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world of dogs, whereas in the history of mankind this happens with
regularity and frequency.
Now here are three “ super-men,
’ all at
loggerheads. What is there in common between Christ,
Buddha, and Mohammed? Is there any one point upon which all
three are in accord?
No point of doctrine, no point of ethics, no. theory of a “ hereafter”
do they share, and yet in the history of their lives we find one identity
amid many diversities.
Buddha was born a Prince, and died a beggar.
Mohammed was born a beggar, and died a Prince.
Christ remained obscure until many years after his death.
Elaborate lives of each have been written by devotees, and there is
one thing common to all
three——an omission.
We hear
nothing of Christ between the ages of twelve and thirty.
Mohammed
disappeared into a cave.
Buddha left his palace, and went for a long
while into the desert.
Each of them, perfectly silent up to the time of the dis-
appearance, came back and immediately began to preach a
new law.
This is so curious that it leaves us to inquire whether the histories of
other great teachers contradict or confirm.
Moses led a quiet lifeuntil his slaying of the Egyptian. He then