reen? How did he discover that the Magi, or priests
of the Zoroastrian religion, were really Buddhists and came from India?
Had Sir Edwin less communication with the "sovereign voice," we should
have imagined that the Magi were transformed into Buddhists for the sake
of convenience; Sir Edwin knowing comparatively little of the Persic
faith, but a good deal of the Indian, and possessing a natural itch
to display his own learning. Further we should have asked him how he
discovered that by three years after the Crucifixion the Christian faith
had spread to Athens and Rome. According to all previous records the
statement is simply preposterous. But the "sovereign voice" has spoken
through Sir Edwin Arnold, and thrown quite a fresh light on the earliest
history of Christianity. Then, again, we should have been curious to
know why Sir Edwin accepted the legend of Mary Magdalene being the
tenant of Magdal Tower, a place that never existed (as we thought) but
in the geography of faith. Humanly speaking, it seemed probable that the
lady's name had relation to head-dressing. But we live and learn, and in
the course of time the "sovereign voice" settles all these things.

There is no clear record in the gospels of Jesus Christ's visit to
Tyre, but Sir Edwin assures us he spent a few hours there--perhaps on an
excursion--and we bow to the "sovereign voice." Nor is there a scholar
in Christendom who regards the pretended letter from Publius Lentulus
to the Roman Senate as anything but a puerile forgery. Yet Sir Edwin
mentions it in a footnote, apparently with respect; indeed, he founds
upon it his personal description of Jesus. Once again, scholarship must
bow to the "sovereign voice." By the way, however, the Lentulus epistle
describes the hair of Jesus as "wine-color." This is adopted by Sir
Edwin, who construes is as "hazel," though--barring inspiration and
the "sovereign voice"--it might have meant the color which is sometimes
politely, if not accurately, called auburn. Anyhow, the ancients were
acquainted with various colored wines, and it is satisfactory to know
the precise hue intended by the gentleman who wrote the epistle of
Lentulus.

Sir Edwin represents Jesus as a Nazarite. Now, the Nazarites eschewed
scissors and razors, but Sir Edwin says they parted their hair in the
middle, which is another tip from the "sovereign voice." Sir Edwin
flashes his inspiration on another point. Critics are satisfied that
the Emperor Jul