Page:The Mohammedan system of theology (IA mohammedansyste00neal).pdf/204

 to a certain extent, yet no one ever appeared amongst mankind, whose precepts and example combined, furnished a living and unexceptionable guide or directory. Nothing like this is to be found in the writings of antiquity, or in the Koran: the greatest virtues and vices are strangely intermixed in the examples of ancient days, and, without enlargement, just exceptions may be made to the personal character of the Prophet of Arabia. But in the Gospel, Jesus is exhibited as the model of every virtue, both as relates to God and man; who did no sin, but was holy, harmless, and separate from sinners, the image of God, exemplifying the divine perfections as far as they were cognizable by the human understanding. In delineating his life, the Evangelists have soared far beyond the utmost efforts of human genius.

The want of an adequate motive to influence the heart and practice, is a further