But Jehu did it in subtilty, to the
intent that he might destroy the worshippers of Baal....
"And Jehu sent through all Israel: and all the worshippers of Baal came,
so that there was not a man left that came not. And they came into the
house of Baal; and the house of Baal was full from one end to another....
"And it came to pass, as soon as he had made an end of offering the burnt
offering, that Jehu said to the guard and to the captains, Go in, and slay
them; let none come forth. And they smote them with the edge of the sword;
and the guard and the captains cast them out....
"Thus Jehu destroyed Baal out of Israel." [Footnote: 2 _Kings_ ix., x.]
Viewed from the standpoint of comparative history, the policy of
theocratic Massachusetts toward the Quakers was the necessary consequence
of antecedent causes, and is exactly parallel with the massacre of the
house of Ahab by Elisha and Jehu. The power of a dominant priesthood
depended on conformity, and the Quakers absolutely refused to conform; nor
was this the blackest of their crimes: they believed that the Deity
communicated directly with men, and that these revelations were the
highest rule of conduct. Manifestly such a doctrine was revolutionary. The
influence of all ecclesiastics must ultimately rest upon the popular
belief that they are endowed with attributes which are denied to common
men.
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