12; Talmud of Babylon, _Megilla_, 7 _b;_ Epiph., _Adv.
Haer._, xxx.

11.] With the extreme activity of mind which has always characterized the Jews, such an institution, notwithstanding the arbitrary rigors it tolerated, could not fail to give rise to very animated discussions.
Thanks to the synagogues, Judaism has been able to sustain intact eighteen centuries of persecution.

They were like so many little separate worlds, in which the national spirit was preserved, and which offered a ready field for intestine struggles.

A large amount of passion was expended there.

The quarrels for precedence were of constant occurrence.