03c1\u03c4\u03b9\u03b1\u03bd \u03bf\u03c5\u03ba \u03b5\u03c7\u03bf\u03bc\u03b5\u03bd,               ipsi nos seducimus,\n  \u1f11\u03b1\u03c5\u03c4\u03bf\u03c5\u03c2 \u03c0\u03bb\u03b1\u03bd\u03c9\u03bc\u03b5\u03bd, \u03ba\u03b1\u03b9              et veritas in nobis\n  \u1f21 \u03b1\u03bb\u03b7\u03b8\u03b5\u03b9\u03b1 \u03b5\u03bd \u1f21\u03bc\u03b9\u03bd \u03bf\u03c5\u03ba              non est. Si confiteamur\n  \u03b5\u03c3\u03c4\u03b9\u03bd. \u03b5\u03b1\u03bd \u1f41\u03bc\u03bf\u03bb\u03bf\u03b3\u03c9\u03bc\u03b5\u03bd              peccata nostra,\n  \u03c4\u03b1\u03c2 \u1f01\u03bc\u03b1\u03c1\u03c4\u03b9\u03b1\u03c2 \u1f21\u03bc\u03c9\u03bd,                 fidelis et justus est,\n  \u03c0\u03b9\u03c3\u03c4\u03bf\u03c2 \u03b5\u03c3\u03c4\u03b9 \u03ba\u03b1\u03b9 \u03b4\u03b9\u03ba\u03b1\u03b9\u03bf\u03c2,           ut remittat nobis peccata\n  \u1f31\u03bd\u03b1 \u1f01\u03c6\u03b7 \u1f21\u03bc\u03b9\u03bd \u03c4\u03b1\u03c2                   nostra, et emundet\n  \u1f01\u03bc\u03b1\u03c1\u03c4\u03b9\u03b1\u03c2, \u03ba\u03b1\u03b9 \u03ba\u03b1\u03b8\u03b1\u03c1\u03b9\u03c3\u03b7             nos ab omni iniquitate.\n  \u1f21\u03bc\u03b1\u03c2 \u03b1\u03c0\u03bf \u03c0\u03b1\u03c3\u03b7\u03c2 \u03b1\u03b4\u03b9\u03ba\u03b9\u03b1\u03c2.            Si dixerimus\n  \u03b5\u03b1\u03bd \u03b5\u03b9\u03c0\u03c9\u03bc\u03b5\u03bd \u1f41\u03c4\u03b9 \u03bf\u03c5\u03c7                quoniam non peccavimus,\n  \u1f21\u03bc\u03b1\u03c1\u03c4\u03b7\u03ba\u03b1\u03bc\u03b5\u03bd, \u03c8\u03b5\u03c5\u03c3\u03c4\u03b7\u03bd               mendacem faciemus\n  \u03c0\u03bf\u03b9\u03bf\u03c5\u03bc\u03b5\u03bd \u03b1\u03c5\u03c4\u03bf\u03bd, \u03ba\u03b1\u03b9 \u1f41              eum, et verbum\n  \u03bb\u03bf\u03b3\u03bf\u03c2 \u03b1\u03c5\u03c4\u03bf\u03c5 \u03bf\u03c5\u03ba \u03b5\u03c3\u03c4\u03b9\u03bd \u03b5\u03bd           eius in nobis non est.\n  \u1f21\u03bc\u03b9\u03bd.                              Filioli mei, h\u00e6c scribo\n                                     vobis, ut non peccetis:\n  \u03a4\u03b5\u03ba\u03bd\u03b9\u03b1 \u03bc\u03bf\u03c5, \u03c4\u03b1\u03c5\u03c4\u03b1                  sed et si quis peccaverit\n  \u03b3\u03c1\u03b1\u03c6\u03c9 \u1f51\u03bc\u03b9\u03bd, \u1f31\u03bd\u03b1 \u03bc\u03b7                 advocatum habemus\n  \u1f01\u03bc\u03b1\u03c1\u03c4\u03b7\u03c4\u03b5\u00b7 \u03ba\u03b1\u03b9 \u03b5\u03b1\u03bd \u03c4\u03b9\u03c2              apud Patrem, Iesum\n  \u1f01\u03bc\u03b1\u03c1\u03c4\u03b7, \u03c0\u03b1\u03c1\u03b1\u03ba\u03bb\u03b7\u03c4\u03bf\u03bd                 Christum iustum et\n  \u03b5\u03c7\u03bf\u03bc\u03b5\u03bd \u03c0\u03c1\u03bf\u03c2 \u03c4\u03bf\u03bd \u03c0\u03b1\u03c4\u03b5\u03c1\u03b1,            ipse est propitiatio pro\n  \u0399\u03b7\u03c3\u03bf\u03c5\u03bd \u03a7\u03c1\u03b9\u03c3\u03c4\u03bf\u03bd \u03b4\u03b9\u03ba\u03b1\u03b9\u03bf\u03bd\u00b7            peccatis nostris, non\n  \u03ba\u03b1\u03b9 \u03b1\u03c5\u03c4\u03bf\u03c2 \u03b9\u03bb\u03b1\u03c3\u03bc\u03bf\u03c2 \u03b5\u03c3\u03c4\u03b9             pro nostris autem tantum\n  \u03c0\u03b5\u03c1\u03b9 \u03c4\u03c9\u03bd \u1f01\u03bc\u03b1\u03c1\u03c4\u03b9\u03c9\u03bd \u1f21\u03bc\u03c9\u03bd\u00b7            sed etiam pro\n  \u03bf\u03c5 \u03c0\u03b5\u03c1\u03b9 \u03c4\u03c9\u03bd \u1f21\u03bc\u03b5\u03c4\u03b5\u03c1\u03c9\u03bd               totius mundi.\n  \u03b4\u03b5 \u03bc\u03bf\u03bd\u03bf\u03bd, \u03b1\u03bb\u03bb\u03b1 \u03ba\u03b1\u03b9 \u03c0\u03b5\u03c1\u03b9\n  \u1f41\u03bb\u03bf\u03c5 \u03c4\u03bf\u03c5 \u03ba\u03bf\u03c3\u03bc\u03bf\u03c5.\n\n\n     AUTHORISED VERSION.                  REVISED VERSION.\n\n  This then is the message           And this is the message\n  which we have                      which we have\n  heard of Him, and declare          heard from Him, and\n  unto you, that                     announce unto you,\n  God is light, and in               that God is light, and\n  Him is no darkness at              _in_ Him is _no darkness_\n  all. If we say that we             at all. If we say that\n  have fellowship with               we have fellowship\n  Him, and walk in darkness,         with him, and walk in\n  we lie, and do not                 the darkness, we lie, and\n  the truth: but if we               do not the truth: but\n  walk in the light, as              if we walk in the light,\n  He is in the light,                as He is in the light,\n  we have fellowship one             we have fellowship one\n  with another, and the              with another, and the\n  blood of Jesus Christ              blood of Jesus His Son\n  His Son cleanseth us               cleanseth us from all\n  from all sin. If we say            sin. If we say that\n  that we have no sin,               we have no sin, we\n  we deceive ourselves,              deceive ourselves, and\n  and the truth is not in            the truth is not in us.\n  us. If we confess our              If we confess our\n  sins, He is faithful and           sins He is faithful and\n  just to forgive us _our_           righteous to forgive us\n  sins, and to cleanse us            our sins, and to cleanse\n  from all unrighteousness.          us from all unrighteousness.\n  If we say that                     If we say that\n  we have not sinned,                we have not sinned,\n  we make Him a liar,                we make Him a liar,\n  and His word is not in             and His word is not in\n  us. My little children,            us. My little children,\n  these things write I               these things write I\n  unto you, that ye sin              unto you, that ye may\n  not. But if any man                not sin. And if any\n  sin, we have an                    man sin, we have\n  advocate with the                  an Advocate with the\n  Father, Jesus Christ               Father, Jesus Christ\n  the righteous: and He              the righteous: and He\n  is the propitiation for            is the propitiation for\n  our sins: and not for              our sins; and not for\n  our's only, but also for           ours only, but also for\n  _the sins of_ the whole            the whole world.\n  world.\n\n\n     ANOTHER VERSION.\n\n  And this is the message\n  which we have\n  heard from Him and\n  are announcing unto\n  you that God is light,\n  and darkness in Him\n  there is none. If we\n  say that we have fellowship\n  with Him and\n  are walking in the\n  darkness, we lie and\n  are not doing the truth;\n  but if we walk in the\n  light as He is in the\n  light we have fellowship\n  one with another,\n  and the blood of Jesus\n  His Son is purifying\n  us from all sin. If we\n  say that we have not\n  sin, we mislead ourselves\n  and the truth\n  in us is not. If we\n  confess our sins He is\n  faithful and righteous\n  that He may forgive\n  our sins and purify us\n  from all unrighteousness.\n  If we say that\n  we have not sinned a\n  liar we are making\n  Him, and His word is\n  not in us. My children\n  these things write I\n  unto you that ye may\n  not sin. And yet if\n  any may have sinned,\n  an Advocate have we\n  with the Father Jesus\n  Christ _who is_ righteous:\n  and He is propitiation\n  for our sins; yea, and\n  not for ours only but\n  also for the whole\n  world.\n\n\n\n\n                            DISCOURSE III.\n\n                      _EXTENT OF THE ATONEMENT._\n\n    \"My little children, these things write I unto you, that ye sin\n    not. And if any man sin we have an advocate with the Father, Jesus\n    Christ the righteous: and He is the propitiation for our sins, and\n    not for ours only, but also for the sins of the whole world.\"--1\n    JOHN ii. 1, 2.\n\n\nOf the Incarnation of the Word, of the whole previous strain of solemn\noracular annunciation, there are two great objects. Rightly understood\nit at once stimulates and soothes; it supplies inducements to\nholiness, and yet quiets the accusing heart. (1) It urges to a\npervading holiness in each recurring circumstance of life.[153] \"That\nye may not sin\" is the bold universal language of the morality of God.\nMen only understand moral teaching when it comes with a series of\nmonographs on the virtues, sobriety, chastity, and the rest.\nChristianity does not overlook these, but it comes first with\nall-inclusive principles. The morality of man is like the sculptor\nworking line by line and part by part, partially and successively. The\nmorality of God is like nature, and works in every part of the flower\nand tree with a sort of ubiquitous presence. \"These things write we\nunto you.\" No dead letter--a living spirit infuses the lines; there is\na deathless principle behind the words which will vitalize and\npermeate all isolated relations and developments of conduct. \"These\nthings write we unto you that ye may not sin.\"\n\n(2) But further, this announcement also soothes. There may be isolated\nacts of sin against the whole tenor of the higher and nobler life.\nThere may be, God forbid!--but it may be--some glaring act of\ninconsistency. In this case the Apostle uses a form of expression\nwhich includes himself, \"we have,\" and yet points to Christ, not to\nhimself, \"we have an Advocate with the Father, Jesus Christ\"--and that\nin view of His being One who is perfectly and simply righteous; \"and\nHe is the propitiation for our sins.\"\n\nThen, as if suddenly fired by a great thought, St. John's view broadens\nover the whole world beyond the limits of the comparatively little group\nof believers whom his words at that time could reach. The Incarnation\nand Atonement have been before his soul. The Catholic Church is the\ncorrelative of the first, humanity of the second. The Paraclete whom he\nbeheld is ever in relation with, ever turned towards the Father.[154]\nHis propitiation _is_, and He _is_ it. It _was_ not simply a fact in\nhistory which works on with unexhaustible force. As the Advocate is ever\nturned towards the Father, so the propitiation lives on with unexhausted\nlife. His intercession is not verbal, temporary, interrupted. The\nChurch, in her best days, never prayed--\"Jesus, pray for me!\" It is\ninterpretative, continuous, unbroken. In time it is eternally valid,\neternally present. In space it extends as far as human need, and\ntherefore takes in every place. \"Not for our sins only,\" but for men\nuniversally, \"for the whole world.\"[155]\n\nIt is implied then in this passage, that Christ was _intended_ as a\npropitiation for the whole world; and that He is _fitted_ for\nsatisfying all human wants.\n\n(1) Christ was intended for the whole world. Let us see the Divine\nintention in one incident of the crucifixion. In that are mingling lines\nof glory and of humiliation. The King of humanity appears with a scarlet\ncamp-mantle flung contemptuously over His shoulders; but to the eye of\nfaith it is the purple of empire. He is crowned with the acanthus\nwreath; but the wreath of mockery is the royalty of our race. He is\ncrucified between two thieves; but His cross is a Judgment-Throne, and\nat His right hand and His left are the two separated worlds of belief\nand unbelief. All the Evangelists tell us that a superscription, a title\nof accusation, was written over His cross; two of them add that it was\nwritten over Him \"in letters of Greek, and Latin, and Hebrew\" (or in\nHebrew, Greek, Latin). In Hebrew--the sacred tongue of patriarchs and\nseers, of the nation all whose members were in idea and destination\nthose of whom God said, \"My prophets.\" In Greek--the \"musical and golden\ntongue which gave a soul to the objects of sense and a body to the\nabstractions of philosophy;\" the language of a people whose mission it\nwas to give a principle of fermentation to all races of mankind,\nsusceptible of those subtle and largely indefinable influences which are\ncalled collectively Progress. In Latin--the dialect of a people\noriginally the strongest of all the sons of men. The three languages\nrepresent the three races and their ideas--revelation, art, literature;\nprogress, war, and jurisprudence. Beneath the title is the thorn-crowned\nhead of the ideal King of humanity.\n\nWherever these three tendencies of the human race exist, wherever\nannunciation can be made in human language, wherever there is a heart\nto sin, a tongue to speak, an eye to read, the cross has a message.\nThe superscription, \"written in Hebrew, Greek, and Latin,\" is the\nhistorical symbol translated into its dogmatic form by St. John--\"He\nis the propitiation[156] for our sins, and not for ours only, but also\nfor the whole world.\"\n\nFOOTNOTES:\n\n[153] Observe in the Greek the \u03bc\u03b7 \u1f01\u03bc\u03b1\u03c1\u03c4\u03b7\u03c4\u03b5, which refers to single\nacts, not to a continuous state--\"that _ye may not sin_.\"\n\n[154] 1 John ii. 2. As a translation, \"towards\" seems too pedantic;\nyet \u03c0\u03c1\u03bf\u03c2 is _ad-versus_ rather than _apud_, and with the accusative\nsignifies either the direction of motion, or the relation between two\nobjects. (Donaldson, _Greek Grammar_, 524). We may fittingly call the\npreposition here \u03c0\u03c1\u03bf\u03c2 _pictorial_.\n\n[155] The various meanings of \u03ba\u03bf\u03c3\u03bc\u03bf\u03c2 are fully traced below on 1 John\nii. 17. There is one point in which the notions of \u03ba\u03bf\u03c3\u03bc\u03bf\u03c2 and \u03b1\u03b9\u03c9\u03bd\nintersect. But they may be thus distinguished. The first signifies the\nworld projected in _space_, the second in _time_. The supposition that\nthe form of expression at the close of our verse is elliptical, and to\nbe filled up by the repetition of \"for the sins of the whole world\"\n\"is not justified by usage, and weakens the force of the passage.\"\n(_Epistles of St. John_, Westcott, p. 44.)\n\n[156] As to doctrine. There are three \"grand circles\" or \"families of\nimages\" whereby Scripture approaches from different quarters, or surveys\nfrom different sides, the benefits of our Lord's meritorious death.\nThese are represented by, are summed up in, three words--\u03b1\u03c0\u03bf\u03bb\u03c5\u03c4\u03c1\u03c9\u03c3\u03b9\u03c2,\n\u03ba\u03b1\u03c4\u03b1\u03bb\u03bb\u03b1\u03b3\u03b7, \u03b9\u03bb\u03b1\u03c3\u03bc\u03bf\u03c2. The last is found in the text and in iv. 10; nowhere\nelse precisely in that form in the New Testament. \"\u0399\u03bb\u03b1\u03c3\u03bc\u03bf\u03c2 (expiation or\npropitiation) and \u03b1\u03c0\u03bf\u03bb\u03c5\u03c4\u03c1\u03c9\u03c3\u03b9\u03c2 (redemption) is fundamentally one single\nbenefit, _i.e._, the restitution of the lost sinner. \u0391\u03c0\u03bf\u03bb\u03c5\u03c4\u03c1\u03c9\u03c3\u03b9\u03c2 is in\nrespect of _enemies_; \u03ba\u03b1\u03c4\u03b1\u03bb\u03bb\u03b1\u03b3\u03b7 in respect of _God_. And here again the\nwords \u1f31\u03bb\u03b1\u03c3\u03bc. and \u03ba\u03b1\u03c4\u03b1\u03bb\u03bb. differ. _Propitiation_ takes away offences as\nagainst _God_. _Reconciliation_ has two sides. It takes away (_a_) God's\n_indignation_ against _us_, 2 Cor. v. 18, 19; (_b_) _our alienation_\nfrom _God_, 2 Cor. v. 20.\" (Bengel on Rom. iii. 24. Whoever would\nrightly understand all that we can know on these great words must study\n_New Testament Synonyms, Archbp. Trench_, pp. 276-82.)\n\n\n\n\n                            DISCOURSE IV.\n\n       _MISSIONARY APPLICATION OF THE EXTENT OF THE ATONEMENT._\n\n                \"For the whole world.\"--1 JOHN ii. 2.\n\n\nLet us now consider the universal and ineradicable wants of man.\n\nSuch a consideration is substantially unaffected by speculation as to\nthe theory of man's origin. Whether the first men are to be looked for\nby the banks of some icy river feebly shaping their arrowheads of\nflint, or in godlike and glorious progenitors beside the streams of\nEden; whether our ancestors were the result of an inconceivably\nancient evolution, or called into existence by a creative act, or\nsprung from some lower creature elevated in the fulness of time by a\nmajestic inspiration,--at least, as a matter of fact, man has other\nand deeper wants than those of the back and stomach. Man as he is has\nfive spiritual instincts. _How_ they came to be there, let it be\nrepeated, is not the question. It is the fact of their existence, not\nthe mode of their _genesis_, with which we are now concerned.\n\n(1) There is almost, if not quite, without exception the instinct\nwhich may be generally described as the instinct of the Divine. In the\nwonderful address where St. Paul so fully recognises the influence of\ngeographical circumstance and of climate, he speaks of God \"having\nmade out of one blood every nation of men to seek after their Lord,\nif haply at least\" (as might be expected) \"they would feel for\nHim\"[157]--like men in darkness groping towards the light. (2) There\nis the instinct of prayer, the \"testimony of the soul naturally\nChristian.\" The little child at our knees meets us half way in the\nfirst touching lessons in the science of prayer. In danger, when the\nvessel seems to be sinking in a storm, it is ever as it was in the\ndays of Jonah, when \"the mariners cried every man unto his God.\"[158]\n(3) There is the instinct of immortality, the desire that our\nconscious existence should continue beyond death.\n\n                      \"Who would lose,\n      Though full of pain, this intellectual being,\n      These thoughts that wander through eternity,\n      To perish rather swallow'd up and lost\n      In the wide womb of uncreated night?\"\n\n(4) There is the instinct of morality, call it conscience or what we\nwill. The lowest, most sordid, most materialised languages are never\nquite without witness to this nobler instinct. Though such languages\nhave lien among the pots, yet their wings are as the wings of a dove\nthat is covered with silver wings and her feathers like gold. The most\nimpoverished vocabularies have words of moral judgment, \"good\" or\n\"bad;\" of praise or blame, \"truth and lie;\" above all, those august\nwords which recognise a law paramount to all other laws, \"I must,\" \"I\nought.\" (5) There is the instinct of _sacrifice_, which, if not\nabsolutely universal, is at least all but so--the sense of impurity\nand unworthiness, which says by the very fact of bringing a victim. \"I\nam not worthy to come alone; may my guilt be transferred to the\nrepresentative which I immolate.\"\n\n(1) Thus then man seeks after God. Philosophy unaided does not succeed\nin finding Him. The theistic systems marshal their syllogisms; they\nprove, but do not convince. The pantheistic systems glitter before\nman's eye; but when he grasps them in his feverish hand, and brushes\noff the mystic gold dust from the moth's wings, a death's-head mocks\nhim. St. John has found the essence of the whole question, stripped\nfrom it all its plausible disguises, and characterises Mahommedan and\nJudaistic Deism in a few words. Nay, the philosophical deism of\nChristian countries comes within the scope of his terrible\nproposition. \"Deo erexit Voltairius,\" was the philosopher's\ninscription over the porch of a church; but Voltaire had not in any\ntrue sense a God to whom he could dedicate it. For St. John tells\nus--\"whosoever denieth the Son, the same hath not the Father.\"[159]\nOther words there are in his Second Epistle whose full import seems to\nhave been generally overlooked, but which are of solemn significance\nto those who go out from the camp of Christianity with the idea of\nfinding a more refined morality and a more ethereal spiritualism.\n\"Whosoever goeth forward and abideth not in the doctrine of Christ\";\nwhosoever writes progress on his standard, and goes forward beyond the\nlines of Christ, loses natural as well as supernatural religion--\"he\nhath not God.\"[160] (2) Man wants to pray. Poor disinherited child,\nwhat master of requests shall he find? Who shall interpret his broken\nlanguage to God, God's infinite language to him? (3) Man yearns for\nthe assurance of immortal life. This can best be given by one specimen\nof manhood risen from the grave, one traveller come back from the\nundiscovered bourne with the breath of eternity on His cheek and its\nlight in His eye; one like Jonah, Himself the living sign and proof\nthat He has been down in the great deeps. (4) Man needs a morality to\ninstruct and elevate conscience. Such a morality must possess these\ncharacteristics. It must be _authoritative_, resting upon an absolute\nwill; its teacher must say, not \"I think,\" or \"I conclude,\"\nbut--\"verily, verily I say unto you.\" It must be _unmixed_ with baser\nand more questionable elements. It must be _pervasive_, laying the\nstrong grasp of its purity on the whole domain of thought and feeling\nas well as of action. It must be _exemplified_. It must present to us\na series of pictures, of object-lessons in which we may see it\nillustrated. Finally, this morality must be _spiritual_. It must come\nto man, not like the Jewish Talmud with its seventy thousand precepts\nwhich few indeed can ever learn, but with a compendious and condensed,\nyet all-embracing brevity--with words that are spirit and life. (5) As\nman knows duty more thoroughly, the instinct of sacrifice will speak\nwith an ever-increasing intensity. \"My heart is overwhelmed by the\ninfinite purity of this law. Lead me to the rock that is higher than\nI; let me find God and be reconciled to Him.\" When the old Latin spoke\nof _propitiation_ he thought of something which brought _near\n(prope)_; his inner thought was--\"let God come near to me, that I may\nbe near to God.\" These five ultimate spiritual wants, these five\nineradicable spiritual instincts, _He_ must meet, of whom a master of\nspiritual truth like St. John can say with his plenitude of\ninsight--\"He is the propitiation for our sins, and not for ours only,\nbut also for the whole world.\"\n\nWe shall better understand the fulness of St. John's thought if we\nproceed to consider that this fitness in Christ for meeting the\nspiritual wants of humanity is _exclusive_.\n\nThree great religions of the world are more or less _Missionary_.\nHinduism, which embraces at least a hundred and ninety millions of\nsouls, is certainly not in any sense missionary. For Hinduism\ntransplanted from its ancient shrines and local superstitions dies\nlike a flower without roots. But Judaism at times has strung itself to\na kind of exertion almost inconsistent with its leading idea. The very\nword \"proselyte\" attests the unnatural fervour to which it had worked\nitself up in our Lord's time. The Pharisee was a missionary sent out\nby pride and consecrated by self-will. \"Ye compass sea and land to\nmake one proselyte, and when he is made, ye make him tenfold more the\nchild of hell than yourselves.\"[161] Bouddhism has had enormous\nmissionary success from one point of view. Not long ago it was said\nthat it outnumbered Christendom. But it is to be observed that it\nfinds adherents among people of only one type of thought and\ncharacter.[162] Outside these races it is and must ever be,\nnon-existent. We may except the fanciful perversion of a few idle\npeople in London, Calcutta, or Ceylon, captivated for a season or two\nby \"the light of Asia.\" We may except also a very few more remarkable\ncases where the esoteric principle of Bouddhism commends itself to\ncertain profound thinkers stricken with the dreary disease of modern\nsentiment. Mohammedanism has also, in a limited degree, proved itself\na missionary religion, not only by the sword. In British India it\ncounts millions of adherents, and it is still making some progress in\nIndia. In other ages whole Christian populations (but belonging to\nheretical and debased forms of Christianity) have gone over to\nMohammedanism. Let us be just to it.[163] It once elevated the pagan\nArabs. Even now it elevates the Negro above his fetisch. But it must\never remain a religion for stationary races, with its sterile God and\nits poor literality, the dead book pressing upon it with a weight of\nlead. Its merits are these--it inculcates a lofty if sterile Theism;\nit fulfils the pledge conveyed in the word Moslem, by inspiring a calm\nif frigid resignation to destiny; it teaches the duty of prayer with a\nstrange impressiveness. But whole realms of thought and feeling are\ncrushed out by its bloody and lustful grasp. It is without purity,\nwithout tenderness, and without humility.\n\nThus then we come back again with a truer insight to the exclusive\nfitness of Christ to meet the wants of mankind.\n\nOthers beside the Incarnate Lord have obtained from a portion of their\nfellow-men some measure of passionate enthusiasm. Each people has a\nhero, call him demigod, or what we will. But such men are idolised by\none race alone, and are fashioned after its likeness. The very qualities\nwhich procure them an apotheosis are precisely those which prove how\nnarrow the type is which they represent; how far they are from speaking\nto all humanity. A national type is a narrow and exclusive type.\n\nNo European, unless effeminated and enfeebled, could really love an\nAsiatic Messiah. But Christ is loved everywhere. No race or kindred is\nexempt from the sweet contagion produced by the universal appeal of the\nuniversal Saviour. From all languages spoken by the lips of man, hymns\nof adoration are offered to Him. We read in England the Confessions of\nSt. Augustine. Those words still quiver with the emotions of penitence\nand praise; still breathe the breath of life. Those ardent affections,\nthose yearnings of personal love to Christ, which filled the heart of\nAugustine fifteen centuries ago, under the blue sky of Africa, touch us\neven now under this grey heaven in the fierce hurry of our modern life.\nBut they have in them equally the possibility of touching the Shanar of\nTinnevelly, the Negro--even the Bushman, or the native of Terra del\nFuego. By a homage of such diversity and such extent we recognise a\nuniversal Saviour for the universal wants of universal man, the fitting\npropitiation for the whole world.\n\nTowards the close of this Epistle St. John oracularly utters three\ngreat canons of universal Christian consciousness--\"we know,\" \"we\nknow,\" \"we know.\" Of these three canons the second is--\"we know that\nwe are from God, and the world lieth wholly in the wicked one.\" \"A\ncharacteristic Johannic exaggeration\"! some critic has exclaimed; yet\nsurely even in Christian lands where men lie outside the influences of\nthe Divine society, we have only to read the Police-reports to justify\nthe Apostle. In volumes of travels, again, in the pages of Darwin and\nBaker, from missionary records in places where the earth is full of\ndarkness and cruel habitations, we are told of deeds of lust and blood\nwhich almost make us blush to bear the same form with creatures so\ndegraded. Yet the very same missionary records bear witness that in\nevery race which the Gospel proclamation has reached, however low it\nmay be placed in the scale of the ethnologist; deep under the ruins of\nthe fall are the spiritual instincts, the affections which have for\ntheir object the infinite God, and for their career the illimitable\nages. The shadow of sin is broad indeed. But in the evening light of\nGod's love the shadow of the cross is projected further still into the\ninfinite beyond. Missionary success is therefore sure, if it be slow.\nThe reason is given by St. John. \"He is the propitiation for our sins,\nand not for ours only, but for the whole world.\"\n\n\n                                NOTES.\n\n                          Ch. i. 5 to ii. 2.\n\nVer. 5. The Word, the Life, the Light, are connected in the first\nchapter as in John i. 3, 4, 5. Upon earth, behind all life is light;\nin the spiritual world, behind all light is life.\n\n_Darkness._] The schoolmen well said that there is a fourfold\ndarkness--of nature, of ignorance, of misery, of sin. The symbol of\nlight applied to God must designate perfect goodness and beauty,\ncombined with blissful consciousness of it, and transparent luminous\nclearness of wisdom.\n\nVer. 7. _The blood of Jesus His Son_] Sc. poured forth. This word (the\nBlood) denotes more vividly and effectively than any other could do\nthree great realities of the Christian belief--the reality of the\nManhood of Jesus, the reality of His sufferings, the reality of His\nsacrifice. It is dogma; but dogma made pictorial, pathetic, almost\npassionate. It may be noted that much current thought and feeling\naround us is just at the opposite extreme. It is a semi-doketism which\nis manifested in two different forms. (1) Whilst it need not be\ndenied that there are hymns which are pervaded by an ensanguined\nmaterialism, and which are calculated to wound reverence, as well as\ntaste; it is clear that much criticism on hymns and sermons, where the\n\"Blood of Jesus\" is at all appealed to, has an ultra-refinement which\nis unscriptural and rationalistic. It is out of touch with St. Paul\n(Col. i. 14-20), with the author of the Epistle to the Hebrews (Heb.\nix. 14) (a passage strikingly like this verse), with St. Peter (1 Pet.\ni. 19), with St. John in this Epistle, with the redeemed in heaven\n(Apoc. v. 9). (2) A good deal of feeling against representations in\nsacred art seems to have its origin in this sort of unconscious\nsemi-doketism. It appears to be thought that when representation\nsupersedes symbolism, Christian thought and feeling necessarily lose\neverything and gain nothing. But surely it ought to be remembered that\nfor a being like man there are two worlds, one of ideas, the other of\nfacts; one of philosophy, the other of history. The one is filled with\nthings which are conceived, the other with things which are done. One\ncontents itself with a shadowy symbol, the other is not satisfied\nexcept by a concrete representation. So we venture respectfully to\nthink that the image of the dead Christ is not foreign to Scripture or\nScriptural thought; simply because, _as a fact_, He died. Calvary, the\ntree, the wounds, were not ideal. The crucifixion was not a symbol for\ndainty and refined abstract theorists. The form of the Crucified was\nnot veiled by silver mists and crowned with roses. He who realises the\nmeaning of the \"Blood of Jesus,\" and is _consistent_, will not be\nsevere upon the expression of the same thought in another form.\n\n\"Note that which Estius hath upon the blood of his Son, that in them\nthere is a confutation of three heresies at once: the Manichees, who\ndeny the truth of Christ's human nature, since, as Alexander said of his\nwound, _clamat me esse hominem_, it proclaimeth me a man, we may say of\nHis blood, for had He not been man He could not have bled, have died;\nthe Ebionites, who deny Him to be God, since, being God's natural Son,\nHe must needs be of the same essence with Himself; and the Nestorians,\nwho make two persons, which, if true, the blood of Christ the man could\nnot have been called the blood of Christ the Son of God.\"\n\n\"That which I conceive here chiefly to be taken notice of is, that our\nApostle contents not himself to say the _blood of Jesus Christ_, but\nhe addeth _His Son_, to intimate to us how this blood became available\nto our cleansing, to wit, as it was the blood not merely of the Son of\nMary, the Son of David, the Son of Man, but of Him who was also the\nSon of God.\"\n\n\"Behold, O sinner, the exceeding love of thy Saviour, who, that He\nmight cleanse thee when polluted in thy blood, was pleased to shed His\nown blood. Indeed, the pouring out of Christ's blood was a\nsuper-excellent work of charity; hence it is that these two are joined\ntogether; and when the Scripture speaketh of His love, it presently\nannexeth His sufferings. We read, that when Christ wept for Lazarus,\nJohn xi. 36, the standers by said, \"See how He loved him.\" Surely if\nHis tears, much more His blood, proclaimeth His affection towards us.\nThe Jews were the scribes, the nails were the pens, His body the white\npaper, and His blood the red ink; and the characters were love,\nexceeding love, and these so fairly written that he which runs may\nread them. I shut up this with that of devout Bernard, Behold and look\nupon the rose of His bloody passion, how His redness bespeaketh His\nflaming love, there being, as it were, a contention betwixt His\npassion and affection: this, that it might be hotter; that, that it\nmight be redder. Nor had His sufferings been so red with blood had not\nHis heart been inflamed with love. Oh let us beholding magnify,\nmagnifying admire, and admiring praise Him for His inestimable\ngoodness, saying with the holy Apostle (Rev. i. 5), 'Unto Him that\nloved us, and washed us from our sins in His blood, be honour and\nglory for ever.'\"--_Dean Hardy_ (pp. 77, 78.) Observe on this verse\nits unison of thought and feeling with Apoc. i. 5, xxii. 14.[164]\n\nChap. ii. 1. _We have an Advocate_] literally Paraclete. One called in\nto aid him whose cause is to be tried or petition considered. The word\nis used only by St. John, four times in the Gospel, of the Holy\nGhost;[165] once here of Christ.\n\n\"And now, O thou drooping sinner, let me bespeak thee in St.\nAustin's[166] language: Thou committest thy cause to an eloquent lawyer,\nand art safe; how canst thou miscarry, when thou hast the Word to be thy\nadvocate? Let me put this question to thee: If, when thou sinnest, thou\nhadst all the angels, saints, confessors, martyrs, in those celestial\nmansions to beg thy pardon, dost thou think they would not speed? I tell\nthee, one word out of Christ's mouth is more worth than all their\nconjoined entreaties. When, therefore, thy daily infirmities discourage\nthee, or particular falls affright thee, imagine with thyself that thou\nheardst thy advocate pleading for thee in these or the like expressions:\nO My loving Father, look upon the face of Thine Anointed; behold the\nhands, and feet, and side of Thy crucified Christ! I had no sins of My\nown for which I thus suffered; no, it was for the sins of this penitent\nwretch, who in My name sued for pardon! Father, I am Thy Son, the Son of\nThy love, Thy bosom, who plead with Thee; it is for Thy child, Thy\nreturning penitent child, I plead. That for which I pray is no more than\nwhat I paid for; I have merited pardon for all that come to Me! Oh let\nthose merits be imputed, and that pardon granted to this poor sinner!\nCheer up, then, thou disconsolate soul, Christ is an advocate for thee,\nand therefore do not despair, but believe; and believing, rejoice; and\nrejoicing, triumph.\"--_Dean Hardy_ (pp. 128, 129). In these days, when\npetitions to Jesus to pray for us have crept into hymns and are creeping\ninto liturgies, it may be well to note that in the remains of the early\nsaints and in the solemn formulas of the Christian Church, Christ is not\nasked to pray for us, but to hear our prayers. The Son is prayed to; the\nFather is prayed to through the Son; the Son is never prayed to pray to\nthe Father. (See Greg. Nazianz., _Oratio_ xxx., _Theologi\u00e6_ iv., _de\nFilio_. See Thomassin, _Dogm. Theol._, lib. ix., cap. 6, Tom. iv. 220,\n227.)\n\nVer. 2. _Not for ours only._] This large-hearted afterthought reminds\none of St. Paul's \"corrective and ampliative\" addition; of his\nchivalrous abstinence from exclusiveness in thought or word, when\nhaving dictated \"Jesus Christ our Lord,\" his voice falters, and he\nfeels constrained to say--\"both theirs, and ours\" (1 Cor. i. 2).\n\nFOOTNOTES:\n\n[157] Acts xvii. 27.\n\n[158] Jonah i. 5.\n\n[159] 1 John ii. 28.\n\n[160] 2 John 9.\n\n[161] Matt. xxiii. 15.\n\n[162] Bouddhism, it is now said, appears to be on the wane, and the\nperiod for its disappearance is gradually approaching, according to\nthe Boden Professor of Sanscrit at Oxford. In his opinion this creed\nis \"one of rapidly increasing disintegration and decline,\" and \"as a\nform of popular religion Bouddhism is gradually losing its vitality\nand hold on the vast populations once loyal to its rule.\" He computes\nthe number of Bouddhists at 100,000,000; not 400,000,000 as hitherto\nestimated; and places Christianity numerically at the head of all\nreligions--next Confucianism, thirdly Hinduism, then Bouddhism, and\nlast Mohammedanism. He affirms that the capacity of Bouddhism for\nresistance must give way before the \"mighty forces which are destined\nto sweep the earth.\"\n\n[163] That modern English writers have been more than just to Mohammed\nis proved overwhelmingly by the living Missionary who knows\nMohammedanism best.--_Mohammed and Mohammedans_. Dr. Koelle.\n\n[164] The inner meaning of 1 John i. 8 exactly = \u1f51\u03c0\u03b1\u03ba\u03bf\u03b7 \u03ba\u03b1\u03b9 \u1fe5\u03b1\u03bd\u03c4\u03b9\u03c3\u03bc\u03bf\u03c2\n(1 Peter i. 2). It is the _obedient_ who are _sprinkled_.\n\n[165] John xiv. 16, 26, xv. 26, xvi. 7.\n\n[166] Aug. _in loc._\n\n\n\n\n                          SECTION III. (1).\n\n\n          GREEK.                           LATIN.\n\n  \u039a\u03b1\u03b9 \u03b5\u03bd \u03c4\u03bf\u03c5\u03c4\u03c9                       Et in hoc scimus\n  \u03b3\u03b9\u03bd\u03c9\u03c3\u03ba\u03bf\u03bc\u03b5\u03bd \u1f41\u03c4\u03b9 \u03b5\u03b3\u03bd\u03c9\u03ba\u03b1\u03bc\u03b5\u03bd           quoniam cognovimus\n  \u03b1\u03c5\u03c4\u03bf\u03bd, \u03b5\u03b1\u03bd \u03c4\u03b1\u03c2 \u03b5\u03bd\u03c4\u03bf\u03bb\u03b1\u03c2             eum, si mandata eius\n  \u03b1\u03c5\u03c4\u03bf\u03c5 \u03c4\u03b7\u03c1\u03c9\u03bc\u03b5\u03bd. \u1f41 \u03bb\u03b5\u03b3\u03c9\u03bd,            observemus. Qui dicit\n  \u1f41\u03c4\u03b9 \"\u0395\u03b3\u03bd\u03c9\u03ba\u03b1 \u03b1\u03c5\u03c4\u03bf\u03bd,\"                se nosse eum et mandata\n  \u03ba\u03b1\u03b9 \u03c4\u03b1\u03c2 \u03b5\u03bd\u03c4\u03bf\u03bb\u03b1\u03c2 \u03b1\u03c5\u03c4\u03bf\u03c5              eius non custodit,\n  \u03bc\u03b7 \u03c4\u03b7\u03c1\u03c9\u03bd, \u03c8\u03b5\u03c5\u03c3\u03c4\u03b7\u03c2 \u03b5\u03c3\u03c4\u03b9\u03bd,           mendax est, et\n  \u03ba\u03b1\u03b9 \u03b5\u03bd \u03c4\u03bf\u03c5\u03c4\u03c9 \u1f21 \u03b1\u03bb\u03b7\u03b8\u03b5\u03b9\u03b1             in eo veritas non est:\n  \u03bf\u03c5\u03ba \u03b5\u03c3\u03c4\u03b9\u03bd\u00b7 \u1f41\u03c2 \u03b4' \u03b1\u03bd                qui autem servat verbum\n  \u03c4\u03b7\u03c1\u03b7 \u03b1\u03c5\u03c4\u03bf\u03c5 \u03c4\u03bf\u03bd \u03bb\u03bf\u03b3\u03bf\u03bd,              eius, vere in eo\n  \u03b1\u03bb\u03b7\u03b8\u03c9\u03c2 \u03b5\u03bd \u03c4\u03bf\u03c5\u03c4\u03c9 \u1f21                  caritas Dei perfecta\n  \u03b1\u03b3\u03b1\u03c0\u03b7 \u03c4\u03bf\u03c5 \u0398\u03b5\u03bf\u03c5 \u03c4\u03b5\u03c4\u03b5\u03bb\u03b5\u03b9\u03c9\u03c4\u03b1\u03b9.        est: in hoc scimus\n  \u03b5\u03bd \u03c4\u03bf\u03c5\u03c4\u03c9                           quoniam in ipso sumus.\n  \u03b3\u03b9\u03bd\u03c9\u03c3\u03ba\u03bf\u03bc\u03b5\u03bd \u1f41\u03c4\u03b9 \u03b5\u03bd \u03b1\u03c5\u03c4\u03c9             Qui dicit se in\n  \u03b5\u03c3\u03bc\u03b5\u03bd. \u1f41 \u03bb\u03b5\u03b3\u03c9\u03bd \u03b5\u03bd                  ipso manere debet sicut\n  \u03b1\u03c5\u03c4\u03c9 \u03bc\u03b5\u03bd\u03b5\u03b9\u03bd, \u03bf\u03c6\u03b5\u03b9\u03bb\u03b5\u03b9,              ille ambulavit et ipse\n  \u03ba\u03b1\u03b8\u03c9\u03c2 \u03b5\u03ba\u03b5\u03b9\u03bd\u03bf\u03c2 \u03c0\u03b5\u03c1\u03b9\u03b5\u03c0\u03b1\u03c4\u03b7\u03c3\u03b5\u03bd,        ambulare.\n  \u03ba\u03b1\u03b9 \u03b1\u03c5\u03c4\u03bf\u03c2 \u03bf\u03c5\u03c4\u03c9\u03c2\n  \u03c0\u03b5\u03c1\u03b9\u03c0\u03b1\u03c4\u03b5\u03b9\u03bd.\n\n\n     AUTHORISED VERSION.                  REVISED VERSION.\n\n  And hereby we do                   And _hereby know_ we\n  know that we know                  that we _know_ Him, if\n  Him, if we keep His                we keep His commandments.\n  commandments. He                   He that\n  that saith, I know Him,            saith, I know Him, and\n  and keepeth not His                keepeth not His commandments\n  commandments, is a                 is a liar,\n  liar, and the truth is             and the truth is not in\n  not in Him. But whoso              him: but whoso keepeth\n  keepeth His word,                  His word, in him verily\n  in him verily is the               hath the love of God\n  love of God perfected:             been perfected. Hereby\n  hereby know we that                know we that we\n  we are in Him. He                  are in Him: he that\n  that saith he abideth              saith he abideth in\n  in Him ought himself               Him ought himself also\n  also so to walk, even              to walk even as He\n  as He walked.                      walked.\n\n\n     ANOTHER VERSION.\n\n  And hereby we do\n  know that we have\n  knowledge of Him, if\n  we observe His commandments.\n  He that\n  saith I have knowledge\n  of Him and observeth\n  not His commandments\n  is a liar, and in\n  this man the truth\n  is not. But whoso\n  observeth His word\n  verily in this man the\n  love of God is perfected.\n  Hereby know\n  we that we are in\n  Him: he that saith\n  he abideth in Him is\n  bound, even as He\n  walked, so also himself\n  to be ever walking.\n\n\n\n\n                             DISCOURSE V.\n\n     _THE INFLUENCE OF THE GREAT LIFE WALK A PERSONAL INFLUENCE._\n\n    \"He that saith he abideth in Him, ought himself also so to walk\n    even as He also walked.\"--1 JOHN ii. 6.\n\n\nThis verse is one of those in reading which we may easily fall into\nthe fallacy of mistaking _familiarity_ for knowledge.\n\nLet us bring out its meaning with accuracy.\n\nSt. John's hatred of unreality, of lying in every form, leads him to\nclaim in Christians a perfect correspondence between the outward\nprofession and the inward life, as well as the visible manifestation\nof it. \"He that saith\" always marks a danger to those who are\noutwardly in Christian communion. It is the \"take notice\" of a hidden\nfalsity. He whose claim, possibly whose vaunt, is that he abideth in\nChrist, has contracted a moral debt of far-reaching significance. St.\nJohn seems to pause for a moment. He points to a picture in a page of\nthe scroll which is beside him--the picture of Christ in the Gospel\ndrawn by himself; not a vague magnificence, a mere harmony of colour,\nbut a likeness of absolute historical truth. Every pilgrim of time in\nthe continuous course of his daily walk, outward and inward, has by\nthe possession of that Gospel contracted an obligation to be walking\nby the one great life-walk of the Pilgrim of eternity. The very depth\nand intensity of feeling half hushes the Apostle's voice. Instead of\nthe beloved Name which all who love it will easily supply,[167] St.\nJohn uses the reverential _He_, the pronoun which specially belongs to\nChrist in the vocabulary of the Epistle.[168] \"He that saith he\nabideth in Him\" is bound, even as He once walked, to be ever walking.\n\n\n                                  I.\n\nThe importance of _example_ in the moral and spiritual life gives\nemphasis to this canon of St. John.\n\nSuch an example as can be sufficient for creatures like ourselves\nshould be at once manifested in concrete form and susceptible of ideal\napplication.\n\nThis was felt by a great but unhappily anti-christian thinker, the\nexponent of a severe and lofty morality. Mr. Mill fully confesses that\nthere may be an elevating and an ennobling influence in a Divine ideal;\nand thus justifies the apparently startling precept--\"be ye therefore\nperfect, even as your Father which is in Heaven is perfect.\"[169] But he\nconsidered that some more human model was necessary for the moral\nstriver. He recommends novel-readers, when they are charmed or\nstrengthened by some conception of pure manhood or womanhood, to carry\nthat conception with them into their own lives. He would have them ask\nthemselves in difficult positions, how that strong and lofty man, that\ntender and unselfish woman, would have behaved in similar circumstances,\nand so bear about with them a standard of duty at once compendious and\naffecting. But to this there is one fatal objection--that such an\nelaborate process of make-believe is practically impossible. A fantastic\nmorality, if it were possible at all, must be a feeble morality. Surely\nan authentic example will be greatly more valuable.\n\nBut _example_, however precious, is made indefinitely more powerful\nwhen it is _living_ example, example crowned by personal influence.\n\nSo far as the stain of a guilty past can be removed from those who have\ncontracted it; they are improvable and capable of restoration, chiefly,\nperhaps almost exclusively, by personal influence in some form. When a\nprocess of deterioration and decay has set in in any human soul, the\ngerm of a more wholesome growth is introduced in nearly every case, by\nthe transfusion and transplantation of healthier life. We test the\nsoundness or the putrefaction of a soul by its capacity of receiving and\nassimilating this germ of restoration. A parent is in doubt whether a\nson is susceptible of renovation, whether he has not become wholly evil.\nHe tries to bring the young man under the personal influence of a friend\nof noble and sympathetic character. Has his son any capacity left for\nbeing touched by such a character; of admiring its strength on one side,\nits softness on another? When he is in contact with it, when he\nperceives how pure, how self-sacrificing, how true and straight it is,\nis there a glow in his face, a trembling of his voice, a moisture in his\neye, a wholesome self-humiliation? Or does he repel all this with a\nsneer and a bitter gibe? Has he that evil attribute which is possessed\nonly by the most deeply corrupt--\"they blaspheme, rail at glories\"?[170]\nThe Chaplain of a penitentiary records that among the most degraded of\nits inmates was one miserable creature. The Matron met her with\nfirmness, but with a good will which no hardness could break down, no\ninsolence overcome. One evening after prayers the Chaplain observed this\npoor outcast stealthily kissing the shadow of the Matron thrown by her\ncandle upon the wall. He saw that the diseased nature was beginning to\nbe capable of assimilating new life, that the victory of wholesome\npersonal influence had begun. He found reason for concluding that his\njudgment was well founded.\n\nThe law of restoration by living example through personal influence\npervades the whole of our human relations under God's natural and\nmoral government as truly as the principle of mediation. This law also\npervades the system of restoration revealed to us by Christianity. It\nis one of the chief results of the Incarnation itself. It begins to\nact upon us first, when the Gospels become something more to us than a\nmere history, when we realise in some degree how He walked. But it is\nnot complete until we know that all this is not merely of the past,\nbut of the present; that He is not dead, but living; that we may\ntherefore use that little word _is_ about Christ in the lofty sense of\nSt. John--\"even as He _is_ pure;\" \"in Him _is_ no sin;\" \"even as He\n_is_ righteous;\" \"He _is_ the propitiation for our sins.\" If this is\ntrue, as it undoubtedly is, of all good human influence personal and\nliving, is it not true of the Personal and living Christ in an\ninfinitely higher degree? If the shadow of Peter overshadowing the\nsick had some strange efficacy; if handkerchiefs or aprons from the\nbody of Paul wrought upon the sick and possessed; what may be the\nspiritual result of contact with Christ Himself? Of one of those men\nspecially gifted to raise struggling natures and of others like him, a\ntrue poet lately taken from us has sung in one of his most glorious\nstrains. Matthew Arnold likens mankind to a host inexorably bound by\ndivine appointment to march over mountain and desert to the city of\nGod. But they become entangled in the wilderness through which they\nmarch, split into mutinous factions, and are in danger of \"battering\non the rocks\" for ever in vain, of dying one by one in the waste. Then\ncomes the poet's appeal to the \"servants of God\":--\n\n              \"In the hour of need\n      Of your fainting dispirited race,\n      Ye like angels appear!\n      Languor is not in your heart,\n      Weakness is not in your word,\n      Weariness not on your brow.\n      Eyes rekindling, and prayers\n      Follow your steps as ye go.\n      Ye fill up the gaps in our file,\n      Strengthen the wavering line,\n      Stablish, continue our march--\n      On, to the bound of the waste--\n      On to the City of God.\"[171]\n\nIf all this be true of the personal influence of good and strong\nmen--true in proportion to their goodness and strength--it must be\ntrue of the influence of the Strongest and Best with Whom we are\nbrought into personal relation by prayer and sacraments, and by\nmeditation upon the sacred record which tells us what His one\nlife-walk was. Strength is not wanting upon His part, for He is able\nto save to the uttermost. Pity is not wanting; for to use touching\nwords (attributed to St. Paul in a very ancient apocryphal document),\n\"He alone sympathised with a world that has lost its way.\"[172]\n\nLet it not be forgotten that in that of which St. John speaks lies the\ntrue answer to an objection, formulated by the great anti-christian\nwriter above quoted, and constantly repeated by others. \"The ideal of\nChristian morality,\" says Mr. Mill, \"is negative rather than positive;\npassive rather than active; innocence rather than nobleness; abstinence\nfrom evil, rather than energetic pursuit of good; in its precepts (as\nhas been well said), 'thou shalt not' predominates unduly over 'thou\nshalt.'\"[173] The answer is this. (1) A true religious system must have\na distinct moral code. If not, it would be justly condemned for\n\"expressing itself\" (in the words of Mr. Mill's own accusation against\nChristianity elsewhere) \"in language most general, and possessing rather\nthe impressiveness of poetry or eloquence than the precision of\nlegislation.\" But the necessary formula of precise legislation is, \"thou\nshalt not\"; and without this it cannot be precise. (2) But further. To\nsay that Christian legislation is negative, a mere string of \"thou shalt\nnots,\" is just such a superficial accusation as might be expected from a\nman who should enter a church upon some rare occasion, and happen to\nlisten to the ten commandments, but fall asleep before he could hear the\nEpistle and Gospel. The philosopher of duty, Kant, has told us that the\npeculiarity of a moral principle, of any proposition which states what\nduty is, is to convey the meaning of an imperative through the form of\nan indicative. In his own expressive if pedantic language--\"its\ncategorical form involves an epitactic meaning.\" St. John asserts that\nthe Christian \"ought to walk even as Christ walked.\" To every one who\nreceives it, that proposition is therefore precisely equivalent to a\n_command_--\"walk as Christ walked.\" Is it a negative, passive morality,\na mere system of \"thou shalt not,\" which contains such a precept as\nthat? Does not the Christian religion in virtue of this alone enforce a\ngreat \"thou shalt;\" which every man who brings himself within its range\nwill find rising with him in the morning, following him like his shadow\nall day long, and lying down with him when he goes to rest?\n\n\n                                 II.\n\nIt should be clearly understood that in the words \"even as He walked,\"\nthe Gospel of St. John is both referred to and attested.\n\nFor surely to point with any degree of moral seriousness to an\nexample, _is_ to presuppose some clear knowledge and definite record\nof it. No example can be beautiful or instructive when its shape is\nlost in darkness. It has indeed been said by a deeply religious\nwriter, \"that the likeness of the Christian to Christ is to His\ncharacter, not to the particular form in which it was historically\nmanifested.\" And this, of course, is in one sense a truism. But how\nelse except by this historical manifestation can we know the character\nof Christ in any true sense of the word knowledge? For those who are\nfamiliar with the fourth Gospel, the term \"walk\" was tenderly\nsignificant. For if it was used with a reminiscence of the Old\nTestament and of the language of our Lord,[174] to denote the whole\ncontinuous activity of the life of any man inward and outward, there\nwas another signification which became entwined with it. St. John had\nused the word historically[175] in his Gospel, not without allusion to\nthe Saviour's homelessness on earth, to His itinerant life of\nbeneficence and of teaching.[176] Those who first received this\nEpistle with deepest reverence as the utterance of the Apostle whom\nthey loved, when they came to the precept--\"walk even as He\nwalked\"--would ask themselves _how_ did He walk? What do we know of\nthe great rule of life thus proposed to us? The Gospel which\naccompanied this letter, and with which it was in some way closely\nconnected, was a sufficient and definite answer.\n\n\n                                 III.\n\nThe character of Christ in his Gospel is thus, according to St. John,\nthe loftiest ideal of purity, peace, self-sacrifice, unbroken\ncommunion with God; the inexhaustible fountain of regulated thoughts,\nhigh aims, holy action, constant prayer.\n\nWe may advert to one aspect of this perfection as delineated in the\nfourth Gospel--our Lord's way of doing small things, or at least\nthings which in human estimation appear to be small.\n\nThe fourth chapter of that Gospel contains a marvellous record of word\nand work. Let us trace that record back to its beginning. There are\nseeds of spiritual life scattered in many hearts which were destined\nto yield a rich harvest in due time; there is the account of one\nsensuous nature, quickened and spiritualised; there are promises which\nhave been for successive centuries as a river of God to weary natures.\nAll these results issue from three words spoken by a tired traveller,\nsitting naturally over a well--\"give me to drink.\"\n\nWe take another instance. There is one passage in St. John's Gospel\nwhich divides with the pro\u0153mium of his Epistle, the glory of being the\nloftiest, the most prolonged, the most sustained, in the Apostle's\nwritings.\n\nIt is the prelude of a work which might have seemed to be of little\nmoment. Yet all the height of a great ideal is over it, like the vault\nof heaven; all the power of a Divine purpose is under it, like the\nstrength of the great deep; all the consciousness of His death, of His\nascension, of His coming dominion, of His Divine origin, of His session\nat God's right hand--all the hoarded love in His heart for His own which\nwere in the world--passes by some mysterious transference into that\nlittle incident of tenderness and of humiliation. He sets an everlasting\nmark upon it, not by a basin of gold crusted with gems, nor by mixing\nprecious scents with the water which He poured out, nor by using linen\nof the finest tissue, but by the absolute perfection of love and dutiful\nhumility in the spirit and in every detail of the whole action. It is\none more of those little chinks through which the whole sunshine of\nheaven streams in upon those who have eyes to see.[177]\n\nThe underlying secret of this feature of our Lord's character is told\nby Himself. \"My meat is to be ever doing the will of Him that sent Me,\nand so when the time comes by one great decisive act to finish His\nwork.\"[178] All along the course of that life-walk there were smaller\npreludes to the great act which won our redemption--multitudinous\ndaily little perfect epitomes of love and sacrifice, without which the\ncrowning sacrifice would not have been what it was. The plan of our\nlife must, of course, be constructed on a scale as different as the\nhuman from the Divine. Yet there is a true sense in which this lesson\nof the great life may be applied to us.\n\nThe apparently small things of life must not be despised or neglected on\naccount of their smallness, by those who would follow the precept of St.\nJohn. Patience and diligence in petty trades, in services called menial,\nin waiting on the sick and old, in a hundred such works, all come within\nthe sweep of this net, with its lines that look as thin as cobwebs, and\nwhich yet for Christian hearts are stronger than fibres of steel--\"walk\neven as He walked.\" This, too, is our only security. A French poet has\ntold a beautiful tale. Near a river which runs between French and German\nterritory, a blacksmith was at work one snowy night near Christmas time.\nHe was tired out, standing by his forge, and wistfully looking towards\nhis little home, lighted up a short quarter of a mile away, and wife and\nchildren waiting for their festal supper, when he should return. It came\nto the last piece of his work, a rivet which it was difficult to finish\nproperly; for it was of peculiar shape, intended by the contractor who\nemployed him to pin the metal work of a bridge which he was constructing\nover the river. The smith was sorely tempted to fail in giving honest\nwork, to hurry over a job which seemed at once so troublesome and so\ntrifling. But some good angel whispered to the man that he should do his\nbest. He turned to the forge with a sigh, and never rested until the\nwork was as complete as his skill could make it. The poet carries us on\nfor a year or two. War breaks out. A squadron of the blacksmith's\ncountrymen is driven over the bridge in headlong flight. Men, horses,\nguns, try its solidity. For a moment or two the whole weight of the mass\nreally hangs upon the one rivet. There are times in life when the whole\nweight of the soul also hangs upon a rivet; the rivet of sobriety, of\npurity, of honesty, of command of temper. Possibly we have devoted\nlittle or no honest work to it in the years when we should have\nperfected the work; and so, in the day of trial, the rivet snaps, and we\nare lost.\n\nThere is one word of encouragement which should be finally spoken for\nthe sake of one class of God's servants.\n\nSome are sick, weary, broken, paralysed, it may be slowly dying.\nWhat--they sometimes ask--have we to do with this precept? Others who\nhave hope, elasticity, capacity of service, may walk as He walked; but\nwe can scarcely do so. Such persons should remember what walking in\nthe Christian sense is--all life's activity inward and outward. Let\nthem think of Christ upon His cross. He was fixed to it, nailed hand\nand foot. Nailed; yet never--not when He trod upon the waves, not when\nHe moved upward through the air to His throne--never did He walk more\ntruly because He walked in the way of perfect love. It is just whilst\nlooking at the moveless form upon the tree that we may hear most\ntouchingly the great \"thou shalt\"--thou shalt walk even as He walked.\n\n\n                                 IV.\n\nAs there is a literal, so there is a mystical walking as Christ\nwalked. This is an idea which deeply pervades St. Paul's writings. Is\nit His birth? We are born again. Is it His life? We walk with Him in\nnewness of life. Is it His death? We are crucified with Him. Is it His\nburial? We are buried with Him. Is it His resurrection? We are risen\nagain with Him. Is it His ascension--His very session at God's right\nhand? \"He hath raised us up and made us sit together with Him in\nheavenly places.\" They know nothing of St. Paul's mind who know\nnothing of this image of a soul seen in the very dust of death, loved,\npardoned, quickened, elevated, crowned, throned. It was this\nconception at work from the beginning in the general consciousness of\nChristians which moulded round itself the order of the Christian year.\n\nIt will illustrate this idea for us if we think of the difference\nbetween the outside and the inside of a church.\n\nOutside on some high spire we see the light just lingering far up,\nwhile the shadows are coldly gathering in the streets below; and we\nknow that it is winter. Again the evening falls warm and golden on the\nchurchyard, and we recognise the touch of summer. But inside it is\nalways God's weather; it is Christ all the year long. Now the Babe\nwrapped in swaddling clothes, or circumcised with the knife of the\nlaw, manifested to the Gentiles, or manifesting Himself with a glory\nthat breaks through the veil; now the Man tempted in the wilderness;\nnow the victim dying on the cross; now the Victor risen, ascended,\nsending the Holy Spirit; now for twenty-five Sundays worshipped as the\nEverlasting Word with the Father and the Holy Ghost. In this mystical\nfollowing of Christ also, the one perpetual lesson is--\"he that saith\nhe abideth in Him, ought himself also so to walk even as He walked.\"\n\n\n                                NOTES.\n\n                            Ch. ii. 3-11.\n\nVer. 4. _A liar._] There are many things which the \"sayer\" says by the\nlanguage of his life rather than by his lips to others: many things\nwhich he says to himself. \"We lead ourselves astray\" (i. 8). We \"say\"\nI have knowledge of Him, while yet we observe not His commandments.\nStrange that we can lie to the one being who knows the truth\nthoroughly--_self_; and having lied, can get the lie believed,--\n\n                          \"Like one,\n      Who having, unto truth, by telling of it,\n      Made such a sinner of his memory,\n      To credit his own lie.\"\n                                     _Tempest_, Act I. Sc. 2.\n\nVer. 7. _Fresh._] There are two quite different words alike translated\nnew in A. V.: one of these is the word used here (\u03ba\u03b1\u03b9\u03bd\u03bf\u03c2); the other\n(\u03bd\u03b5\u03bf\u03c2). The first always signifies _new_ in quality--intellectual,\nethical, spiritual _novelty_--that which is opposed to, which replaces\nand supersedes, the antiquated, inferior, outworn; _new_ in the world\nof thought. (Heb. viii. 13 states this with perfect precision.) It may\nsometimes not inadequately be rendered _fresh_ (\"youngly,\"\nShakespeare, _Coriolanus_). The other term (\u03bd\u03b5\u03bf\u03c2) is simply _recent_;\n_new_ chronologically in the world of time.\n\n_Which ye heard from the beginning._] Probably a recognition of St.\nPaul's teaching at Ephesus, and of his Epistle to the Ephesians.\n\nVer. 8. To many commentators this verse seems almost of insoluble\ndifficulty. Surely, however, the meaning is clear enough for those who\nwill place themselves within the atmosphere of St. John's thought.\n\"Again a fresh commandment I am writing to you\" [this commandment,\ncharity, is no unreal and therefore delusive standard of duty]. Taken\nas one great whole (\u1f41) it is true, matter of observable historical\nfact, because it is realised in Him who gave the commandment; capable\nof realisation, and even in measure realised in you. [And this can be\nactually done by Christians, and recognised more and more by others],\n\"because the shadow is drifting by from the landscape even of the\nworld, and the light, the very light, enlighteneth by a new ideal and\na new example.\"\n\nVer. 10. _Scandal._] In Greek is the rendering of two Hebrew words.\n(1) That against which we trip and stumble, a stumbling-block; (2) A\nhook or snare.\n\nVer. 11. The terrible force of this truly Hebraistic parallelism\nshould be noted.\n\n  1. He that hateth his brother _is_ in darkness.\n  2.      \"    \"          \"     walketh in darkness.\n  3.      \"    \"          \"     knoweth not where he goeth.\n  4.      \"    \"          \"     darkness has blinded his eyes.\n\nThe third beat of the parallelism contains an allusion to that Cain\namong the nations, the Jewish people in our Lord's time. (John xii. 35.)\n\nIn illustration of the powerful expression, (\"darkness has blinded his\neyes\") the present writer quoted a striking passage from Professor\nDrummond, who adduces a parallel for the Christian's loss of the\nspiritual faculty, by the atrophy of organs which takes place in\nmoles, and in the fish in dark caverns. (_Speaker's Commentary, in\nloc._) But as regards the mole at least, a great observer of Nature\nentirely denies the alleged atrophy. Mr. Buckland quotes Dr. Lee in a\npaper, in the Proceedings of the Royal Society, where he says,--\"the\neye of the mole presents us with an instance of an organ which is\nrudimentary, not by arrest of development, but through disuse, aided\nperhaps by natural selection.\" But Mr. Buckland asserts that \"the same\ngreat Wisdom who made the mole's teeth the most beautiful set of\ninsectivorous teeth among animals, also made its eye fit for the work\nit has to do. The mole has been designed to prey upon earthworms; they\nwill not come up to the surface to him, so he must go down into the\nearth to them. For this purpose his eyes are fitted.\" (_Life of F.\nBuckland_, pp. 247, 248).\n\nFOOTNOTES:\n\n[167] \"Nomen facile supplent credentes, plenum pectus habentes memori\u00e2\nDomini.\"--_Bengel_.\n\n[168] \u0395\u03ba\u03b5\u03b9\u03bd\u03bf\u03c2 in our Epistle belongs to Christ in every place but one\nwhere it occurs (1 John ii. 6, iii. 3, 5, 7, 16, iv. 17; cf. John i.\n18, ii. 21). It is very much equivalent to our reverent usage of\nprinting the pronoun which refers to Christ with a capital letter.\n\n[169] Matt. vi. 45.\n\n[170] \u03b4\u03bf\u03be\u03b1\u03c2 \u03b2\u03bb\u03b1\u03c3\u03c6\u03b7\u03bc\u03bf\u03c5\u03bd\u03c4\u03b5\u03c2 (2 Peter ii. 10; Jude v. 8).\n\n[171] _Poems by Matthew Arnold_ (\"Rugby Chapel,\" Nov. 1857), vol. ii.,\npp. 251, 255.\n\n[172] \u1f41\u03c2 \u03bc\u03bf\u03bd\u03bf\u03c2 \u03c3\u03c5\u03bd\u03b5\u03c0\u03b1\u03b8\u03b7\u03c3\u03b5\u03bd \u03c0\u03bb\u03b1\u03bd\u03c9\u03bc\u03b5\u03bd\u03c9 \u03ba\u03bf\u03c3\u03bc\u03c9. _Acta Paul. et Thec._ 16,\n_Acta. Apost. Apoc._ 47. Edit. Tischendorf.\n\n[173] _On Liberty._ John Stuart Mill (chap. iii.).\n\n[174] John viii. 12-35. For Apostolic usage of the word, see Acts i.\n21; Rom. vi. 4; Ephes. ii. 10; Col. iii. 7.\n\n[175] John vii. 1.\n\n[176] \"Ambulando docebat.\"--_Bretschneider_.\n\n[177] John xiii. 1-6.\n\n[178] \u1f39\u03bd\u03b1 \u03c0\u03bf\u03b9\u03c9 ... \u03ba\u03b1\u03b9 \u03c4\u03b5\u03bb\u03b5\u03b9\u03c9\u03c3\u03c9 (John iv. 34).\n\n\n\n\n                           SECTION III. (2)\n\n\n          GREEK.                           LATIN.\n\n  \u0391\u03b3\u03b1\u03c0\u03b7\u03c4\u03bf\u03b9, \u03bf\u03c5\u03ba \u03b5\u03bd\u03c4\u03bf\u03bb\u03b7\u03bd              Carissimi non mandatum\n  \u03ba\u03b1\u03b9\u03bd\u03b7\u03bd \u03b3\u03c1\u03b1\u03c6\u03c9 \u1f51\u03bc\u03b9\u03bd, \u03b1\u03bb\u03bb'            novum scribo\n  \u03b5\u03bd\u03c4\u03bf\u03bb\u03b7\u03bd \u03c0\u03b1\u03bb\u03b1\u03b9\u03b1\u03bd \u1f21\u03bd                 vobis, sed mandatum\n  \u03b5\u03b9\u03c7\u03b5\u03c4\u03b5 \u03b1\u03c0' \u03b1\u03c1\u03c7\u03b7\u03c2\u00b7 \u1f21                vetus quod habuistis\n  \u03b5\u03bd\u03c4\u03bf\u03bb\u03b7 \u1f21 \u03c0\u03b1\u03bb\u03b1\u03b9\u03b1 \u03b5\u03c3\u03c4\u03b9\u03bd              ab initio: mandatum\n  \u1f41 \u03bb\u03bf\u03b3\u03bf\u03c2 \u1f41\u03bd \u03b7\u03ba\u03bf\u03c5\u03c3\u03b1\u03c4\u03b5.               vetus est verbum quod\n  \u03c0\u03b1\u03bb\u03b9\u03bd \u03b5\u03bd\u03c4\u03bf\u03bb\u03b7\u03bd \u03ba\u03b1\u03b9\u03bd\u03b7\u03bd               audistis. Iterum mandatum\n  \u03b3\u03c1\u03b1\u03c6\u03c9 \u1f51\u03bc\u03b9\u03bd, \u1f41 \u03b5\u03c3\u03c4\u03b9\u03bd                novum scribo\n  \u03b1\u03bb\u03b7\u03b8\u03b5\u03c2 \u03b5\u03bd \u03b1\u03c5\u03c4\u03c9 \u03ba\u03b1\u03b9                 vobis, quod est verum\n  \u03b5\u03bd \u1f51\u03bc\u03b9\u03bd, \u1f41\u03c4\u03b9 \u1f21 \u03c3\u03ba\u03b9\u03b1                et in ipso et in vobis,\n  \u03c0\u03b1\u03c1\u03b1\u03b3\u03b5\u03c4\u03b1\u03b9 \u03ba\u03b1\u03b9 \u03c4\u03bf \u03c6\u03c9\u03c2               quoniam tenebr\u00e6 transierunt\n  \u03c4\u03bf \u03b1\u03bb\u03b7\u03b8\u03b9\u03bd\u03bf\u03bd \u03b7\u03b4\u03b7 \u03c6\u03b1\u03b9\u03bd\u03b5\u03b9.            et lumen verum\n  \u1f41 \u03bb\u03b5\u03b3\u03c9\u03bd \u03b5\u03bd \u03c4\u03c9 \u03c6\u03c9\u03c4\u03b9                 jam lucet. Qui dicit\n  \u03b5\u03b9\u03bd\u03b1\u03b9 \u03ba\u03b1\u03b9 \u03c4\u03bf\u03bd \u03b1\u03b4\u03b5\u03bb\u03c6\u03bf\u03bd              se in luce esse et fratrem\n  \u03b1\u03c5\u03c4\u03bf\u03c5 \u03bc\u03b9\u03c3\u03c9\u03bd \u03b5\u03bd \u03c4\u03b7                  suum odit, in\n  \u03c3\u03ba\u03bf\u03c4\u03b9\u03b1 \u03b5\u03c3\u03c4\u03b9\u03bd \u1f11\u03c9\u03c2 \u03b1\u03c1\u03c4\u03b9.             tenebris est usque\n  \u03b1\u03b3\u03b1\u03c0\u03c9\u03bd \u03c4\u03bf\u03bd \u03b1\u03b4\u03b5\u03bb\u03c6\u03bf\u03bd                 adhuc. Qui diligit\n  \u03b1\u03c5\u03c4\u03bf\u03c5 \u03b5\u03bd \u03c4\u03c9 \u03c6\u03c9\u03c4\u03b9 \u03bc\u03b5\u03bd\u03b5\u03b9.           f ratrem suum in lumine\n  \u03ba\u03b1\u03b9 \u03c3\u03ba\u03b1\u03bd\u03b4\u03b1\u03bb\u03bf\u03bd \u03b5\u03bd \u03b1\u03c5\u03c4\u03c9              manet, et scandalum\n  \u03bf\u03c5\u03ba \u03b5\u03c3\u03c4\u03b9\u03bd. \u1f41 \u03b4\u03b5 \u03bc\u03b9\u03c3\u03c9\u03bd              in eo non est: qui\n  \u03c4\u03bf\u03bd \u03b1\u03b4\u03b5\u03bb\u03c6\u03bf\u03bd \u03b1\u03c5\u03c4\u03bf\u03c5 \u03b5\u03bd               autem odit fratrem\n  \u03c4\u03b7 \u03c3\u03ba\u03bf\u03c4\u03b9\u03b1 \u03b5\u03c3\u03c4\u03b9\u03bd \u03ba\u03b1\u03b9 \u03b5\u03bd             suum, in tenebris est,\n  \u03c4\u03b7 \u03c3\u03ba\u03bf\u03c4\u03b9\u03b1 \u03c0\u03b5\u03c1\u03b9\u03c0\u03b1\u03c4\u03b5\u03b9, \u03ba\u03b1\u03b9           et in tenebris ambulat\n  \u03bf\u03c5\u03ba \u03bf\u03b9\u03b4\u03b5 \u03c0\u03bf\u03c5 \u1f51\u03c0\u03b1\u03b3\u03b5\u03b9,               et nescit quo eat,\n  \u1f41\u03c4\u03b9 \u1f21 \u03c3\u03ba\u03bf\u03c4\u03b9\u03b1 \u03b5\u03c4\u03c5\u03c6\u03bb\u03c9\u03c3\u03b5\u03bd             quoniam tenebr\u00e6 obc\u00e6caverunt\n  \u03c4\u03bf\u03c5\u03c2 \u03bf\u03c6\u03b8\u03b1\u03bb\u03bc\u03bf\u03c5\u03c2 \u03b1\u03c5\u03c4\u03bf\u03c5.              oculos eius.\n\n\n     AUTHORISED VERSION.                  REVISED VERSION.\n\n  Brethren, I write                  Beloved, no new\n  no new commandment                 commandment write I\n  unto you, but an old               unto you, but an old\n  commandment which                  commandment which\n  ye had from the beginning.         ye had from the beginning:\n  The old commandment                the old commandment\n  is the word                        is the word\n  which ye have heard                which ye heard. Again,\n  from the beginning.                a new commandment\n  Again, a new commandment           write I unto you, which\n  I write unto                       thing is true in Him\n  you, which thing is                and in you: because\n  true in Him and in                 the darkness is passing\n  you: because the darkness          away, and the true\n  is past, and the                   light already shineth.\n  true light now shineth.            He that saith he is in\n  He that saith he                   the light, and hateth\n  is in the light, and               his brother, is in the\n  hateth his brother, is             darkness even until\n  in darkness even until             now. He that loveth\n  now. He that loveth                his brother abideth in\n  his brother abideth in             the light, and there is\n  the light, and there is            none occasion of stumbling\n  none occasion of stumbling         in him. But he\n  in him. But he                     that hateth his brother\n  that hateth his brother            is in the darkness, and\n  is in darkness, and                walketh in the darkness,\n  walketh in darkness,               and knoweth not\n  and knoweth not whither            whither he goeth, because\n  he goeth, because                  the darkness\n  that darkness hath                 hath blinded his eyes.\n  blinded his eyes.\n\n\n     ANOTHER VERSION.\n\n  Beloved, no fresh\n  commandment I am\n  writing unto you, but\n  an old commandment\n  which ye had from the\n  beginning. The commandment,\n  the old commandment,\n  is the word\n  which ye heard. Again,\n  a fresh commandment\n  I am writing unto you,\n  which thing [_as a whole_]\n  is true in Him and in\n  you: because the shadow\n  is drifting by, and\n  the light, the very _light_,\n  is already enlightening.\n  He that saith he is in\n  the light and hateth his\n  brother, in the darkness\n  is he hitherto. He\n  that loveth his brother\n  in the light abideth he,\n  and scandal in him\n  there is not. But he\n  that hateth his brother\n  in the darkness is he,\n  and in the darkness\n  walketh he, and he\n  knoweth not whither\n  he goeth because the\n  darkness hath blinded\n  his eyes.\n\n\n\n\n                           SECTION III. (3)\n\n\n          GREEK.                           LATIN.\n\n  \u0393\u03c1\u03b1\u03c6\u03c9 \u1f51\u03bc\u03b9\u03bd, \u03c4\u03b5\u03ba\u03bd\u03b9\u03b1,                Scribo vobis, filioli,\n  \u1f41\u03c4\u03b9 \u03b1\u03c6\u03b5\u03c9\u03bd\u03c4\u03b1\u03b9 \u1f51\u03bc\u03b9\u03bd \u03b1\u03b9               quoniam remittentur\n  \u1f01\u03bc\u03b1\u03c1\u03c4\u03b9\u03b1\u03b9 \u03b4\u03b9\u03b1 \u03c4\u03bf \u1f41\u03bd\u03bf\u03bc\u03b1              vobis, peccata propter\n  \u03b1\u03c5\u03c4\u03bf\u03c5. \u03b3\u03c1\u03b1\u03c6\u03c9 \u1f51\u03bc\u03b9\u03bd, \u03c0\u03b1\u03c4\u03b5\u03c1\u03b5\u03c2,        nomen eius. Scribo\n  \u1f41\u03c4\u03b9 \u03b5\u03b3\u03bd\u03c9\u03ba\u03b1\u03c4\u03b5 \u03c4\u03bf\u03bd                   vobis, patres, quoniam\n  \u03b1\u03c0' \u03b1\u03c1\u03c7\u03b7\u03c2. \u03b3\u03c1\u03b1\u03c6\u03c9 \u1f51\u03bc\u03b9\u03bd,             cognovistis eum qui\n  \u03bd\u03b5\u03b1\u03bd\u03b9\u03c3\u03ba\u03bf\u03b9, \u1f41\u03c4\u03b9 \u03bd\u03b5\u03bd\u03b9\u03ba\u03b7\u03ba\u03b1\u03c4\u03b5          ab initio est. Scribo\n  \u03c4\u03bf\u03bd \u03c0\u03bf\u03bd\u03b7\u03c1\u03bf\u03bd. \u03b5\u03b3\u03c1\u03b1\u03c8\u03b1                vobis, adolescentes,\n  \u1f51\u03bc\u03b9\u03bd, \u03c0\u03b1\u03b9\u03b4\u03b9\u03b1, \u1f41\u03c4\u03b9 \u03b5\u03b3\u03bd\u03c9\u03ba\u03b1\u03c4\u03b5         quoniam vicistis malignum.\n  \u03c4\u03bf\u03bd \u03c0\u03b1\u03c4\u03b5\u03c1\u03b1. \u03b5\u03b3\u03c1\u03b1\u03c8\u03b1                 Scribo vobis,\n  \u1f51\u03bc\u03b9\u03bd, \u03c0\u03b1\u03c4\u03b5\u03c1\u03b5\u03c2, \u1f41\u03c4\u03b9                 infantes, quia cognovistis\n  \u03b5\u03b3\u03bd\u03c9\u03ba\u03b1\u03c4\u03b5 \u03c4\u03bf\u03bd \u03b1\u03c0' \u03b1\u03c1\u03c7\u03b7\u03c2.            patrem. Scripsi\n  \u0395\u03b3\u03c1\u03b1\u03c8\u03b1 \u1f51\u03bc\u03b9\u03bd, \u03bd\u03b5\u03b1\u03bd\u03b9\u03c3\u03ba\u03bf\u03b9,            vobis, iuvenes quia\n  \u1f41\u03c4\u03b9 \u03b9\u03c3\u03c7\u03c5\u03c1\u03bf\u03b9 \u03b5\u03c3\u03c4\u03b5, \u03ba\u03b1\u03b9              fortes estis et verbum\n  \u1f41 \u03bb\u03bf\u03b3\u03bf\u03c2 \u03c4\u03bf\u03c5 \u0398\u03b5\u03bf\u03c5 \u03b5\u03bd                Dei in vobis manet et\n  \u1f51\u03bc\u03b9\u03bd \u03bc\u03b5\u03bd\u03b5\u03b9, \u03ba\u03b1\u03b9 \u03bd\u03b5\u03bd\u03b9\u03ba\u03b7\u03ba\u03b1\u03c4\u03b5         vicistis malignum. Nolite\n  \u03c4\u03bf\u03bd \u03c0\u03bf\u03bd\u03b7\u03c1\u03bf\u03bd. \u03bc\u03b7 \u03b1\u03b3\u03b1\u03c0\u03b1\u03c4\u03b5            diligere mundum\n  \u03c4\u03bf\u03bd \u03ba\u03bf\u03c3\u03bc\u03bf\u03bd, \u03bc\u03b7\u03b4\u03b5 \u03c4\u03b1                ne que eaqu\u00e6 in mundo\n  \u03b5\u03bd \u03c4\u03c9 \u03ba\u03bf\u03c3\u03bc\u03c9. \u03b5\u03b1\u03bd \u03c4\u03b9\u03c2               sunt. Si quis diligit\n  \u03b1\u03b3\u03b1\u03c0\u03b1 \u03c4\u03bf\u03bd \u03ba\u03bf\u03c3\u03bc\u03bf\u03bd, \u03bf\u03c5\u03ba              mundum, non est\n  \u03b5\u03c3\u03c4\u03b9\u03bd \u1f21 \u03b1\u03b3\u03b1\u03c0\u03b7 \u03c4\u03bf\u03c5                  caritas Patris in eo:\n  \u03c0\u03b1\u03c4\u03c1\u03bf\u03c2 \u03b5\u03bd \u03b1\u03c5\u03c4\u03c9\u00b7 \u1f41\u03c4\u03b9                quoniam omne quod in\n  \u03c0\u03b1\u03bd \u03c4\u03bf \u03b5\u03bd \u03c4\u03c9 \u03ba\u03bf\u03c3\u03bc\u03c9,                mundo est, concupiscentia\n  \u1f21 \u03b5\u03c0\u03b9\u03b8\u03c5\u03bc\u03b9\u03b1 \u03c4\u03b7\u03c2 \u03c3\u03b1\u03c1\u03ba\u03bf\u03c2              carnis est, et\n  \u03ba\u03b1\u03b9 \u1f21 \u03b5\u03c0\u03b9\u03b8\u03c5\u03bc\u03b9\u03b1 \u03c4\u03c9\u03bd                 concupiscentia oculorum,\n  \u03bf\u03c6\u03b8\u03b1\u03bb\u03bc\u03c9\u03bd \u03ba\u03b1\u03b9 \u1f21 \u03b1\u03bb\u03b1\u03b6\u03bf\u03bd\u03b9\u03b1            et superbia vit\u00e6;\n  \u03c4\u03bf\u03c5 \u03b2\u03b9\u03bf\u03c5, \u03bf\u03c5\u03ba                      qu\u00e6 non est ex Patre,\n  \u03b5\u03c3\u03c4\u03b9\u03bd \u03b5\u03ba \u03c4\u03bf\u03c5 \u03c0\u03b1\u03c4\u03c1\u03bf\u03c2,               sed ex mundo est. Et\n  \u03b1\u03bb\u03bb\u03b1 \u03b5\u03ba \u03c4\u03bf\u03c5 \u03ba\u03bf\u03c3\u03bc\u03bf\u03c5 \u03b5\u03c3\u03c4\u03b9\u03bd\u00b7          mundus transibit et\n  \u03ba\u03b1\u03b9 \u1f41 \u03ba\u03bf\u03c3\u03bc\u03bf\u03c2 \u03c0\u03b1\u03c1\u03b1\u03b3\u03b5\u03c4\u03b1\u03b9             concupiscentia eius:\n  \u03ba\u03b1\u03b9 \u1f21 \u03b5\u03c0\u03b9\u03b8\u03c5\u03bc\u03b9\u03b1 \u03b1\u03c5\u03c4\u03bf\u03c5\u00b7              qui autem facit voluntatem\n  \u1f41 \u03b4\u03b5 \u03c0\u03bf\u03b9\u03c9\u03bd \u03c4\u03bf \u03b8\u03b5\u03bb\u03b7\u03bc\u03b1               Dei, manet in\n  \u03c4\u03bf\u03c5 \u0398\u03b5\u03bf\u03c5 \u03bc\u03b5\u03bd\u03b5\u03b9 \u03b5\u03b9\u03c2 \u03c4\u03bf\u03bd             eternum.\n  \u03b1\u03b9\u03c9\u03bd\u03b1.\n\n\n     AUTHORISED VERSION.                  REVISED VERSION.\n\n  I write unto you,                  I write unto you, my\n  little children, because           little children, because\n  your sins are forgiven             your sins are forgiven\n  you for His name's                 you for His name's\n  sake. I write unto                 sake. I write unto\n  you, fathers, because              you, fathers, because\n  ye have known Him                  ye know Him that is\n  that is from the beginning.        from the beginning. I\n  I write unto you,                  write unto you, young\n  young men, because ye              men, because ye have\n  have overcome the                  overcome the evil one.\n  wicked one. I write                I have written unto\n  unto you, little children,         you, little children, because\n  because ye have                    ye know the\n  known the Father. I                Father. I have written\n  have written unto you,             unto you, fathers, because\n  fathers, because ye                ye know Him\n  have known Him that                which is from the\n  is from the beginning.             beginning. I have\n  I have written unto                written unto you,\n  you, young men, because            young men, because ye\n  ye are strong,                     are strong, and the\n  and the word of God                word of God abideth\n  abideth in you, and ye             in you, and ye have\n  have overcome the                  overcome the evil one.\n  wicked one. Love not               Love not the world,\n  the world, neither the             neither the things that\n  things that are in the             are in the world. If\n  world. If any man                  any man love the\n  love the world, the                world, the love of the\n  love of the Father is              Father is not in him.\n  not in him. For all                For all that is in the\n  that is in the world,              world, the lust of the\n  the lust of the flesh,             flesh, and the lust of\n  and the lust of the                the eyes, and the vainglory\n  eyes, and the pride of             of life, is not of\n  life, is not of the Father,        the Father, but is of\n  but is of the world.               the world. And the\n  And the world passeth              world passeth away,\n  away, and the lust                 and the lust thereof:\n  thereof: but he that               but he that doeth the\n  doeth the will of God              will of God abideth for\n  abideth for ever.                  ever.\n\n\n     ANOTHER VERSION.\n\n  I am writing unto\n  you, children, because\n  your sins are forgiven\n  you for His name's\n  sake. I am writing\n  unto you, fathers, because\n  ye have knowledge\n  of Him who is\n  from the beginning. I\n  am writing unto you,\n  young men, because\n  ye are conquerors of\n  the wicked one.\n\n  I have written unto\n  you, little children, because\n  ye have knowledge\n  of the Father. I\n  have written unto you,\n  fathers, because ye\n  have knowledge of Him\n  who is from the beginning.\n  I have written\n  unto you, young men,\n  because ye are strong\n  and the word of God\n  abideth in you, and ye\n  are conquerors of the\n  wicked one.\n\n  Love not the world,\n  neither the things that\n  are in the world. If\n  any man love the world\n  the love of the Father is\n  not in him. For all that\n  is in the world, the lust\n  of the flesh and the lust\n  of the eyes and the arrogancy\n  of living, is not\n  from the Father, but\n  from the world is it.\n  And the world is drifting\n  by, and the lust of\n  it: but he that is doing\n  the will of God abideth\n  for ever.\n\n\n\n\n                            DISCOURSE VI.\n\n                 _THE WORLD WHICH WE MUST NOT LOVE._\n\n    \"Love not the world, neither the things that are in the world. If\n    any man love the world, the love of the Father is not in him. For\n    all that is in the world, the lust of the flesh, and the lust of\n    the eyes, and the pride of life, is not of the Father, but of the\n    world.\"--1 JOHN ii. 15, 16.\n\n\nAn adequate development of words so compressed and pregnant as these\nwould require a separate treatise, or series of treatises.[179] But if\nwe succeed in grasping St. John's conception of _the world_, we shall\nhave a key that will open to us this cabinet of spiritual thought.\n\n\n                                  I.\n\nIn the writings of St. John the world is always found in one or other\nof four senses, as may be decided by the context. (1) It means the\ncreation,[180] the universe. So our Lord in His High-priestly\nprayer--\"Thou lovedst Me before the foundation of the world.\"[181] (2)\nIt is used for the earth _locally_ as the place where man\nresides;[182] and whose soil the Son of God trod for awhile. \"I am no\nmore in the world, but these are in the world.\"[183] (3) It denotes\nthe chief inhabitants of the earth, they to whom the counsels of God\nmainly point--men universally. Such a transference is common in nearly\nall languages. Both the inhabitants of a building and the material\nstructure which contains them, are called \"a house;\" and the\ninhabitants are frequently bitterly blamed, while the beauty of the\nstructure is passionately admired. In this sense there is a\nmagnificent width in the word _world_. We cannot but feel indignant at\nattempts to gird its grandeur within the narrow rim of a human system.\n\"The bread that I will give,\" said He who knew best, \"is My flesh\nwhich I will give for the life of the world.\"[184] \"He is the\npropitiation for the whole world,\" writes the Apostle at the beginning\nof this chapter. In this sense, if we would imitate Christ, if we\nwould aspire to the Father's perfection, \"love not the world\" must be\ntempered by that other tender oracle--\"God so loved the world.\"[185]\n\nIn none of these senses can the world here be understood.[186]\n\nThere remains then (4) a fourth signification, which has two allied\nshades of thought. World is employed to cover the whole present\nexistence, with its blended good and evil--susceptible of elevation by\ngrace, susceptible also of deeper depths of sin and ruin. But yet\nagain the indifferent meaning passes into one that is wholly evil,\nwholly within a region of darkness. The first creation was pronounced\nby God in each department \"good\" collectively; when crowned by God's\nmasterpiece in man, \"very good.\"[187] \"All things,\" our Apostle tells\nus, \"were made through Him (the Word), and without Him was not any\nthing made that was made.\"[188] But as that was a world wholly good,\nso is this a world wholly evil. This evil world is not God's creation,\ndrew not its origin from Him. All that is _in_ it came out _from_ it,\nfrom nothing _higher_.[189] This wholly evil world is not the material\ncreation; if it were, we should be landed in dualism, or Manicheism.\nIt is not an entity, an actual tangible thing, a creation. It is not\nof God's world that St. John cries in that last fierce word of\nabhorrence which he flings at it as he sees the shadowy thing like an\nevil spirit made visible in an idol's arms--\"the world lieth wholly in\nthe evil one.\"[190]\n\nThis anti-world, this caricature of creation, this thing of\nnegations, is spun out of three abuses of the endowment of God's\nglorious gift of free-will to man; out of three noble instincts\nignobly used. _First_, \"the lust of the flesh\"--of which flesh is the\nseat, and supplies the organic medium through which it works. The\nflesh is that softer part of the frame which by the network of the\nnerves is intensely susceptible of pleasurable and painful sensations;\ncapable of heroic patient submission to the higher principles of\nconscience and spirit,[191] capable also of frightful rebellion. Of\nall theologians St. John is the least likely to fall into the\nexaggeration of libelling the flesh as essentially evil. Is it not he\nwho, whether in his Gospel, or in his Epistles, delights to speak of\nthe _flesh_ of Jesus, to record words in which He refers to it?[192]\nStill the flesh brings us into contact with all sins which are sins\nthat spring from, and end in, the senses. Shall we ask for a catalogue\nof particulars from St. John? Nay, we cannot expect that the virgin\nApostle, who received the virgin Mother from the Virgin Lord upon the\ncross, will sully his virgin pen with words so abhorred. When he has\nuttered _the lust of the flesh_ his shudder is followed by an eloquent\nsilence. We can fill up the blank too well--drunkenness, gluttony,\nthoughts and motions which spring from deliberate, wilfully cherished,\nrebellious sensuality; which fill many of us with pain and fear, and\nwring cries and bitter tears from penitents, and even from saints. The\n_second_, abuse of free-will, the second element in this world which\nis not God's world, is the desire of which the eyes are the seat--\"the\nlust of the eyes.\" To the two sins which we instinctively associate\nwith this phrase--voluptuousness and curiosity of the senses or the\nsoul--Scripture might seem to add _envy_, which derives so much of its\naliment from sight. In this lies the Christian's warning against\nwilfully indulging in evil sights, bad plays, bad books, bad pictures.\nHe who is outwardly the spectator of these things becomes inwardly the\nactor of them. The eye is, so to speak, the burning-glass of the soul;\nit draws the rays from their evil brightness to a focus, and may\nkindle a raging fire in the heart. Under this department comes\nunregulated spiritual or intellectual curiosity. The first need not\ntrouble us so much as it did Christians in a more believing time.\nComparatively very few are in danger from the _planchette_ or from\nastrology. But surely it is a rash thing for an ordinary mind, without\na clear call of duty, without any adequate preparation, to place its\nfaith within the deadly grip of some powerful adversary. People really\nseem to have absolutely no conscience about reading anything--the last\nphilosophical Life of Christ, or the last romance; of which the titles\nmight be with advantage exchanged, for the philosophical history is a\nlight romance, and the romance is a heavy philosophy. The _third_\nconstituent in the evil anti-trinity of the anti-world is \"the pride\"\n(the arrogancy, gasconade, almost swagger) \"of life,\" of which the\nlower life[193] is the seat. The thought is not so much of outward\npomp and ostentation as of that false pride which arises in the heart.\nThe arrogancy is within; the gasconade plays its \"fantastic tricks\nbefore high heaven.\" And each of these three elements (making up as\nthey do collectively all that is \"in the world\" and springing out of\nthe world) is not a substantive thing, not an original ingredient of\nman's nature, or among the forms of God's world; it is the perversion\nof an element which had a use that was noble, or at least innocent.\nFor first comes \"the lust of the flesh.\" Take those two objects to\nwhich this lust turns with a fierce and perverted passion. The\npossession of flesh in itself leads man to crave for the necessary\nsupport to his native weakness. The mutual craving for the love of\nbeings so like and so unlike as man and woman, if it be a weakness,\nhas at least a most touching and exquisite side. Again, is not a\nyearning for beauty gratified through the eyes? Were they not given\nfor the enjoyment, for the teaching, at once high and sweet, of Nature\nand of Art? Art may be a moral and spiritual discipline. The ideas of\nBeauty from gifted minds by cunning hands transferred to, and stamped\nupon, outward things, come from the ancient and uncreated Beauty,\nwhose beauty is as perfect as His truth and strength. Still further;\nin the lower life, and in its lawful use, there was intended to be a\nsomething of quiet satisfaction, a certain restfulness, at times\nmaking us happy and triumphant. And lo! for all this, not moderate\nfare and pure love, not thoughtful curiosity and the sweet pensiveness\nwhich is the best tribute to the beautiful--not a wise humility which\nmakes us feel that our times are in God's hands and our means His\ncontinual gift--but degraded senses, low art, evil literature, a pride\nwhich is as grovelling as it is godless.\n\nThese three typical summaries of the evil tendencies in the exercise\nof free-will correspond with a remarkable fulness to the two\nnarratives of trial which give us the compendium and general outline\nof all human temptation.\n\nOur Lord's three temptations answer to this division. The lust of the\nflesh is in essence the rebellion of the lower appetites, inherent to\ncreaturely dependence, against the higher principle or law. The\nnearest and only conceivable approach to this in the sinless Man would\nbe in His seeking lawful support by unlawful means--procuring food by\na miraculous exertion of power, which only would have become sinful,\nor short of the highest goodness, by some condition of its exercise at\nthat time and in that place. An appeal to the desire for beauty and\nglory, with an implied hint of using them for God's greater honour, is\nthe essence of the second temptation; the one possible approximation\nto the \"lust of the eyes\" in that perfect character. The interior\ndeception of some touch of pride in the visible support of angels\nwafting the Son of God through the air is Satan's one sinister way of\ninsinuating to the Saviour something akin to \"the pride of life.\"\n\nIn the case of the other earlier typical trials it will be observed that\nwhile the temptations fit into the same threefold framework, they are\nplaced in an order which exactly reverses that of St. John. For in Eden\nthe first approach is through \"pride\"; the magnificent promise of\nelevation in the scale of being, of the knowledge that would win the\nwonder of the spiritual world. \"For God doth know that in the day ye eat\nthereof, then your eyes shall be opened, and ye shall be as gods,\nknowing good and evil.\"[194] The next step is that which directs the\ncuriosity both of the senses and of the aspiring mind to the object\nforbidden--\"when the woman saw that the tree was good for food, and that\nit was pleasant to the eyes, and a tree to be desired to make one\nwise.\"[195] Then seems to have come some strange and sad rebellion of\nthe lower nature, filling their souls with shame; some bitter revelation\nof the law of sin in their members; some knowledge that they were\ncontaminated by the \"lust of the flesh.\"[196] The order of the\ntemptation in the narrative of Moses is historical; St. John's order is\nmoral and spiritual, answering to the facts of life. The \"lust of the\nflesh\" which may approach the child through childish greed, grows apace.\nAt first it is half unconscious; then it becomes coarse and palpable. In\nthe man's desire acting with unregulated curiosity, through ambition of\nknowledge at any price, searching out for itself books and other\ninstruments with deliberate desire to kindle lust, the \"lust of the\neyes\" ceases not its fatal influence. The crowning sin of pride with its\n_selfishness_, which is self apart from God as well as from the brother,\nfinds its place in the \"pride of life.\"\n\n\n                                 III.\n\nWe may now be in a position to see more clearly against _what_ world\nthe Primate of early Christendom pronounced his anathema, and launched\nhis interdict, and why?\n\n_What_ \"world\" did he denounce?\n\nClearly _not_ the world as the creation, the universe. Not again the\nearth locally. God made and ordered all things. Why should we not love\nthem with a holy and a blameless love? Only we should not love them in\nthemselves; we should not cling to them forgetting Him. Suppose that\nsome husband heaped beautiful and costly presents upon his wife whom\nhe loved. At last with the intuition of love he begins to see what is\nthe secret of such cold imitation of love as that icy heart can give.\nShe loves _him_ not--his riches, not the man; his gifts, not the\ngiver. And thus loving with that frigid love which has no heart in it,\nthere is no true love; her heart is another's. Gifts are given that\nthe giver may be loved in them. If it is true that \"gifts are nought\nwhen givers prove unkind,\" it is also true that there is a sort of\nadultery of the heart when the taker is unkind--because the gift is\nvaluable, not because the bestower is dear.[197] And so the world,\nGod's beautiful world, now becomes to us an idol. If we are so lost in\nthe procession of Nature, in the march of law, in the majestic growth,\nin the stars above and in the plants below, that we forget the\nLawgiver, who from such humble beginnings has brought out a world of\nbeauty and order; if with modern poets we find content, calm,\nhappiness, purity, rest, simply in contemplating the glaciers, the\nwaves, and the stars; then we look at the world even in this sense in\na way which is a violation of St. John's rule. Yet again, the world\nwhich is now condemned is not humanity. There is no real Christianity\nin taking black views, and speaking bitter things, about the human\nsociety to which we belong, and the human nature of which we are\npartakers. No doubt Christianity believes that man \"is very far gone\nfrom original righteousness;\" that there is a \"corruption in the\nnature of every man that naturally is engendered of the offspring of\nAdam.\" Yet the utterers of unwholesome apophthegms, the suspecters of\ntheir kind, are not Christian thinkers. The philosophic historian,\nwhose gorge rose at the doctrine of the Fall, thought much worse of\nman practically than the Fathers of the Church. They bowed before\nmartyrdom and purity, and believed in them with a child-like faith.\nFor Gibbon, the martyr was not quite so true, nor the virgin quite so\npure, nor the saint quite so holy. He Who knew human nature best, Who\nhas thrown that terrible ray of light into the unlit gulf of the heart\nwhen He tells us \"what proceeds out of the heart of man,\"[198] had yet\nthe ear which was the first to hear the trembling of the one chord\nthat yet kept healthful time and tune in the harlot's passionate\nheart. He believed that man was recoverable; lost, but capable of\nbeing found. After all, in this sense there is something worthy of\nlove in man. \"God so _loved_\" (not so _hated_) \"the world, that He\ngave His only begotten Son.\" Shall we say that _we_ are to hate the\nworld which He loved?\n\nAnd now we come to that world which God never loved, never will love,\nnever will reconcile to Himself,--which we are not to love.\n\nThis is most important to see; for there is always a danger in setting\nout with a stricter standard than Christ's, a narrower road than the\nnarrow one which leads to heaven. Experience proves that they who begin\nwith standards of duty which are impossibly high end with standards of\nduty which are sometimes sadly low. Such men have tried the\nimpracticable, and failed; the practicable seems to be too hard for them\never afterwards. They who begin by anathematising the world in things\ninnocent, indifferent, or even laudable, not rarely end by a reaction of\nthought which believes that the world is nothing and nowhere.\n\nBut there is such a thing as the world in St. John's sense--an evil\nworld brought into existence by the abuse of our free-will; filled by\nthe anti-trinity, by \"the lust of the flesh, the lust of the eyes, and\nthe pride of life.\"\n\nLet us not confuse \"the world\" with the earth, with the whole race of\nman, with general society, with any particular set, however much some\nsets are to be avoided. Look at the thing fairly. Two people, we will\nsay, go to London, to live there. One, from circumstances of life and\nposition, naturally falls into the highest social circle. Another has\nintroductions to a smaller set, with an apparently more serious\nconnection. Follow the first some evening. He drives to a great\ngathering. The room which he enters is ablaze with light; jewelled\norders sparkle upon men's coats, and fair women move in exquisite\ndresses. We look at the scene and we say--\"what worldly society has\nthe man fallen into!\" Perhaps so, in a sense. But about the same time\nthe other walks to a little room with humbler adjuncts, where a grave\nand apparently serious circle meet together. We are able to look in\nthere also, and we exclaim--\"this is serious society, unworldly\nsociety.\" Perhaps so again. Yet let us read the letters of Mary\nGodolphin. She bore a life unspotted by the world in the dissolute\ncourt of Charles II., because the love of the Father was in her. In\nsmall serious circles are there no hidden lusts which blaze up in\nscandals? Is there no vanity, no pride, no hatred? In the world of\nCharles II.'s court Mary Godolphin lived out of the world which God\nhated; in the religious world not a few, certainly, live in the world\nwhich is not God's. For once more, the world is not so much a\nplace--though at times its power seems to have been drawn into one\nintense focus, as in the empire of which Rome was the centre, and\nwhich may have been in the Apostle's thought in the following verse.\nIn the truest and deepest sense the world consists of our own\nspiritual surrounding; it is the place which we make for our own\nsouls. No walls that ever were reared can shut out the world from us;\nthe \"Nun of Kenmare\" found that it followed her into the seemingly\nspiritual retreat of a severe Order. The world in its essence is\nsubtler and thinner than the most infinitesimal of the bacterian germs\nin the air. They can be strained off by the exquisite apparatus of a\nman of science. At a certain height they cease to exist. But the world\nmay be wherever we are; we carry it with us wherever we go, it lasts\nwhile our lives last. No consecration can utterly banish it even from\nwithin the church's walls; it dares to be round us while we kneel, and\nfollows us into the presence of God.\n\n(2) Why does God hate this \"world\"--the world in this sense? St. John\ntells us. \"If any man love the world, the love of the Father is not in\nhim.\" Deep in every heart must be one or other of two loves. There is\nno room for two master-passions. There is an expulsive power in all\ntrue affection. What tenderness and pathos, how much of expostulation,\nmore potent because reserved--\"the love of the Father is not in him\"!\nHe has told all his \"little ones\" that he has written to them because\nthey \"know the Father.\" St. John does not use sacred names at random.\nEven Voltaire felt that there was something almost awful in hearing\nNewton pronounce the name of God. Such in an incomparably higher\ndegree is the spirit of St. John. In this section he writes of \"the\nlove of the _Father_,\"[199] and of the \"will of _God_.\"[200] The first\ntitle has more sweetness than majesty; the second more majesty than\nsweetness.[201] He would throw into his plea some of the winningness\nof one who uses this as a resistless argument with a tempted but\nloving child--an argument often successful when every other fails. \"If\nyou do this, your Father will not love you; you will not be His\nchild.\" We have but to read this with the hearts of God's dear\nchildren. Then we shall find that if the \"love not\" of this verse\ncontains \"words of extirpation;\"[202] it ends with others which are\nintended to draw us with cords of a man, and with bands of love.\n\nFOOTNOTES:\n\n[179] After all deductions for the lack of accurate and searching\ntextual exegesis, perhaps Bossuet's \"Trait\u00e9 de la concupiscence, ou\nExposition de ces Paroles de Saint Jean, 1 John ii. 15-17\" (_\u0152uvres de\nBossuet_, Tom. vii., 380-420), remains unrivalled.\n\n[180] The word \u03ba\u03bf\u03c3\u03bc\u03bf\u03c2 originally signified ornament (chiefly perhaps\nof dress); figuratively it came to denote order. It was first applied\nby Pythagoras to the _universe_, from the conception of the order,\nwhich reigns in it (Plut., _de Plac. Phil._, ii. 1). From schools of\nphilosophy it passed into the language of poets and writers of\nelevated prose. It is somewhat singular that the Romans, possibly from\nGreek influence, came to apply \"mundus\" by the same process to _the\nworld_, as it had also originally signified _ornament_, especially of\nfemale dress (See Richard Bentley against Boyle, _Opera Philol._,\n347-445, and Notes, Humboldt's _Cosmos_, xiii.). In the LXX. \u03ba\u03bf\u03c3\u03bc\u03bf\u03c2\ndoes not appear as the translation of \u05e9\u05c2\u05dc\u05b8\u05de its spiritual equivalent\nin Hebrew; but very often in the sense of \"ornament\" and \"order.\" (See\nTromm., _Concord. Gr. in LXX_., 1, 913), but it is found as _world_\nseveral times in the Apocrypha (Wisdom vi. 26, vii. 18, ix. 3, xi. 18,\nxv. 14; 2 Mac. iii. 12, vii. 9-23, viii. 18, xiii. 14).\n\n[181] John xvii. 24.\n\n[182] In Hebrew \u05ea\u05b5\u05bc\u05d1\u05b5\u05dc habitable globe; translated \u03bf\u03b9\u03ba\u03bf\u03c5\u03bc\u03b5\u03bd\u03b7 in LXX.\n(see Psalm lxxxix. 11).\n\n[183] John v. 11.\n\n[184] John vi. 31; 1 John ii. 2.\n\n[185] John iii. 16. It may be added that these are passages where the\n_world_ as humanity generally passes into the darker meaning of that\nportion of it which is actively hostile to God. John xv. 18, 19.\n\n[186] See note on ver. 16 at the end of the next Discourse.\n\n[187] Gen. i. 31.\n\n[188] John i. 3.\n\n[189] The writer does not happen to remember any commentator who has\npointed out this subtle but powerful thought, \u03c0\u03b1\u03bd \u03c4\u03bf \u03b5\u03bd \u03c4\u03c9 \u03ba\u03bf\u03c3\u03bc\u03c9--\u03b5\u03ba\n\u03c4\u03bf\u03c5 \u03ba\u03bf\u03c3\u03bc\u03bf\u03c5 \u03b5\u03c3\u03c4\u03b9\u03bd (1 John ii. 16).\n\n[190] 1 John v. 19.\n\n[191] John xiv. 1; 1 John iv. 2, 3; 2 John 7.\n\n[192] John vi. 51, 53-56; 1 John iv. 2, 3; 2 John 7.\n\n[193] \u1f21 \u03b1\u03bb\u03b1\u03b6\u03bf\u03bd\u03b9\u03b1 \u03c4\u03bf\u03c5 \u03b2\u03b9\u03bf\u03c5.\n\n[194] Gen. iii. 5.\n\n[195] Gen. iii. 6.\n\n[196] Gen. iii. 7.\n\n[197] S. Augustin., _Tract. in Joann. Epist._\n\n[198] Mark vii. 21.\n\n[199] 1 John ii. 15, 16.\n\n[200] Ibid. ver. 17.\n\n[201] No portion of Prof. Westcott's Commentary is more thorough or\nmore exquisite than his exposition here. (_Epistles of St. John_, 66.)\n\n[202] \"_Extirpantia verba._\" St. August (in loc.).\n\n\n\n\n                            DISCOURSE VII.\n\n       _USE AND ABUSE OF THE SENSE OF THE VANITY OF THE WORLD._\n\n    \"The world passeth away, and the lust thereof: but he that doeth\n    the will of God abideth for ever.\"--1 JOHN ii. 17.\n\n\nThe connection of the passage in which these words occur is not\ndifficult to trace, for those who are used to follow those \"roots\nbelow the stream,\" those real rather than verbal links latent in the\nsubstance of St. John's thoughts. He addresses those whom he has in\nview with a paternal authority, as his \"sons\" in the faith--with an\nendearing variation as \"little children.\" He reminds them of the\nwisdom and strength involved in their Christian life. Theirs is the\nsweetest flower of knowledge--\"to know the Father.\" Theirs is the\ngrandest crown of victory--\"to overcome the wicked one.\" But there\nremains an enemy in one sense more dangerous than the evil one--the\nworld. By the world in this place we are to understand that element in\nthe material and human sphere, in the region of mingled good and evil,\nwhich is external to God, to the influence of His Spirit, to the\nboundaries of His Church--nay, which frequently passes over those\nboundaries. In this sense it is, so to speak, a fictitious world, a\nworld of wills separated from God because dominated by self; a shadowy\ncaricature of creation; an anti-kosmos, which the Author of the kosmos\nhas not made. What has been well called \"the great love not\" rings\nout--\"love not the world.\" For this admonition two reasons of ever\nenduring validity are given by St. John. (1) The application of the\nlaw of human nature, that two master-passions cannot co-exist in one\nman. \"If any man love the world, the love of the Father is not in\nhim.\" (2) The unsatisfactory nature of the world, its incurable\ntransitoriness, its \"visible tendency to non-existence.\" \"The world\npasseth away, and the lust thereof.\"\n\nIt will be well to consider how far this thought of the transitoriness\nof the world, of its drifting by in ceaseless change, is in itself\nsalutary and Christian, how far it needs to be supplemented and\nelevated by that which follows and closes the verse.[203]\n\n\n                                  I.\n\nThere can be no doubt, then, that up to a certain point this\nconviction is a necessary element of Christian thought, feeling, and\ncharacter; that it is at least among the preliminaries of a saving\nreception of Christ.\n\nThere is in the great majority of the world a surprising and almost\nincredible levity. There is a disposition to believe in the permanency\nof that which we have known to continue long, and which has become\nhabitual. There is a tale of a man who was resolved to keep from his\nchildren the knowledge of _death_. He was the Governor of a colony,\nand had lost in succession his wife and many children. Two only, mere\ninfants, were left. He withdrew to a beautiful and secluded island,\nand tried to barricade his daughters from the fatal knowledge which,\nwhen once acquired, darkens the spirit with anticipation. In the\nocean-island death was to be a forbidden word. If met with in the\npages of a book, and questions were asked, no answer was to be given.\nIf some one expired, the body was to be removed, and the children were\nto be told that the departed had gone to another country. It does not\nneed much imagination to feel sure that the secret could not be kept;\nthat some fish lying on the coral reef, or some bright bird killed in\nthe tropic forest, gave the little ones the hint of a something that\ntouched the splendour of the sunset with a strange presentiment; that\nsome hour came when, as to the rest of us, so to them, the mute\npresence would insist upon being made known. Ours is a stranger mode\nof dealing with ourselves than was the father's way of dealing with\nhis children. We tacitly resolve to play a game of make-believe with\nourselves, to forget that which cannot be forgotten, to remove to an\nincalculable distance that which is inexorably near. And the fear of\ndeath with us does not come from the nerves, but from the will. Death\nushers us into the presence of God. Those of whom we speak hate and\nfear death because they fear God, and hate His presence. Now it is\nnecessary for such persons as these to be awakened from their\nillusion. That which is supremely important for them is to realise\nthat \"the world\" is indeed \"drifting by;\" that there is an emptiness\nin all that is created, a vanity in all that is not eternal; that time\nis short, eternity long. They must be brought to see that with the\nworld, the \"lust thereof\" (the concupiscence, the lust of it, which\nhas the world for its object, which belongs to it, and which the world\nstimulates) passes by also. The world, which is the object of the\ndesire, is a phantom and a shadow; the desire itself must be therefore\nthe phantom of a phantom and the shadow of a shadow.\n\nThis conviction has a thousand times over led human souls to the one\ntrue abiding centre of eternal reality. It has come in a thousand\nways. It has been said that one heard the fifth chapter of Genesis\nread, with those words eight times repeated over the close of each\nrecord of longevity, like the strokes of a funeral bell, \"_and he\ndied_;\" and that the impression never left him, until he planted his\nfoot upon the rock over the tide of the changing years. Sometimes this\nconviction is produced by the death of friends--sometimes by the slow\ndiscipline of life--sometimes no doubt it may be begun, sometimes\ndeepened, by the preacher's voice upon the watch-night, by the\neffective ritualism of the tolling bell, of the silent prayer, of the\nwell-selected hymn. And it is right that the world's dancing in, or\ndrinking in, the New Year, should be a hint to Christians to pray it\nin. This is one of the happy plagiarisms which the Church has made\nfrom the world. The heart feels as it never did before the truth of\nSt. John's sad, calm, oracular survey of existence. \"The world passeth\naway, and the lust thereof.\"\n\n\n                                 II.\n\nBut we have not sounded the depth of the truth--certainly we have not\nexhausted St. John's meaning--until we have asked something more. Is\nthis conviction alone always a herald of salvation? Is it always, taken\nby itself, even salutary? Can it never be exaggerated, and become the\nparent of evils almost greater than those which it supersedes?\n\nWe are led by careful study of the Bible to conclude that this\nsentiment of the flux of things _is_ capable of exaggeration. For\nthere is one important principle which arises from a comparison of the\nOld Testament with the New in this matter.\n\nIt is to be noticed that the Old Testament has indefinitely more which\ncorresponds to the first proposition of the text, without the\nqualification which follows it, than we can find in the New.\n\nThe patriarch Job's experience echoes in our ears. \"Man that is born\nof a woman hath but a short time to live, and is full of misery. He\ncometh up, and is cut down, like a flower; he fleeth as it were a\nshadow, and never continueth in one stay.\"[204] The Funeral Psalms\nmake their melancholy chant. \"Behold, Thou hast made my days as it\nwere a span long.... Verily every man living is altogether vanity. For\nman walketh in a vain shadow, and disquieteth himself in vain.... O\nspare me a little that I may smile again.\"[205] Or we read the words\nof Moses, the man of God, in that ancient psalm of his, that hymn of\ntime and of eternity. All that human speech can say is summed up in\nfour words, the truest, the deepest, the saddest and the most\nexpressive, that ever fell from any mortal pen. \"We bring our years to\nan end, as a sigh.\"[206] Each life is a sigh between two eternities!\n\nOur point is, that in the New Testament there is greatly less of this\nelement--greatly less of this pathetic moralising upon the vanity and\nfragility of human life, of which we have only cited a few\nexamples--and that what there is lies in a different atmosphere, with\nsunnier and more cheerful surroundings. Indeed, in the whole compass\nof the New Testament there is perhaps but one passage which is set\nquite in the same key with our familiar declamations upon the\nuncertainty and shortness of human life--where St. James desires\nChristians ever to remember in all their projects to make deduction\nfor the will of God, \"not knowing what shall be on the morrow.\"[207]\nIn the New Testament the voice, which wails for a second about the\nchangefulness and misery, is lost in the triumphant music by which it\nis encompassed. If earthly goods are depreciated, it is not merely\nbecause \"the load of them troubles, the love of them taints, the loss\nof them tortures;\"[208] it is because better things are ready. There\nis no lamentation over the change, no clinging to the dead past. The\ntone is rather one of joyful invitation. \"Your raft is going to pieces\nin the troubled sea of time; step into a gallant ship. The volcanic\nisle on which you stand is undermined by silent fires; we can promise\nto bring you with us to a shore of safety where you shall be compassed\nabout with songs of deliverance.\"\n\nIt is no doubt true to urge that this style of thought and language is\npartly to be ascribed to a desire that the attention of Christians\nshould be fixed on the return of their Lord, rather than upon their\nown death. But, if we believe Scripture to have been written under\nDivine guidance, the history of religion may supply us with good\ngrounds for the absence of all exaggeration from its pages in speaking\nof the misery of life and the transitoriness of the world.\n\nThe largest religious experiment in the world, the history of a\nreligion which at one time numerically exceeded Christendom, is a\ngigantic proof that it is _not_ safe to allow unlimited licence to\nmelancholy speculation. The true symbol for humanity is not a skull\nand an hour glass.\n\nSome two thousand five hundred years ago, towards the end of the\nseventh century before Christ, at the foot of the mountains of Nepaul,\nin the capital of a kingdom of Central India, an infant was born whom\nthe world will never forget. All gifts seemed to be showered on this\nchild. He was the son of a powerful king and heir to his throne. The\nyoung Siddh\u00e2rtha was of rare distinction, brave and beautiful, a\nthinker and a hero, married to an amiable and fascinating princess.\nBut neither a great position nor domestic happiness could clear away\nthe cloud of melancholy which hung over Siddh\u00e2rtha, even under that\nlovely sky. His deep and meditative soul dwelt night and day upon the\nmystery of existence. He came to the conclusion that the life of the\ncreature is incurably evil from three causes--from the very fact of\nexistence, from desire, and from ignorance. The things revealed by\nsense are evil. None has that continuance and fixity which is the mark\nof _Law_, and the attainment of which is the condition of happiness.\nAt last his resolution to leave all his splendour and become an\nascetic was irrevocably fixed. One splendid morning the prince drove\nto a glorious garden. On his road he met a repulsive old man,\nwrinkled, toothless, bent. Another day, a wretched being wasted with\nfever crossed his path. Yet a third excursion--and a funeral passes\nalong the road with a corpse on an open bier, and friends wailing as\nthey go. His favourite attendant is obliged in each case to confess\nthat these evils are not exceptional--that old age, sickness, and\ndeath, are the fatal conditions of conscious existence for all the\nsons of men. Then the Prince Royal takes his first step towards\nbecoming the deliverer of humanity. He cries--\"woe, woe to the youth\nwhich old age must destroy, to the health which sickness must\nundermine, to the life which has so few days and is so full of evil.\"\nHasty readers are apt to judge that the Prince was on the same track\nwith the Patriarch of Idumea, and with Moses the man of God in the\ndesert--nay, with St. John, when he writes from Ephesus that \"the\nworld passeth away, and the lust thereof.\"\n\nIt may be well to reconsider this; to see what contradictory principle\nlies under utterances which have so much superficial resemblance.\n\nSiddh\u00e2rtha became known as the Bouddha, the august founder of a great\nand ancient religion. That religion has of later years been favourably\ncompared with Christianity--yet what are its necessary results, as drawn\nout for us by those who have studied it most deeply? Scepticism, fanatic\nhatred of life, incurable sadness in a world fearfully misunderstood;\nrejection of the personality of man, of God, of the reality of Nature.\nStrange enigma! The Bouddha sought to win annihilation by good works;\neverlasting non-being by a life of purity, of alms, of renunciation, of\nausterity. The prize of his high calling was not everlasting life, but\neverlasting death; for what else is impersonality, unconsciousness,\nabsorption into the universe, but the negation of human existence? The\nacceptance of the principles of Bouddhism is simply a sentence of death\nintellectually, morally, spiritually, almost physically, passed upon the\nrace which submits to the melancholy bondage of its creed of desolation.\nIt is the opium drunkenness of the spiritual world without the dreams\nthat are its temporary consolation. It is enervating without being soft,\nand contemplative without being profound. It is a religion which is\nspiritual without recognising the soul, virtuous without the conception\nof duty, moral without the admission of liberty, charitable without\nlove. It surveys a world without nature, and a universe without\nGod.[209] The human soul under its influence is not so much drunken as\nasphyxiated by a monotonous unbalanced perpetual repetition of one half\nof the truth--\"the world passeth away, and the lust thereof.\"\n\nFor let us carefully note that St. John adds a qualification which\npreserves the balance of truth. Over against the dreary contemplation\nof the perpetual flux of things, he sets a constant course of\n_doing_--over against the _world_, God in His deepest, truest\npersonality, \"_the will of God_\"--over against the fact of our having\na short time to live, and being full of misery, an everlasting\n_fixity_, \"_he abideth for ever_\"--(so well brought out by the old\ngloss which slipped into the Latin text, \"even as God abideth for\never\"). As the Lord had taught before, so the disciple now teaches, of\nthe rocklike solidity, of the permanent abiding, under and over him\nwho \"_doeth_.\" Of the devotee who became in his turn the Bouddha,\n\u00c7akhya-Mouni could not have said one word of the close of our text.\n\"_He_\"--but human personality is lost in the triumph of knowledge.\n\"_Doeth the will of God_\"--but God is ignored, if not denied.[210]\n\"_Abideth for ever_\"--but that is precisely the object of his\naversion, the terror from which he wishes to be emancipated at any\nprice, by any self-denial.\n\nIt may be supposed that this strain of thought is of little practical\nimportance. It may be of use, indeed, in other lands to the missionary\nwho is brought into contact with forms of Bouddhism in China, India, or\nCeylon, but not to us in these countries. In truth it is not so. It is\nabout half a century ago since a great English theologian warned his\nUniversity that the central principle of Bouddhism was being spread far\nand wide in Europe from Berlin. This propaganda is not confined to\nphilosophy. It is at work in literature generally, in poetry, in novels,\nabove all in those collections of \"Pens\u00e9es\" which have become so\nextensively popular. The unbelief of the last century advanced with\nflashing epigrams and defiant songs. With Byron it softened at times\ninto a melancholy which was perhaps partly affected. But with Amiel, and\nothers of our own day, unbelief assumes a sweet and dirge-like tone. The\nsatanic mirth of the past unbelief is exchanged for a satanic melancholy\nin the present. Many currents of thought run into our hearts, and all\nare tinged with a darkness before unknown from new substances in the\nsoil which colours the waters. There is little fear of our not hearing\nenough, great fear of our hearing too much, of the proposition--\"the\nworld passeth away, and the lust thereof.\"\n\nAll this may possibly serve as some explanation for the fact that the\nChristian Church, as such, has no fast for the last day of the year,\nno festival for New Year's Day except one quite unconnected with the\nlessons which may be drawn from the flight of time. The death of the\nold year, the birth of the new year, have touching associations for\nus. But the Church consecrates no death but that of Jesus and His\nmartyrs, no nativity but that of her Lord, and of one whose birth was\ndirectly connected with His own--John the Baptist.[211] A cause of\nthis has been found in the fact that the day had become so deeply\ncontaminated by the abominations of the heathen _Saturnalia_ that it\nwas impossible in the early Church to continue any very marked\nobservation of it. This may well be so; but it is worth considering\nwhether there is not another and deeper reason. Nothing that has now\nbeen said can be supposed to militate against the observance of this\ntime by Christians in private, with solemn penitence for the\ntransgressions of the past year, and earnest prayer for that upon\nwhich we enter--nothing against the edification of particular\ncongregations by such services as those most striking ones which are\nheld in so many places. But some explanation is supplied why the\n\"Watch-night\" is not recognised in the calendar of the Church.\n\nLet us take our verse together as a whole and we have something better\nthan moralising over the flight of time and the transitoriness of the\nworld; something better than vulgarising \"vanity of vanities\" by vapid\niteration.\n\nIt is hard to conceive a life in which death and evanescence have\nnothing that enforces their recognition. Now the removal of one dear\nto us, now a glance at the obituary with the name of some one of\nalmost the same age as ourselves, brings a sudden shadow over the\nsunniest field. Yet surely it is not wholesome to encourage the\nperpetual presence of the cloud. We might impose upon ourselves the\npenance of being shut up all a winter's night with a corpse, go half\ncrazy with terror of that unearthly presence, and yet be no more\nspiritual after all.[212] We must learn to look at death in a\ndifferent way, with new eyes. We all know how different dead faces\nare. Some speak to us merely of material ugliness, of the sweep of\n\"decay's effacing fingers.\" In others a new idea seems to light up the\nface; there is the touch of a superhuman irradiation, of a beauty from\na hidden life. We feel that we look on one who has seen Christ, and\nsay--\"we shall be like Him, for we shall see Him as He is.\" These two\nkinds of faces answer to the two different views of life.\n\nNot the transitory, but the permanent; not the fleeting, but the\nabiding; not death but life, is the conclusion of the whole matter.\nThe Christian life is not an initial spasm followed by a chronic\ndyspepsia. What does St. John give us as the picture of it\nexemplified in a believer? Daily, perpetual, constant doing the will\nof God. This is the end far beyond--somewhat inconsistent\nwith--obstinately morbid meditation and surrounding ourselves with\nmultiplied images of mortality. Lying in a coffin half the night might\nnot lead to that end; nay, it might be a hindrance thereto. Beyond the\ngrave, outside the coffin, is the object at which we are to look. \"The\ncurrent of things temporal,\" cries Augustine, \"sweeps along. But like\na tree over that stream has risen our Lord Jesus Christ. He willed to\nplant Himself as it were over the river. Are you whirled along by the\ncurrent? Lay hold of the wood. Does the love of the world roll you\nonward in its course? Lay hold upon Christ. For you He became temporal\nthat you might become eternal. For He was so made temporal as to\nremain eternal. Join thy heart to the eternity of God, and thou shalt\nbe eternal with Him.\"\n\nThose who have heard the Miserere in the Sistine Chapel describe the\ndesolation which settles upon the soul which surrenders itself to the\nimpression of the ritual. As the psalm proceeds, at the end of each\nrhythmical pulsation of thought, each beat of the alternate wings of\nthe parallelism, a light upon the altar is extinguished. As the wail\ngrows sadder the darkness grows deeper. When all the lights are out\nand the last echo of the strain dies away, there would be something\nsuitable for the penitent's mood in the words--\"the world passeth\naway, and the lust thereof.\" Upon the altar of the Christian heart\nthere are tapers at first unlighted, and before it a priest in black\nvestments. But one by one the vestments are exchanged for others which\nare white; one after another the lamps are lighted slowly and without\nnoise, until gradually, we know not how, the whole place is full of\nlight. And ever sweeter and clearer, calm and happy, with a triumph\nwhich is at first repressed and reverential, but which increases as\nthe light becomes diffused, the words are heard strong and quiet--a\nplain-song now that will swell into an anthem presently--\"he that\ndoeth the will of God abideth for ever.\"\n\n\n                                NOTES.\n\n                            Ch. ii. 12-17.\n\nVer. 12, 13, 14. These verses cannot properly be divided so as to\nembrace three departments of spiritual, answering to three departments\nof natural, life. All believers are addressed _authoritatively_ as\n\"children\" in the faith, _tenderly_ as \"little children;\" then\nsubdivided into two classes only, \"fathers,\" and \"young men.\"\n_Confirmation_ is justly found implied here.\n\nVer. 16. Hardy's comment is quaint, and interesting. \"These three are\n'all that is in the world;' they are the world's cursed trinity;\naccording to that of the poet,\n\n      Ambitiosus honos, et opes, et f\u0153da voluptas;\n      H\u00e6c tria pro trino numine mundus habet,\n\nwhich wicked men adore and worship as deities; in which regard Lapide\nopposeth them to the three persons in the blessed Trinity: the lust of\nthe eyes to the Father, who is liberal in communicating His essence to\nthe Son and the Spirit; the lust of the flesh to the Son, whose\ngeneration is spiritual and eternal; the pride of life to the Holy\nGhost, who is the Spirit of humility. That golden calf, which, being\nmade, was set up and worshipped by the Israelites in the wilderness,\nis not unfitly made use of to represent these: the calf, which is a\nwanton creature, an emblem of the lust of flesh; the gold of the calf,\nreferring to the lust of the eyes; and the exalting it, to the pride\nof life. Oh, how do the most of men fall down before this golden calf\nwhich the world erecteth.\"\n\nIn tracing the various senses of \"the world\" we have not dwelt\nprominently upon the conception of the world as embodied in the Roman\nEmpire, and in the city of Rome as its seat--an empire standing over\nagainst the Church as the Kingdom of God. The \u03b1\u03bb\u03b1\u03b6\u03bf\u03bd\u03b9\u03b1 \u03c4\u03bf\u03c5 \u03b2\u03b9\u03bf\u03c5 may be\nprojected outwardly, and set in a material framework in the gorgeous\ndescription of the wealth and luxury of Rome in Apoc. xviii. 11-14. M.\nR\u00e9nan finds in the Apocalypse the cry of horror of a witness who has\nbeen at Rome, seen the martyrdom of brethren, and been himself near\ndeath. (Apoc. i. 9, vi. 9, xiii. 10, xx. 4; cf. _L'Antechrist_, pp.\n197, 199. Surely Apoc. xviii. 20 adds a strong testimony to the\nmartyrdom of Peter and Paul at Rome.) So early a witness as Tertullian\ngives the story of St. John's having been plunged into the boiling oil\nwithout injury to him before his exile at Patmos. (_De Pr\u00e6scr. H\u00e6r._,\n36). The Apocryphal 'Acta Iohannis' (known to Eusebius and to St.\nAugustine), relates at length an interview at Rome between Domitian\nand St. John--not without interest, in spite of some miraculous\nembellishment. _Acta. Apost. Apoc._ Tischendorf, 266-271.\n\nFOOTNOTES:\n\n[203] \u03c0\u03b1\u03c1\u03b1\u03b3\u03b5\u03c4\u03b1\u03b9. It has been said that this is not the real point;\nthat what St. John here describes is not the general attribute of the\nworld as transitory, but its condition at the moment when the Epistle\nwas written, in presence of the manifestation of \"the kingdom of God,\nwhich was daily shining forth.\" But surely the world can scarcely be\nso completely identified with the temporary framework of the Roman\nEmpire; and the _universality_ of the antithesis (\u1f41 \u03b4\u03b5 \u03c0\u03bf\u03b9\u03c9\u03bd \u03ba.\u03c4.\u03bb.)\nand its intensely _individual_ form, lead us to take \u03ba\u03bf\u03c3\u03bc\u03bf\u03c2 in that\nuniversal and inclusive signification which alone is of abiding\ninterest to every age.\n\n[204] Job xiv. 1, 2. Cf. x. 20-22.\n\n[205] Such seems to be the meaning of \u05d0\u05b7\u05d1\u05b0\u05dc\u05b4\u05d9\u05e0\u05b8\u05d4 (Ps. xxxix. 14).\n\n[206] Ps. xc. 9.\n\n[207] James iv. 13-17. The passage 1 Pet. i. 25 is taken from the\nmagnificent prophecy in which the fragility of all flesh, transitory\nas the falling away of the flowers of grass into impalpable dust, is\ncontrasted with the eternity of the word of God. Isa. xl. 6, 7, LXX.\n\n[208] \"Possessa onerant, amata inquinant, amissa cruciant.\"--_St.\nBernard_.\n\n[209] The view here taken of Bouddhism follows that of M. J.\nBarthelemy St. Hilaire. _Le Bouddha et sa R\u00e9ligion._ Pr\u00e9mi\u00e8re partie,\nchap. v., pp. 141-182.\n\n[210] \"These populations neither deny nor affirm God. They simply\nignore Him. To assert that they are atheists would be very much the\nsame thing as to assert that they are anti-Cartesians. As they are\nneither for nor against Descartes, so they are neither for nor against\nGod. They are just children. A child is neither atheist nor deist. He\nis nothing.\"--Voltaire, _Dict. Phil._, Art. _Ath\u00eaisme_.\n\n[211] It is noteworthy that in the collects in the English Prayer-Book,\nand indeed in its public formularies generally (outside the Funeral\nService, and that for the Visitation of the Sick), there are but two\nplaces in which the note of the \"world passeth away\" is very prominently\nstruck, viz., the Collect for the Fourth Sunday after Easter, and one\nportion of the prayer for \"The Church Militant.\" One of the most\nwholesome and beautiful expressions of the salutary convictions arising\nfrom Christian perception of this melancholy truth is to be found in Dr.\nJohnson's \"Prayer for the Last Day in the Year,\" as given in Mr.\nStobart's _Daily Services for Christian Households_, pp. 99, 100.\n\n[212] The old \"Memento Mori\" timepiece of Mary, Queen of Scots, is a\nwatch in the interior of a death's-head, which opens to disclose it.\nSurely not a symbol likely to make any soul happier or better!\n\n\n\n\n                             SECTION IV.\n\n\n          GREEK.                           LATIN.\n\n  \u03a0\u03b1\u03b9\u03b4\u03b9\u03b1, \u03b5\u03c3\u03c7\u03b1\u03c4\u03b7 \u03c9\u03c1\u03b1                 Filioli, novissima\n  \u03b5\u03c3\u03c4\u03b9\u03bd\u00b7 \u03ba\u03b1\u03b9 \u03ba\u03b1\u03b8\u03c9\u03c2 \u03b7\u03ba\u03bf\u03c5\u03c3\u03b1\u03c4\u03b5          hora est: et sicut audistis\n  \u1f41\u03c4\u03b9 \u1f41 \u03b1\u03bd\u03c4\u03b9\u03c7\u03c1\u03b9\u03c3\u03c4\u03bf\u03c2                  quia antichristus\n  \u03b5\u03c1\u03c7\u03b5\u03c4\u03b1\u03b9, \u03ba\u03b1\u03b9 \u03bd\u03c5\u03bd \u03b1\u03bd\u03c4\u03b9\u03c7\u03c1\u03b9\u03c3\u03c4\u03bf\u03b9       venit, nunc autem antichristi\n  \u03c0\u03bf\u03bb\u03bb\u03bf\u03b9 \u03b3\u03b5\u03b3\u03bf\u03bd\u03b1\u03c3\u03b9\u03bd\u00b7                  multi facti sunt,\n  \u1f41\u03b8\u03b5\u03bd \u03b3\u03b9\u03bd\u03c9\u03c3\u03ba\u03bf\u03bc\u03b5\u03bd                    unde scimus quia\n  \u1f41\u03c4\u03b9 \u03b5\u03c3\u03c7\u03b1\u03c4\u03b7 \u1f61\u03c1\u03b1 \u03b5\u03c3\u03c4\u03b9\u03bd.              novissima hora est.\n  \u0395\u03be \u1f21\u03bc\u03c9\u03bd \u03b5\u03be\u03b7\u03bb\u03b8\u03b1\u03bd, \u03b1\u03bb\u03bb'              Ex nobis prodierunt,\n  \u03bf\u03c5\u03ba \u03b7\u03c3\u03b1\u03bd \u03b5\u03be \u1f21\u03bc\u03c9\u03bd. \u03b5\u03b9               sed non erant ex nobis,\n  \u03b3\u03b1\u03c1 \u03b5\u03be \u1f21\u03bc\u03c9\u03bd \u03b7\u03c3\u03b1\u03bd,                  nam si fuissent ex\n  \u03bc\u03b5\u03bc\u03b5\u03bd\u03b7\u03ba\u03b5\u03b9\u03c3\u03b1\u03bd \u03b1\u03bd \u03bc\u03b5\u03b8'               nobis, permansissent\n  \u1f21\u03bc\u03c9\u03bd\u00b7 \u03b1\u03bb\u03bb' \u1f31\u03bd\u03b1 \u03c6\u03b1\u03bd\u03b5\u03c1\u03c9\u03b8\u03c9\u03c3\u03b9\u03bd         utique nobiscum; sed\n  \u1f41\u03c4\u03b9 \u03bf\u03c5\u03ba \u03b5\u03b9\u03c3\u03b9\u03bd                      ut manifesti sint quoniam\n  \u03c0\u03b1\u03bd\u03c4\u03b5\u03c2 \u03b5\u03be \u1f21\u03bc\u03c9\u03bd. \u039a\u03b1\u03b9                non sunt omnes\n  \u1f51\u03bc\u03b5\u03b9\u03c2 \u03c7\u03c1\u03b9\u03c3\u03bc\u03b1 \u03b5\u03c7\u03b5\u03c4\u03b5 \u03b1\u03c0\u03bf             ex nobis. Sed vos\n  \u03c4\u03bf\u03c5 \u03b1\u03b3\u03b9\u03bf\u03c5, \u03ba\u03b1\u03b9 \u03bf\u03b9\u03b4\u03b1\u03c4\u03b5              unctionem habetis a\n  \u03c0\u03b1\u03bd\u03c4\u03b1. \u03bf\u03c5\u03ba \u03b5\u03b3\u03c1\u03b1\u03c8\u03b1                  Sancto, et nostis omnia.\n  \u1f51\u03bc\u03b9\u03bd, \u1f41\u03c4\u03b9 \u03bf\u03c5\u03ba \u03bf\u03b9\u03b4\u03b1\u03c4\u03b5               Non scripsi vobis quasi\n  \u03c4\u03b7\u03bd \u03b1\u03bb\u03b7\u03b8\u03b5\u03b9\u03b1\u03bd, \u03b1\u03bb\u03bb' \u1f41\u03c4\u03b9             ignorantibus veritatem,\n  \u03bf\u03b9\u03b4\u03b1\u03c4\u03b5 \u03b1\u03c5\u03c4\u03b7\u03bd, \u03ba\u03b1\u03b9 \u1f41\u03c4\u03b9              sed quasi scientibus\n  \u03c0\u03b1\u03bd \u03c8\u03b5\u03c5\u03b4\u03bf\u03c2 \u03b5\u03ba \u03c4\u03b7\u03c2                  eam, et quoniam omne\n  \u03b1\u03bb\u03b7\u03b8\u03b5\u03b9\u03b1\u03c2 \u03bf\u03c5\u03ba \u03b5\u03c3\u03c4\u03b9\u03bd. \u03a4\u03b9\u03c2            mendacium ex veritate\n  \u03b5\u03c3\u03c4\u03b9\u03bd \u1f41 \u03c8\u03b5\u03c5\u03c3\u03c4\u03b7\u03c2, \u03b5\u03b9                non est. Quis est mendax,\n  \u03bc\u03b7 \u1f41 \u03b1\u03c1\u03bd\u03bf\u03c5\u03bc\u03b5\u03bd\u03bf\u03c2 \u1f41\u03c4\u03b9                nisi qui negat\n  \u0399\u03b7\u03c3\u03bf\u03c5\u03c2 \u03bf\u03c5\u03ba \u03b5\u03c3\u03c4\u03b9\u03bd \u1f41                 quoniam Iesus non est\n  \u03a7\u03c1\u03b9\u03c3\u03c4\u03bf\u03c2; \u03bf\u03c5\u03c4\u03bf\u03c2 \u03b5\u03c3\u03c4\u03b9\u03bd               Christus? Hic est\n  \u1f41 \u03b1\u03bd\u03c4\u03b9\u03c7\u03c1\u03b9\u03c3\u03c4\u03bf\u03c2, \u1f41 \u03b1\u03c1\u03bd\u03bf\u03c5\u03bc\u03b5\u03bd\u03bf\u03c2        antichristus, qui negat\n  \u03c4\u03bf\u03bd \u03c0\u03b1\u03c4\u03b5\u03c1\u03b1 \u03ba\u03b1\u03b9                     Patrem et Filium.\n  \u03c4\u03bf\u03bd \u03c5\u03b9\u03bf\u03bd. \u03c0\u03b1\u03c2 \u1f41 \u03b1\u03c1\u03bd\u03bf\u03c5\u03bc\u03b5\u03bd\u03bf\u03c2         Omnis qui negat Filium\n  \u03c4\u03bf\u03bd \u03c5\u03b9\u03bf\u03bd, \u03bf\u03c5\u03b4\u03b5                     nec Patrem habet: qui\n  \u03c4\u03bf\u03bd \u03c0\u03b1\u03c4\u03b5\u03c1\u03b1 \u03b5\u03c7\u03b5\u03b9. \u1f41                 confitetur Filium, et\n  \u1f41\u03bc\u03bf\u03bb\u03bf\u03b3\u03c9\u03bd \u03c4\u03bf\u03bd \u03c5\u03b9\u03bf\u03bd \u03ba\u03b1\u03b9              Patrem habet. Vos\n  \u03c4\u03bf\u03bd \u03c0\u03b1\u03c4\u03b5\u03c1\u03b1 \u03b5\u03c7\u03b5\u03b9. \u1f59\u03bc\u03b5\u03b9\u03c2             quod audistis ab initio,\n  \u1f41 \u03b7\u03ba\u03bf\u03c5\u03c3\u03b1\u03c4\u03b5 \u03b1\u03c0' \u03b1\u03c1\u03c7\u03b7\u03c2,              in vobis permaneat.\n  \u03b5\u03bd \u1f51\u03bc\u03b9\u03bd \u03bc\u03b5\u03bd\u03b5\u03c4\u03c9. \u03b5\u03b1\u03bd                Si in vobis permanserit\n  \u03b5\u03bd \u1f51\u03bc\u03b9\u03bd \u03bc\u03b5\u03b9\u03bd\u03b7 \u1f41 \u03b1\u03c0'                quod ab initio audistis,\n  \u03b1\u03c1\u03c7\u03b7\u03c2 \u03b7\u03ba\u03bf\u03c5\u03c3\u03b1\u03c4\u03b5, \u03ba\u03b1\u03b9 \u1f51\u03bc\u03b5\u03b9\u03c2          et vos in Filio et Patre\n  \u03b5\u03bd \u03c4\u03c9 \u03c5\u03b9\u03c9 \u03ba\u03b1\u03b9 \u03b5\u03bd \u03c4\u03c9                manebitis. Et h\u00e6c est\n  \u03c0\u03b1\u03c4\u03c1\u03b9 \u03bc\u03b5\u03bd\u03b5\u03b9\u03c4\u03b5. \u03ba\u03b1\u03b9 \u03b1\u03c5\u03c4\u03b7            promissio quam ipse\n  \u03b5\u03c3\u03c4\u03b9\u03bd \u1f21 \u03b5\u03c0\u03b1\u03b3\u03b3\u03b5\u03bb\u03b9\u03b1, \u1f21\u03bd              pollicitus est vobis,\n  \u03b1\u03c5\u03c4\u03bf\u03c2 \u03b5\u03c0\u03b7\u03b3\u03b3\u03b5\u03b9\u03bb\u03b1\u03c4\u03bf \u1f21\u03bc\u03b9\u03bd,            vitam \u00e6ternam. H\u00e6c\n  \u03c4\u03b7\u03bd \u03b6\u03c9\u03b7\u03bd \u03c4\u03b7\u03bd \u03b1\u03b9\u03c9\u03bd\u03b9\u03bf\u03bd.              scripsi vobis de his qui\n  \u03c4\u03b1\u03c5\u03c4\u03b1 \u03b5\u03b3\u03c1\u03b1\u03c8\u03b1 \u1f51\u03bc\u03b9\u03bd \u03c0\u03b5\u03c1\u03b9             seducunt vos. Et vos\n  \u03c4\u03c9\u03bd \u03c0\u03bb\u03b1\u03bd\u03c9\u03bd\u03c4\u03c9\u03bd \u1f51\u03bc\u03b1\u03c2.                unctionem quam accepistis\n  \u039a\u03b1\u03b9 \u1f51\u03bc\u03b5\u03b9\u03c2 \u03c4\u03bf \u03c7\u03c1\u03b9\u03c3\u03bc\u03b1                ab eo, maneat in\n  \u1f41 \u03b5\u03bb\u03b1\u03b2\u03b1\u03c4\u03b5 \u03b1\u03c0' \u03b1\u03c5\u03c4\u03bf\u03c5,               vobis; et non necesse\n  \u03bc\u03b5\u03bd\u03b5\u03b9 \u03b5\u03bd \u1f51\u03bc\u03b9\u03bd, \u03ba\u03b1\u03b9 \u03bf\u03c5              habetis ut aliquis\n  \u03c7\u03c1\u03b5\u03b9\u03b1\u03bd \u03b5\u03c7\u03b5\u03c4\u03b5 \u1f31\u03bd\u03b1 \u03c4\u03b9\u03c2               doceat vos, sed sicut\n  \u03b4\u03b9\u03b4\u03b1\u03c3\u03ba\u03b7 \u1f51\u03bc\u03b1\u03c2\u00b7 \u03b1\u03bb\u03bb' \u1f61\u03c2              unctio eius docet vos\n  \u03c4\u03bf \u03b1\u03c5\u03c4\u03bf\u03c5 \u03c7\u03c1\u03b9\u03c3\u03bc\u03b1 \u03b4\u03b9\u03b4\u03b1\u03c3\u03ba\u03b5\u03b9           de omnibus, et verum\n  \u1f51\u03bc\u03b1\u03c2 \u03c0\u03b5\u03c1\u03b9 \u03c0\u03b1\u03bd\u03c4\u03c9\u03bd, \u03ba\u03b1\u03b9              est, et non est mendacium,\n  \u03b1\u03bb\u03b7\u03b8\u03b5\u03c2 \u03b5\u03c3\u03c4\u03b9\u03bd, \u03ba\u03b1\u03b9 \u03bf\u03c5\u03ba              et sicut docuit\n  \u03b5\u03c3\u03c4\u03b9\u03bd \u03c8\u03b5\u03c5\u03b4\u03bf\u03c2\u00b7 \u03ba\u03b1\u03b9 \u03ba\u03b1\u03b8\u03c9\u03c2            vos manete in eo. Et\n  \u03b5\u03b4\u03b9\u03b4\u03b1\u03be\u03b5\u03bd \u1f51\u03bc\u03b1\u03c2, \u03bc\u03b5\u03bd\u03b5\u03b9\u03c4\u03b5             nunc, filioli, manete in\n  \u03b5\u03bd \u03b1\u03c5\u03c4\u03c9. \u039a\u03b1\u03b9 \u03bd\u03c5\u03bd,                  eo, ut cum apparuerit\n  \u03c4\u03b5\u03ba\u03bd\u03b9\u03b1, \u03bc\u03b5\u03bd\u03b5\u03c4\u03b5 \u03b5\u03bd \u03b1\u03c5\u03c4\u03c9\u00b7            habemus fiduciam, et\n  \u1f31\u03bd\u03b1 \u1f41\u03c4\u03b1\u03bd \u03c6\u03b1\u03bd\u03b5\u03c1\u03c9\u03b8\u03b7,                 non confundamur ab eo\n  \u03c3\u03c7\u03c9\u03bc\u03b5\u03bd \u03c0\u03b1\u03c1\u03c1\u03b7\u03c3\u03b9\u03b1\u03bd, \u03ba\u03b1\u03b9              in adventu eius.\n  \u03bc\u03b7 \u03b1\u03b9\u03c3\u03c7\u03c5\u03bd\u03b8\u03c9\u03bc\u03b5\u03bd \u03b1\u03c0'\n  \u03b1\u03c5\u03c4\u03bf\u03c5, \u03b5\u03bd \u03c4\u03b7 \u03c0\u03b1\u03c1\u03bf\u03c5\u03c3\u03b9\u03b1\n  \u03b1\u03c5\u03c4\u03bf\u03c5.\n\n\n     AUTHORISED VERSION.                  REVISED VERSION.\n\n  Little children, it is             Little children, it is\n  the last time: and as              the last hour: and as\n  ye have heard that                 ye heard that antichrist\n  antichrist shall come,             cometh, even now have\n  even now there are                 there arisen many\n  many antichrists;                  antichrists; whereby\n  whereby we know that               we know that it is the\n  it is the last time.               last hour. They went\n  They went out from us,             out from us, but they\n  but they were not of               were not of us; for if\n  us; for if they had                they had been of us,\n  been of us, they would             they would have continued\n  _no doubt_ have continued          with us: but\n  with us: but                       _they went out_, that they\n  _they went out_, that              might be made manifest\n  they might be made manifest        how that they are\n  that they were not                 not of us. And ye\n  all of us. But ye have             have an anointing from\n  an unction from the                the Holy One, and ye\n  Holy One, and ye know              know all things. I\n  all things. I have not             have not written unto\n  written unto you because           you because ye know\n  ye know not the                    not the truth, but because\n  truth, but because ye              ye know it, and\n  know it, and that no               because no lie is of the\n  lie is of the truth.               truth. Who is the liar\n  Who is a liar but he               but he that denieth\n  that denieth that Jesus            that Jesus is the\n  is the Christ? He is               Christ? This is the\n  antichrist, that denieth           antichrist, _even_ he that\n  the Father and the Son.            denieth the Father and\n  Whosoever denieth the              the Son. Whosoever\n  Son, the same hath not             denieth the Son, the\n  the Father: [_but_]                same hath not the\n  _he that acknowledgeth the         Father: he that confesseth\n  Son hath the Father                the Son hath\n  also_. Let that therefore          the Father also. As\n  abide in you,                      for you, let that abide\n  which ye have heard                in you which ye heard\n  from the beginning.                from the beginning.\n  If that which ye have              If that which ye heard\n  heard from the beginning           from the beginning\n  shall remain in                    abide in you, ye also\n  you, ye also shall continue        shall abide in the Son,\n  in the Son, and                    and in the Father.\n  in the Father. And                 And this is the promise\n  this is the promise that           which He promised us,\n  He hath promised us,               _even_ the life eternal.\n  _even_ eternal life.               These things have I\n  These _things_ have I              written unto you concerning\n  written unto you concerning        them that\n  them that seduce you.              would lead you astray.\n  But the anointing                  And as for you, the\n  which ye have received             anointing which ye received\n  of Him abideth in you,             of Him abideth\n  and ye need not that               in you, and ye need\n  any man teach you:                 not that any one teach\n  but as the same anointing          you; but as His anointing\n  teacheth you of all                teacheth you concerning\n  things, and is truth,              all things, and\n  and is no lie, and even            is true, and is no lie,\n  as it hath taught you,             and even as it taught\n  ye shall abide in Him.             you, ye abide in Him.\n  And now, little children,          And now, _my_ little\n  abide in Him;                      children, abide in Him;\n  that, when He shall                that, if He shall be\n  appear, we may have                manifested, we may\n  confidence, and not be             have boldness, and not\n  ashamed before Him                 be ashamed before Him\n  at His coming.                     at His coming.\n\n\n     ANOTHER VERSION.\n\n  Little children, it is\n  a last hour; and as ye\n  heard that antichrist\n  cometh, so now many\n  antichrists are in existence;\n  whereby we\n  know that it is a last\n  hour. They went out\n  from us, but they were\n  not of us; for if they\n  had been of us they\n  would have continued\n  with us: but that they\n  might be made manifest\n  how that all are not\n  of us, _they all went out_.\n  But ye have unction\n  from the Holy One, and\n  ye know all things. I\n  have not written unto\n  you _this_--\"ye know\n  not the truth\"--but\n  _this_--\"ye\n  know it,\" and\n  _this_--\"every lie is not\n  from the truth.\" Who\n  is the liar but he that\n  denieth that Jesus is\n  the Christ? The antichrist\n  is this, he that\n  denieth the Father and\n  the Son. Whosoever\n  denieth the Son the\n  same hath not the\n  Father; he that confesseth\n  the Son also\n  hath the Father. As\n  for you--that which ye\n  heard from the beginning\n  let it abide in you.\n  If that abide in you\n  which from the beginning\n  ye heard, ye also\n  shall abide in the Son\n  and in the Father. And\n  this is the promise\n  which He promised us,\n  the life, the eternal\n  _life_. These things have\n  I written unto you\n  concerning those that\n  would mislead you.\n  And as for you--the\n  anointing which ye\n  received from Him\n  abideth in you, and ye\n  have no need that any\n  be teaching you: but\n  as His unction is teaching\n  you continually\n  concerning all things,\n  and is true, and is not\n  a lie, and as it taught\n  you, so shall ye abide\n  in Him. And now,\n  children, abide in Him,\n  that if He shall be\n  manifested we may\n  have boldness and not\n  shrink in shame from\n  Him in His coming.\n\n\n\n\n                           DISCOURSE VIII.\n\n                        _KNOWING ALL THINGS._\n\n    \"But ye have an unction from the Holy One, and ye know all\n    things.\"--1 JOHN ii. 20.\n\n\nThere is little of the form of logical argument to which Western\nreaders are habituated in the writings of St. John, steeped as his\nmind was in Hebraic influences. The inferential \"therefore\" is not to\nbe found in this Epistle.[213] Yet the diligent reader or expositor\nfinds it more difficult to detach any single sentence, without loss to\nthe general meaning, than in any other writing of the New Testament.\nThe sentence may look almost as if its letters were graven brief and\nlarge upon a block of marble, and stood out in oracular isolation--but\nupon reverent study it will be found that the seemingly lapidary\ninscription is one of a series with each of which it is indissolubly\nconnected--sometimes limited, sometimes enlarged, always coloured and\ninfluenced by that which precedes and follows.\n\nIt is peculiarly needful to bear this observation in mind in considering\nfully the almost startling principle stated in the verse which is\nprefixed to this discourse. A kind of spiritual omniscience appears to\nbe attributed to believers. Catechisms, confessions, creeds, teachers,\npreachers, seem to be superseded by a stroke of the Apostle's pen, by\nwhat we are half tempted to consider as a magnificent exaggeration. The\ntext sounds as if it outstripped even the fulfilment of the promise of\nthe new covenant contained in Jeremiah's prophecy--\"they shall teach no\nmore every man his neighbour, and every man his brother, saying, Know\nthe Lord: for they shall all know Me, from the least of them unto the\ngreatest of them.\"[214]\n\nThe passages just before and after St. John's splendid\nannunciation[215] in our text are occupied with the subject of\nAntichrist, here first mentioned in Scripture. In this section of our\nEpistle Antichrist is (1) _revealed_, and (2) _refuted_.\n\n(1) Antichrist is revealed by the very crisis which the Church was then\ntraversing. From this especially, from the transitory character of a\nworld drifting by them in unceasing mutation, the Apostle is led to\nconsider this as one of those crisis-hours of the Church's history, each\nof which may be _the_ last hour, and which is assuredly--in the language\nof primitive Christianity--_a_ last hour. The Apostle therefore exclaims\nwith fatherly affection--\"Little children, it is a last hour.\"[216]\n\nDeep in the heart of the Apostolic Church, because it came from those\nwho had received it from Christ, there was one awful anticipation. St.\nJohn in this passage gives it a name. He remembers Who had told the Jews\nthat \"if another shall come in his own name, him ye will receive.\"[217]\nHe can announce to them that \"as ye have heard this Antichrist cometh,\neven so now\" (precisely as ye have heard) \"many antichrists have come\ninto existence and are around you, whereby we know that it is a last\nhour.\" The _name_ Antichrist occurs only in these Epistles, and seems\npurposely intended to denote both one who occupies the place of Christ,\nand one who is against Christ. In \"the Antichrist\" the antichristian\nprinciple is personally concentrated. The conception of\nrepresentative-men is one which has become familiar to modern students\nof the philosophy of history. Such representative-men, at once the\nproducts of the past, moulders of the present, and creative of the\nfuture, sum up in themselves tendencies and principles good and evil,\nand project them in a form equally compacted and intensified into the\ncoming generations. Shadows and anticipations of Antichrist the holiest\nof the Church's sons have sometimes seen, even in the high places of the\nChurch. But it is evident that as yet the Antichrist has not come. For\nwherever St. John mentions this fearful impersonation of evil, he\nconnects the manifestation of his influence with absolute denial of the\ntrue Manhood, of the Messiahship, of the everlasting sonship of Jesus,\nof the Father, Who is His and our Father.[218] In negation of the\nPersonality of God, in the substitution of a glittering but unreal idea\nof human goodness and active philanthropy for the historical Christ, we\nof this age may not improbably hear his advancing footsteps, and foresee\nthe advent of a day when antichristianity shall find its great\nrepresentative-man.\n\n(2) Antichrist is also refuted by a principle common to the life of\nChristians and by its result.\n\nThe principle by which he is refuted is a gift of insight lodged in\nthe Church at large, and partaken of by all faithful souls.\n\nA hint of a solemn crisis had been conveyed to the Christians of Asia\nMinor by secessions from the great Christian community. \"They went out\nfrom us, but they were not of us; for if they had been of us, they\nwould have continued with us (which they did not, but went out) that\nthey might be made manifest that not all are of us.\"[219] Not only\nthis. \"Yea further, ye yourselves have a hallowing oil from Him who is\nhallowed, a chrism from the Christ, an unction from the Holy One,\neven from the Son of God.\" Chrism (as we are reminded by the most\naccurate of scholars) is always the _material_ with which anointing is\nperformed, never the _act_ of anointing; it points to the unction of\nprophets, priests and kings under the Old Testament, in whose\nsacrifices and mystic language oil symbolises the Holy Spirit as the\nspirit of joy and freedom. Quite possibly there may be some allusion\nto a literal use of oil in Baptism and Confirmation, which began at a\nvery early period;[220] though it is equally possible that the\nmaterial may have arisen from the spiritual, and not in the reverse\norder. But beyond all question the real predominant reference is to\nthe Holy Ghost. In the chrism here mentioned there is a feature\ncharacteristic of St. John's style. For there is first a faint\nprelusive note which (as we find in several other important\nsubjects[221]) is faintly struck and seems to die away, but is\nafterwards taken up, and more fully brought out. The full distinct\nmention of the Holy Spirit comes like a burst of the music of the\n\"Veni Creator,\" carrying on the fainter prelude when it might seem to\nhave been almost lost. The first reverential, almost timid hint, is\nsucceeded by another, brief but significant--almost dogmatically\nexpressive of the relation of the Holy Spirit to Christ as _His_\nChrism, \"the Chrism of Him.\"[222] We shall presently have a direct\nmention of the Holy Ghost. \"Hereby we know that He abideth in us,\nfrom the Spirit which He gave us.\"[223]\n\nAntichrist is refuted by a result of this great principle of the life\nof the Holy Spirit in the living Church. \"Ye have\" chrism from the\nChrist; Antichrist shall not lay his unhallowing disanointing hand\nupon you. As a result of this, \"ye know all things.\"[224]\n\nHow are we to understand this startling expression?\n\nIf we receive any teachers as messengers commissioned by God, it is\nevident that their message must be communicated to us through the\nmedium of human language. They come to us with minds that have been in\ncontact with a _Mind_ of infinite knowledge, and deliver utterances of\nuniversal import. They are therefore under an obligation to use\nlanguage which is capable of being misunderstood by some persons. Our\nLord and His Apostles so spoke at times. Two very different classes of\nmen constantly misinterpret words like those of our text. The\nrationalist does so with a sinister smile; the fanatic with a cry of\nhysterical triumph. The first may point his epigram with effective\nreference to the exaggerated promise which is belied by the ignorance\nof so many ardent believers; the second may advance his absurd claim\nto personal infallibility in all things spiritual. Yet an Apostle\ncalmly says--\"ye have an unction from the Holy One, and ye know all\nthings.\" This, however, is but another asterisk directing the eye to\nthe Master's promise in the Gospel, which is at once the warrant and\nthe explanation of the utterance here. \"The Holy Ghost, whom the\nFather will send in My name, He shall _teach you all things_, and\nbring all things to your remembrance, _whatsoever I have said unto\nyou_.\"[225] The express limitation of the Saviour's promise is the\nimplied limitation of St. John's statement. \"The Holy Ghost has been\nsent, according to this unfailing pledge. He teaches you (and, if He\nteaches, you know) all things which Christ has said, as far as their\nsubstance is written down in a true record--all things of the new\ncreation spoken by our Lord, preserved by the help of the Spirit in\nthe memories of chosen witnesses with unfading freshness, by the same\nSpirit unfolded and interpreted to you.\"\n\nWe should observe in what spirit and to whom St. John speaks.\n\nHe does not speak in the strain which would be adopted by a missionary\nin addressing men lately brought out of heathenism into the fold of\nChrist. He does not like a modern preacher or tract-writer at once\ndivide his observations into two parts, one for the converted, one for\nthe unconverted; all are his \"dear ones\" as beloved, his \"sons\" as\nbrought into close spiritual relationship with himself. He classes\nthem simply as young and old, with their respective graces of strength\nand knowledge. All are looked upon as \"abiding\"; almost the one\nexhortation is to abide unto the end in a condition upon which all\nhave already entered, and in which some have long continued. We feel\nthroughout the calmness and assurance of a spiritual teacher writing\nto Christian men who had either been born in the atmosphere of\nChristian tradition, or had lived in it for many years. They are again\nand again appealed to on the ground of a common Christian\nconfidence--\"we know.\" They have all the articles of the Christian\ncreed, the great inheritance of a faithful summary of the words and\nworks of Christ. The Gospel which Paul at first preached in Asia Minor\nwas the starting point of the truth which remained among them,\nillustrated, expanded, applied, but absolutely unaltered.[226] What\nthe Christians whom St. John has in view really want is the revival of\nfamiliar truths, not the impartation of new. No spiritual voyage or\ndiscovery is needed; they have only to explore well-known regions. The\nmemory and the affections must be stimulated. The truths which have\nbecome \"cramped and bed-ridden\" in the dormitory of the soul must\nacquire elasticity from exercise. The accumulation of ashes must be\nblown away, and the spark of fire beneath fanned into flame. This\ncapacity of revival, of expansion, of quickened life, of developed\ntruth, is in the unction common to the faithful, in the latent\npossibilities of the new birth. The same verse to which we have before\nreferred as the best interpreter of this should be consulted\nagain.[227] There is an instructive distinction between the\ntenses--\"as His unction _is teaching_\"--\"as it _taught_ you.\"[228] The\nteaching was once for all, the creed definite and fixed, the body of\ntruth a sum-total looked upon as one. \"The unction _taught_.\" Once for\nall the Holy Spirit made known the Incarnation and stamped the\nrecorded words of Christ with His seal. But there are depths of\nthought about His person which need to be reverently explored. There\nis an energy in His work which was not exhausted in the few years of\nits doing, and which is not imprisoned within the brief chronicle in\nwhich it is written. There is a spirit and a life in His words. In one\naspect they have the strength of the tornado, which advances in a\nnarrow line; but every foot of the column, as if armed with a tooth of\nsteel, grinds and cuts into pieces all which resists it. Those words\nhave also depths of tenderness, depths of wisdom, into which eighteen\ncenturies have looked down and never yet seen the last of their\nmeaning. Advancing time does but broaden the interpretation of the\nwisdom and the sympathy of those words. Applications of their\nsignificance are being discovered by Christian souls in forms as new\nand manifold as the claims of human need. The Church collectively is\nlike one sanctified mind meditating incessantly upon the Incarnation;\nattaining more and more to an understanding of that character as it\nwidens in a circle of glory round the form of its historical\nmanifestation--considering how those words may be applied not only to\nself but to humanity. The new wants of each successive generation\nbring new help out of that inexhaustible store. The Church may have\n\"decided opinions\"; but she has not the \"deep slumber\" which is said\nto accompany them. How can _she_ be fast asleep who is ever learning\nfrom a teacher Who is always supplying her with fresh and varied\nlessons? The Church must be ever learning, because the anointing\nwhich \"taught\" once for all is also ever \"teaching.\"\n\nThis profound saying is therefore chiefly true of Christians as a\nwhole. Yet each individual believer may surely have a part in it.\n\"There is a teacher in the heart who has also a chair in heaven.\" \"The\nHoly Spirit who dwells in the justified soul,\" says a pious writer,\n\"is a great director.\" May we not add that He is a great catechist? In\ndifficulties, whether worldly, intellectual, or spiritual, thousands\nfor a time helpless and ignorant, in presence of difficulties through\nwhich they could not make their way, have found with surprise how true\nin the sequel our text has become to them.\n\nFor we all know how different things, persons, truths, ideas may\nbecome, as they are seen at different times and in different lights,\nas they are seen in relation to God and truth or outside that\nrelation. The bread in Holy Communion is unchanged in _substance_; but\nsome new and glorious relation is superadded to it. It is devoted by\nits consecration to the noblest _use_ manward and Godward, so that St.\nPaul speaks of it with hushed reverence as \"_The Body_.\"[229] It seems\nto be a part of the same law that some one--once perhaps frivolous,\ncommon-place, sinful--is taken into the hand of the great High Priest,\nbroken with sorrow and penitence, and blessed; and thereafter he is at\nonce personally the same, and yet another higher and better by that\nawful consecration to another use. So again with some truth of creed\nor catechism which we have fallen into the fallacy of supposing that\nwe know because it is familiar. It may be a truth that is sweet or\none that is tremendous. It awaits its consecration, its blessing, its\ntransformation into a something which in itself is the same yet which\nis other to us. That is to say, the familiar truth is old, in itself,\nin substance and expression. It needs no other, and can have no better\nformula. To change the formula would be to alter the truth; but to us\nit is taught newly with a fuller and nobler exposition by the unction\nwhich is \"ever teaching,\" whereby we \"know all things.\"\n\n\n                                NOTES.\n\n                            Ch. ii. 18-28.\n\nVer. 18. A _last hour_,] \u03b5\u03c3\u03c7\u03b1\u03c4\u03b7 \u1f61\u03c1\u03b1. \"Hour\" is used in all St. John's\nwritings of a definite point of time, which is also providentially\nfixed. (Cf. John xvii. 1; Apoc. iii. 3.) In something of this elevated\nsignification Shakespeare appears to employ the word in _The Tempest_\nin relation to his own life:\n\n      _Prospero._ \"How's the day?\"\n\n      _Ariel._ \"On the _sixth hour_; at which time, my lord,\n      You said our work should cease.\"\n\nEach decade of years is here looked upon as a providentially fixed\nduration of time. The poet intended to retire from the work of\nimaginative poetry when his life should draw on towards sixty years of\nage.\n\nVer. 19. \"It doth not appear, nor is it probable, that these\nantichrists, when gone out from the Apostles, did still pretend to the\northodox faith; and therefore no need for the Apostle to make any\nprovision against it. Nay, it is plainly intimated by the following\ndiscourse, that these antichrists being gone forth, did set themselves\nexpressly, directly, against the orthodox, denying that Jesus, whom\nthey did profess, to be the Christ; and therefore the design of this\nclause is most rationally conceived to be the prevention of that\nscandal which their horrid apostasy might give to weak Christians; nor\ncould anything more effectually prevent or remove it, than to let them\nknow that these antichristian apostates were never true stars in the\nfirmament of the Church, but only blazing comets, as their falling\naway did evidently demonstrate.\"--_Dean Hardy_, 309.\n\nVer. 19. To use the words of a once famous controversial divine, they\nmay be said to be \"of the Church presumptively in their own, and\nothers' opinion, but not really.\" (_Spalat., lib._ vii., 10, cf. on\nthe whole subject, _St. Aug. Lib. de Bono. Persev._, viii.)\n\n\"Let no one count that the good can go forth from the Church; the wind\ncannot carry away the wheat, nor the storm overthrow the solidly\nrooted tree. The light chaff is tossed by the wind, the weak trees go\ndown before the blast. 'They went out from us, but they were not of\nus.'\"--_S. Cyp., B. de Simplic._\n\nVer. 24. _Ye shall abide in the Son, and in the Father._] \"If it be\nasked why the Son is put before the Father, the answer is well\nreturned. Because the Apostle had just before inveighed against those\nwho, though they pretended to acknowledge the Father, yet deny the\nSon. Though withal there may besides be a double reason assigned: the\none to insinuate that the Son is not less than the Father, but that\nthey are equal in essence and dignity. Upon this account most probable\nit is that the apostolical benediction beginneth with 'The grace of\nour Lord Jesus Christ,' and then followeth 'the love of God the\nFather.' The other, because, as Beda well glosseth, No man cometh in,\nor continueth in, the Father but by the Son, who saith of Himself, 'I\nam the way, the truth, and the life.'\n\n\"To draw it up, lo, here _Eximia laus doctrin\u00e6_, an high commendation\nof evangelical doctrine, that it leads up to Christ, and by Him to the\nFather. The water riseth as high as the spring from whence it floweth.\nNo wonder if the gospel, which cometh from God through Christ, lead us\nback again through Christ to God; and as by hearing and believing this\ndoctrine we are united to, so by adhering to, and persevering in it,\nwe continue in, the Son and the Father. Suitable to this is that\npromise of our blessed Saviour, John xiv. 23, 'If any man love Me he\nwill keep My word, and My Father will love him, and we will come to\nhim and make our abode with him.'\"--_Dean Hardy_, 350.\n\nVer. 27. The connection of the whole section is well traced by the old\ndivine, whose commentary closes a little below.\n\n\"If you compare these three with the eight foregoing verses, you shall\nfind them to be a summary repetition of what is there more largely\ndelivered. There are three hinges upon which the precedent discourse\nturneth, namely, the peril of antichristian doctrine, the benefit of\nthe Spirit's unction, the duty of perseverance in the Christian faith;\nand these three are inculcated in these verses. Indeed, where the\ndanger is very great, the admonition cannot be too frequent. When the\nbenefit is of singular advantage, it would be often considered, and a\nduty which must be performed cannot be too much pressed. No wonder if\nSt. John proposed them in this gemination to our second thoughts. And\nyet it is not a naked repetition neither, but such as hath a variation\nand amplification in every particular. The duty is reinforced at the\neight-and-twentieth verse, but in another phrase, of 'abiding in\nChrist,' and with a new motive, drawn from the second coming of\nChrist. The benefit is reiterated, and much amplified, in the\nseven-and-twentieth verse, as to its excellency and energy. Finally,\nthe danger is repeated, but with another description of those by whom\nthey were in danger; whilst as before he had called them antichrists\nfor their enmity against Christ, so here, for their malignity against\nChristians, he calleth them seducers: 'These things have I written to\nyou concerning them that seduce you,' etc.\"--_Dean Hardy_, 357.\n\nFOOTNOTES:\n\n[213] The \u03bf\u03c5\u03bd in ver. 24 is not recognised by the R. V. nor adopted in\nProfessor Westcott's text. One uncial (A), however, inserts it in 1\nJohn iv. 19. It occurs in 3 John 8. This inferential particle is found\nwith unusual frequency in St. John's Gospel. It does not seem\nsatisfactory to account for this by calling it \"one of the beginnings\nof modern Greek.\" (B. de Xivrey.) By St. John as an _historian_, the\nfrequent _therefore_ is the spontaneous recognition of a Divine logic\nof events; of the necessary yet natural sequence of every incident in\nthe life of the \"Word made Flesh.\" The \u03bf\u03c5\u03bd expresses something more\nthan continuity of narrative. It indicates a connection of events so\ninterlinked that each springs from, and is joined with, the preceding,\nas if it were a conclusion which followed from the premiss of the\nDivine argument. Now a mind which views _history_ in this light is\njust the mind which will be _dogmatic_ in theology. The inspired\ndogmatic theologian will necessarily write in a style different from\nthat of the theologian of the Schools. The style of the former will be\n_oracular_; that of the latter will be _scholastic, i.e._,\ninferential, a concatenation of syllogisms. The syllogistic \u03bf\u03c5\u03bd is\nthen naturally absent from St. John's Epistles. The one undoubted\nexception is 3 John 8, where a practical inference is drawn from an\nhistorical statement in ver. 7. The writer may be allowed to refer to\n_The Speaker's Commentary_, iv., 381.\n\n[214] Jer. xxxi. 34.\n\n[215] Vers. 18, 22.\n\n[216] The last hour is not a date arbitrarily chosen and written down\nas a man might mark a day for an engagement in a calendar. It is\ndetermined by history--by the sum-total of the product of the actions\nof men who are not the slaves of fatality, who possess free-will, and\nare not forced to act in a particular way. It is supposed to derogate\nfrom the Divine mission of the Apostles if we admit that they might be\nmistaken as to the chronology of the closing hour of time. But to know\nthat supreme instant would involve a knowledge of the whole plan of\nGod and the whole predetermining motives in the appointment of that\nday, _i.e._, it would constructively involve _omniscience_. Cf. Mark\nxiii. 32, and our Lord's profound saying, Acts i. 7.\n\n[217] John v. 43.\n\n[218] 1 John ii. 22, iv. 2, 3; 2 John 7-9.\n\n[219] Ver. 19.\n\n[220] Bingham's _Antiquities_, i., 462-524, 565.\n\n[221] For other instances of this characteristic, see a subject\n_introduced_ ii. 29, _expanded_ iii. 9--another subject _introduced_\niii. 21, _expanded_ v. 14.\n\n[222] \u03c4\u03bf \u03b1\u03c5\u03c4\u03bf\u03c5 \u03c7\u03c1\u03b9\u03c3\u03bc\u03b1, ver. 27, _not_ \u03c4\u03bf \u03b1\u03c5\u03c4\u03bf (\"the same anointing,\" A.\nV.) \"This most unusual order throws a strong emphasis on the pronoun.\"\n(Prof. Westcott.) The writer thankfully quotes this as it seems to him\nto bring out the dogmatic significance of the word, emphasised as it is\nby this unusual order--the chrism, the Spirit of _Him_.\n\n[223] 1 John iii. 24.\n\n[224] The reading of the A. V. is received into Tischendorf's text and\nadopted by the R. V. Another reading omits \u03ba\u03b1\u03b9 and substitutes \u03c0\u03b1\u03bd\u03c4\u03b5\u03c2\nfor \u03c0\u03b1\u03bd\u03c4\u03b1 so that the passage would run thus, \"Ye have an unction from\nthe Holy One. Ye all know (I have not written unto you because ye know\nnot) the truth.\" As far as the difficulty of \u03c0\u03b1\u03bd\u03c4\u03b1 is concerned,\nnothing is gained by the change, as the statement recurs in a slightly\nvaried form in ver. 27.\n\n[225] John xiv. 26.\n\n[226] \"Let that abide in you which ye heard from the beginning,\" 1\nJohn ii. 24. Cf. \"Testifying that this is the true grace of God\nwherein ye stand,\" 1 Pet. v. 12. \"Even as our beloved brother Paul has\nwritten unto you,\" 2 Pet. iii. 15. St. Paul has thus the attestation\nof St. John as well as of St. Peter.\n\n[227] Ver. 27\n\n[228] \u03b4\u03b9\u03b4\u03b1\u03c3\u03ba\u03b5\u03b9--\u03b5\u03b4\u03b9\u03b4\u03b1\u03be\u03b5\u03bd.\n\n[229] 1 Cor. xi. 29.\n\n\n\n\n                              SECTION V.\n\n\n          GREEK.                           LATIN.\n\n  \u03b5\u03b1\u03bd \u03b5\u03b9\u03b4\u03b7\u03c4\u03b5 \u1f41\u03c4\u03b9                     Si scitis quoniam\n  \u03b4\u03b9\u03ba\u03b1\u03b9\u03bf\u03c2 \u03b5\u03c3\u03c4\u03b9\u03bd, \u03b3\u03b9\u03bd\u03c9\u03c3\u03ba\u03b5\u03c4\u03b5 \u1f41\u03c4\u03b9       iustus est, scitote quoniam\n  \u03c0\u03b1\u03c2 \u1f41 \u03c0\u03bf\u03b9\u03c9\u03bd \u03c4\u03b7\u03bd \u03b4\u03b9\u03ba\u03b1\u03b9\u03bf\u03c3\u03c5\u03bd\u03b7\u03bd        omnis qui facit\n  \u03b5\u03be \u03b1\u03c5\u03c4\u03bf\u03c5 \u03b3\u03b5\u03b3\u03b5\u03bd\u03bd\u03b7\u03c4\u03b1\u03b9.               iustitiam ex ipso natus\n  \u0399\u03b4\u03b5\u03c4\u03b5 \u03c0\u03bf\u03c4\u03b1\u03c0\u03b7\u03bd \u03b1\u03b3\u03b1\u03c0\u03b7\u03bd               est. Videte qualem\n  \u03b4\u03b5\u03b4\u03c9\u03ba\u03b5\u03bd \u1f21\u03bc\u03b9\u03bd \u1f41 \u03c0\u03b1\u03c4\u03b7\u03c1, \u1f31\u03bd\u03b1          caritatem dedit nobis\n  \u03c4\u03b5\u03ba\u03bd\u03b1 \u0398\u03b5\u03bf\u03c5 \u03ba\u03bb\u03b7\u03b8\u03c9\u03bc\u03b5\u03bd, \u03ba\u03b1\u03b9           Pater ut filii Dei nominemur\n  \u03b5\u03c3\u03bc\u03b5\u03bd. \u03b4\u03b9\u03b1 \u03c4\u03bf\u03c5\u03c4\u03bf \u1f41 \u03ba\u03bf\u03c3\u03bc\u03bf\u03c2          et simus.\n  \u03bf\u03c5 \u03b3\u03b9\u03bd\u03c9\u03c3\u03ba\u03b5\u03b9 \u1f21\u03bc\u03b1\u03c2, \u1f41\u03c4\u03b9 \u03bf\u03c5\u03ba          Propter hoc mundus\n  \u03b5\u03b3\u03bd\u03c9 \u03b1\u03c5\u03c4\u03bf\u03bd. \u0391\u03b3\u03b1\u03c0\u03b7\u03c4\u03bf\u03b9,              non novit nos, quia non\n  \u03bd\u03c5\u03bd \u03c4\u03b5\u03ba\u03bd\u03b1 \u0398\u03b5\u03bf\u03c5 \u03b5\u03c3\u03bc\u03b5\u03bd,              novit eum. Carissimi,\n  \u03ba\u03b1\u03b9 \u03bf\u03c5\u03c0\u03c9 \u03b5\u03c6\u03b1\u03bd\u03b5\u03c1\u03c9\u03b8\u03b7                 nunc filii Dei sumus\n  \u03c4\u03b9 \u03b5\u03c3\u03bf\u03bc\u03b5\u03b8\u03b1\u00b7 \u03bf\u03b9\u03b4\u03b1\u03bc\u03b5\u03bd                et nondum apparuit\n  \u1f41\u03c4\u03b9 \u03b5\u03b1\u03bd \u03c6\u03b1\u03bd\u03b5\u03c1\u03c9\u03b8\u03b7                   quid erimus. Scimus\n  \u1f41\u03bc\u03bf\u03b9\u03bf\u03b9 \u03b1\u03c5\u03c4\u03c5 \u03b5\u03c3\u03bf\u03bc\u03b5\u03b8\u03b1,               quoniam cum apparuerit\n  \u1f41\u03c4\u03b9 \u03bf\u03c8\u03bf\u03bc\u03b5\u03b8\u03b1 \u03b1\u03c5\u03c4\u03bf\u03bd \u03ba\u03b1\u03b8\u03c9\u03c2            similes ei erimus,\n  \u03b5\u03c3\u03c4\u03b9\u03bd. \u03ba\u03b1\u03b9 \u03c0\u03b1\u03c2 \u1f41 \u03b5\u03c7\u03c9\u03bd              quoniam videbimus\n  \u03c4\u03b7\u03bd \u03b5\u03bb\u03c0\u03b9\u03b4\u03b1 \u03c4\u03b1\u03c5\u03c4\u03b7\u03bd \u03b5\u03c0'              eum sicuti est. Et\n  \u03b1\u03c5\u03c4\u03c5 \u03b1\u03b3\u03bd\u03b9\u03b6\u03b5\u03b9 \u03b5\u03b1\u03c5\u03c4\u03bf\u03bd                omnis qui habet spem\n  \u03ba\u03b1\u03b8\u03c9\u03c2 \u03b5\u03ba\u03b5\u03b9\u03bd\u03bf\u03c2 \u03b1\u03b3\u03bd\u03bf\u03c2 \u03b5\u03c3\u03c4\u03b9\u03bd.         hanc in eo sanctificat se,\n  \u03a0\u03b1\u03c2 \u1f41 \u03c0\u03bf\u03b9\u03c9\u03bd \u03c4\u03b7\u03bd \u1f01\u03bc\u03b1\u03c1\u03c4\u03b9\u03b1\u03bd           sicut et ille sanctus est.\n  \u03ba\u03b1\u03b9 \u03c4\u03b7\u03bd \u03b1\u03bd\u03bf\u03bc\u03b9\u03b1\u03bd                    Omnis qui facit peccatum\n  \u03c0\u03bf\u03b9\u03b5\u03b9\u00b7 \u03ba\u03b1\u03b9 \u1f21 \u03b1\u03bc\u03b1\u03c1\u03c4\u03b9\u03b1               et iniquitatem facit,\n  \u03b5\u03c3\u03c4\u03b9\u03bd \u1f21 \u03b1\u03bd\u03bf\u03bc\u03b9\u03b1. \u03ba\u03b1\u03b9                et peccatum est iniquitas.\n  \u03bf\u03b9\u03b4\u03b1\u03c4\u03b5 \u1f41\u03c4\u03b9 \u03b5\u03ba\u03b5\u03b9\u03bd\u03bf\u03c2                 Et scitis quoniam\n  \u03b5\u03c6\u03b1\u03bd\u03b5\u03c1\u03c9\u03b8\u03b7 \u1f31\u03bd\u03b1 \u03c4\u03b1\u03c2 \u1f01\u03bc\u03b1\u03c1\u03c4\u03b9\u03b1\u03c2         ille apparuit ut\n  \u03b1\u03c1\u03b7, \u03ba\u03b1\u03b9 \u1f01\u03bc\u03b1\u03c1\u03c4\u03b9\u03b1 \u03b5\u03bd \u03b1\u03c5\u03c4\u03c9           peccata tolerit, et peccatum\n  \u03bf\u03c5\u03ba \u03b5\u03c3\u03c4\u03b9\u03bd. \u03c0\u03b1\u03c2 \u1f41 \u03b5\u03bd \u03b1\u03c5\u03c4\u03c9           in eo non est.\n  \u03bc\u03b5\u03bd\u03c9\u03bd \u03bf\u03c5\u03c7 \u1f01\u03bc\u03b1\u03c1\u03c4\u03b1\u03bd\u03b5\u03b9\u00b7               Omnis qui in eo manet\n  \u03c0\u03b1\u03c2 \u1f41 \u1f01\u03bc\u03b1\u03c1\u03c4\u03b1\u03bd\u03c9\u03bd \u03bf\u03c5\u03c7                non peccat, et omnis\n  \u1f11\u03c9\u03c1\u03b1\u03ba\u03b5\u03bd \u03b1\u03c5\u03c4\u03bf\u03bd \u03bf\u03c5\u03b4\u03b5                 qui peccat non videt\n  \u03b5\u03b3\u03bd\u03c9\u03ba\u03b5\u03bd \u03b1\u03c5\u03c4\u03bf\u03bd. \u03a0\u03b1\u03b9\u03b4\u03b9\u03b1,             eum nec cognovit eum.\n  \u03bc\u03b7\u03b4\u03b5\u03b9\u03c2 \u03c0\u03bb\u03b1\u03bd\u03b1\u03c4\u03c9 \u1f51\u03bc\u03b1\u03c2\u00b7               Filioli, nemo vos seducat.\n  \u1f41 \u03c0\u03bf\u03b9\u03c9\u03bd \u03c4\u03b7\u03bd \u03b4\u03b9\u03ba\u03b1\u03b9\u03bf\u03c3\u03c5\u03bd\u03b7\u03bd            Qui facit iustitiam,\n  \u03b4\u03b9\u03ba\u03b1\u03b9\u03bf\u03c2 \u03b5\u03c3\u03c4\u03b9\u03bd, \u03ba\u03b1\u03b8\u03c9\u03c2               iustus est,\n  \u03b5\u03ba\u03b5\u03b9\u03bd\u03bf\u03c2 \u03b4\u03b9\u03ba\u03b1\u03b9\u03bf\u03c2 \u03b5\u03c3\u03c4\u03b9\u03bd.             sicut et ille iustus est:\n  \u1f41 \u03c0\u03bf\u03b9\u03c9\u03bd \u03c4\u03b7\u03bd \u1f01\u03bc\u03b1\u03c1\u03c4\u03b9\u03b1\u03bd               qui facit peccatum, ex\n  \u03b5\u03ba \u03c4\u03bf\u03c5 \u03b4\u03b9\u03b1\u03b2\u03bf\u03bb\u03bf\u03c5 \u03b5\u03c3\u03c4\u03b9\u03bd,             diabolo est quoniam\n  \u1f41\u03c4\u03b9 \u03b1\u03c0' \u03b1\u03c1\u03c7\u03b7\u03c2 \u1f41 \u03b4\u03b9\u03b1\u03b2\u03bf\u03bb\u03bf\u03c2           ab initio diabolus\n  \u1f01\u03bc\u03b1\u03c1\u03c4\u03b1\u03bd\u03b5\u03b9. \u03b5\u03b9\u03c2 \u03c4\u03bf\u03c5\u03c4\u03bf               peccat. In hoc apparuit\n  \u03b5\u03c6\u03b1\u03bd\u03b5\u03c1\u03c9\u03b8\u03b7 \u1f41 \u03c5\u03b9\u03bf\u03c2 \u03c4\u03bf\u03c5               Filius Dei, ut\n  \u0398\u03b5\u03bf\u03c5, \u1f31\u03bd\u03b1 \u03bb\u03c5\u03c3\u03b7 \u03c4\u03b1 \u03b5\u03c1\u03b3\u03b1             dissolvat opera diaboli.\n  \u03c4\u03bf\u03c5 \u03b4\u03b9\u03b1\u03b2\u03bf\u03bb\u03bf\u03c5. \u03c0\u03b1\u03c2 \u1f41                Omnis qui natus est\n  \u03b3\u03b5\u03b3\u03b5\u03bd\u03bd\u03b7\u03bc\u03b5\u03bd\u03bf\u03c2 \u03b5\u03ba \u03c4\u03bf\u03c5                ex Deo peccatum non\n  \u0398\u03b5\u03bf\u03c5 \u1f01\u03bc\u03b1\u03c1\u03c4\u03b9\u03b1\u03bd \u03bf\u03c5 \u03c0\u03bf\u03b9\u03b5\u03b9,            facit, quoniam semen\n  \u1f41\u03c4\u03b9 \u03c3\u03c0\u03b5\u03c1\u03bc\u03b1 \u03b1\u03c5\u03c4\u03bf\u03c5 \u03b5\u03bd                ipsius in eo manet, et\n  \u03b1\u03c5\u03c4\u03c9 \u03bc\u03b5\u03bd\u03b5\u03b9\u00b7 \u03ba\u03b1\u03b9 \u03bf\u03c5                 non potest peccare,\n  \u03b4\u03c5\u03bd\u03b1\u03c4\u03b1\u03b9 \u1f01\u03bc\u03b1\u03c1\u03c4\u03b1\u03bd\u03b5\u03b9\u03bd, \u1f41\u03c4\u03b9            quoniam ex Deo natus est.\n  \u03b5\u03ba \u03c4\u03bf\u03c5 \u0398\u03b5\u03bf\u03c5 \u03b3\u03b5\u03b3\u03b5\u03bd\u03bd\u03b7\u03c4\u03b1\u03b9.\n\n\n     AUTHORISED VERSION.                  REVISED VERSION.\n\n  If ye know that He                 If ye know that He\n  is righteous, ye know              is righteous, ye know\n  that every one that                that every one also\n  doeth righteousness is             that doeth righteousness\n  born of Him. Behold,               is begotten of\n  what manner of love                Him. Behold, what\n  the Father hath bestowed           manner of love the\n  upon us, that                      Father hath bestowed\n  we should be called                upon us, that we\n  the sons of God:                   should be called children\n  therefore the world                of God: and _such_\n  knoweth us not, because            we are. For this cause\n  it knew Him not.                   the world knoweth us\n  Beloved, now are we                not, because it knew\n  the sons of God, and it            Him not. Beloved,\n  doth not yet appear                now are we children\n  what we shall be: but              of God, and it is not\n  we know that, when                 yet made manifest\n  He shall appear, we                what we shall be. We\n  shall be like Him; for             know that, if He shall\n  we shall see Him as He             be manifested, we shall\n  is. And every man                  be like Him; for we\n  that hath this hope in             shall see Him even as\n  Him purifieth himself,             He is. And every one\n  even as He is pure.                that hath this hope _set_\n  Whosoever committeth               on Him purifieth himself,\n  sin transgresseth also             even as He is\n  the law: for sin is the            pure. Every one that\n  transgression of the               doeth sin doeth also\n  law. And ye know                   lawlessness: and sin\n  that He was manifested             is lawlessness. And\n  to take away our sins;             ye know that He was\n  and in Him is no sin.              manifested to take\n  Whosoever abideth in               away sins; and in\n  Him sinneth not: whosoever         Him is no sin. Whosoever\n  sinneth hath                       abideth in Him\n  not seen Him, neither              sinneth not: whosoever\n  known Him. Little                  sinneth hath not\n  children, let no man               seen Him, neither\n  deceive you: he that               knoweth Him. _My_\n  doeth righteousness is             little children, let no\n  righteous, even as He              man lead you astray:\n  is righteous. He that              he that doeth righteousness\n  committeth sin is of the           is righteous,\n  devil; for the devil               even as He is righteous;\n  sinneth from the beginning.        he that doeth sin\n  For this purpose                   is of the devil; for the\n  the Son of God                     devil sinneth from the\n  was manifested, that               beginning. To this\n  He might destroy the               end was the Son of\n  works of the devil.                God manifested, that\n  Whosoever is born of               He might destroy the\n  God doth not commit                works of the devil.\n  sin: for His seed remaineth        Whosoever is begotten\n  in him: and                        of God doeth no sin,\n  he cannot sin, because             because His seed\n  he is born of God.                 abideth in him; and\n                                     he cannot sin, because\n                                     he is begotten of God.\n\n\n     ANOTHER VERSION.\n\n  If ye know that He\n  is righteous, ye are\n  aware that every one\n  who is doing righteousness\n  is born of\n  Him. Behold what\n  manner of love the\n  Father hath bestowed\n  upon us that we should\n  be called children of\n  God;--and we are.\n  Because of this the\n  world knoweth us\n  because it knew not\n  Him. Beloved, now\n  are we children of\n  God, and it never yet\n  was manifested what\n  we shall be; but we\n  know that if it shall\n  be manifested we\n  shall be like Him;\n  for we shall see Him\n  as He is. And everyone\n  that hath this hope\n  _fixed_ on Him is ever\n  purifying himself even\n  as He is pure. Every\n  one that is doing sin, is\n  also doing lawlessness;\n  and, _indeed_, sin is lawlessness.\n  And ye know\n  that He was manifested\n  that He should take\n  away sins; and sin in\n  Him is not. Whosoever\n  abideth in Him is\n  not sinning; every one\n  that is sinning hath\n  not seen Him neither\n  hath known Him.\n  Little children, let no\n  man mislead you; he\n  that is doing righteousness\n  is righteous, even\n  as He is righteous: he\n  that is doing sin is of\n  the devil, because the\n  devil is continually\n  sinning from the beginning.\n  Unto this end\n  the Son of God was\n  manifested that He\n  might destroy the\n  works of the devil.\n  Whosoever is born of\n  God is not doing sin\n  for his seed abideth in\n  Him, and he is not able\n  to be sinning, because\n  he is born of God.\n\n\n                                NOTES.\n\n                         Ch. ii. 29, iii. 9.\n\nIII. ver. 2. \"_Hope fixed in Him_\" or \"_on_ Him.\"] The English reader\nshould note the capital letter; not hope in our hearts, but hope\nunfastened from self. \u0395\u03c0\u03b9 \u03c3\u03bf\u03b9 \u039a\u03c5\u03c1\u03b9\u03b5 \u03b7\u03bb\u03c0\u03b9\u03c3\u03b1, is the LXX. translation of\nPsalm xxx. 1.\n\n_Is ever purifying himself._] \"See how he does not do away with\nfreewill; for he says _purifies himself_. Who purifies us but God? Yet\nGod does not purify you when you are unwilling; therefore in joining\nyour will to God you purify yourself.\" (St. Augustine _in loc._)\n\n_We shall be like Him; for we shall see Him as He is._] \"So then we\nare about to see a certain sight, excelling all beauties of the earth;\nthe beauty of gold, silver, forest, fields--the beauty of sea and air,\nsun and moon--the beauty of stars--the beauty of angels. Aye,\nexcelling all these, because all these are beautiful only for _it_.\nWhat, therefore, shall we be when we shall see all these? What is\npromised? _We shall be like Him; for we shall see Him as He is._ The\ntongue hath spoken as it could; let the rest be thought over by the\nheart\" (St. Augustine _in loc._). Cf. 2 Cor. iii. 18. \"As the whole\nbody, face, above all eyes of those who look towards the sun are\n_sunnied_\" (insolantur).--_Bengel._\n\nVer. 3. The ample stores of English divinity contain two sermons, one\nexcellent, one beautiful, upon this verse. The first is by Paley; it\nis founded upon the leading thought, which he expresses with his usual\nmanly common sense. \"There are a class of Christians to whom the\nadmonition of the text is peculiarly necessary. Finding it an easier\nthing to do good than to expel sins which cleave to their hearts,\ntheir affections, or their imaginations; they set their endeavours\nmore towards _beneficence_ than _purity_. Doing good is not the whole\nof our duty, nor the most difficult part of it. In particular it is\nnot that part of it which is insisted upon in our text.\" (Paley,\nSermon XLIII.) But the second sermon is perhaps the finest which ever\ncame from the pen of South, and he throws into it the full power of\nhis heart and intellect. The bare analysis is this:--\n\nIs it indeed possible for a man to \"purify himself\"? There is a\ntwofold work of purification. (1) The infusing of the habit of purity\ninto the soul (regeneration or conversion). In this respect, no man\ncan purify himself. (2) The other work of purification is exercising\nthat habit or grace of purity. \"God who made, and since new made us,\nwithout ourselves, will not yet save us without ourselves.\" But again,\nhow can a man purify himself to that degree _even as Christ is pure_?\n_Even as_ denotes similitude of kind, not equality of degree. We are\nto purify ourselves from the _power_ of sin, and from the _guilt_ of\nsin. Purification from the _power_ of sin consists in these things.\n(1) A continually renewed repentance. Every day, every hour, may\nafford matter for penitential sorrow. \"A fountain of sin may well\nrequire a fountain of sorrow.\" Converting repentance must be followed\nby daily repentance. (2) Purifying ourselves consists in vigilant\nprevention of acts of sin for the future. The means of effecting this\nare these. (_a_) Opposing the very first risings of the heart to sin.\n\"The bees may be at work, and very busy within, though we see none of\nthem fly abroad.\" (_b_) Severe mortifying duties, such as watchings\nand fastings. (_c_) Frequent and fervent prayer. \"A praying heart\nnaturally turns into a purified heart.\" We are to purify ourselves,\nalso, from the _guilt_ of sin. (1) Negatively. No duty or work within\nour power to perform can take away the guilt of sin. Those who think\nso, understand neither \"the fiery strictness of the law, nor the\nspirituality of the Gospel.\" (2) That which alone can purify us from\nthe _guilt_ of sin is applying the virtue of the blood of Christ to\nthe soul by renewed acts of faith. \"It is that alone that is able to\nwash away the deep stain, and to change the hue of the spiritual\nEthiopian.\" The last consideration is--how the life of heaven and\nfuture glory has such a sovereign influence upon this work? [This\nportion of the sermon falls far below the high standard of the rest,\nand entirely loses the spirit of St. John's thought.] South's\n_Sermons_. (Sermon 72, pp. 594-616.)\n\nVer. 6. _That He might destroy the works of the devil._] The word here\nused for Satan (\u03b4\u03b9\u03b1\u03b2\u03bf\u03bb\u03bf\u03c2) is found in John vii. 70, viii. 44, xiii. 2;\nApoc. ii. 10, xii. 9, 12, xx. 2, 10. One class of miracles is not\nspecifically recorded by St. John in his Gospel--the dispossession of\ndemoniacs. Probably this terrible affliction was less common in\nJerusalem than in Galilee. But the idea of possession is not foreign\nto his mode of thought. John vi. 70, viii. 44, 48, x. 20, xiii. 27. He\nhere points to the dispossessions, so many of which are recorded by\nthe Synoptics.\n\nIII. ver. 9. His _seed abideth in him_.] Of these words only two\ninterpretations appear to be fairly possible. (1) The first would\nunderstand \"His seed\" as \"_God's seed_,\" the stock or family of His\nchildren who are the true \u05d0\u05b1\u05dc\u05d4\u05b4\u05d9\u05dd \u05d6\u05b6\u05e8\u05e6, _seed of God_ (Mal. ii. 15). In\nfavour of this interpretation it may be urged: first, that \"seed\" in the\nsense of \"children, posterity, any one's entire stock and filiation,\" in\nperhaps nearly two hundred passages of the LXX., is the Greek rendering\nof many different Hebrew words. (See \u03c3\u03c0\u03b5\u03c1\u03bc\u03b1 in Num. xxiv. 20; Deut. xxv.\n1; Jer. l. 16; Gen. iii. 15; Isa. xiv. 20, 30, xv. 9; Num. xxiii. 10; 2\nChron. xiv. 27.) Secondly, no inapt meaning is given in the present text\nby so understanding the word. \"He is unable to go on in sin, for _God's_\ntrue stock and family (they who are true to the majesty of their birth)\nabide in Him.\" (2) But a second meaning appears preferable. \"Seed\"\n(\u03c3\u03c0\u03b5\u03c1\u03bc\u03b1) would then be understood as a metaphorical application of the\ngrain in the vegetable world which contains the possible germ of the\nfuture plant or tree; and would signify the possibility, or germinal\nprinciple, given by the Holy Spirit to the soul in regeneration. For\nthis signification in our passage there is a strong argument, which we\nhave not seen adverted to, in St. John's mode of language and of\nthought. \"His seed abideth in him\" (\u03c3\u03c0\u03b5\u03c1\u03bc\u03b1 \u03b1\u03c5\u03c4\u03bf\u03c5 \u03b5\u03bd \u03b1\u03c5\u03c4\u03c9 \u03bc\u03b5\u03bd\u03b5\u03b9) is\nreally a quotation from the LXX. (\u03bf\u03c5 \u03c4\u03bf \u03c3\u03c0\u03b5\u03c1\u03bc\u03b1 \u03b1\u03c5\u03c4\u03bf\u03c5 \u03b5\u03bd \u03b1\u03c5\u03c4\u03c9--note the\nrepetition of the words Gen. i. 11, 12). Now the Book of Genesis seems\nto have been the part of the Old Testament which (with the Psalms) was\nchiefly in St. John's mind in the Epistle. (Cf. 1 John i. 1, Gen. i.\n1.--iii. 8, Gen. ii.--iii. 12, Gen. iv. 8--iii. 15, Gen. xxvii. 41.) St.\nJohn, also, connects the new birth of the sons of God, as did our Lord,\nwith the birth of the creation, whose first germ was \"the Spirit of God\nmoving upon the face of the waters\" (Gen. i. 2; John iii. 5). This\nparallel between the first creation and the second, between creation and\nregeneration, has always commended itself to profound Christian exegesis\nas being deeply set in the mind of Scripture. Witness the magnificent\nlines.\n\n      Plebs ut sacra renascatur,\n      Per Hunc unda consecratur,\n      Cui super ferebatur\n        In rerum exordium.\n      Fons, origo pietatis,\n      Fons emundans a peccatis,\n      Fons de fonte Deitatis,\n        Fons sacrator fontium!\n           Adam of St. Victor, Seq. xx., _Pentecoste_.\n\nIt is instructive, to study the treatment of our Lord's words (John\niii. 5) by a commentator so little mystical as Professor Westcott. St.\nJohn, then, might point at this as another hint of regeneration in the\nparable of creation, viewed spiritually. The world of vegetation in\nGenesis is divided into two classes. (1) _Herbs_ \u05e6\u05b5\u05e9\u05b6\u05c2\u05d1 = all grasses\nand plants which \"_yield seed_.\" (2) _Trees_ \u05de\u05b0\u05bc\u05e8\u05b4\u05d9 \u05e6\u05b5\u05e5 = shrubs and\narboreous plants which have their seed enclosed in their fruit (Gen.\ni. 11, 12) Such are the plants of God's planting in His garden. Of\neach the \"seed\" from which he sprung, and which he will reproduce\nunless he becomes barren and blighted, \"is in him.\" \"He cannot sin.\"\nIt is against the basis of his new nature. Of the new creation as of\nthe old, the law is--\"his seed is in him.\"\n\nThe rest of this verse is interpreted in the Discourse upon 1 John v. 4.\n\n\n\n\n                             SECTION VI.\n\n\n          GREEK.                           LATIN.\n\n  \u0395\u03bd \u03c4\u03bf\u03c5\u03c4\u03c9 \u03c6\u03b1\u03bd\u03b5\u03c1\u03b1 \u03b5\u03c3\u03c4\u03b9\u03bd              In hoc manifesti sunt\n  \u03c4\u03b1 \u03c4\u03b5\u03ba\u03bd\u03b1 \u03c4\u03bf\u03c5 \u0398\u03b5\u03bf\u03c5 \u03ba\u03b1\u03b9              filii Dei et filii diaboli.\n  \u03c4\u03b1 \u03c4\u03b5\u03ba\u03bd\u03b1 \u03c4\u03bf\u03c5 \u03b4\u03b9\u03b1\u03b2\u03bf\u03bb\u03bf\u03c5.             Omnis qui non est\n  \u03a0\u03b1\u03c2 \u1f41 \u03bc\u03b7 \u03c0\u03bf\u03b9\u03c9\u03bd \u03b4\u03b9\u03ba\u03b1\u03b9\u03bf\u03c3\u03c5\u03bd\u03b7\u03bd         iustus non est ex Deo,\n  \u03bf\u03c5\u03ba \u03b5\u03c3\u03c4\u03b9\u03bd \u03b5\u03ba \u03c4\u03bf\u03c5                   et qui non diligit\n  \u0398\u03b5\u03bf\u03c5, \u03ba\u03b1\u03b9 \u1f41 \u03bc\u03b7 \u03b1\u03b3\u03b1\u03c0\u03c9\u03bd              fratrem suum; quoniam\n  \u03c4\u03bf\u03bd \u03b1\u03b4\u03b5\u03bb\u03c6\u03bf\u03bd \u03b1\u03c5\u03c4\u03bf\u03c5\u00b7 \u1f41\u03c4\u03b9             h\u00e6c est adnuntiatio\n  \u03b1\u03c5\u03c4\u03b7 \u03b5\u03c3\u03c4\u03b9\u03bd \u1f21 \u03b1\u03b3\u03b3\u03b5\u03bb\u03b9\u03b1               quam audistis ab\n  \u1f21\u03bd \u03b7\u03ba\u03bf\u03c5\u03c3\u03b1\u03c4\u03b5 \u03b1\u03c0' \u03b1\u03c1\u03c7\u03b7\u03c2,             initio, ut diligamus alterutrum,\n  \u1f31\u03bd\u03b1 \u03b1\u03b3\u03b1\u03c0\u03c9\u03bc\u03b5\u03bd \u03b1\u03bb\u03bb\u03b7\u03bb\u03bf\u03c5\u03c2\u00b7             non sicut\n  \u03bf\u03c5 \u03ba\u03b1\u03b8\u03c9\u03c2 \u039a\u03b1\u03b9\u03bd \u03b5\u03ba \u03c4\u03bf\u03c5               Cain ex maligno erat,\n  \u03c0\u03bf\u03bd\u03b7\u03c1\u03bf\u03c5 \u1f21\u03bd \u03ba\u03b1\u03b9 \u03b5\u03c3\u03c6\u03b1\u03be\u03b5              et occidit fratrem suum.\n  \u03c4\u03bf\u03bd \u03b1\u03b4\u03b5\u03bb\u03c6\u03bf\u03bd \u03b1\u03c5\u03c4\u03bf\u03c5\u00b7 \u03ba\u03b1\u03b9             Et propter quid occidit\n  \u03c7\u03b1\u03c1\u03b9\u03bd \u03c4\u03b9\u03bd\u03bf\u03c2 \u03b5\u03c3\u03c6\u03b1\u03be\u03b5\u03bd                eum? quoniam opera\n  \u03b1\u03c5\u03c4\u03bf\u03bd; \u1f41\u03c4\u03b9 \u03c4\u03b1 \u03b5\u03c1\u03b3\u03b1                 eius maligna erant,\n  \u03b1\u03c5\u03c4\u03bf\u03c5 \u03c0\u03bf\u03bd\u03b7\u03c1\u03b1 \u1f21\u03bd, \u03c4\u03b1                fratris autem eius\n  \u03b4\u03b5 \u03c4\u03bf\u03c5 \u03b1\u03b4\u03b5\u03bb\u03c6\u03bf\u03c5 \u03b1\u03c5\u03c4\u03bf\u03c5               iusta. Nolite mirari\n  \u03b4\u03b9\u03ba\u03b1\u03b9\u03b1. \u03bc\u03b7 \u03b8\u03b1\u03c5\u03bc\u03b1\u03b6\u03b5\u03c4\u03b5,              fratres si odit nos\n  \u03b1\u03b4\u03b5\u03bb\u03c6\u03bf\u03b9, \u03b5\u03b9 \u03bc\u03b9\u03c3\u03b5\u03b9 \u1f51\u03bc\u03b1\u03c2 \u1f41           mundus. Nos scimus\n  \u03ba\u03bf\u03c3\u03bc\u03bf\u03c2. \u1f29\u03bc\u03b5\u03b9\u03c2 \u03bf\u03b9\u03b4\u03b1\u03bc\u03b5\u03bd              quoniam translati\n  \u1f41\u03c4\u03b9 \u03bc\u03b5\u03c4\u03b1\u03b2\u03b5\u03b2\u03b7\u03ba\u03b1\u03bc\u03b5\u03bd \u03b5\u03ba               sumus de morte in\n  \u03c4\u03bf\u03c5 \u03b8\u03b1\u03bd\u03b1\u03c4\u03bf\u03c5 \u03b5\u03b9\u03c2 \u03c4\u03b7\u03bd                vitam, quoniam diligimus\n  \u03b6\u03c9\u03b7\u03bd, \u1f41\u03c4\u03b9 \u03b1\u03b3\u03b1\u03c0\u03c9\u03bc\u03b5\u03bd                 fratres: qui non\n  \u03c4\u03bf\u03c5\u03c2 \u03b1\u03b4\u03b5\u03bb\u03c6\u03bf\u03c5\u03c2\u00b7 \u1f41 \u03bc\u03b7                diligit, manet in morte.\n  \u03b1\u03b3\u03b1\u03c0\u03c9\u03bd \u03bc\u03b5\u03bd\u03b5\u03b9. \u03b5\u03bd \u03c4\u03c9                Omnis qui odit fratrem\n  \u03b8\u03b1\u03bd\u03b1\u03c4\u03c9\u00b7 \u03c0\u03b1\u03c2 \u1f41 \u03bc\u03b9\u03c3\u03c9\u03bd                suum homicida est, et\n  \u03c4\u03bf\u03bd \u03b1\u03b4\u03b5\u03bb\u03c6\u03bf\u03bd \u03b1\u03c5\u03c4\u03bf\u03c5                  scitis quoniam omnis\n  \u03b1\u03bd\u03b8\u03c1\u03c9\u03c0\u03bf\u03ba\u03c4\u03bf\u03bd\u03bf\u03c2 \u03b5\u03c3\u03c4\u03b9\u03bd\u00b7 \u03ba\u03b1\u03b9           homicida non habet\n  \u03bf\u03b9\u03b4\u03b1\u03c4\u03b5 \u1f41\u03c4\u03b9 \u03c0\u03b1\u03c2 \u03b1\u03bd\u03b8\u03c1\u03c9\u03c0\u03bf\u03ba\u03c4\u03bf\u03bd\u03bf\u03c2       vitam \u00e6ternam in se\n  \u03bf\u03c5\u03ba \u03b5\u03c7\u03b5\u03b9 \u03b6\u03c9\u03b7\u03bd                      manentem. In hoc\n  \u03b1\u03b9\u03c9\u03bd\u03b9\u03bf\u03bd \u03b5\u03bd \u03b1\u03c5\u03c4\u03c9 \u03bc\u03b5\u03bd\u03bf\u03c5\u03c3\u03b1\u03bd.          cognovimus caritatem\n  \u0395\u03bd \u03c4\u03bf\u03c5\u03c4\u03c9 \u03b5\u03b3\u03bd\u03c9\u03ba\u03b1\u03bc\u03b5\u03bd                 Dei, quoniam ille pro\n  \u03c4\u03b7\u03bd \u03b1\u03b3\u03b1\u03c0\u03b7\u03bd, \u1f41\u03c4\u03b9                    nobis animam suam\n  \u03b5\u03ba\u03b5\u03b9\u03bd\u03bf\u03c2 \u1f51\u03c0\u03b5\u03c1 \u1f21\u03bc\u03c9\u03bd \u03c4\u03b7\u03bd              posuit: et nos debemus\n  \u03c8\u03c5\u03c7\u03b7\u03bd \u03b1\u03c5\u03c4\u03bf\u03c5 \u03b5\u03b8\u03b7\u03ba\u03b5\u00b7 \u03ba\u03b1\u03b9           pro fratribus animas\n  \u1f21\u03bc\u03b5\u03b9\u03c2 \u03bf\u03c6\u03b5\u03b9\u03bb\u03bf\u03bc\u03b5\u03bd \u1f51\u03c0\u03b5\u03c1               ponere. Qui habuerit\n  \u03c4\u03c9\u03bd \u03b1\u03b4\u03b5\u03bb\u03c6\u03c9\u03bd \u03c4\u03b1\u03c2 \u03c8\u03c5\u03c7\u03b1\u03c2              substantiam mundi et\n  \u03b8\u03b5\u03b9\u03bd\u03b1\u03b9. \u1f41\u03c2 \u03b4' \u1f01\u03bd \u03b5\u03c7\u03b7               viderit fratrem suum\n  \u03c4\u03bf\u03bd \u03b2\u03b9\u03bf\u03bd \u03c4\u03bf\u03c5 \u03ba\u03bf\u03c3\u03bc\u03bf\u03c5                necesse habere et\n  \u03ba\u03b1\u03b9 \u03b8\u03b5\u03c9\u03c1\u03b7 \u03c4\u03bf\u03bd \u03b1\u03b4\u03b5\u03bb\u03c6\u03bf\u03bd              clauserit viscera sua ab\n  \u03b1\u03c5\u03c4\u03bf\u03c5 \u03c7\u03c1\u03b5\u03b9\u03b1\u03bd \u03b5\u03c7\u03bf\u03bd\u03c4\u03b1 \u03ba\u03b1\u03b9            eo, quomodo caritas\n  \u03ba\u03bb\u03b5\u03b9\u03c3\u03b7 \u03c4\u03b1 \u03c3\u03c0\u03bb\u03b1\u03b3\u03c7\u03bd\u03b1                 Dei manet in eo?\n  \u03b1\u03c5\u03c4\u03bf\u03c5 \u03b1\u03c0' \u03b1\u03c5\u03c4\u03bf\u03c5, \u03c0\u03c9\u03c2               Filioli non diligamus\n  \u1f21 \u03b1\u03b3\u03b1\u03c0\u03b7 \u03c4\u03bf\u03c5 \u0398\u03b5\u03bf\u03c5 \u03bc\u03b5\u03bd\u03b5\u03b9             verbo nec lingua sed\n  \u03b5\u03bd \u03b1\u03c5\u03c4\u03c9; \u03c4\u03b5\u03ba\u03bd\u03b9\u03b1 \u03bc\u03b7                 opere et veritate. In\n  \u03b1\u03b3\u03b1\u03c0\u03c9\u03bc\u03b5\u03bd \u03bb\u03bf\u03b3\u03c9 \u03bc\u03b7\u03b4\u03b5                 hoc cognovimus quoniam\n  \u03b3\u03bb\u03c9\u03c3\u03c3\u03b7, \u03b1\u03bb\u03bb' \u03b5\u03c1\u03b3\u03c9 \u03ba\u03b1\u03b9              ex veritate\n  \u03b1\u03bb\u03b7\u03b8\u03b5\u03b9\u03b1. \u039a\u03b1\u03b9 \u03b5\u03bd \u03c4\u03bf\u03c5\u03c4\u03c9              sumus: et in conspectu\n  \u03b3\u03b9\u03bd\u03c9\u03c3\u03ba\u03bc\u03b5\u03bd \u1f41\u03c4\u03b9 \u03b5\u03ba \u03c4\u03b7\u03c2               eius suademus corda\n  \u03b1\u03bb\u03b7\u03b8\u03b5\u03b9\u03b1\u03c2 \u03b5\u03c3\u03bc\u03b5\u03bd, \u03ba\u03b1\u03b9                nostra, quoniam si\n  \u03b5\u03bc\u03c0\u03c1\u03bf\u03c3\u03b8\u03b5\u03bd \u03b1\u03c5\u03c4\u03bf\u03c5 \u03c0\u03b5\u03b9\u03c3\u03bf\u03bc\u03b5\u03bd           reprehenderit nos cor\n  \u03c4\u03b1\u03c2 \u03ba\u03b1\u03c1\u03b4\u03b9\u03b1\u03c2 \u1f21\u03bc\u03c9\u03bd\u00b7                  nostrum, major est\n  \u1f41\u03c4\u03b9 \u03b5\u03b1\u03bd \u03ba\u03b1\u03c4\u03b1\u03b3\u03b9\u03bd\u03c9\u03c3\u03ba\u03b7                Deus corde nostro\n  \u1f21\u03bc\u03c9\u03bd \u1f21 \u03ba\u03b1\u03c1\u03b4\u03b9\u03b1, \u1f41\u03c4\u03b9                 et novit omnia. Carissimi\n  \u03bc\u03b5\u03b9\u03b6\u03c9\u03bd \u03b5\u03c3\u03c4\u03b9\u03bd \u1f41 \u0398\u03b5\u03bf\u03c2                si cor nostrum\n  \u03c4\u03b7\u03c2 \u03ba\u03b1\u03c1\u03b4\u03b9\u03b1\u03c2 \u1f21\u03bc\u03c9\u03bd, \u03ba\u03b1\u03b9              non reprehenderit nos,\n  \u03b3\u03b9\u03bd\u03c9\u03c3\u03ba\u03b5\u03b9 \u03c0\u03b1\u03bd\u03c4\u03b1. \u03b1\u03b3\u03b1\u03c0\u03b7\u03c4\u03bf\u03b9,          fiduciam habemus ad\n  \u03b5\u03b1\u03bd, \u1f21 \u03ba\u03b1\u03c1\u03b4\u03b9\u03b1                      Deum, et quodcumque\n  \u1f21\u03bc\u03c9\u03bd \u03bc\u03b7 \u03ba\u03b1\u03c4\u03b1\u03b3\u03b9\u03bd\u03c9\u03c3\u03ba\u03b7                petierimus accipiemus\n  \u1f21\u03bc\u03c9\u03bd, \u03c0\u03b1\u03c1\u03c1\u03b7\u03c3\u03b9\u03b1\u03bd \u03b5\u03c7\u03bf\u03bc\u03b5\u03bd             abeo, quoniam mandata\n  \u03c0\u03c1\u03bf\u03c2 \u03c4\u03bf\u03bd \u0398\u03b5\u03bf\u03bd, \u03ba\u03b1\u03b9 \u1f41               eius custodemus et ea\n  \u03b5\u03b1\u03bd \u03b1\u03b9\u03c4\u03c9\u03bc\u03b5\u03bd, \u03bb\u03b1\u03bc\u03b2\u03b1\u03bd\u03bf\u03bc\u03b5\u03bd            qu\u00e6 sunt placita coram\n  \u03c0\u03b1\u03c1' \u03b1\u03c5\u03c4\u03bf\u03c5, \u1f41\u03c4\u03b9 \u03c4\u03b1\u03c2                eo facimus. Et hoc\n  \u03b5\u03bd\u03c4\u03bf\u03bb\u03b1\u03c2 \u03b1\u03c5\u03c4\u03bf\u03c5 \u03c4\u03b7\u03c1\u03bf\u03c5\u03bc\u03b5\u03bd,            est mandatum eius ut\n  \u03ba\u03b1\u03b9 \u03c4\u03b1 \u03b1\u03c1\u03b5\u03c3\u03c4\u03b1 \u03b5\u03bd\u03c9\u03c0\u03b9\u03bf\u03bd              credamus in nomine\n  \u03b1\u03c5\u03c4\u03bf\u03c5 \u03c0\u03bf\u03b9\u03c3\u03c5\u03bc\u03b5\u03bd. \u03ba\u03b1\u03b9                filii eius Iesu Christi\n  \u03b1\u03c5\u03c4\u03b7 \u03b5\u03c3\u03c4\u03b9\u03bd \u1f21 \u03b5\u03bd\u03c4\u03bf\u03bb\u03b7                et diligamus alterutrum\n  \u03b1\u03c5\u03c4\u03bf\u03c5, \u1f31\u03bd\u03b1 \u03c0\u03b9\u03c3\u03c4\u03b5\u03c5\u03c3\u03c9\u03bc\u03b5\u03bd             sicut dedit mandatum\n  \u03c4\u03c9 \u03bf\u03bd\u03bf\u03bc\u03b1\u03c4\u03b9 \u03c4\u03bf\u03c5 \u03c5\u03b9\u03bf\u03c5                nobis. Et qui servat\n  \u03b1\u03c5\u03c4\u03bf\u03c5 \u0399\u03b7\u03c3\u03bf\u03c5 \u03a7\u03c1\u03b9\u03c3\u03c4\u03bf\u03c5,               mandata eius, in illo\n  \u03ba\u03b1\u03b9 \u03b1\u03b3\u03b1\u03c0\u03c9\u03bc\u03b5\u03bd \u03b1\u03bb\u03bb\u03b7\u03bb\u03bf\u03c5\u03c2,             manet et ipse in eo: et\n  \u03ba\u03b1\u03b8\u03c9\u03c2 \u03b5\u03b4\u03c9\u03ba\u03b5\u03bd \u03b5\u03bd\u03c4\u03bf\u03bb\u03b7\u03bd.              in hoc scimus quoniam\n  \u03ba\u03b1\u03b9 \u1f41 \u03c4\u03b7\u03c1\u03c9\u03bd \u03c4\u03b1\u03c2                    manet in nobis, de\n  \u03b5\u03bd\u03c4\u03bf\u03bb\u03b1\u03c2 \u03b1\u03c5\u03c4\u03bf\u03c5, \u03b5\u03bd \u03b1\u03c5\u03c4\u03c9             spiritu quem dedit\n  \u03bc\u03b5\u03bd\u03b5\u03b9, \u03ba\u03b1\u03b9 \u03b1\u03c5\u03c4\u03bf\u03c2 \u03b5\u03bd \u03b1\u03c5\u03c4\u03c9.          nobis.\n  \u03ba\u03b1\u03b9 \u03b5\u03bd \u03c4\u03bf\u03c5\u03c4\u03c9 \u03b3\u03b9\u03bd\u03c9\u03c3\u03ba\u03bf\u03bc\u03b5\u03bd\n  \u1f41\u03c4\u03b9 \u03bc\u03b5\u03bd\u03b5\u03b9 \u03b5\u03bd \u1f21\u03bc\u03b9\u03bd, \u03b5\u03ba\n  \u03c4\u03bf\u03c5 \u03a0\u03bd\u03b5\u03c5\u03bc\u03b1\u03c4\u03bf\u03c2 \u03bf\u03c5 \u1f21\u03bc\u03b9\u03bd\n  \u03b5\u03b4\u03c9\u03ba\u03b5\u03bd.\n\n\n     AUTHORISED VERSION.                  REVISED VERSION.\n\n  In this the children               In this the children\n  of God are manifest,               of God are manifest,\n  and the children of the            and the children of the\n  devil: whosoever doeth             devil: whosoever doeth\n  not righteousness                  not righteousness is\n  is not of God, neither             not of God, neither he\n  he that loveth not his             that loveth not his\n  brother. For this is               brother. For this is\n  the message that ye                the message which ye\n  heard from the beginning,          heard from the beginning,\n  that we should                     that we should\n  love one another. Not              love one another: not\n  as Cain, _who_ was of              as Cain was of the evil\n  that wicked one, and               one, and slew his\n  slew his brother. And              brother. And wherefore\n  wherefore slew he                  slew he him?\n  him? Because his own               Because his works\n  works were evil, and               were evil, and his\n  his brother's righteous.           brother's righteous.\n  Marvel not, my brethren,           Marvel not, brethren,\n  if the world hate                  if the world hateth\n  you. We know that                  you. We know that\n  we have passed from                we have passed out of\n  death unto life, because           death into life, because\n  we love the brethren.              we love the brethren.\n  He that loveth not _his_           He that loveth not\n  brother abideth in                 abideth in death.\n  death. Whosoever                   Whosoever hateth his\n  hateth his brother is a            brother is a murderer:\n  murderer: and ye know              and ye know that no\n  that no murderer hath              murderer hath eternal\n  eternal life abiding in            life abiding in him.\n  him. Hereby perceive               Hereby know we love,\n  we the love _of God_,              because He laid down\n  because He laid down               His life for us: and we\n  His life for us: and               ought to lay down our\n  we ought to lay down               lives for the brethren.\n  _our_ lives for the                But whoso hath the\n  brethren. But whoso                world's goods, and beholdeth\n  hath this world's good,            his brother in\n  and seeth his brother              need, and shutteth up\n  have need, and shutteth            his compassion from\n  up his bowels                      him, how doth the love\n  _of compassion_ from him,          of God abide in him?\n  how dwelleth the love of           _My_ little children, let\n  God in him? My little              us not love in word,\n  children, let us not love          neither with the\n  in word, neither in                tongue; but in deed\n  tongue; but in deed                and truth. Hereby\n  and in truth. And                  shall we know that we\n  hereby we know that                are of the truth, and\n  we are of the truth,               shall assure our heart\n  and shall assure our               before him, whereinsoever\n  hearts before Him.                 our heart condemn\n  For if our heart condemn           us; because God\n  us, God is greater                 is greater than our\n  than our heart, and                heart, and knoweth all\n  knoweth all things.                things. Beloved, if\n  Beloved, if our heart              our heart condemn us\n  condemn us not, _then_             not, we have boldness\n  have we confidence                 toward God; and\n  toward God. And                    whatsoever we ask,\n  whatsoever we ask,                 we receive of Him,\n  we receive of Him,                 because we keep His\n  because we keep His                commandments, and\n  commandments, and                  do the things that are\n  do those things that               pleasing in His sight.\n  are pleasing in His                And this is His commandment,\n  sight. And this is His             that we\n  commandment, That                  should believe in the\n  we should believe on               name of His Son Jesus\n  the name of His Son                Christ, and love one\n  Jesus Christ, and love             another, even as He\n  one another, as He                 gave us commandment.\n  gave us commandment.               And he that keepeth\n  And he that keepeth                His commandments\n  His commandments                   abideth in Him, and\n  dwelleth in Him, and               He in him. And hereby\n  He in him. And hereby              we know that He\n  we know that He                    abideth in us, by the\n  abideth in us, by the              Spirit which He gave\n  Spirit which He hath               us.\n  given us.\n\n\n     ANOTHER VERSION.\n\n  In this the children\n  of God are manifest\n  and the children of the\n  devil: every one who is\n  not doing righteousness\n  is not of God,\n  neither he that is not\n  loving his brother.\n  For this is the message\n  that ye heard from the\n  beginning that ye\n  should love one another.\n  Not as Cain\n  was of the wicked one\n  and slew his brother\n  (_shall we be_). And\n  wherefore slew he\n  him? because his\n  works were evil, but\n  those of his brother\n  righteous. Brethren,\n  marvel not if the world\n  hate you. We know\n  that we have passed\n  over from the death\n  unto the life because\n  we love the brethren.\n  He who loveth not\n  abideth in the death.\n  Every one who hateth\n  his brother is a murderer:\n  and ye know\n  that no murderer hath\n  eternal life abiding in\n  him. Hereby know\n  we The Love because\n  He laid down His life\n  for us: and we are\n  bound to lay down our\n  lives for the brethren.\n  But whoso hath the\n  living of the world and\n  gazes on his brother\n  having need and shuts\n  out his heart from him,\n  how doth the love of\n  God abide in him?\n  Children let us not love\n  in word, nor with the\n  tongue, but in work\n  and truth. Hereby\n  shall we know that we\n  are of the truth and\n  shall persuade our\n  hearts before Him.\n  For if our heart condemn\n  us God is greater\n  than our heart and\n  knoweth all things.\n  Beloved, if our heart\n  condemn us not then\n  have we boldness toward\n  God, and whatsoever\n  we ask we\n  receive of Him, for we\n  observe His commandments,\n  and are doing\n  those things that are\n  pleasing in His sight.\n  And His commandment\n  is this, that we\n  should believe the\n  name of His Son Jesus\n  Christ and love one\n  another as He gave\n  commandment. And\n  he who is observing\n  His commandments\n  abideth in Him, and\n  He in him. And hereby\n  we know that He\n  abideth in us--out of\n  the fulness of the Spirit\n  whereof He gave us.\n\n\n\n\n                            DISCOURSE IX.\n\n               _LOFTY IDEALS PERILOUS UNLESS APPLIED._\n\n    \"Hereby perceive we the love of God, because He laid down His life\n    for us: and we ought to lay down, our lives for the brethren. But\n    whoso hath this world's good, and seeth his brother have need, and\n    shutteth up his bowels of compassion from him, how dwelleth the\n    love of God in him? My little children, let us not love in word,\n    neither in tongue, but in deed and in truth.\"--1 JOHN iii. 16-18.\n\n\nEven the world sees that the Incarnation of Jesus Christ has very\npractical results. Even the Christmas which the world keeps is\nfruitful in two of these results--forgiving and giving. How many of\nthe multitudinous letters at that season contain one or other of these\nthings--either the kindly gift, or the tender of reconciliation; the\nconfession \"I was wrong,\" or the gentle advance \"we were both wrong.\"\n\nLove, charity (as we rather prefer to say), in its effects upon all\nour relations to others, is the beautiful subject of this section of\nour Epistle. It begins with the message of love[230] itself--yet\nanother asterisk referring to the Gospel,[231] to the very substance\nof the teaching which the believers of Ephesus had first received from\nSt. Paul,[232] and which had been emphasized by St. John. This\nmessage is announced not merely as a sounding sentiment, but for the\npurpose of being carried out into action. As in moral subjects virtues\nand vices are best illustrated by their contraries;[233] so, beside\nthe bright picture of the Son of God, the Apostle points to the\nsinister likeness of Cain.[234] After some brief and parenthetic words\nof pathetic consolation, he states as the mark of the great transition\nfrom death to life, the existence of love as a pervading spirit\neffectual in operation.[235] The dark opposite of this is then\ndelineated[236] in consonance with the mode of representation just\nabove.[237] But two such pictures of darkness must not shadow the\nsunlit gallery of love. There is another--the fairest and brightest.\nOur love can only be estimated by likeness to it; it is imperfect\nunless it is conformed to the print of the wounds, unless it can be\nmeasured by the standard of the great Self-sacrifice.[238] But if this\nmay be claimed as the one real proof of conformity to Christ, much\nmore is the limited partial sacrifice of \"this world's good\"\nrequired.[239] This spirit, and the conduct which it requires in the\nlong run, will be found to be the test of all solid spiritual\ncomfort,[240] of all true self-condemnation or self-acquittal.[241]\n\nWe may say of the verses prefixed to this discourse, that they bring\nbefore us charity in its _idea_, in its _example_, in its\n_characteristics_--in _theory_, in _action_, in _life_.\n\n\n                                  I.\n\nWe have here love in its idea, \"hereby know we love.\" Rather \"hereby\nknow we _The Love_.\"[242]\n\nHere the idea of charity in us runs parallel with that in Christ. It\nis a subtle but true remark,[243] that there is here no logical\ninferential particle. \"Because He laid down His life for us,\" is not\nfollowed by its natural correlative \"therefore we,\" but by a simple\nconnective \"and we.\" The reason is this, that our duty herein is not a\nmere cold logical deduction. It is all of one piece with The Love. \"We\nknow The Love because He laid down His life for us; _and_ we are in\nduty bound for the brethren to lay down our lives.\"\n\nHere, then, is the idea of love, as capable of realisation in us. It\nis continuous unselfishness, to be crowned by voluntary death, if\ndeath is necessary. The beautiful old Church tradition shows that this\nlanguage was the language of St. John's life. Who has forgotten how\nthe Apostle in his old age is said to have gone on a journey to find\nthe young man who had fled from Ephesus and joined a band of robbers;\nand to have appealed to the fugitive in words which are the pathetic\necho of these--\"if needs be I would die for thee as He for us?\"\n\n\n                                 II.\n\nThe idea of charity is then practically illustrated by an incident of\nits opposite. \"But whoso hath this world's good, and gazes upon his\nbrother in need, and shuts up his heart against him, how doth the love\nof God abide in him?\"[244] The reason for this descent in thought is\nwise and sound. High abstract ideas expressed in lofty and\ntranscendent language, are at once necessary and dangerous for\ncreatures like us. They are necessary, because without these grand\nconceptions our moral language and our moral life would be wanting in\ndignity, in amplitude, in the inspiration and impulse which are often\nnecessary for duty and always for restoration. But they are dangerous\nin proportion to their grandeur. Men are apt to mistake the emotion\nawakened by the very sound of these magnificent expressions of duty\nfor the discharge of the duty itself. Hypocrisy delights in sublime\nspeculations, because it has no intention of their costing anything.\nSome of the most abject creatures embodied by the masters of romance\nnever fail to parade their sonorous generalizations. One of such\ncharacters, as the world will long remember, proclaims that sympathy\nis one of the holiest principles of our common nature, while he shakes\nhis fist at a beggar.[245]\n\nEvery large speculative ideal then is liable to this danger; and he\nwho contemplates it requires to be brought down from his\ntranscendental region to the test of some commonplace duty. This is\nthe latent link of connection in this passage. The ideal of love to\nwhich St. John points is the loftiest of all the moral and spiritual\nemotions which belong to the sentiments of man. Its archetype is in\nthe bosom of God, in the eternal relations of the Father, Son, and\nHoly Ghost. \"God is love.\" Its home in humanity is Christ's heart of\nfire and flesh; its example is the Incarnation ending in the Cross.\n\nNow of course the question for all but one in thousands is not the\nattainment of this lofty ideal--laying down his life for the brethren.\nNow and then, indeed, the physician pays with his own death for the\nheroic rashness of drawing out from his patient the fatal matter.\nSometimes the pastor is cut off by fever contracted in ministering to\nthe sick, or by voluntarily living and working in an unwholesome\natmosphere. Once or twice in a decade some heart is as finely touched\nby the spirit of love as Father Damien, facing the certainty of death\nfrom a long slow putrefaction, that a congregation of lepers may enjoy\nthe consolations of faith. St. John here reminds us that the ordinary\ntest of charity is much more commonplace. It is helpful compassion to\na brother who is known to be in need, manifested by giving to him\nsomething of this world's \"good\"--of the \"living\"[246] of this world\nwhich he possesses.\n\n\n                                 III.\n\nWe have next the characteristics of love in action. \"My sons; let us\nnot love in word nor with the tongue; but in work and truth.\" There is\nlove in its energy and reality; in its effort and sincerity--active\nand honest, without indolence and without pretence. We may well be\nreminded here of another familiar story of St. John at Ephesus. When\ntoo old to walk himself to the assembly of the Church, he was carried\nthere. The Apostle who had lain upon the breast of Jesus; who had\nderived from direct communication with Him those words and thoughts\nwhich are the life of the elect; was expected to address the faithful.\nThe light of the Ephesian summer fell upon his white hair; perhaps\nglittered upon the mitre which tradition has assigned to him. But when\nhe had risen to speak, he only repeated--\"little children, love one\nanother.\" Modern hearers are sometimes tempted to envy the primitive\nChristians of the Ephesian Church, if for nothing else, yet for the\nprivilege of listening to the shortest sermon upon record in the\nannals of Christianity. When Christian preachers have behind them the\nsame long series of virgin years, within them the same love of Christ\nand knowledge of His mysteries; when their very presence evinces the\nsame sad, tender, smiling, weeping, all-embracing sympathy with the\nwants and sorrows of humanity; they may perhaps venture upon the\nperilous experiment of contracting their sermons within the same span\nas St. John's. And when some, who like the hearers at Ephesus, are not\nprepared for the repetition of an utterance so brief, begin to\nask--\"why are you always saying this?\"--the answer may well be in the\nspirit of the reply which the aged Apostle is said to have\nmade--\"because it is the commandment of the Lord, and sufficient, if\nit only be fulfilled indeed.\"\n\n\n                                 IV.\n\nThis passage supplies an argument (capable, as we have seen in the\nIntroduction, of much larger expansion from the Epistle as a whole)\nagainst mutilated views, fragmentary versions of the Christian life.\n\nThere are four such views which are widely prevalent at the present\ntime.\n\n(1) The _first_ of these is _emotionalism_; which makes the entire\nChristian life consist in a series or bundle of emotions. Its origin is\nthe desire of having the feelings touched, partly from sheer love of\nexcitement; partly from an idea that _if_ and _when_ we have worked up\ncertain emotions to a fixed point we are saved and safe. This reliance\nupon feelings is in the last analysis reliance upon self. It is a form\nof salvation by works; for feelings are inward actions. It is an unhappy\nanachronism which inverts the order of Scripture; which substitutes\npeace and grace (the compendious dogma of the heresy of the emotions)\nfor grace and peace, the only order known to St. Paul and St. John.[247]\nThe only spiritual emotions spoken of in this Epistle are joy,\nconfidence, \"assuring our hearts before Him\":[248] the first as the\nresult of receiving the history of Jesus in the Gospel, the Incarnation,\nand the blessed communion with God and the Church which it involves; the\nsecond as tried by tests of a most practical kind.\n\n(2) The _second_ of these mutilated views of the Christian life is\n_doctrinalism_--which makes it consist of a series or bundle of\ndoctrines apprehended and expressed correctly, at least according to\ncertain formulas, generally of a narrow and unauthorised character.\nAccording to this view the question to be answered is--has one quite\ncorrectly understood, can one verbally formulate certain almost\nscholastic distinctions in the doctrine of justification? The\nwell-known standard--\"the Bible only\"--must be reduced by the excision\nof all within the Bible except the writings of St. Paul; and even in\nthis selected portion faith must be entirely guided by certain\nportions more selected still, so that the question finally may be\nreduced to this shape--\"am I a great deal sounder than St. John and\nSt. James, a little sounder than an unexpurgated St. Paul, as sound as\na carefully expurgated edition of the Pauline Epistles?\"\n\n(3) The _third_ mutilated view of the Christian life is\n_humanitarianism_--which makes it a series or bundle of philanthropic\nactions.\n\nThere are some who work for hospitals, or try to bring more light and\nsweetness into crowded dwelling-houses. Their lives are pure and\nnoble. But the one article of their creed is humanity. Altruism is\ntheir highest duty. Their object, so far as they have any object apart\nfrom the supreme rule of doing right, is to lay hold on subjective\nimmortality by living on in the recollection of those whom they have\nhelped, whose existence has been soothed and sweetened by their\nsympathy. With others the case is different. Certain forms of this\nbusy helpfulness--especially in the laudable provision of recreations\nfor the poor--are an innocent interlude in fashionable life;\nsometimes, alas! a kind of work of supererogation, to atone for the\nwant of devotion or of purity--possibly an untheological survival of\na belief in justification by works.\n\n(4) The _fourth_ fragmentary view of the Christian life is\n_observationism_, which makes it to consist in a bundle or series of\nobservances. Frequent services and communions, perhaps with exquisite\nforms and in beautifully decorated churches, have their dangers as\nwell as their blessings. However closely linked these observances may\nbe, there must still in every life be interstices between them. How\nare these filled up? What spirit within connects together, vivifies\nand unifies, this series of external acts of devotion? They are means\nto an end. What if the means come to interpose between us and the\nend--just as a great political thinker has observed that with legal\nminds the forms of business frequently overshadow the substance of\nbusiness, which is their end, and for which they were called into\nexistence. And what is the end of our Christian calling? A life\npardoned; in process of purification; growing in faith, in love of God\nand man, in quiet joyful service. Certainly a \"rage for ceremonials\nand statistics,\" a long list of observances, does not infallibly\nsecure such a life, though it may often be not alone the delighted and\ncontinuous expression, but the constant food and support of such a\nlife. But assuredly if men trust in any of these things--in their\nemotions, in their favourite formulas, in their philanthropic works,\nin their religious observances--in anything but Christ, they greatly\nneed to go back to the simple text--\"His name shall be called Jesus,\nfor He shall save His people from their sins.\"\n\nNow, as we have said above, in distinction from all these fragmentary\nviews, St. John's Epistle is a survey of the completed Christian life,\nfounded upon his Gospel. It is a consummate fruit ripened in the long\nsummers of his experience. It is not a treatise upon the Christian\naffections, nor a system of doctrine, nor an essay upon works of\ncharity, nor a companion to services.\n\nYet this wonderful Epistle presupposes at least much that is most\nprecious of all these elements. (1) It is far from being a burst of\nemotionalism. Yet almost at the outset it speaks of an emotion as being\nthe natural result of rightly received objective truth.[249] St. John\nrecognises feeling, whether of supernatural or natural origin;[250] but\nhe recognises it with a certain majestic reserve. Once only does he seem\nto be carried away. In a passage to which reference has just been made,\nafter stating the dogma of the Incarnation, he suffuses it with a wealth\nof emotional colour. It is Christmas in his soul; the bells ring out\ngood tidings of great joy. \"These things write we unto you, that your\njoy may be full.\" (2) This Epistle is no dogmatic summary. Yet combining\nits pro\u0153mium with the other of the fourth Gospel, we have the most\nperfect statement of the dogma of the Incarnation. As we read\nthoughtfully on, dogma after dogma stands out in relief. The divinity of\nthe Word, the reality of His manhood, the effect of His atonement, His\nintercession, His continual presence, the personality of the Holy\nSpirit, His gifts to us, the relation of the Spirit to Christ, the Holy\nTrinity--all these find their place in these few pages. If St. John is\nno mere doctrinalist he is yet the greatest theologian the Church has\never seen. (3) Once more; if the Apostle's Christianity is no mere\nhumanitarian sentiment to encourage the cultivation of miscellaneous\nacts of good-nature, yet it is deeply pervaded by a sense of the\nintegral connection of practical love of man with the love of God. So\nmuch is this the case, that a large gathering of the most emotional of\nmodern sects is said to have gone on with a Bible reading in St. John's\nEpistle until they came to the words--\"we know that we have passed from\ndeath unto life, because we love the brethren.\" The reader immediately\nclosed the book, pronouncing with general assent that the verse was\nlikely to disturb the peace of the children of God. Still St. John puts\nhumanitarianism in its right place as a result of something higher.\n\"This commandment have we from Him, that he who loveth God love his\nbrother also.\" As if he would say--\"do not sever the law of social life\nfrom the law of supernatural life; do not separate the human fraternity\nfrom the Divine Fatherhood.\" (4) No one can suppose that for St. John\nreligion was a mere string of observances. Indeed, to some his Epistle\nhas given the notion of a man living in an atmosphere where external\nordinances and ministries either did not exist at all, or only in almost\nimpalpable forms. Yet in that wonderful manual, \"The Imitation of\nChrist,\" there is not more than the faintest trace of any of these\nexternal things; while no one could possibly argue that the author was\nignorant of, or lightly esteemed, the ordinances and sacraments amongst\nwhich his life must have been spent. Certainly the fourth Gospel is\ndeeply sacramental. This Epistle, with its calm, unhesitating conviction\nof the sonship of all to whom it is addressed; with its view of the\nChristian life as in idea a continuous growth from a birth the secret of\nwhose origin is given in the Gospel; with its expressive hints of\nsources of grace and power and of a continual presence of Christ; with\nits deep mystical realisation of the double flow from the pierced side\nupon the cross, and its thrice-repeated exchange of the _sacramental_\norder \"_water_ and blood,\"[251] for the _historical_ order \"_blood_ and\nwater\"; unquestionably has the sacramental sense diffused throughout it.\nThe Sacraments are not in obtrusive prominence; yet for those who have\neyes to see they lie in deep and tender distances. Such is the view of\nthe Christian life in this letter--a life in which Christ's truth is\nblended with Christ's love; assimilated by thought, exhaling in worship,\nsoftening into sympathy with man's suffering and sorrow. It calls for\nthe believing soul, for the devout heart, for the helping hand. It is\nthe perfect balance in a saintly soul of feeling, creed, communion, and\nwork.\n\nFor of work for our fellow man it is that the question is asked half\ndespairingly--\"whoso hath this world's good, and seeth\" (gazes\nat)[252] \"his brother have need, and shutteth up his heart against\nhim, how doth the love of God[253] dwell in him?\" Some can quietly\nlook at the poor brother; they see _him_ in need, but they have not\nthe thoughtful eyes that see _his need_. They may belong to \"the\nsluggard Pity's vision-weaving tribe,\" who expend a sigh of sentiment\nupon such spectacles, and nothing more. Or they may be hardened\nprofessors of the \"dismal science,\" who have learned to consider a\nsigh as the luxury of ignorance or of feebleness. But for all\npractical purposes both these classes interpose a too effectual\nbarrier between their heart and their brother's need. But true\nChristians are made partakers in Christ of the mystery of human\nsuffering. Even when they are not actually in sight of brethren in\nwant, their ears are ever hearing the ceaseless moaning of the sea of\nhuman sorrow, with a sympathy which involves its own measure of pain,\nthough a pain which brings with it abundant compensation. Their inner\nlife has not merely won for itself the partly selfish satisfaction of\npersonal escape from punishment, great as that blessing may be. They\nhave caught something of the meaning of the secret of all love--\"we\nlove because He first loved us.\"[254] In those words is the romance\n(if we may dare to call it so) of the divine love-tale. Under its\ninfluence the face once hard and narrow often becomes radiant and\nsoftened; it smiles, or is tearful, in the light of the love of His\nface who first loved.\n\nIt is this principle of St. John which is ever at work in Christian\nlands. In hospitals it tells us that Christ is ever passing down the\nwards; that He will have no stinted service; that He must have more\nfor His sick more devotion, a gentler touch, a finer sympathy; that\nwhere His hand has broken and blessed, every particle is a sacred\nthing, and must be treated reverently.\n\nAre there any who are tempted to think that our text has become\nantiquated; that it no longer holds true in the light of organised\ncharity, of economic science? Let them listen to one who speaks with\nthe weight of years of active benevolence, and with consummate\nknowledge of its method and duties.[255] \"There are men who, in their\ndetestation of roguery, forget that by a wholesale condemnation of\ncharity, they run the risk of driving the honest to despair and of\nturning them into the very rogues of whom they desire so ardently to\nbe quit. These men are unconsciously playing into the hands of the\nSocialists and the Anarchists, the only sections of society whose\ndistinct interest it is that misery and starvation should increase. No\ndoubt indiscriminate almsgiving is hurtful to the State as well as to\nthe individual who receives the dole, but not less dangerous would it\nbe to society if the principles of these stern political economists\nwere to be literally accepted by any large number of the rich, and if\ncharity ceased to be practised within the land. We cannot yet afford\nto shut ourselves up in the castle of philosophic indifference,\nregardless of the fate of those who have the misfortune to find\nthemselves outside its walls.\"\n\n\n                                NOTES.\n\n                           Ch. iii. 12-21.\n\nVer. 12. A second reference to the Book of Genesis within a few lines\n(see ver. 8). It is characteristic of the historical spirit of St.\nJohn that he does not entangle himself with the luxuriant upgrowth of\nwild fable in which traditional Judaism has ever enveloped the simple\nnarrative of Cain and Abel in Genesis.\n\nVer. 15. St. John may refer to another passage in Genesis. \"And Esau\nsaid in his heart, The days of mourning for my father are at hand;\nthen will I slay my brother Jacob\" (Gen. xxvii. 11-41).\n\nVer. 17. A Rabbinical saying is worth recording as an illustration of\nthe spirit in which the \"living of this world\" should be held. \"He that\nsaith, Mine is thine, and thine is mine, is an idiot; he that saith,\nMine is mine, and thine is thine, is moderate; he that saith, Mine is\nthine, and thine is thine, is charitable; but he that saith, Thine is\nmine, and mine is mine, is wicked; even though it be only saying it in\nhis heart, to wish it were so.\" Paulus Fagius. _Sentent. Heb._\n\nVers. 19, 20, 21. These verses probably present more difficulties than\nany other portion of this Epistle. (1) For their construction. The\nfollowing note from a _fasciculus_ (now no longer to be procured)\nwritten by a master of sacred studies seems to us to say all that can\nbe said for a rendering different from that of the R. V. and our own.\n\n\"Ver. 20: \u1f41\u03c4\u03b9 \u03b5\u03b1\u03bd \u03ba\u03b1\u03c4\u03b1\u03b3\u03b9\u03bd\u03c9\u03c3\u03ba\u03b7 \u1f21\u03bc\u03c9\u03bd \u1f21 \u03ba\u03b1\u03c1\u03b4\u03b9\u03b1, \u1f41\u03c4\u03b9 \u03bc\u03b5\u03b9\u03b6\u03c9\u03bd \u03b5\u03c3\u03c4\u03b9\u03bd \u1f41 \u0398\u03b5\u03bf\u03c2.\nThe difficulty is in the second \u1f41\u03c4\u03b9, which is ignored by the Vulgate and\nA. V. The Revisers (after Hoogeveen, _De Partic._ p. 589, ed. Sch\u00fctz.\nand others) point \u1f41,\u03c4\u03b9 \u03b5\u03b1\u03bd in the first clause, which they join with the\npreceding verse: 'and shall assure our heart before him, whereinsoever\nour heart condemn us; because God' etc. But this is quite inadmissible,\nsince nothing can be plainer than that \u03b5\u03b1\u03bd \u03ba\u03b1\u03c4\u03b1\u03b3\u03b9\u03bd\u03c9\u03c3\u03ba\u03b7 (ver. 20) and \u03b5\u03b1\u03bd\n\u03bc\u03b7 \u03ba\u03b1\u03c4\u03b1\u03b3\u03b9\u03bd\u03c9\u03c3\u03ba\u03b7 (ver. 21) are both _in protasi_, and in strict\ncorrelation with each other. Dean Alford suggests an ellipsis of the\nverb substantive before the second \u1f41\u03c4\u03b9, and would translate: 'Because if\nour heart condemn us, (it is) because God' etc. He instances such cases\nas \u03b5\u03b9 \u03c4\u03b9\u03c2 \u03b5\u03bd \u03a7\u03c1\u03b9\u03c3\u03c4\u03c9, (he is) \u03ba\u03b1\u03b9\u03bd\u03b7 \u03ba\u03c4\u03b9\u03c3\u03b9\u03c2, which are quite dissimilar;\nbut the following from St. Chrysostom (T. X. p. 122 B) fully bears out\nthis construction; \u1f49 \u03b6\u03c5\u03b3\u03bf\u03c2 \u03bc\u03bf\u03c5 \u03c7\u03c1\u03b7\u03c3\u03c4\u03bf\u03c2 \u03ba.\u03c4.\u1f11. \u03b5\u03b9 \u03b4\u03b5 \u03bf\u03c5\u03ba \u03b1\u03b9\u03c3\u03b8\u03b1\u03bd\u03b7 \u03c4\u03b7\u03c2\n\u03ba\u03bf\u03c5\u03c6\u03bf\u03c4\u03b7\u03c4\u03bf\u03c2, \u1f49\u03a4\u0399 \u03c0\u03c1\u03bf\u03b8\u03c5\u03bc\u03b9\u03b1\u03bd \u03b5\u03c1\u03c1\u03c9\u03bc\u03b5\u03bd\u03b7\u03bd \u03bf\u03c5\u03ba \u03b5\u03c7\u03b5\u03b9\u03c2; where I have expunged\n\u03b4\u03b7\u03bb\u03bf\u03bd before \u1f41\u03c4\u03b9 on the authority of three out of four MSS. collated for\nthese Homilies, the fourth, with the old Latin version, for \u1f41\u03c4\u03b9\n\u03c0\u03c1\u03bf\u03b8\u03c5\u03bc\u03b9\u03b1\u03bd reading \u03bc\u03b7 \u03b8\u03b1\u03c5\u03bc\u03b1\u03c3\u03b7\u03c2, \u03c0\u03c1\u03bf\u03b8\u03c5\u03bc\u03b9\u03b1\u03bd \u03b3\u03b1\u03c1. In my note on that place I\nhave pointed out that the ellipsis is not of \u03b4\u03b7\u03bb\u03bf\u03bd, but of \u03c4\u03bf \u03b1\u03b9\u03c4\u03b9\u03bf\u03bd,\n_causa est, quia_. So in the present instance we might translate: 'For\nif our heart condemn us, (the reason is) because God is greater,' etc.,\nwere it not for the difficulty of explaining how the fact of God's being\ngreater than our heart can be a valid reason for our heart condemning\nus. I would, therefore, take the second \u1f41\u03c4\u03b9 for _quod_, not _quia_, and\nsuppose an ellipsis of \u03b4\u03b7\u03bb\u03bf\u03bd, as in 1 Tim. vi. 7, where see\nnote.\"--_Otium Norvicense_, by Frederic Field, M.A., LL.D. (pp. 153,\n15).\n\nDr. Field s rendering then is: \"For if our heart condemn us, (it is\nevident) that God is greater than our heart.\"\n\n(2) For the meaning of these verses. All interpretations appear to\nfall into two classes; as St. John is supposed to aim at (_a_)\n_soothing_ conscience, or (_b_) _awakening_ it. But may he not really\nintend to leave people to think over a something which he has\npurposely omitted, and to apply it as required? The saying \"God is\ngreater than our hearts, and knoweth all things,\" probably cuts two\nways. If my heart condemn me justly, and with truth, much more so does\nGod who is greater than my heart. But, if my conscience is tenderly\nsensitive, scrupulous because full of love, God's knowledge of my\nheart tells in this case on the brighter side, as truly as in the\nother case it told on the darker side. We may lull our heart. \"A\ntranquil God tranquillises all things, and to see His peacefulness is\nto be at peace.\" (_St. Bernard in Cant._)\n\nFOOTNOTES:\n\n[230] Ver. 11.\n\n[231] John xv. 12-17. See also the stress laid upon the unity of\nbelievers; surely including love as well as doctrine in the great\nHigh-Priestly prayer, John xvii. 21-23.\n\n[232] \"The message that ye heard _from the beginning_,\" conf. 1 John\nii. 24.\n\n[233] \"Contrariorum eadem est scientia.\"\n\n[234] This is one of the few references to the Old Testament _history_\nin St. John's Epistle (Gen. iv. 1-8). To the _theology_ of the Old\nTestament there are many references; _e.g._, light and life. 1 John i.\n1-5; John i. 4; Ps. xxxvi. 9. There is, however, another historical\nreference a few verses above (1 John iii. 8)--a passage of primary\nimportance because it recognises the whole narrative of the Fall in\nGenesis, and affords a commentary upon the words of Christ (John viii.\n44). The writer has somewhere seen an interesting suggestion that ver.\n12 may contain some allusion to the visit of Apollonius of Tyana to\nEphesus. Apollonius incited the mob to kill a beggar-man for the\npurpose of placing himself on a level with Chalcas and others who\ncaused the sacrifice of human victims. The date of this incident would\napparently coincide with the closing years of St. John's life\n(_Philostrat. vita Apollon._, Act. ii., S. 5).\n\n[235] Ver. 14.\n\n[236] Vers. 14, 15.\n\n[237] Ver. 12.\n\n[238] Ver. 16.\n\n[239] Ver. 17.\n\n[240] Vers. 18, 19.\n\n[241] Vers. 20, 21.\n\n[242] \"For _The Love_ I rather beseech thee\" (Phil. v. 9). The\naddition in the A.V. (_of God_) rather impairs the sweetness and\npower, the reverential reserve of the original.\n\n[243] Of Prof. Westcott.\n\n[244] Ver. 17.\n\n[245] It is suggestive that on Quinquagesima Sunday, when 1 Cor. xiii.\nis the Epistle, St. Luke xviii. 31 sqq., is the Gospel. The lyric of\nlove is joined with a fragment of its epic. That fragment tells us of\na love which not only proclaimed itself ready to be sacrificed (Luke\nxviii. 31-33), but condescended individually to the blind importunate\nmendicant who sat by the wayside begging (vers. 35-43).\n\n[246] The word here is \u03b2\u03b9\u03bf\u03c2 not \u03b6\u03c9\u03b7. \"\u0392\u03b9\u03bf\u03c2 period of life; hence the\nmeans by which it is sustained, means of life.\" (Archbp. Trench.) It\nis to be wished that the R. V. had either kept \"the good\" of the A.\nV., or adopted the word \"living\"--the translation of \u03b2\u03b9\u03bf\u03c2 in Mark xii.\n44; Luke xxi. 4.\n\n[247] 2 John 3.\n\n[248] 1 John i. 4, ii. 28, iii. 21, iv. 17, v. 14, iii. 19.\n\n[249] 1 John i. 4.\n\n[250] \u03c4\u03b1 \u03c3\u03c0\u03bb\u03b1\u03b3\u03c7\u03bd\u03b1 (ver. 17). This however is the only occurrence of the\nword in St. John's writings. The substantive \u03c3\u03c0\u03bb\u03b1\u03b3\u03c7\u03bd\u03b1 = _emotions_, is\nfound in classical poets. But the verb \u03c3\u03c0\u03bb\u03b1\u03b3\u03c7\u03bd\u03b9\u03b6\u03bf\u03bc\u03b1\u03b9 occurs only in LXX.\nand New Testament--and thus, like \u03b1\u03b3\u03b1\u03c0\u03b7, is almost born within the\ncircle of revealed truth. The new dispensation so rich in the mercy of\nGod (Luke i. 78), so fruitful in mercy from man to man, may well claim a\nnew vocabulary in the department of tenderness and pity.\n\n[251] 1 John v. 6, conf. John xix. 34.\n\n[252] \u03b8\u03b5\u03c9\u03c1\u03b7, ver. 17.\n\n[253] \"The love of which God is at once the object, and the author,\nand the pattern.\" (Prof. Westcott.)\n\n[254] 1 John iv. 19.\n\n[255] Lord Meath.\n\n\n\n\n                             SECTION VII.\n\n\n          GREEK.                           LATIN.\n\n  \u0391\u03b3\u03b1\u03c0\u03b7\u03c4\u03bf\u03b9, \u03bc\u03b7 \u03c0\u03b1\u03bd\u03c4\u03b9                 Carissimi, nolite omni\n  \u03c0\u03bd\u03b5\u03c5\u03bc\u03b1\u03c4\u03b9 \u03c0\u03b9\u03c3\u03c4\u03b5\u03c5\u03b5\u03c4\u03b5,                spiritui credere, sed\n  \u03b1\u03bb\u03bb\u03b1 \u03b4\u03bf\u03ba\u03b9\u03bc\u03b1\u03b6\u03b5\u03c4\u03b5 \u03c4\u03b1                 probate spiritus si ex\n  \u03c0\u03bd\u03b5\u03c5\u03bc\u03b1\u03c4\u03b1, \u03b5\u03b9 \u03b5\u03ba \u03c4\u03bf\u03c5                Deo sint, quoniam multi\n  \u0398\u03b5\u03bf\u03c5 \u03b5\u03c3\u03c4\u03b9\u03bd\u00b7 \u1f41\u03c4\u03b9 \u03c0\u03bf\u03bb\u03bb\u03bf\u03b9             pseudoprophet\u00e6 exierunt\n  \u03c8\u03b5\u03c5\u03b4\u03bf\u03c0\u03c1\u03bf\u03c6\u03b7\u03c4\u03b1\u03b9 \u03b5\u03be\u03b5\u03bb\u03b7\u03bb\u03c5\u03b8\u03b1\u03c3\u03b9\u03bd         in mundum. In\n  \u03b5\u03b9\u03c2 \u03c4\u03bf\u03bd \u03ba\u03bf\u03c3\u03bc\u03bf\u03bd.                    hoc cognoscitur spiritus\n  \u03b5\u03bd \u03c4\u03bf\u03c5\u03c4\u03c9 \u03b3\u03b9\u03bd\u03c9\u03c3\u03ba\u03b5\u03c4\u03b5 \u03c4\u03bf              Dei. Omnis spiritus\n  \u03a0\u03bd\u03b5\u03c5\u03bc\u03b1 \u03c4\u03bf\u03c5 \u0398\u03b5\u03bf\u03c5\u00b7 \u03c0\u03b1\u03bd               qui confitetur Iesum\n  \u03c0\u03bd\u03b5\u03c5\u03bc\u03b1 \u1f41 \u1f41\u03bc\u03bf\u03bb\u03bf\u03b3\u03b5\u03b9                  Christum in carne\n  \u0399\u03b7\u03c3\u03bf\u03c5\u03bd \u03a7\u03c1\u03b9\u03c3\u03c4\u03bf\u03bd \u03b5\u03bd                  venisse, ex Deo est:\n  \u03c3\u03b1\u03c1\u03ba\u03b9 \u03b5\u03bb\u03b7\u03bb\u03c5\u03b8\u03bf\u03c4\u03b1, \u03b5\u03ba                et omnis spiritus qui\n  \u03c4\u03bf\u03c5 \u0398\u03b5\u03bf\u03c5 \u03b5\u03c3\u03c4\u03b9. \u03ba\u03b1\u03b9                 solvit Iesum Christum\n  \u03c0\u03b1\u03bd \u03c0\u03bd\u03b5\u03c5\u03bc\u03b1 \u1f41 \u03bc\u03b7 \u1f41\u03bc\u03bf\u03bb\u03bf\u03b3\u03b5\u03b9\u03c4\u03bf\u03bd        ex Deo non est; et his\n  \u0399\u03b7\u03c3\u03bf\u03c5\u03bd \u03a7\u03c1\u03b9\u03c3\u03c4\u03bf\u03bd                     est Antichristus quod\n  \u03b5\u03bd \u03c3\u03b1\u03c1\u03ba\u03b9 \u03b5\u03bb\u03b7\u03bb\u03c5\u03b8\u03bf\u03c4\u03b1, \u03b5\u03ba             audistis quoniam venit\n  \u03c4\u03bf\u03c5 \u0398\u03b5\u03bf\u03c5 \u03bf\u03c5\u03ba \u03b5\u03c3\u03c4\u03b9\u00b7 \u03ba\u03b1\u03b9             et nunc iam in mundo\n  \u03c4\u03bf\u03c5\u03c4\u03bf \u03b5\u03c3\u03c4\u03b9 \u03c4\u03bf \u03c4\u03bf\u03c5                  est. Vos ex Deo estis,\n  \u03b1\u03bd\u03c4\u03b9\u03c7\u03c1\u03b9\u03c3\u03c4\u03bf\u03c5, \u1f41 \u03b1\u03ba\u03b7\u03ba\u03bf\u03b1\u03c4\u03b5            filioli, et vicistis eum,\n  \u1f41\u03c4\u03b9 \u03b5\u03c1\u03c7\u03b5\u03c4\u03b1\u03b9, \u03ba\u03b1\u03b9 \u03bd\u03c5\u03bd \u03b5\u03bd            quoniam maior est qui\n  \u03c4\u03c9 \u03ba\u03bf\u03c3\u03bc\u03c9 \u03b5\u03c3\u03c4\u03b9\u03bd \u03b7\u03b4\u03b7.                in vobis est quam qui\n  \u1f59\u03bc\u03b5\u03b9\u03c2 \u03b5\u03ba \u03c4\u03bf\u03c5 \u0398\u03b5\u03bf\u03c5 \u03b5\u03c3\u03c4\u03b5,            in mundo. Ipsi de\n  \u03c4\u03b5\u03ba\u03bd\u03b9\u03b1, \u03ba\u03b1\u03b9 \u03bd\u03b5\u03bd\u03b9\u03ba\u03b7\u03ba\u03b1\u03c4\u03b5             mundo sunt: ideo de\n  \u03b1\u03c5\u03c4\u03bf\u03c5\u03c2\u00b7 \u1f41\u03c4\u03b9 \u03bc\u03b5\u03b9\u03b6\u03c9\u03bd \u03b5\u03c3\u03c4\u03b9\u03bd           mundo locuntur, et\n  \u1f41 \u03b5\u03bd \u1f51\u03bc\u03b9\u03bd \u1f21 \u1f41 \u03b5\u03bd \u03c4\u03c9                mundus eos audit. Nos\n  \u03ba\u03bf\u03c3\u03bc\u03c9. \u0391\u03c5\u03c4\u03bf\u03b9 \u03b5\u03ba \u03c4\u03bf\u03c5                ex Deo sumus: qui\n  \u03ba\u03bf\u03c3\u03bc\u03bf\u03c5 \u03b5\u03b9\u03c3\u03b9\u00b7 \u03b4\u03b9\u03b1 \u03c4\u03bf\u03c5\u03c4\u03bf             novit Deum audit nos;\n  \u03b5\u03ba \u03c4\u03bf\u03c5 \u03ba\u03bf\u03c3\u03bc\u03bf\u03c5 \u03bb\u03b1\u03bb\u03bf\u03c5\u03c3\u03b9,             qui non est ex Deo,\n  \u03ba\u03b1\u03b9 \u1f41 \u03ba\u03bf\u03c3\u03bc\u03bf\u03c2 \u03b1\u03c5\u03c4\u03c9\u03bd                 non audit nos. In hoc\n  \u03b1\u03ba\u03bf\u03c5\u03b5\u03b9. \u1f21\u03bc\u03b5\u03b9\u03c2 \u03b5\u03ba \u03c4\u03bf\u03c5               cognoscimus spiritum\n  \u0398\u03b5\u03bf\u03c5 \u03b5\u03c3\u03bc\u03b5\u03bd\u00b7 \u1f41 \u03b3\u03b9\u03bd\u03c9\u03c3\u03ba\u03c9\u03bd             veritatis et spiritum\n  \u03c4\u03bf\u03bd \u0398\u03b5\u03bf\u03bd, \u03b1\u03ba\u03bf\u03c5\u03b5\u03b9 \u1f21\u03bc\u03c9\u03bd\u00b7             erroris.\n  \u1f41\u03c2 \u03bf\u03c5\u03ba \u03b5\u03c3\u03c4\u03b9\u03bd \u03b5\u03ba \u03c4\u03bf\u03c5 \u0398\u03b5\u03bf\u03c5,\n  \u03bf\u03c5\u03ba \u03b1\u03ba\u03bf\u03c5\u03b5\u03b9 \u1f21\u03bc\u03c9\u03bd. \u0395\u03ba\n  \u03c4\u03bf\u03c5\u03c4\u03bf\u03c5 \u03b3\u03b9\u03bd\u03c9\u03c3\u03ba\u03bf\u03bc\u03b5\u03bd \u03c4\u03bf\n  \u03c0\u03bd\u03b5\u03c5\u03bc\u03b1 \u03c4\u03b7\u03c2 \u03b1\u03bb\u03b7\u03b8\u03b5\u03b9\u03b1\u03c2\n  \u03ba\u03b1\u03b9 \u03c4\u03bf \u03c0\u03bd\u03b5\u03c5\u03bc\u03b1 \u03c4\u03b7\u03c2\n  \u03c0\u03bb\u03b1\u03bd\u03b7\u03c2.\n\n\n     AUTHORISED VERSION.                  REVISED VERSION.\n\n  Beloved, believe not               Beloved, believe not\n  every spirit, but try the          every spirit, but prove\n  spirits whether they               the spirits whether\n  are of God: because                they are of God; because\n  many false prophets                many false prophets\n  are gone out into the              are gone out into\n  world. Hereby know                 the world. Hereby\n  ye the Spirit of God:              know ye the Spirit\n  Every spirit that confesseth       of God: every spirit\n  that Jesus                         which confesseth that\n  Christ is come in the              Jesus Christ is come\n  flesh is of God: and               in the flesh is of God:\n  every spirit that confesseth       and every spirit which\n  not that Jesus                     confesseth not Jesus is\n  Christ is come in the              not of God: and this\n  flesh is not of God: and           is the _spirit_ of the\n  this is that _spirit_ of           antichrist, whereof ye have\n  antichrist, whereof ye             heard that it cometh;\n  have heard that it                 and now it is in the\n  should come; and even              world already. Ye are\n  now already is it in the           of God, _my_ little\n  world. Ye are of God,              children, and have overcome\n  little children, and have          them: because\n  overcome them: because             greater is He that is\n  greater is He that                 in you, than he that is\n  is in you, than he that            in the world. They\n  is in the world. They              are of the world, therefore\n  are of the world: therefore        speak they _as_ of\n  speak they of the                  the world, and the\n  world, and the world               world heareth them.\n  heareth them. We are               We are of God: he that\n  of God: he that knoweth            knoweth God heareth\n  God heareth us:                    us: he who is not of\n  he that is not of God              God heareth us not.\n  heareth not us. Hereby             By this we know the\n  know we the spirit                 spirit of truth and the\n  of truth, and the spirit           spirit of error.\n  of error.\n\n\n     ANOTHER VERSION.\n\n  Beloved, believe not\n  any spirit, but try the\n  spirits whether they\n  are of God: because\n  many false prophets\n  are gone out into the\n  world. Hereby know\n  ye the Spirit of God:\n  every spirit that confesseth\n  Jesus Christ\n  come in the flesh is of\n  God: and every spirit\n  which confesseth not\n  Jesus is not of God:\n  and this is that _power_\n  of the antichrist whereof\n  ye have heard that it\n  cometh, and even now\n  it is in the world already.\n  Ye are of God,\n  children, and have conquered\n  them: because\n  greater is He that is\n  in you, than he that is\n  in the world. They\n  are of the world, therefore\n  of the world is\n  their manner of speech,\n  and the world heareth\n  them. We are of God;\n  he that knoweth God\n  heareth us, he who is\n  not of God heareth not\n  us. From this we know\n  the spirit of The Truth,\n  and the spirit of the\n  error.\n\n\n                                NOTES.\n\n                            Ch. iv. 1, 7.\n\nVer. 1. _Believe not any spirit_] \u03bc\u03b7 \u03c0\u03b1\u03bd\u03c4\u03b9 \u03c0\u03bd\u03b5\u03c5\u03bc\u03b1\u03c4\u03b9 \u03c0\u03b9\u03c3\u03c4\u03b5\u03c5\u03b5\u03c4\u03b5. The\ndifferent constructions of \u03c0\u03b9\u03c3\u03c4\u03b5\u03c5\u03b5\u03b9\u03bd in St. John must be carefully\nnoted. (_a_) With _dative_ as here--\"believe not such an one;\" take\nhim not upon trust, at his own word; credit him not with veracity. So\nin the Gospel, our Lord continually complains that the Jews did not\neven believe Him on His word--strong and clear as that word was with\nall the freshness of Heaven, and all the transparency of truth. John\nv. 38, 46, viii. 45, 46, x. 37.\n\n(_b_) \u03c0\u03b9\u03c3\u03c4\u03b5\u03c5\u03b5\u03b9\u03bd \u03b5\u03b9\u03c2 = to make an act of faith in, to repose in as\ndivine. John iii. 36, iv. 39, vi. 35, xi. 25; 1 John v. 10.\n\n(_c_) With an _accusative_ = to be persuaded of the thing--to believe\nit with an implied conviction of permanence in the persuasion--as in\nthe beautiful verse (iv. 16)--\"we are fully persuaded of the love of\nGod,\" we make it the creed of our heart. \u03c0\u03b5\u03c0\u03b9\u03c3\u03c4\u03b5\u03c5\u03ba\u03b1\u03bc\u03b5\u03bd \u03c4\u03b7\u03bd \u03b1\u03b3\u03b1\u03c0\u03b7\u03bd.\n\n\n\n\n                            SECTION VIII.\n\n\n          GREEK.                           LATIN.\n\n  \u0391\u03b3\u03b1\u03c0\u03b7\u03c4\u03bf\u03b9, \u03b1\u03b3\u03b1\u03c0\u03c9\u03bc\u03b5\u03bd                 Carissimi, diligamus\n  \u03b1\u03bb \u03bb\u03b7\u03bb\u03bf\u03c5\u03c2, \u1f41\u03c4\u03b9 \u1f21 \u03b1\u03b3\u03b1\u03c0\u03b7             invicem, quoniam caritas\n  \u03b5\u03ba \u03c4\u03bf\u03c5 \u0398\u03b5\u03bf\u03c5 \u03b5\u03c3\u03c4\u03b9, \u03ba\u03b1\u03b9              ex Deo est, et\n  \u03c0\u03b1\u03c2 \u1f41 \u03b1\u03b3\u03b1\u03c0\u03c9\u03bd \u03b5\u03ba \u03c4\u03bf\u03c5                omnis qui diligit ex\n  \u0398\u03b5\u03bf\u03c5 \u03b3\u03b5\u03b3\u03b5\u03bd\u03bd\u03b7\u03c4\u03b1\u03b9 \u03ba\u03b1\u03b9                Deo natus est et cognoscit\n  \u03b3\u03b9\u03bd\u03c9\u03c3\u03ba\u03b5\u03b9 \u03c4\u03bf\u03bd \u0398\u03b5\u03bf\u03bd\u00b7 \u1f41               Deum. Qui non\n  \u03bc\u03b7 \u03b1\u03b3\u03b1\u03c0\u03c9\u03bd \u03bf\u03c5\u03ba \u03b5\u03b3\u03bd\u03c9                 diligit non novit Deum,\n  \u03c4\u03bf\u03bd \u0398\u03b5\u03bf\u03bd\u00b7 \u1f41\u03c4\u03b9 \u1f41 \u0398\u03b5\u03bf\u03c2               quoniam Deus caritas\n  \u03b1\u03b3\u03b1\u03c0\u03b7 \u03b5\u03c3\u03c4\u03b9\u03bd. \u0395\u03bd \u03c4\u03bf\u03c5\u03c4\u03c9              est. In hoc apparuit\n  \u03b5\u03c6\u03b1\u03bd\u03b5\u03c1\u03c9\u03b8\u03b7 \u1f21 \u03b1\u03b3\u03b1\u03c0\u03b7 \u03c4\u03bf\u03c5              caritas Dei in nobis,\n  \u0398\u03b5\u03bf\u03c5 \u03b5\u03bd \u1f21\u03bc\u03b9\u03bd, \u1f41\u03c4\u03b9 \u03c4\u03bf\u03bd              quoniam Filium Suum\n  \u03c5\u03b9\u03bf\u03bd \u03b1\u03c5\u03c4\u03bf\u03c5 \u03c4\u03bf\u03bd \u03bc\u03bf\u03bd\u03bf\u03b3\u03b5\u03bd\u03b7            unigenitum misit Deus\n  \u03b1\u03c0\u03b5\u03c3\u03c4\u03b1\u03bb\u03ba\u03b5\u03bd \u1f41 \u0398\u03b5\u03bf\u03c2 \u03b5\u03b9\u03c2              in mundum, ut vivamus\n  \u03c4\u03bf\u03bd \u03ba\u03bf\u03c3\u03bc\u03bf\u03bd, \u1f31\u03bd\u03b1 \u03b6\u03b7\u03c3\u03c9\u03bc\u03b5\u03bd            per Eum. In hoc\n  \u03b4\u03b9 \u03b1\u03c5\u03c4\u03bf\u03c5. \u03b5\u03bd \u03c4\u03bf\u03c5\u03c4\u03c9                 est caritas, non quasi\n  \u03b5\u03c3\u03c4\u03b9\u03bd \u1f21 \u03b1\u03b3\u03b1\u03c0\u03b7, \u03bf\u03c5\u03c7 \u1f41\u03c4\u03b9             nos dilexerimus Deum,\n  \u1f21\u03bc\u03b5\u03b9\u03c2 \u03b7\u03b3\u03b1\u03c0\u03b7\u03c3\u03b1\u03bc\u03b5\u03bd \u03c4\u03bf\u03bd               sed quoniam ipse dilexit\n  \u0398\u03b5\u03bf\u03bd, \u03b1\u03bb\u03bb' \u1f41\u03c4\u03b9 \u03b1\u03c5\u03c4\u03bf\u03c2               nos et misit Filium\n  \u03b7\u03b3\u03b1\u03c0\u03b7\u03c3\u03b5\u03bd \u1f21\u03bc\u03b1\u03c2 \u03ba\u03b1\u03b9                  suum propitionem pro\n  \u03b1\u03c0\u03b5\u03c3\u03c4\u03b5\u03b9\u03bb\u03b5 \u03c4\u03bf\u03bd \u03c5\u03b9\u03bf\u03bd                 peccatis nostris. Carissimi,\n  \u03b1\u03c5\u03c4\u03bf\u03c5 \u03b9\u03bb\u03b1\u03c3\u03bc\u03bf\u03bd \u03c0\u03b5\u03c1\u03b9                 si sic Deus\n  \u03c4\u03c9\u03bd \u1f01\u03bc\u03b1\u03c1\u03c4\u03b9\u03c9\u03bd \u1f21\u03bc\u03c9\u03bd.                 dilexit nos, et nos debemus\n  \u03b1\u03b3\u03b1\u03c0\u03b7\u03c4\u03bf\u03b9, \u03b5\u03b9 \u03bf\u03c5\u03c4\u03c9\u03c2 \u1f41               alterutrum diligere.\n  \u0398\u03b5\u03bf\u03c2 \u03b7\u03b3\u03b1\u03c0\u03b7\u03c3\u03b5\u03bd \u1f21\u03bc\u03b1\u03c2,                Deum nemo\n  \u03ba\u03b1\u03b9 \u1f21\u03bc\u03b5\u03b9\u03c2 \u1f41\u03c6\u03b5\u03b9\u03bb\u03bf\u03bc\u03b5\u03bd                vidit unquam: si diligamus\n  \u03b1\u03bb\u03bb\u03b7\u03bb\u03bf\u03c5\u03c2 \u03b1\u03b3\u03b1\u03c0\u03b1\u03bd. \u0398\u03b5\u03bf\u03bd              invicem, Deus\n  \u03bf\u03c5\u03b4\u03b5\u03b9\u03c2 \u03c0\u03c9\u03c0\u03bf\u03c4\u03b5 \u03c4\u03b5\u03b8\u03b5\u03b1\u03c4\u03b1\u03b9\u00b7            in nobis manet, et\n  \u03b5\u03b1\u03bd \u03b1\u03b3\u03b1\u03c0\u03c9\u03bc\u03b5\u03bd \u03b1\u03bb\u03bb\u03b7\u03bb\u03bf\u03c5\u03c2,             caritas eius in nobis\n  \u1f41 \u0398\u03b5\u03bf\u03c2 \u03b5\u03bd \u1f21\u03bc\u03b9\u03bd \u03bc\u03b5\u03bd\u03b5\u03b9,              perfecta est. In hos\n  \u03ba\u03b1\u03b9 \u1f21 \u03b1\u03b3\u03b1\u03c0\u03b7 \u03b1\u03c5\u03c4\u03bf\u03c5                  intellegimus quoniam\n  \u03c4\u03b5\u03c4\u03b5\u03bb\u03b5\u03b9\u03c9\u03bc\u03b5\u03bd\u03b7 \u03b5\u03c3\u03c4\u03b9\u03bd \u03b5\u03bd              in eum manemus et\n  \u1f21\u03bc\u03b9\u03bd. \u03b5\u03bd \u03c4\u03bf\u03c5\u03c4\u03c9 \u03b3\u03b9\u03bd\u03c9\u03c3\u03ba\u03bf\u03bc\u03b5\u03bd          ipse in nobis, quoniam\n  \u1f41\u03c4\u03b9 \u03b5\u03bd \u03b1\u03c5\u03c4\u03c9                        de Spiritu Suo dedit\n  \u03bc\u03b5\u03bd\u03bf\u03bc\u03b5\u03bd \u03ba\u03b1\u03b9 \u03b1\u03c5\u03c4\u03bf\u03c2 \u03b5\u03bd               nobis. Et nos vidimus\n  \u1f21\u03bc\u03b9\u03bd, \u1f41\u03c4\u03b9 \u03b5\u03ba \u03c4\u03bf\u03c5 \u03a0\u03bd\u03b5\u03c5\u03bc\u03b1\u03c4\u03bf\u03c2         et testificamur quoniam\n  \u03b1\u03c5\u03c4\u03bf\u03c5 \u03b4\u03b5\u03b4\u03c9\u03ba\u03b5\u03bd \u1f21\u03bc\u03b9\u03bd.                Pater misit Filium\n  \u039a\u03b1\u03b9 \u1f21\u03bc\u03b5\u03b9\u03c2 \u03c4\u03b5\u03b8\u03b5\u03b1\u03bc\u03b5\u03b8\u03b1                salvatorem mundi.\n  \u03ba\u03b1\u03b9 \u03bc\u03b1\u03c1\u03c4\u03c5\u03c1\u03bf\u03c5\u03bc\u03b5\u03bd \u1f41\u03c4\u03b9 \u1f41              Quicunque confessus\n  \u03c0\u03b1\u03c4\u03b7\u03c1 \u03b1\u03c0\u03b5\u03c3\u03c4\u03b1\u03bb\u03ba\u03b5 \u03c4\u03bf\u03bd                fuerit quoniam Iesus\n  \u03c5\u03b9\u03bf\u03c5 \u03c3\u03c9\u03c4\u03b7\u03c1\u03b1 \u03c4\u03bf\u03c5 \u03ba\u03bf\u03c3\u03bc\u03bf\u03c5.            est Filius Dei, Deus in\n  \u1f41\u03c2 \u03b1\u03bd \u1f41\u03bc\u03bf\u03bb\u03bf\u03b3\u03b7\u03c3\u03b7 \u1f41\u03c4\u03b9               eo manet, et ipse in\n  \u0399\u03b7\u03c3\u03bf\u03c5\u03c2 \u03b5\u03c3\u03c4\u03b9\u03bd \u1f41 \u03c5\u03b9\u03bf\u03c2 \u03c4\u03bf\u03c5            Deo. Et nos cognovimus\n  \u0398\u03b5\u03bf\u03c5, \u1f41 \u0398\u03b5\u03bf\u03c2 \u03b5\u03bd \u03b1\u03c5\u03c4\u03c9               et credimus, caritati\n  \u03bc\u03b5\u03bd\u03b5\u03b9 \u03ba\u03b1\u03b9 \u03b1\u03c5\u03c4\u03bf\u03c2 \u03b5\u03bd \u03c4\u03c9              Dei quam habet\n  \u0398\u03b5\u03c9. \u039a\u03b1\u03b9 \u1f21\u03bc\u03b5\u03b9\u03c2 \u03b5\u03b3\u03bd\u03c9\u03ba\u03b1\u03bc\u03b5\u03bd           Deus in nobis. Deus\n  \u03ba\u03b1\u03b9 \u03c0\u03b5\u03c0\u03b9\u03c3\u03c4\u03b5\u03c5\u03ba\u03b1\u03bc\u03b5\u03bd                  caritas est, et qui manet\n  \u03c4\u03b7\u03bd \u03b1\u03b3\u03b1\u03c0\u03b7\u03bd \u1f21\u03bd \u03b5\u03c7\u03b5\u03b9 \u1f41               in caritate in Deo manet,\n  \u0398\u03b5\u03bf\u03c2 \u03b5\u03bd \u1f21\u03bc\u03b9\u03bd. \u1f41 \u0398\u03b5\u03bf\u03c2               et Deus in eo. In\n  \u03b1\u03b3\u03b1\u03c0\u03b7 \u03b5\u03c3\u03c4\u03b9, \u03ba\u03b1\u03b9 \u1f41 \u03bc\u03b5\u03bd\u03c9\u03bd            hoc perfecta est nobiscum\n  \u03b5\u03bd \u03c4\u03b7 \u03b1\u03b3\u03b1\u03c0\u03b7 \u03b5\u03bd \u03c4\u03c9 \u0398\u03b5\u03c9              caritas ut fiduciam\n  \u03bc\u03b5\u03bd\u03b5\u03b9, \u03ba\u03b1\u03b9 \u1f41 \u0398\u03b5\u03bf\u03c2 \u03b5\u03bd               habeamus in die iudicii\n  \u03b1\u03c5\u03c4\u03c9. \u0395\u03bd \u03c4\u03bf\u03c5\u03c4\u03c9 \u03c4\u03b5\u03c4\u03b5\u03bb\u03b5\u03b9\u03c9\u03c4\u03b1\u03b9         quia sicut ille est et\n  \u1f21 \u03b1\u03b3\u03b1\u03c0\u03b7 \u03bc\u03b5\u03b8'                       nos sumus in hoc\n  \u1f21\u03bc\u03c9\u03bd, \u1f31\u03bd\u03b1 \u03c0\u03b1\u03c1\u03c1\u03b7\u03c3\u03b9\u03b1\u03bd                mundo. Timor non\n  \u03b5\u03c7\u03c9\u03bc\u03b5\u03bd \u03b5\u03bd \u03c4\u03b7 \u1f21\u03bc\u03b5\u03c1\u03b1 \u03c4\u03b7\u03c2             est in caritate, sed\n  \u03ba\u03c1\u03b9\u03c3\u03b5\u03c9\u03c2\u00b7 \u1f41\u03c4\u03b9 \u03ba\u03b1\u03b8\u03c9\u03c2                 perfecta caritas foras\n  \u03b5\u03ba\u03b5\u03b9\u03bd\u03bf\u03c2 \u03b5\u03c3\u03c4\u03b9 \u03ba\u03b1\u03b9 \u1f21\u03bc\u03b5\u03b9\u03c2             mittit timorem; quoniam\n  \u03b5\u03c3\u03bc\u03b5\u03bd \u03b5\u03bd \u03c4\u03c9 \u03ba\u03bf\u03c3\u03bc\u03c9                  timor p\u0153nam\n  \u03c4\u03bf\u03c5\u03c4\u03c9. \u03c6\u03bf\u03b2\u03bf\u03c2 \u03bf\u03c5\u03ba \u03b5\u03c3\u03c4\u03b9\u03bd             habet, qui autem timet\n  \u03b5\u03bd \u03c4\u03b7 \u03b1\u03b3\u03b1\u03c0\u03b7, \u03b1\u03bb\u03bb' \u1f21                non est perfectus in\n  \u03c4\u03b5\u03bb\u03b5\u03b9\u03b1 \u03b1\u03b3\u03b1\u03c0\u03b7 \u03b5\u03be\u03c9 \u03b2\u03b1\u03bb\u03bb\u03b5\u03b9            caritate. Nos ergo\n  \u03c4\u03bf\u03bd \u03c6\u03bf\u03b2\u03bf\u03bd, \u1f41\u03c4\u03b9 \u1f41 \u03c6\u03bf\u03b2\u03bf\u03c2             diligamus invicem quoniam\n  \u03ba\u03bf\u03bb\u03b1\u03c3\u03b9\u03bd \u03b5\u03c7\u03b5\u03b9, \u1f41 \u03b4\u03b5                 Deus prior dilexit\n  \u03c6\u03bf\u03b2\u03bf\u03c5\u03bc\u03b5\u03bd\u03bf\u03c2 \u03bf\u03c5 \u03c4\u03b5\u03c4\u03b5\u03bb\u03b5\u03b9\u03c9\u03c4\u03b1\u03b9          nos. Si quis dixerit\n  \u03b5\u03bd \u03c4\u03b7 \u03b1\u03b3\u03b1\u03c0\u03b7. \u1f21\u03bc\u03b5\u03b9\u03c2                 quoniam diligo Deum,\n  \u03b1\u03b3\u03b1\u03c0\u03c9\u03bc\u03b5\u03bd \u03b1\u03c5\u03c4\u03bf\u03bd, \u1f41\u03c4\u03b9                et fratrem suum oderit,\n  \u03b1\u03c5\u03c4\u03bf\u03c2 \u03c0\u03c1\u03c9\u03c4\u03bf\u03c2 \u03b7\u03b3\u03b1\u03c0\u03b7\u03c3\u03b5\u03bd              mendax est: qui enim\n  \u03b7\u03bc\u03b1\u03c2. \u0395\u03b1\u03bd \u03c4\u03b9\u03c2 \u03b5\u03b9\u03c0\u03b7.                non diligit fratrem\n  \u1f49\u03c4\u03b9 \u03b1\u03b3\u03b1\u03c0\u03c9 \u03c4\u03bf\u03bd \u0398\u03b5\u03bf\u03bd,                suum quem videt,\n  \u03ba\u03b1\u03b9 \u03c4\u03bf\u03bd \u03b1\u03b4\u03b5\u03bb\u03c6\u03bf\u03bd \u03b1\u03c5\u03c4\u03bf\u03c5              Deum quem non videt\n  \u03bc\u03b9\u03c3\u03b7, \u03c8\u03b5\u03c5\u03c3\u03c4\u03b7\u03c2 \u03b5\u03c3\u03c4\u03b9\u03bd\u00b7 \u1f41             quomodo potest diligere?\n  \u03b3\u03b1\u03c1 \u03bc\u03b7 \u03b1\u03b3\u03b1\u03c0\u03c9\u03bd \u03c4\u03bf\u03bd                  Et hoc mandatum\n  \u03b1\u03b4\u03b5\u03bb\u03c6\u03bf\u03bd \u03b1\u03c5\u03c4\u03bf\u03c5 \u1f41\u03bd \u1f11\u03c9\u03c1\u03b1\u03ba\u03b5            habemus a Deo,\n  \u03c4\u03bf\u03bd \u0398\u03b5\u03bf\u03bd \u1f41\u03bd \u03bf\u03c5\u03c7 \u1f11\u03c9\u03c1\u03b1\u03ba\u03b5             ut qui diligat Deum\n  \u03c0\u03c9\u03c2 \u03b4\u03c5\u03bd\u03b1\u03c4\u03b1\u03b9 \u03b1\u03b3\u03b1\u03c0\u03b1\u03bd;                diligat et fratrem suum.\n  \u03ba\u03b1\u03b9 \u03c4\u03b1\u03c5\u03c4\u03b7\u03bd \u03c4\u03b7\u03bd \u03b5\u03bd\u03c4\u03bf\u03bb\u03b7\u03bd\n  \u03b5\u03c7\u03bf\u03bc\u03b5\u03bd \u03b1\u03c0' \u03b1\u03c5\u03c4\u03bf\u03c5, \u1f31\u03bd\u03b1              Omnis qui credit\n  \u1f41 \u03b1\u03b3\u03b1\u03c0\u03c9\u03bd \u03c4\u03bf\u03bd \u0398\u03b5\u03bf\u03bd                  quoniam Iesus est\n  \u03b1\u03b3\u03b1\u03c0\u03b1 \u03ba\u03b1\u03b9 \u03c4\u03bf\u03bd \u03b1\u03b4\u03b5\u03bb\u03c6\u03bf\u03bd              Christus, ex Deo natus\n  \u03b1\u03c5\u03c4\u03bf\u03c5.                             est; et omnis qui diligit\n                                     eum qui genuit, diligit\n  \u03a0\u03b1\u03c2 \u1f41 \u03c0\u03b9\u03c3\u03c4\u03b5\u03c5\u03c9\u03bd \u1f41\u03c4\u03b9                 eum qui natus est\n  \u0399\u03b7\u03c3\u03bf\u03c5\u03c2 \u03b5\u03c3\u03c4\u03b9\u03bd \u1f41 \u03a7\u03c1\u03b9\u03c3\u03c4\u03bf\u03c2             ex eo. In hoc cognoscimus\n  \u03b5\u03ba \u03c4\u03bf\u03c5 \u0398\u03b5\u03bf\u03c5 \u03b3\u03b5\u03b3\u03b5\u03bd\u03bd\u03b7\u03c4\u03b1\u03b9\u00b7            quoniam diligimus\n  \u03ba\u03b1\u03b9 \u03c0\u03b1\u03c2 \u1f41 \u03b1\u03b3\u03b1\u03c0\u03c9\u03bd \u03c4\u03bf\u03bd               natos Dei, cum\n  \u03b3\u03b5\u03bd\u03bd\u03b7\u03c3\u03b1\u03bd\u03c4\u03b1 \u03b1\u03b3\u03b1\u03c0\u03b1 \u03ba\u03b1\u03b9               Deum diligamus et\n  \u03c4\u03bf\u03bd \u03b3\u03b5\u03b3\u03b5\u03bd\u03bd\u03b7\u03bc\u03b5\u03bd\u03bf\u03bd \u03b5\u03be                mandata eius faciamus.\n  \u03b1\u03c5\u03c4\u03bf\u03c5. \u03b5\u03bd \u03c4\u03bf\u03c5\u03c4\u03c9 \u03b3\u03b9\u03bd\u03c9\u03c3\u03ba\u03bf\u03bc\u03b5\u03bd         H\u00e6c est enim caritas\n  \u1f41\u03c4\u03b9 \u03b1\u03b3\u03b1\u03c0\u03c9\u03bc\u03b5\u03bd                       Dei, ut mandata eius\n  \u03c4\u03b1 \u03c4\u03b5\u03ba\u03bd\u03b1 \u03c4\u03bf\u03c5 \u0398\u03b5\u03bf\u03c5, \u1f41\u03c4\u03b1\u03bd            custodiamus.\n  \u03c4\u03bf\u03bd \u0398\u03b5\u03bf\u03bd \u03b1\u03b3\u03b1\u03c0\u03c9\u03bc\u03b5\u03bd \u03ba\u03b1\u03b9\n  \u03c4\u03b1\u03c2 \u03b5\u03bd\u03c4\u03bf\u03bb\u03b1\u03c2 \u03b1\u03c5\u03c4\u03bf\u03c5 \u03c4\u03b7\u03c1\u03c9\u03bc\u03b5\u03bd.\n  \u03b1\u03c5\u03c4\u03b7 \u03b3\u03b1\u03c1 \u03b5\u03c3\u03c4\u03b9\u03bd\n  \u1f21 \u03b1\u03b3\u03b1\u03c0\u03b7 \u03c4\u03bf\u03c5 \u0398\u03b5\u03bf\u03c5, \u1f31\u03bd\u03b1\n  \u03c4\u03b1\u03c2 \u03b5\u03bd\u03c4\u03bf\u03bb\u03b1\u03c2 \u03b1\u03c5\u03c4\u03bf\u03c5 \u03c4\u03b7\u03c1\u03c9\u03bc\u03b5\u03bd.\n\n\n     AUTHORISED VERSION.                  REVISED VERSION.\n\n  Beloved, let us love               Beloved, let us love\n  one another: for love              one another: for love\n  is of God; and every               is of God; and every\n  one that loveth is born            one that loveth is begotten\n  of God, and knoweth                of God, and\n  God. He that loveth                knoweth God. He\n  not knoweth not God;               that loveth not knoweth\n  for God is love. In                not God; for God\n  this was manifested                is love. Herein was\n  the love of God toward             the love of God manifested\n  us, because that                   in us, that God\n  God sent His only begotten         hath sent His only begotten\n  Son into the                       Son into the\n  world, that we might               world, that we might\n  live through Him.                  live through Him.\n  Herein is love, not                Herein is love, not\n  that we loved God,                 that we loved God,\n  but that He loved us,              but that He loved us,\n  and sent His Son _to be_           and sent His Son _to be_\n  the propitiation for our           the propitiation for our\n  sins. Beloved, if God              sins. Beloved, if God\n  so loved us, we ought              so loved us, we also\n  also to love one another.          ought to love one another.\n  No man hath                        No man hath\n  seen God at any time.              beheld God at any\n  If we love one another,            time: if we love one\n  God dwelleth in us,                another, God abideth\n  and His love is perfected          in us, and His love is\n  in us. Hereby                      perfected in us: hereby\n  know we that we dwell              know we that we\n  in Him, and He in us,              abide in Him, and He\n  because He hath given              in us, because He hath\n  us of His Spirit. And              given us of His Spirit.\n  we have seen and do                And we have beheld\n  testify that the Father            and bear witness that\n  sent the Son _to be_ the           the Father hath sent\n  Saviour of the world.              the Son _to be_ the\n  Whosoever shall confess            Saviour of the world.\n  that Jesus is the                  Whosoever shall confess\n  Son of God, God dwelleth           that Jesus is the\n  in him, and he in                  Son of God, God abideth\n  God. And we have                   in him, and he in\n  known and believed                 God. And we know\n  the love that God hath             and have believed the\n  to us. God is love:                love which God hath\n  and he that dwelleth               in us. God is love;\n  in love dwelleth in                and he that abideth in\n  God, and God in him.               love abideth in God,\n  Herein is our love                 and God abideth in\n  made perfect, that we              him. Herein is love\n  may have boldness in               made perfect with us,\n  the day of judgment:               that we may have boldness\n  because as He is, so               in the day of\n  are we in this world.              judgment; because as\n  There is no fear in                He is, even so are we\n  love; but perfect love             in this world. There\n  casteth out fear: because          is no fear in love: but\n  fear hath torment.                 perfect love casteth out\n  He that feareth                    fear, because fear hath\n  is not made perfect                punishment; and he\n  in love. We love                   that feareth is not\n  Him, because He                    made perfect in love.\n  first loved us. If a               We love, because He\n  man say, I love God,               first loved us. If a\n  and hateth his brother,            man say, I love God,\n  he is a liar: for he               and hateth his brother,\n  that loveth not his                he is a liar: for he\n  brother whom he hath               that loveth not his\n  seen, how can he love              brother whom he hath\n  God whom he hath not               seen, cannot love God\n  seen? And this commandment         whom he hath not seen.\n  have we                            And this commandment\n  from Him, That he                  have we from\n  who loveth God love                Him, that he who\n  his brother also.                  loveth God love his\n                                     brother also.\n  Whosoever believeth\n  that Jesus is the Christ           Whosoever believeth\n  is born of God: and                that Jesus is the Christ\n  every one that loveth              is begotten of God:\n  Him that begat loveth              and whosoever loveth\n  Him also that is begotten          Him that begat loveth\n  of Him. By this we                 Him also that is begotten\n  know that we love the              of Him. Hereby\n  children of God, when              we know that we\n  we love God, and keep              love the children of\n  His commandments.                  God, when we love\n  For this is the love of            God, and do His commandments.\n  God, that we keep                  For this\n  His commandments.                  is the love of God, that\n                                     we keep His commandments.\n\n\n     ANOTHER VERSION.\n\n  Beloved, let us love\n  one another, for love\n  is of God, and every\n  one that loveth is born\n  of God, and knoweth\n  God. He that loveth\n  not knoweth not God,\n  for God is love. In\n  this was manifested\n  the love of God in us,\n  because that God hath\n  sent His Son His only\n  begotten Son into the\n  world that we might\n  live through Him. In\n  this is The Love, not\n  that we loved God,\n  but that He loved us,\n  and sent His Son _as_\n  propitiation for our\n  sins. Beloved, if God\n  so loved us, we also\n  are bounden to love\n  one another. God no\n  one hath ever yet beholden:\n  if we love one\n  another God abideth\n  in us and His love is\n  perfected in us. Herein\n  know we that we\n  abide in Him, and He\n  in us, because He hath\n  given us out of the\n  _fulness_ of His Spirit.\n  And we have beheld\n  and are bearing witness\n  that the Father\n  hath sent the Son _as_\n  the Saviour of the\n  world. Whosoever\n  shall confess that Jesus\n  is the Son of God, God\n  abideth in him and he\n  in God. And we know\n  and have believed the\n  love which God hath\n  in us. God is love; and\n  he that abideth in love,\n  abideth in God, and\n  God in him. Herein\n  hath The Love been\n  perfected with us that\n  we may have boldness\n  in the Day of the\n  Judgment: because as\n  He is so are we in this\n  world. Fear is not in\n  love: but the perfect\n  love casteth out fear,\n  because fear bringeth\n  punishment with it.\n  He that is fearing is\n  not made perfect in his\n  love. We love Him\n  because He first loved\n  us. If a man say, I love\n  God, and hateth his\n  brother, he is a liar:\n  for he that loveth not\n  his brother whom he\n  hath seen, God whom\n  he hath not seen how\n  can he love? And\n  this commandment\n  have we from Him,\n  that he who loveth\n  God love his brother\n  also.\n\n  Whosoever believeth\n  that Jesus is the Christ\n  is born of God, and\n  every one who loveth\n  Him that begat loveth\n  also Him that is begotten\n  of Him. Herein\n  we know that we love\n  the children of God,\n  when we love God and\n  do His commandments:\n  for this is the love of\n  God, that we observe\n  His commandments.\n\n\n\n\n                             DISCOURSE X.\n\n                  _BOLDNESS IN THE DAY OF JUDGMENT._\n\n    \"Herein is our love made perfect, that we may have boldness in the\n    Day of Judgment: because as He is, so are we in this world.\"--1\n    JOHN iv. 17.\n\n\nIt has been so often repeated that St. John's eschatology is idealized\nand spiritual, that people now seldom pause to ask what is meant by the\nwords. Those who repeat them most frequently seem to think that the\nidealized means that which will never come into the region of historical\nfact, and that the spiritual is best defined as the unreal. Yet, without\npostulating the Johannic authorship of the Apocalypse--where the\nJudgment is described with the most awful accompaniments of outward\nsolemnity[256]--there are two places in this Epistle which are allowed\nto drop out of view, but which bring us face to face with the visible\nmanifestations of an external Advent. It is a peculiarity of St. John's\nstyle (as we have frequently seen) to strike some chord of thought, so\nto speak, before its time; to allow the prelusive note to float away,\nuntil suddenly, after a time, it surprises us by coming back again with\na fuller and bolder resonance. \"And now, my sons,\"[257] (had the Apostle\nsaid) \"abide in Him, that if He shall be manifested, we may have\nconfidence, and not be ashamed shrinking from Him[258] at His\ncoming.\"[259] In our text the same thought is resumed, and the reality\nof the Coming and Judgment in its external manifestation as emphatically\ngiven as in any other part of the New Testament.[260]\n\nWe may here speak of the conception of the Day of the Judgment: of the\nfear with which that conception is encompassed; and of the sole means\nof the removal of that fear which St. John recognises.\n\n\n                                  I.\n\nWe examine the general conception of \"the Day of the Judgment,\" as\ngiven in the New Testament.\n\nAs there is that which with terrible emphasis is marked off as \"_the_\nJudgment,\"[261] \"_the_ Parousia,\" so there are other judgments or\nadvents of a preparatory character. As there are phenomena known as mock\nsuns, or haloes round the moon, so there are fainter reflections ringed\nround the Advent, the Judgment.[262] Thus, in the development of\nhistory, there are successive cycles of continuing judgment; preparatory\nadvents; less completed _crises_, as even the world calls them.\n\nBut against one somewhat widely-spread way of blotting the Day of the\nJudgment from the calendar of the future--so far as believers are\nconcerned--we should be on our guard. Some good men think themselves\nentitled to reason thus--\"I am a Christian. I shall be an assessor in\nthe judgment. For me there is, therefore, no judgment day.\" And it is\neven held out as an inducement to others to close with this conclusion,\nthat they \"shall be delivered from the bugbear of judgment.\"\n\nThe origin of this notion seems to be in certain universal tendencies\nof modern religious thought.\n\nThe idolatry of the immediate--the prompt creation of effect--is the\nperpetual snare of _revivalism_. _Revivalism_ is thence fatally bound at\nonce to follow the tide of emotion, and to increase the volume of the\nwaters by which it is swept along. But the religious emotion of this\ngeneration has one characteristic by which it is distinguished from that\nof previous centuries. The revivalism of the past in all Churches rode\nupon the dark waves of fear. It worked upon human nature by exaggerated\nmaterial descriptions of hell, by solemn appeals to the throne of\nJudgment. Certain schools of biblical criticism have enabled men to\nsteel themselves against this form of preaching. An age of soft\nhumanitarian sentiment--superficial, and inclined to forget that perfect\nGoodness may be a very real cause of fear--must be stirred by emotions\nof a different kind. The infinite sweetness of our Father's heart--the\nconclusions, illogically but effectively drawn from this, of an\nInfinite good-nature, with its easy-going pardon, reconciliation all\nround, and exemption from all that is unpleasant--these, and such as\nthese, are the only available materials for creating a great volume of\nemotion. An invertebrate creed; punishment either annihilated or\nmitigated; judgment, changed from a solemn and universal assize, a bar\nat which every soul must stand, to a splendid, and--for all who can say\nI _am saved_--a triumphant pageant in which they have no anxious\nconcern; these are the readiest instruments, the most powerful leverage,\nwith which to work extensively upon masses of men at the present time.\nAnd the seventh article of the Apostles' Creed must pass into the limbo\nof exploded superstition.\n\nThe only appeal to Scripture which such persons make, with any show of\nplausibility, is contained in an exposition of our Lord's teaching in a\npart of the fifth chapter of the fourth Gospel.[263] But clearly there\nare three Resurrection scenes which may be discriminated in those words.\nThe first is spiritual, a present awakening of dead souls,[264] in those\nwith whom the Son of Man is brought into contact in His earthly\nministry. The second is a department of the same spiritual resurrection.\nThe Son of God, with that mysterious gift of Life in Himself,[265] has\nwithin Him a perpetual spring of rejuvenescence for a faded and dying\nworld. A renewal of hearts is in process during all the days of time, a\npassage for soul after soul out of death into life.[266] The third scene\nis the general Resurrection and general Judgment.[267] The first was the\nresurrection of comparatively few; the second is the resurrection of\nmany; the third will be the resurrection of all. If it is said that the\nbeliever \"cometh not into _judgment_,\" the word in that place plainly\nsignifies _condemnation_.[268]\n\nClear and plain above all such subtleties ring out the awe-inspiring\nwords: \"it is appointed unto men once to die, but after this the\nJudgment;\" \"we must all appear before the judgment-seat of Christ.\"[269]\n\nReason supplies us with two great arguments for the General Judgment.\nOne from the conscience of history, so to speak; the other from the\nindividual conscience.\n\n1. General history points to a general judgment. If there is no such\njudgment to come, then there is no one definite moral purpose in human\nsociety. Progress would be a melancholy word, a deceptive appearance, a\nstream that has no issue, a road that leads nowhere. No one who believes\nthat there is a Personal God, Who guides the course of human affairs,\ncan come to the conclusion that the generations of man are to go on for\never without a winding-up, which shall decide upon the doings of all who\ntake part in human life. In the philosophy of nature, the affirmation or\ndenial of purpose is the affirmation or denial of God. So in the\nphilosophy of history. Society without the General Judgment would be a\nchaos of random facts, a thing without rational retrospect or definite\nend--_i.e._, without God. If man is under the government of God, human\nhistory is a drama, long-drawn, and of infinite variety, with\ninconceivably numerous actors. But a drama must have a last act. The\nlast act of the drama of history is \"The Day of the Judgment.\"\n\n2. The other argument is derived from the individual conscience.\n\nConscience, as a matter of fact, has two voices. One is _imperative_;\nit tells us what we are to do. One is _prophetic_, and warns us of\nsomething which we are to receive. If there is to be no Day of the\nGeneral Judgment, then the million prophecies of conscience will be\nbelied, and our nature prove to be mendacious to its very roots.\n\nThere is no essential article of the Christian creed like this which\ncan be isolated from the rest, and treated as if it stood alone. There\nis a _solidarity_ of each with all the rest. Any which is isolated is\nin danger itself, and leaves the others exposed. For they have an\ninternal harmony and congruity. They do not form a hotchpot of\ncredenda. They are not so many _beliefs_ but one _belief_. Thus the\nisolation of articles is perilous. For, when we try to grasp and to\ndefend one of them, we have no means left of measuring it but by terms\nof comparison which are drawn from ourselves, which must therefore be\nfinite, and by the inadequacy of the scale which they present, appear\nto render the article of faith thus detached incredible. Moreover,\neach article of our creed is a revelation of the Divine attributes,\nwhich meet together in unity. To divide the attributes by dividing the\nform in which they are revealed to us is to belie and falsify the\nattribute; to give a monstrous development to one by not taking into\naccount some other which is its balance and compensation. Thus, many\nmen deny the truth of a punishment which involves final separation\nfrom God. They glory in the legal judgment which \"dismisses hell with\ncosts.\" But they do so by fixing their attention exclusively upon the\none dogma which reveals one attribute of God. They isolate it from the\nFall, from the Redemption by Christ, from the gravity of sin, from the\ntruth that all whom the message of the Gospel reaches may avoid the\npenal consequences of sin. It is impossible to face the dogma of\neternal separation from God without facing the dogma of Redemption.\nFor Redemption involves in its very idea the intensity of sin, which\nneeded the sacrifice of the Son of God; and further, the fact that the\noffer of salvation is so free and wide that it cannot be put away\nwithout a terrible wilfulness.\n\nIn dealing with many of the articles of the creed, there are opposite\nextremes. Exaggeration leads to a revenge upon them which is, perhaps,\nmore perilous than neglect. Thus, as regards eternal punishment, in\none country ghastly exaggerations were prevalent. It was assumed that\nthe vast majority of mankind \"are destined to everlasting punishment\";\nthat \"the floor of hell is crawled over by hosts of babies a span\nlong.\" The inconsistency of such views with the love of God, and with\nthe best instincts of man, was victoriously and passionately\ndemonstrated. Then unbelief turned upon the dogma itself, and argued,\nwith wide acceptance, that \"with the overthrow of this conception goes\nthe whole redemption-plan, the Incarnation, the Atonement, the\nResurrection, and the grand climax of the Church-scheme, the General\nJudgment.\" But the alleged article of faith was simply an\nexaggeration of that faith, and the objections lay altogether against\nthe exaggeration of it.\n\n\n                                 II.\n\nWe have now to speak of the removal of that terror which accompanies the\nconception of the Day of the Judgment, and of the sole means of that\nemancipation which St. John recognises. For terror there is in every\npoint of the repeated descriptions of Scripture--in the surroundings, in\nthe summons, in the tribunal, in the trial, in one of the two sentences.\n\n\"God is love,\" writes St. John, \"and he that abideth in love abideth\nin God: and God abideth in him. In this [abiding], love stands\nperfected _with us_,[270] and the object is nothing less than this,\"\nnot that we may be exempted from judgment, but that \"we may have\nboldness in the Day of the Judgment.\" Boldness! It is the splendid\nword which denotes the citizen's right of free speech, the masculine\nprivilege of courageous liberty.[271] It is the tender word which\nexpresses the child's unhesitating confidence, in \"saying all out\" to\nthe parent. The ground of the boldness is conformity to Christ.\nBecause \"as He _is_,\" with that vivid idealizing sense, frequent in\nSt. John when he uses it of our Lord--\"as He is,\" delineated in the\nfourth Gospel, seen by \"the eye of the heart\"[272] with constant\nreverence in the soul, with adoring wonder in heaven, perfectly true,\npure, and righteous--\"even so\" (not, of course, with any equality in\ndegree to that consummate ideal, but with a likeness ever growing, an\naspiration ever advancing[273])--\"so are we in this world,\" purifying\nourselves as He is pure.\n\nLet us draw to a definite point our considerations upon the Judgment,\nand the Apostle's sweet encouragement for the \"day of wrath, that\ndreadful day.\"\n\nIt is of the essence of the Christian faith to believe that the Son of\nGod, in the Human Nature which He assumed, and which He has borne into\nheaven, shall come again, and gather all before Him, and pass sentence\nof condemnation or of peace according to their works. To hold this is\nnecessary to prevent terrible doubts of the very existence of God; to\nguard us against sin, in view of that solemn account; to comfort us\nunder affliction.\n\nWhat a thought for us, if we would but meditate upon it! Often we\ncomplain of a commonplace life, of mean and petty employment. How can\nit be so, when at the end we, and those with whom we live, must look\nupon that great, overwhelming sight! Not an eye that shall not see\nHim, not a knee that shall not bow, not an ear that shall not hear the\nsentence. The heart might sink and the imagination quail under the\nburden of the supernatural existence which we cannot escape. One of\ntwo looks we must turn upon the Crucified--one willing as that which\nwe cast on some glorious picture, or on the enchantment of the sky;\nthe other unwilling and abject. We should weep first with Zechariah's\nmourners, with tears at once bitter because they are for sin, and\nsweet because they are for Christ.\n\nBut, above all things, let us hear how St. John sings us the sweet low\nhymn that breathes consolation through the terrible fall of the triple\nhammer-stroke of the rhyme in the _Dies ir\u00e6_. We must seek to lead\nupon earth a life laid on the lines of Christ's. Then, when the Day of\nthe Judgment comes; when the cross of fire (so, at least, the early\nChristians thought) shall stand in the black vault; when the sacred\nwounds of Him who was pierced shall stream over with a light beyond\ndawn or sunset; we shall find that the discipline of life is complete,\nthat God's love after all its long working with us stands perfected,\nso that we shall be able, as citizens of the kingdom, as children of\nthe Father, to say out all. A Christlike character in an un-Christlike\nworld--this is the cure of the disease of terror. Any other is but the\nmedicine of a quack. \"There is no fear in love; but the perfect love\ncasteth out fear, because fear brings punishment; and he that feareth\nis not made perfect in love.\"[274]\n\nWe may well close with that pregnant commentary on this verse which\ntells us of the four possible conditions of a human soul--\"without\neither fear or love; with fear, without love; with fear and love; with\nlove, without fear.\"[275]\n\n\n                                NOTES.\n\n                           Ch. iv. 7, v. 3.\n\nVer. 3. This verse should divide about the middle.\n\nFOOTNOTES:\n\n[256] Apoc. xx. 12, 13.\n\n[257] 1 John ii. 28.\n\n[258] \u03b1\u03b9\u03c3\u03c7\u03c5\u03bd\u03b8\u03c9\u03bc\u03b5\u03bd \u03b1\u03c0' \u03b1\u03c5\u03c4\u03bf\u03c5, see Jerem. xii. 13 (for \u05de\u05b4\u05df \u05d1\u05bc\u05d5\u05e9\u05c1). Prof.\nWestcott happily quotes, \"as a guilty thing surprised.\"\n\n[259] _Coming_, \u03b5\u03bd \u03c4\u03b7 \u03c0\u03b1\u03c1\u03bf\u03c5\u03c3\u03b9\u03b1 \u03b1\u03c5\u03c4\u03bf\u03c5. The word is not found elsewhere\nin the Johannic group of writings. But by his use of it here, St. John\nfalls into line with the whole array of apostolic witnesses--with St.\nMatthew (xxiv. 3-27, 37, 39); with St. Paul (_passim_); with St. James\n(v. 7, 8); with St. Peter (2 Peter i. 16, iii. 4-12). This fact may\nwell warn critics of the precarious character of theories founded upon\n\"the negative phenomena of the books of the New Testament.\" (See\nProfessor Westcott's excellent note, _The Epistles of St. John_, 80.)\n\n[260] (\u03b5\u03bd \u03c4\u03b7 \u1f21\u03bc\u03b5\u03c1\u03b1 \u03c4\u03b7\u03c2 \u03ba\u03c1\u03b9\u03c3\u03b5\u03c9\u03c2)--\"in the Day of the Judgment\"--cf.\nApoc. xiv. 7. We have \"in THE Judgment\" (Matt. xii. 41, 42; Luke x.\n14, xi. 31, 32)--the indefinite \"day of judgment\" (Matt. x. 15, xi.\n22, 24; Mark vi. 11).\n\n[261] 2 Pet. ii. 9, iii. 7--but \"_The_ Day of _The_ Judgment,\" here\nonly.\n\n[262] Cf. our Lord's words--\"_henceforth_ (\u03b1\u03c0' \u03b1\u03c1\u03c4\u03b9) ye shall see the\nSon of Man _coming_.\" (Matt. xxvi. 64.)\n\n[263] John v. 21, 29.\n\n[264] Ver. 21.\n\n[265] Ver. 26.\n\n[266] Ver. 24.\n\n[267] Ver. 28, 29.\n\n[268] The writer ventures to lament the substitution of \"judgment\" for\n\"condemnation,\" ver. 24. R.V. It is a verbal consistency, or minute\naccuracy, purchased at the heavy price of a false thought, suggested\nto many readers who are not scholars. \"In John's language \u03ba\u03c1\u03b9\u03c3\u03b9\u03c2 is,\n(_a_) that _judgment_ which came in pain and misery to those who\nrejected the salvation offered to mankind by Christ, iii. 19, \u03ba.\u03c4.\u03bb.,\n\u03b5\u03c1\u03c7\u03b5\u03c3\u03b8\u03b1\u03b9 \u03b5\u03b9\u03c2 \u03ba\u03c1\u03b9\u03c3\u03b9\u03bd, to _fall into the state of one thus condemned_,\nv. 24. (_b_) Judgment of condemnation to the wicked, with ensuing\nrejection, v. 29.\" Grimm. Lex. N.T. 247. Between this passage of the\nfourth Gospel and Apoc. xx., there is a marvellous inner harmony of\nthought. \"The first resurrection\" (ver. 6) = John v. 21, 26; then vv.\n11, 12, 13 = John v. 28, 29.\n\n[269] Heb. ix. 27; 2 Cor. v. 10, cf. Rom. xiv. 10; Apoc. xx. 11, 12, 13.\n\n[270] \u03bc\u03b5\u03b8' \u1f21\u03bc\u03c9\u03bd--God's love in itself is perfected. It might be made\nas perfect as man's nature will admit by an instantaneous act; but God\nworks jointly, in companionship with us. The grace of God \"preventing\nus that we may will, _works with us_ when we will.\" The essential idea\nof \u03bc\u03b5\u03c4\u03b1 is _companionship_ or _connexion_. (See Donaldson, _Gr. Gr.,\n50, 52 a._)\n\n[271] \u03b5\u03bb\u03b5\u03c5\u03b8\u03b5\u03c1\u03b9\u03b1\u03c2 \u1f21 \u03c0\u03bf\u03bb\u03b9\u03c2 \u03bc\u03b5\u03c3\u03c4\u03b7 \u03ba\u03b1\u03b9 \u03c0\u03b1\u03c1\u03c1\u03b7\u03c3\u03b9\u03b1\u03c2 \u03b3\u03b9\u03b3\u03bd\u03b5\u03c4\u03b1\u03b9. (Plat., _Rep._,\n557 B). The word is derived from \u03c0\u03b1\u03bd and \u1fe5\u03b7\u03c3\u03b9\u03c2.\n\n[272] Ephes. i. 18.\n\n[273] Cf. Matt. v. 48.\n\n[274] Ver. 18.\n\n[275] Bengel. The writer must acknowledge his obligation to Professor\nWestcott, whose exposition gives us a peculiar conception of the depth\nof St. John's teaching here. (_The Epistles of St. John_, 149-153).\n\n\n\n\n                             SECTION IX.\n\n\n          GREEK.                           LATIN.\n\n  \u039a\u03b1\u03b9 \u03b1\u03b9 \u03b5\u03bd\u03c4\u03bf\u03bb\u03b1\u03b9 \u03b1\u03c5\u03c4\u03bf\u03c5               Et mandata eius gravia\n  \u03b2\u03b1\u03c1\u03b5\u03b9\u03b1\u03b9 \u03bf\u03c5\u03ba \u03b5\u03b9\u03c3\u03b9\u03bd\u00b7 \u1f41\u03c4\u03b9             non sunt. Quoniam\n  \u03c0\u03b1\u03bd \u03c4\u03bf \u03b3\u03b5\u03b3\u03b5\u03bd\u03bd\u03b7\u03bc\u03b5\u03bd\u03bf\u03bd \u03b5\u03ba             omne quod natum est\n  \u03c4\u03bf\u03c5 \u0398\u03b5\u03bf\u03c5 \u03bd\u03b9\u03ba\u03b1 \u03c4\u03bf\u03bd                  ex Deo vincit mundum:\n  \u03ba\u03bf\u03c3\u03bc\u03bf\u03bd\u00b7 \u03ba\u03b1\u03b9 \u03b1\u03c5\u03c4\u03b7 \u03b5\u03c3\u03c4\u03b9\u03bd             et h\u00e6c est victoria\n  \u1f21 \u03bd\u03b9\u03ba\u03b7 \u1f21 \u03bd\u03b9\u03ba\u03b7\u03c3\u03b1\u03c3\u03b1 \u03c4\u03bf\u03bd              qu\u00e6 vincit mundum,\n  \u03ba\u03bf\u03c3\u03bc\u03bf\u03bd, \u1f21 \u03c0\u03b9\u03c3\u03c4\u03b9\u03c2 \u1f21\u03bc\u03c9\u03bd.             fides nostra. Quis est\n  \u03c4\u03b9\u03c2 \u03b5\u03c3\u03c4\u03b9\u03bd \u1f41 \u03bd\u03b9\u03ba\u03c9\u03bd \u03c4\u03bf\u03bd              qui vincit mundum nisi\n  \u03ba\u03bf\u03c3\u03bc\u03bf\u03bd, \u03b5\u03b9 \u03bc\u03b7 \u1f41 \u03c0\u03b9\u03c3\u03c4\u03b5\u03c5\u03c9\u03bd           qui credit quoniam\n  \u1f41\u03c4\u03b9 \u0399\u03b7\u03c3\u03bf\u03c5\u03c2 \u03b5\u03c3\u03c4\u03b9\u03bd \u1f41 \u03c5\u03b9\u03bf\u03c2            Iesus est Filius Dei?\n  \u03c4\u03bf\u03c5 \u0398\u03b5\u03bf\u03c5; \u039f\u03c5\u03c4\u03bf\u03c2 \u03b5\u03c3\u03c4\u03b9\u03bd              Hic est qui venit per\n  \u1f41 \u03b5\u03bb\u03b8\u03c9\u03bd \u03b4\u03b9 \u1f51\u03b4\u03b1\u03c4\u03bf\u03c2 \u03ba\u03b1\u03b9              aquam et sanguinem,\n  \u03b1\u03b9\u03bc\u03b1\u03c4\u03bf\u03c2, \u0399\u03b7\u03c3\u03bf\u03c5\u03c2 \u1f41 \u03a7\u03c1\u03b9\u03c3\u03c4\u03bf\u03c2\u00b7         Iesus Christus: non in\n  \u03bf\u03c5\u03ba \u03b5\u03bd \u03c4\u03c9 \u1f51\u03b4\u03b1\u03c4\u03b9                    aqua solum, sed in\n  \u03bc\u03bf\u03bd\u03bf\u03bd, \u03b1\u03bb\u03bb' \u03b5\u03bd \u03c4\u03c9 \u1f51\u03b4\u03b1\u03c4\u03b9            aqua et sanguine. Et\n  \u03ba\u03b1\u03b9 \u03b5\u03bd \u03c4\u03c9 \u03b1\u03b9\u03bc\u03b1\u03c4\u03b9\u00b7 \u03ba\u03b1\u03b9 \u03c4\u03bf           Spiritus est qui testificatur\n  \u03c0\u03bd\u03b5\u03c5\u03bc\u03b1 \u03b5\u03c3\u03c4\u03b9 \u03c4\u03bf \u03bc\u03b1\u03c1\u03c4\u03c5\u03c1\u03bf\u03c5\u03bd,          quoniam Christus\n  \u1f41\u03c4\u03b9 \u03c4\u03bf \u03c0\u03bd\u03b5\u03c5\u03bc\u03b1                      est veritas. Quia\n  \u03b5\u03c3\u03c4\u03b9\u03bd \u1f21 \u03b1\u03bb\u03b7\u03b8\u03b5\u03b9\u03b1. \u1f41\u03c4\u03b9               tres sunt qui testimonium\n  \u03c4\u03c1\u03b5\u03b9\u03c2 \u03b5\u03b9\u03c3\u03b9\u03bd \u03bf\u03b9 \u03bc\u03b1\u03c1\u03c4\u03c5\u03c1\u03bf\u03c5\u03bd\u03c4\u03b5\u03c2,       dant, Spiritus\n  \u03c4\u03bf \u03c0\u03bd\u03b5\u03c5\u03bc\u03b1, \u03ba\u03b1\u03b9                     et aqua et sanguis, et\n  \u03c4\u03bf \u1f51\u03b4\u03c9\u03c1, \u03ba\u03b1\u03b9 \u03c4\u03bf \u03b1\u03b9\u03bc\u03b1\u00b7              tres unum sunt. Si\n  \u03ba\u03b1\u03b9 \u03bf\u03b9 \u03c4\u03c1\u03b5\u03b9\u03c2 \u03b5\u03b9\u03c2 \u03c4\u03bf \u1f11\u03bd             testimonium hominum\n  \u03b5\u03b9\u03c3\u03b9\u03bd. \u0395\u03b9 \u03c4\u03b7\u03bd \u03bc\u03b1\u03c1\u03c4\u03c5\u03c1\u03b9\u03b1\u03bd            accipimus, testimonium\n  \u03c4\u03c9\u03bd \u03b1\u03bd\u03b8\u03c1\u03c9\u03c0\u03c9\u03bd \u03bb\u03b1\u03bc\u03b2\u03b1\u03bd\u03bf\u03bc\u03b5\u03bd,           Dei maius est: quoniam\n  \u1f21 \u03bc\u03b1\u03c1\u03c4\u03c5\u03c1\u03b9\u03b1 \u03c4\u03bf\u03c5                     hoc est testimonium\n  \u0398\u03b5\u03bf\u03c5 \u03bc\u03b5\u03b9\u03b6\u03c9\u03bd \u03b5\u03c3\u03c4\u03b9\u03bd\u00b7 \u1f41\u03c4\u03b9             Dei quod\n  \u03b1\u03c5\u03c4\u03b7 \u03b5\u03c3\u03c4\u03b9\u03bd \u1f21 \u03bc\u03b1\u03c1\u03c4\u03c5\u03c1\u03b9\u03b1              maius est, quia testificatus\n  \u03c4\u03bf\u03c5 \u0398\u03b5\u03bf\u03c5, \u1f41\u03c4\u03b9 \u03bc\u03b5\u03bc\u03b1\u03c1\u03c4\u03c5\u03c1\u03b7\u03ba\u03b5\u03bd         est de Filio suo.\n  \u03c0\u03b5\u03c1\u03b9 \u03c4\u03bf\u03c5 \u03c5\u03b9\u03bf\u03c5                      Qui credit in Filio Dei,\n  \u03b1\u03c5\u03c4\u03bf\u03c5. \u1f41 \u03c0\u03b9\u03c3\u03c4\u03b5\u03c5\u03c9\u03bd \u03b5\u03b9\u03c2              habet testimonium Dei\n  \u03c4\u03bf\u03bd \u03c5\u03b9\u03bf\u03bd \u03c4\u03bf\u03c5 \u0398\u03b5\u03bf\u03c5, \u03b5\u03c7\u03b5\u03b9            in se: qui non credit\n  \u03c4\u03b7\u03bd \u03bc\u03b1\u03c1\u03c4\u03c5\u03c1\u03b9\u03b1\u03bd \u03b5\u03bd \u03b1\u03c5\u03c4\u03c9.             mendacem facit eum:\n  \u1f41 \u03bc\u03b7 \u03c0\u03b9\u03c3\u03c4\u03b5\u03c5\u03c9\u03bd \u03c4\u03c9                   quoniam non credidit\n  \u0398\u03b5\u03c9, \u03c8\u03b5\u03c5\u03c3\u03c4\u03b7\u03bd \u03c0\u03b5\u03c0\u03bf\u03b9\u03b7\u03ba\u03b5\u03bd             in testimonio quod\n  \u03b1\u03c5\u03c4\u03bf\u03bd, \u1f41\u03c4\u03b9 \u03bf\u03c5 \u03c0\u03b5\u03c0\u03b9\u03c3\u03c4\u03b5\u03c5\u03ba\u03b5\u03bd          testificatus est Deus\n  \u03b5\u03b9\u03c2 \u03c4\u03b7\u03bd \u03bc\u03b1\u03c1\u03c4\u03c5\u03c1\u03b9\u03b1\u03bd, \u1f21\u03bd              de Filio suo. Et hoc\n  \u03bc\u03b5\u03bc\u03b1\u03c1\u03c4\u03c5\u03c1\u03b7\u03ba\u03b5\u03bd \u1f41 \u0398\u03b5\u03bf\u03c2                est testimonium, quoniam\n  \u03c0\u03b5\u03c1\u03b9 \u03c4\u03bf\u03c5 \u03c5\u03b9\u03bf\u03c5 \u03b1\u03c5\u03c4\u03bf\u03c5.               vitam eternam\n  \u039a\u03b1\u03b9 \u03b1\u03c5\u03c4\u03b7 \u03b5\u03c3\u03c4\u03b9\u03bd \u1f21 \u03bc\u03b1\u03c1\u03c4\u03c5\u03c1\u03b9\u03b1          dedit nobis Deus, et\n  \u1f41\u03c4\u03b9 \u03b6\u03c9\u03b7\u03bd \u03b1\u03b9\u03c9\u03bd\u03b9\u03bf\u03bd                   h\u00e6c vita in Filio eius.\n  \u03b5\u03b4\u03c9\u03ba\u03b5\u03bd \u1f21\u03bc\u03b9\u03bd \u1f41 \u0398\u03b5\u03bf\u03c2\u00b7 \u03ba\u03b1\u03b9            Qui habet Filium habet\n  \u03b1\u03c5\u03c4\u03b7 \u1f21 \u03b6\u03c9\u03b7 \u03b5\u03bd \u03c4\u03c9 \u03c5\u03b9\u03c9               vitam: qui non habet\n  \u03b1\u03c5\u03c4\u03bf\u03c5 \u03b5\u03c3\u03c4\u03b9\u03bd. \u1f41 \u03b5\u03c7\u03c9\u03bd                filium vitam non habet.\n  \u03c4\u03bf\u03bd \u03c5\u03b9\u03bf\u03bd, \u03b5\u03c7\u03b5\u03b9 \u03c4\u03b7\u03bd \u03b6\u03c9\u03b7\u03bd\u00b7           H\u00e6c scripsi vobis ut\n  \u1f41 \u03bc\u03b7 \u03b5\u03c7\u03c9\u03bd \u03c4\u03bf\u03bd \u03c5\u03b9\u03bf\u03bd \u03c4\u03bf\u03c5             sciatis quoniam vitam\n  \u0398\u03b5\u03bf\u03c5, \u03c4\u03b7\u03bd \u03b6\u03c9\u03b7\u03bd \u03bf\u03c5\u03ba \u03b5\u03c7\u03b5\u03b9.           habetis \u00e6ternam, qui\n  \u03a4\u03b1\u03c5\u03c4\u03b1 \u03b5\u03b3\u03c1\u03b1\u03c8\u03b1 \u1f51\u03bc\u03b9\u03bd \u1f31\u03bd\u03b1              creditis in nomine\n  \u03b5\u03b9\u03b4\u03b7\u03c4\u03b5 \u1f41\u03c4\u03b9 \u03b6\u03c9\u03b7\u03bd \u03b5\u03c7\u03b5\u03c4\u03b5              Filii Dei. Et h\u00e6c est\n  \u03b1\u03b9\u03c9\u03bd\u03b9\u03bf\u03bd, \u03bf\u03b9 \u03c0\u03b9\u03c3\u03c4\u03b5\u03c5\u03bf\u03bd\u03c4\u03b5\u03c2            fiducia quam habemus\n  \u03b5\u03b9\u03c2 \u03c4\u03bf \u1f41\u03bd\u03bf\u03bc\u03b1 \u03c4\u03bf\u03c5 \u03c5\u03b9\u03bf\u03c5              ad eum quia quodcumque\n  \u03c4\u03bf\u03c5 \u0398\u03b5\u03bf\u03c5. \u039a\u03b1\u03b9 \u03b1\u03c5\u03c4\u03b7                 petierimus secundum\n  \u03b5\u03c3\u03c4\u03b9\u03bd \u1f21 \u03c0\u03b1\u03c1\u03c1\u03b7\u03c3\u03b9\u03b1 \u1f21\u03bd                voluntatem\n  \u03b5\u03c7\u03bf\u03bc\u03b5\u03bd \u03c0\u03c1\u03bf\u03c2 \u03b1\u03c5\u03c4\u03bf\u03bd, \u1f41\u03c4\u03b9             eius audit nos. Et\n  \u03b5\u03b1\u03bd \u03c4\u03b9 \u03b1\u03b9\u03c4\u03c9\u03bc\u03b5\u03b8\u03b1 \u03ba\u03b1\u03c4\u03b1               scimus quoniam audit\n  \u03c4\u03bf \u03b8\u03b5\u03bb\u03b7\u03bc\u03b1 \u03b1\u03c5\u03c4\u03bf\u03c5, \u03b1\u03ba\u03bf\u03c5\u03b5\u03b9            nos quicquid petierimus,\n  \u1f21\u03bc\u03c9\u03bd\u00b7 \u03ba\u03b1\u03b9 \u03b5\u03b1\u03bd \u03bf\u03b9\u03b4\u03b1\u03bc\u03b5\u03bd              scimus quoniam\n  \u1f41\u03c4\u03b9 \u03b1\u03ba\u03bf\u03c5\u03b5\u03b9 \u1f21\u03bc\u03c9\u03bd \u1f41 \u03b1\u03bd               habemus petitiones\n  \u03b1\u03b9\u03c4\u03c9\u03bc\u03b5\u03b8\u03b1, \u03bf\u03b9\u03b4\u03b1\u03bc\u03b5\u03bd \u1f41\u03c4\u03b9              quas postulamus ab eo.\n  \u03b5\u03c7\u03bf\u03bc\u03b5\u03bd \u03c4\u03b1 \u03b1\u03b9\u03c4\u03b7\u03bc\u03b1\u03c4\u03b1 \u03b1               Qui scit fratrem suum\n  \u03b7\u03c4\u03b7\u03ba\u03b1\u03bc\u03b5\u03bd \u03c0\u03b1\u03c1' \u03b1\u03c5\u03c4\u03bf\u03c5.               peccare peccatum non\n  \u0395\u03b1\u03bd \u03c4\u03b9\u03c2 \u03b9\u03b4\u03b7 \u03c4\u03bf\u03bd \u03b1\u03b4\u03b5\u03bb\u03c6\u03bf\u03bd            ad mortem, petit, et\n  \u03b1\u03c5\u03c4\u03bf\u03c5 \u03b1\u03bc\u03b1\u03c1\u03c4\u03b1\u03bd\u03bf\u03bd\u03c4\u03b1                  dabit ei vitam, peccantibus\n  \u03b1\u03bc\u03b1\u03c1\u03c4\u03b9\u03b1\u03bd \u03bc\u03b7 \u03c0\u03c1\u03bf\u03c2 \u03b8\u03b1\u03bd\u03b1\u03c4\u03bf\u03bd,          non ad mortem.\n  \u03b1\u03b9\u03c4\u03b7\u03c3\u03b5\u03b9, \u03ba\u03b1\u03b9 \u03b4\u03c9\u03c3\u03b5\u03b9                 Est peccatum ad mortem:\n  \u03b1\u03c5\u03c4\u03c9 \u03b6\u03c9\u03b7\u03bd \u03c4\u03bf\u03b9\u03c2 \u1f01\u03bc\u03b1\u03c1\u03c4\u03b1\u03bd\u03bf\u03c5\u03c3\u03b9         non pro illo dico\n  \u03bc\u03b7 \u03c0\u03c1\u03bf\u03c2 \u03b8\u03b1\u03bd\u03b1\u03c4\u03bf\u03bd.                   ut roget quis. Omnis\n  \u03b5\u03c3\u03c4\u03b9\u03bd \u03b1\u03bc\u03b1\u03c1\u03c4\u03b9\u03b1 \u03c0\u03c1\u03bf\u03c2                 iniquitas peccatum est:\n  \u03b8\u03b1\u03bd\u03b1\u03c4\u03bf\u03bd\u00b7 \u03bf\u03c5 \u03c0\u03b5\u03c1\u03b9 \u03b5\u03ba\u03b5\u03b9\u03bd\u03b7\u03c2           et est peccatum ad\n  \u03bb\u03b5\u03b3\u03c9 \u1f31\u03bd\u03b1 \u03b5\u03c1\u03c9\u03c4\u03b7\u03c3\u03b7\u00b7 \u03c0\u03b1\u03c3\u03b1             mortem.\n  \u03b1\u03b4\u03b9\u03ba\u03b9\u03b1 \u03b1\u03bc\u03b1\u03c1\u03c4\u03b9\u03b1 \u03b5\u03c3\u03c4\u03b9\u03bd,\n  \u03ba\u03b1\u03b9 \u03b5\u03c3\u03c4\u03b9\u03bd \u03b1\u03bc\u03b1\u03c1\u03c4\u03b9\u03b1 \u03bf\u03c5\n  \u03c0\u03c1\u03bf\u03c2 \u03b8\u03b1\u03bd\u03b1\u03c4\u03bf\u03bd.\n\n\n     AUTHORISED VERSION.                  REVISED VERSION.\n\n  And His commandments               And His commandments\n  are not grievous.                  are not grievous.\n  For whatsoever is born             For whatsoever is begotten\n  of God overcometh the              of God overcometh\n  world: and this is the             the world: and\n  victory that overcometh            this is the victory that\n  the world, _even_ our              hath overcome the\n  faith. Who is he that              world, _even_ our faith.\n  overcometh the world,              And who is he that\n  but he that believeth              overcometh the world,\n  that Jesus is the Son              but he that believeth\n  of God? This is He                 that Jesus is the Son\n  that came by water                 of God? This is He\n  and blood, _even_ Jesus            that came by water\n  Christ; not by water               and blood, _even_ Jesus\n  only, but by water and             Christ; not with the\n  blood. And it is the               water only, but with\n  Spirit that beareth witness,       the water and with the\n  because the Spirit                 blood. And it is the\n  is truth. For there                Spirit that beareth\n  are three that bear                witness, because the\n  record in heaven, the              Spirit is the truth.\n  Father, the Word, and              For there are three\n  the Holy Ghost: and                who bear witness, the\n  these three are one.               Spirit, and the water,\n  And there are three                and the blood: and the\n  that bear witness in               three agree in one. If\n  earth, the spirit, and             we receive the witness\n  the water, and the                 of men, the witness of\n  blood: and these three             God is greater: for the\n  agree in one. If we                witness of God is this,\n  receive the witness of             that He hath borne\n  men, the witness of                witness concerning His\n  God is greater: for                Son. He that believeth\n  this is the witness of             on the Son of God hath\n  God which He hath                  the witness in him: he\n  testified of His Son.              that believeth not God\n  He that believeth on               hath made Him a liar:\n  the Son of God hath                because he hath not\n  the witness in himself:            believed in the witness\n  he that believeth not              that God hath borne\n  God hath made Him a                concerning His Son.\n  liar; because he believeth         And the witness is\n  not the record                     this, that God gave\n  that God gave of His               unto us eternal life,\n  Son. And this is the               and this life is in His\n  record, that God hath              Son. He that hath the\n  given to us eternal life,          Son hath the life; he\n  and this life is in His            that hath not the Son\n  Son. He that hath the              of God hath not the life.\n  Son hath life; _and_ he            These things have I\n  that hath not the Son              written unto you, that\n  of God hath not life.              ye may know that ye\n  These things have I                have eternal life, _even_\n  written unto you that              unto you that believe\n  believe on the name of             on the name of the Son\n  the Son of God; that               of God. And this is\n  ye may know that ye                the boldness which we\n  have eternal life, and             have toward Him, that,\n  that ye may believe on             if we ask any thing\n  the name of the Son of             according to His will,\n  God. And this is the               He heareth us: and if\n  confidence that we                 we know that He heareth\n  have in Him, that, if              us whatsoever we\n  ask any thing according            ask, we know that\n  to His will, He                    we have the petitions\n  heareth us: and if we              which we have asked\n  know that He hear us,              of Him. If any man\n  whatsoever we ask,                 see his brother sinning\n  we know that we have               a sin not unto death,\n  the petitions that we              he shall ask, and _God_\n  desired of Him. If                 will give him life for\n  any man see his brother            them that sin not unto\n  sin a sin _which is_               death. (There is a sin\n  not unto death, he shall           unto death). There\n  ask, and He shall give             is sin unto death; not\n  him life for them that             concerning this _sin_ am\n  sin not unto death.                I saying that he should\n  There is a sin unto                make request. All\n  death: I do not say                unrighteousness is sin,\n  that he shall pray for             and there is sin not\n  it. All unrighteousness            unto death.\n  is sin: and there\n  is a sin not unto death.\n\n\n     ANOTHER VERSION.\n\n  And His commandments\n  are not heavy,\n  for whatsoever is born\n  of God conquereth the\n  world: and this is the\n  conquest that hath conquered\n  the world--the\n  Faith of us. Who is\n  he that is conquering\n  the world, but he that\n  is believing that Jesus\n  is the Son of God?\n  This is He that came\n  by water and blood--Jesus\n  Christ: not with\n  the water only, but\n  with the water and\n  with the blood. And\n  the Spirit is that which\n  is ever witnessing that\n  the Spirit is the truth.\n  For three are they who\n  are ever witnessing, the\n  Spirit and the water\n  and the blood: and the\n  three agree in one.\n\n  If we receive the witness\n  of men the witness\n  of God is greater;\n  because the witness of\n  God is this, because (_I\n  say_) He hath witnessed\n  concerning His Son.\n  He that is believing on\n  the Son of God hath the\n  witness in him, he that\n  is not believing God\n  hath made Him a liar:\n  because he is not a\n  believer in the witness\n  that God witnessed\n  concerning His Son.\n  And this is the witness,\n  that God gave\n  unto us eternal life,\n  and this life is in His\n  Son. He that hath the\n  Son hath the life, he\n  that hath not the Son\n  of God hath not the\n  life. These things have\n  I written unto you that\n  ye may know that ye\n  have eternal life--ye\n  that are believing in\n  the name of the Son\n  of God! And this is\n  the boldness which we\n  have to Himward, that\n  if we ask any thing\n  according to His will,\n  He is hearing us: and\n  if we know that He is\n  hearing us, we know\n  that we have the desires\n  that we have\n  desired from Him. If\n  any man see his brother\n  sinning sin not unto\n  death, he shall ask,\n  and _God_ shall give him\n  life--(I _mean_ for those\n  who are not sinning\n  unto death). Not concerning\n  this _sin_ am I\n  saying that he should\n  make request. All unrighteousness\n  is sin,\n  and there is sin not\n  unto death.\n\n\n\n\n                            DISCOURSE XI.\n\n                         _BIRTH AND VICTORY._\n\n    \"And His commandments are not grievous. For whatsoever is born of\n    God overcometh the world: and this is the victory that overcometh\n    the world, even our faith. Who is he that overcometh the world, but\n    he that believeth that Jesus is the Son of God?\"--1 JOHN v. 3, 4, 5.\n\n\nSt. John here connects the Christian birth with victory. He tells us\nthat of the supernatural life the destined and (so to speak) natural\nend is conquest.\n\nNow in this there is a _contrast_ between the law of nature and the\nlaw of grace. No doubt the first is marvellous. It may even, if we\nwill, in one sense be termed a victory; for it is the proof of a\nsuccessful contest with the blind fatalities of natural environment.\nIt is in itself the conquest of a something which has conquered a\nworld below it. The first faint cry of the baby is a wail no doubt;\nbut in its very utterance there is a half triumphant undertone.\nBoyhood, youth, opening manhood--at least in those who are physically\nand intellectually gifted--generally possess some share of \"the\nrapture of the strife\" with nature and with their contemporaries.\n\n      \"Youth hath triumphal mornings; its days bound\n       From night as from a victory.\"\n\nBut sooner or later that which pessimists style \"the martyrdom of\nlife\" sets in. However brightly the drama opens, the last scene is\nalways tragic. Our natural birth inevitably ends in defeat.\n\nA birth and a defeat is thus the epitome of each life which is\nnaturally brought into the field of our present human existence. The\ndefeat is sighed over, sometimes consummated, in every cradle; it is\nattested by every grave.\n\nBut if birth and defeat is the motto of the natural life, birth and\nvictory is the motto of every one born into the city of God.\n\nThis victory is spoken of in our verses as a victory along the whole\nline. It is the conquest of the collective Church, of the whole mass of\nregenerate humanity, so far as it has been true to the principle of its\nbirth[276]--the conquest of the Faith which is \"The Faith of _us_,\"[277]\nwho are knit together in one communion and fellowship in the mystical\nbody of the Son of God, Christ our Lord. But it is something more than\nthat. The general victory is also a victory in detail. Every true\nindividual believer shares in it.[278] The battle is a battle of\nsoldiers. The abstract ideal victory is realised and made concrete in\neach life of struggle which is a life of enduring faith. The triumph is\nnot merely one of a school, or of a party. The question rings with a\ntriumphant challenge down the ranks--\"who is the ever-conqueror of the\nworld, but the ever-believer that Jesus is the Son of God?\"\n\nWe are thus brought to two of St. John's great master-conceptions,\nboth of which came to him from _hearing_ the Lord who is the\nLife--both of which are to be read in connection with the fourth\nGospel--the Christian's _Birth_ and his _victory_.\n\n\n                                   I.\n\nThe Apostle introduces the idea of the birth which has its origin from\nGod precisely by the same process to which attention has already been\nmore than once directed.\n\nSt. John frequently mentions some great subject; at first like a\nmusician who with perfect command of his instrument, touches what\nseems to be an almost random key, faintly, as if incidentally and half\nwandering from his theme. But just as the sound appears to be absorbed\nby the purpose of the composition, or all but lost in the distance,\nthe same chord is struck again more decidedly; and then, after more or\nless interval, is brought out with a music so full and sonorous, that\nwe perceive that it has been one of the master's leading ideas from\nthe very first. So, when the subject is first spoken of, we\nhear--\"every one that doeth righteousness is born of Him.\"[279] The\nsubject is suspended for a while; then comes a somewhat more marked\nreference. \"Whosoever is born of God is not a doer of sin; and he\ncannot continue sinning, because of God he is born.\" There is yet one\nmore tender recurrence to the favourite theme--\"every one that loveth\nis born of God.\"[280] Then, finally here at last the chord, so often\nstruck, grown bolder since the prelude, gathers all the music round\nit. It interweaves with itself another strain which has similarly been\ngaining amplitude of volume in its course, until we have a great _Te\nDeum_, dominated by two chords of Birth and Victory. \"This _is_ the\nconquest that has _conquered_ the world--the Faith which is of us.\"\n\nWe shall never come to any adequate notion of St. John's conception of\nthe Birth of God, without tracing the place in his Gospel to which his\nasterisk in this place refers. To one passage only can we turn--our\nLord's conversation with Nicodemus. \"Except a man be born again, he\ncannot see the kingdom of God--except a man be born of water and of\nthe Spirit, he cannot enter into the kingdom of God.\"[281] The germ of\nthe idea of entrance into the city, the kingdom of God, by means of a\nnew birth, is in that storehouse of theological conceptions, the\npsalter. There is one psalm of a Korahite seer, enigmatical it may be,\nshadowed with the darkness of a divine compression,[282] obscure from\nthe glory that rings it round, and from the gush of joy in its few and\nbroken words. The 87th Psalm is the psalm of the font, the hymn of\nregeneration. The nations once of the world are mentioned among them\nthat know the Lord. They are counted when He writeth up the peoples.\nGlorious things are spoken of the City of God. Three times over the\nburden of the song is the new birth by which the aliens were made free\nof Sion.\n\n      This one was born there,\n      This one and that one was born in her,\n      This one was born there.[283]\n\nAll joyous life is thus brought into the city of the new-born. \"The\nsingers, the solemn dances, the fresh and glancing springs, are in\nthee.\"[284] Hence, from the notification of men being born again in\norder to see and enter into the kingdom, our Lord, as if in surprise,\nmeets the Pharisee's question--\"how can these things be?\"--with\nanother--\"art thou that teacher in Israel,[285] and understandest not\nthese things?\" Jesus tells His Church for ever that every one of His\ndisciples must be brought into contact with two worlds, with two\ninfluences--one outward, the other inward; one material, the other\nspiritual; one earthly, the other heavenly; one visible and\nsacramental, the other invisible and divine. Out of these he must come\nforth new-born.\n\nOf course it may be said that \"the water\" here coupled with the Spirit\nis _figurative_. But let it be observed first, that from the very\nconstitution of St. John's intellectual and moral being things outward\nand visible were not annihilated by the spiritual transparency which he\nimparted to them. Water, literal water, is everywhere in his writings.\nIn his Gospel more especially he seems to be ever seeing, ever hearing\nit. He loved it from the associations of his own early life, and from\nthe mention made of it by his Master. And as in the Gospel water is, so\nto speak, one of the three great factors and centres of the book;[286]\nso now in the Epistle, it still seems to glance and murmur before him.\n\"The water\" is one of the three abiding witnesses in the Epistle also.\nSurely, then, our Apostle would be eminently unlikely to express \"the\nSpirit of God\" _without_ the outward water by \"water _and_ the Spirit.\"\nBut above all, Christians should beware of a \"licentious and deluding\nalchemy of interpretation which maketh of anything whatsoever it\nlisteth.\" In immortal words--\"when the letter of the law hath two things\nplainly and expressly specified, water and the Spirit; water, as a duty\nrequired on our part, the Spirit, as a gift which God bestoweth; there\nis danger in so presuming to interpret it, as if the clause which\nconcerneth ourselves were more than needed. We may by such rare\nexpositions attain perhaps in the end to be thought witty, but with ill\nadvice.\"[287]\n\nBut, it will further be asked, whether we bring the Saviour's\nsaying--\"except any one be born again of water and the Spirit\"--into\ndirect connection with the baptism of infants? Above all, whether we\nare not encouraging every baptised person to hold that somehow or\nother he will have a part in the victory of the regenerate?\n\nWe need no other answer than that which is implied in the very force\nof the word here used by St. John--\"all that is born of God conquereth\nthe world.\" \"That is born\" is the participle perfect.[288] The force\nof the perfect is not simply past action, but such action lasting on\nin its effects. Our text, then, speaks only of those who having been\nborn again into the kingdom continue in a corresponding condition, and\nunfold the life which they have received. The Saviour spoke first and\nchiefly of the initial act. The Apostle's circumstances, now in his\nold age, naturally led him to look on from that. St. John is no\n\"idolater of the immediate.\" Has the gift received by his spiritual\nchildren worn long and lasted well? What of the new life which should\nhave issued from the New Birth? Regenerate in the past, are they\nrenewed in the present?\n\nThis simple piece of exegesis lets us at once perceive that another\nverse in this Epistle, often considered of almost hopeless perplexity,\nis in truth only the perfection of sanctified (nay, it may be said, of\nmoral) common-sense; an intuition of moral and spiritual instinct.\n\"Whosoever is born of God doth not commit sin: for his seed remaineth in\nhim; and he cannot sin, because he is born of God.\" We have just seen\nthe real significance of the words \"he that is born of God\"--he for whom\nhis past birth lasts on in its effects. \"He _doeth_ not sin,\" is not a\nsin-doer, makes it not his \"trade,\" as an old commentator says. Nay, \"he\nis not able to be\" (to keep on) \"sinning.\" \"He cannot sin.\" He cannot!\nThere is no physical impossibility. Angels will not sweep him away upon\ntheir resistless pinions. The Spirit will not hold him by the hand as if\nwith a mailed grasp, until the blood spirts from his finger-tips, that\nhe may not take the wine-cup, or walk out to the guilty assignation. The\ncompulsion of God is like that which is exercised upon us by some\npathetic wounded-looking face that gazes after us with a sweet reproach.\nTell the honest poor man with a large family of some safe and\nexpeditious way of transferring his neighbour's money to his own pocket.\nHe will answer, \"I cannot steal:\" that is, \"I cannot steal, however\nmuch it may physically be within my capacity, without a burning shame,\nan agony to my nature worse than death.\" On some day of fierce heat,\nhold a draught of iced wine to a total abstainer, and invite him to\ndrink. \"I cannot,\" will be his reply. Cannot! He can, so far as his hand\ngoes; he cannot, without doing violence to a conviction, to a promise,\nto his own sense of truth. And he who continues in the fulness of his\nGod-given Birth \"does not _do_ sin,\" \"cannot be sinning.\" Not that he is\nsinless, not that he never fails, or does not sometimes fall; not that\nsin ceases to be sin to him, because he thinks that he has a standing in\nChrist. But he cannot go on in sin without being untrue to his birth;\nwithout a stain upon that finer, whiter, more sensitive conscience,\nwhich is called \"spirit\" in a son of God; without a convulsion in his\nwhole being which is the precursor of death, or an insensibility which\nis death actually begun.\n\nHow many such texts as these are practically useless to most of us! The\narmoury of God is full of keen swords which we refrain from handling,\nbecause they have been misused by others. None is more neglected than\nthis. The fanatic has shrieked out--\"sin in my case! I _cannot_ sin. _I_\nmay hold a sin in my bosom; and God may hold me in His arms for all\nthat. At least, I may hold that which would be a sin in you and most\nothers; but to _me_ it is _not_ sin.\" On the other hand, stupid goodness\nmaunders out some unintelligible paraphrase, until pew and reader yawn\nfrom very weariness. Divine truth in its purity and plainness is thus\ndiscredited by the exaggeration of the one, or buried in the leaden\nwinding-sheet of the stupidity of the other.\n\nIn leaving this portion of our subject we may compare the view latent\nin the very idea of infant baptism with that of the leader of a\nwell-known sect upon the beginnings of the spiritual life in children.\n\n\"May not children grow up into salvation, without knowing the exact\nmoment of their conversion?\" asks \"General\" Booth. His answer is--\"yes,\nit may be so; and we trust that in the future this will be the usual way\nin which children may be brought to Christ.\" The writer goes on to tell\nus how the New Birth will take place in future. \"When the conditions\nnamed in the first pages of this volume are complied with--when the\nparents are godly, and the children are surrounded by holy influences\nand examples from their birth, and trained up in the spirit of their\nearly dedication--they will _doubtless come to know and love and trust\ntheir Saviour in the ordinary course of things_. The Holy Ghost will\ntake possession of them from the first. Mothers and fathers will, as it\nwere, put them into the Saviour's arms in their swaddling clothes, and\nHe will take them, and bless them, and sanctify them from the very womb,\nand make them His own, without their knowing the hour or the place when\nthey pass from the kingdom of darkness into the kingdom of light. In\nfact, with such little ones it shall never be very dark, for their\nnatural birth shall be, as it were, in the spiritual twilight, which\nbegins with the dim dawn, and increases gradually until the noonday\nbrightness is reached; so answering to the prophetic description, 'The\npath of the just is as the shining light, that shineth more and more\nunto the perfect day.'\"[289]\n\nNo one will deny that this is tenderly and beautifully written. But\nobjections to its teaching will crowd upon the mind of thoughtful\nChristians. It seems to defer to a period in the future, to a new era\nincalculably distant, when Christendom shall be absorbed in\nSalvationism, that which St. John in his day contemplated as the normal\ncondition of believers, which the Church has always held to be capable\nof realization, which has been actually realized in no few whom most of\nus must have known. Further; the fountain-heads of thought, like those\nof the Nile, are wrapped in obscurity. By what process grace may work\nwith the very young is an insoluble problem in psychology, which\nChristianity has not revealed. We know nothing further than that Christ\nblessed little children. That blessing was _impartial_, for it was\ncommunicated to all who were brought to Him; it was _real_, otherwise He\nwould not have blessed them at all. That He conveys to them such grace\nas they are capable of receiving is all that we can know. And yet again;\nthe Salvationist theory exalts parents and surroundings into the place\nof Christ. It deposes His sacrament, which lies at the root of St.\nJohn's language, and boasts that it will secure Christ's end, apparently\nwithout any recognition of Christ's _means_.\n\n\n                                 II.\n\nThe second great idea in the verses at the head of this discourse is\n_Victory_. The intended issue of the new birth is conquest--\"all that\nis born of God conquers the world.\"\n\nThe idea of victory is almost[290] exclusively confined to St. John's\nwritings. The idea is first expressed by Jesus--\"be of good cheer: I\nhave conquered the world.\"[291] The first prelusive touch in the\nEpistle, hints at the fulfilment of the Saviour's comfortable word in\none class of the Apostle's spiritual children. \"I write unto you,\nyoung men, because ye have conquered the wicked one. I have written\nunto you, young men, because ye have conquered the wicked one.\"[292]\nNext, a bolder and ampler strain--\"ye are of God, little children, and\nhave conquered them: because greater is He that is in you, than he\nthat is in the world.\"[293] Then with a magnificent persistence, the\ntrumpet of Christ wakens echoes to its music all down and round the\ndefile through which the host is passing--\"all that is born of God\nconquereth the world: and this is the conquest that has conquered the\nworld--the Faith which is ours.\"[294] When, in St. John's other great\nbook, we pass with the seer into Patmos, the air is, indeed, \"full of\nnoises and sweet sounds.\" But dominant over all is a storm of triumph,\na passionate exultation of victory. Thus each epistle to each of the\nseven Churches closes with a promise \"to him that _conquereth_.\"\n\nThe text promises _two_ forms of victory.\n\n1. A victory is promised to the Church universal. \"_All that_ is born\nof God conquereth the world.\" This conquest is concentrated in, almost\nidentified with \"the Faith.\" Primarily, in this place, the term (here\nalone found in our Epistle) is not the faith by _which we believe_,\nbut the Faith _which is_ believed--as in some other places;[295] not\nfaith subjective, but The Faith objectively.[296] Here is the dogmatic\nprinciple. The Faith involves definite knowledge of definite\nprinciples. The religious knowledge, which is not capable of being put\ninto definite propositions, we need not trouble ourselves greatly\nabout. But we are guarded from over-dogmatism. The word \"of us\" which\nfollows \"the Faith\" is a mediating link between the objective and the\nsubjective. First, we possess this Faith as a common heritage. Then,\nas in the Apostle's creed we begin to individualise this common\npossession by prefixing \"I believe\" to every article of it. Then the\nvictory contained in the creed, the victory which the creed _is_ (for\nmore truly again than of Duty may it be said of Faith, \"thou who _art\nvictory_\"[297]), is made over to each who believes. Each, and each\nalone, who in soul is ever believing, in practice is ever victorious.\n\nThis declaration is full of promise for missionary work. There is no\nsystem of error, however ancient, subtle, or highly organised, which\nmust not go down before the strong collective life of the regenerate.\nNo less encouraging is it at home. No form of sin is incapable of\nbeing overthrown. No school of anti-Christian thought is invulnerable\nor invincible. There are other apostates besides Julian who will\ncry--\"Galil\u00e6e, vicisti!\"\n\n2. The second victory promised is individual, for each of us. Not only\nwhere cathedral-spires lift high the triumphant cross; on\nbattle-fields which have added kingdoms to Christendom; by the\nmartyr's stake, or in the arena of the Coliseum, have these words\nproved true. The victory comes down to us. In hospitals, in shops, in\ncourts, in ships, in sick-rooms, they are fulfilled for us. We see\ntheir truth in the patience, sweetness, resignation, of little\nchildren, of old men, of weak women. They give a high consecration and\na glorious meaning to much of the suffering that we see. What, we are\nsometimes tempted to cry--is _this_ Christ's Army? are these His\nsoldiers, who can go anywhere and do anything? Poor weary ones! with\nwhite lips, and the beads of death-sweat on their faces, and the\nthorns of pain ringed like a crown round their foreheads; so wan, so\nworn, so tired, so suffering, that even our love dares not pray for\nthem to live a little longer yet. Are these the elect of the elect,\nthe vanguard of the regenerate, who carry the flag of the cross where\nits folds are waved by the storm of battle; whom St. John sees\nadvancing up the slope with such a burst of cheers and such a swell of\nmusic that the words--\"this is the conquest\"--spring spontaneously\nfrom his lips? Perhaps the angels answer with a voice which we cannot\nhear--\"whatsoever is born of God conquereth the world.\" May we fight\nso manfully that each may render if not his \"pure\" yet his purified\n\n                \"soul unto his captain Christ,\n      Under whose colours he hath fought so long:\"\n\n--that we may know something of the great text in the Epistle to the\nRomans, with its matchless translation--\"we are more than conquerors\nthrough Him who loved us\"[298]--that arrogance of victory which is at\nonce so splendid and so saintly.\n\nFOOTNOTES:\n\n[276] This is expressed, after St. John's fashion, by the neuter, \u03c0\u03b1\u03bd\n\u03c4\u03bf \u03b3\u03b5\u03b3\u03b5\u03bd\u03bd\u03b7\u03bc\u03b5\u03bd\u03bf\u03bd \u03b5\u03ba \u03c4\u03bf\u03c5 \u0398\u03b5\u03bf\u03c5. ver. 4.\n\n[277] \u1f21 \u03c0\u03b9\u03c3\u03c4\u03b9\u03c2 \u1f21\u03bc\u03c9\u03bd, ver. 4.\n\n[278] \u1f41 \u03bd\u03b9\u03ba\u03c9\u03bd \u03c4\u03bf\u03bd \u03ba\u03bf\u03c3\u03bc\u03bf\u03bd, \u1f41 \u03c0\u03b9\u03c3\u03c4\u03b5\u03c5\u03c9\u03bd, ver. 5.\n\n[279] 1 John ii. 29.\n\n[280] 1 John iv. 7.\n\n[281] John iii. 5.\n\n[282] \u03c3\u03c6\u03bf\u03b4\u03c1\u03b1 \u03b1\u03b9\u03bd\u03b9\u03b3\u03bc\u03b1\u03c4\u03c9\u03b4\u03b7\u03c2 \u03ba\u03b1\u03b9 \u03c3\u03ba\u03bf\u03c4\u03b5\u03b9\u03bd\u03c9\u03c2 \u03b5\u03b9\u03c1\u03b7\u03bc\u03b5\u03bd\u03bf\u03c2. Euseb.\n\n[283]\n\n    \u05d9\u05bb\u05dc\u05b8\u05bc\u05e8\u05be\u05e9\u05b8\u05c1\u05de \u05d5\u05b6\u05d4.   Ver. 4.\n\u05d9\u05bb\u05dc\u05b7\u05bc\u05e8\u05be\u05d1\u05b8\u05bc\u05d4\u05bc \u05d5\u05b0\u05d0\u05b4\u05d9\u05e9\u05c1 \u05d0\u05b4\u05d9\u05e9\u05c1.   Ver. 5.\n    \u05d9\u05bb\u05dc\u05b8\u05bc\u05e8\u05be\u05e9\u05b8\u05c1\u05de \u05d5\u05b6\u05d4.   Ver. 6. Psalm lxxxvii.\n\n[284]\n\n      \"Both they who sing and they who dance,\n        With sacred song are there;\n      In thee fresh brooks and soft streams glance,\n        And all my fountains clear.\"\n                      MILTON, Paraphrase Ps. lxxxvii. 7.\n\nThis, on the whole, seems to be considered the most tenable\ninterpretation.\n\n[285] \u03a3\u03c5 \u03b5\u03b9 \u1f41 \u03b4\u03b9\u03b4\u03b1\u03c3\u03ba\u03b1\u03bb\u03bf\u03c2 \u03c4\u03bf\u03c5 \u0399\u03c3\u03c1\u03b1\u03b7\u03bb; John iii. 10.\n\n[286] John i. 26, ii. 6, 9, iii. 5-22, iv. 6-16, v. 3, vii. 37, 39,\nix. 7, xiii. 1-5, xix. 34.\n\n[287] Hooker, _E. P._, V. lix. (4).\n\n[288] So the perfect is used throughout. \u03b3\u03b5\u03b3\u03b5\u03bd\u03bd\u03b7\u03c4\u03b1\u03b9. ii. 29, iii. 9,\niv. 7. \u03c0\u03b1\u03bd \u03c4\u03bf \u03b3\u03b5\u03b3\u03b5\u03bd\u03bd\u03b7\u03bc\u03b5\u03bd\u03bf\u03bd. v. 4. Very remarkably below, \u03c0\u03b1\u03c2 \u1f41\n\u03b3\u03b5\u03b3\u03b5\u03bd\u03bd\u03b7\u03bc\u03b5\u03bd\u03bf\u03c2--\u03b1\u03bb\u03bb\u03b1 \u1f41 \u03b3\u03b5\u03bd\u03bd\u03b7\u03b8\u03b5\u03b9\u03c2 \u03b5\u03ba \u03c4\u03bf\u03c5 \u0398\u03b5\u03bf\u03c5; the first of the\nregenerate man who continues in that condition of grace, the second of\nthe Begotten Son of God who keeps His servant. 1 John v. 18.\n\n[289] _Training of children; or How to Make the Children into Saints\nand Soldiers of Jesus Christ._ By the General of the Salvation Army.\nLondon: Salvation Army Book Stores, pp. 162, 163.\n\n[290] Not quite, cf. Rom. viii. 37, xii, 21; 1 Cor. xv. 55, 57. The\nsubstantive \u03bd\u03b9\u03ba\u03b7 occurs only 1 John v. 4. A slightly different form\n(\u03bd\u03b9\u03ba\u03bf\u03c2) is in Matt. xii. 20; 1 Cor. xv. 54, 55, 57.\n\n[291] John xvi. 33.\n\n[292] John ii. 13, 14.\n\n[293] 1 John iv. 4.\n\n[294] It does not seem possible to convey to the English reader the\nfourfold harping upon the word (1 John v. 4, 5) by any other rendering.\n\"The _victory_ that hath _overcome_ the world\" (R.V.) fails in this. The\nnoble translation of \u1f51\u03c0\u03b5\u03c1\u03bd\u03b9\u03ba\u03c9\u03bc\u03b5\u03bd (Rom. viii. 37), happily retained by\nthe Revisers, is rendered consistent by the translation here proposed.\n\n[295] Apoc. ii. 13, xiv. 12.\n\n[296] Fides _qu\u00e6 creditur_, not _qu\u00e2 creditur_.\n\n[297]\n\n  \"Thou who art victory!\"     WORDSWORTH, _Ode to Duty_.\n\n[298] \u1f51\u03c0\u03b5\u03c1\u03bd\u03b9\u03ba\u03c9\u03bc\u03b5\u03bd. Rom. viii. 37.\n\n\n\n\n                            DISCOURSE XII.\n\n      _THE GOSPEL AS A GOSPEL OF WITNESS; THE THREE WITNESSES._\n\n    \"It is the Spirit that beareth witness, because the Spirit is\n    truth. For there are three that bear witness, the Spirit, and the\n    water, and the blood; and these three agree in one. If we receive\n    the witness of men, the witness of God is greater, for this is the\n    witness of God which He hath testified of His Son. He that\n    believeth on the Son of God hath the witness in himself.\"--1 JOHN\n    v. 6-10.\n\n\nIt has been said that Apostles and apostolic men were as far as\npossible removed from common-sense, and have no conception of evidence\nin our acceptation of the word. About this statement there is scarcely\neven superficial plausibility. Common-sense is the measure of ordinary\nhuman tact among palpable realities. In relation to human existence it\nis the balance of the estimative faculties; the instinctive summary of\ninductions which makes us rightly credulous and rightly incredulous,\nwhich teaches us the supreme lesson of life, when to say \"yes,\" and\nwhen to say \"no.\" Uncommon sense is superhuman tact among no less real\nbut at present impalpable realities; the spiritual faculty of forming\nspiritual inductions aright. So St. John among the three great canons\nof primary truth with which he closes his Epistle writes--\"we know\nthat the Son of God hath come and is present, and hath given us\nunderstanding, that we know Him who is true.\"[299] So with\n_evidences_. Apostles did not draw them out with the same logical\nprecision, or rather not in the same logical form, which the modern\nspirit demands. Yet they rested their conclusions upon the same\nabiding principle of evidence, the primary axiom of our entire social\nlife--that there is a degree of human evidence which practically\ncannot deceive. \"If we receive the witness of men.\" The form of\nexpression implies that we certainly do.[300]\n\nPeculiar difficulty has been felt in understanding the paragraph. And\none portion of it remains difficult after any explanation. But we\nshall succeed in apprehending it as a whole only upon condition of\ntaking one guiding principle of interpretation with us.\n\nThe word _witness_ is St. John's central thought here. He is\ndetermined to beat it into the minds of his readers by the most\nunsparing iteration. He repeats it ten times over, as substantive or\nverb, in six verses.[301] His object is to turn our attention to his\nGospel, and to this distinguishing feature of it--its being from\nbeginning to end a Gospel of _witness_. This witness he declares to be\nfivefold. (1) The witness of the Spirit, of which the fourth Gospel is\npre-eminently full. (2) The witness of the Divine Humanity, of the\nGod-Man who is not man deified, but God humanified. This verse is no\ndoubt partly polemical, against heretics of the day, who would clip\nthe great picture of the Gospel, and force it into the petty frame of\ntheir theory. This is He (the Apostle urges) who came on the stage of\nthe world's and the Church's history[302] as the Messiah, under the\ncondition, so to speak, of water and blood;[303] bringing with Him,\naccompanied by, not the water only, but the water and the blood.[304]\nCerinthus separated the Christ, the divine \u00c6on, from Jesus the holy\nbut mortal man. The two, the divine potency and the human existence,\nmet at the waters of Jordan, on the day of the Baptism, when the\nChrist united Himself to Jesus. But the union was brief and\nunessential. Before the crucifixion, the divine ideal Christ withdrew.\nThe man suffered. The impassible immortal potency was far away in\nheaven. St. John denies the fortuitous juxta-position of two\naccidentally-united existences. We worship one Lord Jesus Christ,\nattested not only by Baptism in Jordan, the witness of water, but by\nthe death on Calvary, the witness of blood. He came by water and\nblood, as the means by which His office was manifested; but with the\nwater and with the blood, as the sphere in which He exercises that\noffice. When we turn to the Gospel, and look at the pierced side, we\nread of blood and water, the order of actual history and physiological\nfact. But here St. John takes the ideal, mystical, sacramental order,\nwater and blood--cleansing and redemption--and the sacraments which\nperpetually symbolise and convey them. Thus we have Spirit, water,\nblood. Three are they who are ever witnessing.[305] These are three\ngreat centres round which St. John's Gospel turns.[306] These are the\nthree genuine witnesses, the trinity of witness, the shadow of the\nTrinity in heaven. (3) Again the fourth Gospel is a Gospel of human\nwitness, a tissue woven out of many lines of human attestation. It\nrecords the cries of human souls overheard and noted down at the\nsupreme crisis-moment of life, from the Baptist, Philip, and\nNathanael, to the everlasting spontaneous creed of Christendom on its\nknees before Jesus, the cry of Thomas ever rushing molten from a heart\nof fire--\"my Lord and my God.\" (4) But if we receive, as we assuredly\nmust and do receive, the overpowering and soul-subduing mass of\nattesting human evidence, how much more must we receive the Divine\nwitness, the witness of God so conspicuously exhibited in the Gospel\nof St. John! \"The witness of God is greater, because _this_\" (even the\nhistory in the pages to which he adverts) \"is the witness; because\" (I\nsay with triumphant reiteration) \"He hath witnessed concerning His\nSon.\"[307] This witness of God in the last Gospel is given in four\nforms--by Scripture,[308] by the Father,[309] by the Son Himself,[310]\nby His works.[311] (5) This great volume of witness is consummated and\nbrought home by another. He who not merely coldly assents to the word\nof Christ, but lifts the whole burden of his belief on to the Son of\nGod,[312] hath the witness in him. That which was logical and external\nbecomes internal and experimental.\n\nIn this ever-memorable passage, all scholars know that an\ninterpolation has taken place. The words--\"in heaven the Father, the\nWord, and the Holy Ghost; and these three are one. And there are three\nthat bear witness in earth\"--are a gloss. A great sentence of one of\nthe first of critics may well reassure any weak believers who dread\nthe candour of Christian criticism, or suppose that it has impaired\nthe evidence for the great dogma of the Trinity. \"If the fourth\ncentury knew that text, let it come in, in God's name; but if that age\ndid not know it, then Arianism in its height was beaten down without\nthe help of that verse; and, let the _fact_ prove as it will, the\n_doctrine_ is unshaken.\"[313] The human material with which they have\nbeen clamped should not blind us to the value of the heavenly jewels\nwhich seemed to be marred by their earthly setting.\n\n       *       *       *       *       *\n\nIt is constantly said--as we think with considerable\nmisapprehension--that in his Epistle St. John may imply, but does not\nrefer directly to any particular incident in, his Gospel. It is our\nconviction that St. John very specially includes the Resurrection--the\ncentral point of the evidences of Christianity--among the things\nattested by the witness of men. We propose in another discourse to\nexamine the Resurrection from St. John's point of view.\n\nFOOTNOTES:\n\n[299] \u03b4\u03b5\u03b4\u03c9\u03ba\u03b5\u03bd \u1f21\u03bc\u03b9\u03bd \u03b4\u03b9\u03b1\u03bd\u03bf\u03b9\u03b1\u03bd \u1f31\u03bd\u03b1 \u03b3\u03b9\u03bd\u03c9\u03c3\u03ba\u03bf\u03bc\u03b5\u03bd \u03ba.\u03c4.\u03bb. 1 John v. 20. N. T.\nlexicographers give as its meaning _intelligentia_ (_einsicht_). See\nGrimm. _Bretschn._, s.v. Prof. Westcott remarks that \"generally nouns\nwhich express intellectual powers are rare in St. John's writings.\"\nBut \u03b4\u03b9\u03b1\u03bd\u03bf\u03b9\u03b1 is the word by which the LXX. translate the Hebrew \u05dc\u05b5\u05d1,\nand has thus a moral and emotional tinge imparted to it. We may\ncompare the sense in which Aristotle uses it in his Poetics for the\ncast of thought, or general sentiment. (_Poet._, vi.)\n\n[300] \u03b5\u03b9 \u03c4\u03b7\u03bd \u03bc\u03b1\u03c1\u03c4\u03c5\u03c1\u03b9\u03b1\u03bd \u03c4\u03c9\u03bd \u03b1\u03bd\u03b8\u03c1\u03c9\u03c0\u03c9\u03bd \u03bb\u03b1\u03bc\u03b2\u03b1\u03bd\u03bf\u03bc\u03b5\u03bd. 1 John v. 9.\n\n[301] The A. V. (very unhappily) tried to minimise this reiteration by\nthe introduction of synonyms in four places--\"bear record,\" \"record\"\n(vv. 7, 10, 11), \"hath testified\" (ver. 9).\n\n[302] \u1f41 \u03b5\u03bb\u03b8\u03c9\u03bd.\n\n[303] \u03b4\u03b9 \u1f51\u03b4\u03b1\u03c4\u03bf\u03c2 \u03ba\u03b1\u03b9 \u03b1\u03b9\u03bc\u03b1\u03c4\u03bf\u03c2.\n\n[304] \u03bf\u03c5\u03ba \u03b5\u03bd \u03c4\u03c9 \u1f51\u03b4\u03b1\u03c4\u03b9 \u03bc\u03bf\u03bd\u03bf\u03bd, \u03b1\u03bb\u03bb' \u03b5\u03bd \u03c4\u03c9 \u1f51\u03b4\u03b1\u03c4\u03b9 \u03ba\u03b1\u03b9 \u03b5\u03bd \u03c4\u03c9 \u03b1\u03b9\u03bc\u03b1\u03c4\u03b9.\n\n[305] \u03c4\u03c1\u03b5\u03b9\u03c2 \u03b5\u03b9\u03c3\u03b9\u03bd \u03bf\u03b9 \u03bc\u03b1\u03c1\u03c4\u03c5\u03c1\u03bf\u03c5\u03bd\u03c4\u03b5\u03c2, ver. 7.\n\n[306] The _Water_, John iii. 5, cf. i. 26-33, ii. 9, iii. 23, iv. 13,\nv. 4, ix. 7. The _Blood_, vi. 53, 54, 56, xix. 34. The _Spirit_, vii.\n39, xiv., xv., xvi., xx. 22. The water centres in _Baptism_ (iii. 5);\nthe blood is symbolised, exhibited, in Holy _Communion_ (vi.); the\nSpirit is perpetually making them effective, and especially by the\nappointed ministry (xx. 22).\n\n[307] \u1f41\u03c4\u03b9 \u03b1\u03c5\u03c4\u03b7 \u03b5\u03c3\u03c4\u03b9\u03bd \u1f21 \u03bc\u03b1\u03c1\u03c4\u03c5\u03c1\u03b9\u03b1 \u03c4\u03bf\u03c5 \u0398\u03b5\u03bf\u03c5, \u1f41\u03c4\u03b9 \u03bc\u03b5\u03bc\u03b1\u03c1\u03c4\u03c5\u03c1\u03b7\u03ba\u03b5\u03bd \u03c0\u03b5\u03c1\u03b9 \u03c4\u03bf\u03c5\n\u03c5\u03b9\u03bf\u03c5 \u03b1\u03c5\u03c4\u03bf\u03c5, ver. 9.\n\n[308] v. 39, 46, etc.\n\n[309] viii. 18.\n\n[310] viii. 17, 18.\n\n[311] ver. 36, x. 25.\n\n[312] \u1f41 \u03c0\u03b9\u03c3\u03c4\u03b5\u03c5\u03c9\u03bd \u03b5\u03b9\u03c2 \u03c4\u03bf\u03bd \u03c5\u03b9\u03bf\u03bd \u03c4\u03bf\u03c5 \u0398\u03b5\u03bf\u03c5, ver. 10. (See Bihs Ellicott on\nthe force of various prepositions with \u03c0\u03b9\u03c3\u03c4\u03b5\u03c5\u03c9. _Comment, on Pastoral\nEpistles_.)\n\n[313] Bentley. Letter of January 1st, 1717.\n\n\n\n\n                           DISCOURSE XIII.\n\n        _THE WITNESS OF MEN_ (_APPLIED TO THE RESURRECTION_).\n\n          \"If we receive the witness of men.\"--1 JOHN v. 9.\n\n\nAt an early period in the Christian Church the passage in which these\nwords occur, was selected as a fitting Epistle for the First Sunday\nafter Easter, when believers may be supposed to review the whole body\nof witness to the risen Lord and to triumph in the victory of faith. A\nconsideration of the unity of essential principles in the narratives\nof the Resurrection will afford the best illustration of the\ncomprehensive canon--\"if we receive the witness of men.\"--if we\nconsider the unity of essential principles in the narratives of the\nResurrection, and draw the natural conclusions from them.\n\n\n                                  I.\n\nLet us note the unity of essential principles in the narratives of the\nResurrection.\n\nSt. Matthew hastens on from Jerusalem to the appearance in Galilee.\n\"Behold! He goeth before you _into Galilee_,\" is, in some sense, the\nkey of the 28th chapter. St. Luke, on the other hand, speaks only of\nmanifestations in Jerusalem or its neighbourhood.\n\nNow St. John's Resurrection history falls in the 20th chapter into\nfour pieces, with three manifestations in Jerusalem. The 21st chapter\n(the appendix-chapter) also falls into four pieces, with one\nmanifestation to the seven disciples in Galilee.\n\nSt. John makes no profession of telling us all the appearances which\nwere known to the Church, or even all of which he was personally\ncognisant. In the treasures of the old man's memory there were many\nmore which, for whatever reason, he did not write. But these distinct\ncontinuous specimens of a permitted communing with the eternal\nglorified life (supplemented on subsequent thought by another in the\nlast chapter) are as good as three or four hundred for the great\npurpose of the Apostle. \"These are written that ye might believe that\nJesus is the Christ, the Son of God.\"[314]\n\nThroughout St. John's narrative every impartial reader will find\ndelicacy of thought, abundance of matter, minuteness of detail. He\nwill find something more. While he feels that he is not in cloudland\nor dreamland, he will yet recognise that he walks in a land which is\nwonderful, because the central figure in it is One whose name is\nWonderful. The fact is fact, and yet it is something more. For a short\ntime poetry and history are absolutely coincident. Here, if anywhere,\nis Herder's saying true, that the fourth Gospel seems to be written\nwith a feather which has dropped from an angel's wing.\n\nThe unity in essential principles which has been claimed for these\nnarratives taken together is not a lifeless identity in details. It is\nscarcely to be worked out by the dissecting-maps of elaborate harmonies.\nIt is not the imaginative unity which is poetry; nor the mechanical\nunity, which is fabrication; nor the passionless unity, which is\ncommended in a police-report. It is not the thin unity of plain-song; it\nis the rich, unity of dissimilar tones blended into a fugue.\n\nThis unity may be considered in two essential agreements of the four\nResurrection histories.\n\n1. All the Evangelists agree in reticence on one point--in abstinence\nfrom one claim.\n\nIf any of us were framing for himself a body of such evidence for the\nResurrection as should almost extort acquiescence, he would assuredly\ninsist that the Lord should have been seen and recognised after the\nResurrection by miscellaneous crowds--or, at the very least, by hostile\nindividuals. Not only by a tender Mary Magdalene, an impulsive Peter, a\nrapt John, a Thomas through all his unbelief nervously anxious to be\nconvinced. Let Him be seen by Pilate, by Caiaphas, by some of the Roman\nsoldiers, of the priests, of the Jewish populace. Certainly, if the\nEvangelists had simply aimed at effective presentation of evidence, they\nwould have put forward statements of this kind.\n\nBut the apostolic principle--the apostolic canon of Resurrection\nevidence--was very different. St. Luke has preserved it for us, as it\nis given by St. Peter. \"Him God raised up the third day, and gave Him\nto be made manifest after He rose again from the dead, not to all the\npeople, but unto witnesses chosen before of God, even to us.\"[315] He\nshall, indeed, appear again to all the people, to every eye; but that\nshall be at the great Advent. St. John, with his ideal tenderness, has\npreserved a word of Jesus, which gives us St. Peter's canon of\nResurrection evidence, in a lovelier and more spiritual form. Christ\nas He rose at Easter should be visible, but only to the eye of love,\nonly to the eye which life fills with tears and heaven with\nlight--\"yet a little while, and the world seeth Me no more; but ye see\nMe ... He that loveth Me shall be loved of My Father, and I will\nmanifest Myself to Him.\"[316] Round that ideal canon St. John's\nResurrection-history is twined with undying tendrils. Those words may\nbe written by us with our softest pencils over the 20th and 21st\nchapters of the fourth Gospel. There is--very possibly there can\nbe--under our present human conditions, no manifestation of Him who\nwas dead and now liveth, except to belief, or to that kind of doubt\nwhich springs from love.\n\nThat which is true of St. John is true of all the Evangelists.\n\nThey take that Gospel, which is the life of their life. They bare its\nbosom to the stab of Celsus,[317] to the bitter sneer plagiarised by\nRenan--\"why did He not appear to all, to His judges and enemies? Why\nonly to one excitable woman, and a circle of His initiated?\" \"The\nhallucination of a hysterical woman endowed Christendom with a risen\nGod.\"[318] An apocryphal Gospel unconsciously violates this apostolic,\nor rather divine canon, by stating that Jesus gave His grave-clothes\nto one of the High Priest's servants.[319] There was every reason but\none why St. John and the other Evangelists _should have_ narrated such\nstories. There was only one reason why they _should not_, but that was\nall-sufficient. Their Master was the Truth as well as the Life. They\ndared not lie.\n\nHere, then, is one essential accordance in the narratives of the\nResurrection. They record no appearances of Jesus to enemies or to\nunbelievers.\n\n2. A second unity of essential principle will be found in the\nimpression produced upon the witnesses.\n\nThere was, indeed, a moment of terror at the sepulchre, when they had\nseen the angel clothed in the long white garment. \"They trembled, and\nwere amazed; neither said they anything to any man; for they were\nafraid.\" So writes St. Mark.[320] And no such word ever formed the\nclose of a Gospel! On the Easter Sunday evening there was another\nmoment when they were \"terrified and affrighted, and supposed that\nthey had seen a spirit.\"[321] But this passes away like a shadow. For\nman, the Risen Jesus turns doubt into faith, faith into joy. For\nwoman, He turns sorrow into joy. From the sacred wounds joy rains over\ninto their souls. \"He showed them His hands and His feet ... while\nthey yet believed not for joy and wondered.\" \"He showed unto them His\nhands and His side. Then were the disciples glad when they saw the\nLord.\"[322] Each face of those who beheld Him wore after that a smile\nthrough all tears and forms of death. \"Come,\" cried the great Swedish\nsinger, gazing upon the dead face of a holy friend, \"come and see this\ngreat sight. Here is a woman who has seen Christ.\" Many of us know\nwhat she meant, for we too have looked upon those dear to us who have\nseen Christ. Over all the awful stillness--under all the cold\nwhiteness as of snow or marble--that strange soft light, that subdued\nradiance, what shall we call it? wonder, love, sweetness, pardon,\npurity, rest, worship, discovery. The poor face often dimmed with\ntears, tears of penitence, of pain, of sorrow, some perhaps which we\ncaused to flow, is looking upon a great sight. Of such the beautiful\ntext is true, written by a sacred poet in a language of which so many\nverbs are pictures. \"They looked unto Him, and _were lightened_.\"[323]\nThat meeting of lights without a name it is which makes up what angels\ncall joy. There remained some of that light on all who had seen the\nRisen Lord. Each might say--\"have I not seen Jesus Christ our Lord?\"\n\nThis effect, like every effect, had a cause.\n\nScripture implies in the Risen Jesus a form with all heaviness and\nsuffering lifted off it--with the glory, freshness, elasticity, of the\nnew life, overflowing with beauty and power. He had a voice with some of\nthe pathos of affection, making its sweet concession to human\nsensibility: saying, \"Mary,\" \"Thomas,\" \"Simon, son of Jonas.\" He had a\npresence at once so majestic that they durst not question Him, yet so\nfull of magnetic attraction that Magdalene clings to His feet, and Peter\nflings himself into the waters when he is sure that it is the Lord.[324]\n\nNow let it be remarked that this consideration entirely disposes of\nthat afterthought of critical ingenuity which has taken the place of\nthe base old Jewish theory--\"His disciples came by night, and stole\nHim away.\"[325] That theory, indeed, has been blown into space by\nChristian apologetics. And now not a few are turning to the solution\nthat He did not really die upon the cross, but was taken down alive.\n\nThere are other, and more than sufficient refutations. One from the\ncharacter of the august Sufferer, who would not have deigned to\nreceive adoration upon false pretences. One from the minute\nobservation by St. John of the physiological effect of the thrust of\nthe soldier's lance, to which he also reverts in the context.\n\nBut here, we only ask what effect the appearance of the Saviour among\nHis disciples, supposing that He had not died, must unquestionably\nhave had.\n\nHe would only have been taken down from the cross something more than\nthirty hours. His brow punctured with the crown of thorns; the wounds in\nhands, feet, and side, yet unhealed; the back raw and torn with\nscourges; the frame cramped by the frightful tension of six long\nhours--a lacerated and shattered man, awakened to agony by the coolness\nof the sepulchre and by the pungency of the spices; a spectral,\ntrembling, fevered, lamed, skulking thing--could that have seemed the\nPrince of Life, the Lord of Glory, the Bright and Morning Star? Those\nwho had seen Him in Gethsemane and on the cross, and then on Easter, and\nduring the forty days, can scarcely speak of His Resurrection without\nusing language which attains to more than lyrical elevation. Think of\nSt. Peter's anthemlike burst. \"Blessed be the God and Father of our Lord\nJesus Christ, who hath begotten us again to a lively hope, by the\nResurrection of Jesus Christ from the dead.\" Think of the words which\nSt. John heard Him utter. \"I am the First and the Living, and behold! I\nbecame dead, and I am, living unto the ages of ages.\"[326]\n\nLet us, then, fix our attention upon the unity of all the Resurrection\nnarratives in these two essential principles. (1) The appearances of\nthe Risen Lord to belief and love only. (2) The impression common to\nall the narrators of glory on His part, of joy on theirs.\n\nWe shall be ready to believe that this was part of the great body of\nproof which was in the Apostle's mind, when pointing to the Gospel\nwith which this Epistle was associated, he wrote of this human but\nmost convincing testimony--\"if we receive,\" as assuredly we do, \"the\nwitness of men\"--of evangelists among the number.\n\n\n                                 II.\n\nToo often such discussions as these end unpractically enough. Too often\n\n      \"When the critic has done his best,\n       The pearl of price at reason's test\n       On the Professor's lecture table\n       Lies, dust and ashes levigable.\"\n\nBut, after all, we may well ask: can we afford to dispense with this\nwell-balanced probability? Is it well for us to face life and death\nwithout taking it, in some form, into the account?\n\nNow at the present moment, it may safely be said that, for the best\nand noblest intellects imbued with the modern philosophy, as for the\nbest and noblest of old who were imbued with the ancient philosophy,\nexternal to Christian revelation, immortality is still, as before, a\nfair chance, a beautiful \"perhaps,\" a splendid possibility.\nEvolutionism is growing and maturing somewhere another Butler, who\nwill write in another, and possibly more satisfying chapter, than that\nleast convincing of any in the _Analogy_--\"of a Future State.\"\n\nWhat has Darwinism to say on the matter?\n\nMuch. Natural selection seems to be a pitiless worker; its instrument\nis _death_. But, when we broaden our survey, the sum-total of the\nresult is everywhere advance--what is mainly worthy of notice, in man\nthe advance of goodness and virtue. For of goodness, as of freedom,\n\n             \"The battle once begun\n      Though baffled oft, is always won.\"\n\nHumanity has had to travel thousands of miles, inch by inch, towards\nthe light. We have made such progress that we can see that in time,\nrelatively short, we shall be in noonday. After long ages of strife,\nof victory for hard hearts and strong sinews, goodness begins to wipe\naway the sweat of agony from her brow; and will stand, sweet, smiling,\ntriumphant in the world. A gracious life is free for man; generation\nafter generation a softer ideal stands before us, and we can conceive\na day when \"the meek shall inherit the earth.\" Do not say that\nevolution, if proved _\u00e0 outrance_, brutalises man. Far from it. It\nlifts him from below out of the brute creation. What theology calls\noriginal sin, modern philosophy the brute inheritance--the ape, and\nthe goat, and the tiger--is dying out of man. The perfecting of human\nnature and of human society stands out as the goal of creation. In a\nsense, all creation waits for the manifestation of the sons of God.\nNor need the true Darwinian necessarily fear materialism. \"Livers\nsecrete bile--brains secrete thought,\" is smart and plausible, but it\nis shallow. Brain and thought are, no doubt, connected--but the\nconnection is of simultaneousness, of two things in concordance\nindeed, but not related as cause and effect. If cerebral physiology\nspeaks of annihilation when the brain is destroyed, she speaks\nignorantly and without a brief.\n\nThe greatest thinkers in the Natural Religion department of the new\nphilosophy seem then to be very much in the same position as those in\nthe same department of the old. For immortality there is a sublime\nprobability. With man, and man's advance in goodness and virtue as the\ngoal of creation, who shall say that the thing so long provided for,\nthe goal of creation, is likely to perish? Annihilation is a\nhypothesis; immortality is a hypothesis. But immortality is the more\nlikely as well as the more beautiful of the two. We may believe in it,\nnot as a thing demonstrated, but as an act of faith that \"God will not\nput us to permanent intellectual confusion.\"[327]\n\nBut we may well ask whether it is wise and well to refuse to intrench\nthis probability behind another. Is it likely that He who has so much\ncare for us as to make us the goal of a drama a million times more\ncomplex than our fathers dreamed of; who lets us see that He has not\nremoved us out of his sight; will leave Himself, and with Himself our\nhopes, without witness in history? History is especially human; human\nevidence the branch of moral science of which man is master--for man\nis the best interpreter of man. The primary axiom of family, of\nsocial, of legal, of moral life, is, that there is a kind and degree\nof human evidence which we ought not to refuse; that if credulity is\nvoracious in belief, incredulity is no less voracious in negation;\nthat if there is a credulity which is simple, there is an incredulity\nwhich is unreasonable and perilous. Is it then safe to grope for the\nkeys of death in darkness, and turn from the hand that holds them out;\nto face the ugly realities of the pit with less consolation than is\nthe portion of our inheritance in the faith of Christ?\n\n\"The disciples,\" John tells us, \"went away again unto their own home.\nBut Mary was standing without at the sepulchre weeping.\"[328] Weeping!\nWhat else is possible while we are _outside_, while we _stand_--what\nelse until we _stoop_ down from our proud grief to the sepulchre,\nhumble our speculative pride, and condescend to gaze at the death of\nJesus face to face? When we do so, we forget the hundred voices that\ntell us that the Resurrection is partly invented, partly imagined,\npartly ideally true. We may not see angels in white, nor hear their\n\"why weepest thou?\" But assuredly we shall hear a sweeter voice, and a\nstronger than theirs; and our name will be on it, and His name will\nrush to our lips in the language most expressive to us--as Mary said\nunto Him in _Hebrew_,[329] Rabboni. Then we shall find that the grey\nof morning is passing; that the thin thread of scarlet upon the\ndistant hills is deepening into dawn; that in that world where Christ\nis the dominant law the ruling principle is not natural selection\nwhich works through death, but supernatural selection which works\nthrough life; that \"because He lives, we shall live also.\"[330]\n\nWith the reception of the witness of men then, and among them of such\nmen as the writer of the fourth Gospel, all follows. For Christ,\n\n      \"Earth breaks up--time drops away;--\n       In flows Heaven with its new day\n       Of endless life, when He who trod,\n       Very Man and very God,\n       This earth in weakness, shame, and pain,\n       Dying the death whose signs remain\n       Up yonder on the accurs\u00ebd tree;\n       Shall come again, no more to be\n       Of captivity the thrall--\n       But the true God all in all,\n       King of kings, and Lord of lords,\n       As His servant John received the words--\n       'I died, and live for evermore.'\"\n\nFor us there comes the hope in Paradise--the connection with the\nliving dead--the pulsation through the isthmus of the Church, from sea\nto sea, from us to them--the tears not without smiles as we think of\nthe long summer-day when Christ who is our life shall appear--the\nmanifestation of the sons of God, when \"them that sleep in Jesus will\nGod bring with Him.\" Our resurrection shall be a fact of history,\nbecause His is a fact of history; and we receive it as such--partly\nfrom the reasonable motive of reasonable human belief on sufficient\nevidence for practical conviction.\n\nAll the long chain of manifold witness to Christ is consummated and\ncrowned when it passes into the inner world of the individual life.\n\"He that believeth on the Son of God, hath the witness in him,\"\n_i.e._, in himself![331] Correlative to this, stands a terrible truth.\nHe of whom we must conceive that he believes not God,[332] has made\nHim a liar--nothing less, because his time for receiving Christ came\nand went, and with this crisis his unbelief stands a completed present\nact as the result of his past;[333] unbelief stretching over to the\ncompleted witness of God concerning His Son;[334]--human unbelief\nco-extensive with divine witness.\n\nBut that sweet witness in a man's self is not merely in books or\nsyllogisms. It is the creed of a living soul. It lies folded within a\nman's heart, and never dies--part of the great principle of\nvictory[335] fought and won over again in each true life[336]--until\nthe man dies, and ceasing then only because he sees that which is the\nobject of its witness.\n\nFOOTNOTES:\n\n[314] The writer is entirely persuaded that St. John in chap. xx. 30,\n31, refers to the _Resurrection_ \"signs,\" and not to miracles generally.\n\n[315] Acts x. 41, 42. It is to be regretted that the R. V. has not\nboldly given us such an arrangement of the words in this important\npassage as would at once connect \"made manifest\" with \"after He rose\nagain from the dead,\" and avoid making the Apostle state that the\nchosen witnesses ate and drank with Christ after the Resurrection. St.\nPeter mentions that particular characteristic of the Apostles which\nmade them judges not to be gainsayed of the identity of the Risen One\nwith Him with whom they used to eat and drink.\n\n[316] John xiv. 19-21.\n\n[317] \u03a4\u03b9\u03c2 \u03c4\u03bf\u03c5\u03c4\u03bf \u03b5\u03b9\u03b4\u03b5\u03bd; \u03b3\u03c5\u03bd\u03b7 \u03c0\u03b1\u03c1\u03bf\u03b9\u03c3\u03c4\u03c1\u03bf\u03c2, \u03ba\u03b1\u03b9 \u03b5\u03b9 \u03c4\u03b9\u03c2 \u03b1\u03bb\u03bb\u03bf\u03c2 \u03c4\u03c9\u03bd \u03b5\u03ba \u03c4\u03b7\u03c2\n\u03b1\u03c5\u03c4\u03b7\u03c2 \u03b3\u03bf\u03b7\u03c4\u03b5\u03b9\u03b1\u03c2. \u1f49\u03c4\u03b5 \u03bc\u03b5\u03bd \u03b7\u03c0\u03b9\u03c3\u03c4\u03b5\u03b9\u03c4\u03bf \u03b5\u03bd \u03c3\u03c9\u03bc\u03b1\u03c4\u03b9 \u03c0\u03b1\u03c3\u03b9\u03bd \u03b1\u03bd\u03b9\u03b4\u03b7\u03bd (freely,\nwithout restraint) \u03b5\u03ba\u03b7\u03c1\u03c5\u03c4\u03c4\u03b5\u03bd, \u1f41\u03c4\u03b5 \u03b4\u03b5 \u03c0\u03b9\u03c3\u03c4\u03b9\u03bd \u03b1\u03bd \u03b9\u03c3\u03c7\u03c5\u03c1\u03b1\u03bd \u03c0\u03b1\u03c1\u03b5\u03b9\u03c7\u03b5\u03bd \u03b5\u03ba\n\u03bd\u03b5\u03ba\u03c1\u03c9\u03bd \u03b1\u03bd\u03b1\u03c3\u03c4\u03b1\u03c2 \u1f11\u03bd\u03b9 \u03bc\u03bf\u03bd\u03c9 \u03b3\u03c5\u03bd\u03b1\u03b9\u03c9 \u03ba\u03b1\u03b9 \u03c4\u03bf\u03b9\u03c2 \u1f11\u03b1\u03c5\u03c4\u03bf\u03c5 \u03b8\u03b5\u03b1\u03c3\u03b9\u03c9\u03c4\u03b1\u03b9\u03c2 (adepts,\ninitiated) \u03ba\u03c1\u03c5\u03b2\u03b4\u03b7\u03bd \u03c0\u03b1\u03c1\u03b5\u03c6\u03b1\u03b9\u03bd\u03b5\u03c4\u03c9 ... \u03b5\u03c7\u03c1\u03b7\u03bd \u03b5\u03b9\u03c0\u03b5\u03c1 \u03bf\u03bd\u03c4\u03c9\u03c2 \u03b8\u03b5\u03b9\u03b1\u03bd \u03b4\u03c5\u03bd\u03b1\u03bc\u03b9\u03bd\n\u03b5\u03ba\u03c6\u03b7\u03bd\u03b1\u03b9 \u03b7\u03b8\u03b5\u03bb\u03b5\u03bd \u1f41 \u0399\u03b7\u03c3\u03bf\u03c5\u03c2 \u03b1\u03c5\u03c4\u03bf\u03b9\u03c2 \u03c4\u03bf\u03b9\u03c2 \u03b5\u03c0\u03b7\u03c1\u03b5\u03b1\u03c3\u03b9 \u03ba\u03b1\u03b9 \u03c4\u03c9 \u03ba\u03b1\u03c4\u03b1\u03b4\u03b9\u03ba\u03b1\u03c3\u03b1\u03bd\u03c4\u03b9 \u03ba\u03b1\u03b9\n\u1f41\u03bb\u03c9\u03c2 \u03c0\u03b1\u03c3\u03b9\u03bd \u03bf\u03c6\u03b8\u03b7\u03bd\u03b1\u03b9. [Celsus, _ap. Orig._, 2, 55, 59, 70, 63.] The\npassage is given in Rudolph Anger's invaluable _Synopsis Evang. cum\nlocis qui supersunt parallelis litterarum et traditionum Evang.\nIren\u00e6o. antiquiorum._ p. 254.\n\n[318] \u03b3\u03c5\u03bd\u03b7 \u03c0\u03b1\u03c1\u03bf\u03b9\u03c3\u03c4\u03c1\u03bf\u03c2, Celsus. \"Moments sacr\u00e9s ou la passion d'une\nhallucin\u00e9e donne au monde un Dieu ressuscit\u00e9.\" Renan, _Vie de Jesus_,\n434.\n\n[319] \"Post Resurrectionem ... Dominus quum dedisset sindonem servo\nsacerdotis\"--Evang. ad Heb.--Matt. xxvii. 59.--R. Anger, _Synopsis\nEvang._, 288.\n\n[320] Mark xvi. 8.\n\n[321] Luke xxiv. 37.\n\n[322] Luke xxiv. 41; John xx. 20.\n\n[323] Ps. xxxiv. 15.\n\n[324] John xxi. 12, cf. 7.\n\n[325] Matt. xxviii. 13.\n\n[326] 1 Peter i. 3, 4; Apoc. i. 17, 18.\n\n[327] See _The Destiny of Man, viewed in the light of his origin_, by\nJohn Fiske, especially the three remarkable chapters pp. 96-119.\n\n[328] John xx. 10, 11.\n\n[329] The word \u1f19\u03b2\u03c1\u03b1\u03b9\u03c3\u03c4\u03b9 had unfortunately dropped out of the T. R.\nJohn xx. 16.\n\n[330] John xiv. 19.\n\n[331] \u03b5\u03bd \u1f11\u03b1\u03c5\u03c4\u03c9, ver. 10.\n\n[332] \u1f41 \u03bc\u03b7 \u03c0\u03b9\u03c3\u03c4\u03b5\u03c5\u03c9\u03bd \u03c4\u03c9 \u0398\u03b5\u03c9, _Ibid._\n\n[333] \u03bf\u03c5 \u03c0\u03b5\u03c0\u03b9\u03c3\u03c4\u03b5\u03c5\u03ba\u03b5\u03bd, _Ibid._\n\n[334] \u03b5\u03b9\u03c2 \u03c4\u03b7\u03bd \u03bc\u03b1\u03c1\u03c4\u03c5\u03c1\u03b9\u03b1\u03bd \u1f21\u03bd \u03bc\u03b5\u03bc\u03b1\u03c1\u03c4\u03c5\u03c1\u03b7\u03ba\u03b5\u03bd \u1f41 \u0398\u03b5\u03bf\u03c2 \u03c0\u03b5\u03c1\u03b9 \u03c4\u03bf\u03c5 \u03c5\u03b9\u03bf\u03c5 \u03b1\u03c5\u03c4\u03bf\u03c5.\n_Ibid._\n\n[335] \u03c0\u03b1\u03bd \u03c4\u03bf \u03b3\u03b5\u03b3\u03b5\u03bd\u03bd\u03b7\u03bc\u03b5\u03bd\u03bf\u03bd \u03b5\u03ba \u03c4\u03bf\u03c5 \u0398\u03b5\u03bf\u03c5 \u03bd\u03b9\u03ba\u03b1 \u03c4\u03bf\u03bd \u03ba\u03bf\u03c3\u03bc\u03bf\u03bd. ver. 4.\n\n[336] With the neuter in ver. 4, contrast the individualising\nmasculine in ver. 5, \u03c4\u03b9\u03c2 \u03b5\u03c3\u03c4\u03b9\u03bd \u1f41 \u03bd\u03b9\u03ba\u03c9\u03bd.\n\n\n\n\n                            DISCOURSE XIV.\n\n                          _SIN UNTO DEATH._\n\n             \"There is a sin unto death.\"--1 JOHN v. 17.\n\n\nThe Church has ever spoken of seven deadly sins. Here is the ugly\ncatalogue. Pride, covetousness, lust, envy, gluttony, hatred, sloth.\nMany of us pray often \"from fornication and all other deadly sin, Good\nLord deliver us.\" This language rightly understood is sound and true;\nyet, without careful thought, the term may lead us into two errors.\n\n1. On hearing of _deadly_ sin we are apt instinctively to oppose it to\n_venial_. But we cannot define by any _quantitative_ test what venial\nsin may be for any given soul. To do that we must know the complete\nhistory of each soul; and the complete genealogy, conception, birth,\nand autobiography of each sin. Men catch at the term _venial_ because\nthey love to minimise a thing so tremendous as sin. The world sides\nwith the casuists whom it satirises; and speaks of a \"white lie,\" of a\nfoible, of an inaccuracy, when \"the 'white lie' may be that of St.\nPeter, the foible that of David, and the inaccuracy that of Ananias!\"\n\n2. There is a second mistake into which we often fall in speaking of\ndeadly sin. Our imagination nearly always assumes some one definite\noutward act; some single individual sin. This may partly be due to a\nseemingly slight mistranslation in the text. It should not run \"there\nis _a_ sin,\" but \"there is sin unto\" (_i.e._, in the direction of,\ntowards) \"death.\"\n\nThe text means something deeper and further-reaching than any single\nsin, deadly though it may be justly called.\n\nThe author of the fourth Gospel learned a whole mystic language from the\nlife of Jesus. Death, in the great Master's vocabulary, was more than a\nsingle action. It was again wholly different from bodily death by the\nvisitation of God. There are two realms for man's soul co-extensive with\nthe universe and with itself. One which leads towards God is called\n_Life_; one which leads from Him is called _Death_. There is a radiant\npassage by which the soul is translated from the death which is death\nindeed, to the life which is life indeed. There is another passage by\nwhich we pass from life to death; _i.e._, fall back towards _spiritual_\n(which is not necessarily eternal) death.\n\nThere is then a general condition and contexture; there is an atmosphere\nand position of soul in which the true life flickers, and is on the way\nto death. One who visited an island on the coast of Scotland has told\nhow he found in a valley open to the spray of the north-west ocean a\nclump of fir trees. For a time they grew well, until they became high\nenough to catch the prevalent blast. They were still standing, but had\ntaken a fixed set, and were reddened as if singed by the breath of fire.\nThe island glen might be \"swept on starry nights by balms of spring;\"\nthe summer sun as it sank might touch the poor stems with a momentary\nradiance. The trees were still _living,_ but only with that cortical\nvitality which is the tree's death in life. Their doom was evident; they\ncould have but a few more seasons. If the traveller cared some years\nhence to visit that islet set in stormy waters, he would find the firs\nblanched like a skeleton's bones. Nothing remained for them but the sure\nfall, and the fated rottenness.\n\nThe analogy indeed is not complete. The tree in such surroundings\n_must_ die; it can make for itself no new condition of existence; it\ncan hear no sweet question on the breeze that washes through the\ngrove, \"why will ye die?\" It cannot look upward--as it is scourged by\nthe driving spray, and tormented by the fierce wind--and cry, \"O God\nof my life, give me life.\" It has no will; it cannot transplant\nitself. But the human tree can root itself in a happier place. Some\ndivine spring may clothe it with green again. As it was passing from\nlife toward death, so by the grace of God in prayers and sacraments,\nthrough penitence and faith, it may pass from death to life.\n\nThe Church then is not wrong when she speaks of \"deadly sin.\" The\nnumber _seven_ is not merely a mystic fancy. But the _seven_ \"deadly\nsins\" are seven attributes of the whole character; seven master-ideas;\nseven general conditions of a human soul alienated from God; seven\nforms of aversion from true life, and of reversion to true death. The\nstyle of St. John has often been called \"senile;\" it certainly has the\noracular and sententious quietude of old age in its almost lapidary\nrepose. Yet a terrible light sometimes leaps from its simple and\nstately lines. Are there not a hundred hearts among us who know that\nas years pass they are drifting further and further from Him who is\nthe Life? Will they not allow that St. John was right when, looking\nround the range of the Church, he asserted that there is such a thing\nas \"sin unto death?\"\n\nIt may be useful to take that one of the seven deadly sins which\npeople are the most surprised to find in the list.\n\nHow and why is sloth deadly sin?\n\nThere is a distinction between sloth as _vice_ and sloth as _sin_. The\ndeadly _sin_ of _sloth_ often exists where the _vice_ has no place.\nThe sleepy music of Thomson's \"Castle of Indolence\" does not describe\nthe slumber of the spiritual sluggard. Spiritual sloth is want of care\nand of love for all things in the spiritual order. Its conceptions are\nshallow and hasty. For it the Church is a department of the civil\nservice; her worship and rites are submitted to, as one submits to a\nminor surgical operation. Prayer is the waste of a few minutes daily\nin concession to a sentiment which it might require trouble to\neradicate. For the slothful Christian, saints are incorrigibly stupid;\nmartyrs incorrigibly obstinate; clergymen incorrigibly professional;\nmissionaries incorrigibly restless; sisterhoods incorrigibly tender;\nwhite lips that can just whisper Jesus incorrigibly awful. For the\nslothful, God, Christ, death, judgment have no real significance. The\nAtonement is a plank far away to be clutched by dying fingers in the\narticle of death, that we may gurgle out \"yes,\" when asked \"are you\nhappy\"? Hell is an ugly word, Heaven a beautiful one which means a sky\nor an Utopia. Apathy in all spiritual thought, languor in every work\nof God, fear of injudicious and expensive zeal; secret dislike of\nthose whose fervour puts us to shame, and a miserable adroitness in\nkeeping out of their way; such are the signs of the spirit of sloth.\nAnd with this a long series of sins of omission--\"slumbering and\nsleeping while the Bridegroom tarries\"--\"unprofitable servants.\"\n\nWe have said that the _vice_ of sloth is generally distinct from the\n_sin_. There is, however, one day of the week on which the sin is apt\nto wear the drowsy features of the _vice--Sunday_. If there is any day\non which we might be supposed to do something towards the spiritual\nworld it must be Sunday. Yet what have any of us done for God on any\nSunday? Probably we can scarcely tell. We slept late, we lingered over\nour dressing, we never thought of Holy Communion; after Church (if we\nwent there) we loitered with friends; we lounged in the Park; we\nwhiled away an hour at lunch; we turned over a novel, with secret\ndislike of the benevolent arrangements which give the postman some\nrest. Such have been in the main our past Sundays. Such will be those\nwhich remain, more or fewer, till the arrival of a date written in a\ncalendar which eye hath not seen. The last evening of the closing year\nis called by an old poet, \"the twilight of two years, nor past, nor\nnext.\" What shall we call the last Sunday of our year of life?\n\nTurn to the first chapter of St. Mark. Think of that day of our Lord's\nministry which is recorded more fully than any other. What a day! First\nthat teaching in the Synagogue, when men \"were astonished,\" not at His\nvolubility, but at His \"doctrine,\" drawn from depths of thought. Then\nthe awful meeting with the powers of the world unseen. Next the\nutterance of the words in the sick room which renovated the fevered\nframe. Afterwards an interval for the simple festival of home. And then\nwe see the sin, the sorrow, the sufferings crowded at the door. A few\nhours more, while yet there is but the pale dawn before the meteor\nsunrise of Syria, He rises from sleep to plunge His wearied brow in the\ndews of prayer. And finally the intrusion of others upon that sacred\nsolitude, and the work of preaching, helping, pitying, healing closes in\nupon Him again with a circle which is of steel, because it is duty--of\ndelight, because it is love. O the divine monotony of one of those\ngolden days of God upon earth! And yet we are offended because He who is\nthe same for ever, sends from heaven that message with its terrible\nplainness--\"because thou art lukewarm, I will spue thee out of my\nmouth.\" We are angry that the Church classes sloth as deadly sin, when\nthe Church's Master has said--\"thou wicked and _slothful_ servant.\"\n\n\n\n\n                            DISCOURSE XV.\n\n            _THE TERRIBLE TRUISM WHICH HAS NO EXCEPTION._\n\n    \"All unrighteousness is sin: and there is a sin not unto death.\"--\n    1 JOHN v. 17.\n\n\nLet us begin by detaching awhile from its context this oracular\nutterance: \"all unrighteousness is sin.\" Is this true universally, or\nis it not?\n\nA clear consistent answer is necessary, because a strange form of the\ndoctrine of indulgences (long whispered in the ears) has lately been\nproclaimed from the housetops, with a considerable measure of apparent\nacceptance.\n\nHere is the singular dispensation from St. John's rigorous canon to\nwhich we refer.\n\nThree such indulgences have been accorded at various times to certain\nfavoured classes or persons. (1) \"The moral law does not exist for the\nelect.\" This was the doctrine of certain Gnostics in St. John's day;\nof certain fanatics in every age. (2) \"Things absolutely forbidden to\nthe mass of mankind, are allowable for people of commanding rank.\"\nAccommodating Prelates, and accommodating Reformers have left the\nburden of defending these ignoble concessions to future generations.\n(3) A yet baser dispensation has been freely given by very vulgar\ncasuists. \"The chosen of Fortune\"--the men at whose magic touch every\nstock seems to rise--may be allowed unusual forms of enjoying the\nunusual success which has crowned their career.\n\nSuch are, or such _were_, the dispensations from St. John's canon\npermitted to themselves, or to others, by the elect of _Heaven_, by\nthe elect of _station_, and by the elect of _fortune_.\n\nAnother election hath obtained the perilous exception now--the\nelection of _genius_. Those who endow the world with music, with art,\nwith romance, with poetry, are entitled to the reversion. \"All\nunrighteousness is sin\"--except for _them_. (1) The indulgence is no\nlonger valid for those who affect intimacy with heaven (partly perhaps\nbecause it is suspected that there is no heaven to be intimate with).\n(2) The indulgence is not extended to the men who apparently rule over\nnations, since it has been discovered that nations rule over them. (3)\nIt is not accorded to the constructors of fortunes; they are too many,\nand too uninteresting, though possibly figures could be conceived\nalmost capable of buying it. But (generally speaking) men of these\nthree classes must pace along the dust of the narrow road by the\nsignpost of the law, if they would escape the censure of society.\n\nFor genius alone there is no such inconvenient restriction. Many men, of\ncourse, deliberately prefer the \"primrose path,\" but they can no more\navoid indignant hisses by the way than they can extinguish the\n\"everlasting bonfire\" at the awful close of their journey. With the man\nof genius it seems that it is otherwise. He shall \"walk in the ways of\nhis heart, and in the sight of his eyes;\" but, \"for all these things\"\nthe tribunals of certain schools of a delicate criticism (delicate\ncriticism can be so indelicate!) will never allow him \"to be brought\ninto judgment.\" Some literary oracles, biographers, or reviewers, are\nnot content to keep a reverential silence, and to murmur a secret\nprayer. They will drag into light the saddest, the meanest, the most\nselfish doings of genius. Not the least service to his generation, and\nto English literature, of the true poet and critic lately taken from\nus,[337] was the superb scorn, the exquisite wit, with which his\nindignant purity transfixed such doctrines. A strange winged thing, no\ndoubt, genius sometimes is; alternately beating the abyss with splendid\npinions, and eating dust which is the \"serpent's meat.\" But for all\nthat, we cannot see with the critic when he tries to prove that the\nreptile's crawling is part of the angel's flight; and the dust on which\nhe grovels one with the infinite purity of the azure distances.\n\nThe arguments of the apologists for moral eccentricity of genius may be\nthus summed up:--The man of genius bestows upon humanity gifts which are\non a different line from any other. He enriches it on the side where it\nis poorest; the side of the Ideal. But the very temperament in virtue of\nwhich a man is capable of such transcendent work makes him passionate\nand capricious. To be _imaginative_ is to be _exceptional_; and these\nexceptional beings live for mankind rather than for themselves. When\ntheir conduct comes to be discussed, the only question is whether that\nconduct was adapted to forward the superb self-development which is of\nsuch inestimable value to the world. If the gratification of any desire\nwas necessary for that self-development, genius itself being the judge,\nthe cause is ended. In winning that gratification hearts may be broken,\nsouls defiled, lives wrecked. The daintiest songs of the man of genius\nmay rise to the accompaniment of domestic sobs, and the music which he\nseems to warble at the gates of heaven may be trilled over the white\nupturned face of one who has died in misery. What matter! Morality is so\nicy, and so intolerant; its doctrines have the ungentlemanlike rigour of\nthe Athanasian Creed. Genius breaks hearts with such supreme\ngracefulness, such perfect wit, that they are arrant Philistines who\nrefuse to smile.\n\nWe who have the text full in our mind answer all this in the words of\nthe old man of Ephesus. For all that angel-softness which he learned\nfrom the heart of Christ, his voice is as strong as it is sweet and\ncalm. Over all the storm of passion, over all the babble of successive\nsophistries, clear and eternal it rings out--\"_all_ unrighteousness is\nsin.\" To which the apologist, little abashed, replies--\"of course we\nall know _that_--quite true as a general rule, but then men of genius\nhave bought a splendid dispensation by paying a splendid price, and so\n_their_ inconsistencies are not sin.\"\n\nThere are two assumptions at the root of this apology for the\naberrations of genius which should be examined. (1) The temperament of\nmen of genius is held to constitute an excuse from which there is no\nappeal. Such men indeed are sometimes not slow to put forward this\nplea for themselves. No doubt there are trials peculiar to every\ntemperament. Those of men of genius are probably very great. They are\nchildren of the sunshine and of the storm; the grey monotony of\nordinary life is distasteful to them. Things which others find it easy\nto accept convulse their sensitive organisation. Many can produce\ntheir finest works only on condition of being sheltered where no\nbills shall find their way by the post; where no sound, not even the\ncrowing of cocks, shall break the haunted silence. If the letter comes\nin one case, and if the cock crows in the other, the first may\npossibly never be remembered, but the second is never forgotten.\n\nFor this, as for every other form of human temperament--that of the\ndunce, as well as of the genius--allowance must in truth be made. In\nthat one of the lives of the English Poets, where the great moralist\nhas gone nearest to making concessions to this fallacy of temperament,\nhe utters this just warning. \"No wise man will easily presume to say,\nhad I been in Savage's condition I should have lived better than\nSavage.\" But we must not bring in the temperament of the man of genius\nas the standard of his conduct unless we are prepared to admit the\nsame standard in every other case. God is no respecter of persons. For\neach, conscience is of the same texture, law of the same material. As\nall have the same cross of infinite mercy, the same judgment of\nperfect impartiality, so have they the same law of inexorable _duty_.\n\n(2) The necessary _disorder_ and _feverishness_ of high literary and\nartistic inspiration is a _second_ postulate of the pleas to which I\nrefer. But, is it true that disorder _creates inspiration_; or is a\ncondition of it?\n\nAll great work is ordered work; and in producing it the faculties must\nbe exercised harmoniously and with order. True inspiration, therefore,\nshould not be caricatured into a flushed and dishevelled thing. Labour\nalways precedes it. It has been prepared for by education. And that\neducation would have been painful but for the glorious efflorescence\nof materials collected and assimilated, which is the compensation for\nany toil. The very dissatisfaction with its own performances, the\nresult of the lofty ideal which is inseparable from genius, is at once\na stimulus and a balm. The man of genius apparently writes, or paints,\nas the birds sing, or as the spring colours the flowers; but his\nsubject has long possessed his mind, and the inspiration is the child\nof thought and of ordered labour. Destroying the peace of one's own\nfamily or of another's, being flushed with the preoccupation of guilty\npassion, will not accelerate, but retard the advent of those happy\nmoments which are not without reason called creative. Thus, the\ninspiration of genius is akin to the inspiration of prophecy. The\nprophet tutored himself by a fitting education. He became assimilated\nto the noble things in the future which he foresaw. Isaiah's heart\ngrew royal; his style wore the majesty of a king, before he sang the\nKing of sorrow with His infinite pathos, and the King of righteousness\nwith His infinite glory. Many prophets attuned their spirits by\nlistening to such music as lulls, not inflames passion. Others walked\nwhere \"beauty born of murmuring sound\" might pass into their strain.\nThink of Ezekiel by the river of Chebar, with the soft sweep of waters\nin his ear, and their cool breath upon his cheek. Think of St. John\nwith the shaft of light from heaven's opened door upon his upturned\nbrow, and the boom of the \u00c6gean upon the rocks of Patmos around him.\n\"The note of the heathen seer\" (said the greatest preacher of the\nGreek Church) \"is to be contorted, constrained, excited, like a\nmaniac; the note of a prophet is to be wakeful, self-possessed, nobly\nself-conscious.\"[338] We may apply this test to the distinction\nbetween genius, and the dissipated affectation of genius.\n\nLet us then refuse our assent to a doctrine of indulgences applied to\ngenius on the ground of _temperament_ or of literary and artistic\n_inspiration_. \"Why,\" we are often asked, \"why force your narrow\njudgment upon an angry or a laughing world?\" What have you to do with\nthe conduct of gifted men? Genius means exuberance. Why \"blame the\nNiagara River\" because it will not assume the pace and manner of \"a\nDutch canal\"? Never indeed should we force that judgment upon any,\nunless they force it upon us. Let us avoid as far as we may posthumous\ngossip over the grave of genius. It is an unwholesome curiosity which\nrewards the blackbird for that bubbling song of ecstasy in the\nthicket, by gloating upon the ugly worm which he swallows greedily\nafter the shower. The pen or pencil has dropped from the cold fingers.\nAfter all its thought and sin, after all its toil and agony, the soul\nis with its Judge. Let the painter of the lovely picture, the writer\nof the deathless words, be for us like the priest. The washing of\nregeneration is no less wrought through the unworthy minister; the\nprecious gift is no less conveyed when a polluted hand has broken the\nbread and blessed the cup. But if we are forced to speak, let us\nrefuse to accept an _ex post facto_ morality invented to excuse a\nworthless absolution. Especially so when the most sacred of all rights\nis concerned. It is not enough to say that a man of genius dissents\nfrom the received standard of conduct. He cannot make fugitive\ninclination the only principle of a connection which he promised to\nrecognise as paramount. A passage in the Psalms,[339] has been called\n\"The catechism of Heaven.\" \"The catechism of Fame\" differs from \"the\ncatechism of Heaven.\" \"Who shall ascend unto the hill of Fame?\" \"He\nthat possesses genius.\" \"Who shall ascend unto the hill of the Lord?\"\n\"He that hath clean hands, and a pure heart; He that hath sworn to his\nneighbour and disappointeth him not\" (or disappointeth _her_ not)\n\"though it were to his own hindrance\"--aye, to the hindrance of his\nself-development. Strange that the rough Hebrew should still have to\nteach us chivalry as well as religion! In St. John's Epistle we find\nthe two great axioms about sin, in its two essential aspects. \"Sin is\nthe transgression of the law:\" there is its aspect chiefly _Godward_.\n\"All unrighteousness\" (mainly injustice, denial of the rights of\nothers) \"is sin:\" there is its aspect chiefly _manward_.\n\nYes, the principle of the text is rigid, inexorable, eternal. Nothing\ncan make its way out of those terrible meshes. It is without favour,\nwithout exception. It gives no dispensation, and proclaims no\nindulgences, to the man of genius, or to any other. If it were\notherwise, the righteous God, the Author of creation and redemption,\nwould be dethroned. And _that_ is a graver thing than to dethrone even\nthe author of \"Queen Mab,\" and of \"The Epipsychidion.\" Here is the\njurisprudence of the \"great white Throne\" summed up in four words:\n\"_all unrighteousness is sin_.\"\n\nSo far, in the last discourse, and in this, we have ventured to\nisolate these two great principles from their context. But this\nprocess is always attended with peculiar loss in St. John's writings.\nAnd as some may think perhaps that the promise[340] just succeeding is\nfalsified we must here run the risk of bringing in another thread of\nthought. Yet indeed the whole paragraph[341] has its source in an\nintense faith in the _efficacy of prayer_, specially as exercised in\n_intercessory prayer_.\n\n(1) The efficacy of prayer.[342] This is the very sign of contrast with,\nof opposition to, the modern spirit, which is the negation of _prayer_.\n\nWhat is the real value of prayer?\n\nVery little, says the modern spirit. Prayer is the stimulant, the\nDutch courage of the moral world. Prayer is a power, not because it\n_is_ efficacious, but because it is _believed_ to be so.\n\nA modern Rabbi, with nothing of his Judaism left but a rabid antipathy\nto the Founder of the Church, guided by Spinoza and Kant, has turned\nfiercely upon the Lord's prayer.[343] He takes those petitions which\nstand alone among the liturgies of earth in being capable of being\ntranslated into every language. He cuts off one pearl after another from\nthe string. Let us look at two specimens. \"Our Father which art in\nHeaven.\" Heaven! the very name has a breath of magic, a suggestion of\nbeauty, of grandeur, of purity in it. It moves us as nothing else can.\nWe instinctively lift our heads; the brow grows proud of that splendid\nhome, and the eye is wetted with a tear and lighted with a ray, as it\nlooks into those depths of golden sunset which are full for the young of\nthe radiant mystery of life, for the old of the pathetic mystery of\ndeath.[344] Yes, but for modern science Heaven means air, or atmosphere,\nand the address itself is contradictory. \"Forgive us.\" But surely the\nguilt cannot be forgiven, except by the person against whom it is\ncommitted. There is no other forgiveness. A mother (whose daughter went\nout upon the cruel London streets) carried into execution a thought\nbestowed upon her by the inexhaustible ingenuity of love. The poor woman\ngot her own photograph taken, and a friend managed to have copies of it\nhung in several halls and haunts of infamy with these words clearly\nwritten below--\"come home, I forgive you.\" The tender subtlety of love\nwas successful at last; and the poor haggard outcast's face was touched\nby her mother's lips. \"But the heart of God,\" says this enemy of prayer,\n\"is not as a woman's heart.\" (Pardon the words, O loving Father! Thou\nwho hast said \"Yea, she may forget, yet will I not forget thee.\" Pardon,\nO pierced Human Love! who hast graven the name of every soul on the\npalms of Thy hands with the nails of the crucifixion.) Repentance\nsubjectively seems a reality when mother and child meet with a burst of\npassionate tears, and the polluted brow feels purified by their molten\ndownfall; but repentance _objectively_ is seen to be an absurdity by\nevery one who grasps the conception of law. The penitential Psalms may\nbe the _lyrics_ of repentance, the Gospel for the third Sunday after\nTrinity its _idyll_, the cross its _symbol_, the wounds of Christ its\n_theology_ and _inspiration_. But the course of Nature, the hard logic\nof life is its refutation--the flames that burn, the waves that drown,\nthe machine that crushes, the society that condemns, and that neither\ncan, nor will forgive.\n\nEnough, and more than enough of this. The monster of ignorance who has\nnever learnt a prayer, has hitherto been looked upon as one of the\nsaddest of sights. But there is something sadder--the monster of\nover-cultivation, the wreck of schools, the priggish fanatic of\ngodlessness. Alas! for the nature which has become like a plant\nartificially trained and twisted to turn away from the light. Alas!\nfor the heart which has hardened itself into stone until it cannot\nbeat faster, or soar higher, even when men are saying with happy\nenthusiasm, or when the organ is lifting upward to the heaven of\nheavens the cry which is at once the creed of an everlasting dogma and\nthe hymn of a triumphant hope--\"with Thee is the well of Life, and in\nThy light shall we see light.\" Now having heard the answer of the\nmodern spirit to the question \"what is the real value of prayer?\"\nthink of the answer of the spirit of the Church as given by St. John\nin this paragraph. That answer is not drawn out in a syllogism. St.\nJohn appeals to our consciousness of a divine life. \"That ye may know\nthat ye have eternal life.\" This _knowledge_ issues in _confidence,\ni.e._, literally the sweet possibility of saying out all to God. And\nthis confidence is never disappointed for any believing child of God.\n\"If we know that He hear us, we know that we have the petitions that\nwe desired of Him.\"[345]\n\nOn the 16th verse we need only say, that the greatness of our\nbrother's spiritual need does not cease to be a title to our sympathy.\nSt. John is not speaking of all requests, but of the fulness of\nbrotherly intercession.\n\n       *       *       *       *       *\n\nOne question and one warning in conclusion; and that question is this.\nDo we take part in this great ministry of love? Is our voice heard in\nthe full music of the prayers of intercession that are ever going up to\nthe Throne, and bringing down the gift of life? Do _we_ pray for others?\n\nIn one sense all who know true affection and the sweetness of _true_\nprayer do pray for others. We have never loved with supreme affection\nany for whom we have not interceded, whose names we have not baptized\nin the fountain of prayer. Prayer takes up a tablet from the hand of\nlove written over with names; that tablet death itself can only break\nwhen the heart has turned Sadducee.\n\nJesus (we sometimes think) gives one strange proof of the love which\nyet passeth knowledge. \"Now Jesus loved Martha and her sister and\nLazarus;\" \"when He had heard therefore\" [O that strange therefore!]\n\"that Lazarus was sick, He abode _two days_ still in the same place\nwhere He was.\" Ah! sometimes not two days, but two years, and\nsometimes evermore, He seems to remain. When the income dwindles with\nthe dwindling span of life; when the best beloved must leave us for\nmany years, and carries away our sunshine with him; when the life of a\nhusband is in danger--then we pray; \"O Father, for Jesu's sake spare\nthat precious life; enable me to provide for these helpless ones;\nbless these children in their going out and coming in, and let me see\nthem once again before the night cometh, and my hands are folded for\nthe long rest.\" Yes, but have we prayed at our Communion \"because of\nthat Holy Sacrament in it, and with it,\" that He would give them the\ngrace which they need--the life which shall save them from sin unto\ndeath? Round us, close to us in our homes, there are cold hands,\nhearts that beat feebly. Let us fulfil St. John's teaching, by praying\nto Him who is the life that He would chafe those cold hands with His\nhand of love, and quicken those dying hearts by contact with that\nwounded heart which is a heart of fire.\n\n\n                                NOTES\n\n                             Ch. v. 3-17.\n\nVer. 3. This section should begin with the words \"And His commandments\nare not heavy\"--and should not be separated from what follows, because\nthey give one reason of the victory whereof he proceeds to speak. \"His\ncommandments are not heavy, for all that is born of God conquereth the\nworld.\" What a picture of the sweetness of a life of service! What a\ngentle smile must have been on the old man's face as he said, \"His\ncommandments are not grievous!\"\n\nVers. 7, 8. This passage with its apparent obscurity, and famous\ninterpolation, demands some additional notice. As to _criticism_ and\n_interpretation_.\n\n(1) _Critically._ Since the publication of J. J. Griesbach's\ncelebrated work (_Diatribe in locum_ 1 John v. 7, 8, Tom. ii., N.T.\nHalle: 1806), first German, and latterly English, opinion has become\nabsolutely unanimous in agreeing with Griesbach that \"the words\nincluded between brackets are spurious, and should therefore be\neliminated from the Sacred Text.\" Even the famous Roman Catholic\nscholar, Scholts, in his great critical edition of the New Testament,\nin two volumes (Bonn: 1836), boldly dropped the disputed passage from\nthe text. The interpolated passage has certainly no support in any\nuncial manuscript, or ancient version, or Greek Father of the four\nfirst centuries. (2) As to _interpretation_, the faith has lost\nnothing by the honesty of her wisest defenders. The whole of the\ngenuine passage is intensely Trinitarian. The interpolation is nothing\nbut an exposition written into the text. The three genuine witnesses\ndo really point to the Three Witnesses in Heaven. Bengel's saying\nexpresses the permanent feeling of Christendom, which no criticism can\ndo away with: \"This trine array of witnesses on earth is supported by,\nand has above and beneath it the Trinity, which is Heavenly,\narchetypal, fundamental, everlasting.\" The whole context recognizes\nthree special works of the Three Persons of the Blessed Trinity. \"This\nis the witness of God,\" _i.e._ of the Father (ver. 9); \"this is He\nthat came by water and blood,\" _i.e._ the Son (ver. 6); \"it is the\nSpirit that witnesseth,\" _i.e._ the Holy Ghost (_ibid._).\n\nA fuller examination of this passage, from a polemical point of view,\nwill be found in the third of the introductory discourses. It will be\nwell, however, to indicate here the immediate controversial reference\nin the Spirit, the water, and the blood. There is abundant proof that\nthe popular heretical philosophy of Asia Minor struck Christianity\nprecisely in three vital places. It denied--\n\n(1) The Incarnation--consequently\n\n(2) The Redemption--consequently\n\n(3) The Sacraments.\n\nBut the mention of the water and the blood in connection with the\nPerson of the Son Incarnate and Crucified established exactly these\nthree points. Narrated as it was by an eye-witness, it established:--\n\n(1) The reality of the Incarnation--consequently\n\n(2) The reality of Redemption--for the blood of Jesus cleanses from\nall sin (1 John i. 7)--consequently\n\n(3) The reality of Sacraments.\n\nWe have articulate evidence of the denial of the two sacraments by the\nDocetic idealists of Asia Minor. The _Philosophumena_ tells us of the\nview of baptism held by one of their principal sects. \"According to them\nthe promise of the laver of regeneration is nothing more than the\nintroduction into the 'unfading pleasure' of him that is washed (as they\nsay) with living water, and anointed with 'chrism that speaketh\nnot.'\"[346] The testimony of Ignatius is express as to the other\nsacrament. \"From Eucharist and prayer they abstain on account of not\nconfessing that the Eucharist is flesh of our Saviour Jesus Christ which\nsuffered for our sins.\" [\"Water and blood\" should be noted in Heb. ix.\n19. Water is not mentioned in Exod. xxiv. 6.]--(_Ep. ad Smyrn._ vii.)\n\nFOOTNOTES:\n\n[337] Mr. Matthew Arnold.\n\n[338] This is true as a general rule; but there were exceptions.\n\n[339] See Ps. xv. Cf. Ps. xxiv. 3-7.\n\n[340] 1 John v. 15.\n\n[341] 1 John v. 14, 18.\n\n[342] Vv. 14, 15.\n\n[343] _Historical and Critical Commentary on Leviticus._ By M. M.\nKalisch. Part 1. Theology of the Past and Future, 431, 438.\n\n[344] This is denied by De Wette (_Ueber die Religion_, Vorlesungen,\n106).\n\n[345] The form of expression indicates _not_ necessarily the very\nthings asked, but the spiritual essence and substance.\n\n[346] \u1f29 \u03b3\u03b1\u03c1 \u03b5\u03c0\u03b1\u03b3\u03b3\u03b5\u03bb\u03b9\u03b1 \u03c4\u03bf\u03c5 \u03bb\u03bf\u03c5\u03c4\u03c1\u03bf\u03c5 \u03bf\u03c5\u03ba \u03b1\u03bb\u03bb\u03b7 \u03c4\u03b9\u03c2 \u03b5\u03c3\u03c4\u03b9 \u03ba\u03b1\u03c4' \u03b1\u03c5\u03c4\u03bf\u03c5\u03c2, \u1f21 \u03c4\u03bf\n\u03b5\u03b9\u03c3\u03b1\u03b3\u03b1\u03b3\u03b5\u03b9\u03bd \u03b5\u03b9\u03c2 \u03c4\u03b7\u03bd \u03b1\u03bc\u03b1\u03c1\u03b1\u03bd\u03c4\u03bf\u03bd \u1f21\u03b4\u03bf\u03bd\u03b7\u03bd \u03c4\u03bf\u03bd \u03bb\u03bf\u03c5\u03bf\u03bc\u03b5\u03bd\u03bf\u03bd \u03ba\u03b1\u03c4' \u03b1\u03c5\u03c4\u03bf\u03c5\u03c2 \u03b6\u03c9\u03bd\u03c4\n\u1f51\u03b4\u03b1\u03c4\u03b9 \u03ba\u03b1\u03b9 \u03c7\u03c1\u03b9\u03bf\u03bc\u03b5\u03bd\u03bf\u03bd \u03b1\u03bb\u03b1\u03bb\u03c9 \u03c7\u03c1\u03b9\u03c3\u03bc\u03b1\u03c4\u03b9.--(_Philosoph._, p. 140, de\nNaassenis.)\n\n\n\n\n                              SECTION X.\n\n\n          GREEK.                           LATIN.\n\n  \u039f\u03b9\u03b4\u03b1\u03bc\u03b5\u03bd \u1f41\u03c4\u03b9 \u03c0\u03b1\u03c2 \u1f41                  Scimus quoniam omnis\n  \u03b3\u03b5\u03b3\u03b5\u03bd\u03bd\u03b7\u03bc\u03b5\u03bd\u03bf\u03c2 \u03b5\u03ba \u03c4\u03bf\u03c5                qui natus est ex\n  \u0398\u03b5\u03bf\u03c5 \u03bf\u03c5\u03c7 \u1f01\u03bc\u03b1\u03c1\u03c4\u03b1\u03bd\u03b5\u03b9,                Deo non peccat, sed\n  \u03b1\u03bb\u03bb' \u1f41 \u03b3\u03b5\u03bd\u03bd\u03b7\u03b8\u03b5\u03b9\u03c2 \u03b5\u03ba \u03c4\u03bf\u03c5            generatio Dei conservat\n  \u0398\u03b5\u03bf\u03c5 \u03c4\u03b7\u03c1\u03b5\u03b9 \u03b1\u03c5\u03c4\u03bf\u03bd, \u03ba\u03b1\u03b9              eum et malignus non\n  \u1f41 \u03c0\u03bf\u03bd\u03b7\u03c1\u03bf\u03c2 \u03bf\u03c5\u03c7 \u1f01\u03c0\u03c4\u03b5\u03c4\u03b1\u03b9              tangit eum. Scimus\n  \u03b1\u03c5\u03c4\u03bf\u03c5. \u03bf\u03b9\u03b4\u03b1\u03bc\u03b5\u03bd \u1f41\u03c4\u03b9 \u03b5\u03ba              quoniam ex Deo sumus\n  \u03c4\u03bf\u03c5 \u0398\u03b5\u03bf\u03c5 \u03b5\u03c3\u03bc\u03b5\u03bd, \u03ba\u03b1\u03b9                et mundus totus in\n  \u1f41 \u03ba\u03bf\u03c3\u03bc\u03bf\u03c2 \u1f41\u03bb\u03bf\u03c2 \u03b5\u03bd \u03c4\u03c9                maligno positus est.\n  \u03c0\u03bf\u03bd\u03b7\u03c1\u03c9 \u03ba\u03b5\u03b9\u03c4\u03b1\u03b9. \u03bf\u03b9\u03b4\u03b1\u03bc\u03b5\u03bd             Et scimus quoniam\n  \u03b4\u03b5 \u1f41\u03c4\u03b9 \u1f41 \u03c5\u03b9\u03bf\u03c2 \u03c4\u03bf\u03c5 \u0398\u03b5\u03bf\u03c5             Filius Dei venit, et\n  \u1f21\u03ba\u03b5\u03b9, \u03ba\u03b1\u03b9 \u03b4\u03b5\u03b4\u03c9\u03ba\u03b5\u03bd \u1f21\u03bc\u03b9\u03bd             dedit nobis sensum ut\n  \u03b4\u03b9\u03b1\u03bd\u03bf\u03b9\u03b1\u03bd, \u1f31\u03bd\u03b1 \u03b3\u03b9\u03bd\u03c9\u03c3\u03ba\u03c9\u03bc\u03b5\u03bd           cognoscamus verum\n  \u03c4\u03bf\u03bd \u03b1\u03bb\u03b7\u03b8\u03b9\u03bd\u03bf\u03bd\u00b7 \u03ba\u03b1\u03b9 \u03b5\u03c3\u03bc\u03b5\u03bd            Deum et simus in vero,\n  \u03b5\u03bd \u03c4\u03c9 \u03b1\u03bb\u03b7\u03b8\u03b9\u03bd\u03c9, \u03b5\u03bd \u03c4\u03c9                Filio eius; hic est\n  \u03c5\u03b9\u03c9 \u03b1\u03c5\u03c4\u03bf\u03c5 \u0399\u03b7\u03c3\u03bf\u03c5 \u03a7\u03c1\u03b9\u03c3\u03c4\u03c9.            verus et vita \u00e6terna.\n  \u03bf\u03c5\u03c4\u03bf\u03c2 \u03b5\u03c3\u03c4\u03b9\u03bd \u1f41 \u03b1\u03bb\u03b7\u03b8\u03b9\u03bd\u03bf\u03c2             Filioli custodite vos a\n  \u0398\u03b5\u03bf\u03c2 \u03ba\u03b1\u03b9 \u1f21 \u03b6\u03c9\u03b7 \u03b1\u03b9\u03c9\u03bd\u03b9\u03bf\u03c2.            simulachris.\n  \u03a4\u03b5\u03ba\u03bd\u03b9\u03b1, \u03c6\u03c5\u03bb\u03b1\u03be\u03b1\u03c4\u03b5 \u1f11\u03b1\u03c5\u03c4\u03bf\u03c5\u03c2\n  \u03b1\u03c0\u03bf \u03c4\u03c9\u03bd \u03b5\u03b9\u03b4\u03c9\u03bb\u03c9\u03bd.\n  \u03b1\u03bc\u03b7\u03bd.\n\n\n     AUTHORISED VERSION.                  REVISED VERSION.\n\n  We know that whosoever             We know that whosoever\n  is born of God                     is begotten of\n  sinneth not; but he                God sinneth not; but\n  that is begotten of God            He that was begotten\n  keepeth himself, and               of God keepeth him,\n  that wicked one toucheth           and the evil one toucheth\n  him not. _And_ we                  him not. We know\n  know that we are of                that we are of God,\n  God, and the whole                 and the whole world\n  world lieth in wickedness.         lieth in the evil one.\n  And we know                        And we know that the\n  that the Son of God is             Son of God is come,\n  come, and hath given               and hath given us an\n  us an understanding,               understanding that we\n  that we may know Him               know Him that is true,\n  that is true, and we               and we are in Him that\n  are in Him that is true,           is true, _even_ in His\n  _even_ in His Son Jesus            Son Jesus Christ. This\n  Christ. This is the                is the true God, and\n  true God, and eternal              eternal life. _My_ little\n  life. Little children,             children, guard yourselves\n  keep yourselves from               from idols.\n  idols. Amen.\n\n\n     ANOTHER VERSION.\n\n  We know that whosoever\n  is born of God\n  sinneth not: but the\n  Begotten of God keepeth\n  him, and the evil\n  one toucheth him not.\n\n  We know that we\n  are from God and the\n  world lieth wholly in\n  the evil one.\n\n  We know moreover\n  that the Son of God\n  hath _come and_ is here,\n  and hath given us\n  understanding that we\n  know Him that is the\n  Very God: and in His\n  Son Jesus Christ (this\n  is the Very God and\n  eternal life), we are\n  in the Very (_God_).\n  Children, guard yourselves\n  from the idols.\n\n\n                                NOTES.\n\n                            Ch. v. 18-21.\n\nVer. 18, 19, 20. Three seals are affixed to the close of this\nEpistle--three postulates of the spiritual reason; three primary canons\nof spiritual perception and knowledge. Each is marked by the emphatic\n\"we know,\" which is stamped at the opening its first line. The first \"we\nknow,\" is of a sense of purity made possible to the Christian through\nthe keeping by Him Who is the one Begotten of God. The evil one cannot\ntouch him with the contaminating touch which implies connection. The\nsecond \"we know\" involves a sense of _privilege_; the true conviction\nthat by God's power, and love, we are brought into a sphere of light,\nout of the darkness in which a sinful world has become as if cradled on\nthe lap of the evil one. The third \"we know\" is the deep consciousness\nof the very Presence of the Son of God in and with His Church. And with\nthis comes all the inner life--supremely a new way of looking at things,\na new possibility of thought, a new cast of thought and sentiment,\n\"understanding\" (\u03b4\u03b9\u03b1\u03bd\u03bf\u03b9\u03b1). Words denoting intellectual faculties and\nprocesses are rare in St. John. This word is used in the sense just\ngiven in Plat., _Rep._, 511, and Arist., _Poet._, vi. (in the last,\nhowever, rather of the _sentiment_ of the piece than of the author), \"He\nhath given us understanding that we know continuously the very [God].\"\nAnd in \"His Son Jesus Christ [this is the very God and eternal life] we\nare in the very God.\" This interpretation of the passage is supported by\nthe position of the pronoun which cannot be referred naturally to any\nsubject but Jesus Christ. Waterland quotes Iren\u00e6us. \"No man can know God\nunless God has taught him; that is to say, that without God, God cannot\nbe known.\"[347]\n\nVer. 21. The Epistle closes with a short, sternly affectionate\nexhortation. \"Children, guard yourselves\" (the aorist imperative of\nimmediate final decision) \"from the idols.\" These words are natural in\nthe atmosphere of Ephesus (Acts xix. 26, 27). The Author of the\nApocalypse has a like hatred of idols. (Apoc. ii. 14, 15, ix. 20, xx.\n1-8, xxii. 15.)\n\nIt would appear that the Gnostics allowed people to eat freely things\nsacrificed to idols. Modern, like ancient unbelief, has sometimes\nattributed to St. John a determination to exalt the Master whom he\nknew to be a man to an equality with God. But this is morally\ninconsistent with the Apostle's unaffected shrinking from idolatry in\nevery form. (See _Speaker's Commentary, N. T._, iv., 347).\n\nFOOTNOTE:\n\n[347] Moyer Lecture, vi.\n\n\n\n\n                  _THE SECOND EPISTLE OF ST. JOHN._\n\n\n\n\n                             II. EPISTLE.\n\n\n          GREEK.                           LATIN.\n\n  \u039f \u03c0\u03c1\u03b5\u03c3\u03b2\u03c5\u03c4\u03b5\u03c1\u03bf\u03c2 \u03b5\u03ba\u03bb\u03b5\u03ba\u03c4\u03b7              Senior elect\u00e6 domin\u00e6\n  \u03ba\u03c5\u03c1\u03b9\u03b1 \u03ba\u03b1\u03b9 \u03c4\u03bf\u03b9\u03c2 \u03c4\u03b5\u03ba\u03bd\u03bf\u03b9\u03c2             et natis eius, quos ego\n  \u03b1\u03c5\u03c4\u03b7\u03c2, \u03bf\u03c5\u03c2 \u03b5\u03b3\u03c9 \u03b1\u03b3\u03b1\u03c0\u03c9               diligo in veritate, et\n  \u03b5\u03bd \u03b1\u03bb\u03b7\u03b8\u03b5\u03b9\u03b1, \u03ba\u03b1\u03b9 \u03bf\u03c5\u03ba \u03b5\u03b3\u03c9            non ego solus sed et\n  \u03bc\u03bf\u03bd\u03bf\u03c2 \u03b1\u03bb\u03bb\u03b1 \u03ba\u03b1\u03b9 \u03c0\u03b1\u03bd\u03c4\u03b5\u03c2              omnes qui cognoverunt\n  \u03bf\u03b9 \u03b5\u03b3\u03bd\u03c9\u03ba\u03bf\u03c4\u03b5\u03c2 \u03c4\u03b7\u03bd \u03b1\u03bb\u03b7\u03b8\u03b5\u03b9\u03b1\u03bd,         veritatem, propter veritatem\n  \u03b4\u03b9\u03b1 \u03c4\u03b7\u03bd \u03b1\u03bb\u03b7\u03b8\u03b5\u03b9\u03b1\u03bd                   qu\u00e6 permanet\n  \u03c4\u03b7\u03bd \u03bc\u03b5\u03bd\u03bf\u03c5\u03c3\u03b1\u03bd \u03b5\u03bd \u1f21\u03bc\u03b9\u03bd,              in nobis et nobis cum\n  \u03ba\u03b1\u03b9 \u03bc\u03b5\u03b8' \u1f21\u03bc\u03c9\u03bd \u03b5\u03c3\u03c4\u03b1\u03b9 \u03b5\u03b9\u03c2            erit in \u00e6ternum. Sit\n  \u03c4\u03bf\u03bd \u03b1\u03b9\u03c9\u03bd\u03b1. \u03b5\u03c3\u03c4\u03b1\u03b9 \u03bc\u03b5\u03b8'              nobiscum gratia misericordia\n  \u1f21\u03bc\u03c9\u03bd \u03c7\u03b1\u03c1\u03b9\u03c2, \u03b5\u03bb\u03b5\u03bf\u03c2, \u03b5\u03b9\u03c1\u03b7\u03bd\u03b7,         pax a Deo Patre\n  \u03c0\u03b1\u03c1\u03b1 \u0398\u03b5\u03bf\u03c5 \u03c0\u03b1\u03c4\u03c1\u03bf\u03c2 \u03ba\u03b1\u03b9               et Christo Iesu Filio\n  \u03c0\u03b1\u03c1\u03b1 \u039a\u03c5\u03c1\u03b9\u03bf\u03c5 \u0399\u03b7\u03c3\u03bf\u03c5                  Patris in veritate et\n  \u03a7\u03c1\u03b9\u03c3\u03c4\u03bf\u03c5 \u03c4\u03bf\u03c5 \u03c5\u03b9\u03bf\u03c5 \u03c4\u03bf\u03c5               caritate. Gavisus sum\n  \u03c0\u03b1\u03c4\u03c1\u03bf\u03c2, \u03b5\u03bd \u03b1\u03bb\u03b7\u03b8\u03b5\u03b9\u03b1 \u03ba\u03b1\u03b9             valde quoniam inveni\n  \u03b1\u03b3\u03b1\u03c0\u03b7. \u0395\u03c7\u03b1\u03c1\u03b7\u03bd \u03bb\u03b9\u03b1\u03bd                 de filii tuis ambulantes\n  \u1f41\u03c4\u03b9 \u03b5\u03c5\u03c1\u03b7\u03ba\u03b1 \u03b5\u03ba \u03c4\u03c9\u03bd \u03c4\u03b5\u03ba\u03bd\u03c9\u03bd           in veritate sicut mandatum\n  \u03c3\u03bf\u03c5 \u03c0\u03b5\u03c1\u03b9\u03c0\u03b1\u03c4\u03bf\u03c5\u03bd\u03c4\u03b1\u03c2 \u03b5\u03bd               accepimus a\n  \u03b1\u03bb\u03b7\u03b8\u03b5\u03b9\u03b1, \u03ba\u03b1\u03b8\u03c9\u03c2 \u03b5\u03bd\u03c4\u03bf\u03bb\u03b7\u03bd             Patre. Et nunc rogo te,\n  \u03b5\u03bb\u03b1\u03b2\u03bf\u03bc\u03b5\u03bd \u03c0\u03b1\u03c1\u03b1 \u03c4\u03bf\u03c5                  domina, non tamquam\n  \u03c0\u03b1\u03c4\u03c1\u03bf\u03c2. \u03ba\u03b1\u03b9 \u03bd\u03c5\u03bd \u03b5\u03c1\u03c9\u03c4\u03c9              mandatum novum scribens\n  \u03c3\u03b5, \u03ba\u03c5\u03c1\u03b9\u03b1, \u03bf\u03c5\u03c7 \u1f61\u03c2 \u03b5\u03bd\u03c4\u03bf\u03bb\u03b7\u03bd          tibi, sed quod\n  \u03b3\u03c1\u03b1\u03c6\u03c9\u03bd \u03c3\u03bf\u03b9 \u03ba\u03b1\u03b9\u03bd\u03b7\u03bd, \u03b1\u03bb\u03bb\u03b1            habuimus ab initio, ut\n  \u1f21\u03bd \u03b5\u03b9\u03c7\u03bf\u03bc\u03b5\u03bd \u03b1\u03c0' \u03b1\u03c1\u03c7\u03b7\u03c2,              diligamus alterutrum.\n  \u1f31\u03bd\u03b1 \u03b1\u03b3\u03b1\u03c0\u03c9\u03bc\u03b5\u03bd \u03b1\u03bb\u03bb\u03b7\u03bb\u03bf\u03c5\u03c2.             Et h\u00e6c est caritas, ut\n  \u03ba\u03b1\u03b9 \u03b1\u03c5\u03c4\u03b7 \u03b5\u03c3\u03c4\u03b9\u03bd \u1f21 \u03b1\u03b3\u03b1\u03c0\u03b7,            ambulemus secundum\n  \u1f31\u03bd\u03b1 \u03c0\u03b5\u03c1\u03b9\u03c0\u03b1\u03c4\u03c9\u03bc\u03b5\u03bd \u03ba\u03b1\u03c4\u03b1               mandata eius. Hoc\n  \u03c4\u03b1\u03c2 \u03b5\u03bd\u03c4\u03bf\u03bb\u03b1\u03c2 \u03b1\u03c5\u03c4\u03bf\u03c5. \u03b1\u03c5\u03c4\u03b7            mandatum est ut quemadmodum\n  \u03b5\u03c3\u03c4\u03b9\u03bd \u1f21 \u03b5\u03bd\u03c4\u03bf\u03bb\u03b7, \u03ba\u03b1\u03b8\u03c9\u03c2              audistis ab\n  \u03b7\u03ba\u03bf\u03c5\u03c3\u03b1\u03c4\u03b5 \u03b1\u03c0' \u03b1\u03c1\u03c7\u03b7\u03c2, \u1f31\u03bd\u03b1            initio in eo ambuletis.\n  \u03b5\u03bd \u03b1\u03c5\u03c4\u03b7 \u03c0\u03b5\u03c1\u03b9\u03c0\u03b1\u03c4\u03b7\u03c4\u03b5\u00b7 \u1f41\u03c4\u03b9            Quoniam multi seductores\n  \u03c0\u03bf\u03bb\u03bb\u03bf\u03b9 \u03c0\u03bb\u03b1\u03bd\u03bf\u03b9 \u03b5\u03b9\u03c3\u03b7\u03bb\u03b8\u03bf\u03bd             exierunt in mundum\n  \u03b5\u03b9\u03c2 \u03c4\u03bf\u03bd \u03ba\u03bf\u03c3\u03bc\u03bf\u03bd, \u03bf\u03b9 \u03bc\u03b7              qui non confitentur\n  \u1f41\u03bc\u03bf\u03bb\u03bf\u03b3\u03bf\u03c5\u03bd\u03c4\u03b5\u03c2 \u0399\u03b7\u03c3\u03bf\u03c5\u03bd                Iesum Christum venientem\n  \u03a7\u03c1\u03b9\u03c3\u03c4\u03bf\u03bd \u03b5\u03c1\u03c7\u03bf\u03bc\u03b5\u03bd\u03bf\u03bd \u03b5\u03bd               in carne. Hic\n  \u03c3\u03b1\u03c1\u03ba\u03b9\u00b7 \u03bf\u03c5\u03c4\u03bf\u03c2 \u03b5\u03c3\u03c4\u03b9\u03bd \u1f41               est seductor et antichristus.\n  \u03c0\u03bb\u03b1\u03bd\u03bf\u03c2 \u03ba\u03b1\u03b9 \u1f41 \u03b1\u03bd\u03c4\u03b9\u03c7\u03c1\u03b9\u03c3\u03c4\u03bf\u03c2\u00b7          Videte vosmet\n  \u03b2\u03bb\u03b5\u03c0\u03b5\u03c4\u03b5 \u1f11\u03b1\u03c5\u03c4\u03bf\u03c5\u03c2, \u1f31\u03bd\u03b1 \u03bc\u03b7            ipsos, ne perdatis\n  \u03b1\u03c0\u03bf\u03bb\u03b5\u03c3\u03c9\u03bc\u03b5\u03bd \u03b1 \u03b5\u03b9\u03c1\u03b3\u03b1\u03c3\u03b1\u03bc\u03b5\u03b8\u03b1,          qu\u00e6 operati estis, sed\n  \u03b1\u03bb\u03bb\u03b1 \u03bc\u03b9\u03c3\u03b8\u03bf\u03bd                        ut mercedam plenum\n  \u03c0\u03bb\u03b7\u03c1\u03b7 \u03b1\u03c0\u03bf\u03bb\u03b1\u03b2\u03c9\u03bc\u03b5\u03bd. \u03c0\u03b1\u03c2              accipiatis. Omnis qui\n  \u1f41 \u03c0\u03b1\u03c1\u03b1\u03b2\u03b1\u03b9\u03bd\u03c9\u03bd \u03ba\u03b1\u03b9 \u03bc\u03b7                pr\u00e6cedit et non manet\n  \u03bc\u03b5\u03bd\u03c9\u03bd \u03b5\u03bd \u03c4\u03b7 \u03b4\u03b9\u03b4\u03b1\u03c7\u03b7 \u03c4\u03bf\u03c5             in doctrina Christi,\n  \u03a7\u03c1\u03b9\u03c3\u03c4\u03bf\u03c5 \u0398\u03b5\u03bf\u03bd \u03bf\u03c5\u03ba \u03b5\u03c7\u03b5\u03b9\u00b7             Deum non habet: qui\n  \u1f41 \u03bc\u03b5\u03bd\u03c9\u03bd \u03b5\u03bd \u03c4\u03b7 \u03b4\u03b9\u03b4\u03b1\u03c7\u03b7               permanet in doctrina,\n  \u03bf\u03c5\u03c4\u03bf\u03c2 \u03ba\u03b1\u03b9 \u03c4\u03bf\u03bd \u03c0\u03b1\u03c4\u03b5\u03c1\u03b1 \u03ba\u03b1\u03b9           hic et Filium et Patrem\n  \u03c4\u03bf\u03bd \u03c5\u03b9\u03bf\u03bd \u03b5\u03c7\u03b5\u03b9. \u03b5\u03b9 \u03c4\u03b9\u03c2              habet. Si quis venit ad\n  \u03b5\u03c1\u03c7\u03b5\u03c4\u03b1\u03b9 \u03c0\u03c1\u03bf\u03c2 \u1f51\u03bc\u03b1\u03c2 \u03ba\u03b1\u03b9              vos, et hanc doctrinam\n  \u03c4\u03b1\u03c5\u03c4\u03b7\u03bd \u03c4\u03b7\u03bd \u03b4\u03b9\u03b4\u03b1\u03c7\u03b7\u03bd \u03bf\u03c5              non adfert, nolite recipere\n  \u03c6\u03b5\u03c1\u03b5\u03b9, \u03bc\u03b7 \u03bb\u03b1\u03bc\u03b2\u03b1\u03bd\u03b5\u03c4\u03b5                eum in domumnec\n  \u03b1\u03c5\u03c4\u03bf\u03bd \u03b5\u03b9\u03c2 \u03bf\u03b9\u03ba\u03b9\u03b1\u03bd, \u03ba\u03b1\u03b9              ave ei dixeritis: qui\n  \u03c7\u03b1\u03b9\u03c1\u03b5\u03b9\u03bd \u03b1\u03c5\u03c4\u03c9 \u03bc\u03b7 \u03bb\u03b5\u03b3\u03b5\u03c4\u03b5\u00b7            enim dicit illi ave, communicat\n  \u1f41 \u03b3\u03b1\u03c1 \u03bb\u03b5\u03b3\u03c9\u03bd \u03b1\u03c5\u03c4\u03c9                   operibus illius\n  \u03c7\u03b1\u03b9\u03c1\u03b5\u03b9\u03bd \u03ba\u03bf\u03b9\u03bd\u03c9\u03bd\u03b5\u03b9 \u03c4\u03bf\u03b9\u03c2              malignis. Plura habens\n  \u03b5\u03c1\u03b3\u03bf\u03b9\u03c2 \u03b1\u03c5\u03c4\u03bf\u03c5 \u03c4\u03bf\u03b9\u03c2 \u03c0\u03bf\u03bd\u03b7\u03c1\u03bf\u03b9\u03c2.        vobis scribere, nolui\n  \u03a0\u03bf\u03bb\u03bb\u03b1 \u03b5\u03c7\u03c9\u03bd \u1f51\u03bc\u03b9\u03bd                    per cartam et atramentum:\n  \u03b3\u03c1\u03b1\u03c6\u03b5\u03b9\u03bd \u03bf\u03c5\u03ba \u03b7\u03b2\u03bf\u03c5\u03bb\u03b7\u03b8\u03b7\u03bd              spero enim me\n  \u03b4\u03b9\u03b1 \u03c7\u03b1\u03c1\u03c4\u03bf\u03c5 \u03ba\u03b1\u03b9 \u03bc\u03b5\u03bb\u03b1\u03bd\u03bf\u03c2\u00b7            futurum apud vos et\n  \u03b1\u03bb\u03bb\u03b1 \u03b5\u03bb\u03c0\u03b9\u03b6\u03c9 \u03b5\u03bb\u03b8\u03b5\u03b9\u03bd \u03c0\u03c1\u03bf\u03c2            os ad os loqui, ut\n  \u1f51\u03bc\u03b1\u03c2 \u03ba\u03b1\u03b9 \u03c3\u03c4\u03bf\u03bc\u03b1 \u03c0\u03c1\u03bf\u03c2                gaudium vestrum sit\n  \u03c3\u03c4\u03bf\u03bc\u03b1 \u03bb\u03b1\u03bb\u03b7\u03c3\u03b1\u03b9, \u1f31\u03bd\u03b1 \u1f21               plenum. Salutant te\n  \u03c7\u03b1\u03c1\u03b1 \u1f21\u03bc\u03c9\u03bd \u03b7 \u03c0\u03b5\u03c0\u03bb\u03b7\u03c1\u03c9\u03bc\u03b5\u03bd\u03b7.           filii sororis tu\u00e6 elect\u00e6.\n  \u0391\u03c3\u03c0\u03b1\u03b6\u03b5\u03c4\u03b1\u03b9 \u03c3\u03b5\n  \u03c4\u03b1 \u03c4\u03b5\u03ba\u03bd\u03b1 \u03c4\u03b7\u03c2 \u03b1\u03b4\u03b5\u03bb\u03c6\u03b7\u03c2\n  \u03c3\u03bf\u03c5 \u03c4\u03b7\u03c2 \u03b5\u03ba\u03bb\u03b5\u03ba\u03c4\u03b7\u03c2. \u03b1\u03bc\u03b7\u03bd.\n\n\n     AUTHORISED VERSION.                  REVISED VERSION.\n\n  The elder unto the                 The elder unto the\n  elect lady and her children,       elect lady and her children,\n  whom I love in                     whom I love in\n  the truth; and not I               truth; and not I only,\n  only, but also all they            but also all they that\n  that have known the                know the truth; for\n  truth; for the truth's             the truth's sake which\n  sake, which dwelleth               abideth in us, and it\n  in us, and shall be with           shall be with us for\n  us for ever. Grace be              ever: Grace, mercy,\n  with you, mercy, _and_             peace shall be with us,\n  peace, from God the                from God the Father,\n  Father, and from the               and from Jesus Christ,\n  Lord Jesus Christ, the             the Son of the Father,\n  Son of the Father, in              in truth and love. I\n  truth and love. I rejoiced         rejoice greatly that I\n  greatly that I                     have found certain of\n  found of thy children              thy children walking\n  walking in truth, as we            in truth, even as we\n  have received a commandment        received commandment\n  from the                           from the Father.\n  Father. And now I                  And now I beseech\n  beseech thee, lady, not            thee, lady, not as\n  as though I wrote a                though I wrote to thee\n  new commandment                    a new commandment,\n  unto thee, but that                but that which we had\n  which we had from the              from the beginning,\n  beginning, that we love            that we love one\n  one another. And this              another. And this is\n  is love, that we walk              love, that we should\n  after His commandments.            walk after His commandments.\n  This is the                        This is\n  commandment, That,                 the commandment,\n  as ye have heard from              even as ye heard from\n  the beginning, ye                  the beginning, that ye\n  should walk in it. For             should walk in it. For\n  many deceivers are                 many deceivers are\n  entered into the world,            gone forth into the\n  who confess not that               world, even they that\n  Jesus Christ is come in            confess not that Jesus\n  the flesh. This is a               Christ cometh in the\n  deceiver and an antichrist.        flesh. This is the\n  Look to yourselves,                deceiver and the antichrist.\n  that we lose                       Look to yourselves,\n  not those things which             that ye lose not\n  we have wrought, but               the things which we\n  that we receive a                  have wrought, but that\n  full reward. Whosoever             ye receive a full reward.\n  transgresseth, and                 Whosoever\n  abideth not in the doctrine        goeth onward and\n  of Christ, hath                    abideth not in the\n  not God. He that                   teaching of Christ, hath\n  abideth in the doctrine            not God: he that\n  of Christ, he hath both            abideth in the teaching,\n  the Father and the Son.            the same hath both the\n  If there come any unto             Father and the Son.\n  you, and bring not this            If any one cometh unto\n  doctrine, receive him              you, and bringeth not\n  not into _your_ house,             this teaching, receive\n  neither bid him God                him not into _your_ house,\n  speed: For he that                 and give him no greeting:\n  biddeth him God speed              for he that giveth\n  is partaker of his evil            him greeting partaketh\n  deeds. Having many                 in his evil works.\n  things to write unto               Having many things\n  you, I would not _write_           to write unto you, I\n  with paper and ink:                would not _write them_\n  but I trust to come                with paper and ink:\n  unto you, and speak                but I hope to come\n  face to face, that our             unto you, and to speak\n  joy may be full. The               face to face, that your\n  children of thy elect              joy may be fulfilled.\n  sister greet thee.                 The children of thine\n  Amen.                              elect sister salute thee.\n\n\n     ANOTHER VERSION.\n\n  The Elder unto the\n  excellent Kyria and\n  her children whom I\n  love in truth, (and not\n  I only, but also all they\n  that know the truth)\n  for the truth's sake\n  which abideth in us--yea,\n  and with us it\n  shall be for ever. There\n  shall be with you\n  grace, mercy, peace\n  from God the Father,\n  and from Jesus Christ\n  the Son of the Father,\n  in truth and love. I\n  was exceeding glad\n  that I found of thy\n  children walking in\n  truth even as we received\n  commandment\n  from the Father. And\n  now I beseech thee\n  Kyria, not as though\n  writing a fresh commandment\n  unto thee,\n  but that which we had\n  from the beginning,\n  that we love one\n  another. And this is\n  the love, that we should\n  walk according to His\n  commandments. This\n  is the commandment\n  as ye heard from the\n  beginning that ye\n  should walk in it. For\n  many deceivers are\n  gone out into the world,\n  _even_ they who are not\n  confessing Jesus Christ\n  coming in the flesh.\n  This the deceiver, and\n  the antichrist. Look\n  to yourselves that ye\n  lose not the things\n  which ye have worked,\n  but that ye receive reward\n  in full. Every\n  one leading forward\n  and not abiding in\n  the doctrine which is\n  Christ's hath not God:\n  he that abideth in the\n  doctrine, the same hath\n  both the Son and the\n  Father. If there come\n  unto you any and\n  bringeth not the doctrine,\n  receive him not\n  into your house, and\n  no good speed wish\n  him. For he that\n  wisheth him good\n  speed partaketh in his\n  works which are evil.\n  Having many things to\n  write unto you I would\n  not write with paper\n  and ink, but I hope to\n  be with you and to\n  speak face to face, that\n  our joy may be fulfilled.\n  The children of thine\n  elect sister greet thee.\n\n\n\n\n                            DISCOURSE XVI.\n\n                _THEOLOGY AND LIFE IN KYRIA'S LETTER._\n\n    \"The elder unto the elect lady and her children, whom I love in\n    the truth ... Grace be with you, mercy and peace, from God the\n    Father and from the Lord Jesus Christ, the Son of the Father, in\n    truth and love.\"--2 JOHN, 3.\n\n\nOf old God addressed men in tones that, were so to speak, distant.\nSometimes He spoke with the stern precision of law or ritual;\nsometimes in the dark and lofty utterances of prophets; sometimes\nthrough the subtle voices of history, which lend themselves to\ndifferent interpretations. But in the New Testament He whom no man\nhath seen at any time, \"interpreted,\"[348] Himself with a sweet\nfamiliarity. It is of a piece with the dispensation of condescension,\nthat the mysteries of the kingdom of heaven should come to us in such\nlarge measure through epistles. For a letter is just the result of\ntaking up one's pen to converse with one who is absent, a familiar\ntalk with a friend.\n\nOf the epistles in our New Testament, a few are addressed to\n_individuals_. The effect of three of these letters upon the Church,\nand even upon the world, has been great. The Epistles to Timothy and\nTitus, according to the most prevalent interpretation of them, have\nbeen felt in the outward organization of the Church. The Epistle to\nPhilemon, with its eager tenderness, its softness as of a woman's\nheart, its chivalrous courtesy, has told in another direction. With\nall its freedom from the rashness of social revolution; its almost\npainful abstinence (as abolitionists have sometimes confessed to\nfeeling) from actual invective against slavery in the abstract; that\nletter is yet pervaded by thoughts whose issue can only be worked out\nby the liberty of the slave. The word emancipation may not be\npronounced, but it hovers upon the Apostle's lips.\n\nThe second Epistle is, in our judgment, a letter to an individual.\nCertainly we are unable to find in its whole contents any probable\nallusion to a Church personified as a lady.[349] It is, as we read it,\naddressed to Kyria, an Ephesian lady, or one who lived in the circle\nof Ephesian influence. It was sent by the Apostle during an absence\nfrom Ephesus. That absence might have been for the purpose of one of\nthe visitations of the Churches of Asia Minor, which (as we are told\nby ancient Church writers) the Apostle was in the habit of holding.\nPossibly, however, in the case of a writer so brief and so reserved in\nthe expression of personal sentiment as St. John, the gush and\nsunshine of anticipated joy at the close of this note might tempt us\nto think of a rift in some sky that had been long darkened; of the\nclose of some protracted separation, soon to be forgotten in a happy\nmeeting. \"Having many things to write unto you, I would not do so by\nmeans of paper and ink; but I hope to come unto you, and to speak face\nto face that our joy may be fulfilled.\"[350] The expression might not\nseem unsuitable for a return from exile. Several touches of language\nand feeling in the latter point to the conclusion that Kyria was a\nwidow. There is no mention of her husband, the father of her children.\nIn the case of a writer who uses the names of God with such subtle and\ntender suitability, the association of Kyria's \"children walking in\ntruth\" with \"even as we received commandment _from the Father_,\" may\nwell point to Him who was for them the Father of the fatherless. We\nneed not with some expositors draw the sad conclusion that St. John\naffectionately hints that there were others of the family who could\nnot be included in this joyful message. But it would seem highly\nprobable from the language used that there were several sons, and also\nthat Kyria had no daughters. Over these sons who had lost one earthly\nparent, the Apostle rejoices with the heart of a father in God. He\nbursts out with his _eureka_, the _eureka_ not of a philosopher, but\nof a saint. \"I rejoiced exceedingly that I found[351] certain of the\nnumber of thy children walking in truth.\"\n\nWhile we may not trace in this little Epistle the same fountain of\nwide-spreading influence as in others to which we have referred; while\nwe feel that, like its author, its work is deep and silent rather than\ncommanding, reflection will also lead us to the conclusion that it is\nworthy of the Apostle who was looked upon as one of the \"pillars\" of\nthe faith.[352]\n\n1. Let us reflect that this letter is addressed by the aged Apostle to\na widow, and concerns her family.\n\nIt is significant that Kyria was, in all probability, a widow of\nEphesus.\n\nToo many of us have more or less acquaintance with one department of\nFrench literature. A Parisian widow is too often the questionable\nheroine of some shameful romance, to have read which is enough to\ntaint the virginity of the young imagination. Ephesus was the Paris of\nIonia. Petronius was the Daudet or Zola of his day. An Ephesian widow\nis the heroine of one of the most cynically corrupt of his stories.\n\nBut \"where sin abounded, grace did more than abound.\" Strange that\nfirst in an epistle to a Bishop of the Church of Ephesus, St. Paul\nshould have presented us with that picture of a Christian widow--\"she\nthat is a widow, indeed, and desolate, who hath her hope set on God,\nand continueth in prayer night and day\"--yet who, if she has the\ndevotion, the almost entire absorption in God, of Anna, the daughter\nof Phanuel,[353] leaves upon the track of her daily road to heaven the\ntrophies of Dorcas--\"having brought up children well, used hospitality\nto strangers, washed the saints' feet, relieved the afflicted,\ndiligently followed every good work.\"[354] Such widows are the leaders\nof the long procession of women, veiled or unveiled, with vows or\nwithout them, who have ministered to Jesus through the ages. Christ\nhas a beautiful art of turning the affliction of His daughters into\nthe consolation of suffering. When life's fairest hopes are\ndisappointed by falsehood, by cruel circumstances, by death; the\nbroken heart is soothed by the love of Christ, the only love which is\nproof against death and change. The consolation thus received is the\nmost unselfish of gifts. It overflows, and is lavishly poured out upon\nthe sick and weary. With St. Paul's picture of a widow of this kind,\ncontrast another by the same hand which hangs close beside it. The\nyounger Ephesian widow, such as Petronius described, was known by St.\nPaul also. If any count the Apostle as a fanatic, destitute of all\nknowledge of the world because he lived above it, let them look at\nthose lines, which are full of such caustic power, as they hit on the\ncharacteristics of certain idle and wanton affecters of a sorrow which\nthey never felt.[355] What a distance between such widows and Kyria,\n\"beloved for the truth's sake which abideth in us!\"[356]\n\nBut the short letter of St. John is addressed to Kyria's _family_ as\nwell as to herself. \"The elder to the excellent Kyria and her\nchildren.\"[357]\n\nThere is one question which we naturally ask about every school and\nform of religion. It is the question which a great English Professor\nof Divinity used to ask his pupils to put in a homely form about every\nreligious scheme and mode of utterance--\"will it _wash_ well?\" Is it\nan influence which seems to be productive and lasting? Does it abide\nthrough time and trials? Is it capable of being passed on to another\ngeneration? Are plans, services, organizations, preachings, classes,\nvital or showy? Are they fads to meet fancies, or works to supply\nwants? Is that which we hold such sober, solid truth, that wise piety\ncan say of it, half in benediction, half in prophecy[358]--\"the truth\nwhich abideth in us; yea, and with us it shall be for ever?\"\n\n2. We turn to the _contents_ of the Epistle.\n\nWe shall be better able to appreciate the value of these, if we\nconsider the state of Christian literature at that time.\n\nWhat had Christians to read and carry about with them? The excellent\nwork of the Bible Society was physically impossible for long centuries\nto come. No doubt the LXX. version of the Old Testament was widely\nspread. In every great city of the Roman Empire there was a vast\npopulation of Jews. Many of these were baptized into the Church, and\ncarried into it with them their passionate belief in the Old\nTestament. The Christians of the time and place to which we refer\ncould, probably, with little trouble, if not read, yet hear the Old\nCovenant and able expositions of it. But they had not copies of the\nentire New Testament. Indeed, if all the New Testament was then\nwritten, it certainly was not collected into one volume, nor\nconstituted one supreme authority. \"Many barbarous nations,\" says a\nvery ancient Father, \"believe in Christ without written record, having\nsalvation impressed through the Spirit in their hearts, and diligently\npreserving the old tradition.\"[359] Possibly a Church or single\nbeliever had one synoptical Gospel. At Ephesus Christians had\ndoubtless been catechised in, and were deeply imbued with, St. John's\nview of the Person, work, and teaching of our Lord. This had now been\nmoulded into shape, and definitely committed to writing in that\nglorious Gospel, the Church's Holy of Holies, St. John's Gospel. For\nthem and for their contemporaries there was a living realization of\nthe Gospel. They had heard it from eye-witnesses. They had passed into\nthe wonderland of God. The earth on which Jesus trod had blossomed\ninto miracle. The air was haunted by the echoes of His voice. They\nhad, probably, also a certain number of the Epistles of St. Paul. The\nChristians of Ephesus would have a special interest in their own\nEpistle to the Ephesians, and in the two which were written to their\nfirst Bishop, Timothy. They had also (whether written or not)\nimpressed upon their memories by their weekly Eucharist, the\nliturgical Canon of consecration according to the _Ephesian\nusage_--from which, and not from the Roman, the Spanish and Gallican\nseem to be derived. The Ephesian Christians had also the first Epistle\nof St. John, which in some form accompanied the Gospel, and is,\nindeed, a picture of spiritual life drawn from it. But let us remember\nthat the Epistle is not of a character to be very quickly or readily\nlearned by heart. Its subtle, latent links of connection do not\npresent many grappling hooks for the memory to fasten itself to.\nCopies also must have been comparatively few.\n\nNow let us see how the second Epistle may well have been related to\nthe first.\n\nSupremely, and above all else, the first Epistle contained _three_\nwarnings, very necessary for those times. (1) There was a danger of\n_losing the true Christ_, the Word made Flesh, Who for the forgiveness\nof our sins did shed out of His most precious side both water and\nblood--in a false, because shadowy and ideal Christ. (2) There was\ndanger of _losing true love_, and therefore spiritual life, with truth.\n(3) With the true Christ and true love there was a danger of losing\n_the true commandment_--love of God and of the brethren. Now in the\nsecond Epistle these very three warnings were written on a leaflet in a\nform more calculated for circulation and for remembrance. (1) Against\nthe peril of faith, of _losing the true Christ_. \"Many deceivers are\ngone out into the world--they who confess not Jesus Christ coming in\nflesh. This is the deceiver and the antichrist.\"[360] With the true\nChrist, the true doctrine of Christ would also vanish, and with it all\nliving hold upon _God_. _Progress_ was the watchword; but it was in\nreality _regress_. \"Every one who abideth not in the doctrine of Christ\nhath not God.\"[361] (2) Against the peril of _losing love_. \"I beseech\nthee, Kyria ... that we love one another.\"[362] (3) Against the peril of\nlosing _the true commandment_ (the great spiritual principle of\ncharity), or the true commandments[363] (that principle in the details\nof life). \"And this is love, that we walk after His _commandments_. This\nis the _commandment_, that even as ye heard from the beginning ye should\nwalk in it.\"[364]\n\nHere then were the chief practical elements of the first Epistle\ncontracted into a brief and easily remembered shape.\n\nEasily remembered, too, was the stern, practical prohibition of the\nintimacies of hospitality with those who came to the home of the\nChristian, in the capacity of emissaries of the antichrist above\nindicated. \"Receive him not into your house, and good speed salute\nhim not with.\"[365]\n\nMany are offended with this. No doubt Christianity is the religion of\nlove--\"the epiphany of the sweet-naturedness and philanthropy of\nGod.\"[366] We very often look upon heresy or unbelief with the\ntolerance of curiosity rather than of love. At all events, the Gospel\nhas its intolerance as well as tolerance. St. John certainly had this.\nIt is not a true conception in art which invests him with the mawkish\nsweetness of perpetual youth. There is a sense in which he was a son\nof Thunder to the last. He who believes and knows must formulate a\ndogma. A dogma frozen by formality, or soured by hate, or narrowed by\nstupidity, makes a bigot. In reading the Church History of the first\nfour centuries we are often tempted to ask, why all this subtlety,\nthis theology-spinning, this dogma-hammering? The answer stands out\nclear above the mists of controversy. Without all this the Church\nwould have lost the conception of Christ, and thus finally Christ\nHimself. St. John's denunciations have had a function in Christendom\nas well as his love.\n\n3. There are two most precious indications of the highest Christian\ntruth with which we may conclude.\n\nWe have prefixed to this Epistle that beautiful Apostolic salutation\nwhich is found in two only among the Epistles of St. Paul.[367] After\nthat simple, but exquisite expression of blessing merged in\nprophecy--\"the truth which abideth in us--yes! and with us it shall be\nfor ever\"[368]--there comes another verse set in the same key. \"There\nshall be with us grace, mercy, peace, from God the Father, and from\nJesus Christ the Son of the Father, in truth\" of thought, \"and love\"\nof life.[369]\n\nThis rush and reduplication of words is not very like the usual\nreserve and absence of emotional excitement in St. John's style. Can\nit be that something (possibly the glorious death of martyrdom by\nwhich Timothy died) led St. John to use words which were probably\nfamiliar to Ephesian Christians?\n\nHowever this may be, let us live by and learn from those lovely words.\nOur poverty wants _grace_, our guilt wants _mercy_, our misery wants\n_peace_. Let us ever keep the Apostle's order. Do not let us put\n_peace_, our feeling of peace, first. The emotionalists' is a\ntopsy-turvy theology. Apostles do not say \"peace and grace,\" but\n\"grace and peace.\"\n\nOne more--in an age which substitutes an ideal something called the\nspirit of Christianity for Christ, let us hold fast to that which is\nthe essence of the Gospel and the kernel of our three creeds. \"To\nconfess Jesus Christ coming in flesh.\"[370] Couple with this a canon\nof the First Epistle--\"confesseth Jesus Christ _come_ in flesh.\"[371]\nThe second is the Incarnation _fact_ with its abiding consequences;\nthe first, the Incarnation _principle_ ever living in a Person, Who\nwill also be personally manifested. This is the substance of the\nGospels; this the life of prayers and sacraments; this the expectation\nof the saints.\n\n\n                                NOTES.\n\nVer. 1. _The Elder._] This word has played a great part in an\nimportant controversy. It is argued that the Elder of this and of the\nThird Epistle is the author indeed of the first Epistle and of the\nGospel, but cannot be the Apostle St. John, who would not, (it is\nalleged,) call himself \u1f41 \u03c0\u03c1\u03b5\u03c3\u03b2\u03c5\u03c4\u03b5\u03c1\u03bf\u03c2. And Eusebius (_H.E._ lib. iii.,\ncap. ult.) preserves a fragment from Papias, which he misunderstands\nto indicate that there were two Johns (see Riggenbach, _Leben Jesu_,\n59, 60). But even if the word be Presbyter, and points to an\necclesiastical title, it might stand precisely on the same footing as\nSt. Peter's language--\"the elders among you I exhort, who am a _fellow\nelder_\" (1 Pet. v. 1). The Elder at the opening of the Second and\nThird Epistles of St. John, may well signify the aged Apostle, the\noldest of the company of Jesus, the one living representative of the\ntraditions of Galilee and Jerusalem.\n\nVer. 7. _The seducer._] \u1f41 \u03c0\u03bb\u03b1\u03bd\u03bf\u03c2. The almost technical force of this\nword would be adequately appreciated only by readers more or less imbued\nwith Jewish ideas. It was indeed the really strong motive in the\nterrible game which the Jewish priests played in bringing about the\ndeath of our Lord. The process against the _Mesith_, \"seducer,\" is drawn\nout in the Talmud with an effrontery at once puerile and revolting. The\nman accused of _seduction_ was to be drawn into conversation, while two\nwitnesses were hidden in the next room,--and candles were to be lighted,\nas if accidentally, close by him, that the witnesses might be sure that\nthey had seen, as well as heard the heretic. He was to be called upon to\nretract his heretical pravity. If he refused, he was to be brought\nbefore the Council, and stoned if the verdict was against him. The\nTalmudists add that this was the legal process carried out against\nJesus: that He was condemned upon the testimony of two witnesses; and\nthat the crime of \"misleading\" was the only one which was thus formally\ndealt with. (See references to the Talmud of Jerusalem, and that of\nBabylon, _Vie de Jesus_, Renan, 394, N. 1). The Gospels tell us that the\naccusation against our Lord was \"misleading:\" and the terrible word in\nthe verse which we are examining was actually applied to Him (\u03b5\u03ba\u03b5\u03b9\u03bd\u03bf\u03c2 \u1f41\n\u03c0\u03bb\u03b1\u03bd\u03bf\u03c2, Matt. xxvii. 63; \u03c0\u03bb\u03b1\u03bd\u03b1 \u03c4\u03bf\u03bd \u03bf\u03c7\u03bb\u03bf\u03bd John vii. 12; \u03bc\u03b7 \u03ba\u03b1\u03b9 \u1f51\u03bc\u03b5\u03b9\u03c2\n\u03c0\u03b5\u03c0\u03bb\u03b1\u03bd\u03b7\u03c3\u03b8\u03b5 John vii. 47).\n\n\"Excepting some minuti\u00e6 which were the product of the Rabbinical\nimagination, the narrative of the Evangelists answers, point by point,\nto the process actually laid down by the Talmud\" (Renan, ut sup.).\n\nVer. 9. _Every one who leadeth forward._] \u03c0\u03b1\u03c2 \u1f41 \u03c0\u03c1\u03bf\u03b1\u03b3\u03c9\u03bd is certainly\nthe true reading here; the commander himself pushing boldly onward,\nand also carrying others with him. The allusion is polemical to the\nvaunted _progress_ of the Gnostic teachers.\n\n\"_The doctrine which is Christ's._\"] What is that? John vii. 16, 17.\nThe doctrine which Christ emphatically called \"_My doctrine_,\" \"_the\ndoctrine_.\" No doubt the word (\u03b4\u03b9\u03b4\u03b1\u03c7\u03b7) sometimes means the _act_,\nsometimes the _mode, of teaching_ (Mark xii. 38; 1 Cor. xiv. 6); but\n\"it underwent a transformation which converted it into a term\nsynonymous with dogmatic teaching,\" with the body of faithful doctrine\nwhich was the ultimate type and norm to which all statements must be\nconformed. (Acts vi. 42; Tit. i. 9; Rom. vi. 17, xvi. 17; see also\nMatt. xvi. 12; Acts v. 28, xvii. 19; Heb. xiii. 9.) It is much to be\nregretted that in the R.V. the word \"doctrine\" has disappeared from\nall these passages, Romans xvi. 17 alone excepted. St. John's language\nin this verse seems quite decisive.\n\nFOOTNOTES:\n\n[348] John i. 18.\n\n[349] There is no doubt a large amount of authority for this view that\nSt. John addresses a Church personified. It has the support of sacred\ncritics so different as Bishop Wordsworth and Bishop Lightfoot. (_Ep.\nto Colossians and Philemon_, 305), and Professor Westcott seems (with\nsome hesitation) to lean to it. But there is also a great body of\nsupport, ancient and modern, for the literal view. (Clem. Alex.,\n_Adunbr. ad ii. Joan., Op._, iii. 1011.) So Athanasius, or the author\nof \"Synopsis S.S.\" in Athanasius, _Opp._, iv. 410. See also the\nheading of the A. V. (\"He exhorteth a certain honourable matron, with\nher children.\") For reasons for accepting Kyria rather than Electa as\nthe name, see _Speaker's Commentary_, iv. 335.\n\n[350] Ver. 12.\n\n[351] \u03b5\u03c5\u03c1\u03b7\u03ba\u03b1, ver. 4.\n\n[352] \"James, Cephas, and JOHN, who seemed to be _pillars_.\" Gal. ii. 9.\n\n[353] Luke ii. 36.\n\n[354] 1 Tim. v. 3, 5, 10.\n\n[355] 1 Tim, v. 6-11, 12, 13.\n\n[356] 2 John 2.\n\n[357] Ver. 1.\n\n[358] \u03b4\u03b9\u03b1 \u03c4\u03b7\u03bd \u03b1\u03bb\u03b7\u03b8\u03b5\u03b9\u03b1\u03bd \u03c4\u03b7\u03bd \u03bc\u03b5\u03bd\u03bf\u03c5\u03c3\u03b1\u03bd \u03b5\u03bd \u1f21\u03bc\u03b9\u03bd, \u03ba\u03b1\u03b9 \u03bc\u03b5\u03b8' \u1f21\u03bc\u03c9\u03bd \u03b5\u03c3\u03c4\u03b1\u03b9 \u03b5\u03b9\u03c2\n\u03c4\u03bf\u03bd \u03b1\u03b9\u03c9\u03bd\u03b1. 2 John ver. 2.\n\n[359] Iren\u00e6us, _H\u00e6r._, iii. 4.\n\n[360] Ver. 7.\n\n[361] Ver. 9.\n\n[362] Ver. 5.\n\n[363] \"_Commandments_ and _commandment_--Love strives to realise in\ndetail every separate expression of the will of God.\" (Prof. Westcott,\n_Epistles of St. John_, 217).\n\n[364] Ver. 6.\n\n[365] It is, probably, the existence of these verses (vv. 10, 11)\nwhich acts as a stimulus to many liberal Christian commentators in\nfavour of the ultra-mystical view, that the lady addressed in this\nEpistle is a Church personified. It should be carefully noted that St.\nJohn speaks of a _formal_ summons, so to speak, from an emissary of\nantichrist as such. (\u03b5\u03b9 \u03c4\u03b9\u03c2 \u03b5\u03c1\u03c7\u03b5\u03c4\u03b1\u03b9 \u03c0\u03c1\u03bf\u03c2 \u1f51\u03bc\u03b1\u03c2, ver. 10). St. John,\nalso, must have detected a danger in the very gentleness of Kyria's\ncharacter, or in the disposition of some of her children. So much,\nindeed, might seem implied in the sudden, solemn, and rather startling\nwarning, which entreated constant continuous care (\u03b2\u03bb\u03b5\u03c0\u03b5\u03c4\u03b5 \u1f11\u03b1\u03c5\u03c4\u03bf\u03c5\u03c2),\nso that they should not in some momentary impulse, under the charm of\nsome deceiver, lose what they had wrought, and with it reward in\nfulness (\u1f31\u03bd\u03b1 \u03bc\u03b7 \u03b1\u03c0\u03bf\u03bb\u03b5\u03c3\u03b7\u03c4\u03b5, ver. 10).\n\n[366] Titus iii. 4.\n\n[367] 1 Tim. i. 1; 2 Tim. i. 2.\n\n[368] The construction altered to bring out the meaning more\nstrikingly than a uniform structure could have done.--Winer, _Gr.\nGr._, Part III., \u00a7 3.\n\n[369] \u0395\u03c3\u03c4\u03b1\u03b9 \u03bc\u03b5\u03b8' \u1f51\u03bc\u03c9\u03bd \u03c7\u03b1\u03c1\u03b9\u03c2, \u03b5\u03bb\u03b5\u03bf\u03c2, \u03b5\u03b9\u03c1\u03b7\u03bd\u03b7, \u03ba.\u03c4.\u03bb. 2 John ver. 3.\n\n[370] \u0399\u03b7\u03c3\u03bf\u03c5\u03bd \u03a7\u03c1\u03b9\u03c3\u03c4\u03bf\u03bd \u03b5\u03c1\u03c7\u03bf\u03bc\u03b5\u03bd\u03bf\u03bd \u03b5\u03bd \u03c3\u03b1\u03c1\u03ba\u03b9. 2 John ver. 7.\n\n[371] \u0399\u03b7\u03c3\u03bf\u03c5\u03bd \u03a7\u03c1\u03b9\u03c3\u03c4\u03bf\u03bd \u03b5\u03bd \u03c3\u03b1\u03c1\u03ba\u03b9 \u03b5\u03bb\u03b7\u03bb\u03c5\u03b8\u03bf\u03c4\u03b1. 1 John iv. 2.\n\n\n\n\n                   _THE THIRD EPISTLE OF ST. JOHN._\n\n\n\n\n                            III. EPISTLE.\n\n\n          GREEK.                           LATIN.\n\n  \u1f49 \u03c0\u03c1\u03b5\u03c3\u03b2\u03c5\u03c4\u03b5\u03c1\u03bf\u03c2 \u0393\u03b1\u03b9\u03c9                 Senior Gaio carissimo,\n  \u03c4\u03c9 \u03b1\u03b3\u03b1\u03c0\u03b7\u03c4\u03c9, \u1f41\u03bd \u03b5\u03b3\u03c9                 quem ego diligo\n  \u03b1\u03b3\u03b1\u03c0\u03c9 \u03b5\u03bd \u03b1\u03bb\u03b7\u03b8\u03b5\u03b9\u03b1.                  in veritate. Carissime,\n  \u0391\u03b3\u03b1\u03c0\u03b7\u03c4\u03b5, \u03c0\u03b5\u03c1\u03b9 \u03c0\u03b1\u03bd\u03c4\u03c9\u03bd               de omnibus orationem\n  \u03b5\u03c5\u03c7\u03bf\u03bc\u03b1\u03b9 \u03c3\u03b5 \u03b5\u03c5\u03bf\u03b4\u03bf\u03c5\u03c3\u03b8\u03b1\u03b9              facio prosper te ingredi\n  \u03ba\u03b1\u03b9 \u1f51\u03b3\u03b9\u03b1\u03b9\u03bd\u03b5\u03b9\u03bd, \u03ba\u03b1\u03b8\u03c9\u03c2               et valere, sicut prospere\n  \u03b5\u03c5\u03bf\u03b4\u03bf\u03c5\u03c4\u03b1\u03b9 \u03c3\u03bf\u03c5 \u1f21 \u03c8\u03c5\u03c7\u03b7.              agit anima tua.\n  \u03b5\u03c7\u03b1\u03c1\u03b7\u03bd \u03b3\u03b1\u03c1 \u03bb\u03b9\u03b1\u03bd \u03b5\u03c1\u03c7\u03bf\u03bc\u03b5\u03bd\u03c9\u03bd          Gavisus sum valde venientibus\n  \u03b1\u03b4\u03b5\u03bb\u03c6\u03c9\u03bd \u03ba\u03b1\u03b9                        fratribus et\n  \u03bc\u03b1\u03c1\u03c4\u03c5\u03c1\u03bf\u03c5\u03bd\u03c4\u03c9\u03bd \u03c3\u03bf\u03c5 \u03c4\u03b7                testimonium perhibentibus\n  \u03b1\u03bb\u03b7\u03b8\u03b5\u03b9\u03b1, \u03ba\u03b1\u03b8\u03c9\u03c2 \u03c3\u03c5                  veritati tu\u00e6, sicut\n  \u03b5\u03bd \u03b1\u03bb\u03b7\u03b8\u03b5\u03b9\u03b1 \u03c0\u03b5\u03c1\u03b9\u03c0\u03b1\u03c4\u03b5\u03b9\u03c2.             tu in veritate ambulas.\n  \u03bc\u03b5\u03b9\u03b6\u03bf\u03c4\u03b5\u03c1\u03b1\u03bd \u03c4\u03bf\u03c5\u03c4\u03c9\u03bd \u03bf\u03c5\u03ba              Maiorem horum non\n  \u03b5\u03c7\u03c9 \u03c7\u03b1\u03c1\u03b1\u03bd, \u1f31\u03bd\u03b1 \u03b1\u03ba\u03bf\u03c5\u03c9               habeo gratiam quam ut\n  \u03c4\u03b1 \u03b5\u03bc\u03b1 \u03c4\u03b5\u03ba\u03bd\u03b1 \u03b5\u03bd \u03b1\u03bb\u03b7\u03b8\u03b5\u03b9\u03b1            audiam filios meos in\n  \u03c0\u03b5\u03c1\u03b9\u03c0\u03b1\u03c4\u03bf\u03c5\u03bd\u03c4\u03b1. \u0391\u03b3\u03b1\u03bc\u03b7\u03c4\u03b5,             veritate ambulantes.\n  \u03c0\u03b9\u03c3\u03c4\u03bf\u03bd \u03c0\u03bf\u03b9\u03b5\u03b9\u03c2                      Carissime, fideliter\n  \u1f41 \u03b5\u03b1\u03bd \u03b5\u03c1\u03b3\u03b1\u03c3\u03b7 \u03b5\u03b9\u03c2 \u03c4\u03bf\u03c5\u03c2              facias quidquid operaris\n  \u03b1\u03b4\u03b5\u03bb\u03c6\u03bf\u03c5\u03c2 \u03ba\u03b1\u03b9 \u03b5\u03b9\u03c2 \u03c4\u03bf\u03c5\u03c2              in fratres, et hoc\n  \u03be\u03b5\u03bd\u03bf\u03c5\u03c2, \u03bf\u03b9 \u03b5\u03bc\u03b1\u03c1\u03c4\u03c5\u03c1\u03b7\u03c3\u03b1\u03bd             in peregrinos; qui testimonium\n  \u03c3\u03bf\u03c5 \u03c4\u03b7 \u03b1\u03b3\u03b1\u03c0\u03b7 \u03b5\u03bd\u03c9\u03c0\u03b9\u03bf\u03bd               reddiderunt\n  \u03b5\u03ba\u03ba\u03bb\u03b7\u03c3\u03b9\u03b1\u03c2, \u03bf\u03c5\u03c2 \u03ba\u03b1\u03bb\u03c9\u03c2               caritati tu\u00e6 in conspectu\n  \u03c0\u03bf\u03b9\u03b7\u03c3\u03b5\u03b9\u03c2 \u03c0\u03c1\u03bf\u03c0\u03b5\u03bc\u03c8\u03b1\u03c2                 ecclesi\u00e6; quos\n  \u03b1\u03be\u03b9\u03c9\u03c2 \u03c4\u03bf\u03c5 \u0398\u03b5\u03bf\u03c5. \u1f51\u03c0\u03b5\u03c1               bene facies ducens\n  \u03b3\u03b1\u03c1 \u03c4\u03bf\u03c5 \u03bf\u03bd\u03bf\u03bc\u03b1\u03c4\u03bf\u03c2                   digna Deo. Pro nomine\n  \u03b5\u03be\u03b7\u03bb\u03b8\u03bf\u03bd \u03bc\u03b7\u03b4\u03b5\u03bd \u03bb\u03b1\u03bc\u03b2\u03b1\u03bd\u03bf\u03bd\u03c4\u03b5\u03c2          enim profecti sunt nihil\n  \u03b1\u03c0\u03bf \u03c4\u03c9\u03bd \u03b5\u03b8\u03bd\u03c9\u03bd.                     accipientes a gentibus.\n  \u1f21\u03bc\u03b5\u03b9\u03c2 \u03bf\u03c5\u03bd \u03bf\u03c6\u03b5\u03b9\u03bb\u03bf\u03bc\u03b5\u03bd                Nos ergo debemus suscipere\n  \u03b1\u03c0\u03bf\u03bb\u03b1\u03bc\u03b2\u03b1\u03bd\u03b5\u03b9\u03bd \u03c4\u03bf\u03c5\u03c2 \u03c4\u03bf\u03b9\u03bf\u03c5\u03c4\u03bf\u03c5\u03c2,       huiusmodi ut\n  \u1f31\u03bd\u03b1 \u03c3\u03c5\u03bd\u03b5\u03c1\u03b3\u03bf\u03b9                       cooperatores simus\n  \u03b3\u03b9\u03bd\u03c9\u03bc\u03b5\u03b8\u03b1 \u03c4\u03b7 \u03b1\u03bb\u03b7\u03b8\u03b5\u03b9\u03b1.               veritatis. Scripsissem\n  \u1f19\u03b3\u03c1\u03b1\u03c8\u03b1 \u03c4\u03b7 \u03b5\u03ba\u03ba\u03bb\u03b7\u03c3\u03b9\u03b1\u00b7                sitan ecclesi\u00e6: sedis\n  \u03b1\u03bb\u03bb' \u1f41 \u03c6\u03b9\u03bb\u03bf\u03c0\u03c1\u03c9\u03c4\u03b5\u03c5\u03c9\u03bd                qui amat primatum\n  \u03b1\u03c5\u03c4\u03c9\u03bd \u0394\u03b9\u03bf\u03c4\u03c1\u03b5\u03c6\u03b7\u03c2 \u03bf\u03c5\u03ba                gerere in eis Diotripes\n  \u03b5\u03c0\u03b9\u03b4\u03b5\u03c7\u03b5\u03c4\u03b1\u03b9 \u1f21\u03bc\u03b1\u03c2. \u03b4\u03b9\u03b1               non recipit nos. Propter\n  \u03c4\u03bf\u03c5\u03c4\u03bf, \u03b5\u03b1\u03bd \u03b5\u03bb\u03b8\u03c9, \u1f51\u03c0\u03bf\u03bc\u03bd\u03b7\u03c3\u03c9          hoc, si venero,\n  \u03b1\u03c5\u03c4\u03bf\u03c5 \u03c4\u03b1 \u03b5\u03c1\u03b3\u03b1                      commoneam eius opera\n  \u1f01 \u03c0\u03bf\u03b9\u03b5\u03b9 \u03bb\u03bf\u03b3\u03bf\u03b9\u03c2 \u03c0\u03bf\u03bd\u03b7\u03c1\u03bf\u03b9\u03c2            qu\u00e6 facit verbis malignis\n  \u03c6\u03bb\u03c5\u03b1\u03c1\u03c9\u03bd \u1f21\u03bc\u03b1\u03c2, \u03ba\u03b1\u03b9 \u03bc\u03b7               garriens in nos, et\n  \u03b1\u03c1\u03ba\u03bf\u03c5\u03bc\u03b5\u03bd\u03bf\u03c2 \u03b5\u03c0\u03b9 \u03c4\u03bf\u03c5\u03c4\u03bf\u03b9\u03c2             quasi non ei ista sufficiant,\n  \u03bf\u03c5\u03c4\u03b5 \u03b1\u03c5\u03c4\u03bf\u03c2 \u03b5\u03c0\u03b9\u03b4\u03b5\u03c7\u03b5\u03c4\u03b1\u03b9              nec ipse suscipit\n  \u03c4\u03bf\u03c5\u03c2 \u03b1\u03b4\u03b5\u03bb\u03c6\u03bf\u03c5\u03c2, \u03ba\u03b1\u03b9 \u03c4\u03bf\u03c5\u03c2            fratres, et eos quo cupiunt\n  \u03b2\u03bf\u03c5\u03bb\u03bf\u03bc\u03b5\u03bd\u03bf\u03c5\u03c2 \u03ba\u03c9\u03bb\u03c5\u03b5\u03b9 \u03ba\u03b1\u03b9             prohibet et de\n  \u03b5\u03ba \u03c4\u03b7\u03c2 \u03b5\u03ba\u03ba\u03bb\u03b7\u03c3\u03b9\u03b1\u03c2 \u03b5\u03ba\u03b2\u03b1\u03bb\u03bb\u03b5\u03b9.         ecclesia eicit. Carissime,\n  \u0391\u03b3\u03b1\u03c0\u03b7\u03c4\u03b5, \u03bc\u03b7                        noli imitari malum,\n  \u03bc\u03b9\u03bc\u03bf\u03c5 \u03c4\u03bf \u03ba\u03b1\u03ba\u03bf\u03bd, \u03b1\u03bb\u03bb\u03b1               sed quod bonum\n  \u03c4\u03bf \u03b1\u03b3\u03b1\u03b8\u03bf\u03bd. \u1f41 \u03b1\u03b3\u03b1\u03b8\u03bf\u03c0\u03bf\u03b9\u03c9\u03bd            est. Qui bene facit,\n  \u03b5\u03ba \u03c4\u03bf\u03c5 \u0398\u03b5\u03bf\u03c5                        ex Deo est: qui male\n  \u03b5\u03c3\u03c4\u03b9\u03bd\u00b7 \u1f41 \u03b4\u03b5 \u03ba\u03b1\u03ba\u03bf\u03c0\u03bf\u03b9\u03c9\u03bd              facit, non videt Deum.\n  \u03bf\u03c5\u03c7 \u1f11\u03c9\u03c1\u03b1\u03ba\u03b5\u03bd \u03c4\u03bf\u03bd \u0398\u03b5\u03bf\u03bd.              Demetrio testimonium\n  \u0394\u03b7\u03bc\u03b7\u03c4\u03c1\u03b9\u03c9 \u03bc\u03b5\u03bc\u03b1\u03c1\u03c4\u03c5\u03c1\u03b7\u03c4\u03b1\u03b9              redditur ab omnibus et\n  \u1f51\u03c0\u03bf \u03c0\u03b1\u03bd\u03c4\u03c9\u03bd \u03ba\u03b1\u03b9 \u1f51\u03c0'                 ab ipsa veritate: et nos\n  \u03b1\u03c5\u03c4\u03b7\u03c2 \u03c4\u03b7\u03c2 \u03b1\u03bb\u03b7\u03b8\u03b5\u03b9\u03b1\u03c2\u00b7                testimonium perhibemus,\n  \u03ba\u03b1\u03b9 \u1f21\u03bc\u03b5\u03b9\u03c2 \u03b4\u03b5 \u03bc\u03b1\u03c1\u03c4\u03c5\u03c1\u03bf\u03c5\u03bc\u03b5\u03bd,          et nosti quoniam\n  \u03ba\u03b1\u03b9 \u03bf\u03b9\u03b4\u03b1\u03c4\u03b5 \u1f41\u03c4\u03b9 \u1f21 \u03bc\u03b1\u03c1\u03c4\u03c5\u03c1\u03b9\u03b1          testimonium nostrum\n  \u1f21\u03bc\u03c9\u03bd \u03b1\u03bb\u03b7\u03b8\u03b7\u03c2 \u03b5\u03c3\u03c4\u03b9.                  verum est. Multa habui\n  \u03a0\u03bf\u03bb\u03bb\u03b1 \u03b5\u03b9\u03c7\u03bf\u03bd \u03b3\u03c1\u03b1\u03c6\u03b5\u03b9\u03bd,               scribere tibi, sed nolui\n  \u03b1\u03bb\u03bb' \u03bf\u03c5 \u03b8\u03b5\u03bb\u03c9 \u03b4\u03b9\u03b1 \u03bc\u03b5\u03bb\u03b1\u03bd\u03bf\u03c2           per atramentum et\n  \u03ba\u03b1\u03b9 \u03ba\u03b1\u03bb\u03b1\u03bc\u03bf\u03c5 \u03c3\u03bf\u03b9                    calamum scribere tibi:\n  \u03b3\u03c1\u03b1\u03c8\u03b1\u03b9\u00b7 \u03b5\u03bb\u03c0\u03b9\u03b6\u03c9 \u03b4\u03b5                  spero autem protinus\n  \u03b5\u03c5\u03b8\u03b5\u03c9\u03c2 \u03b9\u03b4\u03b5\u03b9\u03bd \u03c3\u03b5, \u03ba\u03b1\u03b9               te videre, et os ad os\n  \u03c3\u03c4\u03bf\u03bc\u03b1 \u03c0\u03c1\u03bf\u03c2 \u03c3\u03c4\u03bf\u03bc\u03b1                   loquimur. Pax tibi.\n  \u03bb\u03b1\u03bb\u03b7\u03c3\u03bf\u03bc\u03b5\u03bd. \u0395\u03b9\u03c1\u03b7\u03bd\u03b7 \u03c3\u03bf\u03b9.             Salutant te amici. Saluta\n  \u0391\u03c3\u03c0\u03b1\u03b6\u03bf\u03bd\u03c4\u03b1\u03b9 \u03c3\u03b5 \u03bf\u03b9 \u03c6\u03b9\u03bb\u03bf\u03b9\u00b7            amicos per nomen.\n  \u03b1\u03c3\u03c0\u03b1\u03b6\u03bf\u03c5 \u03c4\u03bf\u03c5\u03c2 \u03c6\u03b9\u03bb\u03bf\u03c5\u03c2\n  \u03ba\u03b1\u03c4' \u03bf\u03bd\u03bf\u03bc\u03b1.\n\n\n     AUTHORISED VERSION.                  REVISED VERSION.\n\n  The elder unto the                 The elder unto Gaius\n  well beloved Gaius,                the beloved, whom I\n  whom I love in the                 love in truth. Beloved,\n  truth. Beloved, I wish             I pray that in all things\n  above all things that              thou mayest prosper\n  thou mayest prosper                and be in health, even\n  and be in health,                  as thy soul prospereth.\n  even as thy soul                   For I rejoiced greatly,\n  prospereth. For I rejoiced         when brethren came\n  greatly, when                      and bare witness unto\n  the brethren came and              thy truth, even as thou\n  testified of the truth             walkest in truth.\n  that is in thee, even              Greater joy have I\n  as thou walkest in                 none than this, to hear\n  the truth. I have no               of my children walking\n  greater joy than to hear           in the truth. Beloved,\n  that my children walk              thou doest a faithful\n  in truth. Beloved, thou            work in whatsoever\n  doest faithfully whatsoever        thou doest toward them\n  thou doest to                      that are brethren and\n  the brethren, and to               strangers withal; who\n  strangers; which have              bare witness to thy\n  borne witness of thy               love before the church:\n  charity before the                 whom thou wilt do\n  church: whom if thou               well to set forward on\n  bring forward on their             their journey worthily\n  journey after a godly              of God: because that\n  sort, thou shalt do well:          for the sake of the\n  because that for His               Name they went forth,\n  name's sake they went              taking nothing of the\n  forth, taking nothing              Gentiles. We therefore\n  of the Gentiles. We                ought to welcome\n  therefore ought to receive         such, that we may be\n  such, that we                      fellow-workers with\n  might be fellowhelpers             the truth. I wrote\n  to the truth. I wrote              somewhat unto the\n  unto the Church: but               church: but Diotrephes,\n  Diotrephes, who loveth             who loveth to have the\n  to have the pre-eminence           pre-eminence among\n  among them,                        them, receiveth us not.\n  receiveth us not.                  Therefore, if I come,\n  Wherefore, if I come,              I will bring to remembrance\n  I will remember his                his works which\n  deeds which he doeth,              he doeth, prating against\n  prating against us with            us with wicked\n  malicious words: and               words: and not content\n  not content therewith,             therewith, neither doth\n  neither doth he himself            he himself receive the\n  receive the brethren,              brethren, and them\n  and forbiddeth them                that would he forbiddeth,\n  that would, and casteth            and casteth _them_\n  _them_ out of the church.          out of the church. Beloved,\n  Beloved, follow not that           imitate not that\n  which is evil, but that            which is evil, but that\n  which is good. He                  which is good. He\n  that doeth good is of              that doeth good is of\n  God: but he that doeth             God: he that doeth\n  evil hath not seen God.            evil hath not seen God.\n  Demetrius hath good                Demetrius hath the\n  report of all _men_, and           witness of all _men_, and\n  of the truth itself: yea,          of the truth itself: yea,\n  and we _also_ bear                 we also bear witness;\n  record; and ye know                and thou knowest that\n  that our record is true.           our witness is true. I\n  I had many things to               had many things to\n  write, but I will not              write unto thee, but I\n  with ink and pen write             am unwilling to write\n  unto thee: but I trust             _them_ to thee with ink\n  I shall shortly see thee,          and pen: but I hope\n  and we shall speak                 shortly to see thee, and\n  face to face. Peace _be_           we shall speak face to\n  to thee. _Our_ friends             face. Peace _be_ unto\n  salute thee. Greet the             thee. The friends salute\n  friends by name.                   thee. Salute the\n                                     friends by name.\n\n\n     ANOTHER VERSION.\n\n  The Elder unto Gaius\n  the beloved, whom I\n  love in truth. Beloved,\n  in all things I pray that\n  thou mayest prosper,\n  and be in health, even\n  as thy soul prospereth.\n  For I was exceeding\n  glad of brethren coming\n  and witnessing to thy\n  truth, even as thou\n  truly walkest. Greater\n  joy than these _joys_ I\n  have not, that I should\n  hear of my own children\n  walking truly. Beloved,\n  thou doest in\n  faithful wise whatsoever\n  thou art working\n  towards the brethren\n  who are moreover\n  strangers; which witness\n  to thy charity\n  before the Church;\n  whom thou wilt do\n  well to speed forward\n  on their journey worthily\n  of God: because\n  that for the sake of the\n  Name they went out\n  taking nothing of the\n  Gentiles. We therefore\n  are bound to take\n  up such that we may\n  become fellow-workers\n  with the truth. I wrote\n  somewhat unto the\n  Church: but Diotrephes\n  who loveth to have\n  primacy over them receiveth\n  us not. Wherefore\n  if I come I will\n  bring to remembrance\n  his works which he is\n  doing, prating against\n  us with wicked words:\n  and not contented hereupon\n  neither doth he\n  himself receive the\n  brethren, and them\n  that would he hindereth,\n  and casteth them\n  out of the Church. Beloved,\n  imitate not that\n  which is evil, but that\n  which is good. He\n  who is doing good is\n  from God; he that is\n  doing evil hath not\n  seen God. To Demetrius\n  witness stands\n  given of all men and\n  of the truth itself: yea,\n  and we also are witnessing,\n  and ye know\n  that our witness is\n  true. Many things I\n  had to have written,\n  but I am not willing to\n  be writing unto thee\n  with ink and pen: but\n  I am hoping straightway\n  to see thee, and\n  we shall speak face to\n  face. Peace unto thee.\n  The friends greet thee.\n  Greet the friends by\n  name.\n\n\n\n\n                           DISCOURSE XVII.\n\n                  _THE QUIETNESS OF TRUE RELIGION._\n\n    \"The elder unto the well beloved Gaius.... He that doeth good is\n    of God; but he that doeth evil hath not seen God.\"--3 JOHN 1, 11.\n\n\nThe mere analysis of this note must necessarily present a meagre\noutline. There is a brief expression of pleasure at the tidings of the\nsweet and gracious hospitality of Gaius which was brought by certain\nmissionary brethren to Ephesus, coupled with the assurance of the\ntruth and consistency of his whole walk. The haughty rejection of\nApostolic letters of communion by Diotrephes is mentioned with a burst\nof indignation. A contrast to Diotrephes is found in Demetrius, with\nthe threefold witness to a life so worthy of imitation. A brief\ngreeting--and we have done with the last written words of St. John\nwhich the Church possesses.\n\n\n                                  I.\n\nLet us _first_ see whether, without passing over the bounds of\nhistorical probability, we can fill up this bare outline with some\ncolouring of circumstance.\n\nTo two of the three individuals named in this Epistle we seem to have\nsome clue.\n\nThe _Gaius_ addressed is, of course, _Caius_ in Latin, a very common\npr\u00e6nomen, no doubt.\n\nThree persons of the name appear in the New Testament[372]--unless we\nsuppose St. John's Caius to be a fourth. But the generous and beautiful\nhospitality adverted to in this note is entirely of a piece with the\ncharacter of him of whom St. Paul had written, \"Gaius, mine host, and of\nthe whole Church.\"[373] We know further, from one of the most ancient\nand authentic documents of Christian literature, that the Church of\nCorinth (to which this Caius belonged) was, just at the period when St.\nJohn wrote, in a lamentable state of schismatic confusion. Diotrephes\nmay, at such a period, have been aspiring to put forward his claim at\nCorinth; and may, in his ambitious proceedings, have rejected from\ncommunion the brethren whom St. John had sent to Caius.[374] A yet more\ninteresting reflection is suggested by a writing of considerable\nauthority. The writer of the \"Synopsis of Holy Scripture,\" which stands\namongst the Works of Athanasius, says--\"the Gospel according to John was\nboth dictated by John the Apostle and beloved when in exile at Patmos,\nand by him was published in Ephesus, through Caius the beloved and\nfriend of the Apostles, of whom Paul also writing to the Romans saith,\n_Caius mine host, and of the whole Church_.\"[375] This would give a very\nmarked significance to one touch in this Third Epistle of St. John. The\nphrase here \"and we bear witness also, _and ye know that our witness is\ntrue_\"--clearly points back to the closing attestation of the\nGospel--\"_and we know that his witness is true_.\"[376] He counts upon a\nquick recognition of a common memory.[377]\n\nDemetrius is, of course, a name redolent of the worship of Demeter the\nEarth-Mother, and of Ephesian surroundings. No reader of the New\nTestament needs to be reminded of the riot at Ephesus, which is told\nat such length in the history of St. Paul's voyages by St. Luke. The\nconjecture that the agitator of the turbulent guild of silversmiths\nwho made silver shrines of Diana may have become the Demetrius, the\nobject of St. John's lofty commendation, is by no means improbable.\nThere is a peculiar fulness in the narrative of the Acts, and an\namplitude and exactness in the reports of the speeches of Demetrius\nand of the town-clerk which betray both unusually detailed\ninformation, and a feeling on the part of the writer that the subject\nwas one of much interest for many readers.[378] The very words of\nDemetrius about Paul evince that uneasy sense of the powers of\nfascination possessed by the Apostle which is often the first timid\nwitness of reluctant conviction.[379] The whole story would be of\nthrilling interest to those who, knowing well what Demetrius had\nbecome, were here told what he once had been. In a very ancient\ndocument (the so-called \"Apostolic Constitutions\")[380] we read that\n\"Demetrius was appointed Bishop of Philadelphia by me,\" _i.e._, by the\nApostle John. To the Bishop of a city so often shaken by the\nearthquakes of that volcanic soil came the commendation--\"I know thy\nworks that thou didst keep My word;\" and the assuring promise that he\nshould, when the victory was won, have the solidity and permanence of\n\"a pillar\" in a \"temple\"[381] that no convulsion could shake down. The\nwitness then, which stands on record for the Bishop of Philadelphia,\nis threefold; the threefold witness of the First Epistle on a reduced\nscale--the witness of the world;[382] the witness of the Truth itself,\neven of Jesus;[383] the witness of the Church--including John.[384]\n\n\n                                 II.\n\nWe may now advert to the _contents_ and _general style_ of this letter.\n\n  1. As to its _contents_.\n\n1. It supplies us with a valuable test of Christian life, in what may\nbe called the Christian instinct of _missionary affection_, possessed\nin such full measure by Caius.[385]\n\nThis, indeed, is an ingredient of Christian character. Do we admire\nand feel attracted by missionaries? They are knight-errants of the\nFaith; leaders of the \"forlorn hope\" of Christ's cause; bearers of the\nflag of the cross through the storms of battle. Do we wish to honour\nand to help them, and feel ennobled by doing so? He who has no almost\nenthusiastic regard for missionaries has not the spirit of primitive\nChristianity within his breast.\n\n2. The Church is beset with different dangers from very different\nquarters. The second Epistle of St. John has its bold unmistakable\nwarning of danger from the philosophical atmosphere which is not only\nround the Church, but necessarily finds its way within. Those who assume\nto be leaders of intellectual and even of spiritual progress sometimes\nlead away from Christ. The test of scientific truth is accordance with\nthe proposition which embodies the last discovery; the test of religious\ntruth is accordance with the proposition which embodies the first\ndiscovery, _i.e._, \"the doctrine of Christ.\" Progress outside this is\nregress; it is desertion first of Christ, ultimately of God.[386] As the\nsecond Epistle warns the Church of peril from _speculative ambition_, so\nthe third Epistle marks a danger from _personal ambition_,[387]\narrogating to itself undue authority within the Church. Diotrephes in\nall probability was a bishop.[388] At Rome there has been a permanent\nDiotrephes in the office of the Papacy; how much this has had to say to\nthe dislocation of Christendom, God knows. But there are other smaller\nand more vulgar continuators of Diotrephes, who occupy no Vatican.\nPriests! But there are priests in different senses. The priest who\nstands to minister in holy things, the true _Leitourgos_ is rightly\nso-called. But there is an arrogant priestship which would do violence\nto conscience, and interpose rudely between God and the soul. Priests in\nthis sense are called by different names. They are clad in different\ndresses--some in chasubles, some in frock-coats, some in petticoats.\n\"Down with priestcraft,\" is even the cry of many of them. The priest who\nstands to offer sacrifice may or may not be a priest in the evil sense;\nthe priest (who abjures the name) who is a master of religious\nsmall-talk of the popular kind, and winds people to his own ends round\nhis little finger by using them deftly, is often the modern edition of\nDiotrephes.\n\n3. This brief Epistle contains one of those apparently mere spiritual\n_truisms_, which make St. John the most powerful and comprehensive of\nall spiritual teachers. He had suggested a warning to Caius, which\nserves as the link to connect the example of Diotrephes which he has\ndenounced, with that of Demetrius which he is about to commend.\n\"Beloved!\" he cries, \"imitate not that which is evil, but that which\nis good.\" A glorious little \"Imitation of Christ,\" a compression of\nhis own Gospel, the record of the Great Example in three words![389]\nThen follows this absolutely exhaustive division, which covers the\nwhole moral and spiritual world. \"He that doeth good,\" (the whole\nprinciple of whose moral life is this,) \"is of,\" has his origin from,\n\"God;\" \"he that doeth evil hath not seen God,\" sees Him not as a\nconsequence of having spiritually looked upon Him. Here, at last, we\nhave the flight of the eagle's wing, the glance of the eagle's eye.\nEspecially valuable are these words, almost at the close of the\nApostolic age and of the New Testament Scripture. They help us to keep\nthe delicate balance of truth; they guard us against all abuse of the\nprecious doctrines of grace. Several texts are _mutilated_; more are\nconveniently _dropped out_. How seldom does one see the whole context\nquoted, in tracts and sheets, of that most blessed passage--\"if we\nwalk in the light, as He is in the light, _the blood of Jesus, His\nSon, cleanseth us from all sin_?\" How often do we see these words at\nall--\"he that doeth good is of God, but he that doeth evil hath not\nseen God?\" Perhaps it may be a lingering suspicion that a text which\ncomes out of a very short Epistle is worth very little. Perhaps\ndoctrinalism _\u00e0 outrance_ considers that the sentiment \"savours of\nworks.\" But, at all events, there is terrible decisiveness about these\nantithetic propositions. For each life is described in section and in\nplan by one or other of the two. The whole complicated series of\nthought, actions, habits, purposes, summed up in the words _life_ and\n_character_, is a continuous stream issuing from the man who\nnecessarily is _doing_ every moment of his existence. The stream is\neither pure, bright, cleansing, gladdening, capable of being tracked\nby a thread of emerald wherever it flows; or it carries with it on its\ncourse blackness, bitterness, and barrenness. Men must be plainly\ndealt with. They may hold any creed, or follow any round of religious\npractices. There are creeds which are nobly true, others which are\nfalse and feeble--practices which are beautiful and elevating, others\nwhich are petty and unprofitable. They may repeat the shibboleth ever\nso accurately; and follow the observances ever so closely. They may\nsing hymns until their throats are hoarse, and beat drums until their\nwrists are sore. But St. John's propositions ring out, loud and clear,\nand syllable themselves in questions, which one day or other the\nconscience will put to us with terrible distinctness. Are you one who\nis ever doing good; or one who is not doing good? \"God be merciful to\nme a sinner!\" may well rush to our lips. But _that_, when opportunity\nis given, must be followed by another prayer. Not only--\"wash away my\nsins.\" Something more. \"Fill and purify me with Thy Spirit, that,\npardoned and renewed, I may become good, and be doing good.\" It is\nsometimes said that the Church is full of souls \"dying of their\nmorality.\" Is it not at least equally true to say that the Church is\nfull of souls dying of their spirituality? That is--souls dying in one\ncase of unreal morality; in the other of unreal spirituality, which\njuggles with spiritual words, making a sham out of them. Morality\nwhich is not spiritual, is imperfect; spirituality which is not\nmoralized through and through is of the spirit of evil.\n\nIt is a great thing that in these last sentences, written with a\ntrembling hand, which shrank from the labour of pen and ink,[390] the\nApostle should have lifted a word (probably current in the atmosphere of\nEphesus among spiritualists and astrologers[391]), from the low\napplications with which it was undeservedly associated; and should have\nrung out high and clear the Gospel's everlasting justification, the\nfinal harmony of the teaching of grace--\"he that doeth good is of God.\"\n\n\n                                 III.\n\nThe style of the third Epistle of St. John is certainly that of an old\nman. It is reserved in language and in doctrine. God is thrice and\nthrice only mentioned.[392] Jesus is not once expressly uttered. But\n\n      \"... They are not empty-hearted whose low sound\n       Reverbs no hollowness.\"\n\nIn religion, as in everything else, we are earnest, not by aiming at\nearnestness, but by aiming at an object. Religious language should be\ndeep and real, rather than demonstrative. It is not safe to play with\nsacred names. To pronounce them at random for the purpose of being\neffective and impressive is to take them in vain. What a wealth of\nreverential love there is in that--\"for the sake of the Name!\"[393]\nOld copyists sometimes thought to improve upon the impressiveness of\nApostles by cramming in sacred names. They only maimed what they\ntouched with clumsy hand. A deeper sense of the Sacramental Presence\nis in the hushed, awful, reverence of \"not discerning the Body,\" than\nin the interpolated \"not discerning of the Lord's Body.\" Even so \"The\nName,\" perhaps, speaks more to the heart, and implies more than \"His\nName.\" It is, indeed, the \"beautiful Name,\" by the which we are\ncalled. And sometimes in sermons, or in Eucharistic \"Gloria in\nExcelsis,\" or in hymns that have come from such as St. Bernard, or in\nsick rooms, it shall go up with our sweetest music, and waken our\ntenderest thoughts, and be \"as ointment poured forth.\" But what an\nunderlying Gospel, what an intense suppressed flame there is behind\nthese quiet words! This letter says nothing of rapture, of prophecy,\nof miracle. It lies in the atmosphere of the Church, as we find it\neven now. It has a word for _friendship_. It seeks to _individualise_\nits benediction.[394] A hush of evening rests upon the note. May such\nan evening close upon our old age!\n\n\n                                NOTES.\n\nVer. 2 ... _thy soul._] Strange difficulty seems to be felt in some\nquarters about the word \u03c8\u03c5\u03c7\u03b7, as used by our Lord and the Apostles.\nThe difficulty arises from a singular argument advanced by M. Renan.\nHe maintains that Christ and His first followers knew nothing of \"the\nsoul\" as the immortal principle in man--that in him which is capable\nof being saved or lost. It was simply, according to him, _either_ the\nanimal natural life[395] (Matt. ii. 20; John xii. 25); _or_ at most\nthe vague Greek immortality of the shadows, as opposed to the later\nHebrew Resurrection-life. But there are very numerous passages in the\nNew Testament where \"soul\" _can_ only be used for \"life as created by\nGod;\" for the thinking substance, different from the body and\nindestructible by death, created with possibilities of eternal\nhappiness or misery. (The following passages are decisive--Matt. x.\n28, xi. 29; Acts ii. 27; 2 Cor. xii. 13; Heb. xiii. 17; 1 Pet. i. 9,\n22, ii. 11, 25; Jas. i. 21, v. 20; 3 John 2; Apoc. vi. 9, xx. 4).\n\n    Printed by Hazell, Watson, & Viney, Ltd., London and Aylesbury\n\nFOOTNOTES:\n\n[372] Caius, a Macedonian (Acts xix. 29); Caius of Derbe (Acts xx. 4);\nCaius of Corinth (Rom. xvi. 23; 1 Cor. i. 14).\n\n[373] Rom. xvi. 23.\n\n[374] No doubt ver. 10 presents some difficulty. Voyages between\nCorinth were regularly and easily performed. Still it is scarcely\nprobable that the aged Apostle should have contemplated such a voyage.\nBut the form (\u03b5\u03b1\u03bd \u03b5\u03bb\u03b8\u03c9) purposely expresses possibility rather than\nprobability--the smallest amount of presumption--if I shall come,\nwhich is not quite impossible. (Donaldson, _Gr. Gr._, \"Conditional\nPropositions.\" 501.) The hope of seeing Caius \"face to face\" (ver. 14)\ncontains no objection, as it may refer to a visit of Caius to Ephesus.\n\n[375] \"Synopsis S.S.\" '76. (S. Athanas., _Opp_., iv. 433. Edit. Migne.)\n\n[376] Read together 3 John 12, and John xxi. 24.\n\n[377] The writer had worked out his conclusions about Caius\nindependently before he happened to read Bengel's note. \"Caius\n_Corinthi_ de quo Rom. xvi. 23, vel huic Caio, Johannis amico, fuit\n_simillimus_ in hospitalite--vel _idem_;--si idem, ex Achaia in Asiam\nmigravit, vel Corinthum Johannes hanc epistolam misit.\"\n\n[378] Acts xix. 23-41.\n\n[379] \"Almost throughout all Asia this Paul hath persuaded and turned\naway much people, saying, that they be no gods, which are made with\nhands.\"--Acts xix. 26.\n\n[380] vii. 46.\n\n[381] Apoc. iii. 7, 8, 12.\n\n[382] \"All men.\"\n\n[383] \u039a\u03b1\u03b9 \u1f51\u03c0' \u03b1\u03c5\u03c4\u03b7\u03c2 \u03c4\u03b7\u03c2 \u03b1\u03bb\u03b7\u03b8\u03b5\u03b9\u03b1\u03c2 _i.e._, Jesus (Apoc. iii. 7, 12).\nThis type of expression marks the \"Asiatic school.\" So Papias; \u03b1\u03c0'\n\u03b1\u03c5\u03c4\u03b7\u03c2 \u03c4\u03b7\u03c2 \u03b1\u03bb\u03b7\u03b8\u03b5\u03b9\u03b1\u03c2 (Ap. Euseb. _H. E._, iii. 39). Cf. John xiv. 6.\n\n[384] \"And we also bear witness.\" 3 John 12.\n\n[385] 3 John 5, 6, 7.\n\n[386] 2 John 9.\n\n[387] 3 John 9, 10.\n\n[388] See authorities quoted by Archdeacon Lee (_Speaker's\nCommentary_, Tom. ii., N.T., p. 512).\n\n[389] \u03bc\u03b9\u03bc\u03bf\u03c5 ... \u03c4\u03bf \u03b1\u03b3\u03b1\u03b8\u03bf\u03bd, 3 John 11.\n\n[390] 3 John 13.\n\n[391] The verb \u03b1\u03b3\u03b1\u03b8\u03bf\u03c0\u03bf\u03b9\u03b5\u03b9\u03bd is found in a few places in the LXX and New\nTestament. \"Amongst profane writers, astrologers only used this verb.\nThey signified by it, _I offer a good omen_. So in Proclus and\nothers.\" See Bretsch. and Grimm, s. v. \u03b1\u03b3\u03b1\u03b8\u03bf\u03c0\u03bf\u03b9\u03b5\u03c9.\n\n[392] \"Worthily of God\" ver. 6; \"is of God--hath not seen God\" ver. 11.\n\n[393] Ver. 7.\n\n[394] \"The friends salute thee: salute the friends by name,\" ver. 14\nThe mention of friendship is not common in the New Testament.\nBeautiful exceptions will be found in Luke xii. 4; John xi. 11, xv.\n14, 15; cf. Acts xxvii. 3.\n\n[395] As indicated by breathing--from \u03c8\u03c5\u03c7\u03c9\n\n\n\n\n                                             27, PATERNOSTER ROW,\n                                                        LONDON.\n\n                        HODDER AND STOUGHTON'S\n                     New and Recent Publications.\n\n                        The Expositor's Bible.\n\n                              EDITED BY,\n                REV. W. ROBERTSON NICOLL, M.A., LL.D.\n\n                  _Crown 8vo, 7s. 6d. each volume._\n\n                         =THE OLD TESTAMENT.=\n\n  =GENESIS.= Rev. Professor MARCUS DODS, D.D.\n  =EXODUS.= Very Rev. DEAN CHADWICK, D.D.\n  =LEVITICUS.= Rev. S. H. KELLOGG, D.D.\n  =NUMBERS.= Rev. R. A. WATSON, D.D.\n  =DEUTERONOMY.= Rev. Professor A. HARPER, B.D.\n  =JOSHUA.= Rev. Professor W. G. BLAIKIE, D.D., LL.D.\n  =JUDGES AND RUTH.= Rev. R. A. WATSON, D.D.\n  =1 SAMUEL.= Rev. Professor W. G. BLAIKIE, D.D., LL.D.\n  =2 SAMUEL.= By the same Author.\n  =1 KINGS.= Very Rev. DEAN FARRAR, D.D., F.R.S.\n  =2 KINGS.= By the same Author.\n  =1 & 2 CHRONICLES.= Rev. Prof. W. H. BENNETT, M.A.\n  =EZRA--ESTHER.= Rev. Professor W. F. ADENEY, M.A.\n  =JOB.= Rev. R. A. WATSON, D.D.\n  =PSALMS.= Rev. ALEX. MACLAREN, D.D. 3 Vols.\n  =PROVERBS.= Rev. R. F. HORTON, M.A.\n  =ECCLESIASTES.= Rev. SAMUEL COX, D.D.\n  =ISAIAH.= Rev. Professor G. ADAM SMITH, D.D. 2 Vols.\n  =JEREMIAH, THE PROPHECIES OF.= Rev. C. J. BALL, M.A.\n  =JEREMIAH= (Chaps. xxi.--lii.). Rev. W. H. BENNETT, M.A.\n  =EZEKIEL.= Rev. Professor SKINNER, M.A.\n  =DANIEL.= Very Rev. DEAN FARRAR, D.D., F.R.S.\n  =THE TWELVE PROPHETS.= Rev. Prof. G. A. SMITH, D.D. 2 Vols.\n\n\n                        The Expositor's Bible.\n\n                              EDITED BY\n                REV. W. ROBERTSON NICOLL, M.A., LL.D.\n\n                  _Crown 8vo, 7s. 6d. each volume._\n\n                         =THE NEW TESTAMENT.=\n\n  =ST. MATTHEW.= Rev. J. MONRO GIBSON, D.D.\n  =ST. MARK.= Very Rev. DEAN CHADWICK, D.D.\n  =ST. LUKE.= Rev. HENRY BURTON, M.A.\n  =ST. JOHN.= Rev. Professor MARCUS DODS, D.D. 2 Vols.\n  =THE ACTS.= Rev. Professor G. T. STOKES, D.D. 2 Vols.\n  =ROMANS.= Rev. H. C. G. MOULE, M.A., D.D.\n  =1 CORINTHIANS.= Rev. Professor MARCUS DODS, D.D.\n  =2 CORINTHIANS.= Rev. JAMES DENNEY, D.D.\n  =GALATIANS.= Rev. Professor G. G. FINDLAY, B.A.\n  =EPHESIANS.= By the same Author.\n  =PHILIPPIANS.= Rev. Principal RAINY, D.D.\n  =COLOSSIANS.= Rev. A. MACLAREN, D.D.\n  =THESSALONIANS.= Rev. J. DENNEY, D.D.\n  =PASTORAL EPISTLES.= Rev. A. PLUMMER, D.D.\n  =HEBREWS.= Rev. Principal T. C. EDWARDS, D.D.\n  =SS. JAMES AND JUDE.= Rev. A. PLUMMER, D.D.\n  =EPISTLES OF ST. PETER.= Rev. Professor LUMBY, D.D.\n  =EPISTLES OF ST. JOHN.= The Right Rev. W. ALEXANDER, D.D.\n  =REVELATION.= Rev. Professor W. MILLIGAN, D.D.\n\n         *       *       *       *       *\n\n  =THE CLERICAL LIBRARY.= Complete in Twelve Volumes.\n     Crown 8vo, cloth, 6_s_. each.\n\n  1.  =Three Hundred Outlines of Sermons on the New Testament.=\n  2.  =Outlines of Sermons on the Old Testament.=\n  3.  =Pulpit Prayers.= By Eminent Preachers.\n  4.  =Outline Sermons to Children.= With numerous Anecdotes.\n  5.  =Anecdotes Illustrative of New Testament Texts.=\n  6.  =Expository Sermons and Outlines on the Old Testament.=\n  7.  =Expository Sermons on the New Testament.=\n  8.  =Platform Aids.=\n  9.  =New Outlines of Sermons on the New Testament.=\n          By Eminent Preachers. Hitherto unpublished.\n  10. =Anecdotes Illustrative of the Old Testament Texts.=\n  11. =New Outlines of Sermons on the Old Testament=\n          By Eminent Preachers. Hitherto unpublished.\n  12. =Outlines of Sermons for Special Occasions.=\n\n\n  =ST. PAUL THE TRAVELLER AND THE ROMAN\n     CITIZEN.= By W. M. RAMSAY, D.C.L., LL.D., Professor\n     of Humanity, Aberdeen; Author of \"The Church in the\n     Roman Empire,\" etc. Second Thousand. 8vo, cloth, with\n     Map, 10_s._ 6_d._\n\n\"Professor Ramsay brings not only his great experience as a traveller\nand arch\u00e6ologist, but the resources of an ingenious mind, and a lively\nstyle. The book is, like everything Professor Ramsay does,\nextraordinarily alive. It shows everywhere personal learning, personal\nimpression; it has the sharp touch of the traveller and the\neye-witness.\"--_Times_.\n\n\"His book is at once a critical reconstruction of the narrative in\n'Acts.' A new reading of the life of the Apostle of the Gentiles, a\nfresh explanation of the relation between first-century Christianity\nand the social and political conditions amid which it developed, and\nan announcement of the discovery of an historical star of the first\nmagnitude. The light thrown by Professor Ramsay on the career of the\nApostle Paul is often startling in its freshness. There is, indeed,\nscarcely a single incident in the Apostle's life upon which he has not\nsomething new to say.\"--_Glasgow Herald_.\n\n\n  =THE CHURCH IN THE ROMAN EMPIRE BEFORE\n     A.D. 170.= By W. M. RAMSAY, M.A., D.C.L., Professor of\n     Humanity in the University of Aberdeen. Fourth Edition.\n     With Maps and Illustrations, 8vo, cloth, 12_s._\n\n\"This volume is the most important contribution to the study of early\nChurch history which has bean published in this country since the\ngreat work of Bishop Lightfoot on the Apostolic fathers. It is, too,\nunless our memory fails us, without a rival in any foreign\ncountry.\"--_Guardian_.\n\n\n  =THE HISTORICAL GEOGRAPHY OF THE HOLY\n     LAND.= By GEORGE ADAM SMITH, D.D., Professor of\n     Hebrew and Old Testament Exegesis, Free Church College,\n     Glasgow. With Six Maps, specially prepared. Fifth Thousand.\n     8vo, cloth, 15_s._\n\n\"Professor Smith is well equipped at all points for this work. He is\nabreast of the latest findings of Scripture exegesis, and of\ngeographical survey, and of arch\u00e6ological exploration; and he has\nhimself travelled widely over Palestine. The value of the work is\nincalculably increased by the series of geographical maps, the first\nof the kind representing the whole lift and the of the land by\ngradations of colour.\"--_Scotsman_.\n\n\"A very noteworthy contribution to the study of sacred history, based\nupon the three indispensable conditions of personal acquaintance with\nthe land, a study of the explorations, discoveries, and decipherments\n... and the employment of the results of Biblical criticism.\"--_Times_.\n\n\n  =THE ASCENT OF MAN.= By HENRY DRUMMOND.\n     Twenty-first Thousand. Net, 7_s._ 6_d._\n\n\"Worked out with characteristic ardour and courage. The technical\nquality of the book is of a high order. In none of his works is Mr.\nDrummond's literary skill more strikingly manifested. The\nstyle--metaphorical, allusive, picturesque--has even more of the\nwriter's wonted grace and facility, and his command of analogy has\nnever been employed with better effect, and productive of more varied\nand suggestive illustrations.\"--_Saturday Review_.\n\n\n                        _BY THE SAME AUTHOR._\n\n  =NATURAL LAW IN THE SPIRITUAL WORLD.=\n     Thirty-second Edition, completing 119,000. Crown 8vo,\n     cloth, 3_s._ 6_d._\n\n\"We have no hesitation in saying that this is one of the most able and\ninteresting books on the relations which exist between natural science\nand spiritual life that has appeared. Mr. Drummond writes perfect\nEnglish; his ideas are fresh, and expressed with admirable felicity.\nHis book is one to fertilise the mind, to open it to fresh fields of\nthought, and to stimulate its activity.\"--_Literary Churchman_.\n\n\n  =TROPICAL AFRICA.= Seventh Edition, completing 34,000.\n     Crown 8vo, cloth, 3_s._ 6_d._\n\n\"Professor Drummond is a clear and accurate observer, and as he has\nhad a sound scientific training, and has a real interest in the human\nside of African life, he is able to present us with pictures of a\ndistinctness and originality not often met with in books of African\ntravel.\"--_Times_.\n\n       *       *       *       *       *\n\n\n  =THE PERMANENT MESSAGE OF THE EXODUS=;\n    or, The Mission of Moses. By Rev. JOHN SMITH, D.D.,\n    of Broughton Place Church, Edinburgh. Crown 8vo, cloth,\n    3_s._ 6_d._\n\n\"The discourses are of a high order; their author is evidently a man\nthoroughly in earnest, pulsing with a life which he is eager to\ncommunicate. Fresh, fervent, and eloquent, full of interesting\ninformation and suggestive statement, they must have produced a deep\nimpression when they were delivered, though for their true appreciation\nthey require quiet, careful, and thoughtful perusal.\"--_Scotsman_.\n\n\n  =THE PROBLEM OF THE AGES.= A Book for Young\n     Men. By the Rev. J. B. HASTINGS, M.A., of Edinburgh.\n     Crown 8vo, cloth, 3_s._ 6_d._\n\n\"He puts the main broad arguments in favour of belief in God and\nChristianity with admirable lucidity, and generally in a terse and\ntelling fashion. The book is well calculated to serve the purpose with\nwhich it has been written, and contains in a handy form a great many\nmodern arguments and evidences which can be got at only by a rather\nextended course of reading.\"--_Glasgow Herald_.\n\n\n              _WORKS BY SIR J. W. DAWSON, LL.D., F.R.S._\n\n  =1. EDEN LOST AND WON.= Studies of the Early History\n      and Final Destiny of Man as taught in Nature and Revelation.\n      Crown 8vo, cloth, 5_s._\n\n\"Sir William Dawson, in his exalted position as one of the ablest of\nour modern scientific teachers, is a devout believer in Holy\nScripture, and a fearless student of evidence. In these chapters he\nstands resolutely by the validity of the earlier books of the Hebrew\nScriptures.... We need scarcely say that these chapters are enriched\nby a great deal of special knowledge, both scientific and\nantiquarian.\"--_Methodist Recorder_.\n\n\n  =2. MODERN SCIENCE IN BIBLE LANDS.= Third\n      Edition. With Map and Illustrations. Crown 8vo, 6_s._\n\n\"It is full of valuable and trustworthy information, and copiously\nillustrated with maps and drawings, thus constituting a useful part of\na Biblical student's equipment.\"--_Church Times_.\n\n\n  =3. SOME SALIENT POINTS IN THE SCIENCE OF\n      THE EARTH.= With Forty-six Illustrations. Second\n      Thousand. Crown 8vo, cloth, 7_s._ 6_d._\n\n\"All that Sir J. William Dawson writes is interesting and forcible,\nbut this, his last work, is by far the most forcible that he has\nwritten.\"--_Athen\u00e6um_.\n\n\n  =4. FOSSIL MEN AND THEIR MODERN REPRESENTATIVES.=\n      With Forty-four Illustrations. Third\n      Edition. Crown 8vo, cloth, 7_s._ 6_d._\n\n\"It will be especially acceptable to those who refuse to accept the\nhigh estimate of man's antiquity which modern science has brought\nforth, for they will find here their case stated with much ability,\nand illustrated by a wealth of material drawn from sources not\nsufficiently known in this country.\"--_Athen\u00e6um_.\n\n\n  =5. THE ORIGIN OF THE WORLD ACCORDING TO\n      REVELATION AND SCIENCE.= Sixth Edition.\n      Crown 8vo, cloth, 7_s._ 6_d._\n\n\"Any one who will study Dr. Dawson's three recent volumes will not\nonly gain much trustworthy information on matters of romantic\ninterest, but will make the acquaintance of a writer who is as\nvigorous as he is modest, and as modest as he is vigorous; who knows\nhow to throw the air of genius around even the minuter facts and\ndetails of philosophical inquiry; and who combines a true scientific\nindependence of thought with a reverent faith in the Scriptures and\nthe Gospel.\"--_London Quarterly Review_.\n\n\n  =6. THE STORY OF THE EARTH AND MAN.= With\n      Twenty Illustrations. Eleventh Edition, Revised. Crown\n      8vo, cloth, 7_s._ 6_d._\n\n\"A geological treatise has rarely, if ever, been put into a more\nreadable and popular form. General readers, who have been puzzled and\nperplexed by elementary text-books, and who have found little\nsatisfaction in the vague generalisation and unmethodical\npicturesqueness of other popular expositions, will obtain in these\npages a clear, trustworthy, and sufficiently panoramic version of the\nstory of the earth and man.\"--_Glasgow Herald_.\n\n\n  =THE DAYS OF AULD LANG SYNE.= By IAN MACLAREN.\n      Third Edition, completing 50,000. Crown 8vo, gilt\n      top, 6_s._\n\n\"There is, we think, a sense in which the new volume is not merely an\naddition but a supplement to its predecessor. In 'Beside the Bonnie\nBrier Bush' were passages, and indeed whole stories, which were\nmasterstrokes or masterpieces of a fine poignant pathos, or a dry yet\ngenial humour, but the former preponderated, and gave tone and\nexpression to the book. It may be doubted whether the humorous quality\nof that Scots canniness which stands out most conspicuously in a\ndifficult negotiation has ever been rendered with happier fineness of\nobservation or intimacy of touch than in the opening study, 'A Triumph\nin Diplomacy.'\"--_Daily Chronicle_.\n\n\n  =BESIDE THE BONNIE BRIER BUSH.= By the same\n      Author. Ninth Edition, completing 60,000. Art linen, crown\n      8vo, gilt top, 6_s._\n\n\"As an artist in Scotch character of the sort that is found at its\nbest in country villages he has no superior among his contemporaries,\nambitious and able as several of these are.\"--_Spectator_.\n\n\n  =STRANGERS AT LISCONNEL.= A second Series of \"Irish\n      Idylls.\" By JANE BARLOW. Second Thousand. Crown 8vo,\n      cloth. 6_s._\n\n\"In 'Strangers at Lisconnel' Miss Barlow returns to her early love, and\nhas produced a second series of 'Irish Idylls' which are in every way as\ndelightful as the sketches of peasant life that at one bound brought her\ninto the very front rank of delineators of Irish character. The sketches\npossess in a high degree all the charm, simplicity, and tenderness of\nthe original series, while revealing the same fidelity to nature as well\nas the rich humour and pathos characteristic of the people which Miss\nBarlow so admirably describes.\"--_Scotsman_.\n\n\"Only the nature of a genuine artist, combined with the skill of a\nmaster of language, could lend so powerful and vivid an interest to\nthe section of barren Irish bogland where the scenes are laid, and\nonly one who had a tender interest and affection for the people could\nweave such a truthful yet fascinating web of romance around their\nsimple lives.\"--_Derry Standard_.\n\n\n                        _BY THE SAME AUTHOR._\n\n  =1. IRISH IDYLLS.= Sixth Edition. Crown 8vo, cloth, 6_s._\n\n\"The 'Irish Idylls' are delightful reading, and afford a truer insight\ninto Irish peasant character, and ways of light and thought, than any\nbook that it has been our fortune to read for a long time.\"--_Athen\u00e6um_.\n\n\n  =2. KERRIGAN'S QUALITY.= Third Thousand. Crown 8vo,\n      art linen, gilt top, 6_s._\n\n\"A book to touch the hearts of all who read it. Miss Barlow's sketches\nof the Irish peasantry are the work of close and sympathetic\nobservation, combined with great literary dexterity.\"--_The Daily\nChronicle_.\n\n\n  =3. BOGLAND STUDIES.= Third Edition. Crown 8vo,\n      cloth, 6_s._\n\n\"Rarely has it been our fortune to find between a couple of covers\nmore humanity wedded to such vivid lines. Miss Barlow is remarkably\nobservant; she has a gift of concentration, a power of showing us a\nscene in one line.\"--_Literary World_.\n\n\n  =LITERARY ANECDOTES OF THE NINETEENTH\n      CENTURY=: Contributions towards the Literary History\n      of the Period. Edited by W. ROBERTSON NICOLL, M.A.,\n      LL.D., and THOMAS J. WISE. Volume I., 20_s._ net.\n\nPREFACE.--The work, of which this is the first volume, has been\nsuggested by Nichols's well-known _Literary Anecdotes of the Eighteenth\nCentury_. The editors hope to provide in it a considerable amount of\nfresh matter, illustrating the Life and work of British Authors in the\nNineteenth Century. To a large extent they rely upon manuscript\nmaterial, but use will be made of practically inaccessible texts, and of\nfugitive writings. While leading authors will receive due attention,\nmuch space will be devoted to the less-known writers of the period. It\nis intended to supply Biographies, Letters hitherto unpublished,\nadditions from Manuscript sources to published works, together with a\nseries of full Bibliographies of the writings of the greater authors.\nEvery precaution has been taken to avoid the infringement of copyright,\nand the editors hope that they will be forgiven any involuntary\ntransgression. Illustrations and numerous fac-similes will be provided\nin each volume. While only one thousand copies are to be printed, of\nwhich two hundred and fifty are for America, in no circumstances will a\nreprint be undertaken. The editors, however, reserve the right to issue\nseparately any section of the work.\n\nIt is hoped that the second volume will be published in October, 1896.\n\n\n  =SONGS OF REST.= Edited by W. ROBERTSON NICOLL, M.A.,\n      LL.D. Presentation Edition. Second Edition. Elegantly\n      bound in Buckram, gilt top, 5_s._ This volume includes the\n      First and Second Series. They have been thoroughly revised,\n      and increased by one-third. The Bijou Edition is still on sale,\n      First and Second Series, 1_s._ 6_d._ each.\n\n\"He has collected many beautiful things.\"--_Daily Chronicle_.\n\n\"We are not surprised that this new and dainty edition, in one\nhandsome volume, is demanded.... Some of the most exquisite verses in\nthis book are by singers whose praise is certainly not in all the\nchurches, but there is, nevertheless, a deep and impressive unison in\nall the music.\"--_The Speaker_.\n\n\n  =A WINDOW IN THRUMS.= By J. M. BARRIE. Fourteenth\n      Edition. Crown 8vo, buckram, gilt top, 6_s._\n\n\"We think that this is the very best of the many good sketches of\nScottish peasant life which we have ever read\"--_Standard_.\n\n\"This remarkable little book. We follow the homely record with an\ninterest which the most sensational drama could not\nsurpass.\"--_Blackwood's Magazine_.\n\n\n                        _BY THE SAME AUTHOR._\n\n  =1. MY LADY NICOTINE.= Sixth Edition. Crown 8vo,\n       buckram, gilt top, 6_s._\n\n\"Humour refined, irresistible, characteristic.\"--_Echo_.\n\n\"A very delightful book. The book should be read straight through, and\nthen picked up at intervals and opened anywhere. Wherever it is opened\nit will please.\"--_Speaker_.\n\n\n  =2. AULD LICHT IDYLLS.= Tenth Edition. Crown 8vo,\n       buckram, gilt top, 6_s._\n\n\"Racy, humorous, and altogether delightful.\"--_Truth_.\n\n\"At once the most successful, the most truly literary, and the most\nrealistic attempt that has been made for years--if not for\ngenerations--to reproduce humble Scottish life.\"--_Spectator_.\n\n\n                       _An \u00c9dition de Luxe of_\n\n  =AULD LICHT IDYLLS.= With Eighteen Etchings by\n      WILLIAM HOLE. R.S.A. Handsomely printed by Messrs.\n      R. & R. CLARK, Edinburgh, on English hand-made paper.\n      Large post 4to, 31_s._ 6_d._\n\n\u2042 _A few Copies at \u00a33 3s., signed by Author and Artist, with Etchings\nprinted on Japanese Paper._\n\n\n  =3. WHEN A MAN'S SINGLE.= A Tale of Literary Life.\n      Ninth Edition. Crown 8vo, buckram, gilt top, 6_s._\n\n\"The best one-volume novel of the year.\"--_Daily News_.\n\n\"Mr. Barrie is a man with a style. From one end to the other the story\nis bright, cheerful, amusing.\"--_Saturday Review_.\n\n       *       *       *       *       *\n\n\n  =LOVE AND QUIET LIFE.= Somerset Idylls. By WALTER\n      RAYMOND, Author of \"Gentleman Upcott's Daughter,\"\n      \"Young Sam and Sabina,\" etc. Second Edition. Crown\n      8vo, gilt top. 6_s._\n\n\n  =LONDON IDYLLS.= By W. J. DAWSON. Second Thousand.\n  Crown 8vo, cloth, 5_s._\n\n\"A collection of stories of much promise. Mr. Dawson has a pleasant\nstyle, an easy command of effective expression, and he passes lightly\nfrom pathos to humour, or rather he can blend the two with no sensible\ntransition.\"--_Times_.\n\n\"In 'London Idylls' W. J. Dawson has written a book that will be\ntreasured. The poem, in which the author seeks to express the\nindefinable poetry of London, could only have been written by one very\nnearly attuned to the spirit, to the loves and passions, joys and\nsorrows of the world's greatest centre of romance. Of the idylls\nthemselves little may be written to convey any real sense of their\ncharm. The themes on which they turn are such as only London could\nhave supplied. Than the first exquisitely rendered story--infinitely\nsimple and tender--it is not too much to say that nothing more\nheartsearching has been written since the historian of Joe, the\ncrossing-sweeper, laid down his pen. Dickens himself might have wept\nover it.\"--_Dundee Advertiser_.\n\n\n                        _BY THE SAME AUTHOR._\n\n  =1. THE REDEMPTION OF EDWARD STRAHAN=:\n      A Social Story. Third Edition. Paper covers, 1_s._\n\n\"A powerful story.\"--_Times_.\n\n\"A powerful book, with a pure and high aim.\"--RIGHT HON. W. E.\nGLADSTONE.\n\n\n  =2. QUEST AND VISION.= Second Edition. Crown 8vo,\n      cloth, 3_s._ 6_d._\n\n\"The marks of wide reading pervade the volume, and Mr. Dawson is in\nthe main singularly adroit in his allusions.\"--_Speaker_.\n\n\n  =3. THE MAKERS OF MODERN ENGLISH=: A Popular\n      Handbook to the Greater Poets of the Century. Fifth Edition.\n      Crown 8vo, cloth, 5_s._\n\n\n  =4. THE MAKING OF MANHOOD.= Fourth Thousand.\n      Crown 8vo, cloth, 3_s._ 6_d._\n\n\"There is a manly outspokenness in this book as well as vision and\nsympathy, and an evident understanding of the needs and aspirations\nwhich determine the point of view in youth towards religion and\nliterature, work and play, and the give and take of\nsociety.\"--_Speaker_.\n\n\n  =5. THE THRESHOLD OF MANHOOD.= A Young Man's\n      Words to Young Men. Eighth Thousand. Crown 8vo,\n      cloth, 3_s._ 6_d._\n\n\"They are full of force, penetrated with Christian manliness, unsparing\nin their denunciations of vice, and throb with desire for the salvation\nof the young. These are sermons for the times, which should nerve many\nyoung soldiers for the good fight of faith.\"--_London Quarterly Review_.\n\n\n                         _WORKS BY DR. DALE._\n\n  _The Lord Bishop of Winchester_ says: \"I consider Dr. Dale to be\n  one of the most enlightened and profound theologians of the time. My\n  shelves contain nearly all--if not all--of his books, and we are\n  friends.\"\n\n  =THE EPISTLE OF JAMES AND OTHER DISCOURSES.=\n      Third Thousand. Crown 8vo, cloth, 6_s._\n\n  =CHRIST AND THE FUTURE LIFE= Fourth Thousand.\n      Elegantly bound in cloth, 1_s._ 6_d._\n\n  =CHRISTIAN DOCTRINE.= A Series of Discourses. Fifth\n      Thousand. Crown 8vo, cloth, 6_s._\n\n  =FELLOWSHIP WITH CHRIST=, and Other Discourses\n      Delivered on Special Occasions. Fifth Thousand. Crown\n      8vo, cloth, 6_s._\n\n  =THE LIVING CHRIST AND THE FOUR GOSPELS.=\n      Eighth Thousand. Crown 8vo, cloth, 6_s._\n\n  =LAWS OF CHRIST FOR COMMON LIFE.= Eighth\n      Thousand. Crown 8vo, cloth, 6_s._\n\n  =NINE LECTURES ON PREACHING.= Eighth Edition.\n      Crown 8vo, cloth, 6_s._\n\n  =THE JEWISH TEMPLE AND THE CHRISTIAN\n      CHURCH.= A Series of Discourses on the Epistle to the\n      Hebrews. Ninth Edition. Crown 8vo, cloth, 6=s.=\n\n  =THE EPISTLE TO THE EPHESIANS.= Its Doctrines\n  and Ethics. Eighth Edition. Crown 8vo, cloth, 7_s._ 6_d._\n\n  =WEEK-DAY SERMONS.= Sixth Edition. Crown 8vo, cloth,\n      3_s._ 6_d._\n\n  =THE TEN COMMANDMENTS.= Seventh Edition. Crown\n      8vo, cloth, 5_s._\n\n\n  =A. M. MACKAY=, Pioneer Missionary of the Church Missionary\n      Society to Uganda. By his SISTER. With Etched Portrait\n      by H. Manesse. Fifteenth Thousand. Crown 8vo, cloth,\n      7_s._ 6_d._\n\n\"Even for lay readers a fascinating book of African exploration and\nAdventure.\"--_St. James's Gazette_.\n\n\n                    _THE LIFE OF MACKAY FOR BOYS._\n\n  =THE STORY OF THE LIFE OF MACKAY OF\n      UGANDA.= Told for Boys. By his SISTER. The whole\n      of the matter in this volume is fresh, and is not found in the\n      larger book, \"A. M. Mackay.\" With Portrait and Illustrations.\n      Eleventh Thousand. Handsomely bound in cloth,\n      8vo, gilt edges, 5_s._\n\n  =A. MACKAY RUTHQUIST=; Or, Singing the Gospel among\n      the Hindus and Gonds. By the Author of \"A. M. Mackay,\n      Pioneer Missionary of the C.M.S. to Uganda,\" etc. With\n      Portrait and Illustrations. Crown 8vo, cloth, 6_s._\n\n  =TWENTY YEARS IN KHAMA'S COUNTRY=, And\n      Pioneering among the Batauana of Lake Ngami. By the Rev.\n      J. D. HEPBURN. With Photographic Illustrations. Third\n      Edition. Crown 8vo, cloth, 6_s._\n\n  =CHARACTERISTICS AND CHARACTERS OF WILLIAM\n      LAW.= Selected and arranged with an Introduction\n      by ALEXANDER WHYTE, D.D. Crown 8vo, cloth, 9_s._\n\n  =W. P. LOCKHART=, Merchant and Preacher. His Life and\n      Letters. Compiled by his WIFE. With an Introduction by\n      the Rev. ALEXANDER MACLAREN, D.D., of Manchester, and\n      Portrait. Second Edition. Crown 8vo, cloth, 3_s._ 6_d._\n\n  =THE BRONTES IN IRELAND=; or, Facts Stranger than\n      Fiction. By Dr. WILLIAM WRIGHT, Author of \"The Hittites,\"\n      etc. With Illustrations. Third Edition. Crown 8vo, cloth, 6_s._\n\n  =CHARLES G. FINNEY=. An Autobiography. With Steel\n      Portrait. Crown 8vo, cloth, 3_s._ 6_d._\n\n\n  =LETTERS AND SKETCHES FROM THE NEW\n      HEBRIDES.= By MAGGIE WHITECROSS PATON (Mrs. John G.\n      Paton of Aniwa). Edited by her Brother-in-Law, Rev. JAMES\n      PATON, B.A. With Portrait, Map, and 23 Illustrations.\n      Third Edition. Sixth Thousand. Crown 8vo, cloth, 6_s._\n\n\"A very attractive piece of missionary literature, full of vivid\ndescriptions of nature and life.\"--_Times_.\n\n\"A peculiar charm undoubtedly characterises these letters. They were\nwritten for members of Mrs. Paton's family and personal friends, without\nany thought of publication; and their literary grace is evidently\nnatural and of the uncommon kind. They abound in homely touches and in\nhearty humour, while the unrestrained personal and domestic allusions\nafford valuable illustrations of a side of missionary life the existence\nof which is sometimes strangely ignored, and the value of which to the\nwork is by some utterly denied.\"--_Church Missionary Intelligencer_.\n\n\n  =JOHN G. PATON, D.D.=, Missionary to the Hebrides. An\n      Autobiography. Edited by his Brother, the Rev. JAMES\n      PATON, B.A. Popular Edition. Complete in One Volume.\n      Twentieth Thousand. Crown 8vo, cloth, 6_s._\n\n\"One of the best autobiographies we have ever read. It is candour\nitself, and bears the impress of truth on every page. It would take a\nvery incorrigible Agnostic all his time not to fall in love with Dr.\nPaton and his noble work.\"--_Daily Chronicle_.\n\n\n  =THE STORY OF JOHN G. PATON=. Told for Young\n      Folks. By the Rev. JAMES PATON, B.A. With Forty-five\n      Full-page Illustrations by J. Finnemore. With Map. Fifteenth\n      Thousand. 8vo, cloth, 5_s._\n\n\"In the record of thirty years' good work amongst the South Sea\ncannibals, we have before us one of those missionary enterprises which\nread almost more strangely than fiction itself.... There are enough\nhairbreadth escapes and deeds of cool, if unostentatious, courage in\nthese pages to stock half-a-dozen ordinary books, and the forty-five\ngraphic illustrations add much to the attraction of the text.\"--_Daily\nTelegraph_.\n\n\n  =LIFE OF ST. FRANCIS OF ASSISI=. By PAUL\n      SABATIER. Translated from the French. Gilt top. New\n      Edition. Price 9_s._ net.\n\n\"M. Paul Sabatier is one of those men of letters, unhappily rare in\nFrance, in whom ripe learning and fine critical sagacity are not\ndivorced from a reasonable Christian faith. Trained in the 'Facult\u00e9 de\nTh\u00e9ologie Protestante de Paris,' he has grown into the most brilliant\nscholar of his Church. No commentary on the _Didache_, for instance,\nis more illuminating than the edition of that treasure-trove which he\npublished in 1885. And now he has given us a 'Life of St. Francis'\nwhich may stand on the same shelf with Villari's 'Life of\nSavonarola.'\"--_The Expositor_.\n\n\"We may cordially commend this translation. It is thoroughly well\ndone, fluent and accurate, and nowhere betraying by idiomatic\nfaultiness or even stiffness, that insufficient mastery of one or the\nother language which mars too many versions.\"--_Glasgow Herald_.\n\n\n  =THE PEOPLE'S BIBLE.= Discourses upon Holy Scripture,\n      forming a Pastoral Commentary. By JOSEPH PARKER, D.D.\n      Demy 8vo, each; 8_s._\n\n                         =THE OLD TESTAMENT.=\n\n        Vol.    I. GENESIS.\n        Vol.   II. EXODUS.\n        Vol.  III. LEVITICUS--NUMBERS XXVI.\n        Vol.   IV. NUMBERS XXVI.--DEUTERONOMY.\n        Vol.    V. JOSHUA--JUDGES V.\n        Vol.   VI. JUDGES VI.--1 SAMUEL XVIII.\n        Vol.  VII. 1 SAMUEL XVIII.--1 KINGS XIII.\n        Vol. VIII. 1 KINGS XV.--1 CHRONICLES IX.\n        Vol.   IX. 1 CHRONICLES X.--2 CHRONICLES XX.\n        Vol.    X. 2 CHRONICLES XXI.--ESTHER.\n        Vol.   XI. THE BOOK OF JOB.\n        Vol.  XII. THE BOOK OF PSALMS.\n        Vol. XIII. THE BOOK OF PROVERBS.\n        Vol.  XIV. ECCLESIASTES--ISAIAH XXVI.\n        Vol.   XV. ISAIAH XXVII.--JEREMIAH XIX.\n        Vol.  XVI. JEREMIAH XX.--DANIEL.\n        Vol. XVII. HOSEA--MALACHI.\n\n                         =THE NEW TESTAMENT.=\n\n        Vol. XVIII. ST. MATTHEW.\n        Vol.   XIX.      \"     \"\n        Vol.    XX. ST. MARK and ST. LUKE.\n        Vol.   XXI. ST. JOHN.\n        Vol.  XXII. THE ACTS OF THE APOSTLES.\n        Vol. XXIII.        \"       \"       \"\n        Vol.  XXIV. ROMANS--GALATIANS.\n        Vol.   XXV. EPHESIANS--REVELATION.\n\n       *       *       *       *       *\n\n\n  =THE UNKNOWN GOD=; Or, Inspiration Among Pre-Christian\n      Races. By C. LORING BRACE. In 8vo, cloth, 12_s._\n\n                        _BY THE SAME AUTHOR._\n\n  =GESTA CHRISTI=: A History of Human Progress under\n      Christianity. Fifth Edition. Large crown 8vo, cloth, 7_s._ 6_d._\n\n\n        _THE CHURCH SEASONS. Now Publishing by Subscription._\n\n  =THE ANGLICAN PULPIT LIBRARY.= Sermons, Outlines,\n      Illustrations for the Sundays and Holy Days of the\n      Year, Original and Selected. The most complete collection\n      of materials for Sermons on the Church Year, providing an\n      average of Fifty Sermons for every Sunday of the Church\n      Year, the subjects being chosen from the Epistle, the Gospel,\n      the Lessons, and from passages bearing on the subjects of\n      the Day.\n\n               Vol.   I.--Advent to Christmastide.\n               Vol.  II.--Epiphany to Septuagesima.\n               Vol. III.--Sexagesima to Passiontide.\n\nSubscription 24_s._ in advance for the first three volumes, in large\n8vo, of about 500 pages each. To non-subscribers, 15_s._ each volume.\n\n\u2042 Full Prospectus, with Specimen pages, may be had on application.\n\n_Church Bells_ says:--\"A volume of the very highest use to preachers\nand teachers.\"\n\n_The Expositor_ says:--\"This work, when complete, will form not merely\nan aid to preachers, but a repertory of all the best sermons in the\nlanguage.\"\n\n       *       *       *       *       *\n\n\n  =OLD FARM FAIRIES.= A Summer Campaign in Brownieland\n      against King Cobweaver's Pixies. By HENRY CHRISTOPHER\n      MCCOOK, D.D. With 150 Illustrations. Crown 8vo,\n      cloth, 5_s._\n\n\"The story tells of a war between the Brownies and the spiders, and\nwill interest a child by the oddity and strangeness (greater than a\npurely imaginative writer could conceive) of the devices of strategy\nand warfare to which the spiders resort. The illustrations to the book\nare partly fanciful, partly true to the nature of spider life.... A\nstory so fresh in its idea, and so well worked out, is sure to please\na young reader, and to lend a peculiar attraction to the study of\nnatural history.\"--_Scotsman_.\n\n\n                        _BY THE SAME AUTHOR._\n\n  =1. TENANTS OF AN OLD FARM=: Leaves from the Note-Book\n      of a Naturalist. With Introduction by Sir JOHN\n      LUBBOCK, M.P. With Illustrations. Second Edition. Crown\n      8vo, cloth, 6_s._\n\n\"Dr. McCook deals with friends of mine--with insects, and particularly\nants, to which I have paid special attention. I have much pleasure in\nbearing testimony to the fidelity and skill which Dr. McCook has\ndevoted to the study of these interesting atoms; and those who read\nhis work may safely depend on the accuracy of what he says.\"--From the\nIntroduction by Sir JOHN LUBBOCK, M.P., D.C.L., F.R.S.\n\n\n  =2. WOMEN FRIENDS OF JESUS=; or, Lives and Characters\n      of the Holy Women of Gospel History. Second Edition.\n      Crown 8vo, cloth, 5_s._\n\n\n  =THE VISIONS OF A PROPHET.= Studies in Zechariah.\n      By the Rev. Professor MARCUS DODS, M.A., D.D. Third\n      Thousand. Elegantly bound in cloth, price 1_s._ 6_d._\n\n                     _BY THE SAME AUTHOR._\n\n  =1. THE PARABLES OF OUR LORD (MATTHEW).=\n      Ninth Thousand. Crown 8vo, cloth, 3_s._ 6_d._\n\n  =2. THE PARABLES OF OUR LORD (LUKE).= Seventh\n      Thousand. Crown 8vo, cloth, 3_s._ 6_d._\n\n  =3. ISRAEL'S IRON AGE.= Sketches from the Period of the\n      Judges. Seventh Edition. Crown 8vo, cloth, 3_s._ 6_d._\n\n  =4. ERASMUS AND OTHER ESSAYS.= Second Edition.\n      Crown 8vo, cloth, 5_s._\n\n  =5. THE PRAYER THAT TEACHES TO PRAY.= Eighth\n      Edition. Crown 8vo, 2_s._ 6_d._\n\n  =6. MOHAMMED, BUDDHA, AND CHRIST=: Four\n      Lectures on Natural and Revealed Religion. Eighth Edition.\n      Crown 8vo, cloth, 3_s._ 6_d._\n\n       *       *       *       *       *\n\n  =THE GOD-MAN.= By THOMAS CHARLES EDWARDS, D.D., of\n  Lincoln College, Oxford, Principal of Theological College, Bala.\n  Being the \"Davies\" Lecture for 1895. Crown 8vo, cloth,\n  3_s._ 6_d._\n\n                        _BY THE SAME AUTHOR._\n\n  =1. A COMMENTARY ON THE FIRST EPISTLE TO\n      THE CORINTHIANS.= Second Edition, 8vo, cloth, 14_s._\n\n  =2. THE EPISTLE TO THE HEBREWS.= Crown 8vo,\n      7_s._ 6_d._\n\n         *       *       *       *       *\n\n  =IS GOD KNOWABLE?= By the Rev. Professor J. IVERACH,\n      D.D. Fourth Thousand. Crown 8vo, cloth, 3_s._ 6_d._\n\n  =THE MIRACLES OF OUR LORD.= By the Rev. Professor\n      LAIDLAW, D.D. Third Edition. Crown 8vo, cloth, 7_s._ 6_d._\n\n\n  =THE CHRISTIAN MINISTRY=: Its Origin, Constitution,\n      Nature, Work. By the Very Rev. WILLIAM LEFROY, D.D.,\n      Dean of Norwich. 8vo, cloth, 14_s._\n\n  =LITTLE BOOKS ON RELIGION.= Edited by the Rev.\n      W. ROBERTSON NICOLL, LL.D. Elegantly bound in cloth,\n      1_s._ 6_d._ each.\n\n      1. =Christ and the Future Life.= By the Rev. R. W. DALE,\n          LL.D.\n\n      2. =The Seven Words from the Cross.= By the Rev.\n          W. ROBERTSON NICOLL, LL.D.\n\n      3. =The Visions of a Prophet: Studies in Zechariah.= By\n          the Rev. Professor MARCUS DODS, D.D.\n\n      4. =The Four Temperaments.= By the Rev. ALEXANDER\n          WHYTE, D.D.\n\n      5. =The Upper Room.= By the Rev. JOHN WATSON, M.A.,\n          Author of \"Beside the Bonnie Brier Bush.\"\n\n  =THE NEWBERRY BIBLE.= By THOMAS NEWBERRY.\n      Comprising the English-Hebrew Bible and the English-Greek\n      Testament, designed to give, as far as practicable, the Accuracy,\n      Precision, and Certainty of the Original Hebrew and Greek\n      Scriptures on the Page of the Authorised Version. Large Type\n      Handy Reference Edition, Gilt Edges, 21_s._, 25_s._, 35_s._, 60_s._;\n      Bible Marking Edition, 15_s._, 25_s._, 30_s._; New Pocket Edition,\n      6_s._, 9_s._, 12_s._ 6_d._, 7_s._ 6_d._, 15_s._, 20_s._\n\n  =UNION WITH GOD.= A Series of Addresses. By Professor\n      J. RENDEL HARRIS, M.A., Fellow of Clare College, Cambridge.\n      Second Edition. Crown 8vo, cloth, 4_s._ 6_d._\n\n  =SOCIAL CHRISTIANITY.= West Central Mission Sermons.\n      Delivered in St. James's Hall, London. By HUGH PRICE\n      HUGHES, M.A. Eighth Thousand. Crown 8vo, cloth, 3_s._ 6_d._\n\n  =ARE MIRACLES CREDIBLE?= By the Rev. J. J. LIAS,\n      M.A. Second Edition. Crown 8vo, cloth, 3_s._ 6_d._\n\n\n  =TALES OF THE WARRIOR KING=. Life and Times of\n      David, King of Israel. By the Rev. J. R. MACDUFF, D.D.\n      With Eight Illustrations. Second Thousand. Large crown\n      8vo, cloth, gilt top, _6s._\n\n                        _BY THE SAME AUTHOR._\n\n  =1. THOUGHTS FOR THE QUIET HOUR.= Second\n      Edition. Crown 8vo, cloth, 3_s._ 6_d._\n\n  =2. THE PILLAR IN THE NIGHT.= Crown 8vo, cloth,\n      3_s._ 6_d._\n\n         *       *       *       *       *\n\n  =THE MYSTERY OF GRACE=, and other Sermons. By the\n      Rev. HUGH MACMILLAN, D.D. Second Edition. Crown\n      8vo, cloth, 6_s._\n\n  =EARTH'S EARLIEST AGES=, and their connection with\n      Modern Spiritualism and Theosophy. By G. H. PEMBER,\n      M.A. Eighth Edition. Crown 8vo, cloth, 7_s._ 6_d._\n\n                        _BY THE SAME AUTHOR._\n\n  =1. THE GREAT PROPHECIES OF THE CENTURIES\n      CONCERNING ISRAEL AND THE\n      GENTILES.= With Two Coloured Diagrams. Fourth\n      Edition. Crown 8vo, cloth, 7_s._ 6_d._\n\n  =2. THE ANTI-CHRIST, BABYLON, AND THE\n      COMING OF THE KINGDOM.= Second Edition.\n      Crown 8vo, cloth, 3_s._ 6_d._\n\n         *       *       *       *       *\n\n  =TOKIWA=, and other Poems. By Mrs. ASHLEY CARUS-WILSON,\n      _n\u00e9e_ MARY L. G. PETRIE, B.A., Lond. Crown 8vo, cloth, 6_s._\n\n  =CLEWS TO HOLY WRIT=; or, the Chronological Scripture\n      Cycle. By the same Author. Ninth Thousand. Crown 8vo,\n      cloth, 3_s._ 6_d._\n\n  =THE KEY WORDS OF THE BIBLE.= By A. T. PIERSON,\n      D.D. Fourth Edition. Crown 8vo, cloth, 2_s._ 6_d._\n\n                        _BY THE SAME AUTHOR._\n\n  =THE DIVINE ENTERPRISE OF MISSIONS.= Second\n      Edition. Crown 8vo, cloth, 4_s._ 6_d._\n\n  =LESSONS IN THE SCHOOL OF PRAYER AS\n      TAUGHT BY THE LORD JESUS CHRIST\n      HIMSELF.= Crown 8vo, 3_s._ 6_d._\n\n  =CLASSIFIED GEMS OF THOUGHT.= From the Great\n      Writers of all Ages. In Convenient Form for Use as a\n      Dictionary of Ready Reference on Religious Subjects. By the\n      Rev. F. B. PROCTOR, M.A., Vicar of Tadcaster. Cheap\n      Edition. Royal 8vo, cloth, 7_s._ 6_d._\n\n  =THE APOSTLE PAUL=: a Sketch of the Development of his\n      Doctrine. By M. A. SABATIER. Crown 8vo, cloth, 7_s._ 6_d._\n\n  =THE DIVINE UNITY OF SCRIPTURE.= By Dr.\n      ADOLPH SAPHIR. Crown 8vo, cloth, 3_s._ 6_d._\n\n  =THE IMPERFECT ANGEL=, and other Sermons. By Rev.\n      T. G. SELBY. Fifth Edition. Crown 8vo, cloth, 3_s._ 6_d._\n\n                        _BY THE SAME AUTHOR._\n\n  =THE LESSON OF A DILEMMA=, and other Sermons.\n      Third Thousand. Crown 8vo, 6_s._\n\n         *       *       *       *       *\n\n  =THE SAINT AND HIS SAVIOUR.= The Progress of the\n      Soul in the Knowledge of Jesus. By C. H. SPURGEON. With\n      Steel Portrait. A New Edition. Crown 8vo, cloth, 3_s._ 6_d._\n\n  =COMPLETE IN CHRIST AND LOVE'S LOGIC.=\n      Extracted from \"The Saint and his Saviour.\" Fourth\n      Thousand. 32mo, 1_s._\n\n  =THE TRIAL AND DEATH OF JESUS CHRIST=.\n      A Devotional History of our Lord's Passion. By JAMES\n      STALKER, M.A., D.D. Seventh Thousand. Crown 8vo,\n      cloth, 5_s._\n\n                        _BY THE SAME AUTHOR._\n\n  =IMAGO CHRISTI=: The Example of Jesus Christ. Twenty-seventh\n      Thousand. Crown 8vo, cloth, 5_s_. Presentation\n      Edition, handsomely bound in padded leather, net, 7_s._ 6_d._\n\n  =THE PREACHER AND HIS MODELS.= Yale Lectures\n      on Preaching, 1891. Seventh Thousand. Crown 8vo, cloth, 5_s._\n\n  =THE FOUR MEN.= Eighth Thousand. Crown 8vo, cloth,\n      2_s._ 6_d._\n\n  =GARDEN GRAITH=; or, Talks among my flowers. By SARAH\n      F. SMILEY. Eighth Edition. Crown 8vo, cloth, 3_s._ 6_d._\n\n                        _BY THE SAME AUTHOR._\n\n  =WHO IS HE?= or, the Anxious Inquiry Answered. Third\n  Thousand. Choicely bound in cloth with gilt edges, 9_d._\n\n         *       *       *       *       *\n\n  =THE NEW ERA.= By the Rev. JOSIAH STRONG, D.D.\n      Crown 8vo, cloth, 5_s._\n\n  =THE LIMITATIONS OF LIFE=, and other Sermons. By\n      Rev. W. M. TAYLOR, D.D., Author of \"The Ministry of the\n      Word,\" etc. With Portrait of the Author. Crown 8vo,\n      cloth, 7_s._ 6_d._\n\n  =THE PARABLES OF OUR SAVIOUR EXPOUNDED\n      AND ILLUSTRATED.= Third Edition. Crown 8vo,\n      cloth, 7_s._ 6_d._\n\n  =THE MIRACLES OF OUR SAVIOUR EXPOUNDED\n      AND ILLUSTRATED.= Third Edition. Crown 8vo,\n      cloth, 7_s._ 6_d._\n\n  =SUNLIGHT AND SHADOW=; or, Gleanings from my Life\n      Work. By J. B. GOUGH. Comprising--Personal Experiences,\n      Anecdotes, Incidents, and Reminiscences; gathered from\n      Thirty-seven Years' Experience on the Platform and among\n      the People at Home and Abroad. Twelfth Edition. Crown\n      8vo, cloth, 3_s._ 6_d._\n\n\"Mr. Gough has gathered together a large number of most interesting\nand stirring incidents, experiences, and reminiscences from his\nthirty-seven years' work at home and abroad.\"--_Record_.\n\n\n                        _BY THE SAME AUTHOR._\n\n  =PLATFORM ECHOES.= Leaves from my Note Book of\n      Forty Years Illustrated by Anecdotes, Incidents, Personal\n      Experiences, Facts, and Stories, drawn from the Humour and\n      Pathos of Life. Seventeenth Thousand. Demy 8vo, 3_s._ 6_d._\n\n\"These chapters abound in apt illustrations and in anecdotes both\nhumorous and pathetic.\"--_Daily News_.\n\n\"Teeming with thrilling incidents, experiences, and\nfacts.\"--_Methodist Times_.\n\n\n                    _WORKS BY DR. THAIN DAVIDSON._\n\n  =1. A GOOD START.= Sixth Thousand. Crown 8vo, cloth,\n      3_s._ 6_d._\n\n\"Books which are confessedly and designedly 'improving' without being\ndull, are not very common. Such books Dr. Davidson has already proved\nhis capacity to write, and these 'homely talks' with young men are not\ninferior to his previous efforts. Earnest and plain, and strictly\nadapted to the understanding of the ordinary man, they are never\ncareless or meaningless.\"--_Academy_.\n\n\n  =2. SURE TO SUCCEED.= Eighth Thousand. Crown 8vo,\n      cloth, 3_s._ 6_d._\n\n\"An excellent present for a youth just going into business or coming\nup to London. It consists of twenty pithy and practical lectures to\nyoung men.\"--_Record_.\n\n  =3. FOREWARNED--FOREARMED.= Eighth Thousand.\n      Crown 8vo, cloth, 3_s._ 6_d._\n\n\"Weighty counsels. Dr. Davidson is remarkably at home in talks with\nyoung men. His words glow with an intense earnestness which demands\nand obtains attention from his readers.\"--_Sword and Trowel_.\n\n  =4. THE CITY YOUTH.= Seventh Thousand. Crown 8vo,\n      cloth, 3_s._ 6_d._\n\n\"A volume well worthy to rank with his previous works on kindred\nsubjects. Dr. Davidson's matter and manner are alike excellent. About\nthe former there is no suspicion of what hasty people might call cant,\nwhile the latter is serious but not heavy. Dr. Davidson aims at no\nimpossible standard; he is as sympathetic as he is acute, as kind as\nhe is firm.\"--_Globe_.\n\n  =5. TALKS WITH YOUNG MEN.= Fifteenth Thousand.\n  Crown 8vo, cloth, 3_s._ 6_d._\n\n\"For sterling common-sense combined with true spiritual feeling, they\nhave not been surpassed for many a day. The addresses bristle with\ntelling metaphors and illustrations, and the book can be read from\ncover to cover with profitable interest.\"--_Literary World_.\n\n       *       *       *       *       *\n\n\n  =THE CATACOMBS OF ROME=, and their Testimony Relative\n      to Primitive Christianity. By the Rev. W. H. WITHROW, M.A.\n      Sixth Edition. 134 Illustrations. Crown 8vo; cloth, 6_s._\n\n\"Mr. Withrow's account of the catacombs of Rome is an exceedingly\npainstaking and thorough-going work, and whether or not the writer may\nbe correct in all his inferences, they have evidently been founded upon\ndiligent information. He could not have very much that was absolutely\nnew to tell on the subject; but as a convenient account of the most\nremarkable and interesting monuments of primitive Christianity, of those\nexcavations which furnished the persecuted Church with refuges during\nlife and in death, which formed her places of worship in times of peril,\nand received the remains of martyrs, the present volume is perhaps\ninferior to none of its predecessors.\"--_Saturday Review_.\n\n\n  =THE HISTORY OF THE CHRISTIAN CHURCH.=\n      By GEORGE P. FISHER, D.D., LL.D. With Seven Coloured\n      Maps. New Edition. Fifteenth Thousand. 8vo, 712 pp.,\n      12_s._\n\n\"We are sincerely thankful to Dr. Fisher for having collected with so\nmuch labour, and sifted with so much clearness, a perfectly\noverwhelming mass of facts, and we are certain that his book will be\nfrequently referred to by students of Church History, as a trustworthy\ncompendium and outline of the main events in the history of the\nChurch.\"--_Guardian_.\n\n\n                        _BY THE SAME AUTHOR._\n\n  =THE GROUNDS OF THEISTIC AND CHRISTIAN\n      BELIEF.= 8vo, cloth, 10_s._ 6_d._\n\n\"The book, which we have frequently recommended, is an able defence of\nboth natural and supernatural religion, and forms practically a modern\nappendix to Butler's 'Analogy.' The work is not merely an 'apology';\nit pursues the attack with considerable vigour, and hence it provides\nan ample armoury whence to draw weapons for use against the arguments\nof unbelieving scientists and philosophers.\"--_Church Times_.\n\n\n  =IRELAND AND THE ANGLO-NORMAN CHURCH=:\n      A History of Ireland and Irish Christianity from the Anglo-Norman\n      Conquest to the Dawn of the Reformation. By Rev.\n      Preb. G. T. STOKES, D.D., Professor of Ecclesiastical History\n      in the University of Dublin. Crown 8vo, cloth, 6_s._\n\n\"Dr. Stokes's brilliant lectures.\"--_Athen\u00e6um_.\n\n\"His narrative, enlivened by anecdotes, and by information of a most\nrecondite sort, is throughout brimful of interest.\"--_Academy_.\n\n                        _BY THE SAME AUTHOR._\n\n  =IRELAND AND THE CELTIC CHURCH:= A History of\n      Ireland from St. Patrick to the English Conquest in 1172.\n      Third Edition. Crown 8vo, cloth, 6_s._\n\n\"Any one who can make the dry bones of ancient Irish history live\nagain may feel sure of finding an audience sympathetic, intelligent,\nand ever-growing. Dr. Stokes has this faculty in a high\ndegree.\"--_Westminster Review_.\n\n\n                _WORKS BY THE REV. J. R. MILLER, D.D._\n\n  =A MESSAGE FOR THE DAY.= A Year's Daily Readings.\n  Fourth Thousand. 16mo, cloth, 3_s._ 6_d._\n\n\"A beautiful little work, from a pen which has been blessed to many.\nEach page is headed by a text of Scripture, and following this are\nillustrative remarks, and words designed to press home the Divine\nmessage. In many cases poetical selections complete the helpful\npage.\"--_Christian_.\n\n\n               _DR. J. R. MILLER'S NEW YEAR BOOKLETS._\n                 _Suitable for General Circulation._\n\n  =1. SECRETS OF A HAPPY HOME LIFE.= Thirteenth\n      Thousand. 6_d._\n\n\"Its counsels, if heeded, will heal many a sore, and cement the bonds\nof family affection.\"--_The Christian_.\n\n\n  =2. THE BLESSING OF CHEERFULNESS.= Eleventh\n      Thousand. 6_d._\n\n\"It can do nothing but good wherever it penetrates.\"--_The Record_.\n\n\n                 Dr. Miller's \"Silent Times\" Series.\n     _Elegantly bound, parchment cloth, gilt top, 3s. 6d. each._\n\n  =1. MAKING THE MOST OF LIFE.= Seventh Edition.\n\n\"They contain an abundance of pithy sentiment, and the winning manner\nin which it is conveyed, together with the tenderness of appeal which\nunderlies all that is said, rivets attention. The many short stories\nand episodes which give point to the writer's observations are\nintroduced with much skill and effect.\"--_Rock_.\n\n  =2. THE EVERY-DAY OF LIFE.= Fifth Edition.\n\n\"Rich in suggestion and full of truth.\"--_Dundee Advertiser_.\n\n\"Dr. Miller very fitly dedicates his new book to 'those who want to\ngrow better.' By such his pages will be read with mingled delight and\nprofit, for they are full of apt quotation, striking and abundant\nillustration, and great knowledge of human nature.\"--_Literary World_.\n\n  =3. SECRETS OF A BEAUTIFUL LIFE.= Third Edition.\n\n\"This charming and helpful book.\"--_Church Times_.\n\n\"He has a rare and sympathetic spirit, he has also had singularly wide\nexperience in the wants and workings of the human heart, and is\nsingularly gifted with the power of expression and happy\nillustration.\"--_Presbyterian_.\n\n\n  =4. SILENT TIMES.= Fifth Edition.\n\n\"It overflows with useful and suggestive counsel, illustrated by apt\nquotation and striking facts.\"--_Methodist Times_.\n\n\"The contents of the book well deserve their beautiful setting. Dr.\nMiller writes both sweetly and tenderly on a great variety of topics\ngermane to the object he has in view. 'Silent Times' deserves a\nwelcome, for it is a book of sunbeams.\"--_Sword and Trowel_.\n\n\n  =5. WEEK-DAY RELIGION.= Fourth Edition.\n\n\"A series of bright, sensible, tender, and interesting chapters on\njust the difficulties which beset all who are trying to be Christians\nevery day.\"--_Glasgow Herald_.\n\n\n                _WORKS BY THE REV. T. L. CUYLER, D.D._\n\n  =1. CHRISTIANITY IN THE HOME.= Second Thousand.\n      Handsomely bound, half parchment cloth, 3_s._ 6_d._\n\n\"Bright and helpful.\"--_London Quarterly Review_.\n\n\"The homely simplicity of Dr. Cuyler's style, his shrewdness, and the\ninexhaustible abundance of fresh and familiar illustrations are\nstrongly marked.\"--_Literary World_.\n\n\"Short, terse, practical papers.\"--_Primitive Methodist Magazine_.\n\n\"The contents of this book are as beautiful and practical as the\nbinding is tasteful. Herein is sound, common-sense counsel on\nreligious matters, always thorough and always wise, and given\nsometimes in the form of a brief and suggestive exposition of a\nScriptural phrase.\"--_Methodist Recorder_.\n\n\n  =2. NEWLY ENLISTED.= A Series of Talks with Young\n      Converts. Tenth Thousand. Square 16mo, 160 pp., cloth,\n      1_s._ 6_d._\n\n\"Stirring and stimulative; ... wise and weighty.\"--_Word and Work_.\n\n\"It is brimful of good advice and sanctified common-sense. There is a\nmanly robustness about it which will make it acceptable to all\nreaders.\"--_Rock_.\n\n\n  =3. WAYSIDE SPRINGS FROM THE FOUNTAIN OF\n      LIFE.= Sixth Thousand. Square 16mo, cloth, 1_s._ 6_d._\n\n  =4. GOD'S LIGHT ON DARK CLOUDS.= Twenty-second\n      Thousand. Cloth, 1_s._ 6_d._\n\n\"A literary gem of rare utility and beauty. It only requires to be\nknown to be approved of, and then sown broadcast.\"--_Clergyman's\nMagazine_.\n\n\n  =5. HEART LIFE.= Nineteenth Thousand. Fcap. 8vo, cloth,\n      1_s._ 6_d._\n\n\"A most delightful and experimental little volume.\"--_Christian_.\n\n\n  =6. HEART CULTURE.= Twelfth Thousand. Fcap. 8vo, cloth,\n      1_s._ 6_d._\n\n\"The short and pithy papers are exceedingly good, and Dr. Cuyler's\ntreatment of them is in every way admirable.\"--_Rock_.\n\n\n  =7. HEART THOUGHTS.= Fourteenth Thousand. Crown 8vo,\n      1_s._ 6_d._\n\n\"Short, pithy, and persuasive.\"--_Sunday School Chronicle_.\n\n\n  =8. THOUGHTS FOR HEART AND LIFE.= Containing\n      \"Heart Life,\" \"Heart Culture,\" and \"Heart Thoughts.\"\n      Eighth Edition. Crown 8vo, 3_s._ 6_d._\n\n\n  =THE EPISTLE TO THE ROMANS.= By HANDLEY\n      C. G. MOULE, M.A., B.D., Principal of Ridley Hall, Cambridge.\n      Third Edition. Crown 8vo, cloth, 7_s._ 6_d._\n\n\"Mr. Moule has made a very careful study of Paul's great doctrinal\nepistle, and has entered thoroughly into its spirit.\"--_Scotsman_.\n\n\"We do not hesitate to place it in the very front of the little group of\nvolumes which are the best examples of this carefully edited work. It\nwould be pleasant to linger upon this commentary, upon the clearness\nwith which the great evangelical doctrines of the Epistle are explained\nand enforced, upon the earnestness of its personal appeal, and the charm\nwhich often marks its language; but the judicious student of the New\nTestament will obtain the book for himself.\"--_Record_.\n\n                        _BY THE SAME AUTHOR._\n\n  =1. VENI CREATOR.= Thoughts on the Person and Work of\n      the Holy Spirit of Promise. Sixth Thousand. Cloth, 5_s._\n\n  =2. TO MY YOUNGER BRETHREN.= Chapters on Pastoral\n      Life and Work. Second Edition. Crown 8vo, cloth, 5_s._\n\n  =3. LIFE IN CHRIST AND FOR CHRIST.= Fourteenth\n      Thousand. 32mo, cloth, red edges, 1_s._\n\n         *       *       *       *       *\n\n                         _A NEW CHRISTOLOGY._\n\n  =THE VISIBLE GOD AND HIS RELATION TO MAN\n      IN CREATION AND REDEMPTION.= By the Rev.\n      W. MARSHALL. Crown 8vo, cloth, 6_s._\n\n                        _BY THE SAME AUTHOR._\n\n  =NATURE AS A BOOK OF SYMBOLS.= Second Edition.\n      Crown 8vo, cloth, 3_s._ 6_d._\n\n         *       *       *       *       *\n\n  =A PRACTICAL COMMENTARY ON THE GOSPEL\n      ACCORDING TO ST. MATTHEW.= By JAMES\n      MORISON, D.D. Ninth Edition. 8vo, cloth, 14_s._\n\n                        _BY THE SAME AUTHOR._\n\n  =1. SHEAVES OF MINISTRY=: Sermons and Expositions.\n      8vo, cloth, 10_s._ 6_d._\n\n  =2. A PRACTICAL COMMENTARY ON THE GOSPEL\n      ACCORDING TO ST. MARK.= Seventh Edition. In\n      One Volume, 8vo, cloth, 12_s._\n\n  =3. ST. PAUL'S TEACHING ON SANCTIFICATION.=\n      A Practical Exposition of Romans vi. 8vo, cloth, 4_s._ 6_d._\n\n  =4. EXPOSITION OF THE NINTH CHAPTER OF\n      THE EPISTLE TO THE ROMANS.= Demy 8vo,\n      cloth, 7_s._ 6_d._\n\n\n  =TURNING POINTS IN SUCCESSFUL CAREERS.=\n      By WILLIAM M. THAYER, Author of \"From Log Cabin to\n      White House.\" Second Thousand. Crown 8vo, cloth, 3_s._ 6_d._\n\n\"For the rest we have little to say that is not in praise of a volume\nwhich is modelled somewhat on the lines of Dr. Smiles' 'Self-Help.'\nThere is so much pernicious literature in circulation that it is always\na pleasure to meet with books which confront the young ideas with golden\ndeeds. Happily, Mr. Thayer writes with vivacity, and knows how to select\nthe picturesque and salient incidents, and in the majority of instances\nhe has likewise the good sense to let it speak for itself.\"--_Speaker_.\n\n\n                        _BY THE SAME AUTHOR._\n\n  =THE WAY TO SUCCEED=; or, the Secret of Success in\n  Life. Fifth Thousand. Crown 8vo, cloth, 3_s._ 6_d._\n\n  =TACT, PUSH, AND PRINCIPLE.= Seventh Edition,\n  completing 20,000. Crown 8vo, cloth, 3_s._ 6_d._\n\n       *       *       *       *       *\n\n\n                      The Theological Educator.\n\n     Edited by the Rev. W. ROBERTSON NICOLL, M.A., LL.D., Editor\n    of the _Expositor_. Fcap. 8vo, cloth, price 2_s._ 6_d._ each.\n\n  =A MANUAL OF CHRISTIAN EVIDENCES.= By the\n      Rev. Prebendary C. A. ROW, M.A. Thirteenth Thousand.\n\n\"A veritable _multum in parvo_, clear, cogent, and concise, without\nbeing sketchy or superficial.\"--_Saturday Review_.\n\n\n  =AN INTRODUCTION TO THE TEXTUAL CRITICISM\n      OF THE NEW TESTAMENT.= By the Rev.\n      Professor B. B. WARFIELD, D.D. Fifth Thousand.\n\n\"A masterly survey of the whole subject.\"--_Expositor_.\n\n\n  =A HEBREW GRAMMAR.= By the Rev. W. H. LOWE, M.A.\n      Second Thousand.\n\n\"A brief and masterly sketch of the Hebrew grammar.\"--_Literary\nChurchman_.\n\n\n  =A MANUAL OF CHURCH HISTORY.= By the Rev.\n      A. C. JENNINGS, M.A. In Two Volumes.\n\n      Vol. I.--From the First to the Tenth Century. Third\n                 Thousand.\n\n      Vol. II.--From the Eleventh to the Nineteenth Century.\n                 Third Thousand.\n\n\n                The Theological Editor-_continued_.\n\n  =AN EXPOSITION OF THE APOSTLES' CREED.=\n      By the Rev. J. E. YONGE, M.A. Second Thousand.\n\n\"An able treatise.\"--_Church Times_.\n\n\n  =THE PRAYER BOOK.= By the Rev. CHARLES HOLE, B.A.,\n      Professor at King's College, London. Third Thousand.\n\n\"It is not overloaded with detail, and yet supplies in an admirably\ncompact shape all essential information.\"--_British Weekly._\n\n\n  =AN INTRODUCTION TO THE NEW TESTAMENT.=\n      By the Rev. Professor MARCUS DODS, D.D. Thirteenth\n      Thousand.\n\n\"Dr. Marcus Dods has packed away an immense amount of information in a\nvery small space.\"--_Methodist Recorder_.\n\n\n  =THE WRITERS OF THE NEW TESTAMENT:= Their\n      Style and Characteristics. By the Rev. W. H. SIMCOX, M.A.\n      Second Thousand.\n\n\"One of the choicest productions of English scholarship in recent\nyears.\"--_Manchester Examiner_.\n\n\n  =THE LANGUAGE OF THE NEW TESTAMENT.= By\n      the Same Author. Third Thousand.\n\n\"A book which deserves and will well repay the attention of all\nstudents of the New Testament.\"--_Athen\u00e6um_.\n\n\n  =AN INTRODUCTION TO THE OLD TESTAMENT.=\n      By the Rev. C. H. H. WRIGHT, D.D. Sixth Thousand.\n\n\"The work is of brief compass, and covers a vast field of study, but\nthe necessary compression has been done with the skill of one\nexperienced in the needs of students.\"--_Scotsman_.\n\n\n  =OUTLINES OF CHRISTIAN DOCTRINE.= By the\n      Rev. H. C. G. MOULE, M.A., D.D., Principal of Ridley Hall,\n      Cambridge. Thirteenth Thousand.\n\n\"A compendium of Christian doctrine of the very highest\nexcellence.\"--_Sword and Trowel_.\n\n\n  =THE THEOLOGY OF THE NEW TESTAMENT.=\n      By the Rev. Professor WALTER F. ADENEY, M.A. Third\n      Thousand.\n\n\"The salient points of the subject are for the most part well seized,\nand simply and effectively presented.\"--_Methodist Recorder_.\n\n\n  =EVOLUTION AND CHRISTIANITY.= By JAMES IVERACH,\n      D.D., Author of \"Is God Knowable?\" etc. Fourth Thousand.\n\n\"A thoughtfully acute and well-reasoned little book.\"--_Glasgow Herald_.\n\n\n  =THE THEOLOGY OF THE OLD TESTAMENT.= By\n      the Rev Professor W. H. BENNETT, M.A.\n\n\n                 The Household Library of Exposition.\n\n  =THE PARABLES OF OUR LORD.= FIRST SERIES.\n      As Recorded by St. Matthew. By MARCUS DODS, D.D.\n      Ninth Thousand. Crown 8vo; cloth, 3_s._ 6_d._\n\n\"There is certainly no better volume on the subject in our\nlanguage.\"--_Glasgow Mail_.\n\n\n                        _BY THE SAME AUTHOR._\n\n  =THE PARABLES OF OUR LORD.= SECOND SERIES.\n      The Parables Recorded by St. Luke. Seventh Thousand.\n      Crown 8vo, cloth, 3_s._ 6_d._\n\n\"An original exposition, marked by strong common sense, and practical\nexhortation.\"--_Literary Churchman_.\n\n\n  =ISAAC, JACOB, AND JOSEPH.= Sixth Thousand, 3_s._ 6_d._\n\n\"The present volume is worthy of the writer's reputation. He deals\nwith the problems of human life and character which these biographies\nsuggest in a candid and manly fashion.\"--_Spectator_.\n\n       *       *       *       *       *\n\n\n  =THE LIFE OF DAVID=, as Reflected in his Psalms. By\n      ALEXANDER MACLAREN, D.D., of Manchester. Eighth\n      Edition. 3_s._ 6_d._\n\n\"Real gems of exposition.\"--_Expositor_.\n\n\"Just the book we should give to awaken a living and historical\ninterest in the Psalms.\"--_Guardian_.\n\n\n  =THE SPEECHES OF THE HOLY APOSTLES.= By\n      DONALD FRASER, D.D. Second Thousand. 3_s._ 6_d._\n\n\"Exceedingly well done.\"--_Scottish review_.\n\n\n  =THE LORD'S PRAYER.= By CHARLES STANFORD, D.D.\n      Fourth Thousand. 3_s._ 6_d._\n\n\"For spiritual grasp and insight, for wealth of glowing imagery, and\nfor rare felicity of style, it will hold a first place in this\nvaluable series of expository monographs.\"-_Christian_.\n\n\n  =THE LAMB OF GOD.= Expositions in the Writings of St.\n      John. By W. ROBERTSON NICOLL, M.A., LL.D. Second\n      Edition. 3_s._ 6_d._\n\n\"Replete with the richest thought and finest feeling.\"--_Aberdeen Free\nPress_.\n\n\n  =THE GALILEAN GOSPEL.= By Professor A. B. BRUCE,\n      D.D. Fourth Edition. 3_s._ 6_d._\n\n\"We heartily commend this little volume.\"--_Spectator_.\n\n\n  =THE LAW OF THE TEN WORDS.= By J. OSWALD\n      DYKES, D.D., Author of \"The Beatitudes,\" \"From Jerusalem\n      to Antioch,\" etc. Fourth Thousand. Crown 8vo, 3_s._ 6_d._\n\n\"Dr. Dykes' spiritual insight, and his thorough sympathy with\ncontemporary life, enable him at once to catch the true application of\nthe Ten Commandments to present-day needs; his style is a singular\ncombination of strength and beauty.\"--_Literary World_.\n\n\n  =THE PARABOLIC TEACHING OF CHRIST:= A\n      Systematic and Critical Study of the Parables of our Lord.\n      By ALEXANDER BALMAIN BRUCE, D.D., Professor of Apologetics,\n      Free Church College, Glasgow. Sixth Edition. 8vo,\n      cloth, 12_s._\n\n\n                        _BY THE SAME AUTHOR._\n\n  =1. THE MIRACULOUS ELEMENT IN THE\n      GOSPELS.= Third Edition. 8vo, cloth, 12_s._\n\n  =2. THE LIFE OF WILLIAM DENNY.= With Portrait.\n      Second Edition. 8vo, cloth, 12_s._\n\n  =3. THE CHIEF END OF REVELATION.= Fifth\n      Edition. Crown 8vo; cloth, 6_s._\n\n  =4. THE GALILEAN GOSPEL.= Fourth Edition. Crown\n      8vo, cloth, 3_s._ 6_d._\n\n       *       *       *       *       *\n\n\n  =THE NEW LIFE OF CHRIST:= A Study in Personal\n      Religion. By the Rev. Professor J. AGAR BEET, D.D.\n      Second Edition. Crown 8vo, cloth, 6_s._ 6_d._\n\n                        _BY THE SAME AUTHOR._\n\n\n  =THROUGH CHRIST TO GOD.= A Study in Scientific\n      Theology. Second Edition. Crown 8vo, 6_s._ 6_d._\n\n\n  =DR. BEET'S COMMENTARIES ON ST. PAUL'S\n      EPISTLES.=\n\n      =1. Romans.= Eighth Edition, 7_s._ 6_d._\n      =2. Corinthians.= Sixth Edition. 10_s._ 6_d._\n      =3. Galatians.= Fourth Edition. 5_s._\n      =4. Ephesians, Philippians, and Colossians.= Third\n             Thousand. 7_s._ 6_d._\n\n\n                  _DR. MACLAREN'S BIBLE TEXT BOOKS._\n\n\n  =BIBLE CLASS EXPOSITIONS.= Crown 8vo, cloth, 3_s._ 6_d._\n      each volume.\n\n      =1. The Gospel of St. Matthew.= 2 Volumes.\n      =2. The Gospel of St. Mark.=\n      =3. The Gospel of St. Luke.=\n      =4. The Gospel of St. John.=\n      =5. The Acts of the Apostles.=\n\n\n  =THE CRITICAL AND EXPOSITORY BIBLE CYCLOP\u00c6DIA.=\n      By the Rev. A. R. FAUSSET, D.D., Canon of\n      York, Joint Author of \"The Critical and Experimental Commentary.\"\n      Illustrated by 600 Woodcuts. Cheap Edition,\n      Unabridged. Eleventh Thousand. Cloth, red edges, 7_s._ 6_d._\n\n\"This is a work of prodigious research, labour, and minute\npainstaking. The book is a rich and full storehouse of Scripture\nknowledge.\"--_Guardian_.\n\n\n  =STUDIES ON THE EPISTLES.= By F. GODET, D.D.,\n      Professor of Theology, Neuchatel. Translated by Mrs. ANNIE\n      HARWOOD HOLMDEN. Crown 8vo, cloth, 7_s._ 6_d._\n\n\"There is no other book in which the results of modern criticism are\nso conveniently accessible and so admirably sifted.\"--_Expositor_.\n\n\"It maintains the level of careful scholarship, critical sagacity, and\npractical piety on which all the writer's work stands. The mature and\ncareful expression of his views on matters of such central importance,\nby one of the most highly and justly respected of living orthodox\nexegetes, will have great value for the theological student.\"--_Glasgow\nHerald_.\n\n\n                        _BY THE SAME AUTHOR._\n\n\n  =STUDIES ON THE NEW TESTAMENT.= Edited by\n      the Hon. and Rev. W. H. LYTTELTON, M.A., Canon of\n      Gloucester. Tenth Edition. Crown 8vo, cloth, 7_s._ 6_d._\n\n\"When he ascends into the higher regions of theology, as in the\nstudies on the person and work of Jesus Christ, his insight is always\nprofound, and his teaching weighty and suggestive.\"--_Spectator_.\n\n\n  =STUDIES ON THE OLD TESTAMENT.= Edited by\n      the Hon. and Rev. W. H. LYTTELTON, M.A. Sixth Edition.\n      Crown 8vo, cloth, 7_s._ 6_d._\n\n\"Unquestionably M. Godet is one of the first, if not the very first of\ncontemporary commentators. We have no hesitation in advising all\nstudents of the Scripture to procure and to read with careful\nattention these luminous essays.\"--_Literary Churchman_.\n\n       *       *       *       *       *\n\n\n  =THE APPROACHING END OF THE AGE=, Viewed\n      in the Light of History, Prophecy, and Science. By the Rev.\n      H. GRATTAN GUINNESS. Twelfth Edition. With Diagrams.\n      Crown 8vo, cloth, 7_s._ 6_d._\n\n\n  =LIGHT FOR THE LAST DAYS.= A Study, Historical\n      and Prophetical. By Mr. and Mrs. H. GRATTAN GUINNESS.\n      Third Edition. With Diagrams. Crown 8vo, cloth, 7_s._ 6_d._\n\n\n  =FIRST THINGS FIRST.= Addresses to Young Men. By\n      the Rev. GEORGE JACKSON, B.A. Sixth Thousand. Crown\n      8vo, cloth, 3_s._ 6_d._\n\n\"These addresses are short, full of force, and effectual in the\nlessons they convey.... He is no waster of words: he points a truth,\nin a few brief, incisive phrases, and preaches a sermon in a\nparagraph. Above all, they are manly in tone, and have the sterling\nring of sincerity.\"--_Dundee Advertiser_.\n\n\n  =DAVID LIVINGSTONE.= The Story of his Life and Labours;\n      or, The Weaver Boy who became a Missionary. By H. G.\n      ADAMS. With Portrait and numerous Illustrations. Seventy-fourth\n      Thousand. 8vo, cloth, 5_s._\n\n\n  =A.L.O.E.--A LADY OF ENGLAND=; or, Life and Letters\n      of Charlotte Maria Tucker. By AGNES GIBERNE. With\n      Illustrations. Third Thousand. Crown 8vo, gilt top, 7_s._ 6_d._\n\n\n  =CHRONICLES OF UGANDA.= By the Rev. R. P. ASHE,\n      M.A., Author of \"Two Kings of Uganda.\" With Portrait\n      and Twenty-six Illustrations. Second Thousand. 8vo, cloth,\n      7_s._ 6_d._\n\n\n  =REMINISCENCES OF ANDREW A. BONAR, D.D.=\n      Edited by his Daughter, MARJORY BONAR. With Photogravure\n      Portrait, Fac-simile, and Illustration. Third Thousand.\n      Crown 8vo, cloth, 6_s._\n\n\n  =ANDREW A. BONAR, D.D. DIARY & LETTERS.=\n      Transcribed and Edited by his Daughter, MARJORY BONAR.\n      With Portrait. Third Edition. Seventh Thousand. 6_s._\n\n\n  =LIFE AND LETTERS OF JOHN CAIRNS, D.D.=,\n      LL.D., Principal of the U. P. College, Edinburgh. By\n      ALEXANDER R. MACEWEN, D.D. With Portrait. Second\n      Edition. 8vo, cloth, 14_s._\n\n\n  =CHRIST, THE MORNING STAR, AND OTHER\n      SERMONS.= By JOHN CAIRNS, D.D., LL.D., Principal of\n      the U. P. College, Edinburgh. Crown 8vo, cloth, 6_s._\n\n\n  =GREAT MISSIONARIES.= By the Rev. C. C. CREEGAN,\n      D.D. Crown 8vo, cloth, 3_s._ 6_d._\n\n\n  =HOLY MEN OF GOD.= From St. Augustine to Yesterday.\n      By the Rev. J. ELDER CUMMING, D.D. Crown 8vo, cloth, 5_s._\n\n\n  =EDWARD HOARE, M.A.= A Record of His Life based upon\n      a Brief Autobiography. By the Rev. J. H. TOWNSEND, D.D.,\n      Vicar of Broadwater Down, Tunbridge Wells. Second Edition.\n      Crown 8vo, cloth, 5_s._\n\n\n  =SPIRAL STAIRS=; or, The Heavenward Course of the Church\n      Seasons. Devotional Studies on the Christian Life. By the\n      same Author. Crown 8vo, 3_s._ 6_d._\n\n  =THE BOOK OF KOHELETH=, commonly called =ECCLESIASTES=,\n      considered in Relation to Modern Criticism, and\n      to the Doctrines of Modern Pessimism, with a Critical and\n      Grammatical Commentary and a Revised Translation. By the\n      Rev. C. H. H. WRIGHT, D.D., Ph.D. 8vo, cloth, 12_s._\n\n\n  =EASTERN CUSTOMS IN BIBLE LANDS.= By H. B.\n      TRISTRAM, LL.D., D.D., F.R.S., Canon of Durham, Author of\n      \"The Great Sahara,\" etc. Second Edition. Crown 8vo,\n      cloth, 5_s._\n\n\n  =STUDIES IN ORIENTAL SOCIAL LIFE,= and Gleams\n      from the East on the Sacred Page. By the Rev. H. CLAY\n      TRUMBULL, D.D., Author of \"Kadesh-Barnea,\" \"Teaching\n      and Teachers,\" etc. With Thirty Illustrations from Photographs.\n      Large crown 8vo, cloth, 6_s._\n\n\n                        _BY THE SAME AUTHOR._\n\n\n  =1. TEACHING AND TEACHERS=; or, The Sunday-School\n      Teacher's Teaching Work, and the other Work of the Sunday-School\n      Teacher. Fourth Edition. Crown 8vo, cloth, 5_s._\n\n\n  =2. HINTS ON CHILD TRAINING.= Crown 8vo, cloth,\n      3_s._ 6_d._\n\n\n                        The Expositor's Bible.\n\n                            EDITED BY THE\n                REV. W. Robertson Nicoll, M.A., LL.D.\n\n  _Separate Volumes, 7/6. Price to subscribers for any single series,\n  24/- net, except the Eighth (7 volumes), the subscription price of\n                         which is 28/- net._\n\n                            FIRST SERIES.\n\n  Colossians and Philemon. By ALEXANDER MACLAREN, D.D.\n\n  The Gospel according to St. Mark.\n       By the Very Rev. G. A. CHADWICK, D.D., Dean of Armagh.\n\n  The Book of Genesis. By the Rev. Professor MARCUS DODS, D.D.\n\n  The First Book of Samuel. By Professor W. G. BLAIKIE, D.D., LL.D.\n\n  The Second Book of Samuel. By the same Author.\n\n  The Epistle to the Hebrews. By Principal T. C. EDWARDS, D.D.\n\n\n                            SECOND SERIES.\n\n  The Epistle to the Galatians. By Professor G. G. FINDLAY, B.A.\n\n  The Pastoral Epistles. By the Rev. A. PLUMMER, D.D.\n\n  The Book of Isaiah i.-xxxix. Vol. I.\n       By Professor GEORGE ADAM SMITH, D.D.\n\n  The Book of Revelation. By Professor W. MILLIGAN, D.D.\n\n  The First Epistle to the Corinthians.\n       By Professor MARCUS DODS, D.D.\n\n  The Epistles of St. John.\n       By the Right Rev. W. ALEXANDER, D.D., D.C.L., Lord Bishop of\n       Derry and Raphoe.\n\n\n                            THIRD SERIES.\n\n  Judges and Ruth. By the Rev. R. A. WATSON, D.D.\n\n  The Prophecies of Jeremiah. By the Rev. C. J. BALL, M.A.\n\n  The Book of Isaiah. Chaps. xl. to lxvi. Vol. II.\n       By Professor GEORGE ADAM SMITH, D.D.\n\n  The Gospel of St. Matthew. By J. MONRO GIBSON, D.D.\n\n  The Book of Exodus.\n       By the Very Rev. G. A. CHADWICK, D.D., Dean of Armagh.\n\n  The Gospel of St. Luke. By the Rev. H. BURTON, M.A.\n\n\n                            FOURTH SERIES.\n\n  Ecclesiastes, or the Preacher. By SAMUEL COX, D.D.\n\n  The Epistles of St. James and St. Jude.\n       By the Rev. ALFRED PLUMMER, D.D.\n\n  The Book of Leviticus. By the Rev. S. H. KELLOGG, D.D.\n\n  The Book of Proverbs. By the Rev. R. F. HORTON, D.D.\n\n  The Acts of the Apostles. Vol. I.\n       By the Rev. Professor G. T. STOKES, D.D.\n\n  The Gospel of St. John. Vol. I.\n       By the Rev. Professor MARCUS DODS, D.D.\n\n\n                 The Expositor's Bible--_continued_.\n\n  _Separate Volumes, 7/6. Price to subscribers for any single series,\n  24/- net, except the Eighth (7 volumes), the subscription price of\n                         which is 28/- net._\n\n\n                            FIFTH SERIES.\n\n  The Epistles to the Thessalonians.\n       By the Rev. JAMES DENNEY, D.D.\n\n  The Gospel of St. John. Vol. II.\n       By the Rev. Professor MARCUS DODS, D.D.\n\n  The Book of Psalms. Vol. I. By the Rev. ALEXANDER MACLAREN, D.D.\n\n  The Acts of the Apostles. Vol. II.\n       By the Rev. Professor G. T. STOKES, D.D.\n\n  The Book of Job. By the Rev. R. A. WATSON, D.D.\n\n  The Epistle to the Ephesians.\n       By the Rev. Professor G. G. FINDLAY, B.A.\n\n\n                            SIXTH SERIES.\n\n  The Epistle to the Philippians. By the Rev. Principal RAINY, D.D.\n\n  The First Book of Kings.\n       By the Very Rev. F. W. FARRAR, F.R.S., Dean of Canterbury.\n\n  The Book of Joshua.\n       By the Rev. Professor W. G. BLAIKIE, D.D., LL.D.\n\n  Ezra, Nehemiah, and Esther. By the Rev. Prof. W. F. ADENEY, M.A.\n\n  The Book of Psalms. Vol. II. By the Rev. ALEXANDER MACLAREN, D.D.\n\n  The Epistles of St. Peter. By the Rev. Prof. J. RAWSON LUMBY, D.D.\n\n\n                           SEVENTH SERIES.\n\n  The Epistle to the Romans. By Handley C. G. MOULE, M.A., D.D.\n\n  The Second Book of Kings.\n       By the Very Rev. F. W. FARRAR, F.R.S., Dean of Canterbury.\n\n  The Second Epistle to the Corinthians.\n       By the Rev. JAMES DENNEY, D.D.\n\n  The Books of Chronicles. By the Rev. Prof. W. H. BENNETT, M.A.\n\n  The Book of Numbers. By the Rev. R. A. WATSON, D.D.\n\n  The Book of Psalms. Vol. III. By ALEX. MACLAREN, D.D.\n\n\n                       EIGHTH AND FINAL SERIES.\n\n  The Book of Daniel.\n       By the Very Rev. F. W. FARRAR, F.R.S., Dean of Canterbury.\n\n  The Book of Jeremiah. Chaps, xxi.-lii.\n       By the Rev. W. H. BENNETT, M.A.\n\n  The Book of Deuteronomy.\n       By the Rev. Professor ANDREW HARPER, B.D.\n\n  The Song of Solomon and the Lamentations of Jeremiah.\n       By the Rev. W. F. ADENEY, M.A.\n\n  The Book of Ezekiel. By the Rev. JOHN SKINNER, M.A.\n\n  The Minor Prophets.\n       By the Rev. Professor GEORGE ADAM SMITH, D.D. In two vols.\n\n\n                       The Devotional Library.\n\n      _Handsomely printed and bound, price 3s. 6d. each, cloth._\n\n\n  =1. THE KEY OF THE GRAVE.= A Book for the Bereaved.\n      By W. ROBERTSON NICOLL, M.A., LL.D. Third Edition.\n\n\"Dr. Robertson Nicoll has produced a unique, exquisite, and most\nedifying book. We are much impressed by the delicate and profound\nspiritual insight manifested on every page of this beautiful little\nvolume. Many a familiar passage in the Bible shines with a new,\nunexpected, and immortal light. It is difficult to know what to quote\nfrom a volume so full of delightful and memorable passages. It is\npre-eminently a book to put into the hands of the refined, sensitive,\nscholarly, and devout, when they feel the awful pressure of the\ngreatest bereavement.\"--_Methodist Times_.\n\n\n  =2. MEMORANDA SACRA.= By Professor J. RENDEL HARRIS,\n      M.A., Fellow of Clare College, Cambridge. Second Edition.\n\n\"Two gifts, both of the very highest, are marvellously united in\nProfessor Rendel Harris, and here we have the ripe fruits of one, in\nmost delicious flavour and most wholesome nourishment. It is not\npossible to review such a book as this. Words about it do not tell us\nwhat it is. Nor will a selection of words from it half convey its\nincommunicable fragrance.\"--_Expository Times_.\n\n\n                    _THE GENERAL GORDON EDITION._\n\n  =3. CHRIST MYSTICAL.= By JOSEPH HALL, D.D., Bishop of\n      Norwich. Reprinted, with General Gordon's marks, from the\n      Original Copy used by him, and with an Introduction on his\n      Theology by the Rev. H. Carruthers Wilson, M.A.\n\n\"Hall's treatise is in itself an excellent example of the best kind of\ndevotional literature, and it will contribute to its appreciation by\nthe modern reader that its sacred teachings and appeals formed part of\nthe spiritual nourishment of the English 19th century hero and\nsaint.\"--_Christian World_.\n\n\n  =4. RUYSBROECK AND THE MYSTICS.= With selections\n      from Ruysbroeck. By MAURICE MAETERLINCK. Authorised\n      Translation by Jane T. Stoddart.\n\n\"It does much to make intelligible and attractive a powerful religious\nthinker, from whom most readers would turn aside on account of the\nperplexities and vagueness of his manner.\"--_Scotsman_.\n\n       *       *       *       *       *\n\n           LONDON: HODDER & STOUGHTON, 27, PATERNOSTER ROW.\n\n\n\n\nTranscriber's Notes:\n\n\nObvious punctuation and spelling errors have been fixed throughout.\n\nInconsistent hyphenation is as in the original.\n\nThe comparisons located on Pages 79, 100-101, 117, 133-135, 164-165,\n179-180, 185-187, 204-205, 207-209, 220-222, 274, 279-281 and 297-299,\nhave been reformatted to make them more readable.\n\nFootnote 116: Has no anchor, left as in the orginal text.\n\nFootnote 124: Has no opening parenthesis, left as in the original.\n[... Tisch., 275).]\n\nPage 241: Paragraph was modified to match better scan. Ending of the\nparagraph was removed and replaced with a dash. [... witness of\nmen\"--if we consider ...].","title":"Expositor's Bible: The Epistles of St. John","tradition":"scripture-revelation","translated_text":null,"word_count":109182}