CONCLUSION. . In the foregoing pages, frequent opportunities have occurred of doing justice to the ancient Jews, as faithful guardians of the divine oracles, and of vindicating them from the very improbable flander, raised against them by several primitive Fathers, and modern critics, as if they had wilfully, and with universal consent abridged the Mofaical chronology, one generation, or two, after their general dispersion. It is but equitable to add, that, ever from the time of that awful revolution, their descendants have uniformly disavowed, in principle and practice, all conformity with idolatrous rites, refrained from persecution, and abated in their zeal for making profelytes. In some of their convocations have they expressed their opinion, that the time for the appearance of the Messiah is past, and that, on account of their sins, their sanguine expectations have been frustrated. ACCORDING to certain foreign gazettes, great numbers of the Jews in Italy have shewn, of late, a spirit of indifference to their religious usages, as inconvenient and unprofitable; and their Rabbies have convened a general Synod at Florence, the members being delegated from Modena, Man'uj, Rome, and other ci ies, where the Jews have schools.-After a conference of ten days, they have determined to reform their customs, in several several particulars : and among others to prevent hins drance of business, the sabbath shall not be observed on Saturday, but on Sunday *. These resolutions intimate political wisdom, and respect for the constitutions of Christendom. One principle maintained in the preceeding ANALYSIS, confirmed by the testimony of infallible history, and demonstrated by aftronomical calculation, is the transferring of the fabbath from the viith to the ift of the week at the Exodus. By that change, and the abrogation of the Mosaical fabbath, at the resurrection of Jesus, the first day of the Jewish and Christian week, became the viith, in the rotation of weeks from the beginning. By a partial conformity with the gospel, eminently subservient to their own secular interest, the modern Jews should not scruple to observe that day, which Adam, Noah, Abraham, and all the patriarchs before Moses, did account sacred to devotion and reft. . • Set the London Newspapers for April 27th 1796. FINI S. operations of the Press. mere PREFACE. READ Alexander. Paley 2169. among. ANALISIS. fifth. autumnal. 750. 15th of 3963 father. 1756. · boam's birth, and to abridge the duration both of his own life and reign." 44. 144. 20 710 |