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christianity unstained by any imputation, moral or political*. He does not say that Jesus Christ

* The governors of the provinces were called upon by custom and by authority, annually to transmit to the emperor an authentic account of their public transactions. The miracles of Jesus, and the commotions among the Jews, consequent on his claims, must have induced Pilate to mention him to Tiberius, in his official documents, as a man whose death, though free from every crime, was demanded by the great men, and rendered politically expedient on the part of government. These documents, which were received by Tiberius, were deposited in the archives of the state. See Lardner, vol. vii. p. 231. where this question is discussed. To these Tacitus had full access; and he knew it would have appeared strange, if he should ascribe any guilt to one, however obnoxious, whom his very judge at the trial, and in his official papers, had pronounced, at least in a moral view, without fault. Tacitus has also read Josephus, whose testimony to the wisdom, to the virtues, and to the works of Jesus, must have tended in the court, and among the higher classes, greatly to establish the innocence of his character. He insinuates, indeed, that the religion was for a while suppressed, by the execution of its founder: and this insinuation Tacitus probably had from the Acts of Pilate; who, to justify his sentence, might have stated, that in consequence, the faction which gathered around Jesus, while alive, was dispersed by his death. The language of Josephus is calculated to correct this misrepresentation-" This was the Christ: and those who from the first became attached to him, continued their attachment, though he was condemned by our great men, and crucified by Pilate: for he appeared to them again alive the third day," &c.

was a deceiver or vain pretender; he does not deny the goodness, the wisdom, the miracles, ascribed to him by his followers; and though he mentions his ignominious death, he leaves him in full possession of his innocence and of his claims. This forbearance is a circumstance which may well surprize us, and in which we may justly triumph. The deadly tiger, roving in search of prey, would not, without some powerful reason, pass by the man who excited his rage, and who, when attacked, might appease his hunger. The cause of this silence is to be sought in the unrivalled purity of our Lord's character, in the reality of his miracles, and in the circumstance that the belief of them, in the days of Tacitus, was indelibly engraved on the public mind by multitudes in every country who related them, and died in attestation of their truth. While describing the christians in Rome, this writer had his eyes fixed on the name and character of Jesus : he saw him, on his first appearance, like the sun newly risen; he saw that neither the arm of power was able to arrest his progress, nor the breath of calumny finally to obscure his lustre. He saw him, though nearly overwhelmed for a season, emerging with additional splendor from the mist of opposition; the prejudices and vices of mankind giving way, and the moral world blessed by the light and influence of his gospel.

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This is what Tacitus saw; and he felt the impotence of calumny and reproach. Like the monster of the forest abovementioned, whose season for prey is darkness, he eyed the spotless luminary, and retired in silence to his den. As if not content with this negative acknowledgment of the virtues and miracles of Christ, he illustrates their truth in a still more remarkable manner. He plunges into the depth of Egyptian superstition; and seeks to undermine what he could not directly attack. Serapis, he insinuates, has equal claims to our regard: for he appeared to the people of Alexandria, and performed similar wonders by his servant Vespasian. No writer that had common sense, that cherished the love of truth, or dreaded the imputation of falsehood, would have attempted such an artifice, if he could with any probability of success, have contradicted the claims of our Lord. The attempt, by such a man as Tacitus, is itself a monument of their validity and truth.

CHAPTER XVII.

THE ZEALOTS AND THE GNOSTICS DESCRIBED

SHEWN TO BE THE SAME PEOPLE.

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WE have already seen, that the Esseans and the disciples of John the Baptist were the same people; and that they classed with the first converts to the gospel among the Jews. This, however, is to be understood only of the majority of the Esseans. While a numerous and virtuous band of disciples, who embraced the religion of Jesus with sincerity, and adorned it by their conduct, were brought up in the school of the Baptist, there also arose its bitterest enemies, who rendered it of no effect by falsehoods of their own invention, and brought upon it the reproaches of the unbelieving world by their unworthy behaviour. After the promulgation of the gospel, the followers of John divided into two parties, one (which comprehended the far greater number) embracing Jesus as the Messiah; the other opposing his claims by those artful means, which appeared most alluring to the prepossessions of their adherents. The leaders of the refractory

party were men of talents, who having received their early education in foreign countries, blended the philosophy of the Gentiles with the superstition of the Jews. These men, by their ambition and learning, obtained an easy ascendancy among the Esseans. After the death of John and Jesus, some of them infested Judea at the head of those banditti, which Josephus calls sicarii, or robbers; others, pretending to have received authority from God, deceived the people by falsehoods or magical appearances; while many of them united with the Scribes and Pharisees in opposition to the gospel. Actuated as they were by deep-rooted enmity against Christ and his cause, a coalition of this kind, in such circumstances, was most natural. But so generally were the claims of Jesus received by the people, and so irresistible were the evidences of his doctrine, that they found it impracticable to check its progress by reason or open violence. They, therefore, professed not only to believe, but even to teach the gospel; and thus, under the mask of friendship, they attempted to supersede. it by an artful system, which, however absurd it may appear to modern readers, was admirably adapted to the prepossessions of the Jews.

Before I proceed to unfold this system, which soon produced the most baleful effects, I wi will give, from authentic sources, the character of the

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