resisted. "Facts," says Professor Stanley, "are stubborn, and geographical facts happily the most stubborn of all. We cannot wrest them to meet our views; but neither can we refuse the conclusions they force upon us. It is by more than a figure of speech that natural scenes are said to have 'witnessed' the events which occurred in their presence. They are 'witnesses' which remain when the testimony of men and books has perished. They can be cross-examined with the alleged facts and narratives. If they cannot tell the whole truth, at any rate, so far as they have any voice at all, they tell nothing but the truth."

Now it is a fact patent to all who have given attention to the subject, that every successive examination and cross-examination to which the localities of Palestine have thus far been subjected, have served only to prove more and more conclusively, that the writers of the Gospels must have been citizens of that country, and must have been dwellers in it at the time of which they speak. The harmony between the simple statements and incidental allusions in their narratives and the present natural features of the land is striking and complete.

Many of the discourses, parables and miracles related in the Gospels are so involved in the conditions, surroundings, or imagery of the localities where they transpired, and there remain of these enough so unaltered to the present day, that a glance at the real scenes carries conviction to the candid mind, that in those Gospels, he is reading, not myths nor legends, but real

histories, and that he is there following, not a phantom hero, but a real and living man, who trod the ground on which he stands, and looked upon the scene on which his eyes now gaze.

In evidence of the correctness of the foregoing general remarks, we now request the reader's attention to two classes of specific facts.

I. The close connection and entire harmony of the Gospel History with KNOWN LOCALITIES. So remarkable is this, that more than one distinguished traveller has pronounced the Bible "the best hand-book or guide to Palestine."

According to the Gospel narrative Jesus was born at BETHLEHEM, a town of the tribe of Judah. This town or village still remains, under the name Beit-lahm. It is situated, as of old, some half a dozen miles south of Jerusalem on a narrow hill ridge, with creeping vineyards along its slopes, and corn-fields below, as in the days of Ruth and Boaz, with the well a little distance from the gate as when David longed to quench his thirst therefrom, and the wild hills spreading eastward where the shepherd's flocks "who kept watch by night" may have wandered. The sight and the whole scene of this town are in perfect agreement with all we read of them in the sacred history; there exists no doubt of its identity, nor has there ever been a doubt. Justin Martyr, who wrote within fifty years after the death of the apostle John, mentions that the spot of the Nativity was well known, and pointed out to pious visitors in his day. And 180 years later, in commemoration of the

event, the Emperor Constantine erected his magnificent Basilica, or Church of the Nativity, over what was then believed to be the very place; that church, after passing through many and various vicissitudes, remains there to the present day, and is now the oldest monument of Christian architecture in the world.

The evangelists record of Jesus, that the home where he grew from tender infancy to the ripeness of manhood was at NAZARETH, in Galilee. And this place, like Bethlehem, has preserved his memory through all the centuries, and stands forth among those hills to-day, a visible witness for the reality of his person, and the truth of his history. It is situated among the south ridges of Lebanon, just before they sink down into the Plain of Esdraelon. Here runs, in a waving line, nearly east and west, a valley about a mile long, and, on an average, a quarter of a mile broad, but which at a certain point enlarges itself considerably so as to form a sort of basin. In this basin or enclosure, along the lower edge of the hill-side, lies the quiet, secluded village of Nazareth, in which the Saviour of men spent the greater part of his earthly existence. The surrounding hills vary in height, some of them reach an elevation of some four or five hundred feet. They have rounded tops, are composed of the glittering limestone which is so common in that country, and, though on the whole sterile and unattractive in appearance, present not an unpleasing aspect, diversified as they are with the foliage of fig-trees and wild shrubs, and with the verdure of occasional fields of grain. Our familiar hollyhock is one of the gay

flowers which grow wild there. The enclosed valley is peculiarly rich and well cultivated; it is filled with corn-fields, gardens, hedges of cactus, and clusters of fruit-bearing trees. Being so sheltered by hills, Nazareth enjoys a mild atmosphere and climate. Hence all the fruits of the country-as pomegranates, oranges, figs, olives-ripen early, and attain a rare perfection.

Two localities connected with Nazareth, though not directly related to our subject, yet are of an interest deserving of notice. One of these is "The Fountain of the Virgin," situated at the northeastern extremity of the town, where, according to tradition, the mother of Jesus received the angel's salutation (Luke i. 28). Though we may attach no importance to this latter belief, we must, on other accounts, regard the spring with feeling akin to that of religious veneration. It derives its name from the fact that Mary, during her life at Nazareth, no doubt accompanied by "the child Jesus," must have been accustomed to repair to this fountain of water, as is the practice of the women of that village at the present day. Certainly, as Dr. Clarke observes, if there be a spot throughout the Holy Land that was undoubtedly honored by her presence, we may consider this to have been the place; because the situation of a copious spring is not liable to change, and because the custom of repairing thither to draw water has been continued among the female inhabitants of Nazareth from the earliest period of its history. The well-worn path which leads thither from the town has been trodden by the feet of a long, long chain of ener The other place is

the summit of the hill that rises immediately back of the town, which commands one of the grandest views in all the Land. In the north are seen the ridges of Lebanon, and, high above all, the white top of Hermon; in the west, Carmel, glimpses of the Mediterranean, the bay and the town of Akka; east and southeast are Gilead, Tabor, and Gilboa; and south, the Plain of Esdraelon and the mountains of Samaria, with villages on every side, among which are Kana, Nein, Endor, and Taanach. It is unquestionably one of the most beautiful and sublime spectacles which the earth has to show. We may well believe that the Saviour, during the days of His seclusion in the adjacent valley, often resorted to this very spot to look abroad upon the glorious works of the Creator, which so lift the soul upward to Himself. One of the grandest views of Hermon is that which must have many a time burst upon Him as He ascended from the valley eastward on His way to Cana and Tiberias.*

In this quiet and secluded village every statement and allusion of the Evangelists finds its clear and full confirmation. Its name, en-Nâzirah, is the same as that given it in Matthew ii. 23. It is built on a hill-side, as described in Luke iv. 29. It is situated within the Province of Galilee, as stated in Mark i. 9. It is near to Cana, as intimated in John ii. 1, 2, 11. Behind and above it is a precipice, steep and forty feet high, corresponding to that described in Luke iv. 29, to which his enraged fellow-townsmen led him, that they might

*For some of the preceding facts and statements the writer is indebted to Smith's Dictionary of the Bible.