Had our Lord read the "Tablet of Kebes"?

The Cen spree | nu n THE “TABLES” OF KERES. — Wa ie = 387 = athe immortality of the soul, upon the ultimate destiny of« those who persistently reject y: Christ. x Bey ST DIALTAA ASI the salvation offered by Josrrn AGAR Bers. — = ey | HAD OUR LORD READ THE “TABLET” OF KEBES? aa ll a so ha of the little company of disciples who attended Socrates young Theban named Kebes. He figures as one of the dying M interlocutore iin that es ne utwhere the the Soul. He is, ie moreover, the reputed author of a quaint little book, once better known than now. It is called the £ Tablet, and is a sort of allegoryin the style of a Platonic dialogue. It purports to be a description of a tablet which id hung in the Temple of Kronos and emblematically depicted _ the course of human life. From neither a literary nor a À1 ion poralof view is it a work of much Raparkance, Econtain two passages which are stuikingly analogous to Kapyings of A fi “'You see above,’ said he,‘ yonder place where no one te dyrells, but it seems to be desert?’ eee do,” ha‘And a little door, and a way before the door, which is not: ‘much thronged; but very few go there, so impassable does the place seem, so rough and rocky?’ sEaf“Yes, indeed,’ said I.

HAD OUR LORD READ — — THE “TABLET” OF KEBES? - 389 — ‘6: And there seems to be a lofty mound and a very steep ascent with deep precipices on this side and on that ?* There is another interpretation which the precept may bear, and which is suggested by the following passage in the Tablet (chap. xxxi.)— “TI see it.’ “This, then, is the way,’ said he, ‘that leads to the true Instruction.’ ” Of course this recalls our Lord’s more elaborate image of i “God bids us not marvel whatever Fortune may do, nor show ourselves like the unscrupulous bankers (yiyveodac Gpoiovs Tolg Kaxois Tparebirais). For they, when they the Narrow Gate and the Two Ways: ‘Go ye in through | receive money from people, rejoice and regard it as their the narrow gate: because broad and spacious is the way that leadeth to destruction, and many are they that go in : through it; because narrow is the gate and straitened the © ' way that lcadeth to life, and few are they that find it” own; (Matt. vii. 13, 14). taking them away again. Even more striking is the other analogy. One of the. most remarkable of the &ypapa of Jesus is the precept yiverde tpamefirac Sóxepos, ‘Show yourselves approved +’ bankers" (see Westcott, Introduction to the Gospels, App... C). In the Clementine Ilomilies this is taken as an exhortation to exercise one's critical judgment in order to ‘i: distinguish between true Scriptures and false; and in this sense it may be compared with St. Paul's exhortation: “ Prove (Soxcuagere) all things, hold fast that which is good” (1 Thess. v. 21); and with that other precept of our : Lord: “ Take heed what ye hear" (Mark iv. 24). Were it admissible, this would be a most natural and | attitude also toward what is given by l'ortune, and reapposite interpretation of the precept. often made handsome profits by embarking his loans in It was one of the and, when they are asked for it again, they are annoyed and think themselves hardly used; not remembering that they received the deposits on the understanding that there was nothing to prevent the depositor from God bids us maintain the like member that such is her nature that she takes away what she has given, and presently gives again many times as much, and anon takes away what she has given.” It was usual for persons who had no taste or no turn for business to entrust their money to a banker, allowing him to trade with if on his own account, and stipulating only that they should receive a moderate interest and be at liberty to resume their capital whenever they pleased (cf. Matt. xxv. 27). hands So long as it remained in the banker’s it was as good as his own except for the trifling discount on the score of interest; and a shrewd financier special functions of the bankers, at least in Rome, to test successful enterprises. coins and ascertain their genuineness (probatio nummorum), : Heretical writings, which claimed an authority and inspiration they did not possess, were like spurious coins, and it. was necessary for a Christian to examine them narrowly * and reject base counterfeits. It is, however, a fatal objec- : that a client would call in his deposits at an awkward It sometimes happened, however, moment when the banker had little money at his command; and then it was necessary for the latter to sell out on any terms. It seems that a banker thus inconveniently situated would sometimes behave unpleasantly, disowuing his oblition to this interpretation of the precept that it takes Sékimos in an active seuse, The adjective is passive, and gations and putting his client to no little trouble (Isokr. applies, not to the banker who tests the coin, but to the situation to which Kebes refers when he says: ‘ God bids coin which is tested, us Trapezit.; cf. Becker's Char., pp. 67 sqq.). not . . . show ourselves like Such is the unscrupulous

bankers. For they, when they receive money from people, rejoice and regard it as their own; and, when they are asked for it again, they are annoyed and think themselves hardly used; THE “TABLET” meE HAD OUR LORD READ 590 not remembering that they received the oea OF KEBES? 391 and necessary inference, yet it is impossible to accept it oftband. On the ground of a couple of somewhat doubtful anachronisms and the occurrence of some half-dozen words which are alleged to belong to the Greek of a later age, not deposits on the understanding that there was nothing to a few critics deny that the Tablet was the work of Kebes prevent the depositor from taking them away again.” May not this be the key to the interpretation of our the Theban and assign it to Kebes of Cyzicus, a Stoic philosopher of the second century of our era. External evidence casts but little light on the problem. The Tablet Lord’s precept: “Show yourselves approved bankers ” ? tin= according well with the spirit of our Lord’s teaching and is twice mentioned by Lucian (De Mere. Conduct. $ 42; Rhet. Praecept. $ 6) who was born about 130 A.D.; and recalling that word of the Apostle: ‘‘ Them that are rich in Tertullian, who was born some twenty years later, mentions It would then be a warning against worldly-mindedness, the present world charge not to be high-minded nor have the interesting fact (De Praescr. their hope set upon the uncertainty of riches, but upou God relative of his had executed a poetic paraphrase of the work who furnisheth all things unto us” (1 Tim. vi. 17). indeed is the uncertainty of riches. possess is our own. Great Nothing that we We hold it on loan from God. It is a in the Vergilian measure. Heret. xxxix.) It seems a pretty safe inference that the Tablet was a recognized classic in Lucian and Tertullian. that a the time of Had it been the work of an obscure deposit which He has entrusted to us that we may trade contemporary, Lucian would hardly hax. styled the author with it for His honour and glory. —as he does resume it; At any moment He may and our duty is to show ourselves approved in both the passages just cited—o Ereivos, tlle Cebes, “the celebrated Kebes.” Keßns . bankers, trading diligently with our Lord's deposits and Of course, were the Tablet proved to date from the second cheerfully surrendering them when He requires them of us. The precept is an exhortation to cultivate a spirit of detachment from worldly things, sitting loosely by them and century, the supposition that it was known to our Lord never setting our hearts upon them. acquainted Besides these two outstanding analogies there are phrases would be ruled out of court; and the question would then arise whether the author, whoever he might with the teaching of Jesus. be, was The argument against its early date is, however, by no means conclusive. in the Tablet which recall language used by our Lord. The truth would rather seem to be that, while the dialogue Thus we read in chap. iv.: “He (6 Aaiu@r) enjoins on is in the main genuine, the closing chapters (xxxiii.-xli,) them that are entering what they must do that they may are by a later hand. enter into life” (as dv eicékdwav eis tov Biov); and our and are obviously a clumsy and superfluous addition. Lord says to the young ruler (Matt. xix. 17): “If thou They abound in faulty constructions It is fortunately unnecessary to enter here into this vexed wouldest enter into life (eis ru {wiv ciocAdetv), keep the question. commandments.” of the two ways is very ancient. Such resemblances suggest the question whether it may Whatever be the date of the Tablet, the image It is as old as Hesiod (850-800 8. c.), who says (O. et D. 287-92): ‘ Vice even in not be that our Lord was acquainted with the 7ableé and troops may be chosen easily; smooth is the way, and it borrowed His imagery from it. lieth very nigh. This may seem the simple But in front of Virtue the immortal gods

have put sweat. OUR LORD THE “TABLET” OF KEBES? READ 393 in the land and inspired a fierce abhorrence of pagan manners and institutions. Long and steep is the way to her, and rough at first; but when one cometh to the summit, then period of childhood, and the divergent branches the after- It is true indeed that the aristocratic Sadducees had bowed before the conqueror and abetted his designs. And even among the Pharisees there was a party which, while heartily loyal to the faith of Israel, regarded the Hellenic culture with kindlier eyes and a more tolerant spirit. The founder of the liberal school was the gentle course of youth and manhood pursuing the straight path R. of Virtue or the crooked track of Vice. Gamaliel, the teacher it is easy, hard as it was.” Pythagoras of Samos (570-504 n.c.) adopted the image and elaborated it. He employed as a symbol of the two ways the letter 4, the archaic form of Y, hence called “the Samian letter’ (Persius, iii. 56-7; v. 84-5). The straight stem represented the innocent Hillel, and his most distinguished follower was IL. of St. Paul. Gamaliel advocated Though it be granted that the Tablet dates from the the study of the Chokmath Javanith, aud it was surely second century of our era, the question remains: Did our a striking providence which brought under his large-hearted influence the young Pharisee who was destined to be the lord borrow from Pythagoras His image of the Two Ways? And this raises the larger question whether he had any Apostle of the Gentiles. acquaintance with Greek literature. (Acts xvii. 28; 1 Cor. xv. 33; Titus i. 12) are reminiscences It may help us to St. Paul’s classical quotations x satisfactory solution of the problem if we consider what of his early training "at the feet of Gamaliel.” was the Jewish attitude in our Lord’s day towards pagan It is culture. It was for the most part an attitude of inveterate impossible to estimate the debt which the world owes to that generous Rabbi who all unwittingly did so much to hostility. The proud imagination of Alexander the Great prepare the champion of a universal Christianity for his had conceived the grand design of welding the whole East high vocation. into one vast Greek empire, Greek not only in government out in language, customs aud religion; ‘he liberal Pharisees, however, were a small and unand he and his popular minority. successors had bent their energies to the realization of the magnificent dream. of Hellenic civilization. In every conquered land they founded new cities and peopled them with Greek colonists. The prevailing sentiment was that of the school of Shammai, which loathed whatever savoured It is related of R. Ismael that Each on one occasion he was asked whether, after one had of these cities was a centre of Hellenic civilization, inmastered the law, one might not then turn to the study fecting the native population with the Greek spirit and of Greek literature. compelling the adoption of the Greek language for the trans- “Find a time which is neither day nor night and give action of business. yourself duriug it to the study of the Greek wisdom.” When Israel was conquered, it fared Ile quoted Joshua i. 8 and added: And with her as with her neighbours, and even her stubborn R. Akibha once declared that no Israelite who read the bouks nationality would have been obliterated by the flood of of the Greeks would attain unto eternal life. Hellenism but for the mad tyranny of Antiochus Epiphanes Such was the general sentiment of the Rabbis in our who attempted to effect the transformation with a high hand and roused Jewish patriotism to successful resistance Lord’s day; and it was natural that the laity should adopt under the Maccabees. The spirit of the Asidæans lived on the tone of their teachers and look askance at Greek culture. There is no injustice in Origen's sueer at Celsus’ imaginary

LORD Jew who quoted Muripides, that Jews were not wont to be so well versed in Greek literature (Contra Celsum, ii. p. 30, Spencer's edition). A Jew with Greek quotations at his finger ends would have been reckoned at once a traitor and a heretic. 395 THE “TABLET” OF KEBES? READ Jesus was born in a peasant home phrase? In all likelihood there was some proverb in the ancient world about bankers and their ways; and itis a reasonable and sufficient explanation of the resemblance between that phrase of Kebes yay yiyverOas opoiovs tots xaxvis rparrefíraes and our Lord’s precept yiveade rparebiras His Sóxsuos that the common proverb suggested both. There is not a shred of evidence that Jesus had the slightest acquaintance with the literature of the great world beyond the land of Israel. ‘There are perhaps only But the likelihood is that two other passages in His teaching where the faintest echo never during those years which He spent in the village of of its busy and wondrous life may be distinguished; and it and reared among peasant folk. From childhood He would know the sacred Scriptures, and there is abundant evidence in the Gospels how earnestly He had studied them, and what strength and comfort they seasons of weakness and sorrow. afforded Him in Nazareth, did He see a Greek book; and, if ever the name will probably be thought by many that the resemblance is of a great classic was mentioned in His hearing, it would in each instance somewhat remote. be in a tone of hatred and abhorrence. ing of our Lord to the Syrophvenieian woman: “ It is not Is there any reason for believing that Jesus had transcended His environment pagan literature? and become acquainted with It seems indubitable that His image of One is that hard sayfair to take the children’s bread and throw it to the dogs ” (Mark vii, 27; Matt. xv. 26). Is not this the Greek proverb oeaurèr où Tpépor rúvas tpépes, * You starve yourself the Two Ways is’ an echo, if not of Kebes, then certainly of to feed dogs’? Pythagoras; yet it does not follow that He had read the who, while too poor to procure the necessaries of life, writings of either or had endeavoured to maintain an establishment of horses or their philosophy. any direct acquaintance with Pythagoras was one of the great teachers servants. “ It was said," Erasmus explains, ‘of one It will be appropriately employed against those of the ancient world, and some of his doctrines would pass who, by reason of the narrowness of their means, have current where his name was unknown. It does not follow scarce enough to maintain life, yet ambitiously endeavour that a man has studied Darwin because he talks about to emulate the powerful and wealthy in fineness of dress Evolution; and no more did the repetition of Pythagorean and general ostentation ” (Adagia, sub proverb.). catch-words argue an acquaintance with the philosophy of the sting out of our Lord’s reply to that poor heathen Pythagoras. That image of the Two Ways would arrest the woman when it is understood that He was not flinging at imagination. It would pass into a proverb and might well her the brutal epithet wherewith Jewish insolence branded be quoted where the very name of its author had never the Gentiles, been heard of. playful spirit in order to test her faith. It would be no marvel though it found its but quoting a familiar proverb It takes in a half It is as though He way into the land of Israel, and were caught up by Him had said: “ My grace is for those of My own household, who loved to speak in parables, employing the homeliest and why should I lavish if upon a stranger ? "' pictures in illustration of His heavenly teachings. And what of the other seeming analogy? that here also Jesus employed Again, the Greeks had a proverb ‘ with unwashed feet ” May it not be a homely and familiar (ävimrous mociv), derived apparently from the ritual of the Mysteries. It means, according to Suidas, ‘ without any

THE “TABLET” preparation” SELECT PASSAGES IN THE OLD OF KEBES. (ywpis tivos mapacxevijs), and had floated into Palestine and is aptly ex- TESTAMENT. whose 397 alien origin had emplified by a passage in Lucian's sketch of the eclectic doubtless been forgotten. philosopher Demonax. incarnate Son of God should have lived and died in that Demonax, says his biographer, was no novice when he entered on his profession. ‘‘ He did not rush at it, as the saying goes, ‘ with unwashed feet,’ but he had been nurtured with poets mi Is it not marvellous that the little land of Palestine so ntterly neglectful, to all appearance, of the world He had come to save? DAVID SMITH. and remembered most of them, and had been trained to speak, and had a thorough acquaintance with the philosophic schools.” Is not this the key to the interpretation of that parabolic action of our NOTES ON SELECT PASSAGES IN THE OLD TESTAMENTS Lord in the Upper Room, when “ He put water into the bason, and began to wash the feet of the disciples, and to GENESIS ii. 23; ‘‘And the man said, This is now bone of wipe my bones, and flesh of my flesh.” them (John xiii, with the 4)? Alike customary, when towel wherewith Ile was girded ” in Greece and in Palestine it was guests arrived at a house, for slaves to By a simple trausposition, ‘‘ This now is bone of my bones," etc., the intention of Adam to distinguish the creature now brought to him receive them and wash their fect heated with travel and from all former ones is clearly made out. soiled with the dust of the way; but it was not this menial would imply that she was not so before, which is noé the office sense intended. that the Master performed. The thing was done, “This és now ” And the Hebrew word is not MAY, but not on the entrance of the disciples, but either during the Oyo, “this time,” which the Revisers have substituted for meal or after it or the A.V. “now” in Genesis xxix. 35 and Judges xv. 3. rather an acted Prof. Chenery has proposed, ‘ This time it is bone of my was finished, according as Yırouerov yeropérou is preferred in v. 2. It was quotation of that familiar proverb, Even in that solemn hour, when the shadow of the Cross bad fallen upon Jesus, the disciples were disputing ‘ which of them should be bones,” ete. But st is clearly * this (creature).” GENESIS iii. 6: ‘* Good for food ” (A.V. and R.V.). also Genesis ii. 9, vi, 21 (bis). See But in Genesis i, 29, 30, accounted the greatest”: and, when He rose and washed where A.V. has “for meat,” KR.V, (first revision) has given their feet, it was as though He had said: ‘ Such worldly * for food,” but R.V. (second revision) goes back to “ meat." and selfish ambition proves you still uninitiated into the Referring to the New Testament Revision, 1 find that the mysteries of My Kingdom. Its law is love and its glory rule is to retain the ‘ment ” of the A.V. whenever the Ifyou be not clothed with humility, you are no Greek word is Bpacıs, Bpoua, or Bpwpara (only excepting service. disciples of Mine. unwashed fect.’ Think not to enter My school ‘ with If I wash you not, you have no part with Me.” ! Such are the only points of contact between the teaching of Jesus and pagan literature—these four proverbs which ' Cf. discussion of our Lord's uso of these two proverbs by the present writer in Expository Times, Sept. 1900, and April 1901, ' This is the first instalment of a serios of Notes selected from the original MSS. forwarded by the late Dr, Field to the Socretery of the Old Testament Revision Company. Dr. Field was an original member of the Company; but, being very deaf, he chose this method of communicating his views rather than personal attondance at the moctings. lis contributions were read out by the Secretary, and usually formed tho siarting-point of the discussion which followed, Tho original MSS. are now in the Library of ‘Trinity College, Cambridye, and it is by tho kind permission of the College Council that this portion of their contents is now made public. —S. H. Bunn.