Book 4 (Part I)

5 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