192 THE WHENCE AND THE WHITHER OF MAN 



The Carpenter of Nazareth stood before Pilate. 

 " And Pilate said unto him, Art thou a king then ? 

 Jesus answered, Thou sayest that I am a king. To 

 this end was I born, and for this cause came I into 

 the world, that I should bear witness unto the truth. 

 Every one that is of the truth heareth my voice." 

 And Pilate would not wait for the answer to his 

 question, What is truth ? and the Jews chose Barabbas. 

 Would you and I have acted differently? The answer 

 of our Lord to Pilate contains the essence of Chris- 

 tianity. " You a king," says Pilate in astonishment ; 

 " where is your power to enforce your authority ? ' 

 And our Lord's answer seems to me to mean sub- 

 stantially this : Roman legions shall suffer defeat, 

 rout, and extermination ; and Roman power shall 

 cease to terrify. All its might must decay. But 

 " everyone that is of the truth ' shall attach himself 

 to me with a love which will brave rack and stake. 

 All your power cannot give a grain of new life. I 

 can and will infuse my own divine life, my own divine 

 self, into men. And this new life is invincible, im- 

 mortal, all-conquering. I have infused myself into a 

 few fishermen, and they will infuse me into a host of 

 other men. Thus I will transfigure into my own char- 

 acter every man in the world, who is of the truth, and 

 therefore will hear my voice. All the power of Rome 

 cannot prevent it, and whatever opposes it must go 

 down before it. 



Christianity is the contagion of a divine life. So- 

 ciety is the medium through which it could and was to 

 work. Greece had prepared the language necessary 

 for its spread. Roman power had built its highways 

 and levelled all obstructions. 



