For  all  these  particulars  therefore,  learned  Sir,  you
must  have  some  other  authority  in  petto  besides  that
of  Mosheim,  and  you  ought  to  have  produced  it.
ARCHDEACON  OF  ST.  ALBAn's.  199

Also,  as  you  adopt  the  assertions  of  Mosheim,  1
could  wish  to  know  his  authority  for  supposing  that
there  was  any  such  thing  as  a  church,  or  part  of  a
church,  of  Jewish  christians  at  Jerusalem  after  the  de-
struction of  that  city  by  Adrian.  As  to  your  additions,
they  are  a  series  of  such  improbable  circumstances  as
hardly  any  historian  of  the  time  could  make  credible.
Bodies  of  men  do  not,  whatever  you  may  imagine,
suddenly  change  their  opinions,  and  much  less  their
customs  and  habits :  least  of  all  would  an  act  of  vio-
lence produce  that  effect;  and,  of  all  mankind,  the  ex-
periment was  the  least  likely  to  answer  with  Jews.  If
ii  had  produced  any  effect  for  a  time,  the  old  customs
and  habits  would  certainly  have  returned  when  the
danger  was  over.  You  might  just  as  well  suppose
that  all  the  Jews  in  Jerusalem  began  to  speak  Greek,
as  well  as  abandoned  their  ancient  customs,  in  order
to  enjoy  the  valuable  privileges  of  the  iElian  colony.
And  you  would  have  this  to  allege  in  your  favour,  that
from  that  time  the  bishops  of  Jerusalem  were  all
Greeks ;  the  public  offices  were  no  doubt  performed
in  the  Greek  language  j  and  the  church  of  Jerusalem
was  indeed  in  all  respects  as  much  a  Greek  church  as
that  of  Antioch.
