THE MOKXIXG STAR IX THE GOSTELS. 



261 



that the eastern name for the Morning Star is, as Dr. Pinches has 

 pointed out, " She who proclaims " — the idea of a herald ; and Sir 

 Isaac Xewton's remark that the parabolic language used by the Lord 

 and John the Baptist generally referred — though not always — to 

 things then actually present. 



I think we must recognise that although the argument is very 

 probable only, the author has made oiu a very good case for his 

 conclusions. 



It is very interesting to notice that our common word " star " is 

 connected with the Bal\vlonian name of the Queen planet. The 

 rock crystal lens found by Layard is not by any means the sole 

 evidence that the ancients understood artificial aid to vision. They 

 were also accjuainted with the use of long tubes and very possibly 

 with some kind of telescope. 



I cannot concur with the author in his interpretation of John iii, 

 30, on p. 25. He gives two explanations, one of them by Mimpriss, 

 — but he prefers the other one. I certainly think that by 

 Mimpriss is more correct. The idea that the wicked one in 

 2 Thess. ii, is represented by a star, appears altogether improbable. 



Again, the author truly says, "if it is allowable for the verb to 

 refer to the stars as well." But it is not allowable, and as it appears 

 to me, the argument in favoiu' of the interpretation Xo. 1 collapses. 

 But naturally we should take the passage as that suggested by 

 Mimpriss, that the Baptist preceded Christ in the same sort of way 

 as the Morning Stai- precedes the Sun, and as the Sun increases in 

 brilliance of course the star would decrease. To suggest that 

 non-appearance in the sky is decrease appears to me altogether 

 untenable. 



"We have to thank the author very much for this valuable paper. 

 He has succeeded in deducing Gospel harmonies from " the music of 

 the spheres,'"' and enlisting the rays of the beautiful planet in 

 attestation to the sacred truth of the Bible. AVe shall thoroughly 

 agree with him that these harmonies bear witness to the utter 

 truthfulness of the divinely inspired records in the Gospels, as the 

 existence of the harmonies would have been impossible in a mere 

 made-up story. 



A Member. — I would like to ask, are we to give up the 

 chronology stated in our Authorised Version of the Bible 1 There 

 we are told that our Lord was born four years before the period 



