of the Roman government,
but of human kind. The enthusiasm of the Jews was supported by the
opinion, that it was unlawful for them to pay taxes to an idolatrous
master; and by the flattering promise which they derived from their
ancient oracles, that a conquering Messiah would soon arise, destined
to break their fetters, and to invest the favorites of heaven with the
empire of the earth. It was by announcing himself as their long-expected
deliverer, and by calling on all the descendants of Abraham to assert
the hope of Israel, that the famous Barchochebas collected a formidable
army, with which he resisted during two years the power of the emperor
Hadrian.

Notwithstanding these repeated provocations, the resentment of the
Roman princes expired after the victory; nor were their apprehensions
continued beyond the period of war and danger. By the general indulgence
of polytheism, and by the mild temper of Antoninus Pius, the Jews
were restored to their ancient privileges, and once more obtained the
permission of circumcising their children, with the easy restraint, that
they should never confer on any foreign proselyte that distinguishing
mark of the Hebrew race. The numerous remains of that people, though
they were still excluded from the precincts of Jerusalem, were permitted
to form and to maintain considerable establishments both in Italy and
in the provinces, to acquire the freedom of Rome, to enjoy municipal
honors, and to obtain at the same time an exemption from the burdensome
and expensive offices of society. The moderation or the contempt of the
Romans gave a legal sanction to the form of ecclesiastical police which
was instituted by the vanquished sect. The patriarch, who had fixed
his residence at Tiberias, was empowered to appoint his subordinate
ministers and apostles, to exercise a domestic jurisdiction, and
to receive from his dispersed brethren an annual contribution. New
synagogues were frequently erected in the principal cities of the
empire; and the sabbaths, the fasts, and the festivals, which were
either commanded by the Mosaic law, or enjoined by the traditions of
the Rabbis, were celebrated in the most solemn and public manner. Such
gentle treatment insensibly assuaged the stern temper of the Jews.
Awakened from their dream of prophecy and conquest, they assumed the
behavior of peaceable and industrious subjects. Their irreconcilable
hatred of mankind, instead of flaming out in acts of blood and vi