while, throughout, the tendency is to ascribe too great an influence to religion alone, apart from the other factors of civilization.
This little book, in which the author has sunk his own personality in that of his master, has yet a personal interest, and even pathos, of its own. While the familiar appeal to the practical fruits of a given religious belief cannot straightway be accepted as a final test of its validity, it is interesting to learn from personal testimony the influence upon conduct of a view of the world and of human life which so violently contradicts all orthodox creeds. These elements are best rendered in Dr. Ingram's own words: "Intellectually constrained to accept the philosophic basis on which the Positive Religion rests, I have tried its efficacy on my own heart and life; and, whilst lamenting the insufficient degree in which I have followed its teachings, I have learned to appreciate its practical power. No creed seems to me so effectually to destroy the 'refuges of lies' by which our partiality for ourselves leads us to excuse our misdeeds and shortcomings. I have found it to pronounce the demands of duty in such a way that they cannot be mistaken or eluded. And it appears to me to be alone capable of real social efficacy; in particular, no otherwise than through its extension can the moral unity of mankind be ultimately realized … Holding the religion I profess to be the unum necessarium for society, I cannot be content to pass away, as I must soon do, without giving public expression to that conviction."
A History of the Jewish People during the Maccabean and Roman periods, including New Testament Times, by James Stevenson Riggs, D.D. (New York, Charles Scribner's Sons, 1900, pp. xxi, 320.) This volume forms part of the "Historical Series for Bible Students" under the editorship of Professors Kent and Sanders. Its title explains clearly enough its position in the series and the field covered by it. While the history of the Jewish nation, during these stirring centuries, is recounted for its own sake, the relations of the period to the Old and New Testament history are constantly kept before the reader's mind. The book is, as the author says, "a contribution toward the interpretation of the Gospels in so far as a knowledge of the faiths [?], conditions, and aims of Judaism can be interpretative of the form and method of the activity of Jesus."
In a manual of the popular character contemplated in the plan of this series one does not expect to find new contributions to the subject. These would indeed detract from its usefulness. Professor Riggs has done well to limit himself to setting forth in his own way the best results of recent work in this field. Solidity and sobriety characterize his discussion. His judgment is sound and his conclusions on disputed points always within the evidence. If any criticism may be made in respect to his facts, it is that the author has not always grasped with accuracy and put clearly the elements and situations of the larger politics of which Judaism was a part. But here he has only followed in the footsteps of his predecessors.
