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Note: This text has been automatically extracted via Optical Character Recognition (OCR) software. The text has not been manually corrected and should not be relied on to be an accurate representation of the item.
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Untitled Article
Akiba . 651
Untitled Article
Loud tumult now reigned in the city , and dissension and strife pervaded it , even from the centre to the outer walls . The sword leapt forth from his dark sheath , as a meteor cuts the night : the cry of the slayer and of the dying rose in the air . And while Baroquebas smote on the right hand and on the left , Akiba uplifted his voice in the public places with impassioned eloquence , calling upon all men to cease their violence and the unholy shedding of blood , and to receive Baroquebas as their king .
But the faction was not strong enough of itself to contend with the soldiers , and the people would not rise and acknowledge Baroquebas . So Baroquebas was slain , with most of his supporters . And the soldiers seized Akiba while he was yet speaking , and they dragged him down by the hair of his head , and drew him in this manner through the public streets , and cast him into
prison . The faction being thus quelled , and the city reduced to its former order , Akiba was led from his prison before the chief rulers , to receive their sentence . But as he was a great doctor , and held in high estimation by the people , he was permitted to plead his cause , so that he might incline the hearts of the judges to show mercy towards him . And Akiba , lifting himself up from amidst his chains , spake thus : 1
1 stand here , O judges and rulers ! accused of conspiracy and treason , purposing to set up a king of the Jews . It is most true that I have striven to that end , and Baroquebas , who is slain , was the man for whose sake my life is now cast beneath
your uplifted hands . Baroquebas was my scholar long since , and I sought to instil into his rnind the principles of true knowledge and uprightness , and all virtue . I seduced him not to this act of rebellion , as my accusers have said . I believed in the justness of his claim that he made known to me but a short time
ago ; and if he be an impostor , as ye all declare , then it was Baroquebas who seduced me . But since he is now dead , and his cause with him , suffer me to depart in peace . The shadows that fall from Mount Horeb , are they not lost when the fiery sun goeth down ; and how can my presence darken the thrones of present power , seein g I have no such light of mine own , nor have I aught more to seek in this place ? My labours in the great city have been the labours of knowledge and virtue , and I have given the fruits
to thousands among you . In return for this , ye have but given a little labour , a little time , and a little gold . Weigh therefore the unequal exchange against this my offence ; and weigh also a targe debt of gratitude against the small revenge upon one man ' s 'ife , so that in the fair estimate I may go my way , and find a quiet grave when God shall see fit to recall me . '
H And a voice cried from the midst of the crowd ; a loud voice as of one who had drank of new wine ; Hast thou not cast unhallowed spells among the people ? Hast thou not practised
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Citation
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Monthly Repository (1806-1838) and Unitarian Chronicle (1832-1833), Sept. 2, 1834, page 651, in the Nineteenth-Century Serials Edition (2008; 2018) ncse.ac.uk/periodicals/mruc/issues/vm2-ncseproduct2637/page/47/
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