The Martyrdom of Man by Winwood Reade (mini ebook reader .TXT) π
The Egyptians were islanders, cut off from the rest of the world by sand and sea. They were rooted in their valley; they lived entirely upon its fruits, and happily these fruits sometimes failed. Had they always been able to obtain enough to eat, they would have remained always in the semi-savage state.
It may appear strange that Egypt should have suffered from famine, for there was no country in the ancient world where food was so abundant and so cheap. Not only did the land produce enormous crops of corn; the ditches and hollows which were filled by the overflowing Nile supplied a harvest of wholesome and nourishing aquatic plants, and on the borders of the des
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the gloom of the Sabbath day, and increased the taxes which it had been
ordered should be paid upon the altar.
On the other hand, there had been among the Puritans many men of pure
and gentle lives, and a similar class existed among the Pharisees. The
good Pharisee, says the Talmud, is he who obeys the law because he
loves the Lord. They addressed their god by the name of βFatherβ when
they prayed. βDo unto others as you would be done byβ was an adage
often on their lips. That is the law, they said; all the rest is mere
commentary. To the Pharisees belonged all that was best and all that was
worst in the Hebrew religious life.
The traditions of the Pharisees related partly to ceremonial matters which
in the written law were already diffuse and intricate enough. But it must
also be remembered that without traditions the Hebrew theology was
barbarous and incomplete. Before the captivity the doctrine of rewards
and punishments in a future state had not been known. The Sheol of the
Jews was a land of shades in which there was neither joy nor sorrow, in
which all ghosts or souls dwelt promiscuously together. When the Jews
came in contact with the Persian priests they were made acquainted with
the heaven and hell of the Zend-Avesta. It is probable, indeed, that
without foreign assistance they would in time have developed a similar
doctrine for themselves. Already in the Psalms and Book of Job are signs
that the Hebrew mind was in a transition state. When Ezekiel declared
that the son should not be responsible for the iniquity of the father nor the
father for the iniquity of the son, that the righteousness of the righteous
should be upon him, and that the wickedness of the wicked should be
upon him, he was preparing the way for a new system of ideas in regard
to retribution. But as it was, the Jews were indebted to the Zend-Avesta
for their traditional theory of a future life, and they also adopted the
Persian ideas of the resurrection of the body, the rivalry of the evil spirit,
and the approaching destruction and renovation of the world.
The Satan of Job is not a rebellious angel, still less a contending god: he
is merely a mischievous and malignant sprite. But the Satan of the
restored Jews was a powerful prince who went about like a roaring lion,
and to whom this world belonged. He was copied from Ahriman, the
God of Darkness, who was ever contending with Ormuzd, the God of
Light. The Persians believed that Ormuzd would finally triumph, and
that a prophet would be sent to announce the gospel or good tidings of his
approaching victory. Terrible calamities would then take place; the stars
would fall down from heaven; the earth itself would be destroyed. After
which it would come forth new from the hands of the Creator; a kind of
Millennium would be established; there would be one law, one language,
and one government for men, and universal peace would reign.
This theory became blended in the Jewish minds with certain
expectations of their own. In the days of captivity their prophets had
predicted that a Messiah or anointed king would be sent, that the kingdom
of David would be restored, and that Jerusalem would become the
headquarters of God on earth. All the nations would come to Jerusalem
to keep the feast of tabernacles and to worship God. Those who did not
come should have no rain; and as the Egyptians could do without rain, if
they did not come they should have the plague. The Jewish people would
become one vast priesthood, and all nations would pay them tithe. Their
seed would inherit the Gentiles. They would suck the milk of the
Gentiles. They would eat the riches of the Gentiles. These same
unfortunate Gentiles would be their ploughmen and their vine-dressers.
Bowing down would come those that afflicted Jerusalem, and would lick
the dust off her feet. Strangers would build up her walls, and kings would
minister unto her. Many people and strong nations would come to see the
Lord of Hosts in Jerusalem. Ten men in that day would lay hold of the
skirt of a Jew saying, βWe will go with you, for we have heard that God
is with you.β It was an idea worthy of the Jews that they should keep the
Creator to themselves in Jerusalem, and make their fortunes out of the
monopoly.
In the meantime these prophecies had not been fulfilled, and the Jews
were in daily expectation of the Messiahβas they are still, and as they
are likely to be for some time to come. It was the belief of the vulgar that
this Messiah would be a man belonging to the family of David, who
would liberate them from the Romans and become their king; so they
were always on the watch, and whenever a remarkable man appeared they
concluded that he was the son of David, the Holy One of Israel, and were
ready at once to proclaim him king and to burst into rebellion. This
illusion gave rise to repeated riots or revolts, and at last brought about the
destruction of the city.
But among the higher class of minds the expectation of the Messiah,
though not less ardent, was of a more spiritual kind. They believed that
the Messiah was that prophet, often called the Son of Man who would be
send by God to proclaim the defeat of Satan and the renovation of the
world. They interpreted the prophets after a manner of their own: the
kingdom foretold was the kingdom of heaven, and the new Jerusalem was
not a Jerusalem on earth but a celestial city built of precious stones and
watered by the Stream of Life.
Such were the hopes of the Jews. The whole nation trembled with
excitement and suspense; the mob of Judea awaiting the Messiah or king
who should lead them to the conquest of the world; the more noble-minded Jews of Palestine, and especially the foreign Jews, awaiting the
Messiah or Son of Man who should proclaim the approach of the most
terrible of all events. There were many pious men and women who
withdrew entirely from the cares of ordinary life, and passed their days in
watching and in prayer.
The Neo-Jewish or Persian-Hebrew religion, with its sublime theory of a
single god, with its clearly defined doctrine of rewards and punishments,
with its one grand duty of faith or allegiance to a divine king, was so
attractive to the mind on account of its simplicity that it could not fail to
conquer the discordant and jarring creeds of the pagan world as soon as it
should be propagated in the right manner. There is a kind of natural
selection in religion; the creed which is best adapted to the mental world
will invariably prevail, and the mental world is being gradually prepared
for the reception of higher and higher forms of religious life. At this
period Europe was ready for the reception of the one-god species of
belief, but it existed only in the Jewish area, and was there confined by
artificial checks. The Jews held the doctrine that none but Jews could be
saved, and most of them looked forward to the eternal torture of Greek
and Roman souls with equanimity, if not with satisfaction. They were not
in the least desirous to redeem them; they hoarded up their religion as
they did their money, and considered it a heritage, a patrimony, a kind of
entailed estate. There were some Jews in foreign parts who esteemed it a
work of piety to bring the Gentiles to a knowledge of the true God, and as
it was one of the popular amusements of the Romans to attend the service
at the synagogue a convert was occasionally made. But such cases were
very rare, for in order to embrace the Jewish religion it was necessary to
undergo a dangerous operation and to abstain from eating with the
pagansβin short, to become a Jew. It was therefore indispensable for the
success of the Hebrew religion that it should be divested of its local
customs. But however much the Pharisees and Sadducees might differ on
matters of tradition, they were perfectly agreed on this point, that the
ceremonial laws were necessary for salvation. These laws could never
be given up by Jews unless they first became heretics, and this was what
eventually occurred. A schism arose among the Jews: the sectarians were
defeated and expelled. Foiled in their first object, they cast aside the law
of Moses and offered the Hebrew religion without the Hebrew
ceremonies to the Greek and Roman world. We shall now sketch the
character of the man who prepared the way for this remarkable event.
It was a custom in Israel for the members of each family to meet together
once a year that they might celebrate a sacred feast. A lamb roasted
whole was placed upon the table, and a cup of wine was filled. Then the
eldest son said, βFather, what is the meaning of this feast?β And the
father replied that it was held in memory of the sufferings of their
ancestors, and of the mercy of the Lord their God. For while they were
weeping and bleeding in the land of Egypt there came his voice unto
Moses and said that each father of a family should select a lamb without
blemish from his flock, and should kill it on the tenth day of the month
Abib, at the time of the setting of the sun; and should put the blood in a
basin, and should take a sprig of hyssop and sprinkle the door-posts and
lintel with the blood; and should then roast the lamb and eat it with
unleavened bread and bitter herbs. They should eat it as if in haste, each
one standing with his loins girt, his sandals on his feet, and his staff in his
hand. That night the angel of the Lord slew the first born of the
Egyptians, and that night Israel was delivered from her bonds.
When the father had thus spoken the lamb was eaten, and four cups of
wine were drunk, and the family sang a hymn. At this beautiful and
solemn festival all persons of the same kin endeavoured to meet together,
and Hebrew pilgrims from all parts of the world journeyed to Jerusalem.
When they came within sight of the Holy City and saw the Temple
shining in the distance like a mountain of snow, some clamoured with
cries of joy, some uttered low and painful sobs. Drawing closer together,
they advanced towards the gates singing the Psalms of David, and
offering up prayers for the restoration of Israel.
At this time the subscriptions from the various churches abroad were
brought to Jerusalem, and were carried to the Temple treasury in solemn
state; and at this time also the citizens of Jerusalem witnessed a
procession which they did not like so well. A company of Roman
soldiers escorted the lieutenant-governor, who came up from Caesarea for
the festival that he might give out the vestments of the High Priest,
which, being the insignia of government, the Romans kept under lock and
key.
It was the nineteenth year of the reign of Tiberius Caesar. Pontius Pilate
had taken up his quarters in the city, and the time of the Passover was at
hand. Not only Jerusalem, but also the neighbouring villages, were filled
with pilgrims, and many were obliged to encamp in tents outside the
walls.
It happened one day that a sound of shouting was heard; the men ran up
to the roofs of their houses, and the maidens peeped through their latticed
windows. A young man
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