第85章

AndshouldthelanguageofEnglandcontinuestationary，weshallprobablyenlargeouremploymentofit，untilitsnewcharactermayseparateitinnameaswellasinpower，fromthemother-tongue。

Althoughthecopiousnessofalanguagemaynotinstrictnessmakeapartofitsgrammar，yetitcannotbedeemedforeigntoageneralcourseoflecturesonitsstructureandcharacter；andthesubjecthavingbeenpresentedtomymindbytheoccasionofyourletter，Ihaveindulgedmyselfinitsspeculation，andhazardedtoyouwhathasoccurred，withtheassuranceofmygreatrespect。

THECODEOFJESUS

_ToJohnAdams_

_Monticello，Oct。12，1813_

DEARSIR——SincemineofAug。22。IhaverecievedyourfavorsofAug。16。Sep。2。14。15。and——andMrs。Adams’sofSep。20。I

nowsendyou，accordingtoyourrequestacopyoftheSyllabus。Tofillupthisskeletonwitharteries，withveins，withnerves，musclesandflesh，isreallybeyondmytimeandinformation。WhoevercouldundertakeitwouldfindgreataidinEnfield’sjudiciousabridgmentofBrucker’shistoryofPhilosophy，inwhichhehasreduced5。or6。

quartovols。of1000。pageseachofLatincloselyprinted，totwomoderate8vos。ofEnglish，open，type。

Tocomparethemoralsoftheold，withthoseofthenewtestament，wouldrequireanattentivestudyoftheformer，asearchthro’allit’sbooksforit’sprecepts，andthroughallit’shistoryforit’spractices，andtheprinciplestheyprove。Ascommentariestooonthese，thephilosophyoftheHebrewsmustbeenquiredinto，theirMishna，theirGemara，Cabbala，Jezirah，Sohar，Cosri，andtheirTalmudmustbeexaminedandunderstood，inordertodothemfulljustice。Brucker，itshouldseem，hasgonedeeplyintotheseRepositoriesoftheirethics，andEnfield，hisepitomiser，concludesinthesewords。`EthicsweresolittlestudiedamongtheJews，that，intheirwholecompilationcalledtheTalmud，thereisonlyonetreatiseonmoralsubjects。TheirbooksofMoralschieflyconsistedinaminuteenumerationofduties。FromthelawofMoseswerededuced613。precepts，whichweredividedintotwoclasses，affirmativeandnegative，248intheformer，and365inthelatter。

ItmayservetogivethereadersomeideaofthelowstateofmoralphilosophyamongtheJewsintheMiddleage，toadd，thatofthe248。

affirmativeprecepts，only3。wereconsideredasobligatoryuponwomen；andthat，inordertoobtainsalvation，itwasjudgedsufficienttofulfillanyonesinglelawinthehourofdeath；theobservanceoftherestbeingdeemednecessary，onlytoincreasethefelicityofthefuturelife。Whatawretcheddepravityofsentimentandmannersmusthaveprevailedbeforesuchcorruptmaximscouldhaveobtainedcredit！ItisimpossibletocollectfromthesewritingsaconsistentseriesofmoralDoctrine。’Enfield，B。4。chap。3。Itwasthereformationofthis`wretcheddepravity’ofmoralswhichJesusundertook。Inextractingthepureprincipleswhichhetaught，weshouldhavetostripofftheartificialvestmentsinwhichtheyhavebeenmuffledbypriests，whohavetravestiedthemintovariousforms，asinstrumentsofrichesandpowertothem。WemustdismissthePlatonistsandPlotinists，theStagyritesandGamalielites，theEclecticstheGnosticsandScholastics，theiressencesandemanations，theirLogosandDemi-urgos，AeonsandDaemonsmaleandfemale，withalongtrainofEtc。Etc。Etc。or，shallIsayatonce，ofNonsense。Wemustreduceourvolumetothesimpleevangelists，select，evenfromthem，theverywordsonlyofJesus，paringofftheAmphibologismsintowhichtheyhavebeenledbyforgettingoften，ornotunderstanding，whathadfallenfromhim，bygivingtheirownmisconceptionsashisdicta，andexpressingunintelligiblyforotherswhattheyhadnotunderstoodthemselves。Therewillbefoundremainingthemostsublimeandbenevolentcodeofmoralswhichhaseverbeenofferedtoman。Ihaveperformedthisoperationformyownuse，bycuttingversebyverseoutoftheprintedbook，andarranging，thematterwhichisevidentlyhis，andwhichisaseasilydistinguishableasdiamondsinadunghill。Theresultisan8vo。of46。pagesofpureandunsophisticateddoctrines，suchaswereprofessedandactedonbythe_unlettered_apostles，theApostolicfathers，andtheChristiansofthe1st。century。TheirPlatonisingsuccessorsindeed，inaftertimes，inordertolegitimatethecorruptionswhichtheyhadincorporatedintothedoctrinesofJesus，founditnecessarytodisavowtheprimitiveChristians，whohadtakentheirprinciplesfromthemouthofJesushimself，ofhisApostles，andtheFatherscotemporarywiththem。Theyexcommunicatedtheirfollowersasheretics，brandingthemwiththeopprobriousnameofEbionitesorBeggars。

ForacomparisonoftheGraecianphilosophywiththatofJesus，materialsmightbelargelydrawnfromthesamesource。Enfieldgivesahistory，anddetailedaccountoftheopinionsandprinciplesofthedifferentsects。Theserelatetothegods，theirnatures，grades，placesandpowers；

thedemi-godsanddaemons，andtheiragencywithman；

theUniverse，it’sstructure，extent，productionandduration；

theoriginofthingsfromtheelementsoffire，water，airandearth；

thehumansoul，it’sessenceandderivation；

thesummumbonumandfinisbonorum；withathousandidledreamsandfanciesontheseandothersubjectstheknolegeofwhichiswithheldfromman，leavingbutashortchapterforhismoralduties，andtheprincipalsectionofthatgiventowhatheoweshimself，topreceptsforrenderinghimimpassible，andunassailablebytheevilsoflife，andforpreservinghismindinastateofconstantserenity。

Suchacanvasistoobroadfortheageofseventy，andespeciallyofonewhosechiefoccupationshavebeeninthepracticalbusinessoflife。Wemustleavethereforetoothers，you