In reality the patriotic Declaration of the _Sanhedrin_ was intended to discredit and demolish the dangerous accusations against the Jewish people and against the teachings of Judaism. It is a mistake to regard it, as some writers have done, as an indication of a desire for the reform of Judaism or for assimilation. The statements of the _Sanhedrin_ were in accordance with the traditional Jewish Law. Its solemn declaration of loyalty and patriotism was not an innovation. The fathers and grandfathers of the _Rabbis_ who made this declaration were not less faithful and loyal to their Governments and to the countries in which they lived than the _Rabbis_ of the _Sanhedrin_. The Declaration was practically a new edition of the _Modaa Rabba_ printed as a preface to every treatise of the _Talmud_. This _Modaa_ declares for human solidarity, community of interests with other nations and loyalty to the Government in the old traditional way; the _Sanhedrin_ expresses identical views in modern language, in accordance with the spirit of the new age and environment. The purport of both is undoubtedly the same. Illustration: _MEMBERS OF THE PARISIAN SANHEDRIN_ ABRAHAM FURTADO _Rabbi_ ABRAHAM _de_ COLOGNA _Rabbi_ BARUCH GOUGUENHEIM _Rabbi_ EMMANUEL DEUTZ _Rabbi_ J. DAVID SINZHEIM _Rabbi_ JACOB MEYER _From rare engravings lent by Israel Solomons_ Far from being a natural product of internal Jewish development, the _Sanhedrin_ was a governmental affair intended to organize Jewry in the new world-empire. But it remained an episode, because Napoleon’s attitude towards the Jews was, generally speaking, far from consistent. At one time he offered them _Jerusalem_; at another he was inclined to transport _Jerusalem_ to Paris. Some time before the _Sanhedrin_ assembled, he seemed to be vexed with the Jews――a feeling of a temporary character, which was probably the reflex of disappointment in his far-reaching plans. On other occasions he showed exceptional kindness to Jewish soldiers and other Jews.¹ ¹ See _Napoléon et les soldats juifs, par Petit de Lagare_, p. 29. All these facts combined lead to the inference that the Jewish problem had often engaged his attention. He seems, like his adherents, to have wavered as to the acceptance of the idea of the Restoration of _Israel_ or of that of Assimilation, but finally embraced the doctrines of the Sanhedrin, which could be applied easily to the small Jewish population in France. The elimination not only of the Jews of Asia and Africa, but also of the Jews in other European countries, from the Jewish problem in France, caused by the failure of great schemes of conquest, necessarily narrowed the scope of the Jewish problem and deprived it of its former grandeur. CHAPTER XVI. ENGLISH OPINION ON THE _SANHEDRIN_