Yet why did he remain silent before us as to these ideas of his? If, indeed, these were his ideas; for even with the new light given by the Hebrew Memorabilia, I can see his thought but dimly. Why spake he not his own thought to the people in Jerusalem, and tell us no longer to hope for worldly dominion as the best means for spreading the Law of the Lord, but rather to be as servants of God, even as Esaias the Prophet hath spoken? Was it that he wished to carry out the description of the prophet even to every iota of his text? For, behold, the prophet sayeth, “He let himself be humbled, and opened not his mouth.” If so, then was the death of Jesus but a sublime suicide. For surely by this silence he has committed a grievous sin against us his people. For if we committed aught of sin and crime that handed him over to the Romans as a pretender to empire, he indeed shared our sin and crime by his silence. Ye Hellenes were at least greater in fault than we in the matter of Socrates; for ye condemned him after he had spoken his whole mind and made known his whole thought to his people; whereas we condemned one who, I make bold to say, was even greater than thy Socrates, mainly because of what seemed to us his sullen and arrogant silence, broken only by a confession of guilt when he knew he was not guilty. But yet, let me not be as harsh in judgment upon him after his death, as perhaps I was when I allowed the sentence to be declared against him without protest. He, least of all men, could have died with a lie upon his lips. In some sort and in some way he must have combined the thought of the triumphant Messiah and of the despised Servant of God. For in those Memorabilia of him which have come into my hands during the last days as being a message from him that is dead, I find these two things combined. He speaketh ever of the blessedness of the poor and the humble and the despised, even as the Ebionim speak. So that if a man would be blessed, he would choose a lowly career, even as did Jesus. Yet withal he speaketh oft of himself as the Son of Man, and every Jew that heard him would think he knew what he thereby claimed. For in the Prophets Daniel and Enoch it is clearly said that the Son of Man would come in victory over the world; and what other could this universal victor be than the Anointed One whom the prophets had foretold? If Jesus put another meaning upon the prophetic words, why spake he not his meaning fully unto the people? All we may have gone like sheep astray, but he that might have been our shepherd went apart alone with God.