3 i 4 RELIGION 



As with all other branches of Egyptology, the study of 

 Egyptian religion owes much to the great name of Gaston 

 MASPERO (1846-1916), whose scattered essays have been 

 collected under the title: "Etudes de mythologie et 

 d'archeologie egyptiennes" (6 vols., Paris, 1893-), and 

 constitute the most important single contribution to 

 the subject. 



Of far different character from all these scholars, but 

 of very great significance for the study of religion, is the 

 genius of Ernest RENAN (1823-1892). His "Histoire 

 du peuple dTsrael" (5 vols., Paris, 1887-1894), and 

 his far more important " Histoire des origines du Christ- 

 ianisme" (7 vols., Paris, 1863-1882), represent, as does the 

 work of no other man, the reaction of the modern Occi- 

 dental mind upon its inherited religion, and their contem- 

 porary significance may have somewhat overshadowed 

 their undeniably great historical value. The "Vie de 

 Jesus" (1863; subsequently printed as vol. i of the "His- 

 toire des origines"), though marred, from the standpoint 

 of present-day taste, by excessive sentimentality, and 

 from that of contemporary scholarship by excessive reliance 

 on the Fourth Gospel, remains a classic. 



The study of religion acquired academic standing in 

 France in 1880, when Albert REVILLE (1826-1906) 

 was appointed to the new chair of the history of religions 

 at the College de France. This recognition, together 

 with the foundation in the same year of the "Revue de 

 1'histoire des religions," still the chief periodical in its 

 field and one of the very best in any field, gave great 

 stimulus to the historical study of religion. Reville him- 

 self contributed much to this study ("Histoire des reli- 

 gions," 3 vols., Paris, 1883-1886; Hibbert Lectures, 1884;' 

 " Prolegomenes de Fhistoire des religions," Paris, 1880, 

 4th ed., 1886; tr. London, 1884; "Jesus de Nazareth," 

 2 vols., Paris, 1897). 



