The excitement was intense. There was no evidence of
system in the rapid movement. But now that the battle is over we read
the philosophy of the whole conflict. Strauss, without any intention on
his part, had shown the church of the present century, its weakness in
failing to comprehend the importance of the evangelical history. The
numerous replies indicated a hopeful attention to the neglected
compendium of divine truth. The friends who rushed to his aid declared
by their impetuosity that their cause would have been better served had
Strauss never penned a word about Christ. They saw their stronghold in
ruins, and looked with tearful eyes upon the future of their creed. The
language which Strauss had applied to his excited opponents upon the
appearance of his work became severely appropriate to his own adherents,
after that production had been faithfully answered. "Their alarm," said
he, "was like the screaming of frightened women on seeing one of their
cooking utensils fall upon the floor." Granting the appositeness of the
illustration, we must add that the alarm mentioned by the critic was of
brief duration; while that of the Rationalists and their adherents is
like the long-standing despair of a circle of chemists, whose laboratory
has been entered through a door left open by themselves, their carefully
prepared combinations destroyed, and all their retorts and crucibles
shattered into irreparable fragments.
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