eth him all the
kingdoms of the world, and the glory of them; and saith unto him, All
these things will I give thee, if thou wilt fall down and worship me.
Then saith Jesus unto him, Get thee hence, Satan. Then the devil leaveth
him, and, behold, angels came and ministered unto him." Now,
historically speaking, and as a matter of scriptural exegesis, that this
passage should be accepted literally is not supposable. Satan, on the
occasion referred to, must not be taken to have presented himself to the
Saviour _in propria persona_ with his attributes of horns, tail, and
cloven hoof, and made an outright proposition of extra-territorial
sovereignty. It was a parable. He who had assumed a lofty moral attitude
was tempted by worldly inducements to adopt a lower attitude,--that, in
a word, common among men. It was a whispering to Christ of what among
nations, is known as "Manifest Destiny;" in that case, however, as
possibly in others, it so chanced that the whispering was not from the
Almighty, but from Satan. Now if, instead of recognizing the source
whence the temptation came, and sternly saying, "Get thee hence, Satan,"
Christ had seen the proposition as a new Mission,--thought, in fact,
that he heard a distinct call to Duty,--and so, accepting a
Responsibility thrust upon him, had hurried down from the "exceeding
high mountain," and proceeded at once to lay in a supply of weapons and
to don defensive armor, renouncing his peaceful mission, he would have
done exactly--what Mohammed did six centuries later!

I do not for a moment mean to suggest that, as respects the voice of
"Manifest Destiny," there is any similarity between the case of the
Saviour and that which we, as a people, are now considering. I am not a
prophet, nor do I claim prophetic insight. We are merely historical
investigators, and, as such, not admitted into the councils of the
Almighty. Others doubtless are, or certainly claim to be. They know
every time, and at once, whether it is the inspiration of God or the
devil; and forthwith proclaim it from the house-tops. We must admit--at
any rate no evidence in our possession enables us to deny--the
confidential relations such claim to have with either or both of the
agencies in question,--the Divine or the Infernal. All I now have in
mind is to call attention to the obvious similarity of the positions. As
compared with the ideals and tenets then in vogue,--principles of
manhood, equality before the law, freed