Page:Selections. Translated by H. St. J. Thackeray (1919).djvu/154



(53) The Three Sects and their Views on Fate and Free-Will

This account occurs in the history of the Maccabæan period. The saying of R. Aqiba (Pirqe Aboth, III. 24) may be quoted in illustration of this passage: "Everything is foreseen; and free-will is given," where Predestination and Free-will are set side by side, as if not irreconcilable. At this time there were three sects of Jews, holding different opinions about human actions; the first was called the sect of the Pharisees, the second that of the Sadducees, and the third that of the Essenes. The Pharisees assert that some, but not all, events are the work of Fate, and some are under our own control, to be or not to be. The followers of the Essenes affirm that Fate is all-powerful, and that nothing befalls men except in accordance with her decree. The Sadducees abolish Fate, maintaining that there is no such thing, that the events of human life are not dependent upon her, and that all things fall within our own control; so that it is we who are responsible for our blessings and bring our misfortunes on ourselves by our own thoughtlessness.—Ant. XIII. 5. 9 (171-173).  (54) The Essenes, with a note on Pharisees and Sadducees

Jewish philosophy takes three forms. The followers of the first school are called Pharisees, of the second Sadducees, of the third Essenes.