who was called the Baptist; for Herod slew him, who was a good man (ἀγαθὸν ἄνδρα), and
commanded the Jews to exercise virtue, both as to righteousness towards one another, and piety
towards God, and so to come to baptism; for that the washing [with water] would be acceptable to
him, if they made use of it, not in order to the putting away [or the remission] of some sins [only],
but for the purification of the body: supposing still that the soul was thoroughly purified beforehand
by righteousness. Now when [many] others came in crowds about him, for they were greatly moved
[or pleased] by hearing his words, Herod, who feared lest the great influence John had over the
people might put it into his power and inclination to raise a rebellion (for they seemed ready to do
anything he should advise), thought it best, by putting him to death, to prevent any mischief he
might cause, and not bring himself into difficulties, by sparing a man who might make him repent
of it when it should be too late. Accordingly he was sent a prisoner, out of Herod’s suspicious
temper, to Machaerus, the castle I before mentioned, and was there put to death. Now the Jews had
an opinion that the destruction of this army was sent as a punishment upon Herod, and a mark of
God’s displeasure to him."
IV. The Testimony of Mara to Christ, a.d. 74. This extra-biblical notice of Christ, made
known first in 1865, and referred to above § 14 p. 94) reads as follows (as translated from the Syriac
by Cureton and Pratten):
"What are we to say, when the wise are dragged by force by hands of tyrants, and their
wisdom is deprived of its freedom by slander, and they are plundered for their [superior] intelligence,
without [the opportunity of making] a defence? [They are not wholly to be pitied.] For what benefit
did the Athenians obtain by putting Socrates to death, seeing that they received as retribution for
it famine and pestilence? Or the people of Samos by the burning of Pythagoras, seeing that in one
hour the whole of their country was covered with sand? Or The Jews [by the murder] of their Wise
King, seeing that from that very time their kingdom was driven away [from them]? For with justice
did God grant a recompense to the wisdom of [all] three of them. For the Athenians died by famine;
and the people of Samos were covered by the sea without remedy; and the Jews, brought to
destruction and expelled from their kingdom, are driven away into every land. [Nay], Socrates did
not die, because of Plato; nor yet Pythagoras, because of the statue of Hera; nor yet The Wise King,
because of the new laws he enacted.
The nationality and position of Mara are unknown. Dr. Payne Smith supposes him to have
been a Persian. He wrote from prison and wished to die, "by what kind of death concerns me not."
In the beginning of his letter Mara says: "On this account, lo, I have written for thee this record,
[touching] that which I have by careful observation discovered in the world. For the kind of life
men lead has been carefully observed by me. I tread the path of learning, and from the study of
Greek philosophy have I found out all these things, although they suffered shipwreck when the
birth of life took place." The birth of life may refer to the appearance of Christianity in the world,
or to Mara’s own conversion. But there is no other indication that he was a Christian. The advice
he gives to his son is simply to "devote himself to wisdom, the fount of all things good, the treasure
that fails not."§ 19. The Resurrection of Christ.A.D. 1-100.