Ernest Renan: In Memoriam

Ernest Renan Was Born In 1823, At Treguier In Brittany. He Was Educated For The Priesthood, But Never Took Orders, Turning At First To Teaching. He Continued His Studies In Religion And Philology, And, After Traveling In Syria On A Government Commission, He Returned To Paris And Became Professor Of Hebrew In The College De France, From Which He Was Suspended For A Time On Account Of Protests Against His Heretical Teachings. He Died In 1892. Renan’s Activity Divides Itself Into Two Parts. The First Culminated In His Two Great Works On The Origins Of Christianity And On The History Of Israel. As To The Scientific Value Of These Books There Is Difference Of Opinion, As Was To Be Expected In A Treatment Of Such Subjects To The Exclusion Of The Miraculous. But The Delicacy And Vividness Of His Portraits Of The Great Personalities Of Hebrew History, And The Acuteness Of His Analysis Of National Psychology, Are Not To Be Denied.