When _Æsculapius_ was a helpless infant, and when he was about to be put to death, a voice from the god Apollo was heard, saying: "Slay not the child with the mother; _he is born to do great things_; but bear him to the wise centaur Cheiron, and bid him train the boy in all his wisdom and teach him to do brave deeds, that men may praise his name in the generations that shall be hereafter."[149:2] As we stated above, the story of the Song of the Heavenly Host belongs exclusively to the _Luke_ narrator; none of the other writers of the synoptic Gospels know anything about it, which, if it really happened, seems very strange. If the reader will turn to the apocryphal Gospel called "_Protevangelion_" (chapter xiii.), he will there see one of the reasons why it was thought best to leave this Gospel out of the canon of the New Testament. It relates the "Miracles at Mary's labor," similar to the _Luke_ narrator, but in a still more wonderful form. It is probably from this apocryphal Gospel that the Luke narrator copied. FOOTNOTES: [147:1] Luke, ii. 8-15. [147:2] Translated from the original Sanscrit by H. H. Wilson, M. D., F. R. S. [147:3] All the virgin-born Saviours are born at _midnight or early dawn_. [147:4] Vishnu Purana, book v. ch. iii. p. 502. [147:5] See Amberly's Analysis, p. 226. Beal: Hist. Buddha, pp. 45, 46, 47, and Bunsen's Angel-Messiah, p. 35. [148:1] See Beal: Hist. Buddha, pp. 43, 55, 56, and Bunsen's Angel-Messiah, p. 35. [148:2] See Amberly: Analysis of Religious Belief, p. 84. [148:3] Davis: History of China, vol. ii. p. 48. See also Thornton: Hist. China, i. 152. [148:4] See Prichard's Egyptian Mythology, p. 56, and Kenrick's Egypt, vol. i. p. 408. [148:5] Bonwick: Egyptian Belief, p. 424, and Kenrick's Egypt, vol. i. p. 408. [148:6] See Tales of Ancient Greece, p. 4. [149:1] See Tales of Ancient Greece, p. 55. [149:2] Ibid. p. 45. CHAPTER XV. THE DIVINE CHILD RECOGNIZED AND PRESENTED WITH GIFTS. The next in order of the wonderful events which are related to have happened at the birth of Christ Jesus, is the recognition of the divine child, and the presentation of gifts. We are informed by the _Matthew_ narrator, that being guided by a star, the _Magi_[150:1] from the east came to where the young child was. "And when they were come into the _house_ (not _stable_) they saw the young child, with Mary his mother, and fell down and worshiped him. And when they had opened their treasures, they presented unto him gifts, gold, frankincense, and myrrh."[150:2] The _Luke_ narrator--who seems to know nothing about the Magi from the east--informs us that _shepherds_ came and worshiped the young child. They were keeping their flocks by night when the angel of the Lord appeared before them, saying: "Behold, I bring you good tidings--for unto you is born this day in the city of David a Saviour, which is Christ the Lord."