_Scripture parallel._ "God hath made of one blood all them that dwell upon the earth." 16. "They renounced oaths, saying, He who cannot be believed without swearing is condemned already." (Mich.) _Scripture parallel._ "Swear not at all." 17. "They would not eat anything which had blood in it, or meat which had been offered to idols. Their food was hyssop, and bread, and salt; and water their only drink." (Mich.) _Scripture parallel_. "That ye abstain from meat offered to idols, and from blood." (Acts xv. 29.) 18. "Take nothing with them, neither meat or drink, nor anything necessary for the wants of the body." _Scripture parallel._ "Take nothing for your journey; neither staves nor script; neither bread, neither money, neither have two coats apiece." 19. "They expounded the literal sense of the Holy Scriptures by allegory." _Scripture parallel._ "Which things are an allegory." (Gal. iv. 24.) 20. "They abjured the pleasures of the body, not desiring mortal offspring, and they renounced marriage, believing it to be detrimental to a holy life." (Mich.) _Scripture parallel._ It will be recollected that neither Jesus nor Paul ever married, and that they discouraged the marriage relation. Christ says, "They that shall be counted worthy of that world and the resurrection neither marry nor are given in marriage." And Paul says, "The unmarried careth for the things of the Lord." (i Cor. vii. 32.) 21. "They strove to disengage their minds entirely from the world." _Scripture parallel_. "If any man love the world, the love of the Father is not in him." 22. "Devoting themselves to the Lord, they provide not for future subsistence." _Scripture parallel._ "Take no thought for the morrow, what ye shall eat and drink," &c. 23. "Regarding the body as a prison, they were ashamed to give it sustenance." (c. ii. 71.) _Scripture parallel._ "Who shall change our _vile_ bodies?" (Phil. iii. 21.) 24. "They spent nearly all their time in silent meditation and inward prayer." (c. ii. 71.) _Scripture parallel._ "Men ought always to pray." (Luke xviii. 1.) "Pray without ceasing." (1 Thess. v. 17.) 25. "Believing the poor were the Lord's favorites, they vowed perpetual chastity and poverty." (c. ii. 71.) _Scripture parallel_. "Blessed be ye poor." (Luke vi. 20.) "Hath not God chosen the poor?" (James ii. 5.) 26. "They devoted themselves entirely to contemplation in divine things." (c. ii. 71.) _Scripture parallel_. "Mediate upon these (divine) things; give thyself wholly to them." (1 Tim. iv. 15.) 27. "They fasted often, sometimes tasting food but once in three or even six days." _Scripture parallel._ Christ's disciples were "in fastings often." (2 Cor. xi. 27; see also v. 34.) 28. "They offered no sacrifices, believing that a serious and devout soul was most acceptable." (c. ii. 71.) _Scripture parallel._ "There is no more offering for sin." (Heb. x. 18.) 29. "They believed in and practiced baptizing the dead." (c. ii. 71.)