ely rejected fate, that is, the providential direction
of human affairs, is not clear. Probably in this belief they did not
depart from the earlier teachings of priests and prophets. Their selfish
and often unscrupulous acts suggest a basis for Josephus's claim, even
though allowance must be made for his hostile attitude toward them. While
they were conservatives in theory, the Sadducees were of all classes in
Judaism most open to Greek and heathen influence, for foreign alliances
and Hellenic culture offered opportunities for advancement and power.

IV. Character and Beliefs of the Essenes. Less important but even more
interesting are the Essenes. They were a sect, or monastic order, rather
than a political or religious party. Josephus, who asserts that for a time
he was associated with them, has given a full account of their peculiar
customs. They evidently represented a strong reaction against the
prevailing corruption and a return to the simple life. Their spirit of
humility, fraternity, and practical charity are in marked contrast to the
aims of the Sadducees and the later Maccabean rulers. In their beliefs
they were idealists. Their invocation of the sun, their extreme emphasis
on ceremonial cleanliness, their tendency toward celibacy, and their
distinction between soul and body, all suggest the indirect if not the
direct influence of the Pythagorean type of philosophy. If the Essenes
represented simply an extreme type of Pharisaism, the peculiar form of its
development was undoubtedly due to the Greek atmosphere amidst which it
flourished. The Essenes do not appear to have had any direct influence in
the politics of their day. They were a current apart from the main stream
of Judaism, and yet they could not fail to exert an indirect influence.
Many of their ideals and doctrines were closely similar to the teachings
of John the Baptist and Jesus. Yet there is a fundamental difference
between Essenism and primitive Christianity, for one sought to attain
perfection apart from life and the other in closest contact with the
currents of human thought and activity. While according to Josephus the
party of the Essenes at one time numbered four thousand, like all ascetic
movements it soon disappeared or else was deflected into that greater
stream of monasticism which rose in the early Christian centuries.

Section CXV. THE LIFE AND FAITH OF THE JEWS OF THE DISPERSION

[Sidenote: Jos. Ant. XII, 3:1a]
The Jews obtained