232 GEOEGE JOHN EOMANES 1881* 



history of the human race. A topic of great impor- 

 tance is the influence of Christ's personality in secur- 

 ing the acceptance of His teaching. The personal 

 character of Christ is of an order sui generis, and even 

 the most advanced of sceptics have done homage to it. 

 The more keen the intellectual criticism, the greater 

 is the appreciation of the uniqueness of the person- 

 ality. Men may cease to wonder at the effect of 

 Christ's teaching ; for, given the wonderful person- 

 ality, all the rest must follow. Whatever answers 

 different persons may give to the questions, " What 

 think ye of Christ ? Whose son is He ? " everyone 

 must agree that " His name shall be called Wonder- 

 ful!'" 



This brought on him two characteristic letters, 

 one from an Agnostic lady, blaming him for attach- 

 ing so much importance to Him whom she was 

 pleased to call ' The Peasant of Nazareth,' the other 

 from Dr. Paget : 



Christ Church, Oxford : January 14, 1889. 



My dear Eomanes, — I hope you will not think 

 me impertinent if I write a few words of gratitude 

 for the happiness which I enjoyed in reading to-day 

 even such an account of your address at Toynbee Hall 

 as the ' Times ' gave me. There is always a risk of 

 impertinence in thanking a man for what he has said ; 

 for of course he has said it because he saw it, and 

 thought he ought to say it, quite simply. But I may 

 just thank you for the generous willingness with which 

 you accepted such a task : — and for the light in which 

 you looked at it : — as an opportunity for saying so 



