e is no trace in
this of any allusion to original sin; the sins which are remitted had
been committed by the Christian before his baptism, and there is no
suggestion of any inheritance of sin. Hermas never contemplated infant
baptism. The baptized Christian started with a clean slate, but what
would happen to him if he lapsed again into sin? The Epistle to the
Hebrews clearly thought that he had no hope of further forgiveness, and
Hermas refers very plainly, if not to the Epistle to the Hebrews
itself, at least to teaching which it represents. This teaching was,
of course, calculated either to maintain a high standard of conduct or
else to change the definition of sin. Apparently none of the other
mystery religions ever attached this importance to conduct after
initiation, but human nature presented some difficulties in the
enforcement of the Christian theory. It was found that the baptized
frequently, {118} if not always, lapsed into sin, and that the
situation complained of by 4 Ezra was repeating itself.[14] What was
the use of a system which offered men immortality, but only on
conditions which no one could fulfil?

Hermas solved the problem by having recourse to another element in
Jewish thought. He appealed to the possibility of repentance, and put
his solution of the problem into the form of a revelation made to him
by an angel--the Shepherd of the book. The revelation which Hermas
announces is that there is one repentance, but only one, for those who
sin after baptism. If repentance is taken merely as an act of
contrition this obviously does little to solve the problem: it is not
really sufficient to cover the facts of human nature. But for Hermas
repentance is much more than contrition. It consists apparently of
cheerful submission to all the unpleasant {119} happenings of life,
which are regarded as organised by an angel, specially appointed for
the purpose, in order to adapt them to the improvement of sinners.
From the general characteristic of the parables it is clear that Hermas
did not contemplate the immediate restoration of the penitent, or the
immediate elimination of sin. Penitence is for him an unpleasant
process of education, and I think he contemplates the probability that
it is life-long. Like all education it demands that the pupil shall
obey his teacher, and the teacher is in this case the angel of
repentance, who arranges life so as to make it educative. It is the
beginning of th