r reverence. Napoleon, no mean judge of human nature, said of
it: "It is different with Christ. Everything about Him astonishes me.
His spirit surprises me, and His will confounds me. Between Him and
anything of this world there is no possible comparison. He is really a
being apart. The nearer I approach Him and the closer I examine Him,
the more everything seems above me."

It is this wonderful life, its example and inspiration, which was the
real object of the descent of this high spirit on to our planet. If
the human race had earnestly centred upon that instead of losing itself
in vain dreams of vicarious sacrifices and imaginary falls, with all
the mystical and contentious philosophy which has centred round the
subject, how very different the level of human culture and happiness
would be to-day! Such theories, with their absolute want of reason or
morality, have been the main cause why the best minds have been so
often alienated from the Christian system and proclaimed themselves
materialists. In contemplating what shocked their instincts for truth
they have lost that which was both true and beautiful. Christ's death
was worthy of His life, and rounded off a perfect career, but it is the
life which He has left as the foundation for the permanent religion of
mankind. All the religious wars, the private feuds, and the countless
miseries of sectarian contention, would have been at least minimised,
if not avoided, had the bare example of Christ's life been adopted as
the standard of conduct and of religion.

But there are certain other considerations which should have weight
when we contemplate this life and its efficacy as an example. One of
these is that the very essence of it was that He critically examined
religion as He found it, and brought His robust common sense and
courage to bear in exposing the shams and in pointing out the better
path. THAT is the hall-mark of the true follower of Christ, and not
the mute acceptance of doctrines which are, upon the face of them,
false and pernicious, because they come to us with some show of
authority. What authority have we now, save this very life, which
could compare with those Jewish books which were so binding in their
force, and so immutably sacred that even the misspellings or pen-slips
of the scribe, were most carefully preserved? It is a simple obvious
fact that if Christ had been orthodox, and had possessed what is so
often praised as a "child-like