The sun. [volume] (New York [N.Y.]) 1833-1916, 1899-06-04

| books bear the imprint OF the work OF the edi-
| tors. who. during the period of their nations
| deepest humiliation. labored TO preserve the
treasure intrusted to their race, and, in so
| doing. preserved the race itself.
1t was soon after the capture Of Babylon. In
| 53S Is. c.. that Cyrus the Great issued decree
| permitting the Jewish eXes in Babylonia to
return to the homes OF their fathers In Judaa
Those who accepted the invitation and their
| descendants remained subjects Of the Persian
! Empire until the conquest Of Palestine by
| Alexander the Great in 332 b, g. There 10
| reason to believe that the Jews who refused to
abandon Babylonia far surpassed in wealth
and Intelligence and. probably. also in num-
| bcrs. those who complied with the inJunctions
| of their prophets and returned to the Holy
| Land. Tho recent excavations at Nippur have
| unearthed a multitude OF cuneiform tablets
| from the reigns Of ArtaXcrxes and Darius
| H.. which bear familiar Jewish names
| Traces OF the presence OF large jew
| ish colony living in Nppur long after
the Christian era have been found. In
| mediately after the beginning of the present
era. and for many centuries afterward. Baby
lonia continued to be recognized as one of tire
most important centres of Judaism. Owing TO
| the great length OF time during which the Jews
| were in contact with the Persian Empire. II 10
evident that the most powerful external rclig-
| ious influences must have come to the Jews
| from the Persians These Influences would be
| felt not only by the Jews who remained in
! Babylona. but also by those who. returning
! from exile dwelt under Persian Governors in
Palestine. The fact that the great prophet tthe
| exile hailed Cyrus as Jchovah's Messiah indi-
| Gates the attitude OF the more advanced Jewish
| leaders toward the conquerors Of Babylon aud
| the liberators Of tn" Jews. The chroncler rep
| rcsents the earlier Persian Kings as recognizing
| Jehovah Ezra. l., .. Unquestonably there
were more striking rcsemblances between the
| religious beliefs OF tho Persians and those OF
| the Jews than between those of any other
| ancient peoples. Both religions were originally
| proclaimed by prophets. and both laid cmpha-
sis on moral acts both declared one God to be
the supreme object Of worship; according to
| both 1t was unlawful to make an image Of the
| Deity. Both grew more and more intOleraut
| toward the gods Of other peoples In the mode
| al their development the two cults presented
striking points Of likeness. While both were
originally prophetic. they both. At about tbs
| same date. became ecclesiastical rchg ous,
with complex pricsty codes, which were popu-
larry looked upon as given verbally to the re-
! spectivc founders of the two faiths. Zoroaster
| and Moses. In many details the two systems
| were alike. For example. ceremonial c!eani-
| ness was arbitrarily defined; contact with GER
tam animals or with dead body brought
| C"hcmrht ana IN both systems one of the
most strenuous commandments OF the law
| WAS 70 avoid AL such ceremonial impurl-
| ties Ih"s" tendencies cannot be said to
hhN" been Unmarried directly from one re-
llGlon to the other, because they were found
IN the germ IN BOTH long tcIorc the two
camo into contact. At the same time 1t
Is REASONABLE" To believe that the example
OF their Persian masters whom the Jews
at llrst esteemed highly. and with whom
th"S" who continued to dwell in the east
came INTO intimate relations. fostcrcd. and.
POSSIBLY. III certain details, guided the evolu-
tion o! the movement which was 10 produce
JUDAISM W" may here mention that thc Gus
tom ~ meeting at different places for Ia" road
ing OF am rent BOOKS Tor prayer. and for sing
ing OF sacred songs which, among the Jews,
grew INTO the Synagogue service was common
among the followers "i Ioroast"r
Some OF the characteristic tenets OF Judaism
have been traced by certain scholars directly
tpthe Persian religion. II is an established
Tact that tho belief IN the resurrection, in flu
turc rewards Tor IN" righteous and in future
penalties Tor the wicked was generally AZ
copied by IN" generation OF Modes and Pcrsians
tuwhom I"r'aster preached. Among the Jews
II did not mud EXPRESSION until after the Exile