These two great obligations of the official' Pharisee, or Associate' are pointedly referred to by Christ - both that in regard to tithing (the vow of the Neeman); [1505] and that in regard to Levitical purity (the special vow of the Chabher). [1506] In both cases they are associated with a want of corresponding inward reality, and with hypocrisy. These charges cannot have come upon the people by surprise, and they may account for the circumstance that so many of the learned kept aloof from the Association' as such. Indeed, the sayings of some of the Rabbis in regard to Pharisaism and the professional Pharisee are more withering than any in the New Testament. It is not necessary here to repeat the well-known description, both in the Jerusalem and the Babylon Talmud, of the seven kinds of Pharisees,' of whom six (the Shechemite,' the stumbling,' the bleeding,' the mortar,' the I want to know what is incumbent on me,' and the Pharisee from fear') mark various kinds of unreality, and only one is the Pharisee from love.' [1507] Such an expression as the plague of Pharisaism' is not uncommon; and a silly pietist, a clever sinner, and a female Pharisee, are ranked among the troubles of life.' [1508] Shall we then explain a verse according to the opinions of the Pharisees?' asks a Rabbi, in supreme contempt for the arrogance of the fraternity. [1509] It is as a tradition among the pharisees [1510] to torment themselves in this world, and yet they will gain nothing by it in the next.' The Sadducees had some reason for the taunt, that the Pharisees would by-and-by subject the globe of the sun itself to their purifications,' [1511] the more so that their assertions of purity were sometimes conjoined with Epicurean maxims, betokening a very different state of mind, such as, Make haste to eat and drink, for the world which we quit resembles a wedding feast;' or this: My son, if thou possess anything, enjoy thyself, for there is no pleasure in Hades, [1512] and death grants no respite. But if thou sayest, What then would I leave to my sons and daughters? Who will thank thee for this appointment in Hades?' Maxims these to which, alas! too many of their recorded stories and deeds form a painful commentary. [1513]
But it would be grossly unjust to identify Pharisaism, as a religious direction, with such embodiments of it or even with the official fraternity.' While it may be granted that the tendency and logical sequence of their views and practices were such, their system, as opposed to Sadduceeism, had very serious bearings: dogmatic, ritual, and legal. It is, however, erroneous to suppose, either that their system represented traditionalism itself, or that Scribes and Pharisees are convertible terms, [1514] while the Sadducees represented the civil and political element. The Pharisees represented only the prevailing system of, not traditionalism itself; while the Sadducees also numbered among them many learned men. They were able to enter into controversy, often protracted and fierce, with their opponents, and they acted as members of the Sanhedrin, although they had diverging traditions of their own, and even, as it would appear, at one time a complete code of canon-law. [1515] [1516] Moreover, the admitted fact, that when in office the Sadducees conformed to the principles and practices of the Pharisees, proves at least that they must have been acquainted with the ordinances of traditionalism. [1517] Lastly, there were certain traditional ordinances on which both parties were at one. [1518] Thus it seems Sadduceeism was in a sense rather a speculative than a practical system, starting from simple and well-defined principles, but wide-reaching in its possible consequences. Perhaps it may best be described as a general reaction against the extremes of Pharisaism, springing from moderate and rationalistic tendencies; intended to secure a footing within the recognised bounds of Judaism; and seeking to defend its principles by a strict literalism of interpretation and application. If so, these interpretations would be intended rather for defensive than offensive purposes, and the great aim of the party would be after rational freedom - or, it might be, free rationality. Practically, the party would, of course, tend in broad, and often grossly unorthodox, directions.