第31章

’Why，yes；whoshallconvictGibbonoffalsehood？ManypeoplehaveendeavouredtoconvictGibbonoffalsehood；theyhavefollowedhiminhisresearches，andhaveneverfoundhimoncetripping。Oh，heisawonderfulwriter!hispowerofcondensationisadmirable；theloreofthewholeworldistobefoundinhispages。Sometimesinasinglenotehehasgivenustheresultofthestudyofyears；or，tospeakmetaphorically，“hehasransackedathousandGulistans，andhascondensedallhisfragrantbootyintoasingledropofotto。“’

’ButwasnotGibbonanenemytotheChristianfaith？’

’Why，no；hewasratheranenemytopriestcraft，soamI；andwhenIsaythephilosophyoftheBibleisinmanyrespectsunsound，I

alwayswishtomakeanexceptioninfavourofthatpartofitwhichcontainsthelifeandsayingsofJesusofBethlehem，towhichI

mustalwaysconcedemyunqualifiedadmiration-ofJesus，mindyou；

forwithhisfollowersandtheirdogmasIhavenothingtodo。OfallhistoriccharactersJesusisthemostbeautifulandthemostheroic。Ihavealwaysbeenafriendtohero-worship，itistheonlyrationalone，andhasalwaysbeeninuseamongstcivilisedpeople-theworshipofspiritsissynonymouswithbarbarism-itismerefetish；thesavagesofWestAfricaareallspirit-

worshippers。Butthereissomethingphilosophicintheworshipoftheheroesofthehumanrace，andthetrueheroisthebenefactor。

Brahma，Jupiter，Bacchus，wereallbenefactors，and，therefore，entitledtotheworshipoftheirrespectivepeoples。TheCeltsworshippedHesus，whotaughtthemtoplough，ahighlyusefulart。

We，whohaveattainedamuchhigherstateofcivilisationthantheCeltseverdid，worshipJesus，thefirstwhoendeavouredtoteachmentobehavedecentlyanddecorouslyunderallcircumstances；whowasthefoeofvengeance，inwhichthereissomethinghighlyindecorous；whohadfirstthecouragetolifthisvoiceagainstthatviolentdogma，“aneyeforaneye“；whoshoutedconquer，butconquerwithkindness；whosaidputupthesword，aviolentunphilosophicweapon；andwhofinallydiedcalmlyanddecorouslyindefenceofhisphilosophy。HemustbeasavagewhodeniesworshiptotheheroofGolgotha。’

’Buthewassomethingmorethanahero；hewastheSonofGod，wasn’the？’

Theelderlyindividualmadenoimmediateanswer；but，afterafewmorewhiffsfromhispipe，exclaimed，’Come，fillyourglass!HowdoyouadvancewithyourtranslationofTELL’？

’Itisnearlyfinished；butIdonotthinkIshallproceedwithit；

Ibegintothinktheoriginalsomewhatdull。’

’Thereyouarewrong；itisthemasterpieceofSchiller，thefirstofGermanpoets。’

’Itmaybeso，’saidtheyouth。’But，prayexcuseme，IdonotthinkveryhighlyofGermanpoetry。IhavelatelybeenreadingShakespeare；and，whenIturnfromhimtotheGermans-eventhebestofthem-theyappearmerepigmies。YouwillpardonthelibertyIperhapstakeinsayingso。’

’Ilikethateveryoneshouldhaveanopinionofhisown，’saidtheelderlyindividual；’and，whatismore，declareit。Nothingdispleasesmemorethantoseepeopleassentingtoeverythingthattheyhearsaid；Iatoncecometotheconclusionthattheyareeitherhypocrites，orthereisnothinginthem。But，withrespecttoShakespeare，whomIhavenotreadf