The Catholic encyclopedia (Volume 9); an international work of reference on the constitution, doctrine, discipline and history of the Catholic Church . after the birth ofChrist. Herod had found out from the Magi the timeof the stars appearance. Taking this for the time ofthe Childs birth, he slew the male children of twoyears old and under in Bethlehem and its borders (). Some of the Fathers conclude from this ruthlessslaughter that the Magi reached Jerusalem two yearsafter the Nativity (St. Epiphanius, Haer., LI, 9;Juvencus, Hist. Evang., I, 259). Their conclusionhas some degree of probab
The Catholic encyclopedia (Volume 9); an international work of reference on the constitution, doctrine, discipline and history of the Catholic Church . after the birth ofChrist. Herod had found out from the Magi the timeof the stars appearance. Taking this for the time ofthe Childs birth, he slew the male children of twoyears old and under in Bethlehem and its borders (). Some of the Fathers conclude from this ruthlessslaughter that the Magi reached Jerusalem two yearsafter the Nativity (St. Epiphanius, Haer., LI, 9;Juvencus, Hist. Evang., I, 259). Their conclusionhas some degree of probability; yet the slaying ofchildren two years old may possibly have been due tosome other reason—for instance, a fear on Herodspart that the Magi had deceived him in the matter ofthe time of the stars appearance or that the Magi hadbeen deceived as to the conjunction of that appear-ance with the birth of the Child. Art and archaeologyfavour our view. Only one early monument repre-sents the Child in the crib while the Magi adore; inothers Jesus rests upon Marys knees and is at timesfairly well grown (see Comely, Introd. Special, inN. T., p. 203).. THE ADORATION OF THE SHEPHERDS GHIHLAMUAJO. ACCADEMIA. FLUKENCE i MAGI 529 MAOI From Persia, whence the Magi are supposed to havecome, to Jerusalem was a journey of between 1000and 1200 miles. Such a distance may have taken anytime between three and twelve months by camel. Be-sides the time of travel, there were probably manyweeks of preparation. The Magi could scarcely havereached Jerusalem till a year or more had elapsed fromthe time of the appearance of the star. St. Augustine(De Consensu Evang., II, v, 17) thought the date ofthe Epiphany, the sixth of January, proved that theMagi reached Bethlehem thirteen days after the Na-tivity, i. e., after the twenty-fifth of December. Hisargument from liturgical dates was incorrect. Neitherliturgical date is certainly the historical date. (For seen a stella nova, a star which suddenly increas
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