of Christendom; nor can the testimony
of the Gospels be reasonably disposed of in this manner. To the
Magdalene was given the supreme honor of receiving the first greeting of
her risen Lord; and her testimony is the chief cornerstone of the most
comforting doctrine of Christianity.

The gospel narrative gives a prominent place to woman,--as a believer in
Christ, as His devoted follower and constant ministrant, and also as a
faithful and unswerving witness to His wondrous works. The ready faith
of the Gospel women is illustrated by many narratives of miracles
wrought in their behalf. The faith of Martha and Mary was rewarded by
the restoration to life of their brother Lazarus. There was the woman
whom physicians could not cure, yet her faith led her to touch the hem
of the Master's garment and she was made whole. To the widow of Nain, as
she accompanied the dead body of her son to its sepulchre, was given
that son restored to life. The despised Syrophenician woman proved her
humility and her faith, and her daughter was made whole. Christ's
commiseration was manifested notably to woman, though not exclusively,
as we see in the case of the raising of the daughter of Jairus in answer
to the father's faith. In the life of Christ, the supernal event in the
world's history, woman's influence and activity were not less than
man's; but, unlike his, her part was marked by unalloyed purity,
magnanimity, and faithfulness.

II

THE WOMEN OF THE APOSTOLIC AGE

THE leaven of Christianity worked speedily and powerfully in raising
woman to a position of greater honor in the estimation of the adherents
of the new religion. In regard to mental and spiritual relations, it put
her at once upon an equal footing with men, which was an entirely new
development in human thought. We have seen how, even in Judaism,--the
purest religion and the highest moral system known to the world previous
to the coming of Christ,--woman held an inferior position and was
debarred from many of its privileges, though not from its moral
responsibilities. According to the Levitical code, when a man made an
offering of any person of his family to the Lord, the value of a male
was estimated at fifty shekels, while that of the female was put at
thirty shekels; and, as in all cases where an arbitrary comparison is
instituted between men and women, this computation was independent of
the possession or lack of personal excellences. The mere undeveloped
manh