212 JEWS AND GENTILES. 



of belief, but it existed only in the Jewish area, and 

 was there confined by artificial checks. The Jews 

 held the doctrine that none but Jews could be saved ; 

 and most of them looked forward to the eternal torture 

 of Greek and Roman souls with equanimity, if not 

 with satisfaction. They were not in the least desirous 

 to redeem them ; they hoarded up their religion as 

 they did their money ; and considered it a heritage, a 

 patrimony, a kind of entailed estate. There were 

 some Jews in foreign parts who esteemed it a work of 

 piety to bring the Gentiles to a knowledge of the true 

 God ; and as it was one of the popular amusements of 

 the Romans to attend the service at the Synagogue a 

 convert was occasionally made. But such cases were 

 very rare ; for in order to embrace the Jewish religion 

 it was necessary to undergo a dangerous operation, to 

 abstain from eating with the pagans, in short to become 

 a Jew. It was therefore indispensable for the success 

 of the Hebrew religion that it should be divested of 

 its local customs. But however much the Pharisees 

 and Sadducees might differ on matters of tradition, 

 they were perfectly agreed on this point, that the cere- 

 monial laws were necessary for salvation. These laws 

 could never be given up by Jews unless they first became 

 heretics ; and this was what eventually occurred. A 

 schism arose among the Jews : the sectarians were 

 defeated and expelled. Foiled in their first object 

 they cast aside the law of Moses, and offered the 

 Hebrew religion without the Hebrew ceremonies to the 

 Greek and Roman world. We shall now sketch the 

 character of the man who prepared the way for this 

 remarkable event. 



It was a custom in Israel for the members of each 

 family to meet together once a year that they might 



