gree with him. Jesus, in like manner,
applied to himself, not without reason, the passage from Isaiah:[4]
"He shall not strive, nor cry; neither shall any man hear his voice in
the streets. A bruised reed shall he not break, and smoking flax shall
he not quench."[5] And yet many of the recommendations which he
addressed to his disciples contain the germs of a true fanaticism,[6]
germs which the Middle Ages were to develop in a cruel manner. Must we
reproach him for this? No revolution is effected without some
harshness. If Luther, or the actors in the French Revolution, had been
compelled to observe the rules of politeness, neither the Reformation
nor the Revolution would have taken place. Let us congratulate
ourselves in like manner that Jesus encountered no law which punished
the invectives he uttered against one class of citizens. Had such a
law existed, the Pharisees would have been inviolate. All the great
things of humanity have been accomplished in the name of absolute
principles. A critical philosopher would have said to his disciples:
Respect the opinion of others; and believe that no one is so
completely right that his adversary is completely wrong. But the
action of Jesus has nothing in common with the disinterested
speculation of the philosopher. To know that we have touched the ideal
for a moment, and have been deterred by the wickedness of a few, is a
thought insupportable to an ardent soul. What must it have been for
the founder of a new world?

[Footnote 1: Matt. xii. 34, xv. 14, xxiii. 33.]

[Footnote 2: Matt. iii. 7.]

[Footnote 3: Matt. xii. 30; Luke xxi. 23.]

[Footnote 4: Isa. xlii. 2, 3.]

[Footnote 5: Matt. xii. 19-20.]

[Footnote 6: Matt. x. 14, 15, 21, and following, 34, and following;
Luke xix. 27.]

The invincible obstacle to the ideas of Jesus came especially from
orthodox Judaism, represented by the Pharisees. Jesus became more and
more alienated from the ancient Law. Now, the Pharisees were the true
Jews; the nerve and sinew of Judaism. Although this party had its
centre at Jerusalem, it had adherents either established in Galilee,
or who often came there.[1] They were, in general, men of a narrow
mind, caring much for externals; their devoutness was haughty, formal,
and self-satisfied.[2] Their manners were ridiculous, and excited the
smiles of even those who respected them. The epithets which the people
gave them, and which savor of caricature, prove this. There was the
"bandy-l