Delphi Complete Works of George Eliot (Illustrated) (718 page)

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Authors: George Eliot

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an objective vocation, in wliicli tlie conditions of external reality are a chief co-operator, as tlie vocation of the statesman, the general, the reformer of religion, can hardly be so early evident to the most highly endowed individual, because for this a knowledge of contemporary circumstances would be requisite, which only long observation and mature experience can confer. Of the latter kind is the vocation of tlie Messiah, and if this is implied in the words by which Jesus in his twelfth year justified his lingering in tlie temple, he cannot have uttered the words at that period.
 
In anotlier point of view also, it is worthy of notice that the parents of Jesus are said (v. 50) not to have understood tlie words which lie addressed to them. What did these words signify? That God was Ills Father, in whose house it behoved him to be.
 
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THE LIFE OF JESUS.
 
35), and that he would have a peculiar relation to the temple she miglit infer, both from the above title, and from tlie striking reception which he had met with at his first presentation in the temple, when yet an infant. The parents of Jesus, or at least Mary, of whom it is repeatedly noticed that she carefully kept in her heart tlie extraordinary communications concerning her son, ought not to liave been in the dark a single moment as to the meaning of his language on this occasion. But even at the presentation in the temple, we are told that the parents of Jesus marvelled at tlie discourse of Simeon (v. 33.), which is merely saying in other words that they did not understand him. And their wonder is not referred to the declaration of Simeon that their boy would be a cause not only of the rising again, but of the fall of many in Israel, and that a sword would pierce through the heart of his mother (an aspect of Ins vocation and destiny on which nothing had previously been communicated to the parents of Jesus, and at which therefore they might naturally wonder); for these disclosures are not made by Simeon until after the wonder of the parents, which is caused only by Simeon’s expressions of joy at the sight of tlie Saviour, who would be the glory of Israel, and a liglit even to the Gentiles. And liere again there is no intimation that the wonder was excited by tlie idea that Jesus would bear this relation to tlie heathens, which indeed it could not well be, since this more extended destination of the Messiah had been predicted in the Old Testament. There remains therefore as a reason for tlie wonder in question, merely tlie fact of tlie child’s Messiahship, declared by Simeon; a fact which had been long ago announced to them by angels, and which was acknowledged by Mary in her song of praise. We have just a parallel difficulty in the present case, it being as inconceivable that the parents of Jesus sliould not understand his allusion to his messianic character, as that they should wonder at tlie declaration of it by Simeon. We must therefore draw this conclusion : if the parents of Jesus did not understand these expressions of their son when twelve years old, those earlier communications cannot have happened; or, if the earlier communications really occurred, tlie subsequent expressions of Jesus cannot have remained incomprehensible to them. Having done away with those earlier incidents as liistorical, we might content ourselves with this later want of comprehension, were it not fair to mistrust tlie whole of a narrative whose later portions agree so ill with the preceding. For it is the character not of an historical record, but of a marvellous legend, to represent its personages as so permanently in a state of wonder, that they not only at tlie first appearance of the extraordinary, but even at tlie second, third, tenth repetition, when one would expect them to be familiarized with it, continually are astonished and do not understand-obviously with the view of exalting tlie more highly the divine impartation 1-iv tins laa+incr incnmiTrp.hensibleness. So. to draw an example from
FIKST VISIT TO THE TEMPLE.
 
death is set forth in all its loftiness in the evangelical narratives by tlie circumstance, that even tlie repeated, explicit disclosures of Jesus on this subject, remain throughout incomprehensible to tlie disciples ; as here tlie mystery of tlie Messiahship of Jesus is exalted by the circumstance, tliat his parents, often as it has been announced to them, at every fresh word on the subject are astonished anew and do not understand.
 
Tlie twofold form of conclusion, that tlie mother of Jesus kept all tlicsc sayings in her heart (v. 51), and that the boy grew in wisdom and stature, and so forth, we have already recognised as a favourite form of conclusion and transition in tlie heroic legend of the Hebrews; in particular, tliat which relates to the growth of the boy is almost verbally parallel with a passage relating to Samuel, as in two former instances similar expressions appeared to have been borrowed from tlie history of Samson.*
 
§. 41. THIS NAKEATIVE ALSO MYTHICAL.
 
THUS here again we must acknowledge the influence of the legend ; but as tlie main part of the incident is thoroughly natural, we might in this instance prefer tlie middle course, and after disergaging tlie mythical, seek to preserve a residue of history. We might suppose tliat tlie parents of Jesus really took their son to Jerusalem in liis early youth, and tliat after having lost siglit of him, (probably before their departure,) they found him in the temple where, eager for instruction, lie sat at tlie feet of tlie rabbins. When called to account, lie declared tliat liis favourite abode was in tlie liouse of God ;f a sentiment which rejoiced liis parents, and won tlie approbation of tlie bystanders.
 
The rest of tlie story we miglit suppose to have been added by tlie aggrandizing legend, after Jesus was acknowledged as tlie Messiah. Here all tlie difficulties in our narrative,-tlie idea of tlie boy sittma- in tlie midst of the doctors, his
‘i/o
 
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claiming God as liis father in a special sense, and tlie departure of tlie parents witliout their sou, would be rejected; but tlie journey of Jesus when twelve years old, tlie eagerness for knowledge then manifested by him, and liis attachement to the temple, are retained.
To tlicse particulars there is nothing to object negatively, for they contain nothing improbable in itself; but their liistorical truth must become doubtful if we can slicw, positively, a strong interest of tlie legend, out of which tlie entire narrative, and especially tlicse intrinsifcally not improbable particulars, miglit have arisen.
 
That in the case of great men wlio in their riper ap’o liave been distinguished by mental superiority, the very first presaging movc
* 1 Sam. ii. 2C (LXX) : Luc. ii. »2:
 
Kat 7-0 •KtU&u.fiiov Sa^ow/A trropevero fieyalvvo- Kat ‘Irjvovf TTpocnonre ao^la nai ij7u.n’tf., ndl ficvov, Kai uya-Sov K.O.I {IETU. Kvpiov Kal fieril;l;a;/)(Tt vapii tfeu Kai ui-Qpuwou;,
I’tvSpi’wuv.
 
Coinp:irf a)Bo whnt Josephus says Antiq. ii. ix. 6. of the ^optf vatBwfi of Moses. + Gali
Ipr n»,,,i..t ‘*1,--1T----1 n«r. r>.i
THE LIFE OF JESUS.
 
menta of their mind are eagerly gleaned, and if they are not to be ascertained historically, are invented under the guidance of probability, is well known. In the Hebrew history and legend especially, we lind manifold proofs of this tendency. Thus of Samuel it is said in the Old Testament itself, that even as a boy he received a divine revelation and the gift of prophecy (1 Sam. iii.), and with respect to Moses, on whose boyish years the Old Testament narrative is silent, a subsequent tradition, followed by Josephus and Philo, had .striking proofs to relate of his early development. As in tlie narrative before us Jesus shews himself wise beyond his years; so this tradition attributes a like precocity to Moses;* as Jesus turning away from tlie idle tumult of the city in all the excitement of festival tune, finds his favourite entertainment in tlie temple among tlie doctors ; so the boy Moses was not attracted by childish sports, but by serious occupation, and very early it was necessary to give him tutors, whom, however, like Jesus in his twelfth year, lie quickly
surpassed, f
According to Jcwisli custom and opinion, tlie twelftli year formed
an epoch in development to wliicli especial proofs of awakening genius were the rather attaclicd, because in tlie twelftli year, as with us in tlie fourteenth, tlie boy was regarded as having outgrown tlie period of childhood.:): Accordingly it was believed of Moses, that in Ilia twelfth year lie left tlie liouse of Ills fatlicr, to become an independent organ of tlie divine rcvclatlons.§ The Old Testament leaves it uncertain how early the gift of propliecy was imparted to Samuel, but he was said by a later tradition to have prophesied from liis twelfth year :|| and in like manner tlie wise judgments of Solomon and Daniel (1 Kings iii. 23 ff. Susann. 45 ff.) were supposed to have been given wlicn tlicy were only twelve.^ It in tlie case of tlicsc Old Testament heroes, the spirit that impelled them manifested itself according to common opinion so early as in their twelftli year, it was argued that it could not have remained longer concealed in Jesus; and if Samuel and David shewed themselves at
* Joseph. Ant. ii. ix. (;.
 
f Philo, flu vita llosis, Opp. ed. Mangey, V. 2. p. 83 f. ovX
{M.a KO^iSi/ victor ?/O£TO TuQao^oic KCU •)e’kuai Hal Trai.Sicuc-u^-V alSu nal oeyvorriTa irapa(jiaivuv. utTttvofUiai nal Hwfiaacv, u rf/v V”W c^e^er u^tViaeiv •npoaely.6t6u.amf.oi S
ai9v<:, W.a.xo9sv u/iAoc, mpf/aav.-uv Iv oil jzaaptJ xpuvy Tac fmiifitif vvspt.iSu.Ai.-v, sv/zoiptf ^i’dmi;  
So Joma f. Ixxxii. 1.
 
lierachoth f. xxiv. 1 ; whereas Bercschith Itabba Ixii. mentions tin-. l;!th year as the critical one. § Schenioth ]!. ap. Wetstcin : Dixit K.
fi/1’iinii : Muse’s iliiiidrniii-ius civilians est a domo patris sui etc.
 
\\ Josepll. Antiq. f. x. •t :
 
Sn^or»;Aof or •Km’/’-ripww £7-0; ijuij uw’ieKarov, vpOEifir/Tevc.•[ Ignat, ep. (inlerpiil.) ad Magnes. c. iii.:
 
^o?.o,uuv 6’e-6uuriKaeTf]r jSaai’Ae’uaaf, T/IV ijiopcpuv enehiiv Ka’i fivofpuiJvEin’av ivi Tail; -)’vvm;l npiow evens riiv vaiSiuv cTroiriaam. - Aimf/A 6 oofxic uuHcnacTTK
ytyovf ku-o^of ru Hsly uTti^aT-i, Ka’i rove flur-iiv rt/v TroAtuv ijicfmvrac vpsCjYcrai, ovuoipu.vrac Kiti eTTi-9vifi]Tu(: aAAorplou KuAAovi: ttff’7/A£}’^c.
 
But Solomon ...... briny kini/ at the. aye,
of tin-In’ ynirs, gim, Hi.nt trrriVr and pruJuund judgment between the women vith respect to the rliildnii. . . . . J)/iiurl, the wise man, vhen twelve years old, u-iis possvssniJ by the dti-iw.
 
spirit, nnd cunrlctiid tlhisc ritliiiitiiiutiiiJ old men who, carrying {/ray /»ir’s “t r.’ii”^ coveted tins beauty that lirliinyKd to uaolher. Tins, it is true, is found in a Christian writing, but on comparini; it with the above data, we are led to believe that is was drawn from a more
FIEST VISIT TO THE TEMPLE.
 
that age in their later capacity of divinely inspired seers, Solomon in that of a wise ruler, so Jesus at the corresponding period in his life must liave sliewn himself in tlie character to whicli he subsequently established his claim, tliat namely, of the Son of God and Teacher of Mankind. It is, in fact, the obvious aim of Luke to pass over no epocli in the early life of Jesus, without surrounding him with divine radiance, with significant prognostics of the future; in this style he treats his birth, mentions the circumcision at least emphatically, but above all avails himself of the presentation in the temple. There yet remained according to Jewish manners one epoch, tlie twelfth year, -with the first journey to the passover; liovv could he do otherwise than, following the legend, adorn this point in tlie development of Jesus as we find that lie has done in liis narrative ? and how could we do otherwise than regard his narrative as a legendary embellishment of this period in tlie life of Jesus,* from which we learn nothing of liis real development,! but merely something of tlie exalted notions which were entertained in tlie primitive church of tlie early ripened mind of Jesus ?

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