adds his share of injustice to the trial, and the procession starts for Calvary.

The wild, exultant mob of Jews, overjoyed by victory, throng the way to watch the most momentous procession ever seen on this earth. Heavy armed Roman Legionaries, proudly indifferent to what was going on, lead the way, followed by a Man, crowned with thorns and bearing a heavy cross. Little did these phlegmatic soldiers realize that underneath those timbers was an intellect sharper than God's lightning, planning the adjustment of the conflicting forms of human vitality, which would preserve their own Empire from destruction at the hands of vigorous barbarians. Under so great difficulties was the solving of the greatest problem ever presented to the human mind.

After the nails were driven into the hands and feet and the cross hoisted into position, the Jews, passing by, wagging their heads, did not see a man in a trance, but a keen, observing intellect. Christ's conversation with the thief at His side and with His Mother at the foot of the cross showed that His senses were alert. As the hours dragged on, His independent originality seemed to feel that God the Father Himself had deserted Him. Finally, as the ninth hour approaches, the heart grows weaker and there comes to an end a variety

of religious experiences to serve as a pattern throughout all ages.

The so-called healthy-minded may find the way of the cross too difficult; they may find a substitute to solve the problems of nature; but subsequent events, as recorded by all historians, show that the Man upon the cross did successfully solve the problem of the adjustment of human vitality and His influence did make possible our civilization.

It is true that the mysterious current of His influence did not immediately permeate all through these mighty forces of Heredity and Variation, like some overpowering convulsion of nature, so that the hordes of barbarians came straightway down and fell on the necks of the Romans. The pagans delighted in attributing to their gods such dramatic supernatural powers, but the God of Adjustment works in a far more subtle manner. The adjustment in this case came about so naturally that even the most devout followers of Christ seem to disregard its importance, and only the more scientific readers of the story of evolution attribute to this adjustment its true significance.

VI

THE ADJUSTMENT

Heredity, as represented by the Empire, was no longer a solid force of nature, preserving in all their strength the discoveries of remote ancestors; with Variation, driven across the border into Germany, the vital current had been shut off, so that Heredity was left to feed upon itself and rot; and it was only by the injection of new life or the natural force of Variation that it could be saved.

Variation may be said to consist of two kinds; the one, raw, tends to destroy utterly the opposite force of Heredity; the other, refined, tends to unite with Heredity and thus to construct a harmonizing current. The Germans possessed abundance of raw, forceful Variation; but it was altogether lacking in that harmonizing quality, without which it has little comparative value. Early Christianity, on the other hand, possessed the fresh, new, vigorous qualities of Variation, tempered in such a way that it did not seek to destroy all things hereditary. It spread over the Roman Empire more like a spring shower, washing

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away the rottenness, preserving what was worth while and laying the foundations of our own civilization.

No doubt early Christianity was, in many ways, like the higher forms of modern socialism; lack of class distinction made the slave equal to the nobleman; sharing each other's property broke down the aristocracy of wealth; and it must be admitted that equality in matters of family relationship and of worldly possessions are the fundamental characteristics of any true variative organization. These two features were the most predominate of the German body politic. No German was taught that he was better than another, on account of his family relationship, neither was he allowed to possess real estate. As Cæsar says, "Sed praviti ac separati agri apud eos nihil est, neque longius anno remanere uno in loco colendo causa lecet." The Germans understood the principles of socialism, but their variative spirit lacked that connecting or adjusting quality, without which variation is destructive rather than constructive.

It must be admitted that the early Christians were socialists, in the truest sense of the word; but their socialism had certain vital differences from the Germans or the Modern Socialists. The Christians taught their children to honor their parents and to respect their authority

(the foundation stone of all hereditary systems). Christ Himself, possessing the qualities of independent originality, was at the same time absolutely loyal to His Divine Father and claimed all the prerogatives of a king. The Germans, on the other hand, always allowed their children to have their own way, and it is a matter of regret that a large share of modern Socialists do the same. This lack of restraint over young minds of very meager intelligence has made possible a species of hoodlums and "smart alecks" highly detrimental to any civilization. No doubt persecution helped to keep pure early Christianity; however, it remains as the highest type of socialism in the whole story of evolution.

About the time that the persecution of the Christians ceased there came a reaction which Gibbon delighted to hold up to ridicule, and, indeed, no right minded man can take delight in reading of the bitter antagonism which existed between the Athanasians and the Arians. Even the pagan priests set a better example in diplomacy than those Christian bishops, who persecuted each other, even unto death. It seemed as if there must have been something fundamentally wrong, either with the doctrines of Christianity, or with its interpretation, to cause such a division. Constantine himself