I shall now give in chronological order the description of the Essenes found in the
writings of Philo, Pliny, Josephus, Solinus, Porphyry, Eusebius and Epiphanius, and
subjoin such notes as will explain the difficulties, and show the historical value
of the respective documents.
As Philo is the oldest in point of time, we will begin with him. The exact date of
the birth of this celebrated Jewish-Alexandrian philosopher is not known. It is, however,
generally agreed that he was born in Alexandria between the years 20 and 1
B.C.
, and died about 60
A.D.
Having resided all his lifetime in Alexandria, his information about the Essenes,
who lived in Palestine, was derived from hearsay. This will account for some of the
inaccuracies in his description of this remarkable brotherhood. He has given us two
accounts of them, one in his treatise, entitled
Every Virtuous Man is Free
, and the other in his treatise, called
Apology for the Jews
. The latter is no longer extant, but Eusebius has preserved the fragments which speak
of the Essenes in his work, entitled
Præparatio Evangelica
viii. 11. The description of the so-called contemplative Essenes, or Therapeutæ,
which is generally appealed to as illustrating the doctrines and practices of the
brotherhood in question, has nothing whatever to do with the real Palestinian Essenes;
and it is almost certain that it is one of the many apocryphal productions fathered
upon Philo, as may be seen from Graetz’s elaborate and masterly analysis of it.
19
Philo’s first account is contained in his treatise entitled
Every Virtuous Man is Free
, and is as follows:
20
[
32
]
“Palestine, and Syria too, which are inhabited by no slight portion of the numerous
population of the Jews, are not barren of virtue. There are some among them called
Essenes (
Ἐσσαῖοι
),—in number more than four thousand,—from, as I think, an incorrect derivation from
the Greek homonym
hosiotes
, holiness (
παρώνυμοι ὁσιότητος
), because they are above all others worshippers of God (
θεραπευταὶ θεοῦ
). They do not sacrifice any animate, but rather endeavour to make their own minds
fit for holy offering (
ἱεροπρεπεῖς διανοίας
).
21
They, in the first place, live in villages, avoiding cities on account of the habitual
wickedness of the citizens, being sensible that as disease is contracted from breathing
an impure atmosphere, so an incurable impression is made on the soul in such evil
company.
22
Some of them cultivate the earth, others are engaged in those diverse arts which
promote peace, thus
[
33
]
benefiting themselves and their neighbours. They do not lay up treasures of gold or
silver,
23
nor do they acquire large portions of land out of a desire for revenues, but provide
themselves only with the absolute necessities of life. Although they are almost the
only persons of all mankind who are without wealth and possessions—and this by their
own choice rather than want of success—yet they regard themselves as the richest,
because they hold that the supply of our wants, and contentment of mind, are riches,
as in truth they are.
24
“No maker of arrows, darts, spears, swords, helmets, breastplates, or shields—no manufacturer
of arms or engines of war, nor any man whatever who makes things belonging to war,
or even such things as might lead to wickedness in times of peace, is to be found
among them.
25
Traffic, innkeeping, or navigation, they never so much as dream of, because they
repudiate every inducement to covetousness. There is not a single slave to be found
among them, for all are free, and mutually serve each other. They condemn owners of
slaves, not only as unjust, inasmuch as they corrupt the principle of equality, but
also as impious, because they destroy the law of nature, which like a mother brought
forth and nourished all alike, and made them all legitimate brethren, not only in
word but in deed; but this relationship, treacherous covetousness, rendered overbearing
by success, has destroyed by engendering enmity instead of cordiality, and hatred
instead of love.
“They leave the logical part of philosophy, as in no respect necessary for the acquisition
of virtue, to the word catchers; and the natural part, as being too difficult for
human nature, to the astrological babblers, excepting that part of it which treats
upon the existence of God and the origin of the
[
34
]
universe;
26
but the ethical part they thoroughly work out themselves, using as their guides the
laws which their fathers inherited, and which it would have been impossible for the
human mind to devise without divine inspiration. Herein they instruct themselves at
all times, but more especially on the seventh day. For the seventh day is held holy,
on which they abstain from all other work, and go to the sacred places called synagogues,
sit according to order, the younger below the elder, and listen with becoming attention.
Then one takes the Bible and reads it, and another of those who have most experience
comes forward and expounds it, passing over that which is not generally known, for
they philosophise on most things in symbols according to the ancient zeal.
“They are instructed in piety, holiness, righteousness, economy, politics, in knowledge
of what is truly good, bad and indifferent, to choose things that are necessary, and
to avoid the contrary. They use therein a threefold rule and definition, viz.: love
of God, love of virtue, and love of mankind.
27
Of their love to God, they give innumerable demonstrations—
e.g.
their constant and unalterable holiness (
ἁγνεία
) throughout the whole of their life; their avoidance of oaths
28
and falsehoods, and their firm belief that God is the source of all good, but of
nothing evil. Of their love of virtue they give proofs in their contempt for money,
fame, and pleasures,
[
35
]
their continence, endurance, in their satisfying their wants easily, simplicity, cheerfulness
of temper, modesty, order, firmness, and every thing of the kind. As instances of
their love to man, are to be mentioned, their benevolence, equality, and their having
all things in common, which is beyond all description, and about which it will not
be out of place to speak here a little.
“First then, no one has his own house, so that it also belongs to all. For, besides
that, they all live together in sodalities; it is also open to those of the brotherhood
who come from other places. Moreover, they have all one common treasury and store
of provisions, common garments, and common food for all who eat together. Such a mode
of sleeping together, living together, and eating together, could not be so easily
established in fact among any other people; and indeed it would be impossible. For
whatever they receive daily, if they work for wages, they do not retain it as their
own, but give it to the common stock, and let every one that likes make common use
of it.
29
Those that are sick are not neglected because they can earn nothing, but have what
is necessary for their aid from the common stock, so that they ever fare richly without
wanting anything. They manifest respect, reverence and care for the aged, just as
children do for their parents, administering to them a thousand times with all plentifulness
both with their hands and their counsels in their old age.
“Such champions of virtue does a philosophy produce which is free from the subtlety
of Greek word-splitting, and which deals with subjects tending to the exercise of
praiseworthy actions, and giving rise to invincible freedom. This was seen in the
fact that many tyrants have arisen from time to time in that country, differing in
character and conduct.
[
36
]
Some of them endeavoured to surpass in ferocity wild beasts; they omitted no manner
of barbarity, they sacrificed the vanquished in whole troops, or, like butchers, cut
off pieces and limbs of those that were still living, and did not leave off till retributive
justice, which governs the affairs of man, plunged them into similar miseries. Others,
again, converted their frenzy and madness into a different kind of wickedness. They
adopted an inexpressible bitterness, spake gently, and betrayed a ferocious temper
under the mask of gentle language;
30
they fawned like poisonous dogs, and brought about irremediable miseries, leaving
behind them in the cities, as monuments of their impiety and hatred of mankind, the
never to be forgotten miseries. But neither the cruel tyrant nor the wily hypocrite
could get any advantage over the said brotherhood of Essenes or
holy ones
(
Ἐσσαίων
ἢ
ὁσίων
), but disarmed by the virtues of these men, all recognised them as independent and
free by nature, praised their common meals and their community of goods, which surpasses
all description, and is an evident proof of a perfect and very happy life.”
Philo’s second account, which has been preserved by Eusebius in his
Praep. Evàng.
, viii, 11, from the lost treatise entitled
Apology for the Jews
, is as follows:—
31
“Our lawgiver, Moses, formed innumerable (
μυρίους
) disciples into a fellowship called Essenes,
32
who, as it appears, obtained this appellation by virtue of their holiness (
παρὰ τὴν ὁσιότητα
). They dwell in many cities of Judea, and in villages, and
[
37
]
in large and populous communities. Their order is not founded upon natural descent,
but upon admiration for virtue and sincere love for man. Hence there are properly
speaking no newly born ones among the Essenes, no children, no youths, as the dispositions
of these are unstable and liable to change from the imperfections incident to their
age;
33
but they are all full grown men who are already approaching old age; and are no longer
carried away by the impetuosity of their bodily passions, but possess the genuine
and the only true and real liberty. A proof of their freedom is to be found in their
life. None of them strives to acquire any private property, house, slave, farm, flocks,
herds, or anything which might be regarded as a source of riches, but they all give
everything to the common stock from which the common wants of all are alike supplied.
“They all dwell together in the same place, form themselves into companies, societies,
combinations and unions,
34
and work together all their life for the common good of the brotherhood. The different
members of the order are engaged in different employment; they work cheerfully and
industriously, and never try to leave their employment on account of cold, heat, or
any change of weather. They go to their daily work before the sun rises, and do not
leave off till some time after it has set, when they return home rejoicing no less
than those who have been exercising themselves in gymnastic contests.
35
They believe that their employment is a sort of gymnastic exercise of more benefit
to life, greater pleasure both to soul and body, and of a more enduring advantage
than any mere athletic labours, because they can cheerfully continue in their
[
38
]
work as a recreation even when youth and bodily strength are gone. Those who are acquainted
with the cultivation of the land are engaged in agriculture; others, again, who understand
the management of animals, attend to the flocks; some are skillful in the management
of bees; and others again, are artizans and manufacturers, thus guarding against the
want of anything. They do not omit anything which is requisite to supply the absolute
necessities of life.
“The appointed steward and general manager receives the wages which the different
people get for their respective employments, and forthwith buys plenty of food and
other necessaries of life. They eat at the same table, and have every day the same
food, being lovers of frugality and moderation, and averse to luxury and extravagance
as a disease of both mind and body. Not only is their table in common, but their dress
too is in common. They have a store of rough cloaks in the winter, and in the summer
cheap garments without sleeves, to which every one can go and freely take whichever
kind he wants, for whatever belongs to one belongs to all, and whatever belongs to
all belongs to each individual.
“If one of them is sick, he is cured from the common resources, and is attended to
by the general care and anxiety of the whole body. The old men, even if they happen
to be childless,
36
end their lives in a most happy, prosperous and tenderly cared for old age, as if
they were not only the fathers of many children, but were even also particularly happy
in an affectionate offspring. They are looked upon by such a number of people as worthy
of so much honour and provident regard, that they think themselves bound to care for
them even more from inclination than from any tie of natural affection.
“Perceiving, with more than ordinary acuteness and accuracy, what is alone, or at
least above all other things, calculated
[
39
]
to dissolve such connections, they repudiate marriage; and at the same time practice
continence in an eminent degree. For no one of the Essenes marries a wife, because
woman is a selfish and excessively jealous creature, and has great power to destroy
the morals of man, and to mislead with continual tricks; for she is always devising
flattering speeches and other kinds of hypocrisy as on a stage; bewitching the eyes
and the ears; and when they are subjugated like things stultified, she proceeds to
undermine the ruling intellect.
37
“But when she has children, the woman becomes full of pride and arrogance, audaciously
speaks out that which she previously merely indicated in treacherous disguise, and
without any shame compels one to do whatever is hostile to the brotherhood; for he
who is chained by the charms of a woman or cares for children by necessity of nature,
is no longer the same person to others, but is entirely changed, having unawares become
a slave instead of a free man.
[
40
]
“Such is the enviable system of life of the Essenes, so that not only private individuals
but even mighty kings have admired them, venerated their brotherhood, and rendered
their dignity and nobleness still higher by the praise and honours which they lavished
upon them.”
Next, in point of time, is Caius Plinius Secundus, called Major, or the elder, the
celebrated author of the
Historia Naturalis
, who was born in
A.D.
23, and died
A.D.
79. Pliny’s notice of the Essenes, which is to be found in his Natural History, book
v., chap, xvii., is as follows:
“Towards the west [of the sea] and sufficiently distant from it, so as to escape its
noxious exhalations (
ab occidente litora Esseni fugiunt, usque qua nocent
), are the Essenes. They are a hermitical society, marvellous beyond all others throughout
the whole earth. They live without any women, without gratifying sensual desires,
without money, and in the company of palm trees. Their ranks are daily made up by
multitudes of new comers who resort to them; and who being weary of life, and driven
by the surges of ill-fortune, adopt their manner of life. Thus it is that, through
thousands of ages (
per saeculorum millia
),
38
incredible to relate, this people prolongs its existence without any one being born
among them: so fruitful to them are the weary lives of others.”
Next in point of time is Josephus, or Joseph ben Matthias, better known by the name
Flavius Josephus, who was born in Jerusalem about 37,
A.D.
The description which this learned Jewish warrior and historian gives us of the Essenes,
although somewhat marred by being made to harmonise with the systems of Greek philosophy,
is very important, inasmuch as Josephus was not only a Palestinian Jew, but at one
period of his life had actually joined the brotherhood. He tells us in his autobiography,
that when sixteen years old he determined to
[
41
]
examine for himself the respective merits of the three predominant sects, viz., of
the Pharisees, Sadducees and Essenes, with the view of making a selection from among
them. His accounts of the Essenes are dispersed through his works. The following is
the first description contained in his
Jewish War
, book ii, chap. viii, sec. 2–13.
Ҥ 2. There are three sects of philosophers among the Jews. The followers of the first
are called Pharisees, of the second Sadducees, and of the third, who really seem to
practise holiness, Essenes.
39
Jews by birth, they love each other more than the others.
40
They reject pleasure as an evil, and regard continence and not yielding to passions
as virtues. They despise marriage, and adopt the children of others while still tender
and susceptible of instruction,
41
and regard them as their own relations, and train them in their practices. They do
not, however, repudiate marriage, and its consequent, succession of the race in themselves;
but they are afraid of the lasciviousness of women, and are persuaded that none of
them preserve their fidelity to one man.
42
Ҥ 3. They despise riches, have all things in common in a very admirable manner, and
there is not one to be found among them who is richer than another; for it is a law
that those who enter the sect must give up their possessions to the
[
42
]
society as common property,
43
so that there is not to be seen among them all, either the abjectness of poverty
or the distinction of riches; but as every man’s goods are cast into a common treasury,
they all, like brothers, have one patrimony. They regard ointment as defiling; and
if one happens to be anointed against his will, he immediately wipes it off his body.
44
To be unadorned but dressed in white they regard as commendable. They have stewards
of their common property, appointed by general election, and every one without distinction
is proposed for all the offices.
Ҥ 4. They have no separate city, but some of them live anywhere; and if any of the
society come from other places, whatever they have lies open for them, just as if
it were their own; and they go to those whom they have never seen before as if they
had been most intimate. Hence they take nothing with them when they go on a journey,
45
but arms for defence against robbers. A steward is appointed in every city of this
order to provide strangers with clothes and other necessaries.
46
The keeping and appearance of their body are such as of children brought up in fear;
they change neither garments nor shoes till they are worn out or made unfit by time.
47
They neither sell nor buy anything among themselves, but everyone gives of that which
he has to him that wants, and gets from
[
43
]
him that which he needs; and even without requital they can freely take whatever they
want.
Ҥ 5. Their piety towards God is extraordinary, for they never speak about worldly
matters before the sun rises, but offer up, with their faces towards it, some of the
prayers transmitted by their forefathers, as if they supplicated it to rise.
48
Hereupon, they are all sent by the overseers, every one to work in the department
in which he is skilled; and, having diligently laboured till the fifth hour, assemble
again together in one place, girt round with their linen apron, and have a baptism
with cold water.
49
After this lustration they resort to a special house, in which no one of another
faith is admitted, and go to the refectory purified as into a holy temple.
50
Having quietly taken their seats the baker gives every one a loaf of bread according
to order, and the cook places before each one a dish with one sort of food. The priest
commences with prayer, and no one is allowed to taste his food before grace is said.
He also returns thanks after the meal; for both at the commencement and at the conclusion
they praise God as the giver of their food.
51
[
44
]
Whereupon they put off their white garments as if they were sacred, and betake themselves
again to their work till evening. On returning again they take their supper together,
at which strangers, who happen to be in the place, are allowed to sit down with them.
No noise or tumult ever desecrates their house, but they let every one take part in
the conversation in turn; and the silence of those who are within appears to those
that are without as some awful mystery. The cause of this is the uninterrupted sobriety,
as well as the fact that their eating and drinking are so measured out as just to
suffice the cravings of nature.
Ҥ 6. Whilst they do nothing without the injunctions of their overseers, yet there
are two things in which they have free action, viz., helping the needy, and shewing
mercy; to help the deserving when they are in want, and to give food to the hungry,
they have perfect liberty; but to give anything to their relations they are not allowed
without the permission of the overseers. They are just dispensers of their anger,
curbers of their passions, representatives of fidelity, ministers of peace; and every
word with them is of more force than an oath. They avoid taking an oath, and regard
it as worse than perjury; for they say that he who is not believed without calling
on God to witness is already condemned of falsehood.
52
They take extraordinarily great pains in studying the writings of the ancients, and
select that especially which is beneficial both for the soul and body; hence they
investigate medical roots and the property of minerals for the cure of distempers.
53
Ҥ 7. When any one desires to enter the sect, he is not immediately admitted, but
although he has to remain a whole
[
45
]
year without, yet he is obliged to observe their ascetic rules of living, and they
give him an axe, an apron as mentioned above, and a white garment.
54
If he has given proof of continence during this time, he approaches nearer to their
life and partakes of the holier water of purification; but is still not as yet admitted
to their common table. Having thus given proof of his perseverance, his conduct is
tested two more years, and, if found worthy, he is admitted into the society. But
before he touches the common meal, he swears, by most awful oaths,
55
first to fear God, and next to exercise justice towards all men—neither to wrong
any one of his own accord nor by the command of others; always to detest the wicked
and side with the righteous; ever to keep faith inviolable with all men, especially
with those in authority, for no one comes to office without the will of God;
56
not to be proud of his power nor to outshine his subordinates, either in his garments
or greater finery, if he himself should
[
46
]
attain to office; always to love truth and strive to reclaim all liars; to keep his
hands clear from stealing, and his mind from unholy gain; not to conceal anything
from the brotherhood, nor disclose anything belonging to them to those without, though
it were at the hazard of his life. He has, moreover, to swear not to communicate to
any one their doctrines in any other way than he has received them;
57
to abstain from robbing the commonwealth; and equally to preserve the writings of
the society and the names of the angels.
58
By such oaths they bind those who enter the brotherhood.
Ҥ 8. Such as are caught in heinous sins are excommunicated from the society; and
the excommunicated frequently die a miserable death. For, being bound by oaths and
customs, they cannot receive food from any out of the society, so that they are forced
to eat herbs till, their bodies being famished with hunger, they perish.
59
Hence they compassionately receive many of them again when they are at their last
gasp, thinking that suffering, approaching unto death, is sufficient for their sins.
Ҥ 9. In their verdicts they are most exact and just, and never give sentence if there
are less than a hundred of the
[
47
]
brotherhood present: but what is then decreed is irrevocable. Next to God they have
the highest veneration for the name of the lawgiver, Moses, and punish with death
any one who blasphemes it. To submit to the elders and to the majority they regard
as a duty: hence, when ten of them sit together, no one will speak if the other nine
do not agree to it. They avoid spitting before the face, or to the right hand,
60
and are also stricter than all other Jews not to touch any labour on the Sabbath
day—for they not only prepare their Sabbath-day’s food the day before, that they may
not kindle a fire on that day, but they will not move a vessel out of its place
61
nor go to ease nature. On all other days they dig a pit of a foot deep with the spade
(such an one being given to the novice), and having covered it all round with a cover,
that it may not offend the Divine rays, they set themselves over it, and then put
the earth, that was dug out again into the pit; and do this, after having chosen the
most lonely places. And although the voiding of bodily excrements is natural, yet
it is their custom to bathe after it, as if they had been defiled.
62
Ҥ 10. They are divided, according to the time of leading this mode of life, into
four different classes, and the juniors are so much inferior to the seniors, that
the latter must wash themselves when they happen to touch the former, as if they had
been defiled by a stranger.
63
They live to a great age, so
[
48
]
that many of them live to above a hundred years—arising from the simplicity of their
diet, as it appears to me, and from their order. They despise suffering, and overcome
pain by fortitude. Death, if connected with honour, they look upon as better than
long life. Of the firmness of their minds in all cases the war with the Romans has
given ample proof; in which, though they were tortured, racked, burned, squeezed,
and subjected to all the instruments of torment, that they might be forced to blaspheme
the lawgiver or eat what was forbidden, yet they could not be made to do either of
them; nor would they even once flatter their tormentors or shed a tear, but, smiling
through their torments and mocking their tormentors, they cheerfully yielded up their
souls, as those who would soon receive them back again.
64
Ҥ 11. For they firmly believe that the bodies perish and their substance is not enduring,
but that the souls are immortal—continue for ever and come out of the most subtile
ether—are enveloped by their bodies, to which they are attracted through a natural
inclination, as if by hedges—and that when freed from the bonds of the body, they,
as if released from a long servitude, rejoice and mount upwards. In harmony with the
opinion of the Greeks,
65
they say that for the good souls there is a life beyond the ocean, and a region which
is never molested either with showers or snow or intense heat—is always refreshed
with the gentle gales of wind constantly breathing from the ocean; whilst to the wicked
souls they assign a dark and cold corner, full of never-ceasing punishments. And it
seems to be according to the same opinion that the Greeks assigned to their valiant
men, whom they called heroes and demigods, the Island of the Blessed, but to the souls
of the wicked the regions of the impious in Hades;
[
49
]
as also their fables speak of several there punished, as Sisyphus and Tantalus and
Ixion and Tityus. This they teach, partly because they believe that the souls are
immortal, and partly for the encouragement of virtue and the discouragement of vice.
For good men are made better in their lives by the hope of reward after their death,
whilst the passions of the wicked are restrained by the fear they are in that, although
they should be concealed in this life, after death they must suffer everlasting punishment.
This is the doctrine of the Essenes about the soul—possessing thereby an irresistible
bait for those who have once tasted their philosophy.
Ҥ 12. There are also some among them who undertake to foretell future events, having
been brought up from their youth in the study of the sacred Scripture, in divers purifications,
and in the sayings of the prophets; and it is very seldom that they fail in their
predictions.
Ҥ 13. There is also another order of Essenes who, in their way of living, customs,
and laws exactly agree with the others, excepting only that they differ from them
about marriage. For they believe that those who do not marry cut off the principal
part of human life—that is, succession—especially that, if all were of the same opinion,
the whole race would soon be extinguished. They, however, try their spouses for three
years, and after giving evidence, by three natural purgations, that they are fit to
bear children, they marry them. They have no connubial intercourse with them when
with child, to show that they do not marry to gratify lust, but only to have children.
The women, too, have their garments on when they have baths, just as the men have
on their aprons. Such are the customs of this brotherhood.”
The next mention which Josephus makes of them is in his Antiq. Book xiii. chap. v.
§ 9, and is as follows:—
Ҥ 9. At this time [166
B.C.
] there were three sects (
αἱρέσεις
)
[
50
]
among the Jews, differing in their opinion about human affairs. The first was called
the sect of the Pharisees, the second the sect of the Sadducees, and the third the
sect of the Essenes. The Pharisees affirm that some things only, but not all, are
the work of fate (
τῆς εἱμαρμένης
), and some are in our own power, whether they should take place or whether they should
not occur; the sect of the Essenes maintain that fate governs all things,
66
and that nothing can befal man contrary to its determination and will (
ψῆφος
); whilst the Sadducees reject fate, saying that there is no such thing, and that
human events do not proceed from it, and ascribe all to ourselves, so that we ourselves
are the cause of our fortunes, and receive what is evil from our own inconsiderateness.
However, I have given a more minute description of this in the second book of the
Jewish War.”
He speaks of them again in Antiq. Book xv. chap. x. § 4, towards the end, and § 5,
as follows:—
Ҥ 4. The Essenes, as we call them, were also exempted from this necessity [of taking
an oath of allegiance to Herod]. These men live the same kind of life which among
the Greeks has been ordered by Pythagoras.
67
I have discoursed more fully about them elsewhere. The reason, however, why Herod
had the Essenes in such honour, and thought more highly of them than of mortal nature,
is worthy of record. For this account, too, is not unsuitable for this history, inasmuch
as it shows the people’s opinion about the Essenes.
Ҥ 5. There was a certain Essene, named Menahem (
Μενάημος
[
51
]
=
מנחם
) who was celebrated not only for the uprightness of his conduct, but also for the
fore-knowledge of the future proceeding from God. When he once saw Herod, as a boy
going to school, he addressed him by the name of ‘King of the Jews.’
68
Herod thought that he did not know him or that he jested, and reminded him that he
was of common origin. But Menahem smiled on him most
friendly
, clapped him on the back with his hand, and said—‘Thou wilt, nevertheless, be king,
and wilt begin thy reign happily, for God has found thee worthy of it. And remember
the blows that Menahem has given thee, as being the symbol of the change of thy fortune.
For this assurance will be salutary for thee when thou wilt love justice and piety
towards God and equity towards thy citizens. However, I know that thou wilt not be
such a one, for I can perceive it all. Thou wilt, indeed, excel more than any one
in happiness, and obtain an everlasting reputation, but thou wilt forget piety and
justice. This will not be concealed from God, for he will visit thee with his wrath
for it, towards the end of thy life.’ Herod paid very little attention to it at that
time, as he had no hope of it. But as he soon afterwards advanced to the dignity of
king and was happy, he ordered Menahem to come to him in the height of his dominion,
and asked him how long he should reign; but Menahem did not tell him. Seeing that
he was silent, he asked again whether he should reign ten years. Whereupon he replied,
‘Yes; twenty, nay, thirty years;’ but did not determine the exact limit of his reign.
Herod, rejoicing on it, gave Menahem his hand and dismissed him, and from that time
continued to honour the Essenes. I thought of relating this to the readers (though
to some it may seem incredible), and of making
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it known, as it concerns us, because many of the Essenes are highly esteemed for their
virtuous conduct and knowledge of Divine things.”
Josephus also relates instances in which Essenes foretold future events, in Antiq.,
book xviii., chap, ii., § 2; book xviii., chap. xiii. § 3; and Jewish War, book 1,
chap. iii., § 5.
The last account which Josephus gives us is to be found in his Antiq., book xviii.,
chap, i., § 2 and 5.
Ҥ 2. There have been three philosophies among the Jews ever since the ancient time
of the fathers (
ἐκ τοῦ
πάνυ ἀρχαίου
τῶν πατρίων
), that of the Essenes, and that of the Sadducees, and a third which the so-called
Pharisees followed. Although I have already spoken of them in the second book of the
Jewish War, yet will I mention here also something about them.
Ҥ 5. The doctrine of the Essenes delights in leaving all to God (
Θεῷ καταλιπεῖν φιλεῖ τὰ πάντα
). They regard the soul as immortal, and say that the attainment to virtue must be
fought for with all our might. Although they send consecrated gifts to the Temple,
yet they never bring any sacrifice on account of the different rules of purity which
they observe; hence, being excluded from the common sanctuary, they offer sacrifices
in themselves (spiritually). Otherwise, they are in their manner of life the best
of men, and employ themselves wholly in the labour of agriculture. Their uprightness
is to be admired above all others who endeavour to practice virtue; such uprightness,
which is by no means to be found among the Greeks and foreigners, is not of recent
date, but has existed among them from times of yore (
ἐκ παλαιοῦ
), striving most scrupulously not to disturb the community of goods, and that the
rich should not enjoy more of the common property than the poor. This is the conduct
of this people who are more than four thousand in number. They never marry wives,
nor endeavour after the possession of property;
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for they believe that the latter leads to injustice, and the former yields opportunities
for domestic discord. Living by themselves they serve each other. They choose good
men, who are also priests, to be the stewards of their incomes and the produce of
the fields, as well as to procure the corn and food. They do not differ at all in
their living, but are more like those whom the Dacae call Polistae.”
We notice next the account of Caius Julius Solinus, the author of the Geographical
compendium called
Polyhistor
, who flourished about 238
A.D.
His accounts, which are to be found in chap. xxxv. § 7–10 of his work, are evidently
derived from Pliny.
“In the interior of Judea, towards the west, are the Essenes, who differ from the
usages of all other nations in their marvellous constitutions, and who, according
to my opinion, have been appointed by divine providence for this mode of life. No
woman is to be found there; connubial pleasures they have entirely renounced; money
they know not, and palm-berries are their food.
69
Not a single birth takes place there, and yet there is no want of population. The
place itself is devoted to modesty. Although a very large number of persons run to
it from all quarters, yet none is admitted who is not thought to possess purity, fidelity
and innocence; for, if one has been guilty of the slightest misdemeanour, though he
endeavour to obtain admission by offering never so large a fortune, he is excluded
by a divine decree. Thus it is that through an immense space of ages (
per immensum spatium saeculorum
), incredible to relate,
70
this society is perpetuated though no child is born among them.”
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]
The next account is that of Porphyry, the neo-Platonic philosopher and celebrated
antagonist of Christianity, who was born 233
A.D.
and died about 306
A.D.
His description of the Essenes, which is given in his treatise
On the Abstinence from Animal Food
(
Lugduni ap. Morillon
, 1620,
p.
381,
&c.
), is, as he himself tells us, taken from Josephus. He has, however, made some alterations,
as may be seen from the following:
“There were three sorts of philosophers among the Jews, the first were headed by the
Pharisees, the second by the Sadducees, and the third, who seemed the most honourable
(
σεμνοτάτη
), by the Essenes. The latter formed such a society as Josephus has described it in
different parts of his works, as well as in the second book of the Jewish History,
which he composed in seven books, as in the eighteenth book of his Antiquities, which
he composed in twenty books, and in the second part to the Greeks.
71
“The Essenes are Jews by birth, and love one another more than other people. They
avoid sensual enjoyments as vices, and regard continence and the power to resist the
passions as the first virtue; they despise marriage and adopt the children of strangers,
whilst still young and suitable for instruction, regard them as their own, and train
them in their usages. They do not repudiate matrimony and child birth in themselves,
but they guard against the sensuality of women. They despise riches, and there is
a wonderful community of goods among them. There is no one found among them who occupies
a distinguished position through his wealth; for they have a law that those who enter
the society give up their possessions to the brotherhood, so that there is no such
thing among them as abjectness of poverty or arrogance of riches; but the possessions
of all put together form a fraternal and common property. If one of them happens to
be inadvertently
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anointed, he immediately washes his whole body; for they regard it as praiseworthy
to have a dry skin, and they are always dressed in white. They appoint stewards to
manage their common property; and every one, without distinction, is eligible for
all the offices.
“They are not confined to one city, but live in different places, and everything they
have is at the service of the members who happen to come from another city. Though
meeting for the first time they at once salute each other as intimate friends (
ἴσασιν
ὥσπερ συνήθεις
); hence they travel without taking anything with them. They do not change either
garments or sandals till they are torn or worn out by age; they neither buy nor sell,
but every one gives of that which he has to him that wants it, and receives that which
he needs; but even without receiving anything in return they freely communicate to
him that wants. Their piety towards God is extraordinary. None of them speak about
anything profane before the sun rises; but they offer to it some of the prayers transmitted
to them by their forefathers, as if they supplicated it to rise, &c., &c.” He repeats
almost literally the whole of § 5 of Josephus
On the Jewish War
, book ii. chap. viii., which we have given above, p, 43.
Porphyry omits § 6 of Josephus, but gives, with a few verbal alterations, both the
whole of § 7, which describes the admission into the order, and § 8, which describes
the punishment. He omits the greater part of § 9, and adds the following statement,
which is not to be found in Josephus. “Their food is so poor and scanty that they
do not require to ease nature on the Sabbath,
72
which they devote to singing praises to God and to rest.” He omits from § 10 the
description of the division of the Essenes into four classes, and
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simply mentions firmness in suffering and death. He also omits from § 11 the whole
piece beginning with the words “In harmony with the opinion of the Greeks, &c.;” whilst
he not only gives the whole of § 12, but has also the following addition, “With such
a manner of life, and with their firm adhesion to truthfulness and piety, there are
naturally many among them who can foretel future events, &c.;” and concludes with
the words, “This is the nature of the order of the Essenes among the Jews,” omitting
altogether what Josephus says in § 13 about those Essenes who marry.
Epiphanius, bishop of Constantia and metropolitan of Cyprus, who was born in Bezanduca,
a small town of Palestine, in the first part of the fourth century, and died in 403,
has also given us some brief notices of the Essenes in his celebrated work
Against the Heretics
. His first notice is to be found in
Adver. Haer.
, lib. i. ord. x. p. 28, ed. Col., 1682, under the title
Against the Essenes and the Samaritans
, and is as follows:
“The Essenes continue in their first position, and have not altered at all. According
to them there have been some dissensions among the Gorthenes, in consequence of some
difference of opinion which has taken place among them—I mean among the Sebuens, Essenes
and Gorthenes. The difference of opinion relates to the following matter. The law
of Moses commands the Israelites of all places to come up to Jerusalem to the three
festivals, viz., the feasts of the Passover, Pentecost and Tabernacles. As the Jews
in Judea and Samaria were largely dispersed, it is supposed that those of them who
made their pilgrimage to Jerusalem went through Samaritan cities, and as the Samaritans
assemble at the same time to celebrate the festivals, a conflict arose between them.”
Epiphanius speaks of them again (
Adv. Haer.
, lib. i. ord. xix. p. 39), and under the title,
Against the Ossenes
(
κατὰ Ὀσσηνῶν
), as follows:
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“Next follow the Ossenes, who were closely connected with the former sect. They too
are Jews, hypocrites in their demeanour, and peculiar people in their conceits.
73
They originated, according to the tradition which I received, in the regions of Nabatea,
Itruria, Moabitis and Antilis, (
Ἀρηϊλίτις
), in the surrounding neighbourhood of the so-called Dead Sea.… The name Ossenes,
according to its etymology, signifies
the stout race
(
στιβυρὸν γένος
).… A certain person named Elxai joined them at the time of the Emperor Trajan, after
the advent of the Saviour, who was a false prophet. He wrote a so-called prophetical
book, which he pretended to be according to divine wisdom. He had a brother named
Jeeus
, who also misled people in their manner of life, and caused them to err with his
doctrine. A Jew by birth, and professing the Jewish doctrines, he did not live according
to the Mosaic law, but introduced quite different things, and misled his own sect.…
He joined the sect of the Ossenes, of which some remnants are still to be found in
the same regions of Nabatea and Perea towards Moabitis. These people are now called
Simseans
.”
74
“But hear the Sadducee’s nonsense (
comp. ibid.
,
p.
42): he rejects the sacrificial and altar services, as repulsive to the Deity, and
as things which, according to the meaning of the fathers and the Mosaic law, were
never offered to the Lord in a worthy manner. Yet he says that we must pray with our
faces to Jerusalem, where the sacrificial altar and the sacrifices have their place.
He rejects the eating of animal flesh which is common among the Jews, and other things;
nay, even the sacrificial altar and the sacrificial fire, as being foreign to the
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Deity. The purifying water, he says, is worthy of God, but the fire is unworthy, because
of the declaration of the prophet: ‘Children, go ye not there to see the fire of the
sacrifices, for ye err; yea, it is already an error to think such a thing.’ ‘If you
look at the fire very closely,’ says he, ‘it is still far off. Moreover, go ye not
to look at the sacrificial fire, but go ye rather to the doctrine of the water.…’
There is much more of such idle talk to be found among the Ossenes.”
75
These are the sources from which writers upon the Essenes have, till within very lately,
drawn their information. As to the account of Eusebius (
comp.
Hist. Ecclesiast.
,
lib.
ii,
cap.
xvii), to which appeal is often made, it is nothing but a Christianized reproduction
of the so-called Philonic description of the Therapeutae. It would therefore be useless
to give it. In looking through these accounts, it will be seen that there are only
three independent ones among them, namely—Philo’s, Josephus’s and Pliny’s; as the
notice of Solinus is merely a repetition of Pliny, the description of Porphyry is
almost a literal reproduction of Josephus; whilst the distorted scraps of Epiphanius
are not only worse than useless, but are unworthy of him, and the account of Eusebius
is simply misleading, inasmuch as it is a repetition of an apocryphal story, which
has nothing to do with the Essenes.
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