diff options
Diffstat (limited to '40967-0.txt')
| -rw-r--r-- | 40967-0.txt | 11780 |
1 files changed, 11780 insertions, 0 deletions
diff --git a/40967-0.txt b/40967-0.txt new file mode 100644 index 0000000..6e4666f --- /dev/null +++ b/40967-0.txt @@ -0,0 +1,11780 @@ +*** START OF THE PROJECT GUTENBERG EBOOK 40967 *** + +Transcriber's notes + +Variable spelling has been retained. Minor punctuation inconsistencies +have been silently corrected. A list of other corrections can be found +at the end of the book. Footnotes were sequentially numbered and placed +at the end of the text. + + Mark up: _italics_ + + + + THE TRIAL OF JESUS + + + + +[Illustration: CHRIST BEFORE PILATE (MUNKACSY)] + + + + THE TRIAL OF JESUS + + FROM A LAWYER'S STANDPOINT + + BY + + WALTER M. CHANDLER + + OF THE NEW YORK BAR + + + VOLUME II + + THE ROMAN TRIAL + + + THE EMPIRE PUBLISHING CO. + + 60 WALL STREET, NEW YORK CITY + + 1908 + + + + + Copyright, 1908, by WALTER M. CHANDLER + + _All rights reserved_ + + + + +LIST OF ILLUSTRATIONS + + FACING PAGE + + CHRIST BEFORE PILATE (Munkacsy) _Frontispiece_ + + TIBERIUS CÆSAR (Antique Sculpture) 68 + + PONTIUS PILATE (Munkacsy) 81 + + CHRIST LEAVING THE PRÆTORIUM (Doré) 141 + + THE CRUCIFIXION (Munkacsy) 175 + + JUPITER (Antique Sculpture) 195 + + AVE CÆSAR! IO SATURNALIA (Alma-Tadema) 240 + + THE DYING GLADIATOR (Antique Sculpture) 260 + + READING FROM HOMER (Alma-Tadema) 270 + + + + +CONTENTS OF VOLUME TWO + + PAGE + + PREFACE TO VOLUME TWO ix + + + PART 1 + + _THE ROMAN TRIAL_ + + CHAPTER PAGE + + I. A TWOFOLD JURISDICTION 3 + + II. NUMBER OF REGULAR TRIALS 9 + + III. POWERS AND DUTIES OF PILATE 24 + + IV. MODE OF TRIAL IN ROMAN CAPITAL CASES 34 + + V. ROMAN FORMS OF PUNISHMENT 53 + + VI. ROMAN LAW APPLICABLE TO THE TRIAL OF JESUS 68 + + VII. PONTIUS PILATE 81 + + VIII. JESUS BEFORE PILATE 96 + + IX. JESUS BEFORE HEROD 119 + + X. JESUS AGAIN BEFORE PILATE 129 + + XI. LEGAL ANALYSIS AND SUMMARY OF THE ROMAN TRIAL OF JESUS 141 + + + PART II + + _GRÆCO-ROMAN PAGANISM_ + + I. THE GRÆCO-ROMAN RELIGION 198 + + II. GRÆCO-ROMAN SOCIAL LIFE 236 + + + _APPENDICES_ + + I. CHARACTERS OF THE SANHEDRISTS WHO TRIED JESUS 291 + + II. ACTS OF PILATE 327 + + BIBLIOGRAPHY 383 + + INDEX 389 + + + + +PREFACE TO VOLUME TWO + + +Sufficient was said concerning the entire work in the preface to volume +one to warrant a very brief preface to volume two. + +The reader will notice that the plan of treatment of the Roman trial of +Jesus is radically different from that employed in the Hebrew trial. +There is no Record of Fact in the second volume, for the reason that the +Record of Fact dealt with in the first volume is common to the two +trials. Again, there is no Brief of the Roman trial and no systematic +and exhaustive treatment of Roman criminal law in the second volume, +corresponding with such a treatment of the Hebrew trial, under Hebrew +criminal law, in the first volume. This is explained by the fact that +the Sanhedrin found Jesus guilty, while both Pilate and Herod found Him +not guilty. A proper consideration then of the Hebrew trial became a +matter of review on appeal, requiring a Brief, containing a complete +statement of facts, an ample exposition of law, and sufficient argument +to show the existence of error in the judgment. The nature of the +verdicts pronounced by Pilate and by Herod rendered these things +unnecessary in dealing with the Roman trial. + +In Part II of this volume, Græco-Roman Paganism at the time of Christ +has been treated. It is evident that this part of the treatise has no +legal connection with the trial of Jesus. It was added simply to give +coloring and atmosphere to the painting of the great tragedy. It will +serve the further purpose, it is believed, of furnishing a key to the +motives of the leading actors in the drama, by describing their social, +religious, and political environments. The strictly legal features of a +great criminal trial are rarely ever altogether sufficient for a proper +understanding of even the judicial aspects of the case. The religious +faith of Pilate, the judge, is quite as important a factor in +determining the merits of the Roman trial, as is the religious belief of +Jesus, the prisoner. This contention will be fully appreciated after a +careful perusal of Chapter VI of this volume. + +Short biographical sketches of about forty members of the Great +Sanhedrin who tried Jesus have been given under Appendix I at the end of +this work. They were originally written by MM. Lémann, two of the +greatest Hebrew scholars of France, and are doubtless authoritative and +correct. These sketches will familiarize the reader with the names and +characters of a majority of the Hebrew judges of Jesus. And it may be +added that they are a very valuable addition to the general work, since +the character of the tribunal is an important consideration in the trial +of any case, civil or criminal. + +The apocryphal Acts of Pilate have been given under Appendix II. But the +author does not thereby vouch for their authenticity. They have been +added because of their very intimate connection with the trial of Jesus; +and for the further reason that, whether authentic or not, quotations +from them are to be found everywhere in literature, sacred and secular, +dealing with this subject. The mystery of their origin, the question of +their genuineness, and the final disposition that will be made of them, +render the Acts of Pilate a subject of surpassing interest to the +student of ancient documents. + + WALTER M. CHANDLER. + + NEW YORK CITY, July 1, 1908. + + + + + PART I + + _THE ROMAN TRIAL_ + + Christus, Tiberio imperitante, per procuratorem Pontium Pilatum + supplicio affectus est.--TACITUS. + + + + +CHAPTER I + +A TWOFOLD JURISDICTION + + +The Hebrew trial of Jesus having ended, the Roman trial began. The +twofold character of the proceedings against the Christ invested them +with a solemn majesty, an awful grandeur. The two mightiest +jurisdictions of the earth assumed cognizance of charges against the Man +of Galilee, the central figure of all history. "His tomb," says +Lamartine, "was the grave of the Old World and the cradle of the New," +and now upon His life before He descended into the tomb, Rome, the +mother of laws, and Jerusalem, the destroyer of prophets, sat in +judgment. + +The Sanhedrin, or Grand Council, which conducted the Hebrew trial of +Jesus was the high court of justice and the supreme tribunal of the +Jews. It numbered seventy-one members. Its powers were legislative, +executive, and judicial. It exercised all the functions of education, of +government, and of religion. It was the national parliament of the +Hebrew Theocracy, the human administrator of the divine will. It was the +most august tribunal that ever interpreted or administered religion to +man. Its judges applied the laws of the most peculiar and venerable +system of jurisprudence known to civilized mankind, and condemned upon +the charge of blasphemy against Jehovah, the most precious and +illustrious of the human race. Standing alone, the Hebrew trial of +Christ would have been the most thrilling and impressive judicial +proceeding in all history. The Mosaic Code, whose provisions form the +basis of this trial, is the foundation of the Bible, the most potent +juridical as well as spiritual agency in the universe. In all the courts +of Christendom it binds the consciences, if it does not mold the +convictions, of judge and jury in passing judgment upon the rights of +life, liberty, and property. The Bible is everywhere to be found. It is +read in the jungles of Africa, while crossing burning deserts, and +amidst Arctic snows. No ship ever puts to sea without this sacred +treasure. It is found in the cave of the hermit, in the hut of the +peasant, in the palace of the king, and in the Vatican of the pope. It +adorns the altar where bride and bridegroom meet to pledge eternal love. +It sheds its hallowing influence upon the baptismal font where infancy +is christened into religious life. Its divine precepts furnish elements +of morals and manliness in formative life to jubilant youth; cast a +radiant charm about the strength of lusty manhood; and when life's +pilgrimage is ended, offer to the dying patriarch, who clasps it to his +bosom, a sublime solace as he crosses the great divide and passes into +the twilight's purple gloom. This noble book has furnished not only the +most enduring laws and the sublimest religious truths, but inspiration +as well to the grandest intellectual triumphs. It is literally woven +into the literature of the world, and few books of modern times are +worth reading that do not reflect the sentiments of its sacred pages. +And it was the Mosaic Code, the basis of this book, that furnished the +legal guide to the Sanhedrin in the trial of the Christ. Truly it may be +said that no other trial mentioned in history would have been comparable +to this, if the proceedings had ended here. But to the Hebrew was added +Roman cognizance, and the result was a judicial transaction at once +unique and sublime. If the sacred spirit of the Hebrew law has +illuminated the conscience of the world in every age, it must not be +forgotten that "the written reason of the Roman law has been silently +and studiously transfused" into all our modern legal and political life. +The Roman judicial system is incomparable in the history of +jurisprudence. Judea gave religion, Greece gave letters, and Rome gave +laws to mankind. Thus runs the judgment of the world. A fine sense of +justice was native to the Roman mind. A spirit of domination was the +mental accompaniment of this trait. The mighty abstraction called Rome +may be easily resolved into two cardinal concrete elements: the Legion +and the Law. The legion was the unit of the military system through +which Rome conquered the world. The law was the cementing bond between +the conquered states and the sovereign city on the hills. The legion was +the guardian and protector of the physical boundaries of the Empire, +and Roman citizens felt contented and secure, as long as the +legionaries were loyal to the standards and the eagles. The presence of +barbarians at the gate created not so much consternation and despair +among the citizens of Rome, as did the news of the mutiny of the +soldiers of Germanicus on the Rhine. What the legion was to the body, +the law was to the soul of Rome--the highest expression of its sanctity +and majesty. And when her physical body that once extended from Scotland +to Judea, and from Dacia to Abyssinia was dead, in the year 476 A.D., +her soul rose triumphant in her laws and established a second Roman +Empire over the minds and consciences of men. The Corpus Juris Civilis +of Justinian is a text-book in the greatest universities of the world, +and Roman law is to-day the basis of the jurisprudence of nearly every +state of continental Europe. The Germans never submitted to Cæsar and +his legions. They were the first to resist successfully, then to attack +vigorously, and to overthrow finally the Roman Empire. And yet, until a +few years ago, Germans obeyed implicitly the edicts and decrees of Roman +prætors and tribunes. Is it any wonder, then, that the lawyers of all +modern centuries have looked back with filial love and veneration to the +mighty jurisconsults of the imperial republic? Is it any wonder that the +tragedy of the Prætorium and Golgotha, aside from its sacred aspects, is +the most notable event in history? Jesus was arraigned in one day, in +one city, before the sovereign courts of the universe; before the +Sanhedrin, the supreme tribunal of a divinely commissioned race; before +the court of the Roman Empire that determined the legal and political +rights of men throughout the known world. The Nazarene stood charged +with blasphemy and with treason against the enthroned monarchs +represented by these courts; blasphemy against Jehovah who, from the +lightning-lit summit of Sinai, proclaimed His laws to mankind; treason +against Cæsar, enthroned and uttering his will to the world amidst the +pomp and splendor of Rome. History records no other instance of a trial +conducted before the courts of both Heaven and earth; the court of God +and the court of man; under the law of Israel and the law of Rome; +before Caiaphas and Pilate, as the representatives of these courts and +administrators of these laws. + +Approaching more closely the consideration of the nature and character +of the Roman trial, we are confronted at once by several pertinent and +interesting questions. + +In the first place, were there two distinct trials of Jesus? If so, why +were there two trials instead of one? Were the two trials separate and +independent? If not, was the second trial a mere review of the first, or +was the first a mere preliminary to the second? + +Again, what charges were brought against Jesus at the hearing before +Pilate? Were these charges the same as those preferred against Him at +the trial before the Sanhedrin? Upon what charge was He finally +condemned and crucified? + +Again, what Roman law was applicable to the charges made against Jesus +to Pilate? Did Pilate apply these laws either in letter or in spirit? + +Was there an attempt by Pilate to attain substantial justice, either +with or without the due observance of forms of law? + +Did Pilate apply Hebrew or Roman law to the charges presented to him +against the Christ? + +What forms of criminal procedure, if any, were employed by Pilate in +conducting the Roman trial of Jesus? If not legally, was Pilate +politically justified in delivering Jesus to be crucified? + +A satisfactory answer to several of these questions, in the introductory +chapters of this volume, is deemed absolutely essential to a thorough +understanding of the discussion of the trial proper which will follow. +The plan proposed is to describe first the powers and duties of Pilate +as presiding judge at the trial of Christ. And for this purpose, general +principles of Roman provincial administration will be outlined and +discussed; the legal and political status of the subject Jew in his +relationship to the conquering Roman will be considered; and the exact +requirements of criminal procedure in Roman capital trials, at the time +of Christ, will, if possible, be determined. It is believed that in the +present case it will be more logical and effective to state first what +should have been done by Pilate in the trial of Jesus, and then follow +with an account of what was actually done, than to reverse this order of +procedure. + + + + +CHAPTER II + +NUMBER OF REGULAR TRIALS + + +_Were there two regular trials of Jesus?_ In the first volume of this +work this question was reviewed at length in the introduction to the +Brief. The authorities were there cited and discussed. It was there seen +that one class of writers deny the existence of the Great Sanhedrin at +the time of Christ. These same writers declare that there could have +been no Hebrew trial of Jesus, since there was no competent Hebrew court +in existence to try Him. This class of critics assert that the so-called +Sanhedrin that met in the palace of Caiaphas was an ecclesiastical body, +acting without judicial authority; and that their proceedings were +merely preparatory to charges to be presented to Pilate, who was alone +competent to try capital cases. Those who make this contention seek to +uphold it by saying that the errors were so numerous and the proceedings +so flagrant, according to the Gospel account, that there could have been +no trial at all before the Sanhedrin; that the party of priests who +arrested and examined Jesus did not constitute a court, but rather a +vigilance committee. + +On the other hand, other writers contend that the only regular trial was +that before the Sanhedrin; and that the appearance before Pilate was +merely for the purpose of securing his confirmation of a regular +judicial sentence which had already been pronounced. Renan, the ablest +exponent of this class, says: "The course which the priests had resolved +to pursue in regard to Jesus was quite in conformity with the +established law. The plan of the enemies of Jesus was to convict Him, by +the testimony of witnesses and by His own avowals, of blasphemy and of +outrage against the Mosaic religion, to condemn Him to death according +to law, and then to get the condemnation sanctioned by Pilate." + +Still another class of writers contend that there were two distinct +trials. Innes thus tersely and forcibly states the proposition: "Whether +it was legitimate or not for the Jews to condemn for a capital crime, on +this occasion they did so. Whether it was legitimate or not for Pilate +to try over again an accused whom they had condemned, on this occasion +he did so. There were certainly two trials. And the dialogue already +narrated expresses with a most admirable terseness the struggle which we +should have expected between the effort of the Jews to get a mere +countersign of their sentence, and the determination of Pilate to assume +the full judicial responsibility, whether of first instance or of +révision." This contention, it is believed, is right, and has been acted +upon in dividing the general treatise into two volumes, and in devoting +each to a separate trial of the case. + +Why were there two trials of Jesus? When the Sanhedrists had condemned +Christ to death upon the charge of blasphemy, why did they not lead Him +away to execution, and stone Him to death, as their law required? Why +did they seek the aid of Pilate and invoke the sanction of Roman +authority? The answer to these questions is to be found in the historic +relationship that existed, at the time of the crucifixion, between the +sovereign Roman Empire and the dependent province of Judea. The student +of history will remember that the legions of Pompey overran Palestine in +the year 63 B.C., and that the land of the Jews then became a subject +state. After the deposition of Archelaus, A.D. 6, Judea became a Roman +province, and was governed by procurators who were sent out from Rome. +The historian Rawlinson has described the political situation of Judea, +at the time of Christ, as "complicated and anomalous, undergoing +frequent changes, but retaining through them all certain peculiarities +which made that country unique among the dependencies of Rome. Having +passed under Roman rule with the consent and by the assistance of a +large party of its inhabitants, it was allowed to maintain for a while a +sort of semi-independence. A mixture of Roman with native power resulted +from this cause and a complication in a political status difficult to be +thoroughly understood by one not native and contemporary." + +The difficulty in determining the exact political status of the Jews at +the time of Christ has given birth to the radically different views +concerning the number and nature of the trials of Jesus. The most +learned critics are in direct antagonism on the point. More than forty +years ago Salvador and Dupin debated the question in France. The former +contended that the Sanhedrin retained complete authority after the Roman +conquest to try even capital crimes, and that sentence of death +pronounced by the supreme tribunal of the Jews required only the +countersign or approval of the Roman procurator. On the other hand, it +was argued by Dupin that the Sanhedrin had no right whatever to try +cases of a capital nature; that their whole procedure was a usurpation; +and that the only competent and legitimate trial of Christ was the one +conducted by Pilate. How difficult the problem is of solution will be +apparent when we reflect that both these disputants were able, learned, +conscientious men who, with the facts of history in front of them, +arrived at entirely different conclusions. Amidst the general confusion +and uncertainty, the reader must rely upon himself, and appeal to the +facts and philosophy of history for light and guidance. + +In seeking to ascertain the political relationship between Rome and +Judea at the time of Christ, two important considerations should be kept +in mind: (1) That there was no treaty or concordat, defining mutual +rights and obligations, existing between the two powers; Romans were the +conquerors and Jews were the conquered; the subject Jews enjoyed just so +much religious and political freedom as the conquering Romans saw fit +to grant them; (2) that it was the policy of the Roman government to +grant to subject states the greatest amount of freedom in local +self-government that was consistent with the interests and sovereignty +of the Roman people. These two considerations are fundamental and +indispensable in forming a correct notion of the general relations +between the two powers. + +The peculiar character of Judea as a fragment of the mighty Roman Empire +should also be kept clearly in mind. Roman conquest, from first to last, +resulted in three distinct types of political communities more or less +strongly bound by ties of interest to Rome. These classes were: (1) Free +states; (2) allied states; and (3) subject states. The communities of +Italy were in the main, free and allied, and were members of a great +military confederacy. The provinces beyond Italy were, in the main, +subject states and dependent upon the good will and mercy of Rome. The +free states received from Rome a charter of privileges (_lex data_) +which, however, the Roman senate might at any time revoke. The allied +cities were bound by a sworn treaty (_fædus_), a breach of which was a +cause of war. In either case, whether of charter or treaty, the grant of +privileges raised the state or people on whom it was conferred to the +level of the Italian communes and secured to its inhabitants absolute +control of their own finances, free and full possession of their land, +which exempted them from the payment of tribute, and, above all, allowed +them entire freedom in the administration of their local laws. The +subject states were ruled by Roman governors who administered the +so-called law of the province (_lex provinciæ_). This law was peculiar +to each province and was framed to meet all the exigencies of provincial +life. It was sometimes the work of a conquering general, assisted by a +commission of ten men appointed by the senate. At other times, its +character was determined by the decrees of the emperor and the senate, +as well as by the edicts of the prætor and procurator. In any case, the +law of the province (_lex provinciæ_) was the sum total of the local +provincial law which Rome saw fit to allow the people of the conquered +state to retain, with Roman decrees and regulations superadded. These +added decrees and regulations were always determined by local provincial +conditions. The Romans were no sticklers for consistency and uniformity +in provincial administration. Adaptability and expediency were the main +traits of the lawgiving and government-imposing genius of Rome. The +payment of taxes and the furnishing of auxiliary troops were the chief +exactions imposed upon conquered states. An enlightened public policy +prompted the Romans to grant to subject communities the greatest amount +of freedom consistent with Roman sovereignty. Two main reasons formed +the basis of this policy. One was the economy of time and labor, for the +Roman official staff was not large enough to successfully perform those +official duties which were usually incumbent upon the local courts. +Racial and religious differences alone would have impeded and prevented +a successful administration of local government by Roman diplomats and +officers. Another reason for Roman noninterference in local provincial +affairs was that loyalty was created and peace promoted among the +provincials by the enjoyment of their own laws and religions. To such an +extent was this policy carried by the Romans that it is asserted by the +best historians that there was little real difference in practice +between the rights exercised by free and those enjoyed by subject +states. On this point, Mommsen says: "In regard to the extent of +application, the jurisdiction of the native courts and judicatories +among subject communities can scarcely have been much more restricted +than among the federated communities; while in administration and in +civil jurisdiction we find the same principles operative as in legal +procedure and criminal laws."[1] The difference between the rights +enjoyed by subject and those exercised by free states was that the +former were subject to the whims and caprices of Rome, while the latter +were protected by a written charter. A second difference was that Roman +citizens residing within the boundaries of subject states had their own +law and their own judicatories. The general result was that the citizens +of subject states were left free to govern themselves subject to the two +great obligations of taxation and military service. The Roman +authorities, however, could and did interfere in legislation and in +administration whenever Roman interests required. + +Now, in the light of the facts and principles just stated, what was the +exact political status of the Jews at the time of Christ? Judea was a +subject state. Did the general laws of Roman provincial administration +apply to this province? Or were peculiar rights and privileges granted +to the strange people who inhabited it? A great German writer answers in +the affirmative. Geib says: "Only one province ... namely Judea, at +least in the earlier days of the empire, formed an exception to all the +arrangements hitherto described. Whereas in the other provinces the +whole criminal jurisdiction was in the hands of the governor, and only +in the most important cases had the supreme imperial courts to +decide--just as in the least important matters the municipal courts +did--the principle that applied in Judea was that at least in regard to +questions of religious offenses the high priest with the Sanhedrin could +pronounce even death sentences, for the carrying out of which, however, +the confirmation of the procurator was required." + +That Roman conquest did not blot out Jewish local self-government; and +that the Great Sanhedrin still retained judicial and administrative +power, subject to Roman authority in all matters pertaining to the local +affairs of the Jews, is thus clearly and pointedly stated by Schürer: +"As regards the area over which the jurisdiction of the supreme +Sanhedrin extended, it has been already remarked above that its _civil_ +authority was restricted, in the time of Christ, to the eleven +toparchies of Judea proper. And accordingly, for this reason, it had no +judicial authority over Jesus Christ so long as He remained in Galilee. +It was only as soon as He entered Judea that He came directly under its +jurisdiction. In a certain sense, no doubt, the Sanhedrin exercised +such jurisdiction over _every_ Jewish community in the world, and in +that sense over Galilee as well. Its orders were regarded as binding +throughout the entire domain of orthodox Judaism. It had power, for +example, to issue warrants to the congregations (synagogues) in Damascus +for the apprehension of the Christians in that quarter (Acts ix. 2; +xxii. 5; xxvi. 12). At the same time, however, the extent to which the +Jewish communities were willing to yield obedience to the orders of the +Sanhedrin always depended on how far they were favorably disposed toward +it. It was only within the limits of Judea proper that it exercised any +direct authority. There could not possibly be a more erroneous way of +defining the extent of its jurisdiction as regards the kind of causes +with which it was competent to deal than to say that it was the +_spiritual or theological_ tribunal in contradistinction to the civil +judicatories of the Romans. On the contrary, it would be more correct to +say that it formed, in contrast to the foreign authority of Rome, that +_supreme native_ court which here, as almost everywhere else, the Romans +had allowed to continue as before, only imposing certain restrictions +with regard to competency. To this tribunal then belonged all those +judicial matters and all those measures of an administrative character +which either could not be competently dealt with by the inferior or +local courts or which the Roman procurator had not specially reserved +for himself."[2] + +The closing words of the last quotation suggest an important fact which +furnishes the answer to the question asked at the beginning of this +chapter, Why were there two trials of Jesus? Schürer declares that the +Sanhedrin retained judicial and administrative power in all local +matters which the "procurator had not specially reserved for himself." +Now, it should be borne in mind that there is not now in existence and +that there probably never existed any law, treaty or decree declaring +what judicial acts the Sanhedrin was competent to perform and what acts +were reserved to the authority of the Roman governor. It is probable +that in all ordinary crimes the Jews were allowed a free hand and final +decision by the Romans. No interference took place unless Roman +interests were involved or Roman sovereignty threatened. But one fact is +well established by the great weight of authority: that the question of +sovereignty was raised whenever the question of life and death arose; +and that Rome reserved to herself, in such a case, the prerogative of +final judicial determination. Even this contention, however, has been +opposed by both ancient and modern writers of repute; and, for this +reason, it has been thought necessary to cite authorities and offer +arguments in favor of the proposition that the right of life or death, +_jus vitæ aut necis_, had passed from Jewish into Roman hands at the +time of Christ. Both sacred and profane history support the affirmative +of this proposition. Regarding this matter, Schürer says: "There is a +special interest attaching to the question as to how far the +jurisdiction of the Sanhedrin was limited by the authority of the Roman +procurator. We accordingly proceed to observe that, inasmuch as the +Roman system of provincial government was not strictly carried out in +the case of Judea, as the simple fact of its being administered by means +of a procurator plainly shows, the Sanhedrin was still left in the +enjoyment of a comparatively high degree of independence. Not only did +it exercise civil jurisdiction, and that according to Jewish law (which +was only a matter of course, as otherwise a Jewish court of justice +would have been simply inconceivable), but it also enjoyed a +considerable amount of criminal jurisdiction as well. It had an +independent authority in regard to political affairs, and consequently +possessed the right of ordering arrests to be made by its own officers +(Matt. xxvi. 47; Mark xiv. 43; Acts iv. 3; v. 17, 18). It had also the +power of finally disposing, on its own authority, of such cases as did +not involve sentence of death (Acts iv. 5-23; v. 21-40). It was only in +cases in which such sentence of death was pronounced that the judgment +required to be ratified by the authority of the procurator."[3] + +The Jews contend, and, indeed, the Talmud states that "forty years +before the destruction of the temple the judgment of capital cases was +taken away from Israel." + +Again, we learn from Josephus that the Jews had lost the power to +inflict capital punishment from the day of the deposition of Archelaus, +A.D. 6, when Judea became a Roman province and was placed under the +control of Roman procurators. The great Jewish historian says: "And now +Archelaus's part of Judea was reduced into a province, and Coponius, one +of the equestrian order among the Romans, was sent as procurator, having +the power of life and death put into his hands by Cæsar."[4] + +Again, we are informed that Annas was deposed from the high priesthood +by the procurator Valerius Gratus, A.D. 14, for imposing and executing +capital sentences. One of his sons, we learn from Josephus, was also +deposed by King Agrippa for condemning James, the brother of Jesus, and +several others, to death by stoning. At the same time, Agrippa reminded +the high priest that the Sanhedrin could not lawfully assemble without +the consent of the procurator.[5] + +That the Jews had lost and that the Roman procurators possessed the +power over life and death is also clearly indicated by the New Testament +account of the trial of Jesus. One passage explicitly states that Pilate +claimed the right to impose and carry out capital sentences. Addressing +Jesus, Pilate said: "Knowest thou not that I have power to crucify thee +and have power to release thee?"[6] + +In another passage, the Jews admitted that the power of life and death +had passed away from them. Answering a question of Pilate, at the time +of the trial, they answered: "It is not lawful for us to put any man to +death."[7] + +If we keep in mind the fact stated by Geib that "the principle that +applied in Judea was that at least in regard to questions of religious +offense the high priest with the Sanhedrin could pronounce even death +sentences, for the carrying out of which, however, the confirmation of +the procurator was required," we are then in a position to answer +finally and definitely the question, Why were there two trials of Jesus? + +In the light of all the authorities cited and discussed in this chapter, +we feel justified in asserting that the Sanhedrin was competent to take +the initiative in the arrest and trial of Jesus on the charge of +blasphemy, this being a religious offense of the most awful gravity; +that this court was competent not only to try but to pass sentence of +death upon the Christ; but that its proceedings had to be retried or at +least reviewed before the sentence could be executed. Thus two trials +were necessary. The Hebrew trial was necessary, because a religious +offense was involved with which Rome refused to meddle, and of which she +refused to take cognizance in the first instance. The Roman trial was +necessary, because, instead of an acquittal which would have rendered +Roman interference unnecessary, a conviction involving the death +sentence had to be reviewed in the name of Roman sovereignty. + +Having decided that there were two trials, we are now ready to consider +the questions: Were the two trials separate and independent? If not, was +the second trial a mere review of the first, or was the first a mere +preliminary to the second? No more difficult questions are suggested by +the trial of Jesus. It is, in fact, impossible to answer them with +certainty and satisfaction. + +A possible solution is to be found in the nature of the charge +preferred against Jesus. It is reasonable to suppose that in the +conflict of jurisdiction between Jewish and Roman authority the +character of the crime would be a determining factor. In the case of +ordinary offenses it is probable that neither Jews nor Romans were +particular about the question of jurisdiction. It is more than probable +that the Roman governor would assert his right to try the case _de +novo_, where the offense charged either directly or remotely involved +the safety and sovereignty of the Roman state. It is entirely reasonable +to suppose that the Jews would insist on a final determination by +themselves of the merits of all offenses of a religious nature; and that +they would insist that the Roman governor should limit his action to a +mere countersign of their decree. It is believed that ordinarily these +principles would apply. But the trial of Jesus presents a peculiar +feature which makes the case entirely exceptional. And this peculiarity, +it is felt, contains a correct answer to the questions asked above. +Jesus was tried before the Sanhedrin on the charge of blasphemy. This +was a religious offense of the most serious nature. But when the Christ +was led before Pilate, this charge was abandoned and that of high +treason against Rome was substituted. Now, it is certain that a Roman +governor would not have allowed a Jewish tribunal to try an offense +involving high treason against Cæsar. This was a matter exclusively +under his control. It is thus certain that Pilate did not merely review +a sentence which had been passed by the Sanhedrin after a regular trial, +but that he tried _ab initio_ a charge that had not been presented +before the Jewish tribunal at the night session in the palace of +Caiaphas. + +It will thus be seen that there were two trials of Jesus; that these +trials were separate and independent as far as the charges, judges, and +jurisdictions were concerned; and that the only common elements were the +persons of the accusers and the accused. + + + + +CHAPTER III + +POWERS AND DUTIES OF PILATE + + +What were the powers and duties of Pilate as procurator of Judea? What +forms of criminal procedure, if any, were employed by him in conducting +the Roman trial of Jesus? This chapter will be devoted to answering +these questions. + +The New Testament Gospels denominate Pilate the "governor" of Judea. A +more exact designation is contained in the Latin phrase, _procurator +Cæsaris_; the procurator of Cæsar. By this is meant that Pilate was the +deputy, attorney, or personal representative of Tiberius Cæsar in the +province of Judea. The powers and duties of his office were by no means +limited to the financial functions of a Roman quæstor, a _procurator +fiscalis_. "He was a procurator _cum potestate_; a governor with civil, +criminal, and military jurisdiction; subordinated no doubt in rank to +the adjacent governor of Syria, but directly responsible to his great +master at Rome." + +A clear conception of the official character of Pilate is impossible +unless we first thoroughly understand the official character of the man +whose political substitute he was. A thorough understanding of the +official character of Tiberius Cæsar is impossible unless we first fully +comprehend the political changes wrought by the civil wars of Rome in +which Julius Cæsar defeated Cneius Pompey at the battle of Pharsalia and +made himself dictator and undisputed master of the Roman world. With the +ascendency of Cæsar the ancient republic became extinct. But liberty was +still cherished in the hearts of Romans, and the title of king was +detestable. The hardy virtues and democratic simplicity of the early +republic were still remembered; and patriots like Cicero had dreamed of +the restoration of the ancient order of things. But Roman conquest was +complete, Roman manners were corrupt, and Roman patriotism was +paralyzed. The hand of a dictator guided by a single intelligence was +the natural result of the progressive degradation of the Roman state. +The logical and inevitable outcome of the death of Cæsar and the +dissolution of the Triumvirate was the régime of Augustus, a monarchy +veiled under republican forms. Recognizing Roman horror of absolutism, +Roman love of liberty, and Roman detestation of kingly power, Augustus, +while in fact an emperor, claimed to be only a plain Roman citizen +intrusted with general powers of government. He affected to despise +public honors, disclaimed every idea of personal superiority, and +exhibited extreme simplicity of manners in public and private life. This +was the strategy of a successful politician who sought to conceal +offensive reality under the cloak of a pleasant deception. Great Cæsar +fallen at the foot of Pompey's statue was a solemn reminder to Augustus +that the dagger of the assassin was still ready to defend the memory of +freedom, after liberty was, in reality, dead. And the refusal by the +greatest of the Romans, at the feast of the Lupercal, to accept a kingly +crown when it was thrice offered him by Antony, was a model of discreet +behavior and political caution for the first and most illustrious of the +emperors. In short, Augustus dared not destroy the laws or assault the +constitution of the state. But he accomplished his object, nevertheless. +"He gathered into his own hands the whole honors and privileges, which +the state had for centuries distributed among its great magistrates and +representatives. He became perpetual Princeps Senatus, or leader of the +legislative house. He became perpetual Pontifex Maximus, or chief of the +national religion. He became perpetual Tribune, or guardian of the +people, with his person thereby made sacred and inviolable. He became +perpetual Consul, or supreme magistrate over the whole Roman world, with +the control of its revenues, the disposal of its armies, and the +execution of its laws. And lastly he became perpetual Imperator, or +military chief, to whom every legionary throughout the world took the +_sacramentum_, and whose sword swept the globe from Gibraltar to the +Indus and the Baltic. And yet in all he was a simple citizen--a mere +magistrate of the Republic. Only in this one man was now visibly +accumulated and concentrated all that for centuries had broadened and +expanded under the magnificent abstraction of Rome." The boundless +authority of Rome was thus centered in the hands of a single person. +Consuls, tribunes, prætors, proconsuls, and procurators were merely the +agents and representatives of this person. + +Tiberius Cæsar, the political master of Pontius Pilate, was the +successor of Augustus and the first inheritor of his constitution. Under +this constitution, Augustus had divided the provinces into two classes. +The centrally located and peacefully disposed were governed by +proconsuls appointed by the senate. The more distant and turbulent were +subjected by Augustus to his personal control, and were governed by +procurators who acted as his deputies or personal representatives. Judea +came in his second class, and the real governor of his province was the +emperor himself. Tiberius Cæsar was thus the real procurator of Judea at +the time of the crucifixion and Pilate was his political substitute who +did his bidding and obeyed his will. Whatever Tiberius might have done, +Pilate might have done. We are thus enabled to judge the extent of +Pilate's powers; powers clothed with _imperium_ and revocable only by +the great procurator at Rome. + +In the government of the purely subject states of a province, the +procurator exercised the unlimited jurisdiction of the military +_imperium_. No law abridged the single and sovereign exercise of his +will. Custom, however, having in fact the force of law, prescribed that +he should summon to his aid a council of advisers. This advisory body +was composed of two elements: (1) Roman citizens resident in this +particular locality where the governor was holding court; and (2) +members of his personal staff known as the Prætorian Cohort. The +governor, in his conduct of judicial proceedings, might solicit the +opinions of the members of his council. He might require them to vote +upon the question at issue; and might, if he pleased, abide by the +decision of the majority. But no rule of law required him to do it; it +was merely a concession and a courtesy; it was not a legal duty. + +Again, when it is said that the procurator exercised the "unlimited +jurisdiction of the military _imperium_," we must interpret this, +paradoxical though it may seem, in a restricted sense; that is, we must +recognize the existence of exceptions to the rule. It is unreasonable to +suppose that Rome, the mother of laws, ever contemplated the rule of +despotism and caprice in the administration of justice in any part of +the empire. It is true that the effect of the _imperium_, "as applied to +provincial governorship, was to make each _imperator_ a king in his own +domain"; but kings themselves have nearly always been subject to +restrictions; and the authorities are agreed that the _imperium_ of the +Roman procurator of the time of Christ was hemmed in by many +limitations. A few of these may be named. + +In the first place, the rights guaranteed to subject states within the +provincial area by the law of the province (_lex provinciæ_) were the +first limitations upon his power. + +Again, it is a well-known fact that Roman citizens could appeal from the +decision of the governor, in certain cases, to the emperor at Rome. Paul +exercised this right, because he was a Roman citizen.[8] Jesus could +not appeal from the judgment of Pilate, because He was not a Roman +citizen. + +Again, fear of an aroused and indignant public sentiment which might +result in his removal by the emperor, exercised a salutary restraint +upon the conduct, if it did not abridge the powers of the governor. + +These various considerations bring us now to the second question asked +in the beginning of this chapter: What forms of criminal procedure, if +any, were employed by Pilate in conducting the Roman trial of Jesus? + +It is historically true that Pilate exercised, as procurator of Judea, +the unlimited jurisdiction of the military _imperium_; and that this +_imperium_ made him virtually an "_imperator_, a king in his own +domain." It is also historically true that the inhabitants of the purely +subject states of a province, who were not themselves Roman citizens, +when accused of crime, stood before a Roman governor with no protection +except the plea of justice against the summary exercise of absolute +power. In other words, in the employment of the unlimited jurisdiction +of the military _imperium_, a Roman governor, in the exercise of his +discretion, might, in the case of non-Roman citizens of a subject state, +throw all rules and forms of law to the wind, and decide the matter +arbitrarily and despotically. It may be that Pilate did this in this +case. But the best writers are agreed that this was not the policy of +the Roman governors in the administration of justice in the provinces at +the time of Christ. The lawgiving genius of Rome had then reached +maturity and approximate perfection in the organization of its criminal +tribunals. It is not probable, as before suggested, that despotism and +caprice would be systematically tolerated anywhere in the Roman world. +If the emperors at Rome were forced, out of regard for public sentiment, +to respect the constitution and the laws, it is reasonable to infer that +their personal representatives in the provinces were under the same +restraint. We feel justified then in asserting that Pilate, in the trial +of Jesus, should have applied certain laws and been governed by certain +definite rules of criminal procedure. What were these rules? A few +preliminary considerations will greatly aid the reader in arriving at an +answer to this question. It should be understood: + +(1) That Pilate was empowered to apply either Roman law or the local law +in the trial of any case where the crime was an offense against both the +province and the empire, as in the crime of murder; but that in the case +of treason with which Jesus was charged he would apply the law of Rome +under forms of Roman procedure. It has been denied that Pilate had a +right to apply Jewish law in the government of his province; but this +denial is contrary to authority. Innes says: "The Roman governor +sanctioned, or even himself administered, the old law of the region."[9] +Schürer says: "It may be assumed that the administration of the civil +law was wholly in the hands of the Sanhedrin and native or local +magistrates: Jewish courts decided according to Jewish law. But even in +the criminal law this was almost invariably the case, only with this +exception, that death sentences required to be confirmed by the Roman +procurator. In such cases, the procurator decided, if he pleased, +according to Jewish law."[10] Greenidge says: "Even the first clause of +the Sicilian _lex_, if it contained no reference to jurisdiction by the +local magistrate, left the interpretation of the _native law_ wholly to +Roman _proprætors_."[11] It is thus clearly evident that Roman +procurators might apply either Roman or local laws in ordinary cases. + +(2) That Roman governors were empowered to apply the adjective law of +Rome to the substantive law of the province. In support of this +contention, Greenidge says: "The edict of the _proprætor_ or +pro-consul, ... clearly could not express the native law of each +particular state under its jurisdiction; but its generality and its +expansiveness admitted, as we shall see, of an application of Roman +forms to the substantive law of any particular city."[12] + +(3) That the criminal procedure employed by Pilate in the trial of Jesus +should have been the criminal procedure of a capital case tried at Rome, +during the reign of Tiberius Cæsar. This fact is very evident from the +authorities. The trial of capital cases at Rome furnished models for +similar trials in the provinces. In the exercise of the unlimited +jurisdiction of the military _imperium_, Roman governors might disregard +these models. But, ordinarily, custom compelled them to follow the +criminal precedents of the Capital of the empire. The following +authorities support this contention. + +Rosadi says: "It is also certain that in the provinces the same order +was observed in criminal cases as was observed in cases tried at +Rome."[13] This eminent Italian writer cites, in proof of this +statement, Pothier, Pandect. XLVIII. 2, n. 28. + +Greenidge says: "Yet, in spite of this absence of legal checks, the +criminal procedure of the provinces was, in the protection of the +citizen as in other respects, closely modelled on that of Rome."[14] + +To the same effect, but more clearly and pointedly expressed, is Geib, +who says: "It is nevertheless true that the knowledge which we have, +imperfect though it may be, leaves no doubt that the courts of the +Italian municipalities and provinces had, in all essential elements, the +permanent tribunals (_quæstiones perpetuæ_) as models; so that, in fact, +a description of the proceedings in the permanent tribunals is, at the +same time, to be regarded as a description of the proceedings in the +provincial courts."[15] + +These permanent tribunals (_quæstiones perpetuæ_) were courts of +criminal jurisdiction established at Rome, and were in existence at the +time of the crucifixion. Proceedings in these courts in capital cases, +were models of criminal procedure in the provinces at the time of +Christ. It logically follows then that if we can ascertain the +successive steps in the trial of a capital case at Rome before one of +the permanent tribunals, we have accurate information of the exact form +of criminal procedure, not that Pilate did employ, but which he should +have employed in the trial of Jesus. + +Fortunately for the purposes of this treatise, every step which Roman +law required in the trial of capital cases at Rome is as well known as +the provisions of any modern criminal code. From the celebrated Roman +trials in which Cicero appeared as an advocate, may be gleaned with +unerring accuracy the fullest information touching all the details of +capital trials at Rome at the time of Cicero. + +It should be observed, at this point, that the period of Roman +jurisprudence just referred to was in the closing years of the republic; +and that certain changes in the organization of the tribunals as well as +in the forms of procedure were effected by the legislation of Augustus. +But we have it upon the authority of Rosadi that these changes were not +radical in the case of the criminal courts and that the rules and +regulations that governed procedure in them during the republic remained +substantially unchanged under the empire. The same writer tells us that +the permanent tribunals for the trial of capital cases did not go out of +existence until the third century of the Christian era.[16] + +The following chapter will be devoted, in the main, to a description of +the mode of trial of capital cases at Rome before the permanent +tribunals at the time of Christ. + + + + +CHAPTER IV + +MODE OF TRIAL IN ROMAN CAPITAL CASES + + +The reader should keep clearly and constantly in mind the purpose of +this chapter: to describe the mode of trial in capital cases at Rome +during the reign of Tiberius Cæsar; and thus to furnish a model of +criminal procedure which Pilate should have imitated in the trial of +Jesus at Jerusalem. In the last chapter, we saw that the proceedings of +the permanent tribunals (_quæstiones perpetuæ_) at Rome furnished models +for the trial of criminal cases in the provinces. It is now only +necessary to determine what the procedure of the permanent tribunals at +the time of Christ was, in order to understand what Pilate should have +done in the trial of Jesus. But the character of the _quæstiones +perpetuæ_, as well as the rules and regulations that governed their +proceedings, cannot well be understood without reference to the criminal +tribunals and modes of trial in criminal cases that preceded them. Roman +history discloses two distinct periods of criminal procedure before the +organization of the permanent tribunals about the beginning of the last +century of the Republic: (1) The period of the kings and (2) the period +of the early republic. Each of these will be here briefly considered. + +_The Regal Period._--The earliest glimpses of Roman political life +reveal the existence of a sacred and military monarchy in which the king +is generalissimo of the army, chief pontiff of the national religion, +and supreme judge in civil and criminal matters over the lives and +property of the citizens. These various powers and attributes are +wrapped up in the _imperium_. By virtue of the _imperium_, the king +issued commands to the army and also exercised the highest judicial +functions over the lives and fortunes of his fellow-citizens. The kings +were thus military commanders and judges in one person, as the consuls +were after them. The monarch might sit alone and judge cases and impose +sentences; but the trial was usually a personal investigation undertaken +by him with the advice and aid of a chosen body of judges from the +senate or the pontifical college. According to Dionysius, Romulus +ordered that all crimes of a serious nature should be tried by the king, +but that all lighter offenses should be judged by the senate.[17] Little +confidence can be reposed in this statement, since the age and deeds of +Romulus are exceedingly legendary and mythical. But it is historically +true that in the regal period of Rome the kings were the supreme judges +in all civil and criminal matters. + +_The Early Republican Period._--The abolition of the monarchy and the +establishment of the republic witnessed the distribution of the powers +of government formerly exercised by the king among a number of +magistrates and public officers. Consuls, tribunes, prætors, ædiles, +both curule and plebeian, exercised, under the republic, judicial +functions in criminal matters. + +The consuls were supreme criminal judges at the beginning of the +republic, and were clothed with unlimited power in matters of life and +death. This is shown by the condemnation and execution of the sons of +Brutus and their fellow-conspirators.[18] Associated with the consuls +were, at first, two annually appointed quæstors whom they nominated. The +functions of the quæstors were as unlimited as those of their superiors, +the consuls; but their jurisdiction was confined chiefly to criminal +matters and finance. + +The tribunes, sacred and inviolable in their persons as representatives +of the _plebs_ and as their protectors against patrician oppression, +exercised at first merely a negative control over the regular +magistracies of the community. But, finally, they became the chief +public prosecutors of political criminals. + +The prætors, whose chief jurisdiction was in civil matters, were +potentially as fully criminal judges as the consuls, and there may have +been a time when a portion of criminal jurisdiction was actually in +their hands. In the later republic, they presided over the _quæstiones +perpetuæ_, permanent criminal tribunals. + +The ædiles are found in Roman history exercising functions of criminal +jurisdiction, although their general powers were confined to the special +duties of caring for the games, the market, and the archives. + +But the criminal jurisdiction of the magistrates who replaced the king +at the downfall of the monarchy was abridged and almost destroyed by the +famous _lex Valeria_ (_de provocatione_). This law was proposed 509 B.C. +by Publius Valerius, one of the first consuls of Rome, and provided that +no magistrate should have power to execute a sentence of death against a +Roman citizen who had appealed to the judgment of the people in their +public assembly. This _lex_ was the _magna charta_ of the Romans and was +justly regarded by them as the great palladium of their civil liberty. +And it was this law that inaugurated the popular jurisdiction of the +_comitia_. The result was that for more than three hundred years the +final determination of the question of life or death was in the hands of +the people themselves. From the passage of the Valerian law the function +of the magistrates was limited to the duty of convincing the people of +the guilt of an alleged criminal against whom they themselves had +already pronounced a preliminary sentence. The magistrates were, +therefore, not so much judges as prosecutors; the people were the final +judges in the case. + +_Mode of Trial in the Comitia, or Public Assembly._--On a certain day, +the prosecuting magistrate, who had himself pronounced the preliminary +sentence against an accused person who had appealed to the people in +their public assembly, mounted the _rostra_, and called the people +together by the voice of a herald. He then made a proclamation that on +a certain day he would bring an accusation against a certain person upon +a given charge. At the same time, he called upon this person to come +forward and hear the charges against him. The defendant then presented +himself, listened to the accusation, and immediately furnished bond for +his appearance, or in default of bail, was thrown into prison. Upon the +day announced at the opening of the trial, the prosecuting magistrate +again mounted the _rostra_, and summoned the accused by a herald, if he +was at large, or had him brought forth if he was in prison. The +prosecutor then produced evidence, oral and documentary, against the +prisoner. The indictment had to be in writing, and was published on +three market days in the Forum. The prosecution came to an end on the +third day, and the accused then began his defense by mounting the +_rostra_ with his patron and presenting evidence in his own behalf. The +prosecutor then announced that on a certain day he would ask the people +to render judgment by their votes. In the early years of the republic, +the people voted by shouting their approval or disapproval of the +charges made; but later a tablet bearing one of the two letters V. (_uti +rogas_) or A. (_absolvo_) was used as a ballot. + +The effect of popular jurisdiction in criminal processes at Rome was in +the nature of a two-edged sword that cut both ways. It was beneficial in +the limitations it imposed upon the conduct of single magistrates who +were too often capricious and despotic. But this benefit was purchased +at the price of a kind of popular despotism not less dangerous in its +way. It has always been characteristic of popular assemblies that their +decisions have been more the outcome of passion and prejudice than the +result of calm wisdom and absolute justice. The trouble at Rome was that +the people were both legislators and judges in their public assemblies; +and it nearly always happened that the lawmakers rose above and trampled +upon the very laws which they themselves had made. The natural offspring +of this state of things is either anarchy or despotism; and it was only +the marvelous vitality of the Roman Commonwealth that enabled it to +survive. + +The reports of the great criminal trials before the _comitia_ reveal the +inherent weakness of a system of popular jurisdiction in criminal +matters. Personal and political considerations foreign to the merits of +the case were allowed to take the place of competent evidence; and +issues of right and expediency were too frequently mixed up. The +accused, at times, trusted not so much in the righteousness of his cause +as in the feelings of compassion and prejudice that moved the people as +popular judges. And to excite these feelings the most ludicrous and +undignified steps were sometimes taken. The defendant nearly always +appeared at the trial in mourning garb, frequently let his hair and +beard grow long, and often exhibited the scars and wounds received in +battle whilst fighting for his country. He sometimes offered prayers to +the immortal gods and wept bitterly; at other times he caused his +children and other relatives to appear at the trial, wailing, and +tearing their clothes. Not content with presenting all the pathetic +features of his own life, he left nothing undone to expose his opponents +to hatred and contempt. It thus happened that many of the great criminal +causes of Rome were mere farcical proceedings. A few instances may be +cited. + +Horatius, though tried in the time of the third Roman king, was pardoned +by the people for the murder of his sister because of his heroic deed in +single combat with the three Curiatii, and because his father had lost +three children in the service of the state. + +In the year 98, Manlius Aquillius, the pacificator of Sicily, was tried +for embezzlement. Marcus Antonius, his advocate, ended his argument for +the defense by tearing the tunic of Aquillius to show the breast of the +veteran warrior covered with scars. The people were moved to tears and +Aquillius was acquitted, although the evidence was very clear against +him. + +In the trial of M. Manlius, 384 B.C., new tactics were employed. The +accused refused to appear in mourning. There was no weeping in his +behalf. On the other hand, Manlius relied upon his services to the state +for acquittal. He brought forward four hundred citizens who by his +generosity he had saved from bondage for debt; he exhibited the spoils +taken from thirty slain enemies, also military decorations received for +bravery in battle--among them two mural and eight civic crowns; he then +produced many citizens rescued by him from the hands of the enemy; he +then bared his breast and exhibited the scars received by him in war; +and, lastly, turning toward the Capitol, he implored Jupiter to protect +him, and to infuse, at this moment, into the Roman people, his judges, +the same spirit of courage and patriotism that had given him strength to +save the city of Rome and his whole country from the hands of the Gauls. +He begged the people to keep their eyes fixed on the Capitol while they +were pronouncing sentence against him to whom they owed life and +liberty. It is said that his prosecutors despaired of convicting him +amidst such surroundings, and adjourned the trial to another place, +where the Capitol could not be seen; and that thereupon the conviction +of Manlius was secured and his condemnation pronounced. + +In the year 185 B.C., the tribune M. Nævius, at the instigation of Cato, +accused Scipio Africanus before the tribes of having been bribed to +secure a dishonorable peace. It was clearly evident that a charge of +this kind could not well be sustained by evidence; but it was believed +that a conviction could be secured by an appeal to the passion and +prejudice of the multitude. But this advantage operated as greatly in +favor of Scipio as it did in favor of his accusers. And he did not fail +to use the advantage to the fullest extent. In seeming imitation of M. +Manlius, two hundred years before, he appealed for acquittal to the +people on account of his public services. He refused to appear in +mourning, offered no evidence in his own behalf, nor did he exhibit the +usual humility of an accused Roman before his countrymen. With proud +disdain, he spurned the unworthy imputation of bribery, and pointed the +people to the magnificent achievements of his brilliant public career. +He reminded them that the day of the trial was itself the anniversary of +his victory over the greatest enemy that Rome ever had, at Zama. It was +degrading, he exclaimed, both to him and to the Roman nation, to bring +such a charge on this day against the man to whom it was due that the +Commonwealth of Rome still existed. He refused to lower himself, he +said, by listening to the insolent charges of a vulgar brawler who had +never done anything for the state. He declared that instead he would +repair at once to the temple of Jupiter and render thanks for his +victory over Hannibal to the protecting gods of his country. With these +words, he left the Forum and went to the Capitol and from there to his +house, accompanied by the great majority of the people, while the +accusing tribune and his official staff were left alone in the market +place. + +The inevitable result of these cases of miscarriage of justice, in which +patriotic bravado and rhetorical claptrap took the place of legal rules, +was a desire and demand for the reform of criminal procedure. Besides, +it had ever been found troublesome and inconvenient to summon the whole +body of the Roman people to try ordinary offenses. It was only in cases +of great gravity that the ponderous machinery of the _comitia +centuriata_ could be set in motion. This difficulty was increased with +the growth of the republic, in which crimes also grew in number and +magnitude. The necessity for the reform of the criminal law resulted in +the institution of permanent tribunals (_quæstiones perpetuæ_). A series +of legal enactments accomplished this result. The earliest law that +created a permanent _quæstio_ was the _lex Calpurnia_ of 149 B.C. And it +was the proceedings in these courts, which we shall now describe, that +should have guided Pilate in the trial of Jesus. + +_Mode of Trial in the Permanent Tribunals._--We shall attempt to trace +in the remaining pages of this chapter the successive steps in the trial +of criminal cases before the permanent tribunals at Rome. + +_First Stage_ (_postulatio_).--A Roman criminal trial before a _quæstio +perpetua_ commenced with an application to the presiding magistrate, the +prætor or the _iudex quæstionis_, for permission to bring a criminal +charge against a certain person. The technical Latin expression for this +request to prosecute is _postulatio_. It should be here noted that +State's attorneys or public prosecutors, in a modern sense, were not +known to the Romans at this time. Private citizens took upon themselves +public prosecutions in behalf of the state. They were encouraged to do +this from motives of personal profit as well as patriotic interest in +the welfare of the community. As young men in modern times, just +admitted to the bar, often accept criminal cases by assignment from the +court in order to make a beginning in their professional careers, so +young Roman nobles in ancient times sought to make reputations for +themselves by accusing and prosecuting public delinquents. And not only +professional reputation, but financial compensation as well could be +gained in this way. The Roman laws of the time of Cicero provided that a +successful prosecutor should receive one-fourth part of the property +confiscated or the fine imposed. A Macedonian inscription offered a +reward of 200 denarii to the prosecutor who should bring to justice the +desecrators of a tomb.[19] + +_Second Stage_ (_divinatio_).--It often happened that more than one +accuser desired to prosecute a single offense; but more than one +prosecutor was not permitted by Roman law unless there was more than one +crime charged. Then, in case of a concurrence of would-be accusers, a +preliminary trial was had to determine which one of these was best +fitted to bring the accusation. This initial hearing was known in Roman +law as the _divinatio_. It was indeed more than a mere hearing; it was a +regular trial in which the question of the fitness of the different +candidates for the position of _delator_ was argued before the president +and the jury. This jury was in many cases distinct from the one that +finally tried the case on the merits. The purpose of the whole +proceeding known as the _divinatio_ was to secure a prosecutor who was +at once both able and sincere; and both these qualities were generally +very strenuously urged by all those who desired to assume the rôle of +accuser. Indeed all personal qualifications involving the mental and +moral attributes of the would-be prosecutors were pointedly urged. At +the hearing, the different candidates frequently became animated and +even bitter opponents of each other. Crimination and recrimination then +followed as a natural consequence. An applicant might show that he was +thoroughly familiar with the affairs of a province, as a special fitness +in the prosecution of a public official for extortion in that province. +An opponent, on the other hand, might show that said applicant had been +associated with said official in the government of the province and had +been, and was now, on the friendliest terms with him. After the +meritorious qualifications of all the claimants had been presented, the +president and jury rendered their decision. The details of the evidence +affecting the merits of the charge were not considered at this +preliminary trial. Only such facts were considered as affected the +personal qualifications of the different candidates for the place of +accuser. When these qualifications were about equally balanced in point +of merit between two applicants, the abler speaker was generally chosen. + +_Third Stage_ (_nominis delatio_).--It frequently happened that the +_postulatio_, the request to prosecute, was not followed by the +_divinatio_, the preliminary hearing on the merits of different +applicants, because there was only one would-be accuser; and his +qualifications were beyond dispute. In such a case, when a request to +bring a criminal charge against a certain person had been presented by a +citizen to the prætor, there followed, after a certain interval of time, +a private hearing before the president of the court for the purpose of +gaining fuller and more definite information concerning the charge. This +private proceeding was styled the _nominis_ or _criminis delatio_, and +took place before the president alone. Its main object was to secure a +specification of the personality of the accused as well as of the +charges brought against him. At this stage of the trial the presence of +the accused person was necessary, unless he was absent under valid +excuse. The _lex Memmia_, passed in the year 114 B.C., permitted a +delinquent to plead that he was absent from Rome on public business, as +an excuse for not appearing at the _nominis delatio_. In the year 58 +B.C., the tribune L. Antistius impeached Julius Cæsar. But the +colleagues of Antistius excused Cæsar from personal attendance because +he was absent in the service of the state in Gaul. But, if the accused +appeared at the _nominis delatio_, the prosecutor interrogated him at +length concerning the facts of the crime. The purpose of this +interrogation (_interrogatio_) was to satisfy the president that there +was a prima facie case to carry before the regular tribunal in open +trial. The proceedings of the _nominis delatio_ were thus in the nature +of a modern Grand Jury investigation, instituted to determine if a +serious prosecution should be had. + +_Fourth Stage_ (_inscriptio_).--If the interrogation convinced the +president that the prosecutor had a prima facie case to take before the +permanent tribunal, he framed a form of indictment called the +_inscriptio_. This indictment was signed by the chief prosecutor and +also by a number of witnesses against the accused called +_subscriptores_. The charge was now definitely fixed; and, from this +moment, it was the only offense that could be prosecuted at the trial. +The drawing up of this charge by the president was similar to the +framing of an indictment by a modern Grand Jury. + +_Fifth Stage_ (_nominis receptio_).--After the indictment or inscription +had been framed, it was formally received by the president. This act +was styled the _nominis receptio_ and corresponds, in a general way, +with the presentment of an indictment by a modern Grand Jury. When the +_nominis receptio_ was complete, the case was said to be _in judicio_, +and the accused was said to be _in reatu_. The president then fixed a +day certain for the appearance of the accused and the beginning of the +trial. The time fixed was usually ten days from the _nominis receptio_. +However, a longer time was allowed if evidence had to be secured from +beyond the sea. Thirty days were allowed the accusers in the prosecution +of Scaurus. Cicero was given one hundred and ten days to secure evidence +against Verres; but he actually employed only sixty. The time granted +the prosecutor was also required by the law to be utilized by the +defendant in preparing his case. + +The preliminary steps in the prosecution were now complete, and the +accused awaited the day of trial. In the meantime, he was allowed to go +at large, even when charged with a grave offense like murder. +Imprisonment to prevent escape had almost ceased at the time of which we +write. If the evidence against the accused was weak, it was felt that he +would certainly appear at the trial. If the evidence against him was +very strong, it was thought that he would seek to escape a sentence of +death in voluntary exile, a step which Romans always encouraged, as they +were averse, at all times, to putting a Roman citizen to death. + +_Sixth Stage_ (_citatio_).--At the expiration of the time designated by +the president for the beginning of the trial, the proceedings before the +judges began. All the necessary parties, including the judges or jurors, +were summoned by a herald to appear. This procedure was termed the +_citatio_. Strange to say, if the accused failed to appear the case +could proceed without him. The reason for the requirement of his +presence at the _nominis delatio_, but not at the trial is not clear; +especially when viewed in the light of a modern trial in which the +defendant must be present at every important step in the proceedings. +Under Roman procedure, the presence of the defendant was not necessary, +whether he was in voluntary exile, or was obstinately absent. In 52 +B.C., Milo was condemned in his absence; and we read in Plutarch that +the assassins of Cæsar were tried in their absence, 43 B.C. + +Excusable absence necessitated an adjournment of the case. The chief +grounds for an adjournment were: (1) Absence from the city in the public +service; (2) that the accused was compelled to appear in another court +on the same day; (3) illness. + +The absence of the accused did not prevent the prosecution of the case, +but the nonappearance of the prosecutor on the day fixed for the +beginning of the trial usually terminated the proceedings at once. The +fact that the case had to be dismissed if the accuser failed to appear +only serves to illustrate how dependent the state was on the sincerity +of the citizen who undertook the prosecution. The obligations of the +prosecutor honestly and vigorously to follow up a suit which he had set +in motion were felt to be so serious a matter by the Romans that +special laws were passed to hold him in the line of duty. The _lex +Remmia_ provided that if any citizen knowingly accused another citizen +falsely of a crime, the accuser should be prosecuted for calumny +(_calumnia_). It further provided that, in case of conviction, the +letter K should be branded on the forehead of the condemned. Such laws +were found necessary to protect the good name of Roman citizens against +bad men who desired to use the legal machinery of the state to gratify +private malevolence against their enemies. It may thus be seen that the +system which permitted public prosecutions on the motion of private +citizens was attended by both good and bad results. Cicero regarded such +a system as a positive benefit to the state.[20] Its undoubted effect +was to place a check upon corruption in public office by subjecting the +acts of public officials to the scrutiny and, if need be, to the censure +of every man in the nation. On the other hand, accusers in public +prosecutions came finally to be identified, in the public mind, with +coarse and vulgar informers whose only motive in making public +accusations was to create private gain. So thoroughly were they despised +that one of the parasites of Plautus scornfully exclaims that he would +not exchange his vocation, though low and groveling, with that of the +man who makes a legal proceeding "his net wherein to catch another man's +goods."[21] + +_Seventh Stage_ (_impaneling the judges_).--But if the prosecutor +appeared in due time, the trial formally began by the impaneling of the +judges. This was usually done by the prætor or _iudex quæstionis_ who, +at the beginning of the trial, placed the names of the complete panel of +jurors, inscribed on white tablets, into an urn, and then drew out a +certain number. Both prosecutor and accused had the right to challenge a +limited number, as the names were being drawn. The number of challenges +allowed varied from time to time. + +_Eighth Stage_ (_beginning of the trial_).--When the judges had been +impaneled, the regular proceedings began. The place of trial was the +Forum. The curule chair of the prætor and the benches of the judges, +constituting the tribunal, were here placed. On the ground in front of +the raised platform upon which the prætor and judges sat, were arranged +the benches of the parties, their advocates and witnesses. Like the +ancient Hebrew law, Roman law required that criminal cases should be +tried only by daylight, that is, between daybreak and one hour before +sunset. At the opening of the trial, the prosecutor, backed by the +_subscriptores_, and the accused, supported by his patrons and +advocates, appeared before the tribunal. + +In a modern criminal trial the case is opened by the introduction of +testimony which is followed by regular speeches of counsel for the +people and the defendant. In those jurisdictions where opening addresses +are required before the examination of the witnesses, the purpose is to +inform the jury of the facts which it is proposed to prove. Argument and +characterization are not permitted in these opening speeches. The real +speeches in which argument and illustration are permitted come after the +evidence has been introduced. The purpose of these closing speeches is +to assist the jury in determining matters of fact from conflicting +testimony. + +Under the Roman system of trial in criminal cases, the order was +reversed. The regular speeches containing argument, characterization, +and illustration, as well as a statement of the facts proposed to be +proved, were made in the very beginning. Evidence was then introduced to +show that the orators had told the truth in their speeches. + +It is not practicable in this place to discuss the kinds and relevancy +of evidence under Roman criminal procedure. Suffice it to say that +slaves were always examined under torture. + +The close of the evidence was followed by the judgment of the tribunal. + +_Ninth Stage_ (_voting of the judges_).--The judges voted by ballot, and +a majority of votes decided the verdict. The balloting was done with +tablets containing the letters A. (_absolvo_), C. (_condemno_) and N. L. +(_non liquet_). When the votes had been cast, the tablets were then +counted by the president of the tribunal. If the result indicated a +condemnation, he pronounced the word _fecisse_; if an acquittal, the +phrase, _non fecisse videtur_; if a doubtful verdict (_non liquet_), the +words _amplius esse cognoscendum_. The result of a doubtful (_non +liquet_) verdict was a retrial of the case at some future time. + +Such were the main features of the trial of a capital case at Rome at +the date of the crucifixion. Such was the model which, according to the +best authorities, Pilate was bound to follow in the trial of Jesus. Did +he imitate this model? Did he observe these rules and regulations? We +shall see. + + + + +CHAPTER V + +ROMAN FORMS OF PUNISHMENT + + +According to Gibbon, the laws of the Twelve Tables, like the statutes of +Draco, were written in blood. These famous decrees sanctioned the +frightful principle of the _lex talionis_; and prescribed for numerous +crimes many horrible forms of punishment. The hurling from the Tarpeian +Rock was mild in comparison with other modes of execution. The traitor +to his country had his hands tied behind his back, his head shrouded in +a veil, was then scourged by a lictor, and was afterwards crucified, in +the midst of the Forum by being nailed to the _arbor infelix_. A +malicious incendiary, on a principle of retaliation, was delivered to +the flames. He was burned to death by being wrapped in a garment covered +with pitch which was then set on fire.[22] A parricide was cast into the +Tiber or the sea, inclosed in a sack, to which a cock, a viper, a dog, +and a monkey had been successively added as fit companions in death.[23] + +But the development of Roman jurisprudence and the growth of Roman +civilization witnessed a gradual diminution in the severity of penal +sanctions, in the case of free citizens, until voluntary exile was the +worst punishment to which a wearer of the toga was compelled to submit. +The Porcian and Valerian laws prohibited the magistrates from putting +any Roman citizen to death. The principle underlying these laws was the +offspring of a proud and patriotic sentiment which exempted the masters +of the world from the extreme penalties reserved for barbarians and +slaves. Greenidge, interpreting Cicero, very elegantly expresses this +sentiment: "It is a _facinus_ to put a Roman citizen in bonds, a +_scelus_ to scourge him, _prope parricidium_ to put him to death." + +The subject of this volume limits the discussion in this chapter to a +single Roman punishment: Crucifixion. Around this word gather the most +frightful memories and, at the same time, the sweetest and sublimest +hopes of the human race. A thorough appreciation of the trial of Jesus, +it is felt, renders necessary a comparatively exhaustive treatment of +the punishment in which all the horrors and illegalities of the +proceedings against Him culminated. + +_History._--Tradition attributes the origin of crucifixion, the most +frightful and inhuman form of punishment ever known, to a woman, +Semiramis, Queen of Assyria. We are reminded by this that quartering, +drawing at a horse's tail, breaking on the wheel, burning and torture +with pincers, were provisions in a codex bearing the name of a woman: +Maria Theresa.[24] + +Crucifixion was practiced by the ancient Egyptians, Carthaginians, +Persians, Germans, Assyrians, Greeks, and Romans. The Romans employed +this form of punishment on a colossal scale. The Roman general Varus +crucified 2,000 Jews in one day at the gates of Jerusalem. The close of +the war with Spartacus, the gladiator, witnessed the crucifixion of +10,000 slaves between Capua and Rome. + +Crucifixion, as a form of punishment, was unknown to the ancient +Hebrews. The penalty of death was enforced among them by burning, +strangling, decapitation, and stoning. The "hanging" of criminals "on a +tree," mentioned in Deut. xxi. 22, was a posthumous indignity offered +the body of the criminal after death by stoning, and struck horror to +the soul of every pious Israelite who beheld it. Among the Romans also +degradation was a part of the infliction, since crucifixion was +peculiarly a _supplicium servile_. Only the vilest criminals, among free +men, such as were guilty of robbery, piracy, assassination, perjury, +sedition, treason, and desertion from the army, met death in this way. +The _jus civitatis_ protected Roman citizens against this punishment. + +_Mode of Crucifixion._--A sentence of death having been pronounced by a +Roman magistrate or tribunal, scourging became a preliminary to +execution. This was done with the terrible _flagellum_ into which the +soldiers frequently stuck nails, pieces of bone, and other hard +substances to heighten the pain which was often so intense as to produce +death. The victim was generally bound to a column to be scourged. It was +claimed by Jerome, Prudentius, Gregory of Tours, and others that they +had seen the one to which Jesus was bound before His scourging began. +After the flagellation, the prisoner was conducted to the place of +execution. This was outside the city, often in some public road, or +other conspicuous place like the Campus Martius at Rome. The criminal +was compelled to carry his own cross; and when he had arrived at the +place of crucifixion, he was compelled to watch the preparations for his +torture. Before his eyes and in his presence, the cross was driven into +the ground; and, after having been stripped naked, he was lifted upon +and nailed to it. It sometimes happened that he was stretched upon it +first and then lifted with it from the ground. The former method was the +more common, however, as it was desired to strike terror into the victim +by the sight of the erection of the cross. The body was fastened to the +cross by nails driven into the hands and sometimes into the feet; more +frequently, however, the feet were merely bound by cords. + +The pictures of crosses in works of art are misrepresentations, in that +they are too large and too high. The real cross of antiquity was very +little longer than the victim, whose head was near the top, and whose +feet often hung only twelve or fifteen inches from the ground. Pictorial +art is also false because it fails to show the projecting beam from near +the center of the cross upon which the criminal sat. That there was such +a beam is attested by the almost unanimous voice of antiquity. + +Crucifixion was conducted, under Roman auspices, by a _carnifex_, or +hangman, assisted by a band of soldiers. At Rome, execution was done +under the supervision of the _Triumviri Capitales_. The duty of the +soldiers was not only to erect the cross and nail the victim to it, but +also to watch him until he was dead. This was a necessary precaution to +prevent friends and relatives from taking the criminal down and from +carrying him away, since he sometimes continued to live upon the cross +during several days. If taken down in time, the suffering man might +easily be resuscitated and restored to health. Josephus tells us that +three victims were ordered to be taken down by Titus at his request, and +that one of them recovered. "In the later persecutions of the +Christians, the guards remained four or six days by the dead, in order +to secure them to the wild beasts and to cut off all possibility of +burial and resurrection; and in Lyons the Christians were not once able +by offers of much gold to obtain the privilege of showing compassion +upon the victims of the pagan popular fury. Sometimes, however, +particularly on festival days, e.g., the birthdays of the emperors, the +corpse was given up to the friends of the deceased, either for money or +without money, although even Augustus could be cruel enough to turn a +deaf ear to the entreaties of the condemned for sepulture."[25] + +Roman records tell us that the soldiers frequently hastened death by +breaking the legs of the criminal; at other times, fires were built +about the cross beneath him; and, again, wild beasts were turned loose +upon him. + +It was the general custom to allow the body to remain and rot upon the +cross, or to be devoured by wild beasts and birds of prey. "Distracted +relatives and friends saw the birds of prey attack the very faces of +those whom they loved; and piety often took pains to scare away the +birds by day and the beasts by night, or to outwit the guards that +watched the dead."[26] + +Sepulture was generally forbidden by law, though there were exceptions +to the rule. At the request of Joseph of Arimathea, Pilate consented +that Jesus should be taken down and buried.[27] A national exception +seems also to have been made in the case of the Jews on account of the +requirements of Deut. xxi. 22, 23. + +_Pathology._--The following pathological phases of death by crucifixion +are from a treatise by the celebrated physician, Richter (in John's +"Bibl. Arch."), which have been reproduced in Strong and McClintock's +"Cyclopedia": + +"(1) The unnatural position and violent tension of the body, which cause +a painful sensation from the least motion. + +"(2) The nails, being driven through parts of the hands and feet which +are full of nerves and tendons (and yet at a distance from the heart) +create the most exquisite anguish. + +"(3) The exposure of so many wounds and lacerations brings on +inflammation, which tends to become gangrene, and every movement +increases the poignancy of suffering. + +"(4) In the distended parts of the body, more blood flows through the +arteries than can be carried back into the veins: hence too much blood +finds its way from the aorta into the head and stomach, and the blood +vessels of the head become pressed and swollen. The general obstruction +of circulation which ensues causes an intense excitement, exertion, and +anxiety more intolerable than death itself. + +"(5) The inexpressible misery of _gradually increasing_ and lingering +anguish. + +"(6) Burning and raging thirst. + +"Death by crucifixion (physically considered) is, therefore, to be +attributed to the sympathetic fever which is excited by the wounds, and +aggravated by exposure to the weather, privation of water, and the +painfully constrained position of the body. Traumatic fever corresponds, +in intensity and in character, to the local inflammation of the wound, +is characterized by heat, swelling, and great pain, the fever is highly +inflammatory, and the sufferer complains of heat, throbbing headache, +intense thirst, restlessness, and anxiety. As soon as suppuration sets +in, the fever somewhat abates, and partially ceases as suppuration +diminishes and the stage of cicatrization approaches. But if the wound +be prevented from healing and suppuration continues, the fever assumes a +hectic character, and will sooner or later exhaust the powers of life. +When, however, the inflammation of the wound is so intense as to produce +mortification, nervous depression is the immediate consequence; and, if +the cause of this excessive inflammation of the wound still continues, +as is the case in crucifixion, the sufferer rapidly sinks. He is no +longer sensible of pain, but his anxiety and sense of prostration are +excessive; hiccough supervenes, his skin is moistened with a cold clammy +sweat, and death ensues. It is in this manner that death on the cross +must have taken place in an ordinarily healthy constitution." + +The intense sufferings and prolonged agony of crucifixion can be best +illustrated by an account of several cases of this form of punishment +taken from history. + +From the "Chrestomathia Arabica" of Kosegarten, published in 1828, is +taken the following story of the execution of a Mameluke. The author of +this work gleaned the story from an Arabic manuscript entitled "The +Meadow of Flowers and the Fragrant Odour": + +"It is said that he had killed his master for some cause or other, and +he was crucified on the banks of the river Barada under the castle of +Damascus, with his face turned toward the East. His hands, arms, and +feet were nailed, and he remained so from midday on Friday to the same +hour on Sunday, when he died. He was remarkable for his strength and +prowess; he had been engaged with his master in sacred war at Askelon, +where he slew great numbers of the Franks; and when very young he had +killed a lion. Several extraordinary things occurred at his being +nailed, as that he gave himself up without resistance to the cross, and +without complaint stretched out his hands, which were nailed and after +them his feet: he in the meantime looked on, and did not utter a groan, +or change his countenance or move his limbs. I have heard this from one +who witnessed it, and he thus remained till he died, patient and silent, +without wailing, but looking around him to the right and the left upon +the people. But he begged for water, and none was given him, and he +gazed upon it and longed for one drop of it, and he complained of thirst +all the first day, after which he was silent, for God gave him +strength." + +Describing the punishments used in Madagascar, Rev. Mr. Ellis says: "In +a few cases of great enormity, a sort of crucifixion has been resorted +to; and, in addition to this, burning or roasting at a slow fire, kept +at some distance from the sufferer, has completed the horrors of this +miserable death.... In the year 1825, a man was condemned to +crucifixion, who had murdered a female for the sake of stealing her +child. He carried the child for sale to the public market, where the +infant was recognized, and the murderer detected. He bore his punishment +in the most hardened manner, avenging himself by all the violence he was +capable of exercising upon those who dragged him to the place of +execution. Not a single groan escaped him during the period he was +nailed to the wood, nor while the cross was fixed upright in the +earth."[28] + +More horrible still than punishment by crucifixion was that of +impalement and suspension on a hook. The following description of the +execution, in 1830, at Salonica, of Chaban, a captain of banditti, is +given by Slade: "He was described by those who saw him as a very +fine-looking man, about thirty-five. As a preparatory exercise, he was +suspended by his arms for twelve hours. The following day a hook was +thrust into his side, by which he was suspended to a tree, and there +hung enduring the agony of thirst till the third evening, when death +closed the scene; but before that about an hour the birds, already +considering him their own, had alighted upon his brow to pick his eyes. +During this frightful period he uttered no unmanly complaints, only +repeated several times, 'Had I known that I was to suffer this infernal +death, I would never have done what I have. From the moment I led the +klephte's life I had death before my eyes, and was prepared to meet it, +but I expected to die as my predecessors, by decapitation.'"[29] + +_The Cross._--The instrument of crucifixion, called the Cross, was +variously formed. Lipsius and Gretser have employed a twofold +classification: the _crux simplex_, and the _crux composita_ or +_compacta_. A single upright stake was distinguished as a _crux +simplex_. The _crux composita_, the compound or actual cross, was +subject to the following modifications of form: _Crux immissa_, formed +as in the Figure [symbol: Cross]; _crux commissa_ thus formed [symbol: +T-cross]; and the _crux decussata_, the cruciform figure, set diagonally +after the manner of the Roman letter X. It is generally thought that +Jesus was crucified upon the _crux immissa_, the "Latin cross." + +According to the well-known legend of the "Invention of the Cross," the +actual cross on which Jesus was crucified was discovered in the year 326 +A.D. by the Empress Helena, the mother of Constantine the Great. As the +story goes, while visiting Jerusalem and the scenes of the passion, she +was guided to the summit of Calvary by an aged Jew. Here an excavation +was made, and, at a considerable depth, three crosses were found; and, +with them, but lying aside by itself, was the inscription, in Hebrew, +Latin, and Greek, placed above the head of Christ at the time of the +crucifixion. To determine which of the three crosses was the one upon +which Jesus suffered, it was decided, at the suggestion of Macarius, +bishop of Jerusalem, to employ a miracle. The sick were brought and +required to touch the three. According to the legend, the one upon which +the Savior died immediately imparted miraculous healing. A church was at +once built above the excavation and in it was deposited the greater part +of the supposed real cross, and the remainder was sent to Byzantium, and +from there to Rome, where it was placed in the church of Santa Croce in +Gerusalemme, built especially to receive the precious relic. The +genuineness of this relic was afterwards attested by a Bull of Pope +Alexander III. + +In connection with the legend of the discovery of the actual cross upon +which Christ was crucified, goes a secondary story that the nails used +at the crucifixion were also found at the same time and place. Later +tradition declared that one of these was thrown by Helena into the +Adriatic when swept by a terrific storm, and that this was followed by +an instantaneous calm. + +The popular impression among Christians that the cross is exclusively a +Christian religious symbol, seems to be without historical foundation. +It is quite certain, indeed, that it was a religious emblem among +several ancient races before the beginning of the Christian era. + +The ancient Egyptians adored the cross with the most holy veneration; +and this sacred emblem was carved upon many of their monuments. Several +of these monuments may be seen to-day in the British Museum.[30] A cross +upon a Calvary may also be seen upon the breast of one of the Egyptian +mummies in the Museum of the London University.[31] The ancient +Egyptians were accustomed to putting a cross on their sacred cakes, just +as the Christians of to-day do, on Good Friday.[32] + +The cross was also adored by the ancient Greeks and Romans, long before +the crucifixion of Christ. Greek crosses of equal arms adorn the tomb of +Midas, the ancient Phrygian king.[33] One of the early Christian +Fathers, Minucius Felix, in a heated controversy with the pagan Romans, +charged them with adoration of the cross. "As for adoration of the +cross," said he to the Romans, "which you object against us, I must tell +you that we neither adore crosses nor desire them. You it is, ye Pagans, +who worship wooden gods, who are the most likely people to adore wooden +crosses, as being part of the same substance with your deities. For what +else are your ensigns, flags, and standards, but crosses, gilt and +beautiful? Your victorious trophies _not only represent a cross, but a +cross with a man upon it_."[34] + +It also seems that, at a time antedating the early Romans, Etruscans and +Sabines, a primitive race inhabited the plains of Northern Italy, "to +whom the cross was a religious symbol, the sign beneath which they laid +their dead to rest; a people of whom history tells nothing, knowing not +their name; but of whom antiquarian research has learned this, that they +lived in ignorance of the arts of civilization, that they dwelt in +villages built on platforms over lakes, and that they trusted to the +cross to guard, and maybe to revive, their loved ones whom they +committed to the dust." + +The cross was also a sacred symbol among the ancient Scandinavians. "It +occurs," says Mr. R. P. Knight, "on many Runic monuments found in Sweden +and Denmark, which are of an age long anterior to the approach of +Christianity to those countries, and, probably, to its appearance in the +world."[35] + +When the Spanish missionaries first set foot on the soil of Mexico, they +were amazed to find that the Aztecs worshiped the cross as an object of +supreme veneration. They found it suspended as a sacred symbol and an +august emblem from the walls of all the Aztec temples.[36] When they +penetrated farther south and entered Peru, they found that the Incas +adored a cross made out of a single piece of jasper.[37] "It appears," +says "Chambers's Encyclopedia," "that the sign of the cross was in use +as an emblem having certain religious and mystic meanings attached to +it, long before the Christian era; and the Spanish conquerors were +astonished to find it an object of religious veneration among the +nations of Central and South America."[38] + +That the ancient Mexicans should have worshiped the cross and also a +crucified Savior, called Quetzalcoatle,[39] is one of the strangest +phenomena of sacred history. It is a puzzle which the most eminent +theologians have found it impossible to solve. They have generally +contented themselves with declaring the whole thing a myth built upon +primitive superstition and ignorance. This worship of the cross and +Quetzalcoatle was going on before Columbus discovered America, and it +seems impossible to establish any historical or geographical connection +between it and the Christian worship of the cross and the crucified +Jesus. + +Several writers of eminence have contended that the widespread adoration +of the cross, as a sacred symbol, among so many races of mankind, +ancient and modern, proves a universal spiritual impulse, culminating in +the crucifixion of Jesus as the common Savior of the world. "It is more +than a coincidence," says the Rev. S. Baring-Gould, "that Osiris by the +cross should give life eternal to the spirits of the just; that with the +cross Thor should smite the head of the great Serpent, and bring to life +those who were slain; that beneath the cross the Muysca mothers should +lay their babes, trusting to that sign to secure them from the power of +evil spirits; that with that symbol to protect them, the ancient people +of Northern Italy should lay them down in the dust."[40] + +But it is not with the mythical crucifixions of mythical gods that we +have to deal. The real, historical death of Jesus upon the cross with +its accompanying incidents of outrageous illegality is the purpose of +this treatise; and to the accomplishment of that design we now return. + + + + +CHAPTER VI + +ROMAN LAW APPLICABLE TO THE TRIAL OF JESUS + + +_What was the law of Rome in relation to the trial of Jesus?_ The answer +to this question is referable to the main charge brought against the +Master before Pilate. A single verse in St. Luke contains the +indictment: "And they began to accuse him, saying, We found this fellow +perverting the nation, and forbidding to give tribute to Cæsar, saying +that he himself is Christ a King." Three distinct elements are wrapped +up in this general accusation; but they are all interwoven with and +culminate in the great charge that Jesus claimed to be "Christ a King." +Of this accusation alone, Pilate took cognizance. And there is no +mistake as to its nature and meaning. It was High Treason against +Cæsar--the most awful crime known to Roman law. This was the charge +brought by the priests of the Sanhedrin against the Nazarene. What then +was the law of Rome in relation to the crime of high treason? The older +Roman law, _crimen perduellionis_, applied chiefly to offenses committed +in the military service. Deserters from the army were regarded as +traitors and punished as public enemies either by death or +interdiction of fire and water. Later Roman law broadened the definition +of treason until it comprehended any offense against the Roman +Commonwealth that affected the dignity and security of the Roman people. +Ulpian, defining treason, says: "_Majestatis crimen illud est quod +adversus populum Romanum vel adversus securitatem ejus committitur._"[41] +Cicero very admirably describes the same crime as: "_Majestatem minuere +est de dignitate aut amplitudine aut potestate populi aut eorum quibus +populus potestatem dedit aliquid derogare._"[42] The substance of both +these definitions is this: Treason is an insult to the dignity or an +attack upon the sovereignty and security of the Roman State. From time +to time, various laws were passed to define this crime and to provide +penalties for its commission. Chief among these were the _lex Julia +Majestatis_, 48 B.C. Other laws of an earlier date were the _lex +Cornelia_, 81 B.C.; _lex Varia_, 92 B.C.; and the _lex Appuleia_, 100 +B.C. The _lex Julia_ was in existence at the time of Christ, and was the +basis of the Roman law of treason until the closing years of the empire. +One of its provisions was that every accusation of treason against a +Roman citizen should be made by a written libel. But it is not probable +that provincials were entitled to the benefit of this provision; and it +was not therefore an infraction of the law that the priests and Pilate +failed to present a written charge against Jesus. + +[Illustration: TIBERIUS CÆSAR (ANTIQUE SCULPTURE)] + +In studying the trial of Jesus and the charge brought against Him, the +reader should constantly remind himself that the crucifixion took place +during the reign of Tiberius Cæsar, a morbid and capricious tyrant, +whose fretful and suspicious temper would kindle into fire at the +slightest suggestion of treason in any quarter. Tacitus records +fifty-two cases of prosecution for treason during his reign. The +enormous development of the law of _majestas_ at this time gave rise to +a class of professional informers, _delatores_, whose infamous activity +against private citizens helped to blacken the name of Tiberius. The +most harmless acts were at times construed into an affront to the +majesty or into an assault upon the safety of this miserable despot. +Cotta Messalinus was prosecuted for treason because it was alleged "that +he had given Caligula the nickname of Caia, as contaminated by incest"; +and again on another charge that he had styled a banquet among the +priests on the birthday of Augusta, a "funeral supper"; and again on +another charge that, while complaining of the influence of Manius +Lepidus and Lucius Arruntius, with whom he had had trouble in court, he +had said that "they indeed will be supported by the senate, but I by my +little Tiberius."[43] + +Manercus Scaurus was prosecuted for treason because he wrote a tragedy +in which were certain lines that might be made to apply in an +uncomplimentary manner to Tiberius. We are told by Dio that this tragedy +was founded on the story of Atreus; and that Tiberius, believing himself +referred to, said, "Since he makes me another Atreus, I will make him an +Ajax," meaning that he would compel him to destroy himself.[44] + +"Nor," says Tacitus, "were even women exempt from danger. With designs +to usurp the government they could not be charged; their tears are +therefore made treason; and Vitia, mother to Fusius Geminus, once +consul, was executed in her old age for bewailing the death of her +son."[45] + +An anecdote taken from Seneca but related in Tacitus, illustrates the +pernicious activity of the political informers of this age. At a banquet +in Rome, one of the guests wore the image of Tiberius on his ring. His +slave, seeing his master intoxicated, took the ring off his finger. An +informer noticed the act, and, later in the evening, insisted that the +owner, to show his contempt of Tiberius, was sitting upon the figure of +the emperor. Whereupon he began to draw up an accusation for high +treason and was getting ready to have it attested by subscribing +witnesses, when the slave took the ring from his own pocket, and thus +demonstrated to the whole company that he had had it in his possession +all the time. These instances fully serve to illustrate the political +tone and temper of the age that witnessed the trial and crucifixion of +Jesus. They also suggest the exceedingly delicate and painful position +of Pilate when sitting in judgment upon the life of a subject of +Tiberius who claimed to be a king. + +It is deemed entirely appropriate, in this place, to discuss a peculiar +phase of the law of treason in its relationship to the trial of Jesus. +It is easily demonstrable that the teachings of Christ were treasonable +under Roman public law. An essential and dominating principle of that +law was that the imperial State had the right to regulate and control +the private consciences of men in religious matters. It was held to be +an attribute of the sovereignty of Rome that she had the right to create +or destroy religions. And the theory of the Roman constitution was that +the exercise of this right was not a religious but a governmental +function. The modern doctrine of the separation of Church and State had +no place in Roman politics at the time of Christ. Tiberius Cæsar, at the +beginning of his reign, definitely adopted the principle of a state +religion, and as Pontifex Maximus, was bound to protect the ancient +Roman worship as a matter of official duty. + +Roman treatment of foreign religions, from first to last, is a most +interesting and fascinating study. Polytheistic above all other nations, +the general policy of the Roman empire was one of toleration. Indeed she +not only tolerated but adopted and absorbed foreign worships into her +own. The Roman religion was a composite of nearly all the religions of +the earth. It was thus natural that the imperial State should be +indulgent in religious matters, since warfare upon foreign faiths would +have been an assault upon integral parts of her own sacred system. It is +historically true that attempts were made from time to time by patriotic +Romans to preserve the old Latin faith in its original purity from +foreign invasion. The introduction of Greek gods was at first vigorously +opposed, but the exquisite beauty of Greek sculpture, the irresistible +influence of Greek literature, and the overwhelming fascination of Greek +myths, finally destroyed this opposition, and placed Apollo and +Æsculapius in the Roman pantheon beside Jupiter and Minerva. + +At another time the senate declared war on the Egyptian worship which +was gradually making its way into Rome. It had the images of Isis and +Serapis thrown down; but the people set them up again. It decreed that +the temples to these deities should be destroyed, but not a single +workman would lay hands upon them. Æmilius Paulus, the consul, was +himself forced to seize an ax and break in the doors of the temple. In +spite of this, the worship of Isis and Serapis was soon again practiced +unrestrained at Rome.[46] + +It is further true that Rome showed not only intolerance but mortal +antagonism to Druidism, which was completely annihilated during the +reign of the Emperor Claudius. + +A decree of the Roman senate, during the reign of Tiberius, ordered four +thousand freemen charged with Egyptian and Jewish superstitions out to +Sardinia to fight against and be destroyed by the banditti there, unless +they saw fit to renounce these superstitions within a given time.[47] + +But it must be remembered that these are exceptional cases of +intolerance revealed by Roman history. The general policy of the empire, +on the other hand, was of extreme tolerance and liberality. The keynote +of this policy was that all religions would be tolerated that consented +to live side by side and in peace with all other religions. There was +but one restriction upon and limitation of this principle, that foreign +religions would be tolerated only in their local seats, or, at most, +among the races in which such religions were native. The fact that the +worship of Serapis was left undisturbed on the banks of the Nile, did +not mean that the same worship would be tolerated on the banks of the +Tiber. An express authorization by Rome was necessary for this purpose. +Said authorization made said worship a _religio licita_. And the +peregrini, or foreigners in Rome, were thus permitted to erect their own +altars, and to assemble for the purpose of worshiping their own gods +which they had brought with them. The reverse side of this general +principle of religious tolerance shows that Roman citizens were not only +permitted but required to carry the Roman faith with them throughout the +world. Upon them, the Roman state religion was absolutely binding; and +for all the balance of the world it was the dominant cult. "The +provinces," says Renan, "were entirely free to adhere to their own +rights, on the sole condition of not interfering with those of others." +"Such toleration or indifference, however," says Döllinger, "found its +own limits at once whenever the doctrine taught had a practical bearing +on society, interfered with the worship of the state gods, or confronted +their worship with one of its own; as well as when a strange god and +_cultus_ assumed a hostile attitude toward Roman gods, could be brought +into no affinity or corporate relation with them, and would not bend to +the supremacy of Jupiter Capitolinus." + +Now, the principles declared by Renan and Döllinger are fundamental and +pointed in the matter of the relationship between the teachings of Jesus +and the theory of treason under Roman law. These principles were +essential elements of Roman public law, and an attempt to destroy them +was an act of treason under the definitions of both Ulpian and Cicero. +The Roman constitution required that a foreign religion, as a condition +of its very existence, should live in peace with its neighbors; that it +should not make war upon or seek to destroy other religions; and that it +should acknowledge the dominance and superior character of the imperial +religion. All these things Jesus refused to do, as did his followers +after Him. The Jews, it is true, had done the same thing, but their +nationality and lack of aggressiveness saved them until the destruction +of Jerusalem. But Christianity was essentially aggressive and +proselytizing. It sought to supplant and destroy all other religions. No +compromises were proposed, no treaties concluded. The followers of the +Nazarene raised a black flag against paganism and every heathen god. +Their strange faith not only defied all other religions, but mocked all +earthly government not built upon it. Their propaganda was nothing less +than a challenge to the Roman empire in the affairs of both law and +religion. Here was a faith which claimed to be the only true religion; +that proclaimed a monotheistic message which was death to polytheism; +and that refused to be confined within local limits. Here was a +religion that scorned an authorization from Rome to worship its god and +prophet; a religion that demanded acceptance and obedience from all the +world--from Roman and Greek, as well as Jew and Egyptian. This scorn and +this demand were an affront to the dignity and a challenge to the laws +of the Roman Commonwealth. Such conduct was treason against the +constitution of the empire. + +"The substance of what the Romans did," says Sir James Fitz-James +Stephen, "was to treat Christianity by fits and starts as a crime."[48] +But why a crime? Because the Roman religion, built upon polytheism, was +an integral and inseparable part of the Roman State, and whatever +menaced the life of the one, threatened the existence of the other. The +Romans regarded their religion as "an engine of state which could not be +shaken without the utmost danger to their civil government." Cicero +further says: "The institutions of the fathers must be defended; it is +the part of wisdom to hold fast the sacred rites and ceremonies."[49] +Roman statesmen were fully aware of the truthfulness of the statement of +a modern writer that, "wherever the religion of any state falls into +disregard and contempt it is impossible for that state to subsist long." +Now, Christianity was monotheistic, and threatened destruction to +polytheism everywhere. And the Romans treated it as a crime because it +was regarded as a form of seditious atheism whose teachings and +principles were destructive of the established order of things. The +Roman conception of the nature of the crime committed by an attack upon +the national religion is well illustrated by the following sentence from +Döllinger: "If an opinion unfavorable to the apotheosis of any member of +the imperial dynasty happened to be dropped, it was dangerous in itself +as falling within the purview of the law of high treason; and so it fell +out in the case of Thrasea Pætus, who refused to believe in the +deification of Poppæa." If it was high treason to refuse to believe in +the deification of an emperor or an empress, what other crime could be +imputed to him whose design was to destroy an entire religious system, +and to pile all the gods and goddesses--Juno and Poppæa, Jupiter and +Augustus--in common ruin? + +From the foregoing, it may be readily seen that it is impossible to +appreciate the legal aspects of the trial of Jesus before Pilate, unless +it is constantly kept in mind that the Roman constitution, which was +binding upon the whole empire, reserved to the state the right to permit +or forbid the existence of new religious faiths and the exercise of +rights of conscience in religious matters. Rome was perfectly willing to +tolerate all religions as long as they were peaceful and passive in +their relations with other religions. But when a new and aggressive +faith appeared upon the scene, proclaiming the strange dogma that there +was but one name under heaven whereby men might be saved, and demanding +that every knee bow at the mention of that name, and threatening +damnation upon all who refused, the majesty of Roman law felt itself +insulted and outraged; and persecution, torture, and death were the +inevitable result. The best and wisest of the Roman emperors, Trajan +and the Antonines, devoted to the ax or condemned to crucifixion the +early Christians, not because Christianity was spiritually false, but +because it was aggressive and intolerant, and they believed its +destruction necessary to the maintenance of the supremacy and +sovereignty of the Roman State. + +An interesting correspondence between Pliny and Trajan, while the former +was governor of Bithynia, reveals the Roman conception of and attitude +toward Christianity. Pliny wrote to Trajan: "In the meanwhile, the +method I have observed toward those who have been brought before me as +Christians is this: I asked them whether they were Christians; if they +admitted it, I repeated the question twice, and threatened them with +punishment; if they persisted, I ordered them to be at once punished, +for I was persuaded, whatever the nature of their opinions might be, a +contumacious and inflexible obstinacy certainly deserved correction. +There were others also brought before me possessed with the same +infatuation, but being Roman citizens, I directed them to be sent to +Rome." + +To this, Trajan replied: "You have adopted the right course, my dearest +Secundus, in investigating the charges against the Christians who were +brought before you. It is not possible to lay down any general rule for +all such cases. Do not go out of your way to look for them. If, indeed, +they should be brought before you, and the crime is proved, they must be +punished; with the restriction, however, that where the party denies he +is a Christian, and shall make it evident he is not, by invoking our +gods, let him (notwithstanding any former suspicion) be pardoned upon +his repentance."[50] Here the magnanimous Trajan called Christianity a +crime, and this was the popular Roman conception of it during the first +two centuries of its existence. + +Now, it is true that Christianity was not on trial before Pilate; but +the Author of Christianity was. And the same legal principles were +extant and applicable that afterwards brought the Roman State and the +followers of the Nazarene into mortal conflict. For the prisoner who now +stood before the procurator to answer the charge of high treason +asserted substantially the same claims and proclaimed the same doctrines +that afterwards caused Rome to devote His adherents to flames and to +wild beasts in the amphitheater. The record does not disclose that +Pilate became fully acquainted at the trial of Jesus with His claims and +doctrines. On the other hand, it is clear that he became convinced that +the claim of Jesus to be "Christ a King" was not a pretension to earthly +sovereignty. But, nevertheless, whatever might have been the information +or the notions of the deputy of Tiberius, the teachings of Jesus were +inconsistent and incompatible with the public law of the Roman State. +Pilate was not necessarily called upon to enforce this law, since it was +frequently the duty of Roman governors, as intimated by Trajan in his +letter to Pliny, to exercise leniency in dealing with religious +delinquents. + +To summarize, then: it may be said that the Roman law applicable to the +trial of Jesus was the _lex Julia Majestatis_, interpreted either in the +light of claims to actual kingship made by Jesus, or to kingship of a +religious realm whose character and existence were a menace to the +religion and laws of Rome. In the light of the evidence adduced at the +hearing before Pilate, these legal principles become mere abstract +propositions, since there seems to have been neither necessity nor +attempt to enforce them; but they were in existence, nevertheless, and +were directly applicable to the trial of Jesus. + + + + +[Illustration: PONTIUS PILATE (MUNKACSY)] + + + + +CHAPTER VII + +PONTIUS PILATE + + +_His Name._--The prænomen or first name of Pilate is not known. Rosadi +calls him Lucius, but upon what authority is not stated. His nomen or +family name indicates that he was connected either by descent or by +adoption with the gens of the Pontii, a tribe first made famous in Roman +history in the person and achievements of C. Pontius Telesinus, the +great Samnite general. A German legend, however, offers another +explanation. According to this story, Pilate was the natural son of +Tyrus, King of Mayence. His father sent him to Rome as a hostage, and +there he was guilty of murder. Afterwards he was sent to Pontus, where +he distinguished himself by subduing certain barbarian tribes. In +recognition of his services, it is said, he received the name Pontius. +But this account is a pure fabrication. It is possible that it was +invented by the 22d legion, which was assigned to Palestine at the time +of the destruction of Jerusalem, and was afterwards stationed at +Mayence. The soldiers of this legion might have been "either the bearers +of this tradition or the inventors of the fable." + +It is historically almost certain that Pilate was a native of Seville, +one of the cities of Bætic Spain that enjoyed rights of Roman +citizenship. In the war of annihilation waged by Agrippa against the +Cantabrians, the father of Pilate, Marcus Pontius, acquired fame as a +general on the side of Rome. He seems to have been a renegade to the +cause of the Spaniards, his countrymen. And when Spain had been +conquered by Rome, as a reward for service, and as a mark of +distinction, he received the pilum (javelin), and from this fact his +family took the name of Pilati. This is the common explanation of the +origin of the cognomen Pilatus. + +Others have sought to derive the word Pilate from _pileatus_, which, +among the Romans, was the cap worn as a badge of servitude by manumitted +slaves. This derivation would make Pontius Pilate a _libertus_, or the +descendant of one. + +Of his youth, very little is known. But it is believed that, after +leaving Spain, he entered the suite of Germanicus on the Rhine and +served through the German campaigns; and that, when peace was concluded, +he went to Rome in search of fortune and in pursuit of pleasure. + +_His Marriage._--Soon after his arrival in Rome, Pilate was married to +Claudia, the youngest daughter of Julia, the daughter of Augustus. Julia +was a woman of the most dissolute and reckless habits. According to +Suetonius, nothing so embittered the life of the Roman emperor as the +shameful conduct of the mother of the wife of the procurator of Judea. +He had reared her with the utmost care, had accustomed her to domestic +employments such as knitting and spinning, and had sought to inculcate +principles of purity and nobility of soul by requiring her to speak and +act openly before the family, that everything which was said and done +might be put down in a diary. His guardianship of the attentions paid +her by young men was so strict that he once wrote a letter to Lucius +Vinicius, a handsome young man of good family, in which he said: "You +have not behaved very modestly, in making a visit to my daughter at +Baiæ." Notwithstanding this good training, Julia became one of the +lewdest and coarsest women in Rome. Augustus married her first to +Marcellus; then, after the death of Marcellus, to Marcus Agrippa; and, +finally, to Tiberius. But in spite of the noble matches that had been +made for her, her lewdness and debaucheries became so notorious that +Augustus was compelled to banish her from Rome. It is said that he was +so much ashamed of her infamous conduct that for a long time he avoided +all company, and even had thoughts of putting her to death. His sorrow +and humiliation are shown from the circumstance that when one Phoebe, +a freedwoman and confidante of hers, hanged herself about the time the +decree of banishment was passed by the senate, he said: "I had rather be +the father of Phoebe than of Julia." And whenever the name of Julia +was mentioned to him, during her exile, Augustus was wont to exclaim: +"Would I were wifeless, or had childless died."[51] + +Such was the character of Julia, mother-in-law of Pilate. In exile, she +bore Claudia to a Roman knight. In her fifteenth year, the young girl +met the Spaniard in Rome and was courted by him. Nothing better +illustrates the character of Pilate than his union with this woman with +whose origin and bringing up he was well acquainted. It was a servile +and lustful rather than a noble and affectionate eye which he cast upon +her. Having won the favor of Tiberius and the consent of Claudia, the +marriage was consummated. After the nuptial rites, tradition has it that +Pilate desired to follow the bride in the imperial litter; but Tiberius, +who had acted as one of the twelve witnesses required by the law, forced +him back, and drawing a paper from his bosom, handed it to him and +passed on. This paper contained his commission as procurator of Judea; +and the real object of the suit paid to Claudia was attained. + +Pilate proceeded at once to Cæsarea, the headquarters of the government +of his province. His wife, who had been left behind, joined him +afterwards. Cæsar's permission to do this was a most gracious +concession, as it was not generally allowed that governors of provinces +should take their wives with them. At first it was positively forbidden. +But afterwards a _senatus consult_, which is embodied in the Justinian +text, declared it better that the wives of proconsuls and procurators +should not go with them, but ordaining that said officials might take +their wives with them provided they made themselves personally +responsible for any transgressions on their part. Notwithstanding the +numerous restrictions of Roman law and custom, it is very evident that +the wives of Roman officers frequently accompanied them to the +provinces. From Tacitus we learn that at the time of the death of +Augustus, Germanicus had his wife Agrippina with him in Germany; and +afterwards, in the beginning of the reign of Tiberius, she was also with +him in the East. Piso, the præfect of Syria, took his wife with him at +the same time. These facts are historical corroborations of the Gospel +accounts of the presence of Claudia in Jerusalem at the time of the +crucifixion and of her warning dream to Pilate concerning the fate of +the Master. + +_His Procuratorship._--Pontius Pilate was the sixth procurator of Judea. +Sabinus, Coponius, Ambivus, Rufus, and Gratus had preceded him in the +government of the province. Pilate's connection with the trial and +crucifixion of Jesus will be dealt with in succeeding chapters of this +volume. Only the chief acts of his public administration, in a purely +political capacity, will be noticed here. One of the first of these acts +serves well to illustrate the reckless and tactless character of the +man. His predecessors in office had exercised great care in the matter +of the religious prejudices of the Jews. They had studiously avoided +exhibiting flags and other emblems bearing images of the emperor that +might offend the sacred sentiments of the native population. Even +Vitellius, the legate of Syria, when he was marching against the Arabian +king Aretas, ordered his troops not to carry their standards into Jewish +territory, but to march around it. Pilate, on the other hand, in +defiance of precedent and policy, caused the garrison soldiers of +Jerusalem to enter the city by night carrying aloft their standards, +blazoned with the images of Tiberius. The news of this outrage threw the +Jews into wild excitement. The people in great numbers flocked down to +Cæsarea, where Pilate was still stopping, and begged him to remove the +standards. Pilate refused; and for five days the discussion went on. At +last he became enraged, summoned the people into the race course, had +them surrounded by a detachment of soldiers, and served notice upon them +that he would have them put to death if they did not become quiet and +disperse. But, not in the least dismayed, they threw themselves upon the +ground, laid bare their necks, and, in their turn, served notice upon +Pilate that they, the children of Abraham, would rather die, and that +they would die, before they would willingly see the Holy City defiled. +The result was that Pilate finally yielded, and had the standards and +images withdrawn from Jerusalem. Such was the Roman procurator and such +the people with whom he had to deal. Thus the very first act of his +procuratorship was a blunder which embarrassed his whole subsequent +career. + +A new storm burst forth when, on another occasion, Pilate appropriated +funds from the Corban or sacred treasury to complete an aqueduct for +bringing water to Jerusalem from the "Pools of Solomon." This was +certainly a most useful enterprise; and, ordinarily, would speak well +for the statesmanship and administrative ability of the procurator. But, +in this instance, it was only another exhibition of tactless behavior in +dealing with a stubborn and peculiar people. The Jews had a very great +reverence for whatever was set apart for the Corban, and they considered +it a form of awful impiety to devote its funds to secular purposes. +Pilate, we must assume, was well acquainted with their religious +scruples in this regard, and his open defiance of their prejudices was +an illustration not of courage, but of weakness in administrative +matters. Moreover, his final conduct in the matter of the aqueduct +revealed a malignant quality in the temper of the man. On one occasion +when he was getting ready to go to Jerusalem to supervise the building +of this work, he learned that the people would again importune him, as +in the case of the standards and the images. He then deliberately caused +some of his soldiers to be disguised as Jewish citizens, had them armed +with clubs and daggers, which they carried concealed beneath their upper +garments; and when the multitude approached him to make complaints and +to present their petitions, he gave a preconcerted signal, at which the +assassins beat down and cut to pieces great numbers of the helpless +crowds. Pilate was victorious in this matter; for the opposition to the +building of the aqueduct was thus crushed in a most bloody manner. But +hatred against Pilate was stirred up afresh and intensified in the +hearts of the Jews. + +A third act of defiance of the religious prejudices of the inhabitants +of Jerusalem illustrates not only the obstinacy but the stupidity as +well of the deputy of Cæsar in Judea. In the face of his previous +experiences, he insisted on hanging up in Herod's palace certain gilt +shields dedicated to Tiberius. The Jews remonstrated with him in vain +for this new outrage upon their national feelings. They were all the +more indignant because they believed that he had done it, "less for the +honor of Tiberius than for the annoyance of the Jewish people." Upon the +refusal of Pilate to remove the shields, a petition signed by the +leading men of the nation, among whom were the four sons of Herod, was +addressed to the emperor, asking for the removal of the offensive +decorations. Tiberius granted the request and the shields were taken +from Jerusalem and deposited in the temple of Augustus at Cæsarea--"And +thus were preserved both the honor of the emperor and the ancient +customs of the city."[52] + +The instances above cited are recounted in the works of Josephus[53] and +Philo. But the New Testament also contains intimations that Pilate was a +cruel and reckless governor in his dealings with the Jews. According to +St. Luke xiii. 1: "There were present at that season some that told him +of the Galileans, whose blood Pilate had mingled with their sacrifices." +Nothing definite is known of this incident mentioned by the Evangelist. +But it probably refers to the fact that Pilate had put to the sword a +number of Galileans while they were offering their sacrifices at +Jerusalem. + +_His Character._--The estimates of the character of Pilate are as varied +as the races and creeds of men. Both Josephus and Philo have handed down +to posterity a very ugly picture of the sixth Roman procurator of +Judea. Philo charges him with "corruptibility, violence, robberies, +ill-treatment of the people, grievances, continuous executions without +even the form of a trial, endless and intolerable cruelties." If we were +to stop with this, we should have a very poor impression of the deputy +of Tiberius; and, indeed at best, we can never either admire or love +him. But there is a tender and even pathetic side to the character of +Pilate, which is revealed to us by the Evangelists of the New Testament. +The pure-hearted, gentle-minded authors of the Gospels, in whose +writings there is not even a tinge of bitterness or resentment, have +restored "for us the man within the governor, with a delicacy, and even +tenderness, which make the accusing portrait of Philo and Josephus look +like a hard, revengeful daub." Instead of painting him as a monster, +they have linked conscience to his character and placed mercy in his +heart, by their accounts of his repeated attempts to release Jesus. The +extreme of pity and of pathos, derived from these exquisitely merciful +side touches of the gentle biographers of the Christ, is manifested in +the opinion of Tertullian that Pilate was virtually a Christian at +heart.[54] + +A further manifestation is the fact that the Abyssinian Church of +Christians has canonized him and placed his name in the calendar on June +25th. + +A still further revelation of this spirit of regarding Pilate merely as +a sacred instrument in the hands of God is shown by the Apocryphal +Gospel of Nicodemus which speaks of him as "uncircumcised in flesh but +circumcised in heart." + +Renan has called him a good administrator, and has sought to condone his +brutal treatment of the Jews by pointing to the necessity of vigorous +action in dealing with a turbulent and fanatical race. But the combined +efforts of both sacred and secular apologists are still not sufficient +to save the name of Pilate from the scorn and reprobation of mankind. +That he was not a bad man in the worst sense of the term is manifest +from the teachings of the Gospel narratives. To believe that he was +wholly without conscience is to repudiate the revelations of these +sacred writings. Of wanton cruelty and gratuitous wickedness, he was +perhaps incapable. But the circumstances of his birth and breeding; his +descent from a renegade father; his adventurous life in the army of +Germanicus; his contact with and absorption of the skepticism and +debauchery of Rome; his marriage to a woman of questionable virtue whose +mother was notoriously coarse and lewd--all these things had given +coloring to the character of Pilate and had stricken with inward +paralysis the moral fiber of his manhood. And now, in the supreme moment +of his life and of history, from his nerveless grasp fell the reins of +fate and fortune that destiny had placed within his hands. Called upon +to play a leading rôle in the mighty drama of the universe, his craven +cowardice made him a pitiable and contemptible figure. A splendid +example this, the conduct of Pilate, for the youth of the world, not to +imitate but to shun! Let the young men of America and of all the earth +remember that a crisis is allotted to every life. It may be a great one +or a small one, but it will come either invited or unbidden. The sublime +courage of the soul does not avoid, but seeks this crisis. The bravest +and most holy aspirations leap at times like angels from the temple of +the brain to the highest heaven. Never a physician who does not long for +the skill that discovers a remedy for disease and that will make him a +Pasteur or a Koch; never a poet that does not beseech the muse to +inspire him to write a Hamlet or a Faust; never a general of armies who +would not fight an Austerlitz battle. Every ambitious soul fervently +prays for strength, when the great crisis comes, to swing the hammer of +the Cyclop with the arm of the Titan. Let the young aspirant for the +glories of the earth and the rewards of heaven remember that youth is +the time for the formation of that courage and the gathering of that +strength of which victory is born. Let him remember that if he degrades +his physical and spiritual manhood in early life, the coming of the +great day of his existence will make him another Pilate--cringing, +crouching, and contemptible. + +The true character of the Roman judge of Jesus is thus very tersely +given by Dr. Ellicott: "A thorough and complete type of the later Roman +man of the world: stern, but not relentless; shrewd and worldworn, +prompt and practical, haughtily just, and yet, as the early writers +correctly perceived, self-seeking and cowardly; able to perceive what +was right, but without moral strength to follow it out."[55] + +_His End._--Pilate's utter recklessness was the final cause of his +undoing. It was an old belief among the Samaritans that Moses buried the +sacred vessels of the temple on Mt. Gerizim. An impostor, a sort of +pseudo-prophet, promised the people that if they would assemble on the +top of the mountain, he would unearth the holy utensils in their +presence. The simple-minded Samaritans assembled in great numbers at the +foot of the Mount, and there preparing to ascend, when Pilate on the +pretense that they were revolutionists, intercepted them with a strong +force of horse and foot. Those who did not immediately submit were +either slain or put to flight. The most notable among the captives were +put to death. The Samaritans at once complained to Vitellius, the legate +in Syria at that time. Vitellius at once turned over the administration +of Judea to Marcellus and ordered Pilate to leave for Rome in order to +give an account to the emperor of the charges brought against him by the +Jews.[56] Before he arrived in Italy, Tiberius had died; but Pilate +never returned to the province over which he had ruled during ten bloody +and eventful years. + +"_Paradosis Pilati._"--The death of Pilate is clouded in mystery and +legend. Where and when he died is not known. Two apocryphal accounts are +interesting, though false and ridiculous. According to one legend, the +"Paradosis Pilati," the emperor Tiberius, startled and terrified at the +universal darkness that had fallen on the Roman world at the hour of the +crucifixion, summoned Pilate to Rome to answer for having caused it. He +was found guilty and condemned to death; but before he was executed, he +prayed to Jesus that he might not be destroyed in eternity with the +wicked Jews, and pleaded ignorance as an excuse for having delivered the +Christ to be crucified. A voice from heaven answered his prayer, and +assured him that all generations would call him blessed, and that he +should be a witness for Christ at his second coming to judge the Twelve +Tribes of Israel. He was then executed; an angel, according to the +legend, received his head; and his wife died from joy and was buried +with him. + +"_Mors Pilati._"--According to another legend, the "Mors Pilati," +Tiberius had heard of the miracles of healing wrought by Jesus in Judea. +He ordered Pilate to conduct to Rome the man possessed of such divine +power. But Pilate was forced to confess that he had crucified the +miracle worker. The messenger sent by Tiberius met Veronica who gave him +the cloth that had received the impress of the divine features. This was +taken to Rome and given to the emperor, who was restored to health by +it. Pilate was summoned immediately to stand trial for the execution of +the Christ. He presented himself wearing the holy tunic. This acted as a +charm upon the emperor, who temporarily relented. After a time, however, +Pilate was thrown into prison, where he committed suicide. His body was +thrown into the Tiber. Storms and tempests immediately followed, and the +Romans were compelled to take out the corpse and send it to Vienne, +where it was cast into the Rhone. But as the storms and tempests came +again, the body was again removed and sent to Lucerne, where it was sunk +in a deep pool, surrounded by mountains on all sides. Even then, it is +said, the water of the pool began to boil and bubble strangely. + +This tradition must have had its origin in an early attempt to connect +the name of Pilate with Mt. Pilatus that overlooks Lake Lucerne. Another +legend connected with this mountain is that Pilate sought to find an +asylum from his sorrows in its shadows and recesses; that, after +spending years in remorse and despair, wandering up and down its sides, +he plunged into the dismal lake which occupies its summit. In times +past, popular superstition was wont to relate how "a form is often seen +to emerge from the gloomy waters, and go through the action of washing +his hands; and when he does so, dark clouds of mist gather first round +the bosom of the Infernal Lake (such as it has been styled of old) and +then wrapping the whole upper part of the mountain in darkness, presage +a tempest or hurricane which is sure to follow in a short space."[57] + +The superstitious Swiss believed for many centuries that if a stone were +thrown into the lake a violent storm would follow. For many years no one +was permitted to visit it without special authority from the officers of +Lucerne. The neighboring shepherds bound themselves by a solemn oath, +which they renewed annually, never to guide a stranger to it.[58] The +strange spell was broken, however, and the legend exploded in 1584, +when Johannes Müller, curé of Lucerne, was bold enough to throw stones +into the lake, and to stand by complacently to await the +consequences.[59] + + + + +CHAPTER VIII + +JESUS BEFORE PILATE + + +At the close of their trial, according to Matthew[60] and Mark,[61] the +high priest and the entire Sanhedrin led Jesus away to the tribunal of +the Roman governor. It was early morning, probably between six and seven +o'clock, when the accusing multitude moved from the judgment seat of +Caiaphas to the Prætorium of Pilate. Oriental labor anticipates the day +because of the excessive heat of noon; and, at daybreak, Eastern life is +all astir. To accommodate the people and to enjoy the repose of midday, +Roman governors, Suetonius tells us, mounted the _bema_ at sunrise. The +location of the judgment hall of Pilate in Jerusalem is not certainly +known. It may have been in the Castle of Antonia, a frowning fortress +that overlooked the Temple and its courts. Much more probably, however, +it was the magnificent palace of Herod, situated in the northwest +quarter of the city. This probability is heightened by the fact that it +was a custom born of both pride and pleasure, for Roman procurators and +proconsuls to occupy the splendid edifices of the local kings. The +Roman proprætor of Sicily dwelt in the Castle of King Hiero; and it is +reasonable to suppose that Pilate would have passed his time while at +Jerusalem in the palace of Herod. This building was frequently called +the "King's Castle," sometimes was styled the "Prætorium," and was often +given the mixed name of "Herod's Prætorium." But, by whatever name +known, it was of gorgeous architecture and magnificent proportions. Keim +describes it as "a tyrant's stronghold and in part a fairy +pleasure-house." A wall thirty cubits high completely encircled the +buildings of the palace. Beautiful white towers crowned this wall at +regular intervals. Three of these were named in honor of Mariamne, the +wife; Hippicus, the friend; and Phasælus, the brother of the king. +Within the inclosure of the wall, a small army could have been +garrisoned. The floors and ceilings of the palace were decorated and +adorned with the finest woods and precious stones. Projecting from the +main building were two colossal marble wings, named for two Roman +imperial friends, the Cæsareum and the Ægrippeum. To a person standing +in one of the towers, a magnificent prospect opened to the view. +Surrounding the castle walls were beautiful green parks, intercepted +with broad walks and deep canals. Here and there splashing fountains +gushed from brazen mouths. A hundred dovecots, scattered about the +basins and filled with cooing and fluttering inmates, lent charm and +animation to the scene. And to crown the whole, was the splendid +panorama of Jerusalem stretching away among the hills and valleys. Such +was the residence of the Roman knight who at this time ruled Judea. And +yet, with all its regal splendor and magnificence, he inhabited it only +a few weeks in each year. The Jewish metropolis had no fascination +whatever for the tastes and accomplishments of Pilate. "The saddest +region in the world," says Renan, who had been imbued, from long +residence there, with its melancholy character, "is perhaps that which +surrounds Jerusalem." "To the Spaniard," says Rosadi, "who had come to +Jerusalem, by way of Rome, and who was also of courtly origin, there +could have been nothing pleasing in the parched, arid and colorless +nature of Palestine, much less in the humble, mystic, out-at-elbows +existence of its people. Their superstition, which would have nothing of +Roman idolatry, which was their sole belief, their all, appeared to him +a reasonable explanation, and a legitimate one, of their disdain and +opposition. He therefore detested the Jews, and his detestation was +fully reciprocated." It is not surprising, then, that he preferred to +reside at Cæsarea by the sea where were present Roman modes of thought +and forms of life. He visited Jerusalem as a matter of official duty, +"during the festivals, and particularly at Easter with its dreaded +inspirations of the Jewish longing for freedom, which the festival, the +air of spring and the great rendezvous of the nation, charmed into +activity." In keeping with this custom, Pilate was now in the Jewish +Capital on the occasion of the feast of the Passover. + +Having condemned Him to death themselves, the Sanhedrin judges were +compelled to lead Jesus away to the Prætorium of the Roman governor to +see what he had to say about the case; whether he would reverse or +affirm the condemnation which they had pronounced. Between dawn and +sunrise, they were at the palace gates. Here they were compelled to +halt. The Passover had commenced, and to enter the procurator's palace +at such a time was to incur Levitic contamination. A dozen judicial +blunders had marked the proceedings of their own trial in the palace of +Caiaphas. And yet they hesitated to violate a purely ritual regulation +in the matter of ceremonial defilement. This regulation was a +prohibition to eat fermented food during the Passover Feast, and was +sacred to the memory of the great deliverance from Egyptian bondage when +the children of Israel, in their flight, had no time to ferment their +dough and were compelled to consume it before it had been leavened. +Their purposes and scruples were announced to Pilate; and, in a spirit +of gracious and politic condescension, he removed the difficulty by +coming out to meet them. But this action was really neither an +inconvenience nor a condescension; for it was usual to conduct Roman +trials in the open air. Publicity was characteristic of all Roman +criminal proceedings. And, in obedience to this principle, we find that +the proconsul of Achaia at Corinth, the city magistrates in Macedonia, +and the procurators at Cæsarea and Jerusalem, erected their tribunals in +the most conspicuous public places, such as the market, the race course, +and even upon the open highway.[62] An example directly in point is, +moreover, that of the procurator Florus who caused his judgment seat to +be raised in front of the palace of Herod, A.D. 66, and, enthroned +thereon, received the great men of Jerusalem who came to see him and +gathered around his tribunal. To the same place, according to Josephus, +the Jewish queen Bernice came barefoot and suppliant to ask favors of +Florus.[63] The act of Pilate in emerging from the palace to meet the +Jews was, therefore, in exact compliance with Roman custom. His judgment +seat was doubtless raised immediately in front of the entrance and +between the great marble wings of the palace. Pilate's tribune or _bema_ +was located in this space on the elevated spot called Gabaatha, an +Aramaic word signifying an eminence, a "hump." The same place in Greek +was called Lithostroton, and signified "The Pavement," because it was +laid with Roman marble mosaic. The location on an eminence was in +accordance with a maxim of Roman law that all criminal trials should be +directed from a raised tribunal where everybody could see and understand +what was being said and done. The ivory curule chair of the procurator, +or perhaps the ancient golden royal chair of Archelaus was placed upon +the tessellated pavement and was designed for the use of the governor. +As a general thing, there was sitting room on the tribunal for the +assessors, the accusers and the accused. But such courtesies and +conveniences were not extended to the despised subjects of Judea; and +Jesus, as well as the members of the Sanhedrin, was compelled to stand. +The Latin language was the official tongue of the Roman empire, and was +generally used in the administration of justice. But at the trial of +Jesus it is believed that the Greek language was the medium of +communication. Jesus had doubtless become acquainted with Greek in +Galilee and probably replied to Pilate in that tongue. This is the +opinion, at least, of both Keim[64] and Geikie.[65] The former asserts +that there was no interpreter called at the trial of Christ. It is also +reasonably certain that no special orator like Tertullus, who informed +the governor against Paul, was present to accuse Jesus.[66] Doubtless +Caiaphas the high priest played this important rôle. + +When Pilate had mounted the _bema_, and order had been restored, he +asked: + +"What accusation bring ye against this man?" + +This question is keenly suggestive of the presence of a judge and of the +beginning of a solemn judicial proceeding. Every word rings with Roman +authority and administrative capacity. The suggestion is also prominent +that accusation was a more important element in Roman criminal trials +than inquisition. This suggestion is reënforced by actual _dictum_ from +the lips of Pilate's successor in the same place: "It is not the manner +of the Romans to deliver any man to die, before that he which is accused +have the accusers face to face, and have license to answer for himself +concerning the crime laid against him."[67] + +The chief priests and scribes sought to evade this question by +answering: + +"If he were not a malefactor, we would not have delivered him up unto +thee."[68] + +They meant by this that they desired the procurator to waive his right +to retry the case; accept their trial as conclusive; and content himself +with the mere execution of the sentence. In this reply of the priests to +the initial question of the Roman judge, is also revealed the further +question of that conflict of jurisdiction between Jews and Romans that +we have already so fully discussed. "If he were not a malefactor, we +would not have delivered him up unto thee." These words from the mouths +of the priests were intended to convey to the mind of Pilate the Jewish +notion that a judgment by the Sanhedrin was all-sufficient; and that +they merely needed his countersign to justify execution. But Pilate did +not take the hint or view the question in that light. In a tone of +contemptuous scorn he simply replied: + +"Take ye him, and judge him according to your law." + +This answer indicates that Pilate did not, at first, understand the +exact nature of the proceedings against Jesus. He evidently did not know +that the prisoner had been charged with a capital offense; else he would +not have suggested that the Jews take jurisdiction of the matter. This +is clearly shown from the further reply of the priestly accusers: + +"It is not lawful for us to put any man to death."[69] + +The advice of Pilate and the retort of the Jews have been construed in +two ways. A certain class of critics have contended that the procurator +granted to the Jews in this instance the right to carry out capital +punishment, as others have maintained was the case in the execution of +Stephen. This construction argues that Pilate knew at once the nature of +the accusation. + +Another class of writers contend that the governor, by this language, +merely proposed to them one of the minor penalties which they were +already empowered to execute. The objection to the first interpretation +is that the Jews would have been delighted to have such power conferred +upon them, and would have exercised it; unless it is true, as has been +held, that they were desirous of throwing the odium of Christ's death +upon the Romans. The second construction is entirely admissible, because +it is consonant with the theory that jurisdiction in capital cases had +been withdrawn from the Sanhedrin, but that the trial and punishment of +petty offenses still remained with it. A third and more reasonable +interpretation still is that when Pilate said, "Take ye him and judge +him according to your law," he intended to give expression to the hatred +and bitterness of his cynical and sarcastic soul. He despised the Jews +most heartily, and he knew that they hated him. He had repeatedly +outraged their religious feelings by introducing images and shields into +the Holy City. He had devoted the Corban funds to unhallowed purposes, +and had mingled the blood of the Galileans with their sacrifices. In +short, he had left nothing undone to humiliate and degrade them. Now +here was another opportunity. By telling them to judge Jesus according +to their own laws, he knew that they must make a reply which would be +wounding and galling to their race and national pride. He knew that they +would have to confess that sovereignty and nationality were gone from +them. Such a confession from them would be music to his ear. The +substance of his advice to the Jews was to exercise their rights to a +certain point, to the moment of condemnation; but to stop at the place +where their sweetest desires would be gratified with the exercise of the +rights of sovereignty and nationality. + +Modern poetry supports this interpretation of ancient history. "The +Merchant of Venice" reveals the same method of heaping ridicule upon a +Jew by making him impotent to execute the law. Shylock, the Jew, in +contracting a usurious loan, inserted a stipulation that if the debt +should not be paid when due, the debtor must allow a pound of flesh to +be cut from his body. The debt was not discharged at the maturity of the +bond, and Shylock made application to the Doge to have the pound of +human flesh delivered to him in accordance with the compact. But Portia, +a friend of the debtor, though a woman, assumed the garb and affected +the speech of a lawyer in his defense; and, in pleading the case, called +tauntingly and exultingly to the Jew: + + This bond doth give thee here no jot of blood; + The words expressly are, a pound of flesh: + Take then thy bond, take thou thy pound of flesh; + But, in the cutting it, if thou dost shed + One drop of Christian blood, thy lands and goods + Are by the laws of Venice confiscate + Unto the State of Venice.[70] + +But whatever special interpretation may be placed upon the opening words +passed between the priestly accusers and the Roman judge, it is clearly +evident that the latter did not intend to surrender to the former the +right to impose and execute a sentence of death. The substance of +Pilate's address to the Jews, when they sought to evade his question +concerning the accusation which they had to bring against Jesus, was +this: I have asked for a specific charge against the man whom you have +brought bound to me. You have given not a direct, but an equivocal +answer. I infer that the crime with which you charge him is one against +your own laws. With such offenses I do not wish to meddle. Therefore, I +say unto you: "Take ye him and judge him according to your law." If I am +not to know the specific charge against him, I will not assume +cognizance of the case. If the accusation and the facts relied upon to +support it are not placed before me, I will not sentence the man to +death; and, under the law, you cannot. + +The Jews were thus thwarted in their designs. They had hoped to secure a +countersign of their own judgment without a retrial by the governor. +They now found him in no yielding and accommodating mood. They were thus +forced against their will and expectation to formulate specific charges +against the prisoner in their midst. The indictment as they presented +it, is given in a single verse of St. Luke: + +"And they began to accuse him, saying, We found this fellow perverting +the nation, and forbidding to give tribute to Cæsar, saying that he +himself is Christ, a King."[71] + +It is noteworthy that in this general accusation is a radical departure +from the charges of the night before. In the passage from the Sanhedrin +to the Prætorium, the indictment had completely changed. Jesus had not +been condemned on any of the charges recorded in this sentence of St. +Luke. He had been convicted on the charge of blasphemy. But before +Pilate he is now charged with high treason. To meet the emergency of a +change of jurisdiction, the priestly accusers converted the accusation +from a religious into a political offense. It may be asked why the +Sanhedrists did not maintain the same charges before Pilate that they +themselves had considered before their own tribunal. Why did they not +lead Jesus into the presence of the Roman magistrate and say: O +Governor, we have here a Galilean blasphemer of Jehovah. We want him +tried on the charge of blasphemy, convicted and sentenced to death. Why +did they not do this? They were evidently too shrewd. Why? Because, in +legal parlance, they would have had no standing in court. Why? Because +blasphemy was not an offense against Roman law, and Roman judges would +generally assume cognizance of no such charges. + +The Jews understood perfectly well at the trial before Pilate the +principle of Roman procedure so admirably expressed a few years later by +Gallio, proconsul of Achaia, and brother of Seneca: "If it were a matter +of wrong or wicked lewdness, O ye Jews, reason would that I should bear +with you: but if it be a question of words and names, and of your law, +look ye to it; for I will be no judge of such matters."[72] This +attitude of Roman governors toward offenses of a religious nature +perfectly explains the Jewish change of front in the matter of the +accusation against Jesus. They merely wanted to get themselves into a +Roman court on charges that a Roman judge would consent to try. In the +threefold accusation recorded by the third Evangelist, they fully +accomplished this result. + +The first count in the indictment, that He was perverting the nation, +was vague and indefinite, but was undoubtedly against Roman law, because +it was in the nature of sedition, which was one of the forms of treason +under Roman jurisprudence. This charge of perverting the nation was in +the nature of the revival of the accusation of sedition which they had +first brought forward by means of the false witnesses before their own +tribunal, and that had been abandoned because of the contradictory +testimony of these witnesses. + +The second count in the indictment, that He had forbidden to give +tribute to Cæsar, was of a more serious nature than the first. A +refusal, in modern times, to pay taxes or an attempt to obstruct their +collection, is a mild offense compared with a similar act under ancient +Roman law. To forbid to pay tribute to Cæsar in Judea was a form of +treason, not only because it was an open defiance of the laws of the +Roman state, but also because it was a direct denial of Roman +sovereignty in Palestine. Such conduct was treason under the definitions +of both Ulpian and Cicero. The Jews knew the gravity of the offense when +they sought to entrap Jesus in the matter of paying tribute to Cæsar. +They believed that any answer to the question that they had asked, would +be fatal to Him. If He advised to pay the imperial tribute, He could be +charged with being an enemy to His countrymen, the Jews. If He advised +not to pay the tribute, He would be charged with being a rebellious +subject of Cæsar. His reply disconcerted and bewildered them when He +said: "Render therefore unto Cæsar the things which are Cæsar's; and +unto God the things that are God's."[73] In this sublime declaration, +the Nazarene announced the immortal principle of the separation of +church and state, and of religious freedom in all the ages. And when, in +the face of His answer, they still charged Him with forbidding to pay +tribute to Cæsar, they seem to have been guilty of deliberate falsehood. +Keim calls the charge "a very flagrant lie." Both at Capernaum,[74] +where Roman taxes were gathered, and at Jerusalem,[75] where religious +dues were offered, Jesus seems to have been both a good citizen and a +pious Jew. "Jésus bon citoyen" (Jesus a good citizen) is the title of a +chapter in the famous work of Bossuet entitled "Politique tirée de +l'Ecriture sainte." In it the great French ecclesiastic describes very +beautifully the law-abiding qualities of the citizen-prophet of Galilee. +In pressing the false charge that he had advised not to pay taxes to +Rome, the enemies of Jesus revealed a peculiar and wanton malignity. + +The third count in the indictment, that the prisoner had claimed to be +"Christ a King," was the last and greatest of the charges. By this He +was deliberately accused of high treason against Cæsar, the gravest +offense known to Roman law. Such an accusation could not be ignored by +Pilate as a loyal deputy of Tiberius. The Roman monarch saw high treason +in every word and act that was uncomplimentary to his person or +dangerous to his power. Fifty-two prosecutions for treason, says +Tacitus, took place during his reign. + +The charges of high treason and sedition against Jesus were all the more +serious because the Romans believed Palestine to be the hotbed of +insurrection and sedition, and the birthplace of pretenders to kingly +powers. They had recently had trouble with claimants to thrones, some of +them from the lowest and most ignoble ranks. Judas, the son of Hezekiah, +whom Herod had caused to be put to death, proclaimed royal intentions, +gathered quite a multitude of adherents about him in the neighborhood of +Sepphoris in Galilee, raised an insurrection, assaulted and captured the +palace of the king at Sepphoris, seized all the weapons that were stored +away in it, and armed his followers with them. Josephus does not tell us +what became of this royal pretender; but he does say that "he became +terrible to all men, by tearing and rending those that came near +him."[76] + +In the province of Perea, a certain Simon, who was formerly a slave of +Herod, collected a band of followers, and had himself proclaimed king by +them. He burned down the royal palace at Jericho, after having plundered +it. A detachment under the command of the Roman general Gratus made +short work of the pretensions of Simon by capturing his adherents and +putting him to death.[77] + +Again, a certain peasant named Athronges, formerly a shepherd, claimed +to be a king, and for a long time, in concert with his four brothers, +annoyed the authorities of the country, until the insurrection was +finally broken up by Gratus and Ptolemy.[78] + +In short, during the life of Jesus, Judea was passing through a period +of great religious and political excitement. The Messiah was expected +and a king was hoped for; and numerous pretenders appeared from time to +time. The Roman governors were constantly on the outlook for acts of +sedition and treason. And when the Jews led Jesus into the presence of +Pilate and charged Him with claiming to be a king, the recent cases of +Judas, Simon, and Athronges must have arisen in his mind, quickened his +interest in the pretensions of the prisoner of the Jews, and must have +awakened his sense of loyalty as Cæsar's representative. The lowliness +of Jesus, being a carpenter, did not greatly allay his fears; for he +must have remembered that Simon was once a slave and that Athronges was +nothing more than a simple shepherd. + +When Pilate had heard the accusations of the Jews, he deliberately arose +from his judgment seat, gathered his toga about him, motioned the mob to +stand back, and beckoned Jesus to follow him into the palace. St. John +alone tells us of this occurrence.[79] + +At another time, in the Galilean simplicity and freedom of His nature, +the Prophet of Nazareth had spoken with a tinge of censure and sarcasm +of the rulers of the Gentiles that lorded it over their subjects,[80] +and had declared that "they that wear soft clothing are in kings' +houses."[81] Now the lowly Jewish peasant was entering for the first +time a palace of one of the rulers of the Gentiles in which were soft +raiment and royal purple. The imagination is helpless to picture the +historical reflections born of the memories of that hour. A meek and +lowly carpenter enters a king's palace on his way to an ignominious +death upon the cross; and yet the greatest kings of all the centuries +that followed were humble worshipers in their palaces before the cross +that had been the instrument of his torture and degradation. Such is the +irony of history; such is the mystery of God's providence; such is the +mystic ebb and flow of the tides and currents of destiny and fate. + +Of the examination of Jesus inside the palace, little is known. Pilate, +it seems, brushed the first two charges aside as unworthy of serious +consideration; and proceeded at once to examine the prisoner on the +charge that he pretended to be a king. "If," Pilate must have said, +"the fellow pretends to be a king, as Simon and Athronges did before +him; if he says that Judea has a right to have a king other than Cæsar, +he is guilty of treason, and it is my solemn duty as deputy of Tiberius +to ascertain the fact and have him put to death." + +The beginning of the interrogation of Jesus within the palace is +reported by all the Evangelists in the same words. Addressing the +prisoner, Pilate asked: "Art thou the King of the Jews?" "Jesus answered +him, Sayest thou this thing of thyself, or did others tell it thee of +me?"[82] + +This was a most natural and fitting response of the Nazarene to the +Roman. It was necessary first to understand the exact nature of the +question before an appropriate answer could be made. Jesus simply wished +to know whether the question was asked from a Roman or a Jewish, from a +temporal or a spiritual standpoint. If the interrogation was directed +from a Roman, a temporal point of view, His answer would be an emphatic +negative. If the inquiry had been prompted by the Jews, it was then +pregnant with religious meaning, and called for a different reply; one +that would at once repudiate pretensions to earthly royalty, and, at the +same time, assert His claims to the Messiahship and heavenly +sovereignty. + +"Pilate answered, Am I a Jew? Thine own nation and the chief priests +have delivered thee unto me: What hast thou done?" + +To this Jesus replied: "My kingdom is not of this world: if my kingdom +were of this world, then would my servants fight, that I should not be +delivered to the Jews: but now is my kingdom not from hence."[83] + +This reply of the Master is couched in that involved, aphoristic, +strangely beautiful style that characterized His speech at critical +moments in His career. Its import is clear, though expressed in a double +sense: first from the Roman political, and then from the Jewish +religious side. + +First He answered negatively: "My kingdom is not of this world." + +By this He meant that there was no possible rivalry between Him and +Cæsar. But, in making this denial, He had used two words of grave +import: My Kingdom. He had used one word that struck the ear of Pilate +with electric force: the word Kingdom. In the use of that word, +according to Pilate's reasoning, Jesus stood self-convicted. For how, +thought Pilate, can He pretend to have a Kingdom, unless He pretends to +be a king? And then, as if to cow and intimidate the prisoner, as if to +avoid an unpleasant issue of the affair, he probably advanced +threateningly upon the Christ, and asked the question which the Bible +puts in his mouth: "Art thou a king then?" + +Rising from the simple dignity of a man to the beauty and glory and +grandeur of a God, Jesus used the most wonderful, beautiful, meaningful +words in the literature of the earth: "Thou sayest that I am a king. To +this end was I born, and for this cause came I into the world, that I +should bear witness unto the truth. Everyone that is of the truth +heareth my voice."[84] + +This language contains a perfectly clear description of the kingdom of +Christ and of His title to spiritual sovereignty. His was not an empire +of matter, but a realm of truth. His kingdom differed widely from that +of Cæsar. Cæsar's empire was over the bodies of men; Christ's over their +souls. The strength of Cæsar's kingdom was in citadels, armies, navies, +the towering Alps, the all-engirdling seas. The strength of the kingdom +of the Christ was and is and will ever be in sentiments, principles, +ideas, and the saving power of a divine word. But, as clever and +brilliant as he must have been, Pilate could not grasp the true meaning +of the words of the Prophet. The spiritual and intellectual grandeur of +the Galilean peasant was beyond the reach of the Roman lord and +governor. In a cynical and sarcastic mood, Pilate turned to Jesus and +asked: "What is truth?"[85] + +This pointed question was the legitimate offspring of the soul of Pilate +and a natural product of the Roman civilization of his age. It was not +asked with any real desire to know the truth; for he turned to leave the +palace before an answer could be given. It was simply a blank response +born of mental wretchedness and doubt. If prompted by any silent +yearning for a knowledge of the truth, his conduct indicated clearly +that he did not hope to have that longing satisfied by the words of the +humble prisoner in his charge. "What is truth?" An instinctive utterance +this, prompted by previous sad reflections upon the wrecks of philosophy +in search of truth. + +We have reason to believe that Pilate was a man of brilliant parts and +studious habits. His marriage into the Roman royal family argued not +only splendid physical endowments, but rare intellectual gifts as well. +Only on this hypothesis can we explain his rise from obscurity in Spain +to a place in the royal family as husband of the granddaughter of +Augustus and foster daughter of Tiberius. Then he was familiar, if he +was thus endowed and accomplished, with the despairing efforts of his +age and country to solve the mysteries of life and to ascertain the end +of man. He had doubtless, as a student, "mused and mourned over Greece, +and its search of truth intellectual--its keen and fruitless search, +never-ending, ever beginning, across wastes of doubt and seas of +speculation lighted by uncertain stars." He knew full well that Roman +philosophy had been wrecked and stranded amidst the floating débris of +Grecian thought and speculation. He had thought that the _ultima ratio_ +of Academicians and Peripatetics, of Stoics and Epicureans had been +reached. But here was a new proposition--a kingdom of truth whose +sovereign had as subjects mere vagaries, simple mental conceptions +called truths--a kingdom whose boundaries were not mountains, seas, and +rivers, but clouds, hopes, and dreams. + +What did Pilate think of Jesus? He evidently regarded Him as an amiable +enthusiast, a harmless religious fanatic from whom Cæsar had nothing to +fear. While alone with Jesus in the palace, he must have reasoned thus +with himself, silently and contemptuously: The mob outside tells me that +this man is Rome's enemy. Foolish thought! We know who Cæsar's enemies +are. We have seen and heard and felt the enemies of Rome--barbarians +from beyond the Danube and the Rhine--great strong men, who can drive a +javelin not only through a man, but a horse, as well. These are Cæsar's +enemies. This strange and melancholy man, whose subjects are mere +abstract truths, and whose kingdom is beyond the skies, can be no enemy +of Cæsar. + +Believing this, he went out to the rabble and pronounced a verdict of +acquittal: "I find in him no fault at all." + +Pilate had tried and acquitted Jesus. Why did he not release Him, and, +if need be, protect Him with his cohort from the assaults of the Jews? +Mankind has asked for nearly two thousand years why a Roman, with the +blood of a Roman in him, with the glorious prestige and stern authority +of the Roman empire at his back, with a Roman legion at his command, did +not have the courage to do the high Roman act. Pilate was a moral and +intellectual coward of arrant type. This is his proper characterization +and a fitting answer to the world's eternal question. + +The Jews heard his sentence of acquittal in sullen silence. Desperately +resolved to prevent His release, they began at once to frame new +accusations. + +"And they were the more fierce, saying, He stirreth up the people, +teaching throughout all Jewry, beginning from Galilee to this +place."[86] + +This charge was intended by the Jews to serve a double purpose: to +strengthen the general accusation of high treason recorded by St. Luke; +and to embitter and poison the mind of the judge against the prisoner by +telling Pilate that Jesus was from Galilee. In ancient times Galilee was +noted as the hotbed of riot and sedition. The Galileans were brave and +hardy mountaineers who feared neither Rome nor Judea. As champions of +Jewish nationality, they were the fiercest opponents of Roman rule; and +in the final catastrophe of Jewish history they were the last to be +driven from the battlements of Jerusalem. As advocates and preservers of +the purity of the primitive Jewish faith, they were relentless foes of +Pharisaic and Sadducean hypocrisy as it was manifested by the Judean +keepers of the Temple. The Galileans were hated, therefore, by both +Romans and Judeans; and the Sanhedrists believed that Pilate would make +short work of Jesus if he learned that the prisoner was from Galilee. +But a different train of thought was excited in the mind of the Roman +governor. He was thinking about one thing, and they about another. +Pilate showed himself throughout the trial a craven coward and +contemptible timeserver. From beginning to end, his conduct was a record +of cowardice and subterfuge. He was constantly looking for loopholes of +escape. His heart's desire was to satisfy at once both his conscience +and the mob. The mention of Galilee was a ray of light that fell across +the troubled path of the cowardly and vacillating judge. He believed +that he saw an avenue of escape. He asked the Jews if Jesus was a +Galilean. An affirmative reply was given. Pilate then determined to rid +himself of responsibility by sending Jesus to be tried by the governor +of the province to which He belonged. He felt that fortune favored his +design; for Herod, Tetrarch of Galilee, was at that very moment in +Jerusalem in attendance upon the Passover feast. He acted at once upon +the happy idea; and, under the escort of a detachment of the Prætorian +Cohort, Jesus was led away to the palace of the Maccabees where Herod +was accustomed to stop when he came to the Holy City. + + + + +CHAPTER IX + +JESUS BEFORE HEROD + + +It was still early morning when Jesus, guarded by Roman soldiers and +surrounded by a jeering, scoffing, raging multitude of Jews, was +conducted to the palace of the Maccabees on the slope of Zion, the +official residence of Herod when he came to Jerusalem to attend the +sacred festivals. This place was to the northeast of the palace of Herod +and only a few streets distant from it. The journey must have lasted +therefore only a few minutes. + +But who was this Herod before whom Jesus now appeared in chains? History +mentions many Herods, the greatest and meanest of whom was Herod I, +surnamed the Great, who ordered the massacre of the Innocents at +Bethlehem. At his death, he bequeathed his kingdom to his sons. But +being a client-prince, a _rex socius_, he could not finally dispose of +his realm without the consent of Rome. Herod had made several wills, +and, at his death, contests arose between his sons for the vacant throne +of the father. Several embassies were sent to Rome to argue the rights +of the different claimants. Augustus granted the petitioners many +audiences; and, after long delay, finally confirmed practically the last +will of Herod. This decision gave Judea, Samaria, and Idumea, with a +tribute of six hundred talents, to Archelaus. Philip received the +regions of Gaulanitis, Auranitis, Trachonitis, Batanea, and Iturea, with +an income of one hundred talents. Herod Antipas was given the provinces +of Galilee and Perea, with an annual tribute of two hundred talents and +the title of Tetrarch. The title of Ethnarch was conferred upon +Archelaus. + +Herod Antipas, Tetrarch of Galilee, was the man before whom Jesus, his +subject, was now led to be judged. The pages of sacred history mention +the name of no more shallow and contemptible character than this petty +princeling, this dissolute Idumæan Sadducee. Compared with him, Judas is +eminently respectable. Judas had a conscience which, when smitten with +remorse, drove him to suicide. It is doubtful whether Herod had a spark +of that celestial fire which we call conscience. He was a typical +Oriental prince whose chief aim in life was the gratification of his +passions. The worthlessness of his character was so pronounced that it +excited a nauseating disgust in the mind of Jesus, and disturbed for a +moment that serene and lofty magnanimity which characterized His whole +life and conduct. To Herod is addressed the only purely contemptuous +epithet that the Master is ever recorded to have used. "And he said unto +them, Go ye, and tell _that fox_, Behold, I cast out devils, and I do +cures to-day and to-morrow, and the third day I shall be perfected."[87] + +The son of a father who was ten times married and had murdered many of +his wives; the murderer himself of John the Baptist; the slave of a lewd +and wicked woman--what better could be expected than a cruel, crafty, +worthless character, whose attributes were those of the fox? + +But why was Jesus sent to Herod? Doubtless because Pilate wished to +shift the responsibility from his own shoulders, as a Roman judge, to +those of the Galilean Tetrarch. A subsidiary purpose may have been to +conciliate Herod, with whom, history says, he had had a quarrel. The +cause of the trouble between them is not known. Many believe that the +murder of the Galileans while sacrificing in the Temple was the origin +of the unpleasantness. Others contend that this occurrence was the +result and not the cause of the quarrel between Pilate and Herod. Still +others believe that the question of the occupancy of the magnificent +palace of Herod engendered ill feeling between the rival potentates. +Herod had all the love of gorgeous architecture and luxurious living +that characterized the whole Herodian family. And, besides, he doubtless +felt that he should be permitted to occupy the palace of his ancestors +on the occasion of his visits to Jerusalem. But Pilate would naturally +object to this, as he was the representative of almighty Rome in a +conquered province and could not afford to give way, in a matter of +palatial residence, to a petty local prince. But, whatever the cause, +the unfriendliness between them undoubtedly had much to do with the +transfer of Jesus from the Prætorium to the palace of the Maccabees. + +"And when Herod saw Jesus, he was exceeding glad: for he was desirous to +see him for a long season, because he had heard many things of him; and +he hoped to have seen some miracle done by him."[88] + +This passage of Scripture throws much light upon Herod's opinion and +estimate of Jesus. Fearing that he was the successor and imitator of +Judas the Gaulonite, Herod at first sought to drive Him from his +province by sending spies to warn Him to flee. The courageous and +contemptuous reply of Jesus, in which he styled Herod "that fox," put an +end to further attempts at intimidation. + +The notions of the Galilean Tetrarch concerning the Galilean Prophet +seem to have changed from time to time. Herod had once regarded Jesus +with feelings of superstitious dread and awe, as the risen Baptist. But +these apprehensions had now partially passed away, and he had come to +look upon the Christ as a clever impostor whose claims to kingship and +Messiahship were mere vulgar dreams. For three years, Galilee had been +ringing with the fame of the Miracle-worker; but Herod had never seen +his famous subject. Now was his chance. And he anticipated a rare +occasion of magic and merriment. He doubtless regarded Jesus as a clever +magician whose performance would make a rich and racy programme for an +hour's amusement of his court. This was no doubt his dominant feeling +regarding the Nazarene. But it is nevertheless very probable that his +Idumæan cowardice and superstition still conjured images of a drunken +debauch, the dance of death, and the bloody head; and connected them +with the strange man now before him. + +No doubt he felt highly pleased and gratified to have Jesus sent to him. +The petty and obsequious vassal king was caught in Pilate's snare of +flattery. The sending of a noted prisoner to his judgment seat by a +Roman procurator was no ordinary compliment. But Herod was at once too +serious and too frivolous to assume jurisdiction of any charges against +this prisoner, who had offended both the religious and secular powers of +Palestine. To condemn Jesus would be to incur the ill will and +resentment of his many followers in his own province of Galilee. +Besides, he had already suffered keenly from dread and apprehension, +caused by the association of the names of John and Jesus, and he had +learned that from the blood of one murdered prophet would spring the +message and mission of another still more powerful and majestic. He was, +therefore, unwilling to embroil himself and his dominions with the +heavenly powers by condemning their earthly representatives. + +Again, though weak, crafty and vacillating, he still had enough of the +cunning of the fox not to wish to excite the enmity of Cæsar by a false +judgment upon a noted character whose devoted followers might, at any +moment, send an embassy to Rome to make serious and successful charges +to the Emperor. He afterwards lost his place as Tetrarch through the +suspicions of Caligula, who received news from Galilee that Herod was +conspiring against him.[89] The premonitions of that unhappy day +probably now filled the mind of the Idumæan. + +On the other hand, Herod was too frivolous to conduct from beginning to +end a solemn judicial proceeding. He evidently intended to ignore the +pretensions of Jesus, and to convert the occasion of His coming into a +festive hour in which languor and drowsiness would be banished from his +court. He had heard much of the miracles of the prisoner in his +presence. Rumor had wafted to his ears strange accounts of marvelous +feats. One messenger had brought news that the Prophet of Nazareth had +raised from the dead a man named Lazarus from Bethany, and also the son +of the widow of Nain. Another had declared that the laws of nature +suspended themselves on occasion at His behest; that when He walked out +on the sea, He did not sink; and that He stilled the tempests with a +mere motion of His hand. Still another reported that the mighty magician +could take mud from the pool and restore sight; that a woman, ill for +many months, need only touch the hem of His garment to be made whole +again; and that if He but touched the flesh of a leper, it would become +as tender and beautiful as that of a new-born babe. These reports had +doubtless been received by Herod with sneers and mocking. But he +gathered from them that Jesus was a clever juggler whose powers of +entertainment were very fine; and this was sufficient for him and his +court. + +"Then he questioned with him in many words; but he answered him +nothing."[90] + +Herod thus opened the examination of Jesus by interrogating Him at +length. The Master treated his insolent questions with contemptuous +scorn and withering silence. No doubt this conduct of the lowly Nazarene +greatly surprised and nettled the supercilious Idumæan. He had imagined +that Jesus would be delighted to give an exhibition of His skill amidst +royal surroundings. He could not conceive that a peasant would observe +the contempt of silence in the presence of a prince. He found it +difficult, therefore, to explain this silence. He probably mistook it +for stupidity, and construed it to mean that the pretensions of Jesus +were fraudulent. He doubtless believed that his captive would not work a +miracle because He could not; and that in His failure to do so were +exploded His claims to kingship and Messiahship. At all events, he was +evidently deeply perplexed; and this perplexity of the Tetrarch, in its +turn, only served to anger the accusing priests who stood by. + +"And the chief priests and scribes stood and vehemently accused +him."[91] + +This verse from St. Luke clearly reveals the difference in the temper +and purposes of the Sanhedrists on the one hand, and of Herod on the +other. The latter merely intended to make of the case of Jesus a +farcical proceeding in which the jugglery of the prisoner would break +the monotony of a day and banish all care during an idle hour. The +priests, on the other hand, were desperately bent upon a serious outcome +of the affair, as the words "vehemently accused" suggest. In the face of +their repeated accusations, Jesus continued to maintain a noble and +majestic silence. + +Modern criticism has sought to analyze and to explain the behavior of +Christ at the court of Herod. "How comes it," asks Strauss, "that Jesus, +not only the Jesus without sin of the orthodox school, but also the +Jesus who bowed to the constituted authorities, who says 'Give unto +Cæsar that which is Cæsar's'--how comes it that he refuses the answer +due to Herod?" The trouble with this question is that it falsely assumes +that there was an "answer due to Herod." In the first place, it must be +considered that Herod was not Cæsar. In the next place, we must remember +that St. Luke, the sole Evangelist who records the event, does not +explain the character of the questions asked by Herod. Strauss himself +says that they "displayed simple curiosity." Admitting that Jesus +acknowledged the jurisdiction of Herod, was He compelled to answer +irrelevant and impertinent questions? We do not know what these +questions were. But we have reason to believe that, coming from Herod, +they were not such as Jesus was called upon to answer. It is very +probable that the prisoner knew His legal rights; and that He did not +believe that Herod, sitting at Jerusalem, a place without his province, +was judicially empowered to examine Him. If He was not legally compelled +to answer, we are not surprised that Jesus refused to do so as a matter +of graciousness and accommodation; for we must not forget that the +Man-God felt that He was being questioned by a vulgar animal of the most +cunning type. + +But what is certain from the Scriptural context is that Herod felt +chagrined and mortified at his failure to evoke from Jesus any response. +He was enraged that his plans had been foiled by one of his own +subjects, a simple Galilean peasant. To show his resentment, he then +resorted to mockery and abuse. + +"And Herod with his men of war set him at nought, and mocked him, and +arrayed him in a gorgeous robe, and sent him again to Pilate."[92] + +We are not informed by St. Luke what special charge the priests brought +against Jesus at the judgment seat of Herod. He simply says that they +"stood and vehemently accused him." But we are justified in inferring +that they repeated substantially the same accusations which had been +made before Pilate, that He had claimed to be Christ a King. This +conclusion best explains the mockery which they sought to heap upon Him; +for in ancient times, when men became candidates for office, they put on +white gowns to notify the people of their candidacy. Again, Tacitus +assures us that white garments were the peculiar dress of illustrious +persons; and that the tribunes and consuls wore them when marching +before the eagles of the legions into battle.[93] + +The meaning of the mockery of Herod was simply this: Behold O Pilate, +the illustrious candidate for the kingship of the Jews! Behold the +imperial gown of the royal peasant pretender! + +The appearance before Herod resulted only in the humiliation of Jesus +and the reconciliation of Pilate and Herod. + +"And the same day Pilate and Herod were made friends together: for +before they were at enmity between themselves."[94] + + + + +CHAPTER X + +JESUS AGAIN BEFORE PILATE + + +The sending of Jesus to Herod had not ended the case; and Pilate was +undoubtedly very bitterly disappointed. He had hoped that the Galilean +Tetrarch would assume complete jurisdiction and dispose finally of the +matter. On the contrary, Herod simply mocked and brutalized the prisoner +and had him sent back to Pilate. The Roman construed the action of the +Idumæan to mean an acquittal, and he so stated to the Jews. + +"And Pilate, when he had called together the chief priests and the +rulers and the people, Said unto them, Ye have brought this man unto me, +as one that perverteth the people: and, behold, I, having examined him +before you, have found no fault in this man touching those things +whereof ye accuse him: No, nor yet Herod: for I sent you to him; and, +lo, nothing worthy of death is done unto him. I will therefore chastise +him, and release him."[95] + +The proposal to scourge the prisoner was the second of those criminal +and cowardly subterfuges through which Pilate sought at once to satisfy +his conscience and the demands of the mob. The chastisement was to be a +sop to the rage of the rabble, a sort of salve to the wounded pride of +the priests who were disappointed that no sentence of death had been +imposed. The release was intended as a tribute to justice, as a soothing +balm and an atoning sacrifice to his own outraged sense of justice. The +injustice of this monstrous proposal was not merely contemptible, it was +execrable. If Jesus was guilty, He should have been punished; if +innocent, he should have been set free and protected from the assaults +of the Jews. + +The offer of scourging first and then the release of the prisoner was +indignantly rejected by the rabble. In his desperation, Pilate thought +of another loophole of escape. + +The Evangelists tell us that it was a custom upon Passover day to +release to the people any single prisoner that they desired. St. Luke +asserts that the governor was under an obligation to do so.[96] Whether +this custom was of Roman or Hebrew origin is not certainly known. Many +New Testament interpreters have seen in the custom a symbol of the +liberty and deliverance realized by Israel in its passage from Egypt at +the time of the first great Passover. Others have traced this custom to +the Roman practice of releasing a slave at the Lectisternia, or banquets +to the gods.[97] Aside from its origin, it is interesting as an +illustration of a universal principle in enlightened jurisprudence of +lodging somewhere, usually with the chief executive of a race or +nation, a power of pardon which serves as an extinction of the penal +sanction. This merciful principle is a pathetic acknowledgment of the +weakness and imperfection of all human schemes of justice. + +Pilate resolved to escape from his confusion and embarrassment by +delivering Jesus to the people, who happened to appear in great numbers +at the very moment when Christ returned from Herod. The multitude had +come to demand the usual Passover deliverance of a prisoner. The arrival +of the crowd of disinterested strangers was inopportune for the priests +and elders who were clamoring for the life of the prisoner in their +midst. They marked with keen discernment the resolution of the governor +to release Jesus. They were equal to the emergency, and began to whisper +among the crowd that Barabbas should be asked. + +"And they had then a notable prisoner, called Barabbas. Therefore when +they were gathered together, Pilate said unto them, Whom will ye that I +release unto you? Barabbas, or Jesus which is called Christ? For he knew +that for envy they had delivered him."[98] + +Pilate believed that the newly arrived multitude would be free from the +envy of the priests, and that they would be satisfied with Jesus whom +they had, a few days before, welcomed into Jerusalem with shouts of joy. +When they demanded Barabbas, he still believed that if he offered them +the alternative choice of a robber and a prophet, they would choose the +latter. + +"But the chief priests and elders persuaded the multitude that they +should ask Barabbas, and destroy Jesus. The governor answered and said +unto them, Whether of the twain will ye that I release unto you? They +said, Barabbas. Pilate saith unto them, What shall I do then with Jesus +which is called the Christ? They all say unto him, Let him be +crucified."[99] + +"Barabbas, or Jesus which is called the Christ?" Such was the +alternative offered by a Roman governor to a Jewish mob. Barabbas was a +murderer and a robber. Jesus was the sinless Son of God. An erring race +wandering in the darkness of sin and perpetually tasting the bitterness +of life beneath the sun, preferred a criminal to a prophet. And to the +ghastliness of the choice was added a touch of the irony of fate. The +names of both the prisoners were in signification the same. Barabbas was +also called Jesus. And Jesus Barabbas meant Jesus the Son of the Father. +This frightful coincidence was so repugnant to the Gospel writers that +they are generally silent upon it. In this connection, Strauss remarks: +"According to one reading, the man's complete name was [Greek: hiêsous +barabbas], which fact is noted only because Olshausen considers it +noteworthy. Barabbas signifies 'son of the father,' and consequently +Olshausen exclaims: 'All that was essential to the Redeemer appears +ridiculous in the assassin!' and he deems applicable the verse: '_Ludit +in humanis divina potentia rebus._' We can see nothing in Olshausen's +remark but a _ludus humanæ impotentiæ_."[100] + +Amidst the tumult provoked by the angry passions of the mob, a +messenger arrived from his wife bearing news that filled the soul of +Pilate with superstitious dread. Claudia had had a dream of strange and +ill-boding character. + +"When he was set down on the judgment seat, his wife sent unto him, +saying, Have thou nothing to do with that just man: For I have suffered +many things this day in a dream because of him."[101] + +This dream of Pilate's wife is nothing strange. Profane history mentions +many similar ones. Calpurnia, Cæsar's wife, forewarned him in a dream +not to go to the senate house; and the greatest of the Romans fell +beneath the daggers of Casca and Brutus, because he failed to heed the +admonition of his wife. + +In the apocryphal report of Pilate to the emperor Tiberius of the facts +of the crucifixion, the words of warning sent by Claudia are given: +"Beware said she to me, beware and touch not that man, for he is holy. +Last night I saw him in a vision. He was walking on the waters. He was +flying on the wings of the winds. He spoke to the tempest and to the +fishes of the lake; all were obedient to him. Behold! the torrent in +Mount Kedron flows with blood, the statues of Cæsar are filled with the +filth of Gemoniæ, the columns of the Interium have given away and the +sun is veiled in mourning like a vestal in the tomb. O, Pilate, evil +awaits thee if thou wilt not listen to the prayer of thy wife. Dread the +curse of the Roman Senate, dread the powers of Cæsar." + +This noble and lofty language, this tender and pathetic speech, may +appear strange to those who remember the hereditary stigma of the woman. +If this dream was sent from heaven, the recollection is forced upon us +that the medium of its communication was the illegitimate child of a +lewd woman. But then her character was probably not worse than that of +Mary Magdalene, who was very dear to the Master and has been canonized +not only by the church, but by the reverence of the world. + +It is certain, however, that the dream of Claudia had no determining +effect upon the conduct of Pilate. Resolution and irresolution +alternately controlled him. Fear and superstition were uppermost in both +mind and heart. The Jews beheld with anxious and discerning glance the +manifestation of the deep anguish of his soul. They feared that the +governor was about to pronounce a final judgment of acquittal. +Exhibiting fierce faces and frenzied feelings, they moved closer to him +and exclaimed: "We have a law, and by our law he ought to die, because +he made himself the Son of God."[102] + +Despairing of convicting Jesus on a political charge, they deliberately +revived a religious one, and presented to Pilate substantially the same +accusation upon which they had tried the prisoner before their own +tribunal. + +"He made himself the Son of God!" These words filled Pilate's mind with +a strange and awful meaning. In the mythology and ancient annals of his +race, there were many legends of the sons of the gods who walked the +earth in human form and guise. They were thus indistinguishable from +mortal men. It was dangerous to meet them; for to offend them was to +provoke the wrath of the gods, their sires. These reflections, born of +superstition, now swept through Pilate's mind with terrific force; and +the cries of the mob, "He made himself the Son of God," called from out +the deep recesses of his memory the half-forgotten, half-remembered +stories of his childhood. Could not Jesus, reasoned Pilate, be the son +of the Hebrew Jehovah as Hercules was the son of Jupiter? Filled with +superstitious dread and trembling with emotion, Pilate called Jesus +inside the Temple a second time; and, looking with renewed awe and +wonder, asked: "Whence art thou?"[103] But Jesus answered him nothing. + +Pilate came forth from the judgment hall a second time determined to +release the prisoner; but the Jews, marking his decision, began to cry +out: "Away with him, away with him, crucify him!"[104] Maddened by the +relentless importunity of the mob, Pilate replied scornfully and +mockingly: + +"Shall I crucify your king?" + +The cringing, hypocritical priests shouted back their answer: + +"We have no king but Cæsar."[105] + +And on the kingly idea of loyalty to Roman sovereignty they framed their +last menace and accusation. From the quiver of their wrath they drew the +last arrow of spite and hate, and fired it straight at the heart of +Jesus through the hands of Pilate: + +"If thou let this man go, thou art not Cæsar's friend: whosoever maketh +himself a king speaketh against Cæsar."[106] + +This last maneuver of the mob sealed the doom of the Christ. It teaches +also most clearly that Pilate was no match for the Jews when their +religious prejudices were aroused and they were bent on accomplishing +their desires. They knew Pilate and he knew them. They had been together +full six years. He had been compelled to yield to them in the matter of +the standards and the eagles. The sacred Corban funds had been +appropriated only after blood had been shed in the streets of Jerusalem. +The gilt shields of Tiberius that he had placed in Herod's palace were +taken down at the demands of the Jews and carried to the temple of +Augustus at Cæsarea. And now the same fanatical rabble was before him +demanding the blood of the Nazarene, and threatening to accuse him to +Cæsar if he released the prisoner. The position of Pilate was painfully +critical. He afterwards lost his procuratorship at the instance of +accusing Jews. The shadow of that distant day now fell like a curse +across his pathway. Nothing was so terrifying to a Roman governor as to +have the people send a complaining embassy to Rome. It was especially +dangerous at this time. The imperial throne was filled by a morbid and +suspicious tyrant who needed but a pretext to depose the governor of any +province who silently acquiesced in traitorous pretensions to kingship. +Pilate trembled at these reflections. His feelings of self-preservation +suggested immediate surrender to the Jews. But his innate sense of +justice, which was woven in the very fiber of his Roman nature, recoiled +at the thought of Roman sanction of judicial murder. He resolved, +therefore, to propitiate and temporize. The frenzied rabble continued to +cry: "Crucify him! Crucify him!" Three times, in reply, Conscience sent +to Pilate's trembling lips the searching question: "Why, what evil hath +he done?" "Crucify him! Crucify him!" came back from the infuriated mob. + +Pilate finally resolved to do their bidding and obey their will. But he +seems to have secretly cherished the hope that scourging, which was the +usual preliminary to crucifixion, might be made to satisfy the mob. But +this hope was soon dispelled; and he found himself compelled to yield +completely to their wishes by delivering the prisoner to be crucified. +Before this final step, however, which was an insult to the true courage +of the soul and an outrage upon all the charities of the heart, he +resolved to apply a soothing salve to wounded conscience. He resolved to +perform a ceremonial cleansing act. Calling for a basin of water, he +washed his hands before the multitude, saying: "I am innocent of the +blood of this just person: see ye to it."[107] + +This was a simple, impressive, theatrical act; but little, mean, +contemptible, cowardly. He washed his hands when he should have used +them. He should have used them as Brutus or Gracchus or Pompeius Magnus +would have done, in pointing his legion to the field of duty and of +glory. He should have used them as Bonaparte did when he put down the +mob in the streets of Paris. But he was too craven and cowardly; and +herein is to be found the true meaning of the character and conduct of +Pilate. He believed that Jesus was innocent; and that the accusations +against Him were inspired by the envy of His countrymen. He had declared +to the Jews in an emphatic verdict of acquittal that he found in Him no +fault at all. And yet this very sentence, "I find in him no fault at +all," was the beginning of that course of cowardly and criminal +vacillation which finally sent Jesus to the cross. "Yet was this +utterance," says Innes, "as it turned out, only the first step in that +downward course of weakness the world knows so well: a course which, +beginning with indecision and complaisance, passed through all the +phases of alternate bluster and subserviency; persuasion, evasion, +protest, and compromise; superstitious dread, conscientious reluctance, +cautious duplicity, and sheer moral cowardice at last; until this Roman +remains photographed forever as the perfect feature of the unjust judge, +deciding 'against his better knowledge, not deceived.'" + +"Then released he Barabbas unto them: and when he had scourged Jesus, he +delivered him to be crucified. Then the soldiers of the governor took +Jesus into the common hall, and gathered unto him the whole band of +soldiers. And they stripped him, and put on him a scarlet robe. And when +they had platted a crown of thorns, they put it upon his head, and a +reed in his right hand: And they bowed the knee before him, and mocked +him, saying, Hail, King of the Jews! And they spit upon him, and took +the reed, and smote him on the head. And after that they had mocked him, +they took the robe off from him, and put his own raiment on him, and led +him away to crucify him."[108] + +Thus ended the most memorable act of injustice recorded in history. At +every stage of the trial, whether before Caiaphas or Pilate, the +prisoner conducted Himself with that commanding dignity and majesty so +well worthy of His origin, mission, and destiny. His sublime deportment +at times caused His judges to marvel greatly. And through it all, He +stood alone. His friends and followers had deserted Him in His hour of +greatest need. Single-handed and unaided, the Galilean peasant had bared +His breast and brow to the combined authority, to the insults and +outrages, of both Jerusalem and Rome. "Not a single discordant voice was +raised amidst the tumultuous clamour: not a word of protest disturbed +the mighty concord of anger and reviling; not the faintest echo of the +late hosannas, which had wrung with wonder, fervour, and devotion, and +which had surrounded and exalted to the highest pitch of triumph the +bearer of good tidings on his entry into the Holy City. Where were the +throngs of the hopeful and believing, who had followed His beckoning as +a finger pointing toward the breaking dawn of truth and regeneration? +Where were they, what thinking and why silent? The bands at the humble +and poor, of the afflicted and outcast who had entrusted to His +controlling grace the salvation of soul and body--where were they, what +thinking and why silent? The troops of women and youths, who had drawn +fresh strength from the spell of a glance or a word from the Father of +all that liveth--where were they, what thinking and why silent? And the +multitudes of disciples and enthusiasts who had scattered sweet-scented +boughs and joyous utterances along the road to Sion, blessing Him that +came in the name of the Lord--where were they, what thinking and why +silent? Not a remembrance, not a sign, not a word of the great glory so +lately His. Jesus was alone." + + + + +[Illustration: CHRIST LEAVING THE PRÆTORIUM (DORÉ)] + + + + +CHAPTER XI + +LEGAL ANALYSIS AND SUMMARY OF THE ROMAN TRIAL OF JESUS + + +In the preceding pages of this volume we have considered the elements of +both Law and Fact as related to the Roman trial of Jesus. Involved in +this consideration were the powers and duties of Pilate as procurator of +Judea and as presiding judge at the trial; general principles of Roman +provincial administration at the time of Christ; the legal and political +status of the subject Jew in his relationship to the conquering Roman; +the exact requirements of criminal procedure in Roman capital trials at +Rome and in the provinces at the date of the crucifixion; the Roman law +applicable to the trial of Jesus; and the facts of said trial before +Pilate and Herod. + +We are now in a position to analyze the case from the view point of the +juristic agreement or nonagreement of Law and Fact; and to determine by +a process of judicial dissection and re-formation, the presence or +absence of essential legal elements in the proceedings. We have learned +what should have been done by Pilate acting as a Roman judge in a +criminal matter involving the life of a prisoner. We have also +ascertained what he actually did. We are thus enabled to compare the +requirements with the actualities of the case; and to ascertain the +resemblances in the proceedings against Jesus to a legally conducted +trial under Roman law. + +But, in making this summary and analysis, a most important consideration +must be constantly held in mind: that, in matters of review on appeal, +errors will not be presumed; that is, errors will not be considered that +do not appear affirmatively upon the record. The law will rather presume +and the court will assume that what should have been done, was done. In +conformity with this principle, the presumption must be indulged that +Pilate acted in strict obedience to the requirements of Roman law in +trying Jesus, unless the Gospels of the New Testament, which constitute +the record in the case, either affirmatively or by reasonable inference, +disclose the absence of such obedience. A failure to note this +presumption and to keep this principle in mind, has caused many writers +upon this subject to make erroneous statements concerning the merits and +legal aspects of the trial of Christ. + +Laymen frequently assert the essential principle of this presumption +without seeming to be aware of it. Both Keim and Geikie declare that +assessors or assistants were associated with Pilate in the trial of +Jesus. The Gospel records nowhere even intimate such a thing; and no +other original records are in existence to furnish such information. And +yet one of the most celebrated of the biblical critics, Dr. Theodor +Keim, writing on the trial of Christ by Pilate, says: "Beside him, upon +benches, were the council or the assessors of the court, sub-officials, +friends, Roman citizens, whose presence could not be dispensed with, and +who were not wanting to the procurators of Judea, although our reports +do not mention them."[109] To the same effect, Dr. Cunningham Geikie +thus writes: "The assessors of the court--Roman citizens--who acted as +nominal members of the judicial bench, sit beside Pilate--for Roman law +required their presence."[110] + +These statements of the renowned writers just quoted are justified not +only on the ground of logical historical inference, but also on the +principle of actual legal presumption. The closest scrutiny of the New +Testament narratives nowhere discovers even an intimation that a bench +of judges helped Pilate to conduct the trial of Jesus. And yet, as +Geikie says, "Roman law required their presence," and the legal +presumption is that they were in and about the Prætorium ready to lend +assistance, and that they actually took part in the proceedings. This +inference is strengthened by the fact that Pilate, after he had learned +the nature of the accusation against Jesus, called Him into the palace +to examine Him. Why did Pilate do this? Why did he not examine the +prisoner in the presence of His accusers in the open air? Geikie tells +us that there was a judgment hall in the palace in which trials were +usually conducted.[111] Is it not possible, nay probable, that the +assessors and Pilate were assembled at an early hour in this hall to +hear the usual criminal charges of the day, or, perhaps, to try the +accusation against Jesus, of whose appearance before them they had been +previously notified; and that, when the governor heard that the +religious scruples of the Jews would not permit them to enter the +judgment hall during the Passover feast, he went out alone to hear the +accusation against the prisoner; and that he then returned with the +accused into the hall where the bench of judges were awaiting him, to +lay before them the charges and to further examine the case? It is +admitted that this theory and the statement of Geikie that there was a +hall in the palace where trials were generally held, are seemingly +refuted by the fact that Roman trials were almost always conducted in +the open air. But this was not invariably true; and the case of Pilate +and his court might have been an exception. + +It has been sought to lay particular stress upon the doctrine of legal +presumption that what should have been done, was done, unless the record +affirmatively negatives the fact, because it is impossible to appreciate +fully the legal aspects of the trial of Jesus, unless this doctrine is +understood and kept constantly in view. + +A casual perusal of the New Testament narratives leaves the impression +upon the mind of the reader that the proceedings against Jesus before +Pilate were exceedingly irregular and lacking in all the essential +elements of a regular trial. As a matter of fact, this impression may be +grounded in absolute truth. It may be that the action of Pilate was +arbitrary and devoid of all legal forms. This possibility is +strengthened by the consideration that Jesus was not a Roman citizen and +could not, therefore, demand the strict observance of forms of law in +His trial. A Jewish provincial, when accused of crime, stood before a +Roman governor with no other rights than the plea of justice as a +defense against the summary exercise of absolute power. In other words, +in the case of Jesus, Pilate was not bound to observe strictly rules of +criminal procedure prescribed by Roman law. He could, if he saw fit, +dispense with forms of law and dispose of the case either equitably or +as his whims suggested. Nor was there a right of appeal in such a case, +from the judgment of the procurator to the emperor at Rome. The decision +of the governor against a provincial was final. The case of Paul before +Felix and before Festus was entirely different. Paul was a Roman citizen +and, as such, was entitled to all the rights involved in Roman +citizenship, which included the privilege of an appeal to Cæsar against +the judgment of a provincial officer; and he actually exercised this +right.[112] It was incumbent, therefore, upon Roman officials to observe +due forms of law in proceeding against him. And St. Luke, in Acts xxiv., +indicates the almost exact precision and formality of a Roman trial, in +the case of Paul. + +But the fact that Jesus was not a Roman citizen does not prove that due +forms of law were not observed in His trial. It is hardly probable, as +before observed, that despotism and caprice were tolerated at any time, +in any part of the Roman world. And, besides, Roman history and +jurisprudence are replete with illustrations of complete legal +protection extended by Roman officials to the non-Roman citizens of +subject states. It is, moreover, a legitimate and almost inevitable +inference, drawn from the very nature of the Roman constitution and from +the peculiar character of Roman judicial administration, that no human +life belonging to a citizen or subject of Rome would be permitted to be +taken without due process of law, either imperial or local. + +In forming an opinion as to the existence or non-existence of a regular +trial of Jesus before Pilate, the meager details of the New Testament +histories must not alone be relied upon. Nor must it be forgotten that +the Gospel writers were not lawyers or court officers reporting a case +to be reviewed on appeal. They were laymen writing a general account of +a judicial transaction. And the omissions in their narratives are not to +be considered as either discrepancies or falsehoods. They simply did not +intend to tell everything about the trial of Jesus; and the fact that +they do not record the successive steps of a regular trial does not mean +that these steps were not observed. + +It is respectfully submitted that if a modern layman should write a +newspaper or book account of one of the great criminal trials of this +century, with no intention of making it a strictly judicial report, this +account would not reveal the presence of more essential legal elements +than are disclosed by the reports of the Evangelists of the proceedings +against Jesus. + +The majority of writers on the subject express the opinion that the +appearance of the Christ before the Roman governor was nothing more than +a short hearing in which a few questions were asked and answers made; +that the proceedings were exceedingly brief and informal; and that the +emergencies of the case rather than forms of law guided the judgment and +controlled the conduct of Pilate. As a layman, the author of these +volumes would take the same view. But as a lawyer, treating the subject +in a judicial manner, and bound by legal rules, regulations, and +presumptions, in reviewing the merits of the case, he feels constrained +to dissent from the prevalent opinion and to declare that the New +Testament records, though meager in details, exhibit all the essential +elements of an ordinary criminal trial, whether conducted in ancient or +modern times. He further asserts that if the affirmative statements of +the Evangelists that certain things were done be supplemented by the +legal presumption that still other things were done because they should +have been done, and because the record does not affirmatively declare +that they were not done, an almost perfect judicial proceeding can be +developed from the Gospel reports of the trial of Jesus before Pilate. +These reports disclose the following essential elements of all ancient +and modern criminal trials: + + 1. The Indictment, or _Nominis Delatio_. + + "What accusation bring ye against this man?" + + "And they began to accuse him, saying, We found this fellow + perverting the nation, and forbidding to give tribute to Cæsar, + saying that he himself is Christ a King." + + 2. The Examination, or _Interrogatio_. + + "Art thou the King of the Jews?" + + "Art thou a King then?" + + 3. The Defense, or _Excusatio_. + + "My kingdom is not of this world: if my kingdom were of this world + then would my servants fight, that I should not be delivered to + the Jews: but now is my kingdom not from hence.... To this end was + I born and for this cause came I into the world, that I should + bear witness unto the truth. Everyone that is of the truth heareth + my voice." + + 4. The Acquittal, or _Absolutio_. + + "I find in him no fault at all." + +Here we have clearly presented the essential features of a criminal +trial: the Indictment, the Examination of the charge, the Defense, and +the Judgment of the tribunal, which, in this case, was an Acquittal. + +To demonstrate that Pilate intended to conduct the proceedings against +Jesus seriously and judicially, at the beginning of the trial, let us +briefly review the circumstances attendant upon the successive steps +just enumerated. And to this end, let us proceed in order: + +1. The Indictment, or _Nominis Delatio_. + +When Pilate had seated himself in the ivory curule chair of the +procurator of Judea, at an early hour on Friday morning, the day of the +crucifixion of Jesus, a Jerusalem mob, led by the Sanhedrin, confronted +him with the prisoner. His first recorded words are: "What accusation +bring ye against this man?" As before suggested, this question is very +keenly indicative of the presence of the judge and of the beginning of a +solemn judicial proceeding. Every word rings with Roman authority and +strongly suggests administrative action. + +The accusing priests sought to evade this question by answering: "If he +were not a malefactor, we would not have delivered him up unto thee." + +If Pilate had adopted the Jewish view of the merits of the matter, that +his countersign was the only thing necessary to justify the final +condemnation and punishment of the prisoner; or, if he had been +indifferent to the legal aspects of the case, he would simply have +granted their request at once, and would have ordered the prisoner to +execution. But this was not the case; for we are assured that he +insisted on knowing the nature of the accusation before he would assume +jurisdiction of the affair. The mere information that He was a +"malefactor" did not suffice. The conduct of the Roman judge clearly +indicated that accusation was a more important element of Roman +criminal procedure than was inquisition. To meet the emergency, the Jews +were compelled, then, to make the formal charge, that: + +"We found this fellow perverting the nation, and forbidding to give +tribute to Cæsar, saying that he himself is Christ a King." + +Here we have presented the indictment, the first step in a criminal +proceeding; and it was presented not voluntarily, but because a Roman +judge, acting judicially, demanded and forced its presentment. + +2. The Examination, or _Interrogatio_. + +Not content with knowing the nature of the charges against the prisoner, +Pilate insisted on finding out whether they were true or not. He +accordingly took Jesus inside the palace and interrogated Him. With true +judicial tact, he brushed aside the first two accusations as +unimportant, and came with pointed directness to the material question: + +"Art thou the King of the Jews?" + +This interrogation bears the impress of a judicial inquiry, touching a +matter involving the question of high treason, the charge against the +prisoner. It clearly indicates a legal proceeding in progress. And when +Jesus made reply that seemed to indicate guilt, the practiced ear of the +Roman judge caught the suggestion of a criminal confession, and he asked +impatiently: + +"Art thou a King then?" + +This question indicates seriousness and a resolution to get at the +bottom of the matter with a view to a serious judicial determination of +the affair. + +3. The Defense, or _Excusatio_. + +In reply to the question of the judge, the prisoner answered: + +"My kingdom is not of this world." + +This language indicates that Jesus was conscious of the solemnity of the +proceedings; and that He recognized the right of Pilate to interrogate +Him judicially. His answer seemed to say: "I recognize your authority in +matters of this life and this world. If my claims to kingship were +temporal, I fully appreciate that they would be treasonable; and that, +as the representative of Cæsar, you would be justified in delivering me +to death. But my pretensions to royalty are spiritual, and this places +the matter beyond your reach." + +The defense of Jesus was in the nature of what we call in modern +pleading a Confession and Avoidance: "A plea which admits, in words or +in effect, the truth of the matter contained in the Declaration; and +alleges some new matter to avoid the effect of it, and shows that the +plaintiff is, notwithstanding, not entitled to his action." + +It may be analyzed thus: + +Confession: Inside the palace, Pilate asked Jesus the question: "Art +thou the King of the Jews?" According to St. Matthew, Jesus answered: +"Thou sayest";[113] according to St. Mark: "Thou sayest it";[114] +according to St. Luke: "Thou sayest it";[115] according to St. John: +"Thou sayest that I am a king."[116] + +All these replies are identical in signification, and mean: Thou sayest +it, because I am really a king. In other words, He simply confessed that +He was a king. Then came His real defense. + +Avoidance: "My kingdom is not of this world: if my kingdom were of this +world, then would my servants fight, that I should not be delivered to +the Jews: but now is my kingdom not from hence.... To this end was I +born and for this cause came I into the world, that I should bear +witness of the truth. Everyone that is of the truth heareth my voice." + +After having confessed claims to kingship, and having thereby made +Himself momentarily liable on the charge of high treason, He at once +avoids the effect of the declaration by alleging new matter which +exempted Him from the operation of the _crimen Læsæ Majestatis_. He +boldly declares His kingship, but places His kingdom beyond the skies in +the realm of truth and spirit. He asserts a bold antithesis between the +Empire of Cæsar and the Kingdom of God. He cheerfully acknowledges the +procuratorship of Pilate in the first, but fearlessly proclaims His own +Messiahship in the second. + +4. The Acquittal, or _Absolutio_. + +It is more than probable that Pilate's heathen soul mocked the heavenly +claims of the lowly prisoner in his presence, but his keenly discerning +Roman intellect marked at once the distinction between an earthly and a +heavenly kingdom. He saw clearly that their boundaries nowhere +conflicted, and that treasonable contact was impossible. He judged that +Jesus was simply a gentle enthusiast whose pretensions were harmless. +Accordingly, he went out to the mob and pronounced a verdict of "not +guilty." Solemnly raising his hand, he proclaimed the sentence of +acquittal: + +"I find in him no fault at all." + +This language is not the classical legal phraseology of a Roman verdict +of acquittal. The Latin word for a single ballot was _absolvo_; the +words of a collective judgment of a bench of judges was _non fecisse +videtur_. The language of St. John, though that of a layman, is equally +as effectual, if not so formal and judicial. + +More than any other feature of the case, the verdict of acquittal, "I +find in him no fault at all," indicates the regularity and solemnity of +a judicial proceeding. Standing alone, it would indicate the close of a +regular trial in which a court having jurisdiction had sat in judgment +upon the life or liberty of an alleged criminal. + +If to these essential elements of a trial which the Gospel records +affirmatively disclose be added other necessary elements of a regular +Roman trial which legal presumption supplies, because these records do +not deny their existence, we have then in the proceedings against Jesus +all the important features of Roman criminal procedure involving the +question of life or death. That several essential elements are absent is +evident from a reasonable construction of the statements of the +Evangelists. That which most forcibly negatives the existence of a +regular trial was the precipitancy with which the proceedings were +conducted before Pilate. We have seen that ten days were allowed at Rome +after the _nominis receptio_ to secure testimony and prepare the case +before the beginning of the trial. This rule was certainly not observed +at the trial of Jesus. But several irregularities which are apparent +from a perusal of the Gospel histories may be explained from the fact +that Jesus was not a Roman citizen and was not, therefore, entitled to a +strict observance of Roman law in the proceedings against him. + +The foregoing analysis and summary apply only to the proceedings of the +first appearance of Jesus before Pilate. It was at this time that the +real Roman trial took place. All subsequent proceedings were irregular, +tumultuous and absolutely illegal. The examination of Jesus by Herod +cannot, strictly speaking, be called a trial. The usual explanation of +the sending of the prisoner to Herod is that Pilate learned that He was +a native and citizen of Galilee; and that, desiring to rid himself of an +embarrassing subject, he determined to transfer the accused from the +_forum apprehensionis_ to the _forum originis vel domicilii_. It has +frequently been asserted that it was usual in Roman procedure to +transfer a prisoner from the place of arrest to the place of his origin +or residence. There seems to be no authority for this contention. It may +or may not have been true as a general proposition. But it was certainly +not true in the case of the transfer of Jesus to Herod. In the first +place, when Pilate declared, "I find no fault in him at all," a verdict +of acquittal was pronounced, and the case was ended. The proceedings had +taken form of _res adjudicata_, and former jeopardy could have been +pleaded in bar of further prosecution. It might be differently contended +if Pilate had discovered that Jesus was from Galilee before the +proceedings before him were closed. But it is clear from St. Luke, who +alone records the occurrence of the sending of the prisoner to Herod, +that the case was closed and the verdict of acquittal had been rendered +before Pilate discovered the identity of the accused.[117] It was then +too late to subject a prisoner to a second trial for the same offense. + +Rosadi denies emphatically that Herod had jurisdiction of the offense +charged against Jesus. In this connection, he says: "His prosecutors +insisted tenaciously upon His answering to a charge of _continuous_ +sedition, as lawyers call it. This offence had been begun in Galilee and +ended in Jerusalem--that is to say, in Judæa. Now it was a rule of Roman +law, which the procurator of Rome could neither fail to recognize nor +afford to neglect, that the competence of a court territorially +constituted was determined either by the place in which the arrest was +made, or by the place in which the offence was committed. Jesus had been +arrested at the gates of Jerusalem; His alleged offence had been +committed for the most part, and as far as all the final acts were +concerned, in the city itself and in other localities of Judæa. In +continuous offences competence was determined by the place in which the +last acts going to constitute the offence had been committed. Thus no +justification whatever existed for determining the court with regard to +the prisoner's origin. But this investigation upon a point of Roman law +is to all intents superfluous, because either Pilate, when he thought of +Herod, intended to strip himself of his inalienable judicial power, and +in this case he ought to have respected the jurisdiction and competence +of the Grand Sanhedrin and not to have busied himself with a conflict as +to cognizance which should only have been discussed and resolved by the +Jewish judicial authorities; or else he had no intention of abdicating +his power, and in this case he ought never to have raised the question +of competence between himself, Governor of Judæa, and Herod, Regent of +Galilee, but between himself and the Roman Vice-Governor of Galilee, his +colleague, if there had been such an one. It is only between judges of +the same judicial hierarchy that a dispute as to territorial competence +can arise. Between magistrates of different States there can only exist +a contrast of power and jurisdiction. The act of Pilate cannot then be +interpreted as a scruple of a constitutional character. It is but a +miserable escape for his irresolution, a mere endeavour to temporize." + +The second and final appearance of Jesus before Pilate bears little +resemblance to a regular trial. The characteristic elements of an +ordinary Roman criminal proceeding are almost wholly wanting. The +pusillanimous cowardice of the procurator and the blind fury of the mob +are the chief component parts. A sort of wild phantasmagoria sweeps +through the multitude and circles round the tribunal of the governor. +Pilate struggles with his conscience, and seeks safety in subterfuge. He +begins by declaring to the assembled priests and elders that neither he +nor Herod has found any fault in the man; and then, as a means of +compromise and conciliation, makes the monstrous proposal that he will +first scourge and then release the prisoner. This infamous proposal is +rejected by the mob. The cowardly procurator then adopts another mean +expedient as a way of escape. He offers to deliver Jesus to them as a +Passover gift. Him they refuse and Barabbas, the robber, is demanded. +Pilate's terror is intensified by superstitious dread, when the mob +begins to cry: "He made himself the Son of God!" From out the anguish of +his soul, the voice of Justice sends to his quivering lips the +thrice-repeated question: "Why, what evil hath he done?" The mob +continues to cry: "Crucify him! Crucify him!" + +And as a final assault upon his conscience and his courage, the +hypocritical priests warn him that he must not release a pretender to +kingship, for such a man is an enemy to Cæsar. The doom of the Nazarene +is sealed by this last maneuver of the rabble. Then, as a propitiation +to the great God of truth and justice, and as balm to his hurt and +wounded conscience, he washes his hands in front of them and exclaims: +"I am innocent of the blood of this just person: see ye to it." + +The crucifixion followed Pilate's final determination; and thus ended +the most famous trial in the history of the world. It began with the +arrest of Jesus in Gethsemane at midnight, and ended with His +crucifixion on Golgotha on the afternoon of the same day. As we have +seen, it was a double trial, conducted within the jurisdictions of the +two most famous systems of jurisprudence known to mankind. In both +trials, substantially the right issue was raised. Before the Sanhedrin, +the prisoner was charged with blasphemy and convicted. Regarding Jesus +as a mere man, a plain Jewish citizen, this judgment was "substantially +right in point of law", but was unjust and outrageous because forms of +criminal procedure which every Jewish prisoner was entitled to have +observed, were completely ignored. + +The proceedings before Pilate, we have reason to believe, were +conducted, in a general way, with due regard to forms of law. But the +result was judicial murder, because the judge, after having acquitted +Jesus, delivered Him to be crucified. "I find in him no fault at all" +was the verdict of Pilate. But this just and righteous sentence was +destroyed and obliterated by the following: "And they were instant with +loud voices, requiring that he might be crucified. And the voices of +them and of the chief priests prevailed. And Pilate gave sentence that +it should be as they required."[118] + +A horrible travesty on justice, this! "_Absolvo_" and "_Ibis ad +crucem_," in the same breath, were the final utterances of a Roman judge +administering Roman law in the most memorable judicial transaction +known to men. + +The treatment of this great theme would be incomplete and unsatisfactory +unless reference were made to the peculiar views of some who believe +that political rather than legal considerations should govern in +determining the justice or the injustice of the proceedings against +Jesus before Pilate. A certain class of critics insist on regarding the +Roman governor in the light of an administrator rather than a judge, and +contend that the justice of his conduct and the righteousness of his +motives should be tested by principles of public policy rather than by +strict legal rules. It is insisted by such persons that various +considerations support this contention. It is pointed out that Pilate +exercised the unlimited jurisdiction of the military _imperium_, and was +not, therefore, strictly bound by legal rules; that Jesus was not a +Roman citizen, and, for this reason, was not entitled to the strict +observance of forms of law; and that the stubborn, rebellious and +turbulent temper of the Jewish people required the strong hand of a +military governor, enforcing political obedience by drastic measures, +rather than the action of a judge punctiliously applying rules of law. +These peculiar views subject the conduct of Pilate to the pressure of +public necessity rather than to the test of private right, and insist +that sympathy rather than censure should hold the scales in which his +deeds are weighed. + +This view of the case was presented in the last generation by Sir James +Fitz-James Stephen in a book of extraordinary strength and brilliancy +entitled "Liberty, Equality, Fraternity." It was written in answer to +John Stuart Mill, and is, without doubt, the most powerful assault in +the English language on what men have been pleased to call in modern +times "liberty of conscience." In his letters and essays, Mr. Mill, +according to the interpretation of Mr. Stephen, "condemns absolutely all +interference with the expression of opinion." When tried by this +standard, the Athenian dicasts, who condemned Socrates; Marcus Aurelius, +who persecuted the Christians; Pontius Pilate, who crucified Jesus; and +Philip II, who sanctioned the tortures of the Spanish Inquisition, were +simply violators of rights of personal opinion and of freedom of +conscience. If you deny the right of liberty of conscience, Mr. Mill +contends, you must not censure Marcus Aurelius and other persecutors of +Christianity. On the contrary, you must approve such persecution; and +you must go further, and find "a principle which would justify Pontius +Pilate." This challenge was boldly accepted by Mr. Stephen, who says: + +"Was Pilate right in crucifying Christ? I reply, Pilate's paramount duty +was to preserve the peace in Palestine, to form the best judgment he +could as to the means required for that purpose, and to act upon it when +it was formed. Therefore, if and in so far as he believed in good faith +and on reasonable grounds that what he did was necessary for the +preservation of the peace of Palestine, he was right. It was his duty to +run the risk of being mistaken, notwithstanding Mr. Mill's principle as +to liberty. He was in the position of a judge whose duty it is to try +persons duly brought before him for trial at the risk of error."[119] + +This contention is founded upon the inexorable doctrine that what is, is +right; that revolution, though righteous, must be nipped in the bud and +destroyed; and that rights of private conscience must not be tolerated +if they tend to disturb the peace of the community at large. The +inevitable logic of the theory of Mr. Stephen is that the established +order of things in Palestine under Roman rule was right, and that it was +the duty of the Roman governor to regard all attempts at innovation or +revolution in religion or government as a breach of the peace which was +to be promptly suppressed by vigorous measures. There is undoubtedly a +certain amount of truth in this contention, in so far as it implies that +under a just and orderly plan of government, the rights of the +commonwealth to peace and security are greater than the claims of the +individual to liberty of conscience which conflict with and tend to +destroy those rights. It is a truth, at once sovereign and fundamental, +in both law and government, that the rights of the collective body are +greater than those of any individual member; and that when the rights of +the whole and those of a part of the body politic conflict, the rights +of the part must yield and, if necessity requires it, be destroyed. Upon +no other basis can the doctrine of majorities in politics and the right +of Eminent Domain in law, rest. But the application of the principles +involved in this theory must always be made with proper limitations, and +with a due regard to the rights of minorities and individuals; else +government becomes an engine of despotism instead of an expression of +political freedom. A claim of privilege which every member of the +community has a right to make, must be respected by the collective body; +otherwise, a common right has been violated and destroyed. The complete +recognition of this principle is imperative and fundamental, and is the +corner stone of political freedom in free institutions among men. + +But the trouble with the contention of Mr. Stephen is that it proceeds +upon a wrong hypothesis. He intimates that Pilate might have "believed +in good faith that what he did was necessary for the preservation of the +peace of Palestine." This is a purely gratuitous and unhistorical +suggestion. The Gospel records nowhere justify such an assumption. The +very opposite is taught by these sacred writings. It is true that +Caiaphas contended that it was expedient that one man should die rather +than that the whole nation should perish. But this was a Jewish, not a +Roman opinion. The Evangelical narratives are unanimous in declaring +that Pilate believed Jesus to be innocent and that "for envy" He had +been accused by His countrymen. + +It is cheerfully conceded that occasions may present themselves, in the +tumult and frenzy of revolution, when the responsible authorities of +government may put to death a person whose intentions are innocent, but +whose acts are incentives to riot and bloodshed. This may be done upon +the principle of self-preservation, which is the first law of government +as well as of nature. But no such necessity arose in the case of Jesus; +and no such motives are ascribed by the Evangelists to Pilate. They very +clearly inform us that the action of the Roman governor in delivering +the prisoner to be crucified was prompted by private and not public +considerations. He had no fears that Jesus would precipitate a +revolution dangerous to the Roman state. He simply wished to quiet the +mob and retain his position as procurator of Judea. The facts of +history, then, do not support the contention of Mr. Stephen. + +Continuing, in another place, the same eminent writer says: "The point +to which I wish to direct attention is that Pilate's duty was to +maintain peace and order in Judea and to maintain the Roman power. It is +surely impossible to contend seriously that it was his duty, or that it +could be the duty of any one in his position, to recognize in the person +brought to his judgment seat, I do not say God Incarnate, but the +teacher and preacher of a higher form of morals and a more enduring form +of social order than that of which he himself was the representative. To +a man in Pilate's position the morals and the social order which he +represents are for all practical purposes final and absolute standards. +If, in order to evade the obvious inference from this, it is said that +Pilate ought to have respected the principle of religious liberty as +propounded by Mr. Mill, the answer is that if he had done so he would +have run the risk of setting the whole province in a blaze. It is only +in very modern times, and under the influence of modern sophisms, that +belief and action have come to be so much separated in these parts of +the world that the distinction between the temporal and spiritual +department of affairs even appears to be tenable; but this is a point +for future discussion. + +"If this should appear harsh, I would appeal again to Indian experience. +Suppose that some great religious reformer--say, for instance, some one +claiming to be the Guru of the Sikhs, or the Imam in whose advent many +Mahommedans devoutly believe--were to make his appearance in the Punjab +or the North-West Provinces. Suppose that there was good reason to +believe--and nothing is more probable--that whatever might be the +preacher's own personal intentions, his preaching was calculated to +disturb the public peace and produce mutiny and rebellion: and suppose +further (though the supposition is one which it is hardly possible to +make even in imagination), that a British officer, instead of doing +whatever might be necessary, or executing whatever orders he might +receive, for the maintenance of British authority, were to consider +whether he ought not to become a disciple of the Guru or Imam. What +course would be taken towards him? He would be instantly dismissed with +ignominy from the service which he would disgrace, and if he acted up to +his convictions, and preferred his religion to his Queen and country, he +would be hanged as a rebel and a traitor."[120] + +These theories and illustrations are not only plausible but entirely +reasonable when viewed in the light of the facts which they assume to be +true. But here again, we must insist that they do not harmonize with +the actual facts of the case to which they are intended to apply. In +the extract above quoted, three suppositions are suggested. The first +one is immaterial. Let us analyze the other two in the light of the +Gospel histories. The second supposition is this: "Suppose that there +was good reason to believe--and nothing is more probable--that whatever +might be the preacher's own personal intentions, his preaching was +calculated to disturb the public peace and produce mutiny and +rebellion." What passage of Scripture, it may be asked, justifies this +parallel with the case of Jesus before Pilate? There is, in fact, +absolutely none. The nearest approach to one is Matthew xxvii. 24: "When +Pilate saw that he could prevail nothing, but that rather a tumult was +made, he took water, and washed his hands before the multitude, saying, +I am innocent of the blood of this just person: see ye to it." The +"tumult" here referred to means nothing more than the manifestation of +agitated feelings on the part of the mob, who were enraged at the +prospect of an acquittal by the governor. It does not remotely refer to +the danger of a popular rebellion which might endanger the security and +safety of Rome. To admit this supposition would be to elevate the +motives of Pilate in consenting to the crucifixion of Jesus to the level +of solicitude for the welfare of his country. This would not be +justified by the record, which clearly reveals that Pilate was moved by +personal selfishness rather than by a sense of official duty. + +The third and last supposition above mentioned is this: "And suppose, +further (though the supposition is one which it is hardly possible to +make even in imagination), that a British officer, instead of doing +whatever might be necessary, or executing whatever orders he might +receive, for the maintenance of British authority, were to consider +whether he ought not to become a disciple of the Guru or Imam." Here +again, we may ask, what passage of Scripture supports this parallel of a +Mohammedan Guru before a British officer with Jesus Christ before +Pontius Pilate? Where is it anywhere stated, or by reasonable inference +implied, that Pilate considered whether he ought not to become a +disciple of Jesus? The celebrated English author has simply argued his +case from a radically defective record of fact. + +On the other hand, let us draw what we conceive to be a true parallel. +Let us take an illustration nearer home. Suppose that the Governor +General of the Philippine Islands was clothed with authority of life and +death as a judge in criminal matters pertaining to the affairs of those +islands. Suppose that a Mohammedan preacher should appear somewhere in +the archipelago where Mohammedans are numerous, and begin to proclaim a +new religious faith which was opposed not only to the ordinary tenets of +Islamism, but also to the Christian religion which is the dominant faith +of the rulers of the Philippines. Suppose that the coreligionists of +this Mohammedan prophet should seize him, bring him before the Governor +General, and lodge against him a threefold charge: That he was stirring +up sedition in the islands; that he had advised the Filipinos not to pay +taxes due to the United States government; and that he had said and +done things that were treasonable against the United States. Suppose +that the Governor General, after personal examination, became satisfied +that the Mohamammedan preacher was an innocent enthusiast, that the +charges against him were false, and were due to the envy and hatred of +his fellow-Mohammedans; that to quiet the passions, and satisfy the +demands of the mob, he proposed to scourge him first and then release +him; that, in the face of the vehement accusations of the rabble, he +hesitated and vacillated for several hours; and that finally, when the +Mohammedans threatened to send a complaint to President Roosevelt which +might endanger his position, he ordered his innocent prisoner to death. +Suppose this should happen beneath the American flag, what would be the +judgment of the American people as to the merits of the proceedings? +Would the Governor General retain his office by such a course of +conduct? + +But let us view it in another light. Let us assume that the Governor +General believed that the Mohammedan preacher was innocent and that his +"personal intentions" were not remotely hostile or treasonable, but felt +that his preaching might stir up rebellion dangerous to the power of the +American government in the Philippines; and that it was his duty as the +guardian of American honor and security, to put the native preacher to +death; and this not to punish past criminal conduct, but to prevent +future trouble by a timely execution. Suppose that the Governor General +should do this while sitting as a judge, would it not be judicial +murder? Suppose that he should do it while acting as an administrator, +would it be less an assassination? Would it not stamp with indelible +shame the administration that should sanction or tolerate it? Would the +press of America not denounce the act as murder, declare that despotism +reigned in our Eastern possessions, and demand the removal and +punishment of the man who had disgraced his office and brought odium +upon the administrative justice of his country? + +In closing the Roman trial of Jesus, let us repeat what we have already +said: that the conduct of Pilate, when the prisoner was first brought +before him, seems to have been marked by judicial regularity and +solemnity; that the Roman procurator seems to have deported himself in a +manner worthy of his office; that, in the beginning, he appears to have +resolved to observe due forms of law in the proceedings, to the end that +justice might be attained; and that, after a comparatively regular +trial, he pronounced an absolute verdict of acquittal. Thus far the +course of Pilate is manly and courageous. But with the return of the +prisoner from Herod, unmanliness and cowardice begin. + +This last act of the great drama presents a pitiable spectacle of Roman +degeneracy. A Roman governor of courtly origin, clothed with _imperium_, +with a Prætorian Cohort at his command, and the military authority and +resources of an empire at his back, cringes and crouches before a +Jerusalem mob. The early Christian writers characterized Pilate with a +single term ([Greek: anandria]), "unmanliness." They were right. This +word is a summary, accurate and complete, of the character of the man. + +There is inherent in the highest and noblest of the human species a +quality of courage which knows no fear; that prefers death and +annihilation to dishonor and disgrace; that believes, with Cæsar, that +it is better to die at once than to live always in fear of death; and, +with Mahomet, that Paradise will be found in the shadow of the crossing +of swords. This quality of courage is peculiar to no race of men and to +no form of civilization. It has existed everywhere and at all times. It +causes the spirit of man to tread the earth like a lion and to mount the +air like an eagle. The ancient barbarians of Gaul believed that +lightning was a menace from the skies; and amidst the very fury of the +storm, from their great bows they sent arrows heavenward as a defiance +to the gods. This quality of courage, which is natural to man, Pilate +lacked. And when we think of his cowardly, cringing, crouching, +vacillating conduct before a few fanatical priests in Jerusalem, another +scene at another time comes up before us. The Tenth Legion rises in +mutiny and defies Julius Cæsar. The mighty Roman summons his rebellious +soldiers to the Field of Mars, reads to them the Roman riot act, and +threatens to dismiss them not only from his favor but from Roman +military service. The veterans of a hundred Gallic battlefields are +subdued and conquered by the tone and glance of a single man; and with +tearful eyes, beg forgiveness, and ask to be permitted to follow once +again him and his eagles to the feast of victory and of death. Imagine, +if you can, Cæsar in the place of Pilate. it is not difficult to +conceive the fare of a vulgar rabble who persisted in annoying such a +Roman by demanding the blood of an innocent man. + +But the cowardice and pusillanimity of the Roman governor are not +properly illustrated by comparison with the courage and magnanimity of a +Roman general. At the trial of Jesus, Pilate was acting in a judicial +capacity, and was essentially a judge. His character, then, may be best +understood by contrasting it with another judge in another age and +country. His craven qualities will then be manifest. + +The greatest of the English jurists and judges was Sir Edward Coke. His +legal genius was superb and his judicial labors prodigious. During the +greater part of his professional career he slept only six hours, "and +from three in the morning till nine at night he read or took notes of +the cases tried in Westminster Hall with as little interruption as +possible." He was great not only as a judge, but as an advocate as well. +The consummate skill with which he argued the intricate cases of Lord +Cromwell and Edward Shelley, brought him a practice never before equaled +in England, and made him renowned as the greatest lawyer of the times. +His erudition was profound, his powers of advocacy brilliant, his +personal and judicial courage was magnificent. He not only repeatedly +defied and ridiculed his colleagues on the bench, but more than once +excited the wrath and braved the anger of the king. He fearlessly +planted himself upon the ancient and inalienable rights of Englishmen; +and, time and time again, interposed his robe at office between the +privileges of the Commons and the aggressions of the Crown. He boldly +declared that a royal proclamation could not make that an offense which +was not an offense before. His unswerving independence was well +illustrated in a case brought before him in 1616. The question at issue +was the validity of a grant made by the king to the Bishop of Lichfield +of a benefice to be held _in commendam_. King James, through his +attorney-general, Bacon, commanded the chief justice to delay judgment +till he himself had discussed the question with the judges. Bacon, at +Coke's request, sent a letter containing the same command to each of the +judges. Coke then obtained their signatures to a paper declaring that +the instructions of the attorney-general were illegal, and that they +were bound to proceed with the case. The king became very angry, +summoned the judges before him in the council chamber, declared to them +his kingly prerogative, and forbade them to discuss his royal privileges +in ordinary arguments before their tribunal. Coke's colleagues fell upon +their knees, cowed and terrified, before the royal bigot and despot, and +begged his pardon for having expressed an opinion that had excited his +displeasure. But Coke refused to yield, and, when asked if, in the +future, he would delay a case at the king's order, he bravely replied +that on all occasions and under any emergency, he would do nothing +unworthy of himself or his office as an English citizen and judge. And +rather than prostitute the high prerogatives of his court, he +indignantly and contemptuously hurled his judicial mantle into the face +of the Stuart king. How much grander and nobler was the conduct of Coke, +the Englishman, than that of Pilate, the cowardly, pusillanimous Roman! +Both were judges, both stood in the shadow of the majesty and menace of +a throne, both were threatened with royal wrath, both held high judicial +places under the governments of the most vast and glorious empires that +this world has known. Coke preferred the dictates of his conscience to +the decrees of his king; and his name remains forever enshrined in the +minds and memories of men as the noblest type of a brave and righteous +judge. For a miserable mess of Roman political pottage, Pilate forfeited +his birthright to the most splendid and illustrious example of judicial +integrity and courage in the history of the earth; and his name remains +forever a hissing and reproach, as the worst specimen of the corrupt and +cowardly judge that mankind has known. + +If it be objected that the position of Pilate was more painful and +precarious than that of Coke, because the Roman was confronted by a wild +and furious mob, reply must then be made that both the spirit and letter +of Roman laws forbade surrender by Roman governors and administrators of +the principles of justice to the blind passions of the multitude. This +spirit was, in a later age, set forth in the laws of Justinian, when +reproduction was made of the proclamations of the emperors Diocletian +and Maximian, on the occasion of a public riot, that "the vain clamors +of the people are not to be heeded, seeing that it is in no wise +necessary to pay any attention to the cries of those desiring the +acquittal of the guilty, or the condemnation of the innocent."[121] + +Pilate yielded to the demands of the mob when his country's laws forbade +it. His intellect willed the execution of an innocent man when his +conscience condemned it. "Such was the man whose cowardice, made +manifest in the most supreme and memorable act of injustice the world +has ever known, was destined to earn him eternal infamy. To him and to +no others pointed the poet as + + 'colui + Che fece per viltate il gran rifiuto;' + +to him, the prototype of that long train of those who were never quite +alive, who vainly sought glory in this world, vainly dreaded infamy; +who, ever wavering betwixt good and evil, washed their hands; who, like +the neutral angels of the threshold, were neither faithful nor +rebellious; who are equally despised by pity and justice; who render +themselves + + 'A Dio spiacenti ed ai nemici sui.' + +And what man other than Pilate was ever placed so typically, in such +accordance with the eyes of the poet, between the Son of God and His +enemies, between justice and mercy, between right and wrong, between the +Emperor and the Jews, and has refused either issue of the dilemma? + +"Was it Celestine, Diocletian, or Esau? But they of two things chose the +one; and who knows but that they chose the better? A hermitage and a +mess of pottage may under many aspects be better worth than the papacy +renounced by Celestine, than the empire abdicated by Diocletian, or than +the birthright bartered by Esau. But Pilate refused to choose, and his +refusal was great--great enough to justify the antonomasia of Dante--and +it was cowardly. He refused not only the great gift of free will in a +case when a free choice was his absolute duty. When admitted, like the +fallen angels, to the great choice between good and evil, he did not +cleave for ever to the good, as did St. Michael, or to the evil, as did +Lucifer, but he refused a power which for him was the fount of duty and +which cost the life of a man and the right of an innocent." + +But was Pilate alone guilty of the crime of the crucifixion? Were the +Jews wholly blameless? This raises the question: Who were the real +crucifiers of the Christ, the Jews or the Romans? That the Jews were the +instigators and the Romans the consummators of the crucifixion is +evident from the Gospel narratives. The Jews made the complaint, and the +Romans ordered and effected the arrest of the prisoner in Gethsemane. +Having tried Him before their own tribunal, the Jews then led Jesus away +to the Roman governor, and in the Prætorium accused Him and furnished +evidence against Him. But the final act of crucifying was a Roman act. +It is true that Jewish elements were present in the crucifixion of +Jesus. The death draught offered Him on the cross suggests a humane +provision of Hebrew law. This drink was usury administered among the +Hebrews "so that the delinquent might lose clear consciousness through +the ensuing intoxication." Again, the body of Jesus was removed from the +cross and buried before it was night. This was in deference to an +ancient custom of the Jews to bury criminals before sunset who had first +been executed by stoning for the crime of blasphemy and had then been +subjected to the indignity of being hung upon a tree, in conformity with +a Mosaic ordinance contained in Deut. xxi. 22. But these two incidents +exhaust the Jewish features of the crucifixion; and, besides, these +elements were merely physical. The spiritual or moral features, +involving turpitude and crime, are entirely different considerations +from those that are simply historical. The question still arises: Who +were the morally guilty parties? Who were the directly responsible +agents of the crucifixion, the Jews or the Romans? Upon whom should the +greater blame rest, if both were guilty? A passage from St. John seems +to indicate that the Jews were the bearers of the greater sin. Replying +to a question of Pilate concerning the procurator's power to crucify +Him, "Jesus answered, Thou couldest have no power at all against me, +except it were given thee from above; therefore he that delivered me +unto thee hath the greater sin."[122] According to many commentators, +Jesus referred to Caiaphas; according to others, He spoke of Judas as +the person who had the greater sin. But in any case it is certain that +He did not intend to involve the whole Jewish nation in the crime of His +arrest and execution. The language of the scriptural context indicates a +single person. Pilate, on the one hand, is made the silent instrument in +the hands of God for the accomplishment of the designs of Heaven. +Caiaphas, on the other hand, is probably referred to as the one having +the greater sin, because, being the high priest of the Sanhedrin, he +better understood the questions involved in the religious charge of +blasphemy, and was, therefore, the greater sinner against the laws of +God, in the matter of the injustice then being perpetrated. + +[Illustration: THE CRUCIFIXION (MUNKACSY)] + +Aside from the religious questions involved, and speaking in the light +of history and law, our own judgment is that the real crucifiers of the +Christ were the Romans, and that Pilate and his countrymen should bear +the greater blame. It is true that the Jews were the instigators, the +accusers. But Pilate was the judge whose authority was absolute. The +Jews were powerless to inflict the death penalty. Pilate had the final +disposition of all matters of life and death. In short, he could have +prevented the crucifixion of Jesus. He did not do so; and upon him and +his countrymen should rest the censure of Heaven and the execration of +mankind. + +But, admitting that the priests of the Sanhedrin were equally guilty +with Pilate and the Romans, does it follow that all Jews of the days of +Jesus who were not participants in the crime against him, should suffer +for the folly and criminal conduct of a mere fragment of a Sadducean +sect? Is it not true that the Jewish people, as a race, were not parties +to the condemnation and execution of the Christ? Is it not reasonable to +suppose that the masses in Palestine were friendly to the democratic +Reformer who was the friend of the poor, the lame, and the blind? Did +not the reception of his miracles and his triumphal entry into Jerusalem +indicate His popularity with the plain people? Is it not historically +true that the great body of the Jewish population in Judea, in Galilee, +in Samaria, and in Perea, was unfriendly to the members of the +Sanhedrin, and regarded them as political renegades and religious +delinquents? Is it not reasonably certain that a large majority of the +countrymen of Jesus were his ardent well-wishers and sincerely regretted +his untimely end? Is it possible to conceive that these friends and +well-wishers were the inheritors of the curse of Heaven because of the +crime of Golgotha? If not, is it rational to suppose that their innocent +descendants have been the victims of this curse? + +The cruel and senseless notion of the implacable wrath of Deity has +prevailed in all the ages as an explanation of the destruction of +Jerusalem and the dispersion and persecution of the Jews. It is worse +than nonsense to see in this event anything but the operation of vulgar +physical forces of the most ordinary kind. The fall of Jerusalem was a +most natural and consequential thing. It was not even an extraordinary +historical occurrence, even in Jewish history. Titus did not so +completely destroy Jerusalem as did Nebuchadnezzar before him. Razing +cities to the ground was a customary Roman act, a form of pastime, a +characteristic Roman proceeding in the case of stubborn and rebellious +towns. Scipio razed Carthage and drove Carthaginians into the most +remote corners of the earth. Was any Roman or Punic god interested in +this event? Cæsar destroyed many Gallic cities and scattered Gauls +throughout the world. Was any deity concerned about these things? + +Roman admiration was at times enkindled, but Roman clemency was never +gained by deeds of valor directed against the arms of Rome. Neither +Hannibal nor Mithradates, Vercingetorix nor Jugurtha, the grandest of +her enemies, received any mercy at her hands. To oppose her will, was to +invite destruction; and the sequel was a mere question of "the survival +of the fittest." The most turbulent, rebellious and determined of all +the imperial dependencies was the province of Judea. The Jews regarded +the Romans as idolaters; and, instead of obeying them as masters, +despised and defied them as barbarians. When this spirit became manifest +and promised to be perpetual, the dignity of the Roman name as well as +the safety of the Roman State, demanded the destruction of Jerusalem and +the dispersion of the Jews. And destruction and dispersion followed as +naturally as any profane effect follows any vulgar cause. + +The Irish, another splendid race, are being dispersed throughout the +earth by the English domination of Ireland. Is anybody so keenly +discerning as to see in Irish dispersion a divine or superhuman agency? +Is it not, after all, the simple operation of the same brutal, physical +forces that destroyed Carthage and Jerusalem, and, in a latter century, +dismembered Poland? + +But the advocates of the divine wrath theory quote Scriptures and point +to prophecy in support of their contention. Then Scriptures must be +pitted against Scriptures. The last prayer of the Master on the cross +must be made to repeal every earlier Scriptural prophecy or decree. +"Father, forgive them, for they know not what they do," is the sublimest +utterance in the literature of the world. It is the epitome of every +Christian virtue and of all religious truth. This proclamation from the +cross repealed the Mosaic law of hereditary sin; placed upon a personal +basis responsibility for offenses against God and man; and served notice +upon future generations that those who "know not what they do" are +entitled to be spared and forgiven. To believe that God ignored the +prayer of Christ on the cross; and that the centuries of persecution of +the Jews which followed, were but the fulfillment of prophecy and fate, +is to assail the Messiahship of Jesus and to question the goodness and +mercy of Jehovah. Jesus knew the full meaning of His prayer and was +serious unto death. To believe that the Father rejected the petition of +the Son is to destroy the equality of the persons of the Trinity by +investing one with the authority and power to review, revise, and reject +the judgments and petitions of the others. If the Christian doctrine be +true that Christ was God "manifest in the flesh"; if the doctrine of the +Trinity be true that God the Father, God the Son, and God the Holy +Ghost, are one and the same, eternal and inseparable, then the prayer of +Jesus on the cross was not a petition, but a declaration that the +malefactors of the crucifixion, who, in the blindness of ignorance, had +helped to kill the Son of Man, would receive at the Last Day the +benefits of the amnesty of the Father of mercy and forgiveness. + +If the perpetrators of the great injustice of the Sanhedrin and of the +Prætorium are to be forgiven because they knew not what they did, is +there any justice, human or divine, in persecuting their innocent +descendants of all lands and ages? "When Sir Moses Montefiore was +taunted by a political opponent with the memory of Calvary and described +by him as one who sprang from the murderers who crucified the world's +Redeemer, the next morning the Jewish philanthropist, whom Christendom +has learned to honor, called upon his assailant and showed him the +record of his ancestors which had been kept for two thousand years, and +which showed that their home had been in Spain for two hundred years +before Jesus of Nazareth was born." This half-humorous anecdote +illustrates the utter absurdity and supreme injustice of connecting the +modern Jew with ancient tragic history. The elemental forces of reason, +logic, courage and sympathy, wrapped up and interwoven in every impulse +and fiber of the human mind and heart, will be forever in rebellion +against the monstrous doctrine of centuries of shame, exile and +persecution visited upon an entire race, because of the sins and crimes +of a handful of their progenitors who lived more than a thousand years +before. + +But, if the visitation of the sins of the fathers upon the sons is to be +maintained, and perpetuated as a form of divine, if not of human +justice, then, why not, at least, be consistent in the application of +the principle? Many philosophers and critics have detected a striking +kinship between the teachings of Socrates and those of Jesus. A +celebrated historian closes a chapter of the history of Greece with this +sentence: "Thus perished the greatest and most original of the Grecian +philosophers (Socrates), whose uninspired wisdom made the nearest +approach to the divine morality of the Gospel."[123] The indictments +against the philosopher of Athens and the Prophet of Nazareth were +strikingly similar. Socrates was charged with corrupting Athenian youth; +Jesus, with perverting the nation. Socrates was charged with treason +against Athens; Jesus, with treason against Rome. Both were charged with +blasphemy; the Athenian, with blasphemy of the Olympic gods; the +Nazarene, with blaspheming Jehovah. Both sealed with their blood the +faith that was in them. If the descendants of the crucifiers of the +Christ are to be persecuted, brutalized, and exiled for the sins of the +fathers, why not apply the same pitiless law of hereditary punishment to +the descendants of the Athenian dicasts who administered hemlock to the +greatest sage of antiquity? Why not persecute all the Greeks of the +earth, wherever found, because of the injustice of the Areopagus? + +Coming back from antiquity and the Greeks to modern times in America, +let us express the hope that all forms of race prejudice and persecution +will soon cease forever. It is a truth well known of all intelligent men +that racial prejudice against the Jew has not completely vanished from +the minds and hearts of Gentiles; that political freedom in an +enlightened age has not brought with it full religious tolerance and +social recognition; that the Jew enjoys the freedom of the letter, but +is still under the ban of the spirit. It is not necessary to go to +Russia to prove this contention. In 1896, Adolf von Sonnenthal, the +greatest of modern actors, who has covered the Austrian stage with +glory, celebrated the fortieth anniversary of his entrance into +theatrical life. The City Council of Vienna refused to extend him the +freedom of the city, because he was a Jew. In 1906, Madame Bernhardt, +the most marvelous living woman, while acting in Canada, was insulted by +having spoiled eggs thrown upon the stage amidst shouts of "Down with +the Jewess!" This outrage called forth a letter of apology, which +appeared in public print, from Sir Wilfred Laurier, Prime Minister of +the Dominion. In the summer of 1907, the sister of Senator Isidor +Rayner, of Maryland, was refused admission to an Atlantic City hotel +because she was a Jewess. Be it remembered that these several acts of +prejudice and persecution did not happen in the Middle Ages, or under +the government of the Romanoffs. Two of them occurred at the beginning +of the twentieth century, beneath the flags of two of the freest and +most civilized nations of the globe. What have Americans to say of the +exclusion of a virtuous, refined, intelligent sister of a great American +senator from an American hotel for no other reason than that she was a +Jewess; that is, that she was of the same race with the Savior of +mankind? + +There is certainly no place for religious intolerance and race prejudice +beneath our flag. Fake and hypocritical our religion, if while +professing faith in Jesus we continue to persecute those for whom He +prayed! In vain did Washington, marching in Liberty's vanguard, "lead +Freedom's eaglets to their feast"; in vain the proclamation of the +Declaration of Independence and the adoption of the Constitution at +Philadelphia, a hundred years ago; in vain the bonfires and orations of +the nation's natal day, if our boasted liberties are to exist in theory, +but not in practice, in fancy, but not in fact! + +Let no persecutor of the Jew lay the unction to his soul that he is +justified by the tragedy of Golgotha; for he who persecutes in the name +of religion is a spiritual barbarian, an intellectual savage. Let this +same persecutor not make the mistake of supposing that the Jews are +wholly responsible for the persecution that has been heaped upon them. +Before he falls into the foolish blunder of such a supposition, let him +ponder the testimony of several Gentile experts upon the subject. Let +him read "The Scattered Nation," a brilliant lecture on the Jew by the +late Zebulon Vance, of North Carolina, in which occurs this sentence: +"If the Jew is a bad job, in all honesty we should contemplate him as +the handiwork of our own civilization." Let him find Shakespearean +confirmation of this statement in "The Merchant of Venice," Act III, +Scene i. If the Jew-baiter objects that this is the imagination of a +poet, let us then point him to the testimony of a great historian and +statesman to prove to him that the Gentile is in great measure +responsible for the causes that have produced Jewish persecution. + +In the British House of Commons, on April 17, 1873, a bill for the +removal of the disabilities of the Jews was the subject of parliamentary +discussion. Lord Macaulay took part in the debate and spoke as follows: + + The honorable member for Oldham tells us that the Jews are + naturally a mean race, a money-getting race; that they are averse + to all honorable callings; that they neither sow nor reap; that + they have neither flocks nor herds; that usury is the only pursuit + for which they are fit; that they are destitute of all elevated and + amiable sentiments. + + Such, sir, has in every age been the reasoning of bigots. They + never fail to plead in justification of persecution the vices which + persecution has engendered. England has been legally a home to the + Jews less than half a century, and we revile them because they do + not feel for England more than a half patriotism. + + We treat them as slaves, and wonder that they do not regard us as + brethren. We drive them to mean occupations, and then reproach them + for not embracing honorable professions. We long forbade them to + possess land, and we complain that they chiefly occupy themselves + in trade. We shut them out from all the paths of ambition, and then + we despise them for taking refuge in avarice. + + During many ages we have, in our dealings with them, abused our + immense superiority of force, and then we are disgusted because + they have recourse to that cunning which to the natural and + universal defence of the weak against the violence of the strong. + But were they always a mere money-changing, money-getting, + money-hoarding race? Nobody knows better than my honorable friend, + the member for the University of Oxford, that there is nothing in + their national character which unfits them for the highest duties + of citizens. + + He knows that, in the infancy of civilization, when our island was + as savage as New Guinea, when letters and art were still unknown to + Athens, when scarcely a thatched hut stood on what was afterwards + the site of Rome, this contemned people had their fenced cities and + cedar palaces, their splendid Temple, their fleets of merchant + ships, their schools of sacred learning, their great statesmen and + soldiers, their natural philosophers, their historians and their + poets. + + What nation ever contended more manfully against overwhelming odds + for its independence and religion? What nation ever, in its last + agonies, gave such signal proofs of what may be accomplished by a + brave despair? And if, in the course of many centuries, the + depressed descendants of warriors and sages have degenerated from + the qualities of their fathers; if, while excluded from the + blessings of law and bowed down under the yoke of slavery, they + have contracted some of the vices of outlaws and slaves, shall we + consider this is a matter of reproach to them? Shall we not rather + consider it as a matter of shame and remorse to ourselves? Let us + do justice to them. Let us open to them the door of the House of + Commons. Let us open to them every career in which ability and + energy can be displayed. Till we have done this, let us not presume + to say that there is no genius among the countrymen of Isaiah, no + heroism among the descendants of the Maccabees. + +If the persecutor of the Jew is not moved by the eloquence of Macaulay +or by the satire and sarcasm of Shakespeare, then let him call the roll +of Hebrew great names and watch the mighty procession as it moves. +Abraham among patriarchs; Moses among lawgivers; Isaiah and Jeremiah +among prophets; Philo, Maimonides, Spinoza, and Mendelsohn among +philosophers; Herschel, Sylvester, Jacobi, and Kronecker among +mathematicians and astronomers; Josephus, Neander, Graetz, Palgrave, and +Geiger among historians; Mendelssohn, Meyerbeer, Offenbach, Goldmark, +Joachim, Rubinstein, and Strauss among musicians; Sonnenthal, Possart, +Rachel, and Bernhardt among actors and actresses; Disraeli, Gambetta, +Castelar, Lasker, Crémieux, and Benjamin among statesmen; Halevi and +Heine among poets; Karl Marx and Samuel Gompers among labor leaders and +political economists; the Rothschilds, Bleichrörders, Schiffs, and +Seligmans among financiers; Auerbach and Nordau among novelists; Sir +Moses Montefiore and Baron Hirsch among philanthropists! + +But there are no Cæsars, no Napoleons, no Shakespeares, no Aristotles +among them, you say? Maybe so; but what of that? Admitting that this is +true, is anything proved by the fact? These characters represented +mountain peaks of intellect, and were the isolated products of different +races and different centuries. It may be justly observed that, of their +kind, no others were comparable to them. But if the "mountain-peak" +theory is to govern as to the intellectuality of races, will it be +seriously contended that any one of the last-mentioned characters was +equal in either spiritual or intellectual grandeur to the Galilean +peasant, Jesus of Nazareth? If colossal forms of intellect and soul be +invoked, does not the Jew still lead the universe? + +Jesus was the most perfect product of Jewish spiritual creation, the +most precious gem of human life. The most brilliant and civilized +nations of the earth worship Him as God, "manifest in the flesh, +justified by the Spirit, seen of angels, preached unto the Gentiles, +believed on in the world, received up into glory."[124] + +Both skeptics and believers of all ages have alike pronounced His name +with reverence and respect. Even the flippant, sarcastic soul of +Voltaire was awed, softened and subdued by the sweetness of His life and +the majesty of His character.[125] + +"If the life and death of Socrates are those of a sage," said Rousseau, +"the life and death of Jesus are those of a God."[126] + +"Jesus of Nazareth," says Carlyle, "our divinest symbol! Higher has the +human thought not yet reached. A symbol of quite perennial, infinite +character, whose significance will ever demand to be anew inquired into, +and anew made manifest."[127] + +"Jesus Christ," says Herder, "is in the noblest and most perfect sense, +the realized ideal of humanity."[128] + +"He is," says Strauss, "the highest object we can possibly imagine with +respect to religion, the Being without whose presence in the mind +perfect piety is impossible."[129] + +"The Christ of the Gospels," says Renan, "is the most beautiful +incarnation of God in the most beautiful of forms. His beauty is +eternal; His reign will never end."[130] + +Max Nordau betrays secret Jewish pride in Jesus when he says: "Jesus is +soul of our soul, even as he is flesh of our flesh. Who, then, could +think of excluding him from the people of Israel? St. Peter will remain +the only Jew who has said of the Son of David, 'I know not the man.' +Putting aside the Messianic mission, this man is ours. He honors our +race, and we claim him as we claim the Gospels--flowers of Jewish +literature and only Jewish." + +"Is it a truth," asks Keim, "or is it nothing but words, when this +virtuous God-allied human life is called the noblest blossom of a noble +tree, the crown of the cedar of Israel? A full vigorous life in a barren +time, a new building among ruins, an erect strong nature among broken +ones, a Son of God among the godless and the God-forsaken, one who was +joyous, hopeful, generous among those who were mourning and in despair, +a freeman among slaves, a saint among sinners--by this contradiction to +the facts of the time, by this gigantic exaltation above the depressed +uniformity of the century, by this compensation for stagnation, +retrogression, and the sickness of death in progress, health, force and +color of eternal youth--finally, by the lofty uniqueness of what he +achieved, of his purity, of his God-nearness--he produces, even with +regard to endless new centuries that have _through him_ been saved from +stagnation and retrogression, the impression of mysterious +solitariness, superhuman miracle, divine creation."[131] + +"Between Him and whoever else in the world," said Napoleon at St. +Helena, "there is no possible term of comparison."[132] + +Throughout Napoleonic literature two names constantly recur as +exhibiting the Corsican's ideals of spiritual and intellectual +perfection. These names are those of Jesus Christ and Julius Cæsar. +Napoleon's stupendous genius and incomprehensible destiny formed the +basis of a secret conviction within his soul that with Jesus and Cæsar +displaced, he himself would be the grandest ornament of history. But in +the mind of the emperor there was no element of equality or comparison +between Jesus and Cæsar. The latter he regarded as the crown and +consummation of Roman manhood, the most superb character of the ancient +world. The former he believed to be divine. + +It was the custom of Napoleon while in exile at St. Helena to converse +almost daily about the illustrious men of antiquity and to compare them +with himself. On one occasion while talking upon his favorite theme with +an officer, one of the companions of his exile, he suddenly stopped and +asked: "But can you tell me who Jesus Christ was?" In reply, the officer +candidly confessed that he had never thought much about the Nazarene. +"Well, then," said Napoleon, "I will tell you." The illustrious captive +then compared Jesus with the heroes of antiquity and finally with +himself. The comparison demonstrated how paltry and contemptible was +everything human when viewed in the light of the divine character and +sublime achievements of the Man of Nazareth. "I think I understand +somewhat of human nature," said Napoleon, "and I tell you all these were +men, and I am a man, but not one is like Him; Jesus Christ was more than +man. Alexander, Cæsar, Charlemagne, and myself founded great empires; +but upon what did the creations of our genius depend? Upon force. Jesus +alone founded His empire upon love, and to this very day millions would +die for Him."[133] + +We have every reason to believe that the homage paid the character of +Jesus by Napoleon was not merely the product of his brain, but was also +the humble tribute of his heart. When the disasters of the Russian +campaign broke upon his fortunes, when "the infantry of the snow and the +cavalry of the wild blast scattered his legions like winter's withered +leaves," the iron-hearted, granite-featured man who had "conquered the +Alps and had mingled the eagles of France with the eagles of the crags," +only laughed and joked. But, while contemplating the life and death of +Jesus, he became serious, meditative and humble. And when he came to +write his last will and testament, he made this sentence the opening +paragraph: "I die in the Roman Catholic Apostolical religion, in the +bosom of which I was born more than fifty years ago."[134] The +Christianity of Napoleon has been questioned. It is respectfully +submitted that only an ungenerous criticism will attribute hypocrisy to +this final testimony of his religious faith. The imperial courage, the +grandeur of character, and the loftiness of life of the greatest of the +emperors negative completely the thought of insincerity in a declaration +made at a time when every earthly inducement to misrepresentation had +passed forever. + +But Jesus was not the Christ, the Savior of warrior-kings alone, in the +hour of death. On the battlefield of Inkerman an humble soldier fell +mortally wounded. He managed to crawl to his tent before he died. When +found he was lying face downward with the open Bible beside him. His +right hand was glued with his lifeblood to Chapter XI., Verse 25 of St. +John. When the hand was lifted, these words, containing the ever-living +promise of the Master, could be clearly traced: "I am the resurrection +and the life: he that believeth in me, though he were dead, yet shall he +live." + + + + + PART II + + _GRÆCO-ROMAN PAGANISM_ + + + + +[Illustration: JUPITER (ANTIQUE SCULPTURE)] + + + + +CHAPTER I + +GRÆCO-ROMAN PAGANISM + + +_Extent of the Roman Empire at the Time of Christ._--The policy of +ancient Rome was to extend and hold her possessions by force of arms. +She made demands; and if they were not complied with, she spurned the +medium of diplomacy and appealed for arbitrament to the god of battles. +Her achievements were the achievements of war. Her glories were the +glories of combat. Her trophies were the treasures of conquered +provinces and chained captives bowed in grief and shame. Her theory was +that "might makes right"; and in vindication and support of this theory +she imbued her youth with a martial spirit, trained them in the use of +arms from childhood to manhood, and stationed her legions wherever she +extended her empire. Thus, military discipline and the fortune of +successful warfare formed the basis of the prosperity of Rome. + +At the period of which we write, her invincible legions had accomplished +the conquest of the civilized earth. Britain, Gaul, Spain, Italy, +Illyria, Greece, Asia Minor, Africa, Egypt, and the islands of the +Mediterranean--six hundred thousand square leagues of the most fertile +territory in the world--had been subdued to the Roman will and had +become obedient to Roman decrees. "The empire of the Romans," says +Gibbon, "filled the world, and when that empire fell into the hands of a +single person, the world became a safe and dreary prison for his +enemies. The slave of imperial despotism, whether he was compelled to +drag his gilded chain in Rome and the Senate, or to wear out a life of +exile on the barren rock of Seriphus, or on the frozen banks of the +Danube, expected his fate in silent despair. To resist was fatal, and it +was impossible to fly. On every side he was encompassed by a vast extent +of sea and land, which he could never hope to traverse without being +discovered, seized, and restored to his irritated master. Beyond the +frontiers, his anxious view could discover nothing, except the ocean, +inhospitable deserts, hostile tribes of barbarians, of fierce manners +and unknown language, or dependent kings who would gladly purchase the +emperor's protection by the sacrifice of an obnoxious fugitive. +'Wherever you are,' said Cicero to the exiled Marcellus, 'remember that +you are equally within the power of the conqueror.'" + +In obedience to a universal law of development and growth, when the +Roman empire had reached the limits of physical expansion, when Roman +conquest was complete, when Roman laws and letters had reached +approximate perfection, and when Roman civilization had attained its +crown and consummation, Roman decline began. The birth of the empire +marked the beginning of the end. It was then that the shades of night +commenced to gather slowly upon the Roman world; and that the Roman ship +of state began to move slowly but inevitably, upon a current of +indescribable depravity and degeneracy, toward the abyss. The Roman +giant bore upon his shoulders the treasures of a conquered world; and +Bacchus-like, reeled, crowned and drunken, to his doom. + +No period of human history is so marked by lust and licentiousness as +the history of Rome at the beginning of the Christian era. The Roman +religion had fallen into contempt. The family instinct was dead, and the +marital relation was a mockery and a shame. The humane spirit had +vanished from Roman hearts, and slavery was the curse of every province +of the empire. The destruction of infants and the gladiatorial games +were mere epitomes of Roman brutality and degeneracy. Barbarity, +corruption and dissoluteness pervaded every form of Roman life. + +A perfect picture of the depravity of the times about which we write may +be had from a perusal of the Roman satirists, Tacitus and Juvenal. The +ordinary Roman debauchee was not the sole victim of their wrath. They +chiseled the hideous features of the Cæsars with a finer stroke than +that employed by Phidias and Praxiteles in carving statues of the +Olympic gods. + +The purpose of Part II of this volume is to give coloring and atmosphere +to the picture of the trial and crucifixion of Jesus by describing: (1) +The Græco-Roman religion; and (2) the Græco-Roman social life, during +the century preceding and the century following the birth of the Savior. + + +1.--THE GRÆCO-ROMAN RELIGION + +_Origin and Multiplicity of the Roman Gods._--The Romans acquired their +gods by inheritance, by importation, and by manufacture. The Roman race +sprang from a union of Etruscans, Latins, and Sabines; and the gods of +these different tribes, naturalized and adopted, were the first deities +of Rome. Chief among them were Janus, Jupiter, Juno, and Minerva. Other +early Roman deities were Sol, the Sun, and Luna the Moon, both of Sabine +origin; Mater Matuta, Mother of Day; Divus Pater Tiberinus, or Father +Tiber; Fontus, the god of fountains; Vesta, the goddess of the hearth; +and the Lares and Penates, household gods. + +These primitive Italian divinities were at first mere abstractions, +simple nature-powers; but later they were Hellenized and received +plastic form. The Greeks and Romans had a common ancestry and the +amalgamation of their religions was an easy matter. The successive steps +in the process of blending the two forms of worship are historical. From +Cumæ, one of the oldest Greek settlements in Italy, the famous Sibylline +books found their way to Rome; and through these books the Greek gods +and their worship established themselves in Italy. The date of the +arrival of several of the Hellenic deities is well ascertained. The +first temple to Apollo was vowed in the year 351 A.U.C. To check a +lingering epidemic of pestilence and disease, the worship of Æsculapius +was introduced from Epidaurus into Rome in the year 463. In 549, +Cybele, the Idæan mother, was imported from Phrygia, in the shape of a +black stone, and was worshiped at Rome by order of the Sibylline books. + +In various ways, the Hellenization of the Roman religion was +accomplished. The Decemviri, to whom the consulting of the Sibylline +books was intrusted, frequently interpreted them to mean that certain +foreign gods should be invited at once to take up their residence in +Rome. + +The introduction of Greek literature also resulted in the importation of +Greek gods. The tragedies of Livius Andronicus and the comedies of +Nævius, founded upon Greek legends of gods and heroes, were presented in +Rome in the later years of the third century B.C. Fragments of Greek +literature also began to make their way into the Capital about this +time. Philosophers, rhetoricians, and grammarians flocked from Greece to +Italy and brought with them the works of Homer, Hesiod and the Greek +philosophers, whose writings were permeated with Greek mythology. + +Grecian sculpture was as potent as Grecian literature in transforming +and Hellenizing the religion of Rome. The subjugation of the Greek +colonies in the south of Italy and the conquests of Greek cities like +Syracuse and Corinth in the East, brought together in Rome the +masterpieces of the Greek sculptors. + +A determined effort was made from time to time by the patriotic Romans +to destroy Hellenic influence and to preserve in their original purity +early Roman forms of worship. But all attempts were futile. The average +Roman citizen, though practical and unimaginative, was still enamored of +the beautiful myths and exquisite statues of the Greek gods. And it was +only by Hellenizing their own deities that they could bring themselves +into touch and communion with the Hellenic spirit. The æsthetical and +fascinating influence of the Greek language, literature and sculpture, +was overwhelming. "At bottom, the Roman religion was based only on two +ideas--the might of the gods who were friendly to Rome, and the power of +the ceremonies over the gods. How could a religion, so poverty-stricken +of thought, with its troops of phantom gods, beingless shadows and +deified abstractions, remain unscathed and unaltered when it came in +contact with the profusion of the Greek religion, with its circle of +gods, so full of life, so thoroughly anthropomorphised, so deeply +interwoven into everything human?"[135] + +Not only from Greece but from every conquered country, strange gods were +brought into Italy and placed in the Roman pantheon. When a foreign city +was besieged and captured, the Romans, after a preliminary ceremony, +invited the native gods to leave their temples and go to Rome where, +they were assured, they would have much grander altars and would receive +a more enthusiastic worship. It was a religious belief of the ancient +masters of the world that gods could be enticed from their allegiance +and induced to emigrate. In their foreign wars, the Romans frequently +kept the names of their own gods secret to prevent the enemy from +bribing them. + +The gods at Rome increased in number just in proportion that the empire +expanded. The admission of foreign territory brought with it the +introduction of strange gods into the Roman worship. + +When the Romans needed a new god and could not find a foreign one that +pleased them, they deliberately manufactured a special deity for the +occasion. In the breaking up and multiplication of the god-idea, they +excelled all the nations of antiquity. It was the duty of the pontiffs +to manufacture a divinity whenever an emergency arose and one was +needed. The god-casting business was a regular employment of the +Decemviri and the Quindecemviri; and a perusal of the pages of Roman +history reveals these god-makers actively engaged in their workshops +making some new deity to meet some new development in Roman life. + +The extent of the polytheistic notions of the ancient Romans is almost +inconceivable to the modern mind. Not only were the great forces of +nature deified, but the simplest elements of time, of thought, and +action. Ordinary mental abstractions were clothed with the attributes of +gods. Mens (Mind), Pudicitia (Chastity), Pietas (Piety), Fides +(Fidelity), Concordia (Concord), Virtus (Courage), Spes (Hope), and +Voluptas (Pleasure), were all deities of the human soul, and were +enthusiastically worshiped by the Romans. A single human action was +frequently broken into parts each of which had a little god of its own. +The beginning of a marriage had one deity and its conclusion, another. +Cunina was the cradle-goddess of a child. Statilinus, Edusa, Potnia, +Paventia, Fabelinus and Catius were other goddesses who presided over +other phases of its infancy. Juventas was the goddess of its youth; and, +in case of loss of parents, Orbona was the goddess that protected its +orphanage. + +Any political development in the Roman state necessitated a new divinity +to mark the change. In the early periods of their history, the Romans +used cattle as a medium of exchange in buying and bartering. Pecunia was +then the goddess of such exchange. But when, in later times, copper +money came into use, a god called Æsculanus was created to preside over +the finances; and when, still later, silver money began to be used, the +god Argentarius was called into being to protect the coinage. This +Argentarius was naturally the son of Æsculanus. + +Not only the beneficent but the malign forces of nature were deified. +Pests, plagues, and tempests had their special divinities who were to be +placated. "There were particular gods for every portion of a +dwelling--the door, the threshold of the door, and even the hinges of +the door. There was a special god for each different class--even the +most menial and the most immoral; and a special divinity for those who +were afflicted in a peculiar manner, such as the childless, the maimed +or the blind. There was the god of the stable, and the goddess of the +horses; there were gods for merchants, artists, poets and tillers of the +soil. The gods must be invoked before the harvest could be reaped; and +not even a tree could be felled in the forest without supplicating the +unknown god who might inhabit it."[136] + +The extreme of the Roman divinity-making process was the deification of +mere negative ideas. Tranquillitas Vacuna was the goddess of "doing +nothing." + +Not only were special actions and peculiar ideas broken up and +subdivided with an appropriate divinity for each part or subdivision, +but the individual gods themselves were subdivided and multiplied. It is +said that there were three hundred Jupiters in Rome. This means that +Jupiter was worshiped under three hundred different forms. Jupiter +Pluvius, Jupiter Fulgurator, Jupiter Tonans, Jupiter Fulminator, Jupiter +Imbricitor, Jupiter Serenator, were only a few designations of the +supreme deity of the Romans. + +It will thus be seen that polytheism was insatiable in its thirst for +new and strange gods. When the god-casting business was once begun, +there was no end to it. And when the Roman empire had reached its +greatest expansion, and Roman public and private life had attained to +complete development, the deities of the Roman religion were +innumerable. No pantheon could hold them, and no Roman could remember +the names of all. Temples of the gods were everywhere to be found +throughout the empire; and where there were no altars or temples, +certain trees, stones and rocks were decorated with garlands and +worshiped as sacred places which the gods were supposed to frequent. +Thus the Roman world became crowded with holy places, and the gods and +goddesses became an innumerable host. Petronius makes a countrywoman +from a district adjoining Rome declare that it was much easier to find a +god in her neighborhood than a man. We shall see that the multiplicity +of the gods was finally the cause of the decay and ruin of the Roman +religion. + +_The Roman Priesthood._--The Roman priesthood was composed of several +orders of pontiffs, augurs, keepers of the Sibylline books, Vestal +virgins, epulos, salians, lupercals, etc. + +Fifteen pontiffs exercised supreme control in matters of religion. They +were consecrated to the service of the gods; and all questions of +doubtful religious interpretation were submitted to the judgment of +their tribunal. + +Fifteen learned and experienced augurs observed the phenomena of nature +and studied the flight of birds as a means of directing the actions of +the state. + +Fifteen keepers of the Sibylline books read the pages of their treasures +and from them divined coming events. + +Six Vestals, immaculate in their virginity, guarded the Roman sacred +fire, and presided at the national hearthstone of the Roman race. + +Seven epulos conducted the solemn processions and regulated the +religious ceremonies at the annual festivals of the gods. + +Fifteen flamens were consecrated to the service of separate deities. +Those of Jupiter, Mars, and Quirinus were held in the highest esteem. +The Flamen Dialis, or priest of Jupiter, was loaded down with religious +obligations and restrictions. He was not permitted to take an oath, to +ride, to have anything tied with knots on his person, to look at a +prisoner, see armed men, or to touch a dog, a goat, or raw flesh, or +yeast. He was not allowed to bathe in the open air; nor could he spend +the night outside the city. He could resign his office only on the death +of his wife. The Salians were priests of Mars, who, at festivals +celebrated in honor of the war-god, danced in heavy armor, and sang +martial hymns. + +_Roman Forms of Worship._--Roman worship was very elaborate and +ceremonial. It consisted of sacrifices, vows, prayers, and festivals. +With the exception of the ancient Hebrews, the Romans were the greatest +formalists and ritualists of antiquity. Every act of Roman public and +private life was supposed to be framed in accordance with the will of +the gods. There was a formula of prayer adapted to every vicissitude of +life. Cæsar never mounted his chariot, it is said, that he did not +repeat a formula three times to avert dangers. + +A painful exactness in the use of words was required in the offering of +a Roman prayer. A syllable left out or a word mispronounced, or the +intervention of any disturbing cause of evil import, would destroy the +merit of the formula. The Romans believed that the voice of prayer +should not be interrupted by noises or bad omens. And that the sound of +evil augury might not be heard at the moment of supplication, they were +in the habit of covering their ears. Musical notes of favorable import +were not objectionable, and frequently flutes were played while the +prayer was being offered to chase away disturbing sounds. At other +times, the priests had special assistants whose duty it was to maintain +silence during the recital of the formula. But, if the ceremony was +successful, if the language had been correctly pronounced, without the +omission or addition of a word; if all disturbing causes and things of +evil omen had been alienated from the services, then the granting of the +prayer was assured, regardless of the motive or intention of the person +praying. It should be remembered that piety and faith were not necessary +to the efficacy of Roman prayer. Ceremonial precision, rather than +purity of heart, was pleasing to the Roman gods. A peculiar element +entered into the religions of both the ancient Romans and the ancient +Hebrews. It was the principle of contract in an almost purely juristic +sense. Both the Romans and the Hebrews believed that if the divine law +was obeyed to the letter, their deities were under the strictest +obligation to grant their petitions. + +Under the Roman form of worship, a peculiar act of supplication was +performed by the suppliant who kissed his right hand, turned round in a +circle by the right, and then seated himself upon the ground. This was +done in obedience to one of the laws of Numa. The circular movement of +the earth, it was thought, was symbolized by the turning round in a +circle; and the sitting down indicated that the suppliant was confidant +that his prayer would be granted. + +The Romans believed that prayers were more efficacious if said in the +immediate presence and, if possible, in actual contact with the image of +the god. The doorkeepers of the temple were frequently besieged by +suppliants who begged to be admitted into the inclosures of the sacred +places where they might pray to the deity on the spot. + +On account of the vast numbers of the gods, the Romans were sometimes at +a loss to know which one to address in prayer. Unlike the Greeks, they +had no preferences among their deities. Each was supplicated in his turn +according to the business in hand. But they were frequently in doubt as +to the name of the god who had control of the subject-matter of their +petitions. In such cases, the practical genius of the Roman people +served them well. They had recourse to several expedients which they +believed would insure success. When in doubt as to the particular +divinity which they should address in supplication, they would, at +times, invoke, in the first place, Janus, the god of all good +beginnings, the doorkeeper, so to speak, of the pantheon, who, it was +believed, would deliver the prayer to the proper deity. At other times, +in such perplexity, they would address their petitions to a group of +gods in which they knew the right one was bound to be. It sometimes +happened that they did not know whether the deity to be supplicated was +a god or goddess. In such an emergency, they expressed themselves very +cautiously, using the alternative proviso: "Be thou god or goddess." At +other times, in cases of extreme doubt, they prayed to all the deities +at once; and often, in fits of desperation, they dismissed the entire +pantheon and addressed their prayers to the Unknown God. + +Another mode of propitiating the gods was by sacrifice. Animals, the +fruits of the fields, and even human beings were devoted to this +purpose. In the matter of sacrifice, the practical genius of the Roman +people was again forcibly manifested. They were tactful enough to adapt +the sacrifice to the whims and tastes of the gods. A provision of the +Twelve Tables was that "such beasts should be used for victims as were +becoming and agreeable to each deity." The framers of these laws +evidently believed that the gods had keenly whetted appetites and +discriminating tastes in the matter of animal sacrifice. Jupiter +Capitolinus was pleased with an offering of white cattle with gilded +horns, but would not accept rams or bulls. Mars, Neptune and Apollo +were, on the other hand, highly delighted with the sacrifice of bulls. +It was also agreeable to Mars to have horses, cocks, and asses +sacrificed in his honor. An intact heifer was always pleasing to the +goddess Minerva. A white cow with moon-shaped horns delighted Juno +Calendaris. A sow in young was sacrificed to the great Mother; and doves +and sparrows to Venus. Unweaned puppies were offered as victims of +expiation to the Lares and Penates. Black bulls were usually slaughtered +to appease the infernal gods. + +The most careful attention was given to the selection of the victims of +sacrifice from the flocks and herds. Any serious physical defect in the +animal disqualified. A calf was not fit for slaughter if its tail did +not reach to the joint of the leg. Sheep with cloven tongues and black +ears were rejected. Black spots on a white ox had to be rubbed white +with chalk before the beast was available for sacrifice. + +Not only animals were sacrificed, but human beings as well, to appease +the wrath of the gods in time of awful calamity. In early Roman history, +gray-headed men of sixty years were hurled from the Pons Sublicius into +the Tiber as an offering to Saturn. In the year 227 B.C., the pontiffs +discovered from the Sibylline books that the Gauls and Greeks were to +attack and capture the city. To fulfill the prophecy and, at the same +time to avert the danger, the senate decreed that a man and woman of +each of these two nations should be buried alive in the forum as a form +of constructive possession. This was nothing but a human sacrifice to +the gods. + +Again, two of Cæsar's soldiers, who had participated in a riot in Rome, +were taken to the Campus Martius and sacrificed to Mars by the pontiffs +and the Flamen Martialis. Their heads were fixed upon the Regia, as was +the case in the sacrifice of the October-horse. As an oblation to +Neptune, Sextus Pompeius had live men and horses thrown into the sea at +the time when a great storm was destroying the fleet of the enemy. + +A near approach to human sacrifice was the custom of sprinkling the +statue of Jupiter Latiaris with the blood of gladiators. A priest caught +the blood as it gushed from the wound of the dying gladiator, and dashed +it while still warm at the face of the image of the god. + +Suetonius tells us that after the capture of Perugia, Augustus Cæsar +slaughtered three hundred prisoners as an expiatory sacrifice to Julius +Cæsar. + +Thus at the beginning of the Christian era, human beings were still +being sacrificed on the altars of superstition. + +_Ascertaining the Will of the Gods._--Various methods were employed by +the Romans in ascertaining the will of the gods. Chief among these were +the art of divination from the flight of birds and from the inspection +of the entrails of animals; also from the observation of lightning and +the interpretation of dreams. The Romans had no oracles like those of +the Greeks, but they frequently sent messengers to consult the Delphic +oracle. + +Nothing is stranger or more disgusting in all the range of religious +history than the practice of the Roman haruspices. That the ancient +masters of the world should have felt themselves obliged to search in +the belly of a beast for the will of Jupiter is one of the abominable +enigmas of Pagan superstition. The inspection of the entrails of victims +was a Tuscan science, early imported from Etruria, and naturalized at +Rome. Tuscan haruspices accompanied the Roman armies everywhere, and +determined by their skill whether a battle should be fought or a retreat +ordered. When it was doubtful what to do, an animal was slaughtered, and +the heart, lungs, liver, tongue, spleen, kidneys and caul were closely +inspected with the aid of a small needle or knife. Various conditions +and appearances of these parts were considered as signs of the pleasure +or disfavor of the gods. Largely developed veins on the adverse side +were considered tokens of extreme displeasure and an indication of +pending misfortune. It was also considered gravely ominous when the head +or protuberance in the right lobe of the liver was wanting. The Romans +were too practical and indomitable, however, to allow a single bad omen +to frustrate a great enterprise. If the inspection of the entrails of +the first animal was not favorable, they slaughtered still others until +a propitious sign was observed. At times, a score of beasts were slain +before the gods gave assent to the enterprise in hand. + +Divination from the flight and notes of birds was another method +employed by the Romans in finding out the will of the gods. And it may +be remarked that this was certainly a more rational and elevated form of +divination than that which we have just discussed. An eagle swooping +down from the skies would certainly be a more natural and pleasing +suggestion of the thoughts and attributes of Jove than the filthy +interior of the entrails of a bull. + +The elements of divination from the flight of birds were derived either +from the significant notes and sounds of their voices, or from the +manner in which their wings were flapped or their flight conducted. If +the bird flew from the left to the right of the augur, it was considered +a happy omen; if the flight was in the opposite direction, the +enterprise in hand had to be abandoned or at least delayed. Augury by +flight was usually applied to eagles and vultures, while woodpeckers, +ravens, crows, and screech owls announced the will of the gods by note. +The direction from which the note came, usually determined the nature of +the augury. But, in the case of the screech owl, the sounds were always +of evil omen, from whatever side they came. And those who have been so +unfortunate as to hear its mournful, desolate and God-forsaken tones +will not be disposed to censure either the Romans or their gods for the +low esteem in which they held this bird. + +Again, it was a principle of Roman augury that auspices could be +neutralized or overcome. If a crow furnished an omen, and an eagle gave +another which was opposed to it, the first sign was wiped out, because +the eagle was a larger and nobler bird than the crow. And, as in the +case of prayer, so also in the matter of the auspices, a disturbing +sound would destroy the effect of the augury. The squeak or cry of a +mouse would destroy a message from Jupiter conveyed in the scream of an +eagle. + +But the most potent manifestation of the divine mind, among the ancient +Romans, was that derived from thunder and lightning. Lightning to them +was the sovereign expression of the will of the gods; and a single flash +blotted out every other sign and token. It was an irrevocable presage +and could not be remotely modified or evaded. It came directly from the +hand of the deity and was an emphatic revelation of the divine mind. All +places struck by lightning were considered sacred and were consecrated +to the god who had sent the bolt. Upon the spot where it fell, an altar +was raised and an inclosure formed. The service of consecration +consisted in burying the lightning, that is, in restoring the earth +thrown up by it, and in the sacrifice of a two-year-old sheep. All such +places were considered hallowed spots and it was impious and +sacrilegious to touch them or even look at them. The gods deprived of +reason those who destroyed the altars and sacred inclosures of these +places. + +These various methods of ascertaining the will of the deities were +employed in every important transaction of Roman public and private +life. At times, all of them coöperated on occasions of vast import and +when the lives and destinies of great men were involved. + +The following single paragraph from Suetonius contains allusions to all +the modes of divination which we have just discussed: + + After the death of Cæsar, upon his return from Apollonia as he was + entering the city, on a sudden, in a clear and bright sky a circle + resembling the rainbow surrounded the body of the sun; and + immediately afterwards, the tomb of Julia, Cæsar's daughter, was + struck by lightning. In his first consulship whilst he was + observing the auguries, twelve vultures presented themselves as + they had done to Romulus. And when he offered sacrifice, the livers + of all the victims were folded inward in the lower part; a + circumstance which was regarded by those present, who had skill in + things of that nature, as an indubitable prognostic of great and + wonderful fortune.[137] + +The interpretation of dreams also formed an important part in the +determination of the will of the gods, not only among the Romans, but +among all ancient nations. The literature of antiquity, both sacred and +profane, is filled with dreams. Whether the biographer is Matthew or +Plutarch, dreams appear on the pages of both. Chrysippus made a +collection of prophetical dreams in order to explain their meaning. Both +Galen and Hippocrates believed that dreams were sent by the gods to men. +Artemidorus wrote a treatise on the subject, and in it he assures us +that it was compiled at the express bidding and under the direction of +Apollo himself. + +It was in a dream that Joseph was warned not to put away Mary his +wife.[138] It was also in a dream that an angel voice warned him to flee +into Egypt with the infant Savior to escape the murderous designs of +Herod.[139] Nearly every great event, both in Greek and Roman history, +seems to have been heralded or attended by dreams. The following account +is given by Suetonius of the dreams of Quintus Catulus and Marcus Cicero +presaging the reign of Augustus: + + Quintus Catulus had a dream, for two nights successively after his + dedication of the Capitol. The first night he dreamt that Jupiter + out of several boys of the order of the nobility who were playing + about his altar, selected one, into whose bosom he put the public + seal of the commonwealth, which he held in his hand; but in his + vision the next night, he saw in the bosom of Jupiter Capitolinus, + the same boy; whom he ordered to be removed, but it was forbidden + by the God, who declared that it must be brought up to become the + guardian of the state. The next day, meeting Augustus, with whom + till that hour he had not the least acquaintance, and looking at + him with admiration, he said he was extremely like the boy he had + seen in his dream. Some gave a different account of Catulus's + first dream, namely that Jupiter, upon several noble lads + requesting of him that they might have a guardian, had pointed to + one amongst them, to whom they were to prefer their requests; and + putting his fingers to the boy's mouth to kiss, he afterwards + applied them to his own. + + Marcus Cicero, as he was attending Caius Cæsar to the Capitol, + happened to be telling some of his friends a dream which he had the + preceding night, in which he saw a comely youth let down from + heaven by a golden chain, who stood at the door of the Capitol, and + had a whip put into his hands by Jupiter. And immediately upon + sight of Augustus, who had been sent for by his uncle Cæsar to the + sacrifice, and was as yet perfectly unknown to most of the company, + he affirmed that it was the very boy he had seen in his dream. When + he assumed the manly toga, his senatorian tunic becoming loose in + the seam on each side, fell at his feet. Some would have this to + forebode, that the order of which that was the badge of + distinction, would some time or other be subject to him.[140] + +Omens also played an important rôle in molding the destiny of the Roman +state. In his "Life of Cæsar Augustus," Suetonius says: + + Some signs and omens he regarded as infallible. If in the morning, + his shoe was put on wrong, the left instead of the right, that + boded some disaster. If when he commenced a long journey, by land + or sea, there happened to fall a mizzling rain, he held it to be a + good sign of a speedy and happy return. He was much affected + likewise with anything out of the common course of nature. A + palm-tree which chanced to grow up between some stones in the court + of his house, he transplanted into a court where the images of the + Household Gods were placed, and took all possible care to make it + thrive. In the island of Capri, some decayed branches of an old + ilex, which hung drooping to the ground, recovered themselves upon + his arrival; at which he was so delighted, that he made an + exchange with the Republic of Naples, of the Island of Ischia, for + that of Capri. He likewise observed certain days; as never to go + from home the day after the Numdinæ, nor to begin any serious + business upon the nones; avoiding nothing else in it, as he writes + to Tiberius, than its unlucky name.[141] + +Any unusual happening and all the striking phenomena of nature were +regarded by the Romans as prodigies or omens indicative of the will of +the gods. The nature of the occurrence indicated the pleasure or the +wrath of the deity. An eclipse of the sun and the moon, a shooting star, +a rainbow of peculiar color, showers of stones and ashes, were regarded +as awful prodigies, and generally threw the Roman Senate into a panic. +On such occasions, the pontifical college called a hurried meeting. The +augurs and haruspices were summoned to immediate duty; and everything +was done to ascertain the will of the gods and to do their bidding. A +two-headed snake or a three-legged chicken, such as we frequently see +to-day, would have shaken the whole Roman religious system to the +center. + +Such was the credulity of the Roman people, that the most improbable and +impossible stories, mere rumors born of lying imposture, were heard and +believed. "Idols shed tears or sweated blood, oxen spoke, men were +changed into women, cocks into hens, lakes or brooks ran with blood or +milk, mice nibbled at the golden vessels of the temples, a swarm of bees +lighted on a temple or in a public place." All such alleged occurrences +required sacrifices and expiatory rites to conquer the fury and regain +the favor of the gods. + +_Fall of the Early Roman Religion._--At the beginning of the Christian +era, the old Roman religion, founded upon the institutions of Numa, had +almost come to an end. The invasion of Italy by the Greek gods was the +first serious assault upon the early Roman faith. The elegant refinement +and fascinating influence of Greek literature, philosophy and sculpture, +had incrusted with a gorgeous coating the rude forms of the primitive +Roman worship. But, as time advanced, the old gods grew stale and new +deities were sought. The human soul could not forever feed upon myths, +however brilliant and bewitching. The mysterious and melancholy rites of +Isis came to establish themselves by the side of those of Janus and +Æsculapius. The somber qualities of the Egyptian worship seemed to +commend it. Even so good and grand a man as Marcus Aurelius avowed +himself an adorer of Serapis; and, during a sojourn in Egypt, he is +reported to have conducted himself like an Egyptian citizen and +philosopher while strolling through the temples and sacred groves on the +banks of the Nile.[142] + +The effect of the repeated changes from one form of religious faith to +another was to gradually destroy the moral fiber of Roman worship and to +shatter Roman faith in the existence and stability of the gods. The +first manifestation of that disintegration which finally completely +undermined and destroyed the temple of Roman worship was the familiarity +with which the Romans treated their gods. Familiarity with gods, as +with men, breeds contempt. A striking peculiarity of both the Roman and +Greek mythologies was the intimate relationship that existed between +gods and human beings. Sometimes it took the form of personal +intercourse from which heroes sprang, as was the case with Jupiter and +Alcmene, of whom Hercules was born. At other times, deities and human +beings traveled together on long voyages, as was the case with Minerva +and Telemachus on their trip to the island of Calypso. These were +instances of what the Greeks regarded as that natural and sympathetic +relationship that not only could but should exist between them and their +divinities. But in time the Romans entered upon a career of frivolous +fellowship and familiarity with their gods which destroyed their mutual +respect, and hastened the dissolution of the bonds that had hitherto +held them together. They began to treat their divinities as men, +deserving of honor indeed, but nevertheless human beings with all the +frailties and attributes of mortals. "Arnobius speaks of morning +serenades sung with an accompaniment of fifes, as a kind of reveille to +the sleeping gods, and of an evening salutation, in which leave was +taken of the deity with the wishing him a good night's rest." + +The Lectisternia or banquets of the gods were ordinary religious +functions to which the deities themselves were invited. These feasts +were characterized at times by extreme exclusiveness. It was not right, +thought the Romans, to degrade and humiliate the greater gods by seating +them at the banquet board with smaller ones. So, a right royal fête was +annually arranged in the Capitol in honor of Jupiter, Juno, and Minerva. +The statue of the great god was placed reclining on a pillow; and the +images of the two goddesses were seated upon chairs near him. At other +times, the functions were more democratic, and great numbers of the gods +were admitted, as well as a few select and distinguished mortals. On +such occasions, the images of the gods were placed in pairs on cushions +near the table. The Romans believed that the spirit of the god actually +inhabited or occupied the statue. This we learn from Lucian. The happy +mortals who were fortunate enough to be present at the banquet, actually +believed that they were seated among the gods. Livy tells us that once +the gods turned on their cushions and reversed themselves at the table, +and that mice then came and devoured the meats.[143] + +The Roman historians very seriously inform us that special invitations +were extended the gods to attend these banquets. They fail to tell us, +however, whether R.S.V.P. or any other directions were inserted in the +cards of invitation. We are left completely in the dark as to the +formality employed by the deities to indicate their acceptance or +rejection of the proffered honor. + +The purpose of the Lectisternia was at first undoubtedly to promote +hospitality and fellowship, and to conciliate the good will of the gods. +But finally such intimacy ripened into contempt and all kinds of +indecencies began to be practiced against the deities. Speaking of the +actions of certain Romans, Seneca says: "One sets a rival deity by the +side of another god; another shows Jupiter the time of day; this one +acts the beadle, the other the anointer, pretending by gesture to rub in +the ointment. A number of coiffeurs attend upon Juno and Minerva, and +make pretence of curling with their fingers, not only at a distance from +their images, but in the actual temple. Some hold the looking-glass to +them; some solicit the gods to stand security for them; while others +display briefs before them, and instruct them in their law cases." This +rude conduct was practiced by men. But Seneca, continuing, says: "Women, +too, take their seats at the Capitol pretending that Jupiter is enamored +of them, and not allowing themselves to be intimidated by Juno's +presence."[144] + +_Roman Skepticism._--Of contempt of the gods, which was due to many +causes, skepticism was born. The deities of every race had been brought +to Rome and placed in the pantheon; and there, gazing into each other's +faces, had destroyed each other. The multiplicity of the gods was the +chief agency in the destruction of the Roman faith and ritual. The yoke +and burden of endless ceremonials had been borne for centuries and were +now producing intolerable irritation and nauseating disgust. The natural +freedom of the soul was in open rebellion and revolt against the hollow +forms and rigid exactions of the Roman ritual. The eagle of the human +intellect was already preparing to soar above the clouds of +superstition. Cicero gave expression to the prevalent sentiments of +educated Romans of his day when he wrote: + + I thought I should be doing an immense benefit both to myself and + to my countrymen if I could entirely eradicate all superstitious + errors. Nor is there any fear that true religion can be endangered + by the demolition of this superstition; for as this religion which + is united with the knowledge of nature is to be propagated, so, + also, are all the roots of superstition to be destroyed; for that + presses upon and pursues and persecutes you wherever you turn + yourself, whether you consult a diviner or have heard an omen or + have immolated a victim, or beheld a flight of birds; whether you + have seen a Chaldæan or a soothsayer; if it lightens or thunders, + or if anything is struck by lightning; if any kind of prodigy + occurs; some of which things must be frequently coming to pass, so + that you can never rise with a tranquil mind. + +The completion of Roman conquest in the reign of Augustus was another +potent influence in the destruction of the old Roman religion. The chief +employment of the Roman gods had ever been as servants of the Roman +state in the extension of the Roman empire. Their services were now no +longer needed in this regard, and their ancient worshipers were ready to +repudiate and dismiss them. The Hebrew characteristic of humility and +resignation in the presence of divine displeasure was not a Roman trait. +The ancient masters of the world reserved the right to object and even +to rebel when the gods failed to do their duty after appropriate prayers +had been said and proper ceremonies had been performed. Sacrilege, as +the result of disappointment, was a frequent occurrence in Roman +religious life. Bitter defiance of the heavenly powers sometimes +followed a defeat in battle or a failure in diplomacy. Augustus, as +supreme pontiff, chastised Neptune, the god of the sea, because he lost +his fleet in a storm, by forbidding the image of the god to be carried +in the procession of the next Circensian games. The emperor Julian was +regarded as a most pious potentate, but he did not hesitate to defy the +gods when he became displeased. At the time of the Parthian war, he was +preparing to sacrifice ten select and beautiful bulls to Mars the +Avenger, when nine of them suddenly lay down while being led to the +altar, and the tenth broke his band. The fury of the monarch was +aroused, and he swore by Jupiter that he would not again offer a +sacrifice to Mars.[145] Claudius, the commander of the Roman fleet at +Drepanum, ordered the sacred pullets to be thrown into the sea because +they would not eat. When Germanicus was sick in Asia, his devoted +admirers offered frequent prayers to the gods for his recovery. When the +report of his death reached Rome, the temples of the unaccommodating +deities were stoned, and their altars were overturned.[146] + +The same feeling of angry resentment and defiance may be discerned in +inscriptions on the graves of relatives prematurely snatched away by +death. An epitaph on the monument of a child of five years was this: "To +the unrighteous gods who robbed me of my life." Another on the tombstone +of a maiden of twenty, named Procope, read as follows: "I lift my hand +against the god who has deprived me of my innocent existence."[147] + +The soil of familiarity, contempt and sacrilege which we have just +described, was most fertile ground for the growth of that rank and +killing skepticism which was destroying the vitals of the Roman faith at +the time of Christ. This unbelief, it is true, was not universal. At the +time of the birth of the Savior, the Roman masses still believed in the +gods and goddesses of the Greek and Roman mythologies. Superstition was +especially prevalent in the country districts of both Greece and Italy. +Pausanias, who lived about the middle of the second century of the +Christian era, tells as that in his time the olden legends of god and +hero were still firmly believed by the common people. As he traveled +through Greece, the cypresses of Alcmæon, the stance of Amphion, and the +ashes of the funeral piles of Niobe's children were pointed out to him. +In Phocis, he found the belief still existing that larks laid no eggs +there because of the sin of Tereus.[148] Plutarch, who lived about the +middle of the first century of our era, tells us that the people were +still modeling the gods in wax and clay, as well as carving them in +marble and were worshiping them in contempt and defiance of philosophers +and statesmen.[149] But this credulity was limited to the ignorant and +unthinking masses. The intellectual leaders of both the Greek and Roman +races had long been in revolt against the absurdity and vulgarity of the +myths which formed the foundation of their popular faiths. The purity +and majesty of the soul felt keenly the insult and outrage of enforced +obedience to the obscene divinities that Homer and Hesiod had handed +down to them. Five hundred years before Christ, Pindar, the greatest +lyric poet of Greece, had denounced the vulgar tales told of the +deities, and had branded as blasphemous the story of the cannibal feast +spread for the gods by the father of Pelops. Xenophanes, also, in the +sixth century before Christ, had ridiculed the mythical tales of the +Homeric poems, and had called attention to the purely human character of +popular religions. He had pointed out that the Ethiopians painted the +images of their deities black, and gave them flat noses, in the likeness +of themselves; that the Thracians, on the other hand, created their gods +blue-eyed and red; and that, in general, every race had reflected its +own physical peculiarities in the creation of its gods. He declared it +to be his opinion that if the beasts of the field should attempt to +produce a likeness of the gods, the horses would produce a resemblance +of themselves, and that oxen and lions would ascribe to their own +divinities their own images and peculiarities. + +The whole structure of the Roman religion, built upon myths and adorned +with fables, was ill fitted to stand the tests of analysis and +criticism. It was destined to weaken and crumble the moment it was +subjected to serious rational inquiry. Such inquiry was inevitable in +the progress of that soul-growth which the centuries were sure to bring. +Natural philosophy and historical study began to dissolve the sacred +legends and to demand demonstration and proof where faith had before +sufficed. Skeptical criticism began to dissect the formulæ of prayer and +to analyze the elements of augury and sacrifice. Reason began to revolt +against the proposition that Jupiter was justified in rejecting a +petition because a syllable had been omitted or a word mispronounced. +Men began to ask: "What explanation could be given of the strange +changes of mind in the gods, often threatening evil on the first +inspection of the victim, and at the second promising good? How did it +happen that a sacrifice to Apollo gave favorable, and one to Diana +unfavorable signs? Why did the Etruscan, the Elan, the Egyptian, and the +Punic inspectors of sacrifice interpret the entrails in an entirely +different manner? Again, what connection in nature was there between a +fissure in the liver of a lamb, and a trifling advantage to a man, an +inheritance to be expected, or the like? And on a man's intending to +sacrifice, did a change, corresponding to his circumstances, take place +in the entrails of the beast; so that, supposing another person had +selected the same victim, he would have found the liver in a quite +different condition?" + +The gods themselves became subjects of inspection and analysis. Their +origin and nature were studied historically, and were also reviewed in +the light of natural and ethical products. Three hundred years before +Christ, Evhemere of Messina boldly declared that the gods were simply +ancient kings deified by fear and superstition after death. Anaxagoras +sought to identify the several deities with the forces and phenomena of +nature, thus converting the pantheon into an observatory, or into a +physical and chemical laboratory. Metrodorus contended that the gods +were deifications of mere abstract ethical precepts. + +Instances are recorded in history, from time to time, where the +philosophers attempted to explain to the people the natural meaning of +those things which they believed were pregnant with supernatural import. +On a certain occasion, a ram with one horn was found on the farm of +Pericles, and, from this circumstance, an Athenian diviner, named +Lampon, predicted that the party of the orator would triumph over the +opposite faction and gain control of the government. Whereupon +Anaxagoras dissected the skull, and demonstrated to the people the +natural cause of the phenomenon in the peculiar shape of the animal's +brain. But this reformer finally suffered the fate of other innovators, +was prosecuted for impiety, and was only saved by the influence of +Pericles. + +At the beginning of the Christian era, the religion of Rome was +privately ridiculed and repudiated by nearly all statesmen and +philosophers of the empire, although they publicly professed it on +grounds of public policy. Seneca, a contemporary of Jesus, advised +observance of rites appointed by law, on patriotic grounds. "All which +things," he says, "a wise man will observe as being commanded by the +laws, but not as being pleasing to the gods." Again he says: "All that +ignoble rabble of gods which the superstition of ages has heaped up, we +shall adore in such a way as to remember that their worship belongs +rather to custom than to reality." Ridiculing the popular notions of +the matrimonial relations of the deities, the same eminent philosopher +says: "And what of this, that we unite the gods in marriage, and that +not even naturally, for we join brothers and sisters? We marry Bellona +to Mars, Venus to Vulcan, Salacia to Neptune. Some of them we leave +unmarried, as though there were no match for them, which is surely +needless, especially when there are certain unmarried goddesses, as +Populonia, or Fulgora, or the goddess Rumina, for whom I am not +astonished that suitors have been wanting." + +The prevailing skepticism of the times is well illustrated in a dialogue +which Cicero introduces into his first Tusculan Disputation between M, +which may be interpreted Marcus, and A, which may be translated Auditor: + + MARCUS: Tell me, are you not afraid of the three-headed Cerberus in + the infernal regions, and the roaring of Cocytus, and the passage + over Acheron, and Tantalus, dying with thirst, while water laves + his chin, and Sisyphus, + + "Who sweats with arduous toil in vain + The steepy summit of the mount to gain?" + + Perhaps you are also afraid of the inexorable judges, Minos and + Rhadamanthus, because before them neither L. Crassus nor M. + Antonius can defend you, and because appearing before Grecian + judges, you will not be permitted to employ Demosthenes, but must + plead for yourself before a very great crowd. All these things, + perhaps, you fear, and therefore regard death as an eternal evil. + + AUDITOR: Do you think I'm such a fool as to give credence to such + things? + + MARCUS: What! You don't believe in them? + + AUDITOR: Truly, not in the least. + + MARCUS: I am deeply pained to hear that. + + AUDITOR: Why? + + MARCUS: Because, if occasion had offered, I could very eloquently + have denounced them, myself.[150] + +The contemptuous scorn of the cultivated Romans of his time is +frequently revealed in the writings of Cicero. He refers more than once +to the famous remark of Cato, who said that he could not explain why the +haruspices did not laugh in each other's faces when they began to +sacrifice. + +At this point, it is worthy of observation that the prevalent unbelief +was not limited to a simple denial of the existence of mythical +divinities and of the efficacy of the worship rendered them. Roman +skepticism sought to destroy the very foundation of all religious belief +by denying not only the existence of the gods, but also the immortality +of the soul. Cicero is said to have been the only great Roman of his +time who believed that death was not the end. Students of Sallust are +familiar with his account of the conspiracy of Cataline in which it is +related that Julius Cæsar, in a speech before the Roman senate, opposed +putting the traitor to death because that form of punishment was too +mild, since beyond the grave there was neither joy nor sorrow.[151] + +Antagonism to the doctrine of the immortality of the soul reached a +melancholy refinement in the strange contention that life after death +was a cruel thought. Pliny expresses this sentiment admirably when he +says: + + What folly it is to renew life after death. Where shall created + beings find rest if you suppose that shades in hell and souls in + heaven continue to have any feeling? You rob us of man's greatest + good--death. Let us rather find in the tranquillity which preceded + our existence the pledge of the repose which is to follow it. + +When skepticism had destroyed their faith in the gods, and had robbed +them of the consolations of religion, educated Romans sought refuge and +solace in Greek philosophy. Stoicism and Epicureanism were the dominant +spiritual and intellectual forces of the Roman empire at the time of +Christ. Epicureanism was founded by Epicurus, who was born of an +Athenian family in the Island of Samos about 342 B.C. Stoicism +originated with Zeno, a native of Cittium in Cyprus, born about the year +340 B.C. + +The original design of the system of Epicurus was to found a +commonwealth of happiness and goodness in opposition to the purely +intellectual aristocracy of Plato and Aristotle. Men were beginning to +tire of speculation and dialectics, and to long for a philosophy built +upon human feeling and sensibility. As a touchstone of truth, it was +proposed to substitute sensation for intellect. Whatever was pleasing to +the natural and healthful senses was to be taken to be true. The pursuit +of happiness was to be the chief aim of the devotees of this system. The +avoidance of mental pain and physical suffering, as well as the +cultivation of all pleasurable emotions, were to be the leading features +of every Epicurean programme. In the beginning, Epicureanism inculcated +principles of virtue as a means of happiness. The mode of life of the +first followers of Epicurus was simple and abstemious. Barley-bread and +water are said to have been their ordinary food and drink. But in time +this form of philosophy became identified with the coarsest sensuality +and the most wicked lust. This was especially true after it was +transplanted from Greece to Italy. The doctrines of this school met with +a ready response from the pleasure-seeking, luxury-loving Roman people +who were now enriched by the spoils and treasures of a conquered world. +"This philosophy therefore became at Rome a mere school of +self-indulgence, and lost the refinement which, in Greece, had led it to +recognize in virtue that which gave zest to pleasure and in temperance +that which prolonged it. It called simply for a continuous round of +physical delights; it taught the grossest sensuality; it proclaimed the +inanity of goodness and the lawfulness of lust. It was the road--sure, +steep and swift, to awful demoralization." + +Stoicism, on the other hand, furnished spiritual and intellectual food +to that nobler class of Romans who were at once the support and ornament +of a magnificent but decadent civilization. This form of philosophy was +peculiarly consonant with early Roman instincts and habits. In its +teachings were perfectly reflected that vigor, austerity, and manly +self-reliance which had made the Roman race undisputed masters of the +world. Many of its precepts were not only moral and ennobling, but +deeply religious and sustaining. A striking kinship between them and +certain Christian precepts has been frequently pointed out. Justice, +fortitude, prudence, and temperance were the four cardinal virtues of +Stoicism. Freedom from all passions and complete simplicity of life, +resulting in perfect purity of manners, was its chief aim. But the +fundamental principles of both Epicureanism and Stoicism were +destructive of those spiritual elements which furnish complete and +permanent nourishment to the soul. Stoicism was pantheism, and +Epicureanism was materialism. The Stoic believed that the human soul was +corporeal, but that it was animated and illuminated by the universal +soul. The Epicurean taught that the soul was composed of material atoms, +which would perish when its component parts separated or dissolved. +Epicureanism was materialistic in its tendency, and its inevitable +result, in perverted form, was sensualism. Stoicism was pervaded +throughout by a melancholy and desolating fatalism. It was peculiarly +the philosophy of suicide; or, as a great French writer once described +it, "an apprenticeship for death."[152] To take one's life was not only +allowable but commendable in certain cases. Zeno, the founder of the +sect, taught that incurable disease was a sufficient excuse for suicide. +Marcus Aurelius considered it an obligation of nature and of reason to +make an end of life when it became an intolerable burden. "Kill thyself +and die erect in the consciousness of thy own strength," would have been +a suitable inscription over the doorway of every Stoic temple. Seneca +furnished to his countrymen this Stoic panacea for all the ills of life: + + Seest thou yon steep height, that is the descent to freedom. Seest + thou yon sea, yon river, yon well; freedom sits there in the + depths. Seest thou yon low withered tree; there freedom hangs. + Seest thou thy neck, thy throat, thy heart; they are the ways of + escape from bondage. + +And the Roman philosopher was not only conscientious but consistent in +his teachings. He was heroic enough to take the medicine himself which +he had prescribed for others. Indeed, he took a double dose; for he not +only swallowed poison, but also opened his veins, and thus committed +suicide, as other Stoics--such as Zeno, Cleanthes and Cato--had done +before him. + +It was not a problem of the Stoic philosophy, + + Whether 'tis nobler in the mind to suffer + The slings and arrows of outrageous fortune, + Or to take arms against a sea of troubles, + And by opposing end them?[153] + +A familiar illustration of the advocates of suicide among the Roman +writers was that a human body afflicted with incurable disease, or a +human mind weighed down with intolerable grief, was like a house filled +with smoke. As it was the duty of the occupant of the house to escape +from the smoke by flight, so it was the duty of the soul to leave the +body by suicide. + +But neither Epicureanism nor Stoicism could satisfy the natural longing +of the soul for that which is above the earth and beyond the grave. It +was impossible that philosophy should completely displace religion. The +spiritual nature of the Roman people was still intact and vigorous after +belief in myths was dead. As a substitute for their ancient faith and as +a supplement to philosophy, they began to deify their illustrious men +and women. The apotheosis of the emperors was the natural result of the +progressive degradation of the Roman religion. The deification of Julius +Cæsar was the beginning of this servile form of worship; and the +apotheosis of Diocletian was the fifty-third of these solemn +canonizations. Of this number, fifteen were those of princesses +belonging to the imperial family. + +Divine honors began to be paid to Cæsar before he was dead. The +anniversary of his birth became a national holiday; his bust was placed +in the temple, and a month of the year was named for him. After his +assassination, he was worshiped as a god under the name of Divus Julius; +and sacrifices were offered upon his altar. After Julius Cæsar, followed +the deification of Augustus Cæsar. Even before his death, Octavian had +consented to be worshiped in the provinces, especially in Nicomedia and +Pergamus. After his death, his worship was introduced into Rome and +Italy. + +The act of canonizing a dead emperor was accomplished by a vote of the +senate, followed by a solemn ceremony, in which an eagle was released at +the funeral pile, and soaring upward, became a symbol of the ascent of +the deceased to the skies. A Roman senator, Numerius Atticus, swore that +he had seen Augustus ascending to heaven at the time of his +consecration; and received from Livia a valuable gift of money as a +token of her appreciation of his kindness. + +Not only were grand and gifted men like Julius and Augustus Cæsar, but +despicable and contemptible tyrants like Nero and Commodus, raised to +the rank of immortals. And, not content with making gods of emperors, +the Romans made goddesses of their royal women. Caligula had lived in +incestuous intercourse with his sister Drusilla; nevertheless, he had +her immortalized and worshiped as a divine being. This same Caligula who +was a monster of depravity, insisted on being worshiped as a god in the +flesh throughout the Roman empire, although the custom had been not to +deify emperors until after they were dead. The cowardly and obsequious +Roman senate decreed him a temple in Rome. The royal rascal erected +another to himself, and appointed his own private priests and +priestesses, among whom were his uncle Claudius, and the Cæsonia who +afterwards became his wife. This temple and its ministry were maintained +at an enormous expense. Only the rarest and most costly birds like +peacocks and pheasants, were allowed to be sacrificed to him. Such was +the impious conceit of Caligula that he requested the Asiatics of +Miletus to convert a temple of Apollo into a shrine sacred to himself. +Some of the noblest statuary of antiquity was mutilated in displacing +the heads of gods to make places for the head of this wicked monster. A +mighty descent this, indeed, from the Olympian Zeus of Phidias to a bust +of Caligula! + +Domitian, after his deification, had himself styled "Lord and God," in +all documents, and required all his subjects to so address him. Pliny +tells us that the roads leading into Rome were constantly filled with +flocks and herds being driven to the Capital to be sacrificed upon his +altar.[154] + +The natural and inevitable result of the decay of the Roman religion was +the corruption and demoralization of Roman social life. All experience +teaches that an assault upon a people's religious system is an assault +upon the entire social and moral organization. Every student of history +knows that a nation will be prosperous and happy to the extent that it +is religiously intelligent, and in proportion to its loyalty to the laws +of social virtue, to the laws of good government, and the laws of God; +and that an abandonment of its gods means the wreck and dissolution of +its entire social structure. The annals of Rome furnish a striking +confirmation of this fact. + +The closing pages of this chapter will be devoted to a short topical +review of Roman society at the time of Christ. Only a few phases of the +subject can be presented in a work of this character. + + +II.--GRÆCO-ROMAN SOCIAL LIFE + +_Marriage and Divorce._--The family is the unit of the social system; +and at the hearthstone all civilization begins. The loosening of the +domestic ties is the beginning of the dissolution of the state; and +whatever weakens the nuptial bonds, tends to destroy the moral fiber of +society. The degradation of women and the destruction of domestic purity +were the first signs of decay in Roman life. In the early ages of the +republic, marriage was regarded not only as a contract, but as a +sacrament as well. Connubial fidelity was sacredly maintained. Matrons +of the type of Cornelia, the mother of the Gracchi, were objects of +national pride and affection. The spirit of desperation which caused the +father of Virginia to plunge a butcher's knife into the chaste and +innocent heart of his child to save her from the lust of Appius +Claudius, was a tragic illustration of the almost universal Roman +respect for virtue in the age of the Tarquins. To such an extent were +the marital relations venerated by the early Romans that we are assured +by Dionysius that five hundred and twenty years had passed before a +single divorce was granted. Carvilius Ruga, the name of the first Roman +to procure a divorce, has been handed down to us.[155] + +If we are to believe Döllinger, the abandonment of the policy of +lifelong devotion to the marriage relation and the inauguration of the +system of divorce were due not to the faults of the men but to the +dangerous and licentious qualities of the Roman women. In connection +with the divorce of Carvilius Ruga, he discusses a widespread conspiracy +of Roman wives to poison their husbands. Several of these husbands fell +victims to this plot; and, as punishment for the crime, twenty married +women were forced to take the poison which they had themselves prepared, +and were thus put to death. And, about a half century after this +divorce, several wives of distinguished Romans were discovered to be +participants in the bacchanalian orgies. From all these things, +Döllinger infers that the Roman men began to tire of their wives and to +seek legal separation from them.[156] + +But, whatever the cause, the marriage tie was so easily severed during +the latter years of the republic, that divorce was granted on the +slightest pretext. Q. Antistius Vetus divorced his wife because she was +talking familiarly and confidentially to one of his freedmen. The wife +of C. Sulpicius imprudently entered the street without a veil, and her +husband secured a divorce on that ground. P. Sempronius Sophus put away +his wife for going to the theater without his knowledge. + +Cicero divorced his first wife that he might marry a younger and +wealthier woman; and because this second one did not exhibit sufficient +sorrow at the death of his daughter, Tullia, he repudiated her. + +Cato, the stern Stoic moralist, was several times divorced. To +accommodate his friend Hortensius he gave him his second wife Marcia, +with her father's consent; and, after the death of the orator, he +remarried her. + +After being several times previously divorced, Pompey put away Mucia in +order that he might wed Julia, Cæsar's daughter, who was young enough to +be the child of Pompey. + +Cæsar himself was five times married. He divorced his wife, Pompeia, +because of her relationship to Clodius, a dashing and dissolute young +Roman, who entered Cæsar's house on the occasion of the celebration of +the feast of the Bona Dea in a woman's dress, in order that he might pay +clandestine suit to the object of his lust. Cæsar professed to believe +that the charges against Pompeia were not true, but he divorced her +nevertheless, with the remark that "Cæsar's wife must be above +suspicion." We are reminded by this that, in ancient as in modern times, +society placed greater restrictions upon women than upon men; for Cæsar, +who uttered this virtuous and heroic sentiment, was a most notorious +rake and profligate. Suetonius tells us that he debauched many Roman +ladies of the first rank; among them "Lollia, the wife of Aulus +Gabinius; Tertulla, the wife of Marcus Crassus; and Mucia, the wife of +Cneius Pompey." It was frequently made a reproach to Pompey, "that to +gratify his ambition, he married the daughter of a man upon whose +account he had divorced his wife, after having had three children by +her; and whom he used, with a deep sigh, to call Ægisthus." But the +favorite mistress of Cæsar was Servilia, the mother of Marcus Brutus. +To consummate an intrigue with her, he gave Servilia a pearl which cost +him six millions of sesterces. And at the time of the civil war he had +deeded to her for a trifling consideration, several valuable farms. When +people expressed surprise at the lowness of the price, Cicero humorously +remarked: "To let you know the real value of the purchase, between +ourselves, Tertia was deducted." It was generally suspected at Rome that +Servilia had prostituted her daughter Tertia to Cæsar; and the witticism +of the orator was a _double entendre_, Tertia signifying the third (of +the value of the farm), as well as being the name of the girl, whose +virtue had paid the price of the deduction. Cæsar's lewdness was so +flagrant and notorious that his soldiers marching behind his chariot, on +the occasion of his Gallic triumph, shouted in ribald jest, to the +multitude along the way: + + Watch well your wives, ye cits, we bring a blade, + A bald-pate master of the wenching trade.[157] + +If this was the private life of the greatest Roman of the world, who, at +the time of his death, was Pontifex Maximus, the supreme head of the +Roman religion, what must have been the social life of the average +citizen who delighted to style Cæsar the demigod while living and to +worship him as divine, when dead? + +A thorough knowledge of the details of the most corrupt and abandoned +state of society recorded in history may be had by a perusal of the +Annals of Tacitus and the Satires of Juvenal. The Sixth Satire is a +withering arraignment of Roman profligacy and wickedness. "To see the +world in its worst estate," says Professor Jowett, "we turn to the age +of the satirists and of Tacitus, when all the different streams of evil, +coming from east, west, north, south, the vices of barbarism and the +vices of civilization, remnants of ancient cults, and the latest +refinements of luxury and impurity, met and mingled on the banks of the +Tiber." Rome was the heart of the empire that pumped its filthy blood +from the center to the extremities, and received from the provinces a +return current of immorality and corruption. Juvenal complains that + + Long since the stream that wanton Syria laves, + Has disembogued its filth in Tiber's waves. + +Grecian literature and manners were the main cause of Roman +dissoluteness. + +The grandfather of Cicero is said to have made this declaration: "A +Roman's wickedness increases in proportion to his acquaintance with +Greek authors." It is undeniably true that the domestic immorality of +the Greeks exercised a most baneful influence upon the social life of +the Romans. Both at Athens and in Sparta marriage was regarded as the +means to an end, the procreation of children as worshipers of the gods +and citizens of the state. In this fundamental purpose were involved, +the Greeks believed, the mission and the destiny of woman. Marriage was +not so much a sacred institution, as it was a convenient arrangement +whereby property rights were regulated and soldiers were provided for +the army and the navy. This view was entertained by both the Athenians +and the Spartans. The code of Lycurgus regulated the family relations to +the end that healthy, vigorous children might be born to a military +commonwealth. The Spartan maidens were required to exercise in the +palestra, almost naked, in the presence of men and strangers. And so +loose and extravagant were the ideas of conjugal fidelity among the +Spartans that it was not regarded as an improper thing to borrow another +man's wife for the purpose of procreating children, if there had already +been born to the legitimate husband all the children that he desired. +This we learn from Xenophon[158] and from Polybius,[159] who assure us +that it often happened that as many as four Spartans had one woman, in +common, for a wife. "Already in the time of Socrates, the wives of +Sparta had reached the height of disrepute for their wantonness +throughout the whole of Greece; Aristotle says that they lived in +unbridled licentiousness; and, indeed, it is a distinctive feature in +the female character there, that publicly and shamelessly they would +speed a well-known seducer of a woman of rank by wishing him success, +and charging him to think only of endowing Sparta with brave boys."[160] + +[Illustration: AVE CÆSAR! IO SATURNALIA (ALMA-TADEMA)] + +At Athens the principle was the same, even if the gratification of lust +was surrounded with a halo of poetry and sentiment which the Spartan +imagination was incapable of creating. The Athenians were guilty of a +strange perversion of the social instincts by placing a higher +appreciation upon the charms of a certain class of lewd women that they +did upon the virtuous merits of their own wives and mothers. These +latter were kept in retirement and denied the highest educational +advantages; while the former, the Hetairai, beautiful and brilliant +courtesans, destined for the pleasure and entertainment of illustrious +men, were accorded the utmost freedom, as well as all the advantages of +culture in the arts and sciences. Demosthenes has classified the women +of ancient Athens in this sentence: "We have Hetairai for our pleasure, +concubines for the ordinary requirements of the body, and wives for the +procreation of lawful issue and as confidential domestic guardians." The +most renowned of the Hetairai was Aspasia, the mistress of Pericles. She +was exceedingly beautiful and brilliantly accomplished. At her house in +Athens, poets, philosophers, statesmen, and sculptors frequently +gathered to do her honor. Pericles is said to have wept only three times +in life; and one of these was when he defended Aspasia before the +dicastery of Athens against the charge of impiety. + +Another of the Hetairai scarcely less famous than Aspasia was the +celebrated Athenian courtesan, Phryne. Praxiteles, the sculptor, was one +of her adorers. She, too, was tried for impiety before the dicastery. +Hiperides, the Attic orator, defended her. To create a favorable +impression upon the court, he bade her reveal her bosom to the judges. +She did so, and was acquitted. So great was the veneration in which +Phryne was held that it was considered no profanation to place her image +in the sacred temple at Delphi. And so overwhelming was her beauty, that +her statues were identified with the Aphrodite of Apelles and the +Cnidian goddess of Praxiteles. At Eleusis, on the occasion of a national +festival, she impersonated Venus by entering naked into the waves, in +the presence of spectators from all the cities of Greece. She is said to +have amassed such a fortune that she felt justified in offering to build +the walls of Thebes. + +Such was the esteem in which these elegant harlots were held, that we +find recorded among their patrons on the pages of Greek history the +names of Pericles, Demades, Lysias, Demosthenes, Isocrates, Aristotle, +Aristippus, and Epicurus. So little odium attached to the occupation of +this class of women that we read that Socrates frequently paid visits to +one of them named Theodota and advised her as to the best method of +gaining "friends" and keeping them.[161] + +As the sculptors did not hesitate to carve the images of the Hetairai in +marble and give them the names of the goddesses of Olympus, so the +poets, orators, and historians did not fail to immortalize them in their +poems, orations, and annals. Greek statuary and literature were then +transported to Italy to corrupt Roman manners. It was not long before +adultery and seduction had completely poisoned and polluted every +fountain of Roman private life. "Liaisons in the first houses," says +Mommsen, "had become so frequent, that only a scandal altogether +exceptional could make them the subject of special talk; a judicial +interference seems now almost ridiculous." + +Roman women of patrician rank, not content with noblemen as lovers, +sought out "lewd fellows of the baser sort" among slaves and gladiators, +as companions of corrupt intrigues. Juvenal, in his Sixth Satire, paints +a horrible picture of social depravity when he describes the lewdness of +Messalina, the wife of Claudius I. This woman, the wife of an emperor, +and the mother of the princely Britannicus, descends from the imperial +bed, in the company of a single female slave, at the dead of night, to a +common Roman brothel, assumes the name Lycisca, and submits to the +embraces of the coarsest Roman debauchees. + +The degradation of women was not peculiar to the Capital of the empire, +but extended to every province. Social impurity was rankest in the East, +but it was present everywhere. Virtue seemed to have left the earth, and +Vice had taken her place as the supreme mistress of the world. + +_Luxury and Extravagance._--At the birth of Christ, the frontiers of the +Roman empire comprised all the territory of the then civilized world. In +extending her conquests, Rome laid heavy tribute upon conquered nations. +All the wealth of the earth flowed into her coffers. The result was +unexampled luxury and extravagance. A single illustration will serve to +show the mode of life of the wealthy Roman citizen of the time of which +we write. Lucullus, the lieutenant of Sulla, and the friend of Cicero +and Pompey, had amassed enormous wealth in the Mithradatic wars. This +fortune he employed to inaugurate and maintain a style of social life +whose splendor and extravagance were the astonishment and scandal of his +age and race. The meals served upon his table, even when no guests were +present, were marked by all the taste, elegance, and completeness of a +banquet. On one occasion, when he happened to dine alone, the table was +not arranged with the ordinary fullness and splendor; whereupon he made +complaint to the servants, who replied that they did not think it +necessary to prepare so completely when he was alone. "What! did you not +know that Lucullus would dine with Lucullus?" was his answer. At another +time, Cicero and Pompey met him in the Forum and requested that he take +them with him to dine, as they desired to learn how his table was spread +when no visitors were expected. Lucullus was embarrassed for a moment; +but soon regained his composure, and replied that he would be delighted +to have such distinguished Romans dine with him, but that he would like +to have a day for preparation. They refused this request, however; nor +would they consent that he send directions to his servants, as they +desired to see how meals were served in his home when no guests were +there. Lucullus then requested Cicero and Pompey to permit him to tell +his servants, in their presence, in what room the repast should be +served. They consented to this; and Lucullus then directed that the Hall +of Apollo should be arranged for the dinner. Now the dining rooms in the +home of Lucullus were graded in price; and it was only necessary to +designate the room in order to notify the servants of the style and +costliness of the entertainment desired. The Hall of Apollo called for +an expenditure, at each meal, of fifty thousand drachmas, the equivalent +of $10,000 in our money. And when Cicero and Pompey sat down at the +table of Lucullus a few hours later, the decorations of the room and the +feast spread before them, offered a spectacle of indescribable beauty +and luxury. The epicure had outwitted the orator and the general. + +Other anecdotes related by Plutarch also illustrate the luxurious life +of Lucullus. Once when Pompey was sick, his physician prescribed a +thrush for his meal; whereupon Pompey's servants notified him that a +thrush could not be secured in Italy during the summer time, except in +the fattening coops of Lucullus. + +Cato despised the luxurious habits of Lucullus; and, on one occasion, +when a young man was extolling the beauties of frugality and temperance +in a speech before the senate, the Stoic interrupted him by asking: "How +long do you mean to go on making money like Crassus, living like +Lucullus and talking like Cato?"[162] + +Lucullus was not the only Roman of his day who spent fabulous sums of +money in luxurious living and in building palatial residences. M. +Lepidus, who was elected Consul in 87 B.C., erected the most magnificent +private edifice ever seen in Rome. + +But the culmination of magnificence in Roman architecture was the Golden +House of Nero. Its walls were covered with gold and studded with +precious stones. The banquet rooms were decorated with gorgeous +ceilings, and were so constructed that from them flowers and perfumes +could be showered from above on the guests below. + +Concerning the luxurious life of the later days of the republic, Mommsen +says: "Extravagant prices, as much as one hundred thousand sesterces +(£1,000) were paid for an exquisite cook. Houses were constructed with +special reference to this subject.... A dinner was already described as +poor at which the fowls were served up to the guests entire, and not +merely the choice portions.... At banquets, above all, the Romans +displayed their hosts of slaves ministering to luxury, their bands of +musicians, their dancing-girls, their elegant furniture, their carpets +glittering with gold, or pictorially embroidered, their rich silver +plate."[163] + +But the luxury and extravagance of the Romans were nowhere so manifest +as in their public bathing establishments. "The magnificence of many of +the thermæ and their luxurious arrangements were such that some writers, +as Seneca, are quite lost in their descriptions of them. The piscinæ +were often of immense size--that of Diocletian being 200 feet long--and +were adorned with beautiful marbles. The halls were crowded with +magnificent columns, and were ornamented with the finest pieces of +statuary. The walls, it has been said, were covered with exquisite +mosaics that imitated the art of the painter in their elegance of +design and variety of color. The Egyptian syenite was encrusted with the +precious green marbles of Numidia. The rooms contained the works of +Phidias and Praxiteles. A perpetual stream of water was poured into +capacious basins through the wide mouths of lions of bright and polished +silver. 'To such a pitch of luxury have we reached,' says Seneca, 'that +we are dissatisfied if we do not tread on gems in our baths.'"[164] + +The circuses were scarcely inferior to the baths in magnificence. +Caligula is said to have strewn them with gold dust. + +The result of Roman luxury in the matter of food and drink was a coarse +and loathsome gluttony which finds no parallel in modern life. +Epicureanism had degenerated from barley-bread and water to the +costliest diet ever known. Wealthy Romans of the age of Augustus did not +hesitate to pay two hundred and fifty dollars for a single fish--the +mullet. And that they might indulge their appetite to the fullest +extent, and prolong the pleasures of eating beyond the requirements and +even the capacity of nature, they were in the habit of taking an emetic +at meal times. We learn from the letters of Cicero that Julius Cæsar did +this on one occasion when he went to visit the orator at his country +villa. And the degeneracy of Roman life is nowhere more clearly +indicated than in the Fourth Satire of Juvenal where he describes the +gathering of the great men of the state, at the call of Domitian, to +determine how a turbot should be cooked. + +But the reader must not infer that all Romans were rich and that luxury +was indulged in every home. In the Roman capital the extremes of wealth +and poverty met. The city was filled with idlers, vagabonds and paupers +from all quarters of the globe. In the early days of the Republic, +sturdy farmers had tilled the soil of Italy and had filled the legions +with brave and hardy warriors. The beginning of the empire witnessed a +radical change. Hundreds of thousands of these farmers had been driven +from their lands to furnish homes to the disbanded soldiers of +conquerors like Sulla, Marius, and Cæsar. Homeless and poverty-stricken, +they wandered away to Rome to swell the ranks of mendicants and +adventurers that crowded the streets of the imperial city. The soldiers +themselves, finding agriculture distasteful and unprofitable, sold their +lands to Roman speculators, and returned to the scene of the triumphs of +their military masters. The inevitable consequence of this influx of +strangers and foreigners, without wealth and without employment, was the +degradation and demoralization of Roman social and industrial life. +Augustus was compelled to make annual donations of money and provisions +to 200,000 persons who wandered helpless about the streets. This state +of things--fabulous wealth in the hands of a few, and abject poverty as +the lot of millions--was the harbinger sure and swift of the destruction +of the state. + +_Slavery._--At the beginning of the Christian era, slavery existed in +every province of the Roman empire. Nearly everywhere the number of +slaves was much greater than that of the free citizens. In Attica, +according to the census of Demetrius Phalereus, about the beginning of +the fourth century B.C., there were 400,000 slaves, 10,000 foreign +settlers, and 20,000 free citizens. Zumpt estimates that there were two +slaves to every freeman in Rome in the year 5 B.C. It frequently +happened that a wealthy Roman possessed as many as 20,000 slaves. Slaves +who gained their freedom might themselves become masters and own slaves. +During the reign of Augustus, a freedman died, leaving 4,116 slaves. +Crassus possessed so many that his company of architects and carpenters +alone exceeded 500 in number. + +The principal slave markets of Greece were those at Athens, Ephesus, +Cyprus, and Samos. In the market place of each of these cities, slaves +were exposed for sale upon wooden scaffolds. From the neck of each was +hung a tablet or placard containing a description of his or her +meritorious qualities, such as parentage, educational advantages, health +and freedom from physical defects. They were required to strip +themselves at the request of purchasers. In this way, the qualifications +of slaves for certain purposes could be accurately judged. The vigorous, +large-limbed Cappadocians, for instance, like our modern draft horses, +were selected for their strength and their ability to lift heavy loads +and endure long-continued work. + +The property of the master in the slave was absolute. The owner might +kill or torture his slave at will. Neither the government nor any +individual could bring him to account for it. Roman law compelled +female slaves to surrender themselves, against their will, to their +master's lust. All the coarseness and brutality of the haughty, +arrogant, and merciless Roman disposition were manifested in the +treatment of their slaves. Nowhere do we find any mercy or humanity +shown them. On the farms they worked with chains about their limbs during +the day; and at night they were lodged in the _ergastula_--subterranean +apartments, badly lighted and poorly ventilated. The most cruel +punishment awaited the slave who attempted to escape. The +_fugitavarii_--professional slave chasers--ran him down, branded him on +the forehead, and brought him back to his master. If the master was very +rich, or cared little for the life of the slave, he usually commanded +him to be thrown, as a punishment for his attempt to flee, to the wild +beasts in the amphitheater. This cruel treatment was not exceptional, +but was ordinary. Cato, the paragon among the Stoics, was so merciless +in his dealings with his slaves that one of them committed suicide +rather than await the hour of punishment for some transgression of which +he was guilty.[165] It frequently happened that the slaves had knowledge +of crimes committed by their masters. In such cases they were fortunate +if they escaped death, as the probability of their becoming witnesses +against their masters offered every inducement to put them out of the +way. In his defense of Cluentius, Cicero speaks of a slave who had his +tongue cut out to prevent his betraying his mistress.[166] If a slave +murdered his master, all his fellow-slaves under the same roof were held +responsible for the deed. Thus four hundred slaves were put to death +for the act of one who assassinated Pedanius Secundus, during the reign +of Nero.[167] Augustus had his steward, Eros, crucified on the mast of +his ship because the slave had roasted and eaten a quail that had been +trained for the royal quail-pit. Once a slave was flung to the fishes +because he had broken a crystal goblet.[168] On another occasion, a +slave was compelled to march around a banquet table, in the presence of +the guests, with his hands, which had been cut off, hanging from his +neck, because he had stolen some trifling article of silverware. Cicero, +in his prosecution of Verres, recites an instance of mean and cowardly +cruelty toward a slave. "At the time," he says, "in which L. Domitius +was prætor in Sicily, a slave killed a wild boar of extraordinary size. +The prætor, struck by the dexterity and courage of the man, desired to +see him. The poor wretch, highly gratified with the distinction, came to +present himself before the prætor, in hopes, no doubt, of praise and +reward; but Domitius, on learning that he had only a javelin to attack +and kill the boar, ordered him to be instantly crucified, under the +barbarous pretext that the law prohibited the use of this weapon, as of +all others, to slaves." + +The natural consequence of this cruel treatment was unbounded hatred of +the master by the slave. "We have as many enemies," says Seneca, "as we +have slaves." And what rendered the situation perilous was the +numerical superiority of the slave over the free population. "They +multiply at an immense rate," says Tacitus, "whilst freemen diminish in +equal proportion." Pliny the Younger gave expression to the universal +apprehension when he wrote: "By what dangers we are beset! No one is +safe; not even the most indulgent, gentlest master." Precautionary +measures were adopted from time to time both by individuals and by the +government to prevent concerted action among the slaves and to conceal +from them all evidences of their own strength. To keep down mutiny among +his slaves, Cato is said to have constantly excited dissension and +enmity among them. "It was once proposed," says Gibbon, "to discriminate +the slaves by a peculiar habit; but it was justly apprehended that there +might be some danger in acquainting them with their own numbers."[169] + +If the Roman masters maltreated and destroyed the bodies of their +slaves, the slaves retaliated by corrupting and destroying the morals of +their masters. The institution of slavery was one of the most potent +agencies in the demoralization of ancient Roman manners. The education +of children was generally confided to the slaves, who did not fail to +poison their minds and hearts in many ways. In debauching their female +slaves, the Roman masters polluted their own morals and corrupted their +own manhood. The result teaches us that the law of physics is the law of +morals: that action and reaction are equal, but in opposite directions. + +_Destruction of New-Born Infants._--The destruction of new-born children +was the deepest stain upon the civilization of the ancient Greeks and +Romans. In obedience to a provision of the code of Lycurgus, every +Spartan child was exhibited immediately after birth to public view; and, +if it was found to be deformed and weakly, so that it was unfit to grow +into a strong and healthy citizen of the Spartan military commonwealth, +it was exposed to perish on Mount Taygetus. The practice of exposing +infants was even more arbitrary and cruel in Rome than in Greece. The +Roman father was bound by no limitations; but could cast his offspring +away to die, through pure caprice. Paulus, the celebrated jurist of the +imperial period, admitted that this was a paternal privilege. Suetonius +tells us that the day of the death of Germanicus, which took place A.D. +19, was signalized by the exposition of children who were born on that +day.[170] This was done as a manifestation of general sorrow. The +emperor Augustus banished his granddaughter Julia on account of her +lewdness and licentiousness, as he had done in the case of his daughter, +Julia. In exile, she gave birth to a child which Augustus caused to be +exposed. It often happened that new-born babes that had been cast away +to die of cold and hunger or to be devoured by dogs or wild beasts were +rescued by miscreants who brought them up to devote them to evil +purposes. The male children were destined to become gladiators, and the +females were sold to houses of prostitution. Often such children were +picked up by those who disfigured and deformed them for the purpose of +associating them with themselves as beggars. + +The custom of exposing infants was born of the spirit of fierceness and +barbarity that characterized many ancient races. Its direct tendency was +to make savages of men by destroying those tender and humane feelings +for the weak and helpless which have been the most marked attributes of +modern civilizations. Occasionally in our day one hears or reads of a +proposition by some pseudo-philanthropist that the good of the race +demands the destruction of certain persons--deformed infants, imbecile +adults and the like. But the humanity of the age invariably frowns upon +such proposals. The benign and merciful features of our Christian creed +would be outraged by such a practice. + +_Gladiatorial Games._--The combats of gladiators were the culmination of +Roman barbarity and brutality. All the devotees of vice and crime met +and mingled at the arena, and derived strength and inspiration from its +bloody scenes. The gatherings in the amphitheater were miniatures of +Roman life. There, political matters were discussed and questions of +state determined, as was once the case in the public assemblies of the +people. Now that the gates of Janus were closed for the third time in +Roman history, the combats of the arena took the place, on a diminutive +scale, of those battles by which Romans had conquered the world. The +processions of the gladiators reminded the enthusiastic populace of the +triumphal entries of their conquerors into the Roman capital. Nothing so +glutted the appetite and quenched the thirst of a cruel and licentious +race as the gorgeous ceremonials and bloody butchery of the gladiatorial +shows. + +These contests, strange to say, first took place at funerals, and were +intended to honor the dead. In 264 B.C., at the burial of D. Junius +Brutus, we are told, three pairs of gladiators fought in the cattle +market. Again, in 216 B.C., at the obsequies of M. Æmilius Lepidus, +twenty-two pairs engaged in combat in the Forum. And, in 174 B.C., on +the death of his father, Titus Flaminius caused seventy-four pairs to +fight for three days.[171] It will thus be seen that the death of one +Roman generally called for that of several others. + +In time, the fondness of these contests had grown so great that generals +and statesmen arranged them on a gigantic scale as a means of winning +the favor and support of the multitude. The Roman proletariat demanded +not only bread to satisfy their hunger, but games to amuse them in their +hours of idleness. Augustus not only gave money and rations to 200,000 +idlers, but inaugurated gladiatorial shows in which 10,000 combatants +fought. Not only men but wild beasts were brought into the arena. Pompey +arranged a fight of 500 lions, 18 elephants and 410 other ferocious +animals, brought from Africa. In a chase arranged by Augustus, A.D. 5, +36 crocodiles were killed in the Flaminian circus, which was flooded for +the purpose. Caligula brought 400 bears into the arena to fight with an +equal number of African wild animals. But all previous shows were +surpassed in the magnificent games instituted by Trajan, A.D. 106, to +celebrate his victories on the Danube. These games lasted four months; +and, in them, 10,000 gladiators fought, and 11,000 beasts were slain. + +Such was the thirst for blood, and to such a pitch had the fury of the +passions reached at the beginning of the empire that Romans were no +longer satisfied with small fights by single pairs. They began to demand +regular battles and a larger flow of blood. And to please the populace, +Julius Cæsar celebrated his triumph by a real battle in the circus. On +each side were arrayed 500 foot soldiers, 300 cavalrymen, and 20 +elephants bearing soldiers in towers upon their backs. This was no mimic +fray, but an actual battle in which blood was shed and men were killed. +To vary the entertainment, Cæsar also arranged a sea fight. He caused a +lake to be dug out on Mars Field, and placed battleships upon it which +represented Tyrian and Egyptian fleets. These he caused to be manned by +a thousand soldiers and 2,000 oarsmen. A bloody fight then ensued +between men who had no other motive in killing each other than to +furnish a Roman holiday. Augustus also arranged a sea fight upon an +artificial lake where 3,000 men were engaged. But both these battles +were eclipsed by the great sea fight which the emperor Claudius caused +to be fought on Lake Fucinus, in the presence of a great multitude that +lined the shore. Nineteen thousand men engaged in the bloody struggle. +On an eminence overlooking the lake, the Empress Agrippina, in gorgeous +costume, sat by the side of the emperor and watched the battle. + +Announcement of gladiatorial fights in the amphitheater was made by +posters on the walls of the city. In these advertisements, the number +and names of the fighters were announced. On the day of the performance +a solemn procession of gladiators, walking in couples, passed through +the streets to the arena. The arrangements of the building and the +manner of the fights were so ordered as to arouse to the highest pitch +of excitement the passions and expectations of the spectators. The +citizens were required to wear the white toga. The lower rows of seats +were occupied by senators, in whose midst were the boxes occupied by the +imperial family. The equestrian order occupied places immediately above +the senators. The citizens were seated next after the equestrians, and +in the top-most rows, on benches, were gathered the Roman rabble. An +immense party-colored awning, stretched above the multitude, reflected +into the arena its variegated hues. Strains of music filled the air +while preparations for the combat were being made. The atmosphere of the +amphitheater was kept cool and fragrant by frequent sprays of perfume. +The regular combat was preceded by a mock fight with blunt weapons. Then +followed arrangements for the life-and-death struggle. The manager of +the games finally gave the command, and the fight was on. When one of +the gladiators was wounded, the words "hoc habet" were shouted. The +wounded man fell to the earth, dropped his weapon, and, holding up his +forefinger, begged his life from the people. If mercy was refused him, +he was compelled to renew the combat or to submit to the death stroke +of his antagonist. Attendants were at hand with hot irons to apply to +the victim to see that death was not simulated. If life was not extinct, +the fallen gladiator was dragged out to the dead room, and there +dispatched. Servants then ran into the arena and scattered sand over the +blood-drenched ground. Other fighters standing in readiness, immediately +rushed in to renew the contest. Thus the fight went on until the Roman +populace was glutted with butchery and blood. + +Gladiators were chosen from the strongest and most athletic among slaves +and condemned criminals. Thracians, Gauls, and Germans were captured and +enslaved for the purpose of being sacrificed in the arena. They were +trained with the greatest care in gladiatorial schools. The most famous +of these institutions was at Capua in Italy. It was here that Spartacus, +a young Thracian, of noble ancestry, excited an insurrection that soon +spread throughout all Italy and threatened the destruction of Rome. +Addressing himself to seventy of his fellow-gladiators, Spartacus is +said to have made a bitter and impassioned speech in which he proposed +that, if they must die, they should die fighting their enemies and not +themselves; that, if they were to engage in bloody battles, these +battles should be fought under the open sky in behalf of life and +liberty, and not in the amphitheater to furnish pastime and +entertainment to their masters and oppressors. The speech had its +effect. The band of fighters broke out of Capua, and took refuge in the +crater of Mount Vesuvius (73 B.C.). Spartacus became the leader, with +Crixus and Oenomaus, two Celtic gladiators, as lieutenants. Their +ranks soon swelled to the proportions of an army, through accessions of +slaves and desperadoes from the neighborhood of the volcano. During two +years, they terrorized all Italy, defeated two consuls, and burned many +cities. Crixus was defeated and killed at Mount Gargarus in Apulia by +the prætor Arrius. Spartacus compelled three hundred Roman prisoners, +whom he had captured, to fight as gladiators, following Roman custom, at +the grave of his fallen comrade and lieutenant. Finally, he himself was +slain, sword in hand, having killed two centurions before he fell. With +the death of their leaders, the insurgents either surrendered or fled. +Those who were captured were crucified. It is said that the entire way +from Capua to Rome was marked by crosses on which their bodies were +suspended, to the number of ten thousand.[172] + +Throughout Italy were amphitheaters for gladiatorial games. But the +largest and most celebrated of all was the Coliseum at Rome. Its ruins +are still standing. It was originally called the Flavian Amphitheater. +This vast building was begun A.D. 72, upon the site of the reservoir of +Nero, by the emperor Vespasian, who built as far as the third row of +arches, the last two rows being finished by Titus after his return from +the conquest of Jerusalem. It is said that twelve thousand captive Jews +were employed in this work, as the Hebrews were employed in building the +Pyramids of Egypt, and that the external walls alone cost nearly four +millions of dollars. It consists of four stories: the first, Doric; the +second, Ionic; the third and fourth, Corinthian. Its circumference is +nearly two thousand feet; its length, six hundred and twenty feet; and +its width, five hundred and thirteen. The entrance for the emperor was +between two arches facing the Esquiline, where there was no cornice. The +arena was surrounded by a wall sufficiently high to protect the +spectators from the wild beasts, which were introduced by subterranean +passages, closed by huge gates from the side. The Amphitheater is said +to have been capable of seating eighty-seven thousand people, and was +inaugurated by gladiatorial games that lasted one hundred days, and in +which five thousand beasts were slain. The emperor Commodus himself +fought in the Coliseum, and killed both gladiators and wild beasts. He +insisted on calling himself Hercules, was dressed in a lion's skin, and +had his hair sprinkled with gold dust. + +[Illustration: THE DYING GLADIATOR (ANTIQUE SCULPTURE)] + +An oriental monk, Talemachus, was so horrified at the sight of the +gladiatorial games, that he rushed into the midst of the arena, and +besought the spectators to have them stopped. Instead of listening to +him, they put him to death. + +The first martyrdom in the Coliseum was that of St. Ignatius, said to +have been the child especially blessed by our Savior, the disciple of +John, and the companion of Polycarp, who was sent to Rome from Antioch +when he was bishop. When brought into the arena, St. Ignatius knelt down +and exclaimed: "Romans who are here present, know that I have not been +brought into this place for any crime, but in order that by this means +I may merit the fruition of the glory of God, for love of whom I have +been made a prisoner. I am as the grain of the field and must be ground +by the teeth of the lions that I may become bread fit for His table." +The lions were then let loose, and devoured him, except the larger bones +which the Christians collected during the night. + +The spot where the Christian martyrs suffered was for a long time marked +by a tall cross devoutly kissed by the faithful. The Pulpit of the +Coliseum was used for the stormy sermons of Gavazzi, who called the +people to arms from thence in the Revolution of March, 1848. + +_Græco-Roman Social Depravity, Born of Religion and Traceable to the +Gods._--The modern mind identifies true religion with perfect purity of +heart and with boundless love. "Do unto others as you would have others +do unto you" is the leading aphorism of both the Hebrew and Christian +faiths. The Sermon on the Mount is the chart of the soul on the sea of +life; and its beatitudes are the glorifications of the virtues of +meekness, mercy, and peace. To the mind imbued with the divine precepts +of the Savior, it seems incredible that religion should have ever been +the direct source of crime and sin. It is, nevertheless, a +well-established fact that the Roman and Greek mythologies were the +potent causes of political corruption and social impurity in both Italy +and Greece. Nothing better illustrates this truth than the abominable +practice that found its inspiration and excuse in the myth of the rape +of Ganymede. The guilty passion of Zeus for the beautiful boy whom he, +himself, in the form of an eagle, had snatched up from earth and carried +away to Olympus to devote to shameful and unnatural uses, was the +foundation, in Greece, of the most loathsome habit that ever disgraced +the conduct of men. Passionate fondness for beautiful boys, called +paiderastia in Greek, termed sodomy in modern criminal law, was the +curse and infamy of both Roman and Grecian life. This unnatural vice was +not confined to the vulgar and degenerate. Men of letters, poets, +statesmen and philosophers, debased themselves with this form of +pollution. It was even legalized by the laws of Crete and Sparta. +Polybius tells us that many Romans paid as much as a talent ($1,000) for +a beautifully formed youth. This strange perversion of the sexual +instincts was marked by all the tenderness and sweetness of a modern +courtship or a honeymoon. The victim of this degrading and disgusting +passion treated the beautiful boy with all the delicacy and feeling +generally paid a newly wedded wife. Kisses and caresses were at times +showered upon him. At other times, he became an object of insane +jealousy. + +An obscene couplet in Suetonius attributes this filthy habit to Julius +Cæsar in the matter of an abominable relationship with the King of +Bithynia.[173] "So strong was the influence of the prevalent epidemic on +Plato, that he had lost all sense of the love of women, and in his +descriptions of Eros, divine as well as human, his thoughts were +centered only in his boy passion. The result in Greece confessedly was +that the inclination for a woman was looked upon as low and +dishonorable, while that for a youth was the only one worthy of a man of +education."[174] + +A moment's reflection will convince the most skeptical of the progress +of morality and the advance of civilization. That which philosophers and +emperors not only approved but practiced in the palmiest days of the +commonwealths of Greece and Rome, is to-day penalized; and the person +guilty of the offense is socially ostracized and branded with infamy and +contempt. + +The above is only one of many illustrations of the demoralizing +influence of the myths. The Greeks looked to the gods as models of +behavior, and could see nothing wrong in paiderastia, since both Zeus +and Apollo had practiced it. Nearly every crime committed by the Greeks +and Romans was sought to be excused on the ground that the gods had done +the same thing. Euthyphro justified mistreatment of his own father on +the ground that Zeus had chased Cronos, his father, from the skies. + +Homer was not only the Bible, but the schoolbook of Grecian boys and +girls throughout the world; and their minds were saturated at an early +age with the escapades of the gods and goddesses as told by the immortal +bard. Plato, in the "Republic," deprecates the influence of the Homeric +myths upon the youth of Greece, when he says: "They are likely to have a +bad effect on those who hear them; for everybody will begin to excuse +his own vices when he is convinced that similar wickednesses are always +being perpetrated by the kindred of the gods." And Seneca thus condemns +the moral effect of the myth of Zeus and Alcmene: "What else is this +appeal to the precedent of the gods for, but to inflame our lusts, and +to furnish a free license and excuse for the corrupt act under shelter +of its divine prototype?" "This," says the same author in another +treatise, "has led to no other result than to deprive sin of its shame +in man's eyes, when he saw that the gods were no better than himself." + +We have seen that, in the matter of the multiplicity of the gods, there +were deities of the baser as well as of the better passions, and of +criminal as well as virtuous propensities. Pausanias tells us that in +his day, on the road to Pellene, there were statues of Hermes Dolios +(the cheat), and that the worshipers of this god believed that he was +always ready to help them in their intrigues and adventures. The same +writer also tells us that young maidens of Troezene dedicated their +girdles to Athene Apaturia, the deceiver, for having cunningly betrayed +Æthra into the hands of Neptune. The festivals of Bacchus were far-famed +in ancient times for the drunken debauches and degrading ceremonies that +accompanied them. The Attic feasts of Pan were celebrated with every +circumstance of low buffoonery. The solemnities of the Aphrodisia were +akin to the bacchanalian orgies in all the features of inebriety and +lust. The name of the goddess of love and beauty was blazoned across the +portal of more than one Greek and Roman brothel. The Aphrodite-Lamia at +Athens and the Aphrodite-Stratonikis at Smyrna were the favorite +resorts of the most famous courtesans of antiquity. Venus was the +recognized goddess of the harlots. A thousand of them guarded her temple +at Corinth; and, when an altar was erected to her at the Colline gate in +Rome, in the year 183 A.U.C., they celebrated a great feast in her +honor, and dedicated chaplets of myrtle and roses, as a means of +obtaining her favor as the guardian divinity of their calling. + +What more could be expected, then, of the morality of the Greeks and +Romans, when we consider the nature of their religion and the character +of their gods? Jupiter and Apollo were notorious rakes and libertines; +Venus and Flora were brazen-faced courtesans; Harmonia was a Phrygian +dancer, who had been seduced by Cadmus; Hercules was a gladiator; Pan +was a buffoon; Bacchus was a drunkard, and Mercury was a highway robber. +And not only in the poems of Homer and Hesiod did the Greek and Roman +youth learn these things, but from the plays of the theaters and from +plastic art as well. If we except the gladiatorial fights in the +amphitheaters, nothing was more cruel and unchaste than Greek and Roman +tragedy and comedy. At the time of Christ, the tastes and appetites of +the multitude had grown so fierce and depraved that ordinary spectacles +were regarded as commonplace and insipid. Lifelike realities were +demanded from the actors on the stage; and accordingly, the hero who +played the rôle of the robber chief, Laureolus, was actually crucified +before the spectators, and was then torn to pieces by a hungry bear. +The burning of Hercules on Mount Oeta and the emasculation of Atys +were sought to be realized on the stage by the actual burning and +emasculation of condemned criminals. Lustful as well as cruel appetites +were inflamed and fed by theatrical representations of the intrigues and +adventures of the gods and goddesses. Pantomimes and mimic dances, with +flute accompaniment, were employed to reproduce the amours and +passionate devotions of the inhabitants of Olympus. The guilty loves of +Aphrodite with Mars and Adonis, the adventures of Jupiter and Apollo +with the wives and daughters of mortals, were the plays most frequently +presented and most wildly applauded. And the ignorant rabble were not +the only witnesses of these spectacles. "The sacerdotal colleges and +authorities," says Arnobius, "flamens, and augurs, and chaste vestals, +all have seats at these public amusements. There are seated the +collective people and senate, consuls and consulars, while Venus, the +mother of the Roman race, is danced to the life, and in shameless +mimicry is represented as reveling through all the phases of +meretricious lust. The great mother, too, is danced; the Dindymene of +Pessinus, in spite of her age, surrendering herself to disgusting +passion in the embraces of a cowherd. The supreme ruler of the world is +himself brought in, without respect to his name or majesty, to play the +part of an adulterer, masking himself in order to deceive chaste wives, +and take the place of their husbands in the nuptial bed."[175] + +Not only gladiatorial games and theatrical shows, but painting and +sculpture as well, served to corrupt and demoralize Roman and Greek +manners. Nor is there any prudery in this statement. The masterpieces of +the Greek artists have been the astonishment and despair of all +succeeding ages; and the triumphs of modern art have been but poor +imitations of the models of the first masters. But it is, nevertheless, +true that the embodiment in marble of certain obscene myths was +destructive of ancient morals. The paintings in the temples and houses +of the cities of Greece and Italy were a constant menace to the mental +purity of those who gazed upon them. The statue of Ganymede at the side +of Zeus was a perpetual reminder to the youth of Athens of the +originator of the loathsome custom of paiderastia. The paintings of Leda +and the swan, of the courtship of Dionysus and Ariadne, of the naked +Aphrodite ensnared and caught in the net with Ares that adorned the +walls and ceilings of Greek and Roman homes, were not too well +calculated to inspire pure and virtuous thoughts in the minds and hearts +of tender youths and modest maidens who looked upon and contemplated +them. At Athens, especially, was the corrupting influence of painting +and plastic art most deeply felt. "At every step," says Döllinger, +"which a Greek or Roman took, he was surrounded by images of his gods +and memorials of their mythic history. Not the temples only, but streets +and public squares, house walls, domestic implements and drinking +vessels, were all covered and incrusted with ornaments of the kind. His +eye could rest nowhere, not a piece of money could he take into his hand +without confronting a god. And in this way, through the magical +omnipresence of plastic art, the memory of his gods had sunk into his +soul indelibly, grown up with every operation of his intellect, and +inseparably blended with every picture of his imagination."[176] + +It can thus be easily imagined how close the connection between the +social depravity and the religion of the Greeks and Romans. What was +right in the conduct of the gods, men could not deem sinful in their own +behavior. Indeed, lewd and lascivious acts were frequently proclaimed +not only right, but sacred, because they had been both sanctioned and +committed by the gods themselves. "As impurity," says Döllinger, "formed +a part of religion, people had no scruples in using the temple and its +adjoining buildings for the satisfaction of their lust. The construction +of many of the temples and the prevalent gloom favored this. 'It is a +matter of general notoriety,' Tertullian says, 'that the temples are the +very places where adulteries were arranged, and procuresses pursue their +victims between the altars.' In the chambers of the priests and +ministers of the temple, impurity was committed amid clouds of incense; +and this, Minucius adds, more frequently than in the privileged haunts +of this sin. The sanctuaries and priests of Isis at Rome were specially +notorious in this respect. 'As this Isis was the concubine of Jove +herself, she also makes prostitutes of others,' Ovid said. Still more +shameful sin was practiced in the temples of the Pessinuntine mother of +the gods, where men prostituted themselves and made a boast of their +shame afterwards."[177] + +_The Bacchanalian Orgies._--The most interesting passage of ancient +literature dealing with social life in its relation to religious +observances, is an extract from Livy, the most elegant of Roman +historians. This passage describes the bacchanalian orgies, and gives +exquisite touches to certain phases of ancient Roman social life. Its +insertion here entire is excused on the ground of its direct bearing +upon the subject matter of this chapter: + + A Greek of mean condition came, first, into Etruria; not with one + of the many trades which his nation, of all others the most skilful + in the cultivation of the mind and body, has introduced among us, + but a low operator in sacrifices, and a soothsayer; nor was he one + who, by open religious rites, and by publicly professing his + calling and teaching, imbued the minds of his followers with + terror, but a priest of secret and nocturnal rites. These + mysterious rites were, at first, imparted to a few, but afterwards + communicated to great numbers, both men and women. To their + religious performances were added the pleasures of wine and + feasting, to allure a greater number of proselytes. When wine, + lascivious discourse, night, and the intercourse of the sexes had + extinguished every sentiment of modesty, then debaucheries of every + kind began to be practiced, as every person found at hand that sort + of enjoyment to which he was disposed by the passion predominant in + his nature. Nor were they confined to one species of vice--the + promiscuous intercourse of free-born men and women, but from this + store-house of villany proceeded false witnesses, counterfeit + seals, false evidences, and pretended discoveries. From the same + place, too, proceeded poison and secret murders, so that in some + cases, even the bodies could not be found for burial. Many of their + audacious deeds were brought about by treachery, but most of + them by force; it served to conceal the violence, that on account + of the loud shouting, and the noise of drums and cymbals, none of + the cries uttered by the persons suffering violation or murder + could be heard abroad. + +[Illustration: READING FROM HOMER (ALMA-TADEMA)] + + The infection of this mischief, like that from the contagion of + disease, spread from Etruria to Rome; where, the size of the city + affording greater room for such evils, and more means of + concealment, cloaked it at first; but information of it was at + length brought to the consul, Postumius, principally in the + following manner. Publius Æbutius, whose father had held equestrian + rank in the army, was left an orphan, and his guardians dying, he + was educated under the eye of his mother Duronia, and his + stepfather Titus Sempronius Rutilus. Duronia was entirely devoted + to her husband; and Sempronius, having managed the guardianship in + such a manner that he could not give an account of the property, + wished that his ward should be either made away with, or bound to + compliance with his will by some strong tie. The Bacchanalian rites + were the only way to effect the ruin of the youth. His mother told + him, that, "During his sickness, she had made a vow for him, that + if he should recover, she would initiate him among the + Bacchanalians; that being, through the kindness of the gods, bound + by this vow, she wished now to fulfil it; that it was necessary he + should preserve chastity for ten days, and on the tenth, after he + should have supped and washed himself, she would conduct him into + the place of worship." There was a freedwoman called Hispala + Fecenia, a noted courtesan, but deserving of a better lot than the + mode of life to which she had been accustomed when very young, and + a slave, and by which she had maintained herself since her + manumission. As they lived in the same neighborhood, an intimacy + subsisted between her and Æbutius, which was far from being + injurious either to the young man's character or property; for he + had been loved and wooed by her unsolicited; and as his friends + supplied his wants illiberally, he was supported by the generosity + of this woman; nay, to such a length did she go under the influence + of her affection, that, on the death of her patron, because she + was under the protection of no one, having petitioned the tribunes + and prætors for a guardian, when she was making her will, she + constituted Æbutius her sole heir. + + As such pledges of mutual love subsisted, and as neither kept + anything secret from the other, the young man jokingly bid her not + be surprised if he separated himself from her for a few nights, as, + "on account of a religious duty, to discharge a vow made for his + health, he intended to be initiated among the Bacchanalians." On + hearing this, the woman, greatly alarmed, cried out, "May the gods + will more favorably!" affirming that "It would be better, both for + him and her, to lose their lives than that he should do such a + thing:" she then imprecated curses, vengeance, and destruction on + the head of those who advised him to such a step. The young man, + surprised both at her expressions and at the violence of her alarm, + bid her refrain from curses, for "it was his mother who ordered him + to do so, with the approbation of his stepfather." "Then," said + she, "your stepfather (for perhaps it is not allowable to censure + your mother), is in haste to destroy, by that act, your chastity, + your character, your hopes and your life." To him, now surprised by + such language, and inquiring what was the matter, she said, (after + imploring the favor and pardon of the gods and goddesses, if, + compelled by her regard for him, she disclosed what ought not to be + revealed), that "when in service, she had gone into that place of + worship, as an attendant on her mistress, but that, since she had + obtained her liberty, she had never once gone near it: that she + knew it to be the receptacle of all kinds of debaucheries; that it + was well known that, for two years past, no one older than twenty + had been initiated there. When any person was introduced he was + delivered as a victim to the priests, who led him away to a place + resounding with shouts, the sound of music, and the beating of + cymbals and drums, lest his cries while suffering violation, should + be heard abroad." She then entreated and besought him to put an end + to that matter in some way or other, and not to plunge himself into + a situation, where he must first suffer, and afterwards commit, + everything that was abominable. Nor did she quit him until the + young man gave her his promise to keep himself clear of those + rites. + + When he came home, and his mother made mention of such things + pertaining to the ceremony as were to be performed on that day, and + on the several following days, he told her that he would not + perform any of them, nor did he intend to be initiated. His + stepfather was present at this discourse. Immediately the woman + observed that "he could not deprive himself of the company of + Hispala for ten nights; that he was so fascinated by the caresses + and baneful influence of that serpent, that he retained no respect + for his mother or stepfather, or even the gods themselves." His + mother on one side and his stepfather on the other loading him with + reproaches, drove him out of the house, assisted by four slaves. + The youth on this repaired to his aunt Æbutia, told her the reason + of his being turned out by his mother, and the next day, by her + advice, gave information of the affair to the consul Postumius, + without any witnesses of the interview. The consul dismissed him, + with an order to come again on the third day following. In the + meantime, he inquired of his mother-in-law, Sulpicia, a woman of + respectable character, "whether she knew an old matron called + Æbutia, who lived on the Aventine hill?" When she had answered that + "she knew her well, and that Æbutia was a woman of virtue, and of + the ancient purity of morals;" he said that he required a + conference with her, and that a messenger should be sent for her to + come. Æbutia, on receiving the message, came to Sulpicia's house, + and the consul, soon after, coming in, as if by accident, + introduced a conversation about Æbutius, her brother's son. The + tears of the woman burst forth, and she began to lament the unhappy + lot of the youth: who after being robbed of his property by persons + whom it least of all became, was then residing with her, being + driven out of doors by his mother, because, being a good youth (may + the gods be propitious to him), he refused to be initiated in + ceremonies devoted to lewdness, as report goes. + + The consul thinking that he had made sufficient inquiries + concerning Æbutius, and that his testimony was unquestionable, + having dismissed Æbutia, requested his mother-in-law to send again + to the Aventine, and bring from that quarter Hispala, a freedwoman, + not unknown in that neighborhood; for there were some queries which + he wished to make of her. Hispala being alarmed because she was + being sent for by a woman of such high rank and respectable + character, and being ignorant of the cause, after she saw the + lictors in the porch, the multitude attending to the consul and the + consul himself, was very near fainting. The consul led her into the + retired part of the house, and, in the presence of his + mother-in-law, told her, that she need not be uneasy, if she could + resolve to speak the truth. She might receive a promise of + protection either from Sulpicia, a matron of such dignified + character, or from himself. That she ought to tell him, what was + accustomed to be done at the Bacchanalia, in the nocturnal orgies + in the grove of Stimula. When the woman heard this, such terror and + trembling of all her limbs seized her, that for a long time she was + unable to speak; but recovering at length she said, that "when she + was very young, and a slave, she had been initiated, together with + her mistress; but for several years past, since she had obtained + her liberty, she knew nothing of what was done there." The consul + commended her so far, as not having denied that she was initiated, + but charged her to explain all the rest with the same sincerity; + and told her, affirming that she knew nothing further, that "there + would not be the same tenderness or pardon extended to her, if she + should be convicted by another person, and one who had made a + voluntary confession; that there was such a person, who had heard + the whole from her, and had given him a full account of it." + + The woman, now thinking without a doubt that it must certainly be + Æbutius who had discovered the secret, threw herself at Sulpicia's + feet, and at first began to beseech her, "not to let the private + conversation of a freedwoman with her lover be turned not only into + a serious business, but even capital charge;" declaring that "she + had spoken of such things merely to frighten him, and not because + she knew anything of the kind." On this Postumius, growing angry, + said "she seemed to imagine that then too she was wrangling with + her gallant Æbutius, and not that she was speaking in the house of + a most respectable matron, and to a consul." Sulpicia raised her, + terrified, from the ground, and while she encouraged her to speak + out, at the same time pacified her son-in-law's anger. At length + she took courage, and, having censured severely the perfidy of + Æbutius, because he had made such a return for the extraordinary + kindness shown to him in that very instance, she declared that "she + stood in great dread of the gods, whose secret mysteries she was to + divulge; and in much greater dread of the men implicated, who would + tear her asunder with their hands if she became an informer. + Therefore she entreated this favor of Sulpicia, and likewise of the + consul, that they would send her away some place out of Italy, + where she might pass the remainder of her life in safety." The + consul desired her to be of good spirits, and said that it should + be his care that she might live securely in Rome. + + Hispala then gave a full account of the origin of the mysteries. + "At first," she said, "those rites were performed by women. No man + used to be admitted. They had three stated days in the year on + which such persons were initiated among the Bacchanalians, in the + daytime. The matrons used to be appointed priestesses, in rotation. + Paculla Minia, a Campanian, when priestess, made an alteration in + every particular as if by the direction of the gods. For she first + introduced men, who were her own sons, Minucius and Herrenius, both + surnamed Cerrinius; changed the time of celebration, from day to + night; and, instead of three days in the year, appointed five days + of initiation in each month. From the time that the rites were thus + made common, and men were intermixed with women, and the licentious + freedom of the night was added, there was nothing wicked, nothing + flagitious, that had not been practiced among them. There were more + frequent pollution of men, with each other, than with women. If any + were less patient in submitting to dishonor, or more averse to the + commission of vice, they were sacrificed as victims. To think + nothing unlawful, was the grand maxim of their religion. The men, + as if bereft of reason, uttered predictions, with frantic + contortions of their bodies; the women, in the habit of + Bacchantes, with their hair dishevelled, and carrying blazing + torches, ran down to the Tiber; where, dipping their torches in the + water, they drew them up again with the flame unextinguished, being + composed of native sulphur and charcoal. They said that those men + were carried off by the gods, whom the machines laid hold of and + dragged from their view into secret caves. These were such as + refused to take the oath of the society or to associate in their + crimes, or to submit to defilement. Their number was exceedingly + great now, almost a second state in themselves and among them were + many men and women of noble families. During the last two years it + had been a rule, that no person above the age of twenty should be + initiated, for they sought for people of such age as made them more + liable to suffer deception and personal abuse." When she had + completed her information, she again fell at the consul's knees, + and repeated the same entreaties, that he might send her out of the + country. The consul requested his mother-in-law to clear some part + of the house, into which Hispala might remove; accordingly an + apartment was assigned her in the upper part of it, of which the + stairs, opening into the street, were stopped up, and the entrance + made from the inner court. Thither all Fecenia's effects were + immediately removed, and her domestics sent for. Æbutius, also, was + ordered to remove to the house of one of the consul's clients. + + When both the informers were by these means in his power, Postumius + represented the affair to the senate, laying before them the whole + circumstance, in due order; the information given to him at first, + and the discoveries gained by his inquiries afterwards. Great + consternation seized on the senators; not only on the public + account, lest such conspiracies and nightly meetings might be + productive of secret treachery and mischief, but, likewise, on + account of their own particular families, lest some of their + relations might be involved in this infamous affair. The senate + voted, however, that thanks should be given to the consul because + he had investigated the matter with singular diligence, and without + exciting any alarm. They then commit to the consuls the holding an + inquiry, out of the common course, concerning the Bacchanals and + their nocturnal orgies. They ordered them to take care that the + informers, Æbutius and Fecenia, might suffer no injury on that + account; and to invite other informers in the matter, by offering + rewards. They ordered that the officials in those rites, whether + men or women, should be sought for, not only at Rome, but also + throughout all the market towns and places of assembly, and be + delivered over to the power of the consuls; and also that + proclamation should be made in the city of Rome, and published + through all Italy, that "no persons initiated in the Bacchanalian + rites should presume to come together or assemble on account of + those rites, or to perform any such kind of worship;" and above + all, that search should be made for those who had assembled or + conspired for personal abuse, or for any other flagitious + practices. The senate passed these decrees. The consuls directed + the curule ædiles to make strict inquiry after all the priests of + those mysteries, and to keep such as they could apprehend in + custody until their trial; they at the same time charged the + plebeian ædiles to take care that no religious ceremonies should be + performed in private. To the capital triumvirs the task was + assigned to post watches in proper places in the city, and to use + vigilance in preventing any meetings by night. In order likewise to + guard against fires, five assistants were joined to the triumvirs, + so that each might have the charge of the buildings in his own + separate district, on this side the Tiber. + + After despatching these officers to their several employments, the + consuls mounted the rostrum; and, having summoned an assembly of + the people, one of the consuls, when he had finished the solemn + form of prayer which the magistrates are accustomed to pronounce + before they address the people, proceeded thus: "Romans, to no + former assembly was this solemn supplication to the gods more + suitable or even more necessary: as it serves to remind you, that + these are the deities whom your forefathers pointed out as the + objects of your worship, veneration and prayers: and not those + which infatuated men's minds with corrupt and foreign modes of + religion, and drove them, as if goaded by the furies, to every lust + and every vice. I am at a loss to know what I should conceal, or + how far I ought to speak out; for I dread lest, if I leave you + ignorant of any particular, I should give room for carelessness, or + if I disclose the whole, that I should too much awaken your fears. + Whatever I shall say, be assured that it is less than the magnitude + and atrociousness of the affair would justify: exertions will be + used by us that it may be sufficient to set us properly on our + guard. That the Bacchanalian rites have subsisted for some time + past in every country in Italy, and are at present performed in + many parts of this city also, I am sure you must have been + informed, not only by report, but by the nightly noises and the + horrid yells that resound through the whole city; but still you are + ignorant of the nature of that business. Part of you think it is + some kind of worship of the gods; others, some excusable sport and + amusement, and that whatever it may be, it concerns but a few. As + regards the number if I tell you that there are many thousands, + that you would be immediately terrified to excess is a necessary + consequence; unless I further acquaint you who and what sort of + persons they are. First, then, a great part of them are women, and + this was the source of the evil; the rest are males, but nearly + resembling women; actors and pathics in the vilest lewdness; night + revellers, driven frantic by wine, noise of instruments, and + clamors. The conspiracy, as yet, has no strength; but it has + abundant means of acquiring strength, for they are becoming more + numerous every day. Your ancestors would not allow that you should + ever assemble casually without some good reason; that is, either + when the standard was erected on the Janiculum, and the army led + out on occasion of elections; or when the tribunes proclaimed a + meeting of the commons, or some of the magistrates summoned you to + it. And they judged it necessary, that wherever a multitude was, + there should be a lawful governor of that multitude present. Of + what kind do you suppose are the meetings of these people? In the + first place, held in the night, and in the next, composed + promiscuously of men and women. If you knew at what ages the males + are initiated, you would feel not only pity, but also shame for + them. Romans, can you think youths initiated, under such oaths as + theirs, are fit to be made soldiers? That arms should be intrusted + with wretches brought out of that temple of obscenity? Shall these, + contaminated with their own foul debaucheries and those of others, + be champions for the chastity of your wives and children? + + "But the mischief were less, if they were only effeminated by their + practices; or that the disgrace would chiefly affect themselves; if + they refrained their hands from outrage, and their thoughts from + fraud. But never was there in the state an evil of so great + magnitude, or one that extended to so many persons or so many acts + of wickedness. Whatever deeds of villany have, during late years + been committed through lust; whatever through fraud; whatever + through violence; they have all, be assured, proceeded from that + association alone. They have not yet perpetrated all the crimes for + which they combine. The impious assembly at present confines itself + to outrages on private citizens; because it has not yet acquired + force sufficient to crush the commonwealth: but the evil increases + and spreads daily; it is already too great for the private ranks of + life to contain it, and aims its views at the body of the state. + Unless you take timely precautions, Romans, their nightly assembly + may become as large as this, held in open day and legally summoned + by a consul. Now they one by one dread you collected together in + the assembly; presently, when you shall have separated and retired + to your several dwellings, in town and country, they will again + come together, and will hold a consultation on the means of their + own safety, and, at the same time, of your destruction. Thus + united, they will cause terror to every one of you. Each of you + therefore, ought to pray that his kindred may have behaved with + wisdom and prudence; and if lust, if madness, has dragged any of + them into that abyss, to consider such a person as the relation of + those with whom he has conspired for every disgraceful and reckless + act, and not as one of your own. I am not secure, lest some even of + yourselves may have erred through mistake; for nothing is more + deceptive in appearance than false religion. When the authority of + the gods is held out as a pretext to cover vice, fear enters our + minds, lest in punishing the crimes of men, we may violate some + divine right connected therewith. Numberless decisions of the + pontiffs, decrees of the senate, and even answers of the aruspices, + free you from religious scruples of this character. How often in + the ages of our fathers was it given in charge to the magistrates, + to prohibit the performances of any foreign religious rites; to + banish strolling sacrificers and soothsayers from the Forum, the + circus and the city; to search for and burn books of divination; + and to abolish every mode of sacrificing that was not conformable + to the Roman practice! For they, completely versed in every divine + and human law, maintained that nothing tended so strongly to the + subversion of religion as sacrifice, when we offered it not after + the institutions of our forefathers, but after foreign customs. + Thus much I thought necessary to mention to you beforehand, that no + vain scruple might disturb your minds when you should see us + demolishing the places resorted to by the Bacchanalians, and + dispersing their impious assemblies. We shall do all these things + with the favor and approbation of the gods; who, because they were + indignant that their divinity was dishonored by those people's lust + and crimes, have drawn forth their proceedings from hidden darkness + into the open light; and who have directed them to be exposed, not + that they may escape with impunity, but in order that they may be + punished and suppressed. The senate have committed to me and my + colleague, an inquisition extraordinary concerning that affair. + What is requisite to be done by ourselves, in person, we will do + with energy. The charge of posting watches through the city, during + the night, we have committed to the inferior magistrates; and, for + your parts, it is incumbent on you to execute vigorously whatever + duties are assigned you, and in the several places where each will + be placed, to perform whatever orders you shall receive, and to use + your best endeavors that no danger or tumult may arise from the + treachery of the party involved in the guilt." + + They then ordered the decrees of the senate to be read, and + published a reward for any discoverer who should bring any of the + guilty before them, or give information against any of the absent, + adding, that "if any person accused should fly, they would limit a + certain day upon which, if he did not answer when summoned, he + would be condemned in his absence; and if anyone should be charged + who was out of Italy, they would not allow him any longer time, if + he should wish to come and make his defence." They then issued an + edict, that "no person whatever should presume to buy or sell + anything for the purpose of leaving the country; or to receive or + conceal, or by any means aid the fugitives." On the assembly being + dismissed, great terror spread throughout the city; nor was it + confined merely within the walls, or to the Roman territory, for + everywhere throughout the whole of Italy alarm began to be + felt--when the letters from the guest-friends were + received--concerning the decree of the senate, and what passed in + the assembly and the edict of the consuls. During the night, which + succeeded the day in which the affair was made public, great + numbers attempting to fly, were seized and bought back by the + triumvirs, who had posted guards at all the gates; and informations + were lodged against many, some of whom, both men and women, put + themselves to death. Above seven thousand men and women are said to + have taken the oath of the association. But it appeared that the + heads of the conspiracy were the two Catinii, Marcus and Caius, + Roman plebeians; Lucius Opiturnius, a Faliscian; and Minius + Cerrinius, a Campanian: that from these proceeded all their + criminal practices, and that these were the chief priests and + founders of the sect. Care was taken that they should be + apprehended as soon as possible. They were brought before the + consuls, and confessing their guilt, caused no delay to the ends of + justice. + + But so great were the numbers that fled from the city, that because + the lawsuits and property of many persons were going to ruin, the + prætors, Titius Mænius and Marcus Licinius were obliged, under the + direction of the senate, to adjourn their courts for thirty days + until the inquiries should be finished by the consuls. The same + deserted state of the law courts, since the persons against whom + charges were brought did not appear to answer, nor could be found + in Rome, necessitated the consuls to make a circuit of the country + towns, and there to make their inquisitions and hold the trials. + Those who, as it appeared, had been only initiated, and had made + after the priest, and in the most solemn form, the prescribed + imprecations, in which the accursed conspiracy for the perpetration + of every crime and lust was contained, but who had not themselves + committed, or compelled others to commit, any of those acts to + which they were bound by the oath--all such they left in prison. + But those who had forcibly committed personal defilements or + murders, or were stained with the guilt of false evidence, + counterfeit seals, forged wills, or other frauds, all these they + punished with death. A greater number were executed than thrown + into prison; indeed the multitude of men and women who suffered in + both ways, was very considerable. The consuls delivered the women + who were condemned to their relations, or to those under whose + guardianship they were, that they might inflict the punishment in + private; but if there did not appear any proper person of the kind + to execute the sentence, the punishment was inflicted in public. A + charge was then given to demolish all the places where the + Bacchanalians had held their meetings; first, in Rome, and then + throughout all Italy; excepting those wherein should be found some + ancient altar, or consecrated statue. With regard to the future, + the senate passed a decree, "that no Bacchanalian rites should be + celebrated in Rome or in Italy:" and ordering that, "in case any + person should believe some such kind of worship incumbent upon him, + and necessary; and that he could not, without offence to religion, + and incurring guilt, omit it, he should represent this to the city + prætor, and the prætor should lay the business before the senate. + If permission were granted by the senate, when not less than one + hundred members were present, then he might perform those rites, + provided that no more than five persons should be present at the + sacrifice, and that they should have no common stock of money, nor + any president of the ceremonies, nor priest." + + Another decree connected with this was then made, on a motion of + the consul, Quintus Marcius, that "the business respecting the + persons who had served the consuls as informers should be proposed + to the senate in its original form, when Spurius Postumius should + have finished his inquiries, and returned to Rome." They voted + that Minus Cerrinius, the Campanian, should be sent to Ardea, to be + kept in custody there; and that a caution should be given to the + magistrates of that city, to guard him with more than ordinary + care, so as to prevent not only his escaping, but his having an + opportunity of committing suicide. + + Spurius Postumius some time after came to Rome and on his proposing + the question, concerning the reward to be given to Publius Æbutius + and Hispala Fecenia, because the Bacchanalian ceremonies were + discovered by their exertions, the senate passed a vote, that "the + city quæstors should give to each of them, out of the public + treasury, one hundred thousand asses; and that the consuls should + desire the plebeian tribunes to propose to the commons as soon as + convenient, that the campaigns of Publius Æbutius should be + considered as served, that he should not become a soldier against + his wishes, nor should any censor assign him a horse at the public + charge." They voted also, that "Hispala Fecenia should enjoy the + privileges of alienating her property by gift or deed; of marrying + out of her rank, and of choosing a guardian, as if a husband had + conferred them by will; that she should be at liberty to wed a man + of honorable birth, and that there should be no disgrace or + ignominy to him who should marry her; and that the consuls and + prætors then in office, and their successors, should take care that + no injury should be offered to that woman, and that she might live + in safety. That the senate wishes, and thought proper, that all + these things should be so ordered."--All these particulars were + proposed to the commons, and executed, according to the vote of the + senate; and full permission was given to the consuls to determine + respecting the impunity and rewards of the other informers.[178] + +The bacchanalian orgies were first suppressed nearly two hundred years +before Christ. The above extract from Livy reminds us that at that time +the Romans were still strong and virtuous, and that a proposal of their +Consul to eradicate a vicious evil that threatened the existence of both +domestic life and the State, met with warm approval and hearty support +from both the Senate and the people. But the insidious infection was +never completely eradicated; and the work of the "Greek from Etruria" +bore bitter fruit in the centuries that followed. And when we consider +that not only bacchanalian orgies, but Greek literature, painting, +sculpture, tragedy and comedy, were the chief causes of the pollution of +Roman morals and the destruction of the Roman State, should we be +surprised that Juvenal, in an outburst of patriotic wrath, should have +declaimed against "a Grecian capital in Italy";[179] and that he should +have hurled withering scorn at + + The flattering, cringing, treacherous, artful race, + Of fluent tongue and never-blushing face, + A Protean tribe, one knows not what to call, + That shifts to every form, and shines in all. + +And, when we consider the state of the Roman world at the time of +Christ, should we be surprised that St. Paul should have described +Romans as "Being filled with all unrighteousness, fornication, +wickedness, covetousness, maliciousness; full of envy, murder, debate, +deceit, malignity; whisperers, backbiters, haters of God, despiteful, +proud, boasters, inventors of evil things, disobedient to parents, +without understanding, covenant-breakers, without natural affection, +implacable, unmerciful"?[180] + +Suffice it to say, in closing the chapter on Græco-Roman paganism, +that, at the beginning of the Christian era, the Roman empire had +reached the limit of physical expansion. Roman military glory had +culminated in the sublime achievements of Pompey and of Cæsar. +Mountains, seas, and deserts, beyond which all was barbarous and +desolate, were the natural barriers of Roman dominion. Roman arms could +go no farther; and Roman ambition could be no longer gratified by +conquest. The Roman religion had fallen into decay and contempt; and the +Roman conscience was paralyzed and benumbed. Disgusted with this world, +the average Roman did not believe in any other, and was utterly without +hope of future happiness. A gloomy despondency filled the hearts of men +and drove them into black despair. When approaching death, they wore no +look of triumph, expressed no belief in immortality, but simply +requested of those whom they were leaving behind, to scatter flowers on +their graves, or to bewail their early end. An epigram of the Anthology +is this: "Let us drink and be merry; for we shall have no more of +kissing and dancing in the kingdom of Proserpine: soon shall we fall +asleep to wake no more." The same sentiments are expressed in epitaphs +on Roman sepulchral monuments of the period. One of them reads thus: +"What I have eaten and drunk, that I take with me; what I have left +behind me, that have I forfeited." This is the language of another: +"Reader, enjoy thy life; for after death there is neither laughter nor +play, nor any kind of enjoyment." Still another: "Friend, I advise, mix +thee a goblet of wine, and drink, crowning thy head with flowers. Earth +and fire consume all that remains after death." And, finally, one of +them assures us that Greek mythology is false: "Pilgrim, stay thee, +listen and learn. In Hades there is no ferryboat, nor ferryman Charon; +no Æacus or Cerberus;--once dead, and we are all alike."[181] + +Matthew Arnold has very graphically described the disgusting, sickening, +overwhelming despair of the Roman people at the birth of Christ. + + Ah! carry back thy ken, + What, some two thousand years! Survey + The world as it was then. + + Like ours it looked, in outward air, + Its head was clear and true; + Sumptuous its clothing, rich its fare; + No pause its action knew. + + Stout was its arm, each thew and bone + Seem'd puissant and alive-- + But ah! its heart, its heart was stone + And so it could not thrive. + + On that hard pagan world disgust + And secret loathing fell; + Deep weariness and sated lust + Made human life a hell. + + In his goodly hall with haggard eyes, + The Roman noble lay; + He drove abroad in furious guise + Along the Appian Way. + + He made a feast, drank fierce and fast, + And crowned his hair with flowers; + No easier, nor no quicker passed + The impracticable hours.[182] + +But the "darkest hour is just before the dawn," and "the fulness of the +time was come." Already the first faint glimmers of the breaking of a +grander and better day were perceptible to the senses of the noblest and +finest of Roman intellects. Already Cicero had pictured a glorious +millennium that would follow if perfect virtue should ever enter into +the flesh and come to dwell among men.[183] Already Virgil, deriving +inspiration from the Erythræan Sibylline prophecies, had sung of the +advent of a heaven-born child, whose coming would restore the Golden +Age, and establish enduring peace and happiness on the earth.[184] +Already a debauched, degraded and degenerate world was crying in the +anguish of its soul: "I know that my Redeemer liveth!" And, even before +the Baptist began to preach in the wilderness, the ways had been made +straight for the coming of the Nazarene. + + + + +_APPENDICES_ + + + + +APPENDIX I + +CHARACTERS OF THE SANHEDRISTS WHO TRIED JESUS + + +The following short biographical sketches of about forty of the members +of the Sanhedrin who tried Jesus are from a work entitled "Valeur de +l'assemblée qui prononça la peine de mort contre Jésus Christ"--Lémann. +The English translation, under the title "Jesus Before the Sanhedrin," +is by Julius Magath, Oxford, Georgia. + +Professor Magath's translation is used in this work by special +permission.--THE AUTHOR. + + +THE MORAL CHARACTERS OF THE PERSONAGES WHO SAT AT THE TRIAL OF CHRIST + +The members of the Sanhedrin that judged Christ were seventy-one in +number, and were divided into three chambers; but we must know the +names, acts, and moral characters of these judges. That such a knowledge +would throw a great light on this celebrated trial can be easily +understood. The characters of Caiaphas, Ananos, and Pilate are already +well known to us. These stand out as the three leading figures in the +drama of the Passion. But others have appeared in it; would it not be +possible to produce them also before history? This task, we believe, has +never yet been undertaken. It was thought that documents were wanting. +But this is an error; such documents exist. We have consulted them; and +in this century of historical study and research we shall draw forth +from the places where they have been hidden for centuries, the majority +of the judges of Christ. + +Three kinds of documents have, in a particular manner, enabled us to +discover the characters of these men: the books of the Evangelists, the +valuable writings of Josephus the historian, and the hitherto unexplored +pages of the Talmud. We shall bring to light forty of the judges, so +that more than half of the Sanhedrin will appear before us; and this +large majority will be sufficient to enable us to form an opinion of the +moral tone of the whole assembly. + +To proceed with due order, we will begin with the most important +chamber--viz., the chamber of the priests. + + +I. THE CHAMBER OF THE PRIESTS + +We use the expression "chamber of the _priests_." In the Gospel +narrative, however, this division of the Sanhedrin bears a more imposing +title. Matthew, Mark, and the other Evangelists, designate it by the +following names: the council _of the high priests_, and the council _of +the princes of the priests_.[185] + +But we may ask, Why is this pompous name given to this chamber by the +Evangelists? Is this not an error on their part? An assembly of priests +seems natural, but how can there be an assembly of high priests, since +according to the Mosaic institution there could be only one high priest, +whose office was tenable for life. There is, however, neither an error +nor an undue amplification on the part of the Gospel narrators; and we +may also add here that both Talmuds positively speak of an assembly of +high priests.[186] But how, then, can we account for the presence of +several high priests at the same time in the Sanhedrin? Here is the +explanation, to the shame of the Jewish assembly: + +For nearly a century a detestable abuse prevailed, which consisted in +the arbitrary nomination and deposition of the high priest. The high +priesthood, which for fifteen centuries had been preserved in the same +family, being hereditary according to the divine command,[187] had at +the time of Christ's advent become an object of commercial speculation. +Herod commenced these arbitrary changes,[188] and after Judea became one +of the Roman conquests the election of the high priest took place almost +every year at Jerusalem, the procurators appointing and deposing them in +the same manner as the prætorians later on made and unmade +emperors.[189] The Talmud speaks sorrowfully of this venality and the +yearly changes of the high priest. + +This sacred office was given to the one that offered the most money for +it, and mothers were particularly anxious that their sons should be +nominated to this dignity.[190] + +The expression, "_the council of the high priests_," used by the +Evangelists to designate this section of the Sanhedrin, is therefore +rigorously correct; for at the time of the trial of Christ there were +about twelve ex-high priests, who still retained the honorable title of +their charge, and were, by the right of that title, members of the high +tribunal. Several ordinary priests were also included in this chamber, +but they were in most cases related to the high priests; for in the +midst of the intrigues by which the sovereign pontificate was surrounded +in those days, it was customary for the more influential of the chief +priests to bring in their sons and allies as members of their chamber. +The spirit of caste was very powerful, and as M. Dérembourg, a modern +Jewish savant, has remarked: "_A few priestly, aristocratic, powerful, +and vain families, who cared for neither the dignity nor the interests +of the altar, quarreled with each other respecting appointments, +influence, and wealth_."[191] + +To sum up, we have, then, in this first chamber a double element--high +priests and ordinary priests. We shall now make them known by their +names and characters, and indicate the sources whence the information +has been obtained. + +CAIAPHAS, high priest then in office. He was the son-in-law of Ananos, +and exercised his office for eleven years--during the whole term of +Pilate's administration (25-36 A.D.). It is he who presided over the +Sanhedrin during this trial, and the history of the Passion as given by +the Evangelists is sufficient to make him known to us. (See Matt. xxvi. +3; Luke iii. 2, etc.; Jos., "Ant.," B. XVIII. C. II. 2.) + +ANANOS held the office of high priest for seven years under Coponius, +Ambivus, and Rufus (7-11 A.D.). This personage was the father-in-law of +Caiaphas, and although out of office was nevertheless consulted on +matters of importance. It may be said, indeed, that in the midst of the +instability of the sacerdotal office he alone preserved in reality its +authority. For fifty years this high office remained without +interruption in his family. Five of his sons successively assumed its +dignity. This family was even known as the "sacerdotal family," as if +this office had become hereditary in it. Ananos had charge also of the +more important duties of the Temple, and Josephus says that he was +considered the most fortunate man of his time. He adds, however, that +the spirit of this family was haughty, audacious, and cruel. (Luke iii. +2; John xviii. 13, 24; Acts iv. 6; Jos., "Ant.," B. XV. C. III 1; XX. +IX. 1, 3; "Jewish Wars," B. IV. V. 2, 6, 7.) + +ELEAZAR was high priest during one year, under Valerius Grattus (23-24 +A.D.). He was the eldest son of Ananos. (Jos., "Ant.," B. XVIII. II. 2.) + +JONATHAN, son of Ananos, simple priest at that time, but afterwards made +high priest for one year in the place of Caiaphas when the latter was +deposed, after the disgrace of Pilate, by Vitellius, Governor-general of +Syria (37 A.D.). (Jos., "Ant.," B. XVIII. IV. 3.) + +THEOPHILUS, son of Ananos, simple priest at that time, but afterwards +made high priest in the place of his brother Jonathan, who was deposed +by Vitellius. Theophilus was in office five years (38-42 A.D.). (Jos., +"Ant.," B. XIX. VI. 2; Munk, "Hist. de la Palestine," p. 568.) + +MATTHIAS, son of Ananos. Simple priest; afterwards high priest for two +years (42-44 A.D.). He succeeded Simon Cantharus, who was deposed by +King Herod Agrippa. (Jos., "Ant.," XIX. VI. 4.) + +ANANUS, son of Ananos. Simple priest at the time; afterwards made high +priest by Herod Agrippa after the death of the Roman governor, Portius +Festus (63 A.D.). Being a Sadducee of extravagant zeal, he was deposed +at the end of three months by Albanus, successor of Portius Festus, for +having illegally condemned the apostle James to be stoned. (Acts xxiii. +2, xxiv. 1; Jos., "Ant.," B. XX. IX. 1.) + +JOAZAR, high priest for six years during the latter days of Herod the +Great and the first years of Archelaus (4 B.C.-2 A.D.). He was the son +of Simon Boethus, who owed his dignity and fortune to the following +dishonorable circumstance, as related by Josephus the historian: "There +was one Simon, a citizen of Jerusalem, the son of Boethus, a citizen of +Alexandria and a priest of great note there. This man had a daughter, +who was esteemed the most beautiful woman of that time. And when the +people of Jerusalem began to speak much in her commendation, it +happened that Herod was much affected by what was said of her; and when +he saw the damsel he was smitten with her beauty. Yet did he entirely +reject the thought of using his authority to abuse her ... so he thought +it best to take the damsel to wife. And while Simon was of a dignity too +inferior to be allied to him, but still too considerable to be despised, +he governed his inclinations after the most prudent manner by augmenting +the dignity of the family and making them more honorable. Accordingly he +forthwith deprived Jesus, the son of Phabet, of the high priesthood, and +conferred that dignity on Simon." Such, according to Josephus, is the +origin--not at all of a supernatural nature--of the call to the high +priesthood of Simon Boethus and his whole family. Simon, at the time of +this trial, was already dead; but Joazar figured in it with two of his +brothers, one of whom was, like himself, an ex-high priest. (Jos., +"Ant.," B. XV. IX. 3; XVII. VI. 4; XVIII. I. 1; XIX. VI. 2.) + +ELEAZAR, second son of Simon Boethus. He succeeded his brother Joazar +when the latter was deprived of that function by King Archelaus (2 +A.D.). Eleazar was high priest for a short time only, the same king +deposing him three months after his installation. (Jos., "Ant.," B. +XVII. XIII. 1; XIX. VI. 2.) + +SIMON CANTHARUS, third son of Simon Boethus. Simple priest at the time; +was afterwards made high priest by King Herod Agrippa (42 A.D.), who, +however, deposed him after a few months. (Jos., "Ant.," B. XIX. VI. 2, +4.) + +JESUS _ben_ SIE succeeded Eleazar to the high priesthood, and held the +office for five or six years (1-6 A.D.) under the reign of Archelaus. +(Jos., "Ant.," XVII. XIII. 1.) + +ISMAEL _ben_ PHABI. High priest for nine years under procurator Valerius +Grattus, predecessor of Pontius Pilate. He was considered, according to +the rabbins, the handsomest man of his time. The effeminate love of +luxury of this chief priest was carried to such an extent that his +mother, having made him a tunic of great price, he deigned to wear it +once, and then consigned it to the public wardrobe, as a grand lady +might dispose of a robe which no longer pleased her caprices. ("Talmud," +"Pesachim," or "of the Passover," fol. 57, verso; "Yoma," or "the Day of +Atonement," fol. 9, verso; 35, recto; Jos., "Ant.," XVIII. II. 2; XX. +VIII. 11; Bartolocci, "Grand Bibliothèque Rabbinique," T. III. p. 297; +Munk, "Palestine," pp. 563, 575.) + +SIMON _ben_ CAMITHUS, high priest during one year under procurator +Valerius Grattus (24-25 A.D.). This personage was celebrated for the +enormous size of his hand, and the Talmud relates of him the following +incident: On the eve of the day of atonement it happened, in the course +of a conversation which he had with Arathus, King of Arabia--whose +daughter Herod Antipas had just married--that some saliva, coming out of +the mouth of the king, fell on the robe of Simon. As soon as the king +left him, he hastened to divest himself of it, considering it desecrated +by the circumstance, and hence unworthy to be worn during the services +of the following day. What a remarkable instance of Pharisaical purity +and charity! ("Talmud," "Yoma," or "the Day of Atonement," fol. 47, +verso; Jos., "Ant.," XVIII. II. 2; Dérembourg, "Essai sur l'histoire," +p. 197, n. 2.) + +JOHN, simple priest. He is made known to us through the Acts of the +Apostles. "And Annas the high priest, and Caiaphas, and John, and +Alexander, and as many as were of the kindred of the high priest, were +gathered together in Jerusalem." (Acts iv. 6.) + +ALEXANDER, simple priest; also mentioned in the Acts of the Apostles in +the passage above quoted. Josephus also makes mention of him, and says +that he afterwards became an _Alabarch_--that is to say, first +magistrate of the Jews in Alexandria. That he was very rich is to be +learned from the fact that King Herod Agrippa asked and obtained from +him the loan of two hundred thousand pieces of silver. (Acts iv. 6; +Jos., "Ant.," XVIII. VI. 3; XX. V. 2; Petri Wesselingii, "Diatribe de +Judæorum Archontibus," Trajecti ad Rhenum, pp. 69-71.) + +ANANIAS _ben_ NEBEDEUS, simple priest at that time; was elected to the +high priesthood under procurators Ventideus, Cumanus, and Felix (48-54 +A.D.). He is mentioned in the Acts of the Apostles and by Josephus. It +was this high priest who delivered the apostle Paul to procurator Felix. +"Ananias the high priest descended with the elders, and with a certain +orator named Tertullus, who informed the governor against Paul." (Acts +xxiv. 1.) According to Jewish tradition, this high priest is chiefly +known for his excessive gluttony. What the Talmud says of his voracity +is quite phenomenal. It mentions three hundred calves, as many casks of +wine, and forty pairs of young pigeons as having been brought together +for his repast. ("Talmud," Bab., "Pesachim," or "of the Passover," fol. +57, verso; "Kerihoth," or "Sins which Close the Entrance to Eternal +Life," fol. 28, verso; Jos., "Ant.," XX. V. 2; Dérembourg, work quoted +above, pp. 230, 234; Munk, "Palestine," p. 573, n. 1.) + +HELCIAS, simple priest, and keeper of the treasury of the Temple. It is +probably from him that Judas Iscariot received the thirty pieces of +silver, the price of his treason. (Jos., "Ant.," XX. VIII. 11.) + +SCEVA, one of the principal priests. He is spoken of in the Acts apropos +of his seven sons, who gave themselves up to witchcraft. (Acts xix. 13, +14.) + +Such are the chief priests that constituted the first chamber of the +Sanhedrin at the time of the trial of Christ. + +From the documents which we have consulted and the résumé which we have +just given, we gather: + +1. That several of the high priests were personally dishonorable. + +2. That all these high priests, who succeeded each other annually in the +Aaronic office in utter disregard of the order established by God, were +but miserable intruders. We trust that these expressions will not offend +our dear Israelitish readers, for they are based on the statements of +eminent and zealous Jewish writers. + +To begin with Josephus the historian. Although endeavoring to conceal +as much as possible the shameful acts committed by the priests composing +this council, yet he was unable, in a moment of disgust, to refrain from +stigmatizing them. "About this time," he says, "there arose a sedition +between the high priests and the principal men of the multitude of +Jerusalem, each of which assembled a company of the boldest sort of men, +and of those that loved innovations, and became leaders to them. And +when they struggled together they did it by casting reproachful words +against one another, and by throwing stones also. And there was nobody +to reprove them; but these disorders were done after a licentious manner +in the city, as if it had no government over it. And such was the +impudence and boldness that had seized on the high priests that they had +the hardness to send their servants into the threshing-floors, to take +away those tithes that were due the [simple] priests. Insomuch that the +poorest priests died of want."[192] Such are the acts, the spirit of +equity and kindness, that characterized the chief judges of Christ! But +the Talmud goes farther still. This book, which ordinarily is not +sparing of eulogies on the people of our nation, yet, considering +separately and by name, as we have done, the high priests of that time, +it exclaims: "What a plague is the family of Simon Boethus; cursed be +their lances! What a plague is the family of Ananos; cursed be their +hissing of vipers! What a plague is the family of Cantharus; cursed be +their pens! What a plague is the family of Ismael ben Phabi; cursed be +their fists! They are high priests themselves, their sons are +treasurers, their sons-in-law are commanders, and their servants strike +the people with staves."[193] The Talmud continues: "The porch of the +sanctuary cried out four times. The first time, Depart from here, +descendants of Eli;[194] ye pollute the Temple of the Eternal! The +second time, Let Issachar ben Keifar Barchi depart from here, who +polluteth himself and profaneth the victims consecrated to God![195] The +third time, Widen yourselves, ye gates of the sanctuary, and let Israel +ben Phabi the willful enter, that he may discharge the functions of the +priesthood! Yet another cry was heard, Widen yourselves, ye gates, and +let Ananias ben Nebedeus the gourmand enter, that he may glut himself on +the victims!" In the face of such low morality, avowed by the least to +be suspected of our own nation, is it possible to restrain one's +indignation against those who sat at the trial of Christ as members of +the chamber of priests? This indignation becomes yet more intense when +one remembers that an ambitious hypocrisy, having for its aim the +domineering over the people, had perverted the law of Moses in these +men. The majority of the priests belonged, in fact, to the Pharisaic +order, the members of which sect made religion subservient to their +personal ambition; and in order to rule over the people with more ease, +they used religion as a tool to effect this purpose, encumbering the +law of Moses with exaggerated precepts and insupportable burdens which +they strenuously imposed upon others, but failed to observe themselves. +Can we, then, be astonished at the murderous hatred which these false +and ambitious men conceived for Christ? When his words, sharper than a +sword, exposed their hypocrisy and displayed the corrupt interior of +these whitened sepulchers wearing the semblance of justice, the hatred +they already cherished for him grew to a frenzied intensity. They never +forgave him for having publicly unmasked them. Hypocrisy never forgives +that. + +Such were the men composing the council of priests, when the Sanhedrin +assembled to judge Christ. Were we not justified in forming of them an +unfavorable opinion?... But let us pass on to the second chamber, viz., +the chamber of the scribes. + + +II. CHAMBER OF THE SCRIBES + +Let us recall in a few words who the scribes were. Chosen +indiscriminately among the Levites and laity, they formed the _corps +savant_ of the nation; they were doctors in Israel, and were held in +high esteem and veneration. It is well known what respect the Jews, and +the Eastern nations generally, have always had for their _wise men_. + +Next to the chamber of the priests, that of the scribes was the most +important. But from information gathered from the documents to which we +have already referred, we are constrained to affirm that, with a few +individual exceptions, this chamber was no better than that of the +priests. + +The following is a list of the names and histories of the _wise men_ who +composed the chamber of the scribes at the trial of Christ: + +GAMALIEL, surnamed the ancient. He was a very worthy Israelite, and his +name is spoken of with honor in the Talmud as well as in the Acts of the +Apostles. He belonged to a noble family, being a grandson of the famous +Hillel, who, coming from Babylon forty years before Christ, taught with +such brilliant success in Jerusalem. Gamaliel acquired so great a +reputation among his people for his scientific acquirements that the +Talmud could say of him: "_With the death of Rabbi Gamaliel the glory of +the law has departed._" It was at the feet of this doctor that Saul, +afterwards Paul the apostle, studied the law and Jewish traditions, and +we know how he gloried in this fact. Gamaliel had also among his +disciples Barnabas and Stephen, the first martyr for the cause of +Christ. When the members of the Sanhedrin discussed the expediency of +putting the apostles to death, this worthy Israelite prevented the +passing of the sentence by pronouncing these celebrated words: "Ye men +of Israel, take heed to yourselves what ye intend to do as touching +these men.... And now I say unto you, refrain from these men, and let +them alone; for if this counsel be of men it will come to naught; but if +it be of God ye cannot overthrow it; lest haply ye be found even to +fight against God." Gamaliel died nineteen years after Christ (52 A.D.). +(Acts v. 34-39; xxii. 3; Mishna, "Sotah," or "the Woman Suspected of +Adultery," C. IX.; "Sepher Juchasin," or "the Book of the Ancestors," p. +53; David Ganz, "Germe de David ou Chronologie" to 4768; Bartolocci, +"Bibliotheca magna Rabbinica," T. i. pp. 727-732.) + +SIMON, son of Gamaliel, like his father, had a seat in the assembly. The +rabbinical books speak of him in the highest terms of eulogy. The +Mishna, for instance, attributes to him this sentence: "Brought up from +my infancy among learned men, I have found nothing that is of greater +value to man than silence. Doctrines are not the chief things, but work. +He who is in the habit of much talking falls easily into error." This +Simon became afterwards the intimate friend of the too celebrated +bandit, John of Giscala, whose excesses and cruelty toward the Romans, +and even the Jews, caused Titus to order the pillaging of Jerusalem. +Simon was killed in the last assault in 70 A.D. (David Ganz, +"Chronologie" to 4810; Mishna, "Aboth," or "of the Fathers," C. I.; +"Talmud," Jerusalem, "Berachoth," or "of Blessings," fol. 6, verso; +"Historia Docorium Misnicorum," J. H. Otthonis, pp. 110-113; De +Champagny, "Rome et la Judée," T. ii. 86-171.) + +ONKELOS was born of heathen parents, but embraced Judaism, and became +one of the most eminent disciples of Gamaliel. He is the author of the +famous Chaldaic paraphrase of the Pentateuch. Although the rabbinical +books do not mention him as a member of the Sanhedrin, yet it is highly +probable that he belonged to that body, his writings and memory having +always been held in great esteem by the Jews; even at the present day +every Jew is enjoined to read weekly a portion of his version of the +books of Moses. Onkelos carried the Pharisaical intolerance to the last +degree. Converted from idolatry to Judaism, he hated the Gentiles to +such an extent that he cast into the Dead Sea, as an object of impurity, +the sum of money that he had inherited from his parents. We can easily +understand how that, with such a disposition, he would not be favorably +inclined toward Jesus, who received Gentiles and Jews alike. ("Talmud," +"Megilla," or "Festival of Esther," fol. 3, verso; "Baba-bathra," or +"the Last Gate," fol. 134, verso; "Succa," or "the Festival of +Tabernacles," fol. 28, verso; "Thosephthoth," or "Supplements to the +Mishna," C. v.; Rabbi Gedalia, "Tzaltzeleth Hakkabalah," or "the Chain +of the Kabalah," p. 28; "Histor. Doct. Misnic.," p. 110; De Rossi, +"Dizionario degli Autori Ebrei," p. 81.) + +JONATHAN _ben_ UZIEL, author of a very remarkable paraphrase of the +Pentateuch and the Prophets. There is a difference of opinion regarding +the precise time at which he lived. Some place it several years before +Christ; others at the time of Christ. We believe, however, that not only +was he contemporary with Christ, but that he was also one of his judges. +In support of our assertion we give the two following proofs, which we +think indisputable: 1. Jonathan, the translator of the Prophets, has +purposely omitted Daniel, which omission the Talmud explains as due to +the special intervention of an angel who informed him that the manner in +which the prophet speaks of the death of the Messiah coincided too +exactly with that of Jesus of Nazareth. Now, since Jonathan has +intentionally left out the prophecies of Daniel on account of their +coincidence with the death of Christ, it proves that he could not have +lived before Christ, but must have been contemporary with him. 2. In +comparing the paraphrase of Onkelos with that of Jonathan, we find that +the latter had made use of the work of the former, who lived in the time +of Christ. Examples may be found in Deut. xxii. 5, Judges v. 26, Num. +xxi. 28, 29. If, then, Jonathan utilized the work of Onkelos, who lived +in the time of Christ, the fact proves beyond question that he could not +have lived before Christ. The Talmudists, in order to reward this person +for having, through his hatred of Christ, erased the name of Daniel from +the roll of prophets, eulogize him in the most absurd manner. They +relate that while engaged in the study of the law of God, the atmosphere +which surrounded him, and came in contact with the light of his +understanding, so caught fire from his fervor that the birds, silly +enough to be attracted toward it, were consumed immediately. ("Talmud," +"Succa," or "the Festival of Tabernacles," fol. 28, verso; David Ganz, +"Chronol." 4728; Gesenius, "Comm. on Isaiah," Part I. p. 65; Zunz, +"Culte divin des Juifs," Berlin, 1832, p. 61; Dérembourg, work quoted +above, p. 276; Hanneburg, "Révelat Bibliq.," ii. 163, 432.) + +SAMUEL HAKATON, or _the Less_. Surnamed to distinguish him from Samuel +the prophet. It was he who, some time after the resurrection of Christ, +composed the famous imprecation against the Christians, called +"Birchath Hamminim" (Benedictions of Infidels). The "Birchath Hamminim," +says the Talmud, and the commentary of R. Jarchi, "was composed by R. +Samuel Hakaton at Jabneh, where the Sanhedrin had removed after the +misconduct of the Nazarene, who taught a doctrine contrary to the words +of the living God." The following is the singular benediction: "_Let +there be no hope for the apostates of religion, and let all heretics, +whosoever they may be, perish suddenly. May the kingdom of pride be +rooted out; let it be annihilated quickly, even in our days! Be blessed, +O Lord, who destroyest the impious, and humblest the proud!_" As soon as +Samuel Hakaton had composed this malediction, it was inserted as an +additional blessing in the celebrated prayer of the synagogue, the +"Shemonah-Essara" (the eighteen blessings). These blessings belonged to +the time of Ezra--that is to say, five centuries before the Christian +era; and every Jew has to recite it daily. St. Jerome was not ignorant +of this strange prayer. He says: "_The Jews anathematize three times +daily in their synagogue the name of the Christian, disguising it under +the name of Nazarene._" According to R. Gedalia, Samuel died before the +destruction of Jerusalem, about fifteen or twenty years after Christ. +("Talmud," "Berachoth," or "of Prayers," fol. 28, verso; "Megilla," or +"the Festival of Esther," fol. 28, verso; St. Jerome, "Comment. on +Isaiam," B. II. C. V. 18, 19; Tom. iv. p. 81 of the "Valarsius," quarto +edition; Vitringa, "de Synagoga vetr.," T. ii. p. 1036, 1047, 1051; +Castellus, "Lexicon heptaglotton," art. Min.) + +CHANANIA _ben_ CHISKIA. He was a great conciliator in the midst of the +doctrinal quarrels so common at that time; and it happened that the +rival schools of Shammai and Hillel, which were not abolished with the +death of their founders, often employed him as their arbitrator. This +skillful umpire did not always succeed, however, in calming the +disputants; for we read in the ancient books that in the transition from +force of argument to argument of force, the members of the schools of +Shammai and Hillel frequently came to blows. Hence the French expression +_se chammailler_. It happened, however, according to the Talmud, that +Chanania once departed from his usual system of equilibrium in favor of +the prophet Ezekiel. It appears that on one occasion the most +influential members of the Sanhedrin proposed to censure, and even +reject, the book of this prophet, because, according to their opinion, +it contained several passages in contradiction of the law of Moses; but +Chanania defended it with so much eloquence that they were obliged to +desist from their project. This fact alone, reported fully as it is in +the Talmud, would be sufficient to show the laxity of the study of the +prophecies at that time. Although the exact date of his death is +uncertain, it is, nevertheless, sure that it took place before the +destruction of the Temple. ("Talmud," "Chagiga," or "the obligations of +the males to present themselves three times a year at Jerusalem," 2, 13; +"Shabbath," or "of the Sabbath," C. I.; "Sepher Juchasin," or "the Book +of Ancestors," p. 57.) + +ISMAEL _ben_ ELIZA, renowned for the depth of his mind and the beauty +of his face. The rabbins record that he was learned in the most +mysterious things; for example, he could command the angels to descend +from heaven and ascend thither. We have it also from the same authority +that his mother held him in such high admiration that one day on his +return from school she washed his feet, and, through respect for him, +drank the water she had used for that purpose. His death was of a no +less romantic nature. It appears that after the capture of Jerusalem, +the daughter of Titus was so struck with his beauty that she obtained +permission of her father to have the skin of his face taken off after +his death, which skin she had embalmed, and, having perfumed it, she +sent it to Rome to figure among the spoils as a trophy. ("Talmud," +"Aboda Zarah," or "of Idolatry," C. I.; Rabbi Gedalia, "Tzaltzeleth +Hakkabalah," or "the Chain of the Kabalah," p. 29; "Sepher Juchasin," or +"the Book of Ancestors," p. 25; "Tosephoth Kiddushin," C. IV.) + +Rabbi ZADOK. He was about forty years old at the trial of Christ, and +died after the burning of the Temple, aged over seventy. The Talmud +relates that for forty years he ceased not from fasting, that God might +so order it that the Temple should not be destroyed by fire. Upon this +the question is propounded in the same book, but no answer given, as to +how this rabbin could have known that the Temple was threatened with so +great a calamity. We believe that Rabbi Zadok could have obtained +information of this terrible event in one of the two ways--either from +the prophetic voice of Daniel which proclaimed more than forty years +previous to the occurrence that abomination and desolation should crush +the Temple of Jerusalem when the Messiah should have been put to death; +or by the voice of Jesus himself, who said forty years before the +destruction of the Temple: "See ye not all these things?" (i.e., the +buildings of the Temple) "verily, verily I say unto you, There shall not +be left here one stone upon another that shall not be thrown down." +(Mishna, "Shabbath," or "of the Sabbath," C. XXIV. 5 to end; "Eduth," or +"of Testimony," C. VII. 1; "Aboth," or "of the Fathers of Tradition," +IV. 5; David Ganz, "Chronol." 4785; Seph. Juchasin," fol. 21, 26; +Schikardi, "Jus Regium Hebræorum," p. 468; Dan. ix. 25-27; Luke xxi. 6; +Matt. xxvi. 2.) + +JOCHANAN _ben_ ZAKAI. The rabbinical books accord to this rabbi an +extraordinary longevity. From their writings it would appear that, like +Moses, he lived a hundred and twenty years, forty years of which he +consecrated to manual labor; another forty to the study of the law; and +the last forty years of his life he devoted to imparting his knowledge +to others. His reputation as a savant was so well established that he +was surnamed the _Splendor of Wisdom_. After the destruction of the +Temple, he rallied together the remaining members of the Sanhedrin to +Jabneh, where he presided over this remnant for the last four or five +years of his life. He died in the year 73 A.D. When he breathed his +last, says the Mishna, a cry of anguish was heard, saying: "With the +death of Jochanan ben Zakai the splendor of wisdom has been quenched!" +We have, however, other information regarding this rabbi which is, so to +speak, like the reverse side of a medal. The Bereshith Rabba says that +Rabbi Jochanan was in the habit of eulogizing himself in the most +extravagant manner, and gives the following as a specimen of the praises +he bestowed upon himself: "If the skies were parchment, all the +inhabitants of the world writers, and all the trees of the forest pens, +all these would not suffice to transcribe the doctrines which he had +learned from the masters." What humility of language! One day his +disciples asked him to what he attributed his long life. "To my wisdom +and piety," was his reply in his tone of habitual modesty. Besides, if +we were to judge of his moral character by an ordinance of which he is +the author, his morality might be equal to the standard of his humility. +He abolished the Mosaical command of the ordeal of bitter waters, +immorally isolating a passage in Isaiah from its context. Finally, to +fill up the measure of his honesty, he became one of the lewdest +courtiers of Titus, and the destroyer of his country. But while +obsequious to human grandeur, he was obdurate to the warnings of God, +and died proud and impenitent. ("Talmud," "Rosh Hashanah," or "of the +New Year," fol. 20, recto; 31, recto; "Sotah," or "of the Woman +Suspected," etc., IX. 9; "Yoma," or "the Day of Atonement," fol. 39, +recto, and 43; "Gittin," or "of Divorce," fol. 56, verso and recto; +"Succa," or "of the Festival of Tabernacles," fol. 28, verso; Mishna, +Chapter, "Egla arupha"; "Sepher Juchasin," or "the Book of Ancestors," +fol. 20, recto; "Seph. Hakkabalah"; Otthonis, "Hist. Doct. Misn.," pp. +93-103; Hosea iv. 14; Jos., "Wars," VI. V. 3; De Champagny, "Rome et la +Judée," T. i. p. 158.) + +ABBA SAUL. He was of prodigious height, and had the charge of +superintending the burials of the dead, that everything might be done +according to the law. The rabbins, who delight in the marvelous, affirm +that in the exercise of his duties he found the thigh bone of Og, the +King of Bashan, and the right eye of Absalom. By virtue of the marrow +extracted from the thigh of Og, he was enabled to chase a young buck for +three leagues; as for the eye of Absalom, it was so deep that he could +have hidden himself in it as if in a cavern. These stories, no doubt, +appear very puerile; and yet, according to a Talmudical book +(Menorath-Hammoer, "the lighted candlestick"), which is considered of +great authority even in the modern [orthodox] synagogue, we must judge +of these matters in the following manner: "Everything which our doctors +have taught in the Medrashim (allegoric or historical commentaries) we +are bound to consider and believe in as the law of Moses our master; and +if we find anything in it which appears exaggerated and incredible, we +must attribute it to the weakness of our understandings, rather than to +their teachings; and whoever turns into ridicule whatever they have said +will be punished." According to Maimonides, Abba Saul died before the +destruction of the Temple. (Mishna, "Middoth," or "of the Dimensions of +the Temple," Chapter, "Har habbaith"; "Talmud," "Nidda," or "the +Purification of Women," C. III. fol. 24, recto; Maimonides, "Proef ad +zeraim"; Drach, "Harmonies entre l'Eglise et la Synagogue," T. ii. p. +375.) + +R. CHANANIA, surnamed the Vicar of the Priests. The Mishna attributes to +him a saying which brings clearly before us the social position of the +Jewish people in the last days of Jerusalem. "Pray," said he, "for the +Roman Empire; for should the terror of its power disappear in Palestine, +neighbor will devour neighbor alive." This avowal shows the deplorable +state of Judea, and the divisions to which she had become a prey. The +Romans seem, however, to have cared very little for the sympathy of R. +Chanania, for, having possessed themselves of the city, they put him to +death. (Mishna, "Aboth," or "of the Fathers of Tradition," C. III. 2; +"Zevachim," or "of Sacrifices," C. IX. 3; "Eduth," or "of Testimony," C. +II. 1; David Ganz, "Chronologie," 4826; "Sepher Juchasin," or "the Book +of Ancestors," p. 57.) + +Rabbi ELEAZAR _ben_ PARTAH, one of the most esteemed scribes of the +Sanhedrin, on account of his scientific knowledge. Already very aged at +the destruction of the Temple, he yet lived several years after that +national calamity. ("Talmud," "Gittin," or "of Divorces," C. III. 4; +"Sepher Juchasin," p. 31.) + +Rabbi NACHUM HALBALAR. He is mentioned in the rabbinical books as +belonging to the Sanhedrin in the year 28 A.D., but nothing particular +is mentioned of his history. ("Talmud," "Peah," or "of the Angle," C. +II. 6, "Sanhedrin.") + +Rabbi SIMON HAMIZPAH. He also is said to have belonged to the Sanhedrin +in the year 28 A.D. Beyond this but little is known. ("Talmud," "Peah," +C. II. 6.) + +These are, according to Jewish tradition, the principal scribes, or +doctors, that composed the second chamber of the Sanhedrin at the time +of the trial of Christ. The ancient books which speak of them are, of +course, filled with their praises. Nevertheless, blended with these +praises are some remarks which point to the predominant vice of these +men--namely, pride. We read in Rabbi Nathan's book, "Aruch" (a +Talmudical dictionary of great authority[196]): "_In the past and more +honorable times the titles of rabbin, rabbi, or rav,[197] to designate +the learned men of Babylon and Palestine, were unknown; thus when Hillel +came from Babylon the title of rabbi was not added to his name. It was +the same with the prophets, who were styled simply Isaiah, Haggai, etc., +and not Rabbi Isaiah, Rabbi Haggai, etc. Neither did Ezra bring the +title of rabbi with him from Babylon. It was not until the time of +Gamaliel, Simon, and Jochanan ben Zackai that this imposing title was +first introduced among the worthies of the Sanhedrin._" + +This pompous appellation appears, indeed, for the first time among the +Jews contemporary with Christ. "They love the uppermost rooms at feasts, +and the chief seats in the synagogues, and greetings in the +market-places, and to be called of men, Rabbi, Rabbi." Proud of their +titles and learning, they laid claim to the foremost rank in society. _A +wise man_, say they, _should be preferred to a king; the king takes the +precedence of the high priest; the priest of the Levite; the Levite of +the ordinary Israelite. The wise man should be preferred to the king, +for if the wise man should die he could not easily be replaced; while +the king could be succeeded by an Israelite of any order_.[198] Basing +the social status on this maxim we are not astonished to find in the +Talmud[199] that at a certain time twenty-four persons were +excommunicated for having failed to render to the rabbi the reverence +due his position. Indeed, a very small offense was often sufficient to +call forth maledictions from this haughty and intolerant dignitary. +Punishment was mercilessly inflicted wherever there was open violation +of any one of the following rules established by the rabbis themselves: + +If any one opposes his rabbi, he is guilty in the same degree as if he +opposed God himself.[200] + +If any one quarrels with his rabbi, it is as if he contended with the +living God.[201] + +If any one thinks evil of his rabbi, it is as if he thought evil of the +Eternal.[202] + +This self-sufficiency was carried to such an enormous extent that when +Jerusalem fell into the hands of Titus, who came against it armed with +the sword of vengeance of Jehovah, Rabbi Jehudah wrote with an +unflinching pen: "_If Jerusalem was destroyed, we need look for no other +cause than the people's want of respect for the rabbis._"[203] + +We ask now of every sincere Israelite, What opinion can be formed of the +members of the second chamber who are about to assist in pronouncing +judgment upon Christ? Could impartiality be expected of those proud and +selfish men, whose lips delighted in nothing so much as sounding their +own praises? What apprehensions must one not have of an unjust and cruel +verdict when he remembers it was of these very men that Christ had said: +"Beware of the scribes, which desire to walk in long robes; they make +broad their phylacteries and enlarge the borders of their garments; they +love greetings in the market, and to be called Rabbi, Rabbi; which +devour widows' houses; and for show make long prayers."[204] The +remembrance of this rebuke, so galling to their pride, continually +rankled in their minds; and when the opportunity came, with what +remorseless hate did they wreak upon him their vengeance! We may, then, +conclude from the foregoing facts that the members of the chamber of the +scribes were no better than those composing the chamber of the priests. +To this assertion, however, there is one exception to be made; for, as +we have already seen, there was among those arrogant and unscrupulous +men[205] one whose sense of justice was not surpassed by his great +learning. That man was Gamaliel. + + +III. CHAMBER OF THE ELDERS + +This chamber was the least influential of the three; hence, but few +names of the persons composing it at the period to which we refer have +been preserved. + +JOSEPH OF ARIMATHEA. The Gospel makes of him the following eulogy: Rich +man; honorable counselor; good and just man; the same had not consented +to the counsel and deed of the others. Joseph of Arimathea is called in +the Vulgate, or the Latin version of the Bible, "noble centurion," +because he was one of the ten magistrates or senators who had the +principal authority in Jerusalem under the Romans. His noble position is +more clearly marked in the Greek version. That he was one of the seventy +may be concluded, first, because it was common to admit senators who +were considered the ancients of the people in this assembly; they were +indeed the chiefs and the princes of the nation--_seniores populi, +principes nostri_; second, because these words, "he had not consented to +the counsel and deed of the others," proves that he had a right to be in +the grand assembly and take part in the discussions. (Matt. xxvii. +57-59; Mark xv. 43-46; Luke xxiii. 50; John xix. 38; Jacobi Alting, +"Schilo seu de Vaticinio patriarchæ Jacobi," p. 310; Goschler, _Diction. +Encyclopediq._; word, "Arimathea"; Cornelius Lapidus, "Comment. in +Script. sac.," edition Vivés, T. xv. p. 638, second col.) + +NICODEMUS. St. John the Evangelist says that he was by profession a +Pharisee, a prince of the Jews, a master in Israel, and a member of the +Sanhedrin, where he one day attempted to oppose his colleagues by +speaking in defense of Jesus. This act brought down upon him the +disdainful retort from the others, "Art thou also a Galilean?" He was +one, it is true, but in secret. We know from the Gospel account of him +that he possessed great riches, and that he used nearly a hundred pounds +of myrrh and spices for the burial of Christ. The name of Nicodemus is +mentioned in the Talmud also; and, although it was known that his +attachment to Christ was great, he is, nevertheless, spoken of with +honor. But this fact may be due to his great wealth. There were, says +the Hebrew book, three eminent men in Jerusalem--Nicodemus ben Gurien, +ben Tzitzith Hacksab, ben Kalba Shevuah--each of whom could have +supported the whole city for ten years. (John iii. 1-10; vii. 50-52; +xix. 39; "Talmud" "Gittin," or "of Divorces," C. V. fol. 56, verso; +"Abodah Zarah," or "of Idolatry," C. II. fol. 25, verso; "Taanith," or +"of the Fast Days," III. fol. 19, recto; fol. 20, verso; Midrash Rabbah +on "Koheleth," VII. II; David Ganz, "Chron." 4757; Knappius, "Comment. +in Colloquium Christi cum Nicodemo"; Cornelius Lapidus, "Comment. in +Joann." Cap. III. _et seq._) + +BEN KALBA SHEVUAH. After stating that he was one of the three rich men +of Jerusalem, the Talmud adds: "His name was given to him because +whosoever entered his house as hungry as a dog came out filled." There +is no doubt that his high financial position secured for him one of the +first places in the chamber of the ancients. His memory, according to +Ritter, is still preserved among the Jews in Jerusalem. ("Talmud," +"Gittin," or "of Divorces," C. V. fol. 56, verso; David Ganz, "Chronol." +4757; Ritter, "Erdkunde," XVI. 478.) + +BEN TZITZITH HACKSAB. The effeminacy of this third rich man is made +known to us by the Talmud, where it is stated that the border of his +pallium trained itself always on the softest carpets. Like Nicodemus and +Kalba Shevuah, he no doubt belonged to the Sanhedrin. ("Talmud," +"Gittin," C. V. fol. 56, verso; David Ganz, "Chron." 4757.) + +SIMON. From Josephus the historian we learn that he was of Jewish +parentage, and was highly esteemed in Jerusalem on account of the +accurate knowledge of the law which he possessed. He had the boldness, +one day, to convoke an assembly of the people and to bring an accusation +against King Herod Agrippa, who, he said, deserved, on account of his +bad conduct, that the entrance into the sacred portals should be +forbidden him. This took place eight or nine years after Christ--that is +to say, in the year 42 or 43 A.D. We may safely conclude that a man who +had power enough to convoke an assembly and sufficient reputation and +knowledge to dare accuse a king, must undoubtedly have belonged to the +council of the Sanhedrin. Besides, his birth alone at a time when +nobility of origin constituted, as we have already said, a right to +honors, would have thrown wide open to him the doors of the assembly. +(Jos., "Ant.," XIX. VII. 4; Dérembourg, "Essai sur l'histoire et la +géographie de la Palestine," p. 207, n. 1; Frankel, _Monatsschrift._, +III. 440.) + +DORAS was a very influential citizen of Jerusalem, and is thus spoken of +by Josephus. He was, however, a man of cruel and immoral character, not +hesitating, for the sake of ingratiating himself with Governor Felix, to +cause the assassination of Jonathan, the high priest who had made +himself obnoxious to that ruler by some just remonstrances respecting +his administration. Doras effected the assassination in cold blood by +means of murderers hired at the expense of Felix (52 or 53 A.D.). The +prominence which this man for a long time maintained in Jerusalem +warrants the presumption that he was a member of the Sanhedrin. (Jos., +"Ant.," XX. VIII. 5.) + + JOHN, son of JOHN. + + DOROTHEAS, son of NATHANAEL. + + TRYPHON, son of THEUDION. + + CORNELIUS, son of CERON. + +These four personages were sent as ambassadors by the Jews of Jerusalem +to Emperor Claudius in the year 44, when Cuspius Fadus was governor of +Judea. Claudius mentions this fact in a letter sent by him to Cuspius +Fadus, and which Josephus has preserved. It is very probable that either +they themselves or their fathers were members of the chamber of the +ancients; for the Jews appointed as their ambassadors only such members +of the Sanhedrin as were distinguished for superior learning. (Jos., +"Ant.," XX. I. 1, 2.) + +The rabbinical books limit their information concerning the members of +this chamber to the names we have just mentioned. To be guided, then, by +the documents quoted, one would suppose that although this chamber was +the least important of the three, yet its members were perhaps more just +than those composing the other two, and consequently manifested less +vehemence against Christ during His trial. But a statement made by +Josephus the historian proves beyond doubt that this third chamber was +made up of men no better than were to be found in the others. It was +from among the wealthy element of Jewish society, says Josephus, that +Sadduceeism received most of its disciples.[206] Since, then, the +chamber of ancients was composed principally of the rich men of +Jerusalem, we may safely conclude that the majority of its members were +infected with the errors of Sadduceeism--that is to say, with a creed +that taught that the soul dies before the body.[207] We are, then, in +the presence of real materialists, who consider the destiny of man to +consist in the enjoyment of material and worldly things,[208] and who +are so carnally minded that it would seem as if the prophetic +indignation of David had stigmatized them beforehand when he says: "They +have so debased themselves as to become like the beasts that have no +understanding."[209] Let not our readers imagine that in thus speaking +we at all mean to do injustice to the memory of these men. A fact of +great importance proves indisputably that Sadducees or Epicureans were +numerous among the Sanhedrin. When, several years after the trial of +Christ, the apostle Paul had in his turn to appear before that body, he +succeeded by the skill of his oratory in turning the doctrinal +differences of that assembly to his benefit. "Men and brethren," he +exclaimed, "I am a Pharisee, the son of a Pharisee; of the hope and the +resurrection of the dead I am called in question."[210] Hardly had the +apostle pronounced these words when a hot discussion arose between the +Sadducees and the Pharisees, all of them rising and speaking in great +confusion--some for the resurrection, others against it--and it was in +the tumult of recrimination and general uproar that the apostle was able +peacefully to withdraw. Such was the state of things in the supreme +council of the Hebrews; and men of notorious heresy, and even impiety, +were appointed as judges to decide on questions of doctrine. Among these +materialists there were, however, two just men; and, like Lot among the +wicked inhabitants of Sodom, there were in this assembly Nicodemus and +Joseph of Arimathea. + +We shall now briefly sum up the contents of the preceding chapter. We +possess certain information respecting more than one half of the +seventy-one members of the Sanhedrin. We know almost all the high +priests, who, as we have already said, formed the principal element of +this council. This majority, as we have intimated, is sufficient for the +forming of an estimate of the moral tone of all the judges; and before +the debates begin, it is easy to foresee the issue of the trial of +Christ. + +What, indeed, could have been the issue of a trial before the first +chamber, composed as it was of demoralized, ambitious, and scheming +priests? of priests who were mostly Pharisees--that is to say, men of +narrow minds, careful only of the external, haughty, overbearing, and +self-satisfied, believing themselves to be both infallible and +impeccable?[211] It is true they expected a Messiah; but their Messiah +was to subdue unto them all their enemies, impose for their benefit a +tax on all the nations of the earth, and uphold them in all the +absurdities with which they have loaded the law of Moses. + +But this man who is about to be brought before them has exposed their +hypocritical semblance of piety, and justly stripped them of the +undeserved esteem in which they were held by the people. He has +absolutely denounced the precepts which they invented and placed above +the law. He even desired to abolish the illegal taxes which they had +imposed upon the people. Are not all these more than sufficient to +condemn Him in their eyes and prove Him worthy of death? + +Can a more favorable verdict be expected of the members of the second +chamber, composed as it was of men so conceited and arrogant? These +doctors expected a Messiah who would be another Solomon, under whose +reign and with whose aid they would establish at Jerusalem an academy of +learning that would attract all the kings, even as the Queen of Sheba +was attracted to the court of the wisest king of Israel. But this Jesus, +who claims to be the Messiah, has the boldness to declare blessed those +who are humble in spirit. His disciples are but ignorant fishermen, +chosen from the least of the tribes; his speech of a provoking +simplicity, condemning before the multitude the haughty and pretentious +language of the doctors. Are not these things sufficient to bring down +upon him their condemnation? + +And what justice can we expect, in fine, from the third chamber, when we +remember that most of its members were depraved Sadducees, caring only +for the enjoyment of the things of this world, heedless of the welfare +of the soul, almost denying the existence of God, and disbelieving in +the resurrection of the dead? According to their views, the mission of +the Messiah was not to consist in the regenerating of Israel as well as +of the whole human race, but in the making of Jerusalem the center of +riches and worldly goods, which would be brought hither by the conquered +and humbled Gentiles, who were to become the slaves of the Israelites. +But the man upon whom they are called to pass judgment, far from +attaching great importance to wealth and dignity, as did they, +prescribes to his disciples the renunciation of riches and honors. He +even despises those things which the Sadducees esteem most--viz., +pedigree, silk attire, cups of gold, and sumptuous repast. What could +have rendered his condemnation surer than such manifestations of +contempt for the pride and voluptuousness of these men? + +To limit our inquiry to the moral characters of the judges alone, the +issue of the trial can be but fatal to the accused; and so, when the +three chambers constituting the Sanhedrin council had entered into +session, we can well imagine that there was no hope for the acquittal of +Jesus; for are not all the high priests, as well as the majority of the +scribes and ancients, against him?[212] + + + + +APPENDIX II + +ACTS OF PILATE + + +The apocryphal Acts of Pilate are herewith given under Appendix II. The +authenticity of these writings has never been finally settled by the +scholarship of the world. It is safe to say, however, that the current +of modern criticism is decidedly against their genuineness. +Nevertheless, the following facts seem to be very generally conceded by +the critics: That there are now in existence certain ancient documents +called the "Acts of Pilate"; that they were probably discovered at +Turin, in northern Italy, and were first used by the noted New Testament +palæographer, Dr. Constantine Tischendorf, who studied them in company +with the celebrated orientalist, Victor Amadee Peyron, professor of +oriental languages in the University of Turin; and, furthermore, that +these documents that we now have are approximately accurate copies of +the document mentioned by Justin Martyr about the year 138 A.D., and by +Tertullian about the year 200 A.D. + +But, admitting all these things, the question of _genuineness_ and +_authenticity_ still remains to be settled. Was the document referred to +by Justin as the "Acts of Pilate," and again as the "Acts recorded +under Pontius Pilate," a genuine manuscript, written by or composed +under the direction of Pilate, or was it a "pious fraud of some +Christian," who gathered his prophecies from the Old, and his facts from +the New Testament, and then embellished both with his imagination? + +The subject is too vast and the space at our disposal is too limited to +permit a discussion of the authenticity of the Acts of Pilate. We have +deemed it sufficient to insert under Appendix II lengthy extracts from +the writings of Tischendorf and Lardner, two of the most celebrated +biblical critics, relating to the genuineness of these Acts. The reader +would do well to peruse these extracts carefully before reading the Acts +of Pilate. + + +LARDNER'S REMARKS ON THE ACTS OF PILATE + +_The Acts of Pontius Pilate, and his letter to Tiberius_ + +"Justin Martyr, in his first Apology, which was presented to the emperor +Antoninus Pius, and the Senate of Rome, about the year 140, having +mentioned our Savior's crucifixion and some of the circumstances of it, +adds: 'And that these things were so done you may know from the Acts +made in the time of Pontius Pilate.' + +"Afterwards in the same Apology, having mentioned some of our Lord's +miracles, such as healing diseases and raising the dead, he adds: 'And +that these things were done by him you may know from the Acts made in +the time of Pontius Pilate.' + +"Tertullian, in his Apology, about the year 200, having spoken of our +Savior's crucifixion and resurrection, and his appearance to his +disciples, who were ordained by him to preach the gospel over the world, +goes on: 'Of all these things, relating to Christ, Pilate, in his +conscience a Christian, sent an account to Tiberius, then emperor.' + +"In another chapter or section of his Apology, nearer the beginning, he +speaks to this purpose: 'There was an ancient decree that no one should +be received for a deity unless he was first approved by the senate. +Tiberius, in whose time the Christian religion had its rise, having +received from Palestine in Syria an account of such things as manifested +our Savior's divinity, proposed to the senate, and giving his own vote +as first in his favor, that he should be placed among the gods. The +senate refused, because he himself had declined that honor.' + +"'Nevertheless the emperor persisted in his own opinion, and ordered +that if any accused the Christians they should be punished.' And then +adds: 'Search,' says he, 'your own writings, and you will there find +that Nero was the first emperor who exercised any acts of severity +toward the Christians, because they were then very numerous at Rome.' + +"It is fit that we should now observe what notice Eusebius takes of +these things in his Ecclesiastical History. It is to this effect: 'When +the wonderful resurrection of our Savior, and his ascension to heaven, +were in the mouths of all men, it being an ancient custom for the +governors of provinces to write the emperor, and give him an account of +new and remarkable occurrences, that he might not be ignorant of +anything; our Savior's resurrection being much talked of throughout all +of Palestine, Pilate informed the emperor of it, as likewise of his +miracles, which he had heard of, and that being raised up after he had +been put to death, he was already believed by many to be a god. And it +is said that Tiberius referred the matter to the senate, but that they +refused their consent, under a pretence that it had not been first +approved of by them; there being an ancient law that no one should be +deified among the Romans without an order of the senate; but, indeed, +because the saving and divine doctrine of the gospel needed not to be +confirmed by human judgment and authority. However, Tiberius persisted +in his former sentiment, and allowed not anything to be done that was +prejudicial to the doctrine of Christ. These things are related by +Tertullian, a man famous on other accounts, and particularly for his +skill in the Roman laws. I say he speaks thus in his Apology for the +Christians, written by him in the Roman tongue, but since (in the days +of Eusebius) translated into the Greek.' His words are these: 'There was +an ancient decree that no one should be consecrated as a deity by the +emperor, unless he was first approved of by the senate. Marcus Aemilius +knows this by his god Alburnus. This is to our purpose, forasmuch as +among you divinity is bestowed by human judgment.' + +"And if God does not please man, he shall not be God. And, according to +this way of thinking, man must be propitious to God. Tiberius, +therefore, in whose time the Christian name was first known in the +world, having received an account of this doctrine out of Palestine, +where it began, communicated that account to the senate; giving his own +suffrage at the same time in favor of it. But the senate rejected it, +because it had not been approved by themselves. 'Nevertheless the +emperor persisted in his judgment, and threatened death to such as +should accuse the Christians.' 'Which,' adds Eusebius, 'could not be +other than the disposal of Divine Providence, that the doctrine of the +gospel, which was then in its beginning, might be preached all over the +world without molestation.' So Eusebius. + +"Divers exceptions have been made by learned moderns to the original +testimonies of Justin Martyr and Tertullian. 'Is there any likelihood,' +say they, 'that Pilate should write such things to Tiberius concerning a +man whom he had condemned to death? And if he had written them, is it +probable that Tiberius should propose to the senate to have a man put +among the gods upon the bare relation of a governor of a province? And +if he had proposed it, who can make a doubt that the senate would not +have immediately complied? So that though we dare not say that this +narration is absolutely false, yet it must be reckoned as doubtful.' So +says Du Pin. + +"These and other difficulties shall now be considered. + +"Now, therefore, I shall mention some observations: + +"In the first place, I shall observe that Justin Martyr and Tertullian +are early writers of good repute. That is an observation of Bishop +Pearson. These testimonies are taken from the most public writings, +Apologies for the Christian religion, presented, or at least proposed +and recommended to the emperor and senate of Rome, or to magistrates of +high authority and great distinction in the Roman empire. + +Secondly: It certainly was the custom of governors of provinces to +compose Acts or memoirs or commentaries of the remarkable occurrences in +the places where they presided. + +In the time of the first Roman emperors there were Acts of the Senate, +Acts of the City, or People of Rome, Acts of other cities, and Acts of +governors of provinces. Of all these we can discern clear proofs and +frequent mention in ancient writers of the best credit. Julius Cæsar +ordered that Acts of the Senate, as well as daily Acts of the People, +should be published. See Sueton. Jul. Cæs. c. xx. + +"Augustus forbade publishing Acts of the Senate. + +"There was an officer, himself a senator, whose province it was to +compose those Acts. + +"The Acts of the Senate must have been large and voluminous, containing +not only the question proposed, or referred to the senate by the consul, +or the emperor, but also the debates and speeches of the senators. + +"The Acts of the People, or City, were journals or registers of +remarkable births, marriages, divorces, deaths, proceedings in courts of +judicature, and other interesting affairs, and some other things below +the dignity of history. + +"To these Acts of each kind Roman authors frequently had recourse for +information. + +"There were such Acts or registers at other places besides Rome, +particularly at Antium. From them Suetonius learned the day and place of +the birth of Caligula, about which were other uncertain reports. And he +speaks of those Acts as public authorities, and therefore more decisive +and satisfactory than some other accounts. + +"There were also Acts of the governors of provinces, registering all +remarkable transactions and occurrences. + +"Justin Martyr and Tertullian could not be mistaken about this; and the +learned bishop of Cæsarea admits the truth of what they say. And in the +time of the persecuting emperor Maximin, about the year of Christ 307, +the heathen people forged Acts of Pilate, derogatory to the honor of our +Savior, which were diligently spread abroad, to unsettle Christians, or +discourage them in the profession of their faith. Of this we are +informed by Eusebius in his Ecclesiastical History. + +Thirdly: It was customary for the governors of provinces to send to the +emperor an account of remarkable transactions in places where they +presided. + +"So thought the learned Eusebius, as we have seen. + +"And Pliny's letters to Trajan, still extant, are a proof of it. Philo +speaks of the Acts or Memoirs of Alexandria sent to Caligula, which that +emperor read with more eagerness and satisfaction than anything else. + +"Fourthly: It has been said to be very unlikely that Pilate should write +such things to Tiberius, concerning a man whom he [Pilate] had condemned +to death. + +"To which it is easy to reply, that if he wrote to Tiberius at all, it +is very likely that he should speak favorably and honorably of the +Savior. + +"That Pilate passed sentence of condemnation upon our Lord very +unwillingly, and not without a sort of compulsion, appears from the +history of the Evangelist: Matt. xxvii.; Mark xv.; Luke xxiii.; John +xviii. Pilate was hard pressed. The rulers of the Jews vehemently +accused our Lord to him. They said they had found him perverting the +nation, and forbidding to give tribute to Cæsar, saying that himself is +Christ, a king, and the like; and all without effect for a while. + +"Pilate still sought for expedients to set Jesus at liberty. + +"As his reluctance had been very manifest and public in a court of +judicature, in the chief city of the nation at the time of one of their +great festivals, it is highly probable that when he sent to Rome he +should make some apology for his conduct. Nor could anything be more +proper than to allege some of our Savior's miracles which he had heard +of, and to give an account to the zeal of those who professed faith in +him after his ignominious crucifixion, and openly asserted that he had +risen from the dead and ascended to heaven. + +"Pilate would not dare in such a report to write falsehood, nor to +conceal the most material circumstances of the case about which he was +writing. At the trial he publicly declared his innocence: and told the +Jews several times 'that he found no fault in him at all.' + +"And when he was going to pronounce the sentence of condemnation, he +took water and washed his hands before the multitude, saying: I am +innocent of the blood of this just person: 'See ye to it.' Matt. xxvii. +24. + +"When he wrote to Tiberius he would very naturally say something of our +Lord's wonderful resurrection and ascension, which were much talked of +and believed by many, with which he could not be possibly unacquainted. +The mention of these things would be the best vindication of his inward +persuasion, and his repeated declarations of our Lord's innocence upon +trial notwithstanding the loud clamors and united accusations of the +Jewish people and their rulers. + +"Pilate, as has been said several times, passed condemnation upon Jesus +very unwillingly, and not until after long trial. + +"When he passed sentence upon him he gave orders that this title or +inscription should be put upon the cross: 'Jesus of Nazareth, the king +of the Jews.' + +"When he had expired, application was made to Pilate, by Joseph of +Arimathea, an honorable counsellor, that the body might be taken down +and buried. To which he consented; but not till assurance from the +centurion that he had been sometime dead. The next day some of the +priests and pharisees came to him, saying: 'Sir, we remember that that +deceiver said while he was yet alive, After three days I will rise +again. Command, therefore, that the sepulchre be made sure, until the +third day, lest his disciples come by night and steal him away, and say +unto the people, He is risen from the dead.' 'So the last error shall +be worse than the first.' + +"Pilate said unto them: 'Ye have a watch; go your way, make it sure as +you can.' So they went and made the sepulchre sure, sealing the stone +and setting a watch. + +"Whilst they were at the sepulchre there was a 'great earthquake,' the +stone was rolled away by an Angel, 'whose countenance was like +lightning, and for fear of whom the guards did shake and become as dead +men.' Some of the guards went down into the City, and showed unto the +chief priests all the things that were done. + +"Nor can there be any doubt that these things came also to the +governor's ears. Pilate, therefore, was furnished with materials of +great importance relating to this case, very proper to be sent to the +emperor. And very probably he did send them, for he could do no +otherwise. + +"Fifthly: it is said, 'That if Pilate had sent such things to Tiberius, +it is nevertheless very unlikely that Tiberius should propose to the +senate that our Savior might be put among the gods, because that emperor +had little or no regard for things of religion.' + +"But it is easy to answer that such observations are of little or no +importance. Few princes are able to preserve uniformity in the whole of +their conduct, and it is certain that Tiberius varied from himself upon +many occasions and in different parts of his life. + +"Sixthly: it is further urged, that if Tiberius had proposed the thing +to the senate, there can be no doubt that the senate would have +immediately complied. + +"But neither is this difficulty insuperable; for we are assured by +Suetonius that Tiberius let several things be decided by the senate +contrary to his own opinion, without showing much uneasiness. + +(It must be observed here that Dr. Lardner is very copious in quotations +from the best authorities in proof of all his statements. The reader is +referred to Vol. VI of his great works, pages 605-620, where will be +found these quotations in foot-notes too lengthy to be transcribed +here.) + +"Seventhly: The right interpretation of the words of Tertullian will be +of use to remove difficulties and to confirm the truth of the account. + +"I have translated them in this manner: 'When Tiberius referred the +matter to the senate, that our Lord should be placed in the number of +gods, the senate refused, because he had himself declined that honor.' + +"The words are understood to the like purpose by Pearson. + +"There is another sense, which is that of the Greek translation of +Tertullian's Apology, made use of by Eusebius: 'The senate refused +because it had not itself approved of it.' But that sense, if it be any +sense at all, is absurd, and therefore unlikely. If none beside the +senate had a right to consecrate any for the deity, yet certainly the +consul or the emperor might _refer_ such a thing to that venerable body. +According to Tertullian's account, the whole is in a fair way of legal +proceeding." [And it may be remarked here that Tertullian, being well +versed in Roman law, would hardly have passed by a blunder here or +committed one in anything wherein he may have had to do with the +statement.] + +"By virtue of an ancient law, no one might be reckoned a god (at least +by the Romans) without the approbation of the senate. Tiberius having +been informed of some extraordinary things concerning Jesus, referred it +to the senate, that he also might be placed in the number of deities. +Was it possible after this that the senate should refuse it, under a +pretense that Tiberius had bestowed divinity upon Jesus without their +consent, when he had done no such thing, and at the very time was +referring it to their judgment in the old legal way? + +"Le Clerc objects that the true reading in Tertullian is not--_Non quia +in se non probaverat_, but _quia non ipse probaverat_. + +"Be it so. The meaning is the same. _Ipse_ must intend the emperor, not +the senate. The other sense is absurd, and next to a contradiction, and +therefore not likely to be right, and at the same time it is a rude and +needless affront. The other interpretation represents a handsome +compliment, not without foundation. For it is very true that Tiberius +had himself declined receiving divine honors. + +"Eighthly: It has been objected that Tiberius was unfriendly to the +Jewish people, and therefore it must be reckoned very improbable that he +should be willing to put a man who was a Jew among the gods. + +"But there is little or no ground for this objection. It was obviated +long ago in the first part of this work, where beside other things it +is said: In the reign of Tiberius the Jewish people were well used. They +were indeed banished out of Italy by an edict; but it was for a +misdemeanor committed by some villains of that nation. The great +hardship was that many innocent persons suffered beside the guilty. + +"Upon other occasions Tiberius showed the Jews all the favor that could +be desired, especially after the death of Sejanus; and is much applauded +for it by Philo. + +"Ninthly: Still it is urged, 'Nothing can be more absurd than to suppose +that Tiberius would receive for a deity a man who taught the worship of +one God only, and whose religion decried all other deities as mere +fiction.' + +"Upon which I must say, nothing can be more absurd than this objection. +Tertullian does not suppose Tiberius to be well acquainted with the +Christian religion, our Savior's doctrine. + +"All he says is, that, having heard of some extraordinary things +concerning him, he had a desire to put him among the Roman deities. + +"Tenthly: Tertullian proceeds: 'Nevertheless the emperor persisted in +his opinion, and ordered that if any accused the Christians they should +be punished.' This was very natural. Though the senate would not put +Jesus in the number of deities, the emperor was still of opinion that it +might have been done. + +"And he determined to provide by an edict for the safety of those who +professed a high regard for Jesus Christ. Which edict, as Eusebius +reasonably supposes, was of use for securing the free preaching of the +gospel in many places. + +"But the authority of that edict would cease at the emperor's demise, if +not sooner. Unfortunately, it could not be in force, or have any great +effect, for a long season. + +"Nor need we consider the ordering such an edict as in favor of the +Christians as an incredible thing, if we observe what Philo says, who +assures us that 'Tiberius gave orders to all the governors of provinces, +to protect the Jews in the cities where they lived in the observation of +their own rights and customs; and that they should bear hard on none of +them, but such as were unpeaceable and transgressed the laws of the +State.' + +"Nor is it impossible that the Christians should partake of the like +civilities, they being considered as a sect of the Jews. And it is +allowed that the Roman empire did not openly persecute the Christians, +till they became so numerous that the heathen people were apprehensive +of the total overthrow of their religion. + +"In the eleventh place, says a learned and judicious writer, 'It is +probable that Pilate, who had no enmity toward Christ, and accounted him +a man unjustly accused and an extraordinary person, might be moved by +the wonderful circumstances attending and following his death, to hold +him in veneration, and perhaps to think him a hero and the son of some +deity. It is possible that he might send a narrative, such as he thought +most convenient, of these transactions to Tiberius: but it is not at all +likely that Tiberius proposed to the senate that Christ should be +deified, and that the senate rejected it, and that Tiberius continued +favorably disposed toward Christ, and that he threatened to punish those +who should molest and accuse the Christians.' 'Observe also,' says the +same learned writer, 'that the Jews persecuted the apostles, and slew +Stephen, and that Saul made havoc of the church, entering into every +house, and hailing men and women, committing them to prison, and that +Pilate connived at all this violence, and was not afraid of the +resentment of Tiberius on that account.' + +"Admitting the truth of all these particulars just mentioned, it does +not follow that no orders were given by Tiberius for the protection of +the followers of Jesus. + +"For no commands of princes are obeyed by all men everywhere. They are +oftentimes transgressed. + +"Nor was any place more likely than Judea, where the enmity of many +against the disciples of Jesus was so great. Nor need it be supposed +that Tiberius was very intent to have this order strictly regarded. For +he was upon many occasions very indolent and dilatory; and he was well +known to be so. Moreover, the death of Stephen was tumultuous, and not +an act of the Jewish council. And further, the influence of Pilate in +that country was not now at its full height. We perceive from the +history of our Lord's trial before him, as recorded in the gospels, that +he stood in fear of the Jews. + +"He was apprehensive that, if he did not gratify them in that point, +they might draw up a long list of maladministrations for the emperor's +view. His condemnation of Jesus at the importunity of the Jews, contrary +to his own judgment and inclination, declared to them more than once, +was a point gained; and his government must have been ever after much +weakened by so mean a condescension. And that Pilate's influence in the +province continued to decline is manifest, in that the people of it +prevailed at last to have him removed in a very ignominious manner by +Vitellius, president of Syria. + +"Pilate was removed from his government before the Passover in the year +of Christ 36. After which there was no procurator or other person with +the power of life and death, in Judea, before the ascension of Herod +Agrippa, in the year 41. + +"In that space of time the Jews would take an unusual license, and +gratify their own malicious dispositions, beyond what they could +otherwise have done, without control. + +"Twelfth: Some have objected that Tertullian is so absurd as to speak of +Christians in the time of Tiberius; though it be certain that the +followers of Jesus were not known by that denomination till some time +afterwards. + +"But this is a trifling objection. Tertullian intends no more by +Christians than followers of Jesus, by whatever name they were known or +distinguished; whether that of Nazarenes, or Galileans, or disciples. + +"And it is undoubted, that the Christian religion had its rise in the +reign of Tiberius; though they who professed to believe in Jesus, as +risen from the dead and ascended to heaven, were not called Christians +till some time afterwards. + +"So at the beginning of the paragraph he says, 'There was an ancient law +that no god should be consecrated by the emperor, unless it was first +approved by the senate.' Nevertheless, Tertullian was not so ignorant as +not to know that there were not any emperors when the ancient decree was +passed. + +"His meaning is, that no one should be deified by any man, no, not by a +consul or emperor, without the approbation of the senate. + +"Finally: We do not suppose that Tiberius understood the doctrine of the +Savior, or that he was at all inclined to be a Christian. + +"Nor did Tertullian intend to say any such thing, for immediately after +the passage first cited from him, he adds: 'But the Cæsars themselves +would have believed in Jesus Christ, if they had not been necessary for +the world, or if Christians could have been Cæsars.' + +"Grotius appears to have rightly understood the importance of these +passages of Tertullian; whose note upon Matthew xxiv. 2, I have +transcribed below." The reader is referred to Vol. VI. of Lardner's +Works, where he will find the notes of this learned writer, as quoted +from various ancients and moderns, in proof of all he has brought +forward in these lengthy arguments, and which cannot be transcribed +here. + +"Admit, then, the right interpretation of Tertullian, and it may be +allowed that what he says is not incredible or improbable. The Romans +had almost innumerable deities, and yet they frequently added to that +number and adopted new. As deifications were very frequent, Tiberius +might have indulged a thought of placing Jesus among the established +deities without intending to derogate from the worship or honor of those +who were already received. + +"But the senate was not in a humor to gratify him. + +"And the reason assigned is, because the emperor himself had declined +that honor, which is so plausible a pretense, and so fine a compliment, +that we cannot easily suppose it to be Tertullian's own invention; +which, therefore, gives credibility to his account. + +"Eusebius, though he acknowledged the overruling providence of God in +the favorable disposition of Tiberius toward the first followers of +Jesus, by which means the Christian religion in its infancy was +propagated over the world with less molestation, does also say, at the +beginning of the chapter quoted, 'The senate refused their consent to +the emperor's proposal, under a pretence that they had not been first +asked, there being an ancient law, that no one should be deified without +the approbation of the senate, but, indeed,' adds he, 'because the +saving and divine doctrine of the gospel needed not to be ratified by +human judgment and authority.' + +Chrysostom's observation is to like purpose, but with some inaccuracies. +It is likely that he was not at all acquainted with Tertullian; and he +was no admirer of Eusebius. Perhaps he builds upon general tradition +only. 'The Roman senate,' says he, 'had the power of nominating and +decreeing who should be gods. When, therefore, all things concerning +Christ had been published, he who was the governor of the Jewish nation +sent to them to know if they would be pleased to appoint him also to be +a god. But they refused, being offended and provoked, that before their +decree and judgment had been obtained, the power of the crucified one +had shined out and had attracted all the world to the worship of him. +But, by the overruling providence of God, this was brought to pass +against their will, that the divinity of Christ might not be established +by human appointment and that he might not be reckoned one of the many +who were deified by them.' + +"Some of which, as he proceeds to show, had been of infamous characters. + +"I shall now transcribe below in his own words what Orosius, in the +fifth century, says of this matter, that all my readers may have it at +once before them without looking farther for it." This quotation from +Orosius will be found in the "Testimony of the Fathers," under the +title, "Testimony of Orosius." + +"And I refer to Zonoras and Nicephoras. The former only quotes Eusebius, +and transcribes into his Annals the chapter of his Ecclesiastical +History quoted by me. Nor has Nicephoras done much more."[213] + + +TISCHENDORF'S COMMENTS ON THE ACTS OF PILATE + +"It is the same with the second apocryphal work brought under review +above, the so-called Acts of Pilate, only with the difference that they +refer as much to John as to the synoptical Gospels. Justin, in like +manner as before, is the most ancient voucher for this work, which is +said to have been written under Pilate's jurisdiction, and by reason of +its specification of wonderful occurrences before, during, and after the +crucifixion, to have borne strong evidence to the divinity of Christ. +Justin saw as little reason as Tertullian and others for believing that +it was a work of pious deception from a Christian hand." [As has been +alleged by opponents.] "On the contrary, Justin appeals to it twice in +his first Apology in order to confirm the accounts of the occurrences +which took place at the crucifixion in accordance with prophecy, and of +the miraculous healings effected by Christ, also the subject of +prophetic announcement. He cites specifically (chap. 35) from Isaiah +lxv. 2, and lviii. 2: 'I have spread out my hands all the day unto a +rebellious people which walketh in a way that was not good. They ask of +me the ordinances of justice, they take delight in approaching to God.' +Further, from the 22nd Psalm: 'They pierced my hands and my feet; they +parted my garments upon them and cast lots upon my vesture.' With +reference to this he remarks that Christ fulfilled this; that he did +stretch forth his hands when the Jews crucified him--the men who +contended against him and denied that he was Christ. 'Then,' he says +further, 'as the prophet foretold, they dragged him to the judgment +seat, set him upon it and said, Judge us.' The expression, however, +'they pierced,' etc., refers to the nails with which they fastened his +feet and hands to the cross. And after they had crucified him they +threw lots for his clothing, and they who had taken part in the act of +crucifixion divided it among themselves. To this he adds: And you can +learn from the Acts, composed during the governorship of Pontius Pilate, +that these things really happened. + +"Still more explicit is the testimony of Tertullian. It may be found in +Apologeticus (chap. 2) where he says that out of envy Jesus was +surrendered to Pilate by the Jewish ceremonial lawyers, and by him, +after he had yielded to the cries of the people, given over for +crucifixion; that while hanging on the cross he gave up the ghost with a +loud cry, and so anticipated the executioner's duty; that at that same +hour the day was interrupted by a sudden darkness; that a guard of +soldiers was set at the grave for the purpose of preventing his +disciples stealing his body, since he had predicted his resurrection, +but that on the third day the ground was suddenly shaken and the stone +rolled away from before the sepulchre; that in the grave nothing was +found but the articles used in his burial; that the report was spread +abroad by those who stood outside that the disciples had taken the body +away; that Jesus spent forty days with them in Galilee, teaching them +what their mission should be, and that after giving them their +instructions as to what they should preach, he was raised in a cloud to +heaven. Tertullian closes this account with the words, 'All this was +reported to the Emperor at that time, Tiberius, by Pilate, his +conscience having compelled even him to become a Christian.' + +"The document now in our possession corresponds with this evidence of +Justin and Tertullian. Even in the title it agrees with the account of +Justin, although instead of the word _acta_, which he used, and which is +manifestly much more Latin than Greek, a Greek expression is employed +which can be shown to have been used to indicate genuine Acts. The +details recounted by Justin and Tertullian are all found in our text of +the Acts of Pilate, with this variation, that nothing corresponds to +what is joined to the declaration of the prophet, 'They dragged him to +the seat of judgment and set him upon it and said,' etc. Besides this, +the casting lots for the vesture is expressed simply by the allusion to +the division of the clothes. We must give even closer scrutiny to one +point. Justin alludes to the miracles which were performed in +fulfillment of Old Testament prophecy, on the lame, the dumb, the blind, +the dead, and on lepers. In fact, in our Acts of Pilate there are made +to appear before the Roman governor a palsied man who had suffered for +thirty-eight years, and was brought in a bed by young men, and healed on +the Sabbath day; a blind man cured by the laying on of hands; a cripple +who had been restored; a leper who had been cleansed; the woman whose +issue of blood had been stanched, and a witness of the raising of +Lazarus from the dead. Of that which Tertullian cites we will adduce +merely the passage found in no one of our gospels, that Jesus passed +forty days after his resurrection in company with his disciples in +Galilee. + +"This is indicated in our Acts of Pilate at the end of the fifteenth +chapter, where the risen man is represented as saying to Joseph: 'For +forty days go not out of thy house, for behold I go to my brethren in +Galilee.' + +"Every one will perceive how strongly the argument that our Acts of +Pilate are the same which Justin and Tertullian read is buttressed by +these unexpected coincidences. The assertion recently made requires, +consequently, no labored contradiction that the allusions to both men +have grown out of their mere suspicion that there was such a record as +the Acts of Pilate, or out of the circulation of a mere story about such +a record, while the real work was written as the consequence of these +allusions at the close of the third century. What an uncommon fancy it +requires in the two men to coincide so perfectly in a single production, +as is the case in the Acts to which I am now referring. And are we to +imagine that they referred with such emphasis as they employed to the +mere creations of their fancy? + +"The question has been raised with more justice, whether the production +in our possession may not have been a copy or a free revision of the old +and primitive one. The modern change in the title has given support to +this conjecture, for it has occasioned the work to be commonly spoken of +as the Gospel of Nicodemus. But this title is borne neither by any Greek +manuscript, the Coptic-Sahidian papyrus, nor the Latin manuscripts with +the exception of a few of the most recent. It may be traced only +subsequently to the twelfth century, although at a very early period, in +one of the two prefaces attached to the work, Nicodemus is mentioned in +one place as a Hebrew author and in another as a Greek translator. But +aside from the title, the handwriting displays great variation, and the +two prefaces alluded to above show clearly the work of two hands. +Notwithstanding this, however, there are decisive grounds for holding +that our Acts of Pilate contains in its main substance the document +drawn from Justin and Tertullian. The first of these to be noticed is, +that the Greek text, as given in the version most widely circulated in +the manuscripts, is surprisingly corroborated by two documents of the +rarest character, and first used by myself--a Coptic-Sahidian papyrus +manuscript and a Latin palimpsest--both probably dating from the fifth +century. Such a documentary confirmation of their text is possessed by +scarcely ten works of the collective Greek classic literature. Both of +these ancient writings make it in the highest degree probable that the +Egyptian and Latin translations which they contain were executed still +earlier. + +"But could a work which was held in great consideration in Justin's and +Tertullian's time and down to the commencement of the fourth century, +and which strenuously insists that the Emperor Maximin caused other +blasphemous Acts of Pilate to be published and zealously circulated, +manifestly for the purpose of displacing and discrediting the older +Christian Acts--could such a work suddenly change its whole form, and +from the fifth century, to which in so extraordinary a manner +translators, wholly different in character, point back with such +wonderful concurrence, continue in the new form? Contrary as this is to +all historical criticism, there is in the contents of the work, in the +singular manner in which isolated and independent details are shown to +be related to the canonical books, no less than in the accordance with +the earliest quotations found in Justin and Tertullian, a guaranty of +the greatest antiquity. + +"There are in the contents, also, matters of such a nature that we must +confess that they are to be traced back to the primitive edition, as, +for example the narrative in the first chapter of the bringing forward +of the accused. + +"It is incorrect, moreover, to draw a conclusion from Justin's +designation of the Acta which is not warranted by the whole character of +the work. The Acta, the _[Greek: hypomnêmata]_, are specified in +Justin's account not less than in the manuscripts which we possess, as +being written _under_ Pontius Pilate, and that can signify nothing else +than that they were an official production composed under the direct +sanction of the Roman governor. Their transmission to the emperor must +be imagined as accompanied by a letter of the same character with that +which has been brought down to us in the Greek and Latin edition, and +yet not at all similar in purport to the notable Acts of Pilate."[214] + + +THE ACTS OF PILATE + +(_First Greek Form_) + +I, Ananias, of the proprætor's bodyguard, being learned in the law, +knowing our Lord Jesus Christ from the Holy Scriptures, coming to Him by +faith, and counted worthy of the holy baptism, searching also the +memorials written at that time of what was done in the case of our Lord +Jesus Christ, which the Jews had laid up in the time of Pontius Pilate, +found these memorials written in Hebrew, and, by the favor of God, have +translated them into Greek for the information of all who call upon the +name of our Master Jesus Christ, in the seventeenth year of the reign of +our lord Flavius Theodosius, and the sixth of Flavius Valentianus, in +the ninth indiction. + +All ye, therefore, who read and transfer into other books, remember me +and pray for me, and pardon my sins which I have sinned against Him. + +Peace be to those who read and those who hear, and to their households. +Amen. + + * * * * * + +CHAPTER 1.--Having called a council, the high priests and the scribes +Annas and Caiaphas and Semes and Dathaes, and Gamaliel, Judas, Levi and +Nepthalim, Alexander and Jaïrus, and the rest of the Jews, came to +Pilate accusing Jesus about many things, saying: We know this man to be +the son of Joseph the carpenter, born of Mary; and he says that he is +the Son of God, and a king; moreover, profanes the Sabbath, and wishes +to do away with the law of our fathers. Pilate says: And what are the +things which he does, to show that he wishes to do away with it? The +Jews say: We have a law not to cure anyone on the Sabbath; but this man +has, on the Sabbath, cured the lame and the crooked, the withered and +the blind and the paralytic, the dumb and the demoniac, by evil +practices. Pilate says to them: What evil practices? They say to him: +He is a magician, and by Beelzebub, prince of the demons, he casts out +the demons, and all are subject to him. Pilate says to them: This is not +casting out the demons by an unclean spirit, but by the god Esculapius. + +The Jews say to Pilate: We entreat your highness that he stand at the +tribunal and be heard. And Pilate, having called them, says: Tell me how +I, being a procurator, can try a king? They say to him: We do not say +that he is a king, but he himself says that he is. And Pilate, having +called the runner, says to him: Let Jesus be brought in with respect. +And the runner, going out and recognizing him, adored him, and took his +cloak into his hand and spread it on the ground, and says to him: My +Lord, walk on this and come in, for the procurator calls thee. And the +Jews, seeing what the runner had done, cried out against Pilate, saying: +Why hast thou ordered him to come in by a runner, and not by a crier? +for assuredly the runner, when he saw him, adored him, and spread his +doublet on the ground and made him walk like a king. + +And Pilate, having called the runner, says to him: Why hast thou done +this, and spread out thy cloak upon the earth and made Jesus walk upon +it? The runner says to him: My Lord procurator, when thou didst send me +to Jerusalem to Alexander, I saw him sitting upon an ass, and the sons +of the Hebrews held branches in their hands and shouted; and others +spread their clothes under him saying: Save now, thou who art in the +highest; blessed is he that cometh in the name of the Lord. + +The Jews cry out and say to the runner: The sons of the Hebrews shouted +in Hebrew; whence, then, hast thou the Greek? The runner says to them: I +asked one of the Jews, and said: What is it they are shouting in Hebrew? +And he interpreted it for me. Pilate says to them: And what did they +shout in Hebrew? The Jews say to him: _Hosanna membrome baruchamma +adonai._ Pilate says to them: And this hosanna, etc., how is it +interpreted? The Jews say to him: Save now in the highest; blessed is he +that cometh in the name of the Lord. Pilate says to them: If you bear +witness to the words spoken by the children, in what has the runner done +wrong? And they were silent. And the procurator says to the runner: Go +out and bring him in what way thou wilt. And the runner, going out, did +in the same manner as before, and says to Jesus: My Lord, come in; the +procurator calleth thee. + +And Jesus, going in, and the standard bearers holding their standards, +the tops of the standards bent down, and adored Jesus. And the Jews, +seeing the bearing of the standards how they were bent down and adored +Jesus, cried out vehemently against the standard bearers. And Pilate +says to the Jews: Do you not wonder how the tops of the standards were +bent down and adored Jesus? The Jews say to Pilate: We saw how the +standard bearers bent them down and adored him. And the procurator, +having called the standard bearers, says to them: Why have you done +this? They say to Pilate: We are Greeks and temple slaves, and how +could we adore him? and assuredly, as we were holding them up, the tops +bent down of their own accord and adored him. + +Pilate says to the rulers of the synagogue and the elders of the people: +Do you choose for yourselves men strong and powerful, and let them hold +up the standards, and let us see whether they will bend down with them. +And the elders of the Jews picked out twelve men powerful and strong, +and made them hold up the standards six by six; and they were placed in +front of the procurator's tribunal. And Pilate says to the runner: Take +him outside of the Pretorium, and bring him in again in whatever way may +please thee. And Jesus and the runner went out of the Pretorium. And +Pilate, summoning those who had formerly held up the standards, says to +them: I have sworn by the health of Cæsar, that if the standards do not +bend down when Jesus comes in, I will cut off your heads. And the +procurator ordered Jesus to come in the second time. And the runner did +in the same manner as before, and made many entreaties to Jesus to walk +on his cloak. And he walked on it and went in. And as he went in the +standards were again bent down and adored Jesus. + + * * * * * + +CHAP. 2.--And Pilate, seeing this, was afraid, and sought to go away +from the tribunal, but when he was still thinking of going away, his +wife sent to him saying: Have nothing to do with this just man, for many +things have I suffered on his account this night. And Pilate, summoning +the Jews, says to them: You know that my wife is a worshiper of God, and +prefers to adhere to the Jewish religion along with you. They say to +him: Yes, we know. Pilate says to them: Behold, my wife has sent to me, +saying, Have nothing to do with this just man, for many things have I +suffered on account of him this night. And the Jews answering, say unto +Pilate: Did we not tell thee that he was a sorcerer? Behold, he has sent +a dream to thy wife. + +And Pilate, having summoned Jesus, says to him: What do these witness +against thee? Sayest thou nothing? And Jesus said: Unless they had the +power, they would say nothing; for every one has the power of his own +mouth to speak both good and evil. They shall see to it. + +And the elders of the Jews answered, and said to Jesus: What shall we +see? First, that thou wast born of fornication; secondly, that thy birth +in Bethlehem was the cause of the murder of the infants; thirdly, that +thy father Joseph and thy mother Mary fled into Egypt because they had +no confidence in the people. + +Some of the bystanders, pious men of the Jews, say: We deny that he was +born of fornication; for we know that Joseph espoused Mary, and he was +not born of fornication. Pilate says to the Jews who said he was of +fornication: This story of yours is not true, because they were +betrothed, as also these fellow-countrymen of yours say. Annas and +Caiaphas say to Pilate: All the multitude of us cry out that he was born +of fornication, and are not believed; these are proselytes and his +disciples. And Pilate, calling Annas and Caiaphas, says to them: What +are proselytes? They say to him: They are by birth children of the +Greeks, and have now become Jews. And those that said that he was not +born of fornication, viz.: Lazarus, Asterius, Antonius, James, Amnes, +Zeras, Samuel, Isaac, Phinees, Crispus, Agrippas and Judas, say: We are +not proselytes, but are children of the Jews, and speak the truth; for +we were present at the betrothal of Joseph and Mary. + +And Pilate, calling these twelve men who said that he was not born of +fornication, says to them: I adjure you, by the health of Cæsar, to tell +me whether it be true that you say, that he was not born of fornication. +They say to Pilate: We have a law against taking oaths, because it is a +sin; but they will swear by the health of Cæsar that it is not as we +have said, and we are liable to death. Pilate says to Annas and +Caiaphas: Have you nothing to answer to this? Annas and Caiaphas say to +Pilate: These twelve are believed when they say that he was not born of +fornication; all the multitude of us cry out that he was born of +fornication, and that he is a sorcerer; and he says that he is the Son +of God and a king, and we are not believed. + +And Pilate orders all the multitude to go out, except the twelve men who +said that he was not born of fornication, and he ordered Jesus to be +separated from them. And Pilate says to them: For what reason do they +wish to put him to death? They say to him: They are angry because he +cures on the Sabbath. Pilate says: For a good work do they wish to put +him to death? They say to him: Yes. + + * * * * * + +CHAP. 3.--And Pilate, filled with rage, went outside of the Pretorium +and said to them: I take the sun to witness that I find no fault in this +man. The Jews answered and said to the procurator: Unless this man were +an evil-doer, we should not have delivered him to thee. And Pilate said: +Do you take him and judge him according to your law. The Jews said to +Pilate: It is not lawful for us to put anyone to death. Pilate said: Has +God said that you are not to put to death, but that I am? + +And Pilate went again into the Pretorium and spoke to Jesus privately, +and said to him: Art thou the king of the Jews? Jesus answered Pilate: +Dost thou say this of thyself, or have others said it to thee of me? +Pilate answered Jesus: Am I also a Jew? Thy nation and the chief priests +have given thee up to me. What hast thou done? Jesus answered: My +kingdom is not of this world; for if my kingdom were of this world, my +servants would fight in order that I should not be given up to the Jews: +but now my kingdom is not from thence. Pilate said to him: Art thou, +then, a king? Jesus answered him: Thou sayest that I am king. Because +for this have I been born, and I have come, in order that everyone who +is of the truth might hear my voice. Pilate says to him: What is truth? +Jesus says to him: Truth is from heaven. Pilate says: Is truth not upon +earth? Jesus says to Pilate: Thou seest how those who speak the truth +are judged by those that have the power upon earth. + + * * * * * + +CHAP. 4.--And leaving Jesus within the Pretorium, Pilate went out to +the Jews and said to them: I find no fault in him. The Jews say to him: +He said, I can destroy this temple, and in three days build it. Pilate +says: What temple? The Jews say: The one that Solomon built in forty-six +years, and this man speaks of pulling it down and building it up in +three days. Pilate says to them: I am innocent of the blood of this just +man. See you to it. The Jews say: His blood be upon us and upon our +children. + +And Pilate, having summoned the elders and priests and Levites, said to +them privately: Do not act thus, because no charge that you bring +against him is worthy of death; for your charge is about curing and +Sabbath profanation. The elders and the priests and the Levites say: If +anyone speak evil against Cæsar, is he worthy of death or not? Pilate +says: He is worthy of death. The Jews say to Pilate: If anyone speak +evil against Cæsar, he is worthy of death; but this man has spoken evil +against God. + +And the procurator ordered the Jews to go outside of the Pretorium; and, +summoning Jesus, he says to him: What shall I do to thee? Jesus says to +Pilate: As it has been given to thee. Pilate says: How given? Jesus +says: Moses and the prophets have proclaimed beforehand of my death and +resurrection. And the Jews, noticing this and hearing it, say to Pilate: +What more wilt thou hear of this blasphemy? Pilate says to the Jews: If +these words be blasphemous, do you take him for the blasphemy, and lead +him away to your synagogue and judge him according to your law. The Jews +say to Pilate: Our law bears that a man who wrongs his fellow-men is +worthy to receive forty save one: but he that blasphemeth God is to be +stoned with stones. + +Pilate says to them: Do you take him and punish him in whatever way you +please. The Jews say to Pilate: We wish that he be crucified. Pilate +says: He is not deserving of crucifixion. + +And the procurator, looking round upon the crowds of the Jews standing +by, sees many of the Jews weeping, and says: All the multitude do not +wish him to die. The elders of the Jews say: For this reason all the +multitude of us have come, that he should die. Pilate says to the Jews: +Why should he die? The Jews say: Because he called himself the Son of +God and King. + + * * * * * + +CHAP. 5.--And one Nicodemus, a Jew, stood before the procurator and +said: I beseech your honor let me say a few words. Pilate says: Say on. +Nicodemus says: I said to the elders and the priests and Levites, and to +all the multitude of the Jews in the synagogue, What do you seek to do +with this man? This man does many miracles and strange things, which no +one has done or will do. Let him go and do not wish any evil against +him. If the miracles which he does are of God, they will stand; but if +of man, they will come to nothing. For assuredly Moses, being sent by +God into Egypt, did many miracles, which the Lord commanded him to do +before Pharaoh, king of Egypt. And there were Jannes and Jambres, +servants of Pharaoh, and they also did not a few of the miracles which +Moses did; and the Egyptians took them to be gods--this Jannes and +Jambres. But, since the miracles which they did were not of God, both +they and those who believed in them were destroyed. And now release this +man, for he is not deserving of death. + +The Jews say to Nicodemus: Thou hast become his disciple, and therefore +thou defendest him. Nicodemus says to them: Perhaps, too, the procurator +has become his disciple, because he defends him. Has the emperor not +appointed him to this place of dignity? And the Jews were vehemently +enraged, and gnashed their teeth against Nicodemus. Pilate says to them: +Why do you gnash your teeth against him when you hear the truth? The +Jews say to Nicodemus: Mayst thou receive his truth and his portion. +Nicodemus says: Amen, amen; may I receive it, as you have said. + + * * * * * + +CHAP. 6.--One of the Jews, stepping up, asked leave of the procurator to +say a word. The procurator says: If thou wishest to say anything, say +on. And the Jew said: Thirty-eight years I lay in my bed in great agony. +And when Jesus came, many demoniacs and many lying ill of various +diseases were cured by him. And when Jesus saw me he had compassion on +me, and said to me: Take up thy couch and walk. And I took up my couch +and walked. The Jews say to Pilate: Ask him on what day it was when he +was cured. He that had been cured says: On a Sabbath. The Jews say: Is +not this the very thing we said, that on a Sabbath he cures and casts +out demons? + +And another Jew stepped up and said: I was born blind; I heard sounds, +but saw not a face. And as Jesus passed by I cried out with a loud +voice, Pity me, O son of David. And he pitied me and put his hands upon +my eyes, and I instantly received my sight. And another Jew stepped up +and said: I was crooked and he straightened me with a word. And another +said: I was a leper, and be cured me with a word. + + * * * * * + +CHAP. 7.--And a woman cried out from a distance and said: I had an issue +of blood, and I touched the hem of his garment, and the issue of blood, +which I had had for twelve years, was stopped. The Jews say: We have a +law that a woman's evidence is not received. + + * * * * * + +CHAP. 8.--And others, a multitude both of men and women, cried out, +saying: This man is a prophet, and the demons are subject to him. Pilate +says to them who said that the demons were subject to him: Why, then, +were not your teachers also subject to him? They say to Pilate: We do +not know. And others said: He raised Lazarus from the tomb after he had +been dead four days. And the procurator trembled, and said to all the +multitude of the Jews: Why do you wish to pour out innocent blood? + + * * * * * + +CHAP. 9.--And, having summoned Nicodemus and the twelve men that said he +was not born of fornication, he says to them: What shall I do, because +there is an insurrection among the people? They say to him: We know not; +let them see to it. Again Pilate, having summoned all the multitude of +the Jews, says: You know that it is customary, at the feast of +unleavened bread, to release one prisoner to you. I have one condemned +prisoner in the prison, a murderer named Bar Abbas, and this man +standing in your presence, Jesus in whom I find no fault. Which of them +do you wish me to release to you? And they cry out: Bar Abbas. Pilate +says: What, then, shall we do to Jesus, who is called Christ? The Jews +say: Let him be crucified. And others said: Thou art no friend of +Cæsar's if thou release this man, because he called himself the Son of +God and King. You wish this man, then, to be a king, and not Cæsar? + +And Pilate, in a rage, says to the Jews: Always has your nation been +rebellious, and you always speak against your benefactors. The Jews say: +What benefactors? He says to them: Your God led you out of the land of +Egypt from bitter slavery, and brought you safe through the sea as +through dry land, and in the desert fed you with manna and gave you +quails, and quenched your thirst with water from a rock, and gave you a +law; and in all these things have you provoked your God to anger, and +sought a molten calf. And you exasperated your God, and he sought to +slay you. And Moses prayed for you, and you were not put to death. And +now you charge me with hating the emperor. + +And, rising up from the tribunal, he sought to go out. And the Jews cry +out and say: We know that Cæsar is king, and not Jesus. For assuredly +the magi brought gifts to him as to a king. And when Herod heard from +the magi that a king had been born, he sought to slay him, and his +father, Joseph, knowing this, took him and his mother, and they fled +into Egypt. And Herod, hearing of it, destroyed the children of the +Hebrews that had been born in Bethlehem. + +And when Pilate heard these words he was afraid; and, ordering the crowd +to keep silence, because they were crying out, he says to them: So this +is he whom Herod sought? The Jews say: Yes, it is he. And, taking water, +Pilate washed his hands in the face of the sun, saying: I am innocent of +the blood of this just man: see you to it. Again the Jews cry out: His +blood be upon us and upon our children. + +Then Pilate ordered the curtain of the tribunal where he was sitting to +be drawn, and says to Jesus: Thy nation has charged thee with being a +king. On this account, I sentence thee first to be scourged, according +to the enactment of venerable kings, and then to be fastened on the +cross in the garden where thou was seized. And let Dysmas and Gestas, +the two malefactors, be crucified with thee. + + * * * * * + +CHAP. 10.--And Jesus went forth out of the Pretorium, and the +malefactors with him. And when they came to the place they stripped him +of his clothes and girded him with a towel, and put a crown of thorns on +him round his head. And they crucified him; and at the same time, also, +they hung up the two malefactors along with him. And Jesus said: Father, +forgive them, for they know not what they do. And the soldiers parted +his clothes among them; and the people stood looking at him. And the +chief priests and the rulers with them mocked him, saying: He saved +others, let him save himself. If he be the Son of God, let him come down +from the cross. And the soldiers made sport of him, coming near and +offering him vinegar mixed with gall, and said: Thou art the king of the +Jews; save thyself. + +And Pilate, after the sentence, ordered the charge against him to be +inscribed as a superscription in Greek and Latin and Hebrew, according +to what the Jews had said: He is king of the Jews. + +And one of the malefactors hanging up spoke to him, saying: If thou be +the Christ, save thyself and us. And Dysmas answering reproved him, +saying: Dost thou not fear God, because thou art in the same +condemnation? And we, indeed, justly, for we receive the fit punishment +of our deeds; but this man has done no evil. And he said to Jesus: +Remember me, Lord, in thy kingdom. And Jesus said to him: Amen, amen; I +say to thee, To-day shalt thou be with me in Paradise. + + * * * * * + +CHAP. 11.--And it was about the sixth hour, and there was darkness over +the earth until the ninth hour, the sun being darkened; and the curtain +of the temple was split in the middle. And, crying out with a loud +voice, Jesus said: Father, _baddach ephkid ruel_, which is, interpreted, +Into thy hands I commit my spirit. And, having said this, he gave up the +ghost. And the centurion, seeing what had happened, glorified God and +said: This was a just man. And all the crowds that were present at this +spectacle, when they saw what had happened, beat their breasts and went +away. + +And the centurion reported what had happened to the procurator. And when +the procurator and his wife heard it they were exceedingly grieved, and +neither ate nor drank that day. And Pilate sent for the Jews and said to +them: Have you seen what has happened? And they say: There has been an +eclipse of the sun in the usual way. + +And his acquaintances were standing at a distance, and the women who +came with him from Galilee, seeing these things. And a man named Joseph, +a councillor from the city of Arimathea, who also waited for the kingdom +of God, went to Pilate and begged the body of Jesus. And he took it down +and wrapped it in a clean linen, and placed it in a tomb hewn out of the +rock, in which no one had ever lain. + + * * * * * + +CHAP. 12.--And the Jews, hearing that Joseph had begged the body of +Jesus, sought him, and the twelve who said that Jesus was not born of +fornication, and Nicodemus and many others who had stepped up before +Pilate and declared his good works. And of all these that were hid +Nicodemus alone was seen by them, because he was a ruler of the Jews. +And Nicodemus says to them: How have you come into the synagogue? The +Jews say to him: How hast thou come into the synagogue? for thou art a +confederate of his, and his portion is with thee in the world to come. +Nicodemus says: Amen, amen. And likewise Joseph also stepped out and +said to them: Why are you angry against me because I begged the body of +Jesus? Behold, I have put him in my new tomb, wrapping him in clean +linen; and I have rolled a stone to the door of the tomb. And you have +acted not well against the just man, because you have not repented of +crucifying him, but also have pierced him with a spear. And the Jews +seized Joseph and ordered him to be secured until the first day of the +week, and said to him: Know that the time does not allow us to do +anything against thee, because the Sabbath is dawning: and know that +thou shalt not be deemed worthy of burial, but we shall give thy flesh +to the birds of the air. Joseph says to them: These are the words of the +arrogant Goliath, who reproached the living God and holy David. For God +has said by the prophet, Vengeance is mine, and I will repay, saith the +Lord. And now that he is uncircumcised in flesh, but circumcised in +heart, has taken water and washed his hands in the face of the sun, +saying, I am innocent of the blood of this just man; see ye to it. And +you answered and said to Pilate: His blood be upon us and upon our +children. And now I am afraid, lest the wrath of God come upon you and +upon your children, as you have said. And the Jews, hearing these words, +were embittered in their souls, and seized Joseph and locked him into a +room where there was no window; and guards were stationed at the door, +and they sealed the door where Joseph was locked in. + +And on the Sabbath the rulers of the synagogue and the priests and the +Levites made a decree that all should be found in the synagogue on the +first day of the week. And, rising up early, all the multitude in the +synagogue consulted by what death they should slay him. And when the +Sanhedrin was sitting, they ordered him to be brought with much +indignity. And, having opened the door, they found him not. And all the +people were surprised and struck with dismay, because they found the +seals unbroken, and because Caiaphas had the key. And they no longer +dared to lay hands upon those who had spoken before Pilate in Jesus' +behalf. + + * * * * * + +CHAP. 13.--And while they were still sitting in the synagogue and +wondering about Joseph, there came some of the guard whom the Jews had +begged of Pilate to guard the tomb of Jesus, that his disciples might +not come and steal him. And they reported to the rulers of the +synagogue, and the priests and Levites, what had happened: how there had +been an earthquake; and we saw an angel coming down from heaven, and he +rolled away the stone from the mouth of the tomb and sat upon it; and he +shone like snow and like lightning. And we were very much afraid, and +lay like dead men; and we heard the voice of the angel, saying to the +women who remained beside the tomb, Be not afraid, for I know that you +seek Jesus, who was crucified. He is not here. He has risen, as he said. +Come, see the place where the Lord lay; and go quickly and tell his +disciples that he is risen from the dead, and is in Galilee. + +The Jews say: To what women did he speak? The men of the guard say: We +know not who they were. The Jews say: At what time was this? The men of +the guard say: At midnight. The Jews say: And wherefore did you not lay +hold of them? The men of the guard say: We were like dead men from fear, +not expecting to see the light of day, and how could we lay hold of +them? The Jews say: As the Lord liveth, we do not believe you. The men +of the guard say to the Jews: You have seen so great miracles in the +case of this man, and have not believed; and how can you believe us? And +assuredly you have done well to swear that the Lord liveth, for indeed +he does live. Again the men of the guard say: We have heard that you +have locked up the man that begged the body of Jesus, and put a seal on +the door; and that you have opened it and not found him. Do you, then, +give us the man whom you were guarding, and we shall give you Jesus. The +Jews say: Joseph has gone away to his own city. The men of the guard say +to the Jews: And Jesus has risen, as we heard from the angel, and is in +Galilee. + +And when the Jews heard these words they were very much afraid, and +said: We must take care lest this story be heard, and all incline to +Jesus. And the Jews called a council, and paid down a considerable money +and gave it to the soldiers, saying: Say, while he slept, his disciples +came by night and stole him; and if this come to the ears of the +procurator we shall persuade him and keep you out of trouble. And they +took it, and said as they had been instructed. + + * * * * * + +CHAP. 14.--And Phinees, a priest, and Adas, a teacher, and Haggai, a +Levite, came down from Galilee to Jerusalem, and said to the rulers of +the synagogue, and the priests and the Levites: We saw Jesus and his +disciples sitting on the mountain called Mamilch; and he said to his +disciples, Go into all the world, and preach to every creature: he that +believeth and is baptized shall be saved, and he that believeth not +shall be condemned. And these signs shall attend those who have +believed: in my name they shall cast out demons, speak new tongues, take +up serpents; and if they drink any deadly thing it shall by no means +hurt them, they shall lay hands on the sick, and they shall be well. And +while Jesus was speaking to his disciples we saw him taken up into +heaven. + +The elders and priests and Levites say: Give glory to the God of Israel, +and confess to him whether you have heard and seen those things, of +which you have given us an account. And those who had given the account +said: As the Lord liveth, the God of our fathers, Abraham, Isaac, and +Jacob, we heard these things, and saw him taken up into heaven. The +elders and the priests and the Levites say to them: Have you come to +give us this announcement, or to offer prayer to God? And they say: To +offer prayer to God. The elders and the chief priests and the Levites +say to them: If you have come to offer prayer to God, why, then, have +you told these idle tales in the presence of all the people? Says +Phinees, the priest, and Adas, the teacher, and Haggai, the Levite, to +the rulers of the synagogues, and the priests and the Levites: If what +we have said and seen be sinful, behold, we are before you; do to us as +seems good in your eyes. And they took the law and made them swear upon +it not to give any more an account of these matters to anyone. And they +gave them to eat and drink and sent them out of the city, having given +them also money, and three men with them; and they sent them away to +Galilee. + +And these men, having gone into Galilee, the chief priests and the +rulers of the synagogue, and the elders came together in the synagogue +and locked the door, and lamented with great lamentation, saying: Is +this a miracle that has happened in Israel? And Annas and Caiaphas said: +Why are you so much moved? Why do you weep? Do you not know that his +disciples have given a sum of gold to the guards of the tomb, and have +instructed them to say that an angel came down and rolled away the stone +from the door of the tomb? And the priests and elders said: Be it that +his disciples have stolen his body; how is it that the life has come +into his body, and that he is going about in Galilee? And they, being +unable to give an answer to these things, said, after great hesitation: +It is not lawful for us to believe the uncircumcised. + + * * * * * + +CHAP. 15.--And Nicodemus stood up, and stood before the Sanhedrin, +saying: You say well; you are not ignorant, you people of the Lord, of +these men that come down from Galilee, that they fear God, and are men +of substance, haters of covetousness, men of peace; and they have +declared with an oath, we saw Jesus upon the mountain Mamilch with his +disciples, and he taught what we heard from him, and we saw him taken up +into heaven. And no one asked them in what form he went up. For +assuredly, as the book of the Holy Scriptures taught us, Helias also was +taken up into heaven, and Elissæus cried out with a loud voice, and +Helias threw his sheepskin upon Elissæus, and Elissæus threw his +sheepskin upon the Jordan, and crossed and came into Jericho. And the +children of the prophets met him and said, O Elissæus, where is thy +master Helias? And he said, He has been taken up into heaven. And they +said to Elissæus, Has not a spirit seized him, and thrown him upon one +of the mountains? But let us take our servants with us and seek him. And +they persuaded Elissæus, and he went away with them. And they sought him +three days, and did not find him; and they knew that he had been taken +up. And now listen to me, and let us send into every district of Israel +and see, lest, perchance, Christ has been taken up by a spirit and +thrown upon one of the mountains. And this proposal pleased all. And +they sent into every district of Israel and sought Jesus, and did not +find him; but they found Joseph in Arimathea, and no one dared to lay +hands on him. + +And they reported to the elders and the priests and the Levites: We have +gone round to every district of Israel, and have not found Jesus; but +Joseph we have found in Arimathea. And hearing about Joseph they were +glad and gave glory to the God of Israel. And the rulers of the +synagogue, and the priests and the Levites, having held a council as to +the manner in which they should meet with Joseph, took a piece of paper +and wrote to Joseph as follows: + +Peace to thee! We know that we have sinned against God, and against +thee; and we have prayed to the God of Israel that thou shouldst deign +to come to thy fathers and to thy children, because we all have been +grieved. For, having opened the door, we did not find thee. And we know +that we have counseled evil counsel against thee; but the Lord has +defended thee, and the Lord himself has scattered to the winds our +counsel against thee, O honorable father Joseph. + +And they chose from all Israel seven men, friends of Joseph, whom, also, +Joseph himself was acquainted with; and the rulers of the synagogue, and +the priests and the Levites say to them: Take notice; if, after +receiving our letter he read it, know that he will come with you to us. +But if he do not read it, know that he is ill-disposed towards us. And, +having saluted him in peace, return to us. And having blest the men, +they dismissed them. And the men came to Joseph and did reverence to +him, and said to him: Peace to thee! And he said: Peace to you and to +all the people of Israel! And they gave him the roll of the letter. And +Joseph, having received it, read the letter and rolled it up, and +blessed God and said: Blessed be the Lord God, who has delivered Israel, +that they should not shed innocent blood, and blessed be the Lord, who +sent out his angel and covered me under his wings. And he set a table +for them: and they ate and drank and slept there. + +And they rose up early and prayed. And Joseph saddled his ass and set +out with the men: and they came to the holy city Jerusalem. And all the +people met Joseph and cried out: Peace to thee in thy coming in! And be +said to all the people: Peace to you! and he kissed them. And the people +prayed with Joseph, and they were astonished at the sight of him. And +Nicodemus received him into his house and made a great feast, and called +Annas and Caiaphas and the elders and the priests and the Levites to his +house. And they rejoiced, eating and drinking with Joseph; and, after +singing hymns, each proceeded to his own house. But Joseph remained in +the house of Nicodemus. + +And on the following day, which was the preparation, the rulers of the +synagogue and the priests and the Levites went early to the house of +Nicodemus; and Nicodemus met them and said: Peace to you! And they said: +Peace to thee and to Joseph, and to all thy house and to all the house +of Joseph! And he brought them into his house. And all the Sanhedrin sat +down, and Joseph sat down between Annas and Caiaphas; and no one dared +to say a word to him. And Joseph said: Why have you called me? And they +signaled to Nicodemus to speak to Joseph. And Nicodemus, opening his +mouth, said to Joseph: Father, thou knowest that the honorable teachers +and the priests and the Levites seek to learn a word from thee. And +Joseph said: Ask. And Annas and Caiaphas, having taken the law, made +Joseph swear, saying: Give glory to the God of Israel, and give him +confession; for Achar, being made to swear by the prophet Jesus, did not +forswear himself, but declared unto him all, and did not hide a word +from him. Do thou also, accordingly, not hide from us to the extent of a +word. And Joseph said: I shall not hide from you one word. And they said +to him: With grief were we grieved because thou didst beg the body of +Jesus and wrap it in clean linen and lay it in a tomb. And on account +of this we secured thee in a room where there was no window; and we put +locks and seals upon the doors, and guards kept watching where thou wast +locked in. And on the first day of the week we opened and found thee +not, and were grieved exceedingly; and astonishment fell upon all the +people of the Lord until yesterday. And now relate to us what happened +to thee. + +And Joseph said: On the preparation, about the tenth hour, you locked me +up, and I remained all the Sabbath. And at midnight, as I was standing +and praying, the room where you locked me in was hung up by the four +corners, and I saw a light like lightning into my eyes. And I was afraid +and fell to the ground. And some one took me by the hand and removed me +from the place where I had fallen; and moisture of water was poured from +my head even to my feet, and a smell of perfumes came about my nostrils. +And he wiped my face and kissed me, and said to me, Fear not, Joseph: +open thine eyes and see who it is that speaks to thee. And, looking up, +I saw Jesus. And I trembled and thought it was a phantom; and I said the +commandments, and he said them with me. Even so you are not ignorant +that a phantom, if it meet anybody and hear the commandments, takes to +flight. And seeing that he said them with me, I said to him, Rabbi +Helias. And he said to me, I am not Helias. And I said to him, Who art +thou, my lord? And he said to me, I am Jesus, whose body thou didst beg +from Pilate; and thou didst clothe me with clean linen, and didst put a +napkin on my face, and didst lay me in thy new tomb, and didst roll a +great stone to the door of the tomb. And I said to him that was speaking +to me, Show me the place where I laid thee. And he carried me away and +showed me the place where I laid him; and the linen cloth was lying in +it, and the napkin for his face. And I knew that it was Jesus. And he +took me by the hand and placed me, though the doors were locked, in the +middle of my house, and led me away to my bed and said to me, Peace to +thee! And he kissed me and said to me, For forty days go not forth out +of thy house; for, behold, I go to my brethren in Galilee. + + * * * * * + +CHAP. 16.--And the rulers of the synagogue, and the priests and the +Levites when they heard these words from Joseph, became as dead, and +fell to the ground, and fasted until the ninth hour. And Nicodemus, +along with Joseph, exhorted Annas and Caiaphas, the priests and the +Levites, saying: Rise up and stand upon your feet, and taste bread and +strengthen your souls, because to-morrow is the Sabbath of the Lord. And +they rose up and prayed to God, and ate and drank, and departed every +man to his own house. + +And on the Sabbath our teachers and the priests and Levites sat +questioning each other and saying: What is this wrath that has come upon +us? for we know his father and mother. Levi, a teacher, says: I know +that his parents fear God, and do not withdraw themselves from the +prayers, and give the tithes thrice a year. And when Jesus was born his +parents brought him to this place and gave sacrifices and burnt +offerings to God. And when the great teacher, Symeon, took him into his +arms, he said, Now thou sendest away thy servant, Lord, according to thy +word, in peace; for mine eyes have seen thy salvation, which thou hast +prepared before the face of all the peoples; a light for the revelation +of the Gentiles, and the glory of thy people Israel. And Symeon blessed +them, and said to Mary his mother, I give thee good news about this +child. And Mary said, It is well, my lord. And Symeon said to her, It is +well; behold, he lies for the fall and the rising again of many in +Israel, and for a sign spoken against; and of thee thyself a sword shall +go through the soul, in order that the reasoning of many hearts may be +revealed. + +They say to the teacher Levi: How knowest thou these things? Levi says +to them: Do you not know that from him I learned the law? The Sanhedrin +say to him: We wish to see thy father. And they sent for his father. And +they asked him, and he said to them: Why have you not believed my son? +The blessed and just Symeon himself taught him the law. The Sanhedrin +says to Rabbi Levi: Is the word that you have said true? And he said: It +is true. And the rulers of the synagogue, and the priests and the +Levites said to themselves: Come, let us send into Galilee to the three +men that came and told about his teaching and his taking up, and let +them tell us how they saw him taken up. And this saying pleased all. And +they sent away the three men who had already gone away into Galilee with +them; and they say to them: Say to Rabbi Adas and Rabbi Phinees and +Rabbi Haggai, Peace to you and all who are with you! A great inquiry +having taken place in the Sanhedrin, we have been sent to you to call +you to this holy place, Jerusalem. + +And the men set out into Galilee and found them sitting and considering +the law: and they saluted them in peace. And the men who were in Galilee +said to those who had come to them: Peace unto all Israel! And they +said: Peace to you! And they again said to them: Why have you come? And +those who had been sent said: The Sanhedrin call you to the holy city +Jerusalem. And when the men heard that they were sought by the Sanhedrin +they prayed to God, and reclined with the men and ate and drank, and +rose up and set out in peace to Jerusalem. + +And on the following day the Sanhedrin sat in the synagogue, and asked +them, saying: Did you really see Jesus sitting on the mountain Mamilch +teaching his eleven disciples, and did you see him taken up? And the men +answered them and said: As we saw him taken up, so also we said. + +Annas says: Take them away from one another and let us see whether their +account agrees. And they took them away from one another. And first they +call Adas and say to him: How didst thou see Jesus taken up? Adas says: +While he was yet sitting on the mountain Mamilch and teaching his +disciples, we saw a cloud overshadowing both him and his disciples. And +the cloud took him up into heaven, and his disciples lay upon their +faces upon the earth. And they call Phinees, the priest, and ask him +also, saying: How didst thou see Jesus taken up? And he spoke in like +manner. And they again asked Haggai, and he spoke in like manner. And +the Sanhedrin said: The law of Moses holds: At the mouth of two or three +every word shall be established. Buthem, a teacher, says: It is written +in the law, And Enoch walked with God, and is not, because God took him. +Jaïrus, a teacher, said: And the death of holy Moses we have heard of, +and have not seen it; for it is written in the law of the Lord, and +Moses died from the mouth of the Lord, and no man knoweth of his +sepulchre unto this day. And Rabbi Levi said: Why did Rabbi Symeon say, +when he saw Jesus, "Behold, he lies for the fall and rising again of +many in Israel, and for a sign spoken against"? And Rabbi Isaac said: It +is written in the law, Behold, I send my messenger before thy face, who +shall go before thee to keep thee in every good way, because my name has +been called upon him. + +Then Annas and Caiaphas said: Rightly have you said what is written in +the law of Moses, that no one saw the death of Enoch, and no one has +named the death of Moses; but Jesus was tried before Pilate, and we saw +him receiving blows and spittings on his face, and the soldiers put +about him a crown of thorns, and he was scourged and received sentence +from Pilate, and was crucified upon the Cranium, and two robbers with +him; and they gave him to drink vinegar with gall, and Longinus, the +soldier, pierced his side with a spear; and Joseph, our honorable +father, begged his body, and he says he is risen; and as the three +teachers say, We saw him taken up into heaven; and Rabbi Levi has given +evidence of what was said by Rabbi Symeon, and that he said, Behold, he +lies for the fall and rising again of many in Israel, and for a sign +spoken against. And all the teachers said to all the people of the Lord: +If this was from the Lord, and is wonderful in your eyes, knowing you +shall know, O house of Jacob, that it is written, Cursed is every one +that hangeth upon a tree. And another scripture teaches: The gods which +have not made the heaven and the earth shall be destroyed. And the +priests and the Levites said to each other: If this memorial be until +the year that is called Jobel, know that it shall endure forever, and he +hath raised for himself a new people. Then the rulers of the synagogue, +and the priests and the Levites, announced to all Israel, saying: Cursed +is that man who shall worship the work of man's hand, and cursed is the +man who shall worship the creatures more than the Creator. And all the +people said, Amen, amen. + +And all the people praised the Lord, and said: Blessed is the Lord, who +hath given rest to his people Israel, according to all that he hath +spoken; there hath not fallen one word of every good word of his that he +spoke to Moses, his servant. May the Lord our God be with us, as he was +with our fathers; let him not destroy us. And let him not destroy us, +that we may incline our hearts to him, that we may walk in all his ways, +that we may keep his commandments and his judgments which he commanded +to our fathers. And the Lord shall be for a king over all the earth in +that day; and there shall be one Lord, and his name one. The Lord is our +king; he shall save us. There is none like thee, O Lord. Great art +thou, O Lord, and great is thy name. By thy power heal us, O Lord, and +we shall be healed; save us, O Lord, and we shall be saved, because we +are thy lot and heritage. And the Lord will not leave his people, for +his great name's sake; for the Lord has begun to make us into his +people. + +And all, having sung praises, went away each man to his own house +glorifying God; for his is the glory forever and ever. Amen. + + +FOOTNOTES: + +[1] Mommsen, "Römisches Staatsrecht," III. I. p. 748. + +[2] "The Jewish People in the Time of Jesus Christ," 2d Div., I. p. 185. + +[3] "The Jewish People in the Time of Jesus Christ," 2d Div., I. p. 187. + +[4] Josephus, "Wars of the Jews," II. 8, 1. + +[5] Josephus, "Ant.," XX. 9, 1. + +[6] John xix. 10. + +[7] John xviii. 31. + +[8] Acts xxv., xxvi. + +[9] "The Trial of Jesus," p. 77. + +[10] "The Jewish People in the Time of Jesus Christ," 1st Div., II. p. +74. + +[11] "The Legal Procedure of Cicero's Time," p. 118. + +[12] "The Legal Procedure of Cicero's Time," p. 118. + +[13] "The Trial of Jesus," p. 293. + +[14] "The Legal Procedure of Cicero's Time," p. 413. + +[15] "Geschichte des römischen Criminalprocesses." + +[16] "The Trial of Jesus," pp. 291-93. + +[17] Dionysius II. 14. + +[18] Liv. II. iv. 5. + +[19] Heuzey, "Miss. archeol. de Maced.," p. 38. + +[20] Accusatores multos esse in civitate utile est, ut metu contineatur +audacia (pro Roscio Amer. 20). + +[21] Persa V. 63 _seq._ + +[22] Fiske, "Manual of Classical Literature," III. Sec. 264. + +[23] Gibbon, "The Decline and Fall of the Roman Empire," Chap. XLIV. + +[24] Const. crim. Theres., Art. 5, par. 2. + +[25] Keim, "Jesus of Nazara," vol. vi. p. 250. + +[26] Keim, "Jesus of Nazara," vol. vi. p. 250. + +[27] John xix. 38-41. + +[28] "History of Madagascar," vol. i. p. 371, 372. + +[29] "Records of Travel in Turkey and Greece," vol. i. p. 447. + +[30] "The Celtic Druids," p. 126; "Anacalypsis," vol. i. p. 317. + +[31] "Anacalypsis," vol. i. p. 217. + +[32] Colenso's "Pentateuch Examined," vol. vi. p. 115. + +[33] Baring-Gould, "Curious Myths," p. 291. + +[34] "Octavius," Chap. XXIX. + +[35] "Ancient Art and Mythology," p. 30. + +[36] Brinton, "The Myths of the New World," p. 95. + +[37] Baring-Gould, "Curious Myths," p. 299. + +[38] Vol. iii. Art., "Cross." + +[39] Kingsborough, "Mexican Antiquities," vol. vi. 166. p. + +[40] "Curious Myths," p. 311. + +[41] "Digest," XLVIII. 4. + +[42] "De Inventione," II. 17. + +[43] Tacitus, "Annals," p. 215. + +[44] Dio, Lib. LVIII. + +[45] "Annals," B. VI. Chap. II. + +[46] Döllinger, "The Gentile and the Jew," vol. ii. p. 33. + +[47] Döllinger, "The Gentile and the Jew," vol. ii. p. 172. + +[48] "Liberty, Equality, Fraternity," pp. 89, 90. + +[49] De Legibus. + +[50] Correspondence between Pliny and Trajan, Letters XCVII, XCVIII. + +[51] Suet., "Cæsar Augustus," Chap. LXIV. + +[52] Philo, "De Legatione ad Cajum," Sec. 38, ed. Mangey, II. 589 _sq._ + +[53] Josephus, "Ant.," XVIII. 3, 1. + +[54] Apol. c. 21 ("jam pro sua conscientia Cristianum"). + +[55] "Historical Lectures," 6th ed. p. 350. + +[56] Josephus, "Ant.," XVIII. 3, 2. + +[57] Scott, "Anne of Geierstein," Chap. I. + +[58] Gessner, "Descript. Mont. Pilat," Zürich, 1555. + +[59] Golbery, "Univers Pittoresque de la Suisse," p. 327. + +[60] Matt. xxvii. 1, 2. + +[61] Mark xv. 1. + +[62] Keim, "Jesus of Nazara," vol. vi. p. 84. + +[63] Josephus, "Wars of the Jews," II. 14, 8; II. 15, 1. + +[64] Keim, "Jesus of Nazara," vol. vi. p. 87. + +[65] Geikie, "The Life and Words of Christ," vol. ii. p. 533. + +[66] Acts xxiv. 1. + +[67] Acts xxv. 16. + +[68] John xviii. 30. + +[69] John xviii. 31. + +[70] Act IV. Scene i. + +[71] Luke xxiii. 2. + +[72] Acts xviii. 14, 15. + +[73] Matt. xxii. 21. + +[74] Matt. xvii. 24, 25. + +[75] Matt. xxvi. 18, 19. + +[76] Josephus, "Ant.," XVII. 10, 5. + +[77] Josephus, "Ant.," XVII. 10, 6. + +[78] Josephus, "Ant.," XVII. 10, 7. + +[79] John xviii. 33. + +[80] Matt. xx. 25. + +[81] Matt. xi. 8. + +[82] John xviii. 34. + +[83] John xviii. 36. + +[84] John xviii. 37. + +[85] John xviii. 38. + +[86] Luke xxiii. 5. + +[87] Luke xiii. 32. + +[88] Luke xxiii. 8. + +[89] Josephus, "Ant.," XVIII. 7, 1, 2. + +[90] Luke xxiii. 9. + +[91] Luke xxxii. 10. + +[92] Luke xxiii. 11. + +[93] Tacitus, "Hist.," II. 89. + +[94] Luke xxiii. 12. + +[95] Luke xxiii. 13-16. + +[96] Luke xxiii. 17. + +[97] Livy v. 13: "Vinctis quoque demptu vincula." + +[98] Matt. xxvii. 16-18. + +[99] Matt. xxvii. 20-22. + +[100] Vie, par. 131. + +[101] Luke xxvii. 19. + +[102] John xix. 7. + +[103] John xix. 9. + +[104] John xix. 15. + +[105] John xix. 15. + +[106] John xix. 12. + +[107] Matt. xxvii. 24. + +[108] Matt. xxvii. 26-31. + +[109] Keim, "Jesus of Nazara," vol. vi. p. 87. + +[110] Geikie, "The Life and Words of Christ," vol. ii. p. 533. + +[111] Geikie, "The Life and Words of Christ," vol. ii. p. 532. + +[112] Acts xxiv.; xxv. II; xxvi. 32. + +[113] Matt. xxvii. 11. + +[114] Mark xv. 2. + +[115] Luke xxiii. 3. + +[116] John xviii. 37. + +[117] Luke xxiii. 4-16. + +[118] Luke xxiii. 23, 24. + +[119] "Liberty, Equality, Fraternity," p. 87. + +[120] "Liberty, Equality, Fraternity," pp. 93-95. + +[121] L. 12, Cod. De poenis, ix. 47: "Vanæ voces populi non sunt +audiendæ, nec enim vocibus eorum credi oportet quando aut noxium crimine +absolvi aut innocentem condemnari desiderant." + +[122] John xix. 10. + +[123] Dr. Smith's "History of Greece," Chap. XXXV. p. 418. + +[124] 1 Tim. iii. 16. + +[125] See Dict. Philos. Art. "Religion." + +[126] "Emile." + +[127] "Sartor Resartus," 137, 140. + +[128] "Herzog's Encyc." vol. v. 751. Art. "Herder." + +[129] "Vergängl. u. Bleibendes im Christenthum," 132. + +[130] "Études d'Hist. Rel.," pp. 213, 214. + +[131] "Jesus of Nazara," vol. vi. pp. 430, 431. + +[132] Montholon, "Récit de la Captivité de l'Emp. Napoleon." + +[133] Bertrand's "Memoirs," Paris, 1844. + +[134] "Je meurs dans la religion catholique, apostolique et romaine, +dans le sein de laquelle je suis né, il y a plus de cinquante ans." + +[135] Döllinger, "The Gentile and the Jew," vol ii. p. 29. + +[136] "Preparation of the World for Christ," pp. 380, 381. + +[137] Suetonius, "Cæsar Augustus," Chap. XCV. + +[138] Matt. i. 20. + +[139] Matt. ii. 13. + +[140] Suetonius, "Cæsar Augustus," Chap. XCIV. + +[141] Suetonius, "Cæsar Augustus," Chap. XCII. + +[142] Döllinger, "The Gentile and the Jew," vol. ii. p. 185. + +[143] Liv. xl. 59. + +[144] Ap. Aug. C.D. VI. 2. + +[145] Döllinger, vol. ii. p. 183. + +[146] Suetonius, "Caligula," Chap. V. + +[147] Mabillon, "Iter. Ital." p. 77. + +[148] Pausanias, ix. 17. 1. + +[149] De Superst. 6. + +[150] M. Dic, quæso, num te illa terrent? Triceps apud inferos Cerberus? +Cocyti fremitus? travectio Acherontis? + + "Mento summam aquam attingens enectus siti, + Tantalus, tum illud quod, + Sisiphus versat + Saxum sudans nitendo neque proficit hilum," + +fortasse etiam inexorabiles judices Minor et Rhadamanthus? apud quos nec +te L. Crassus defendet, nec M. Antonius; nec, quoniam apud Græcos +judices res agetur, poteris adhibere Demosthenen; tibi ipsi pro te erit +maxima corona causa dicenda. Hæc fortasse metuis, et idcirco mortem +censes esse sempiternum malum. A. Adeone me delirare censes, ut ista +esse credam? M. An tu hæc non credis? A. Minime vero. M. Male hercule +narras. A. Cur, quæso. M. Quia disertus esse possem, si contra ista +dicerem. + +[151] Sallust, "Bellum Catilinarium, 50." + +[152] Renan, "Les Apôtres." + +[153] "Hamlet," Act III, Scene i. + +[154] Döllinger, vol. ii. pp. 175-79. + +[155] Dion. ii. 25. + +[156] Döllinger, vol. ii. pp. 267-69. + +[157] Suetonius, "Julius Cæsar," l-li. + +[158] Xen. de Rep. Lac. i. 8. + +[159] "Polyb. Fragm." in Scr. Vet. Nov. Coll. ed. Mav. ii. 384. + +[160] Döllinger, vol. ii. p. 249. + +[161] "Xen. Mem. Socr." iii. 13. + +[162] Plutarch, "Life of Lucullus." + +[163] Fisher, "The Beginnings of Christianity," p. 205. + +[164] "Encyc. Brit." vol. iii. p. 436. + +[165] Plutarch, "Life of Cato." + +[166] Cicero, "Pro Cluent." 66. + +[167] Tacitus, "Annals," 42-44. + +[168] De Pressensé, "The Religions Before Christ," p. 158. + +[169] Milman's "Gibbon's Rome," vol. i. p. 51. + +[170] Suetonius, "Caligula," Chap. V. + +[171] Fisher, "The Beginnings of Christianity," p. 213. + +[172] Pliny, Ep. X. 38. + +[173] Suetonius, "Julius Cæsar," Chap. XLIX. + +[174] Döllinger, vol. ii. pp. 253, 254. + +[175] Döllinger, vol. ii. pp. 205, 206. + +[176] Döllinger, vol. ii. p. 207. + +[177] Döllinger, vol. ii. p. 208. + +[178] Livy, b. xxxix. Chaps. VII.-XX. + +[179] "----non possum ferre, Quirites, Græcam urbem." (Sat. III.) + +[180] Romans i. 29-31. + +[181] Döllinger, vol ii. pp. 155, 156. + +[182] Matthew Arnold's Poems--"Obermann Once More." + +[183] Cicero, "De Fin." v. pp. 24, 69. + +[184] Eclogue IV. + +[185] Matt. ii. 4; xxi. 15; xxvi. 3, 47, 59; Mark xi. 18; xv. 11; Luke +xix. 47; xx. 1; John xi. 47; xii. 20. + +[186] Dérembourg, "Essai sur l'histoire et la géographie de la +Palestine," p. 231, note 1. + +[187] Josephus, "Ant.," Book XX. Chap. X. 1; XV. III. 1. + +[188] Josephus, "Ant." Book XV. Chap. III. 1. + +[189] Josephus, "Ant.," Book XVIII. Chap. II. 3; Book XX. Chap. IX, 1, +4. + +[190] See "Talmud," "Yoma," or "the Day of Atonement," fol. 35, recto; +also Dérembourg, work above quoted, p. 230, note 2. + +[191] "Essai sur l'histoire et la géographie de la Palestine," p. 232. + +[192] Jos., "Ant.," XX. VIII. 8. + +[193] "Talmud," "Pesachim," or "of the Passover," fol. 57, verso. + +[194] The high priests designated under the name of the descendants of +Eli are those who, as sons of the high priest Eli, polluted the Temple +by their immorality. (See 1 Kings iii. 22-25.) + +[195] This Issachar was a priest of such a dainty nature that in order +to touch the sacrifices he covered his hands with silk. ("Talmud," +"Pesachim," or "of the Passover," fol. 57, verso.) + +[196] Rabbi Nathan, son of Rabbi Yechiel, was the disciple of the +celebrated Moses, the preacher and first rabbi of the synagogue at Rome +in the ninth century. His work forms a large folio volume, and contains +some minute explanations of the most difficult passages in the "Talmud." + +[197] I. e., lord. + +[198] "Talmud," Jerus., "Horayoth," or "Regulations of Justice," fol. +84. recto. + +[199] "Talmud," Jerus., "Shevuoth," or "of Oaths," fol. 19, verso. + +[200] "Tanchumah," or "Book of Consolation," fol. 68, recto. + +[201] "Tanchumah," or "Book of Consolation," fol. 68, recto. + +[202] "Tanchumah," or "Book of Consolation," fol. 68, recto, and +"Sanhedrin," fol. 110, verso. + +[203] "Talmud," "Shabbath," or "of the Sabbath," fol. 119, recto. + +[204] Luke xx. 46; Matt. xxiii. 5-7; Mark xii. 38, 39. + +[205] Some remarkable pages respecting the pride of the Jewish scribes +and doctors may be found in Bossuet's "Meditations on the Gospel." + +[206] Jos., "Ant.," XVIII. I. 4. + +[207] Jos., "Ant.," XVIII. I. 4. + +[208] Munk, "Palestine," p. 515. + +[209] Psalms. + +[210] Acts xxiii. 6. + +[211] Matt. vi. 2, 5, 16; ix. 11, 14; xii. 2; xxiii. 5, 15, 23; Luke v. +30; vi. 2, 7; xi. 39, etc.; xviii. 12; John ix. 16; "Perkeh Avoth," or +"Sentences of the Fathers," I. 16; Jos., "Ant.," XVII. II. 4; XVIII. I. +3; "Vita," 38; "Talmud," Bab., "Sotah," fol. 22, recto. + +[212] "From that time forth began Jesus to show unto his disciples, how +that he must go unto Jerusalem, and suffer many things of the elders and +chief priests and scribes." (Matt. xvi. 21.) + +[213] "The Credibility of the Gospel History," in the chapter on +"Testimonies of Ancient Heathens," vol. vi. p. 605 _et seq._ + +[214] "Origin of the Four Gospels," pp. 141-50. + + + + +BIBLIOGRAPHY + + + MAIN AUTHORITIES + + THE BIBLE. English Authorized Version of 1611. + + THE TALMUD. Babylonian Recension, translated into English by Michael + L. Rodkinson. New Talmud Publishing Company, New York, + 1896. + + THE MISHNA. Edition of Surenhusius. Amsterdam, 1698-1703. Consulted + by the author in the Astor Library, New York City. + + + MINOR AUTHORITIES + + ABBOTT. Jesus of Nazareth, by Lyman Abbott. Harper Brothers, + New York, 1882. + + ANDREWS. The Life of Our Lord, by Samuel J. Andrews. Charles + Scribner's Sons, New York, 1906. + + BARING-GOULD. Curious Myths of the Middle Ages, by S. Baring-Gould. + Roberts Brothers, Boston, 1880. + + BAUR. The Church History of the First Three Centuries, by F. + C. Baur. Translated from German by A. Mendies. London, + 1878. + + BENNY. The Criminal Code of the Jews, by Philip Berger Benny. + Smith, Elder & Company, London, 1880. + + BLACKSTONE. Commentaries on the Laws of England, by Sir William + Blackstone. Edited and annotated by Thomas M. Cooley. + Callaghan & Company, Chicago, 1884. + + CICERO. M. Tullii Ciceronis orationes. Whittaker & Company, + London, 1855. + + DEUTSCH. The Talmud, by Emanuel Deutsch. The Jewish Publication + Society of America, Philadelphia, 1896. + + DÖLLINGER. The Gentile and the Jew, by John J. I. Döllinger. Two + volumes. Gibbings & Company, London, 1906. + + EDERSHEIM. The Life and Times of Jesus the Messiah, by Alfred + Edersheim. Two volumes. Longmans, Green & Company, + New York, 1905. + + FARRAR. The Life of Christ, by Frederic W. Farrar. E. P. Dutton + & Company, New York, 1883. + + FISHER. The Beginnings of Christianity, by George P. Fisher. + Charles Scribner's Sons, New York, 1906. + + GEIB. Geschichte des römischen Criminalprocesses, von Dr. + Gustav Geib. Weidmann'sche Buchhandlung. Leipzig, 1842. + + GEIKIE. The Life and Words of Christ, by Cunningham Geikie. + Two volumes. Henry S. King & Company. London, 1877. + + GIBBON. The History of the Decline and Fall of the Roman Empire, + by Edward Gibbon. With notes by Rev. H. H. Milman. + Phillips, Sampson & Company, Boston, 1853. + + GRAETZ. History of the Jews, by Heinrich Graetz. Six volumes. + The Jewish Publication Society of America, Philadelphia, + 1891. + + GREENLEAF. The Testimony of the Evangelists, by Simon Greenleaf. + Soney & Sage, Newark, N. J., 1903. + + GREENIDGE. The Legal Procedure of Cicero's Time, by A. H. J. + Greenidge. Stevens & Sons, London, 1901. + + HARNACK. Reden und Aufsätze, von Adolf Harnack. J. Ricker'sche + Verlagsbuchhandlung, Giessen, 1904. + + HIGGINS. Anacalypsis: An Enquiry into the Origin of Languages, + Nations and Religions, by Godfrey Higgins. Longman, + Brown & Longman, London, 1827. + + HODGE. Systematic Theology, by Charles Hodge. Charles + Scribner's Sons, New York, 1892. + + INNES. The Trial of Jesus Christ, by A. Taylor Innes. T. & T. + Clark, Edinburgh, 1905. + + JOSEPHUS. The Works of Flavius Josephus, Whiston's Translation. + + JOST. Geschichte des Judenthums, von I. M. Jost. Dörffling + und Francke, Leipzig, 1857. + + JUVENAL. The Satires of Juvenal. George Bell & Sons, London, + 1904. + + KEIM. Jesus of Nazara, by Theodor Keim. Six volumes. Williams + & Norgate, London, 1883. + + LARDNER. Works of Nathaniel Lardner. Ten volumes. William Ball, + London, 1838. + + LÉMANN. Valeur de l'assemblée qui prononça la peine de mort + contre Jésus-Christ, par MM. Lémann. Translated from + the French into English under the title "Jesus Before + the Sanhedrin," by Prof. Julius Magath, of Oxford, Ga., + in 1899. + + LIVY. The History of Rome, by Titus Livius. George Bell & + Sons, London, 1906. + + LOISY. Les Évangiles Synoptiques, par Alfred Loisy. Librairie + Fishbacher, Paris, 1907. + + MENDELSOHN. The Criminal Jurisprudence of the Ancient Hebrews, by + S. Mendelsohn. M. Curlander, Baltimore, 1891. + + MOMMSEN. The Provinces of the Roman Empire, by Theodor Mommsen. + Two volumes. Charles Scribner's Sons, New York, 1899. + + MONTESQUIEU. De l'Esprit Des Lois, par Montesquieu. Garnier Frères, + Paris, 1905. + + PALEY. Evidences of Christianity, by William Paley. The + Religious Tract Society, London, 1794. + + RABBINOWICZ. Législation Criminelle du Talmud, par I. J. M. + Rabbinowicz. Chez l'auteur, Paris, 1876. + + RENAN. Histoire des origines du christianisme, par Joseph + Ernest Renan. Paris, 1863. Livres 1-6: 1. Vie de Jésus. + 2. Les apôtres. 3. Saint Paul. 4. L'Antichrist. 5. Les + évangiles et la seconde génération chrétienne. + 6. L'église chrétienne. + + ROSADI. The Trial of Jesus by Giovanni Rosadi. + Dodd, Mead & Company, New York, 1905. + + SALVADOR. Histoire des Institutions de Moïse, par J. Salvador. + Michel Lévy-Frères, Paris, 1862. + + SCHÜRER. The Jewish People in the Time of Jesus Christ, by Emil + Schürer. Charles Scribner's Sons, New York, 1906. + + STEPHEN. Liberty, Equality, Fraternity, by James Fitzjames + Stephen. Henry Holt & Company, New York, 1873. + + SUETONIUS. The Lives of the Twelve Cæsars, by C. Suetonius + Tranquillus. George Bell & Sons, London, 1906. + + TACITUS. The Works of Tacitus. American Book Company, New York, + 1904. + + WISE. The Martyrdom of Jesus, by Isaac M. Wise. The Bloch + Publishing and Printing Company, Cincinnati & Chicago, + 1888. + + +In addition to the above, many other authorities have been consulted in +the preparation of the two volumes of this work. Quotations from them +are frequently found in the text, and citations are given in the notes. +The author, in closing the article, entitled "Bibliography," wishes to +express his sense of great indebtedness and appreciation to the numerous +very valuable encyclopedias that adorn the shelves of the various +libraries of New York City; and especially to The Jewish Encyclopedia, +published by Funk & Wagnalls, New York and London, 1901. + + + + +INDEX + + + A + + Abarbanel, Isaac, on the Sanhedrin, I, 106 + + Ab-beth-din, vice-president of the Sanhedrin, I, 112 + + Abbott, Lyman, on the scribes of the Sanhedrin, I, 158 + + Acts of Pilate, the Apocryphal, + modern criticism of, II, 327 + discovery of, II, 327 + Lardner on the authenticity of, II, 328 _seq._ + Tischendorf on the authenticity of, II, 345 _seq._ + antiquity of, II, 351 + text of, II, 351 _seq._ + + Æbutius, Publius, part of, in the exposure of Bacchanalian orgies, II, + 271 _seq._ + + Ædile, Roman, judicial powers of, II, 36 + + Æsculapius, Græco-Roman divinity, II, 198 + + Akiba, Jewish rabbi, Mishna systematized by, I, 79 + + Albanus, Roman governor, his deposition of Albanus, II, 296 + + Alcmene, myth of Zeus and, II, 265 + + Alexander, Jewish Alabarch, biographical note on, II, 299 + + Alexander III, pope, genuineness of "true cross" attested by bull of, + II, 63 + + Alexandrian MS. of the Bible, I, 67 + + Ananias ben Nebedeus, Jewish priest, + biographical note on, II, 299 + family of, cursed in Talmud, II, 302 + + Ananos. See Annas + + Ananus, son of Annas, Jewish high priest, biographical note on, II, 296 + + Anathemas, Jewish, against the Christians, II, 307, 308 + + Anaxagoras, Greek philosopher, + on the deification of natural forces, II, 225 + his exposure of the divination of Lampon, II, 226 + + Annanias, author of "Acts of Pilate," II, 351 + + Annas (Ananos), Jewish high priest, + examination of Christ before, I, 238-247 + deposition of, by Gratus, I, 244; II, 20 + Christ examined in house of, I, 256 + biographical note on, II, 295 + legendary examination of Joseph of Arimathea, II, 374, 376 + + Antecedent Warning, peculiar provision of Hebrew Criminal Law + regarding, I, 147-152 + + Antistius, L., Roman tribune, impeachment of Julius Cæsar by, II, 46 + + Antoninus Pius, Roman emperor, persecution of Christians by, II, 78 + + Aphrodisia, rites of, II, 265 + + Aphrodite, Greek divinity, patroness of prostitutes, II, 265 + + Aquillius, Manlius, Roman governor, trial of, before the Comitia, II, 40 + + Antonius, Marcus, Roman advocate, defense of, of Manlius Aquillius, II, + 40 + + Aristotle, Greek philosopher, on the licentiousness of Sparta, II, 241 + + Arnold, Matthew, on despair of Roman people, II, 286 + + Arnobius, Numidian writer, + on the familiar treatment of Roman gods, II, 218 + on the lewdness of the Roman drama, II, 267 + + Art, effect of, in corruption of Roman and Greek morals, II, 268 + + Aspasia, mistress of Pericles, II, 242 + + Athens, domestic licentiousness of, II, 240, 241 + + Athronges, Jewish peasant, revolt of, II, 110 + + Atticus, Numerius, Roman senator, attests ascent of Augustus to heaven, + II, 234 + + Atys, myth of, represented on Greek and Roman stage, II, 267 + + Augurs, + Roman priests, II, 204 + spectators at licentious dramas, II, 267 + + Augury, modes of, II, 211 + + Augustus Cæsar, Roman emperor, + reign and policy of, II, 25, 26 + care of profligate daughter Julia, II, 83 + belief of, in omens, II, 215 + his chastisement of Neptune, II, 222 + deification of, II, 233 + + Aurelius Antoninus, Marcus, Roman emperor and philosopher, + persecution of Christianity by, II, 78 + adoration of Serapis by, II, 217 + on suicide, II, 232 + + + B + + Bacchanalian orgies, Livy's account of, II, 270-283 + + Bacchus, Roman deity, licentious festivals of, II, 265 + + Barabbas (Bar Abbas) released by Pilate, II, 131, 138, 363 + + Baring-Gould, S., on the symbolism of the Cross, II, 66 + + Baths, Roman, splendor of, II, 247 + + Beheading of criminals under Hebrew Law, I, 91, 99 + + Benny, + on the Talmud, I, 75 + on internment in Jewish Cities of Refuge, I, 98, 99 + + Bernhardt, Sarah, insulted in Quebec, II, 182 + + Bernice (Berenice), Jewish queen, a suppliant before Florus, II, 100 + + Bible, + the manuscripts of, I, 67 + purity of text of, I, 69 + anthropomorphism of, I, 336-338 + influence of, II, 4, 5 + "Birchath Hamminim" Jewish imprecation against Christians, II, 308 + + Blasphemy, + discussion of charge against Christ of, I, 193-209 + Hebrew definition of, I, 199-201 + classification of, I, 203 + + Boethus, family of, cursed in Talmud, II, 301. See also Simon + + Bossuet, Jacques B., French divine, on the citizenship of Christ, II, + 108 + + Brothels, Roman, dedication of, to Venus, II, 265 + + Burning of criminals under Hebrew Law, I, 92, 99 + + + C + + Cæsar, Caius Julius, + 10th legion cowed by, II, 169 + superstition of, II, 205 + disbelief of, in immortality, II, 229 + deification of, II, 233 + divorces of, II, 238 + profligacy of, II, 238, 239 + unnatural practices attributed to, II, 263 + + Caiaphas, Jewish high priest, + accusation of, against Christ, before Sanhedrin, I, 190 + erratic conduct of, at trial of Christ, I, 290 + rôle of, in trial of Jesus before Pilate, II, 101 + biographical note on, II, 295 + legendary examination of Joseph of Arimathea by, II, 374, 376 + + Caligula, Roman emperor, + deifies his sister Drusilla, II, 234 + depravity of, II, 234 + + Cantharus, family of, cursed in Talmud, II, 301 + + Capital Crimes under Hebrew Criminal Law, classification and + punishments of, I, 91-101 + + Carlyle, Thomas, on the life of Christ, II, 187 + + Cassius, Dion, on the labeling of Roman criminals, I, 57 + + Cato, Marcus Porcius, + contempt of, for the haruspices, II, 228 + suicide of, II, 232 + divorces of, II, 237 + contempt of, for Lucullus, II, 246 + merciless treatment of slaves, II, 251 + + Catulus, Quintus, dream of, presaging accession of Augustus, II, 214 + + Chanania, Jewish scribe, biographical note on, II, 314 + + Chanania ben Chiskia, Jewish scribe, biographical note on, II, 309 + + Charles IX, king of France, bloody sweat of, I, 59, 60 + + Christianity, conflict of, with Roman paganism, I, 16; II, 76-79 + + Chrysostom, St. John, on the legendary desire of Tiberius to deify + Christ, II, 344 + + Cicero, Marcus Tullius, + dream of, presaging accession of Augustus, II, 215 + on Roman superstition, II, 221 + on Roman skepticism, II, 227 + his divorce of his wife, II, 237 + witticism of, upon Cæsar's gallantries, II, 239 + + Cities of Refuge, Jewish, internment in, I, 96-99 + + Claudia, granddaughter of Augustus, + marriage of, to Pilate, II, 82 + dream of, regarding Jesus, II, 133, 355 + + Claudius, Roman commander, throws sacred pullets into the sea, II, 222 + + Clement V, pope, and the Talmud, I, 88, 89 + + Coliseum, the, description of, II, 260 + + Comitia Centuriata, + public criminal trials in, II, 37-43 + miscarriage of justice in, II, 38-42 + + Commodus, Roman emperor, deification of, II, 234 + + Consul, Roman, judicial powers of, II, 36 + + Coke, Sir Edward, contrast between Pilate and, II, 170-172 + + Cornelius, son of Ceron, the elder, biographical note on, II, 321 + + Cross, Roman instrument of death, + erroneous representations of, II, 56 + forms of, II, 62 + use of, by various races as religious symbol, II, 64-67 + + "Cross, the True," legends of, II, 62, 63 + + Crucifixion, + Plutarch on, I, 56 + history of, II, 54, 55 + mode of, II, 55 + pathology of, II, 58, 59 + Roman citizens exempt from, II, 54 + of Jesus, II, 365 + + Cybele, Roman deity, importation of, from Phrygia, II, 199 + + + D + + Deification of Roman emperors, ceremony of, II, 234 + + Dembowski, Bishop, and the Talmud, I, 88 + + Demosthenes, on the women of Athens, II, 242 + + Dérembourg, Joseph, on the Jewish priestly families, II, 294 + + Deutsch, Emanuel, + on the Talmud, I, 74, 80 + on the existence of the Great Sanhedrin at the time of Christ, I, + 179, 181 + + Diocletian, Roman emperor, deification of, II, 233 + + Divination, Roman modes of, II, 211 + + Divorce, + among the Romans, II, 236-239 + trivial pretexts for, II, 237, 238 + + Döllinger, + on the Roman view of Christianity and high treason, II, 77 + on divorce, and the profligacy of Roman matrons, II, 236 + on the effect of art in corrupting Greek and Roman manners, II, 268 + + Domitian, Roman emperor, self-deification of, II, 235 + + Doras, Jewish elder, biographical note on, II, 321 + + Dorotheas, son of Nathanael, Jewish elder, biographical note on, II, + 321 + + Drama, the, licentiousness of, among Greeks and Romans, II, 266 + + Dreams, interpretation of, among Romans and Greeks, II, 213, 214 + + Druidism, annihilation of, II, 73 + + Drusilla, deified by Caligula, II, 234 + + Dysmas, legendary name of one of the thieves crucified with Jesus, II, + 364 + + + E + + Edersheim, Alfred, on the existence of the Great Sanhedrin at the time + of Christ, I, 177 + + Elders, Jewish chamber of. See Sanhedrin + + Eleazar ben Partah, Jewish scribe, biographical note on, II, 314 + + Eleazar, son of Annas, Jewish high priest, biographical note on, II, + 295 + + Eleazar, son of Simon Boethus, Jewish high priest, biographical note + on, II, 297 + + Eliezer, Jewish rabbi, Mishna amplified by, I, 79 + + Ellicott, Dr., on the character of Pilate, II, 91 + + Epicurus, Greek philosopher, II, 229 + + Epicureanism, degradation of, among Romans, II, 230 + + Epitaphs, irreligious Roman, II, 222, 285 + + Epulos, Roman priests, II, 204 + + Etruria, importation of haruspices from, II, 210 + + Eusebius, reference of, to the "Acts of Pilate," II, 329, 333, 344 + + Evhemere, on the Greek gods, II, 225 + + Evangelists, + honesty of, I, 12 + character of, I, 13, 14 + motives of, I, 15 + ability of, I, 18 + candor of, I, 20-24 + discrepancies of, I, 29-33 + corroborative elements of narrative of, I, 34-39 + impossibility of collusion among, I, 38 + conformity of narrative of, with human experience, I, 39 + coincidence of testimony of, with collateral circumstances, I, 52-67 + narrative of, confirmed by profane historians, I, 56, 57 + + Evidence, rules of, under Hebrew Law, I, 144, 145 + + + F + + False swearing under Hebrew Criminal Law, I, 93 + + Fathers, Church, writings of the, I, 68 + + Fecenia, Hispala, part of, in exposure of Bacchanalian orgies, II, + 271 _seq._ + + Felix, Minucius, Christian father, controversy of, with pagans on + adoration of the cross, II, 64 + + Flagellation, under Hebrew Criminal, I, 94 + + Flamens, + Roman priests, II, 204 + spectators at licentious dramas, II, 267 + + + G + + Gallio, pro-consul of Achaia, attitude of, toward Jewish clamors, II, + 107 + + Gamaliel, Jewish rabbi, biographical note on, II, 304 + + Ganymede, depraving influence of myth of rape of, II, 262 + + Gavazzi, Alessandro, sermons of, in Coliseum, II, 262 + + Geib, on the status of Judea, II, 16 on the courts of the Roman + Provinces, II, 32 + + Geikie, Cunningham, + on the non-existence of the Sanhedrin at the time of Christ, I, 181 + on the character of the trial of Jesus before Sanhedrin, I, 184 + + Gemara, + the Jerusalem and Babylonian recensions of, I, 81 + relation of, to Mishna, I, 83. See also Talmud and Mishna + + Germanicus, + Cæsar temples profaned on death of, II, 222 + exposure of children born on day of death of, II, 254 + + Gestas, legendary name of one of thieves crucified with Jesus, II, 364 + + Golden House of Nero, II, 246 + + Gibbon, Edward, + on the jurisdiction of the great Sanhedrin, I, 120 + on the laws of the Twelve Tables, II, 53 + on the extent of the Roman Empire, II, 196 + + Gladiatorial games, + origin of, II, 256 + gigantic scale of, in Rome, II, 256, 257 + conduct of, II, 258 + + Gospels, the, admissibility of, as legal evidence, I, 5-12 + + Governors, Roman, + powers of, II, 24, 27, 28, 29 + forbidden to take wives to their provinces, II, 84, 85 + + Graetz, Heinrich, on the existence of the Sanhedrin at the time of + Christ, I, 181 + + Greeks, + superstition of, II, 223 + philosophy of, II, 229 + depraving effect on Romans of art, literature, and manners of, II, + 240-244, 268, 284 + Bacchanalian orgies introduced by, II, 270 + invective of Juvenal against, II, 284 + + Greenidge, on the interpretation of native law by Roman proprætors, II, + 31 + + Greenleaf, Simon, American jurist, + on the admissibility of the Scriptures as legal evidence, I, 6-9 + on the testimony of the Evangelists, I, 10, 11 + on the legal justice of the conviction of Christ for blasphemy, I, + 209 + + + H + + Hacksab ben Tzitzith, Jewish elder, biographical note on, II, 320 + + "Hall of Hewn Stones," sessions of Sanhedrin in, I, 117 + + Haruspices, Roman, account of, II, 210 + + Helcias, Jewish treasurer, biographical note on, II, 300 + + Helena, Empress, legendary discovery of "true cross" by, II, 62 + + Hercules, Greek divinity, burning of, represented on Greek and Roman + stage, II, 267 + + Herder, Johann, on the character of Christ, II, 187 + + Herod Antipas, + character of, II, 120 + his treatment of Jesus, II, 122-127 + + Herod I, the Great, + last will of, II, 119, 120 + arbitrary changes of, in high priesthood, II, 293 + + Hetairai, status of, in Athens, II, 242, 243 + + High priest, Jewish, + vestments of, I, 158 + abuses in appointment of, II, 293 + + Hillel, Jewish doctor, inspiration of, I, 84 + + Hillel, School of, + and the Mishna, I, 79 + dissensions of, with School of Shammai, II, 309 + + Homer, the bible of the Greeks, II, 264 + + Honorius IV, pope, and the Talmud, I, 87 + + Horatius, trial of, before the Comitia Centuriata, II, 40 + + + I + + Ignatius, St., martyrdom of, in Coliseum, II, 261 + + Impalement, death by, II, 61 + + Infanticide, among Romans, II, 254 + + Inkerman, story of soldier killed at battle of, II, 191 + + Innes, + on the trials of Jesus before the Sanhedrin, I, 185; II, 10 + on the cowardice of Pilate, II, 138 + + Interpreters, not allowed in Jewish courts, I, 107 + + Imprisonment. See Law, Hebrew Criminal, I, 93 + + Ishmael, Jewish rabbi, and the Mishna, I, 79 + + Ismael ben Eliza, Jewish scribe, biographical note on, II, 309 + + Ismael ben Phabi, Jewish high priest, + biographical note on, II, 298 + family of, cursed in Talmud, II, 301 + + Isis, Egyptian deity, + rites of, established in Rome, II, 217 + Roman temples of, a resort of vice, II, 269 + + Issachar ben Keifar Barchi, Jewish priest, cursed in Talmud, II, 302 + + + J + + James, brother of Jesus, condemnation of, by Ananus, II, 296 + + Janus, Roman god, invocations of, II, 207 + + Jehovah, appearances of, in human form, I, 343-349 + + Jerome, St., on the Jewish anathema against Christians, II, 308 + + Jesus, the Christ, + human perfection of, I, 14; II, 186 + scourging of, I, 56, 57 + breaking of legs of, by soldiers, I, 57 + bloody sweat of, I, 59, 60 + physical cause of death of, I, 61, 62 + watery issue of, I, 60-62 + devotion of women to, I, 66 + resurrection of, I, 211; II, 368 + divinity of, I, 211, 212 + celebrates the Paschal feast, I, 220-224 + at Gethsemane, I, 224-226 + arrest of, I, 225 + private examination of, before high priest, I, 238-247 + charged with sedition and blasphemy I, 250 + annnounces his Messiahship before Sanhedrin, I, 273, 274 + Messianic prophecies fulfilled in Him, I, 323-328, 341, 342 + miracles of, I, 350-355 + at morning session of Sanhedrin, I, 356-362 + condemned to death by Sanhedrin, I, 365 + His teachings treasonable under Roman law, II, 72 + before Pilate, II, 96 _seq._ + charged with high treason before Pilate, II, 106, 352 + indictment of, before Pilate, II, 107-109 + acquitted by Pilate, II, 116 + sent by Pilate to Herod, II, 118 + before Herod, II, 119 _seq._ + mocked, and sent back to Pilate by Herod, II, 127 + second appearance of, before Pilate, II, 129 _seq._ + delivered to Jews by Pilate, II, 138 + mocked by mob, II, 139 + tributes of skeptics to, II, 187 + Napoleon's tribute to, II, 189, 190 + charged by Jews with illegitimacy, II, 356 + crucifixion of, II, 365 + See also trial of Jesus, Hebrew, and trial of Jesus, Roman + + Jesus ben Sie, Jewish high priest, biographical note on, II, 298 + + Jews, the political state of, + at time of Jesus, II, 11-23 + discussion of their responsibility for Christ's death, II, 174-180 + prejudices against, II, 180-187 + distinguished, II, 185, 186 + + Joazar, Jewish high priest, biographical note on, II, 296 + + Jochanan ben Zakai, Jewish scribe, biographical note on, II, 311 + + John, St., + at the sepulcher, I, 37 + at the crucifixion of Christ, I, 65 + + John, St., Gospel of, style of, I, 19 + + John, Jewish priest, biographical note on, II, 299 + + Jonathan, son of Annas, Jewish high priest, biographical note on, II, + 295 + + Jonathan ben Uziel, Jewish scribe, biographical note on, II, 306 + + John, son of John, Jewish elder, biographical note on, II, 321 + + Joseph of Arimathea, + presence of, at trials of Christ, I, 282-286, 364 + biographical note on, II, 318 + receives body of Jesus from Pilate, II, 366 + apocryphal account of escape of, from Jews, II, 367, 373-376 + + Josephus, Flavius, + on the character of Pilate, I, 21 + on scourging I, 56 + on the Pharisees, I, 87 + on the existence of the great Sanhedrin at time of Christ, I, 176 + on the loss, by Jews, of power of life and death, II, 19 + on the rapacity of the high priests, II, 301 + + Jowett, Benjamin, upon the corruption of Rome, II, 240 + + Judah, the Holy, Jewish rabbi, and the composition of the Mishna, I, 79, + 80 + + Judas, son of Hezekiah, Jewish rebel, put to death by Herod, II, 109 + + Judas Iscariot, his betrayal of Christ, I, 227-235 + + Julia, daughter of Augustus, + profligacy of, II, 82 + marriages of, II, 83 + + Julian, Roman emperor, his defiance of Mars, II, 222 + + Juno, Roman divinity, sacrifices to, II, 208 + + Jupiter, Roman deity, + multitudinous forms of, II, 203 + sacrifices to, II, 208 + + Justin Martyr, reference of, to "Acts of Pilate," II, 331, 346, 348 + + Juvenal, Satires of, on Roman social depravity, II, 240, 244, 248 + + + K + + Keim, Theodor, + on the existence of the Great Sanhedrin at the time of Christ, I, + 178 + on the character of Christ, II, 188, 189 + + Knight, R. P., on the symbolism of the Cross, II, 65 + + Koran, the, I, 77 + + + L + + Lamartine, Alphonse, on the death of Christ, II, 3 + + Lampon, Greek diviner, exposed by Anaxagoras, II, 226 + + Lardner, on the authenticity of the "Acts of Pilate," II, 328 _seq._ + + Law, Hebrew Criminal, + administration of, I, 153, 154 + basis of, I, 73, 84, 85 + burial of bodies after execution under, I, 101, 171 + capital punishments under, I, 91-93, 99-101 + circumstantial evidence under, I, 144 + Cities of Refuge under, I, 96 + courts and judges, I, 102-126 + execution under, I, 170, 171 + false swearing under, I, 93 + flagellation under, I, 94 + imprisonment under, I, 93 + peculiarities of, I, 125, 132, 147, 167, 168 + slavery under, I, 95 + tenderness of, for human life, I, 154, 155, 310 + testimony under, I, 144-147 + witnesses under, I, 127-144 + written and documentary evidence irrelevant, I, 133, 145 + + Laws, Roman, + lex Appuleia, II, 69 + Cornelia, II, 69 + Julia Majestatis, II, 69, 80 + Memmia, II, 46 + Porcia, II, 54 + Remmia, II, 49 + Talionis, II, 53 + Valeria, II, 37, 54 + Varia, II, 69 + + Lazarus, raising of, from the dead, I, 352 + + Lectisternia, Roman banquets to the gods, + slaves released at, II, 130 + indecencies of, II, 218 + + Lémann, extract from work of, on Sanhedrin, II, 291 + + Lepidus, Marcus, Roman patrician, magnificence of, II, 246 + + Livy, + on scourging, I, 57 + account of Bacchanalian orgies, II, 270-283 + + Longinus, legendary name of soldier who pierced Christ, II, 379 + + Lucullus, Roman patrician, luxury of, II, 244 + + Luke, St., occupation of, I, 19 + + Luke, St., Gospel of, style of, I, 19 + + Lupercals, Roman priests, II, 204 + + Luxury of the Romans, II, 244 + + Lycurgus, code of, II, 241 + + + M + + Macarius, identification of "true cross" by, II, 63 + + Macaulay, Lord, speech of, on Jewish disabilities, II, 184 + + Mahomet, character of, I, 14 + + Malchus, ear of, cut off by Peter, I, 36, 226 + + Magath, Julius, extract from work of, II, 291 + + Maimonides, + on Hebrew Capital Crimes, I, 91 + on the prohibition of nocturnal trials, I, 255, 256 + + Manlius, Marcus, trial of, before the Comitia Centuriata, II, 40 + + Marius, Caius, assassin cowed by, I, 62 + + Mark, St., Jesus arrested at home of, I, 220 + + Marriage, + among the Romans, II, 236 + among the Greeks, II, 240-243 + + Marcius, Quintus, Roman consul, motion of, on the suppression of the + Bacchanalian orgies, II, 282 + + Mars, Roman deity, II, 208 + + Messiah, the, + prophecies regarding, and their fulfillment in Jesus, I, 322-328 + varying expectations of Jews regarding, I, 319-322; II, 110 + conception of Pharisees of, II, 324 + conception of Sadducees of, II, 325 + + Matthew, St., occupation of, I, 19 + + Matthias, son of Annas, Jewish high priest, biographical note on, II, + 296 + + Mendelssohn, on the Talmud, I, 75 + + Messalina, Roman empress, lewdness of, II, 244 + + Messalinus, Cotta, prosecuted for treason, II, 70 + + Metrodorus on the Greek gods, II, 226 + + Mezeray, de, on the bloody sweat of Charles IX, I, 60 + + Minerva, Roman deity, II, 208 + + Miracles, + probability of, I, 40-51 + Spinoza on, I, 40-43 + Renan on, I, 44 + of Christ, I, 351-354 + + Mishna, the, + E. Deutsch on, I, 80 + subdivisions of, I, 80 + relation of Talmud to, I, 83 + traditional view of, I, 84 + on capital and pecuniary cases, I, 155, 156. See also Gemara and + Talmud. + + Mommsen, Theodor, + on the jurisdiction of native courts of Roman subject peoples, II, + 15 + on Roman marital looseness, II, 243 + on Roman extravagance, II, 247 + + Montefiore, Sir Moses, anecdote of, II, 180 + + Mosaic Code, the, a basis of Hebrew Criminal Law, I, 73, 84, 85 + + Müller, Johannes, explodes legend of Pilate and Lake Lucerne, II, 95 + + + N + + Nachum Halbalar, Jewish scribe, biographical note on, II, 314 + + Nævius, Marcus, accusation of Scipio Africanus by, II, 41 + + Napoleon I, + fickleness of populace toward, I, 63, 64 + tribute of, to Jesus, II, 189 + religious faith of, II, 190, 191 + + Nasi, prince of the Sanhedrin, I, 112 + + Nathan, Jewish rabbi, note on, II, 315, note + + Neptune, Roman deity, II, 208 + + Nero, Roman emperor, + deification of, II, 234 + Golden House of, II, 246 + + Ney, Michel, French marshal, compared with St. Peter, I, 64 + + Nicodemus, Jewish elder, + presence of, at trial of Christ, I, 282-286 + defense of Christ before Sanhedrin, I, 305 + presence and conduct of, at second trial of Jesus by Sanhedrin, I, + 364 + biographical note on, II, 319 + apocryphal account of pleading of, for Jesus before Pilate, II, 360 + Gospel of. See "Acts of Pilate" + + Nordau, Max, on Jewish pride in Jesus, II, 188 + + + O + + Oaths, not administered to witnesses, under Jewish law, I, 134 + + Octavian. See Augustus + + Omens, belief of Romans in, II, 215 + + Onkelos, Jewish scribe, biographical note on, II, 305 + + Oracle, Delphic, consulted by Romans, II, 210 + + Osiris, Egyptian deity, the cross a symbol of, II, 66 + + Ovid, Roman poet, on unnatural practices in temples, II, 269 + + + P + + Paganism, Græco-Roman, + conflict of, with Christianity, I, 16; II, 76-79 + Hellenization of Roman religion, II, 199 + importation of foreign gods, II, 200 + origin and multiplicity of Roman gods, II, 198-204 + Roman priesthood, II, 204, 205 + Roman forms of worship, II, 205-209 + perplexity of worshipers regarding deities, II, 207 + prayer, II, 207, 208-210 + augury and divination, II, 210-215 + omens, II, 215, 216 + decay of Roman faith, II, 217-220 + Roman skepticism, II, 220-229 + sacrilege among Romans, II, 221 + disbelief of Romans in immortality, II, 228, 229 + Epicureanism among the Romans, II, 229-231 + stoicism, II, 231-233 + deification of Roman emperors, II, 233-235 + base deities of Romans, II, 265 + effect of religion in Greek and Roman social corruption, II, 269 + + Palace of Herod, description of, II, 96, 97 + + Paley, William, on the discrepancies of the Gospels, I, 32, 33 + + Pan, Græco-Roman divinity, feasts of, II, 265 + + Paul, St., + on the depravity of Rome, II, 284 + delivery of, to Felix, II, 299 + + Pericles, Greek tyrant, and the divination of Lampon, II, 226 + + Pentateuch, the, a basis of Hebrew jurisprudence, I, 73 + + Permanent Tribunals (quæstiones perpetuæ), mode of trials before, at + Rome, II, 43-52 + + Peter, St., + at the sepulcher, I, 37 + compared with Marshal Ney, I, 64 + and Malchus, I, 36, 226 + + Pharisees, + and the Talmud, I, 87 + attitude of, toward the law, I, 338 + dominant in priestly order, II, 302 + their conception of the Messiah, II, 324 + characteristics of, II, 324 + + Philip, St., and the feeding of the five thousand, I, 35 + + Phillips, Wendell, on Hindu swordsmanship, I, 48 + + Philo, Jewish philosopher, on the character of Pilate, I, 21; II, 89-91 + + Phryne, mistress of Praxiteles anecdote of, II, 242 + + Pilate, Pontius, + powers of, as procurator of Judea, II, 27-31 + name and origin of, II, 81, 82 + marriage of, II, 82 + becomes procurator of Judea, II, 84 + provokes the Jews, II, 85 + appropriates funds from Corban, II, 86 + hangs shields in Herod's palace, II, 88 + slays Galileans, II, 88 + character of, I, 21; II, 88 + canonization of, II, 89 + ordered to Rome by Vitellius, II, 92 + legends regarding death of, II, 92-94 + interrogation of Jesus, II, 112-115 + talents of, II, 115 + his opinion of Jesus, II, 115 + acquits Jesus, II, 116 + sends Jesus to Herod, II, 117 + reconciled with Herod, II, 128 + offers to release Barabbas, II, 130 + warned by wife's dream of Jesus, II, 133, 355 + washes his hands of Christ's death, II, 137, 364 + releases Barabbas, II, 138, 363 + summary of his conduct of Christ's trial, II, 168 + conduct of, compared with Cæsar, II, 169; with Sir Edward Coke, II, + 170-172 + + Pindar, Greek poet, denunciation of, of vulgar superstitions, II, 224 + + Plato, Greek philosopher, + unnatural love of, II, 263 + reprobation of Homeric myths, II, 264 + + Pliny, the Younger, + correspondence of, with Trajan, II, 78 + disbelief of, in immortality, II, 229 + on slavery, II, 203 + + Plutarch, + on crucifixion, I, 56 + anecdotes of Lucullus, II, 244-246 + + Polybius, on Roman pederasty, II, 263 + + Pompeia divorced by Cæsar, II, 238 + + Pompey, Cneius, the Great, + conquest of Palestine by, II, 11 + defeated at Pharsalia, II, 25 + divorce of his wife Mucia, II, 238 + + Pontiffs, Roman, II, 204 + + Poppæa, wife of Nero, deification of, II, 77 + + Postumius, Spurius, Roman consul, suppression of Bacchanalians by, II, + 270-283 + + Prætor, Roman, judicial powers of, II, 36 + + Priesthood, Roman. See Roman religion + + Priests, Jewish Chamber of. See Sanhedrin + + Procurator, Roman, jurisdiction of, II, 27, 28 + + Provinces, Roman, classification of, by Augustus, II, 27 + + + Q + + Quetzalcoatle, crucified Savior, worshiped by Mexicans, II, 66 + + + R + + Rabbi, origin of Jewish title of, II, 315 + + Rabbis, Jewish, arrogance of, II, 316 + + Raphall, Morris, on the origin of the Sanhedrin, I, 104 + + Rawlinson, George, on the political state of Judea at the time of + Christ, II, 11 + + Religions, policy of Romans toward foreign, and of conquered peoples, + II, 72-74 + + Renan, Ernest, + on miracles, I, 44-47 + on the "judicial ambush" of blasphemers, I, 235 + on the character of Pilate, II, 90 + on the character of Christ, II, 187, 188 + + Richard III, King of England, contest of, with Saladin, I, 48 + + Richter on the pathology of crucifixion, II, 58, 59 + + Rosadi, + on the confession of the accused under Hebrew law, I, 143 + on the hatred of Pilate toward the Jews, II, 98 + on the order of criminal trials in Roman provinces, II, 32 + + Rousseau, Jean Jacques, on the death of Christ, II, 187 + + Romans, + laws of, the basis of modern jurisprudence, II, 5 + policy of, toward subject peoples, II, 13-15 + responsibility of, for Christ's death, II, 174-176 + religion of. See Paganism + + Ruga, Carvilius, first Roman to procure a divorce, II, 236 + + + S + + Sacrifice, human, among the Romans, II, 209 + + Sadducees, + attitude of, toward the law, I, 338 + attitude of, toward anthropomorphism of Pentateuch, I, 338 + dominant in the Sanhedrin, I, 339 + disbelief of, in immortality, II, 322 + wealth and rank of, II, 322 + + Saladin, Saracen Sultan, contest of, with Richard III, I, 48 + + Salians, Roman priests, II, 204 + + Sallust, Roman historian, on the conspiracy of Cataline, II, 229 + + Salvador, Joseph, on the existence of the Great Sanhedrin at the time of + Christ, I, 177 + + Samuel, Hakaton, Jewish scribe, biographical note on, II, 307 + + Sanctuary, right of, among ancient peoples, I, 96 + + Sanhedrin, the Great, + origin of, I, 103 + history of, I, 104 + organization of, I, 105 + chamber of scribes, I, 105; II, 303 + chamber of elders, I, 105; II, 318 + chamber of priests, I, 105; II, 292 + qualifications of members of, I, 106 + disqualifications of judges of, I, 109 + officers of, I, 112 + compensation of officers of, I, 115 + sessions of, I, 116 + recruitment of personnel of, I, 117 + quorum of, I, 119 + jurisdiction of, I, 119 + appeals to, from minor Sanhedrins, I, 120 + morning sacrifice of, I, 157 + assembling of judges of, I, 158 + scribes of, I, 158, 159 + examination of witnesses by, I, 159-162 + debates and balloting of judges of, I, 162 + procedure of, in cases of condemnation of accused, I, 165-167 + method of counting votes, I, 167, 168 + death march of, I, 169, 170 + question of existence of, at time of Christ, I, 175-181 + jurisdiction of, in capital cases at the time of Christ, I, 181-183 + discussion of trial of Christ before, I, 183-186 + procedure of, in trial of Christ before, I, 186 + illegality of proceedings of, against Christ, I, 255-259, 260-262, + 263-266, 267-270, 287-294 + illegality of sentence of, against Christ, I, 271-278, 279-286 + disqualifications of members of, who condemned Christ, I, 296-308 + morning session of, at trial of Christ, I, 356-364 + three sessions of, to discuss Christ, I, 305, 306 + authority of, after Roman conquest, II, 12, 16, 21 + deprived by Romans of power of capital punishment, II, 19, 20 + biographical sketches of members of, who tried Jesus, II, 291-326 + + Sanhedrins, minor, + appeals from, to Great Sanhedrin, I, 120 + establishment of, I, 121 + jurisdiction of, I, 121 + superior rank of those of Jerusalem, I, 123, 124 + + Saul, Abba, Jewish scribe, biographical note on, II, 313 + + Savonarola, Girolamo, Florentine reformer, burning of, I, 63 + + Scaurus, Manercus, prosecuted for treason, II, 70 + + Sceva, Jewish priest, biographical note on, II, 300 + + Schenck, account of, of the bloody sweat of a nun, I, 59 + + Schürer, + on the existence of the Sanhedrin at the time of Christ, I, 176 + on the jurisdiction of the Sanhedrin, II, 18 + on the administration of civil law by Sanhedrin, II, 30 + + Scipio Africanus, trial of, before Comitia Centuriata, II, 41 + + Scott, Sir Walter, on the contest between Richard III and Saladin, I, + 47, 48 + + Scourging, + of Jesus, I, 56 + mode of, among Romans, II, 55 + + Scribes, Jewish, Edersheim on, I, 302 + + Scribes, Jewish Chamber of. See Sanhedrin + + Segnensis, Henricus, anecdote of, illustrative of mediæval ignorance + regarding Talmud, II, 74 + + Semiramis, Assyrian queen, origin of crucifixion imputed to, II, 54 + + Seneca, + anecdote from, regarding political informers, II, 71 + on the patriotic observance of the national religion, II, 226 + on suicide, II, 232 + on slavery, II, 252 + on Roman myths, II, 265 + + Septuagint, version of the Bible, paraphrasing of anthropomorphic + passages in, I, 237 + + Sepulture, of crucified criminals forbidden, II, 58 + + Serapis, Egyptian deity, + images of thrown down, II, 73 + Marcus Aurelius an adorer of, II, 217 + + Servilia, mistress of Julius Cæsar, II, 239 + + Shammai, School of, + and the Mishna, I, 79 + dissensions of, with School of Hillel, II, 309 + + Shevuah ben Kalba, Jewish elder, biographical note on, II, 319 + + Shoterim of the Sanhedrin, I, 113 + + Sibylline Books, II, 199, 204 + + Sibyl, Erythræan, Virgil inspired by, II, 287 + + Simon, Jewish rebel, revolt of, II, 110 + + Simon, Jewish elder, biographical note on, II, 320 + + Simon Boethus, made high priest by Herod I, II, 296 + + Simon ben Camithus, Jewish high priest, biographical note on, II, 298 + + Simon Cantharus, Jewish high priest, biographical note on, II, 297 + + Simon, son of Gamaliel, Jewish elder, biographical note on, II, 305 + + Simon Hamizpah, Jewish scribe, biographical note on, II, 314 + + Sinaitic MS. of the Bible, I, 67 + + Slavery, + under Hebrew law, I, 95 + account of, among Romans, II, 250, 251 + + Social life, Græco-Roman, + marriage and divorce, II, 236-240 + prostitution, II, 242-244 + luxury and extravagance, II, 244-249 + poverty of Roman masses, II, 249 + slavery, II, 249-253 + infanticide, II, 254 + gladiatorial games, II, 255-262 + depravity of, traceable to corrupt myths, II, 262-270 + practice of Bacchanalian rites, II, 270-283 + hopeless state of, at time of Christ, II, 284-287 + + Socrates, Greek philosopher, + resemblance of charges against, to those against Jesus, II, 181 + counsel of, to Hetairai, II, 243 + + Sodomy, prevalence of, + among Greeks and Romans, II, 262-264 + practiced in Roman temples, II, 269 + + Solomon ben Joseph, Jewish rabbi, on the Talmud, I, 90 + + Sonnenthal, Adolf von, Jewish actor, refused freedom of Vienna, II, 182 + + Sparta, licentiousness of, II, 241 + + Spartacus, Roman gladiator, revolt of, II, 259, 260 + + Spartans, marital looseness of, II, 241 + + Spinoza, Jewish philosopher, on miracles, I, 40-44 + + Standards, apocryphal miracle of, at trial of Christ, II, 354 _seq._ + + Starkie on the credibility of testimony, I, 12 + + Stephen, St., stoning of, I, 365 + + Stephen, Sir James F. J., + on the Roman treatment of Christianity, II, 76 + on Pilate's trial of Jesus, II, 159-164 + + Stoicism, + among the Romans, II, 231 + resemblance of, to Christian precepts, II, 331 + + Stoning of criminals under Hebrew law, I, 92, 99 + + Strangling of criminals under Hebrew law, I, 91, 99 + + Strauss, David, + on the behavior of Jesus before Herod, II, 126 + on the character of Christ, II, 187 + + Stroud on the physical cause of death of Christ, I, 61, 62 + + Suetonius, Roman historian, + on the labeling of criminals before execution, I, 57 + on divination, II, 213 + narrative of, of dreams presaging reign of Augustus, II, 214 + account of, of belief of Augustus in omens, II, 215 + + Suicide, attitude of Stoics toward, II, 232 + + Suspension, death by, II, 61, 62 + + Sweat, bloody, historical instances of, I, 59, 60 + + + T + + Tacitus, Roman historian, on slavery, II, 253 + + Talmud, the, + definition of, I, 74 + recensions of, I, 81 + contents of, I, 82 + relation of Mishna to, I, 83, to Gemara, I, 83; to Pentateuch, I, + 83; to Mosaic Code, I, 84, 85 + efforts of Christians to extirpate, I, 87, 88 + message and mission of, I, 89 + See also Gemara and Mishna + + Telemachus, St., death of, in arena, II, 261 + + Temples, a resort of immorality in Rome, II, 269 + + Tertullian, Latin father, + on the character of Pilate, II, 89 + on the resort of vice to temple precincts, II, 269 + reference of, to the "Acts of Pilate," II, 329, 333 _seq._, 347, 348 + + Tertullus, his prosecution of Paul, II, 299 + + Testimony, under Hebrew Criminal Law, + of each witness required to cover entire case, I, 132 + vain, I, 145 + standing, I, 146 + adequate, I, 147 + of accomplices, I, 228-230, 235, 236 + + Theodota, the courtesan, counseled by Socrates, II, 243 + + Theophilus, son of Annas, Jewish high priest, biographical note on, II, + 296 + + Theresa, Maria, Austrian empress, codex of, II, 54 + + Three, Jewish Courts of, jurisdiction of, I, 124 + + Tiberius Cæsar, Roman emperor, + sway of, II, 27 + character of, II, 70 + prosecutions of, for treason, II, 70, 71 + marriage of, to Julia, II, 83 + legendary desire of, to deify Christ, II, 329, 330 _seq._ + + Tischendorf, Constantine, on the authenticity of the "Acts of + Pilate," II, 345 _seq._ + + Tissot, account of, of the bloody sweat of a sailor, I, 59 + + Trajan, Roman emperor, correspondence of, with Pliny, II, 78 + + Trials, Roman criminal, + right of appeal, II, 28 + during the regal period, II, 35 + Roman, mode of, in the Comitia Centuriata, II, 37-43 + mode of, in the Permanent Tribunals, II, 43-52 + prosecutor, rôle and selection of, II, 43, 44, 49 + + Trial of Jesus, Hebrew, + nature of charge against Jesus before Sanhedrin, I, 187 + procedure of, before Sanhedrin, I, 188 + discussion of charge of blasphemy against Jesus, I, 193-209 + illegality of arrest of Jesus, I, 219-237 + illegality of private examination of Jesus before high priest, I, + 238-247 + illegality of indictment of Jesus, I, 248-254 + illegality of nocturnal proceedings against Jesus, I, 255-259 + illegality of the meeting of the Sanhedrin before morning sacrifice, + I, 260-262 + illegality of proceedings against Christ, because held on the eve + of the Sabbath, and of a feast, I, 263-266 + illegality of trial, because concluded in one day, I, 267-270 + condemnation of Jesus founded on uncorroborated evidence, I, 271-278 + Jesus illegally condemned by unanimous verdict, I, 279-286 + condemnation of Jesus pronounced in place forbidden by law, I, 288-292 + irregular balloting of judges of Jesus, I, 292-294 + condemnation of Jesus illegal, because of unlawful conduct of high + priest, I, 290, 291 + disqualifications of judges of Jesus, I, 296-308 + Jesus condemned without defense, I, 309 + second trial of Jesus by Sanhedrin, I, 356-366 + + Trial of Jesus, Roman, + discussion of Roman and Hebrew jurisdiction, II, 3-23 + Roman law applicable to, II, 68-80 + as conducted by Pilate, II, 96-118, 129-139 + legal analysis of, II, 141-168 + + Tribune, Roman, judicial powers of, II, 36 + + Tryphon, son of Theudion, Jewish elder; biographical note on, II, 321 + + Twelve Tables, laws of the, II, 53, 208 + + + U + + Ulpian, Roman jurist, his definition of treason, II, 69 + + + V + + Vatican, MS. of the Bible, I, 67 + + Venus, Roman deity, + sacrifices to, II, 208 + impersonated by Phryne, II, 243 + worshiped by harlots, II, 266 + + Veronica, St., legend of, II, 93 + + Vestals, Roman priestesses, + guardians of sacred fire, II, 204 + spectators at licentious dramas, II, 267 + + Vinicius, Lucius, Roman patrician, letter of Augustus to, II, 83 + + Virgil, poem of, on advent of heaven-born child, I, 321; II, 287 + + Virginia, legend of, II, 236 + + Vitellius, legate of Syria, + spares Jewish prejudices, II, 85 + orders Pilate to Rome, II, 92 + + Vitia, Roman matron, executed for treason, II, 71 + + Voltaire, François de, + account of, of the bloody sweat of Charles IX, I, 59 + on character of Christ, II, 187 + + Vulgate, version of the Bible, I, 68 + + + W + + Witnesses, under Hebrew Criminal Law, + competency and incompetency of, I, 127-129 + number of, required to convict, I, 129 + agreement of, I, 131 + adjuration to, I, 134 + examination of, I, 136, 138 + false, I, 140 + the accused as, I, 141 + separation of, I, 137 + + Wise, Rabbi, + on the non-existence of the Great Sanhedrin at time of Christ, I, + 175, 179 + on the "martyrdom of Jesus," I, 330 + + + X + + Xenophanes, ridicule of, of Greek religion, II, 224 + + + Z + + Zadok, Jewish scribe, biographical note on, II, 310 + + Zeno, Greek philosopher, originator of Stoicism, II, 229 + + Zeus, Greek divinity, + character of, I, 14 + myth of rape of Ganymede by, II, 262 + + + + +Corrections + +The first line indicates the original, the second the correction: + + p. 61: Describing the punishments used in Madasgascar + Describing the punishments used in Madagascar. + + p. 151: and that he recognized + and that He recognized. + + p. 174: as did S. Michael + as did St. Michael. + + p. 392: Dysmas, legendary name of one of thieves crucified with Jesus, + II, 364 + + Dysmas, legendary name of one of the thieves crucified with + Jesus, II, 364 + + Derembourg, Joseph, on the Jewish priestly families, II, 294 + Dérembourg, Joseph, on the Jewish priestly families, II, 294 + + p. 397: Lemann, extract from work of, on Sanhedrin, II, 291 + Lémann, extract from work of, on Sanhedrin, II, 291 + + p. 402: Scipio Africanus, trial of, before Comitia Centuriata + Scipio Africanus, trial of, before Comitia Centuriata, II, 41 + + Footnote 15: Geschichte des römischen criminalprocesses + Geschichte des römischen Criminalprocesses + + Footnote 152: Renan, "Les Apotres." + Renan, "Les Apôtres." + + + + + + +End of the Project Gutenberg EBook of The Trial of Jesus from a Lawyer's +Standpoint, Vol. II (of II), by Walter M. Chandler + +*** END OF THE PROJECT GUTENBERG EBOOK 40967 *** |