eady written, and as freely
invented others. All the events, all the words, of the Gospel
thus composed, are subordinate to the main design, which was worked out
by the author with an artistic completeness most ingeniously traced by
his German interpreters. Each miracle symbolizes some important dogma,
and its narration must be understood to mean that it embodies
some deep spiritual truth, not, necessarily, that it ever actually
took place. The author manifests, throughout, his ignorance of
Jewish customs, and his antagonism to Jewish sentiments."

* * * * *

"The general purport of the poem can scarcely be doubted,
as we look back upon it as a whole and consider its main conclusions.
The tendency of the argument is to diminish the importance of
the original events--historical or traditional--on which
the Christian religion is based. `It is not worth while,'
the writer seems to say to Strauss and his followers,
`to occupy ourselves with discussions about miracles and events
which are said to have taken place a long time ago,
and can now neither be denied or proved. What we are concerned with,
is, Christianity as it is now: as a religion which the human mind
has through many generations developed, purified, spiritualized;
and which has reacted upon human nature and made it wiser and nobler.
Shall we give up this faith which has been so great a power
for good in the world, and which, its whole past history justifies us
in concluding, will continue its work of improvement, because our belief
in certain events is shaken or destroyed? It would be vain, indeed,
thus to build our religion on a foundation so unstable
as material evidence. For human sensations are not infallible;
they very often deceive us; we think we see objects, which are really
the illusions of our own brain; others we see in part only,
or distorted; others we fail to perceive at all. Our faith,
essential as it is to the well-being of the deepest parts of our nature,
must not be dependent on such controlling powers as these.'"

* * * * *

"He {Browning} was, we may suppose, offended by Strauss's
ruthless attack on much that mankind has held sacred for ages.
His religious sense was revolted by the assumption that
there was nothing in Christianity which could survive the destruction
of the miraculous and supernatural elements in its history.
He desired to represent Christianity as an entirely spiritual religion,