Chapers V through VII Summary

Marcellus learns some about the Jewish people who inhabit Palestine, including that the name of their governing body is the Sanhedrin. As Marcellus joins the other officers, spending the majority of his day in the baths, gambling and drinking, Demetrius wanders the city and thinks. The man who seems reluctant to heed the demands of the people that he be king continues to haunt Demetrius' thoughts. He considers that the Jews want freedom, but questions their reasons. He is told to be careful of a spice dealer who would "rob his own grandmother." Demetrius says that if the Jewish people lived under a new government, that man's grandmother would be no safer from his tendency to rob people. Demetrius comes to the conclusion that it's not the government that is a problem, but the people themselves.

The...