How remarkably these words compare with what we have just seen concerning the genealogies of Jesus!
_Rama_, another Indian _avatar_--the seventh incarnation of Vishnu--was also of _royal descent_.[163:4]
_Fo-hi_; or _Fuh-he_, the virgin-born "Son of Heaven," was of _royal descent_. He belonged to the oldest family of monarchs who ruled in China.[163:5]
_Confucius_ was of _royal descent_. His pedigree is traced back in a summary manner to the monarch _Hoang-ty_, who is said to have lived and ruled more than two thousand years before the time of Christ Jesus.[163:6]
_Horus_, the Egyptian virgin-born Saviour, was of _royal descent_, having descended from a line of kings.[163:7] He had the title of "Royal Good Shepherd."[163:8]
_Hercules_, the Saviour, was of _royal descent_.[163:9]
_Bacchus_, although the Son of God, was of _royal descent_.[164:1]
_Perseus_, son of the virgin Danae, was of _royal descent_.[164:2]
_Æsculapius_, the great performer of miracles, although a son of God, was notwithstanding of _royal descent_.[164:3]
Many more such cases might be mentioned, as may be seen by referring to the histories of the virgin-born gods and demi-gods spoken of in Chapter XII.
[160:1] That is, a passage in the Old Testament was construed to mean this, although another and more plausible meaning might be inferred. It is when Abraham is blessed by the Lord, who is made to say: "_In thy seed_ shall all the nations of the earth be blessed, because thou hast obeyed my voice." (Genesis, xxii. 18.)
[162:3] "There is no doubt that the authors of the genealogies regarded him (Jesus), as did his countrymen and contemporaries generally, as the eldest son of Joseph, Mary's husband, and that they had no idea of anything miraculous connected with his birth. All the attempts of the old commentators to reconcile the inconsistencies of the evangelical narratives are of no avail." (Albert Réville: Hist. Dogma, Deity, Jesus, p. 15.)
[162:4] The reader is referred to Thomas Scott's English Life of Jesus, Strauss's Life of Jesus, The Genealogies of Our Lord, by Lord Arthur Hervey, Kitto's Biblical Encyclopædia, and Barnes' Notes.
[163:1] See Higgins: Anacalypsis, vol. i. p. 130. Asiatic Researches, vol. i. p. 259, and Allen's India, p. 379.