d might be manifested healing the
sins of ignorance.

[Greek: Hothen kai didaskalos haemon peri tou [Endnote 293:1] ek
genetaes paerou kai anablepsantos par' autou exetazon erotaesasin,
ei ohutos haemarten ae oi goneis autou, hina tuphlos gennaethae
[Endnote 293:1] apekrinato oute ohutos ti haemarten, oute oi
goneis autou, all' hina di autou phanerothae hae dunamis tou Theou
taes agnoias iomenae ta hamartaemata.]

_John_ ix. 1-3.

And as he passed by, he saw a man blind from his birth. And his
disciples asked him, saying, Rabbi, who sinned, this man or his
parents, that he should be born blind? Jesus answered, Neither
hath this man sinned, nor his parents: but that the works of God
should be manifested in him.

[Greek: Kai paragon eiden anthropon tuphlon ek genetaes. Kai
aerotaesan auton oi mathaetai autou legontes, Rhabbei, tis
haemarten, ohutos ae oi goneis autou, hina tuphlos gennaethae;
apekrithae Iaesous, Oute ohutos haemarten oute oi goneis autou,
all' hina phanerothae ta erga tou Theou en auto.]

The author of 'Supernatural Religion' undertakes to show 'that
the context of this passage in the Homily bears positive
characteristics which render it impossible that it can have been
taken from the fourth Gospel' [Endnote 293:2]. I think we may
venture to say that he does indeed show somewhat conspicuously the
way in which he uses the word 'impossible' and the kind of grounds
on which that and such like terms are employed throughout his
work.

It is a notorious fact, abundantly established by certain
quotations from the Old Testament and elsewhere, that the last
thing regarded by the early patristic writers was context. But in
this case the context is perfectly in keeping, and to a clear and
unprejudiced eye it presents no difficulty. The Clementine writer
is speaking of the origin of physical infirmities, and he says
that these are frequently due, not to moral error, but to mere
ignorance on the part of parents. As an instance of this he gives
the case of the man who was born blind, of whom our Lord expressly
said that neither he nor his parents had sinned--morally or in
such a way as to deserve punishment. On the contrary they had
erred simply through ignorance, and the object of the miracle was
to make a display of the Divine mercy removing the consequences of
such error. 'And in reality,' he proceeds, 'things of this kind
are the result of ignorance. The misfortunes of which you spoke,
proceed from i