The Song of Solomon : and the Lamentations of Jeremiah

278 THE LAMENTATIONS OF JEREMIAH
as it is described. But if it is not history it is still
a revelation of character, a representation of what the
writer knows to be the conduct of the moral lepers, and
their deserts ; and as such it is most suggestive.
In the "first place there is much significance in the
fact that the overthrow of Jerusalem is unhesitatingly
charged to the account of the sins of her prophets and
priests. These once venerated men are not merely
no longer protected by the sanctity of their offices from
the accusations that are brought against the laity ;
they
are singled out for a charge of exceptionally heinous
wickedness which is regarded as the root cause of
all the troubles that have fallen upon the Jews. The
second elegy had affirmed the failure of the prophets
and the vanity of their visions.-^ This new and stronger
accusation reads like a reminiscence of Jeremiah, who
repeatedly speaks of the sins of the clerical class and
the mischief resulting therefrom.^ Evidently the terrible
truth the prophet dwelt upon so much was felt by a dis-
ciple of his school to be of the most serious consequence.
The accusation is of the very gravest character.
These religious leaders are charged with murder. If
the elegist is recording historical occurrences he may
be alluding to riots in which the feuds of rival factions
had issued in bloodshed ; or he may have had infor-
mation of private acts of assassination. His language
points to a condition in Jerusalem similar to that which
was found in Rome at the Fifteenth Century, when
popes and cardinals were the greatest criminals. The
crimes were aggravated by the fact that the victims
selected were the "righteous," perhaps men of the
Jeremiah party, who had been persecuted by the officials
' ii. 9, 14. - Jer. vi. 13; viii. 10 ; xxiii. II, I4;xxvi. 7ff.