HISTORY OF OUR SAVIOUR JESUS CHRIST.

New Zealand Tablet, Volume I, Issue 3, 17 May 1873, Page 12

HISTORY OF OUR SAVIOUR JESUS CHRIST.

BY THE ABBE J. E. DARRA3.

(Translated from the original French for the New Zealand Tablet.)

111. — THE EXPEOTATIOIT. Thebe is one venerable and time-honored fa^t which pervades antiquity,' and enlightens the dark clouds of polytheism. I mean the universal expectation of a God-Saviour; With just reason has this fact been regarded as a striking confirmation of Biblical truth. The entira human race, re-echoing far and wide their faith in the Messiah, whose advent the Jewish nation had been charged, through a long series of ages, to prophesy. What more magnificent commtnentary on the sentence of the patriach : JSt ipse expectatio gentium ! Let incredulous rationalism scoff as it may, it can never succeed in uprooting that divine tree, whose fibres are embedded deep in tho soil of ancient history, and whose branches cover, with their grateful shade, the whole range of modern society.

The sceptic who would strike at the divinity of Jesus Clirist, must first efface from the pages of the world's history those fourteen centuries of sighs and longings for the coming ; annihilate the faith of those other two thousand years of silent adoration of His presence; engulf history in an universal destruction ; and, if he should still survive tho ruins, he must needs create a new world in the place of that real and historic world he had been at so much pains to destroy.

But the solving of our present question does not lie solely in, the stifling of those manifold voices resounding through Israel. For, lot us suppose Moses, the Pentateuch, David, the Prophets, all the monuments of Jewish faith annihilated, still would our ear thrill to the vibration of that spontaneous, universal, unanimous cry of the human race, invoking a Saviour, from east to west, from north to south, through all tongues and literatures of the known world. The whole earth speaks as Moses spoke. The oracles of Delphi and Cuuise make common cause with the Prophets on this point. For the space of four thousand years the world hopes and awaits. In the second phase of its history, the world adores and believes. This magnificent unity of hope and faith defies every effort of scepticism. ". There exists," says Plutarch, " a doctrine of the highest antiquity. From theologians and legislators it is transmitted to poets and philosophers. Its author is unknown, but it is based on" a constant and unshaken faith ; hallowed not only in the discourses and traditions of the human race, but alto in their mysteries and sacrifices, and universally received among Greeks and among barbarous nations." This doctrine teaches that the world is not abandoned to blind chance, neither is it under the dominion of a sole power, but that it is ruled by two Bret causes existing conjointly — the one of God, the

other of evil. "The first is named God, the second the Demon." Thus speaks Zoroaster. God was Oromaie, the Demon was called AUriman But, between these two, he placed a mediator, named Mitha* . Now, a time will come, fatal and foredoomed, when Ahriman, haying scourged the world with innumerable plagues, will be destroyed and exterminated. The earth will then be made plain, Uke a smooth antf level valley. Men will have one kind of life and government, cCtomon to all, and one tongue, and they will live in continual felicity. Theopompe writes that the powers of good and evil will combat, one against the other, iv a strife which will last through- a succession of ages. Finally, Pluto (the infernal power) will be vanquished,- forsaken, and destroyed. After which, men shall be happyy and fche God who has accomplished this triumph will repose from his labors in a manner suitable to his divinity. Modern philosophy, aided by the Chaldean monuments and the Zend-Avesta, has re-habilitated the entire system of Zoroaster* ofcwbich riutaroh gave but an incomplete analysis. Mr Layard thus sums up tfie Persian dogma : " Z'-ironan, Ormuzd, and Mithras compose a divine triad which represents thought, word, and action. Ormuzd, king of the firmament, created the world by his word. This word is, I am. Mithras, king of the moving bodies, of living creatures, and of ttie earth, king' of- the dead or the infernal regions,, pronounces- Unceasingly the word, charged as he is by Ormuzd, to presideover the reproduction of created beings. His name signifies, even in Zend, the Word Verhum. His office is incessantly to combat Ahriman and evil, to diffuse harmony throughout the world, to serve as an example to men, and to fill the functions of mediator between Ormuzd and them ; but not between Ormuzd and Ahriman, as Plutarch supposes. The text of the Zend-Avesta fully justifies my remark : • I address my prayer to Mithras whom the mighty Ormuzd has created mediator on the high rtountain, in favor of numberless bouls dwelling on the earth.' Upon one the most celebrated monuments dedicated by the Romans to the worship of Mithras, and which was found in Rome, in a grotto of the Capitoiine Hill, we read these word 3: 'Kama Sebesio,' pronouncod by the God when plunging hia sword into the body of the bull (a victim sacred to the Persian worship). These two words, the first of which belongs to the Persian tongue, signify, • Glory to Sebesius,' the same gol at Ormuzd Thw ioimula is an epitome of the prayer given in the sacred books of t»e Persians, which Mithras, his eyes raised to heaven, addressed to-Or-wZl lm ?i° r ' ng F Sir ?r? r the Bin Co r itted b y the »™fc «an and woman ; the words of M.thras agree perfectly with those which Zorowier ascribes to Ormuzd hitrself, the sense being: if Meschia (the firat man), had not given-to Ahrirn,* a worship due to Otmuzd alone! ht\ t'u CV ?- ated / uro , a " d "aortal, would have- been established in blue m tho time decreed for recompensing pure souls ' The Mali-ii-or hearea aui earti, and to triumph over the evil oie, acco-din? to Theopompe, is mentioned in Plato under the naras of A OV o~ To su-n up-in a word, adds M. Layard, I shall say that the -^igioui* system- of £ii« rB T T^ m - ed a BUpr ! me> inWsible ' iacom P rehenXe£°i ™3g3 g "°i- iei ' Waning n Or e d 5 a triad rtfirn? the world', and' opposed oi this one godand of the other twogols, created an 1 visible one of which fulfils the functions of mediator and saviour? Zoro" tor' inOne assuming to himself the qmlity of Messiah or ■iibewS?«l nowcad to the entire world, that after his death. should spring from him, m a miraculous manner, three sons-Osche,lerm<in, Os'hede*mah, th Uw 10 't Jtt T V °T ° f £" the Whole ea^ h ™ U e^^ace s hi 7™ ff7 1 L ! TOm th X B ? fferin * world tQO -««d of Daroudj, the two-footed (the unclean man), he will destroy the tempter, the bodies of the world mil be pure' Finally, 'this kst liberator will WrJ, l% rr ° 9U v t>C^r°M x ha i ea - d> aud the ren^ation of bodies.' D Herbelot, in his Bibliotheque Orientale, had already drawn attention mi^ 8 rr tant f trad^ On ° f 4l V»>»o»taai birth of a liberator proraised by Zoroaster. Here are his words : 'About Faradi in his fifth dynasty, says that Zardaseht (Zoroaster), author of tlieMagouss^ bad announced that the liberator should be bom of a-virgin ' Wo M9TJ tr t t ? Vw y fV^f^ 1111 11' 1 C ° me t0 thedivine son of feitnf of -Bethlehem. 'An invariable tradition/ bits M. Layard, speaks of them as coming from Persia, aud ns beinc the firs who offered the.r homage to the Infant God, saviour of the Tor Id! at his birth. The magi, disciples of the Chaldeans, had not forgotten JaX'" B ° n ° Or: ' ABtUr WiU aris ° in the m ' dsfcof ChinMantoned in its isolation, as in the 'Invariable Milieu,' ™™S s^ m V a " ° Uage ,° n *V 3V 3 BU Y iect aa Peps «* The minister Phi 5 , f » On i r Ul? 'r 1 - ?. 8 p d t0 minister, are you- not a ™ll 7™7 ™ m Ue ; e P h f ee1 ' B J, »° eflfort of memory can T call to mind any one worthy of that name." " But," said-the minister, " the three Kings were not the, sumts ?" « The three Kings," replied Confucius were enuc^d with superior excellence, and filled with™ enlightened ,Jf'/ T n f an in T, in SL ble c . oura ge; but, Khieou, saints they were none, that I know of." . The minister resumed • « The five lords ' were they not saint. P» "Tho five lords" replied ' OonfaoK^ «' beiAg en,S w ' th . a " CX[l \ tca f «°°<? ness, exercised a divine charity and an unalterable justice j but, Khieou, saints they were none, that I know im* F6F 6 JllJ 11 " 118 *™ him again : "The three who bore the Angus us, replied Confucius, « may have done good in their time, but, Klueo,, smuts they were none, that I know of." The minuter seized with astr.nishnient, said to him at last, « If such be the case, who is there worthy of the name of saint?" Confurius, moved, replied however wih sweetaess, • i.lneou, I have heard it said that in the West would appear a Holy Man, who, without exercising any act of government, would quell disturbances ; who, without opening his lips, would inspire n spontaneous faith; who, without effecting any ohanges, «ou d produce naturally an ocean of meritorious actions. To no man has it ncen given to say his name ; but, Khieou, I 1-a-ve heard that he alone n the true Saint." Here aro words, not less explict, which -wo bor.-ow from Tchoung Young, recently translated by »ar learned Cliuio&o scholar. M. Pautlner. " The wise p-i*ice," says

Confucius, «« seeks from superior minds and intellects a proof of the' truth, and, consequently, he has a profound knowledge of the Celestial mandate ; for a hundred generations has he been awaiting the coming of the Holy Man, and he is not subject to our errors. Let this sovereignly.just man appear, with his virtues, his powerful faculties, and the people will not fail to testify their veneration- for him ;. let him speak, and the people will yield implicit faith- to *iis words ; let rpu M v Bnd the P eo P* e W *N not be wanting in expression* of joy. Thus, the renown of his virtues is an ocean which inundates the empire on all si les j it reaches even ta the barbarous nations of tho southern and northern regions ; wherever ships or caravans resort for trade ;• wherever the powers of human industry can penetrate, in every place under the- canopy of heaven, in every spot on this globe natillumied by the rays of sun and light, or fertilised by the dews of -neaven and the morning mfat j-all human beings, who live and breathe, cannot fail to love and revore him. For th» reason is it said that h> faculties, his mighty powers, and' virtues exalt him to the heavens." Heading these sue prising words, one might take them for a paraphrase on the inspired ones of Israel. " The n itions shall walk in His light, and the Kings in the splendor of His glory." " Arise, O" Jerusalem, and stand on high, and look about towards tho east and" behold" thy children gathered together from the rising to the setting sun by the word of the Holy One rejoicing in the remembrance of G-od." ladia, with its multiform incarnations of Vishnu, speaks as Chioai and Persia. We have already touched on this point. The parable of the Prodigal Son, forming the fourth chapter of ' Lotus de la Bonne Loi,' one of the best known of the" sa6'red' Books' which corcpdse the voluminous literature of the Buddhists, has been translated within 1 the last few years by MM. E. Burnouf and Foucaut. Mankind isthere represented, as in the gospel, under the figure of a son, separated for mauy years from, the tenderest of fathers. "We h.vve goneastray, we are powerless, we are incapable of any effort of ourselves," say the sages. Beghovat brings them tho law, which they had not" yet heard. Struck with surprise and admiration, filled with extreme joy, they rise up, bend the right kneo to the earth, bow profoundly; and join their hands before Beghovat. Their gladness equals that of the Prodigal Son who has onoe again founi his father. 11 The islands wait for thee,"" had 1 said the inspired PropHets; hatlmg through long ages the coming of ther desirnd* of' nations. It is not a little surprising to find the* echo of this 1 isTspired word in the two Americas, those vast continents whose existence tho ancient world surmised, but never realised. " A frightful serpent," say the Salivas, " formerly ravaged the borders of Orinoco. The God Para sent liisson from heaven upon the earth to combat this formidable serpent. The monster was vanquished and killed. Para then said to the demon, who dwelt in the body of the reptile, ' Begone to Hell, accursed one-! Never shalt thou re-enter my hou*e.' '' The North Americans are not less explicit than those of the South. "An ancient prophecy ,"' saysM. Humboldt, " led the Mexicans to hope for a beneficent inform ih their religious ceremonies ; the burthen of this 5 - prophesy was that Ccnteoth, in- the end, would triumph over the fiflroeit,^ jf the o'hor" gods, and that human sacrifices *ouli give place to innocjifc offerings,. , such as the first fruits of the harvests." It is a translation in the artless idiom of the savnges of the well known prediction of Malajhy. "For from the rising of the sun even to the going down, mv name rs' great among the Gentiles, and in every place there-is a sacrifice, and there is offered to my nami a clean" oblation." The dogma of the' 'rehabilitation is- found in all the traditions of the human race, closely linked with that of the original fall. " Tho woman of the serpent,called also the woman of our flesh, because the Mexicans regarded' her as the mother of all mortals," continue* M Humboldt, "is alwaysrepresented in connection with a great serpent, and other paintings' present to us a spotted snake, cut in pieces by the great spirit Tezcatlipoa, or by the sun personified, the god Tonatuch, who appearsto be identical with the Krischna of the Hindoos, celebrated 1 in the ' Bhaijavata Pourana, and with the Mithras" of the Pershns. Thisserpent, overthrown by the great spirit when he takes the form of one" of the subordinate divinities, is the genius of cvil — a true Itaifco--daimon." Finally, to complete these co^c^ptiona on a point of such leading interest, M. ITumboldt odds :— " We find in several rituals of the ancient Mexicans, the figure of an unknown animal, adorned with 1 a collarand a kind of harness: but pierced with darts." From the' traditions which have been preserved co our tims, it is the symbol of suflVrinsr innocence ; ns such, tho representatio \ recalls the lamb cf the Hebrews, or the mystic idea of an expiatory sacrifice," destined to appease tli«s anger of the Divinity. Astonishing unanimity of hopa and belief i-i a liberator, through--oufc tho most distant and widely remove 1 r^giois o1o 1 thegljbe! The Mediator of Persia, China, India, and the two Amet'un, was invoked' in tbe forests of the North, under the snowy vault, of the Scandinavian' ,'kv, by Vola, the sacred prophetess, in the assembly of tho godi/■Asjain, we have, under the title of Voliupa, tint strange* hymn which' M. dv Merit calls the " Song of the Sibyl," and- M. Ampire, the* " Apocalypse of the North." ''Tin traditions on which this aucieffC poem rests, belong to tho-most nnci«nt Scandin tvUn Mythology. Here" the gods are cosmicj.l beings, not heroic personages. It it a fragment,or more, there-union of several fragments, which contiin a summary" of the principal Scandinavi-ui myths, callel to mind rather than re--tracod, by some fine strokes of a poetry often obsjii'-e, . always' fantastical, occasionally sublime." Having retraced the -orujiu of thoworld, the 'creation > of man, and" the labors of the gods, Vola relates- 5 the coming of tho evil genius and tho perseveranoo of men which followed as a consequence. Hero her strain becomes elevated: — "The plain where Saturn and the- 1 good gods," she continue*, " will meet iro 1 combat ha 3 a hundred days mar Sh in length and breadth: G : »hotd- the place which is assigned to them." Everything connected with this* great combat f whose issue is to decide tho destiny of the world, is" " developed," tays M. Ampere, " with the complaisance of a p"rbphc6 • who menices his enemies." Finally, victory will remain wif,h th?s r Gods, the world will be renewed, and -the reign of justieo will c^?n--roence, .never more to^end.-