the system himself, or procured it to be written in his life
time. But there is no publication extant authenticated with
his name. All the books called the New Testament were
written after his death. He was a Jew by birth and by
profession; and he was the son of God in like manner
that every other person is; for the Creator is the Father
of All.

The first four books, called Matthew, Mark, Luke, and
John, do not give a history of the life of Jesus Christ, but
only detached anecdotes of him. It appears from these
books, that the whole time of his being a preacher was not
more than eighteen months; and it was only during this
short time that those men became acquainted with him.
They make mention of him at the age of twelve years, sit-
ting, they say, among the Jewish doctors, asking and answer-
ing them questions. As this was several years before their
acquaintance with him began, it is most probable they had
this anecdote from his parents. From this time there is no
account of him for about sixteen years. ¹ Where he lived,
or how he employed himself during this interval, is not
known. Most probably he was working at his father's
trade, which was that of a carpenter. ² It does not appear
that he had any school education, and the probability is,
that he could not write, for his parents were extremely poor,
as appears from their not being able to pay for a bed when
he was born. ³

It is somewhat curious that the three persons whose
names are the most universally recorded were of very ob-
scure parentage. Moses was a foundling; Jesus Christ was
born in a stable; and Mahomet was a mule driver. The
first and the last of these men were founders of different
systems of religion; but Jesus Christ founded no new sys-

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