hesitation in saying that, in this case also, the hypothesis of deceit is far more improbable than that of misunderstanding.
I had not intended to touch on any other miracle; but one more can be so briefly discussed that I will not omit it. I dare say you have anticipated (though you have not read Onesimus[1]) that I should explain the "walking on the waves" and the "stilling of the sea" as narratives derived from early Christian hymns representing the Son of God as stilling the storms that threaten the bark of the Church. Nevertheless you may not have perceived how easily a historical and authentic tradition of the deeds and words of Christ would lend itself to amplification so as to be elaborated into the full miraculous narrative as we now find it in the Gospels. Well then, open your Greek Testament at St. Mark's narrative (i. 25–27, or Luke iv. 35, 36) of the exorcism of an unclean spirit. You will there find it stated that Jesus "rebuked an unclean spirit;" and a somewhat rare word is used to express the rebuke, "Be thou muzzled (Φιμώθητι)." It is further added that the disciples, in their astonishment, said to one another "What is this? With authority he commandeth even the unclean spirits and they obey him." Now you know very well that the same Greek word (πνεῦμα) expresses two totally distinct English words "spirit" and "wind;" but you may not so well know that the same ambiguity is found in Hebrew. Look at Psalm civ. 4 in the Old Version, and you will find "Who maketh his angels (i.e. messengers) spirits;" but the New Version gives, more correctly, "Who maketh winds his messengers," or, "Who maketh his angels winds." Now suppose that in some cases where the above tradition was circulated in the Church, either in Greek or Aramaic, the word "unclean" was omitted, as it easily might be for
- ↑ Pp. 275-6.
