164 



THE PRESERVATION OF THE JEWS. 



the rest of the world on the other. 

 Perhaps the best way for Providence 

 to preserve the Jews as they have 

 existed since the dispersion would 

 have been merely to leave them 

 alone leave them to their impeni- 

 tence and unbelief, and take that 

 much care of them that is taken of 

 ravens ; and that would consist 

 with their relation to Him that of 

 rebels against the majesty of heaven, 

 and outcasts from His presence. 

 Before asking how it is that the 

 Jews exist to-day, it would be well 

 to inquire by what possible process 

 they could cease to be Jews ; and by 

 what human means they, as a people, 

 will receive Christ as their Messiah, 

 and thereby become Christian Jews. 

 It is no wonder that they should be 

 Jews, as all the circumstances that 

 have kept them distinct from others 

 during past generations continue to 

 keep them apart at the present day. 

 It is quite sufficient for the Christian 

 to know that the Jews exist, and 

 that they have fulfilled, and will yet 

 fulfil the prophecies that have been 

 delivered in regard to them, and 

 that they are a living proof of the 

 truth of Christianity, without hold- 

 ing that any miracle has been 

 wrought for that end. He should be 

 more considerate in his estimate of 

 what a miracle is, and not maintain 

 that the existence of the Jews is one, 

 for nothing having the decent ap- 

 pearance of an argument can be ad- 

 vanced in support of such a theory ; 

 and far less should he, like the writer 

 on the Christian evidences alluded 

 to, stake, in a spirit of gambling, the 

 whole question of revelation on his 

 own dogma, and according to his 

 hypothesis lose it. " Yea, we estab- 

 lish the law." 



The Duke says, " The case of 

 the Gipsies has been referred to as 

 somewhat parallel. But the facts of 

 this case are doubtful and obscure, 

 and such of them as we know in- 

 volve conditions altogether dissimi- 

 lar in kind." I should not imagine 

 that he knows personally much of 



either, particularly the Gipsies. His 

 remark is too short, vague and ob- 

 scure to admit of any comment be- 

 ing made on it. For a full discus- 

 sion of the two questions, I refer 

 him to the History of the Gipsies, 

 which was published a year before 

 the first edition of the Reign of Law 

 appeared ; and two years before the 

 fifth edition, in which corrections 

 were made to meet criticisms on va- 

 rious matters treated in it. I may 

 add, that the subject of the Jews is 

 not so well known to the world at 

 large, as to justify the many positive 

 assertions that have been made in 

 regard to them.* 



To elucidate the subject of the 

 preservation of the Jews, I add a 

 few extracts from the Disquisition 

 on the Gipsies. 



The circumstances connected with 

 the perpetuation of the Gipsy and Jew- 

 ish races greatly resemble each other. 

 Both races are scattered over the face 

 of the earth. The Jew has had a home ; 

 he has a strong attachment to it, and 

 looks forward to enter it at some future 

 day.. Make the acquaintance of the 

 Jews, and you will find that each gene- 

 ration of them tell their "wonderful 

 story " to the following generation, and 

 the story is repeated to the following, 

 and the following. The children of 

 Jews are taught to know that they are 

 Jews before they can even lisp. Soon 

 do they know that much of the phe- 

 nomenon of their race, as regards its 

 origin, its history, and its universality, 

 to draw the distinction between them, 

 and those around them who are not 

 Jews. Soon do they learn how their 

 race has been despised and persecuted, 

 and imbibe the love which their parents 

 have for it, and the resentment of the 

 odium cast upon it by others. It has 

 been so from the beginning of their 

 history out of Palestine, and even while 

 there. Were it only religion, considered 

 in itself, that has kept the Jews together 

 as a people, they might have got Jost 

 among the rest of mankind ; for among 

 the Jews there are to be found the 

 rankest of infidels ; even Jewish priests 



* What follows did not appear in the 

 paper sent to the Scottish clergy. 



