It is astounding enough that people such as these were able to hand on such words. They were homines sine litteris et idiotae (Acts 4:13), ignorant and limited ammé haaretz; this is how I see them, in spite of the critics; they were genuinely inadequate and lacking in understanding. Genius did not descend upon them, nor was it parcelled out among them. Yet, because of their involvement and their memory—and memory, at that time and under those conditions, had an entirely different role, use and power (cf. p. 177)—these so imperfect people were able to repeat these words so perfectly that thought and its expression are never in conflict, that the magnificent content is not diminished nor the cutting edge dulled. Thus they repeated the spoken words which have had an incomparably greater effect than all the other written words of the world taken together, and which have shaped mankind's history more powerfully than the elemental forces of nature. With very few exceptions, these words are the words of Christ; and as far as the words of Christ are concerned, the evangelists are as entirely reliable as they are in regard to their portrayal of Christ's character, which is inseparable from these words. All this must have been possible; these ammé haaretz must have handed it all down—otherwise it would not be there. Soon, of course, the principal words, sayings and parables were written down by those who could write, but who were evidently no more gifted intellectually than those who carried out the oral transmission. For the books are not called the Gospel of Matthew, of Mark, etc., but the Gospel according to Matthew, according to Mark, κατα Ματθαιον, Μαρκον etc. (which could imply that the title was added later by others, but with the purpose of showing that Matthew, Mark, etc., were the original authors). These chief sayings of Christ (λογια κυριακα) which were first to be written down formed a nucleus around which elements of genuine tradition, along with additions, crystallized, forming what we now have as the New Testament, a whole branch of the Jewish literature in the time. Compared with the rabbinic literature in which practically all the sap had gone into the leaves, this branch of am haaretz literature was heavy with luscious fruits. So we must not always be criticizing these men for the inadequacy of their transmission; rather, we should be astonished and praise them for so faithfully having kept these words in their purity. What critic or expert among us—quite apart from the fact that he would have neither the taste, the sense of truth, nor (least of all) the will for such a task—which of our experts would be able to reproduce such spoken words in all their greatness?! These fishermen, tax-collectors, sinners and harlots, however, were not as limited as our experts, and thus they deserve the greater glory which they enjoy in the world. They had not been fattened up on an erudite diet, they lacked the limitation imposed by specialization; unlike the experts, they had no self-erected fence in front of their eyes to obstruct their vision.
