earlier exclusiveness of the Jews would naturally be, to some extent, broken down in course of time when living in Gentile surroundings, especially in such a centre as Alexandria, where Jews of wealth and social position lived who would desire to avail themselves of the high culture enjoyed by their Gentile fellow-citizens. Although Alexandria was by far the most important centre of the Dispersion, not only in Egypt but in the whole civilized world of those days, there were many other smaller settlements of Jews in that country; Philo says that the one million Jews who dwelt in Egypt were to be found in every part of it from Libya to the Ethiopian frontier.[68] Of the many other lands in which Jews were settled we cannot speak here; it must suffice to say that no country was without them.[69] II. HELLENISTIC INFLUENCE ON RELIGION It has been pointed out above that among the Greeks themselves the effect of the new spirit due to the Hellenistic Movement was very great upon the men and women of the cultured classes, but that upon the masses it did not exercise much influence. To a large extent this is also true of the Jews of the Dispersion; for greatly as they were influenced by the Greek spirit, the point must be emphasized that this applies, primarily and mainly, to the cultured classes, _literati_, philosophers and the like. No doubt, indirectly, other classes were to a greater or less extent also affected, but so far as the fundamental doctrines of Judaism were concerned, the bulk of the Jews of the Dispersion were, in the main, true to the traditions of their fathers in spite of their Greek surroundings, and in spite of the fact that in other respects they were entirely under the sway of the Greek spirit. Not only did they pay annually the half-shekel to the Temple authorities in Jerusalem for the maintenance of the sacrificial system, but as a rule circumcision was insisted upon, the sanctity of the Sabbath was observed, and the great festivals were regularly celebrated. Vast numbers made pilgrimages to Jerusalem to keep the three principal feasts, Tabernacles, Passover and Weeks.[70] Even Philo, who in mind and character was far more of a Greek philosopher than a Jewish Rabbi, insists on the need of observing the distinctive marks of Judaism.[71] It is necessary to point this out by way of preface, otherwise from what we have to say further upon the subject the reader might be led to suppose that, at all events, the more cultured among the Jews of the Dispersion, and especially those of Alexandria, lost touch with Judaism altogether; this, no doubt, happened in many cases, but as compared with the many that remained Jews in religion, these were the exceptions. Nevertheless, in the case of great numbers, traditional Judaism became transformed. To begin with, utterly unlike the intolerant attitude of the Palestinian Jews towards the Gentiles, the Jews of the Dispersion looked upon the larger world of their surroundings with interest and