32-45), the number of the fraternity amounted at the time of Herod only to about six
thousand. Yet this inconsiderable minority could cast Judaism in its mould, and for such
terrible evil give its final direction to the nation! Surely the springs of such a movement
must have reached down to the very heart of Jewish religious life. What these were, and
how they affected the whole community, deserves and requires not merely passing
notice, but special and careful attention.