“But from whom hath he received the tradition of the elders? At whose feet has he sat? Whom calleth he master?”
“He hath been baptized by Jochanan his kinsman, but none calleth he master.”
“If he have not the tradition, he cannot teach the Law, for his words will not be binding. Doth he sit in judgment or pronounce Din?”
“Nay, master, he but teacheth us to be good.”
“Ah,” said I, “he is but a homolist of the Hagada; he addeth naught to the Halacha. Then what is his motto?”[3]
“He saith, ‘Repent ye, for the kingdom of heaven is at hand.’ ”
Then I took the man away from his companions, and out of hearing of the Roman sentry, and asked him in a low tone, “And who shall be the king thereof?”
But the man answered not, but said only, “Lo! he cometh.”
And, indeed, at that moment Jesus came down by the steps he had ascended and beckoned to his companions. And as they went towards him I was surprised, and at the same time horrified, to see amongst them two persons whom I little thought to find in any public place in Jerusalem, still less in the courts of the Temple. One was a woman in the yellow veil of a hetæra; the other, a mere Nathin who had no name among men, but was called Dog o’ Dogs. These two pressed close to Jesus; the woman rushed forward with a sob and raised the hem of his garment to her lips, while to the man he spoke some friendly words, smiling on him as they walked towards the entrance.
I was astonished. The man had seemed so careful of the purity of the Temple that he would not allow even the necessary arrangements for its service to be performed in its precincts, yet he allowed its courts to be defiled by the vilest of the vile. Perchance, I thought, he had prevailed upon them to perform the vows enjoined by the Law, and cleanse themselves of their sin. Or was it that he was [pg 19]ignorant of their characters, being but newly come from rural parts? He must, indeed, be different from other rabbis, who kept themselves apart from all transgressors against the Law till they had repented and done penance.