Renan's Penance

Jules Simón, in one of his reminiscences of Kenau, relates that atone time lie differed with his professor about the interpretation to be given to a certain passage in Scripture, quoting the Hebrew text ashisauthority. Afterhe had frankly stated his objection his superior ineditated for awhile and then told him raildly, "Abbe, you will repeat, in kneeling position, the seven penitential psalms bef ore the lioly sacrament. " Relatiug this incident to Simon, the latter inquired, "And what answer did you make?" "I auswered what iscustomary in such cases to. answer, 'I thank you, reverend father. ' " "And you did penanceV" "Idid, and then proceeded again in my investigatious, and eyer received the same reply. Butlcouldfiot pass my whole life reading the penitential psalms. ' ' And he did not. He began to consult, instead of the priestly oracle, the oracle of his reason and of hisown consoience, and he became the great torchbearer, the biographer of Jesusand the apostles f rom a rational point of view, uncJouded by supernaturalism and miracle worship, aud he wrote the "Origin of Christianity, " and he threw the wonderful light of his erudition upon the intricat3 problems of oriental philology and Biblical archseology and the comparative history of religions and brought sunshine into thonsandsof minds where superstition and uncouth credulity reigiied bef