Jan.9] PROCEEDINGS. [1894.
The prevalence of the word hiyjrvxi* is a history in itself. It
impliesthe recurrence of periods of persecution, whenmen'ssincerity
was tried by fear of suffering and death. Jewas well as Christian
encounteredthis ordeal ; and the Testament of Benjamin holdsout
the ' crown of glory ' as the reward of constancy.
Theway,o$o?,the right way,contrasted moreor less in detail
with the wrong, is another common placeof frequent occurrence.
Theadmirableallegoryof Cebes had popularized the same figurein
the Grecian world. ' The broadandnarrowway ' will suggestitself
to every readerof the New Testament,who will also see a new
significanceand a more pointedreferencein the declaration " I am
the Way, the Truth, andthe Life."
Anotherideanot quite so often repeated,namely,thatthe order,
Ta'f ti, of creation is a pattern of the obedience andself control which
shouldreignin man's moralnature,is again a link betweenEastand
West. It is well known that the Stoics and Eclecticsof the day
regardedthismoralimitationas a main partof their fundamental
principleof livingaccordingto nature. TheTestamentof Nephthali
speaksof God as having madeall things fair in order, whichorderis
speciallytracedin the structure of the human body. St. Clement, a
simplemindedman,risesalmostto sublimity in a highly elaborated
description of the manifold harmoniesof creation. St. Paul, in
declaring " God is not a God of disorder," appealsto an axiom
familiarto and accepted by his hearers.
Theideais to be traced backto the Sacred Bookof the Izaniens,
andindeed to the Vedas : as appears by the following quotation
fromDr. L. H. Mill's articleon Zoroaster in the current numberof
the Nineteenth Century Review. " Asha, the Vedic Rita, is the
divine Order, the symmetry and perfectionin the ritual and the
soul,and at the same timea poetically personifiedarchangel."
Thewriterof the Greek versionof the Testaments seemsto have
beenfamiliarwithsome,if not all, of the books of the New Testa
ment. Thecorrespondencesof matter andwordingare too frequent
and too close to be explained by the consideration thatwriters
dealingwithsimilarsubjectswoulduse similar language. Theproof
of this assertionwouldbe long and tedious. Oneor two corres
pondencesshallbe selected, whichare interesting in themselves.
" He that is washed (XeXoiyieVo?) needeth not save to wash
(vityaeOai)his feet." Levi(Test. 9) represents the angel as giving
himthis command: " Before thou enterestthe Holy Place,bathe
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