he unhistorical exegesis of modern
theologians, he could not have done so better than by this attempt of an
interpreter of the Bible, fancying himself illumined by the spirit, but
utterly destitute of all knowledge of history. Knowledge of the history of
the Greek philosophy of the first and second centuries after Christ is
indispensable to the understanding of such a word as Logos--a word that
grew up on Greek soil, and whose first roots reach far into the distant
past of the Greek mind; and for that very reason not admitting of
translation, either into Hebrew or into German. Like many other _termini
technici_, it must be understood historically; just as logic, metaphysic,
analytic, organon, etc., can only be apprehended and understood
historically. Now it is, perhaps, not to be denied, that even now a
majority of educated readers either perfunctorily repeat the first
sentence of the Fourth Gospel, "In the beginning was the Word," or believe
that something lies buried therein that is beyond the depth of ordinary
men. This, of course, is partially true, and it cannot be otherwise in
religions which are intended not only for the young, but for the wise and
learned, and which should be strong meat for adults, and not merely milk
for babes. The fault lies chiefly in the translation, in that it should
have been thought necessary to translate a word instead of permitting it
to remain, what it was, a foreign word.

This becomes still worse when, as for instance, in certain Oriental
languages, the newly converted Christian has to read, "In the beginning
was the Noun or the Verb." The correct translation would, of course, be,
"In the beginning was the Logos." For Logos is not here the usual word
Logos, but a _terminus technicus_, that can no more be translated out of
the lexicon than one would think of etymologically translating Messiah or
Christ as the "Anointed," or Angelos as "messenger" or "nuncio." If we
read at the beginning of the Gospel, "In the beginning was the Logos," at
least every one would know that he has to deal with a foreign, a Greek
word, and that he must gain an understanding of it out of Greek
philosophy, just as with such words as _atom_, _idea_, _cosmos_, etc. It
is remarkable what human reason will consent to. Millions of Christians
hear and read, "In the beginning was the Word," and either give it no
thought, or imagine the most inconceivable things, and then read on, after
they have simply thrown away t