"'God,' said he, 'will more readily pardon sins committed against himself than evil done a neighbour. The Israelite owes justice not only to the Israelites, but to the pagans.'
"He loved to discuss morals under anecdotal form. Here is a specimen of his method:--
"Two men were in the midst of a desert. They had only water enough for one. What ought they to do? To share the water was certain death to both. 'That is not the solution of the dilemma,' added Akiba; 'one must sacrifice himself for the other, that one, at least, should live.'
"In advance of his times, the sage had a profound respect for human life, and he was one of the first opponents of the death penalty.
"Having become rich, thanks to his father-in-law, he was a benefactor to the poor and a promoter of all charitable associations.
"'Whoever,' he used to say, 'does not relieve a sick person, when it is in his power to do so, is an assassin.'
"The destruction of Jerusalem and the temple did not weaken Akiba's faith in divine justice. While Israel wept over the smoking ruins of the holy city, he smiled and predicted a brighter future. He always taught resignation to the divine will. But incessant persecutions aroused in him a violent irritation against the Romans, and a thirst for martyrdom. He lived in an epoch when the Jews were most unfortunate. Domitian continued the horrors of Vespasian and of Titus. They struck blows on all sides, and sought particularly a descendant of David, of whom popular rumour proclaimed the existence, and who intended, it was said, to avenge Israel's woes.
"Akiba converted many Romans to the Hebrew monotheism, Flavius Clemens, a relative of the emperor, was put to death for having embraced this doctrine, and his wife was, for the same reason, condemned to exile. After the death of this Cæsar, Israel breathed again during the two years' reign of Nerva and during the first ten years of the reign of Trajan; but they paid dearly for this short respite. The Jews of Syria, of Mesopotamia, of Armenia and Persia, took arms in favour of the Parthians, and drew on themselves the wrath of Rome, whose soldiers massacred them in great numbers. They soon took up arms again upon the Euphrates, and revolted at Cyprus and in Egypt. New persecutions and repressions followed under the reign of Adrian.
"Akiba, a man of science, was changed by these troubles into a man of action. He travelled over the different parts of the empire to prepare a general uprising. He entered into relations with Simon, or Bar Kokhba, called the child of destiny when he was in the height of his prosperity, the child of lies after he had lost his fortune.
"This Simon, intrepid, daring, and of attractive manner, had with his majestic height all the qualities required for the leader of an insurrection. He pleased Akiba, who proclaimed him Messiah. The title attracted thousands of volunteers, for the idea of a deliverer sent by God was attached to the name of Messiah. Simon admitted to the ranks of his army only the strong and vigorous, many of whom were able to tear a large tree from the earth with their hands. Full of a confidence which he communicated to others, Bar Kokhba often addressed to God this strange prayer:--