covery is of as much value as interest remains, of course, to be proved. It is considered by the experts who have studied the page, so violently probable as to be nearly certain that it was written between 150 A. D. and 300 A. D., that is, it is older than any manuscript Gospel now in our possession. It yields, therefore, irrefutable evidence that before the end of the second cen tury, perhaps much before it, Sayings attributed to Jesus were in circulation among his disciples, and were held in such reverence as to be carefully preserved. That is a most interesting fact, though we must warn the unlearned and devout that it in no way proves that the sayings were certainly uttered by our Lord. It is much more probable that they are inventions added to' authentic traditions. There is, and probably can be, no external evidence other than similarity to the Sayings recorded in the Gospels which the Church has by unbroken tradition accepted as genuine records, and the internal evidence requires to be weighed with a care which as yet it has been impossible to bestow. Weighing of the most hesitating kind is clearly wanted here. The "public," which settles all things, is incompetent to judge, and if we were members of the Lambeth Conference we should be a little startled at the apparent readiness to believe that because a Saying is undoubtedly extremely interesting and antique, it may therefore be divine. Additions to the accepted record, and especially words attributed to Christ himself, are of extreme importance, and must not be made, if made at all, without the gravest caution. We can conceive of new sects, and even new creeds, growing up based upon the evidence of sentences discovered in an aucient papyrus, and, because they are attributed to Jesus, held to be-as, f they were rightly SO ascribed, they would be-laws to his followers forevermore. Christians hold that what Christ has said, if only accurately reported, terminates controversy except as to his precise meaning. We do not doubt, for example, that even now the Sayings this week published in this ex to country' and America will give a new and fierce energy to those who preach the more extreme forms of Sabbatarıanism. Nothing can be stronger than the utterance on that subject attributed in the "Logia" to Christ. "Except ye keep the Sabbath," he says in the second Logion, "ye shall not see the Father." Those are words which, if they were really his, the Sabbatarians will certainly not permit to be plained away. They may have a mystical meaning, as the translators, we see, are already inclined to suggest, "Sabbathing the Sabbath," as the Greek has it, being held to refer some change of heart, or some reverent mode of using the day of rest; but ordinary men are impatient of such meanings, the words are far more definite and absolute than those in which our Lord, as we think, rejected the Jewish belief, and lowered the Sabbath to an institution intended for man's use, and we almost expect to Church founded in which the distinctive tenet, possibly superseding all other ceremonial observance, is a savage repudiation of St. Paul's idea that one day need not be holier than another. Its members will quote the "Saying," as Roman Catholics quote the Saying about the body and blood, as one that is above reason and binding upon mankind forevermore; and where, for literal minds at all events, if the Logion is held to be as divine as the Gospels-and it is so if the report is accurate is the reply? see a There is danger, therefore, in too ready an acceptance without evidence, of Sayings attributed to Christ, however ancient may be the report of them, and the danger is not diminished by a consideration of the other and less definite utterances recorded on the same papyrus. If the fifth "Logion," or "Saying," is accepted as actually uttered by Christ, libraries will be written to explain its meaning. The words, in the first part of which blanks, run as follows: Wherever there are ... 1 The Sayings of Our Lord. Frowde. there are Jesus saith, and there is London: Henry one . . . alone, I am with him. Raise the stone and there thou shalt find me, cleave the wood and there am I." What do those words mean? It is perfectly conceivable, indeed it seems to us most probable, that Jesus, if he uttered those words, meant only the great truth that work done to the Lord was blessed by the Lord, that even while the mason was raising the stone, or the. carpenter cleaving the wood, his spirit, if those works were done with the motive which should influence all work, would be present with the worker. That promise is in entire accord with the whole spirit of his teaching, as described in the accepted record, and is only reduced in the papyrus to a singularly beautiful, or, in modern phrase, epigrammatic, form; but just think what also the words may mean, and, as we see from the printed comments upon them, are at once accepted by many minds as meaning. Besides implying in the extremest sense of that theological phrase that Jesus is God, they contain the very essence of Pantheism, and would, if fully accepted, completely modify in the Hindoo direction our whole conception of the un:verse. If God is in inanimate nature in any sense except that he created it, why should we not, as the Hindoo argues, worship him there, and draw this further deduction, that God being in everything, everything is in some sense equally holy,-a doctrine with tremendous practical results? Pantheism does not necessarily exclude, though it so seldom includes, the idea of a sentlent and separate Creator, but that is certainly not Christianity as it has hitherto been expounded and believed; and though, as we have said, the words do not necessarily bear that meaning, still they will bear it with much less straining than has been frequent in theological controversy. We have therefore to beware of being betrayed by pure antiquarianism into new doctrines, and of receiving as words of Christ words which the Evangelists did not accept as his, and which read very much, in the fifth Saying at all events, as if they had passed through and been perverted by some mind filled with the Asiatic philosophy, which we know from other sources began so speedily to remould Christianity after a more ancient and less trustworthy model. We ought to want very good evidence indeed before we add anything to the record of the teaching of Christ hitherto accepted as final. the world. another of the world It is a curious, though perhaps a useless, speculation, but it would not be an unparalleled occurrence if the twentieth century, which so many expect will be governed by "pure reason," that is, will calmly and without violence reject the supernatural, should be torn by new theological controversies based upon what sections of mankind believe to be new Revelations. It is improbable, but the new couches sociales rising so rapidly into power neither are nor will be learned, the instinct of belief is very strong in them, and we can couceive of additions to Scripture, early exaggerations of what is called the Socialistic element in Christ's teaching, which, if they were believed to be his, or were even linked by a discovery like the present one into very early tradition, would greatly move Jesus is made to say in these Logia that he found drunken, yet with no one in it athirst; that is, he found all men satisfied with their convictions and no one thirsty for truth; but were he here now he would not say that. Western man almost universally is athirst, and as Anarchism, Socialism, etc., prove, is by no means particular as to the quality of his liquor so it be but strong enough. We can conceive of Revelations based on records assumed to be Christian being accepted by whole communities, and for them creating a new world. Wisdom, held to be divine, has before now developed instead of restraining earthly folly-witness the repeated misapplications of the story of the Canaanites and their extirpation-and it would need only a perversion of the teaching of Christ to pulverize modern civilization and set Europe and America afloat upon a voyage to the land where corn grows without being manured by hu as man sweat. There is a capacity for credulity abroad as deep as the capacity for doubting, and those who are responsible for teaching the faith will much need much caution, as well learning, if they are to be inundated with documents,-certainly old, genuine as far as they go, and professing to contain fresh utterances from the lips of him whose Sayings, as they appear in the Canon, are still the ultimate law of the white world. Very few, unfortunately, fully obey Christ's teaching; but the number to whom his commands, when they approve them, are final law, is nearly coextensive with civilization. A Saying really believed to have been uttered by Christ which condemned private property would change the European Socialists from a faction into the devotees of a creed which millions would hold as devoutly as Mussulmans hold the very few clear commands of the Koran. From The Economist. A GREAT COUNTRY'S LITTLE WARS. This country has just been declaring, through the Jubilee demonstrations, that it is proud of its extensive Empire, and its pride is no doubt justifiable, but it is as well not to forget the risks and the exertions which the greatness of that Empire and its extraordinary variety involves. Great Britain rules possessions in all continents, and her dominion impinges upon all frontiers, and, consequently, few years elapse in which she is not implicated in some serious difficulty with some first-class State. Now it is Russia, and again America, then it is Germany, and ever since we occupied Egypt, it is always France, with which there is some question that occupies diplomatists, rouses the newspapers, and makes the government justifiably anxious lest the dispute should unexpectedly slip beyond the range of quiet negotiation. Within the past ten years we have been four times upon the verge of war with a first-class State, without counting ques. in tions that have produced a "strain" more or less carefully and successfully concealed. It has been at least necessary to be most cautious and moderate over the Russian "invasion" of the Pamirs, the French pretensions in Siam and the French Soudan, the German interference in South Africa, and the American claim to protect Venezuela, and, indeed, all the States the two Americas except the Canadian Dominion. Moreover, we have been involved in an extraordinary succession of little wars. Without counting the Raid, which was unauthorized, and the small campaign in Rhodesia, which is classed as a rebellion, though it was really the termination of a savage war, we have been engaged within three years in no less than seven military expeditions, of which two at least would be counted by any continental general among rather serious wars of the second grade of importance. We sent more than a thousand men to dethrone the horrible despot of Ashantee. We employed six thousand troops, really though not nominally in our service, in the reconquest of Dongola from the Dervishes, and thirteen thousand in the really difficult revindication of Chitral, which excited some anxiety, if not suspicion, even in Cabul. We have conquered the African State of Benin by direct and formal invasion, and have possessed ourselves of an immense territory by the forcible annexation of the region upon the Niger, vaguely described as Nupé. And not to mention three "affairs" in South Africa, each of which involves some loss of life, we are now getting ready ten thousand men for the seizure of Berber, or it may be of Khartoum, and sending thirty-five hundred of our best auxiliary troops to punish the treachery of the Pathan known collectively as the tribes Wuzeerees. In each of these expeditions we have risked, or are risking, defeats, which if they occurred would be most serious, because they could not be accepted quietly, but must be avenged by further expeditions, which would constitute drafts upon our small regular army and expenditure upon a very considerable scale. If we had not succeeded in Ashantee, Benin, and Nupé, we should have lost all our West African possessions; if we had been defeated in Dongola we should have had to fight for Egypt; while if we had been repulsed from Chitral we should have had the entire Himalaya to reconquer, and perhaps have had to defend Peshawur from the Afghans. We may add that there was not long since danger for a moment of a collision with the Negus of Abyssinia, now happily averted through his own perception of his own interests, and there perhaps is still risk of a conflict with the sultan of Sokoto, the most formidable potentate remaining in West Africa. We do not know that any of these campaigns could well have been avoided, and should certainly deny that any of them were deliberately planned. They were not arranged, they only happened, and as soon as possible they were brought to a conclusion. Parliament was never consulted about them, our people knew nothing of them till the decision has been made, and except in the case of Dongola, it is not too much to say that but for the enterprise of the daily newspapers they would have almost escaped general attention. Some Department, it may be presumed, gives a formal sanction before any war can be actually declared, and, of course, the heads of the Admiralty and the War Office are carefully consulted, while there is reason to believe that the Court is very early and very carefully informed. The nation, however, as a whole, scarcely knows of what is passing when an expedition is being discussed, gives no order, and makes no sacrifice, and unless there is a calamity, is less moved than it would be by a village riot at home or a murder in one of the great cities. That fact, however, though it testifies to the singular calmness of our people, which is of itself one element in their strength, is by no means entirely satisfactory. The spontaneousness, so to speak, of these little fires greatly increases the difficulty both of insurance and of arranging the fire brigade. It is nearly impossible in such an Empire to anticipate what will hap pen, to station troops and steamers to the best advantage, or even to make sure that an official competent to control the region, and with authority to do it, shall be within immediate hail. There was a most curious instance of this very recently, when, serious riots occurring in Calcutta, it was found that, owing to a series of accidental circumstances, there was no one with full authority to move troops within four hundred miles of that great capital. Wars and rebellions may be, and are, as it were sprung upon the British government, and but that they do not often occur in numbers at once might almost bewilder the responsible chiefs, who as it is must glance over the telegrams published every morning with a feeling somewhat different from that of ordinary readers. If there could be such an officer as a commissioner for the moderation of earthquakes, he would be, we fancy, rather a bothered man. There is not that we know of any practical remedy, except a limitation of empire, which nobody suggests, or, indeed, will hear of just now; but it is wise to remember the facts, if only to keep down jingoism, and wise also to take the only precautions which are of much avail. One of these is to take extreme care in the selection of the governors and other ruling officials whom we send abroad, a care which is apt at present to become a little intermittent, depending as it does to a great extent upon the competence and clearsightedness of permanent under-secretaries, and the other is to devote a continuous attention to the mobility of every kind of force that we possess. This, we may rely upon it, is our weak place. The country can depend upon its soldiers and sailors and civil agents, and its resources have scarcely any limit, but it is strangely apt in the face of perpetual occurrences such as we have recorded above to be absurdly unready. Things of impor tance are done in a hurry, which ought to be done on a system, the departments are not always harmonious, officers and men are pitchforked together, and dangerous delays are sometimes only averted by an exhibition of something which a great administrator would condemn as recklessness. British reckless ness and British dash are not easily to be distinguished from each other, but still they are separate, and if there were a little more system they would always be separated, to the great advantage of the State, which while loaded with empire must run risks, but need not quite so often risk defeat. The Moon's Influence on the Earth.Every one knows the great part played by the moon in rural affairs. It is the moon that causes everything, good and bad, in the stable, in the house, and in the fields. Of course, the rôle of our satellite on earth is exaggerated a little; but, these exaggerations aside, it still exerts a sufficiently great influence on our planet. Regarding the action of the moon on the weather and on earthquakes, everybody knows the opinion that I have maintained for more than a quarter of a century, and that is now beginning to have weight in the scientific world, but not without efforts. The problem is quite complex, and, so far as the weather is concerned, the proof is difficult to present clearly. But, on the other hand, prejudices are deeply rooted, even with scientists. We may simply remark that the mechanism of the lunar influence is not at all what it was once thought to be. The moon acts on the progressive movement of atmospheric depressions, according to her declination-that is to say, her height above the horizon. Just as the sun in its annual course alters the latitude of the trade winds, so our satellite alters the latitude of the rainbearing currents in her monthly course and causes them to prevail in one region or another, according to her declination. "The moon is the same everywhere;" certainly, but its action is very different according to the latitude and the declination. The argument that is commonly brought up is as strong as if one should say that the sun is everywhere the same and that the temperature and the sky should be invariable in all climates. The problem has been badly understood, and therefore it is that we have remained so long without reaching its solution. We wish to examine today another side of the question-the influence of the moon on vegetation, which has been made the subject of very numerous controversies. If we must speak with a certain reserve of the lunar influence on tree-growth, we should add that no one has shown that such influence does not exist. M. Rousset, in his critical study, calls to mind an experiment that I made a long time ago in the tropics, by planting side by side ten seeds in the wane of the moon and ten others at full moon. The plants sowed at new moon grew noticeably more rapidly than those at full moon. I explained this phenomenon by saying that the first appeared just in time to profit by the moon's light, while the others, after germination, were not exposed so long to the lunar rays. The hypothesis may be good, but perhaps it does not correspond to the reality. Nevertheless, it is confirmed by an observa..on of M. Carbonnier, who has, on his part, shown that at full moon confervold and cryptogamic vegetation is more active than in other lunar periods. However this may be, the arguments presented against the lunar influence are insufficient to reverse the popular prejudice. We see that the best plan is never to reject old popular traditions from purely theoretical considerations. -M. Henri de Parville in Le Correspondant, Paris. |