ings, or the
discoveries of men of past ages, to these men we are indebted, and are
in duty bound to acknowledge our indebtedness; but why should we give to
_one_ individual, Jesus of Nazareth, the credit of it _all_? It is true,
that by selecting from the Gospels whatever portions one may choose, a
_common practice among Christian writers_, a noble and grand character
may be depicted, _but who was the original of this character_? We may
find the same individual outside of the Gospels, and before the time of
Jesus. The moral precepts of the Gospels, also, were in existence before
the Gospels themselves were in existence.[529:3] Why, then, extol the
hero of the Gospels, and forget all others?

As it was at the end of Roman Paganism, so is it now: the masses are
deceived and fooled, or do it for themselves, and persons of vivacious
fantasies prefer the masquerade of delusion, to the simple sublimity of
naked but majestic truth. The decline of the church as a political power
proves beyond a doubt the decline of Christian faith. The conflicts of
Church and State all over the European continent, and the hostility
between intelligence and _dogmatic Christianity_, demonstrates the death
of _Christology_ in the consciousness of modern culture. It is useless
to shut our eyes to these facts. Like rabbinical Judaism, dogmatic
Christianity was the product of ages without typography, telescopes,
microscopes, telegraphs, and power of steam. "These right arms of
intelligence have fought the titanic battles, conquered and demolished
the ancient castles, and remove now the debris, preparing the ground
upon which there shall be the gorgeous temple of humanity, one universal
republic, one universal religion of intelligence, and one great
universal brotherhood. This is the new covenant, the gospel of humanity
and reason."

"----Hoaryheaded selfishness has felt
Its death-blow, and is tottering to the grave:
A brighter morn awaits the human day;
War with its million horrors, and fierce hell,
Shall live but in the memory of time,
Who, like a penitent libertine, shall start,
Look back, and shudder at his younger years."

FOOTNOTES:

[508:1] "For knowledge of the man Jesus, of his idea and his aims, and
of the outward form of his career, the _New Testament_ is our only hope.
If this hope fails, the pillared firmament of his starry fame is
rottenness; the base of Christianity, so far as it was per