[173:1] Bible for Learners, vol. iii. pp. 71-74. [174:1] See Monumental Christianity, p. 238. CHAPTER XIX. THE TEMPTATION, AND FAST OF FORTY DAYS. We are informed by the _Matthew_ narrator that, after being baptized by John in the river Jordan, Jesus was led by the spirit into the wilderness "_to be tempted of the devil_." "And when he had fasted _forty days and forty nights_, he was afterward an hungered. And when the _tempter_ came to him he said: 'If thou be the Son of God, command that these stones be made bread.' . . . Then the devil taketh him up into the holy city, _and setteth him on a pinnacle of the temple_, and saith unto him: 'If thou be the Son of God, cast thyself down.' . . . Again, the devil taketh him up into an exceeding high mountain, _and showeth him all the kingdoms of the world_, and the glory of them, and saith unto him:' _All these things will I give thee_ if thou wilt fall down and worship me.' Then saith Jesus unto him, 'Get thee hence, Satan: for it is written, Thou shalt worship the Lord thy God, and him only shalt thou serve.' Then the devil leaveth him, and, behold, angels came and ministered unto him."[175:1] This is really a very peculiar story; it is therefore not to be wondered at that many of the early Christian Fathers rejected it as being fabulous,[175:2] but this, according to orthodox teaching, cannot be done; because, in all consistent reason, "_we must accept the whole of the inspired autographs or reject the whole_,"[175:3] and, because, "the very foundations of our faith, the very basis of our hopes, the very nearest and dearest of our consolations, are taken from us, when _one line_ of that sacred volume, on which we base everything, is declared to be untruthful and untrustworthy."[175:4] The reason why we have this story in the New Testament is because the writer wished to show that Christ Jesus was proof against all temptations, that _he_ too, as well as _Buddha_ and others, could resist the powers of the prince of evil. This Angel-Messiah was tempted by the devil, and he fasted for forty-seven days and nights, without taking an atom of food.[175:5] The story of Buddha's temptation, presented below, is taken from the "_Siamese Life of Buddha_," by Moncure D. Conway, and published in his "_Sacred Anthology_," from which we take it.[176:1] It is also to be found in the _Fo-pen-hing_,[176:2] and other works on Buddha and Buddhism. Buddha went through a more lengthy and severe trial than did Jesus, having been tempted in many different ways. The portion which most resembles that recorded by the Matthew narrator is the following: