Does some one say that we have only the record of his life
given by his friends? We have one thing more — the eloquent
silence of his enemies. Silent they must be, or Rabbi Hirsh
would not have called him, "The greatest prophet ever born
of woman."

Was Jesus a madman? There have been insane enthusiasts
who have fancied themselves the vicegerents of the Almighty.
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282 STUDIES IN MORAL SCIENCE

Invariably such men show certain well understood charac-
teristics, (i) They lack self control. Jesus was self poised.
Nothing ever disturbed the calm equanimity of that serene
soul. (2) Such persons invariably reveal the fact that down
deep in their hearts they are swayed by the ordinary motives
of greed or ambition. Peter the Hermit, Swedenborg, Joseph
Smith, Madam Blavatsky, John Alexander Dowie, and Mary
Baker Eddy are examples. Of Jesus: "No guile was found
in his mouth." So far as known to this writer in every case
of men assuming the place of reUgious leaders under a craze of
enthusiasm there has been some method pursued contributing
to the gratification of their own passions or to the satisfaction
of their ambition and love of distinction in the present Ufe.
