The Life of Jesus

Life of Jesus, The

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Title: The Life of Jesus
Author: Ernest Renan
Release Date: August 22, 2005 [EBook #16581]
Language: English
Character set encoding: ISO-8859-1
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THE
LIFE
OF

JESUS
BY
ERNEST RENAN
INTRODUCTION BY
JOHN HAYNES HOLMES
[Transcriber's note: Introduction by John Haynes Holmes not included
in this etext due to copyright restrictions.]
MODERN LIBRARY NEW YORK
INTRODUCTION COPYRIGHT, 1927, BY THE MODERN
LIBRARY, INC.
Random House IS THE PUBLISHER OF
THE MODERN LIBRARY
BENNETT A. CERF * DONALD S. KLOPPER * ROBERT K. HAAS
Manufactured in the United States of America
Printed by Parkway Printing Company * Bound by H. Wolff

TO THE PURE SOUL OF
MY SISTER HENRIETTE
_Who Died at Byblus on the 24th of September, 1861_
Dost thou recall, from the bosom of God where thou reposest, those
long days at Ghazir, in which, alone with thee, I wrote these pages,
inspired by the places we had visited together? Silent at my side, thou
didst read and copy each sheet as soon as I had written it, whilst the sea,

the villages, the ravines, and the mountains, were spread at our feet.
When the overwhelming light had given place to the innumerable army
of stars, thy shrewd and subtle questions, thy discreet doubts, led me
back to the sublime object of our common thoughts. One day thou didst
tell me that thou wouldst love this book--first, because it had been
composed with thee, and also because it pleased thee. Though at times
thou didst fear for it the narrow judgments of the frivolous, yet wert
thou ever persuaded that all truly religious souls would ultimately take
pleasure in it. In the midst of these sweet meditations, the Angel of
Death struck us both with his wing: the sleep of fever seized us at the
same time--I awoke alone!... Thou sleepest now in the land of Adonis,
near the holy Byblus and the sacred stream where the women of the
ancient mysteries came to mingle their tears. Reveal to me, O good
genius, to me whom thou lovedst, those truths which conquer death,
deprive it of terror, and make it almost beloved.

PREFACE
In presenting an English version of the celebrated work of M. Renan,
the translator is aware of the difficulty of adequately rendering a work
so admirable for its style and beauty of composition. It is not an easy
task to reproduce the terseness and eloquence which characterize the
original. Whatever its success in these respects may be, no pains have
been spared to give the author's meaning. The translation has been
revised by highly competent persons; but although great care has been
taken in this respect, it is possible that a few errors may still have
escaped notice.
The great problem of the present age is to preserve the religious spirit,
whilst getting rid of the superstitions and absurdities that deform it, and
which are alike opposed to science and common sense. The works of
Mr. F.W. Newman and of Bishop Colenso, and the "Essays and
Reviews," are rendering great service in this direction. The work of M.
Renan will contribute to this object; and, if its utility may be measured
by the storm which it has created amongst the obscurantists in France,
and the heartiness with which they have condemned it, its merits in this

respect must be very great. It needs only to be added, that whilst
warmly sympathizing with the earnest spirit which pervades the book,
the translator by no means wishes to be identified with all the opinions
therein expressed.
_December 8, 1863._

CONTENTS
PAGE
Introduction, by John Haynes Holmes 15
Introduction, in Which the Sources of This History Are Principally
Treated 25
CHAPTER I
Place of Jesus in the History of the World 67
CHAPTER II
Infancy and Youth of Jesus--His First Impressions 81
CHAPTER III
Education of Jesus 89
CHAPTER IV
The Order of Thought Which Surrounded the Development of Jesus 99
CHAPTER V
The First Saying of Jesus--His Ideas of a Divine Father and of a Pure
Religion--First Disciples 119

CHAPTER VI
John the Baptist--Visit of Jesus to John, and His Abode in the Desert of
Judea--Adoption of the Baptism of John 135
CHAPTER VII
Development of the Ideas of Jesus Respecting the Kingdom of God 148
CHAPTER VIII
Jesus at Capernaum 160