For it is to be remembered that, while the divine Scriptures have lasted in their entirety through the ages, nearly every system of human philosophy--whether physical or metaphysical--has perished after a generation or two, to give place to another system. So would the Scriptures perish if it were left to us to amend them so as to fit the rational and intelligent science of the age. We were born to crucify the truth; it is our mission in life, and we must not be blamed when we fulfil our destiny. * * * * * Shortly after that visit of the priests and Levites to the baptisms of John, the promised Messiah suddenly appeared in the midst of the motley crowd gathered to hear the truth. A poor woman, the mother of two ordinary fishermen, thus described the divine miracle that thereupon happened. She told it somewhat thus: "I saw it. There was a great many people around; some saw it and some did not see it. I can't tell just how it was, but it was after He went down into the water with John. There was a light as if it was sunshine up this way; then something came. It looked like a dove--they all said it was a dove. It looked like it came down upon Him. I don't know how long it lasted--I saw it for a little and then it was gone. He was standing in the water along with John; then He came out close to where I stood. The folk were calling out 'Hallelujah!' all about us. They were crying 'Hallelujah! Hallelujah!' They crowded so they pushed me into the water. I felt as though I were going crazy, and I, too, kept calling out 'Hallelujah! Hallelujah!'" Even in the recounting of such a reality it sounds shocking. How shocking, then, must it have been to those of us who were living when it really happened. But with this, the mission of John came to an end. The crowds that had gathered about him departed hither and thither, and the earth was left bare and desolate where the growing things of the spring-time had been trampled into the dry and dusty soil by the treading of many feet--where the pure waters of the streams had been defiled by human contact. V THE BEGINNING OF THE WORKS WITH the dispersion of the great crowd of poor ignorants who had gathered about John the Baptist, we thought that the agitation was ended. We were mistaken. For a time nothing more was heard of the Christ whom John had baptized. Then, suddenly, there came rumors, first from one side and then from another; fugitive words telling of a renewed excitement that had begun to ferment obscurely in that same nether class that had followed John to his baptism. Gradually these rumors became more and more dominant, and every day more people heard of and became interested in what was said. The interest was not very great with us, but it was sufficient to keep alive the observation of the daily papers.