Page:Aryan Sun-myths, the Origin of Religions.djvu/97

 lay up treasures on earth, and despised money, fame, and pleasures, as they thought these things had a tendency to enchain men to earthly enjoyments,—a peculiarly Buddhist tenet. They considered the use of ointment as defiling, which was certainly not a Hebraic doctrine. They gave thanks before and after eating; and before entering the refectory they bathed in pure water and put on white garments. They ate only enough to sustain life. They put the greatest stress upon being meek and lowly in heart, and commended the poor in spirit, those who hunger and thirst after righteousness, the merciful, the pure in heart, and the peacemaker.

The Essenes combined the healing of the body with that of the soul; and the Greek name by which they were known, Therapeutæ (Essene is the Assyrian word for Therapeutæ), signifies healer, or doctor, and designated the sect as professing to be endowed with the miraculous gift of healing,—more especially with respect to diseases of the mind. They did not offer animal sacrifices, but strove to present their bodies "a living sacrifice, holy and acceptable unto God." It was their great aim to become so pure and holy as to be temples of the Holy Spirit, and to be able to prophesy. They reverenced Moses and had respect for the Sabbath. They practised endurance as a duty, and bore all tortures with equanimity. They fully believed in a future state of existence, in which the soul, liberated