said: Lord, I am not worthy that Thou shouldst enter under my roof: but only say the word, and my servant shall be healed. For I am myself both subject to the authority of others, and I have soldiers under my own command. I know what it is to obey and to be obeyed; and that if Thou wilt but command that my servant shall be healed, the disease will leave him. And Jesus, when He heard this, turned to His disciples, and told them that He had not found in the whole people of Israel so great faith in His power, as He found in this heathen soldier. And He said to them: I say unto you, that many shall come from all parts of the world, and be inheritors of the blessings of salvation, with Abraham, Isaac, and Jacob; while many of the posterity of Abraham, for their unbelief, shall be cast out into eternal torments. And He said to the centurion: Go; and as thou hast believed, so be it done to thee. And the servant was healed at the same hour.

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And He went into the city of Naim; and when He came nigh to the gate of the city, behold, a dead man was carried out, the only son of his mother; and she was a widow and much people of the city was with her. And when the Lord saw her, He had compassion on her, and said to her: Weep not. And He came near and touched the bier. (And they that carried it stood still.) And He said: Young man, I say to thee, arise. And he that was dead, sat up, and began to speak. And He delivered him to his mother. And Jesus, seeing great multitudes about Him, gave orders to pass over the water. As He was about to enter into the boat, two men came and offered to follow Him, to whom He replied by warning them of the perfect sacrifice of their own wills which they must make, if they would indeed be His disciples. One of these was a Scribe, who said to Jesus, Master, I will follow Thee whithersoever Thou shalt go. And Jesus saith to him: The foxes have holes, and the birds of the air nests; but the Son of man hath not where to lay His head. If the Scribe was not prepared for poverty and hardship such as this, he could be no follower of Jesus Christ. The

other said to Him: Lord, permit me first to go, and bury my father. But Jesus said to him: Follow Me, and let the dead bury their dead. The request of this man was in truth a mere pretence. His heart was with the world; and therefore Jesus forbade him to do that which, in other circumstances, would have been a pious duty, bidding him leave the burial of his father to those who were dead to spiritual things.

And when He entered into the ship, His disciples followed Him: and behold, a great tempest arose in the sea, so that the ship was covered with waves: but He was asleep. And His disciples came to Him, and awaked Him, saying: Lord, save us, we perish. And Jesus saith to them: Why are you fearful, O ye of little faith? Then rising up, He commanded the winds and the sea, and there came a great calm. But the men wondered, saying: Who is this, for even the winds and the sea obey Him? And when He was come on the other side of the water, into the country of the Gerasens, there met Him two men possessed with devils, coming out of the sepulchres, exceeding fierce, so that no one could pass by that way. And behold, they cried out, saying: What have we to do with Thee, Jesus, Son of God? art Thou come hither to torment us before the time? And, not far from them, there was a herd of many swine feeding. And the devils besought Him, saying: If Thou cast us out hence, send us into the herd of swine. And He said to them: Go. And they, going out, went into the swine; and behold, the whole herd ran violently down a steep place into the sea, and perished in the waters. And they that kept them, fled: and coming into the city, told every thing, and concerning them that had been possessed by the devils. And behold, the whole city came out to meet Jesus: and when they saw Him, they besought Him that He would depart from their coasts. They cared not for His miracles, or His teaching, for their hearts were fixed on worldly goods, as appeared from their keeping swine, an animal which it was forbidden to the Jews to eat; while their consciences told them that the miraculous loss of their

unlawful possessions was but a just punishment for their covetousness and disobedience to the law which they were bound to obey.

CHAP. XV. John sends Messengers to Jesus. Jesus is anointed by a woman who had been a sinner.

AND John's disciples told him of all these things. And John called to him two of his disciples, and sent them to Jesus, saying: Art Thou He who is to come; or expect we another? And when the men were come to Him, they said: John the Baptist hath sent us to Thee, saying: Art Thou He who is to come; or expect we another? (And in that same hour He cured many of their diseases and sores, and of evil spirits; and to many that were blind He gave sight.) And answering, He said to them: Go, and relate to John what you have heard and seen: that the blind see, the lame walk, the lepers are made clean, the deaf hear, the dead rise again, to the poor the Gospel is preached. And blessed is he who is not scandalised in Me, but understands that these are in truth the works of God.

Then, when the messengers of John were departed, Jesus declared to the multitudes, that John was the prophet whose coming had been foretold by Malachias in the words, "Behold, I send My angel before Thy face, who shall prepare Thy way before Thee." He taught them also, that though no mortal man as yet born was greater than John, yet so glorious would be the privileges of the Christian Church which He was about to establish, that the least in that new kingdom of God would be greater than the Baptist.

And the hearts of great numbers of the people opened, and they were baptised with John's baptism. But all these penitents were from the lowest and most despised of the people, and the haughty Pharisees and Scribes remained obstinate in their sins. And Jesus likened them to capricious and selfish children, whom nothing will please, because, when John came, living an austere life in the deserts, they said that he had a

devil ; and when He Himself came, and lived as other men, and frequented the houses of many persons, they accused him of gluttony and wine-bibbing, and of being the friend of publicans and sinners.

Then He upbraided the cities where He had done His mighty works for their unbelief, and declared that even Tyre, Sidon, and Sodom should be less awfully punished in the day of judgment, than these proud cities of the Jews,-Corozain, Bethsaida, and Capharnaum. And He prayed to the eternal Father, and gave Him thanks for revealing the mysteries of His grace to those who were humble and simple as babes, while He hid them from the prudence and wisdom of this world. And one of the Pharisees desired Him to eat with him. And being entered into the house of the Pharisee, he sat down to meat. And, behold, a woman in the city, who was a sinner, when she knew that He sat at meat in the Pharisee's house, brought an alabaster box of ointment: and, standing behind at His feet, she began to wash His feet with tears, and wiped them with the hairs of her head, and kissed His feet, and anointed them with the ointment. And the Pharisee who had invited Him, seeing it, spoke within himself, saying: This man, if He were a prophet, would know surely who and what kind of woman this is that toucheth Him: for she is sinner. And Jesus answering, said to him: Simon, I have something to say to thee. But he said: Master, say it. A certain creditor had two debtors, the one owed five hundred pence, and the other fifty. And whereas they had not wherewith to pay, he forgave them both. Which, therefore, of the two loveth him most? Simon answer

ing, said: I suppose that he to whom he forgave most. And He said to him: Thou hast judged rightly. And, turning to the woman, He said to Simon, Dost thou see this woman? I entered into thy house; thou gavest Me no water for My feet: but she hath washed My feet with tears, and wiped them with her hair. Thou gavest Me no kiss but she, since she came in, hath not ceased to kiss My feet. My head with oil thou didst not anoint: but she with ointment hath anointed My

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feet. Wherefore I say to thee, Many sins are forgiven her, because she hath loved much. But to whom less is forgiven, he loveth less. And He said to her: Thy sins are forgiven thee. And they that sat together at table began to say within themselves: Who is this that forgiveth sins also? And He said to the woman, Thy faith hath made thee safe: go in peace.

CHAP. XVI. Jesus instructs the people.

AND certain scribes came from Jerusalem, and said that Jesus worked His miracles by the assistance of Beelzebub. And Jesus replied to them that this could not be, because His miracles were wrought to destroy the power of the devil; and He bade them beware of sinning against the Holy Ghost, by imputing to Satan those wonders of mercy which were in truth the work of the Spirit of God.

Then in their impenitence, and notwithstanding all the proofs of His Divine authority which Jesus had already given, they asked for a fresh sign of heaven. But Jesus would give them no more, saying, that the only sign that should be granted should be His own resurrection from the dead, as the prophet Jonas had been cast forth after three days and nights from the belly of the whale. And He declared that the last end of these unbelievers should be like that of a man from whom a devil has been cast out, and who suffers him again to return with seven other spirits more wicked than himself.

And as He was yet speaking to the multitudes, behold, His mother and His brethren stood without, seeking to speak to Him. And one said to Him: Behold, Thy mother and Thy brethren stand without, seeking Thee. But He, answering him that told Him, said: Who is My mother, and who are My brethren? And stretching forth His hand towards His disciples, He said: Behold My mother and My brethren. For who