Philochristus

by Edwin Abbott Abbott

PHILOCHRISTUS

MEMOIRS OF A DISCIPLE OF THE LORD

Philochristus

Memoirs

OF

A DISCIPLE OF THE LORD

Ἔμαθεν ἀφ' ὧν ἔπαθεν τὴν ὑπακοήν

SECOND EDITION

BOSTON
ROBERTS BROTHERS
1878

Cambridge:

Press of John Wilson & Son.

TO

THE AUTHOR OF "ECCE HOMO"

NOT MORE IN ADMIRATION OF HIS WRITINGS

THAN IN GRATITUDE

FOR THE SUGGESTIVE INFLUENCE

OF A LONG AND INTIMATE FRIENDSHIP

PHILOCHRISTUS THE ELDER

TO

THE SAINTS OF THE CHURCH IN LONDINIUM,

Grace, Mercy, and Peace from the Lord Jesus Christ:

Forasmuch as almost all those disciples who with me saw the Lord Jesus in the flesh, are now fallen asleep, and I myself am well stricken in years and daily expect the summons of the Lord; it hath therefore seemed good to me to bequeath unto you some memorial of Christ in writing; which, instead of my voice, shall testify to you of him forever.

All the more need seemeth thereof because the Lord delayeth his coming. For now these ten years Jerusalem hath been trodden down of the Gentiles, and the words of the Lord concerning the destruction of the Holy City have been fulfilled; and yet he cometh not. Yea, and sometimes my mind presageth that his coming may be yet longer delayed, even till all they that knew him in the flesh have fallen asleep.

For this cause I was long ago moved, even from the second or third year after the destruction of the Holy City, to leave some record behind me to testify of the Lord. But when I adventured to write, behold, it was an hard matter and well-nigh impossible, to set forth such an image of the Lord Jesus as should be at once according to the truth, and yet not altogether too bright for mortal eye to look upon and love. Therefore at the last, when I perceived that it was not given unto me to portray any character of the Lord as he was in himself, I determined rather to set forth an history of mine own life; wherein, as in a mirror, might perchance be discerned some lineaments of the countenance of Christ, seen as by reflection, in the life of one that loved him.

THE TABLE.

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I.	Page
Of my Childhood in Galilee; and how I gave myself wholly to the Study of the Law	13
II.
Of my Doubts concerning the Law; and of the Patriots or Galileans; and of the Expectation concerning John the Son of Zachariah	21
III.
Concerning the Casting out of Unclean Spirits; and of the Nature of the Redemption of Israel; and how I first saw Jesus of Nazareth	37
IV.
Of the Doctrine of John the Prophet, how it suited with the People of the Land; and how I was baptized of the Prophet	52
V.
Of the Greek Philosophers in Alexandria; and how I had Discourse with Philo the Alexandrine	62
VI.
How I found not Salvation in the Worship of the Temple; nor in the Teachers of Galilee; nor in the Essenes; and how I first spake with Jesus of Nazareth	78
VII.
Of the Good News; and concerning the Kingdom of God; and how we desired of Jesus New Laws	94
VIII.
Of the New Laws	108
IX.
How Quartus interpreted the New Law	116
X.
How some desired Jesus to mix the New Law with the Old Law; and concerning the Legion of Swine; and how Jesus began to teach in Parables	125
XI.
Concerning the New Power of the Forgiveness of Sins	142
XII.
How the Forgiveness of Sins is the Key that openeth the New Kingdom; and how the Old Law and the New Law must not be mixed	154
XIII.
Of the Plotting of the Pharisees against Jesus, how they said he had a Devil; and concerning the Holy Spirit	165
XIV.
How John the Prophet doubted concerning Jesus; and concerning them that are "born of Women;" and of the Beheading of John the Prophet	180
XV.
How Jesus fled from Capernaum, and the Galileans at first fell away from him; and concerning the Levy in Galilee; and of the Visit of Jesus to Nazareth	189
XVI.
How, after the Death of John the Prophet, Jesus foresaw that he also must be slain; and of the Bread of Life, and the Feeding of the Five Thousand; and concerning the Leaven of the Pharisees and Sadducees	204
XVII.
How Xanthias the Alexandrine said that the Philosophy of Jesus aimed at the Taking in of the Gentiles into the Kingdom, and at the Enfranchisement of Slaves; and how he found fault with Jesus for that he called himself the Son of Man	211
XVIII.
Of Signs in Heaven; and concerning the Healing of the Syrophœnician Maiden, how Jesus seemed to gain thereby some New Knowledge	221
XIX.
How Jesus would work no Sign in Heaven; and concerning his Temptation; and wherefore he denied to work Signs in Heaven	229
XX.
How Jesus led us, in our Exile, to the Rock of Salvation; and how he founded the Temple of his Congregation thereon; and how he gave the Key thereof to Simon Peter	239
XXI.
How Jesus, having now determined to die, spake of that which was to come, with Moses and Elias, upon the Mount Hermon	254
XXII.
Of our going up to Jerusalem; and of the Division between Parents and Children; and how Jesus testified of a Day of Judgment	264
XXIII.
Of Covetousness; and of Fleeing from Death into Life; and concerning the Law of Retribution	272
XXIV.
Of the Falling away of Judas of Kerioth; and of the Times and Seasons; and of the Chief Places in the Kingdom; and how Jesus did and said nothing except it were prepared for him by the Father	285
XXV.
Concerning the Fire of the Lord; and of the Parables of Watching; and of the Holy Spirit; and how Quartus urgeth that Jesus knew not All Things beforehand	300
XXVI.
How Jesus went down to Jerusalem, as a King, to wage War against Satan in the Temple; and how he foresaw that the Temple must be cast down; and of the Parable of the Withered Fig-Tree	312
XXVII.
How Jesus prophesied of Troubles, and of a Great Battle against Satan; and in the End the Victory of the Son of Man; but, first of all, his Death	329
XXVIII.
How Jesus, by his Testament, bequeathed himself to his Disciples for ever; and how he bare the Sins of Men in Gethsemane	343
XXIX.
Of the Crucifixion of Jesus; and of his Last Words upon the Cross	358
XXX.
How the Holy Spirit, through much Sorrow, prepared the Disciples to behold Jesus risen from the Dead; and of the Vision of Angels, which appeared first of all unto the Women	371
XXXI.
How Jesus appeared oft-times to his Disciples; and how, after Many Days, he ascended up to Heaven	382
XXXII.
How Jesus now ruleth the World, sitting on the Right Hand of the Father in Heaven	396

 

  not individually listed

Postscript
Scholia