208 PHAEISEES. 



who followed minutely the observances of the cere- 

 monial law ; who added to it with their traditions ; 

 who lengthened the hours and deepened the gloom of 

 the Sabbath day, and increased the taxes which it had 

 been ordered to pay upon tbe altar. 



On the other hand, there had been among the Puri- 

 tans many men of pure and gentle lives ; and a similar 

 class existed among the Pharisees. The good Pharisee, 

 says the Talmud, is he who obeys the law because he 

 loves the Lord. They addressed their God by the 

 name of " Father" when they prayed. " Do unto 

 others as you would be done by," was an adage often 

 on their lips. That is the law, they said, all the rest 

 is mere commentary. To the Pharisees belonged all 

 that was best and all that was worst in the Hebrew 

 religious life. 



The traditions of the Pharisees related partly to 

 ceremonial matters which in the written law were 

 already diffuse and intricate enough. But it must also 

 be remembered that without traditions the Hebrew 

 theology was barbarous and incomplete. Before the 

 captivity the doctrine of rewards and punishments in a 

 future state had not been known. The Scheol of the 

 Jews was a land of shades, in which there was neither 

 joy nor sorrow, in which all ghosts or souls dwelt pro- 

 miscuously together. When the Jews came in contact 

 with the Persian priests they were made acquainted 

 with the heaven and hell of the Avesta. It is pro- 

 bable, indeed, that without foreign assistance they 

 would in time have developed a similar doctrine for 

 themselves. Already, in the Psalms and Book of Job, 

 are signs that the Hebrew mind was in a transition 

 state. When Ezekiel declared that the son should not 

 be responsible for the iniquity of the father, nor the 



