All wished to hear. So Cimon proceeded to relate the story of Shaphan—omitting, however, the circumstances bearing on Malus, and one or two other particulars.
When he had finished, Rachel exclaimed, “How wonderful all this is! Surely there is but one thing to be said, unless we are prepared to discredit all human testimony! I have heard my father speak of Shaphan as a very good man: I must see him and ask him many questions.”
“Would it not be better,” said Seti, “to first question some expert magician as to what he can do by his art? It is not incredible that there should be beings between the Supreme and ourselves who can do very wonderful things.”
“No, my dear grandfather; but if these superior beings are good they will not lend themselves to a great religious imposture; and if they are bad they would fight against themselves by endorsing such teaching and doing such works as those of Jesus. Would Satan cast out Satan?”
“Hardly. Still, have not magicians sometimes been good men? Perhaps our friends here can throw some light on that matter. Time has been when Chaldea was famous for its magicians”—and Seti looked toward Aleph.
“In my country, as in Egypt,” said Aleph, “the name magicians has always been used to cover all students of extensive knowledge, especially all students of the powers and processes of Nature. As to such persons as profess by certain arts to enlist the powers of mightier spirits in their service there is, at least at present, but one opinion among us, and that a very unfavorable one. It is that of the Hebrew Scriptures which denounce and forbid all magical arts under heavy penalties. However it may be with others, those who profess to accept these Scriptures and at the same time use magical arts, it seems to me, cannot be good men, or other than very bad. This is the case of Jesus. As I understand it, he professes to hold faithfully by Moses and the prophets. This being so, if he is a magician he is one of the worst of men—especially as he solemnly declares that he works his wonders not by magic, but by God.”
“And consequently,” added Cimon, “all evidence we have that he is one of the best of men is evidence that he is not a magician.”
“And what evidence of this sort have we?” asked Seti.
“At least we can say,” returned the Greek, “that no evidence against Jesus has yet reached us, while we have heard much for him. We have heard that his miracles are wholly beneficent and his teachings wholly righteous; and that the worst thing his enemies can say of him is that he does the very thing the prophets said the Christ would do, viz., stoop to the humblest while claiming with the highest. For myself, I would also lay considerable stress on the impression which the mere personal presence of Jesus makes on such a man as Shaphan. It is plain to me that this man would profoundly believe in the worth of Jesus, even if he had not seen a single miracle of his, nor heard from him a single word. Is this unreasonable? Two or three times in the course of my life, I have been similarly impressed—I have had merely to look into the eye and watch for a few moments the play of the features to get an immovable confidence in the character that lay behind them. Ordinary goodness, I confess, does not manifest itself in this royal way; nor does extraordinary, except under certain physical organizations; but there are organizations through which it is self-revealing—through which it looks forth as through pure crystal and shines by its own light, as does any mathematical axiom—through which it is able to put forth a heavenly atmosphere into which at least a sympathetic soul cannot enter without feeling its heavenly character.”
“So it seems to me,” said Seti. “I, too, have met a case or two of that sort.”