sympathy; their religious interests were not so entirely absorbed in their own view of things that they could not see and appreciate the excellence of Greek thought and philosophy; their minds were open to receive and to be influenced by what was good and true, wherever it was to be found. The Dispersion Jew was a Jew at heart, though not according to the Pharisaic standard, and convinced of the pre-eminence of his own faith, but he was none the less ready to render due justice to the opinions and convictions of his Greek neighbours; the interesting evidence regarding this given in the _Letter of Aristeas_[72] (121, 122) is worth quoting here: “Regarding discussions and explanations of the Law they possessed great aptitude. They struck just the right balance, for they discarded the hard literalness of the letter, and were modest with regard to their own wisdom, and were ready to hold argument, to listen to the opinions of others, and to consider thoroughly every question that might be raised.” This broad-mindedness was one of the results of unfettered contact with the outer world. But a result, as remarkable as it was important, followed; for in comparing his religion with the various beliefs of the Gentiles, the Jew of the Dispersion became convinced, in a way which hitherto had not been possible, that both in faith and practice Judaism was, in so far as its fundamentals were concerned, immeasurably purer and truer, in most respects, though not in all, than anything that the Gentiles could offer. He felt, therefore, that he had something to say and give to the world which concerned all men. Hence arose those missionary efforts, so contrary to the spirit of exclusiveness which characterized traditional Judaism, but which were crowned with a considerable measure of success. Yet a grave and subtle danger lurked here for the Jew of the Dispersion; in his desire to make Judaism as attractive as possible to the Gentiles, he presented it with such modifications that it could no longer be called genuine Judaism. Under the influence of the Hellenistic spirit the rigidity of the Law was smoothed down, and some Jewish beliefs appeared in a somewhat modified form[73]; many converts did not do more than keep the dietary laws and observe the Sabbath; and this was acquiesced in. The reaction of this upon those who thus presented a form of Judaism which was to some extent spurious, cannot well have been without its consequences, since their action must necessarily have affected their own faith in their religion and their ideas upon the importance of their religious rites.[74]