, in trimeter
verse, have come down to us, the one treating of the unity of God, the
other of the serpent in Paradise.

To the mass of the Jewish people, particularly to the expounders and
scholars of the Law, theatrical performances seemed a desecration, a
sin. A violent struggle ensued between the _Beth ha-Midrash_ and the
stage, between the teachers of the Law and lovers of art, between
Rabbinism and Hellenism. Mindful of Bible laws inculcating humanity to
beasts and men, the rabbis could not fail to deprecate gladiatorial
contests, and in their simple-mindedness they must have revolted from
the themes of the Greek playwright, dishonesty, violence triumphant, and
conjugal infidelity being then as now favorite subjects of dramatic
representations. The immorality of the stage was, if possible, more
conspicuous in those days than in ours.

This was the point of view assumed by the rabbis in their exhortations
to the people, and a conspiracy against King Herod was the result. The
plotters one evening appeared at the theatre, but their designs were
frustrated by the absence of the king and his suite. The plot betrayed
itself, and one of the members of the conspiracy was seized and torn
into pieces by the mob. The most uncompromising rabbis pronounced a
curse over frequenters of the theatre, and raised abstinence from its
pleasures to the dignity of a meritorious action, inasmuch as it was the
scene of idolatrous practices, and its _habitues_ violated the
admonition contained in the first verse of the psalms. "Cursed be they
who visit the theatre and the circus, and despise our laws," one of them
exclaims.[55] Another interprets the words of the prophet: "I sat not in
the assembly of the mirthful, and was rejoiced," by the prayer: "Lord of
the universe, never have I visited a theatre or a circus to enjoy
myself in the company of scorners."

Despite rampant antagonism, the stage worked its way into the affection
and consideration of the Jewish public, and we hear of Jewish youths
devoting themselves to the drama and becoming actors. Only one has come
down to us by name: the celebrated Alityros in Rome, the favorite of
Emperor Nero and his wife Poppaea. Josephus speaks of him as "a player,
and a Jew, well favored by Nero." When the Jewish historian landed at
Puteoli, a captive, Alityros presented him to the empress, who secured
his liberation. Beyond a doubt, the Jewish _beaux esprits_ of Rome
warmly supported the theatre