29.03.2013 Views

The Life and Times of Jesus the Messiah Vol 1 - Predestination

The Life and Times of Jesus the Messiah Vol 1 - Predestination

The Life and Times of Jesus the Messiah Vol 1 - Predestination

SHOW MORE
SHOW LESS

Create successful ePaper yourself

Turn your PDF publications into a flip-book with our unique Google optimized e-Paper software.

superstition, by <strong>the</strong> use <strong>of</strong> <strong>the</strong> article in <strong>the</strong><br />

expression * a multitude <strong>of</strong> <strong>the</strong> impotent' (ir\rj0o9<br />

T&v aaOsvovpTcav), which marks this impotence<br />

as used in <strong>the</strong> generic sense, while <strong>the</strong> special<br />

diseases, afterwards enumerated without <strong>the</strong><br />

article, are ranged under it as instances <strong>of</strong> those<br />

who were thus impotent. Such use <strong>of</strong> <strong>the</strong> Greek<br />

term, as not applying to any one specific malady, is<br />

vindicated by a reference to St. Matt. viii. 17 <strong>and</strong><br />

St. Mark vi. 56, <strong>and</strong> by its employment by <strong>the</strong><br />

physician Luke. It is, <strong>of</strong> course, not intended to<br />

imply, that <strong>the</strong> distempers to which this designation<br />

is given had all <strong>the</strong>ir origin in <strong>the</strong> nervous system ;<br />

but we argue that, if <strong>the</strong> term ' impotent' was <strong>the</strong><br />

general, <strong>of</strong> which <strong>the</strong> diseases mentioned in verse<br />

3 were <strong>the</strong> specific —in o<strong>the</strong>r words, that, if it<br />

was an ^ impotence,' <strong>of</strong> which <strong>the</strong>se were <strong>the</strong><br />

various manifestations—it may indicate, that <strong>the</strong>y<br />

all, so far as relieved, had one common source,<br />

<strong>and</strong> this, as we would suggest, in <strong>the</strong> nervous<br />

system.*<br />

With all reverence, we can in some measure

Hooray! Your file is uploaded and ready to be published.

Saved successfully!

Ooh no, something went wrong!