An Essay on the Human Character of Jesus Christ

Purchase of this book includes free trial access to www.million-books.com where you can read more than a million books for free. This is an OCR edition with typos. Excerpt from book: SSAY. EVERY age has produced its impostors, its enthusiasts, and its heroes. To rise preeminent over others is the first wish of the human heart The predominant sensation, after man ceafes to be wholly selfish, expands itself in comparison, which gradually awakens the ardor of ambition. This yestless...
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Purchase of this book includes free trial access to www.million-books.com where you can read more than a million books for free. This is an OCR edition with typos. Excerpt from book: SSAY. EVERY age has produced its impostors, its enthusiasts, and its heroes. To rise preeminent over others is the first wish of the human heart The predominant sensation, after man ceafes to be wholly selfish, expands itself in comparison, which gradually awakens the ardor of ambition. This yestless feeling is the governing principle of early life, and never entirely forfakes him, until he loses all confidence in himself. If the nature be. generous, and events propitious, they produce a great man; otherwise, the disposition takes an eccentric turn. B It is not a singular circumstance in the annals of human nature, that every one of those heroes, enthusiasts, and impoftors, the history of whose lives has been sufficiently interesting to merit preservation, has been actuated by his particular bias, and excited by motives, powerful in his own estimation, however weak or criminal in the opinion of mankind. One man, already a conqueror, thinks he must subject the world, before the world will acknowledge him a hero. Another, already a sovereign prince, and perfectly at ease, proposes more than mortal labours, in order to enjoy a quiet old age. A third, favored by the times, boldly associates himself with heaven, in order to govern the earth. A fourth, chapter{{Section 4more humble, though not less ardent, is willing, in a hair shirt, to travel to Jerusalem, preaching a crusade. The characters of these men were so distinctly marked in their own days, their inCpiring motive was so apparent, that succeeding ages have been contented to appeal to them for illuftration, er to raise commentaries on their lives. Doubtless, they all thought themselves paramount to the common sense of man kind, and little less than inspired, however romantic, or absurd their object of pursuit. Hen...