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many marvels occurred, to display the favor of Heaven "towards him. A certain man of the Alexandrian "populace, known to suffer from wasted eyeballs, clasped "his knees and with a moan claimed of him a remedy "for his blindness. The goddess Serapis, whom above "all other deities this superstitious race honors, had "urged him to this step,-and he kept imploring the "prince, to deign to spatter saliva on his cheeks and "eyeballs. Another, who was crippled in the hand, "prompted by the same deity, begged that the foot and "step of Cæsar might trample on his limb. Vespasian "at first laughed at it, and refused; but when the "patients persisted, he at one moment dreaded the dis"credit of silly assumption; at the next was moved into "hope by their urgent entreaties and by the flattering "cheers from others. Finally, he ordered the physicians "to form a judgment, whether such blindness and such "disablement were within human aid. The physicians "discussed the case on several sides, saying: that in the "blind eye force of sight was not extinct, but only "impeded that the crippled limb was dislocated, yet "possibly force wisely applied might restore it; that "perhaps the gods had such a result at heart, and a "Prince had been chosen for a divine ministration. In "fine, if the remedy succeeded, Cæsar would win the glory if it failed, the poor wretches would hav to "bear the ridicule. Thereupon Vespasian, thinking all "things open to his fortune, and nothing any longer 66 'incredible, put on a joyful countenance, and while the "crowd around gave earnest attention, performed the "bidding [of the patients.] Instantly the hand became "manageable, and light re-illumined the blind eye. "Each fact is asserted by bystanders, up to the present day, when falsehood has nothing to gain."--So far Tacitus. As he probably wrote full thirty years later, it

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is open to conjecture that in place of "bystanders" he ought to hav written, "those who ar said to profess to "hav been present."

But it is a fair inference that a belief had gone widely abroad in Western Asia and Egypt, even reaching to the Greek and Italian Sibyls, that a great Deliverer was to come from the East; also, that when he came, he would work miracles of healing on various classes of disease. No other note of Messiah can be named as popular in Asia.

CHAPTER IV.

ROMAN CONQUEST OF JUDÆA.

THE Greek monarchy in Syria received its first shock from the Romans (B.c. 190) under the two Scipios, which established in Asia Roman power from the coast to Mount Taurus. After this their predominance was undisputed, until their own Italian and domestic conflicts emboldened the Greek cities to insurrection, aided by Mithridates, king of Pontus or Cappadocia. This war lingered on until in B.C. 66 Pompey the Great was sent to conduct it, then at the height of his celebrity for his wonderful rapidity of success against the ubiquitous pirates of the seas. He was eminently mild and humane; but, entrusted with a great army, he was quite aware that more would be expected of him in Rome than to put the last stroke to an old war. He had traversed Armenia and approached the Caspian Sea, but now resolved to march into Syria. He did so, and conquered

it from north to south; deposed the XIth Antiochus, and made a present of Syria and Palestine to the Roman people.

The Romans had been glad to win the Jews as allies against kings of Syria, and ordinarily accounted allies as a second morsel to be devoured. But this time the foreiner invited the Roman commander in. There were three parties in Jerusalem; a popular party which disliked royalty, and two brothers, Hyrcanus and Aristobulus, in civil war for the pontifical throne. Pompey listened to the pleas of all three, but deferred his verdict until he could hear what the Idumean chief Aretas, ally of the elder brother Hyrcanus, had to plead. Meanwhile Pompey commanded abstinence from warlike action. Aristobulus was too fierce, or dreaded to lose all by losing time. His disobedience and activity seem to hav thrown Pompey on to the side of Hyrcanus. Before long, the Romans found self-defence needful, and a stubborn conflict ensued. Though Hyrcanus largely controuled the rural populace, and had many partizans in Jerusalem itself, yet from no city in Syria did Pompey meet with resistance so formidable. These Jews were stricter in observance of the sabbath than those of Maccabean times. At the earlier era, when it was perceived that to allow the enemy's works to proceed without molestation during the sabbath, was to yield themselves to slaughter, they had worked against him in those sacred hours, though reluctantly. But Pompey, besides important aid from one faction, encountered men too scrupulous to work against him on the sabbath; who indeed calmly continued their incense, their sacrifices or expiation, while slaughtered by his missiles. Finally, only in the third month of his siege was he able to surmount the inner wall of the temple, though at the head of a veteran army. He marvelled at the scene, as

we in reading of it. He is not likely to hav reflected, as we do, on the mischiefs of a sacred code, which none may criticize and improve.

Much as we must honor the self-devotion of those Jews, it is clear that Reverence paralyzed their intellect. Men's good sense will struggle upwards against a misplaced reverence. Sacredness of the letter therefore generates a perverse logic, just as in lawyers whose problem it is to reconcile a barbarous code with maturer judgments. Fanciful analogies, arbitrary presumptions, subtle distinctions ar invoked and approved, in aid of justice or mercy. In the Mosaic books religion, law, medicin, agriculture were interfused. Gentile beliefs were superadded: out of this mass the Rabbi had to hammer results that satisfy utility and wisdom; and every bigot had advantage over a larger-hearted expounder. From this system proceeded much heroism and fanatical energy, also much crooked subtlety of the moderate and comparativly wise.

Pompey from curiosity entered the Holy of Holies, but refused to plunder the gold of the temple, and restrained his soldiers from violence. From rudeness and insult to Jewish scruples, to restrain them was impossible. Moreover the eagles on his standard, being worshipped as idols, were a dire abomination. Their very entrance into the Holy City was an affliction to Jewish sentiment.

This new conquest by an idolatrous foe was a painful. wound, after a century of belief that under Jehovah's protection Jehovah's people were safe. Severe doubts. awoke as to the lawfulness of professing allegiance. The book of Deuteronomy seemed expressly to forbid; for (xvii. 11) in allowing them to choose a king it imposes two conditions, first, the king must be the man whom Jehovah shall choose-(therefore could not be an idolater);,

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next, he must be "one of thy brethren; but a stranger "thou mayest not set over thee, who is not thy brother." This prohibition was to many decisiv. Besides, a fine Psalm (cxxv.) givs a powerful moral reason. The sceptre of the wicked shall not rest on the lot of the righteous, lest the righteous put forth his hand to injustice. From every province the Roman rule tore away the young men to fight in aggressiv wars against distant peoples. Jehovah seemed to affirm that he rested "like "the mountains around his people," to shield them from this base subservience. Tender consciences were pierced by this liability. Brave and ardent souls must hav braced themselves, like our Quakers, to refuse it, and to deny the rightfulness of allegiance and loyalty. Not many of the wisest would see how to reconcile the command of the law with the dictates of prudence; nor how in sincerity to make professions which the conqueror would not interpret to mean, "We shall rebel as soon as we "dare,"—if nothing but inability to resist justified submission. That the religion was an intense explosiv, was soon manifest, and the Romans felt towards it, in vehement combination, Fear, Disgust and Hatred. How else feel Britons toward Islam in India?

After so difficult a conquest, no one will wonder that heavier tribute was laid on the Jews than on the Syrian towns. Romans indeed could justify this by a very peculiar reason. Because of suspension of culture in the sabbatical year, it was impossible to collect taxes. Therefore if in six years they collected seven years' revenu, they did nothing unfair to this eccentric people. At the same time it gave a new stone to fling at the Jews, as lovers of idleness.

Pompey, with his uniform humanity, tried to conciliate good will, and to arrange all things by healing measures. After his departure, first a son of Aristobulus, next the