"Iaokanann!"
Antipas fell back in his chair as if a heavy blow had struck him on the
breast. The Sadducees rose from their seats and rushed towards Jacob.
Eleazar raised his voice to a shout in order to make himself heard. When
order was finally restored, he draped his mantle about his shoulders,
and, with the air of a judge, proceeded to put questions to Jacob.
"Since the prophet is dead--" he began.
Murmurs interrupted him. Many persons believed that Elias was not dead,
but had only disappeared.
Eleazar rebuked those who had interrupted him; and continuing, asked:
"And dost thou believe that he has indeed come to life again?"
"Why should I not believe it?" Jacob replied.
The Sadducees shrugged their shoulders. Jonathas, opening wide his
little eyes, gave a forced, buffoon-like laugh. Nothing could be more
absurd, said he, than the idea that a human body could have eternal
life; and he declaimed, for the benefit of the proconsul, this line from
a contemporaneous poet:
Nec crescit, nec post mortem durare videtur.
By this time Aulus was leaning over the side of the pavilion, with pale
face, a perspiring brow, and both hands outspread on his stomach.
The Sadducees pretended to be deeply moved at the sight of his
suffering, thinking that perhaps the next day the offices of sacrificers
would be theirs. Antipas appeared to be in despair at his guest's agony.
Vitellius preserved a calm demeanour, although he felt some anxiety, for
the loss of his son would mean the loss of his fortune.
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