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theless differ widely in their religious creeds and dogmas. 

 Were it possible to subject to examination the psychic 

 condition of any nation at the given time when its natio- 

 nal religion took a concrete form we should see clearly 

 why just such a faith should spring to life at just such a 

 time and amongst just such a people. 



As an excellent exposition of the causes why the 

 Christian religion spread so rapidly over the earth I must 

 commend a work from the pen of an English author, 

 Mark Wallace. This book contains many strange anec- 

 dotes of the personal life of Christ which in some cases 

 seem to conflict with the apostolic records, but which, 

 on deeper study, introduce the reader to the teaching 

 of the Christian gospel as the only evangel which could 

 possibly reconcile contemporary mankind to life on 

 earth. 



The elements of the Christian doctrines had long be- 

 fore appeared in the classic ages. Socrates and Aeschines 

 had reached the dogmas of Christianity by philosophic 

 contemplation, but their philosophy withered and died in 

 the rank soil of satiety and were the heritage of only 

 an elect few. A very different picture is presented us by 

 Wallace in his description of the age in which the Sa- 

 viour was born. This was an age of Roman dominion 



when all the world lay beneath the iron heel of the 



' i 



conqueror. Outrage and violence were rampant every- 

 where. Every holy thing, family and life and honour, 

 all was trodden under foot by arbitrary satraps of the 

 central power against whom no complaints were heard 

 and no resistance to whose will offered the slightest 

 chances of success. 



By the laws of that age the only witness whose evi- 

 dence against any Roman citizen in a court was valid 

 was some other Roman citizen. If even a whole conque- 

 red province gave evidence unanimously against their 

 governor to the Senate, however atrocious the case 

 might be the Roman Senate was sure always to take the 

 side of the governor and not the aliens, inasmuch as no 



