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We are told by Ennemoser that Thales, Pythagoras and others \-isited Egypt and India for the purpose of studying theology and philosophy. Whether Pythagoras had previously encountered Orphism or not is uncertain. Egypt and India were then teaching the transmigration of souls, and thence- forward that doctrine was approved by Pythagoras and his fol- lowers. (15) I am supported also by such thinkers as Schopenhauer, Eenan, Bohlm, Schelling and others, and, in fact, a long list of scholars; and am only opposed by narrow-minded theologians. Kenan's History Gener., Des Langues Semitiques. A QUESTION OF MIRACLES 135 David, or from Jesus, the name of our Lord, because they were His disciples and derive their constitution from Him ; or from the name Jesus, which in Hebrew signifies the same as Therapeutae; that is, savior or physician. (16) There is not a bit of doubt that John the Baptist's teachings were very similar to those of the Essenes, for when he came preaching in the wilderness of Judea, there were in Palestine only three religious sects; (17) the Pharisees, Sadducees and Essenes; and the Baptist, when he saw some of the Pharisees and Sadducees at the Jordan, where he was baptizing, called them "a generation of vipers." The followers of the Baptist were surely not Sadducees, for the Sad- ducees say there is no rcstwrection, neither Angel nor Spirit. (18) The Pharisees confess both, but claim that all things are done by fate, (19) The Baptist assailed fiercely every religious order in Pales- tine, except the Essenes and Nazarenes. He was, in fact, an ascetic, living in the wilderness, clothed in the skins of beasts ; Jesus believed him to be Elias born again and returned to earth. (20) (16) Epiphanius. Cited also by Judge Waite in his History of the Christian Religion, p. 73. (17) Josephus, book 18, ch. 1, Antiqs. of the Jews, mentions also Judas as a Galilean, but he mostly agreed with the Phari- (18) Acts 23:8. (19) Jos., Antiq., Book 18, eh. 1, see. 3. (20) How could Jesus make the statement in Matt, 17, v. 12, unless somewhere he had learned about the doctrine of Buddha's transmigration? For if Elias had returned, had he not trans- migrated? 136 A QUESTION OF MIRACLES Josephus makes John an orator of wonderful power, whose fiery eloquence drew to his standard great masses of people. (21) John preached charity, almost communism, and when the soldiers demanded what they should do, he quoted from Buddha, and said : "Do violence to no man," {22) His scene of activity was very near where the Es- senes for generations had lived in the greatest num- bers. The simplicity of the Baptist's diet was remark- able; so also was that of the Essenes. They did not drink wine or strong drinks; neither did John. (23) Moreover, John's mode of baptism, as we have here- tofore observed, was by immersion, the sinner thereby confessing his sins ; and in this he followed the Essenes. John being a Nazarite, his followers were called Nazarenes, which was simply another name for Es- senes. Paul, later on, was called a Nazarene, and designated as "the ring leader of the sect." (24) And Jesus, when He came to John, to be baptized in the Jordan, being a Nazarene by birth, was in faith and belief an Essene, for in His very first sermon He preached their doctrine, when He said : "Lay not up for yourselves treasures upon earth, where moth and rust doth corrupt, and thieves break through and steal." (25) This same thought, though clothed in different lan- (21) Job., Antiq., Book 18, ch. 5, sec. 2. (22) Luke 3, v. 14. (23) Luke 1, v. 15. (24) Acts 24, V. 5. (25) Matt. ch. 6, v. 19. A QUESTION OF MIRACLES 137 guage, had been uttered by Buddha nearly five hun- dred years before, when in preaching to his disciples, he said: "Keep pure your body, words and conduct; put from you all concerns of daily life, lands, houses, cattle, storing of wealth or hoarding gain. All these avoid as you would a fiery pit." CHAPTER XII The Miracles of Apollonius. Section i. I have already shown that the people of India and Syria, including Palestine, were in friendly communication centuries before Jesus was born, and that even Rome itself had graciously received an em- bassy from India. The proof is equally plain that Apollonius of Tyania, a town of Cappadocia, visited India and was received there royally by princes and kings. Who was this Apollonius who was thus honored and feted ? Let us see. He was born two or three years before Jesus was found in that manger, and for more than three hun- dred years was worshipped as a God. We of this age would hear only a faint echo of Apollonius, had not Julia Domna, the wife of the Emperor Servius, be- sought Philostratus, a distinguished scholar of the em- pire, to compose a life of him. When that work was composed, Apollonius had been in his grave one hun- dred years or more. Still that is no objection to its accuracy, for biographies of Jesus have been written even to the present time. 138 A QUESTION OF MIRACLES 139 Philostratus found a wealth of materials from which to compose a biography, for Apollonius had corre- sponded with kings and learned men in Egypt and India, and with scholars in many places. Moreover Damis, his friend, the Assyrian who had accompanied him to India, had written a full account of the people they had met, their customs, their religions, their laws. Dreams in ancient times had much to do with the births of great men. And a dream, we are told, pre- ceded Apollonius' strange birth. His mother, when near her time, was "warned in a dream" to go to a certain meadow and gather flowers. Here, fanned by gentle zephyrs, she fell asleep on the grass, and a flock of swans gathered about her and sung in chorus while she slept. At that moment Apollonius, her famous son, was born. In our Bible it is Joseph who dreams, (i) As Apollonius grew up, the people said he was the son of Jupiter, but he insisted that he was the son of Apollonius. It was soon apparent that he possessed a prodigious memory and was studious and thoughtful. At an early age he became a devoted follower of Pythagoras, and as his disciple he maintained a strict silence for five years. The fruits of the earth were his exclusive diet, and he resolutely declined to eat any- thing that had ever possessed animal life. Having resolved at the end of his long silence to (1) Matt. 1, V. 20. 140 A QUESTION OF MIRACLES visit foreign lands, he became very active in reform- ing religious worship wherever he went. Section 2. On visiting Bal)ylon he was honored by the king, but refused to join him in tlic sacrifice of a horse to the Sun, lest he should be guilty of the shedding of blood. But while the king was sacrificing the horse, Apollonius offered frankincense as an obla- tion. At the conclusion of his visit to Babylon, he turned his face towards India, saying to Damis, his companion, that it was his duty to go ''where wisdom and his guardian angel led him." On reaching India he was kindly received by King Pharotes, who offered him a generous supply of gold, and, moreover, showed him every possible courtesy. Near the king's palace was a wonderful hill, occupied by the Brahmins, and here Apollonius won all hearts by freely participating in their oblations and ceremonies. But here is a statement most incredible, for Philos- tratus relates that when several Brahmins, standing together, struck the earth with their staves or rods they made the earth rise and fall and swell like the waves of the sea, and they themselves were elevated in the air two or three feet. larchus, the chief of the Brahmins, after intently gazing at Apollonius, declared that in a previous life he had been the pilot of an Egyptian vessel. And we are told that Apollonius admitted this to be true. The king later on gave the Brahmins a great feast, to which Apollonius was cordially invited. Here he wit- nessed cupbearers, similar to the Ganymedes of the A QUESTION OF MIRACLES 141 Greeks. And it is said that bread and fruits of the season came of themselves already prepared, in better order than they could be by the cooks. Even second courses likewise came of themselves. And curiously enough this strange occurrence in India happened at about the same time that Jesus was feeding five thou- sand men, besides women and children, in a desert place near Bethsaida. After much careful research, (2) I am unable to tell which of these two famous occurrences happened first.