Toward the Understanding of Jesus

1925 And Two Additional Historical Studies: Rome’s Fall Reconsidered and Hay and History. From the Preface: Problems of history are problems of understanding. Three such problems of historical understanding are treated in this book. The first study deals with the historical problem presented by the teachings of Jesus. The problem is-why such unprecedented teachings at that particular time? This study, therefore, deals, if you please, with the fullness of time. To the scientific historian everything that has happened, happened in the fullness of time and to understand intimately and realistically that fullness is the task of history. In this particular study, therefore, we are endeavoring to understand the particular circumstances and condition that make so great an historical event as the insight of Jesus historically intelligible to us. The other two studies examine the correlation between the decay of an Empire due to the decay of its agriculture.