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THE

LIFE OF CHRIST.

BY

FREDERIC W. FARRAR, D.D., F.R.S.,

LATE FELLOW OF TRINITY COLLEGE, CAMBRIDGE;

MASTER OF MARLBOROUGH COLLEGE; AND CHAPLAIN IN ORDINARY
TO THE QUEEN.

MANET IMMOTA FIDEs.

NEW YORK

E. P. DUTTON & COMPANY

31 WEST TWENTY-THIRD ST.

1887

HARVARD COLLEGE LIBRARY

GIFT OF

ALBERT BUSHNELL HART

SEP 18 1924

PREFACE.

In fulfilling a task so difficult and so important as that of writing the Life of Christ, I feel it to be a duty to state the causes which led me to undertake it, and the principles which have guided me in carrying it to a conclusion.

1. It has long been the desire and aim of the publishers of this work to spread as widely as possible the blessings of knowledge; and, in special furtherance of this design, they wished to place in the hands of their readers such a sketch of the Life of Christ on earth as should enable them to realise it more clearly, and to enter more thoroughly into the details and sequence of the Gospel narratives. They therefore applied originally to an eminent theologian, who accepted the proposal, but whose elevation to the Episcopate prevented him from carrying it

out.

Under these circumstances application was made to me, and I could not at first but shrink from a labour for which I felt that the amplest leisure of a lifetime would be insufficient, and powers incomparably greater than my own would still be utterly inadequate. But the considerations that were urged upon me came no doubt with additional force from the deep interest with which, from the first, I contemplated the design. I consented to make the effort, knowing that I could at least promise to do my best, and believing that he who does the best he can, and also seeks the blessing of God upon his labours, cannot finally and wholly fail.

And I have reason to be thankful that I originally entered upon the task, and, in spite of all obstacles, have still persevered in it. If the following pages in any measure fulfil the objects with which such a Life ought to be written, they should fill the minds of those who read them with solemn and not ignoble thoughts; they should "add sun

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