Of Personality.

INTERESTINGLY to my mind the Middle Ages seem like a more remote and alien period, with all its literature and artistry, than the time of Jesus ever has seemed. It is surely the most startling proof of personality, and it may be the most convincing proof of godhead, that Jesus Christ feels like somebody I have known and interacted with for most of my life, when he left no writing and no image of himself. By comparison Henry V is an absolute stranger, though he was known by many more persons, achieved (physically at least, as the world might term it) far more, and even spoke my own language. That Christ's personality should extend through the ages as it has, when he lived in a largely illiterate land for a very brief period of time, when he was himself but a humble carpenter, and died in disgrace at the hand of an all-powerful empire, is utterly extraordinary. There never was a greater disproof of the phrase 'history is written by the victors'. Mahomet and Buddha were princes, their legacy is much less incomprehensible, that of Jesus is truly exceptional.