d to enrich its doctrine, and to make
it the great reservoir it is of all the tendencies and views, even
those most contrary to each other, which are connected with religion.
Its institutions are of diverse origin. From the Jews it received its
earliest Bible, for the Christians had at first no sacred books but
those of the old covenant, and its weekly festival, though the day
was changed. Its God was the God of the Old Testament, and its
Saviour was the Messiah of Jewish prophecy, so that it was a
continuation of the Jewish religion, and the attempts which were made
by early Gnostics to dissolve this tie were soon forgotten.

From Greece it received much. The world it had to conquer was Greek,
and the conquest could only take place by an accommodation to Greek
thought and to Greek ways. In the end of chapter xvi. we spoke of the
second Greek religion which arose under the influence of philosophy,
and found its way wherever Greek culture spread. In this great
movement, Christianity found a preparation for its coming in the
Greek world, without which its spread must have been much more
doubtful. In the Graeco-Roman religion the advances which appear in
Christianity are already prefigured. Thought has been busy in
building up a great doctrine of God, such a God as human reason can
arrive at, a Being infinitely wise and good, who is the first cause
and the hidden ground of all things, the sum of all wisdom, beauty,
and goodness, and in whom all men alike may trust. Greek thought also
found much occupation in the attempt to reach a true account of man's
moral nature and destiny. Both in theory and in practice many an
attempt was made to build up the ideal life of man, and thus many
minds were prepared for a religion which places the riches of the
inner life above all others. The Greek philosopher's school was a
semi-religious union, the central point of which was, as is the case
with Christianity also, not outward sacrifice but mental activity. It
is not wonderful therefore if Christian institutions were assimilated
to some extent to the Greek schools. It has recently been shown that
the celebration of the Eucharist came very early to bear a close
resemblance to that of a Greek mystery, and that there is an unbroken
line of connection between the discourse of the Greek philosopher and
the Christian sermon. In some of the Greek schools pastoral
visitation was practised, and the preacher kept up an oversight of
the moral con