SAD'DUCEES, a sect among the an cient Jews, esteemed as free-thinkers, rather than real Jews, though they as sisted at all the ceremonies of worship in the temple. Their origin and name is derived from one Sadoc, who flourished in the reign of Ptolemy Philadelphus, about 263 years ac. They denied the immortality of the soul, and the exist ence of all spiritual and immaterial be ings. They acknowledged, indeed, that the world was formed by the power of God, and superintended by his providence ; but that the soul at death suffered one common extinbtion with the body. They held the Scriptures alone to be of divine authority, and obligatory upon men, as a system of religion and morals ; and paid no regard to those traditionary maxims and human institutions which the Jews in general so highly extolled, and the Phari sees reverenced even more highly than the Scriptures themselves.—The tenets of the Sad lucees are called Sadducistn. SAFE-CON'DUCT, a pass or warrant of security given by the sovereign under the great seal to a foreigner, for his safe com ing into and passing out of the kingdom. Generally speaking, passports have super seded the use of special safe-conducts.
SA'0 A, the general name of those an cient compositions which comprise at once the history and mythology of the north ern European races. Their language is different from the modern Danish, Swed ish, and Norwegian, and is more power ful and expressive than either of these later dialects. Of the mythological sagas the most famous are the saga of Regnar, Lodbrolt, the idervarar saga, the Voluspa saga, and the Wilkina saga. The histori cal are very numerous; the Jomsvilkingia. saga and the Kaflinga saga comprehend :ouch of the early annals of Norway and Denmark ; and the Eyrbiggia saga is the ohief historical document of ancient Ice land. It is, however, to be remembered, that the chief object of the relators is the interest of the narrative ; so that as mere histories they are of imperfect value. Many of them are collected in the great work of Snorre Sturleson called Heim skringla. The most classical period of these compositions is considered by anti quaries to fall within the 12th and 13th centuries.