Essays Upon Some Controverted QuestionsHuxley, Thomas Henry
Religion
Essays Upon Some Controverted Questions
Huxley, Thomas Henry
Science
Far be it from me to set myself up as a judge of any such delicate question
as that put before me; but I think I may venture to express the conviction
that, in the matter of courage, Dr. Wace has raised for himself a monument
_ære perennius_. For really, in my poor judgment, a certain splendid
intrepidity, such as one admires in the leader of a forlorn hope, is
manifested by Dr. Wace when he solemnly affirms that he believes the
Gadarene story on the evidence offered. I feel less complimented perhaps
than I ought to do, when I am told that I have been an accomplice in
extinguishing in Dr. Wace's mind the last glimmer of doubt which common
sense may have suggested. In fact, I must disclaim all responsibility for
the use to which the information I supplied has been put. I formally
decline to admit that the expression of my ignorance whether devils, in the
existence of which I do not believe, if they did exist, might or might not
be made to go out of men into pigs, can, as a matter of logic, have been of
any use whatever to a person who already believed in devils and in the
historical accuracy of the gospels.
Of the Gadarene story, Dr. Wace, with all solemnity and twice over, affirms
that he "believes it." I am sorry to trouble him further, but what does he
mean by "it"? Because there are two stories, one in "Mark" and "Luke," and
the other in "Matthew." In the former, which I quoted in my previous paper,
there is one possessed man; in the latter there are two. The story is told
fully, with the vigorous homely diction and the {445} picturesque details
of a piece of folklore, in the second gospel. The immediately antecedent
event is the storm on the Lake of Gennesaret. The immediately consequent
events are the message from the ruler of the synagogue and the healing of
the woman with an issue of blood. In the third gospel, the order of events
is exactly the same, and there is an extremely close general and verbal
correspondence between the narratives of the miracle. Both agree in stating
that there was only one possessed man, and that he was the residence of
many devils, whose name was "Legion."
In the first gospel, the event which immediately precedes the Gadarene
affair is, as before, the storm; the message from the ruler and the healing
of the issue are separated from it by the accounts of the healing of a
paralytic, of the calling of Matthew, and of a discussion with some
Pharisees. Again, while the second gospel speaks of the country of the
"Gerasenes" as the locality of the event, the third gospel has "Gerasenes,"
"Gergesenes," and "Gadarenes" in different ancient MSS.; while the first
has "Gadarenes."
Public-domain text, read in full here on John Shaqi.
Reviews
Reviews
No reviews yet
Be the first to share your thoughts on this work.
Elsewhere in the archive
Join the Discussion
Join the discussion
Sign in to leave a comment or review.
Sign InorCreate an account