Note 151 — Chapter XI · THE JEWISH PROPAGANDA

Josephus, Wars, II. viii. 14. His words are (οἱ Σαδδουκαῖοι) ψυχῆς τε τὴν διαμονὴν καὶ τὰς καθ’ Ἄδου τιμωρίας καὶ τιμὰς ἀναιροῦσι. The passages in Josephus are our only contemporary authority for the sects and their differences; and Josephus was a Pharisee. The word αναιροῦσι would in this context naturally have the meaning “deny,” but it might also simply indicate that the Sadducean belief on the subject was, in his opinion, so vague or so qualified as to render their whole transcendental scheme ineffectual. It is, however, more natural to give the word its dialectic sense (Cf. Plato, Rep. 533 c).