Volume 2

156 Life of Jesus Christ
what He thought of the Essenians. They wanted to tempt
Him, because they pretended to have remarked in His
sentiments some similarity to those of that sect, and also
because James the Less, His relative and who was then
with Him, was an Essenian. They brought all kinds of accusations
against them, condemning chiefly their retired
life and their celibacy. Jesus answered in very general
terms: One could, He said, find nothing to reproach in
those people; if they were called to such a life, they
deserved great praise. Everyone has his own vocation;
were a cripple to aim at walking upright, he would hardly
succeed. When the magistrate objected that so few
families were raised up by them, Jesus enumerated a great
many Essenian fanlilies and spoke of their well-bred
children. He alluded to the married state, first of the
good, then of the bad. He neither took part with the Essenians,
nor did He accuse them. The people did not comprehend
Him, though they saw that He had family connections
among the Essenians and kept up intercourse
with them.
7. JESUS PREACHING ON THE MOUNTAIN
NEAR BEROTHA
Before daybreak of the night between the Sabbath and
Sunday, Jesus left Adama. He had taken leave of the people
after the exercises of the Sabbath, though without saying
that He was not to return, and He now went with His
disciples and several of the Jews to the mountain appointed
for the instruction. He left Adama by the gate
through which He had entered, and that was over a
bridge. Had they gone by another, they would have had to
ferry over the river that ran from Azor to Cades, and
which near Adama flowed into the Jordan. They left
Cades to the right, and proceeded westward over gently
rising mountain terraces. This region had high mountain