; indeed, Roman satirists levelled their
shafts against the zeal displayed in the service of art by Jewish
patrons.

A reaction followed. Theatrical representations were pursued by Talmudic
Judaism with the same bitter animosity as by Christianity. Not a matter
of surprise, if account is taken of the licentiousness of the stage, so
depraved as to evoke sharp reproof even from a Cicero, and the hostility
of playwrights to Jews and Christians, whom they held up as a butt for
the ridicule of the Roman populace. Talmudic literature has preserved
several examples of the buffooneries launched against Judaism. Rabbi
Abbayu tells the following:[56] A camel covered with a mourning blanket
is brought upon the stage, and gives rise to a conversation. "Why is
the camel trapped in mourning?" "Because the Jews, who are observing the
sabbatical year, abstain from vegetables, and refuse to eat even herbs.
They eat only thistles, and the camel is mourning because he is deprived
of his favorite food."

Another time a buffoon appears on the stage with head shaved close. "Why
is the clown mourning?" "Because oil is so dear." "Why is oil dear?" "On
account of the Jews. On the Sabbath day they consume everything they
earn during the week. Not a stick of wood is left to make fire whereby
to cook their meals. They are forced to burn their beds for fuel, and
sleep on the floor at night. To get rid of the dirt, they use an immense
quantity of oil. Therefore, oil is dear, and the clown cannot grease his
hair with pomade." Certainly no one will deny that the patrons of the
Roman theatre were less critical than a modern audience.

Teachers of the Law had but one answer to make to such attacks--a
rigorous injunction against theatre-going. On this subject rabbis and
Church Fathers were of one mind. The rabbi's declaration, that he who
enters a circus commits murder, is offspring of the same holy zeal that
dictates Tertullian's solemn indignation: "In no respect, neither by
speaking, nor by seeing, nor by hearing, have we part in the mad antics
of the circus, the obscenity of the theatre, or the abominations of the
arena." Such expressions prepare one for the passion of another
remonstrant who, on a Sabbath, explained to his audience that
earthquakes are the signs of God's fierce wrath when He looks down upon
earth, and sees theatres and circuses flourish, while His sanctuary lies
in ruins.[57]

Anathemas against the stage were vain. One teacher o