"Is there more than one species of Judaism?" I demanded.
"I have always arranged Judaism under two heads," said the old man,
"the black and the white: by the black, I mean the observance of
the law of Moses in preference to the precepts of the church; then
there is the white Judaism, which includes all kinds of heresy,
such as Lutheranism, freemasonry, and the like."
"I can easily conceive," said I, "that many of the priesthood
favoured the principles of the reformation, and that the minds of
not a few had been led astray by the deceitful lights of modern
philosophy, but it is almost inconceivable to me that there should
be Jews amongst the priesthood who follow in secret the rites and
observances of the old law, though I confess that I have been
assured of the fact ere now."
"Plenty of Judaism amongst the priesthood, whether of the black or
white species; no lack of it, I assure you, Don Jorge; I remember
once searching the house of an ecclesiastic who was accused of the
black Judaism, and after much investigation, we discovered beneath
the floor a wooden chest, in which was a small shrine of silver,
inclosing three books in black hogskin, which, on being opened,
were found to be books of Jewish devotion, written in Hebrew
characters, and of great antiquity; and on being questioned, the
culprit made no secret of his guilt, but rather gloried in it,
saying that there was no God but one, and denouncing the adoration
of Maria Santissima as rank idolatry."
"And between ourselves, what is your own opinion of the adoration
of this same Maria Santissima?"
"What is my opinion!
