already condemned [Matt. v. 34-37]." We insert these references into the
account given by Josephus of the Essenes, in order to show the identity
of teaching of the Gospels and the Essenes. The Essenes excommunicated
those who sinned grievously; each promised, on entrance to the society,
to exercise piety, observe justice, do no harm to any, show fidelity to
all, and especially to those in authority, love truth, reprove lying,
keep his hands clear from theft, and his soul from unlawful gains. The
resemblance between the Essenes and the early Christians is on many
points so strong that it is impossible to deny that the two are
connected; if Jesus of Nazareth had any historical existence, he must
have been one of the sect of the Essenes, who publicly preached many of
their doctrines, and endeavoured to popularise them. We are thus led to
conclude that the Jewish side of Christianity is simply Essenian, but
that the major part of the religion is purely Pagan, and that its rise
under the name of Christianity must be sought for in Alexandria rather
than in Judæa.

The saints who play so great a part in the history of Christianity are,
solely and simply, the old Pagan deities under new names. The ancient
creeds were intertwined with the daily life of the people, and passed
on, practically unchanged, although altered in name. "Ancient errors, in
spite of the progress of knowledge, were respected. Civilisation, as it
grew, only refined them, embellished them, or hid them under an
allegorical veil" ("Histoire Abrégée de Differens Cultes," Dulauré, t.
i., p. 20). "A remarkable passage in the life of Gregory, surnamed
Thaumaturgus, i.e., the wonder-worker, will illustrate this point in the
clearest manner. This passage is as follows [here it is given in Latin]:
'When Gregory perceived that the ignorant multitude persisted in their
idolatry, on account of the pleasures and sensual gratifications which
they enjoyed at the Pagan festivals, he granted them a permission to