ancient as the departure of the Israelites out of Egypt. They might take their rise, from that dispersion of their nation, which happened after their being carried captive into Babylon. The principal character of this

"the brother of Judas Maccabeus, who was fifty years before Aristo"bulus. Certain it is, that this sect continued until the days of our “Saviour and after: Philo and Josephus speak of them as living in « their times. What might be the reason then, that there is no men"tion made of them in the New Testament? I answer, first, the « number of them seemeth not to have been great in Philo and Jose"phus' time, about four thousand, which, being dispersed in many "cities, made the faction weak; and happily in Jerusalem, when our "Saviour lived, they were either few or none. Secondly, if we observe « històries, we shall find them peaceable and quiet, not opposing any, ❝ and therefore not so liable to reproof as the Pharisees and Sadducees, "who opposed each other, and both joined against Christ. Thirdly, "why might they not as well be passed over in silence in the New "Testament (especially containing themselves quietly without contra<diction of others) as the Rechabites in the Old Testament, of whom "there is mention only once, and that obliquely, although their order " continued about three hundred years before this testimony was given of them by the prophet Jeremy; for between John (with whom "Jonadab was coetanean) and Zedekia, chronologers observe the dis "tance of many years. Lastly, though the name of Essenes be not * found in scripture, yet we shall find in St. Paul's Epistles many things reproved, which were taught in the school of the Essenes: of this "nature was that advice given to Timothy, 1 Tim. v. 13. Drink no longer water, but use a little wine. Again, 1 Tim. iv. 3. Forbidding "to marry, and commanding to abstain from meats, is a doctrine of "devils-but especially Coloss. 2d, in many passages the apostle seemeth

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to point directly at them: Let no man condemn you in meat and “drink, ver. 16.—Let no man bear rule over you, by humbleness of mind, and worshipping of angels, v. 18.-To doyuxligede, why are "ye subject to ordinances, ver. 20.- -The apostle useth the word doyle, which was applied by the Essenes to denote the ordinances, " aphorisms, or constitutions.—In the verse following he gives an instance " of some particulars: Touch not, taste not, handle not, ver. 21.

sect was, that they chose retirement, were sober, were industrious; had all things in common; paid the highest regard to the moral precepts of the law, but neglected the ceremonial, any further than what regarded bodily cleanliness, the observation of the sabbath, and making an annual present to the temple at Jerusalem: They never associated with women, nor admitted them into their retreats. By the most sacred oaths, though they were in general averse to swearing, or to requiring an oath, they bound all whom they initiated among them, to the observance of piety, justice, fidelity, and modesty; to conceal the secrets of the fraternity, preserve the books of their instructors, and with great care to commemorate the names of the angels. They held, that God was surrounded by spiritual beings, who were mediators with him, and therefore to be reverenced. Second, that the soul is defiled by the body, and that all bodily pleasures hurt the soul, which they believed to be immortal, though they denied the resurrection of the body, as it would consequently give back the soul to a state of sin.

"Now the junior company of the Essenes might not touch their seniors? " and, in their diet, their taste was limited to bread, salt, water, and "hyssop and these ordinances they undertook, dia módov copius; "saith Philo, for the love of wisdom: but the apostle concludeth, ver. "23, that these things had only λo'yoy copias, a shew of wisdom.— "And whereas Philo termed the religion of the Essenes by the name of Jegatua, which word signifieth religious worship, the apostle term"eth in the same verse, beλognozelav, voluntary religion, or will"worship: yea, where he termeth their doctrine algav Qidoro Qian, kind of philosophy received from their forefathers by tradition, St. "Paul biddeth them beware of philosophy, ver. 8."

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Godwyn's Moses and Aarone

Third, that there was a great mystery in numbers, par ticularly in the number seven; they therefore attributed a natural holiness to the seventh or sabbath-day, which they observed more strictly than the other Jews. They spent their time mostly in contemplation, and abstained from every gratification of the senses. The Essenes introduced their maxims into the christian church; and it is alleged by the learned, that St. Paul, in his epistles to the Ephesians and Colossians, particularly censures the tenets of this sect.

"Of these Essenes there were two sorts; some "were Theoricks, giving themselves wholly to specu"lation; others Practicks, laborious and painful in the

daily exercise of those arts or manufactories in which "they were most skilful. Of the latter, Philo treated "in his book, intituled, "Quod Omnis vir Probus :” "of the former, in the book following, intituled, "De "Vita Contemplativa."Godwyn's Moses and Aaron.

THE Essenes were denied access to the Temple.

THE Practicks and Theoricks both agreed in their aphorisms or ordinances; but in certain circumstances they differed.

I. THE Practicks dwelt in the cities; the Theoricks shunned the cities, and dwelt in gardens and solitary villages:

2. THE Practicks spent the day in manual crafts, keeping of sheep, looking to bees, tilling of ground, &c

D

-they were artificers. The Theoricks spent the day in meditation and prayer; whence they were, from a kind of excellency, by Philo termed supplicants.

3. THE Practicks had every day their dinner and supper allowed them; the Theoricks only their supper.

THE Practicks had for their commons every one his dish of water-gruel and bread; the Theoricks only bread and salt: if any were of a more delicate palate than other, to him it was permitted to eat hyssop; their drink for both was common water.

SOME are of opinion that these Theoricks were christain monks; but the contrary appeareth for these

reason.

1. In the whole book of Philo, concerning the Theoricks, there is no mention either of Christ or Christians, of the evangelists or apostles.

2. THE Theoricks, in that book of Philo's, are not any new sect of late beginning, as the Christians at that time were, as is clearly evinced by Philo's own words, in calling the doctrine of the Essenes waτGIAR Qora, a philosophy derived unto them by tradition from their forefathers.

IN Grecian antiquity, we find a festival celebrated in honour of Cæres,* at Eleusis, a town of Attica,

"It was the most celebrated and mysterious solemnity of any in " Greece; whence it is often called, by way of eminence, the Mysteries; and so superstitiously careful were they to conceal the sacred rites,

where the Athenians, with great pomp and many ceremonies, attended the mystic rites.-Historians tell us, that these rites were a mystical representation of what the mythologists taught of that goddess; and were of

"that if any person divulged any of them, he was thought to have "called down some divine judgment upon his head, and it was "accounted unsafe to abide in the same house with him; wherefore "he was apprehended as a public offender, and suffered death. Such "alfo was the secrecy of these rites, that if any person, who was not "lawfully initiated, did but out of ignorance or mistake, chance to be " 'present at the mysterious rites, he was put to death. The neglect of "initiation was looked upon as a crime of a very heinous nature; in"somuch that it was one part of the accusation for which Socrates was "condemned to death. Persons convicted of witchcraft, or any other "heinous crime, or had committed murder, though involuntary, were "debarred from those mysteries. In later times, certain institutions

were made, called the lesser mysteries, and were used as preparative to "the greater; for no persons were initiated in the greater, unless they "had purified at the lesser. The persons who were to be admitted to "the greater mysteries, made their sacrifice a year after purification, "the secret rites of which (some few excepted, to which only priests

were conscious) were frankly revealed to them.- -The manner of "initiation was thus: the candidates being crowned with myrtle, had "admittance by night into a place called Musixor anxos, i. e. the "mystical temple, which was an edifice so vast and capacious, that the "most ample theatre did scarce exceed it. At their entrance, they "purified themselves by washing their hands in holy water, and at the same time were admonished to present themselves with minds pure " and undefiled, without which the external cleanness of the body would "by no means be accepted. After this the holy mysteries were read to "them out of a book called Пergwa, which word is derived from 66 πετρα, a stone; because the book was nothing else but two stones "fitly cemented together. Then the priest that initiated them, called Igopavans, proposed certain questions, to which they returned "answers in a set form, as may be seen in Meursius' Treatise on this fes“tival. This done, strange and amazing objects presented themselves ;