and thinkers as Dr. Sanday, Dr. Illingworth, the late Dr. Moberly, and Dr. Du Bose. The last-mentioned writer in particular has wisely warned us that we ought "to do full justice to what we consider mutilated or incomplete conceptions of Christianity." In Germany, at any rate, there is a marked tendency among scholars to take for granted a purely humanitarian conception of our Lord's Person, and Christological problems (e.g. the mystery of the Virgin Birth) are approached in the light of this prejudice. I am convinced that in the interests of religion it is our wisdom to make the best and not the worst of the gospel of humanitarianism, while for ourselves we hold stedfastly and confidently to the immemorial belief of Christendom; assured by growing experience that it alone corresponds to the complex and profound need of humanity. τὸ μωρὸν τοῦ Θεοῦ σοφώ τερον τῶν ἀνθρώπων ἐστίν, καὶ τὸ ἀσθενὲς τοῦ Θεοῦ ἰσχυρότερον τῶν ἀνθρώπων.

R. L. O.

PREFACE TO THE FIRST EDITION

THIS book is primarily intended for theological students. The writer's aim has been to meet a want which he believes to exist: the want of a compendious and plain introduction to the doctrine of the Incarnation, giving a connected outline of the theology and doctrinal history which may be studied separately, and more minutely, in larger books, The different elements which are combined in the work may be gathered from the following account of its general plan.

In the introductory part a general survey is given of the fact of the Incarnation: its nature, different aspects, and relation to various provinces of thought and inquiry.

Another section (Part II.) is devoted to the scriptural presentation of the doctrine. The writer believes that this division of the subject strictly belongs to the history of dogma. It seems indeed to be reasonable, both on historical and critical grounds, to assume that the New Testament lies behind the dogma of the Church, as its presupposition, and a determining factor in its development. The theory that the theology of the Church is

merely a product of Greek metaphysics would seem to be largely based on the deliberate exclusion of the evidence of the New Testament; and it is accordingly very important to estimate fairly the strictly dogmatic element in Scripture, if the subsequent process of ecclesiastical definition is to be correctly understood. There is ample ground for the conclusion that a far more considerable element in the development of dogma than "Hellenism," has been the influence of Scripture and the religious experience of Christians.

The third and largest portion of the work (Parts III.-IX.) consists of an historical sketch covering the period between the Apostolic Fathers and the close of the sixteenth century.

The last section (Part X.) may be best described as a connected series of notes on the actual "content" of the doctrine, comprising a brief discussion both of theological points and of the technical terms most frequently employed by ecclesiastical writers.

In dealing with a subject which has been the theme of a literature so vast, the writer has been largely dependent on the labours of others. With a general acknowledgment of indebtedness he must be content; but in particular he feels himself under obligation to the well-known works of Dorner, Harnack, Weiss, Seeberg,

1 The value of such works as Dr. Hatch's Hibbert Lectures, or Dr. Harnack's Dogmengeschichte, is considerably impaired by this preconception. See a valuable chapter on "Hellenism" in Dr. Bigg's recent work on Neoplatonism (chap. viii.).

Hagenbach, Liddon, and Bruce. He is deeply conscious of the many shortcomings of a book written amid. frequent interruptions, and necessarily limited in scale. If to any the exact study of dogma seems in days like ours a profitless labour, it may be sufficient to reply in the words of a medieval writer: O quam frustra timemus circa illam materiam studiorum nostrorum moras impendere, quam semper oporteret, si fieri posset, præ oculis habere, et in ejus admirationem jugi occupatione animos suspendere.1 The writer trusts that his work will do nothing to wound or hinder, but rather something to stimulate and encourage, the spirit of practical devotion to HIM whom to know is life, whom to serve is freedom.

1 Ric. de S. Vict. de Emman. ii. 20.