SADDLE

In Sea Language, a lump of wood acting cordingly.as a seat or rest to the heel of a boom, and haped acSADDUCEES. A peculiar sect of religionists raong the Jews. It is remarked that during the time that prophets are recorded to have arisen among the Jews, then is no account of the existence of any sects among them: they frequently fell away into total idolatry; but when ever recalled from that corruption, they appear to have reverted In a l>ody to the pure religion of their ancestors, and never to have been separated in religious distinctions among themselves. The most ancient sect was that of the Sadducees, whose founder, Sadok, lived about 350 years B.C. He appears to have restricted the providence of God to the distribution of the temporal rewards and punishments which form the main feature of the old dispensation.In the time of our Saviour his followers entirely rejected the doctrine of a resurrection. They were a imilated also to the Epicureans in maintaining the perfect freedom of human actions; and, like those pagan philosophers, were few in number, and only of the highest and most literary cla es. They were distinguished also from the Pharisees by the rejection of traditions, and by strict adherence to the written law alone. (See Milman's Hist, of Christianity, vol. i., p. 75, 211.) [s. 1095]