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by
S. Solis.
(Concluded
from p. 90.)
From
the return of a remnant of Israel from the Babylonish captivity until the
procuratorship of Florus, the people experienced periods of rest,
succeeded quickly by anarchy and all the evils flowing from a state of
weakness, which, whilst it provoked foreign aggression, fostered as well
internal dissensions. “Of the constant rebellions against their Heavenly
King, by the recurrence of idolatry and those awful practices mentioned in
the previous periods of their history, we no longer hear; but in their
place we find assimilation and intimate connexion with the manners and
customs of other nations.” “The High Priest was still nominally the
head of the nation—the ceremonials of the law rigidly and perseveringly
observed; but its beautiful spirit of love, which had entered into every
household, blessing and guiding every domestic relation, appears to have
been entirely lost.” But when at length the cruelties of Antiochus
Epiphanes aroused the national spirit, “and under the heroic Maccabean
brothers the Jews threw off the yoke of slavery, it was a noble epoch in
our history, as full of chivalric daring, of the purest patriotism, of the
most heroic perseverance, as can be found in any history, ancient or
modern.” Their efforts were successful, their religion was purified, and
the nation for a short period enjoyed repose under the government of her
own kings; but her frequent missions to other countries tended to
denationalize the people, and the union of prince and priest in the same
individual prevented that attention to the temple service which the office
of High Priest required. Still while
during these and succeeding years a spirit brooded over the face of the
land, engendered by the vile passions of a majority of the people: there
were yet many strict
adherents to the written and oral laws. And though, in the words of the
authoress, “we seem to read but of anarchy and sin, more fearful than
any which had come before, and increasing to a climax which compelled the
chastisement so long deferred; still if, with a faithful heart and
unshrinking eye, we look within this rolling tumult—if we look beneath
the stormy waves of dissension, hate, and wrath—we trace in the very
elements that increased our miseries, those of our final preservation. We
behold but the workers of evil, for wickedness ever comes uppermost; but
the faithful hearts, the enduring martyrs, the good, the true, are
invisible in history as in daily life, even as the still, calm depths of
the ocean, whose waves are in tumult, and in storm.”
But
though, under the rule of the alien Herod, whose descent as a Jew was
doubted, who laid no claims to the royal blood of David, but who, favoured
by the Romans, was anointed king over the people of God, with idolatrous
sacrifices, the people enjoyed prosperity and peace: still as this period
of prosperity was but the prelude of the destruction of the nation, it did
not fulfil the prophecies, as the restoration could not take effect
without a descendant of David on the throne; nor do these prophecies
allude to a transient greatness, but to the happiness that should be based
upon a lasting foundation, and, therefore, not liable to the changes that
have made Israel fugitives and wanderers over the face of the globe. It is
well that we have the beautiful and Jewish character of Agrippa to
contrast with the sanguinary one of Herod, but by his being so early
called away from guiding the destinies of Judah, we may infer, that not
then was Israel to enjoy the peace of righteousness, but that her cup of
bitterness was not then at its full.
“Eighty
thousand persons, men, women, and children, slain in the forcible entrance
of Antiochus in Jerusalem, and forty thousand of both sexes sold into
slavery, was the horrible preface to the misery that followed. Every
observance of the law, from the keeping of the Sabbath and the covenant of
Abraham, to the minutest form, was made a capital offence. Yet, in spite
of the scenes of horror so continually recurring, the very relation of
which must now make every female heart shrink and quiver—yet were these
female martyrs baring their breast to the murderous knife, rather than bow
down to the idol or touch forbidden food. Women, young, meek, tender,
performed with their own hands the covenant of Abraham upon their sons,
because none else would so dare the tyrant’s wrath; and, with their
infants (for whose immortal souls they had thus incurred the rage of man)
suspended around their necks, received death by being flung from the
battlements of the temple into the deep vale below; others were hung, and
cruelties too awful to relate practised upon others; yet no woman’s
spirit failed.” “What must have been their attachment to their holy
religion, what their sense of its responsibility, and its immortal reward,
what their horror in abandoning it, and cutting off their sons from its
sainted privileges, to incur martyrdoms like these?” “Where in the
vast tomes of history, sacred or profane, shall we find a deed more
heroic, a fortitude more sublime, than is recorded of Hannah, the Hebrew
mother, during the persecutions of Antiochus?” And what a lesson does
the conduct of the seven sons of the heroic mother teach us! Drawing their
first breath amidst the lovely hills of Judea, their very souls were
entwined with the love of country, whose liberties they had perhaps
strivcd to achieve, but strived in vain. Life was still fresh and blooming
before them, and they had only to succumb before the tyrant, to his will,
and wealth and power were within their grasp. But they had been taught too
well, to value the evanescent glitter of a day, the airy bubble of an
hour, to barter a blissful future for a trivial gain; and though their
bodies suffered, they rejoiced that their untrammelled souls were free to
assert the deep love they bore to their God. And how fully do the words of
the sufferers prove—
“That
all of immortality—of resurrection—of being with God in heaven—of
reunion there with our beloved ones—of the transientness of the severest
agonies below compared to the permanency of bliss awaiting above—that
all was revealed to us, all was known to every Hebrew—male and female,
childhood and age—believed in, acted upon, ages before the advent of
that religion which was the first, her followers believe, to inculcate
such doctrines.”
And
that mother must have taught her children—
“That
death itself was but a darkened portal opening into an infinity of glory;
that man indeed might have power over the present life; but over the
future, what mortal could have dominion ?”
“Then,
oh!—would we do our duty to our children—would we indeed provide for
their future—would we have them to recall us with the dearest love, the
deepest gratitude, long, long after we may have passed away from
earth—let us imitate the martyrmother, and, clothing them for
affliction as well as joy, nurse them from their infancy for God; and we
shall indeed receive them once again in mercy from His hand—and in His
presence for everlasting.”
But
the mothers of Israel not alone taught their sons to be heroic, but set
before them their own bright example of endurance; nor did they deem, as
in the case of the mother of John Hyrcanus, their life or sufferings of
any moment, when the welfare or the safety of the kingdom was at stake.
Nor were their intellectual acquirements so small as to cause them to
occupy an insignificant position in regard to national affairs; as in this
case no prince would have acted so ridiculously as to leave his kingdom to
one who could not command the respect of the nation. In the wise and
energetic government of Alexandria stand forth developed (when we take
into consideration her own time of life, the people over whom she ruled,
and the age in which she lived) talents of a higher order than those
exhibited by Queen Elizabeth.
Over
the character end person of Mariamne, the wife of Herod, Miss Aguilar has
thrown a powerful interest. Of a high moral character, at a time when the
manners of the people that surrounded her were extremely lax, she stands
out in all the bold relief of conscious rectitude; neither to be shaken by
caresses nor intimidated by dangers. But whilst the authoress has done
full justice to this noble trait, she has perhaps blended too much “her
soul-subduing loveliness” and “the pride of her Asmonaean descent,”
with the virtues of her mind, until we almost feel that the pride of
beauty and of birth have taken so strong a hold upon the imagination of
the princess, as to overshadow those feminine weaknesses so potent in he
sex, which, if allied to virtuous perceptions, render female influence so
powerful for good. We doubt not had Mariamne had a more yielding nature,
her virtues would have enabled her to have been a lasting benefactress to
her people. Tyrant as Herod was, such beauty, such worth, could not have
failed to make an impression on his character, had they been joined to a
more conciliating deportment. The pride arising from accidental
circumstances we think false or uncalled for. If one, from the
condensation and vigorous action of his powers of intellect, raises
himself to a high station, he may find room for self-congratulation,
though even then it is weakness; but when the greatness springs from or
flows through another, it were well to imitate the humility of a Moses,
rather than the pride of a Pharaoh. We would however strongly recommend
the perusal of this (VI.) period, as it enters deeply into the workings of
the human heart, and by pointing out its lights and shadows, gives a
fairer insight into the history of the times than would a mere detail of
dry facts; and, whilst it possesses the force of truth, surrounds itself
will the powerful interest of romance—we should have said, of truth
itself—for what romance equals in thrilling interest the details of the
heroic achievements, the gallant actions, the extreme self-denial and
noble sacrifices made by our ancestors during the memorable period when
nearly the whole force of the Roman nation was directed to the subversion
of our lovely Judea?
Even
whilst this time was hastening on, there must have been something fair and
holy in Israel’s law, or else should we see an independent queen, Helena
of Adiabene, and her two sons, seek to join themselves to the covenant of
Israel when her destiny seemed shrouded m the gloom of despair?
“The
character of Helena would. have adorned any religion; but we can discern
throughout it the pure spirituality at that period only discernible in the
religion of the Lord.”
“In
a careful and critical survey of the manners and customs of the Jews,
between the return from Babylon and their final dispersion, we find
nothing whatever differing from the precepts of the early Christians. The
apostles were themselves Jews, who wrote for the gentiles, and condensed
and simplified for them the sublime morality of the Mosaic code. They do
not preach a single precept, they do not proclaim a single truth, they do
not give a single rule for social and domestic guidance, which we Hebrews
had not known and practised ages before they wrote—and wrote, in fact,
from their own experience of Jewish manners and customs.”
The
truthful force of the foregoing paragraph will be acknowledged, on the
attentive perusal of the New Testament. Let us compare it with the Bible,
and expunge from its pages all that we find therein copied from the
inspired record, and the balance will be found but as a poor guide either
morally or socially. However much the memories of others may be at fault,
we ourselves cannot forget that the apostles were Jews, most of them
strict ones—kept the Sabbath and all other Jewish observances; and only
differed from their brethren at large by acknowledging the Messiah had
come; and even that they indulged in this belief there is very doubtful,
authority.
It
was not till the reign of Antoninus Pius that the miseries of the Hebrews
subsided into a partial calm, and privileges were granted throughout Italy
and the various provinces of Rome, which enabled the Patriarch of Tiberias
to obtain such freedom and power in the observance of his religion, as to
be recognised by the whole Jewish nation as their supreme head and
spiritual sovereign.
“Over
all the provinces of the great empire the Hebrew race extended; and from
thence penetrated all over Europe, and into the far-off countries of
China, Malabar, other parts of the East Indies, the coast of Africa, and
places equally remote, where their very origin is plunged into mystery.”
Miss
Aguilar has been charged as entertaining sentiments adverse to Talmudical
doctrines. She may have discussed them too freely and boldly for a female
pen; but let her own words answer. Speaking of the Israelites—
“Eager
and earnest in their repentance and desire to return to their God, now
that the long-threatened chastisement had fallen, they welcomed with
rejoicing the efforts of holy and good men to lay down a path of obedience
which even in their exile and in the midst of persecution they might
tread. Hence arose those ordinances which are accused of clogging with dead and soulless weight the pure and spiritual law of God;
but which, in those fearful eras of exile and persecution, bound Jew to
Jew, and with God’s protecting blessing, saved His religion from
amalgamation with other nations, and all adoption of the gentile
creeds.”
So
far the most orthodox can agree with the authoress, and if we can with her
divide the oral law from the commentations upon it, and comprehend the
true meaning of her remarks, there may not be that apparent inconsistency
that some minds perceive.
“But
the holy men who originally raised the protecting casket around the
beautiful jewel of their faith, never either preached or intended that
their ordinances were to be considered divine or perpetual. It was to
preserve the purity, the spiritual purity, of their law unsullied, when
circumstances must otherwise have crushed it, not to take its place and be
considered in the same unalterable and changeless light with which we look
upon the law of God.”
Now,
if the same dangers to our faith exist now as when these ordinances were
called into being, the same necessity exists for their continuance; and
that necessity will exist so long as the term of Judea’s probation
remains unfulfilled. What, if danger of one kind passes us by unharmed,
another may spring up equally as potent for ill! What, if we breathe the
air of freedom, and hear but the distant browns of our brethren from those
countries where it is a crime to follow the dictates of one’s own
conscience! This delicious air that so expands our faculties may poison us
with the insidious breath of indifference. “Jeshurun waxed fat and
kicked.” And shall we, because in the lull of oppression, we are enabled
to wax fat too, kick against those observances that have preserved us
intact until now? Oh no! we have gained some knowledge by experience, and
the wisdom of the past shall guide us.
In
the words, then, of Miss Aguilar, let those who would wish for reform for
us—
“Unseal
the fountains of pure waters which our aged seers provided; give us their
renderings of the moral law; their spirit and aphorisms; their orient
imagery, which in its power and imagination will outvie every other. Give
us their detail of Jewish history; do not compel us to abide by the
details of
those
whose faith is opposed to our own, who believe us blinded and degraded,
and whose peculiar views must inspire their pages.” And then we should
be able to show, that “the most profound and searching wisdom, the most
vivid and beautiful imagination the most elegant accomplishments, have
been the heirloom of the Jewish nation, from their very first selection as
the chosen of the Lord; and that instead of losing these endowments in
their dispersion, all of mind and talent in the whole European and Asiatic
world was possessed by them; and that gentiles of every denomination and
every creed came with humility and deference to them, glad to learn from
the oppressed those glorious gifts of mind which to the oppressors were
denied.”
With
the following beautiful extracts we shall close our remarks, and sure are
we, that if our friends peruse with care this truly Jewish work, they
cannot fail to rise, as we have done, with a mind more opened to the
beauties of our holy law; and with a heart drawn nearer to that Great and
Good Being, who, endowed with a full knowledge of His lost work, enacted
for our happiness and guidance such laws and statutes, as were most
capable of developing those virtues that our natures were susceptible of.
“With
such writings our own, and ours from centuries long passed, do we need the
works of Christian divines to make Israel spiritual? Oh shame! shame on
those sons of Israel who, from pure ignorance, deny spirituality to their
beautiful creed, and report that we are not a spiritual people! If we have
not been, oppressive slavery is the cause. If we are not now in those
nations where we are free, the heart shudders at the sin we are incurring:
and, oh! fearful is it, if the women of Israel neglect the opportunities
now their own, and refuse to become the pure spiritual beings, which not
only their religion but their
sex so imperatively demands.”
“
Oh, as we would hasten our glorious destiny, let us ponder well our own
responsibilities, and become more spiritual ourselves, infuse the same
immortal essence into man! If we do this, shall we say we have done
nothing? Shall we not uphold the dignity, the beauty, the holiness of our
privileges as women of Israel, if we so infuse, so guide, as mothers, that
man, uplifted from his grosser self, so unites the spiritual with the
worldly, the love of God with the dreams of earth, that without neglecting
or despising a single earthly duty, or human feeling, he forwards the
glorious cause of God, and, in the sight of the whole gentile world,
stands forth an Israelite indeed?”
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