Gospel of this apostle, and because they were the Gospel of the Ebionim—­that is, of those small Christian sects of Batanea who preserved the use of Syro-Chaldean, and who appear in some respects to have followed the course marked out by Jesus.  But it must be confessed that in the state in which they have come to us, these Gospels are inferior, as critical authorities, to the compilation of Matthew’s Gospel which we now possess.

It will now be seen, I think, what kind of historical value I attribute to the Gospels.  They are neither biographies after the manner of Suetonius, nor fictitious legends in the style of Philostratus; they are legendary biographies.  I should willingly compare them with the Legends of the Saints, the Lives of Plotinus, Proclus, Isidore, and other writings of the same kind, in which historical truth and the desire to present models of virtue are combined in various degrees.  Inexactitude, which is one of the features of all popular compositions, is there particularly felt.  Let us suppose that ten or twelve years ago three or four old soldiers of the Empire had each undertaken to write the life of Napoleon from memory.  It is clear that their narratives would contain numerous errors, and great discordances.  One of them would place Wagram before Marengo:  another would write without hesitation that Napoleon drove the government of Robespierre from the Tuileries; a third would omit expeditions of the highest importance.  But one thing would certainly result with a great degree of truthfulness from these simple recitals, and that is the character of the hero, the impression which he made around him.  In this sense such popular narratives would be worth more than a formal and official history.  We may say as much of the Gospels.  Solely attentive to bring out strongly the excellency of the Master, his miracles, his teaching, the evangelists display entire indifference to everything that is not of the very spirit of Jesus.  The contradictions respecting time, place, and persons were regarded as insignificant; for the higher the degree of inspiration attributed to the words of Jesus, the less was granted to the compilers themselves.  The latter regarded themselves as simple scribes, and cared but for one thing—­to omit nothing they knew.[1]

[Footnote 1:  See the passage from Papias, before cited.]

Unquestionably certain preconceived ideas associated themselves with such recollections.  Several narratives, especially in Luke, are invented in order to bring out more vividly certain traits of the character of Jesus.  This character itself constantly underwent alteration.  Jesus would be a phenomenon unparalleled in history if, with the part which he played, he had not early become idealized.  The legends respecting Alexander were invented before the generation of his companions in arms became extinct; those respecting St. Francis d’Assisi began in his lifetime.  A rapid metamorphosis operated in the same manner