or Chasidians, from the Hebrew "chasidim," merciful, pious;) those Jews who resorted to Matthias to fight for the law of God and the liberties of their country. They were men of great valor and zeal, having voluntarily devoted themselves to a more strict observation of the law than other men. For, after the return of the Jews from the Babylonish captivity, there were two sorts of men in their church; those who contented themselves with that obedience only which was prescribed by the law of Moses, and who were called Zadikim, i.e., the righteous; and those who, over and above the law, superadded the constitutions and traditions of the elders, and other rigorous observances: these latter were called Chasidim, i.e., the pious. From the former sprung the Samaritans, Sadducees, and Caraites; from the latter, the Pharisees and the Essenes.