'The bodies of all men are mortal, and are cre ated out of corruptible matter; but the soul is ever immortal. and is a portion of the divinity that inhabits our bodies' (De Bell. fad. iii, 8, 5)• They say that all souls arc incorruptible, but that the souls of good men only are removed into other bodies, and that the souls of bad men are subject to eternal punishment.
'The Pharisees are those who are esteemed most skilfull in the exact interpretation of the laws. They ascribe all to Fate (or Providence) and to God, and yet allow that to act what is right or thc contrary is for the most part in the power of man.
'The Pharisees say that some actions, but not all, are the work of fate, that some of them are in our own power, and that they are liable to fate, but are not caused by fate' (Joseph. Antig. xiii, 5. 9)• (5) Political Power, Etc. 'The Pharisees are a sect of Jews which appear to be more pious than others, and to expound the laws more ac curately. These Pharisees artfully insinuated themselves into her (Queen Alexandra's) favor by little and little, and became the real adminis trators of• public affairs; they banished and re stored whom thcy pleased; they bound and loosed at their pleasure; they had the cnjoymcnt of the royal authority, whilst the expenses and the diffi culties of it belonged to Alexandra. She was a sagacious woman in the management of great af fairs, and became not only very powerful at home. but terrible also to foreign potentates: while she governed other people, the Pharisees governed her. She was so superstitious as to comply with their desires, and accordingly they slew whom they pleased' (Joseph. De Bell. lied. 5, 2, 3).
'There was a certain sect that were Jews, who valued themselves highly upon the exact skill they had in the law of their fathers, and made men believe they were highly favored by God, by whom this set of women were inveigled. These are those that are called the sect of the Phari sees, who were able to make great opposition to kings; a cunning sect they were, and soon ele vated to a pitch of open fighting and doing mis chief. Accordingly, when all the people of the Jews gave assurance of their good will to Ctesar and to the king's government, these men did not swear, being about 6,000; and when the king im posed a fine upon them, Phreroras' wife paid it. In order to requite this kindness, since they were believed to have a foreknowledge of things to come by divine inspiration, they foretold how God had decreed that Herod's government should cease, and that the kingdom should come to her and Phrcroras, and to their children; so the king Herod slew such of the Pharisees as were prin cipally accused. and all who had conscntcd to what thc Pharisees had foretold' (Joseph. /1;114 XVII, 2, 4)• 'The sect of the Pharisees are supposed to ex cel others in the accurate knowledge of the laws of their country' (Joseph. Vita, sec. 38).
'The Pharisees have so great a power over the multitude that when they say anything against the king or against the high-priest, they arc gen erally believed' (Joseph. Antic]. Xiii, TO, 5).
'Moreover the Pharisees are friendly to one an other, and are for the exercise of concord and re gard for the public' (Joseph. De Bell. ii, 8, I4)• (6) Character as Found in the Gospels. There is another source of our knowledge of the Pharisees—the books of the New Testament. The light in which they here appear varies, of course, with the circumstances to which its origin is due, The reader has just had before him the account of a friend and an adherent, an account which, therefore, we may believe, is conceived and set forth in the most favorable manner. The gospels present the character of the Pharisees in a darker hue, inasmuch as here a higher standard is brought into use, a loftier morality is the judge. To pass on to the views given in the New Testa ment. The high repute in which the Pharisees were held, as expositors of the national laws, whether civil or religious, may be seen in John vii:48; Acts xxii :3 ; the casuistry which they em ployed in expounding the Scriptures, in Matt. ix: 34; xv :5; xxiii:16; Mark vii:7, sq.; their exces sive zeal in proselytism (Matt. xxiii a5); yet their concealment of light and hindrance of prog ress (Matt. xxiii :i3) ; their inordinate regard for externals, and oppressive but self-sparing rule (Matt. xxiii:3, sq., 25); their affectation of gran deur and distinction (Matt. xxiii :5, sq.); their shocking hypocrisy (Matt. xxiii :14, 27, sq.); their standing on inconsiderable points, while they neg lected such as were of consequence, preferring ceremonial rites to justice and charity (Matt. xxiii :24 ; xii :2-7 ; Luke vi :7 ; John ix :16, sq.; Mark vii :1) ; the display which they affected even in works of religion (Matt. vi sq.; xxiii:5); their pride and self-gratulation as assuredly, and before others, religious men (Luke xviii:o, sq.); their regard to tradition (Matt. xv :2; Mark. vii: 3) ; they formed schools, which had masters and disciples (Matt. xxii :t6; Luke v:33); agreeably with their general doctrines, they regarded the act rather than the motive (Luke xi:39; xviii: IT, sq.); and were given to fasts, prayers, wash ing,.paying of tithes, alms, etc. (Matt. ix rt4) ; xxiit :is, 23; Luke xi:39, sq.; xviii:12); exhibit ing themselves to the people, in order to gain their favor, as self-denying, holy men, zealous for God and the law, a kind of Jewish stoics (Matt. ix t ; Luke v :3o; VI :2; Matt. xxiii:5, 15, 29); while in reality they were fond of the pleasures of sense, and were men of lax morals (Matt. v: 20; xv:4, 8; xxiii :3, 14, 23, 25; John viii:7). At an early period they determined in the Sanhedrim to withstand and destroy Jesus, instigated doubt less by the boldness with which he taught the necessity of personal righteousness and pure wor ship (Matt. xii :14).