This  view  of  the  matter  enabled  Hegel  to  pass  by  the
question  of  the  sinlessness  of  Christ,  without  giving  any
decided  judgment  upon  it. He  justifies  his  indifference  to
the  historical  reality  in  the  following  words  :  "  We  do  not
adopt  the  right  point  of  view  in  thinking  of  Christ  only  as
an  historical,  bygone  personality. So  regarded,  the  question
is  asked. What  are  we  to  make  of  His  birth. His  father
and  mother,  His  early  domestic  relations. His  miracles,
etc. ? — ie. what  is  He,  unspiritually  regarded  ?  Con-
sidered only  in  respect  of  His  talents,  character,  and
morality, — as  a  teacher,  and  so  forth, — we  place  Him  in
the  same  category  with  Socrates  and  others,  though  His
morality  may  be  ranked  higher. But  excellence  of  char-
acter, morality,  etc. — all  this  is  not  the  Tie  'plm  ultra  in
the  requirements  of  the  Spirit — does  not  enable  man  to
gain  the  speculative  idea  of  spirit  for  his  conceptive
faculty. K  Christ  is  to  be  looked  upon  only  as  an
excellent,  even  impeccable  individual,  and  nothing  more,
the  conception  of  the  speculative  idea,  of  absolute  truth,
is  ignored. But  this  is  the  desideratum,  the  point  from
which  we  have  to  start. Make  of  Christ  what  you  will,
exegetically,  critically,  historically;    demonstrate  as   you


The  Philosophical  Question  323

please  how  the  doctrines  of  the  Church  were  established
by  councils,  attained  currency  as  the  result  of  this  or  that
episcopal  interest  or  passion,  or  originated  in  this  or  that
quarter, — let  all  such  circumstances  have  been  what  they
might,  the  only  concerning  question  is,  What  is  the  idea
or  the  truth  in  and  for  itself  ? "  ^

But  for  Strauss  this  indifference  to  the  historical  fact
was  impossible. Not  only  had  he  a  keener  interest  in  the
historical  question  as  such,  but  he  was  confronted  by  the
miraculous  Christ  of  Schleiermacher. He  was  therefore
obliged  to  furnish  an  interpretation  of  Him,  according  to
Hegelian  principles,  as  he  understood  them. The  first
Life  of  Jesus  was  the  result. Nature  and  man  being  part
of  the  eternal  process  of  the  self-realisation  of  God,
miracles  were  held  to  be  impossible. But  the  ethical
perfection  of  Christ  in  the  midst  of  such  an  unfinished
process  would  be  a  miracle  of  the  greatest  magnitude. It
is  therefore  impossible. 