ughts, had expressed principles about duty, about the
relative worth of things, about life, about love, about intercourse
with God, about the formation of character, the relation of classes, the
spirit of law, the essence of government, the unity of man, which had
not existed, or which were not formulated when he opened his lips, but
which have been and are the basis of society from the time they were
known till now."

This is a tissue of false assumptions. The sayings, thoughts, and
principles of Jesus _did_ exist before, and they _were_ formulated when
he opened his lips. Not one original utterance is ascribed to him in
the whole of the Gospels. It is idle to bandy generalisations; let
the Archbishop select specimens of Christ's teaching, and we will find
parallels to them, sometimes better and more wisely expressed, in the
utterances of his predecessors. Nor is it true that Christ's teachings
have been, or are, the basis of society. Society exists in defiance of
them. It is never based, and it never will be based, on any abstract
teaching. Its basis is _self-interest_, ever increasing in complexity,
and ever more and more illuminated by the growth of knowledge.

Take the case of oaths. Jesus said plainly, "Swear not at all." But
when earthly potentates wanted their subjects to swear fidelity, the
Christian priests discovered that Jesus meant, "Swear only on special
occasions." And it was reserved for an Atheist, in the nineteenth
century, to pass an Act allowing Christians to obey Jesus Christ.

Take the injunction, "Lay not up for yourselves treasures on earth."
Society could never exist upon such a basis, so the clergy find that
Jesus, like Polonius, spoke tropically. Every Christian is busy laying
up treasures on earth, and Archbishop Benson is well to the front in the
competition.

Having made ridiculous claims for Jesus Christ, the Archbishop proceeds
in this wise: "Next ask yourself whether a stainless, loving, sincere,
penetrating person like that makes or enlarges on unfounded declarations
as to matters of fact. Is it consistent with such a character?" Now
Jesus speaks of "the immense importance of his own person," he speaks
of "My flesh, My blood" as of vital power, he says "I and my Father
are one." Could he have been deceived? Well, why not? Honesty does not
guarantee us against error. The best of men have been mistaken, And
sincere natures are most liable to be deceived by taking subjective
impression