Home › Ben-Hur: a Tale of the Christ › Ben-Hur: a Tale of the Christ: Ben-Hur

Ben-Hur: a Tale of the Christ: Ben-Hur

Now Ben-Hur in time became a rower on the flagship of Arrius, duumvir and admiral; how the flagship was destroyed in a great sea-fight; how Ben-Hur rescued the admiral, became his adopted son and his heir, learned at Rome the manner of Roman war and Roman sports, returned to the East a Roman officer in the train of a consul setting forth on a great campaign against the Parthians; how he discovered that his father's old steward, Simonides, had succeeded in saving from confiscation the vast intangible wealth of the Hurs and had multiplied it many times, till the young Roman-Jew was the richest private citizen in the world; the discovery that Messala was entered for the highest stake in the great sporting event of the Orient; how Ben-Hur won the affection of Ilderim, the Arab shiek, who had entered his steeds of the desert for the great event--all this leads up to the dramatic encounter of the famous chariot-race. The author drew his description of the race from one written over twenty-three hundred years ago by the tragic poet Sophocles. It is one of the curiosities of literature that the great scene, through the pages of Lew Wallace's novel, has become as famous on our stage as it was so long ago on that of Greece.

By his victory in the arena Ben-Hur exacted ancient Jewish justice on his hated adversary, who was crushed in body and impoverished in fortune--he had wagered on his success all the wealth he had stolen from his former friend. The victor almost fell prey, however, to the vampire daughter of Egypt who was rival for his love with the gentle Jewish Esther. But henceforth his thoughts were concentrated on Him who was attracting all eyes. Was he Messiah or king? Ben-Hur, in his hatred of Rome, in his pride of race, dreamed only of a king of this world, who should right ancient wrongs and exalt his chosen people. And so he threw himself with all his force, with all his wealth, with all the knowledge gained at Rome, into making secure and strong the way of the king whom he would follow. But it was for one supreme in things spiritual rather than material that the way was being made ready. And Ben-Hur's mother, rescued with her daughter from her long imprisonment by a chance change of jailers, but hopeless lepers both, saw the truth sooner than her son. "'O Master, Master!' she cried as He passed upon the road, 'Thou seest our need; Thou canst make us clean. Have mercy upon us--mercy!' "'Believest thou I am able to do this?' He asked. "'Thou art He of whom the prophets spake--Thou art the Messiah!' she replied. His eyes grew radiant, His manner confident. "'Woman,' He said, 'great is thy faith; be it unto thee even as thou wilt.'" And so, in the end, Ben-Hur recognized what Balthazar had known from the beginning. "O wise Egyptian, hearken! Thou alone were right--the Nazarene is indeed the Son of God!"

THACKERAY WILLIAM MAKEPEACE THACKERAY was intensely loved by his friends and as much disliked by his enemies. Such personalities as Tennyson, FitzGerald, and Charlotte Bronte were unswerving in their devotion, but the hangers-on in Grub Street, the lesser fry who envied his social successes, regarded him as an insufferable snob.