urse. "The Talmud was put on its trial. Four distinguished Rabbis of
North France were commanded by the King to hold a public disputation
with Nicholas, either to refute the imputations levelled against the
Talmud, or to make confession of the abuse against Christianity and the
blasphemies against God that it contained."

It is impossible to imagine a fairer decision, and the queen-mother,
Blanche de Castille, was careful to assure the first witness summoned
that if the lives of the Rabbis were in danger she would protect them
and that he was only required to answer the questions that would be
asked of him. Now, there would have been nothing simpler than for the
Rabbis to admit honestly that these offensive passages existed, that
they had been written perhaps in moments of passion in a less
enlightened age, that they recognized the indelicacy of insulting the
religion of the country in which they lived, and that therefore such
passages should henceforth be deleted. But instead of adopting this
straightforward course, which might have put an end for ever to attacks
on the book they held sacred, the Rabbis proceeded to deny the existence
of the "alleged blasphemous and immoral expressions" and to declare that
"the odious facts related in the Talmud concerning a Jesus, the son of
Pantheras, had no reference to Jesus of Nazareth, but to one of a
similar name who had lived long before him." Graetz, who admits that
this was an error and that the passages in question did relate to the
Jesus of the Christians, represents the Rabbis as being merely "misled"
on the question. But the King, who was not misled by the Rabbis, ordered
all copies of the Talmud to be burnt, and in June 1242 these were
committed to the flames.[866]

The Talmud, however, continued to exist, and it was not until 1640 that,
as we have already seen, the offending passages against Christ were
expunged by the Rabbis as a measure of expediency. Now that they have
been replaced, no further attempt is made to deny that they refer to the
founder of Christianity. As far as I am aware they are not included in
any English translation of the Talmud, but may be found in an English
version of Dr. Gustav H. Dalman's book, _Jesus Christus im Talmud_
(1891).

II

THE "PROTOCOLS" OF THE ELDERS OF ZION

Contrary to the assertions of certain writers, I have never affirmed my
belief in the authenticity of the Protocols, but have always treated it
as an entirely ope