,,solomon ,,maimon4     ,,solomon       
,,maimon3  ,,an ,,autobiography4        
,,translated ,,from ,,the ,,german1     
,,with ,,additions ,,and ,,notes1  ,,by 
,j4 ,,clark ,,murray1 ,,ll4,d41         
,f4,r4,s4,c41  ,professor of ,mental and
 ,moral ,philosophy1 ,m',gill ,college1 
,montreal4  _/ ,,alexander ,,gardner1   
,,paisley2 ,,and #ab ,,paternoster      
,,row1 ,,london4 ,,dawson ,,brothers1   
,,montreal2 ,,cupples ,,and ,,hurd1     
,,boston4  #ahhh4 _/     ,,contents4    
_/                                      
,,page  ,,translator',s ,,preface1      
ix4  ,,introduction4--,state of ,poland 
in last century1                        
#a  ,,chapter--  ,i4--,my ,grandfather's
 ,housekeeping1                         
#f  ,,ii4--,first ,reminiscences of     
,youth1                                 
#ai  ,,iii4--,private ,education and    
,independent ,study1                    
#bb  ,,iv4--,jewish ,schools--,the ,joy 
of being released from them causes  a   
,stiff ,foot1                           

#cb  ,v4--,my ,family is driven into    
,misery1 and an old ,servant loses by   
his  great ,faithfulness a ,christian   
,burial1                                
#ch  ,,vi4--,new ,abode1 ,new           
,misery--,the ,talmudist1               
#db  ,,vii4--,joy endureth but a little 
while1                                  
#di  ,,viii4--,the ,pupil knows more    
than the ,teacher--,a theft  la         
,rousseau1 which is discovered--,the    
ungodly provideth1 and the righteous    
putteth it on1                          
#ed  ,,ix4--,love ,affairs and          
,matrimonial ,proposals--,the ,song of  
,solomon may be used in the service of  
,matchmaking--,a new ,modus             
,lucrandi--,smallpox1                   
#ei  ,x4--,i become an object of        
,contention1 get two ,wives at once1 and
 am kidnapped at last1                  
#fe  ,,xi4--,my ,marriage in my eleventh
 ,year makes me the ,slave of my ,wife1 
and procures for me ,cudgellings from my
 ,mother-in-,law--,a ,ghost of ,flesh   

and ,blood1                             
#gd  ,,xii4--,the ,secrets of the       
,marriage ,state--,prince ,radzivil1 or 
what is not all allowed in ,poland8     
#gi  ,,xiii4--,endeavour after mental   
,culture amid ceaseless ,struggles with 
,misery of every ,kind1                 
#hi  ,,xiv4--,i study the ,cabbalah1 and
 become at last a ,physician1           
#id  ,,xv4--,a brief ,exposition of the 
,jewish ,religion from its ,origin down 
to the most recent ,times1              
#aaa  ,,xvi4--,jewish ,piety and        
,penances1                              
#acb  ,,xvii4--,friendship and          
,enthusiasm1                            
#ach  ,,xviii4--,the ,life of a ,family 
,tutor1                                 
#ade  ,,xix4--,also on a ,secret        
,society1 and therefore a ,long         
,chapter1                               
#aea  ,,xx4--,continuation of the       
,former1 and also ,something about      
,religious ,mysteries1                  
#agf  ,,xxi4--,journeys to ,knigsberg1  

,stettin1 and ,berlin1 for the purpose  
of extending my ,knowledge of ,men1     
#ahg  ,,xxii4--,deepest ,stage of       
,misery1 and ,deliverance1              
#aig  ,,xxiii4--,arrival in             
,berlin--,acquaintances--,mendelssohn--,
desperate ,study of                     
,metaphysics--,doubts--,lectures on     
,locke and ,adelung1                    
#baj  ,,xxiv4--,mendelssohn--,a ,chapter
 devoted to the ,memory of a worthy     
,friend1                                
#bba  ,,xxv4--,my ,aversion at first for
 ,belles ,lettres1 and my subsequent    
,conversion--,departure from            
,berlin--,sojourn in ,hamburg--,i drown 
myself in the same way as a bad ,actor  
shoots himself--,an old ,fool of a      
,woman falls in ,love with me1 but her  
,addresses are rejected1                
#bcd  ,,xxvi4--,i return to ,hamburg--,a
 ,lutheran ,pastor pronounces me to be a
 scabby ,sheep1 and unworthy of         
,admission into the ,christian ,fold--,i
 enter the ,gymnasium1 and frighten the 

,chief ,rabbi out of his ,wits1         
#bec  ,,xxvii4--,third journey to       
,berlin--,frustrated ,plan of ,hebrew   
,authorship--,journey to                
,breslau--,divorce1                     
#bfe  ,,xxviii4--,fourth journey to     
,berlin--,unfortunate                   
circumstances--,help--,study of ,kant's 
,writings--,characteristic of my own    
,works1                                 
#bgi  ,,concluding ,,chapter1           
#bij _/     ,,translator',s ,,preface4  
,one effect of ,daniel ,deronda was to  
make known to a wide circle of readers  
the vitality of ,judaism as a system    
which still holds sway over the mental  
as well as the external life of men4    
,during the few years which have passed 
since the publication of that great     
fiction1 the interest in modern ,judaism
 has continued to grow4 ,it is but a    
short time since the ,western world was 
startled by the outbreak of an ancient  
feeling against the ,jews1 which had    
been supposed to be long dead1 at least 

in some of the quarters where it was    
displayed4 ,the popular literature of   
the day also seems to indicate that the 
life of existing ,jewish communities is 
attracting a large share of attention in
 the reading world4 ,the charming       
pictures which ,emil ,franzos has drawn 
of ,jewish life in the villages of      
,eastern ,galicia1 are not only popular 
in ,germany1 but some have been         
reproduced in a cheap form in ,new ,york
 to meet the demand of ,german          
,americans1 and some have also been     
translated into ,english4 ,the interest 
of ,english readers in the same subject 
is further shown by the recent          
translation of ,kompert's ,scenes from  
the ,ghetto1 as well as by ,mr4         
,cumberland's still more recent and     
powerful romance of ,the ,rabbi's       
,spell4 ,among students of philosophical
 literature a fresh interest has been   
awakened in the history of ,jewish      
thought by the revival of the question  
in reference to the sources of          

,spinoza's philosophy4 ,the affinities  
of this system with the familiar        
tendencies of ,cartesian speculation    
have led the historians of philosophy   
generally to represent the former as    
simply an inevitable development of the 
latter1 while the affinities of         
,spinozism with the unfamiliar          
speculations of earlier ,jewish thinkers
 have been almost entirely ignored4  ,in
 these circumstances a special interest 
may be felt in the life of one of the   
most remarkable ,jews of modern times--a
 life which forms one of the most       
extraordinary biographies in the history
 of literature4  ,readers of ,daniel    
,deronda may remember that1 in his      
search among the ,jews of ,london for   
some one who could throw light on the   
sad story of ,mirah1 the hero of the    
novel was attracted one day to a        
second-hand book-shop1 where his eye    
fell on that wonderful bit of           
autobiography--the life of the ,polish  
,jew1 ,solomon ,maimon4 ,there are few  

men so remarkable as ,maimon who have   
met with so little recognition in       
,english literature4 ,milman1 in his    
,history of the ,jews1 refers once#a to 
the autobiography as a curious and rare 
book1 but apparently he knew it only    
from some quotations in ,franck's ,la   
,cabbale4 ,among ,english metaphysical  
writers the only one who seems to have  
studied the speculations of ,maimon is  
,dr4 ,hodgson4#b ,even the new edition  
of the ,encyclopedia ,britannica gives  
no place to ,maimon among its           
biographies4 ,and yet he is a prominent 
figure among the metaphysicians of the  
,kantian period4 ,kuno ,fischer1 in his 
,geschichte der ,neueren ,philosophie1#c
 devotes a whole chapter to the life of 
,maimon1 while the contemporary critics 
of ,kant are dismissed with little or no
 biographical notice4 ,fischer's sketch 
is just sufficient to whet curiosity for
 fuller details2 but1 amid the dearth of
 rare literature in ,colonial libraries1
 ,i certainly never expected to come1 in

 a ,canadian town1 upon a curious and   
rare book of last century1 which was    
known even to the learned ,milman only  
through some quotations from a ,french  
author4 ,one day1 however1 in ,toronto1 
in order to while away an unoccupied    
hour1 ,i was glancing1 like ,daniel     
,deronda1 over the shelves of a         
second-hand bookseller1 when ,i was     
attracted by a small volume1 in a good  
state of preservation1 with ,s4         
,maimon's ,lebensgeschichte on the back2
 and on taking it down ,i found it to be
 the veritable autobiography which ,i   
had been curious to see4  ,some account 
of the work was given in an article in  
the ,british ,quarterly ,review for     
,july1 #ahhe2 but ,i thought that a     
complete translation would probably be  
welcomed by a considerable circle of    
,english readers4 ,the book has many    
attractions4 ,if the development of the 
inner life of man can ever be           
characterised as a romance1 the         
biography of ,maimon may1 in the truest 

sense1 be said to be one of the most    
romantic stories ever written4 ,perhaps 
no literature has preserved a more      
interesting record of a spirit          
imprisoned within almost insuperable    
barriers to culture1 yet acquiring      
strength to burst all these1 and even to
 become an appreciable power in         
directing the course of speculation4    
,the book1 however1 is much more than a 
biography2 it possesses historical      
interest4 ,it opens up what1 to many    
,english readers1 must be unknown       
efforts of human thought1 unknown       
wanderings of the religious life4 ,the  
light1 which it throws upon ,judaism    
especially1 both in its speculative and 
in its practical aspects1 is probably1  
in fact1 unique4 ,for the sketches1     
which the book contains1 of ,jewish     
speculation and life were made at a time
 when the author had severed all vital  
connection with his own people and their
 creed2 and they are therefore drawn    
from a point of view outside of ,jewish 

prejudices3 but they are penned by one  
who had been brought up to believe the  
divine mission of his people1 as well as
 the divine authority of their religion2
 and the criticism of his old faith is  
generally tempered by that kindly       
sympathy1 with which the heart is apt to
 be warmed on lingering over the        
companionships and other associations of
 earlier years4 ,maimon's account of    
,jewish philosophy and theology acquires
 an additional value from the fact1 that
 he was caught in the full tide of the  
,kantian movement1 and he was thus in a 
position to point out unexpected        
affinities between many an old effort of
 speculative thought among the ,jews and
 the philosophical tendencies of modern 
,christendom4  ,since writing the       
above-mentioned article for the ,british
 ,quarterly ,review1 ,i learnt that a   
volume of ,maimoniana had been issued in
 #ahac by an old friend of our          
philosopher1 ,dr4 ,wolff#d2 and through 
the kindness of a friend in ,leipsic1 ,i

 was enabled1 after some delay1 to      
procure a copy4 ,it is a small volume of
 #bfj pages1 and adds extremely little  
to our knowledge of ,maimon4 ,nearly one
 third is simply a condensation of the  
autobiography2 and the remainder shows  
the author with the opportunities       
indeed1 but without the faculty1 of a   
,boswell4 ,he has preserved but few of  
the felicities of ,maimon's             
conversation2 and what he has preserved 
loses a good deal of its flavour from   
his want of the lively memory by which  
,boswell was able to reproduce the      
peculiar mannerisms of ,johnson's talk4 
,still ,i have culled from the little   
volume a few notes for illustration of  
the autobiography1 and ,i am indebted to
 it for most of the materials of the    
concluding chapter4 ,all my additions   
are indicated by ,trans4 appended4  ,the
 translation gives the whole of the     
biographical portion of the original4   
,there are1 however1 ten chapters which 
,i have omitted1 as they are occupied   

entirely with a sketch of the great work
 of ,maimonides1--the ,moreh ,nebhochim1
 or ,guide of the ,perplexed4 ,owing to 
their somewhat loose connection#e with  
the rest1 these chapters excite just the
 faintest suspicion of padding2 and at  
all events there is no demand for such a
 sketch in ,english now1 when our       
literature has been recently enriched by
 ,dr4 ,friedlnder's careful translation 
of the whole work4  ,in the performance 
of my task ,i have endeavoured to render
 the original as literally as was       
consistent with readable ,english4 ,only
 in one or two passages ,i have toned   
down the expression slightly to suit the
 tastes of our own time2 but even in    
these ,i have not been unfaithful to the
 author's meaning4  ,in the spelling of 
,hebrew and other foreign words ,i have 
never1 without some good reason1        
interfered with the original4 ,but as   
,maimon is not always consistent with   
himself in this respect1 ,i have felt   
myself at liberty to disregard his usage

 by adopting such forms as are more     
familiar1 or more likely to be          
intelligible1 to an ,english reader4    
,,solomon ,,maimon4     ,,introduction4 
,the inhabitants of ,poland may be      
conveniently divided into six classes or
 orders3--the superior nobility1 the    
inferior nobility1 the half-noble1      
burghers1 peasantry and ,jews4  ,the    
superior nobility consist of the great  
landowners and administrators of the    
high offices of government4 ,the        
inferior nobility also are allowed to   
own land and to fill any political      
office2 but they are prevented from     
doing so by their poverty4 ,the         
half-noble can neither own land1 nor    
fill any high office in the ,state2 and 
by this he is distinguished from the    
genuine noble4 ,here and there1 it is   
true1 he owns land2 but for that he is  
in some measure dependent on the lord of
 the soil1 within whose estate his      
property lies1 inasmuch as he is        
required to pay him a yearly tribute4   

,the burghers are the most wretched of  
all the orders4 ,they are not1 'tis     
true1 in servitude to any man2 they also
 enjoy certain privileges1 and have a   
jurisdiction of their own4 ,but as they 
seldom own any property of value1 or    
follow rightly any profession1 they     
always remain in a condition of pitiable
 poverty4  ,the last two orders1 namely 
the peasantry and the ,jews1 are the    
most useful in the country4 ,the former 
occupy themselves with agriculture1     
raising cattle1 keeping bees1--in short1
 with all the products of the soil4 ,the
 latter engage in trade1 take up the    
professions and handicrafts1 become     
bakers1 brewers1 dealers in beer1       
brandy1 mead and other articles4 ,they  
are also the only persons who farm      
estates in towns and villages1 except in
 the case of ecclesiastical properties1 
where the reverend gentlemen hold it a  
sin to put a ,jew in a position to make 
a living1 and accordingly prefer to hand
 over their farms to the peasants4 ,for 

this they must suffer by their farms    
going to ruin1 as the peasantry have no 
aptitude for this sort of employment3   
but of course they choose rather to bear
 this with ,christian resignation4  ,in 
consequence of the ignorance of most of 
the ,polish landlords1 the oppression of
 the tenantry1 and the utter want of    
economy1 most of the farms in ,poland1  
at the end of last century1#f had fallen
 into such a state of decay1 that a     
farm1 which now yields about a thousand 
,polish gulden1 was offered to a ,jew   
for ten2 but in consequence of still    
greater ignorance and laziness1 with all
 that advantage even he could not make a
 living off the farm4 ,an incident1     
however1 occurred at this time1 which   
gave a new turn to affairs4 ,two        
brothers from ,galicia1 where the ,jews 
are much shrewder than in ,lithuania1   
took1 under the name of ,dersawzes or   
farmers-general1 a lease of all the     
estates of ,prince ,radzivil1 and1 by   
means of a better industry as well as a 

better economy1 they not only raised the
 estates into a better condition1 but   
also enriched themselves in a short     
time4  ,disregarding the clamour of     
their brethren1 they increased the      
rents1 and enforced payment by the      
sub-lessees with the utmost stringency4 
,they themselves exercised a direct     
oversight of the farms2 and wherever    
they found a farmer who1 instead of     
looking after his own interests and     
those of his landlord in the improvement
 of his farm by industry and economy1   
spent the whole day in idleness1 or lay 
drunk about the stove1 they soon brought
 him to his senses1 and roused him out  
of his indolence by a flogging4 ,this   
procedure of course acquired for the    
farmers-general1 among their own people1
 the name of tyrants4  ,all this1       
however1 had a very good effect4 ,the   
farmer1 who at the term had hitherto    
been unable to pay up his ten gulden of 
rent without requiring to be sent to    
jail about it1 now came under such a    

strong inducement to active exertion1   
that he was not only able to support a  
family off his farm1 but was also able  
to pay1 instead of ten1 four or five    
hundred1 and sometimes even a thousand  
gulden4  ,the ,jews1 again1 may be      
divided into three classes3--7#a7 the   
illiterate working people1 7#b7 those   
who make learning their profession1 and 
7#c7 those who merely devote themselves 
to learning without engaging in any     
remunerative occupation1 being supported
 by the industrial class4 ,to the second
 class belong the chief rabbis1         
preachers1 judges1 schoolmasters1 and   
others of similar profession4 ,the third
 class consists of those who1 by their  
pre-eminent abilities and learning1     
attract the regard of the unlearned1 are
 taken by these into their families1    
married to their daughters1 and         
maintained for some years with wife and 
children at their expense4 ,afterwards1 
however1 the wife is obliged to take    
upon herself the maintenance of the     

saintly idler and the children 7who are 
usually very numerous72 and for this1 as
 is natural1 she thinks a good deal of  
herself4  ,there is perhaps no country  
besides ,poland1 where religious freedom
 and religious enmity are to be met with
 in equal degree4 ,the ,jews enjoy there
 a perfectly free exercise of their     
religion and all other civil liberties2 
they have even a jurisdiction of their  
own4 ,on the other hand1 however1       
religious hatred goes so far1 that the  
name of ,jew has become an abomination2 
and this abhorrence1 which had taken    
root in barbarous times1 continued to   
show its effects till about thirteen    
years ago4 ,but this apparent           
contradiction may be very easily        
removed1 if it is considered that the   
religious and civil liberty1 conceded to
 the ,jews in ,poland1 has not its      
source in any respect for the universal 
rights of mankind1 while1 on the other  
hand1 the religious hatred and          
persecution are by no means the result  

of a wise policy which seeks to remove  
out of the way whatever is injurious to 
morality and the welfare of the ,state4 
,both phenomena are results of the      
political ignorance and torpor prevalent
 in the country4 ,with all their defects
 the ,jews are almost the only useful   
inhabitants of the country1 and         
therefore the ,polish people found      
themselves obliged1 for the satisfaction
 of their own wants1 to grant all       
possible liberties to the ,jews2 but1 on
 the other hand1 their moral ignorance  
and stupor could not fail to produce    
religious hatred and persecution4       
,,chapter ,i4  ,my ,grandfather's       
,housekeeping4   ,my grandfather1       
,heimann ,joseph1 was farmer of some    
villages in the neighbourhood of the    
town of ,mir1 in the territory of       
,prince ,radzivil4#g ,he selected for   
his residence one of these villages on  
the river ,niemen1 called ,sukoviborg1  
where1 besides a few peasants' plots1   
there was a water-mill1 a small harbour1

 and a warehouse for the use of the     
vessels that come from ,knigsberg1 in   
,prussia4 ,all this1 along with a bridge
 behind the village1 and on the other   
side a drawbridge on the river ,niemen1 
belonged to the farm1 which was then    
worth about a thousand gulden1 and      
formed my grandfather's ,chasakah4#h    
,this farm1 on account of the warehouse 
and the great traffic1 was very         
lucrative4 ,with sufficient industry and
 economical skill1 si mens non laeva    
fuisset1 my grandfather should have been
 able1 not only to support his family1  
but even to gather wealth4 ,the bad     
constitution of the country1 however1   
and his own want of all the acquirements
 necessary for utilising the land1      
placed extraordinary obstacles in his   
way4  ,my grandfather settled his       
brothers as tenants under him in the    
villages belonging to his farm4 ,these  
not only lived continually with my      
grandfather under the pretence of       
assisting him in his manifold           

occupations1 but in addition to this    
they would not pay their rents at the   
end of the year4  ,the buildings1       
belonging to my grandfather's farm1 had 
fallen into decay from age1 and required
 therefore to be repaired4 ,the harbour 
and the bridge also had become          
dilapidated4 ,in accordance with the    
terms of the lease the landlord was to  
repair everything1 and put it in a      
condition fit for use4 ,but1 like all   
the ,polish magnates1 he resided        
permanently in ,warsaw1 and could       
therefore give no attention to the      
improvement of his estates4 ,his        
stewards had for their principal object 
the improvement rather of their own     
condition than of their landlord's      
property4 ,they oppressed the farmers   
with all sorts of exactions1 they       
neglected the orders given for the      
improvement of the farms1 and the moneys
 intended for this purpose they applied 
to their own use4 ,my grandfather indeed
 made representations on the subject to 

the stewards day after day1 and assured 
them that it was impossible for him to  
pay his rent1 if everything was not put 
into proper condition according to the  
lease4 ,all this1 however1 was of no    
avail4 ,he always received promises     
indeed1 but the promises were never     
fulfilled4 ,the result was not only the 
ruin of the farm1 but several other     
evils arising from that4  ,as already   
mentioned1 there was a large traffic at 
this place2 and as the bridges were in a
 bad state1 it happened not infrequently
 that these broke down just when a      
,polish nobleman with his rich train was
 passing1 and horse and rider were      
plunged into the swamp4 ,the poor farmer
 was then dragged to the bridge1 where  
he was laid down and flogged till it was
 thought that sufficient revenge had    
been taken4  ,my grandfather therefore  
did all in his power to guard against   
this evil in the future4 ,for this      
purpose he stationed one of his people  
to keep watch at the bridge1 so that1 if

 any noble were passing1 and an accident
 of this sort should happen1 the        
sentinel might bring word to the house  
as quickly as possible1 and the whole   
family might thus have time to take     
refuge in the neighbouring wood4 ,every 
one thereupon ran in terror out of the  
house1 and not infrequently they were   
all obliged to remain the whole night in
 the open air1 till one after another   
ventured to approach the house4  ,this  
sort of life lasted for some            
generations4 ,my father used to tell of 
an incident of this sort1 which happened
 when he was still a boy of about eight 
years4 ,the whole family had fled to    
their usual retreat4 ,but my father1 who
 knew nothing of what had happened1 and 
was playing at the back of the stove1   
stayed behind alone4 ,when the angry    
lord came into the house with his suite1
 and found nobody on whom he could wreak
 his vengeance1 he ordered every corner 
of the house to be searched1 when my    
father was found at the back of the     

stove4 ,the nobleman asked him if he    
would drink brandy1 and1 on the boy     
refusing1 shouted3 ,if you will not     
drink brandy1 you shall drink water4 ,at
 the same time he ordered a bucketful of
 water to be brought1 and forced my     
father1 by lashes with his whip1 to     
drink it out4 ,naturally this treatment 
brought on a quartan fever1 which lasted
 nearly a whole year1 and completely    
undermined his health4  ,a similar      
incident took place when ,i was a child 
of three years4 ,every one ran out of   
the house2 and the housemaid1 who       
carried me in her arms1 hurried forth4  
,but as the servants of the nobleman who
 had arrived ran after her1 she         
quickened her steps1 and in her extreme 
haste let me fall from her arms4 ,there 
,i lay whimpering on the skirt of the   
wood1 till fortunately a peasant passing
 by lifted me up and took me home with  
him4 ,it was only after everything had  
become quiet again1 and the family had  
returned to the house1 that the maid    

remembered having lost me in the flight1
 when she began to lament and wring her 
hands4 ,they sought me everywhere1 but  
could not find me1 till at last the     
peasant came from the village and       
restored me to my parents4  ,it was not 
merely the terror and consternation1    
into which we used to be thrown on the  
occasion of such a flight2 to this was  
added the plundering of the house when  
deprived of its inhabitants4 ,beer1     
brandy1 and mead were drunk at pleasure2
 the spirit of revenge even went so far 
at times1 that the casks were left to   
run out2 corn and fowls were carried    
off2 and so forth4  ,had my grandfather1
 instead of seeking justice from a more 
powerful litigant1 rather borne the     
injustice1 and built the bridge in      
question at his own expense1 he would   
have been able to avoid all these evils4
 ,he appealed1 however1 persistently to 
the terms of his lease1 and the steward 
made sport of his misery4  ,and now     
something about my grandfather's        

domestic economy4 ,the manner of life1  
which he led in his house1 was quite    
simple4 ,the annual produce of the      
arable lands1 pasture-lands1 and        
kitchen-gardens1 belonging to the farm1 
was sufficient1 not only for the wants  
of his own family1 but also for brewing 
and distilling4 ,he could even1 besides1
 sell a quantity of grain and hay4 ,his 
bee-hives were sufficient for the       
brewing of mead4 ,he had also a large   
number of cattle4  ,the principal food  
consisted of a poor kind of corn-bread  
mixed with bran1 of articles made of    
meal and milk1 and of the produce of the
 garden1 seldom of flesh-meat4 ,the     
clothing was made of poor linen and     
coarse stuff4 ,only the women made in   
these matters a slight exception1 and my
 father also1 who was a scholar1        
required a different sort of life4      
,hospitality was here carried very far4 
,the ,jews in this neighbourhood are    
continually moving about from place to  
place2 and as there was a great traffic 

at our village1 they were frequently    
passing through it1 and of course they  
had always to stop at my grandfather's  
inn4 ,every ,jewish traveller was met at
 the door with a glass of spirits2 one  
hand making the salaam1#i while the     
other reached the glass4 ,he then had to
 wash his hands1 and seat himself at the
 table which remained constantly        
covered4  ,the support of a numerous    
family along with this hospitality would
 have had no serious effect in impairing
 my grandfather's circumstances1 if at  
the same time he had introduced a better
 economy in his house4 ,this1 however1  
was the source of his misfortune4  ,my  
grandfather was in trifles almost too   
economical1 and neglected therefore     
matters of the greatest importance4 ,he 
looked upon it1 for example1 as         
extravagance to burn wax or tallow      
candles2 their place had to be supplied 
with thin strips of resinous pine1 one  
end of which was stuck into the chinks  
of the wall1 while the other was lit4   

,not unfrequently by this means fires   
were occasioned1 and much damage caused1
 in comparison with which the cost of   
candles was not worth taking into       
consideration4  ,the apartment1 in which
 beer1 spirits1 mead1 herrings1 salt and
 other articles were kept for the daily 
account of the inn1 had no windows1 but 
merely apertures1 through which it      
received light4 ,naturally this often   
tempted the sailors and carriers who put
 up at the inn to climb into the        
apartment1 and make themselves drunk    
gratuitously with spirits and mead4     
,what was still worse1 these carousing  
heroes1 from fear of being caught in the
 act1 often took to flight1 on hearing  
the slightest noise1 without waiting to 
put in the spigot1 sprang out at the    
holes by which they had come in1 and let
 the liquor run as long as it might4 ,in
 this way sometimes whole casks of      
spirits and mead ran out4  ,the barns   
had no proper locks1 but were shut      
merely with wooden bolts4 ,any one      

therefore1 especially as the barns were 
at some distance from the               
dwelling-house1 could take from them at 
pleasure1 and even carry off whole      
waggonloads of grain4 ,the sheepfold    
had1 all over1 holes1 by which wolves   
7the forest being quite near7 were able 
to slink in1 and worry the sheep at     
their convenience4  ,the cows came very 
often from the pasture with empty       
udders4 ,according to the superstition  
which prevailed there1 it was said in   
such cases1 that the milk had been taken
 from them by witchcraft1--a misfortune1
 against which it was supposed that     
nothing could be done4  ,my grandmother1
 a good simple woman1 when tired with   
her household occupations1 lay down     
often in her clothes to sleep by the    
stove1 and had all her pockets full of  
money1 without knowing how much4 ,of    
this the housemaid took advantage1 and  
emptied the pockets of half their       
contents4 ,nevertheless my grandmother  
seldom perceived the want1 if only the  

girl did not play too clumsy a trick4   
,all these evils could easily have been 
avoided of course by repairing the      
buildings1 the windows1 the             
window-shutters and locks1 by proper    
oversight of the manifold lucrative     
occupations connected with the farm1 as 
also by keeping an exact account of     
receipts and disbursements4 ,but this   
was never thought of4 ,on the other     
hand1 if my father1 who was a scholar1  
and educated partly in town1 ordered for
 himself a rabbinical suit1 for which a 
finer stuff was required than that in   
common use1 my grandfather did not fail 
to give him a long and severe lecture on
 the vanity of the world4 ,our          
forefathers1 he used to say1 knew       
nothing of these new-fashioned costumes1
 and yet were devout people4 ,you must  
have a coat of striped woolen cloth1#aj 
you must have leather hose1 with buttons
 even1 and everything on the same scale4
 ,you will bring me to beggary at last2 
,i shall be thrown into prison on your  

account4 ,ay me1 poor unfortunate man6  
,what is to become of me8  ,my father   
then appealed to the rights and         
privileges of the profession of a       
scholar1 and showed moreover that1 in a 
well-arranged system of economy1 it does
 not so much matter whether you live    
somewhat better or worse1 and that even 
my grandfather's misfortunes arose1 not 
from extravagant consumption in         
housekeeping1 but rather from the fact  
that he allowed himself by his          
remissness to be plundered by others4   
,all this however was of no avail with  
my grandfather4 ,he could not tolerate  
innovations4 ,everything therefore had  
to be left as it was4  ,my grandfather  
was held in the place of his abode to be
 a rich man1 which he could really have 
been if he had known how to make use of 
his opportunities2 and on this account  
he was envied and hated by all1 even by 
his own family1 he was abandoned by his 
landlord1 he was oppressed in every     
possible way by the steward1 and cheated

 and robbed by his own domestics as well
 as by strangers4 ,in short1 he was the 
poorest rich man in the world4  ,in     
addition to all this there were still   
greater misfortunes1 which ,i cannot    
here pass over wholly in silence4 ,the  
pope1 that is1 the ,russian clergyman in
 this village1 was a dull ignorant      
blockhead1 who had scarcely learned to  
read and write4 ,he spent most of his   
time at the inn1 where he drank spirits 
with his boorish parishioners1 and let  
his liquor always be put down to his    
account1 without ever a thought of      
paying his score4 ,my grandfather at    
last became tired of this1 and made up  
his mind to give him nothing more upon  
credit4 ,the fellow naturally took this 
very ill1 and therefore resolved upon   
revenge4  ,for this he found at length a
 means1 at which indeed humanity        
shudders1 but of which the ,catholic    
,christians in ,poland were wont to make
 use very often at that time4 ,this was 
to charge my grandfather with the murder

 of a ,christian1 and thus bring him to 
the gallows4 ,this was done in the      
following way3 ,a beaver-trapper1 who   
sojourned constantly in this            
neighbourhood to catch beavers on the   
,niemen1 was accustomed at times to     
trade in these animals with my          
grandfather2 and this had to be done    
secretly1 for the beaver is game        
preserved1 and all that are taken must  
be delivered at the manor4 ,the trapper 
came once about midnight1 knocked and   
asked for my grandfather4 ,he showed him
 a bag which was pretty heavy to lift1  
and said to him with a mysterious air1  
,i have brought you a good big fellow   
here4 ,my grandfather was going to      
strike a light1 to examine the beaver1  
and come to terms about it with the     
peasant4 ,he however said1 that this was
 unnecessary1 that my grandfather might 
take the beaver at any rate1 and that   
they would be sure to agree about it    
afterwards4 ,my grandfather1 who had no 
suspicion of evil1 took the bag just as 

it was1 laid it aside1 and betook       
himself again to rest4 ,scarcely1       
however1 had he fallen asleep again1    
when he was roused a second time with a 
loud noise of knocking4  ,it was the    
clergyman with some boors from the      
village1 who immediately began to make  
search all over in the house4 ,they     
found the bag1 and my grandfather       
already trembled for the issue1 because 
he believed nothing else than that he   
had been betrayed at the manor on       
account of his secret trade in beavers1 
and he could not deny the fact4 ,but how
 great was his horror1 when the bag was 
opened1 and1 instead of a beaver1 there 
was found a corpse6  ,my grandfather was
 bound with his hands behind his back1  
his feet were put into stocks1 he was   
thrown into a waggon1 and brought to the
 town of ,mir1 where he was given over  
to the criminal court4 ,he was made fast
 in chains1 and put into a dark prison4 
,at the trial my grandfather stood upon 
his innocence1 related the events       

exactly as they had happened1 and1 as   
was reasonable1 demanded that the       
beaver-trapper should be examined too4  
,he1 however1 was nowhere to be found1  
was already over the hills and far away4
 ,he was sought everywhere4 ,but the    
blood-thirsty judge of the criminal     
court1 to whom the time became tedious1 
ordered my grandfather three times in   
succession to be brought to torture4    
,he1 however1 continued steadfast in his
 assertion4  ,at last the hero of the   
beavers was found4 ,he was examined2 and
 as he straightway denied the whole     
affair1 he also was put to the test of  
torture4 ,thereupon at once he blabbed  
the whole story4 ,he declared that1 some
 time before1 he had found this dead    
body in the water1 and was going to     
bring it to the parsonage for burial4   
,the parson however had said to him1    
,there is plenty of time for the burial4
 ,you know that the ,jews are a hardened
 race1 and are therefore damned to all  
eternity4 ,they crucified our ,lord     

,jesus ,christ1 and even yet they seek  
,christian blood1 if only they can get  
hold of it for their passover1 which is 
instituted as a sign of their triumph4  
,they use it for their passover-cake4   
,you will therefore do a meritorious    
work1 if you can smuggle this dead body 
into the house of the damned ,jew of a  
farmer4 ,you must of course clear out1  
but your trade you can drive anywhere4  
,on this confession the fellow was      
whipped out of the place1 and my        
grandfather set free2 but the pope      
remained pope4  ,for an everlasting     
memorial of this deliverance of my      
grandfather from death1 my father       
composed in ,hebrew a sort of epopee1 in
 which the whole event was narrated1 and
 the goodness of ,god was sung4 ,it was 
also made a law1 that the day of his    
deliverance should be celebrated in the 
family every year1 when this poem should
 be recited in the same way as the ,book
 of ,esther at the festival of          
,haman4#aa     ,,chapter ,,ii4  ,first  

,reminiscences of ,youth4   ,in this    
manner my grandfather lived for many    
years in the place where his forefathers
 had dwelt2 his farm had become1 as it  
were1 a property of the family4 ,by the 
,jewish ceremonial law the ,chazakah1   
that is1 the right of property in an    
estate1 is acquired by three years'     
possession2 and the right is respected  
even by ,christians in this             
neighbourhood4 ,in virtue of this law no
 other ,jew could try to get possession 
of the farm by a ,hosaphah1 that is1 an 
offer of higher rent1 if he would not   
bring down upon himself the ,jewish     
excommunication4 ,although the          
possession of the farm was accompanied  
with many hardships and even            
oppressions1 yet it was from another    
point of view very lucrative4 ,my       
grandfather could not only live as a    
well-to-do man1 but also provide richly 
for his children4  ,his three daughters 
were well dowered1 and married to       
excellent men4 ,his two sons1 my uncle  

,moses and my father ,joshua1 were      
married likewise2 and when he became    
old1 and enfeebled by the hardships to  
which he had been exposed1 he gave over 
the management of the house to his two  
sons in common4 ,these were of different
 temperaments and inclinations1 my uncle
 ,moses being of strong bodily          
constitution1 but inferior intelligence1
 while my father was the opposite2 and  
consequently they could not work        
together well4 ,my grandfather therefore
 gave over to my uncle another village1 
and kept my father by himself1 although 
from his profession as a scholar my     
father was not particularly adapted for 
the occupations of household-management4
 ,he merely kept accounts1 made         
contracts1 conducted processes at law1  
and attended to other matters of the    
same sort4 ,my mother1 on the other     
hand1 was a very lively woman1 well     
disposed to all sorts of occupations4   
,she was small of stature1 and at that  
time still very young4  ,an anecdote ,i 

cannot avoid touching on here1 because  
it is the earliest reminiscence from the
 years of my youth4 ,i was about three  
years old at the time4 ,the merchants1  
who put up constantly at the place1 and 
especially the shaffers1 that is1 the   
nobles who undertook the navigation1 the
 purchase and delivery of goods1 for the
 higher nobility1 were extremely fond of
 me on account of my liveliness1 and    
made all sorts of fun with me4 ,these   
merry gentlemen gave my mother1 on      
account of her small stature and        
liveliness1 the nickname of ,kuza1 that 
is1 a young filly4#ab ,as ,i heard them 
often call her by this name1 and knew   
nothing of its meaning1 ,i also called  
her ,mama ,kuza4 ,my mother rebuked me  
for this1 and said1 ,god punishes any   
one who calls his mother ,mama ,kuza4   
,one of these ,shaffers1 ,herr          
,piliezki1 used every day to take tea in
 our house1 and enticed me to his side  
by giving me at times a bit of sugar4   
,one morning while he was drinking his  

tea1 when ,i had placed myself in the   
usual position for receiving the sugar1 
he said he would give it to me only on  
condition that ,i should say ,mama      
,kuza4 ,now as my mother was present1 ,i
 refused to do it4 ,he made a sign      
therefore to my mother to go into an    
adjoining room4 ,as soon as she had shut
 the door1 ,i went to him and whispered 
into his ear1 ,mama ,kuza4 ,he insisted 
however that ,i should say it out loud1 
and promised to give me a piece of sugar
 for each time that it was spoken4      
,accordingly ,i said1 ,herr ,piliezki   
wants me to say ,mama ,kuza2 but ,i will
 not say ,mama ,kuza1 because ,god      
punishes any one who says ,mama ,kuza4  
,thereupon ,i got my three pieces of    
sugar4  ,my father introduced into the  
house a more refined mode of life1      
especially as he traded with ,knigsberg 
in ,prussia1 where he procured all sorts
 of pretty and useful articles4 ,he     
provided himself with tin and brass     
utensils2 we began to have better meals1

 to wear finer clothes1 than before2 ,i 
was even clad in damask4     ,,chapter  
,,iii4  ,private ,education and         
,independent ,study4   ,in my sixth year
 my father began to read the ,bible with
 me4 ,in the beginning ,god created the 
heaven and the earth4 ,here ,i          
interrupted my father1 and asked1 ,but1 
papa1 who created ,god8  ,god was not   
created by any one1 replied my father2  
,he existed from all eternity4  ,did he 
exist ten years ago8 ,i asked again4  ,o
 yes1 my father said1 ,he existed even a
 hundred years ago4  ,then perhaps1 ,i  
continued1 ,god is already a thousand   
years old8  ,silence6 ,god was eternal4 
,but1 ,i insisted1 ,he must surely have 
been born at some time4  ,you little    
fool1 said my father1 ,no6 ,he was for  
ever and ever and ever4  ,with this     
answer ,i was not indeed satisfied2 but 
,i thought ,surely papa must know better
 than ,i1 and with that ,i must         
therefore be content4  ,this mode of    
representation is very natural in early 

youth1 when the understanding is still  
undeveloped1 while the imagination is in
 full bloom4 ,the understanding seeks   
merely to grasp1 the imagination to     
grasp all round4#ac ,that is to say1 the
 understanding seeks to make the origin 
of an object conceivable1 without       
considering1 whether the object1 whose  
origin is known1 can also be actually   
represented by us or not4 ,the          
imagination1 on the other hand1 seeks to
 gather into a complete image something1
 the origin of which is to us unknown4  
,thus1 for example1 an infinite series  
of numbers1 which progresses according  
to a definite law1 is for the           
understanding an object1 to which by    
this law definite qualities are         
attached1 and an object just as good as 
a finite series1 which progresses       
according to the same law4 ,for the     
imagination1 on the other hand1 the     
latter indeed is an object2 but not the 
former1 because it cannot grasp the     
former as a completed whole4  ,a long   

time afterwards1 when ,i was staying in 
,breslau1 this consideration suggested  
to me a thought1 which ,i expressed in  
an essay that ,i laid before ,professor 
,garve1 and which1 though at the time ,i
 knew nothing of the ,kantian           
philosophy1 still constitutes its       
foundation4 ,i explained this somewhat  
in the following way3--,the             
metaphysicians necessarily fall into    
self-contradiction4 ,according to the   
confession of ,leibnitz himself1 who in 
this appeals to the experiment of       
,archimedes with the lever1 the ,law of 
,sufficient ,reason or ,causality is a  
principle of experience4 ,now1 it is    
quite true that in experience everything
 is found to have a cause2 but for the  
very reason1 that every thing has a     
cause1 nothing can be met with in       
experience which is a first cause1 that 
is1 a cause which has no cause to       
itself4 ,how then can the metaphysicians
 infer from this law the existence of a 
first cause8  ,afterwards ,i found this 

objection more particularly developed in
 the ,kantian philosophy1 where it is   
shown that the ,category of ,cause1 or  
the form of hypothetical judgments used 
in reference to the objects of nature1  
by which their relation to one another  
is determined a priori1 can be applied  
only to objects of experience through an
 a priori schema4 ,the first cause1     
which implies a complete infinite series
 of causes1 and therefore in fact a     
contradiction1 since the infinite can   
never be complete1 is not an object of  
the understanding1 but an idea of       
reason1 or1 according to my theory1 a   
fiction of the imagination1 which1 not  
content with the mere knowledge of the  
law1 seeks to gather the multiplicity1  
which is subject to the law1 into an    
image1 though in opposition to the law  
itself4  ,on another occasion ,i read in
 the ,bible the story of ,jacob and     
,esau2 and in this connection my father 
quoted the passage from the ,talmud1    
where it is said1 ,jacob and ,esau      

divided between them all the blessings  
of the world4 ,esau chose the blessings 
of this life1 ,jacob1 on the contrary1  
those of the future life2 and since we  
are descended from ,jacob1 we must give 
up all claim to temporal blessings4 ,on 
this ,i said with indignation1 ,jacob   
should not have been a fool2 he should  
rather have chosen the blessings of this
 world4 ,unfortunately ,i got for       
answer1 ,you ungodly rascal6 and a box  
on the ear4 ,this did not of course     
remove my doubt1 but it brought me to   
silence at least4  ,the ,prince         
,radzivil1 who was a great lover of the 
chase1 came one day with his whole court
 to hunt in the neighbourhood of our    
village4 ,among the party was his       
daughter who afterwards married ,prince 
,rawuzki4 ,the young princess1 in order 
to enjoy rest at noon1 betook herself   
with the ladies of her court1 the       
servants in waiting and the lackeys1 to 
the very room1 where as a boy ,i was    
sitting behind the stove4 ,i was struck 

with astonishment at the magnificence   
and splendour of the court1 gazed with  
rapture at the beauty of the persons and
 at the dresses with their trimmings of 
gold and silver lace2 ,i could not      
satisfy my eyes with the sight4 ,my     
father came just as ,i was out of myself
 with joy1 and had broken into the      
words1 ,o how beautiful6 ,in order to   
calm me1 and at the same time to confirm
 me in the principles of our faith1 he  
whispered into my ear1 ,little fool1 in 
the other world the duksel will kindle  
the pezsure for us1 which means1 ,in the
 future life the princess will kindle   
the stove for us4 ,no one can conceive  
the sort of feeling which this statement
 produced in me4 ,on the one hand1 ,i   
believed my father1 and was very glad   
about this future happiness in store for
 us2 but ,i felt at the same time pity  
for the poor princess who was going to  
be doomed to such a degrading service4  
,on the other hand1 ,i could not get it 
into my head1 that this beautiful rich  

princess in this splendid dress should  
ever make a fire for a poor ,jew4 ,i was
 thrown into the greatest perplexity on 
the subject1 till some game drove these 
thoughts out of my head4  ,i had from   
childhood a great inclination and talent
 for drawing4 ,true1 ,i had in my       
father's house never a chance of seeing 
a work of art1 but ,i found on the      
title-page of some ,hebrew books        
woodcuts of foliage1 birds and so forth4
 ,i felt great pleasure in these        
woodcuts1 and made an effort to imitate 
them with a bit of chalk or charcoal4   
,what however strengthened this         
inclination in me still more was a      
,hebrew book of fables1 in which the    
personages who play their part in the   
fables--the animals--were represented in
 such woodcuts4 ,i copied all the       
figures with the greatest exactness4 ,my
 father admired indeed my skill in this1
 but rebuked me at the same time in     
these words1 ,you want to become a      
painter8 ,you are to study the ,talmud1 

and become a rabbi4 ,he who understands 
the ,talmud1 understands everything4    
,this desire and faculty for painting   
went with me so far1 that when my father
 had settled in ,h----1 where there was 
a manor-house with some beautifully     
tapestried rooms1 which were constantly 
unoccupied because the landlord resided 
elsewhere1 and very seldom visited the  
place1 ,i used to steal away from home  
whenever ,i could1 to copy the figures  
on the tapestries4 ,i was found once in 
mid-winter half-frozen1 standing before 
the wall1 holding the paper in one hand 
7for there was no furniture in this     
apartment71 and with the other hand     
copying the figures off the wall4 ,yet  
,i judge of myself at present1 that1 if 
,i had kept to it1 ,i should have become
 a great1 but not an exact1 painter1    
that is to say1 ,i sketched with ease   
the main features of a picture1 but had 
not the patience to work it out in      
detail4  ,my father had in his study a  
cupboard containing books4 ,he had      

forbidden me indeed to read any books   
but the ,talmud4 ,this1 however1 was of 
no avail3 as he was occupied the most of
 his time with household affairs1 ,i    
took advantage of the opportunity thus  
afforded4 ,under the impulse of         
curiosity ,i made a raid upon the       
cupboard and glanced over all the books4
 ,the result was1 that1 as ,i had       
already a fair knowledge of ,hebrew1 ,i 
found more pleasure in some of these    
books than in the ,talmud4 ,and this    
result was surely natural4 ,take the    
subjects of the ,talmud1 which1 with the
 exception of those relating to         
jurisprudence1 are dry and mostly       
unintelligible to a child--the laws of  
sacrifice1 of purification1 of forbidden
 meats1 of feasts1 and so forth--in     
which the oddest rabbinical conceits are
 elaborated through many volumes with   
the finest dialectic1 and the most      
absurd questions are discussed with the 
highest efforts of intellectual power2  
for example1 how many white hairs may a 

red cow have1 and yet remain a red cow2 
what sorts of scabs require this or that
 sort of purification2 whether a louse  
or a flea may be killed on the          
,sabbath1--the first being allowed1     
while the second is a deadly            
sin2--whether the slaughter of an animal
 ought to be executed at the neck or the
 tail2 whether the highpriest put on his
 shirt or his hose first2 whether the   
,jabam1 that is1 the brother of a man   
who died childless1 being required by   
law to marry the widow1 is relieved from
 his obligation if he falls off a roof  
and sticks in the mire4 ,ohe jam satis  
est6 ,compare these glorious            
disputations1 which are served up to    
young people and forced on them even to 
disgust1 with history1 in which natural 
events are related in an instructive and
 agreeable manner1 with a knowledge of  
the world's structure1 by which the     
outlook into nature is widened1 and the 
vast whole is brought into a            
well-ordered system2 surely my          

preference will be justified4  ,the most
 valuable books in the collection were  
four4 ,there was a ,hebrew chronicle    
under the title of ,zemach ,david1#ad   
written by a sensible chief rabbi in    
,prague1 named ,rabbi ,david ,gans4 ,he 
was also the author of the astronomical 
book spoken of in the sequel1 and he had
 had the honour of being acquainted with
 ,tycho ,brahe1 and of making           
astronomical observations with him in   
the ,observatory at ,copenhagen4 ,there 
were besides1 a ,josephus1 which was    
evidently garbled1 and a ,history of the
 ,persecutions of the ,jews in ,spain4  
,but what attracted me most powerfully  
was an astronomical work4 ,in this work 
a new world was opened to me1 and ,i    
gave myself up to the study with the    
greatest diligence4 ,think of a child   
about seven years of age1 in my         
position1 with an astronomical work     
thrown in his way1 and exciting his     
interest4 ,i had never seen or heard    
anything of the first elements of       

mathematics1 and ,i had no one to give  
me any direction in the study3 for it is
 needless to say1 that to my father ,i  
dared not even let my curiosity in the  
matter be known1 and1 apart from that1  
he was not in a position to give me any 
information on the subject4 ,how must   
the spirit of a child1 thirsting for    
knowledge1 have been inflamed by such a 
discovery6 ,this the result will show4  
,as ,i was still a child1 and the beds  
in my father's house were few1 ,i was   
allowed to sleep with my old            
grandmother1 whose bed stood in the     
above-mentioned study4 ,as ,i was       
obliged during the day to occupy myself 
solely with the study of the ,talmud1   
and durst not take another book in my   
hand1 ,i devoted the evenings to my     
astronomical inquiries4 ,accordingly    
after my grandmother had gone to bed1 ,i
 put some fresh wood on the fire1 made  
for the cupboard1 and took out my       
beloved astronomical book4 ,my          
grandmother indeed scolded me1 because  

it was too cold for the old lady to lie 
alone in bed2 but ,i did not trouble    
myself about that1 and continued my     
study till the fire was burnt out4      
,after ,i had carried this on for some  
evenings1 ,i came to the description of 
the celestial sphere and its imaginary  
circles1 designed for the explanation of
 astronomical phenomena4 ,this was      
represented in the book by a single     
figure1 in connection with which the    
author gave the reader the good advice1 
that1 since the manifold circles could  
not be represented in a plane figure    
except by straight lines1 he should1 for
 the sake of rendering them more clearly
 intelligible1 make for himself either  
an ordinary globe or an armillary       
sphere4 ,i therefore formed the         
resolution to make such a sphere out of 
twisted rods2 and after ,i had finished 
this work1 ,i was in a position to      
understand the whole book4 ,but as ,i   
had to take care lest my father should  
find out how ,i had been occupied1 ,i   

always hid my armillary sphere in a     
corner behind the cupboard before ,i    
went to bed4  ,my grandmother1 who had  
on several occasions observed that ,i   
was wholly absorbed in my reading1 but  
now and then lifted my eyes to look at a
 number of circles formed of twisted    
rods laid on one another1 fell into the 
greatest consternation over the matter2 
she believed nothing less than that her 
grandson had lost his wits4 ,she did not
 delay1 therefore1 to tell my father1   
and point out to him the place where the
 magical instrument was kept4 ,he soon  
guessed what was the meaning of this4   
,accordingly he took the sphere in his  
hand1 and sent for me4 ,when ,i came1 he
 asked me1 ,what sort of plaything is   
this8  ,it is a ,kadur1#ae ,i replied4  
,what does it mean8 he asked4  ,i then  
explained to him the use of all the     
circles for the purpose of making the   
celestial phenomena intelligible4 ,my   
father1 who was a good rabbi indeed1 but
 had no special talent for science1     

could not comprehend all that ,i        
endeavoured to make comprehensible4 ,he 
was especially puzzled1 by the          
comparison of my armillary sphere with  
the figure in the book1 to understand   
how out of straight lines circles should
 be evolved2 but one thing he could     
see1--that ,i was sure of my business4  
,he therefore scolded me1 it is true1   
because ,i had transgressed his command 
to meddle with nothing beyond the       
,talmud2 but still he felt a secret     
pleasure1 that his young son1 without a 
guide or previous training1 had been    
able by himself to master an entire work
 of science4 ,and with this the affair  
came to an end4     ,,chapter ,,iv4     
,jewish ,schools--,the ,joy of being    
released from them causes a stiff foot4 
,my brother ,joseph and ,i were sent to 
,mir to school4 ,my brother1 who was    
about twelve years old1 was put to board
 with a schoolmaster of some repute at  
that time1 by name ,jossel4 ,this man   
was the terror of all young people1 the 

scourge of ,god2 he treated those in his
 charge with unheard of cruelty1 flogged
 them till the blood came1 even for the 
slightest offence1 and not infrequently 
tore off their ears1 or beat their eyes 
out4 ,when the parents of these         
unfortunates came to him1 and brought   
him to task1 he struck them with stones 
or whatever else came to hand1 and drove
 them with his stick out of the house   
back to their own dwellings1 without any
 respect of persons4 ,all under his     
discipline became either blockheads or  
good scholars4 ,i1 who was then only    
seven years old1 was sent to another    
schoolmaster4  ,an anecdote ,i must here
 relate1 which shows on the one side    
great brotherly love1 and on the other  
may be viewed as expressing the         
condition of a child's mind1 that sways 
between the hope of lightening an evil1 
and the fear of increasing it4 ,one day 
as ,i came from school1 my eyes were all
 red with weeping1 for which there was  
doubtless good cause4 ,my brother       

observed this1 and asked the reason4 ,at
 first ,i showed some hesitation in     
answering2 but at last ,i said1 ,i weep 
because we dare not tell tales out of   
school4 ,my brother understood me very  
well1 was extremely indignant at my     
teacher1 and was going to read him a    
lesson on the subject4 ,i begged him    
however not to do it1 because in all    
probability the teacher would take his  
revenge on me for telling tales out of  
school4  ,i must now say something of   
the condition of the ,jewish schools in 
general4 ,the school is commonly a small
 smoky hut1 and the children are        
scattered1 some on benches1 some on the 
bare earth4 ,the master1 in a dirty     
blouse sitting on the table1 holds      
between his knees a bowl1 in which he   
grinds tobacco into snuff with a huge   
pestle like the club of ,hercules1 while
 at the same time he wields his         
authority4 ,the ushers give lessons1    
each in his own corner1 and rule those  
under their charge quite as despotically

 as the master himself4 ,of the         
breakfast1 lunch1 and other food sent to
 the school for the children1 these     
gentlemen keep the largest share for    
themselves4 ,sometimes even the poor    
youngsters get nothing at all2 and yet  
they dare not make any complaint on the 
subject1 if they will not expose        
themselves to the vengeance of these    
tyrants4 ,here the children are         
imprisoned from morning to night1 and   
have not an hour to themselves1 except  
on ,friday and a half-holiday at the    
,newmoon4  ,as far as study is          
concerned1 the reading of ,hebrew at    
least is pretty regularly learned4 ,on  
the other hand1 with the mastery of the 
,hebrew language very seldom is any     
progress made4 ,grammar is not treated  
in the school at all1 but has to be     
learnt ex usu1 by translation of the    
,holy ,scriptures1 very much as the     
ordinary man learns imperfectly the     
grammar of his mother-tongue by social  
intercourse4 ,moreover there is no      

dictionary of the ,hebrew language4 ,the
 children therefore begin at once with  
the explanation of the ,bible4 ,this is 
divided into as many sections as there  
are weeks in the year1 in order that the
 ,books of ,moses1 which are read in the
 synagogues every ,saturday1 may be read
 through in a year4 ,accordingly every  
week some verses from the beginning of  
the section proper to the week are      
explained in school1 and that with every
 possible grammatical blunder4 ,nor can 
it well be otherwise4 ,for the ,hebrew  
must be explained by means of the       
mother-tongue4 ,but the mother-tongue of
 the ,polish ,jews is itself full of    
defects and grammatical inaccuracies2   
and as a matter of course therefore also
 the ,hebrew language1 which is learned 
by its means1 must be of the same stamp4
 ,the pupil thus acquires just as little
 knowledge of the language1 as of the   
contents1 of the ,bible4  ,in addition  
to this the ,talmudists have fastened   
all sorts of extraordinary conceits on  

the ,bible4 ,the ignorant teacher       
believes with confidence1 that the      
,bible cannot in reality have any other 
meaning than that which these           
expositions ascribe to it2 and the pupil
 must follow his teacher's faith1 so    
that the right understanding of words   
necessarily becomes lost4 ,for example1 
in the first ,book of ,moses it is said1
 ,jacob sent messengers to his brother  
,esau1 etc4 ,now1 the ,talmudists were  
pleased to give out1 that these         
messengers were angels4 ,for though the 
word ,malachim in ,hebrew denotes       
messenger as well as angels1 these      
marvel-mongers preferred the second     
signification1 because the first        
contains nothing marvellous4 ,the pupil 
therefore holds the belief firm and     
fast1 that ,malachim denotes nothing but
 angels2 and the natural meaning of     
messengers is for him wholly lost4 ,a   
correct knowledge of the ,hebrew        
language and a sound exegesis can be    
attained only gradually by independent  

study and by reading grammars and       
critical commentaries on the ,bible1    
like those of ,rabbi ,david ,kimchi#af  
and ,aben ,esra2 but of these very few  
rabbis make use4  ,as the children are  
doomed in the bloom of youth to such an 
infernal school1 it may be easily       
imagined with what joy and rapture they 
look forward to their release4 ,we1 that
 is1 my brother and ,i1 were taken home 
to the great feasts2 and it was on a    
trip of this sort1 that the following   
incident happened1 which in relation to 
me was very critical4 ,my mother came   
once before ,whitsuntide to the town    
where we were at school1 in order to    
purchase sundry articles required for   
the house4 ,she then took us home with  
her4 ,the release from school1 and the  
sight of the beauty of nature which at  
this season displays its best attire1   
threw us into such ecstasy1 that we fell
 upon all sorts of wanton fancies4 ,when
 we were not far from home1 my brother  
sprang out of the carriage1 and ran     

forward on foot4 ,i was going to imitate
 his daring leap1 but unfortunately had 
not sufficient strength4 ,i fell down   
therefore with violence on the carriage1
 so that my legs came between the       
wheels1 and one of these passed over my 
left leg1 which was thereby pitiably    
crushed4 ,i was carried home half-dead4 
,my foot became cramped1 and ,i was     
wholly unable to move it4  ,a ,jewish   
doctor was consulted1 who had not indeed
 regularly studied and graduated at a   
university1 but had acquired his medical
 knowledge merely by serving with a     
physician and reading some medical books
 in the ,polish language1 who was       
nevertheless a very good practical      
physician1 and effected many successful 
cures4 ,he said that at present he was  
provided with no medicines1--the nearest
 apothecary's shop was about twenty     
miles#ag distant1--and consequently he  
could prescribe nothing in the ordinary 
method1 but that meanwhile a simple     
domestic remedy might be applied4 ,the  

remedy was1 to kill a dog and thrust    
into it the cramped foot2 this1 repeated
 several times1 was to give certain     
relief4 ,the prescription was followed  
with the desired result1 so that after  
some weeks ,i was able to use the foot  
again1 and by degrees ,i completely     
recovered4  ,i think it would not be at 
all amiss1 if medical men gave more     
attention to such domestic remedies1    
which are used with good results in     
districts where there are no regular    
physicians or apothecaries' shops2 they 
might even make special journeys with   
this end in view4 ,i know many a case of
 this sort1 which can be in nowise      
explained away4 ,this however in        
passing4 ,i return to my story4         
,,chapter ,v4  ,my ,family is driven    
into ,misery1 and an old ,servant loses 
by his great ,faithfulness a ,christian 
,burial4   ,my father1 who1 as already  
mentioned1 traded with ,knigsberg in    
,prussia1 had once shipped in a vessel  
of ,prince ,radzivil's some barrels of  

salt and herrings which he had bought   
there4 ,when he came home and was going 
to fetch his goods1 the agent1          
,schachna1 absolutely refused to let him
 take them4 ,my father then showed the  
bill of lading1 which he had got on the 
shipment of the goods2 but the agent    
tore it out of his hands1 and threw it  
into the fire4 ,my father found himself 
therefore compelled to carry on a long  
and costly suit1 which he had to delay  
till the following year1 when he would  
again make a journey to ,knigsberg4     
,here he obtained a certificate from the
 custom-house1 showing that he had      
shipped the said goods in a vessel of   
,prince ,radzivil's under the direction 
of ,herr ,schachna4 ,on this certificate
 the agent was summoned before the      
court1 but found it convenient not to   
make an appearance2 and my father gained
 the suit in the first1 second1 and     
third instances4 ,in spite of this1     
however1 as a consequence of the        
wretched administration of justice in   

,poland at the time1 my father had no   
power to execute this decision1 and     
therefore from this successful suit he  
did not even recover the costs4  ,to    
this was added the further result1 that 
by this suit he made ,herr ,schachna an 
enemy who persecuted him now in every   
possible way4 ,this the cunning         
scoundrel could accomplish very well1 as
 by all sorts of intrigues he had been  
appointed by ,prince ,radzivil steward  
of all his estates situated in the      
district of ,mir4 ,he resolved therefore
 on my father's ruin1 and only waited   
for a convenient opportunity to carry   
out his revenge4  ,this he found soon2  
and indeed a ,jew1 who was named after  
his farm ,schwersen1 and was known as   
the biggest scoundrel in the whole      
neighbourhood1 offered him a hand4 ,this
 fellow was an ignoramus1 did not even  
understand the ,jewish language1 and    
made use therefore of ,russian4 ,he     
occupied himself mainly in examining the
 farms in the neighbourhood1 and he knew

 how to get possession of the most      
lucrative among them by offering a      
higher rent and bribing the steward4    
,without troubling himself in the least 
about the laws of the ,chazakah1#ah he  
drove the old legal farmers from their  
possessions1 and enriched himself by    
this means4 ,he thus lived in wealth and
 fortune1 and in this state reached an  
advanced age4  ,the scoundrel had       
already for a long time had his eye on  
my grandfather's farm1 and waited merely
 for a favourable opportunity and a     
plausible pretext to get possession of  
it himself4 ,unfortunately my granduncle
 ,jacob1 who lived in another village   
belonging to my grandfather's farm1 had 
been obliged to become a debtor of the  
scoundrel to the amount of about fifty  
rix-dollars4 ,as he could not clear off 
the debt at the time when it was due1   
his creditor came with some servants of 
the manor1 and threatened to seize the  
cauldron1 in which my granduncle's whole
 wealth consisted4 ,in consternation he 

loaded a waggon secretly with the       
cauldron1 drove with all haste to my    
grandfather's1 and1 without letting any 
of us know1 hid it in the adjoining     
marsh behind the house4 ,his creditor1  
however1 who followed on his heels1 came
 to my grandfather's1 and made search   
all over1 but could find the cauldron   
nowhere4 ,irritated at this unsuccessful
 stroke1 and breathing vengeance against
 my grandfather who1 he believed1 had   
prevented his success1 he rode to the   
town1 carried to the steward an imposing
 present1 and offered for my            
grandfather's farm double the rent1     
besides an annual voluntary present to  
the steward4  ,this gentleman1 joyous   
over such an offer1 and mindful of the  
disgrace which my father1 a ,jew1 had   
brought upon him1 a ,polish noble1 by   
the above-mentioned suit1 made on the   
spot a contract with the scoundrel1 by  
which he not only gave over to him this 
farm with all the rights pertaining to  
it even before the end of my            

grandfather's lease1 but also robbed my 
grandfather of all he had1--his barns   
full of grain1 his cattle1 etc41--and   
shared the plunder with the new farmer4 
,my grandfather was therefore obliged   
with his whole family to quit his       
dwelling-place in mid-winter1 and1      
without knowing where he should settle  
again1 to wander about from place to    
place4 ,our departure from this place   
was very affecting4 ,the whole          
neighbourhood lamented our fate4 ,an old
 and faithful servant of eighty years1  
named ,gabriel1 who had carried in his  
arms even my grandfather as a child1    
insisted on going with us4              
,representations were made to him on the
 severity of the season1 our unfortunate
 situation1 and the uncertainty in which
 we ourselves were placed as to our     
future destiny4 ,but it was of no avail4
 ,he placed himself on the road before  
the gate1 by which our waggons had to   
pass1 and lamented so long that we were 
obliged to take him up4 ,he did not     

however travel with us long3 his        
advanced age1 his grief over our misery1
 and the severe season gave him soon the
 finishing stroke4 ,he died when we had 
gone scarcely two or three miles2 and as
 no ,catholic or ,russian community     
would allow him burial in their         
churchyard--he was a ,prussian and a    
,lutheran--he was buried at our expense 
in the open field4     ,,chapter ,,vi4  
,new ,abode1 new ,misery--,the          
,talmudist4   ,we wandered about        
therefore in the country1 like the      
,israelites in the wilderness of        
,arabia1 without knowing where or when  
we should find a place of rest4 ,at last
 we came to a village which belonged to 
two landlords4 ,the one part was already
 leased2 but the landlord of the other  
could not lease his1 because he had     
still to build a house4 ,weary of       
wandering in winter-time with a whole   
family1 my grandfather resolved to take 
a lease of this house1 which was still  
to be built1 along with its             

appurtenances1 and meanwhile1 till the  
house was ready1 to make shift as well  
as he could4 ,accordingly we were       
obliged to take up our quarters in a    
barn4 ,the other farmer did all in his  
power to prevent our settlement in the  
place2 but it was of no avail4 ,the     
building was finished1 we took          
possession1 and began to keep house4    
,unfortunately however everything went  
backward here2 nothing would succeed4   
,an addition came to our misfortunes in 
my mother's illness4 ,being of a very   
lively temperament and disposed to a    
life of activity1 she found here the    
weariness of having nothing to do4      
,this1 with her anxiety about the means 
of subsistence1 threw her into a state  
of melancholy1 which developed at last  
into insanity4 ,in this condition she   
remained for some months4 ,everything   
was tried for her benefit1 but without  
success4 ,at last my father hit upon the
 idea of taking her to a celebrated     
doctor at ,novogrod1 who made a         

specialty of curing mental disorders4   
,the method of cure employed by this    
specialist is unknown to me1 because ,i 
was at the time too young to wish or be 
able to institute inquiries on the      
subject2 but so much ,i can declare with
 certainty1 that in the case of my      
mother1 as well as most of his patients 
afflicted with the same malady1 the     
treatment was followed with success4 ,my
 mother returned home fresh and healthy1
 and from that time she never had an    
attack of the same sort4  ,immediately  
after this ,i was sent to school at     
,iwenez1 about fifteen miles from our   
abode1 and here ,i began to study the   
,talmud4 ,the study of the ,talmud is   
the chief object of a learned education 
among our people4 ,riches1 bodily       
advantages1 and talents of every kind   
have indeed in their eyes a certain     
worth1 and are esteemed in proportion2  
but nothing stands among them above the 
dignity of a good ,talmudist4 ,he has   
the first claim upon all offices and    

positions of honour in the community4   
,if he enters an assembly1--he may be of
 any age or rank1--every one rises      
before him most respectfully1 and the   
most honourable place is assigned to    
him4 ,he is director of the conscience1 
lawgiver and judge of the common man4   
,he1 who does not meet such a scholar   
with sufficient respect1 is1 according  
to the judgment of the ,talmudists1     
damned to all eternity4 ,the common man 
dare not enter upon the most trivial    
undertaking1 if1 in the judgment of the 
scholar1 it is not according to law4    
,religious usages1 allowed and forbidden
 meats1 marriage and divorce are        
determined not only by the rabbinical   
laws which have already accumulated to  
an enormous mass1 but also by special   
rabbinical judgments which profess to   
deduce all special cases from the       
general laws4 ,a wealthy merchant1      
farmer or professional man1 who has a   
daughter1 does everything in his power  
to get a good ,talmudist for his        

son-in-law4 ,as far as other matters are
 concerned1 the scholar may be as       
deformed1 diseased1 and ignorant as     
possible1 he will still have the        
advantage over others4 ,the future      
father-in-law of such a phoenix is      
obliged1 at the betrothal1 to pay to the
 parents of the youth a sum fixed by    
previous agreement2 and besides the     
dowry for his daughter1 he is further   
obliged to provide her and her husband  
with food1 clothing1 and lodging1 for   
six or eight years after their marriage1
 during which time the interest on the  
dowry is paid1 so that the learned      
son-in-law may continue his studies at  
his father-in-law's expense4 ,after this
 period he receives the dowry in hand1  
and then he is either promoted to some  
learned office1 or he spends his whole  
life in learned leisure4 ,in either case
 the wife undertakes the management of  
the household and the conduct of        
business2 and she is content if only in 
return for all her toils she becomes in 

some measure a partaker of her husband's
 fame and future blessedness4  ,the     
study of the ,talmud is carried on just 
as irregularly as that of the ,bible4   
,the language of the ,talmud is composed
 of various ,oriental languages and     
dialects2 there is even many a word in  
it from ,greek and ,latin4 ,there is no 
dictionary1 in which you can turn up the
 expressions and phrases met with in the
 ,talmud2 and1 what is still worse1 as  
the ,talmud is not pointed1 you cannot  
even tell how such words1 that are not  
pure ,hebrew1 are to be read4 ,the      
language of the ,talmud1 therefore1 like
 that of the ,bible1 is learned only    
through frequent translation2 and this  
constitutes the first stage in the study
 of the ,talmud4  ,when the pupil has   
been directed for some time in          
translation by the teacher1 he goes on  
to the independent reading or           
explanation of the ,talmud4 ,the teacher
 gives him a limited portion of the     
,talmud1 containing within itself a     

connected argument1 as a task in        
exposition1 which he must perform within
 a fixed time4 ,the particular          
expressions and forms of speech         
occurring in the passage must either be 
known by the pupil from his former      
lessons1 or the teacher1 who here takes 
the place of a dictionary1 explains them
 to him4 ,but the tenor and the entire  
connection of the prescribed passage the
 pupil is required to bring out himself2
 and this constitutes the second stage  
in the study of the ,talmud4  ,two      
commentaries1 which are commonly printed
 along with the text1 serve as the chief
 guides at this point4 ,the author of   
the one is ,rabbi ,solomon ,isaac1#ai a 
man gifted with grammatical and critical
 knowledge of language1 with extensive  
and thorough ,talmudic insight1 and with
 an uncommon precision of style4 ,the   
other is known by the title of          
,tosaphoth 7,additions71 and is the work
 of several rabbis4 ,its origin is very 
remarkable4 ,a number of the most famous

 rabbis agreed to study the ,talmud in  
company4 ,for this purpose each selected
 a separate portion1 which he studied by
 himself till he believed that he had   
fully comprehended it1 and retained it  
in memory4 ,afterwards all the rabbis   
met1 and began to study the ,talmud in  
company according to the order of its   
parts4 ,as soon as the first part had   
been read out1 thoroughly explained1 and
 settled according to the ,talmudic     
,logic1 one of the rabbis produced1 from
 the part of the ,talmud with which he  
was most familiar1 anything that        
appeared to contradict this passage4    
,another then adduced1 from the part    
which he had made thoroughly his own1 a 
passage which was able to remove this   
contradiction by means of some          
distinction or some qualification       
unexpressed in the preceding passage4   
,sometimes the removal of such a        
contradiction occasioned another1 which 
a third rabbi disclosed1 and a fourth   
laboured to remove1 till the first      

passage was explained harmoniously by   
all1 and made perfectly clear4 ,it may  
easily be imagined1 what a high degree  
of subtlety is required to reduce the   
,talmud to first principles1 from which 
correct inferences may be drawn after an
 uniform method2 for the ,talmud is a   
voluminous and heterogeneous work1 in   
which even the same subject often turns 
up in different passages1 where it is   
explained in different ways4  ,besides  
these two there are several other       
commentaries which treat the subject    
further1 and even make corrections on   
the two just mentioned4 ,indeed1 every  
rabbi1 if he possesses sufficient       
acuteness1 is to be viewed as a living  
commentary on the ,talmud4 ,but the     
highest effort of the mind is required  
to prepare a selection from the ,talmud 
or a code of the laws deducible from it4
 ,this implies not only acuteness1 but  
also a mind in the highest degree       
systematic4 ,herein our ,maimonides     
undoubtedly deserves the first rank1 as 

may be seen from his code1 ,jad         
,hachazekah4  ,the final stage in the   
study of the ,talmud is that of         
disputation4 ,it consists in eternally  
disputing about the book1 without end or
 aim4 ,subtlety1 loquacity1 and         
impertinence here carry the day4 ,this  
sort of study was formerly very common  
in the ,jewish high schools2#bj but in  
our times along with the schools it has 
also fallen into decay4 ,it is a kind of
 ,talmudic scepticism1 and utterly      
incompatible with any systematic study  
directed to some end4     ,,chapter     
,,vii4  ,joy endureth but a little      
while4   ,after this digression on the  
study of the ,talmud ,i return to my    
story4 ,as already mentioned1 ,i was    
sent to school at ,iwenez4 ,my father   
gave me a letter to the chief rabbi of  
this place1 who was a relation of ours1 
requesting him to give me in charge to  
an able teacher1 and to give some       
attention to the progress of my studies4
 ,he gave me however in charge to a     

common schoolmaster1 and told me ,i was 
to visit him every ,sabbath in order    
that he might examine me himself4 ,this 
injunction ,i punctually followed2 but  
the arrangement did not continue long2  
for at one of these examinations ,i     
began to dispute about my lessons and   
suggest difficulties1 when1 without     
replying to them1 the chief rabbi asked 
me if ,i had stated these difficulties  
to my teacher also4  ,of course1 ,i     
replied4  ,and what did he say8 asked   
the chief rabbi4  ,nothing to the point1
 ,i replied1 except that he enjoined    
silence on me1 and said1 ',a youngster  
must not be too inquisitive2 he must see
 to it merely that he understands his   
lesson1 but must not overwhelm his      
teacher with questions4'  ,ah6 said the 
chief rabbi1 your teacher is altogether 
too easy1 we must make a change4 ,i will
 give you instruction myself4 ,i will do
 it merely out of friendship1 and ,i    
hope that your father will have as      
little to say against it as your former 

teacher4 ,the fee which your father pays
 for your education1 will be given to   
your teacher without deduction4  ,in    
this way ,i got the chief rabbi for a   
teacher4 ,he struck out a way of his own
 with me4 ,no weekly lessons repeated   
till they are impressed on the memory1  
no tasks which the pupil is obliged to  
perform for himself1 and in which the   
course of his thoughts is very often    
arrested for the sake of a single word  
or a figure of speech1 which has little 
to do with the main subject4 ,his method
 distinguished itself from all this4 ,he
 made me explain something from the     
,talmud ex tempore in his presence1     
conversed with me on the subject1       
explained to me so much as was necessary
 to set my own mind in activity1 and by 
means of questions and answers turned my
 attention away from all side-issues to 
the main subject1 so that in a short    
time ,i passed through all the three    
above-mentioned stages in the study of  
the ,talmud4  ,my father1 to whom the   

chief rabbi gave an account of his plan 
with me and of my progress1 went beside 
himself with joy4 ,he returned his      
warmest thanks to this excellent man for
 putting himself to so much trouble with
 me out of mere friendship1 and that    
notwithstanding his delicate state of   
health1 for he was consumptive4 ,but    
this joy did not last long2 before a    
half year was ended1 the chief rabbi had
 to betake himself to his fathers1 and  
,i was left like a sheep without a      
shepherd4  ,this was announced to my    
father1 who came and fetched me home4   
,not1 however1 to ,h----1 from which ,i 
had been sent to school1 but to         
,mohilna1 about six miles from ,h----1  
whither my father had meanwhile removed4
 ,this new change of abode had taken    
place in the following way4  ,mohilna is
 a small hamlet in the territory of     
,prince ,radzivil four miles from       
,nesvij1 his residence4 ,the situation  
of this place is excellent4 ,having the 
river ,niemen on one side1 and on the   

other a large quantity of the best      
timber for ships1 it is adapted equally 
for trade and for shipbuilding4         
,moreover the district in itself        
possesses great fertility and amenity4  
,these facts could not escape the       
attention of the ,prince4 ,the farmer or
 arendant of the place1 whose family for
 some generations had been in possession
 of this lucrative farm1 and had become 
rich by means of the shipbuilding trade1
 and the numerous fine products of the  
district1 took all possible pains to    
prevent these great advantages from     
being observed1 in order that he might  
be able to enjoy them alone without     
being disturbed4 ,but it happened once  
that the prince was travelling through  
the place1 and was so taken with its    
beauty1 that he resolved to make a town 
of it4 ,he sketched a plan for this1 and
 made an announcement that the place was
 to be a ,slabode2 that is1 every one   
was to be at liberty to settle in the   
place1 and drive any kind of trade1 and 

was even to be free from all taxes for  
the first six years4 ,for a long time1  
however1 this plan was never carried    
out1 owing to all sorts of intrigues on 
the part of the arendant1 who went so   
far as even to bribe the advisers of the
 prince to turn his attention away from 
the subject4  ,my father1 who saw       
clearly that the miserable farm of      
,h---- could not support him and his    
family1 and had been obliged to remain  
there hitherto only from want of a      
better abode1 rejoiced very much at the 
announcement1 because he hoped that     
,mohilna would offer him a place of     
refuge1 especially as the arendant was a
 brother-in-law of my uncle4 ,in this   
connection he made a journey to the     
place with my grandfather1 had a        
conversation with the arendant1 and     
opened to him his proposal to settle in 
,mohilna with his consent4 ,the         
arendant1 who had feared that1 on the   
announcement of the prince's wish1      
people would stream in from all sides1  

and press him out of his possession1 was
 delighted that at least the first who  
settled there was not a stranger1 but   
related to his family by marriage4 ,he  
therefore not only gave his consent to  
the proposal1 but even promised my      
father all possible assistance4         
,accordingly my father removed with his 
whole family to ,mohilna1 and had a     
small house built for himself there2 but
 till it was ready1 the family were     
obliged once more to take up their      
quarters in a barn4  ,the arendant1 by  
whom at first we were received in a     
friendly manner1 had unfortunately      
meanwhile changed his mind1 and found   
that his fear of being pressed out of   
his possession by strangers was wholly  
without ground1 inasmuch as already a   
considerable time had passed since the  
announcement of the prince's wish1 and  
yet nobody had presented himself besides
 my father4 ,the prince1 as a ,polish   
chief and ,voivode in ,lithuania1 was   
constantly burdened too much with ,state

 affairs in ,warsaw1 to be able to think
 on the carrying out of his plan        
himself2 and his subordinates could be  
induced by bribes to frustrate the whole
 plan4 ,these considerations showed the 
arendant that the new-comer could not   
only be spared1 but was even a burden1  
inasmuch as he had now to share with    
another what he had before held in      
possession alone4 ,he sought therefore  
to restrict my father1 and to disturb   
him in his settlement1 as much as       
possible4 ,with this view he built for  
himself a splendid house1 and succeeded 
in obtaining a command from the prince1 
in accordance with which none of the    
newcomers should enjoy the rights of a  
burgher till he had built a similar     
house4 ,my father saw himself therefore 
compelled to waste his little fortune1  
which was indispensably required for the
 new arrangements1 wholly and solely on 
this useless building4     ,,chapter    
,,viii4  ,the ,pupil knows more than the
 ,teacher--,a theft  la ,rousseau1 which

 is discovered--,the ungodly provideth1 
and the righteous putteth it on4   ,my  
father's condition had thus externally  
an improved appearance1 but so much the 
more doubtful did it appear internally  
on that account4 ,my mother1            
notwithstanding her unwearied activity1 
was able to make only a very sorry      
provision for the family4 ,accordingly  
my father was obliged to seek1 in       
addition to his other duties1 a position
 as teacher1 in which he carried on my  
education2 and ,i must confess that in  
this connection ,i gave him1 on the one 
hand1 much joy1 but1 on the other hand1 
not a little vexation4 ,i was then      
indeed only about nine years old2 still1
 ,i could not only understand the       
,talmud and its commentaries correctly1 
but ,i even took delight in disputing   
about it1 and in this ,i felt a childish
 pleasure in triumphing over my honest  
father1 whom ,i thereby threw into no   
small perplexity4  ,the arendant and my 
father lived together like neighbours2  

that is1 they envied and hated each     
other4 ,the former looked on my father  
as a vagrant1 who had forced himself    
upon him1 and disturbed him in his      
undivided possession of the advantages  
of the place4 ,my father took the       
arendant for a wealthy blockhead1 who1  
against the consent which he had        
granted1 which my father might have     
dispensed with altogether and had sought
 merely from the love of peace1         
endeavoured in every way to restrict him
 and to narrow his rights1              
notwithstanding the fact that he        
received actual advantages from his     
settlement4 ,for from this time ,mohilna
 had acquired a sort of independence1 by
 means of which the arendant was spared 
many expenses and depreciations4 ,there 
was also a small synagogue erected1 and 
my father took the position of chief    
rabbi1 preacher1 and director of the    
conscience1 as he was the only scholar  
in the place4 ,he lost1 indeed1 no      
opportunity of representing all this to 

the arendant1 and making complaints of  
his conduct2 but unfortunately this was 
of little use4  ,i must take this       
opportunity of mentioning the only theft
 which ,i ever perpetrated in my life4  
,i often went to the house of the       
arendant1 and played with his children4 
,once1 when ,i entered a room and found 
no one there1 it being summer and the   
people of the house all busy out of     
doors1 ,i spied in an open closet a neat
 little medicine-box which appeared to  
me uncommonly charming4 ,when ,i opened 
it1 ,i found1 to my very great sorrow1  
some money in it2 for it belonged to one
 of the children of the house4 ,i could 
not resist the desire to carry off the  
little box2 but to take the money seemed
 to me in the highest degree shameful4  
,but when ,i considered that the theft  
would be all the more easily discovered 
if ,i put the money out1 full of fear   
and shame ,i took the box as it was and 
thrust it in my pocket4 ,i went home    
with it1 and buried it very carefully4  

,the night following ,i could not sleep1
 and was disquieted in conscience1      
especially on account of the money4 ,i  
resolved1 therefore1 to take it back2   
but in regard to the little box1 ,i     
could not conquer myself3 it was a work 
of art1 the like of which ,i had never  
seen before4 ,the next day ,i emptied   
the box of its contents1 slunk with them
 into the room already mentioned1 and   
waited for an opportunity when nobody   
was there4 ,i was already engaged in    
smuggling the money into the closet2 but
 ,i had so little skill in doing this   
without noise and with the necessary    
despatch1 that ,i was caught in the act1
 and forced to a confession of the whole
 theft4 ,i was obliged to dig up again  
the valuable work of art1--it must have 
cost about a quarter of a groschen1--to 
return it to its owner1 little ,moses1  
and to hear myself called thief by the  
children of the house4  ,another        
incident1 which happened to me and had a
 comical issue1 was the following4 ,the 

,russians had been quartered for some   
time in ,mohilna1 and as they obtained  
new mountings1 they were allowed to sell
 the old4 ,my eldest brother ,joseph and
 my cousin ,beer applied to ,russian    
acquaintances of theirs1 and received in
 a present some brass buttons1 which1   
being considered a fine decoration1 they
 got sewed on to their hose instead of  
the wooden buttons they had before4 ,i  
also was delighted with the decoration2 
but as ,i had not the skill to furnish  
myself by my own diligence1 ,i was      
compelled to make use of force4 ,i      
applied1 therefore1 to my father1 and   
demanded that ,joseph and ,beer should  
be required to share their buttons with 
me4 ,my father1 who1 indeed1 was        
extremely fair1 but still was fond of me
 above everything1 said that the buttons
 were1 of course1 the rightful property 
of their owners1 but that1 as these had 
more than they required for their own   
wants1 it was but fair that they should 
give me some of those that they did not 

require4 ,to my commendation and their  
confusion he added the passage of the   
,bible1 ,the ungodly provideth1 and the 
righteous putteth it on4#ba ,this       
decision had to be carried out in spite 
of the protest of ,joseph and ,beer2 and
 ,i had the pleasure of also shining in 
brass buttons on my hose4  ,joseph and  
,beer however could not get over their  
loss4 ,they complained loudly of the    
impious wrong which had been done to    
them4 ,my father1 who wished to get rid 
of the affair1 told them therefore1     
that1 as the buttons had been already   
sewed on to ,solomon's hose1 they must  
not use force1 but that1 if they could  
get them back again by stratagem1 they  
were at liberty to do so4 ,both were    
pleased with this decision4 ,they came  
to me1 looked at my buttons1 and both at
 once exclaimed in astonishment1 ,oh6   
what is that we see8 ,buttons sewed on  
to cloth hose with linen instead of hemp
 thread6 ,they must be taken off at     
once4 ,while they were speaking1 they   

took off all the buttons1 and went off  
with joy over their successful          
stratagem4 ,i ran after them1 and       
demanded that they should sew the       
buttons on again2 but they laughed me to
 scorn4 ,my father said to me smiling at
 this1 ,since you are so credulous1 and 
allow yourself to be deceived1 ,i cannot
 help you any longer2 ,i hope you will  
be wiser in the future4 ,with this the  
affair came to an end4 ,i was obliged to
 content myself with wooden buttons1 and
 to have often repeated to my           
mortification by ,joseph and ,beer1 the 
biblical passage1 which my father had   
used to my advantage1 ,the ungodly      
provideth1 and the righteous putteth it 
on4     ,,chapter ,,ix4  ,love ,affairs 
and ,matrimonial ,proposals--,the ,song 
of ,solomon may be used in              
,matchmaking--,a new ,modus             
,lucrandi--,smallpox4   ,in my youth ,i 
was very lively1 and had in my nature a 
good deal that was agreeable4 ,in my    
passions ,i was violent and impatient4  

,till about my eleventh year1 as ,i had 
the benefit of a very strict education1 
and was kept from all intercourse with  
women1 ,i never traced any special      
inclination towards the fair sex4 ,but  
an incident produced in me a great      
change in this respect4  ,a poor1 but   
very pretty1 girl about my own age was  
taken into our house as a servant4 ,she 
charmed me uncommonly4 ,desires began to
 stir in me1 which till this time ,i had
 never known4 ,but in accordance with   
the strict rabbinical morals1 ,i was    
obliged to keep on my guard against     
looking on the girl with attentive gaze1
 and still more against speaking with   
her1 so that ,i was able only now and   
then to throw at her a stolen glance4   
,it happened once however that the women
 of the house were going to bathe1 which
 by the usage of the country they are   
accustomed to do two or three times a   
week4 ,by chance my instinct drove me   
without reflection towards the place    
where they bathed2 and there ,i suddenly

 perceived this beautiful girl1 as she  
stepped out of the steam-bath and       
plunged into the river flowing by4 ,at  
this sight ,i fell into a sort of       
rapture4 ,after my feelings had calmed  
down again1 being mindful of the strict 
,talmudic laws1 ,i wished to flee4 ,but 
,i could not2 ,i remained standing1 as  
if rooted in the spot4 ,as ,i dreaded   
however lest ,i might be surprised here1
 ,i was obliged to return with a heavy  
heart4 ,from that time ,i became        
restless1 was sometimes beside myself2  
and this state continued till my        
marriage4  ,our neighbour1 the arendant1
 had two sons and three daughters4 ,the 
eldest daughter1 ,deborah1 was already  
married4 ,the second1 ,pessel1 was about
 my age2 the peasantry of the place     
professed to find even a certain        
resemblance in our features1 and        
therefore1 in accordance with all the   
laws of probability1 conjectured that   
there would be a match between us4 ,we  
formed also a mutual affection4 ,but by 

ill luck the youngest daughter1 ,rachel1
 had to fall into a cellar and          
dislocated one of her legs4 ,she        
herself1 indeed1 completely recovered1  
but the leg remained somewhat crooked4  
,the arendant then started a hunt after 
me2 he was absolutely determined to have
 me for a son-in-law4 ,my father was    
quite agreeable1 but he wished to have  
for his daughter-in-law the             
straight-legged ,pessel rather than     
,rachel of the crooked leg4 ,the        
arendant however declared that this was 
impracticable1 inasmuch as he had fixed 
on a rich husband for the elder1 while  
the youngest was destined for me2 and as
 my father was unable to give me        
anything1 he was willing to provide for 
her richly out of his own fortune4      
,besides a considerable sum which he    
agreed to give as a portion1 he was     
willing in addition to make me a        
joint-heir of his fortune1 and to       
provide me with all necessaries the     
whole of my life4 ,moreover he promised 

to pay my father a fixed sum immediately
 after the betrothal1 and not only to   
leave him undisturbed in his rights1 but
 also to try and promote his domestic   
happiness in every possible way4 ,the   
feuds between the two families were to  
cease from this time1 and a league of   
friendship was to unite them for the    
future into one family4  ,had my father 
lent an ear to these representations1 he
 would without doubt have established   
the fortune of his house1 and ,i should 
have lived with a spouse1 who1 it is    
true1 had a crooked leg1 but 7as ,i     
found out some time afterwards when ,i  
was tutor in her family7 was in other   
respects an amiable woman4 ,i should    
thus have been freed from all cares in  
the midst of good fortune1 and ,i should
 have been able to apply myself without 
hindrance to my studies4 ,but unhappily 
my father rejected this proposal with   
scorn4 ,he was absolutely determined to 
have ,pessel for his daughter-in-law2   
and since this1 as already mentioned1   

was impracticable1 the feuds between the
 two families broke out afresh4 ,but as 
the arendant was rich1 and my father was
 a poor man1 the latter was necessarily 
always the loser4  ,some time afterwards
 another matrimonial proposal for me    
turned up4 ,mr4 ,l---- of ,schmilowitz1 
a learned and at the same time a rich   
man1 who had an only daughter1 was so   
enchanted with my fame1 that he chose me
 for his son-in-law without having seen 
me before4 ,he began by entering into   
correspondence with my father on the    
subject1 and left it to him to prescribe
 the conditions of the union4 ,my father
 answered his letter in lofty style1    
made up of ,biblical verses and passages
 from the ,talmud1 in which he expressed
 the conditions briefly by means of the 
following verses from the ,canticles1   
,the thousand gulden are for thee1 ,o   
,solomon1 and the two hundred for those 
who keep his fruits4#bb ,consent was    
given to everything4  ,my father        
accordingly made a journey to           

,schmilowitz1 saw his future            
daughter-in-law1 and had the            
marriage-contract drawn in accordance   
with the terms agreed upon4 ,two hundred
 gulden were paid to him on the spot4   
,with this1 however1 he was not content1
 but insisted that in his letter he had 
been obliged to limit himself to two    
hundred gulden merely for the sake of   
the beautiful verse which he did not    
wish to spoil2 but he would not enter   
into the transaction at all unless he   
received for himself twice two hundred  
gulden 7fifty thalers in ,polish money74
 ,they had therefore to pay him two     
hundred gulden more1 and to hand over to
 him the so-called little presents for  
me1 namely1 a cap of black velvet       
trimmed with gold lace1 a ,bible bound  
in green velvet with silver clasps1 etc4
 ,with these things he came home full of
 joy1 gave me the presents1 and told me 
that ,i was to prepare myself for a     
disputation to be held on my marriage   
day1 which would be in two months' time4

  ,already my mother had begun to bake  
the cakes she was expected to take with 
her to the wedding1 and to prepare all  
sorts of preserves2 ,i began also to    
think about the disputation ,i was to   
hold1 when suddenly the mournful news   
arrived that my bride had died of       
smallpox4 ,my father could easily       
reconcile himself to this loss1 because 
he thought to himself that he had made  
fifty thalers by his son in an          
honourable way1 and that now he could   
get fifty thalers for him again4 ,i     
also1 who had never seen my bride1 could
 not particularly mourn her loss2 ,i    
thought to myself1 ,the cap and the     
silver-clasped ,bible are already mine1 
and a bride will also not be awanting   
long1 while my disputation can serve me 
again4 ,my mother alone was inconsolable
 about this loss4 ,cakes and preserves  
are of a perishable nature and will not 
keep long4 ,the labour which my mother  
had expended was therefore rendered     
fruitless by this fatal accident2 and to

 this must be added1 that she could find
 no place to keep the delicious cakes   
from my secret attacks4     ,,chapter   
,x4  ,i become an object of contention1 
get two wives at once1 and am kidnapped 
at last4   ,meanwhile the domestic      
circumstances of my father became every 
day worse4 ,he saw himself1 therefore1  
compelled to make a journey to the town 
of ,nesvij1 and apply for a position as 
teacher there1 whither ,i also had to   
follow him4 ,here he opened under       
favourable conditions a school of his   
own1 in which he could employ me as     
assistant4  ,a widow1 celebrated for her
 superior talents1 as well as for her   
,xanthippe-like character1 kept a       
public-house at the extremity of one of 
the suburbs4 ,she had a daughter who    
yielded to her in none of the           
above-mentioned qualities1 and who was  
indispensable to her in the management  
of the house4 ,madam ,rissia1 7this was 
the widow's name71 excited by my        
constantly increasing reputation1 fixed 

on me as a husband for her daughter     
,sarah4 ,her family represented to her  
the impossibility of carrying out this  
plan2 first1 my father's pride1 and the 
demands which he would therefore make1  
and which she could never satisfy2 then 
my fame1 which had already excited the  
attention of the most prominent and     
wealthy people of the town2 and finally1
 the moderate character of her own      
fortune1 which was far from sufficient  
to carry out such a proposal4 ,all these
 representations1 however1 were of no   
avail with her4 ,she had once for all   
taken it into her head1 to have me for a
 son-in-law1 let it cost her what it    
might2 and she thought1 the devil would 
needs be in it1 if she could not get the
 young man4  ,she sent a proposal to my 
father1 let him have no rest the whole  
time he was in the town1 discussed the  
matter with him herself on various      
occasions1 and promised to satisfy all  
his demands4 ,my father1 however1 sought
 to gain time for deliberation1 and to  

put off the question for a while4 ,but  
the time came when we were to return    
home4 ,my father went with me to the    
widow's house1 which was the last on our
 road1 in order to wait for a conveyance
 which started from that place4 ,madam  
,rissia made use of the opportunity1    
began to caress me1 introduced my bride1
 and asked me how ,i was pleased with   
her4 ,at last she pressed for a decisive
 answer from my father4 ,he was still   
always holding back1 however1 and sought
 in every possible way to represent the 
difficulties connected with the subject4
  ,while they were thus treating with   
one another1 suddenly there burst into  
the room the chief rabbi1 the preacher1 
and the elders of the place1 with many  
of the most respectable people4 ,this   
sudden appearance was brought about     
without any magic in the following way4 
,these gentlemen had been invited to a  
circumcision at the house of a prominent
 man in this very suburb4 ,madam        
,rissia1 who knew this very well1 sent  

her son at once to the house with an    
invitation to the whole company to come1
 immediately after rising from table1 to
 a betrothal at her house4 ,they came   
therefore half intoxicated2 and as they 
believed nothing else than that all the 
preliminaries of the marriage-contract  
had been settled1 and that nothing was  
awanting but to write out and subscribe 
the contract1 they sat down to table1   
set my father in the midst1 and the     
chief rabbi began to dictate the        
contract to the scribe of the community4
  ,my father assured them that on the   
main point nothing had yet been decided1
 and that still less had the preliminary
 articles been settled4 ,the chief rabbi
 fell into a passion at this1 for he    
supposed that it was only a quibble1 and
 that his sacred person and the whole   
honourable company were being made sport
 of4 ,he turned therefore to the        
company1 and said with a haughty air1   
,who is this ,rabbi ,joshua1 who makes  
himself of so much consequence8 ,my     

father replied1 ,the ,rabbi is here     
superfluous4 ,i am1 'tis true1 a common 
man2 but ,i believe1 no man can dispute 
my right to care for the welfare of my  
son1 and to place his future happiness  
on a firm footing4  ,the chief rabbi was
 greatly offended with the ambiguity of 
the expression1 ,the ,rabbi is here     
superfluous4 ,he saw clearly that he had
 no right to lay down laws to my father 
in the matter1 and that it was a piece  
of rashness on the part of ,madam       
,rissia to invite a company to a        
betrothal before the parties were agreed
 on the preliminary articles4 ,he began 
therefore to strike a lower tone4 ,he   
represented to my father the advantages 
of this match1 the high ancestry of the 
bride1 7her grandfather1 father1 and    
uncle1 having been learned men1 and     
chief rabbis71 her personal attractions1
 and the willingness and ability of     
,madam ,rissia to satisfy all his       
demands4  ,my father1 who in fact had   
nothing to say against all this1 was    

compelled to yield4 ,the                
marriage-contract was made out1 and in  
it ,madam ,rissia made over to her      
daughter her public-house with all its  
belongings as a bridal portion1 and came
 under an obligation also to board and  
clothe the newly-married couple for six 
years4 ,besides ,i received as a present
 the entire work of the ,talmud with its
 appurtenances1 together worth two or   
three hundred thalers1#bc and a number  
of other gifts4 ,my father came under no
 obligation at all1 and in addition     
received fifty thalers in cash4 ,very   
wisely he had refused to accept a bill  
for this sum2 it had to be paid to him  
before the betrothal4  ,after all this  
had been arranged1 there was a capital  
entertainment1 and the brandy bottle was
 vigorously plied4 ,the very next day my
 father and ,i went home4 ,my           
mother-in-law promised to send after us 
as soon as possible the so-called little
 presents and the articles of clothing  
for me1 which in the hurry she had not  

been able to get ready4 ,many weeks     
however passed without our hearing or   
seeing anything of these4 ,my father was
 perplexed about this2 and as the       
character of my mother-in-law had long  
been suspicious to him1 he could think  
nothing else than that this intriguing  
woman was seeking some subterfuge to    
escape from her burdensome contract4 ,he
 resolved therefore to repay like with  
like4  ,the following circumstance      
strengthened him in this resolve4 ,a    
rich arendant1 who used to bring spirits
 to ,nesvij for sale1 and to lodge in   
our house on his journey through        
,mohilna1 likewise cast his eye upon me4
 ,he had an only daughter1 for whom he  
fixed on me in his thoughts as a        
husband4 ,he knew however what          
difficulties he would have to overcome1 
if he were to treat on the subject      
directly with my father4 ,he chose      
therefore an indirect way4 ,his plan was
 to make my father his debtor2 and as   
his critical circumstances would make it

 impossible for him to clear off the    
debt1 he expected to force him1 as it   
were1 to consent to this union with the 
view of wiping out the debt by means of 
the amount stipulated for the son4 ,he  
offered my father therefore some barrels
 of spirits on credit1 and the offer was
 accepted with delight4  ,as the date of
 payment approached1 ,hersch ,dukor     
7this was the name of the arendant7 came
 and reminded my father4 ,the latter    
assured him1 that at the moment he was  
not in a position to clear off the debt1
 and begged him to have patience with   
him for some time yet4 ,herr ,joshua1   
said the arendant1 ,i will speak with   
you quite frankly on this matter4 ,your 
circumstances are growing daily worse2  
and if no fortunate accident occurs1 ,i 
do not see any possibility of your being
 able to clear off your debt4 ,the best 
thing for us both therefore is this4    
,you have a son1 and ,i have a daughter 
who is the sole heiress of all my       
property4 ,let us enter into an         

alliance4 ,by this means not only will  
your debt be wiped out1 but a sum to be 
fixed by yourself will be paid in       
addition1 and ,i shall take a general   
care to improve your circumstances so   
far as lies in my power4  ,no one could 
be more joyous over this proposal than  
my father4 ,immediately a contract was  
closed1 in which the bride's dowry1 as  
well as the required presents1 was      
decided in accordance with my father's  
suggestion4 ,the bill for the debt1     
which amounted to fifty thalers in      
,polish money1 was returned to my       
father1 and torn on the spot1 while     
fifty thalers in addition were paid to  
him4  ,thereupon my new father-in-law   
went on to ,nesvij to collect some debts
 there4 ,unfortunately he had to lodge  
at my former mother-in-law's4 ,she1     
being a great prattler1 told him of her 
own accord about the good match which   
her daughter had made4 ,the father of   
the bridegroom1 said she1 is himself a  
great scholar1 and the bridegroom is a  

young man of eleven years1 who has      
scarcely his equal4  ,i also1 replied   
the arendant1 have1 thank ,god1 made a  
good choice for my daughter4 ,you have  
perhaps heard of the celebrated scholar1
 ,rabbi ,joshua1 in ,mohilna1 and of his
 young son1 ,solomon3 he is my          
daughter's bridegroom4  ,scarcely had   
these words been spoken1 when she cried 
out1 ,that is a confounded lie4 ,solomon
 is my daughter's bridegroom2 and here1 
sir1 is the marriage-contract4  ,the    
arendant then showed her his contract   
too2 and they fell into a dispute1 the  
result of which was that ,madam ,rissia 
had my father summoned before the court 
to give a categorical explanation4 ,my  
father1 however1 did not put in an      
appearance1 although she had him        
summoned twice4  ,meanwhile my mother   
died1 and was brought to ,nesvij for    
burial4 ,my mother-in-law obtained from 
the court an attachment on the dead     
body1 by which its interment was        
interdicted till the termination of the 

suit4 ,my father therefore saw himself  
compelled to appear in court1 my        
mother-in-law of course gained the suit1
 and ,i became again the bridegroom of  
my former bride4 ,and now to prevent any
 similar reversal of her plans in the   
future1 and to take from my father all  
occasion for it1 my mother-in-law       
endeavoured to satisfy all his demands  
in accordance with her promise1 clothed 
me from top to toe1 and even paid my    
father for my board from the date of the
 betrothal to the marriage4 ,my mother  
also was now buried1 and we returned    
home again4  ,my second father-in-law   
came too1 and called upon my father for 
the ratification of his contract4 ,he   
however pointed out that it was null and
 void1 as it contravened a previous     
contract1 and had been made by him      
merely in the supposition that my       
mother-in-law had no intention of       
fulfilling hers4 ,the arendant seemed to
 give an ear to these representations1  
to yield to necessity1 and reconcile    

himself to his loss2 but in reality he  
was thinking of some means to get me    
into his hands4 ,accordingly he rose by 
night1 yoked his horses1 took me in     
silence from the table on which ,i was  
sleeping1 packed me with all despatch   
into his carriage1 and made off with his
 booty out at the gate4 ,but as this    
could not be accomplished without some  
noise1 the people in the house awoke1   
discovered the theft1 pursued the       
kidnapper1 and snatched me out of his   
hand4 ,to me the whole incident appeared
 at the time like a dream4  ,in this way
 my father was released from his debt1  
and got fifty thalers besides as a      
gratuity2 but ,i was immediately        
afterwards carried off by my legal      
mother-in-law1 and made the husband of  
my legal bride4 ,i must of course       
confess that this transaction of my     
father's cannot be quite justified in a 
moral point of view4 ,only his great    
need at the time can in some measure    
serve as an excuse4     ,,chapter ,,xi4 

,my ,marriage in my ,eleventh ,year     
makes me the ,slave of my ,wife1 and    
procures for me ,cudgellings from my    
,mother-in-law--,a ,ghost of ,flesh and 
,blood4   ,on the first evening of my   
marriage my father was not present4 ,as 
he told me at my departure that he had  
still to settle some articles on my     
account1 and therefore ,i was to wait   
for his arrival1 ,i refused1 in spite of
 all the efforts that were made1 to     
appear that evening4 ,nevertheless the  
marriage festivities went on4 ,we waited
 the next day for my father1 but still  
he did not come4 ,they then threatened  
to bring a party of soldiers to drag me 
to the marriage ceremony2 but ,i gave   
them for an answer1 that1 if this were  
done1 it would help them little1 for the
 ceremony would not be lawful except as 
a voluntary act4 ,at last1 to the joy of
 all interested1 my father arrived      
towards evening1 the articles referred  
to were amended1 and the marriage       
ceremony was performed4  ,here ,i must  

mention a little anecdote4 ,i had read  
in a ,hebrew book of an approved plan   
for a husband to secure lordship over   
his better half for life4 ,he was to    
tread on her foot at the marriage       
ceremony2 and if both hit on the        
stratagem1 the first to succeed would   
retain the upper hand4 ,accordingly1    
when my bride and ,i were placed side by
 side at the ceremony this trick        
occurred to me1 and ,i said to myself1  
,now you must not let the opportunity   
pass of securing for your whole lifetime
 lordship over your wife4 ,i was just   
going to tread on her foot1 but a       
certain ,je ne sais quoi1 whether fear1 
shame1 or love1 held me back4 ,while ,i 
was in this irresolute state1 all at    
once ,i felt the slipper of my wife on  
my foot with such an impression that ,i 
should almost have screamed aloud if ,i 
had not been checked by shame4 ,i took  
this for a bad omen and said to myself1 
,providence has destined you to be the  
slave of your wife1 you must not try to 

slip out of her fetters4 ,from my       
faint-heartedness and the heroic mettle 
of my wife1 the reader may easily       
conceive why this prophecy had to be    
actually realised4  ,i stood1 however1  
not only under the slipper of my wife1  
but--what was very much worse--under the
 lash of my mother-in-law4 ,nothing of  
all that she had promised was fulfilled4
 ,her house1 which she had settled on   
her daughter as a dowry1 was burdened   
with debt4 ,of the six years' board     
which she had promised me ,i enjoyed    
scarcely half a year's1 and this amid   
constant brawls and squabbles4 ,she     
even1 trusting to my youth and want of  
spirit1 ventured now and then to lay    
hands on me1 but this ,i repaid not     
infrequently with compound interest4    
,scarcely a meal passed during which we 
did not fling at each other's head1     
bowls1 plates1 spoons1 and similar      
articles4  ,once ,i came home from the  
academy extremely hungry4 ,as my        
mother-in-law and wife were occupied    

with the business of the public house1  
,i went myself into the room where the  
milk was kept2 and as ,i found a dish of
 curds and cream1 ,i fell upon it1 and  
began to eat4 ,my mother-in-law came as 
,i was thus occupied1 and screamed in   
rage1 ,you are not going to devour the  
milk with the cream6 ,the more cream the
 better1 thought ,i1 and went on eating1
 without disturbing myself by her cry4  
,she was going to wrest the dish        
forcibly from my hands1 beat me with her
 fists1 and let me feel all her         
ill-will4 ,exasperated by such          
treatment1 ,i pushed her from me1 seized
 the dish1 and smashed it on her head4  
,that was a sight6 ,the curds ran down  
all over her4 ,she seized in rage a     
piece of wood1 and if ,i had not cleared
 out in all haste1 she would certainly  
have beat me to death4  ,scenes like    
this occurred very often4 ,at such      
skirmishes of course my wife had to     
remain neutral1 and whichever party     
gained the upper hand1 it came home to  

her very closely4 ,oh6 she often        
complained1 if only the one or the other
 of you had a little more patience6     
,tired of a ceaseless open war ,i once  
hit upon a stratagem1 which had a good  
effect for a short time at least4 ,i    
rose about midnight1 took a large vessel
 of earthenware1 crept with it under my 
mother-in-law's bed1 and began to speak 
aloud into the vessel after the         
following fashion3--,o ,rissia1 ,rissia1
 you ungodly woman1 why do you treat my 
beloved son so ill8 ,if you do not mend 
your ways1 your end is near1 and you    
will be damned to all eternity4 ,then ,i
 crept out again1 and began to pinch her
 cruelly2 and after a while ,i slipped  
silently back to bed4  ,the following   
morning she got up in consternation1 and
 told my wife1 that my mother had       
appeared to her in a dream1 and had     
threatened and pinched her on my        
account4 ,in confirmation she showed the
 blue marks on her arm4 ,when ,i came   
from the synagogue1 ,i did not find my  

mother-in-law at home1 but found my wife
 in tears4 ,i asked the reason1 but she 
would tell me nothing4 ,my mother-in-law
 returned with dejected look1 and eyes  
red with weeping4 ,she had gone1 as ,i  
afterwards learned1 to the ,jewish place
 of burial1 thrown herself on my        
mother's grave1 and begged for          
forgiveness of her fault4 ,she then had 
the burial place measured1 and ordered a
 wax-light as long as its circumference1
 for burning in the synagogue4 ,she also
 fasted the whole day1 and towards me   
showed herself extremely amiable4  ,i   
knew of course what was the cause of all
 this1 but acted as if ,i did not       
observe it1 and rejoiced in secret over 
the success of my stratagem4 ,in this   
manner ,i had peace for some time1 but  
unfortunately it did not last long4 ,the
 whole was soon forgotten again1 and on 
the slightest occasion the dance went on
 as before4 ,in short1 ,i was soon      
afterwards obliged to leave the house   
altogether1 and accept a position as a  

private tutor4 ,only on the great       
feast-days ,i used to come home4        
,,chapter ,,xii4  ,the ,secrets of the  
,marriage ,state--,prince ,radzivil1#bd 
or what is not all allowed in ,poland8  
,in my fourteenth year ,i had my eldest 
son1 ,david4 ,at my marriage ,i was only
 eleven years old1 and owing to the     
retired life common among people of our 
nation in those regions1 as well as the 
want of mutual intercourse between the  
two sexes1 ,i had no idea of the        
essential duties of marriage1 but looked
 on a pretty girl as on any other work  
of nature or art1 somewhat as on the    
pretty medicine-box that ,i stole4 ,it  
was therefore natural that for a        
considerable time after marriage ,i     
could not have any thought about the    
fulfilment of its duties4 ,i used to    
approach my wife with trembling as a    
mysterious object4 ,it was therefore    
supposed that ,i had been bewitched at  
the time of the wedding2 and under this 
supposition ,i was brought to a witch to

 be cured4 ,she took in hand all sorts  
of operations1 which of course had a    
good effect1 although indirectly through
 the help of the imagination4  ,my life 
in ,poland from my marriage to my       
emigration1 which period embraces the   
springtime of my existence1 was a series
 of manifold miseries with a want of all
 means for the promotion of culture1    
and1 necessarily connected with that1 an
 aimless application of my powers1 in   
the description of which the pen drops  
from my hands1 and the painful memories 
of which ,i strive to stifle4#be  ,the  
general constitution of ,poland at the  
time2 the condition of our people in it1
 who1 like the poor ass with the double 
burden1 are oppressed by their own      
ignorance and the religious prejudices  
connected therewith1 as well as by the  
ignorance and prejudices of the ruling  
classes2 the misfortunes of my own      
family2--all these causes combined to   
hinder me in the course of my           
development1 and to check the effect of 

my natural disposition4  ,the ,polish   
nation1 under which ,i comprehend merely
 the ,polish nobility1 is of a very     
mixed kind4 ,only the very few have an  
opportunity of culture by means of      
upbringing1 instruction1 and            
well-directed travels1 by which they can
 best promote at once their own welfare 
and that of their tenantry4 ,most of    
them1 on the other hand1 spend their    
lives in ignorance and immorality1 and  
become the sport of their extravagant   
passions1 which are ruinous to their    
tenants4 ,they make a display with      
titles and orders1 which they disgrace  
by their actions2 they own many estates 
which they do not understand how to     
manage1 and they are at perpetual feud  
with one another1 so that the kingdom   
must of necessity become the prey of its
 neighbours1 who are envious of its     
greatness4  ,prince ,radzivil was1 as   
,hettmann in ,poland and ,voivode in    
,lithuania1 one of the greatest         
magnates1 and as occupant of three      

inheritances in his family owned immense
 estates4 ,he was not without a certain 
kindness of heart and good sense2 but1  
through neglected training and a want of
 instruction1 he became one of the most 
extravagant princes that ever lived4    
,from want of occupation1 which was a   
necessary consequence of neglect in     
cultivating his tastes and widening his 
knowledge1 he gave himself up to        
drinking1 by which he was tempted to the
 most ridiculous and insane actions4    
,without any particular inclination for 
it he abandoned himself to the most     
shameful sensuality2 and without being  
cruel1 he exercised towards his         
dependents the greatest cruelties4  ,he 
supported at great cost an army of ten  
thousand men1 which was used for no     
purpose in the world except display2 and
 during the troubles in ,poland he took1
 without knowing why1 the part of the   
,confederates4 ,by this means he got    
himself encumbered with the friendship  
of the ,russians1 who plundered his     

estates1 and plunged his tenants into   
the greatest destitution and misery4 ,he
 himself was obliged several times to   
flee from the country1 and to leave as  
booty for his enemies treasures which   
had been the gathering of many          
generations4  ,who can describe all the 
excesses he perpetrated8 ,a few examples
 will1 ,i believe1 be sufficient to give
 the reader some idea of them4 ,a       
certain respect for my former prince    
does not allow me to consider his faults
 as anything but faults of temperament  
and education1 which deserve rather our 
pity than our hatred and contempt4      
,when he passed through a street1 which 
he commonly did with the whole pomp of  
his court1 his bands of music and       
soldiers1 no man1 at the peril of his   
life1 durst show himself in the street2 
and even in the houses people were by no
 means safe4 ,the poorest1 dirtiest     
peasant-woman1 who came in his way1 he  
would order up into his carriage beside 
himself4  ,once he sent for a           

respectable ,jewish barber1 who1        
suspecting nothing but that he was      
wanted for some surgical operation1     
brought his instruments with him1 and   
appeared before the prince4  ,have you  
brought your instruments with you8 he   
was asked4  ,yes1 ,serene ,highness1 he 
replied4  ,then1 said the prince1 give  
me a lancet1 and ,i will open one of    
your veins4  ,the poor barber had to    
submit4 ,the prince seized the lancet2  
and as he did not know how to go about  
the operation1 and besides his hand     
trembled as a result of his hard        
drinking1 of course he wounded the      
barber in a pitiable manner4 ,but his   
courtiers smiled their applause1 and    
praised his great skill in surgery4  ,he
 went one day into a church1 and being  
so drunk that he did not know where he  
was1 he stood against the altar1 and    
commenced to ----4 ,all who were present
 became horrified4 ,next morning when he
 was sober1 the clergy brought to his   
mind the misdeed he had committed the   

day before4 ,eh6 said the prince1 we    
will soon make that good4 ,thereupon he 
issued a command to the ,jews of the    
place1 to provide at their own expense1 
fifty stone of wax for burning in the   
church4 ,the poor ,jews were therefore  
obliged to bring a sin-offering for the 
desecration of a ,christian ,church by  
an orthodox ,catholic ,christian4  ,he  
once took it into his head to drive on  
the wall round the town4 ,but as the    
wall was too narrow for a coach with six
 horses1--and he never drove in any     
other1--his hussars were obliged1 with  
much labour and peril of their lives1 to
 carry the coach with their hands till  
he had driven round the town in this    
way4  ,once he drove with the whole pomp
 of his court to a ,jewish synagogue1   
and1 without any one to this day knowing
 the reason1 committed the greatest     
havoc1 smashed windows and stoves1 broke
 all the vessels1 threw on the ground   
the copies of the ,holy ,scriptures kept
 in the ark1 and so forth4 ,a learned1  

pious ,jew1 who was present1 ventured to
 lift one of these copies from the      
ground1 and had the honour of being     
struck with a musket-ball by ,his       
,serene ,highness' own hand4 ,from here 
the train went to a second synagogue1   
where the same conduct was repeated1 and
 from there they proceeded to the       
,jewish burial-place1 where the         
buildings were demolished1 and the      
monuments cast into the fire4  ,can it  
be conceived1 that a prince could show  
himself so malicious towards his own    
poor subjects1 whom he was in a position
 to punish legally whenever they really 
did anything amiss8 ,yet this is what   
happened here4  ,on one occasion he took
 it into his head to make a trip to     
,mohilna1 a hamlet belonging to him1    
which lay four short miles from his     
,residence4 ,this had to be done with   
his usual suite and all the pomp of his 
court4 ,on the morning of the appointed 
day the train went forth4 ,first marched
 the army in order according to its     

usual regimental divisions1--infantry1  
artillery1 cavalry1 and so on4 ,then    
followed his bodyguard1 ,strelitzi1     
consisting of volunteers from the poor  
nobility4 ,after them came his          
kitchen-waggons1 in which ,hungarian    
wine had not been forgotten4 ,these were
 followed by the music of his           
janissaries1 and other bands4 ,then came
 his coach1 and last of all his satraps4
 ,i give them this name1 because ,i can 
compare this train with no other than   
that of ,darius in the war against      
,alexander4 ,towards evening ,his       
,serene ,highness arrived at our public 
house in the suburb of the town which   
was ,his ,serene ,highness' ,residence1 
,nesvij4 ,i cannot say that he arrived  
in his own high person1 for the         
,hungarian wine had robbed him of all   
consciousness1 in which alone of course 
personality rests4 ,he was carried into 
the house and thrown with all his       
clothes1 booted and spurred1 on to my   
mother-in-law's dirty bed1 without      

giving it a supply of clean linen4  ,as 
usual1 ,i had to take to flight4 ,my    
,amazons1 however1 ,i mean my           
mother-in-law and my wife1 trusted to   
their heroic mettle1 and remained at    
home alone4 ,riot went on the whole     
night4 ,in the very room where ,his     
,serene ,highness slept1 wood was       
chopped1 cooking and baking were done4  
,it was well known that1 when ,his      
,serene ,highness slept1 nothing could  
waken his high person except perhaps the
 trumpet of the ,judgment-,day4 ,the    
next morning1 when he wakened1 and      
looked around1 he scarcely knew whether 
to trust his eyes1 when he found himself
 in a wretched public-house1 thrown on  
to a dirty bed swarming with bugs4 ,his 
valets1 pages1 and negroes waited on his
 commands4 ,he asked how he had come    
there1 and was answered1 that ,his      
,serene ,highness had yesterday         
commenced a journey to ,mohilna1 but had
 halted here to take rest1 that his     
whole train had meanwhile gone on1 and  

had undoubtedly arrived in ,mohilna by  
this time4  ,the journey to ,mohilna was
 for the present given up1 and the whole
 train ordered back4 ,they returned     
accordingly to the ,residence in the    
usual order and pomp4 ,but the prince   
was pleased to hold a great banquet in  
our public-house4 ,all the foreign      
gentlemen1 who happened to be in the    
place at the time1 were invited4 ,the   
service used on the occasion was of     
gold1 and it is impossible adequately to
 realise the contrast which reigned here
 in one house1 between ,asiatic         
splendour and ,lappish poverty4 ,in a   
miserable public-house1 whose walls were
 black as coal with smoke and soot1     
whose rafters were supported by         
undressed round stems of trees1 whose   
windows consisted of some fragments of  
broken panes of bad glass1 and small    
strips of pine covered with paper1--in  
this house sat princes on dirty benches 
at a still dirtier table1 and had the   
choicest dishes and the finest wines    

served to them on gold plate4  ,before  
the banquet the prince took a stroll    
with the other gentlemen in front of the
 house1 and by chance observed my wife4 
,she was then in the bloom of her youth2
 and although ,i am now separated from  
her1 still ,i must do her the justice to
 allow that--leaving1 of course1 out of 
account all that taste and art          
contribute to the heightening of a      
person's charms1 inasmuch as these had  
had no influence on her--she was a      
beauty of the first rank4 ,it was       
therefore natural that she should please
 the prince4 ,he turned to his          
companions1 and said1 ,really a pretty  
young woman6 ,only she ought to get a   
white chemise4 ,this was a common signal
 with him1 and meant as much as the     
throwing of a handkerchief by the ,grand
 ,sultan4 ,when these gentlemen         
therefore heard it1 they became         
solicitous for the honour of my wife1   
and gave her a hint to clear out as fast
 as possible4 ,she took the hint1       

slipped silently out1 and was soon over 
the hills and far away4  ,after the     
banquet ,his ,serene ,highness proceeded
 again with the other gentlemen into    
town amid trumpets1 kettle-drums1 and   
the music of his janissaries4 ,then the 
usual order of the day was followed2    
that is1 a carousal was carried on the  
whole afternoon and evening1 and then   
the party went to a pleasure-house at   
the entrance to the prince's zoological 
garden1 where fire-works were set off at
 great expense1 but usually with        
accidents4 ,as every goblet was drained1
 cannons were fired2 but the poor       
cannoneers1 who knew better how to      
handle the plough than the cannon1 were 
not seldom injured4 ,vivat ,kschondsie  
,radzivil1 that is1 ,long live ,prince  
,radzivil1 shouted the guests4 ,the palm
 in this ,bacchanalian sport was of     
course awarded to the prince2 and those 
who awarded it were loaded by him with  
presents1 not in perishable coin or     
golden snuff-boxes or anything of that  

sort1 but in real estate with many      
hundred peasants4 ,at the close a       
concert was given1 during which ,his    
,serene ,highness fell gently asleep1   
and was carried to the castle4  ,the    
expenses of such extravagance were of   
course extorted from the poor tenantry4 
,if this was not sufficient1 debts were 
contracted1 and estates sold to wipe    
them out4 ,not even the twelve golden   
statues in life-size1--whether they     
represented the twelve apostles or the  
twelve giants1 ,i do not know1--nor the 
golden table which had been made for    
himself1 were spared on such            
emergencies4 ,and thus the noble estates
 of this great prince were diminished1  
his treasures which had accumulated     
during many generations were exhausted1 
and his tenants----,but ,i must break   
off4  ,the prince died not long ago     
without heirs of his body4 ,his         
brother's son inherited the estates4    
,,chapter ,,xiii4  ,endeavour after     
mental ,culture amid ceaseless          

,struggles with ,misery of every kind4  
,by means of the instruction received   
from my father1 but still more by my own
 industry1 ,i had got on so well1 that  
in my eleventh year ,i was able to pass 
as a full rabbi4 ,besides ,i possessed  
some disconnected knowledge in history1 
astronomy1 and other mathematical       
sciences4 ,i burned with desire to      
acquire more knowledge1 but how was this
 to be accomplished in the want of      
guidance1 of scientific books1 and of   
all other means for the purpose8 ,i was 
obliged therefore to content myself with
 making use of any help that ,i could by
 chance obtain1 without plan or method4 
,in order to gratify my desire of       
scientific knowledge1 there were no     
means available but that of learning    
foreign languages4 ,but how was ,i to   
begin8 ,to learn ,polish or ,latin with 
a ,catholic teacher was for me          
impossible1 on the one hand because the 
prejudices of my own people prohibited  
to me all languages but ,hebrew1 and all

 sciences but the ,talmud and the vast  
array of its commentators1 on the other 
hand because the prejudices of          
,catholics would not allow them to give 
instruction in those matters to a ,jew4 
,moreover ,i was in very low temporal   
circumstances4 ,i was obliged to support
 a whole family by teaching1 by         
correcting proofs of the ,holy          
,scriptures1 and by other work of a     
similar kind4 ,for a long time therefore
 ,i had to sigh in vain for the         
satisfaction of my natural inclination4 
,at last a fortunate accident came to my
 help4 ,i observed in some stout ,hebrew
 volumes1 that they contained several   
alphabets1 and that the number of their 
sheets was indicated not merely by      
,hebrew letters1 but that for this      
purpose the characters of a second and a
 third alphabet had also been employed1 
these being commonly ,latin and ,german 
letters4 ,now1 ,i had not the slightest 
idea of printing4 ,i generally imagined 
that books were printed like linen1 and 

that each page was an impression from a 
separate form4 ,i presumed however that 
the characters1 which stood in similar  
places1 must represent one and the same 
letter1 and as ,i had already heard     
something of the order of the alphabet  
in these languages1 ,i supposed that1   
for example1 a1 standing in the same    
place as aleph1 must likewise be an     
aleph in sound4 ,in this way ,i         
gradually learnt the ,latin and ,german 
characters4  ,by a kind of deciphering  
,i began to combine various ,german     
letters into words2 but as the          
characters used along with the ,hebrew  
letters might be something quite        
different from these1 ,i remained always
 doubtful whether the whole of my labour
 in this operation would not be in vain1
 till fortunately some leaves of an old 
,german book fell into my hand4 ,i began
 to read4 ,how great were my joy and    
surprise1 when ,i saw from the          
connection1 that the words completely   
corresponded with those which ,i had    

learned4 ',tis true1 in my ,jewish      
language many of the words were         
unintelligible2 but from the connection 
,i was still able1 with the omission of 
these words1 to comprehend the whole    
pretty well4#bf  ,this mode of learning 
by deciphering constitutes still my     
peculiar method of comprehending and    
judging the thoughts of others2 and ,i  
maintain that no one can say he         
understands a book1 as long as he finds 
himself compelled to deliver the        
thoughts of the author in the order and 
connection determined by him1 and with  
the expressions which he has used4 ,this
 is a mere work of memory1 and no man   
can flatter himself with having         
comprehended an author till he is roused
 by his thoughts1 which he apprehends at
 first but dimly1 to reflect on the     
subject himself1 and to work it out for 
himself1 though it may be under the     
impulse of another4 ,this distinction   
between different kinds of understanding
 must be evident to any man of          

discernment4--,for the same reason also 
,i can understand a book only when the  
thoughts which it contains harmonise    
after filling up the gaps between them4 
,i still always felt a want which ,i was
 not able to fill4 ,i could not         
completely satisfy my desire of         
scientific knowledge4 ,up to this time  
the study of the ,talmud was still my   
chief occupation4 ,with this however ,i 
found pleasure merely in view of its    
form1 for this calls into action the    
higher powers of the mind2 but ,i took  
no interest in its matter4 ,it affords  
exercise in deducing the remotest       
consequences from their principles1 in  
discovering the most hidden             
contradictions1 in hunting out the      
finest distinctions1 and so forth4 ,but 
as the principles themselves have merely
 an imaginary reality1 they cannot by   
any means satisfy a soul thirsting after
 knowledge4  ,i looked around therefore 
for something1 by which ,i could supply 
this want4 ,now1 ,i knew that there is a

 so-called science1 which is somewhat in
 vogue among the ,jewish scholars of    
this district1 namely the ,cabbalah1    
which professes to enable a man1 not    
merely to satisfy his desire of         
knowledge1 but also to reach an uncommon
 perfection and closeness of communion  
with ,god4 ,naturally therefore ,i      
burned with desire for this science4 ,as
 however it cannot1 on account of its   
sacredness1 be publicly taught1 but must
 be taught in secret1 ,i did not know   
where to seek the initiated or their    
writings4     ,,chapter ,,xiv4  ,i study
 the ,cabbalah1 and become at last a    
,physician4   ,cabbalah1--to treat of   
this divine science somewhat more in    
detail1--means1 in the wider sense of   
the term1 tradition2 and it comprehends1
 not only the occult sciences which may 
not be publicly taught1 but also the    
method of deducing new laws from the    
laws that are given in the ,holy        
,scriptures1 as also some fundamental   
laws which are said to have been        

delivered orally to ,moses on ,mount    
,sinai4 ,in the narrower sense of the   
term1 however1 ,cabbalah means only the 
tradition of occult sciences4 ,this is  
divided into theoretical and practical  
,cabbalah4 ,the former comprehends the  
doctrines of ,god1 of ,his attributes   
which are expressed by means of ,his    
manifold names1 of the origin of the    
world through a gradual limitation of   
,his infinite perfection1 and of the    
relation of all things to ,his supreme  
essence4 ,the latter is the doctrine    
which teaches how to work upon nature at
 pleasure by means of those manifold    
names of ,god1 which represent various  
modes of working upon1 and relations to1
 natural objects4 ,these sacred names   
are regarded1 not as merely arbitrary1  
but as natural signs1 so that all that  
is done with these signs must have an   
influence on the object which they      
represent4  ,originally the ,cabbalah   
was nothing but psychology1 physics1    
morals1 politics1 and such sciences1    

represented by means of symbols and     
hieroglyphs in fables and allegories1   
the occult meaning of which was         
disclosed only to those who were        
competent to understand it4 ,by and by1 
however1 perhaps as the result of many  
revolutions1 this occult meaning was    
lost1 and the signs were taken for the  
things signified4 ,but as it was easy to
 perceive that these signs necessarily  
had meant something1 it was left to the 
imagination to invent an occult meaning 
which had long been lost4 ,the remotest 
analogies between signs and things were 
seized1 till at last the ,cabbalah      
degenerated into an art of madness      
according to method1 or a systematic    
science resting on conceits4 ,the big   
promise of its design1 to work effects  
on nature at pleasure1 the lofty strain 
and the pomp with which it announces    
itself1 have naturally an extraordinary 
influence on minds of the visionary     
type1 that are unenlightened by the     
sciences and especially by a thorough   

philosophy4  ,the principal work for the
 study of the ,cabbalah is the ,zohar1  
which is written in a very lofty style  
in the ,syrian language4 ,all other     
,cabbalistic writings are to be regarded
 as merely commentaries on this1 or     
extracts from it4  ,there are two main  
systems of the ,cabbalah1--the system of
 ,rabbi ,moses ,kordovero1 and that of  
,rabbi ,isaac ,luria4#bg ,the former is 
more real1 that is1 it approximates more
 closely to reason4 ,the latter1 on the 
other hand1 is more formal1 that is1 it 
is completer in the structure of its    
system4 ,the modern ,cabbalists prefer  
the latter1 because they hold that only 
to be genuine ,cabbalah1 in which there 
is no rational meaning4 ,the principal  
work of ,rabbi ,moses ,kordovero is the 
,pardes 7,paradise74 ,of ,rabbi ,isaac  
,luria himself we have some disconnected
 writings2 but his pupil1 ,rabbi ,chajim
 ,vitall1 wrote a large work under the  
title1 ,ez ,chajim 7,the ,tree of       
,life71 in which the whole system of his

 master is contained4 ,this work is held
 by the ,jews to be so sacred1 that they
 do not allow it to be committed to     
print4 ,naturally1 ,i had more taste for
 the ,cabbalah of ,rabbi ,moses than for
 that of ,rabbi ,isaac1 but durst not   
give utterance to my opinion on this    
point4  ,after this digression on the   
,cabbalah in general1 ,i return to my   
story4 ,i learned that the under-rabbi  
or preacher of the place was an adept in
 the ,cabbalah2 and therefore1 to attain
 my object1 ,i made his acquaintance4 ,i
 took my seat beside him in the         
synagogue1 and as ,i observed once that 
after prayer he always read from a small
 book1 and then put it past carefully in
 its place1 ,i became very curious to   
know what sort of book this was4        
,accordingly1 after the preacher had    
gone home1 ,i went and took the book    
from the place where he had put it2 and 
when ,i found that it was a ,cabbalistic
 work1 ,i went with it and hid myself in
 a corner of the synagogue1 till all the

 people had gone out and the door was   
locked4 ,i then crept from my           
hiding-place1 and1 without a thought    
about eating or drinking the whole day  
long1 read the fascinating book till the
 doorkeeper came and opened the         
synagogue again in the evening4         
,shaarei ,kedushah1 or ,the ,gates of   
,righteousness1 was the title of this   
book2 and1 leaving out of account what  
was visionary and exaggerated1 it       
contained the principal doctrines of    
psychology4 ,i did with it therefore as 
the ,talmudists say ,rabbi ,mer acted1  
who had a heretic for his teacher1 ,he  
found a pomegranate2 he ate the fruit   
and threw the peel away4#bh  ,in two or 
three days ,i had in this way finished  
the book2 but instead of satisfying my  
curiosity1 it only excited it the more4 
,i wished to read more books of the same
 sort4 ,but as ,i was too bashful to    
confess this to the preacher1 ,i        
resolved to write him a letter1 in which
 ,i expressed my irresistible longing   

for this sacred science1 and therefore  
entreated him earnestly to assist me    
with books4 ,i received from him a very 
favourable answer4 ,he praised my zeal  
for the sacred science1 and assured me  
that this zeal1 amid so little          
encouragement1 was an obvious sign that 
my soul was derived from ,olam ,aziloth 
7the world of the immediate divine      
influence71 while the souls of mere     
,talmudists take their origin from ,olam
 ,jezirah 7the world of the creation74  
,he promised1 therefore1 to assist me   
with books as far as lay in his power4  
,but as he himself was occupied mainly  
with this science1 and required to have 
such books constantly at hand1 he could 
not lend them to me1 but gave me        
permission to study them in his house at
 my pleasure4  ,who was gladder than ,i6
 ,i accepted the offer of the preacher  
with gratitude1 scarcely ever left his  
house1 and sat day and night over the   
,cabbalistic books4 ,two representations
 especially gave me the greatest        

trouble4 ,one was the ,tree1 or the     
representation of the divine emanations 
in their manifold and intricate         
complexities4 ,the other was ,god's     
,beard1 in which the hairs are divided  
into numerous classes with something    
peculiar to each1 and every hair is a   
separate channel of divine grace4 ,with 
all my efforts ,i could not find in     
these representations any rational      
meaning4  ,my prolonged visits however  
were extremely inconvenient to the      
preacher4 ,he had1 a short time before1 
married a pretty young wife2 and as his 
modest little house consisted of a      
single apartment1 which was at once     
parlour1 study1 and bedroom1 and as ,i  
sat in it at times reading the whole    
night1 it happened not infrequently that
 my elevation above the sphere of sense 
came into collision with his            
sensibility4 ,consequently1 he hit upon 
a good plan for getting rid of the      
incipient ,cabbalist4 ,he said to me one
 day1 ,i observe that it necessarily    

puts you to a great deal of             
inconvenience to spend your time        
constantly away from home for the sake  
of these books4 ,you may take them home 
with you one by one if you please1 and  
thus study them at your convenience4    
,to me nothing could be more welcome4 ,i
 took home one book after another1 and  
studied them till ,i believed that ,i   
had mastered the whole of the ,cabbalah4
 ,i contented myself not merely with the
 knowledge of its principles and        
manifold systems1 but sought also to    
make a proper use of these4 ,there was  
not a passage to be met with in the     
,holy ,scriptures or in the ,talmud1 the
 occult meaning of which ,i could not   
have unfolded1 according to ,cabbalistic
 principles1 with the greatest          
readiness4  ,the book entitled ,shaarei 
,orah#bi came to be of very good service
 here4 ,in this book are enumerated the 
manifold names of the ten ,sephiroth1   
which form the principal subject of the 
,talmud1 so that a hundred or more names

 are given to each4 ,in every word of a 
verse in the ,bible1 or of a passage in 
the ,talmud1 ,i found therefore the name
 of some ,sephirah4 ,but as ,i knew the 
attribute of every ,sephirah1 and its   
relation to the rest1 ,i could easily   
bring out of the combination of names   
their conjoint effect4  ,to illustrate  
this by a brief example1 ,i found in the
 book just mentioned1 that the name     
,jehovah represents the six highest     
,sephiroth 7not including the first     
three71 or the person of the ,godhead   
generis masculini1 while the word ,koh  
means the ,shechinah or the person of   
the ,godhead generis feminini1 and the  
word amar denotes sexual union4 ,the    
words1 ,koh amar ,jehova1#cj therefore1 
,i explained in the following way1      
,jehovah unites with the ,shechinah1 and
 this is high ,cabbalism4 ,accordingly1 
when ,i read this passage in the ,bible1
 ,i thought nothing else1 but that1 when
 ,i uttered these words1 and thought    
their occult meaning1 an actual union of

 these divine spouses took place1 from  
which the whole world had to expect a   
blessing4 ,who can restrain the excesses
 of imagination1 when it is not guided  
by reason8  ,with the ,cabbalah         
,maasith1 or the practical ,cabbalah1 ,i
 did not succeed so well as with the    
theoretical4 ,the preacher boasted1 not 
publicly indeed1 but to everybody in    
private1 that he was master of this     
also4 ,especially he professed roeh     
veeno nireh 7to see everything1 but not 
to be seen by others71 that is1 to be   
able to make himself invisible4  ,about 
this trick ,i was specially anxious1 in 
order that ,i might practise some wanton
 jokes on my comrades4 ,more            
particularly ,i formed a plan for       
keeping my ill-tempered mother-in-law in
 check by this means4 ,i pretended that 
my object was merely to do good1 and    
guard against evil4 ,the preacher       
consented1 but said at the same time1   
that on my part certain preparations    
were required4 ,three days in succession

 ,i was to feast1 and every day to say  
some ,ichudim4 ,these are ,cabbalistic  
forms of prayer1 whose occult meaning   
aims at producing in the intellectual   
world sexual unions1 through means of   
which certain results are to be brought 
about in the physical4  ,i did          
everything with pleasure1 made the      
conjuration which he had taught me1 and 
believed with all confidence that ,i was
 now invisible4 ,at once ,i hurried to  
the ,beth ,hamidrash1 the ,jewish       
academy1 went up to one of my comrades1 
and gave him a vigorous box on the ear4 
,he however was no coward1 and returned 
the blow with interest4 ,i started back 
in astonishment2 ,i could not understand
 how he had been able to discover me1 as
 ,i had observed with the utmost        
accuracy the instructions of the        
preacher4 ,still ,i thought ,i might1   
perhaps1 unwittingly and unintentionally
 have neglected something4 ,i resolved1 
therefore1 to undertake the operation   
anew4 ,this time1 however1 ,i was not   

going to venture on the test of a box on
 the ear2 ,i went into the academy      
merely to watch my comrades as a        
spectator4 ,as soon as ,i entered1      
however1 one of them came up to me1 and 
showed me a difficult passage in the    
,talmud1 which he wished me to explain4 
,i stood utterly confounded1 and        
disconsolate over the failure of my     
hopes4  ,thereupon ,i went to the       
preacher1 and informed him of my        
unsuccessful attempt4 ,without blushing1
 he replied quite boldly1 ,if you have  
observed all my instructions1 ,i cannot 
explain this otherwise than by supposing
 that you are unfit for being thus      
divested of the visibility of your body4
 ,with great grief1 therefore1 ,i was   
obliged to give up entirely the hope of 
making myself invisible4  ,this         
disappointed hope was followed by a new 
delusion4 ,in the preface to the ,book  
of ,raphael1 which the angel of that    
name is said to have delivered to our   
first father ,adam at his banishment    

from paradise1 ,i found the promise1    
that whoever keeps the book in his house
 is thereby insured against fire4 ,it   
was not long1 however1 before a         
conflagration broke out in the          
neighbourhood1 when the fire seized my  
house too1 and the angel ,raphael       
himself had to go up into heaven in this
 chariot of fire4  ,unsatisfied with the
 literary knowledge of this science1 ,i 
sought to penetrate into its spirit2 and
 as ,i perceived that the whole science1
 if it is to deserve this name1 can     
contain nothing but the secrets of      
nature concealed in fables and          
allegories1 ,i laboured to find out     
these secrets1 and thereby to raise my  
merely literary knowledge to a rational 
knowledge4 ,this1 however1 ,i could     
accomplish only in a very imperfect     
manner at the time1 because ,i had yet  
very few ideas of the sciences in       
general4 ,still1 by independent         
reflection ,i hit upon many applications
 of this kind4 ,thus1 for example1 ,i   

explained at once the first instance    
with which the ,cabbalists commonly     
begin their science4  ,it is this4      
,before the world was created1 the      
divine being occupied the whole of      
infinite space alone4 ,but ,god wished  
to create a world1 in order that ,he    
might reveal those attributes of ,his   
nature which refer to other beings      
besides ,himself4 ,for this purpose ,he 
contracted ,himself into the centre of  
,his perfection1 and issued into the    
space thereby left void ten concentric  
circles of light1 out of which arose    
afterwards manifold figures 7,parzophim7
 and gradations down to the present     
world of sense4  ,i could not in any way
 conceive that all this was to be taken 
in the common sense of the words1 as    
nearly all ,cabbalists represent it4 ,as
 little could ,i conceive that1 before  
the world had been created1 a time had  
past1 as ,i knew from my ,moreh         
,nebhochim1 that time is a modification 
of the world1 and consequently cannot be

 thought without it4 ,moreover1 ,i could
 not conceive that ,god occupies a      
space1 even though it be infinite2 or   
that ,he1 an infinitely perfect being1  
should contract ,himself1 like a thing  
of circular form1 into a centre4        
,accordingly ,i sought to explain all   
this in the following way4 ,god is prior
 to the world1 not in time1 but in ,his 
necessary being as the condition of the 
world4 ,all things besides ,god must    
depend on ,him as their cause1 in regard
 to their essence as well as their      
existence4 ,the creation of the world1  
therefore1 could not be thought as a    
bringing forth out of nothing1 nor as a 
formation of something independent on   
,god1 but only as a bringing forth out  
of ,himself4 ,and as beings are of      
different grades of perfection1 we must 
assume for their explanation different  
grades of limitation of the divine      
being4 ,but since this limitation must  
be thought as extending from the        
infinite being down to matter1 we       

represent the beginning of the          
limitation in a figure as a centre 7the 
lowest point7 of the ,infinite4  ,in    
fact1 the ,cabbalah is nothing but an   
expanded ,spinozism1 in which not only  
is the origin of the world explained by 
the limitation of the divine being1 but 
also the origin of every kind of being1 
and its relation to the rest1 are       
derived from a separate attribute of    
,god4 ,god1 as the ultimate subject and 
the ultimate cause of all beings1 is    
called ,ensoph 7the ,infinite1 of which1
 considered in itself1 nothing can be   
predicated74 ,but in relation to the    
infinite number of beings1 positive     
attributes are ascribed to ,him2 these  
are reduced by the ,cabbalists to ten1  
which are called the ten ,sephiroth4    
,in the book1 ,pardes1 by ,rabbi ,moses 
,kordovero1 the question is discussed1  
whether the ,sephiroth are to be taken  
for the ,deity ,himself or not4 ,it is  
easy to be seen1 however1 that this     
question has no more difficulty in      

reference to the ,deity1 than in        
reference to any other being4  ,under   
the ten circles ,i conceived the ten    
categories or predicaments of           
,aristotle1 with which ,i had become    
acquainted in the ,moreh                
,nebhochim1--the most universal         
predicates of things1 without which     
nothing can be thought4 ,the categories1
 in the strictest critical sense1 are   
the logical forms1 which relate not     
merely to a logical object1 but to real 
objects in general1 and without which   
these cannot be thought4 ,they have     
their source1 therefore1 in the subject 
itself1 but they become an object of    
consciousness only by reference to a    
real object4 ,consequently1 they        
represent the ten ,sephiroth1 which     
belong1 indeed1 to the ,ensoph in       
itself1 but of which the reality is     
revealed only by their special relation 
to1 and effect upon1 objects in nature1 
and the number of which can be variously
 determined in various points of view4  

,but by this method of explanation ,i   
brought upon myself many an annoyance4  
,for the ,cabbalists maintain that the  
,cabbalah is not a human1 but a divine1 
science2 and that1 consequently1 it     
would be degradation of it1 to explain  
its mysteries in accordance with nature 
and reason4 ,the more reasonable1       
therefore1 my explanations proved1 the  
more were the ,cabbalists irritated with
 me1 inasmuch as they held that alone to
 be divine1 which had no reasonable     
meaning4 ,accordingly ,i had to keep my 
explanations to myself4 ,an entire work1
 that ,i wrote on the subject1 ,i       
brought with me to ,berlin1 and preserve
 still as a monument of the struggle of 
the human mind after perfection1 in     
spite of all the hindrances which are   
placed in its way4  ,meanwhile this     
could not satisfy me4 ,i wished to get  
an insight into the sciences1 not as    
they are veiled in fables1 but in their 
natural light4 ,i had already1 though   
very imperfectly1 learned to read       

,german2 but where was ,i to obtain     
,german books in ,lithuania8            
,fortunately for me ,i learned that the 
chief rabbi of a neighbouring town1 who 
in his youth had lived for a while in   
,germany1 and learned the ,german       
language there1 and made himself in some
 measure acquainted with the sciences1  
continued still1 though in secret1 to   
work at the sciences1 and had a fair    
library of ,german books4  ,i resolved  
therefore to make a pilgrimage to       
,s----1 in order to see the chief rabbi1
 and beg of him a few scientific books4 
,i was tolerably accustomed to such     
journeys1 and had gone once thirty      
miles#ca on foot to see a ,hebrew work  
of the tenth century on the ,peripatetic
 philosophy4 ,without therefore         
troubling myself in the least about     
travelling expenses or means of         
conveyance1 and without saying a word to
 my family on the subject1 ,i set out   
upon the journey to this town in the    
middle of winter4 ,as soon as ,i arrived

 at the place1 ,i went to the chief     
rabbi1 told him my desire1 and begged   
him earnestly for assistance4 ,he was   
not a little astonished2 for1 during the
 thirty one years which had passed since
 his return from ,germany1 not a single 
individual had ever made such a request4
 ,he promised to lend me some old       
,german books4 ,the most important among
 these were an old work on ,optics1 and 
,sturm's ,physics4  ,i could not        
sufficiently express my gratitude to    
this excellent chief rabbi2 ,i pocketed 
the few books1 and returned home in     
rapture4 ,after ,i had studied these    
books thoroughly1 my eyes were all at   
once opened4 ,i believed that ,i had    
found a key to all the secrets of       
nature1 as ,i now knew the origin of    
storms1 of dew1 of rain1 and such       
phenomena4 ,i looked down with pride on 
all others1 who did not yet know these  
things1 laughed at their prejudices and 
superstitions1 and proposed to clear up 
their ideas on these subjects and to    

enlighten their understanding4  ,but    
this did not always succeed4 ,i laboured
 once to teach a ,talmudist1 that the   
earth is round1 and that we have        
antipodes4 ,he however made the         
objection1 that these antipodes would   
necessarily fall off4 ,i endeavoured to 
show that the falling of a body is not  
directed towards any fixed point in     
empty space1 but towards the centre of  
the earth1 and that the ideas of ,over  
and ,under represent merely the removal 
from and approach to this centre4 ,it   
was of no avail2 the ,talmudist stood to
 his ground1 that such an assertion was 
absurd4  ,on another occasion ,i went to
 take a walk with some of my friends4   
,it chanced that a goat lay in the way4 
,i gave the goat some blows with my     
stick1 and my friends blamed me for my  
cruelty4 ,what is the cruelty8 ,i       
replied4 ,do you believe that the goat  
feels a pain1 when ,i beat it8 ,you are 
greatly mistaken2 the goat is a mere    
machine4 ,this was the doctrine of      

,sturm as a disciple of ,descartes4  ,my
 friends laughed heartily at this1 and  
said1 ,but don't you hear that the goat 
cries1 when you beat it8 ,yes1 ,i       
replied1 of course it cries2 but if you 
beat a drum1 it cries too4 ,they were   
amazed at my answer1 and in a short time
 it went abroad over the whole town1    
that ,i had become mad1 as ,i held that 
a goat is a drum4  ,from my generous    
friend1 the chief rabbi1 ,i received    
afterwards two medical works1 ,kulm's   
,anatomical ,tables and ,voit's         
,gaziopilatium4 ,the latter is a large  
medical dictionary1 containing1 in a    
brief form1 not only explanations from  
all departments of medicine1 but also   
their manifold applications4 ,in        
connection with every disease is given  
an explanation of its cause1 its        
symptoms1 and the method of its cure1   
along with even the ordinary            
prescriptions4 ,this was for me a real  
treasure4 ,i studied the book           
thoroughly1 and believed myself to be   

master of the science of medicine1 and a
 complete physician4  ,but ,i was not   
going to content myself with mere theory
 in this matter2 ,i resolved to make    
regular application of it4 ,i visited   
patients1 determined all diseases       
according to their circumstances and    
symptoms1 explained their causes1 and   
gave also prescriptions for their cure4 
,but in this practice things turned out 
very comically4 ,if a patient told me   
some of the symptoms of his disease1 ,i 
guessed from them the nature of the     
disease itself1 and inferred the        
presence of the other symptoms4 ,if the 
patient said that he could trace none of
 these1 ,i stubbornly insisted on their 
being present all the same4 ,the        
conversation therefore sometimes came to
 this3--  ,i4 ,you have headache also4  
,patient4 ,no4  ,i4 ,but you must have  
headache4  ,as many symptoms are common 
to several diseases1 ,i took not        
infrequently quid pro quo4              
,prescriptions ,i could never keep in my

 head1 so that1 when ,i prescribed      
anything1 ,i was obliged to go home     
first and turn up my ,gaziopilatium4 ,at
 length ,i began even to make up drugs  
myself according to ,voit's             
prescriptions4 ,how this succeeded1 may 
be imagined4 ,it had at least this good 
result1 that ,i saw something more was  
surely required for a practical         
physician than ,i understood at the     
time4     ,,chapter ,,xv4  ,a brief     
,exposition of the ,jewish ,religion1   
from its ,origin down to the most recent
 ,times4   ,to render intelligible that 
part of the story of my life1 which     
refers to my sentiments regarding       
religion1 ,i must first give in advance 
a short practical history of the ,jewish
 religion1 and at the outset say        
something of the idea of religion in    
general1 as well as of the difference   
between natural and positive religion4  
,religion in general is the expression  
of gratitude1 reverence and the other   
feelings1 which arise from the          

dependence of our weal and woe on one or
 more powers to us unknown4 ,if we look 
to the expression of these feelings in  
general1 without regard to the          
particular mode of the expression1      
religion is certainly natural to man4   
,he observes many effects which are of  
interest to him1 but whose causes are to
 him unknown2 and he finds himself      
compelled1 by the universally recognised
 ,principle of ,sufficient ,reason1 to  
suppose these causes1 and to express    
towards them the feelings mentioned4    
,this expression may be of two kinds1 in
 conformity either with the imagination 
or with reason4 ,for either man imagines
 the causes to be analogous to the      
effects1 and ascribes to them in        
themselves such attributes as are       
revealed through the effects1 or he     
thinks them merely as causes of certain 
effects1 without seeking thereby to     
determine their attributes in           
themselves4 ,these two modes are both   
natural to man1 the former being in     

accordance with his earlier condition1  
the latter with that of his perfection4 
,the difference between these two modes 
of representation has as its consequence
 another difference of religions4 ,the  
first mode of representation1 in        
accordance with which the causes are    
supposed to be similar to the effects1  
is the mother of polytheism or          
heathenism4 ,but the second is the basis
 of true religion4 ,for as the kinds of 
effects are different1 the causes also1 
if held to be like them1 must be        
represented as different from one       
another4 ,on the other hand1 if1 in     
accordance with truth1 we conceive the  
idea of cause in general for these      
effects1 without seeking to determine   
this cause1 either in itself 7since it  
is wholly unknown71 or analogically by  
help of the imagination1 then we have no
 ground for supposing several causes1   
but require to assume merely a single   
subject1 wholly unknown1 as cause of all
 these effects4  ,the different         

philosophical systems of theology are   
nothing but detailed developments of    
these different modes of representation4
 ,the atheistic system of theology1 if  
so it may be called1 rejects altogether 
this idea of a first cause1 7as1        
according to the critical system at     
least1 it is merely of regulative use as
 a necessary idea of reason74 ,all      
effects are referred to particular known
 or unknown causes4 ,in this there      
cannot be assumed even a connection     
between the various effects1 else the   
reason of this connection would require 
to be sought beyond the connection      
itself4  ,the ,spinozistic system1 on   
the contrary1 supposes one and the same 
substance as immediate cause of all     
various effects1 which must be regarded 
as predicates of one and the same       
subject4 ,matter and mind are1 with     
,spinoza1 one and the same substance1   
which appears1 now under the former1 now
 under the latter attribute4 ,this      
single substance is1 according to him1  

not only the sole being that can be     
self-dependent1 that is1 independent of 
any external cause1 but also the sole   
self-subsistent being1 all so-called    
beings besides it being merely its      
modes1 that is1 particular limitations  
of its attributes4 ,every particular    
effect in nature is referred by him1 not
 to its proximate cause 7which is merely
 a mode71 but immediately to this first 
cause1 which is the common substance of 
all beings4  ,in this system unity is   
real1 but multiplicity is merely ideal4 
,in the atheistic system it is the      
opposite4 ,multiplicity is real1 being  
founded on the nature of things         
themselves4 ,on the other hand1 the     
unity1 which is observed in the order   
and regularity of nature1 is merely an  
accident1 by which we are accustomed to 
determine our arbitrary system for the  
sake of knowledge4 ,it is inconceivable 
therefore how any one can make out the  
,spinozistic system to be atheistic1    
since the two systems are diametrically 

opposed to one another4 ,in the latter  
the existence of ,god is denied1 but in 
the former the existence of the world4  
,spinoza's ought therefore to be called 
rather the acosmic system4  ,the        
,leibnitzian system holds the mean      
between the two preceding4 ,in it all   
particular effects are referred         
immediately to particular causes2 but   
these various effects are thought as    
connected in a single system1 and the   
cause of this connection is sought in a 
being beyond itself4  ,positive religion
 is distinguished from natural in the   
very same way as the positive laws of a 
state from natural laws4 ,the latter are
 those which rest on a self-acquired1   
indistinct knowledge1 and are not duly  
defined in regard to their application1 
while the former rest on a distinct     
knowledge received from others1 and are 
completely defined in regard to their   
application4  ,a positive religion      
however must be carefully distinguished 
from a political religion4 ,the former  

has for its end merely the correction   
and accurate definition of knowledge1   
that is1 instruction regarding the first
 cause3 and the knowledge is            
communicated to another1 according to   
the measure of his capacity1 just as it 
has been received4 ,but the latter has  
for its end mainly the welfare of the   
state4 ,knowledge is therefore          
communicated1 not just as it has been   
received1 but only in so far as it is   
found serviceable to this end4          
,politics1 merely as politics1 requires 
to concern itself about true religion as
 little as about true morality4 ,the    
injury1 that might arise from this1 can 
be prevented by other means which       
influence men at the same time1 and thus
 all can be kept in equilibrium4 ,every 
political religion is therefore at the  
same time positive1 but every positive  
religion is not also political4         
,natural religion has no mysteries any  
more than merely positive religion4 ,for
 there is no mystery implied in one man 

being unable to communicate his         
knowledge to another of defective       
capacity with the same degree of        
completeness which he himself has       
attained2 otherwise mysteries might be  
attributed to all the sciences1 and     
there would then be mysteries of        
mathematics as well as mysteries of     
religion4 ,only political religion can  
have mysteries1 in order to lead men in 
an indirect way to the attainment of the
 political end1 inasmuch as they are    
made to believe that thereby they can   
best attain their private ends1 though  
this is not always in reality the case4 
,there are lesser and greater mysteries 
in the political religions4 ,the former 
consist in the material knowledge of all
 particular operations and their        
connection with one another4 ,the       
latter1 on the contrary1 consist in the 
knowledge of the form1 that is1 of the  
end by which the former are determined4 
,the former constitute the totality of  
the laws of religion1 but the latter    

contains the spirit of the laws4  ,the  
,jewish religion1 even at its earliest  
origin among the nomadic patriarchs1 is 
already distinguished from the heathen  
as natural religion1 inasmuch as1       
instead of the many comprehensible gods 
of heathenism1 the unity of an          
incomprehensible ,god lies at its       
foundation4 ,for as the particular      
causes of the effects1 which in general 
give rise to a religion1 are in         
themselves unknown1 and we do not feel  
justified in transferring to the causes 
the attributes of the particular        
effects1 in order thereby to            
characterise them1 there remains nothing
 but the idea of cause in general1 which
 must be related to all effects without 
distinction4 ,this cause cannot even be 
analogically determined by the effects4 
,for the effects are opposed to one     
another1 and neutralise each other even 
in the same object4 ,if therefore we    
ascribed them all to one and the same   
cause1 the cause could not be           

analogically determined by any4  ,the   
heathen religion1 on the other hand1    
refers every kind of effect to a special
 cause1 which can of course be          
characterised by its effect4 ,as a      
positive religion the ,jewish is        
distinguished from the heathen by the   
fact1 that it is not a merely political 
religion1 that is1 a religion which has 
for its end the social interest 7in     
opposition to true knowledge and private
 interest72 but in accordance with the  
spirit of its founder1 it is adapted to 
the theocratic form of the national     
,government1 which rests on the         
principle1 that only the true religion1 
based on rational knowledge1 can        
harmonise with the interest of the state
 as well as of the individual4          
,considered in its purity1 therefore1 it
 has no mysteries in the proper sense of
 the word2 that is to say1 it has no    
doctrines which1 in order to reach their
 end1 men will not disclose1 but merely 
such as can not be disclosed to all4    

,after the fall of the ,jewish state the
 religion was separated from the state  
which no longer existed4 ,the religious 
authorities were no longer1 as they had 
been before1 concerned about adapting   
the particular institutions of religion 
to the state2 but their care went merely
 to preserve the religion1 on which the 
existence of the nation now depended4   
,moved by hatred towards those nations  
who had annihilated the state1 and from 
anxiety lest with the fall of the state 
the religion also might fall1 they hit  
upon the following means for the        
preservation and extension of their     
religion4  #a4 ,the fiction of a method1
 handed down from ,moses1 of expanding  
the laws1 and applying them to          
particular cases4 ,this method is not   
that which reason enjoins1 of modifying 
laws according to their intention1 in   
adaptation to time and circumstances1   
but that which rests upon certain rules 
concerning their literary expression4   
#b4 ,the legislative force ascribed to  

the new decisions and opinions obtained 
by this method1 giving to them an equal 
rank with the ancient laws4 ,the subtle 
dialectic1 with which this has been     
carried on down to our times1 and the   
vast number of laws1 customs and useless
 ceremonies of all sorts1 which it has  
occasioned1 may be easily imagined4     
,the history of the ,jewish religion    
can1 in consequence of this1 be         
appropriately divided into five great   
epochs4 ,the first epoch embraces the   
natural religion1 from the times of the 
patriarchs down to ,moses at the exodus 
from ,egypt4 ,the second comprehends the
 positive or revealed religion1 from    
,moses to the time of the ,great        
,synagogue 7,keneseth ,haggedolah74     
,this council must not be conceived as  
an assembly of theologians at a definite
 time2 the name applies to the          
theologians of a whole epoch from the   
destruction of the first temple to the  
composition of the ,mishnah4 ,of these  
the first were the minor prophets       

7,haggai1 ,zachariah1 ,malachi1 etc41 of
 whom #abj are counted altogether71 and 
the last was ,simon the ,just4#cb       
,these1 as well as their forerunners    
from the time of ,joshua1 took as their 
basis the ,mosaic laws1 and added new   
laws according to time and              
circumstances1 but in conformity with   
the traditional method1 every dispute on
 the subject being decided by the       
majority of voices4  ,the third epoch   
extends from the composition of the     
,mishnah by ,jehudah the ,saint#cc to   
the composition of the ,talmud by       
,rabina and ,rabassi4#cd ,down to this  
epoch it was forbidden to commit the    
laws to writing1 in order that they     
might not fall into the hands of those  
who could make no use of them4 ,but as  
,rabbi ,jehudah ,hanassi1 or1 as he is  
otherwise called1 ,rabbenu ,hakades     
observed1 that1 in consequence of their 
great multiplicity1 the laws may easily 
fall into oblivion1 he gave himself a   
licence to transgress a single one of   

the laws in order to preserve the whole4
 ,the law transgressed was that against 
committing the laws to writing2 and in  
this licence he defended himself by a   
passage in the ,psalms1 ,there are      
times1 when a man shows himself         
well-pleasing to ,god by transgressing  
the laws4#ce ,he lived in the time of   
,antoninus ,pius1 was rich1 and         
possessed all the faculties for such an 
undertaking4 ,he therefore composed the 
,mishnah1 in which he delivers the      
,mosaic laws in accordance either with a
 traditional or with a rational method  
of exposition4 ,it contains also some   
laws which form the subject of dispute4 
,this work is divided into six parts4   
,the first contains the laws relating to
 agriculture and horticulture2 the      
second1 those which refer to feasts and 
holidays4 ,the third part comprehends   
the laws which define the mutual        
relations of the two sexes 7marriage1   
divorce1 and such subjects74 ,the fourth
 part is devoted to the laws which deal 

with the teachers of the law2 the fifth1
 to those which treat of the            
temple-service and sacrifices2 and the  
sixth1 to the laws of purification4  ,as
 the ,mishnah is composed with the      
greatest precision1 and cannot be       
understood without a commentary1 it was 
natural1 that in course of time doubts  
and disputes should arise1 regarding the
 exposition of the ,mishnah itself1 as  
well as the mode of its application to  
cases which it does not sufficiently    
determine4 ,all these doubts and their  
manifold solutions1 controversies and   
decisions1 were finally collected in the
 ,talmud by the above-mentioned ,rabina 
and ,rabassi2 and this forms the fourth 
epoch of ,jewish legislation4  ,the     
fifth epoch begins with the conclusion  
of the ,talmud1 and extends down to our 
time1 and so on for ever 7si diis       
placet7 till the advent of the ,messiah4
 ,since the conclusion of the ,talmud   
the rabbis have been by no means idle4  
',tis true1 they dare not alter anything

 in the ,mishnah or the ,talmud2 but    
they still have plenty of work to do4   
,their business is to explain those two 
works1 so that they shall harmonise2 and
 this is no small matter1 for one rabbi1
 with a superfine dialectic1 is always  
finding contradictions in the           
explanations of another4 ,they must also
 disentangle1 from the labyrinth of     
various opinions1 expositions1          
controversies and decisions1 the laws   
which are applicable to every case2 and 
finally for new cases1 by inferences    
from those already known1 they must     
bring out new laws1 hitherto left       
indeterminate in spite of all previous  
labours1 and thus prepare a complete    
code of laws4  ,it is thus that a       
religion1 in its origin natural and     
conformable to reason1 has been abused4 
,a ,jew dare not eat or drink1 lie with 
his wife or attend to the wants of      
nature1 without observing an enormous   
number of laws4 ,with the books on the  
slaughter of animals alone 7the         

condition of the knife and the          
examination of the entrails7 a whole    
library could be filled1 which certainly
 would come near to the ,alexandrian in 
extent4 ,and what shall ,i say of the   
enormous number of books treating of    
those laws which are no longer in use1  
such as the laws of sacrifice1 of       
purification1 etc48 ,the pen falls from 
my hand1 when ,i remember that ,i and   
others like me were obliged to spend in 
this soul-killing business the best days
 of our lives when the powers are in    
their full vigour1 and to sit up many a 
night1 to try and bring out some sense  
where there was none1 to exercise our   
wits in the discovery of contradictions 
where none were to be found1 to display 
acuteness in removing them where they   
were obviously to be met1 to hunt after 
a shadow through a long series of       
arguments1 and to build castles in the  
air4  ,the abuse of ,rabbinism has1 as  
will be seen1 a twofold source4  #a4    
,the first is an artificial method of   

expounding the ,holy ,scriptures1 which 
distinguishes itself from the natural   
method by the fact1 that1 while the     
latter rests on a thorough knowledge of 
the language and the true spirit of the 
legislator in view of the circumstances 
of the time1 as these are known from    
history1 the former has been devised    
rather for the sake of the laws passed  
to meet existing emergencies4 ,the      
rabbis look upon the ,holy ,scriptures1 
not only as the source of the           
fundamental laws of ,moses1 and of those
 which are deducible from these by a    
rational method1 but also as a vehicle  
of the laws to be drawn up by themselves
 according to the wants of the time4    
,the artificial method here1 like every 
other of the same kind1 is merely a     
means of bringing the new laws at least 
into an external connection with the    
old1 in order that they may thereby find
 a better introduction among the people1
 be reduced to principles1 divided into 
classes1 and therefore more easily      

impressed on the memory4 ,no reasonable 
rabbi will hold1 that the laws1 which   
are referred in this way to passages of 
the ,holy ,scriptures1 render the true  
sense of these passages2 but if         
questioned on this point1 he will reply1
 ,these laws are necessities of the     
time1 and are referred to those passages
 merely for this reason4  #b4 ,the      
second source of the abuse of ,rabbinism
 is to be found in the manners and      
customs of other nations1 in whose      
neighbourhood the ,jews have lived1 or  
among whom they have been gradually     
scattered since the fall of the ,jewish 
state4 ,these manners and customs they  
were obliged to adopt in order to avoid 
becoming objects of abhorrence4 ,of this
 sort are the laws1 not to uncover the  
head 7at least in holy places and at    
holy ceremonies71 to wash the hands     
7before meals and prayers71 to fast the 
whole day till sunset1 to say a number  
of daily prayers1 to make pilgrimages1  
to walk round the altar1 etc41--all     

manifestly of ,arabian origin4  ,from   
hatred also towards those nations that  
destroyed the ,jewish state1 and        
afterwards made the ,jews undergo       
manifold oppressions1 they have adopted 
various customs1 and among others many  
religious usages which are opposite to  
those of the ,greeks and ,romans4  ,in  
all this the rabbis had the ,mosaic laws
 themselves for a model1 these being    
sometimes in agreement1 sometimes in    
hostility1 with the ,egyptian laws which
 lie at their root1 as has been shown in
 the most thorough manner by the        
celebrated ,maimonides in his work1     
,moreh ,nebhochim4  ,it is remarkable1  
that1 with all rabbinical extravagancies
 in the practical department1 namely the
 laws and customs1 the theoretical      
department of the ,jewish theology has  
still always preserved itself in its    
purity4 ,eisenmenger may say what he    
will1 it may be shown by unanswerable   
arguments1 that all the limited         
figurative representations of ,god and  

,his attributes have their source merely
 in an endeavour to adapt the ideas of  
theology to the common understanding4   
,the rabbis followed in this the        
principle which they had established in 
reference to the ,holy ,scriptures      
themselves1 namely1 that the ,holy      
,scriptures use the language of the     
common people1 inasmuch as religious and
 moral sentiments and actions1 which    
form the immediate aim of theology may  
in this manner be most easily extended4 
,they therefore represent ,god to the   
common understanding as an earthly      
,king1 who with ,his ministers and the  
advisers of ,his cabinet1 the angels1   
takes counsel concerning the government 
of the world4 ,but for the educated mind
 they seek to take away all             
anthropomorphic representations of ,god1
 when they say1 ,it was an act of high  
daring on the part of the prophets1 to  
represent the ,creator as like ,his     
creature1 as when1 for example1 it is   
said in ,ezekiel 7i41 #bf71 ',and upon  

the throne was an appearance like man4' 
,i have disclosed the abuses of the     
rabbis in regard to religion without any
 partiality4 ,at the same time however  
,i must not be silent about their good  
qualities1 but do them justice as       
impartially4 ,compare then ,mahomed's   
description of the reward of the pious  
with the rabbinical representation4 ,the
 former runs3--,here 7in paradise7 there
 are as many dishes as there are stars  
in heaven4 ,maidens and boys fill the   
cups1 and wait on the table4 ,the beauty
 of the maidens surpasses all           
imagination4 ,if one of these maidens   
were to appear in the sky or in the air 
by night1 the world would become as     
bright as when the sun is shining2 and  
if she were to spit into the sea1 its   
salt water would be turned into honey1  
and its bitter into sweet4 ,milk1 honey1
 white wine will be the rivers which    
water this delicious abode4 ,the slime  
of these rivers will be made of         
sweet-smelling nutmegs1 and their       

pebbles of pearls and hyacinths4 ,the   
angel ,gabriel will open the gates of   
paradise to faithful ,musselmans4 ,the  
first thing to meet their eyes will be a
 table of diamonds of such enormous     
length1 that it would require #gj1jjj   
days to run round it4 ,the chairs1 which
 stand around the table1 will be of gold
 and silver1 the tablecloths of silk and
 gold4 ,when the guests have sat down1  
they will eat the choicest dishes of    
paradise1 and drink its water4 ,when    
they are satisfied1 beautiful boys will 
bring them green garments of costly     
stuff1 and necklaces and earrings of    
gold4 ,to every one will then be given a
 citron2 and when he has brought it to  
his nose to feel its odour1 a maiden of 
enchanting beauty will come out4 ,every 
one will embrace his own with rapture1  
and this intoxication of love will last 
fifty years without interruption4 ,each 
couple will obtain an enchanting palace 
for a dwelling1 where they will eat and 
drink and enjoy all sorts of pleasure   

for ever and ever4#cf ,this description 
is beautiful2 but how sensuous6 ,the    
rabbis1 on the other hand1 say1 ,above  
7in the blessed abode of the pious7     
there is neither eating nor drinking1   
but the pious sit crowned1 and delight  
themselves with the vision of the       
,godhead4  ,eisenmenger seeks1 in his   
,entdecktes ,judenthum 7,theil #a41     
,kap4 #h71 by a crass exposition to     
throw ridicule on the ,platonic doctrine
 of reminiscence1 which the rabbis      
maintain2 but what may not be made      
ridiculous in the same way8 ,he also    
makes sport1 with equal injustice1 of   
other rabbinical teachings4 ,with the   
,stoics1 for example1 the rabbis call   
wise men ,kings2 they say1 that ,god    
does nothing without previously taking  
counsel with his angels1 that is1       
,omnipotence works upon nature not      
immediately1 but by means of the natural
 forces2 they teach1 that everything is 
predestined by ,god1 except the practice
 of virtue4 ,these are the subjects of  

,eisenmenger's mockery2 but does any    
reasonable theologian find in these     
anything ridiculous or impious8 ,i      
should be obliged to write a whole book1
 if ,i were to answer all the unjust    
charges and jeers which have been       
brought against the ,talmudists1 not by 
,christian writers alone1 but even by   
,jews who wished to pass for illuminati4
  ,to be just to the rabbis it is       
necessary to penetrate into the true    
spirit of the ,talmud1 to become        
thoroughly familiar with the manner in  
which the ancients generally1 but       
especially the ,orientals1 deliver      
theological1 moral1 and even physical   
truths in fables and allegories1 to     
become familiar also with the style of  
,oriental hyperbole in reference to     
everything that can be of interest to   
man4 ,moreover1 the rabbis should be    
treated in the spirit in which they     
themselves excused ,rabbi ,mer who had a
 heretic for his teacher1--the spirit   
expressed in a passage already quoted4  

,if justice is thus dealt to the rabbis1
 the ,talmud will certainly not show all
 the absurdities which its opponents are
 disposed too readily to find4  ,the    
rabbinical method of referring          
theoretical or practical truths1 even by
 the oddest exegesis1 to passages in the
 ,holy ,scriptures or any other book in 
general esteem1 as if they were truths  
brought out of such passages by a       
rational exegesis1--this method1 besides
 procuring an introduction for the      
truths among common men1 who are not    
capable of grasping them on their own   
merits1 and accept them merely on       
authority1 is also to be regarded as an 
excellent aid to the memory2 for since1 
as presumed1 these passages are in      
everybody's mouth1 the truths drawn from
 them are also retained by their means4 
,consequently it very often occurs in   
the ,talmud1 when the question concerns 
the deduction of a new law from the     
,holy ,scriptures1 that one rabbi       
derives the law from this or that       

passage1 while another brings the       
objection1 that this cannot be the true 
meaning of the passage1 inasmuch as the 
true meaning is this or that4 ,to such  
an objection every one is wont to reply1
 that it is a new law of the rabbis1 who
 merely refer it to the passage         
mentioned4  ,as it is therefore         
universally presupposed that this method
 is familiar1 the ,talmudists regard it 
as unnecessary to inculcate it anew on  
every occasion4 ,a single example will  
suffice to illustrate this4 ,one        
,talmudist asked another the meaning of 
the following passage in the ,book of   
,joshua 7xv41 #bb71 ,kinah ,vedimonah   
,veadadah4#cg ,the latter replied1 ,here
 are enumerated the then familiar places
 of the ,holy ,land4 ,of course6        
rejoined the other4 ,i know very well   
that these are names of places4 ,but1   
,rabbi ---- knows how to bring out of   
these1 besides the proper meaning1      
something useful1 namely                
this3--'7,kinah7 ,he to whom his        

neighbour gives occasion for revenge1   
7,vedimonah7 and who yet1 out of        
generosity1 keeps silence1 taking no    
revenge1 7,veadadah7 to him will the    
,eternal execute justice4' ,what a fine 
opportunity this would be for laughing  
at the poor ,talmudist1 who derives a   
moral sentence from particular names of 
places1 and besides makes in an         
extraordinary manner a compound out of  
the last name1 ,sansannah1#ch if he had 
not himself explained that he is seeking
 to know1 not the true meaning of the   
passage1 but merely a doctrine which may
 be referred to it4  ,again1 the        
,talmudists have referred to a passage  
in ,isaiah the important doctrine1 that 
in morals the principal object is1 not  
theory1 but practice1 by which theory   
receives its true value4 ,the passage   
runs as follows3--,the expectation of   
thy happiness--that is1 the happiness   
promised by the prophet--will have for  
its consequence strength1 help1 wisdom1 
knowledge1 and the fear of ,god4#ci     

,here they refer the first six subjects 
to the six ,sedarim or divisions of the 
,mishnah1 which are the foundation of   
all ,jewish learning4 ,emunath          
7,expectation7 is ,seder ,seraim2       
,etecho 7,happiness7 is ,seder ,moad1   
and so on4 ,that is to say1 you may be  
ever so well versed in all these six    
sedarim2 yet the main point is the last1
 the fear of ,god4  ,as far as          
rabbinical morals in other respects are 
concerned1 ,i know in truth nothing that
 can be urged against them1 except      
perhaps their excessive strictness in   
many cases4 ,they form in fact genuine  
,stoicism1 but without excluding other  
serviceable principles1 such as         
perfection1 universal benevolence1 and  
the like4 ,holiness with them extends   
even to the thoughts4 ,this principle   
is1 in the usual fashion1 referred to   
the following passage in the ,psalms1   
,thou shalt have no strange ,god in     
thee2#dj for in the human heart1 it is  
argued1 no strange ,god can dwell1      

except evil desires4 ,it is not allowed 
to deceive even a heathen either by     
deeds or by words--not even in cases    
where he could lose nothing by the      
deceit4 ,for example1 the common form of
 courtesy1 ,i am glad to see you well1  
is not to be used1 if it does not       
express the real sentiments of the      
heart4 ,the examples of ,jews who cheat 
,christians and heathens1 which are     
commonly adduced against this statement1
 prove nothing1 inasmuch as these ,jews 
do not act in accordance with the       
principles of their own morals4  ,the   
commandment1 ,thou shalt not covet      
anything that is thy neighbour's1 is so 
expounded by the ,talmudists1 that we   
must guard against even the wish to     
possess any such thing4 ,in short1 ,i   
should require to write a whole book1 if
 ,i were to adduce all the excellent    
doctrines of rabbinical morals4  ,the   
influence of these doctrines in         
practical life also is unmistakable4    
,the ,polish ,jews1 who have always been

 allowed to adopt any means of gain1 and
 have not1 like the ,jews of other      
countries1 been restricted to the       
pitiful occupation of ,schacher or      
usurer1 seldom hear the reproach of     
cheating4 ,they remain loyal to the     
country in which they live1 and support 
themselves in an honourable way4  ,their
 charity and care for the poor1 their   
institutions for nursing the sick1 their
 special societies for burial of the    
dead1 are well enough known4 ,it is not 
nurses and grave-diggers hired for      
money1 but the elders of the people1 who
 are eager to perform these acts4 ,the  
,polish ,jews are indeed for the most   
part not yet enlightened by science1    
their manners and way of life are still 
rude2 but they are loyal to the religion
 of their fathers and the laws of their 
country4 ,they do not come before you   
with courtesies1 but their promise is   
sacred4 ,they are not gallants1 but your
 women are safe from any snares with    
them4 ,woman1 indeed1 after the manner  

of the ,orientals in general1 is by them
 not particularly esteemed2 but all the 
more on that account are they resolved  
on fulfilling their duties towards her4 
,their children do not learn by heart   
any forms for expressing love and       
respect for their parents--for they do  
not keep ,french demoiselles2--but they 
show that love and respect all the more 
heartily4  ,the sacredness of their     
marriages1 and the ever fresh tenderness
 which arises from this1 deserve        
especially to be mentioned4 ,every month
 the husband is wholly separated from   
his wife for a fortnight 7the period of 
monthly purification in accordance with 
the rabbinical laws72 they may not so   
much as touch one another1 or eat out of
 the same dish or drink out of the same 
cup4 ,by this means satiety is avoided2 
the wife continues to be in the eyes of 
her husband all that she was as maiden  
in the eyes of her lover4  ,finally1    
what innocence rules among unmarried    
persons6 ,it often happens that a young 

man or woman of sixteen or eighteen     
years is married without knowing the    
least about the object of marriage4     
,among other nations this is certainly  
very seldom the case4     ,,chapter     
,,xvi4  ,jewish ,piety and ,penances4   
,in my youth ,i was of a somewhat strong
 religious disposition2 and as ,i       
observed in most of the rabbis a good   
deal of pride1 quarrelsomeness1 and     
other evil qualities1 they became       
objects of dislike to me on that        
account4 ,i sought therefore as my model
 only those among them1 who are commonly
 known by the name of ,chasidim1 or the 
,pious4 ,these are they who devote the  
whole of their lives to the strictest   
observances of the laws and moral       
virtues4 ,i had afterwards occasion to  
remark that these on their part do harm1
 less indeed to others1 but all the more
 to themselves1 inasmuch as they root   
out the wheat with the tares2#da while  
they seek to suppress their desires and 
passions1 they suppress also their      

powers and cramp their activity1 so much
 so as in most cases by their exercises 
to bring upon themselves an untimely    
death4  ,two or three instances1 of     
which ,i was myself an eye-witness1 will
 be sufficient to establish what has    
been said4 ,a ,jewish scholar1 at that  
time well known on account of his piety1
 ,simon of ,lubtsch1 had undergone the  
severest exercises of penance4 ,he had  
already carried out the ,t'shubath      
,hakana--the penance of ,kana--which    
consists in fasting daily for six years1
 and avoiding for supper anything that  
comes from a living being 7flesh1 milk1 
honey1 etc474 ,he had also practised    
,golath1 that is1 a continuous          
wandering1 in which the penitent is not 
allowed to remain two days in the same  
place2 and1 in addition1 he had worn a  
hair-shirt next his skin4 ,but he felt  
that he would not be doing enough for   
the satisfaction of his conscience      
unless he further observed the          
,t'shubath ,hamishkal--the penance of   

weighing--which requires a particular   
form of penance proportioned to every   
sin4 ,but as he found by calculation1   
that the number of his sins was too     
great to be atoned in this way1 he took 
it into his head to starve himself to   
death4 ,after he had spent some time in 
this process1 he came in his wanderings 
to the place where my father lived1 and1
 without anybody in the house knowing1  
went into the barn1 where he fell upon  
the ground in utter faintness4 ,my      
father came by chance into the barn1 and
 found the man1 whom he had long known1 
lying half-dead on the ground1 with a   
,zohar 7the principal book of the       
,cabbalists7 in his hand4 ,as he knew   
well what sort of man this was1 he      
brought him at once all sorts of        
refreshments2 but the man would make no 
use of them in any way4 ,my father came 
several times1 and repeated his urgent  
request1 that ,simon would take         
something2 but it was of no avail4 ,my  
father had to attend to something in the

 house1 whereupon ,simon1 to escape from
 his importunity1 exerted all his       
strength1 raised himself up1 went out of
 the barn1 and at last out of the       
village4 ,when my father came back into 
the barn again1 and found the man no    
longer there1 he ran after him1 and     
found him lying dead not far from the   
village4 ,the affair was generally made 
known among the ,jews1 and ,simon became
 a saint4  ,jossel of ,klezk proposed   
nothing less than to hasten the advent  
of the ,messiah4 ,to this end he        
performed strict penance1 fasted1 rolled
 himself in snow1 undertook             
night-watches and similar severities4   
,by all sorts of such operations he     
believed that he was able to accomplish 
the overthrow of a legion of evil       
spirits1 who kept guard on the ,messiah1
 and threw obstacles in the way of his  
coming4#db ,to these exercises he added 
at last many ,cabbalistic               
fooleries--fumigations1 conjurations1   
and similar practices--till at length he

 lost his wits on the subject1 believed 
that he really saw spirits with his eyes
 open1 calling each of them by name4 ,he
 would then beat about him1 smash       
windows and stoves under the idea that  
these were his foes1 the evil spirits1  
somewhat after the manner of his        
forerunner ,don ,quixote4 ,at last he   
lay down in complete exhaustion1 from   
which he was with great difficulty      
restored1 by the physician of ,prince   
,radzivil4  ,unfortunately ,i could     
never get further in pious exercises of 
this sort1 than to abstain for a        
considerable while from everything that 
comes from a living being2 and during   
the ,days of ,atonement ,i have         
sometimes fasted three days together4 ,i
 once resolved indeed on undertaking the
 ,t'shubath ,hakana2 but this project1  
like others of the same sort1 remained  
unfulfilled1 after ,i had adopted the   
opinions of ,maimonides1 who was no     
friend of fanaticism or pietism4 ,it is 
remarkable1 that at the time when ,i    

still observed the rabbinical           
regulations with the utmost strictness1 
,i yet would not observe certain        
ceremonies which have something comical 
about them4 ,of this kind1 for example1 
was the ,malketh 7,beating7 before the  
,great ,day of ,atonement1 in which     
every ,jew lays himself on his face in  
the synagogue1 while another with a     
narrow strip of leather gives him       
thirty-nine lashes4 ,of the same sort is
 ,haphorath ,nedarim1 or the act of     
setting free from vows on ,new ,year's  
,eve4 ,in this three men are seated1    
while another appears before them1 and  
addresses to them a certain form1 the   
general drift of which is as            
follows3--,sirs1 ,i know what a heinous 
sin it is1 not to fulfil vows2 and      
inasmuch as ,i have doubtless this year 
made some vows which ,i have not        
fulfilled1 and which ,i can no longer   
recollect1 ,i beg of you that you will  
set me free from the same4 ,i do not    
indeed repent of the good resolutions to

 which ,i have bound myself by these    
vows2 ,i repent merely of the fact1 that
 in making such resolutions ,i did not  
add1 that they were not to have the     
force of a vow1 etc41 etc4 ,thereupon he
 withdraws from the judgment-seat1 pulls
 off his shoes1 and sits down on the    
bare ground1 by which he is supposed to 
banish himself till his vows are        
dissolved4 ,after he has sat for some   
time1 and said a prayer by himself1 the 
judges begin to call aloud1 ,thou art   
our brother6 thou art our brother6 thou 
art our brother6 ,there is no vow1 no   
oath1 no banishment any longer1 after   
thou hast submitted thyself to the      
judgment4 ,rise from the ground and come
 to us6 ,this they repeat three times1  
and with that the man is at once set    
free from all his vows4  ,at serio-comic
 scenes of this sort ,i could only with 
the greatest difficulty refrain from    
laughing4 ,a blush of shame came over   
me1 when ,i was to undertake such       
performances4 ,i sought therefore1 if ,i

 was pressed on the subject1 to free    
myself by the pretext1 that ,i had      
either already attended to it1 or was   
going to attend to it1 in another       
synagogue4 ,a very remarkable           
psychological phenomenon6 ,it might be  
thought impossible for any one to be    
ashamed of actions which he saw others  
performing without the slightest blush  
of shame4 ,yet this was the case here4  
,this phenomenon can be explained only  
by the fact1 that in all my actions ,i  
had regard first to the nature of the   
action in itself 7whether it was right  
or wrong1 proper or improper71 then to  
its nature in relation to some end1 and 
that ,i justified it as a means1 only   
when it was not in itself incapable of  
being justified4 ,this principle was    
developed afterwards in my whole system 
of religion and morals4 ,on the other   
hand1 the most of men act on the        
principle1 that the end justifies the   
means4     ,,chapter ,,xvii4            
,friendship and ,enthusiasm4   ,in the  

place where ,i resided ,i had a bosom   
friend1 ,moses ,lapidoth by name4 ,we   
were of the same age1 the same studies1 
and nearly the same external            
circumstances1 the only difference      
being1 that at an early period ,i       
already showed an inclination to the    
sciences1 while ,lapidoth had indeed a  
love of speculation1 and also great     
acuteness and power of judgment1 but had
 no wish to proceed further than he     
could reach by a mere sound common      
sense4 ,with this friend ,i used to hold
 many a conversation on subjects of     
mutual interest1 especially the         
questions of religion and morals4  ,we  
were the only persons in the place1 who 
ventured to be not mere imitators1 but  
to think independently about everything4
 ,it was a natural result of this1 that1
 as we differed from all the rest of the
 community in our opinions and conduct1 
we separated ourselves from them by     
degrees2 but1 as we had still to live by
 the community1 our circumstances on    

this account became every day worse and 
worse4 ',tis true1 we noted this fact1  
but nevertheless we were unwilling to   
sacrifice our favourite inclinations for
 any interest in the world4 ,we consoled
 ourselves therefore1 as best we might1 
over our loss1 spoke constantly of the  
vanity of all things1 of the religious  
and moral faults of the common herd1    
upon whom we looked down with a sort of 
noble pride and contempt4  ,we used     
especially to open our minds1  la       
,mandeville1 on the hollowness of human 
virtue4 ,for example1 smallpox had been 
very prevalent in the place1 and thereby
 many children had been carried off4    
,the elders held a meeting to find out  
the secret sins1 on account of which    
they were suffering this punishment1 as 
they viewed it4 ,after instituting an   
inquiry it was found1 that a young widow
 of the ,jewish people was holding too  
free intercourse with some servants of  
the manor4 ,she was sent for1 but no    
sort of inquisition could elicit from   

her anything beyond the fact1 that these
 people were in the habit of drinking   
mead at her house1 and that1 as was     
reasonable1 she received them in a      
pleasant and polite manner1 but that in 
other respects she was unconscious of   
any sin in the matter4 ,as no other     
evidence was forthcoming1 she was about 
to be acquitted1 when an elderly matron 
came flying like a fury and screamed1   
,scourge her6 scourge her6 till she has 
confessed her sin6 ,if you do not do it1
 then may the guilt of the death of so  
many innocent souls fall upon you6      
,lapidoth was present with me at this   
scene1 and said1 ,friend1 do you suppose
 that ,madam is making so fierce a      
complaint against this woman1 merely    
because she is seized with a holy zeal  
and feeling for the general welfare8 ,oh
 no6 ,she is enraged1 merely because the
 widow still possesses attractions1     
while she herself can no longer make    
claim to any4 ,i assured him that his   
opinion was thoroughly in accordance    

with my own4  ,lapidoth had poor        
parents-in-law4 ,his father-in-law was  
,jewish sexton1 and by his slender pay  
could support his family only in a very 
sorry style4 ,every ,friday the poor man
 was therefore compelled to listen to   
all sorts of reproach and abuse from his
 wife1 because he could not provide her 
with what was indispensable for the holy
 ,sabbath4 ,lapidoth told me about this 
with the addition3--,my mother-in-law   
wants to make me to believe that she is 
zealous merely for the honour of the    
holy ,sabbath4 ,nay1 verily2 she is     
zealous merely for the honour of her own
 holy paunch1 which she cannot fill as  
she would like2 the holy ,sabbath serves
 her merely as a pretext4  ,once when we
 were taking a walk on the wall round   
the town1 and conversing about the      
tendency of men1 which is evinced in    
such expressions1 to deceive themselves 
and others1 ,i said to ,lapidoth1       
,friend1 let us be fair1 and pass our   
censure on ourselves1 as well as on     

others4 ,is not the contemplative life  
which we lead1 and which is by no means 
adapted to our circumstances1 to be     
regarded as a result of our indolence   
and inclination to idleness1 which we   
seek to defend by reflections on the    
vanity of all things8 ,we are content   
with our present circumstances2 why8    
,because we cannot alter them without   
first fighting against our inclination  
to idleness4 ,with all our pretence of  
contempt for everything outside of us1  
we cannot avoid the secret wish to be   
able to enjoy better food and clothing  
than at present4 ,we reproach our       
friends as vain men addicted to the     
pleasures of sense1 because they have   
abandoned our mode of life1 and         
undertaken occupations adapted to their 
powers4 ,but wherein consists our       
superiority over them1 when we merely   
follow our inclination as they follow   
theirs8 ,let us seek to find this       
superiority merely in the fact1 that we 
at least confess this truth to          

ourselves1 while they profess as the    
motive of their actions1 not the        
satisfaction of their own particular    
desires1 but the impulse to general     
utility4 ,lapidoth1 on whom my words    
produced a powerful impression1 answered
 with some warmth1 ,friend1 you are     
perfectly right4 ,if we cannot now mend 
our faults1 we will not deceive         
ourselves about them1 but at least keep 
the way open for amendment4  ,in        
conversations of this kind we two cynics
 spent our pleasantest hours1 while we  
made ourselves merry sometimes at the   
expense of the world1 sometimes at our  
own4 ,lapidoth1 for example1 whose old  
dirty clothes had all fallen into rags1 
and one of whose sleeves was wholly     
parted from the rest of his coat1 while 
he was not in a position even to have it
 mended1 used to fix the sleeve on his  
back with a pin1 and to ask me1 ,don't  
,i look like a ,schlachziz 7a ,polish   
noble78 ,i1 again1 could not            
sufficiently commend my rent shoes1     

which were quite open at the toes1      
because1 as ,i said1 ,they do not       
squeeze the foot4  ,the harmony of our  
inclinations and manner of life1 along  
with some difference in our talents1    
made our conversation all the more      
agreeable4 ,i had more talent for the   
sciences1 made more earnest endeavours  
after thoroughness and accuracy of      
knowledge than ,lapidoth4 ,he1 on the   
other hand1 had the advantage of a      
lively imagination1 and consequently    
more talent for eloquence and poetry    
than ,i4 ,if ,i produced a new thought1 
my friend knew how to illustrate it1    
and1 as it were1 to give it embodiment  
in a multitude of examples4 ,our        
affection for one another went so far1  
that1 whenever it was practicable1 we   
spent day and night in each other's     
company1 and the first thing we did1 on 
returning home from the places where we 
severally acted as family-tutors1 was to
 visit each other1 even before seeing   
our own families4 ,at last we began to  

neglect on this account the usual hours 
of prayer4 ,lapidoth first undertook to 
prove1 that the ,talmudists themselves  
offered up their prayers1 not           
exclusively in the synagogue1 but       
sometimes in their study-chambers4      
,afterwards he pointed out also1 that   
the prayers held to be necessary are not
 all equally so1 but that some may be   
dispensed with altogether3 even those1  
which are recognised as necessary1 we   
curtailed by degrees1 till at last they 
were totally neglected4  ,once1 when we 
went for a walk on the wall during the  
hour of prayer1 ,lapidoth said to me1   
,friend1 what is going to become of us8 
,we do not pray now at all4  ,what do   
you mean by that8 ,i inquired4  ,i throw
 myself1 said ,lapidoth1 on the mercy of
 ,god1 who certainly will not punish his
 children severely for a slight neglect4
  ,god is not merely merciful1 ,i       
replied2 ,he is also just4 ,consequently
 this reason cannot help us much4  ,what
 do you mean by that8 asked ,lapidoth4  

,i had by this time obtained from       
,maimonides more accurate ideas of ,god 
and of our duties towards ,him4         
,accordingly ,i replied1 ,our           
destination is merely the attainment of 
perfection through the knowledge of ,god
 and the imitation of ,his actions4     
,prayer is simply the expression of our 
knowledge of the divine perfections1    
and1 as a result of this knowledge1 is  
intended merely for the common man who  
cannot of himself attain to this        
knowledge2 and therefore it is adapted  
to his mode of conception4 ,but as we   
see into the end of prayer1 and can     
attain to this end directly1 we can     
dispense altogether with prayer as      
something superfluous4  ,this reasoning 
appeared to us both to be sound4 ,we    
resolved therefore1 for the purpose of  
avoiding offence1 to go out of the house
 every morning with our ,taleth and     
,tephilim 7,jewish instruments of       
prayer71 not1 however1 to the synagogue1
 but to our favourite retreat1 the wall1

 and by this means we fortunately       
escaped the ,jewish ,inquisition4  ,but 
this enthusiastic companionship1 like   
everything else in the world1 had to    
come to an end4 ,as we were both        
married1 and our marriages were         
tolerably fruitful1 we were obliged1 for
 the purpose of supporting our families1
 to accept situations as family-tutors4 
,by this means we were not infrequently 
separated1 and afterwards were able to  
spend merely a few weeks in the year    
together4     ,,chapter ,,xviii4  ,the  
,life of a ,family-,tutor4   ,the place1
 where ,i first occupied the position of
 family-tutor1 was at the distance of a 
league from my residence4 ,the family   
was that of a miserable farmer in a     
still more miserable village2 and my    
salary was five thalers in ,polish      
money4 ,the poverty1 ignorance1 and     
rudeness in the manner of life1 which   
prevailed in this house1 were           
indescribable4 ,the farmer himself was a
 man of about fifty years1 the whole of 

whose face was overgrown with hair1     
ending in a dirty1 thick beard as black 
as pitch4 ,his language was a sort of   
muttering1 intelligible only to the     
boors1 with whom he held intercourse    
daily4 ,not only was he ignorant of     
,hebrew1 but he could not speak a word  
of ,jewish2 his only language was       
,russian1 the common patois of the      
peasantry4 ,his wife and children were  
of the same stamp4 ,moreover1 the       
apartment1 in which they lived1 was a   
hovel of smoke1 black as coal inside and
 out1 without a chimney1 but with merely
 a small opening in the roof for the    
exit oi the smoke1--an opening which was
 carefully closed as soon as the fire   
was allowed to go out1 so that the heat 
might not escape4  ,the windows were    
narrow strips of pine laid crosswise    
over each other1 and covered with paper4
 ,this apartment served at once for     
sitting1 drinking1 eating1 study and    
sleep4 ,think of this room intensely    
heated1 and the smoke1 as is generally  

the case in winter1 driven back by wind 
and rain till the whole place is filled 
with it to suffocation4 ,here hang a    
foul washing and other dirty bits of    
clothing on poles laid across the room  
in order to kill the vermin with the    
smoke4 ,there hang sausages to dry1     
while their fat keeps constantly        
trickling down on the heads of people   
below4 ,yonder stand tubs with sour     
cabbage and red beets1 which form the   
principal food of the ,lithuanians4 ,in 
a corner the water is kept for daily    
use1 with the dirty water alongside4 ,in
 this room the bread is kneaded1 cooking
 and baking are done1 the cow is milked1
 and all sorts of operations are carried
 on4  ,in this magnificent dwelling the 
peasants sit on the bare ground2 you    
dare not sit higher if you do not wish  
to be suffocated with the smoke4 ,here  
they guzzle their whiskey and make an   
uproar1 while the people of the house   
sit in a corner4 ,i usually took my     
place behind the stove with my dirty    

half-naked pupils1 and expounded to them
 out of an old tattered ,bible1 from    
,hebrew into ,russian ,jewish4 ,all this
 together made such a splendid group as 
deserved to be sketched only by a       
,hogarth1 and to be sung only by a      
,butler4  ,it may be easily imagined1   
how pitiable my condition here must have
 been4 ,whiskey had to form my sole     
comfort2 it made me forget all my       
misery4 ,this was increased by the fact1
 that a regiment of ,russians1 who were 
rioting at that time with every         
conceivable cruelty on the estates of   
,prince ,radzivil1 was stationed in the 
village and its neighbourhood4 ,the     
house was constantly full of drunken    
,russians1 who committed all sorts of   
excesses1 hewed to pieces tables and    
benches1 threw glasses and bottles into 
the faces of the people of the house1   
and so on4 ,to give merely one example1 
a ,russian1 who was stationed in this   
house as guard1 and whose charge it was 
to secure the house against all         

violence1 came home once drunk1 and     
demanded something to eat4 ,a dish of   
millet with butter was placed before him
 cooked4 ,he shoved the dish away1 and  
shouted an order for more butter4 ,a    
whole small tub of butter was brought1  
when he shouted again an order for      
another dish4 ,this was brought         
immediately1 whereupon he threw all the 
butter into it1 and called for spirits4 
,a whole bottle was brought1 and he     
poured it likewise into the dish4       
,thereafter milk1 pepper1 salt1 and     
tobacco1 in large quantities had to be  
brought to him1 the whole being put in1 
and the mixture devoured4 ,after he had 
taken some spoonfuls1 he began to strike
 about him1 pulled the host by the      
beard1 struck him in the face with his  
fist1 so that the blood flowed out of   
his mouth1 poured some of his glorious  
broth down his throat1 and went on in   
this riotous manner till he became so   
drunk that he could no longer support   
himself1 and fell to the ground4  ,such 

scenes were at that time very common    
everywhere in ,poland4 ,if a ,russian   
army passed a place1 they took with them
 a prowodnik1 or guide1 to the next     
place4 ,but instead of seeking to be    
supplied by the mayor or the village    
magistrate1 they used to seize the first
 person whom they met on the road4 ,he  
might be young or old1 male or female1  
healthy or sick1 it mattered nothing to 
them2 for they knew the road well enough
 from special charts1 and only sought an
 opportunity for outrage4 ,if it        
happened that the person seized did not 
know the way at all1 and did not show   
them the right road1 they did not allow 
themselves to be sent astray on this    
account2 they selected the road all     
right1 but they cudgelled the poor      
prowodnik till he was half-dead1 for not
 knowing the way6  ,i was once seized as
 a prowodnik myself4 ,i did not indeed  
know the way1 but luckily ,i hit upon it
 by chance4 ,fortunately1 therefore1 ,i 
reached the proper place1 and the only  

violence ,i suffered1 besides a good    
many blows and kicks from the ,russian  
soldiers1 was the threat1 that1 if ever 
,i led them astray1 ,i should certainly 
be flayed alive--a threat which they    
might be trusted with carrying into     
execution4  ,the other places which ,i  
filled as tutor were more or less       
similar to this4 ,in one of these a     
remarkable psychological incident       
occurred in which ,i took the principal 
part and which is to be described in the
 sequel4 ,an incident of the same kind1 
however1 which happened to another      
person and of which ,i was simply       
eye-witness1 must be mentioned here4  ,a
 tutor in the next village1 who was a   
somnambulist1 rose one night from his   
bed and went to the village churchyard  
with a volume of the ,jewish ceremonial 
laws in his hand4 ,after remaining some 
time there he returned to his bed4 ,in  
the morning he rose up1 without         
remembering the least of what had       
happened during the night1 and went to  

the chest where his copy of the         
ceremonial laws was usually kept1 in    
order to take out the first part1 ,orach
 ,chajim or the ,way of ,life1 which he 
was accustomed to read every morning4   
,the code consists of four parts1 each  
of which was bound separately1 and all  
the four had certainly been locked up in
 the chest4 ,he was therefore astonished
 to find only three of the parts1 ,joreh
 ,deah or the ,teacher of ,wisdom1 being
 awanting4 ,as he knew about his disease
 he searched everywhere1 till at last he
 came to the churchyard where he found  
the ,joreh ,deah lying open at the      
chapter1 ,hilchoth ,abheloth or the     
,laws of ,mourning4 ,he took this for a 
bad omen and came home much disquieted4 
,on being asked the cause of his        
disquietude he related the incident     
which had occurred1 with the addition1  
,ah6 ,god knows how my poor mother is6  
,he begged of his master the loan of a  
horse and permission to ride to the     
nearest town1 where his mother lived1 in

 order to enquire after her welfare4 ,as
 he had to pass the place where ,i was  
tutor1 and ,i saw him riding in great   
excitement without being willing to     
dismount even for a little while1 ,i    
asked him the cause of his excitement   
when he related to me the               
above-mentioned incident4  ,i was       
astonished1 not so much about the       
particular circumstances of this        
incident1 as about somnambulism in      
general1 of which till then ,i had known
 nothing4 ,my friend1 on the other hand1
 assured me that somnambulism was a     
common occurrence with him1 and that it 
meant nothing1 but that the circumstance
 of the ,hilchoth ,abheloth made him    
forebode some misfortune4 ,thereupon he 
rode off1 arrived at his mother's house1
 and found her seated at her frame for  
needlework4 ,she asked him the reason of
 his coming1 when he replied that he had
 come merely to pay her a visit1 as he  
had not seen her for a long time4 ,after
 he had rested for a good while1 he rode

 back2 but his disquietude was by no    
means wholly removed1 and the thought of
 the ,hilchoth ,abheloth he could not   
get out of his head4 ,the third day     
after1 a fire broke out in the town     
where his mother lived1 and the poor    
woman perished in the flames4 ,scarcely 
had the son heard of the conflagration1 
when he began to lament that his mother 
had so miserably perished4 ,he rode off 
in all haste to the town1 and found what
 he had foreboded4     ,,chapter ,,xix4 
,also on a ,secret ,society1 and        
therefore a ,long ,chapter4   ,about    
this time ,i became acquainted with a   
sect of my nation1 called the ,new      
,chasidim1 which was then coming into   
prominence4 ,chasidim is the name       
generally given by the ,hebrews to the  
pious1 that is1 to those who distinguish
 themselves by exercising the strictest 
piety4 ,these were1 from time           
immemorial1 men who had freed themselves
 from worldly occupations and pleasures1
 and devoted their lives to the         

strictest exercise of the laws of       
religion and penance for their sins4 ,as
 already mentioned1 they sought to      
accomplish this object by prayers and   
other exercises of devotion1 by         
chastisement of the body and similar    
means4  ,but about this time some among 
them set themselves up for founders of a
 new sect4 ,they maintained that true   
piety does not by any means consist in  
chastisement of the body1 by which the  
spiritual quiet and cheerfulness1       
necessary to the knowledge and love of  
,god1 are disturbed4 ,on the contrary1  
they maintained that man must satisfy   
all his bodily wants1 and seek to enjoy 
the pleasures of sense1 so far as may be
 necessary for the development of our   
feelings1 inasmuch as ,god has created  
all for his glory4 ,the true service of 
,god1 according to them1 consists in    
exercises of devotion with exertion of  
all our powers1 and annihilation of self
 before ,god2 for they maintain that    
man1 in accordance with his destination1

 can reach the highest perfection only  
when he regards himself1 not as a being 
that exists and works for himself1 but  
merely as an organ of the ,godhead4     
,instead therefore of spending their    
lives in separation from the world1 in  
suppression of their natural feelings1  
and in deadening their powers1 they     
believed that they acted much more to   
the purpose1 when they sought to develop
 their natural feelings as much as      
possible1 to bring their powers into    
exercise1 and constantly to widen their 
sphere of work4  ,it must be            
acknowledged1 that both of these        
opposite methods have something true for
 a foundation4 ,of the former the       
foundation is obviously ,stoicism1 that 
is1 an endeavour to determine actions by
 free will in accordance with a higher  
principle than passion2 the latter is   
founded on the system of perfection4    
,only both1 like everything else in the 
world1 may be abused1 and are abused in 
actual life4 ,those of the first sect   

drive their penitential disposition to  
extravagance2 instead of merely         
regulating their desires and passions by
 rules of moderation1 they seek to      
annihilate them2 and1 instead of        
endeavouring1 like the ,stoics1 to find 
the principle of their actions in pure  
reason1 they seek it rather in religion4
 ,this is a pure source1 it is true2 but
 as these people have false ideas of    
religion itself1 and their virtue has   
for its foundation merely the future    
rewards and punishments of an arbitrary 
tyrannical being who governs by mere    
caprice1 in point of fact their actions 
flow from an impure source1 namely the  
principle of interest4 ,moreover1 in    
their case this interest rests merely on
 fancies1 so that1 in this respect1 they
 are far below the grossest ,epicureans1
 who have1 it is true1 a low1 but still 
a real interest as the end of their     
actions4 ,only then can religion yield a
 principle of virtue1 when it is itself 
founded on the idea of virtue4  ,the    

adherents of the second sect have indeed
 more correct ideas of religion and     
morals2 but since in this respect they  
regulate themselves for the most part in
 accordance with obscure feelings1 and  
not in accordance with distinct         
knowledge1 they likewise necessarily    
fall into all sorts of extravagances4   
,self-annihilation of necessity cramps  
their activity1 or gives it a false     
direction4 ,they have no natural        
science1 no acquaintance with           
psychology2 and they are vain enough to 
consider themselves organs of the       
,godhead1--which of course they are1 to 
an extent limited by the degree of      
perfection they attain4 ,the result is1 
that on the credit of the ,godhead they 
perpetrate the greatest excesses2 every 
extraordinary suggestion is to them a   
divine inspiration1 and every lively    
impulse a divine call4  ,these sects    
were not in fact different sects of     
religion2 their difference consisted    
merely in the mode of their religious   

exercises4 ,but still their animosity   
went so far1 that they decried each     
other as heretics1 and indulged in      
mutual persecution4 ,at first the new   
sect held the upper hand1 and extended  
itself nearly over the whole of ,poland1
 and even beyond4 ,the heads of the sect
 ordinarily sent emissaries everywhere1 
whose duty it was to preach the new     
doctrine and procure adherents4 ,now1   
the majority of the ,polish ,jews       
consist of scholars1 that is1 men       
devoted to an inactive and contemplative
 life2 for every ,polish ,jew is        
destined from his birth to be a rabbi1  
and only the greatest incapacity can    
exclude him from the office4 ,moreover1 
this new doctrine was to make the way to
 blessedness easier1 inasmuch as it     
declared that fasts and vigils and the  
constant study of the ,talmud are not   
only useless1 but even prejudicial to   
that cheerfulness of spirit which is    
essential to genuine piety4 ,it was     
therefore natural that the adherents of 

the doctrine spread far and wide in a   
short time4  ,pilgrimages were made to  
,k4 ,m4 and other holy places1 where the
 enlightened superiors of this sect     
abode4 ,young people forsook parents1   
wives and children1 and went in troops  
to visit these superiors1 and hear from 
their lips the new doctrine4 ,the       
occasion1 which led to the rise of this 
sect was the following4#dc  ,i have     
already remarked that1 since the time   
when the ,jews lost their national      
position and were dispersed among other 
nations where they are more or less     
tolerated1 they have had no internal    
form of government but their religious  
constitution1 by which they are held    
together and still form1 in spite of    
their political dispersion1 an organic  
whole4 ,their leaders1 therefore1 have  
allowed themselves to be occupied with  
nothing so much as with imparting       
additional strength to this1 the only   
bond of union by which the ,jews still  
constitute a nation4 ,but the doctrines 

of their faith and the laws of their    
religion take their origin in the ,holy 
,scriptures1 while these leave much that
 is indefinite in regard to their       
exposition and application to particular
 cases4 ,consequently the aid of        
tradition is of necessity called in1 and
 by this means the method of expounding 
the ,holy ,scriptures1 as well as the   
deduction of cases left undetermined by 
them1 is made to appear as if specified 
in determinate laws4 ,this tradition    
could not of course be entrusted to the 
whole nation1 but merely to a particular
 body--a sort of legislative commission4
  ,by this means1 however1 the evil was 
not avoided4 ,tradition itself left much
 that was still indeterminate4 ,the     
deduction of particular cases from the  
general1 and the new laws demanded by   
the circumstances of different times1   
gave occasion for many controversies2   
but through these very controversies and
 the mode of their settlement1 this body
 became always more numerous1 and its   

influence on the nation more powerful4  
,the ,jewish constitution is therefore  
in its form aristocratic1 and is        
accordingly exposed to all the abuses of
 an aristocracy4 ,the unlearned classes 
of the people1 being burdened with the  
care of supporting not only themselves  
but also the indispensable learned      
class1 were unable to give their        
attention to abuses of the kind4 ,but   
from time to time men have arisen out of
 the legislative body itself1 who have  
not only denounced its abuses1 but have 
even called in question its authority4  
,of this sort was the founder of the    
,christian religion1 who at the very    
outset placed himself in opposition to  
the tyranny of this aristocracy1 and    
brought back the whole ceremonial law to
 its origin1 namely1 a pure moral       
system1 to which the ceremonial law     
stands related as means to end4 ,in this
 way the reformation at least of a part 
of the nation was accomplished4 ,of the 
same sort also was the notorious        

,shabbethai ,zebi1 who1 at the close of 
last century#dd set himself up as       
,messiah1 and was going to abolish the  
whole ceremonial law1 especially the    
rabbinical institutions4 ,a moral system
 founded upon reason would1 owing to the
 deeply rooted prejudices of the nation 
at that time1 have been powerless to    
work out a wholesome reformation4 ,to   
their prejudices and fanaticism         
therefore it was necessary to oppose    
prejudices and fanaticism4 ,this was    
done in the following way4  ,a secret   
society1 whose founders belonged to the 
disaffected spirits of the nation1 had  
already taken root in it for a long     
time4 ,a certain ,french rabbi1 named   
,moses de ,leon1 is said1 according to  
,rabbi ,joseph ,candia1 to have composed
 the ,zohar1 and to have foisted it upon
 the nation as an old book having for   
its author the celebrated ,talmudist1   
,rabbi ben ,jochai4 ,this book contains1
 as stated above1 an exposition of the  
,holy ,scriptures in accordance with the

 principles of the ,cabbalah2 or rather1
 it contains these principles themselves
 delivered in the form of an exposition 
of the ,holy ,scriptures1 and drawn1 as 
it were1 from these4 ,it has1 like      
,janus1 a double face1 and admits1      
therefore1 of a double interpretation4  
,the one is that which is given with    
great diffuseness in ,cabbalistic       
writings1 and has been brought into a   
system4 ,here is a wide field for the   
imagination1 where it can revel at will 
without being in the end better         
instructed on the matter than before4   
,here are delivered1 in figurative      
language1 many moral and physical       
truths1 which lose themselves at last in
 the labyrinth of the hyperphysical4    
,this method of treating the ,cabbalah  
is peculiar to ,cabbalistic scholars1   
and constitutes the lesser mysteries of 
this secret society4  ,the second       
method1 on the other hand1 concerns the 
secret political meaning of the         
,cabbalah1 and is known only to the     

superiors of the secret society4 ,these 
superiors themselves1 as well as their  
operations1 remain ever unknown2 the    
rest of the society you may become      
acquainted with1 if you choose4 ,but the
 latter cannot betray political secrets 
which are unknown to themselves1 while  
the former will not do it1 because it is
 against their interest4 ,only the      
lesser 7purely literary7 mysteries are  
entrusted to the people1 and urged upon 
them as matters of the highest          
importance4 ,the greater 7political7    
mysteries are not taught1 but1 as a     
matter of course1 are brought into      
practice4  ,a certain ,cabbalist1 ,rabbi
 ,joel ,baalshem#de by name1 became very
 celebrated at this time on account of  
some lucky cures which he effected by   
means of his medical acquirements and   
his conjuring tricks1 as he gave out    
that all this was done1 not by natural  
means1 but solely by help of the        
,cabbalah ,maasith 7the practical       
,cabbalah71 and the use of sacred names4

 ,in this way he played a very          
successful game in ,poland4 ,he also    
took care to have followers in his art4 
,among his disciples were some1 who took
 hold of his profession1 and made       
themselves a name by successful cures   
and the detection of robberies4 ,with   
their cures the process was quite       
natural4 ,they employed the common means
 of medicine1 but after the usual method
 of the conjurer they sought to turn the
 attention of the spectator from these1 
and direct it to their ,cabbalistic     
hocus-pocus4 ,the robberies they either 
brought about themselves1 or they       
discovered them by means of their       
detectives1 who were spread all over the
 country4  ,others of greater genius and
 a nobler mode of thinking1 formed far  
grander plans4 ,they saw that their     
private interest1 as well as the general
 interest1 could be best promoted by    
gaining the people's confidence1 and    
this they sought to command by          
enlightenment4 ,their plan was therefore

 moral and political at the same        
time4#df ,at first it appeared as if    
they would merely do away with the      
abuses which had crept into the ,jewish 
system of religion and morals2 but this 
drew after it of necessity a complete   
abrogation of the whole system4 ,the    
principal points which they attacked    
were these3--  #a4 ,the abuse of        
rabbinical learning4 ,instead of        
simplifying the laws and rendering them 
capable of being known by all1 the      
learning of the rabbis leaves them still
 more confused and indefinite4          
,moreover1 being occupied only with the 
study of the laws1 it gives as much     
attention to those which are no longer  
of any application1 such as the laws of 
sacrifice1 of purification1 etc41 as to 
those which are still in use4 ,besides1 
it is not the study1 but the observance 
of the laws1 that forms the chief       
concern1 since the study of them is not 
an end in itself1 but merely a means to 
their observance4 ,and1 finally1 in the 

observance of the laws the rabbis have  
regard merely to the external ceremony1 
not to the moral end4  #b4 ,the abuse of
 piety on the part of the so-called     
penitents4 ,these become very zealous1  
it is true1 about the practice of       
virtue4 ,their motive to virtue1        
however1 is not that knowledge of ,god  
and ,his perfection1 which is based on  
reason2 it consists rather in false     
representations of ,god and ,his        
attributes4 ,they failed therefore of   
necessity to find true virtue1 and hit  
upon a spurious imitation4 ,instead of  
aspiring after likeness to ,god1 and    
striving to escape from the bondage of  
sensual passions into the dominion of a 
free will that finds its motive in      
reason1 they sought to annihilate their 
passions by annihilating their powers of
 activity1 as ,i have already shown by  
some deplorable examples4  ,on the other
 hand1 those who sought to enlighten the
 people required1 as an indispensable   
condition of true virtue1 a cheerful    

state of mind disposed to every form of 
active exertion2 and they not only      
allowed1 but even recommended1 a        
moderate enjoyment of all kinds of      
pleasure as necessary for the attainment
 of this cheerful disposition4 ,their   
worship consisted in a voluntary        
elevation above the body1 that is1 in an
 abstraction of the thoughts from all   
created things1 even from the individual
 self1 and in union with ,god4 ,by this 
means a kind of self-denial arose among 
them1 which led them to ascribe1 not to 
themselves1 but to ,god alone1 all the  
actions undertaken in this state4 ,their
 worship therefore consisted in a sort  
of speculative adoration1 for which they
 held no special time or formula to be  
necessary1 but they left each one to    
determine it according to the degree of 
his knowledge4 ,still they chose for it 
most commonly the hours set apart for   
the public worship of ,god4 ,in their   
public worship they endeavoured mainly  
to attain that elevation above the body1

 which has been described2 they became  
so absorbed in the idea of the divine   
perfection1 that they lost the idea of  
everything else1 even of their own body1
 and1 as they gave out1 the body became 
in this state wholly devoid of feeling4 
,such abstraction1 however1 was a very  
difficult matter2 and accordingly1      
whenever they came out of this state by 
new suggestions taking possession of    
their minds1 they laboured1 by all sorts
 of mechanical operations1 such as      
movements and cries1 to bring themselves
 back into the state once more1 and to  
keep themselves in it without           
interruption during the whole time of   
their worship4 ,it was amusing to       
observe how they often interrupted their
 prayers by all sorts of extraordinary  
tones and comical gestures1 which were  
meant as threats and reproaches against 
their adversary1 the ,evil ,spirit1 who 
tried to disturb their devotion2 and how
 by this means they wore themselves out 
to such an extent1 that1 on finishing   

their prayers1 they commonly fell down  
in complete exhaustion4  ,it is not to  
be denied that1 however sound may be the
 basis of such a worship1 it is subject 
to abuse just as much as the other4 ,the
 internal activity following upon       
cheerfulness of mind1 must depend on the
 degree of knowledge acquired4          
,self-annihilation before ,god is only  
then well-founded1 when a man's faculty 
of knowledge1 owing to the grandeur of  
its object1 is so entirely occupied with
 that object1 that he exists1 as it     
were1 out of himself1 in the object     
alone4 ,if1 on the contrary1 the faculty
 of knowledge is limited in respect of  
its object1 so that it is incapable of  
any steady progress1 then the activity  
mentioned1 by being concentrated on this
 single object1 is repressed rather than
 stimulated4 ,some simple men of this   
sect1 who sauntered about idly the whole
 day with pipe in mouth1 when asked1    
what they were thinking about all the   
time1 replied1 ,we are thinking about   

,god4 ,this answer would have been      
satisfactory1 if they had constantly    
sought1 by an adequate knowledge of     
nature1 to extend their knowledge of the
 divine perfections4 ,but this was      
impossible in their case1 as their      
knowledge of nature was extremely       
limited2 and consequently the condition1
 in which they concentrated their       
activity upon an object which1 in       
respect of their capacity1 was          
unfruitful1 became of necessity         
unnatural4 ,moreover1 their actions     
could be ascribed to ,god1 only when    
they were the results of an accurate    
knowledge of ,god2 but when they        
resulted from a very limited degree of  
this knowledge1 it was inevitable that  
all sorts of excesses should be         
committed on the credit of ,god1 as     
unfortunately the issue has shown4  ,but
 the fact that this sect spread so      
rapidly1 and that the new doctrine met  
with so much applause among the majority
 of the nation1 may be very easily      

explained4 ,the natural inclination to  
idleness and a life of speculation on   
the part of the majority1 who from birth
 are destined to study1 the dryness and 
unfruitfulness of rabbinical studies1   
and the great burden of the ceremonial  
law1 which the new doctrine promised to 
lighten1 finally the tendency to        
fanaticism and the love of the          
marvellous1 which are nourished by this 
doctrine1--these are sufficient to make 
this phenomenon intelligible4  ,at first
 the rabbis and the pietists opposed the
 spread of this sect in the old fashion2
 but in spite of this1 for the reasons  
just mentioned1 it maintained the upper 
hand4 ,hostilities were practised on    
both sides4 ,each party sought to gain  
adherents4 ,a ferment arose in the      
nation1 and opinions were divided4  ,i  
could not form any accurate idea of the 
new sect1 and did not know what to think
 of it1 till ,i met with a young man1   
who had already been initiated into the 
society1 and had enjoyed the good       

fortune of conversing with its          
superiors4 ,this man happened to be     
travelling through the place of my      
abode1 and ,i seized the opportunity of 
asking for some information about the   
internal constitution of the society1   
the mode of admission1 and so forth4    
,the stranger was still in the lowest   
grade of membership1 and consequently   
knew nothing about the internal         
constitution of the society4 ,he was    
therefore unable to give me any         
information on the subject2 but1 as far 
as the mode of admission was concerned1 
he assured me that that was the simplest
 thing in the world4 ,any man1 who felt 
a desire of perfection1 but did not know
 how to satisfy it1 or wished to remove 
the hindrances to its satisfaction1 had 
nothing to do but apply to the superiors
 of the society1 and eo ipso he became a
 member4 ,he did not even require1 as   
you must do on applying to a medical    
doctor1 to say anything to these        
superiors about his moral weakness1 his 

previous life1 and matters of that sort1
 inasmuch as nothing was unknown to the 
superiors1 they could see into the human
 heart1 and discern everything that is  
concealed in its secret recesses1 they  
could foretell the future1 and bring    
near at hand things that are remote4    
,their sermons and moral teachings were 
not1 as these things commonly are1      
thought over and arranged in an orderly 
manner beforehand4 ,this method is      
proper only to the man1 who regards     
himself as a being existing and working 
for himself apart from ,god4 ,but the   
superiors of this sect hold that their  
teachings are divine and therefore      
infallible1 only when they are the      
result of self-annihilation before ,god1
 that is1 when they are suggested to    
them ex tempore1 by the exigence of     
circumstances1 without their            
contributing anything themselves4  ,as  
,i was quite captivated by this         
description ,i begged the stranger to   
communicate to me some of these divine  

teachings4 ,he clapped his hand on his  
brow as if he were waiting for          
inspiration from the ,holy ,ghost1 and  
turned to me with a solemn mien and his 
arms half-bared1 which he brought into  
action somewhat like ,corporal ,trim1   
when he was reading the sermon4 ,then he
 began as follows3--  ',sing unto ,god a
 new song2 ,his praise is in the        
congregation of saints' 7,psalm cxlix41 
#a74 ,our superiors explain this verse  
in the following way4 ,the attributes of
 ,god as the most perfect being must    
surpass by far the attributes of every  
finite being2 and consequently ,his     
praise1 as the expression of ,his       
attributes1 must likewise surpass the   
praise of any such being4 ,till the     
present time the praise of ,god         
consisted in ascribing to ,him          
supernatural operations1 such as the    
discovery of what is concealed1 the     
foreseeing of the future1 and the       
production of effects immediately by    
,his mere will4 ,now1 however1 the      

saints1 that is1 the superiors1 are able
 to perform such supernatural actions   
themselves4 ,accordingly in this respect
 ,god has no longer preeminence over    
them2 and it is therefore necessary to  
find some new praise1 which is proper to
 ,god alone4  ,quite charmed with this  
ingenious method of interpreting the    
,holy ,scriptures1 ,i begged the        
stranger for some more expositions of   
the same kind4 ,he proceeded therefore  
in his inspired manner3--',when the     
minstrel played1 the spirit of ,god came
 upon him' 7#b ,kings iii4 #ae74 ,this  
is explained in the following way4 ,as  
long as a man is self-active1 he is     
incapable of receiving the influence of 
the ,holy ,ghost2 for this purpose he   
must hold himself like an instrument in 
a purely passive state4 ,the meaning of 
the passage is therefore this4 ,when the
 minstrel 71 the servant of ,god71      
becomes like his instrument 771 then the
 spirit of ,god comes upon him4#dg      
,now1 said the stranger again1 hear the 

interpretation of a passage from the    
,mishnah1 where it is said1 ',the honour
 of thy neighbour shall be as dear to   
thee as thine own4' ,our teachers       
explain this in the following way4 ,it  
is certain that no man will find        
pleasure in doing honour to himself3    
this would be altogether ridiculous4    
,but it would be just as ridiculous to  
make too much of the marks of honour    
received from another1 as these confer  
on us no more intrinsic worth than we   
have already4 ,this passage therefore   
means merely1 that the honour of thy    
neighbour 7the honour which thy         
neighbour shows to thee7 must be of as  
little value in thine eyes1 as thine own
 7the honour which thou showest to      
thyself74  ,i could not help being      
astonished at the exquisite refinement  
of these thoughts2 and charmed with the 
ingenious exegesis1 by which they were  
supported4#dh ,my imagination was       
strained to the highest pitch by these  
descriptions1 and consequently ,i wished

 nothing so much as the pleasure of     
becoming a member of this honourable    
society4 ,i resolved therefore to       
undertake a journey to ,m----1 where the
 superior ,b---- resided4 ,i waited with
 the greatest impatience for the close  
of my period of service1 which lasted   
still for some weeks4 ,as soon as this  
came to an end1 instead of going home   
7though ,i was only two miles away71 ,i 
started at once on my pilgrimage4 ,the  
journey extended over some weeks4  ,at  
last ,i arrived at ,m----1 and after    
having rested from my journey ,i went to
 the house of the superior under the    
idea that ,i could be introduced to him 
at once4 ,i was told1 however1 that he  
could not speak to me at the time1 but  
that ,i was invited to his table on     
,sabbath along with the other strangers 
who had come to visit him2 that ,i      
should then have the happiness of seeing
 the saintly man face to face1 and of   
hearing the sublimest teachings out of  
his own mouth2 that although this was a 

public audience1 yet1 on account of the 
individual references which ,i should   
find made to myself1 ,i might regard it 
as a special interview4  ,accordingly on
 ,sabbath ,i went to this solemn meal1  
and found there a large number of       
respectable men who had met here from   
various quarters4 ,at length the great  
man appeared in his awe-inspiring form1 
clothed in white satin4 ,even his shoes 
and snuffbox were white1 this being     
among the ,cabbalists the colour of     
grace4 ,he gave to every new comer his  
salaam1 that is1 his greeting4 ,we sat  
down to table and during the meal a     
solemn silence reigned4 ,after the meal 
was over1 the superior struck up a      
solemn inspiriting melody1 held his hand
 for some time upon his brow1 and then  
began to call out1 ,z---- of ,h----1    
,m---- of ,r----1 and so on4 ,every new 
comer was thus called by his own name   
and the name of his residence1 which    
excited no little astonishment4 ,each   
recited1 as he was called1 some verse of

 the ,holy ,scriptures4 ,thereupon the  
superior began to deliver a sermon for  
which the verses recited served as a    
text1 so that although they were        
disconnected verses taken from different
 parts of the ,holy ,scriptures they    
were combined with as much skill as if  
they had formed a single whole4 ,what   
was still more extraordinary1 every one 
of the new comers believed that he      
discovered1 in that part of the sermon  
which was founded on his verse1         
something that had special reference to 
the facts of his own spiritual life4 ,at
 this we were of course greatly         
astonished4  ,it was not long1 however1 
before ,i began to qualify the high     
opinion ,i had formed of this superior  
and the whole society4 ,i observed that 
their ingenious exegesis was at bottom  
false1 and1 in addition to that1 was    
limited strictly to their own           
extravagant principles1 such as the     
doctrine of self-annihilation4 ,when a  
man had once learned these1 there was   

nothing new for him to bear4 ,the       
so-called miracles could be very        
naturally explained4 ,by means of       
correspondence and spies and a certain  
knowledge of men1 by physiognomy and    
skilful questions1 the superiors were   
able to elicit indirectly the secrets of
 the heart1 so that they succeeded with 
these simple men in obtaining the       
reputation of being inspired prophets4  
,the whole society also displeased me   
not a little by their cynical spirit and
 the excess of their merriment4 ,a      
single example of this may suffice4 ,we 
had met once at the hour of prayer in   
the house of the superior4 ,one of the  
company arrived somewhat late1 when the 
others asked him the reason4 ,he replied
 that he had been detained by his wife  
having been that evening confined with a
 daughter4 ,as soon as they heard this1 
they began to congratulate him in a     
somewhat uproarious fashion4 ,the       
superior thereupon came out of his study
 and asked the cause of the noise4 ,he  

was told that we were congratulating our
 friend1 because his wife had brought a 
girl into the world4 ,a girl6 he        
answered with the greatest indignation1 
he ought to be whipped4#di ,the poor    
fellow protested4 ,he could not         
comprehend why he should be made to     
suffer for his wife having brought a    
girl into the world4 ,but this was of no
 avail3 he was seized1 thrown down on   
the floor1 and whipped unmercifully4    
,all except the victim fell into an     
hilarious mood over the affair1 upon    
which the superior called them to prayer
 in the following words1 ,now1 brethren1
 serve the ,lord with gladness6  ,i     
would not stay in the place any longer4 
,i sought the superior's blessing1 took 
my departure from the society with the  
resolution to abandon it for ever1 and  
returned home4  ,now ,i shall say       
something of the internal constitution  
of the society4 ,the superiors may1     
according to my experience1 be brought  
under four heads3 7#a7 the prudent1 7#b7

 the crafty1 7#c7 the powerful1#ej 7#d7 
the good4  ,the highest class1 which    
rules all the others1 is of course the  
first4 ,these are men of enlightenment1 
who have attained a deep knowledge of   
the weaknesses of men and the motives of
 their actions1 and have early learned  
the truth that prudence is better than  
power1 inasmuch as power is in part     
dependent on prudence1 while prudence is
 independent of power4 ,a man may have  
as many powers and in as high a degree  
as he will1 still his influence is      
always limited4 ,by prudence1 however1  
and a sort of psychological mechanics1  
that is1 an insight into the best       
possible use of these powers and their  
direction1 they may be infinitely       
strengthened4 ,these prudent leaders1   
therefore1 have devoted themselves to   
the art of ruling free men1 that is1 of 
using the will and powers of other men1 
so that while these believe themselves  
to be advancing merely their own ends1  
they are in reality advancing the ends  

of their leaders4 ,this can be          
maintained by a judicious combination   
and regulation of the powers1 so that by
 the slightest touch upon this          
instrument it may produce the greatest  
effect4 ,there is here no deceit1 for1  
as presupposed1 the others themselves   
reach their own ends by this means best4
  ,the second class1 the crafty1 also   
use the will and the powers of others   
for the attainment of their ends2 but in
 regard to these ends they are more     
short-sighted or more impetuous than the
 former class4 ,it often happens1       
therefore1 that they seek to attain     
their ends at the expense of others2 and
 their skill consists not merely in     
attaining their own ends1 like the first
 class1 but in carefully concealing from
 others the fact that they have not     
reached theirs4  ,the powerful are men  
who1 by their inborn or acquired moral  
force1 rule over the weakness of others1
 especially when their force is such as 
is seldom found in others1 as1 for      

example1 the control of all the passions
 but one1 which is made the end of their
 actions4  ,the good are weak men who   
are merely passive in respect of their  
knowledge and power of will1 and whose  
ends are reached1 not by controlling1   
but by allowing themselves to be        
controlled4  ,the highest class1 that of
 the prudent1 supervising all the others
 without being under their supervision1 
as a matter of course rules them all4   
,it makes use of the crafty on their    
good side1 and seeks to make them       
harmless on their other side by         
outwitting them1 so that when they      
believe they are deceiving1 they        
themselves are deceived4 ,it makes use1 
moreover1 of the powerful for the       
attainment of more important ends1 but  
seeks1 when necessary1 to keep them in  
check by the opposition of several1 it  
may be weaker1 powers4 ,finally it makes
 use of the good for the attainment of  
its ends1 not merely with them but also 
with others1 inasmuch as it commends    

these weak brethren to the others as an 
example of submission that is worthy of 
imitation1 and by this means clears out 
of the way those hindrances that arise  
from the independent activity of the    
others4  ,this highest class begins     
usually with ,stoicism1 and ends with   
,epicureanism4 ,its members consist of  
pious men of the first sort1 that is1   
such as have for a considerable time    
devoted themselves to the strictest     
exercise of religious and moral laws1 to
 the control of their desires and       
passions4 ,but they do not1 like the    
,stoic1 look upon ,stoicism as an end in
 itself2 they regard it merely as a     
means to the highest end of man1 namely1
 happiness4 ,they do not therefore      
remain at the ,stoical stage1 but1 after
 having obtained from it all that is    
necessary to the highest end1 they      
hasten to that end itself1 the enjoyment
 of happiness4 ,by their exercise in the
 strictest ,stoicism their sensibility  
for all sorts of pleasure is heightened 

and ennobled1 instead of becoming       
duller1 as it is with gross ,epicureans4
 ,by means of this exercise also they   
are placed in a position to defer every 
pleasure that presents itself till they 
have determined its real worth1 which a 
gross ,epicurean will not do4  ,the     
first impulse to ,stoicism1 however1    
must lie in the temperament1 and it is  
only by a kind of self-deception that it
 is shifted to the account of voluntary 
activity4 ,but this vanity imparts      
courage for actual undertakings of a    
voluntary nature1 and this courage is   
continually fired by their successful   
issue4 ,as the superiors of this sect   
are not men of science1 it is not to be 
supposed that they have hit upon their  
system by the guidance of reason alone4 
,rather1 as already said1 the motive    
was1 in the first instance1 temperament1
 in the second1 religious ideas2 and it 
was only after that1 that they could    
attain to a clear knowledge and practice
 of their system in its purity4  ,this  

sect was therefore1 in regard to its end
 and its means1 a sort of secret        
society1 which had nearly acquired      
dominion over the whole nation2 and     
consequently one of the greatest        
revolutions was to have been expected1  
if the excesses of some of its members  
had not laid bare many weak spots1 and  
thus put weapons into the hands of its  
enemies4 ,some among them1 who wished to
 pass for genuine ,cynics1 violated all 
the laws of decency1 wandered about     
naked in the public streets1 attended to
 the wants of nature in the presence of 
others1 and so on4 ,by their practice of
 extemporising1 as a consequence of     
their principle of self-annihilation1   
they introduced into their sermons all  
sorts of foolish1 unintelligible1       
confused stuff4 ,by this means some of  
them became insane1 and believed that in
 fact they were no longer in existence4 
,to all this must be added their pride  
and contempt of others who did not      
belong to their sect1 especially of the 

rabbis1 who1 though they had their      
faults1 were still far more active and  
useful than these ignorant idlers4 ,men 
began to find out their weaknesses1 to  
disturb their meetings1 and to persecute
 them everywhere4 ,this was brought     
about especially by the authority of a  
celebrated rabbi1 ,elias of ,wilna1#ea  
who stood in great esteem among the     
,jews1 so that now scarcely any traces  
of the society can be found scattered   
here and there4     ,,chapter ,,xx4     
,continuation of the ,former1 and also  
something about ,religious ,mysteries4  
,after the account of the secret society
 in the last chapter1 this seems the    
most appropriate place to state1 for the
 examination of the thoughtful reader1  
my opinion about mysteries in general1  
and about the mysteries of religion in  
particular4  ,mysteries in general are  
modes of the causal relation between    
objects in nature1--modes which are real
 or held to be real1 but which cannot be
 disclosed to every man by the natural  

use of his powers of knowledge4 ,eternal
 truths1 that is1 those necessary       
relations of objects which are founded  
on the nature of our powers of          
knowledge1 however few may be familiar  
with them1 are not1 according to this   
definition1 mysteries1 because any one  
can discover them by the use of his     
powers of knowledge4  ,on the other     
hand1 the results of sympathy and       
antipathy1 the medical specifics1 and   
similar effects1 which some men fall    
upon by mere accident1 and which they   
afterwards find confirmed by means of   
observations and experiments1 are       
genuine mysteries of nature1 which can  
be made known to another person1 not by 
the use of his powers of knowledge1 but 
only either by an accident of the same  
kind1 or by communication from the first
 discoverer4 ,if mysteries of this sort 
are not confirmed by observation and    
experiment1 the belief in their reality 
is called superstition4  ,religion is a 
covenant formed between man and another 

moral being of a higher genus4 ,it      
presupposes a natural relation between  
man and this higher moral being1 so     
that1 by the mutual fulfilment of their 
covenant1 they advance the interest of  
each other4 ,if this natural relation   
7not being merely arbitrary and         
conventional7 is real1 and the mutual   
obligation of the contracting persons is
 founded on this relation1 then it forms
 a true1 but otherwise a false1 natural 
religion4 ,if the mutual obligation     
between man and the higher being or his 
representatives is drawn up in a formal 
code1 there arises a positive or        
revealed religion4  ,the true religion1 
natural as well as revealed1 which1 as  
already observed1 constitutes ,judaism1 
consists in a contract1 at first merely 
understood1 but afterwards expressed1   
between man and the ,supreme ,being1 who
 revealed ,himself to the patriarchs in 
person 7in dreams and prophetic         
appearances71 and made known by them    
,his will1 the reward of obeying it and 

the punishment of disobedience1         
regarding which a covenant was then with
 mutual consent concluded4              
,subsequently1 through his              
representative ,moses1 ,he renewed ,his 
covenant with the ,israelites in ,egypt1
 determining more precisely their mutual
 obligations2 and this was afterwards on
 both sides formally confirmed on ,mount
 ,sinai4  ,to the thoughtful reader ,i  
do not need to say1 that the            
representation of a covenant between    
,god and man is to be taken merely      
analogically1 and not in its strict     
sense4 ,the absolutely ,perfect ,being  
can reveal ,himself merely as idea to   
the reason4 ,what revealed itself to the
 patriarchs and prophets1 suitably to   
their power of comprehension1 in figure1
 in an anthropomorphic manner1 was not  
the absolutely ,perfect ,being ,himself1
 but a representative of ,him1 ,his     
sensible image4 ,the covenant1 which    
this ,being concludes with man1 has not 
for its end the mutual satisfaction of  

wants2 for the ,supreme ,being has no   
wants1 and the wants of man are         
satisfied1 not by means of this         
covenant1 but only by observation of    
those relations between himself and     
other natural objects1 which are founded
 on the laws of nature4 ,this covenant1 
therefore1 can have its foundation      
nowhere but in the nature of reason1    
without reference to any end4           
,heathenism1 in my opinion1 is          
distinguished from ,judaism mainly by   
the fact1 that the latter rests upon the
 formal1 absolutely necessary laws of   
reason1 while the former 7even if it be 
founded on the nature of things and     
therefore real7 rests upon the material 
laws of nature which are merely         
hypothetically necessary4 ,from this the
 inevitable result is polytheism2 every 
particular cause is personified by      
imagination1 that is1 represented as a  
moral being1 and made a particular      
deity4 ,at first this result was a      
matter of mere ,empiricism2 but by and  

by men had occasion to observe that     
these causes1 which were represented as 
particular deities1 were dependent on   
each other in their effects1 and in a   
certain aspect subordinate to each      
other4 ,there thus arose gradually a    
whole system of heathen theology1 in    
which every deity maintains his rank1   
and his relation to the rest is         
determined4  ,judaism1 on the other     
hand1 in its very origin contemplated a 
system1 that is1 a unity among the      
forces of nature2 and thereby it        
received at last this pure formal unity4
 ,this unity is merely of regulative    
use1 that is1 for the complete          
systematic connection of all the        
phenomena of nature2 and it presupposes 
a knowledge of the multiplicity of the  
various forces in nature4 ,but owing to 
their excessive love of system1 and     
their anxiety for the preservation of   
the principle in its purity1 the        
,israelites seem to have wholly         
neglected its application4 ,the result  

was that they preserved a religion which
 was pure indeed1 but at the same time  
very unfruitful1 both for the extension 
of knowledge and for its application in 
practical life4 ,by this cause may be   
explained their constant murmuring      
against the leaders of their religion1  
and their repeated relapse into         
idolatry4 ,they could not1 like         
enlightened nations at the present day1 
direct their attention to purity of     
principle and useful application of     
their religion at the same time1 and    
therefore of necessity they failed      
either in the one or in the other4      
,finally the ,talmudists introduced a   
merely formal application of religion   
which aimed at no real end2 and by this 
means they made matters worse and worse4
  ,this religion1 therefore1 which1 by  
the intention of its founder1 should    
have formed the ,jews into the wisest   
and most intelligent of nations1 made   
them by its injudicious application the 
most ignorant and unreasonable of all4  

,instead of the knowledge of nature     
being combined with the knowledge of    
religion1 and the former subordinated to
 the latter merely as the material to   
the formal1 the former was altogether   
neglected2 and the principle1 maintained
 in its mere abstractness1 continued    
without any application4  ,mysteries of 
religion are objects and acts1 which are
 adapted to ideas and principles1 and   
the inner meaning of which is of great  
importance1 but which have in their     
outward form something unseemly or      
ridiculous or otherwise objectionable4  
,they must therefore1 even in regard to 
their outward form1 be kept concealed   
from the vulgar eye1 which cannot       
penetrate into the inner meaning of     
anything2 and accordingly for it they   
must be a double mystery4 ,that is to   
say1 the objects or acts themselves     
constitute the lesser mysteries1 and    
their inner meaning the greater         
mysteries4  ,of this sort1 for example1 
among the ,jews1 in the tabernacle1 and 

afterwards in the ,holy of ,holies in   
the temple1 was the ark of the covenant1
 which1 according to the testimony of   
renowned authors1 showed much           
resemblance to the sacred chest in the  
innermost shrine of some heathen        
temples4 ,thus we find among the        
,egyptians the casket of ,apis1 that    
concealed from the vulgar eye this dead 
animal1 which as a symbol indeed had an 
important meaning1 but in itself        
presented a repulsive aspect4 ,the ark  
of the covenant in the first temple     
contained1 it is true1 according to the 
testimony of ,holy ,scripture1 nothing  
besides the two tables of the law2 but  
of the ark in the second temple1 built  
after the ,babylonian captivity1 ,i find
 in the ,talmud a passage which is too  
remarkable not to be adduced4 ,according
 to this passage the enemies1 who seized
 the temple1 found in the ,holy of      
,holies the likeness of two persons of  
different sex embracing1 and profaned   
the sacred object by a crass exposition 

of its inner meaning4 ,this likeness was
 said to be a vivid sensible            
representation of the union between the 
nation and ,god1 and1 in order to guard 
against abuse1 had to be withdrawn from 
the eye of the common people1 who cling 
to the symbol1 but do not penetrate to  
its inner meaning4 ,for the same reason 
the cherubim also were concealed behind 
the veil4  ,of the same sort were the   
mysteries of the ancients in general4   
,but the greatest of all mysteries in   
the ,jewish religion consists in the    
name1 ,jehovah1 expressing bare         
existence1 in abstraction from all      
particular kinds of existence1 which    
cannot of course be conceived without   
existence in general4 ,the doctrine of  
the unity of ,god1 and the dependence of
 all beings on ,him1 in regard to their 
possibility as well as their actuality1 
can be perfectly comprehended only in   
conformity with a single system4 ,when  
,josephus1 in his apology against       
,apion1 says1 ,the first instruction of 

our religion relates to the ,godhead1   
and teaches that ,god comprehends all   
things1 is an absolutely ,perfect and   
,blessed ,being1 and is the sole cause  
of all existence1 ,i believe that these 
words contain the best explanation of   
the otherwise difficult passage1 where  
,moses says to ,god1 ,behold1 when ,i   
come unto the children of ,israel1 and  
shall say unto them1 ,the ,god of your  
fathers hath sent me unto you1 and they 
shall ask1 ,what is his name8 what shall
 ,i answer unto them8 and ,god replies1 
,thus shalt thou say unto the children  
of ,israel1 ,jehovah1 the ,god of your  
fathers1 the ,god of ,abraham1 ,isaac1  
and ,jacob hath sent me unto you1 for   
this is my name for ever1 and this is my
 memorial unto all generations4#eb ,for1
 in my opinion1 this passage means      
nothing more than that the ,jewish      
religion lays at its foundation the     
unity of ,god as the immediate cause of 
all existence2 and it says therefore    
precisely the same as the remarkable    

inscription on the pyramid at ,sais1 ,i 
am all that is and was and shall be2 my 
veil has no mortal removed1 and that    
other inscription under the column of   
,isis1 ,i am that which is4 ,the name1  
,jehovah1 is called by the ,talmudists  
,shem haezam 7nomen proprium71 the name 
of the essence1 which belongs to ,god in
 ,himself1 without reference to ,his    
operations4 ,the other names of ,god1   
however1 are appellative1 and express   
attributes which he has in common with  
all ,his creatures1 only that they      
belong to ,him in the most eminent      
degree4 ,for example1 ,elohim is a lord1
 a judge4 ,el is a mighty one1 ,adonai1 
a lord2 and the same is the case with   
all the rest4 ,the ,talmudists drive    
this point so far as to maintain1 that  
the ,holy ,scriptures consist merely of 
the manifold names of ,god4  ,the       
,cabbalists made use of this principle4 
,having enumerated the chief attributes 
of ,god1 arranged them in order and     
brought them into a system which they   

call ,olam ,eziloth or ,sephiroth1 they 
not only picked out an appropriate name 
for each in the ,holy ,scriptures1 but  
they made in addition all sorts of      
combinations of these attributes in     
various relations1 which they expressed 
by similar combinations of the          
corresponding names4 ,they could        
therefore easily expound the ,holy      
,scriptures according to their method1  
inasmuch as they found therein nothing  
but what they had before put in         
themselves4  ,besides these there may   
also be mysteries in a religion which   
consist in the knowledge that the       
religion1 as understood by enlightened  
people1 has no mysteries at all4 ,this  
knowledge may be connected either with  
an endeavour to destroy gradually among 
the people the belief in mysteries1 and 
to banish the so-called lesser mysteries
 by publishing the greater1 or1 on the  
contrary1 with an endeavour to preserve 
among the people the belief in          
mysteries1 and to make the preservation 

of the lesser mysteries part of the     
subject of the greater4  ,the ,jewish   
religion1 according to the spirit of its
 founder1 is of the first kind4 ,moses1 
as well as the prophets who followed    
him1 sought constantly to inculcate that
 the end of religion is not external    
ceremonies1 but the knowledge of the    
true ,god as the sole incomprehensible  
cause of all things1 and the practice of
 virtue in accordance with the          
prescriptions of reason4  ,the heathen  
religions1 on the other hand1 show      
evident traces of the second kind4      
,still ,i am not1 like some1 inclined to
 believe that everything in these was   
planned for intentional deception1 but  
,i believe that the founders of these   
religions were for the most part        
deceived deceivers2 and this mode of    
representing the matter is far more in  
accordance with human nature4 ,i am also
 unable to imagine that such secret     
designs could be propagated1 by means of
 a formal tradition1 from generation to 

generation4 ,and1 moreover1 what would  
have been the use of this8 ,have not    
later generations the same faculty as   
the earlier of contriving schemes to    
reach their ends8 ,there are princes who
 have never read ,macchiavelli1 and yet 
have admirably carried his principles   
into practice4  ,with regard to the     
society of pietists described above ,i  
am persuaded that it had as little      
connection with the free-masons as with 
any other secret society4 ,but          
conjectures are allowed1 and here we    
have to do merely with the degree of    
probability4 ,in my opinion there are in
 every state societies which are        
essentially secret1 but which externally
 have no appearance of being such4      
,every body of men with a common        
interest is to me a secret society4 ,its
 aim and principal operations may be    
ever so well known1 still the most      
important of these remain concealed to  
the uninitiated4 ,of such a secret      
society1 as of others1 much good as well

 as evil may therefore be said2 and so  
long as they do not carry their mischief
 too far1 they are always tolerated4    
,the ,society of ,pietists had a similar
 end in view to that of the ,order of   
,illuminati in ,bavaria1 and employed   
nearly the same means4 ,its aim was to  
spread itself among people wandering in 
the dark2 and it made use of            
superstition in a remarkable manner1 as 
means to this end4 ,it sought chiefly to
 attract the youth to itself1 and by a  
sort of empirical knowledge of men1 to  
educate every member to that1 for which 
he seemed to be destined by nature1 and 
to assign him his proper place4 ,every  
member of the society was allowed to    
acquire as much knowledge of its aim and
 internal constitution1 as enabled him  
to look merely backwards on his         
subordinates1 but not forwards on his   
superiors4 ,these superiors understood  
the art of communicating truths of      
reason by means of sublime figures1 and 
of translating these figurative         

representations into truths of reason4  
,it might almost be said of them1 that  
they understood the language of         
animals--a very important art1 which is 
indispensable to every teacher of the   
people4 ,by doing away with a gloomy    
piety1 their doctrines met with         
acceptance among the lively youth4 ,the 
principle of self-annihilation1 taught  
by them1 is1 when well understood1      
nothing else than the foundation of     
self-activity4 ,by its means all the    
modes of thought and action1 which have 
become rooted by education1 habit and   
communication with others1 and by which 
human activity is wont to receive a     
wrong direction1 are to be destroyed1   
and one's own free mode of action       
introduced4 ,moral and sthetic feeling  
can in fact be preserved and perfected  
by this principle alone4 ,it is only    
when ill understood1 that it can be     
injurious1 as ,i have shown by the      
example of this society itself4         
,,chapter ,,xxi4  ,journeys to          

,knigsberg1 ,stettin and ,berlin1 for   
the purpose of extending my knowledge of
 men4   ,my external circumstances were 
becoming worse and worse4 ,i was        
unwilling any longer to adapt myself to 
my ordinary occupations1 and found      
myself therefore everywhere out of my   
sphere4 ,on the other hand1 ,i was also 
unable in the place of my abode to      
satisfy sufficiently my favourite       
inclination to the study of the         
sciences4 ,so ,i determined to betake   
myself to ,germany1 there to study      
medicine and1 as opportunity offered1   
other sciences also4 ,but the question  
was1 how such a long journey was to be  
made4 ,i knew indeed1 that some         
merchants in the place of my abode were 
soon to make a journey to ,knigsberg in 
,prussia2 but ,i had only a slight      
acquaintance with them1 and could not   
therefore expect that they would take me
 with them for nothing4 ,after much     
deliberation ,i fell at last upon a     
capital expedient4  ,i had among my     

friends a very learned and pious man1   
who stood in great esteem among all the 
,jews of the town4 ,to him ,i revealed  
my purpose1 and took him into counsel on
 the subject4 ,i laid before him my     
miserable circumstances1 pointed out to 
him1 that1 as my inclinations had been  
once directed to the knowledge of ,god  
and ,his works1 ,i was no longer fit for
 any ordinary occupation2 and ,i        
represented to him especially1 that ,i  
was now obliged to support myself by my 
scholarship alone1 as an instructor in  
the ,bible and the ,talmud1 which1      
according to the judgment of some       
rabbis1 was not altogether allowable4 ,i
 explained to him1 that on this account 
,i wished to study medicine as a profane
 art1 by which means ,i might be of     
service1 not only to myself1 but to the 
whole of the ,jews in this              
neighbourhood1 as there was no regular  
physician here1 and those1 who gave     
themselves out for such1 were the most  
ignorant shavers1 who packed men out of 

the world by their cures4  ,these       
reasons produced an extraordinary effect
 on so devout a man4 ,he went to a      
merchant of his acquaintance1           
represented to him the importance of my 
undertaking1 and persuaded him to take  
me with him to ,knigsberg on his own    
vessel4 ,the merchant could refuse      
nothing to so godly a man1 and therefore
 gave his consent4  ,accordingly ,i set 
out with this ,jewish merchant for      
,knigsberg in ,prussia4 ,when ,i arrived
 there1 ,i went to the ,jewish medical  
doctor of the place1 opened to him my   
proposal to study medicine1 and begged  
him for advice and support4 ,as his     
professional occupations prevented him  
from conveniently speaking with me on   
the subject1 and as he could not        
understand me well at any rate1 he      
referred me to some students who lodged 
in his house4 ,as soon as ,i showed     
myself to these young gentlemen1 and    
opened to them my proposal1 they burst  
into loud laughter4 ,and certainly for  

this they were not to be blamed4        
,imagine a man from ,polish ,lithuania  
of about five and twenty years1 with a  
tolerably stiff beard1 in tattered dirty
 clothes1 whose language is a mixture of
 ,hebrew1 ,jewish ,german1 ,polish and  
,russian1 with their several grammatical
 inaccuracies1 who gives out that he    
understands the ,german language1 and   
that he has attained some knowledge of  
the sciences4 ,what were the young      
gentlemen to think8  ,they began to poke
 fun at me1 and gave me to read         
,mendelssohn's ,phaedo1 which by chance 
lay on the table4 ,i read in the most   
pitiful style1 both on account of the   
peculiar manner in which ,i had learned 
the ,german language1 and on account of 
my bad pronunciation4 ,again they burst 
into loud laughter2 but they said1 ,i   
must explain to them what ,i had read4  
,this ,i did in my own fashion2 but as  
they did not understand me1 they        
demanded that ,i should translate what  
,i had read into ,hebrew4 ,this ,i did  

on the spot4 ,the students1 who         
understood ,hebrew well1 fell into no   
slight astonishment1 when they saw that 
,i had not only grasped correctly the   
meaning of this celebrated author1 but  
also expressed it happily in ,hebrew4   
,they began therefore to interest       
themselves on my account1 procured for  
me some cast-off clothing1 and board    
during my stay in ,knigsberg4 ,at the   
same time they advised me to go to      
,berlin1 where ,i should best attain my 
object4 ,to make the journey suit my    
circumstances1 however1 they advised me 
to go by ship from ,knigsberg to        
,stettin1 and thence to ,frankfurt on   
the ,oder1 from which place ,i should   
easily find means of getting to ,berlin4
  ,i went therefore by ship1 and had    
nothing for food but some toast1 some   
herring1 and a flask of spirits4 ,i was 
told in ,knigsberg1 that the journey    
might take ten or1 at the most1 fourteen
 days4 ,this prophecy1 however1 was not 
fulfilled4 ,in consequence of contrary  

winds1 the voyage lasted five weeks4 ,in
 what circumstances1 therefore1 ,i found
 myself1 may be easily imagined4 ,there 
were in the vessel besides me no other  
passengers1 but an old woman1 who sang  
hymns all the time for her comfort4 ,the
 ,pomeranian ,german of the crew ,i     
could understand as little as they could
 my medley of ,jewish1 ,polish and      
,lithuanian4 ,i got nothing warm to eat 
the whole time1 and was obliged to sleep
 on hard stuffed bags4 ,the vessel came 
also sometimes into danger4 ,of course  
the most of the time ,i was seasick4    
,at last ,i arrived at ,stettin1 where  
,i was told that ,i could make the      
journey to ,frankfurt quite pleasantly  
on foot4 ,but how was a ,polish ,jew in 
the most wretched circumstances1 without
 a pfennig to buy food1 and without     
knowing the language of the country1 to 
make a journey even of a few miles8 ,yet
 it had to be done4 ,accordingly ,i set 
out from ,stettin1 and as ,i thought    
over my miserable situation1 ,i sat down

 under a lime-tree1 and began to weep   
bitterly4 ,i soon became somewhat       
lighter in heart2 ,i took courage1 and  
went on4 ,after ,i had gone two or three
 miles1 towards evening ,i arrived at an
 inn thoroughly worn out4 ,it was the   
eve of the ,jewish fast1 which falls in 
,august4 ,already ,i was nearly starving
 with hunger and thirst1 and ,i was to  
fast still the whole of the next day4 ,i
 had not a pfennig to spend and nothing 
of any value to sell4  ,after long      
reflection it occurred to me1 that ,i   
must still have in my coat-pocket an    
iron spoon1 which ,i had taken with me  
on board ship4 ,i brought it1 and begged
 the landlady of the inn to give me a   
little bread and beer for it4 ,she      
refused at first to take the spoon1 but 
after much importunity she was at last  
induced to grant a glass of sour beer in
 exchange4 ,i was obliged therefore to  
content myself with this1 drank my glass
 of beer1 and went off to the stable to 
sleep on straw4  ,in the morning ,i     

proceeded on my journey1 having         
previously inquired for a place1 where  
there were ,jews1 in order that ,i might
 be able to go into the synagogue1 and  
sing with my brethren the lamentations  
over the destruction of ,jerusalem4     
,this was done1 and after the prayers   
and singing1--about midday1--,i went to 
the ,jewish schoolmaster of the place1  
and held some conversation with him4 ,he
 soon discovered that ,i was a full     
rabbi1 began to interest himself about  
me1 and procured me a supper at the     
house of a ,jew4 ,he also gave me a     
letter of introduction to another       
schoolmaster in the neighbouring town1  
recommending me as a great ,talmudist   
and an honourable rabbi4 ,here also ,i  
met with a fair reception4 ,i was       
invited to the ,sabbath dinner by the   
most respectable and richest ,jew of the
 place1 and went into the synagogue1    
where ,i was shown to the highest seat1 
and received every mark of honour       
usually bestowed on a rabbi4  ,after the

 close of the service the rich ,jew     
referred to took me to his house1 and   
put me in the place of honour at his    
table1 that is between himself and his  
daughter4 ,she was a young girl of about
 twelve years1 dressed in the most      
beautiful style4 ,i began1 as rabbi1 to 
hold a very learned and edifying        
discourse2 and the less the gentleman   
and lady understood it1 the more divine 
it seemed to them4 ,all at once ,i      
observed1 to my chagrin1 that the young 
lady began to put on a sour look1 and to
 make wry faces4 ,at first ,i did not   
know how to explain this2 but1 after a  
while1 when ,i turned my eyes upon      
myself and my miserable dirty suit of   
rags1 the whole mystery was at once     
unriddled4 ,the uneasiness of the young 
lady had a very good cause4 ,and how    
could it be otherwise8 ,since ,i left   
,knigsberg1 about seven weeks before1 ,i
 had never had a clean shirt to put on2 
and ,i had been obliged to lie in the   
stables of inns on bare straw1 on which 

who knows how many poor travellers had  
lain before8 ,now all at once my eyes   
were opened to see my misery in its     
appalling magnitude4 ,but what was ,i to
 do8 ,how was ,i to help myself out of  
this unfortunate situation8 ,gloomy and 
sad ,i soon bade farewell to these good 
people1 and proceeded on my journey to  
,berlin under a continued struggle with 
want and misery of every kind4  ,at last
 ,i reached this city4 ,here ,i believed
 that ,i should put an end to my misery1
 and accomplish all my wishes4 ,but alas
 ,i was sadly deceived4 ,in this        
capital1 as is well known1 no ,jewish   
beggars were allowed4 ,accordingly the  
,jewish community of the place1 in order
 to make provision for their poor1 have 
built at the ,rosenthaler gate a house1 
in which the poor are received1 and     
questioned by the ,jewish elders about  
what they want in ,berlin4 ,according to
 the results of such inquiry1 they are  
either taken into the city1 if they are 
sick or want employment1 or they are    

sent forward on their journey4 ,i was   
therefore conducted to this house1 which
 was filled partly with sick people1    
partly with a lewd rabble4 ,for a long  
while ,i looked round in vain for a man1
 with whom ,i might talk about my       
affairs4  ,at last ,i observed a man1   
who1 to judge by his dress1 was surely a
 rabbi4 ,i went to him1 and how great   
was my joy to learn from him1 that he   
was really a rabbi1 and pretty well     
known in ,berlin6 ,i conversed with him 
on all sorts of subjects connected with 
rabbinical learning2 and as ,i was very 
open-hearted1 ,i related to him the     
course of my life in ,poland1 revealed  
to him my purpose of studying medicine  
in ,berlin1 showed him my commentary on 
the ,moreh ,nebhochim1 and so forth4 ,he
 listened to all1 and seemed to interest
 himself very much in my behalf4 ,but   
all at once he disappeared out of sight4
  ,at length towards evening came the   
,jewish elders4 ,each of the persons in 
the house was called1 and questioned    

about his wants4 ,when my turn came1 ,i 
said quite frankly1 that ,i wished to   
remain in ,berlin1 in order to study    
medicine4 ,the elders refused my request
 point-blank1 gave me a pittance in     
charity1 and went away4 ,the reason of  
this conduct towards me in particular   
was nothing else than the following4    
,the rabbi1 of whom ,i spoke1 was a     
zealot in his orthodoxy4 ,accordingly   
when he had discovered my sentiments and
 purposes1 he went into town1 and       
informed the elders about my heretical  
mode of thinking4 ,he told them1 that ,i
 was going to issue a new edition of the
 ,moreh ,nebhochim with a commentary1   
and that my intention was not so much to
 study medicine1 but mainly to devote   
myself to the sciences in general1 and  
to extend my knowledge4 ,this the       
orthodox ,jews look upon as something   
dangerous to religion and good morals4  
,they believe this to be specially true 
of the ,polish rabbis1 who1 having by   
some lucky accident been delivered from 

the bondage of superstition1 suddenly   
catch a gleam of the light of reason1   
and set themselves free from their      
chains4 ,and this belief is to some     
extent well-founded4 ,persons in such a 
position may be compared to a man1 who1 
after being famished for a long time1   
suddenly comes upon a well spread table1
 who will attack the food with violent  
greed1 and fill himself even to         
surfeiting4  ,the refusal of permission 
to stay in ,berlin came upon me like a  
thunderclap4 ,the ultimate object of all
 my hopes and wishes was all at once    
removed beyond my reach1 just when ,i   
had seen it so near4 ,i found myself in 
the situation of ,tantalus1 and did not 
know where to turn for help4 ,i was     
especially pained by the treatment ,i   
received from the overseer of this      
poorhouse1 who1 by command of his       
superiors1 urged my speedy departure1   
and never left off till he saw me       
outside of the gate4 ,there ,i threw    
myself on the ground and began to weep  

bitterly4 ,it was a ,sunday1 and many   
people went1 as usual1 to walk outside  
of the city4 ,most of them never turned 
aside to a whining worm like me1 but    
some compassionate souls were very much 
struck with the sight1 and asked the    
cause of my wailing4 ,i answered them2  
but1 partly on account of my            
unintelligible language1 partly because 
my speech was broken by frequent weeping
 and sobbing1 they could not understand 
what ,i said4  ,i was so deeply affected
 by this vexation1 that ,i fell into a  
violent fever4 ,the soldiers1 who kept  
guard at the gate1 reported this at the 
poorhouse4 ,the overseer came1 and      
carried me in4 ,i stayed there over the 
day1 and made myself glad with the hope 
of becoming thoroughly sick1 so as to   
enforce a longer sojourn in the place1  
during which ,i thought ,i might form   
some acquaintances1 by whose influence  
,i hoped to receive protection and      
permission to remain in ,berlin4 ,but   
alas6 in this hope ,i was deceived4 ,the

 following day ,i rose quite lively     
again without a trace of fever4 ,i was  
therefore obliged to go4 ,but whither8  
,that ,i did not know myself4           
,accordingly ,i took the first road that
 ,i came upon1 and surrendered myself to
 fate4     ,,chapter ,,xxii4  ,deepest  
,stage of ,misery1 and ,deliverance4    
,in the evening ,i came to an inn1 where
 ,i met a poor tramp who was a ,jewish  
beggar by profession4 ,i was uncommonly 
pleased to meet one of my brethren1 with
 whom ,i could talk1 and to whom this   
neighbourhood was pretty well known4 ,i 
resolved therefore to wander about the  
country with this companion1 and to     
preserve my life in this way1 though two
 such heterogeneous persons were nowhere
 to be met with in the world4 ,i was an 
educated rabbi2 he was an idiot4 ,i had 
hitherto maintained myself in an        
honourable way2 he was a beggar by      
profession4 ,i had ideas of morality1   
propriety1 and decency2 he knew nothing 
of these4 ,finally1 ,i was in sound     

health1 it is true1 but still of weakly 
constitution2 he1 on the other hand1 was
 a sturdy1 able-bodied fellow1 who would
 have made the best of soldiers4        
,notwithstanding these differences1 ,i  
stuck close to the man1 as1 in order to 
prolong life1 ,i was compelled to become
 a vagrant in a strange land4 ,in our   
wanderings ,i laboured to communicate to
 my companion ideas of religion and of  
true morality1 while he in return       
instructed me in the art of begging4 ,he
 taught me the usual formulas of the    
art1 and recommended me especially to   
curse and swear1 whenever ,i was sent   
away without anything4 ,but with all the
 trouble1 which he gave himself in the  
matter1 his teachings would not take any
 hold on me4 ,the formulas of begging   
appeared to me absurd ,i thought1 if a  
man was once compelled to beg help of   
others1 he should express his feelings  
in the most simple form4 ,as far as     
cursing was concerned1 ,i could not     
understand why a man1 who refused       

another's request1 should draw a curse  
upon himself2 and then it seemed to me1 
that the man thus treated would be      
thereby embittered1 and the beggar be   
all the less likely to attain his       
object4 ,when therefore ,i went to beg  
with my comrade1 ,i conducted myself    
always as if ,i were begging and cursing
 at the same time1 but in fact ,i never 
spoke a single intelligible word4 ,if1  
on the other hand1 ,i went alone1 ,i had
 absolutely nothing to say2 but from my 
appearance and conduct could easily be  
seen what was wanted4 ,my comrade       
sometimes scolded me on account of my   
slowness in learning his art1 and this  
,i bore with the greatest patience4  ,in
 this way we wandered about in a        
district of a few miles for nearly half 
a year4 ,at last we resolved to turn our
 steps towards ,poland4 ,when we arrived
 at ,posen we took up our quarters in   
the ,jewish poorhouse1 the master of    
which was a poor jobbing tailor4 ,here  
,i formed the resolve1 at whatever cost1

 to bring my wandering to a close4 ,it  
was harvest-time1 and already began to  
be pretty cold4 ,i was almost naked and 
barefoot4 ,by this vagrant life1 in     
which ,i never got any regular meals1   
for the most part had to content myself 
with bits of mouldy bread and water1 and
 at night was obliged to lie on old     
straw1 sometimes even on the bare earth1
 my health had seriously suffered4      
,besides1 the sacred seasons and        
fast-days in the ,jewish calendar were  
coming on2 and as at that time ,i was of
 a somewhat strong religious            
disposition1 ,i could not endure the    
thought of passing in complete idleness 
this period which others employed for   
the welfare of their souls4  ,i         
resolved1 therefore1 for the present at 
least1 to go no farther1 and1 at all    
events if it should come to the worst1  
to throw myself before the synagogue1   
and either die there or excite the      
compassion of my brethren1 and by that  
means bring my sufferings to an end4    

,consequently as soon as my comrade     
awoke in the morning1 began to make     
arrangements for a begging tour1 and    
summoned me to the same1 ,i told him    
that ,i would not go with him at        
present2 and when he asked how ,i       
intended to sustain life in any other   
way1 ,i was able to answer nothing but  
,god will surely help4  ,i then went off
 to the ,jewish school4 ,here ,i found a
 number of scholars1 some of whom were  
reading1 while others took advantage of 
the master's absence to pass the time in
 play4 ,i also took a book to read4 ,the
 scholars1 who were struck by my strange
 dress1 approached and asked me whence  
,i came and what ,i wanted4 ,their      
questions ,i answered in my ,lithuanian 
dialect1 at which they began to laugh1  
and make merry at my expense4 ,for this 
,i cared little4 ,but ,i recollected    
that1 some years before1 a chief rabbi  
from my neighbourhood had been appointed
 to the same office in ,posen1 and that 
he had taken with him an acquaintance   

and a good friend of mine as his        
secretary4 ,accordingly ,i asked the    
boys about this friend4 ,to my extreme  
grief ,i learned that he was no longer  
in ,posen1 as the chief rabbi had been  
afterwards promoted to the same office  
in ,hamburg1 and his secretary had gone 
with him to that place4 ,they told me1  
however1 that his son1 a boy about      
twelve years old1 had been left behind  
in ,posen with the present chief rabbi1 
who was a son-in-law of his predecessor4
  ,this information saddened me not a   
little4 ,still the last circumstance    
gave me some hope4 ,i inquired after the
 dwelling of the new chief rabbi1 and   
went to it2 but1 as ,i was almost naked1
 ,i shrank from entering1 and waited    
until ,i saw some one going into the    
house1 whom ,i begged to be so good as  
to call my friend's son out4 ,the boy   
recognised me at once1 and manifested   
his astonishment at seeing me here in   
such a pitiable plight4 ,i replied1 that
 this was not the time to relate all the

 misfortunes which had brought me into  
this state1 and that at present he      
should consider merely how he might     
somewhat relieve my distress4  ,this he 
promised to do4 ,he went to the chief   
rabbi1 and announced me as a great      
scholar and a pious man1 who by         
extraordinary accidents had fallen into 
a very miserable condition4 ,the chief  
rabbi1 who was an excellent man1 an     
acute ,talmudist1 and of very gentle    
character1 was touched by my distress1  
and sent for me to come in4 ,he         
conversed with me a while1 discussing   
some of the most important subjects in  
the ,talmud1 and found me well versed in
 all branches of ,jewish learning4 ,then
 he inquired about my intentions1 and ,i
 told him that ,i wished to be          
introduced as a tutor into some family1 
but that meanwhile my only desire was to
 be able to celebrate the sacred season 
here1 and for this short period at least
 to interrupt my travels4  ,the         
good-hearted rabbi bade me1 so far as   

this was concerned1 to lay aside all    
anxiety1 spoke of my desire as a small  
matter1 which it was nothing more than  
reasonable to want4 ,he then gave me    
what money he had by him1 invited me to 
dine with him every ,sabbath1 as long as
 ,i remained here1 and bade his boy     
procure a respectable lodging for me4   
,the boy came back soon1 and conducted  
me to my lodging4 ,i expected this to be
 only a small chamber in the house of   
some poor man4 ,i was therefore not a   
little astonished1 when ,i found myself 
in the house of one of the oldest ,jews 
of the town1 and that here had been     
prepared for me a neat little room1     
which was the study of the master1 he   
and his son being both scholars4  ,as   
soon as ,i had looked round a little1 ,i
 went to the housewife1 and1 thrusting  
some coppers into her hand1 ,i asked her
 to get me some gruel for supper4 ,she  
began to smile at my simplicity1 and    
said1 ,no1 no1 sir1 that is not our     
agreement4 ,the chief rabbi has not     

given you such a recommendation1 that   
you are obliged to have us making you   
gruel for money4 ,she then went on to   
explain1 that ,i was not only to lodge  
in her house1 but also to eat and drink 
with them1 as long as ,i stayed in the  
town4 ,i was astonished at this         
unexpected good fortune2 but my delight 
was still greater1 when after supper ,i 
was shown to a clean bed4 ,i could not  
believe my eyes1 and asked several      
times1 ,is this really for me8 ,i can   
say with truth1 that never1 before or   
since this incident1 have ,i felt such a
 degree of happiness1 as when ,i lay    
down that night1 and felt my limbs1     
which for half a year had been          
overwearied and almost broken1          
recovering their former strength in a   
soft bed4  ,i slept till late in the    
day4 ,i had scarcely risen when the     
chief rabbi sent for me to come and see 
him4 ,when ,i made my appearance he     
asked me how ,i was pleased with my     
lodging4 ,i could not find words to     

express my feelings on the subject1 and 
exclaimed in ecstasy1 ,i have slept in a
 bed6 ,at this the chief rabbi was      
uncommonly pleased4 ,he then sent for   
the school precentor1 and as soon as    
this man appeared he said to him1 ,go to
 the shop of ----1 and get cloth for a  
suit to this gentleman4 ,thereupon he   
turned to me and asked what sort of     
stuff ,i liked4 ,overpowered by the     
feeling of gratitude and esteem for this
 excellent man ,i could answer nothing4 
,the tears streaming down my cheeks     
served for my only answer4  ,the chief  
rabbi also ordered for me some new      
linen4 ,in two days everything was      
ready4 ,dressed in my new linen and new 
suit ,i went to the chief rabbi4 ,i was 
going to express my gratitude to him1   
but could scarcely get out a few broken 
words4 ,for the chief rabbi this was a  
charming sight4 ,he waived my thanks1   
and said that ,i was not to think too   
highly of him for this1 inasmuch as what
 he had done for me was a mere trifle   

not worth mentioning4  ,now the reader  
may perhaps suppose that this chief     
rabbi was a wealthy man1 for whom the   
expense to which he put himself on my   
account was really a trifle2 but ,i can 
give the assurance that this was far    
from being the case4 ,he had merely a   
moderate income2 and as he occupied     
himself wholly with study1 his wife had 
the management of his affairs1 and      
especially the charge of housekeeping4  
,actions of this sort1 therefore1 had to
 be done without the knowledge of his   
wife1 and under the pretext that he     
received from other people the money for
 the purpose4 ,moreover1 he lived a very
 temperate life1 fasted every day except
 ,sabbath1 and never ate flesh the whole
 week through4 ,nevertheless1 to satisfy
 his benevolent inclinations he could   
not avoid making debts4 ,his severe     
manner of life1 his many studies and    
vigils1 weakened his strength to such a 
degree that he died about the           
thirty-sixth year of his life4 ,his     

death took place after he had been      
appointed chief rabbi in ,frdet1 to     
which place he was followed by a large  
number of disciples4 ,i can never think 
of this godly man without being deeply  
affected4  ,in my former lodging at the 
poor tailor's ,i had left some trifles  
which ,i now went to fetch4 ,the tailor1
 his wife1 and my former comrade in     
beggary1 who had already heard of the   
happy change in my affairs1 expected me 
with the greatest impatience4 ,it was a 
touching scene4 ,the man1 who three days
 before arrived in this poor hut1 quite 
debilitated1 half naked1 and barefoot1  
whom the poor inmates of the house      
regarded as an outcast of nature1 and   
whose comrade in linen blouse had looked
 down upon him with mockery and         
contempt1--this man 7his fame before    
him7 now comes into the same hut with a 
cheerful face1 and in reverend garb     
dressed as a chief rabbi4  ,they all    
testified their joy and surprise at the 
transformation4 ,the poor woman took her

 babe in her arms and1 with tears in her
 eyes1 begged a blessing for him4 ,my   
comrade begged me very affectingly for  
forgiveness on account of his rough     
treatment4 ,he said that he deemed      
himself fortunate in having had such a  
fellow-traveller1 but would hold himself
 unfortunate if ,i would not forgive the
 faults he had committed in ignorance4  
,i spoke to them all very kindly1 gave  
the little one my blessing1 handed to my
 old comrade all the cash ,i had in my  
pocket1 and went back deeply affected4  
,meanwhile my fame was spread through   
the whole town by the conduct towards me
 of the chief rabbi1 as well as that of 
my new host1 who was himself a scholar1 
and had formed a high opinion of my     
talents and learning from frequent      
conversations and discussions which we  
had held together4 ,all the scholars of 
the town1 therefore1 came to see me and 
discuss with me as a famous travelling  
rabbi2 and the more intimately they came
 to know me1 so much the higher rose    

their esteem4  ,this period was         
undoubtedly the happiest and most       
honourable in my life4 ,the young       
scholars of the town passed a resolution
 at their meeting to make up for me a   
salary1 for which ,i was to deliver     
lectures to them on the celebrated and  
profound work of ,maimonides1 ,moreh    
,nebhochim4 ,this proposal1 however1 was
 never carried out1 because the parents 
of these young people were anxious lest 
their children should be thereby led    
astray1 and by independent thinking on  
religion be made to waver in their      
faith4 ,they acknowledged indeed that1  
with all my fondness for religious      
speculation1 ,i was still a pious man   
and an orthodox rabbi4 ,but they could  
not rely upon their children having     
sufficient judgment1 to be able to enter
 upon this course without passing from  
one extreme to the other1 from          
superstition to unbelief2 and therein   
perhaps they were right4  ,after ,i had 
spent about four weeks in this way1 the 

man1 with whom ,i lodged1 came to me1   
and said1 ,herr ,solomon1 allow me to   
make a proposal to you4 ,if you are     
inclined merely to solitary study1 you  
may remain here as long as you like4    
,if1 however1 you do not wish to        
withdraw into such complete retirement1 
but are inclined to be of service to the
 world with your talents1 there is a    
wealthy man here--one of the most       
prominent people of the town--who has an
 only son1 and wishes nothing so much as
 to have you for his tutor4 ,this man is
 my brother-in-law4 ,if you will not do 
it for his sake1 please do it for mine1 
and to gratify the chief rabbi1 as he   
has deeply at heart the education of my 
nephew1 who is connected by marriage    
with his family4 ,this offer ,i accepted
 with delight4 ,i came therefore into   
this family under advantageous          
conditions as tutor1 and remained with  
them two years in the greatest honour4  
,nothing was done in the house without  
my knowledge4 ,i was always met with the

 greatest respect4 ,i was held in fact  
to be almost something more than human4 
,thus the two years flowed on           
imperceptibly and happily for me4 ,but  
during the time some little incidents   
took place1 which ,i believe should not 
be altogether omitted in this history4  
,in the first place the esteem          
entertained for me in this house went so
 far1 that malgr moi they were going to 
make me a prophet4 ,my pupil was        
betrothed to the daughter of a chief    
rabbi1 who was a brother-in-law of the  
chief rabbi in ,posen4 ,the bride1 a    
girl of about twelve years1 was brought 
to ,posen by her parents-in-law at the  
feast of ,pentecost4 ,on the occasion of
 this visit ,i observed that the girl   
was of a very phlegmatic temperament and
 somewhat consumptive4 ,i mentioned this
 to the brother of my host1 and added   
with a significant look1 that ,i was    
very anxious for the girl1 as ,i did not
 believe that her health would last     
long4 ,after the feast was over the girl

 was sent home1 and a fortnight         
afterwards a letter was received        
announcing her death4 ,on this account1 
not only in the house where ,i lived1   
but in the whole town1 ,i was taken for 
a prophet1 who had been able to foretell
 the death of this girl4 ,as ,i wished  
nothing less than to deceive1 ,i        
endeavoured to bring these superstitious
 people to a different train of thought4
 ,i told them that anybody1 who had made
 observations in the world1 would have  
been able to foretell the same thing4   
,but it was of no use4 ,once for all ,i 
was a prophet1 and had to remain one4   
,another incident occurred in a ,jewish 
house one ,friday when they were        
preparing fish for the ,sabbath4 ,the   
fish was a carp1 and it seemed to the   
cook who was cutting it up as if it     
uttered a sound4 ,this threw everybody  
into a panic4 ,the rabbi was asked what 
should be done with this dumb fish that 
had ventured to speak4 ,under the       
superstitious idea that the carp was    

possessed with a spirit1 the rabbi      
enjoined that it should be wrapped in a 
linen cloth1 and buried with pomp4      
,now1 in the house where ,i lived1 this 
awe-inspiring event became the subject  
of conversation4 ,having by this time   
emancipated myself pretty thoroughly    
from superstitions of this sort by      
diligent study of the ,moreh ,nebhochim1
 ,i laughed heartily over the story1 and
 said1 that1 if instead of burying the  
carp1 they had sent it to me1 ,i should 
have tried how such an inspired carp    
would taste4  ,this bon mot became      
known4 ,the learned men fell into a     
passion about it1 denounced me as a     
heretic1 and sought to persecute me in  
every way4 ,but the respect1 entertained
 for me in the house where ,i was tutor1
 made all their efforts fruitless4 ,as  
,i found myself in this way safe1 and   
the spirit of fanaticism1 instead of    
deterring me1 rather spurred me on to   
further reflection1 ,i began to push    
matters a little farther1 frequently    

slept through the time of prayer1 went  
seldom to the synagogue1 and so on4 ,at 
last the measure of my sins became so   
full1 that nothing could secure me any  
longer from persecution4  ,at the       
entrance to the ,common ,hall in ,posen 
there has been1 no one knows for how    
long1 a stag-horn fixed into the wall4  
,the ,jews are unanimously of the       
conviction1 that any one who touches    
this horn is sure to die on the spot2   
and they relate a multitude of instances
 in proof4 ,this would not go down with 
me at all1 and ,i made fun of it4 ,so   
one day when ,i was passing the         
stag-horn with some other ,jews1 ,i said
 to them1 ,you ,posen fools1 do you     
think that any one who touches this horn
 must die on the spot8 ,see1 ,i dare to 
touch it6 ,horror-struck1 they expected 
my death on the spot2 but as nothing    
happened1 their anxiety for me was      
converted into hatred4 ,they looked on  
me as one who had profaned the          
sanctuary4  ,this fanaticism stirred up 

in me the desire to go to ,berlin1 and  
destroy by enlightenment the remnant of 
superstition which still clung to me4 ,i
 therefore begged leave of my employer4 
,he expressed the wish indeed1 that ,i  
should remain longer in his house1 and  
assured me of his protection against all
 persecution4 ,but as ,i had once for   
all taken my resolution1 ,i was         
determined not to alter it4 ,i therefore
 bade goodbye to my employer and his    
whole family1 took a seat on the        
,frankfurt post1 and set out for        
,berlin4     ,,chapter ,,xxiii4         
,arrival in                             
,berlin--,acquaintances--,mendelssohn--,
desperate ,study of                     
,metaphysics--,doubts--,lectures on     
,locke and ,adelung4   ,as ,i came to   
,berlin this time by post1 ,i did not   
require to remain outside the           
,rosenthaler ,gate to be examined by the
 ,jewish elders2 ,i proceeded without   
any difficulty into the city1 and was   
allowed to take up my quarters where ,i 

chose4 ,to remain in the city1 however1 
was a different thing4 ,the ,jewish     
police-officers--,l4 ,m4 of those days  
was a terrible fellow1--went every day  
round all the hotels and other houses   
designed for the reception of strangers1
 made inquiry into the quality and      
occupation of newcomers1 as well as the 
probable length of their stay1 and      
allowed them no rest till they had      
either found some occupation in the     
city1 or were out of it again1 or--the  
alternative goes without saying4 ,i had 
taken a lodging on the ,new ,market with
 a ,jew1 who was accustomed to receive  
in his house poor travellers that had   
not much to spend1 and who the following
 day received a visit of this sort4     
,the ,jewish police-officer1 ,l4 ,m41   
came and examined me in the strictest   
manner4 ,i told him that ,i wished to   
enter into service as a family-tutor in 
,berlin1 and that therefore the length  
of my stay could not be exactly         
determined4 ,i appeared to him          

suspicious2 he believed he had seen me  
here before1 and evidently looked on me 
as a comet1 which comes nearer to the   
earth the second time than the first1   
and so makes the danger more threating4 
,but when he saw by me a ,milloth       
,higgayon or ,hebrew ,logic1 drawn up by
 ,maimonides1 and annotated by          
,mendelssohn1 he went into a perfect    
rage4 ,yes6 yes6 he exclaimed1 that's   
the sort of books for me6 and as he     
turned to me with a threatening look1   
,pack1 he said1 out of ,berlin as quick 
as you can1 if you don't wish to be led 
out with all the honours6 ,i trembled1  
and knew not what to do2 but as ,i had  
learnt that there was a ,polish ,jew1 a 
man of talent1 residing in ,berlin for  
the sake of study1 and received with    
esteem in the best families1 ,i paid him
 a visit4  ,he received me as a         
countryman in a very friendly manner1   
asked about my home in ,poland1 and what
 had brought me to ,berlin4 ,when ,i    
told him in reply1 that from my         

childhood ,i had discovered an          
inclination to the sciences1 had already
 made myself acquainted with this and   
that ,hebrew work which touches upon    
these1 and now had come to ,berlin in   
order to be ,maamik ,bechochmah 7to     
become absorbed in the sciences71 he    
smiled at this quaint rabbinical phrase1
 but gave me his full approval2 and     
after conversing with me for some time1 
he begged me to visit him often1 which  
,i very willingly promised to do1 and   
went away rejoicing in spirit4  ,the    
very next day ,i visited my ,polish     
friend again1 and found with him some   
young people belonging to a prominent   
,jewish family1 who visited him often1  
and conversed with him on scientific    
subjects4 ,they entered into            
conversation with me1 found much        
amusement in my jargon1 as well as in my
 simplicity and open-heartedness2 in    
particular they laughed heartily at the 
phrase1 ,maamik ,bechochmah1 of which   
they had heard already4 ,all this gave  

me courage1 and they assured me that ,i 
should not find myself mistaken in the  
expectation of being able to be ,maamik 
,bechochmah in ,berlin4 ,and when ,i    
made known my fear about the            
above-mentioned police-officer1 they    
made me pluck up courage by promising to
 obtain protection for me from their    
family1 so that ,i might remain in      
,berlin as long as ,i chose4  ,they kept
 their word1 and ,herr ,d---- ,p----1 a 
well-to-do man of excellent character1  
of many attainments and fine taste1 who 
was an uncle of these young men1 not    
only paid me much attention1 but also   
procured for me a respectable lodging1  
and invited me to the ,sabbath dinner4  
,others of the family also sent me meals
 at my room on fixed days4 ,among these 
was a brother of these young men1 in    
other respects an honourable man1 who   
was not without attainments4 ,but as he 
was a zealous ,talmudist1 he inquired   
earnestly whether with my inclination   
towards the sciences ,i had not quite   

neglected the ,talmud2 and as soon as he
 learnt1 that ,i was so ,maamik         
,bechochmah as to neglect the study of  
the ,talmud1 he gave up sending me my   
meals4  ,as ,i now had permission to    
remain in ,berlin1 ,i thought of nothing
 but how to carry my purpose into       
effect4 ,accidentally one day ,i went   
into a butter-shop1 and found the dealer
 in the act of anatomising a somewhat   
old book for use in his trade4 ,i looked
 at it1 and found1 to my no small       
astonishment1 that it was ,wolff's      
,metaphysics1 or the ,doctrine of ,god1 
of the ,world1 and of ,man's ,soul4 ,i  
could not understand1 how in a city so  
enlightened as ,berlin such important   
works could be treated in this barbarous
 fashion4 ,i turned therefore to the    
dealer1 and asked him1 if he would not  
sell the book4 ,he was ready to part    
with it for two groschen4 ,without      
thinking long about it ,i gave the price
 at once1 and went home delighted with  
my treasure4  ,at the very first reading

 ,i was in raptures with the book4 ,not 
only this sublime science in itself1 but
 also the order and mathematical method 
of the celebrated author1--the precision
 of his explanations1 the exactness of  
his reasoning1 and the scientific       
arrangement of his exposition1--all this
 struck a new light in my mind4  ,with  
the ,ontology1 the ,cosmology1 and the  
,psychology all went well2 but the      
,theology created many difficulties1    
inasmuch as ,i found its dogmas1 not    
only not in harmony1 but even in        
contradiction1 with the preceding       
propositions4 ,at the very beginning ,i 
could not assent to ,wolff's argument a 
posteriori for the existence of ,god in 
accordance with the ,principle of       
,sufficient ,reason2 and ,i raised the  
objection to it1 that1 inasmuch as1     
according to ,wolff's own confession1   
the ,principle of ,sufficient ,reason is
 abstracted from particular cases of    
experience1 the only point which can be 
proved by it is1 that every object of   

experience must have its sufficient     
reason in some other object of          
experience1 but not in an object beyond 
all experience4 ,i also compared these  
new metaphysical doctrines with those of
 ,maimonides1 or rather of ,aristotle1  
which were already known to me2 and ,i  
could not bring them into harmony at    
all4  ,i resolved therefore to set forth
 these doubts in the ,hebrew language1  
and to send what ,i wrote to ,herr      
,mendelssohn1 of whom ,i had already    
heard so much4 ,when he received my     
communication1 he was not a little      
astonished at it1 and replied to me at  
once1 that in fact my doubts were well  
founded1 that ,i should not however     
allow myself to be discouraged on their 
account1 but should continue to study   
with the zeal with which ,i had begun4  
,encouraged by this1 ,i wrote in ,hebrew
 a dissertation in which ,i brought into
 doubt the foundations of ,revealed as  
well as of ,natural ,theology4 ,all the 
thirteen articles of faith1 laid down by

 ,maimonides1 ,i attacked with          
philosophical arguments1 with the       
exception of one1 namely the article on 
reward and punishment1 which ,i conceded
 merely in its philosophical            
interpretation1 as referring to the     
natural consequences of voluntary       
actions4 ,i sent this dissertation to   
,mendelssohn1 who was not a little      
amazed1 that a ,polish ,jew1 who had    
scarcely got the length of seeing the   
,metaphysics of ,wolff1 was already able
 to penetrate into their depths so far1 
that he was in a position to shake their
 results by means of a correct          
,ontology4 ,he invited me to visit him1 
and ,i accepted his invitation4 ,but ,i 
was so shy1 the manners and customs of  
the ,berliners were so new to me1 it was
 not without fear and embarrassment1    
that ,i ventured to enter a fashionable 
house4 ,when therefore ,i opened        
,mendelssohn's door1 and saw him and    
other gentlefolks who were there1 as    
well as the beautiful rooms and elegant 

furniture1 ,i shrank back1 closed the   
door again1 and had a mind not to go in4
 ,mendelssohn however had observed me4  
,he came out and spoke to me very       
kindly1 led me into his room1 placed    
himself beside me at the window1 and    
paid me many compliments about my       
writing4 ,he assured me1 that1 if ,i    
went on in this way1 ,i should in a     
short time make great progress in       
,metaphysics2 and he promised also to   
resolve my doubts4 ,not satisfied with  
this1 the worthy man looked after my    
maintenance also1 recommended me to the 
most eminent1 enlightened and wealthy   
,jews1 who made provision for my board  
and other wants4 ,their tables ,i was at
 liberty to enjoy when ,i chose1 and    
their libraries were open to my use4    
,especially worthy of mention among     
these gentlemen was ,h----1 a man of    
many attainments and excellent          
disposition1 who was a particular friend
 and disciple of ,mendelssohn4 ,he took 
great pleasure in my conversation1 often

 discussed with me the most important   
subjects in ,natural ,theology and      
,morals1 on which ,i expressed my       
thoughts to him quite frankly and       
without disguise4 ,i went over with him 
in a conversational way all the systems 
known to me that are generally          
denounced1 and defended them with the   
greatest pertinacity4 ,he met me with   
objections2 ,i answered them1 and       
brought in my turn objections against   
the opposite systems4 ,at first this    
friend regarded me as a speaking animal1
 and entertained himself with me1 as one
 is apt to do with a dog or a starling  
that has been taught to speak a few     
words4 ,the odd mixture of the animal in
 my manners1 my expressions1 and my     
whole outward behaviour1 with the       
rational in my thoughts1 excited his    
imagination more than the subject of our
 conversation roused his understanding4 
,by degrees the fun was turned to       
earnest4 ,he began to give his attention
 to the subjects themselves2 and as1    

notwithstanding his other capabilities  
and attainments1 he had no philosophical
 head1 and the liveliness of his        
imagination generally interfered with   
the ripeness of his judgment1 the       
results of our conversations may be     
readily imagined4  ,a few examples will 
be sufficient to give an idea of the    
manner in which ,i conducted a          
discussion at the time1 of the ellipses 
in my diction arising from my deficiency
 in expressions1 and of the way in which
 ,i illustrated everything by examples4 
,i endeavoured once to make ,spinoza's  
system intelligible1--to show that all  
things are merely accidents of a single 
substance4 ,my friend interrupted me and
 said1 ,but1 good heavens6 are not you  
and ,i different men1 and do we not each
 possess an existence of our own8 ,close
 the shutters1 ,i called in reply to his
 objection4 ,this strange expression    
threw him into astonishment2 he did not 
know what ,i meant4 ,at last ,i         
explained myself4 ,see1 said ,i1 the sun

 shines through the windows4 ,this      
square window gives you a square        
reflection1 and the round window a round
 reflection4 ,are they on that account  
different things1 and not rather one and
 the same sunshine8  ,on another        
occasion ,i defended ,helvetius' system 
of self-love4 ,he brought against it the
 objection1 that we surely love other   
persons as well as ourselves4 ,for      
instance1 said he1 ,i love my wife2 and 
to confirm this he gave her a kiss4     
,that proves nothing against me1 ,i     
replied4 ,for1 why do you kiss your     
wife8 ,because you find pleasure in     
doing it4  ,herr ,a---- ,m---- also1 a  
good honest fellow1 and at that time a  
wealthy man1 allowed me free access to  
his house4 ,here ,i found ,locke in the 
,german translation1 and ,i was pleased 
with him at the first hasty glance1 for 
,i recognised him as the best of the    
modern philosophers1 as a man who had no
 interest but the truth4 ,accordingly ,i
 proposed to the tutor of ,herr ,a----  

,m----1 that he should take lessons from
 me on this admirable work4 ,at first he
 smiled at my simplicity in proposing1  
that ,i1 who had scarcely got the length
 of seeing ,locke1 should give lessons  
to him whose native tongue was ,german1 
and who had been brought up in the      
sciences4 ,he acted1 however1 as if he  
found nothing offensive in the matter1  
accepted my proposal1 and fixed an hour 
for the lessons4 ,i presented myself at 
the time appointed1 and began the       
lessons2 but as ,i could not read a word
 of ,german correctly1 ,i told my pupil 
to read aloud paragraph by paragraph in 
the text1 and that then ,i should give  
him an exposition of each4 ,my pupil1   
who pretended to be in earnest1         
consented to this also1 to carry on the 
joke2 but how great was his astonishment
 when he found1 that no joke was to be  
played in the matter1 that in fact my   
expositions and remarks1 though         
delivered in my own peculiar language1  
evinced a genuine philosophical spirit4 

,it was still more amusing1 when ,i     
became acquainted with the family of    
,widow ,levi1 and made the proposal to  
her son1 the young ,herr ,samuel        
,levi1#ec who is still my ,maecenas1    
that he should take lessons from me in  
the ,german language4 ,the studious     
youth1 incited by my reputation1 was    
resolved to make a trial1 and wished me 
to explain ,adelung's ,german ,grammar4 
,i1 who had never seen ,adelung's       
,grammar1 did not allow myself to be at 
all disconcerted on this account4#ed ,my
 pupil was obliged to read ,adelung bit 
by bit1 while ,i not only expounded it1 
but added glosses of my own4 ,in        
particular ,i found a good deal to take 
exception to in ,adelung's philosophical
 explanation of the parts of speech2 and
 ,i drew up an explanation of my own1   
which ,i communicated to my intelligent 
pupil1 by whom it is still preserved4   
,as a man altogether without experience 
,i carried my frankness at times a      
little too far1 and brought upon myself 

many vexations in consequence4 ,i was   
reading ,spinoza4 ,his profound thought 
and his love of truth pleased me        
uncommonly2 and as his system had       
already been suggested to me by the     
,cabbalistic writings1 ,i began to      
reflect upon it anew1 and became so     
convinced of its truth1 that all the    
efforts of ,mendelssohn to change my    
opinion were unavailing4 ,i answered all
 the objections brought against it by   
the ,wolfians1 brought objections       
against their system myself1 and showed1
 that1 if the nominal definitions of the
 ,wolfian ,ontology are converted into  
real definitions1 conclusions the very  
opposite of theirs are the result4      
,moreover1 ,i could not explain the     
persistency of ,mendelssohn and the     
,wolfians generally in adhering to their
 system1 except as a political dodge and
 a piece of hypocrisy1 by which they    
studiously endeavoured to descend to the
 mode of thinking common in the popular 
mind2 and this conviction ,i expressed  

openly and without reserve4 ,my friends 
and well-wishers1 who for the most part 
had never themselves speculated on      
philosophical subjects1 but blindly     
adopted the results of the systems      
prevailing at the time as if they were  
established truths1 did not understand  
me1 and therefore also were unable to   
follow me in my opinions4  ,mendelssohn1
 whose usual course was to tack1 did not
 wish to oppose my love of inquiry1     
secretly even took pleasure in it1 and  
said1 that at present indeed ,i was not 
on the right road1 but that the course  
of my thoughts must not be checked1     
because1 as ,descartes rightly remarked1
 doubt is the beginning of thorough     
philosophical speculation4     ,,chapter
 ,,xxiv4  ,mendelssohn--,a chapter      
devoted to the memory of a worthy       
friend4   ,quis desiderio sit pudor aut 
modus tam cari capitis8  ,the name of   
,mendelssohn is too well known to the   
world1 to make it necessary for me here 
to dwell long on the portraiture of the 

great intellectual and moral qualities  
of this celebrated man of our nation4 ,i
 shall sketch merely those prominent    
features of his portrait1 which have    
made the strongest impression upon me4  
,he was a good ,talmudist1 and a pupil  
of the celebrated ,rabbi ,israel1 or1 as
 he is otherwise named after the title  
of a ,talmudic work which he wrote1     
,nezach ,israel 7the strength of        
,israel71--a ,polish rabbi who was      
denounced for heresy by his countrymen4 
,this rabbi had1 besides his great      
,talmudic capabilities and acquirements1
 a good deal of scientific talent1      
especially in mathematics1 with which he
 had attained a thorough acquaintance1  
even in ,poland1 from the few ,hebrew   
writings on this science1 as may be seen
 in the above-mentioned work4 ,in this  
work there are introduced solutions of  
many important mathematical problems1   
which are applied either to the         
explanation of some obscure passages in 
the ,talmud1 or to the determination of 

a law4 ,rabbi ,israel of course was more
 interested in the extension of useful  
knowledge among his countrymen than in  
the determination of a law1 which he    
used merely as a vehicle for the other4 
,he showed1 for example1 that it is not 
right for the ,jews in our part of the  
world to turn exactly to the ,east at   
prayer2 for the ,talmudic law requires  
them to turn to ,jerusalem1 and1 as our 
part of the world lies north-west from  
,jerusalem1 they ought to turn to the   
south-east4 ,he shows also how1 by means
 of spherical trigonometry1 the required
 direction may be determined with the   
utmost exactness in all parts of the    
world1 and many other truths of a       
similar kind4 ,along with the celebrated
 ,chief ,rabbi ,frnkel1 he contributed  
much to develop the great abilities of  
,mendelssohn4  ,mendelssohn possessed a 
thorough acquaintance with mathematics2 
and this science he valued1 not only for
 its self-evidence1 but also as the best
 exercise in profound reasoning4 ,that  

he was a great philosopher1 is well     
enough known4 ,he was not indeed an     
originator of new systems2 he had       
however amended the old systems1        
especially the ,leibnitio-,wolfian1 and 
had applied it with success to many     
subjects in philosophy4  ,it is hard to 
say whether ,mendelssohn was endowed    
with more acuteness or with depth of    
intellect4 ,both faculties were found   
united in him in a very high degree4    
,his exactness in definition and        
classification1 and his fine            
distinctions1 are evidences of the      
former talent1 while his profound       
philosophical treatises afford proofs of
 the latter4  ,in his character1 as he  
himself confessed1 he was by nature a   
man of strong passions1 but by long     
exercise in ,stoical morality he had    
learnt to keep them under control4 ,a   
young man1 under the impression that    
,mendelssohn had done him a wrong1 came 
one day to upbraid him1 and indulged in 
one impertinence after another4         

,mendelssohn stood leaning on a chair1  
never turned his eye from his visitor1  
and listened to all his impertinences   
with the utmost ,stoical patience4      
,after the young man had vented all his 
passion1 ,mendelssohn went to him and   
said1 ,go6 ,you see that you fail to    
reach your object here2 you can't make  
me angry4 ,still on such occasions      
,mendelssohn could not conceal his      
sorrow at the weakness of human nature4 
,not infrequently ,i was myself         
overheated in my disputes with him1 and 
violated the respect due to such a      
man1--a fact on which ,i still reflect  
with remorse4  ,mendelssohn possessed   
deep knowledge of human nature1--a      
knowledge which consists not so much in 
seizing some unconnected features of a  
character1 and representing them in     
theatrical fashion1 as in discovering   
those essential features of a character1
 from which all the others may be       
explained1 and in some measure          
predicted4 ,he was able to describe     

accurately all the springs of action and
 the entire moral wheelwork of a man1   
and understood thoroughly the mechanism 
of the soul4 ,this gave a character1 not
 only to his intercourse and other      
dealings with men1 but also to his      
literary labours4  ,mendelssohn         
understood the useful and agreeable art 
of throwing himself into another        
person's mode of thought4 ,he could thus
 supply whatever was deficient1 and fill
 up the gaps in the thoughts of another4
 ,jews newly arrived from ,poland1 whose
 thoughts are for the most part         
confused1 and whose language is an      
unintelligible jargon1 ,mendelssohn     
could understand perfectly4 ,in his     
conversations with them he adopted their
 expressions and forms of speech1 sought
 to bring down his mode of thinking to  
theirs1 and thus to raise theirs to his 
own4  ,he understood also the art of    
finding out the good side of every man  
and of every event4 ,not infrequently1  
therefore1 he found entertainment in    

people whose intercourse1 owing to the  
eccentric use of their powers1 is by    
others avoided2 and only downright      
stupidity and dullness were offensive to
 him1 though they were so in the highest
 degree4 ,i was once an eye-witness of  
the manner in which he entertained      
himself with a man of the most eccentric
 style of thinking and the most         
extravagant behaviour4 ,i lost all      
patience on the occasion1 and after the 
man was gone ,i asked ,mendelssohn in   
wonder1 ,how could you have anything to 
do with this fellow8 ,we examine        
attentively1 he said1 a machine whose   
construction is unknown to us1 and we   
seek to make intelligible its mode of   
working4 ,should not this man claim a   
like attention8 should we not seek in   
the same way to render intelligible his 
odd utterances1 since he certainly has  
his springs of action and his wheelwork 
as well as any machine8  ,in discussion 
with a reasoner who held stubbornly to a
 system once adopted ,mendelssohn was   

stubborn himself1 and took advantage of 
the slightest inaccuracy in his         
opponent's way of thinking4 ,on the     
other hand1 with a more accommodating   
thinker he was accommodating also1 and  
used commonly to close the discussion   
with the words1 ,we must hold fast1 not 
to mere words1 but to the things they   
signify4  ,nothing was so offensive to  
him as an esprit de bagatelle or        
affectation2 with anything of this sort 
he could not conceal his displeasure4   
,h---- once invited a party1 in which   
,mendelssohn was the principal guest1   
and he entertained them the whole time  
with talk about some hobby of his1 which
 was not exactly of the choicest kind4  
,mendelssohn showed his displeasure by  
never deigning to give the slightest    
attention to the worthless creature4    
,madam ---- was a lady who affected an  
excess of sensibility1 and as is        
customary with such characters1 used to 
reproach herself in order to extort     
praise from others4 ,mendelssohn sought 

to bring her to reason by showing her   
impressively how exceptionable her      
conduct was and how she ought to think  
seriously about improvement4  ,in a     
disconnected conversation he took little
 part himself2 he acted rather as       
observer then1 and took pleasure in     
watching the conduct of the rest of the 
company4 ,if1 on the other hand1 the    
conversation was coherent1 he took the  
warmest interest in it himself1 and1 by 
a skilful turn1 he could1 without       
interrupting the conversation1 give it a
 useful direction4  ,mendelssohn could  
never take up his mind with trifles2    
matters of the greatest moment kept him 
in restless activity1 such as the       
principles of ,morals and of ,natural   
,theology1 the immortality of the soul1 
etc4 ,in all these branches of inquiry1 
in which humanity is so deeply          
interested1 he has also1 as ,i hold1    
done as much as can be done on the      
principles of the ,leibnitio-,wolfian   
philosophy4 ,perfection was the compass 

which he had constantly before his eyes1
 and which directed his course1 in all  
these investigations4 ,his ,god is the  
,ideal of the highest perfection1 and   
the idea of the highest perfection lies 
at the basis of his ,ethics4 ,the       
principle of his sthetics is sensuous   
perfection4  ,my discussion with him on 
our first acquaintance referred mainly  
to the following points4 ,i was a       
faithful adherent of ,maimonides before 
,i became acquainted with modern        
philosophy2 and1 as such1 ,i insisted on
 the negation#ee of all positive        
attributes to ,god1 inasmuch as these   
can be represented by us only as finite4
 ,accordingly ,i proposed the following 
dilemma3 ,either ,god is not the        
absolutely perfect being1 in which case 
his attributes may by us be not only    
conceived1 but also known1 that is1     
represented as realities belonging to an
 object2 or ,he is the absolutely       
perfect being1 and then the idea of ,god
 is conceived by us1 but its reality is 

merely assumed as problematic4          
,mendelssohn1 on the other hand1        
insisted on the affirmation1 with regard
 to ,god1 of all realities1--a position 
which goes very well with the           
,leibnitio-,wolfian philosophy1 because 
it requires1 in order to prove the      
reality of an idea1 nothing more than   
that it is thinkable1 that is1 fulfils  
the law of ,non-,contradiction4  ,my    
moral theory was then genuine ,stoicism4
 ,it aimed at the attainment of free    
will and the ascendency of reason over  
the feelings and passions4 ,it made the 
highest destination of man to be the    
maintenance of his differentia          
specifica1 the knowledge of the truth2  
and all other impulses1 common to us    
with the irrational animals1 were to be 
put in operation merely as means to this
 chief end4 ,the knowledge of the good  
was not distinguished by me from the    
knowledge of the true2 for1 following   
,maimonides1 ,i held the knowledge of   
the truth to be the highest good of man4

 ,mendelssohn1 on the other hand1       
maintained that the idea of perfection1 
which lies at the basis of ,ethics1 is  
of much wider extent than the mere      
knowledge of the truth4 ,all natural    
impulses1 capacities and powers1 as     
something good in themselves 7not merely
 as means to something good71 were to be
 brought into exercise as realities4    
,the highest perfection was the idea of 
the maximum1 or the greatest sum1 of    
these realities4  ,the immortality of   
the soul1 for me1 following ,maimonides1
 consisted in the union with the        
,universal ,spirit of that part of the  
faculty of knowledge which has been     
brought into exercise1 in proportion to 
the degree of that exercise2 and in     
accordance with this doctrine ,i held   
those only to be partakers of this      
immortality1 who occupy themselves with 
the knowledge of eternal truths1 and in 
the degree in which they do so4 ,the    
soul1 therefore1 must1 with the         
attainment of this high immortality1    

lose its individuality4 ,that           
,mendelssohn1 in accordance with modern 
philosophy1 thought differently on this 
subject1 every one will readily believe4
  ,his sentiments in reference to       
revealed or positive religion ,i can    
give here1 not as something made known  
to me by himself1 but merely in so far  
as ,i have been able to infer them from 
his utterances on the subject in his    
writings with the assistance of my own  
reflections4 ,for at that time1 as an   
incipient freethinker1 ,i explained all 
revealed religion as in itself false1   
and its use1 so far as the writings of  
,mendelssohn had enabled me to          
understand it1 as merely temporary4     
,moreover1 being a man without          
experience1 ,i thought it an easy matter
 to convince others in opposition to    
their firmly rooted habits and          
long-cherished prejudices1 while ,i     
assumed the usefulness of such a        
reformation to be undoubted4            
,mendelssohn therefore was unable to    

hold any conversation with me on the    
subject1 since he could not but fear    
lest1 as has happened1 and happens      
still1 in the case of several others1 ,i
 should pronounce his arguments in reply
 to be mere pieces of sophistry1 and    
should attribute motives to him on that 
account4 ,from his utterances1 however1 
in the preface to his ,manasseh ben     
,israel as well as in his ,jerusalem1 it
 is clear that1 though he did not       
consider any revealed doctrines to be   
eternal truths1 yet he accepted revealed
 laws of religion as such1 and that he  
held the laws of the ,jewish religion1  
as the fundamental laws of a theocratic 
constitution1 to be immutable as far as 
circumstances allow4  ,so far as ,i am  
concerned1 ,i am led to assent entirely 
to ,mendelssohn's reasoning by my own   
reflections on the fundamental laws of  
the religion of my fathers4 ,the        
fundamental laws of the ,jewish religion
 are at the same time the fundamental   
laws of the ,jewish state4 ,they must   

therefore be obeyed by all who          
acknowledge themselves to be members of 
this state1 and who wish to enjoy the   
rights granted to them under condition  
of their obedience4 ,but1 on the other  
hand1 any man who separates himself from
 this state1 who desires to be          
considered no longer a member of it1 and
 to renounce all his rights as such1    
whether he enters another state or      
betakes himself to solitude1 is also in 
his conscience no longer bound to obey  
those laws4 ,i assent moreover to       
,mendelssohn's remark1 that a ,jew      
cannot1 by simply passing over to the   
,christian religion1 free himself from  
the laws of his own religion1 because   
,jesus of ,nazareth observed these laws 
himself and commanded his followers to  
observe them4 ,but how1 if a ,jew wishes
 to be no longer a member of this       
theocratic state1 and goes over to the  
heathen religion1 or to the             
philosophical1 which is nothing more    
than pure natural religion8 ,how1 if1   

merely as a member of a political state1
 he submits to its laws1 and demands    
from it his rights in return1 without   
making any declaration whatever about   
his religion1 since the state is        
reasonable enough not to require from   
him a declaration with which it has     
nothing to do8 ,i do not believe        
,mendelssohn would maintain that even in
 this case a ,jew is bound in conscience
 to observe the laws of his fathers'    
religion merely because it is the       
religion of his fathers4 ,as far as is  
known1 ,mendelssohn lived in accordance 
with the laws of his religion4          
,presumably1 therefore1 he always       
regarded himself as still a member of   
the theocratic state of his fathers1 and
 consequently acted up to his duty in   
this respect4 ,but any man who abandons 
this state is acting just as little in  
violation of his duty4  ,on the other   
hand ,i consider it wrong in ,jews1 who 
from family attachments and interests   
profess the ,jewish religion1 to        

transgress its laws1 where1 according to
 their own opinion1 these do not stand  
in the way of those motives4 ,i cannot  
therefore understand the conduct of     
,mendelssohn in reference to a ,jew of  
,hamburg who openly transgressed the    
laws of his religion1 and who was on    
that account excommunicated by the chief
 rabbi4 ,mendelssohn wanted to cancel   
the excommunication on the ground that  
the church has no rights in civil       
matters4 ,but how can he then maintain  
the perpetuity of the ,jewish           
ecclesiastical state8 ,for what is a    
state without rights1 and wherein       
consists1 according to ,mendelssohn1 the
 rights of this ecclesiastical state8   
,how1 says ,mendelssohn1 7in the preface
 to ,manasseh ben ,israel1 p4 #dh71 can 
a state allow one of its useful and     
respected citizens to suffer misfortune 
through its laws8 ,surely not1 ,i reply2
 but the ,hamburg ,jew suffers no       
misfortune by virtue of the             
excommunication4 ,he required only to   

say or do nothing which legally leads to
 this result1 and he would then have    
avoided the sentence4 ,for              
excommunication is merely tantamount to 
saying3--,so long as you put yourself in
 opposition to the laws of our          
communion1 you are excluded from it2 and
 you must therefore make up your mind   
whether this open disobedience or the   
privileges of our communion can most    
advance your blessedness4 ,this surely  
cannot have escaped a mind like         
,mendelssohn's1 and ,i leave it to      
others to decide how far a man may be   
inconsistent for the sake of human      
welfare4  ,mendelssohn had to endure    
many an injustice at the hands of       
otherwise estimable men1 from whom such 
treatment might least have been         
expected4 ,lavater's officiousness is   
well enough known1 and disapproved by   
all right-thinking men4#ef ,the profound
 ,jacobi had a predilection for         
,spinozism1 with which surely no        
independent thinker can find fault1 and 

wanted to make out ,mendelssohn1 as well
 as his friend ,lessing1 to be          
,spinozists1 in spite of themselves4    
,with this view he published a          
correspondence on the subject1 which was
 never intended to appear in print1 and 
be subjected to public inspection4 ,what
 was the use of this8 ,if ,spinozism is 
true1 it is so without ,mendelssohn's   
assent4 ,eternal truths have nothing to 
do with the majority of votes1 and least
 of all where1 as ,i hold1 the truth is 
of such a nature1 that it leaves all    
expression behind4  ,such an injustice  
must have given ,mendelssohn much       
annoyance4 ,a celebrated physician      
maintained even1 that it caused his     
death2 but1 though ,i am not a          
physician1 ,i venture to gainsay the    
assertion4 ,mendelssohn's conduct in    
relation to ,jacobi1 as well as to      
,lavater1 was that of a hero4 ,no1 no6  
this hero died in the fifth act4  ,the  
acute preacher1 ,jacob1 in ,halle       
published1 after ,mendelssohn's death1 a

 book entitled1 ,examination of         
,mendelssohn's ,morgenstunden1 in which 
he shows that1 according to the         
,critique of ,pure ,reason1 all         
metaphysical doctrines are to be        
rejected as baseless4 ,but why does this
 concern ,mendelssohn more than any     
other metaphysician8 ,mendelssohn did   
nothing but develop to greater          
completeness the ,leibnitio-,wolfian    
philosophy1 apply it to many important  
subjects of human inquiry1 and clothe it
 in an attractive garb4 ,it is just as  
if any one were to attack ,maimonides1  
who has written an excellent            
astronomical treatise on ,ptolemaic     
principles1 by writing a book with the  
title1 ,examination of the ,hilchoth    
,kidush ,hakodesh of ,maimonides1 in    
which he should seek to refute his      
author on ,newtonian principles6 ,but   
enough of this4     ,,chapter ,,xxv4    
,my aversion at first for belles        
lettres1 and my subsequent              
conversion--,departure from             

,berlin--,sojourn in ,hamburg--,i drown 
myself in the same way as a bad actor   
shoots himself--,an old fool of a woman 
falls in love with me1 but her addresses
 are rejected4   ,for belles lettres ,i 
discovered not the slightest            
inclination2 ,i could not even conceive 
how any man was to form a science of    
what pleases or displeases--a matter    
which1 according to my opinion at the   
time1 could have merely a subjective    
ground4 ,one day when ,i was taking a   
walk with ,mendelssohn1 our conversation
 fell upon the subject of the poets1    
whom he recommended me to read4 ,no1 ,i 
replied1 ,i am going to read none of the
 poets4 ,what is a poet but a liar8     
,mendelssohn smiled at this and said1   
,you agree in this with ,plato1 who     
banished all poets from his ,republic4  
,but ,i hope that with time you will    
think differently on the subject4 ,and  
so it happened soon4  ,longinus' ,on the
 ,sublime fell into my hand4 ,the       
examples of the sublime which he adduces

 from ,homer1 and particularly the      
celebrated passage of ,sappho1 made a   
deep impression on my mind4 ,i thought  
to myself1 these are but foolish        
trifles1 it is true1 but the imagery and
 descriptions are really very beautiful4
 ,after that ,i read ,homer himself1 and
 was forced to laugh heartily at the    
foolish fellow4 ,what a serious air1 ,i 
said to myself1 over such childless     
stories6 ,by and by1 however1 ,i found a
 great deal of pleasure in the reading4 
,ossian1 on the other hand1 whom ,i got 
to read afterwards 7of course only in   
,german translations7 produced on me a  
peculiarly awe-inspiring effect4 ,the   
pomp of his style1 the impressive       
brevity of his descriptions1 the purity 
of his sentiments1 the simplicity of the
 objects described by him1 and lastly1  
the similarity of his poetry to that of 
the ,hebrews1 charmed me uncommonly4    
,thus ,i found also a great deal of     
gratification in ,gessner's ,idylls4    
,my friend1 the ,pole of whom ,i spoke  

in the preceding chapter1 who occupied  
himself mainly with belles lettres1 was 
greatly delighted at my conversion4 ,i  
used to dispute with him the utility of 
these studies2 and once1 when he was    
reading to me as a model of vigour in   
expression a passage of the ,psalms1 in 
which ,king ,david shows himself a      
master in cursing1 ,i interrupted him   
with the words1 ,what sort of an art is 
this8 ,why1 my mother-in-law--,god bless
 her6--when she was squabbling with a   
neighbour woman1 used to curse much more
 wildly than that6  ,now1 however1 he   
had his triumph over me4 ,mendelssohn   
also and my other friends were          
uncommonly pleased at this change4 ,they
 wished me to devote myself regularly to
 the humaniora1 as without these a man  
can scarcely make his own intellectual  
productions useful to the world4 ,it was
 very difficult1 however1 to convince me
 of this4 ,i was always in haste to     
enjoy the present1 without thinking     
that1 by due preparation1 ,i could make 

this enjoyment greater and more lasting4
  ,i now found gratification1 not only  
in the study of the sciences1 but       
generally in everything good and        
beautiful1 with which ,i became         
acquainted2 and ,i carried this out with
 an enthusiasm which passed all limits4 
,the hitherto suppressed inclination to 
the pleasures of sense also asserted its
 claims4 ,the first occasion of this was
 the following4 ,for many years some    
men1 who were occupied in various kinds 
of teaching1 had insinuated themselves  
into the most prominent and wealthy     
families of the ,jewish nation4 ,they   
devoted themselves especially to the    
,french language 7which was then        
regarded as the highest point of        
enlightenment71 to geography1           
arithmetic1 bookkeeping1 and similar    
studies4 ,they had also made themselves 
familiar with some phrases and          
imperfectly understood results of the   
more profound sciences and philosophical
 systems1 while their intercourse with  

the fair sex was marked by studious     
gallantry4 ,as a result of all this1    
they were great favourites in the       
families where they visited1 and were   
regarded as clever fellows4 ,now1 they  
began to observe that my reputation was 
always on the increase1 and that the    
respect for my attainments and talents  
went so far1 that they were being thrown
 wholly into the shade4 ,accordingly    
they thought of a stratagem1 by which   
they might be able to ward off the      
threatened evil4  ,they resolved to draw
 me into their company1 to show me every
 demonstration of friendship1 and to    
render me every possible service4 ,by   
this means they hoped1 in the first     
place1 as a result of our intercourse1  
to win for themselves some of the       
respect which was shown to me1 and1 in  
the second place1 to obtain1 from my    
frank and communicative spirit1 some    
additional knowledge of those sciences  
which as yet they knew only in name4    
,but1 in the third place1 as they knew  

my enthusiasm for everything which ,i   
once recognised as good1 they expected  
to intoxicate me with the allurements of
 sensual pleasure1 and to cool in some  
measure my ardour in the study of       
science1 which would at the same time   
alienate my friends1 my intimacy with   
whom made them so jealous4  ,accordingly
 they invited me into their society1    
testified their friendship and esteem   
for me1 and begged the honour of my     
company4 ,suspecting no harm1 ,i        
received their advances with pleasure1  
especially as ,i reflected that         
,mendelssohn and my other friends were  
too grand for everyday intercourse with 
me4 ,it became therefore a very         
desirable object with me1 to find some  
friends of a middle class1 with whom ,i 
could associate sans faon1 and enjoy the
 charms of familiarity4 ,my new friends 
took me into gay society1 to taverns1 on
 pleasure excursions1 at last also to   
----2#eg and all this at their own      
expense4 ,i1 on my side1 in my happy    

humour1 opened up to them in return all 
the mysteries of philosophy1 explained  
to them in detail all the peculiar      
systems1 and corrected their ideas on   
various subjects of human knowledge4    
,but as things of this sort cannot be   
poured into a man's head1 and as these  
gentlemen had no special capacity for   
them1 of course they were not able to   
make any great progress by this kind of 
instruction4 ,when ,i observed this1 ,i 
began to express some sort of contempt  
for them1 and made no attempt to conceal
 the fact1 that it was mainly the roast 
and the wine that gave me pleasure in   
their company4 ,this did not please them
 particularly2 and as they were unable  
to reach their object with me           
completely1 they tried to reach it at   
least in part4 ,they told tales to my   
grand friends behind my back about the  
most trifling incidents and expressions4
 ,for instance1 they asserted that ,i   
charged ,mendelssohn with being a       
philosophical hypocrite1 that ,i        

declared others to be endowed with but  
shallow pates1 that ,i was seeking to   
spread dangerous systems1 and that ,i   
was wholly abandoned to ,epicureanism4  
7,as if they were genuine ,stoics67     
,they even began at last openly to      
manifest their enmity4  ,all this of    
course had its effect2 and to add to the
 impression1 my friends observed that in
 my studies ,i followed no fixed plan1  
but merely my inclination4 ,accordingly 
they proposed to me that ,i should study
 medicine1 but could not induce me to do
 it4 ,i observed that the theory of     
medicine contains many departments as   
auxiliary sciences1 each of which       
requires a specialist for its thorough  
mastery1 while the practice of medicine 
implies a peculiar genius and faculty of
 judgment1 that are seldom to be met    
with4 ,i observed at the same time1 that
 the most of physicians take advantage  
of the ignorance of the public4 ,in     
accordance with established usage they  
spend some years at the universities1   

where they have an opportunity indeed of
 attending all the lectures1 but in     
point of fact attend very few4 ,at the  
close of their course1 by means of money
 and fair words1 they get a dissertation
 written for them2 and thus1 after a    
very simple fashion1 become medical     
practitioners4  ,as already mentioned1  
,i had a great liking for painting2 but 
,i was advised against this1 because ,i 
was already well advanced in years1 and 
consequently might not have sufficient  
patience for the minute exercises       
required for this art4 ,at last the     
proposal was made to me1 to learn       
pharmacy2 and as ,i had already obtained
 some acquaintance with physics as well 
as chemistry1 ,i consented4 ,my object  
in this1 however1 was not to make any   
practical use of my attainments1 but    
merely to acquire theoretical knowledge4
 ,accordingly1 instead of setting to    
with my own hands1 and thereby acquiring
 expertness in this art1 at important   
chemical processes ,i played the part of

 a mere spectator4 ,in this way ,i      
learnt pharmacy1 yet without being in   
the position of becoming an apothecary4 
,after the lapse of a three years'      
apprenticeship1 ,madame ,rosen1 in whose
 shop ,i was apprenticed1 was duly paid 
by ,h4 ,j4 ,d4 the promised fee of sixty
 thalers4 ,i received a certificate1    
that ,i had perfectly mastered the art  
of pharmacy2 and this ended the whole   
matter4  ,this1 however1 contributed not
 a little to alienate my friends4 ,at   
last ,mendelssohn asked me to come and  
see him1 when he informed me of this    
alienation1 and pointed out to me its   
causes4 ,they complained1 7#a7 that ,i  
had not made up my mind to any plan of  
life1 and had thereby rendered fruitless
 all their exertions in my behalf2 7#b7 
that ,i was trying to spread dangerous  
opinions and systems2 and 7#c7 that1    
according to general rumour1 ,i was     
leading a rather loose life1 and was    
very much addicted to sensual pleasures4
  ,the first of these complaints ,i     

endeavoured to answer by referring to   
the fact1 which ,i had mentioned to my  
friends at the very first1 that1 in     
consequence of my peculiar training1 ,i 
was indisposed for any kind of business1
 and adapted merely for a quiet         
speculative life1 by which ,i could not 
only satisfy my natural inclination1 but
 also1 by teaching and similar means1   
provide for my support in a certain     
fashion4 ,as to the second point1 ,i    
proceeded1 the opinions and systems     
referred to are either true or false4   
,if the former1 then ,i do not see how  
the knowledge of the truth can do any   
harm4 ,if the latter1 then let them be  
refuted4 ,moreover1 ,i have explained   
these opinions and systems only to      
gentlemen who desire to be enlightened1 
and to rise above all prejudices4 ,but  
the truth is1 that it is not the        
mischievous nature of the opinions1 it  
is the incapacity of those gentlemen to 
comprehend them1 coupled with their     
reluctance to make such a humiliating   

confession1 that sets them in arms      
against me4 ,in reference to the third  
reproach1 however1 ,i must say with     
downright honesty1 ,herr ,mendelssohn1  
we are all ,epicureans4 ,the moralists  
can prescribe to us merely rules of     
prudence2 that is to say1 they can      
prescribe the use of means for the      
attainment of given ends1 but not the   
ends themselves4 ,but1 ,i added1 ,i see 
clearly that ,i must quit ,berlin2      
whither1 is a matter of indifference4   
,with this ,i bade ,mendelssohn         
farewell4 ,he gave me a very favourable 
testimonial of my capabilities and      
talents1 and wished me a prosperous     
journey4  ,to my other friends also ,i  
bade farewell1 and in brief but emphatic
 terms thanked them for the favours they
 had shown4 ,one of my friends was taken
 aback1 when ,i bade him goodbye1 at my 
using the brief form1 ,i hope you will  
enjoy good health1 my dear friend2 and  
,i thank you for all the favours you    
have bestowed upon me4 ,it seemed to    

this excellent1 but prosaically poetical
 man1 as if the form were too curt and  
dry for all his friendliness towards me4
 ,so he replied with evident            
displeasure1 ,is this all that you have 
learnt in ,berlin8 ,i made no answer1   
however1 but went away1 booked by the   
,hamburg post1 and departed from        
,berlin4  ,on leaving ,i received from  
,samuel ,levi#eh a letter of            
introduction to one of his              
correspondents4 ,when ,i arrived in     
,hamburg1 ,i went to the merchant to    
whom this letter was addressed1 and     
delivered it4 ,he received me well1 and 
invited me to his table during my stay  
in the city4 ,but as he knew nothing    
except how to make money1 and took no   
particular interest in scholarship or   
science1 he evidently entertained me    
merely on account of my letter of       
introduction1 because he had to do      
something to gratify his correspondent4 
,as ,i knew nothing of trade1 however1  
and besides made no very presentable    

figure1 he endeavoured to get rid of me 
as soon as possible1 and with a view to 
that asked me where ,i meant to go when 
,i left ,hamburg4 ,when ,i replied that 
,i was going to ,holland1 he gave me the
 well-meant advice to hasten my         
departure1 as this was the best season  
of the year for travelling4             
,accordingly ,i took out a passage on a 
,hamburg vessel that was to sail for    
,holland in two or three weeks4 ,for    
travelling companions ,i had two        
barbers1 a tailor1 and a shoemaker4     
,these fellows made themselves merry1   
caroused bravely1 and sang all sorts of 
songs4 ,in this joviality ,i could not  
take a part2 in fact they scarcely      
understood my language1 and teased me on
 that account in a thousand ways1 though
 ,i bore it all with patience4 ,the     
vessel glided pleasantly down the ,elbe 
to a village at the mouth of the river  
some miles below ,hamburg4 ,here we were
 obliged to lie about six weeks1        
prevented by contrary winds from putting

 out to sea4 ,the ship's crew1 along    
with the other passengers1 went to the  
village tavern1 where they drank and    
played4 ,for me1 however1 the time      
became very dreary1 and ,i was besides  
so sick1 that ,i nearly despaired of my 
recovery4  ,at last we got a favourable 
wind1 the vessel stood out to sea1 and  
on the third day after our departure we 
arrived before ,amsterdam4 ,a boat came 
out to the ship to take the passengers  
into the city4 ,at first ,i would not   
trust myself to the ,dutch boatman1     
because ,i was afraid of falling into   
the hands of the crimps1 against whom ,i
 had been warned in ,hamburg2 but the   
captain of our ship assured me that he  
knew the boatman well1 and that ,i might
 trust myself to him without any        
anxiety4 ,accordingly ,i came into the  
city2 but as ,i had no acquaintances    
here1 and as ,i knew that at the ,hague 
there was a gentleman belonging to a    
prominent ,berlin family1 and that he   
had obtained from ,berlin a tutor with  

whom ,i was acquainted1 ,i set out for  
that place in a drag-boat4  ,here ,i    
took lodgings at the house of a poor    
,jewish woman1 but before ,i had time to
 rest from my journey1 a man of tall1   
spare figure1 in untidy clothing1 and   
with a pipe in his mouth1 came in1 and1 
without observing me1 commenced to speak
 with my landlady4 ,at last she said to 
him1 ,herr ,h----1 here is a stranger   
from ,berlin2 pray1 speak to him4 ,the  
man thereupon turned to me1 and asked me
 who ,i was4 ,with my usual instinctive 
frankness and love of truth1 ,i told him
 that ,i was born in ,poland1 that my   
love of the sciences had induced me to  
spend some years in ,berlin1 and that   
now ,i had come to ,holland with the    
intention of entering some situation1 if
 an opportunity offered itself4 ,when he
 heard that ,i was a man of learning1 he
 began to speak with me on various      
subjects in philosophy1 and especially  
in mathematics1 in which he had done a  
good deal4 ,he found in me a man after  

his own heart1 and we formed at once a  
bond of friendship with one another4  ,i
 now went to seek the tutor from        
,berlin1 to whom ,i referred before4 ,he
 introduced me to his employer as a man 
of high talent1 who had made a great    
figure in ,berlin1 and had brought      
letters of introduction from that city4 
,this gentleman1 who made much of his   
tutor1 as well as of everything that    
came from ,berlin1 invited me to dinner4
 ,as my external appearance did not     
appear to promise much1 and ,i was      
besides thoroughly exhausted and        
depressed by my sea-voyage1 ,i made a   
comical figure at table1 and our host   
evidently did not know what to think of 
me4 ,but as he put great confidence in  
the written recommendation of           
,mendelssohn and the oral recommendation
 of his tutor1 he suppressed his        
astonishment1 and invited me to his     
table as long as ,i chose to remain     
here4 ,in the evening he invited his    
brothers-in-law to meet me4 ,they were  

children of ,b----1 celebrated for his  
wealth as well as his beneficence2 and  
as they were men of learning themselves1
 they were expected to sound me4 ,they  
conversed with me on various subjects in
 the ,talmud1 and even in the ,cabbalah4
 ,as ,i showed myself thoroughly        
initiated into the mysteries of this    
sort of learning1 even explained to them
 passages which they regarded as        
inexplicable1 and untied the most       
complicated knots of argument1 their    
admiration was excited1 and they        
believed they had come upon a great man4
  ,it was not long1 however1 before     
their admiration turned to hatred4 ,the 
occasion of this was the following4 ,in 
connection with the ,cabbalah they told 
me of a godly man1 who had now for many 
years been a resident of ,london1 and   
who was able to perform miracles by     
means of the ,cabbalah4 ,i expressed    
some doubts on the subject1 but they    
assured me they had been present at     
performances of the kind during this    

man's residence at the ,hague4 ,to this 
,i replied as a philosopher1 that ,i did
 not indeed question the truth of their 
statement1 but that perhaps they had not
 duly investigated the matter           
themselves1 and gave out their          
pre-conceived opinions as facts4        
,moreover1 ,i declared that ,i must     
regard with scepticism the effect of the
 ,cabbalah in general1 until it is shown
 that that effect is of such a kind as  
cannot be explained in accordance with  
the known laws of ,nature4 ,this        
declaration they held to be heresy4  ,at
 the end of the meal the wine-cup was   
passed to me1 that ,i might1 in         
accordance with the usual custom1       
pronounce the blessing over it4 ,this   
however ,i declined with the            
explanation1 that ,i did so not from any
 false shame of speaking before a number
 of men1 because in ,poland ,i had been 
a rabbi1 and had very often held        
disputations and delivered sermons      
before large assemblies1 and1 in order  

to prove this1 was now willing to       
deliver public lectures every day4 ,it  
was merely1 ,i explained further1 the   
love of truth and the reluctance to do  
anything inconsistent1 that made it     
impossible for me1 without manifest     
aversion1 to say prayers which ,i       
regarded as a result of an              
anthropomorphic system of theology4  ,at
 this their patience was completely     
exhausted2 they reviled me as a damnable
 heretic1 and declared it would be a    
deadly sin to tolerate me in a ,jewish  
house4 ,our host1 who was no philosopher
 indeed1 but a reasonable and           
enlightened man1 did not mind much what 
they said2 my humble talents were of    
more value in his eyes than my piety4   
,accordingly they broke up immediately  
after dinner1 and left the house in deep
 displeasure2 but all their subsequent  
efforts to drive me from their          
brother-in-law's house were fruitless4  
,i remained in it about nine months1    
lived at perfect freedom1 but very      

retired1 without any occupation or any  
rational society4  ,here ,i cannot pass 
over in silence an event which was      
remarkable both in a psychological and  
in a moral point of view4 ,in ,holland  
,i wanted nothing but an occupation     
suited to my powers1 and naturally1     
therefore1 ,i became hypochondriac4     
,from feelings of satiety1 not          
infrequently ,i fell upon the idea of   
making away with myself1 and of thus    
putting an end to an existence which had
 become a burden to me4 ,but no sooner  
did ,i come to action1 than the love of 
life always assumed the upper hand      
again4 ,once1 at the ,feast of ,haman1  
in accordance with the custom of the    
,jews1 ,i had banquetted very heartily  
in the house where ,i took my meals4    
,after the feast1 about midnight ,i     
returned to my lodging2 and as ,i had to
 pass along one of the canals that are  
laid out everywhere in ,holland1 it     
occurred to me that this was a very     
convenient opportunity for carrying out 

the design which ,i had often formed4 ,i
 thought to myself1 ,my life is a       
burden4 ,at present1 indeed1 ,i have no 
wants2 but how will it be with me in the
 future1 and by what means shall ,i     
preserve my life1 since ,i am of no use 
for anything in the world8 ,i have      
already resolved1 on cool reflection at 
different times1 to put an end to my    
life1 and nothing but my cowardice has  
restrained me hitherto4 ,now1 when ,i am
 pretty drunk1 on the brink of a deep   
canal1 the thing may be done in a moment
 without any difficulty4 ,already ,i had
 bent my body over the canal1 in order  
to plunge in2 but only the upper part of
 the body obeyed the command of the     
mind1 trusting that the lower part would
 certainly refuse its services for such 
a purpose4 ,so ,i stood for a good while
 with half the body bent over the water1
 and propped myself carefully with my   
legs firmly planted on the ground1 so   
that a spectator might have fancied ,i  
was merely making my bow to the water4  

,this hesitation destroyed my whole     
plan4 ,i felt like a man who is going to
 take medicine1 but1 wanting the        
resolution required1 raises the cup time
 after time to his mouth1 and sets it   
down again4 ,i began at last to laugh at
 myself1 as ,i reflected that my sole   
motive for suicide was a real           
superfluity for the present and an      
imaginary want for the future4#ei ,i    
therefore let the project drop for the  
time being1 went home1 and thus brought 
the serio-comic scene to an end4  ,still
 another comical scene must be mentioned
 here4 ,at the ,hague there lived at    
that time a woman of about forty-five1  
who was said to have been very pretty in
 youth1 and supported herself by giving 
lessons in ,french4 ,one day she called 
upon me at my lodging1 introduced       
herself1 and expressed an irresistible  
desire for scientific conversation4 ,she
 declared therefore that she would visit
 me frequently in my lodging1 and       
requested the honour of a visit from me 

in return4  ,this advance ,i met with   
great pleasure1 returned her visits     
several times2 and thus our intercourse 
became more and more intimate4 ,we      
conversed usually on subjects in        
philosophy and belles lettres4 ,as ,i   
was still at that time a married man1   
and1 except for her enthusiasm in       
learning1 ,madam had little attraction  
for me1 ,i thought of nothing beyond    
mere entertainment4 ,the lady1 however1 
who had been a widow now for a pretty   
long while1 and had1 according to her   
own story1 conceived an affection for   
me1 began to express this by looks and  
words in a romantic manner1 which struck
 me as very comical4 ,i could never     
believe1 that a lady could fall in love 
with me in earnest4 ,her expressions of 
affection therefore ,i took for mere    
airs of affectation4 ,she1 on the other 
hand1 showed herself more and more in   
earnest1 became at times thoughtful in  
the midst of our conversation1 and burst
 into tears4  ,it was during a          

conversation of this sort1 that we fell 
upon the subject of love4 ,i told her   
frankly1 that ,i could not love a woman 
except for the sake of womanly          
excellences1 such as beauty1 grace1     
agreeableness1 etc41 and that any other 
excellences she might possess1 such as  
talents or learning1 could excite in me 
only esteem1 but by no means love4 ,the 
lady adduced against me arguments a     
priori as well as instances from        
experience1 especially from ,french     
novels1 and tried to correct my notions 
of love4 ,i could not1 however1 be so   
easily convinced2 and as the lady was   
carrying her airs to an absurd length1  
,i rose and took my leave4 ,she         
accompanied me to the very door1 grasped
 me by the hand1 and would not let me   
go4 ,i asked her somewhat sharply1      
,what's the matter with you1 madam8     
,with trembling voice and tearful eyes  
she replied1 ,i love you4  ,when ,i     
heard this laconic declaration of love1 
,i began to laugh immoderately1 tore    

myself from her grasp1 and rushed away4 
,some time afterwards she sent me the   
following billet doux3--  _/p           
,sir1 p_/  ,i have been greatly mistaken
 in your character4 ,i took you for a   
man of noble thoughts and exalted       
feelings2 but ,i see now that you are a 
genuine ,epicurean4 ,you seek nothing   
but pleasure4 ,a woman can please you   
only on account of her beauty4 ,a       
,madame ,dacier1 for example1 who has   
studied thoroughly all the ,greek and   
,latin authors1 translated them into her
 native language1 and enriched them with
 learned annotations1 could not please  
you4 ,why8 ,because she is not pretty4  
,sir1 you1 who are otherwise so         
enlightened1 ought to be ashamed to     
cherish such pernicious principles2 and 
if you will not repent1 then tremble    
before the revenge of the injured love  
of  _/p       ,yours1 etc4 p_/  ,to this
 ,i returned the following reply3--  _/p
       ,madam1 p_/  ,that you have been 
mistaken1 is shown by the result4 ,you  

say that ,i am a genuine ,epicurean4 ,in
 this you do me a great honour4 ,much as
 ,i abhor the title of an epicure1 on   
the other hand ,i feel proud of the     
title of genuine ,epicurean4 ,certainly 
it is beauty alone that pleases me in a 
woman2 but as this can be heightened by 
other qualities1 these must also be     
pleasing as means towards the chief end4
 ,on the other hand1 ,i can merely      
esteem such a woman on account of her   
talents2 love her ,i cannot1 as ,i have 
already explained in conversation4 ,for 
the learning of ,madame ,dacier ,i have 
all respect3 she could at all events    
fall in love with the ,greek heroes who 
were at the siege of ,troy1 and expect  
in return the love of their manes that  
were constantly hovering around her2 but
 nothing more4 ,for the rest1 ,madam1 as
 far as your revenge is concerned1 ,i do
 not fear it1 since ,time1 which        
destroys all things1 has shattered your 
weapons1 that is1 your teeth and nails4 
_/p       ,yours1 etc4 p_/  ,thus ended 

this strange love-affair4  ,i discovered
 that in ,holland there was nothing for 
me to do1 inasmuch as the main desire of
 the ,dutch ,jews is to make money1 and 
they manifest no particular liking for  
the sciences4 ,besides1 in consequence  
of not knowing the ,dutch language1 ,i  
was unable to give instructions in any  
science4 ,i determined therefore to     
return to ,berlin by ,hamburg1 but found
 an opportunity of travelling to        
,hanover by land4 ,in ,hanover ,i went  
to a wealthy ,jew1--a man who does not  
deserve even to enjoy his               
riches1--showed him my letter of        
introduction from ,mendelssohn1 and     
represented to him the urgency of my    
present circumstances4 ,he read         
,mendelssohn's letter carefully through1
 called for pen and ink1 and1 without   
speaking a word to me1 wrote at the     
foot3--,i also hereby certify that what 
,herr ,mendelssohn writes in praise of  
,herr ,solomon is perfectly correct4    
,and with this he dismissed me4         

,,chapter ,,xxvi4  ,i return to         
,hamburg--,a ,lutheran ,pastor          
pronounces me to be a scabby ,sheep1 and
 unworthy of ,admission into the        
,christian ,fold--,i enter the          
,gymnasium1 and frighten the ,chief     
,rabbi out of his ,wits4   ,i made a    
prosperous journey back to ,hamburg1 but
 here ,i fell into circumstances of the 
deepest distress4 ,i lodged in a        
miserable house1 had nothing to eat1 and
 did not know what to do4 ,i had        
received too much education to return to
 ,poland1 to spend my life in misery    
without rational occupation or society1 
and to sink back into the darkness of   
superstition and ignorance1 from which  
,i had hardly delivered myself with so  
much labour4 ,on the other hand1 to     
succeed in ,germany was a result on     
which ,i could not calculate1 owing to  
my ignorance of the language1 as well as
 of the manners and customs of the      
people1 to which ,i had never yet been  
able to adapt myself properly4 ,i had   

learnt no particular profession1 ,i had 
not distinguished myself in any special 
science1 ,i was not even master of any  
language in which ,i could make myself  
perfectly intelligible4 ,it occurred to 
me1 therefore1 that for me there was no 
alternative left1 but to embrace the    
,christian religion1 and get myself     
baptised in ,hamburg4 ,accordingly ,i   
resolved to go to the first clergyman ,i
 should come upon1 and inform him of my 
resolution1 as well as of my motives for
 it1 without any hypocrisy1 in a        
truthful and honest fashion4 ,but as ,i 
could not express myself well orally1 ,i
 put my thoughts into writing in ,german
 with ,hebrew characters1 went to a     
schoolmaster1 and got him to copy it in 
,german characters4 ,the purport of my  
letter was in brief as follows3--  ,i am
 a native of ,poland1 belonging to the  
,jewish nation1 destined by my education
 and studies to be a rabbi2 but in the  
thickest darkness ,i have perceived some
 light4 ,this induced me to search      

further after light and truth1 and to   
free myself completely from the darkness
 of superstition and ignorance4 ,in     
order to this end1 which could not be   
attained in my native place1 ,i came to 
,berlin1 where by the support of some   
enlightened men of our nation ,i studied
 for some years--not indeed after any   
plan1 but merely to satisfy my thirst   
for knowledge4 ,but as our nation is    
unable to use1 not only such planless   
studies1 but even those conducted on the
 most perfect plan1 it cannot be blamed 
for becoming tired of them1 and         
pronouncing their encouragement to be   
useless4 ,i have therefore resolved1 in 
order to secure temporal as well as     
eternal happiness1 which depends on the 
attainment of perfection1 and in order  
to become useful to myself as well as   
others1 to embrace the ,christian       
religion4 ,the ,jewish religion1 it is  
true1 comes1 in its articles of faith1  
nearer to reason than ,christianity4    
,but in practical use the latter has an 

advantage over the former2 and since    
morality1 which consists not in opinions
 but in actions1 is the aim of all      
religion in general1 clearly the latter 
comes nearer than the former to this    
aim4 ,moreover1 ,i hold the mysteries of
 the ,christian religion for that which 
they are1 that is1 allegorical          
representations of the truths that are  
most important for man4 ,by this means  
,i make my faith in them harmonise with 
reason1 but ,i cannot believe them      
according to their common meaning4 ,i   
beg therefore most respectfully an      
answer to the question1 whether after   
this confession ,i am worthy of the     
,christian religion or not4 ,in the     
former case ,i am ready to carry my     
proposal into effect2 but in the latter1
 ,i must give up all claim to a religion
 which enjoins me to lie1 that is1 to   
deliver a confession of faith which     
contradicts my reason4  ,the            
schoolmaster1 to whom ,i dictated this1 
fell into astonishment at my audacity2  

never before had he listened to such a  
confession of faith4 ,he shook his head 
with much concern1 interrupted the      
writing several times1 and became       
doubtful1 whether the mere copying was  
not itself a sin4 ,with great reluctance
 he copied it out1 merely to get rid of 
the thing4 ,i went then to a prominent  
clergyman1 delivered my letter1 and     
begged for a reply4 ,he read it with    
great attention1 fell likewise into     
astonishment1 and on finishing entered  
into conversation with me4  ,so1 he     
said1 ,i see your intention is to       
embrace the ,christian religion1 merely 
in order to improve your temporal       
circumstances4  ,excuse me1 ,herr       
,pastor1 ,i replied1 ,i think ,i have   
made it clear enough in my letter1 that 
my object is the attainment of          
perfection4 ,to this1 it is true1 the   
removal of all hindrances and the       
improvement of my external circumstances
 form an indispensable condition4 ,but  
this condition is not the chief end4    

,but1 said the pastor1 do you not feel  
any inclination of the soul to the      
,christian religion without reference to
 any external motives8  ,i should be    
telling a lie1 if ,i were to give you an
 affirmative answer4  ,you are too much 
of a philosopher1 replied the pastor1 to
 be able to become a ,christian4 ,reason
 has taken the upper hand with you1 and 
faith must accommodate itself to reason4
 ,you hold the mysteries of the         
,christian religion to be mere fables1  
and its commands to be mere laws of     
reason4 ,for the present ,i cannot be   
satisfied with your confession of faith4
 ,you should therefore pray to ,god1    
that ,he may enlighten you with ,his    
grace1 and endow you with the spirit of 
true ,christianity2 and then come to me 
again4  ,if that is the case1 ,i said1  
then ,i must confess1 ,herr ,pastor1    
that ,i am not qualified for            
,christianity4 ,whatever light ,i may   
receive1 ,i shall always make it        
luminous with the light of reason4 ,i   

shall never believe that ,i have fallen 
upon new truths1 if it is impossible to 
see their connection with the truths    
already known to me4 ,i must therefore  
remain what ,i am1--a stiffnecked ,jew4 
,my religion enjoins me to believe      
nothing1 but to think the truth and to  
practise goodness4 ,if ,i find any      
hindrance in this from external         
circumstances1 it is not my fault4 ,i do
 all that lies in my power4  ,with this 
,i bade the pastor goodbye4  ,the       
hardships of my journey1 coupled with   
poor food1 brought on an ague4 ,i lay on
 a straw-bed in a garret1 and suffered  
the want of all conveniences and        
refreshments4 ,my landlord1 who took    
pity on me1 called a ,jewish physician1 
who prescribed an emetic which soon     
cured me of my fever4 ,the doctor found 
that ,i was no common man1 stayed to    
converse with me for some hours1 and    
begged me1 as soon as ,i recovered1 to  
visit him4  ,meanwhile1 however1 a young
 man1 who had known me in ,berlin1 heard

 of my arrival4 ,he called on me to say 
that ,herr ,w----1 who had seen me in   
,berlin1 was now residing in ,hamburg1  
and that ,i might very properly call    
upon him4 ,i did so1 and ,herr ,w----1  
who was a very clever1 honourable man1  
of a benevolent disposition naturally1  
asked me what ,i intended to do4 ,i     
represented to him my whole             
circumstances1 and begged for his       
advice4 ,he said that in his opinion the
 unfortunate position of my affairs     
arose from the fact1 that ,i had devoted
 myself with zeal merely to the         
acquisition of scientific knowledge1 but
 had neglected the study of language1   
and therefore ,i was unable to          
communicate my knowledge to others1 or  
make any use of it4 ,meanwhile1 he      
thought1 nothing had been lost by delay2
 and if ,i was still willing to         
accommodate myself to the circumstances1
 ,i could attain my object in the       
gymnasium at ,altona1 where his son was 
studying1 while he would provide for my 

support4  ,i accepted this offer with   
many thanks1 and went home with a joyful
 heart4 ,meanwhile ,herr ,w---- spoke to
 the professors of the gymnasium1 as    
well as to the principal1 but more      
particularly to the syndic1 ,herr       
,g----1 a man who cannot be sufficiently
 praised4 ,he represented to them1 that 
,i was a man of uncommon talents1 who   
wanted merely some further knowledge of 
language to distinguish himself in the  
world1 and who hoped to obtain that     
knowledge by a short residence in the   
gymnasium4 ,they acceded to his request4
 ,i was matriculated1 and had a room    
assigned to me1 in the institution4     
,here ,i lived for two years in peace   
and contentment4 ,but the pupils in such
 a gymnasium1 as may be easily supposed1
 make very slow progress2 and it was    
therefore natural that ,i1 who had      
already made considerable attainments in
 science1 should find the lessons at    
times somewhat tedious4 ,consequently ,i
 did not attend them all1 but made a    

selection to suit my taste4 ,the        
,director ,dusch ,i esteemed very highly
 on account of his profound scholarship 
and his excellent character4 ,i         
therefore attended the most of his      
lectures4 ,it is true1 the philosophy of
 ,ernesti1 on which he lectured1 could  
not give me much satisfaction1 and just 
as little did ,i receive from his       
lectures on ,segner's ,mathematical     
,compendium4 ,but ,i derived great      
benefit from his instructions in the    
,english language4 ,the ,rector ,h----1 
a cheerful old man1 though somewhat     
pedantic1 was not altogether pleased    
with me1 because ,i would not perform   
his ,latin exercises1 and would not     
learn ,greek at all4 ,the ,professor of 
,history began his lectures ab ovo with 
,adam1 and at the end of the year with a
 great deal of effort reached as far    
down as the building of the ,tower of   
,babel4 ,the teacher of ,french used for
 translation ,fenelon's ,sur l'existence
 de ,dieu1--a work for which ,i         

conceived the greatest dislike1 because 
the author1 while appearing to declaim  
against ,spinozism1 in reality argues in
 its defence4  ,during the whole period 
of my residence in the gymnasium the    
professors were unable to form any      
correct idea of me1 because they never  
had an opportunity of forming my        
acquaintance4 ,by the end of the first  
year ,i thought ,i had attained my      
object1 and laid a good foundation in   
languages4 ,i had also become tired of  
this inactive life1 and therefore       
resolved to quit the gymnasium4 ,but    
,director ,dusch2 who began by and by to
 become acquainted with me1 begged me to
 stay at least another year1 and1 as ,i 
wanted for nothing1 ,i consented4  ,it  
was about this time that the following  
incident in my life took place4 ,my wife
 had sent a polish ,jew in search of me1
 and he heard of my residence in        
,hamburg4 ,accordingly he came and      
called on me at the gymnasium4 ,he had  
been commissioned by my wife to demand1 

that ,i should either return home       
without delay1 or send through him a    
bill of divorce4 ,at that time ,i was   
unable to do either the one or the      
other4 ,i was not inclined to be        
divorced from my wife without any cause2
 and to return at once to ,poland1 where
 ,i had not yet the slightest prospect  
of getting on in the world or of leading
 a rational life1 was to me impossible4 
,i represented all this to the gentleman
 who had undertaken the commission1 and 
added that it was my intention to leave 
the gymnasium soon and go to ,berlin1   
that my ,berlin friends would1 as ,i    
hoped1 give me both their advice and    
assistance in carrying out this         
intention4 ,he would not be satisfied   
with this answer1 which he took for a   
mere evasion4 ,when he thus found that  
he could do nothing with me1 he went to 
the chief rabbi1 and entered a complaint
 against me4 ,a messenger was           
accordingly sent to summon me before the
 tribunal of the chief rabbi2 but ,i    

took my stand1 that at present ,i was   
not under his jurisdiction1 inasmuch as 
the gymnasium had a jurisdiction of its 
own1 by which my case would require to  
be decided4 ,the chief rabbi made every 
effort through the ,government to make  
me submit to his wishes1 but all his    
efforts were in vain4 ,when he saw that 
he could not accomplish his purpose in  
this way1 he sent me an invitation a    
second time on the pretext that he      
wished merely to speak with me4 ,to this
 ,i willingly consented1 and went to him
 at once4  ,he received me with much    
respect2 and when ,i made known to him  
my birthplace and family in ,poland1 he 
began to lament and wring his hands4    
,alas6 said he1 you are the son of the  
famous ,rabbi ,joshua8 ,i know your     
father well2 he is a pious and learned  
man4 ,you also are not unknown to me2 ,i
 have examined you as a boy several     
times1 and formed high expectations of  
you4 ,oh6 is it possible that you have  
altered so8 7,here he pointed to my     

shaven beard74 ,to this ,i replied1 that
 ,i also had the honour of knowing him1 
and that ,i still remembered his        
examinations well4 ,my conduct hitherto1
 ,i told him1 was as little opposed to  
religion properly understood1 as it was 
to reason4 ,but1 he interrupted you do  
not wear a beard1 you do not go to the  
synagogue3 is that not contrary to      
religion8 ,no6 ,i replied1 and ,i proved
 to him from the ,talmud that1 under the
 circumstances in which ,i was placed1  
all this was allowed4 ,on this point we 
entered into a lengthy dispute1 in which
 each maintained his right4 ,as he could
 effect nothing with me by such         
disputation1 he adopted the style of    
mere sermonising2 but when this also was
 of no avail1 he began to cry aloud1    
,shophar6 ,shophar6 ,this is the name of
 the horn which is blown on ,new-,year's
 day as a summons to repentance1 and at 
which it is supposed that ,satan is     
horribly afraid4 ,while the chief rabbi 
called out the word1 he pointed to a    

,shophar that lay before him on the     
table1 and asked me1 ,do you know what  
that is8 ,i replied quite boldly1 ,oh   
yes6 it is a ram's horn4 ,at these words
 the chief rabbi fell back upon his     
chair1 and began to lament over my lost 
soul4 ,i left him to lament as long as  
he liked1 and bade him goodbye4  ,at the
 end of my second year ,i began to      
reflect1 that it would be an advantage  
in view of my future success1 as well as
 fair to the gymnasium1 that ,i should  
make myself more intimately acquainted  
with the professors4 ,accordingly ,i    
went to ,director ,dusch1 announced to  
him that ,i was soon to leave1 and told 
him that1 as ,i wished a certificate    
from him1 it would be well for him to   
examine me on the progress ,i had made1 
so that his certificate might be as     
nearly as possible in accordance with   
the truth4 ,to this end he made me      
translate some passages from ,latin and 
,english works in prose as well as in   
verse1 and was very well pleased with   

the translation4 ,afterwards he entered 
into conversation with me on some       
subjects in philosophy1 but found me so 
well versed in these1 that for his own  
safety he was obliged to back out4 ,at  
last he asked me1 ,but how is it with   
your mathematics8 ,i begged him to      
examine me in this also4 ,in our        
mathematical lessons1 he began1 we had  
advanced to somewhere about the subject 
of mathematical bodies4 ,will you work  
out yourself a proposition not yet taken
 up in the lessons1 for example1 that   
about the relation of the cylinder1 the 
sphere and the cone to one another8 ,you
 may take some days to do it4 ,i replied
 that this was unnecessary1 and offered 
to perform the task on the spot4 ,i then
 demonstrated1 not only the proposition 
prescribed1 but several other           
propositions out of ,segner's ,geometry4
 ,the ,director was very much surprised 
at this1 called all the pupils in the   
gymnasium1 and represented to them that 
the extraordinary progress ,i had made  

should make them ashamed of themselves4 
,the most of them did not know what to  
say to this2 but some replied1 ,do not  
suppose1 ,herr ,director1 that ,maimon  
made this progress in mathematics here4 
,he has seldom attended the mathematical
 lessons1 and even when he was there he 
paid no attention to them4 ,they were   
going to say more1 but the ,director    
commanded silence1 and gave me an       
honourable certificate1 from which ,i   
cannot avoid quoting a few sentences4   
,they became to me afterwards a constant
 spur to higher attainments1 and ,i hope
 it will not be considered vainglory in 
me to cite the opinion of this esteemed 
man4  ,his capacity1 says he1 for       
learning all that is beautiful1 good and
 useful in general1 but in particular   
those sciences which require severe     
exertion of the mental powers1 abstract 
and profound thought1 is1 ,i might      
almost say1 extraordinary4 ,all those   
sorts of knowledge1 which demand in the 
highest degree one's own mental efforts1

 appear to him the most agreeable2 and  
intellectual occupations seem to be his 
chief1 if not his sole1 enjoyment4 ,his 
favourite studies hitherto have been    
philosophy and mathematics1 in which his
 progress has excited my astonishment1  
c4  ,i now bade goodbye to the teachers 
and officers of the gymnasium1 who      
unanimously paid me the compliment1 that
 ,i had done honour to their            
institution4 ,i then set out once more  
for ,berlin4     ,,chapter ,,xxvii4     
,third ,journey to ,berlin--,frustrated 
,plan of ,hebrew ,authorship--,journey  
to ,breslau--,divorce4   ,on my arrival 
in ,berlin ,i called upon ,mendelssohn1 
as well as some other old friends1 and  
begged them1 as ,i had now acquired some
 knowledge of languages1 to employ me in
 some occupation suited to my capacity4 
,they hit upon the suggestion1 that1 in 
order to enlighten the ,polish ,jews    
still living in darkness1 ,i should     
prepare in ,hebrew1 as the only language
 intelligible to them1 some scientific  

works1 which these philanthropists were 
to print at their own expense1 and      
distribute among the people4 ,his       
proposal ,i accepted with delight4 ,but 
now the question arose1 with what sort  
of works a beginning should be made4 ,on
 this point my excellent friends were   
divided in their opinions4 ,one of them 
thought that the history of the ,jewish 
nation would be most serviceable for    
this purpose1 inasmuch as the people    
would discover in it the origin of their
 religious doctrines and of the         
subsequent corruption which these had   
undergone1 while they would thus also   
gain an insight into the fact1 that the 
fall of the ,jewish state1 as well as   
all the subsequent persecution and      
oppression which they had suffered1 had 
arisen from their own ignorance and     
opposition to all rational arrangements4
 ,accordingly this gentleman recommended
 that ,i should translate from ,french  
,basnage's ,history of the ,jews2 he    
gave me the work for this purpose1 and  

asked me to furnish a copy of my        
translation4 ,the specimen gave         
satisfaction to them all1 even to       
,mendelssohn1 and ,i was ready to take  
the work in hand2 but one of our friends
 thought that we ought to begin with    
something on natural religion and       
rational morals1 inasmuch as this is the
 object of all enlightenment4           
,accordingly he recommended that for    
this purpose ,i should translate the    
,natural ,religion of ,reimarus4        
,mendelssohn withheld his opinion1      
because he believed that whatever was   
undertaken in this line1 though it would
 do no harm1 would also be of little    
use4 ,i myself undertook these works1   
not from any conviction of my own1 but  
at the request of my friends4  ,i was   
too well acquainted with the rabbinical 
despotism1 which by the power of        
superstition has established its throne 
for many centuries in ,poland1 and which
 for its own security seeks in every    
possible way to prevent the spread of   

light and truth4 ,i knew how closely the
 ,jewish theocracy is connected with the
 national existence1 so that the        
abolition of the former must inevitably 
bring with it the annihilation of the   
latter4 ,i saw therefore clearly that my
 labours in this direction would be     
fruitless2 but ,i undertook this        
commission1 because1 as already stated1 
my friends would have it so1 and because
 ,i could think of no other means of    
subsistence4 ,accordingly without fixing
 anything definite about the plan of my 
labours1 my friends resolved to send me 
to ,dessau1 where ,i could carry on my  
work at leisure4  ,i reached ,dessau in 
the hope1 that after a few days my      
friends in ,berlin would resolve upon   
something definite about my work3 but in
 this ,i was deceived2 for1 as soon as  
,i turned my back on ,berlin1 nothing   
further was thought of the plan4 ,i     
waited about a fortnight2 but when      
during that period ,i received no       
communication1 ,i wrote to ,berlin in   

the following terms3--,if my friends    
cannot unite upon a plan1 they might    
leave the settlement of it to my own    
judgment4 ,for my part ,i believe that1 
to enlighten the ,jewish nation1 we must
 begin neither with history nor with    
natural theology and morals4 ,one of my 
reasons for thinking so is1 that these  
subjects1 being easily intelligible1    
would not be able to instil any regard  
for science in general among the more   
learned ,jews1 who are accustomed to    
respect only those studies which involve
 a strain upon the highest intellectual 
powers4 ,but a second reason is1 that1  
as those subjects would frequently come 
into collision with religious           
prejudices1 they would never be         
admitted4 ,besides1 sooth to say1 there 
is no proper history of the ,jewish     
nation3 for they have scarcely ever     
stood in political relation with other  
civilised nations2 and1 with the        
exception of the ,old ,testament and    
,josephus and a few fragments on the    

persecutions of the ,jews in the middle 
ages1 nothing is to be found recorded on
 the subject4 ,i believe1 therefore1    
that it would be best to make a         
beginning with some science which1      
besides being most favourable for the   
development of the mind1 is also        
self-evident1 and stands in no          
connection with any religious opinions4 
,of this sort are the mathematical      
sciences2 and therefore with this object
 in view ,i am willing to write a       
mathematical text-book in ,hebrew4  ,to 
this ,i received the answer1 that ,i    
might follow my plan4 ,accordingly ,i   
applied myself with all diligence to the
 preparation of this text-book1 using   
the ,latin work on mathematics by ,wolff
 as its basis2 and in two months it was 
finished4 ,i then returned to ,berlin1  
to give an account of my work1 but      
received immediately from one of the    
gentlemen interested the disappointing  
information1 that1 as the work was very 
voluminous1 and as it would entail heavy

 expenditure especially on account of   
the copper-plates required1 he could not
 undertake the publication at his own   
expense1 and ,i might therefore do with 
my manuscript whatever ,i chose4 ,i     
complained of this to ,mendelssohn2 and 
he thought1 that certainly it was       
unreasonable to let my work go without  
remuneration1 but that ,i could not     
require my friends to undertake the     
publication of a work which could not   
calculate on any good result in         
consequence of that aversion to all     
science1 which ,i myself knew to be     
prevalent among the ,jewish nation4 ,his
 advice therefore was1 that ,i should   
get the book printed by subscription2   
and of course ,i was obliged to content 
myself with this4 ,mendelssohn and the  
other enlightened ,jews in ,berlin      
subscribed1 and ,i received for my work 
merely my manuscript and the list of    
subscriptions4 ,the whole plan1 however1
 was thought of no more4  ,on this ,i   
fell out again with my friends in       

,berlin4 ,being a man with little       
knowledge of the world1 who supposed    
that human actions must always be       
determined by the laws of justice1 ,i   
pressed for the fulfilment of the       
bargain made4 ,my friends1 on the other 
hand1 began1 though too late1 to see1   
that their ill-considered project must  
of necessity collapse1 because they had 
no assurance of a market for such       
voluminous and expensive works4 ,from   
the religious1 moral and political      
condition of the ,jews up to this time  
it was easy to foresee that the few     
enlightened men among them would        
certainly give themselves no trouble to 
study the sciences in the ,hebrew       
language1 which is very ill-adapted for 
the exposition of such subjects2 they   
will prefer to seek science in its      
original sources4 ,the unenlightened1 on
 the other hand1--and these form the    
majority1--are so swayed by rabbinical  
prejudices1 that they regard the study  
of the sciences1 even in ,hebrew1 as    

forbidden fruit1 and persistently occupy
 themselves only with the ,talmud and   
the enormous number of its commentaries4
  ,all this ,i understood very well1 and
 therefore ,i never thought of demanding
 that the work ,i had prepared should be
 printed2 ,i asked merely remuneration  
for the labour spent on it in vain4 ,in 
this dispute ,mendelssohn remained      
neutral1 because he thought that both   
parties had right on their side4 ,he    
promised to use his influence with my   
friends1 to induce them to provide for  
my subsistence in some other way4 ,but  
when even this was not done1 ,i became  
impatient1 and resolved to quit ,berlin 
once more1 and go to ,breslau4 ,i took  
with me some letters of introduction1   
but they were of little service2 for    
before ,i reached ,breslau myself1      
letters in the spirit of those which    
,uriah carried had preceded me1 and made
 a bad impression on the most of those  
to whom my letters of introduction were 
addressed4 ,as a natural result1        

therefore1 ,i was coldly received2 and  
as ,i knew nothing of the later letters1
 ,i found it impossible to explain my   
reception1 and had made up my mind to   
quit ,breslau4  ,by chance1 however1 ,i 
became acquainted with the celebrated   
,jewish poet1 the late ,ephraim ,kuh4   
,this learned and high-minded man took  
so much interest in me1 that1 neglecting
 all his former occupations and         
enjoyments1 he confined himself entirely
 to my society4 ,to the wealthy ,jews he
 spoke of me with the greatest          
enthusiasm1 and praised me as a very    
good fellow4 ,but when he found that all
 his complimentary remarks failed to    
make any impression on these gentlemen1 
he took some trouble to find out the    
cause of this1 and at last discovered   
that the reason lay in those friendly   
letters from ,berlin4 ,their general    
tenor was1 that ,i was seeking to spread
 pernicious opinions4 ,ephraim ,kuh1 as 
a thinking man1 at once saw the reason  
of this charge2 but with all the efforts

 he made1 he could not drive it out of  
the heads of these people4 ,i confessed 
to him that1 during my first sojourn in 
,berlin as a young man without          
experience or knowledge of the world1 ,i
 had felt an irresistible impulse to    
communicate to others whatever truth ,i 
knew2 but ,i assured him that1 having   
for some years become wise by           
experience1 ,i went to work with great  
caution1 and that therefore this charge 
was now wholly without foundation4      
,irritated by my disheartening          
situation1 ,i resolved to form the      
acquaintance of ,christian scholars1 by 
whose recommendation ,i thought ,i might
 find a hearing among the wealthy men of
 my own nation4 ,i could not but fear1  
however1 that my defective language     
might form an obstacle to the expression
 of my thoughts2 so ,i prepared a       
written essay1 in which ,i delivered my 
ideas on the most important questions of
 philosophy in the form of aphorisms4   
,with this essay ,i went to the         

celebrated ,professor ,garve1 explained 
to him briefly my intention1 and        
submitted my aphorisms to him for       
examination4 ,he discussed them with me 
in a very friendly manner1 gave me a    
good testimonial1 and recommended me    
also orally in very emphatic language to
 the wealthy banker1 ,lipmann ,meier4   
,this gentleman settled a monthly       
allowance on me for my support1 and also
 spoke to some other ,jews on the       
subject4  ,my situation now improved    
every day4 ,many young men of the       
,jewish nation sought my society4 ,among
 others the second son of ,herr ,aaron  
,zadig took so much pleasure in my      
humble personality1 that he desired to  
enjoy my instruction in the sciences4   
,this he earnestly begged his father to 
allow2 and the latter1 being a          
well-to-do enlightened man of great good
 sense1 who wished to give his children 
the best ,german education1 and spared  
no expense for that object1 willingly   
gave his consent4 ,he sent for me1 and  

made the proposal that ,i should live at
 his house1 and for a moderate          
honorarium should give his second son   
lessons for two hours a day in physics  
and belles lettres1 and also a lesson in
 arithmetic of an hour a day to his     
third and youngest son4 ,this proposal  
,i accepted with great willingness2 and1
 not long after1 ,herr ,zadig asked me1 
if ,i would not also consent to give    
lessons in ,hebrew and elementary       
mathematics to his children who had     
hitherto had for their teacher in these 
subjects a ,polish ,jew1 named ,rabbi   
,manoth4 ,but ,i thought it would be    
unfair to supplant this poor man1 who   
had a family to support1 and who was    
giving satisfaction at any rate2 and    
therefore ,i declined this request4     
,accordingly ,rabbi ,manoth continued   
his lessons1 and ,i entered upon mine4  
,in this house ,i was able to carry on  
but little study for myself4 ,in the    
first place1 there was a want of books2 
and1 in the second place1 ,i lived in a 

room with the children1 where they were 
occupied with other masters every hour  
of the day4 ,besides1 the liveliness of 
these young people did not suit my      
character which had already become      
somewhat stern2 and therefore ,i had    
often occasion to get angry at petty    
outbursts of unruliness4 ,consequently1 
as ,i was obliged to pass most of my    
time in idleness1 ,i sought society4 ,i 
often visited ,herr ,hiemann ,lisse1 a  
plump little man of enlightened mind and
 cheerful disposition4 ,with him and    
some other jolly companions ,i spent my 
evenings in talk and jest and play of   
every sort4 ,during the day ,i strolled 
around among the coffee-houses4  ,in    
other families also ,i soon became      
acquainted1 particularly in those of    
,herr ,simon1 the banker1 and ,herr     
,bortenstein1 both of whom showed me    
much kindness4 ,all sought to persuade  
me to devote myself to medicine1 for    
which ,i had always entertained a great 
dislike4 ,but when ,i saw from my       

circumstances1 that it would be         
difficult for me to find support in any 
other way1 ,i allowed myself to be      
persuaded4 ,professor ,garve introduced 
me to ,professor ,morgenbesser1 and ,i  
attended his medical lectures for some  
time2 but after all ,i could not        
overcome my dislike to the art1 and     
accordingly gave up the lectures again4 
,by and by ,i became acquainted with    
other ,christian scholars1 especially   
with the late ,herr ,lieberkhn1 who was 
so justly esteemed on account of his    
abilities1 as well as for his warm      
interest in the welfare of mankind4 ,i  
also made the acquaintance of some      
teachers of merit in the ,jesuits'      
,college at ,breslau4  ,but ,i did not  
give up wholly literary work in ,hebrew4
 ,i translated into ,hebrew             
,mendelssohn's ,morgenstunden4 ,of this 
translation ,i sent some sheets as a    
specimen to ,herr ,isaac ,daniel ,itzig 
in ,berlin2 but ,i received no answer   
because this excellent man1 owing to his

 business being too extensive1 cannot   
possibly give attention to subjects that
 are not of immediate interest to him1  
and therefore such affairs as the       
answering of my letter are easily       
forgotten4 ,i also wrote in ,hebrew a   
treatise on ,natural ,philosophy        
according to ,newtonian principles2 and 
this1 as well as the rest of my ,hebrew 
works1 ,i still preserve in manuscript4 
,at last1 however1 ,i fell here also    
into a precarious situation4 ,the       
children of ,herr ,zadig1 in pursuance  
of the occupations to which they were   
destined in life1 entered into          
commercial situations1 and therefore    
required teachers no longer4 ,other     
means of support also gradually failed4 
,as ,i was thus obliged to seek         
subsistence in some other way1 ,i       
devoted myself to giving lessons2 ,i    
taught ,euler's ,algebra to a young man1
 gave two children instruction in the   
rudiments of ,german and ,latin1 c4 ,but
 even this did not last long1 and ,i    

found myself in a sorrowful plight4     
,meanwhile my wife and eldest son       
arrived from ,poland4 ,a woman of rude  
education and manners1 but of great good
 sense and the courage of an ,amazon1   
she demanded that ,i should at once     
return home with her1 not seeing the    
impossibility of what she required4 ,i  
had now lived some years in ,germany1   
had happily emancipated myself from the 
fetters of superstition and religious   
prejudice1 had abandoned the rude manner
 of life in which ,i had been brought   
up1 and extended my knowledge in many   
directions4 ,i could not therefore      
return to my former barbarous and       
miserable condition1 deprive myself of  
all the advantages ,i had gained1 and   
expose myself to rabbinical rage at the 
slightest deviation from the ceremonial 
law1 or the utterance of a liberal      
opinion4 ,i represented to her1 that    
this could not be done at once1 that ,i 
should require first of all to make my  
situation known to my friends here as   

well as in ,berlin1 and solicit from    
them the assistance of two or three     
hundred thalers1 so that ,i might be    
able to live in ,poland independent of  
my religious associates4 ,but she would 
listen to nothing of all this1 and      
declared her resolution to obtain a     
divorce1 if ,i would not go with her    
immediately4 ,here therefore it was for 
me to choose the less of two evils1 and 
,i consented to the divorce4            
,meanwhile1 however1 ,i was obliged to  
provide for the lodging and board of    
these guests1 and to introduce them to  
my friends in ,breslau4 ,both of these  
duties ,i performed1 and ,i pointed out1
 especially to my son1 the difference   
between the manner of life one leads    
here and that in ,poland1 while ,i      
sought to convince him by several       
passages in the ,moreh ,nebhochim1 that 
enlightenment of the understanding and  
refinement of manners are rather        
favourable than otherwise to religion4  
,i went further3 ,i sought to convince  

him1 that he ought to remain with me2 ,i
 assured him1 that1 with my direction   
and the support of my friends1 he would 
find opportunities of developing the    
good abilities with which ,nature had   
endowed him1 and would obtain for them  
some suitable employment4 ,these        
representations made some impression    
upon him3 but my wife went with my son  
to consult some orthodox ,jews1 in whose
 advice she thought she could thoroughly
 confide2 and they recommended her to   
press at once for a divorce1 and on no  
account to let my son be induced to     
remain with me4 ,this resolution1       
however1 she was not to disclose till   
she had received from me a sufficient   
sum of money for household purposes4    
,she might then separate from me for    
ever1 and start for home with her booty4
  ,this pretty plan was faithfully      
followed4 ,by and by ,i had succeeded in
 collecting some score of ducats from my
 friends4 ,i gave them to my wife1 and  
explained to her that1 to complete the  

required sum1 it would be necessary for 
us to go to ,berlin4 ,she then began to 
raise difficulties1 and declared at once
 point-blank1 that for us a divorce was 
best1 as neither could ,i live happily  
with her in ,poland1 nor she with me in 
,germany4 ,in my opinion she was        
perfectly right4 ,but it still made me  
sorry to lose a wife1 for whom ,i had   
once entertained affection1 and ,i could
 not let the affair be conducted in any 
spirit of levity4 ,i told her therefore 
that ,i should consent to a divorce only
 if it were enjoined by the courts4     
,this was done4 ,i was summoned before  
the court4 ,my wife stated the grounds  
on which she claimed a divorce4 ,the    
president of the court then said1 ,under
 these circumstances we can do nothing  
but advise a divorce4 ,mr4 ,president1  
,i replied1 we came here1 not to ask    
advice1 but to receive a judicial       
sentence4 ,thereupon the chief rabbi    
rose from his seat 7that what he said   
might not have the force of a judicial  

decision17 approached me with the codex 
in his hand1 and pointed to the         
following passage3--,a vagabond1 who    
abandons his wife for years1 and does   
not write to her or send her money1     
shall1 when he is found1 be obliged to  
grant a divorce4 ,it is not my part1 ,i 
replied1 to institute a comparison      
between this case and mine4 ,that duty  
falls to you1 as judge4 ,take your seat 
again1 therefore1 and pronounce your    
judicial sentence on the case4  ,the    
president became pale and red by turns1 
while the rest of the judges looked at  
one another4 ,at last the presiding     
judge became furious1 began to call me  
names1 pronounced me a damnable heretic1
 and cursed me in the name of the ,lord4
 ,i left him to storm1 however1 and went
 away4 ,thus ended this strange suit1   
and things remained as they were before4
  ,my wife now saw that nothing was to  
be done by means of force1 and therefore
 she took to entreaty4 ,i also yielded  
at last1 but only on the condition1 that

 at the judicial divorce the judge1 who 
had shown himself such a master of      
cursing1 should not preside in the      
court4 ,after the divorce my wife       
returned to ,poland with my son4 ,i     
remained some time still in ,breslau2   
but as my circumstances became worse and
 worse1 ,i resolved to return to        
,berlin4#fj     ,,chapter ,,xxviii4     
,fourth ,journey to                     
,berlin--,unfortunate                   
,circumstances--,help--,study of ,kant's
 ,writings--,characteristic of my own   
,works4   ,when ,i came to ,berlin1     
,mendelssohn was no longer in life1#fa  
and my former friends were determined to
 know nothing more of me4 ,i did not    
know therefore what to do4 ,in the      
greatest distress ,i received a visit   
from ,herr ,bendavid1 who told me that  
he had heard of my unfortunate          
circumstances1 and had collected a small
 sum of about thirty thalers1 which he  
gave to me4 ,besides1 he introduced me  
to a ,herr ,jojard1 an enlightened and  

high-minded man1 who received me in a   
very friendly manner1 and made some     
provision for my support4 ,a certain    
professor1 indeed1 tried to do me an ill
 turn with this worthy man by denouncing
 me as an atheist2 but in spite of this 
,i gradually got on so well1 that ,i was
 able to hire a lodging in a garret from
 an old woman4  ,i had now resolved to  
study ,kant's ,kritik of ,pure ,reason1 
of which ,i had often heard but which ,i
 had never seen yet4#fb ,the method1 in 
which ,i studied this work1 was quite   
peculiar4 ,on the first perusal ,i      
obtained a vague idea of each section4  
,this ,i endeavoured afterwards to make 
distinct by my own reflection1 and thus 
to penetrate into the author's meaning4 
,such is properly the process which is  
called thinking oneself into a system4  
,but as ,i had already mastered in this 
way the systems of ,spinoza1 ,hume and  
,leibnitz1 ,i was naturally led to think
 of a coalition-system4 ,this in fact ,i
 found1 and ,i put it gradually in      

writing in the form of explanatory      
observations on the ,kritik of ,pure    
,reason1 just as this system unfolded   
itself to my mind4 ,such was the origin 
of my ,transcendental ,philosophy4      
,consequently this book must be         
difficult to understand for the man who1
 owing to the inflexible character of   
his thinking1 has made himself at home  
merely in one of these systems without  
regard to any other4 ,here the important
 problem1 ,quid juris8 with the solution
 of which the ,kritik is occupied1 is   
wrought out in a much wider sense than  
that in which it is taken by ,kant2 and 
by this means there is plenty of scope  
left for ,hume's scepticism in its full 
force4 ,but on the other side the       
complete solution of this problem leads 
either to ,spinozistic or to            
,leibnitzian dogmatism4  ,when ,i had   
finished this work1 ,i showed it to     
,marcus ,herz4#fc ,he acknowledged that 
he was reckoned among the most eminent  
disciples of ,kant1 and that he had     

given the most assiduous application    
while attending ,kant's philosophical   
lectures1 as may indeed be seen from his
 writings1 but that yet he was not in a 
position to pass a judgment on the      
,kritik itself or on any other work     
relating to it4 ,he advised me1 however1
 to send my manuscript directly to ,kant
 himself1 and submit it to his judgment1
 while he promised to accompany it with 
a letter to the great philosopher4      
,accordingly ,i wrote to ,kant1 sending 
him my work1 and enclosing the letter   
from ,herz4 ,a good while passed1       
however1 before an answer came4 ,at     
length ,herz received a reply1 in which1
 among other things1 ,kant said3--  ,but
 what were you thinking about1 my dear  
friend1 when you sent me a big packet   
containing the most subtle researches1  
not only to read through1 but to think  
out thoroughly1 while ,i am still1 in my
 sixty-sixth year1 burdened with a vast 
amount of labour in completion of my    
plan6 ,part of this labour is to furnish

 the last part of the ,kritik1--that1   
namely1 on the ,faculty of              
,judgment1--which is soon to appear2    
part is to work out my system of the    
,metaphysic of ,nature1 as well as the  
,metaphysic of ,ethics1 in accordance   
with the requirements of the ,kritik4   
,moreover1 ,i am kept incessantly busy  
with a multitude of letters requiring   
special explanations on particular      
points2 and1 in addition to all this1 my
 health is frail4 ,i had already made up
 my mind to send back the manuscript    
with an excuse so well justified on all 
these grounds2 but a glance at it soon  
enabled me to recognise its merits1 and 
to show1 not only that none of my       
opponents had understood me and the main
 problem so well1 but that very few     
could claim so much penetration as ,herr
 ,maimon in profound inquiries of this  
sort4 ,this induced me4441 and so on4   
,in another passage of the letter ,kant 
says3--,herr ,maimon's work contains    
moreover so many acute observations1    

that he cannot give it to the public    
without its producing an impression     
strongly in his favour4 ,in a letter to 
myself he said3--,your esteemed request 
,i have endeavoured to comply with as   
far as was possible for me2 and if ,i   
have not gone the length of passing a   
judgment on the whole of your treatise1 
you will gather the reason from my      
letter to ,herr ,herz4 ,certainly it    
arises from no feeling of disparagement1
 which ,i entertain for no earnest      
effort in rational inquiries that       
interest mankind1 and least of all for  
such an effort as yours1 which1 in point
 of fact1 betrays no common talent for  
the profounder sciences4  ,it may easily
 be imagined how important and agreeable
 to me the approbation of this great    
thinker must have been1 and especially  
his testimony that ,i had understood him
 well4 ,for there are some arrogant     
,kantians1 who believe themselves to be 
sole proprietors of the ,critical       
,philosophy1 and therefore dispose of   

every objection1 even though intended1  
not exactly as a refutation1 but as a   
fuller elaboration of this philosophy1  
by the mere assertion without proof1    
that the author has failed to understand
 ,kant4 ,now these gentlemen were no    
longer in a position to bring this      
charge against my book1 inasmuch as1 by 
the testimony of the founder himself of 
the ,critical ,philosophy1 ,i have a    
better right than they to make use of   
this argument4  ,at this time ,i was    
living in ,potsdam with a gentleman who 
was a leather-manufacturer4 ,when       
,kant's letters arrived1 ,i went to     
,berlin1 and devoted my time to the     
publication of my ,transcendental       
,philosophy4 ,as a native of ,poland ,i 
dedicated this work to the king1 and    
carried a copy to the ,polish ,resident2
 but it was never sent1 and ,i was put  
off from time to time with various      
excuses4 ,sapienti sat6  ,a copy of the 
work was also sent1 as is usually done1 
to the editor of the ,allgemeine        

,litteraturzeitung4 ,after waiting a    
good while without any notice appearing1
 ,i wrote to the editor1 and received   
the following answer3--,you know        
yourself how small is the number of     
those who are competent to understand   
and judge philosophical works4 ,three of
 the best speculative thinkers have     
declined to undertake the review of your
 book1 because they are unable to       
penetrate into the depths of your       
researches4 ,an application has been    
made to a fourth1 from whom a favourable
 reply was expected2 but a review from  
him has not yet been received4  ,i also 
began to work at this time for the      
,journal fr ,aufklrung4 ,my first       
article was on ,truth1 and was in the   
form of a letter to a friend#fd in      
,berlin4 ,the article was occasioned by 
a letter which ,i had received from this
 friend during my stay in ,potsdam1 and 
in which he wrote to me in a humorous   
vein1 that philosophy was no longer a   
marketable commodity1 and that therefore

 ,i ought to take advantage of the      
opportunity which ,i was enjoying to    
learn tanning4 ,i replied1 that         
philosophy is not a coinage subject to  
the vicissitudes of the exchange2 and   
this proposition ,i afterwards developed
 in my article4 ,another article in the 
same periodical was on ,tropes1 in which
 ,i show that these imply the           
transference of a word not from one     
object to another that is analogous1 but
 from a relative to its correlate4 ,i   
wrote also an article on ,bacon and     
,kant1 in which ,i institute a          
comparison between these two reformers  
of philosophy4 ,the ,soul of the ,world 
was the subject of another discussion in
 this journal1 in which ,i endeavoured  
to make out1 that the doctrine of one   
universal soul common to all animated   
beings has not only as much in its      
favour as the opposite doctrine1 but    
that the arguments for it outweigh those
 on the other side4 ,my last article in 
the journal referred to the plan of my  

,transcendental ,philosophy2 and ,i     
explain in it that1 while ,i hold the   
,kantian philosophy to be irrefutable   
from the side of the ,dogmatist1 on the 
other hand ,i believe that it is exposed
 to all attacks from the side of the    
,scepticism of ,hume4  ,a number of     
young ,jews from all parts of ,germany  
had1 during ,mendelssohn's lifetime1    
united to form a society under the      
designation1 ,society for ,research into
 the ,hebrew ,language4 ,they observed  
with truth1 that the evil condition of  
our people1 morally as well as          
politically1 has its source in their    
religious prejudices1 in their want of a
 rational exposition of the ,holy       
,scriptures1 and in the arbitrary       
exposition to which the rabbis are led  
by their ignorance of the ,hebrew       
language4 ,accordingly the object of    
their society was to remove these       
deficiencies1 to study the ,hebrew      
language in its sources1 and by that    
means to introduce a rational exegesis4 

,for this purpose they resolved to      
publish a monthly periodical in ,hebrew 
under the title of ,hebrew39999 1 ,the  
,collector1 which was to give           
expositions of difficult passages in    
,scripture1 ,hebrew poems1 prose essays1
 translations from useful works1 etc4   
,the intention of all this was certainly
 good2 but that the end would scarcely  
be reached by any such means1 ,i saw    
from the very beginning4 ,i was too     
familiar with the principles of the     
rabbis and their style of thought to    
believe that such means would bring     
about any change4 ,the ,jewish nation   
is1 without reference to accidental     
modifications1 a perpetual aristocracy  
under the appearance of a theocracy4    
,the learned men1 who form the nobility 
in the nation1 have been able1 for many 
centuries1 to maintain their position as
 the legislative body with so much      
authority among the common people1 that 
they can do with them whatever they     
please4 ,this high authority is a       

natural tribute which weakness owes to  
strength4 ,for since the nation is      
divided into such unequal classes as the
 common people and the learned1 and     
since the former1 owing to the          
unfortunate political condition of the  
nation1 are profoundly ignorant1 not    
only of all useful arts and sciences1   
but even of the laws of their religion1 
on which their eternal welfare is       
supposed to depend1 it follows that the 
exposition of ,scripture1 the deduction 
of religious laws from it1 and the      
application of these to particular      
cases1 must be surrendered wholly to the
 learned class which the other          
undertakes the cost of maintaining4 ,the
 learned class seek to make up for their
 want of linguistic science and rational
 exegetics by their own ingenuity1 wit  
and acuteness4 ,to form an idea of the  
degree in which these talents are       
displayed1 it is necessary to read the  
,talmud along with the commentary called
 ,tosaphoth1 that is1 the additions to  

the first commentary of ,rabbi ,solomon 
,isaac4#fe  ,the productions of the mind
 are valued by them1 not in proportion  
to their utility1 but in proportion to  
the talent which they imply4 ,a man who 
understands ,hebrew1 who is well versed 
in the ,holy ,scriptures1 who even      
carries in his head the whole of the    
,jewish ,corpus ,juris1--and that is no 
trifle1--is by them but slightly        
esteemed4 ,the greatest praise that they
 give to such a man is ,chamor ,nose    
,sepharim1 that is1 ,an ass loaded with 
books4 ,but if a man is able1 by his own
 ingenuity1 to deduce new laws from     
those already known1 to draw fine       
distinctions1 and to detect hidden      
contradictions1 he is almost idolised4  
,and to tell the truth1 this judgment is
 well founded1 so far as it concerns the
 treatment of subjects that have no     
ulterior end in view4  ,it may therefore
 be easily imagined1 that people of this
 sort will scarcely accord a hearing to 
an institute which aims merely at the   

cultivation of taste1 the study of      
language1 or any similar object1 which  
to them appears mere trifling4 ,yet     
these are not the few educated men1     
scattered here and there1--the steersmen
 of this ship which is driven about in  
all seas4 ,all men of enlightened minds1
 it does not matter how much taste or   
knowledge they possess1 are treated by  
them as imbeciles4 ,and why8 ,simply    
because they have not studied the       
,talmud to that extent1 and in the      
manner1 which they require4 ,mendelssohn
 was in some measure esteemed by them on
 this account1 because in point of fact 
he was a good ,talmudist4  ,i was       
therefore neither for1 nor against1 this
 monthly periodical2 ,i even contributed
 to it at times ,hebrew articles4 ,among
 these ,i will mention merely one1--an  
exposition of an obscure passage in the 
commentary of ,maimonides on the        
,mishnah1 which ,i interpreted by the   
,kantian philosophy4 ,the article was   
afterwards translated into ,german1 and 

inserted in the ,berlinische            
,monatsschrift4  ,some time after this  
,i received from this society1 which now
 calls itself the ,society for the      
,promotion of all that is ,noble and    
,good1 a commission to write a ,hebrew  
commentary on the celebrated work of    
,maimonides1 ,moreh ,nebhochim4 ,this   
commission ,i undertook with pleasure1  
and the work was soon done4 ,so far1    
however1 only a part of the commentary  
has as yet appeared4 ,the preface to the
 work may be considered as a brief      
history of philosophy4  ,i had been an  
adherent of all philosophical systems in
 succession1 ,peripatetic1 ,spinozist1  
,leibnitzian1 ,kantian1 and finally     
,sceptic2 and ,i was always devoted to  
that system1 which for the time ,i      
regarded as alone true4 ,at last ,i     
observed that all these systems contain 
something true1 and are in certain      
respects equally useful4 ,but1 as the   
difference of philosophical systems     
depends on the ideas which lie at their 

foundation in regard to the objects of  
nature1 their properties and            
modifications1 which cannot1 like the   
ideas of mathematics1 be defined in the 
same way by all men1 and presented a    
priori1 ,i determined to publish for my 
own use1 as well as for the advantage of
 others1 a philosophical dictionary1 in 
which all philosophical ideas should be 
defined in a somewhat free method1 that 
is1 without attachment to any particular
 system1 but either by an explanation   
common to all1 or by several            
explanations from the point of view of  
each4 ,of this work also only the first 
part has as yet appeared4  ,in the      
popular ,german monthly already         
mentioned1 the ,berlinische             
,monatsschrift1 various articles of mine
 were inserted1 on ,deceit1 on the      
,power of ,foreseeing1 on ,theodicy1 and
 other subjects4 ,on ,empirical         
,psychology also ,i contributed various 
articles1 and at last became associated 
with ,herr ,hofrath ,moritz in the      

editorship of the periodical4#ff  ,so   
much with regard to the events which    
have occurred in my life1 and the       
communication of which1 ,i thought1     
might be not without use4 ,i have not   
yet reached the haven of rest2 but--    
_/p       ,quo fata trahunt retrahuntque
 sequamur4 p_/     ,,concluding         
,,chapter4   ,the closing words of the  
,autobiography themselves awaken the    
desire to know the sequel of the        
author's life1 and it seems therefore   
appropriate to finish the narrative by  
the sketch of a few facts derived mainly
 from the little volume of ,maimoniana1 
to which reference has been made in the 
preface4  ,it is perhaps scarcely       
necessary to state that ,maimon's life  
to the very end continued to retain the 
stamp it bore throughout the whole      
period described in the preceding       
chapters4 ,that stamp had apparently    
been impressed on it even before he left
 ,poland2 and the ,western influences1  
under which he came in ,germany1 never  

altered essentially the character he    
brought with him from home4  ,even in   
its external features his life enjoyed  
no permanent improvement4 ,fate had     
indeed been somewhat hard upon a man of 
so much genuine culture and sensibility4
 ,still the chronic poverty1 which      
filled the largest cup of suffering in  
his life1 was due not wholly to         
circumstances3 it was partly his own    
nature or habits that kept him a pauper4
 ,this is all the more remarkable1 that 
there is perhaps no work of moral or    
religious instruction which attaches    
more importance than the ,talmud to     
industrial pursuits4#fg ,saturated as   
his mind was with ,talmudic lore1 and   
disciplined as his early years had been 
by ,talmudic training1 ,maimon could not
 be ignorant of the advantage which the 
spiritual life derives from financial   
independence on others2 and it might    
therefore have been expected of him     
that1 like many of the great rabbis1 and
 ,spinoza and ,mendelssohn too1 he would

 have devoted himself to some           
remunerative occupation1 however humble4
 ,this would not have been impossible   
even in ,poland1 where the ,jews were   
subject to no disability excluding them 
from the common industries of the       
country2 and from the ,autobiography it 
appears that1 even at an early period of
 his life1 he was more than half aware  
that his poverty was due1 not wholly to 
the imperious demands of a higher       
culture1 but to a somewhat selfish      
indolence4#fh ,in ,germany1 with its    
more advanced civilisation1 it would    
have been much less difficult for him to
 make a tolerable living at some        
employment4 ,the ,autobiography shows   
that he was very generously received by 
a large circle of influential friends1  
who took a great deal of pains to secure
 for him a position of independence1 and
 that they abandoned their effort only  
when they found it in vain4 ,from the   
,maimoniana also it appears that some of
 the most eminent men of his time       

continued to tender their friendly      
services4 ,among others1 ,plattner1     
,schultze 7,aenesidemus71 and even      
,goethe1 made advances towards ,maimon  
in a way that was not only very         
flattering1 but might have been very    
helpful1 if he had so chosen4#fi ,but he
 never got rid of the habit1 which he   
had acquired in ,poland1 of depending on
 others2 and the low standard of        
comfort1 to which he had accustomed     
himself1 left him without sufficient    
stimulus to seek an escape from his     
pauperised condition4  ,his condition1  
therefore1 never improved4 ,he continued
 during his later years to work at      
various literary employments2 but the   
remuneration he obtained for these was  
never sufficient for his subsistence4   
,his works appealed to a very limited   
public4 ,he had consequently often to go
 a-begging for a publisher1 and to      
content himself with what slight        
honorarium the reluctant publishers     
chose to give4#gj ,the literary         

hack-work1 of which he was obliged to do
 a good deal1 brought him no better     
return4 ,that sort of labour was        
probably as poorly paid in ,berlin at   
the time as in the ,grub ,street of last
 century4 ,he was therefore at times    
reduced to utter beggary4 ,many of his  
earlier friends1 as appears from the    
,autobiography1 had lost patience with  
him2 and some1 who had helped him       
before1 when he was forced by sheer     
starvation to apply to them afterwards1 
treated him as a common beggar1         
dismissing him with a copper in charity 
7,zehrpfennig71 and at times with       
unnecessarily cold1 even insulting      
language4#ga ,if we add to this the     
fact1 that his irregular habits often   
made him the victim of unscrupulous     
men1#gb it will not seem surprising that
 he sometimes fell into a bitter tone   
and harsh judgments about his           
friends1#gc or that he was apt          
occasionally to burst out into pretty   
strong language of general              

misanthropy4#gd  ,perhaps ,maimon might 
have risen out of the chronic           
destitution1 to which he seemed doomed1 
if he had cultivated in any degree the  
virtue of thrift4 ,but thriftlessness1  
as the ,autobiography shows1 had been an
 hereditary vice in his family1 at least
 for two generations before him2 and    
though he gives vivid pictures of its   
pitiable results in the households of   
his grandfather and father1 he never    
made any effort to rise above it        
himself4 ,whenever he obtained any      
remuneration for his work1 instead of   
husbanding it economically till he      
obtained more1 he usually squandered it 
at once in extravagancies1 often of a   
useless1 sometimes of a reprehensible   
kind4#ge ,he points out in his first    
chapter1 that his grandfather might have
 been a rich man if he had kept accounts
 of income and expenditure4 ,but his    
friend ,wolff1 has to confess that1 good
 mathematician as ,maimon was1 he never 
seemed to think of the difference       

between plus and minus in               
money-matters4#gf ,with such a character
 one of ,maimon's friends was not far   
from the truth1 when on a fresh         
application for assistance1 he dismissed
 him1 too harshly perhaps1 with the     
blunt remark1 ,people like you there is 
no use in trying to help4#gg ,certainly 
help was not to be found in ,maimon     
himself1 and it is difficult to see how 
he could have avoided the chance of a   
miserable death by actual starvation1   
had it not been that a generous home was
 at last opened to him1 where he closed 
his days in comfort and peace4  ,a      
character like that of ,maimon implied a
 general irregularity of life1--an      
absence of that regulation by fixed     
rules of conduct1 which is essential to 
wellbeing4 ,he was not indeed unaware of
 the importance of such regularity4 ,i  
require of every man of sound mind1 he  
said one day1 that he should lay out for
 himself a plan of action4 ,no wonder   
that this requirement leads his friend  

to remark1 that it seemed to him as if  
,maimon's only plan of life had been to 
live without any plan at all4#gh  ,the  
irregularity of his habits is strikingly
 seen in his want of method even at his 
literary work4 ,notwithstanding the     
technical culture he gave himself in    
early life in drawing1 he seems never to
 have reached any degree of muscular    
expertness4 ,wolff remarked his         
awkwardness in handling his pen1 and his
 inability to fold a letter with        
tolerable neatness4#gi ,in other        
respects also he was careless about     
those mechanical conveniences by which  
mental work is usually facilitated4 ,he 
was commonly to be seen working at a    
very unsteady desk1 one leg of which was
 supported by a folio volume4#hj ,he did
 not even confine himself to any        
particular place for work4 ,apparently  
he spent more of his day in public      
taverns than in his private lodging1 and
 he might often be seen amid the        
distraction of such surroundings writing

 or revising proofs1 while1 as a        
consequence1 his papers sometimes were  
mislaid and lost1 and his work had all  
to be done over again4 ,it was said of  
the ,autobiography itself that it had   
been written on an alehouse bench4#ha   
,he could never understand how any man  
could do intellectual work by rule2 and 
therefore1 though he had to make his    
living as best he could by literature1  
he never formed the habit of reserving  
one part of the day for work4 ,he       
commonly worked in the morning1 at least
 in his morning1 and that1 his friend   
acknowledges1 was not very early2#hb but
 this itself was evidently no fixed     
rule4 ,probably for the same reason he  
never adopted the plan1 which authors   
find so serviceable1 of first sketching 
an outline of a work before it is       
written out in detail4 ,i have1 he said 
one day1 given up1 with good result1 the
 habit of making a draught beforehand4  
,you are not1 by a long way1 so careful 
about your work when you know that you  

are going to write it over again2 you   
neglect many a thought1 do not write it 
down1 because you believe that it will  
occur to you again in copying out1 which
 frequently does not happen4#hc ,it is  
clear1 however1 that1 his opinion to the
 contrary notwithstanding1 his writings 
suffered from his unmethodical habits4  
,the fact1 says the most competent of   
judges on this subject1 that ,maimon is 
far from having attained the recognition
 which his importance deserves1 may be  
accounted for by the defective condition
 of his writings4 ,his extraordinary    
acuteness was designed1 but was not     
sufficiently cultivated1 to give to his 
investigations the light and the force  
of methodical exposition4 ,he wrote with
 most pleasure in his ,talmudic fashion1
 commenting and disputing1 without      
proper sifting and arrangement of his   
materials4 ,to these defects must be    
added the faults of his style4 ,it is   
surprising that he learned to write     
,german as he did4 ,in his writings     

there are passages in which the thought 
bursts out with really resplendent      
power1 and actually forces the language1
 even plays with it1 in turns of        
expression that take you by surprise4   
,but a ,german author he never became2  
and as a philosophical author he wanted 
a certain sense of order that is        
indispensable for exposition4 ,he can   
sometimes formulate very well1 but      
cannot systematise1 and hence his most  
important opinions1 in which the whole  
meaning of his position rests1 are often
 in the course of his writings found in 
passages the least lucid and the least  
prominent4#hd  ,it is perhaps only      
saying the same thing of ,maimon in     
another form1 that he had no mechanical 
memory1 that consequently he was apt to 
forget the names of persons and of      
places1 sometimes could not remember the
 name of the street where he lived1 or  
the day or even the month2 and it is not
 therefore surprising that he often     
injured himself by neglecting all sort  

of engagements4#he ,it may be readily   
inferred that he was particularly       
negligent about all engagements and     
regulations bearing upon the mere       
externals of life4 ,that a man of his   
condition and character must have been  
unusually careless about his personal   
appearance1 follows as a matter of      
course1 and therefore we may pass over  
the references of ,wolff to             
peculiarities of ,maimon's dress4 ,he   
was usually to be seen out of doors clad
 in an overcoat which had evidently not 
been made for himself1 and which1 we may
 suspect1 was intended as a convenient  
covering for the defects of             
under-garments1 his boots bearing the   
weather-stains of many days1 and his    
beard often showing that for a good     
while he had forgotten his engagement   
with his barber4 ,in the latter years of
 his life he abandoned the use of a wig1
 as well as of powder in his hair1 at a 
time when these changes must have been  
regarded as rather daring innovations on

 prevalent fashion4 ,but in all his     
surroundings he showed what1 for a man  
of his intellectual attainments1 seems a
 most astonishing disregard of sanitary 
cleanliness and the comfortable         
decencies of life4 ,the state of his    
lodging must have raised a shudder in   
any one sensitive to disorder or        
uncleanliness4 ,he acknowledged that he 
was constantly at war with the housemaid
 on this subject1 as he could never bear
 to have his room swept and dusted1 and 
he complained of the perpetual annoyance
 to which he was exposed in ,amsterdam  
from the excessive scruples of the      
people in regard to tidiness4#hf ,it may
 fairly be suspected that the annoyance 
was considerably greater1 as it was more
 justifiable1 on the other side4 ,his   
habits in this respect clung to him to  
the last1 and it was evidently difficult
 to keep his surroundings tolerable even
 in the comparatively sumptuous home in 
which he closed his days4  ,the frank   
confessions of the ,autobiography reveal

 the fact1 that the irregularity1 which 
characterised the life of ,maimon1      
sometimes led to a breach of the        
weightier matters of the law4 ,the      
habit1 which he began in ,poland1 of    
seeking relief from external discomfort 
and internal wretchedness in alcoholic  
stimulation1 grew upon him afterwards2  
and as his health began to fail1 he used
 to treat his various complaints by a   
liberal allowance of various wines and  
beers which he supposed adapted to their
 cure4#hg ,the liberal allowance was    
very apt1 especially in the evenings1 to
 exceed all reasonable moderation2 and  
the sleepy inhabitants of ,berlin were  
not infrequently disturbed by the       
half-tipsy philosopher1 as he wended his
 way unsteadily homewards at            
unseasonable hours1 discoursing on all  
sorts of speculative themes in          
disagreeably loud tones that were       
occasionally interrupted by the         
expostulations of a night-watchman4#hh  
,the peculiarly undisciplined manners of

 ,maimon were occasionally shown in     
violent outbursts of various feelings4  
,too frequently it was an irritable     
temper that gave way4 ,the slightest    
provocation1 even the loss of a game at 
chess1#hi was apt to cause a painful    
explosion2 and then his language was    
certainly far from being restrained by  
those usages which are found essential  
to the pleasantness of social           
intercourse4#ij ,the uncontrollable     
violence of these outbursts was         
amusingly exhibited in the fact1 that   
sometimes he could not command the      
intellectual calm requisite for thinking
 and expressing himself in his acquired 
,german1 and1 even though it might be a 
,gentile with whom he quarrelled1 he    
fell back on his ,judo-,polish mother   
tongue1 which came to him as if by      
natural instinct4#ia ,it is but fair1   
however1 to add that these outbursts    
were often merely the unusually         
forcible1 but not altogether            
unjustifiable1 utterances of an honest  

indignation at wrong4#ib  ,for this     
strangely educated man1 who in his      
outward manners seemed to remain a      
somewhat rude child of nature1 was after
 all ready to yield1 not only to an     
unkindly irritability1 but also to the  
more genial emotions4 ,it is pleasing1  
for example1 to know that he had a      
particular fondness for animals2 and his
 pets were allowed in his lodging       
liberties which1 however objectionable  
to a tidy housemaid1 showed at least the
 essential gentleness of his heart4     
,tutored as he was himself in the       
severest school of poverty1 it is also  
pleasing to know that he cherished a    
kindly sympathy for the poor1 and was   
ever ready to help them as he could1    
sometimes at the cost of no small       
sacrifice to himself4#ic ,the finer     
sensibilities of his nature were also   
easily touched by music4 ,though he had 
no musical culture1 and used to regret  
that he had had none1 an old ,hebrew    
melody1 long after he had broken off all

 connection with the ,jews1 could move  
him so deeply that he was obliged1 even 
in company1 to seek relief in tears4#id 
,for in the uncontrolled simplicity of  
his nature he allowed his feelings to   
find their natural vent without much    
restraint from circumstances2 and       
therefore he was seen at times in the   
theatre excited to loud sobbing by a    
tragedy1 or to boisterous laughter over 
a comedy4#ie  ,nor is it to be regarded 
as an unpleasant feature of his         
character1 but rather as an indication  
of a wholesome check on the general     
irregularity of his life1 that1 even    
after he had thrown off all the peculiar
 restraints of his national religion1 he
 clung with evident fondness to many of 
those rabbinical habits which he had    
cultivated in his earlier years4 ,from  
,fischer's account of the style of      
,maimon's works we have seen how his    
intellectual work was affected by his   
,talmudic studies4 ,the criticism is    
evidently just4 ,maimon himself had met 

with it1 and acknowledged its justice4  
,he protested indeed that it did not    
affect the truth of his speculations1   
though he evidently felt its            
disadvantages1 and laboured at times to 
acquire a more methodical style4#if     
,the rabbinical habits of ,maimon1      
however1 were most quaintly seen in     
peculiarities of outward manner4        
,gesticulations customary in the study  
of the ,talmud he was seen to adopt not 
infrequently when he forgot himself in  
the earnestness of conversation1 or when
 in a company he fell into a brown      
study1 or even in the studies of his    
retirement4 ,thus in reading ,euler's   
mathematical works or any other book    
which required great attention1 he would
 fall into the ,talmudic singsong and   
rhythmical swing of the body4#ig  ,it is
 noteworthy also1 that1 with all the    
unrestrained rudeness which often       
characterised his manners1 ,maimon was  
not without a certain dignified         
courtesy2 and when the occasion demanded

 it1 he could turn a polite phrase as   
prettily as the most accomplished       
gentleman4#ih ,there was1 moreover1 in  
,maimon an intrinsic shyness which must 
have gone a long way to soften the less 
amiable side of his social character4#ii
 ,then it is evident that his           
conversation1 in his better moods at    
least1 had a charm which made him a     
welcome guest in any company4 ,thus1    
amid all that may have been repulsive at
 times1 there must have been in         
,maimon's character a good deal to      
attract the friendly companionship of   
others4 ,the ,autobiography itself1 as  
well as ,wolff's little book1 shows that
 ,maimon enjoyed as much as he desired  
of the cultured society of his time4    
,being naturally shy1 indeed1 he rather 
shrank from company in which intercourse
 is regulated by a somewhat rigid social
 code2 and the desire of freedom from   
such restriction often drove him into   
company of a much more objectionable    
kind4 ,he also seems to have entertained

 a strong dislike to any excessively    
demonstrative affection4 ,he himself was
 rather curt in his expressions of      
courtesy or friendliness towards others1
 contenting himself generally1 on       
meeting them1 with a familiar nod4 ,the 
lifting of the hat appeared to him      
meaningless1 and a deliberate embrace in
 cold blood was intolerable4#ajj ,yet in
 many instances the attachment of his   
friends was marked with an unusual      
degree of warmth1 and brought many an   
hour of sunshine to a life which        
otherwise would have been shadowed with 
insufferable gloom4  ,among all         
,maimon's friends1 the most conspicuous 
place must be given to the man by whose 
generous hospitality he was able to     
close his chequered life amid the       
comforts of a luxurious home4 ,while he 
was living in a miserable lodging in one
 of the suburbs of ,berlin1 he learned  
from one of his friends that a ,silesian
 nobleman1 ,graf ,kalkreuth1 who had    
formed a high opinion of his writings1  

was anxious to make his personal        
acquaintance4 ,after a good deal of     
delay1 ,maimon was at last induced to   
call upon the ,graf at his residence in 
,berlin4 ,fortunately he was very       
favourably impressed with the character 
of his noble friend2 and the friendship 
thus begun led before long to his taking
 up his abode permanently with the      
,graf4#aja ,the generous consideration  
which the host displayed for all the    
eccentricities of his guest1 made this  
arrangement one of the happiest for the 
poor philosopher1 who since his         
childhood had seldom enjoyed the        
comforts of a home4  ,but it is evident 
that the hardships of his life had at an
 early period begun to tell upon his    
constitution1 and that this was further 
shattered by irregular habits in his    
later years4 ,symptoms of serious       
trouble in the lungs excited his alarm  
in the winter of #agie1 and he was      
induced to seek medical advice4 ,partly 
from an unwise scepticism in regard to  

medicine1 partly from his usual failure 
to adhere to any fixed rule in his      
conduct1 the services of his physicians 
commonly ended with the consultation2 he
 seldom or never acted on their         
advice4#ajb ,he lived in indifferent    
health for five or six years more4 ,when
 his last illness overtook him1 he was  
living in the house of ,graf ,kalkreuth 
at ,siegersdorf near ,freistadt1 in     
,lower ,silesia4 ,the only account of   
him at this crisis was written by the   
pastor of ,freistadt1 for a monthly     
periodical of the time1 entitled        
,kronos4 ,it forms the close of ,wolff's
 little book2 and as it is the only     
account1 it may be of some interest     
here4 ,the pastor1 ,herr ,tscheggey1 had
 made the acquaintance of ,maimon about 
the year #agie2 but their intercourse   
had become much closer about six weeks  
before ,maimon's death1 when he used to 
visit the pastor two or three times a   
week4 ,on hearing that ,maimon had been 
confined for some days1 the good pastor 

at once went to see him4 ,he found him  
in a state of great weakness1 unable to 
leave his room1 and besought him        
earnestly1 but in vain1 to take medical 
advice4 ,a few days afterwards he called
 again1 and saw that evidently the end  
was drawing nigh4 ,curious to know      
whether ,maimon in this situation would 
remain true to his principles1 he gave  
the following turn to the conversation1 
which he professes to report word for   
word4  ,i am sorry to find you so ill   
to-day1 dear ,maimon1 said the pastor4  
,there will perhaps be some improvement 
yet1 replied ,maimon4  ,you look so ill1
 his friend proceeded1 that ,i am       
doubtful about your recovery4  ,what    
matters it after all8 said ,maimon4     
,when ,i am dead1 ,i am gone4  ,can you 
say that1 dear friend1 rejoined the     
clergyman1 with deep emotion4 ,how8     
,your mind1 which amid the most         
unfavourable circumstances ever soared  
to higher attainments1 which bore such  
fair flowers and fruits--shall it be    

trodden in the dust along with the poor 
covering in which it has been clothed8  
,do you not feel at this moment that    
there is something in you which is not  
body1 not matter1 not subject to the    
conditions of space and time8  ,ah6     
replied ,maimon1 these are beautiful    
dreams and hopes----  ,which will surely
 be fulfilled1 his friend broke in2 and 
then1 after a short pause1 added1 ,you  
maintained not long ago that here we    
cannot reach further than to mere       
legality4 ,let this be admitted2 and now
 perhaps you are about to pass over soon
 into a condition1 in which you will    
rise to the stage of morality1 since you
 and all of us have a natural capacity  
for it4 ,why8 ,should you not wish now  
to come into the society of one whom you
 honoured so much as ,mendelssohn8  ,the
 zealous pastor says he gave the        
conversation this turn on purpose1 in   
order to touch this side of the         
philosopher's heart4 ,after a while the 
dying man exclaimed1 ,ay me6 ,i have    

been a foolish man1 the most foolish    
among the most foolish--and how         
earnestly ,i wished it otherwise6  ,this
 utterance1 observed the pastor1 is also
 a proof that you are not yet in        
complete accord with your unbelief4 ,no1
 he added1 taking ,maimon by the hand1  
you will not all die2 your spirit will  
surely live on4  ,so far as mere faith  
and hope are concerned1 ,i can go a good
 way2 but what does that help us8 was   
,maimon's reply4  ,it helps us at least 
to peace1 urged the pastor4  ,i am at   
peace 7,ich bin ruhig71 said the dying  
man1 completely exhausted4  ,here       
,tscheggey broke off the conversation1  
as the sufferer was evidently unable to 
continue it4 ,when he rose to leave1    
,maimon begged him to stay1 or at least 
to come back again soon4 ,he came back  
the following morning1 but found the    
patient unconscious4 ,at ten o'clock on 
the same evening--it was the #bbnd of   
,november1 #ahjj--this strangely tossed 
life had reached its haven4  ,he died at

 peace1 says the kindly clergyman1      
though ,i do not venture to say from    
what source the peace was derived4 ,when
 a few days afterwards ,i passed the    
castle of his noble friend1 ,i looked up
 with sadness to the window of his      
former room1 and blessed his ashes4 ,it 
is to be regretted that the generous    
piety of the friendly minister was not  
universal1 and that the ashes of the    
unfortunate doubter were only with a    
grudge allowed to find a decent         
resting-place4   ,,footnotes3  #a ,vol4 
iii41 p4 #cgj1 note4  #b ,see the       
,preface to his ,philosophy of          
,reflection1 pp4 #af-ah4  #c ,vol4 v41  
chap4 #g4  #d ,the volume bears the     
somewhat quaint title in                
full3--,maimoniana1 oder ,rhapsodien    
,zur ,charakteristik ,salomon ,maimon's4
 ,aus ,seinem ,privatleben gesammelt von
 ,sabattia ,joseph ,wolff1 ,m4,d4       
,berlin1 gedruckt bei ,g4 ,hayn1 #ahac4 
#e ,the only logical connection is the  
fact1 that the writings of ,maimonides  

formed the most powerful influence in   
the intellectual development of ,maimon4
 ,in illustration of this he            
writes3--,my reverence for this great   
teacher went so far1 that ,i regarded   
him as the ideal of a perfect man1 and  
looked upon his teachings as if they had
 been inspired with ,divine ,wisdom     
itself4 ,this went so far1 that1 when my
 passions began to grow1 and ,i had     
sometimes to fear lest they might seduce
 me to some action inconsistent with    
those teachings1 ,i used to employ1 as a
 proved antidote1 the abjuration1 ',i   
swear1 by the reverence which ,i owe my 
great teacher1 ,rabbi ,moses ben        
,maimon1 not to do this act4' ,and this 
vow1 so far as ,i can remember1 was     
always sufficient to restrain me4       
,lebensgeschichte1 ,vol4 ii41 pp4 #c-d4 
#f ,that is1 of course1 the             
seventeenth4--,trans4  #g ,maimon       
himself nowhere mentions the date or    
place of his birth2 but ,wolff says that
 he was born at ,nesvij1 in ,lithuania1 

about the year #aged 7,maimoniana1 p4   
#aj74 ,trans4  #h ,this word is         
explained below1 at the beginning of the
 next chapter4  #i ,the customary       
,jewish salutation4  #aj ,the original  
is ein ,kalamankenes ,leibserdak1--a    
provincialism which1 ,i believe1 is     
substantially rendered in this          
translation4--,trans4  #aa ,till quite  
recently it had been almost forgotten   
that one of the commonest manifestations
 of fanaticism against the ,jews1       
especially in ,eastern ,europe1 was to  
charge them with the murder of          
,christian children for the use of some 
horrid religious rite1 and that scarcely
 ever was the dead body of a child found
 in the neighbourhood of a ,jewish      
community without some outburst of this 
cruel suspicion1 ending in an           
indiscriminate massacre of the ,jews by 
the infuriated mob4 ,it is a singularly 
creditable proof of the liberal         
government of ,stephen ,batory1--one of 
the ablest monarchs who ever sat on the 

throne of ,poland1--that1 so long ago as
 #aegf1 he issued an edict prohibiting  
the imputation of this crime to the     
,jews1 as being utterly inconsistent    
with the principles of their religion4  
,yet1 in spite of this enactment1 the   
fanatical suspicion continued to display
 itself at frequent intervals4 ,milman  
supposed it had been finally quelled by 
the ukase of the ,russian ,government in
 #ahce1 which went in the same direction
 as the earlier prohibition of the      
,polish king 7,history of the ,jews1    
vol4 iii41 p4 #chi74 ,what would have   
been his astonishment1 had he lived to  
learn that1 half a century after he     
thought it extinguished1 this ancient   
delusion was to revive1 that an         
,hungarian court was to spend thirty one
 days in the solemn trial of a ,jewish  
family on the charge of sacrificing a   
,christian girl in their synagogue1 that
 a learned professor in the ,imperial   
and ,royal ,university of ,prague was to
 write in defence of the charge1 and    

that the trial was to form the subject  
of an extensive controversial literature
 in the language of the most learned    
nation in the world6 ,an interesting    
account of this famous trial at ,tisza  
,eszlar1 as well as of the literature   
connected with it1 will be found in an  
article by ,dr4 ,wright1 on ,the ,jews  
and the ,malicious ,charge of ,human    
,sacrifice in the ,nineteenth ,century1 
for ,november1 #ahhc4--,trans4  #ab ,it 
seems that ,maimon gives a euphemistic  
explanation of this word1 as ,i am told 
its real meaning makes much more        
intelligible its extreme offensiveness  
to his mother4--,trans4  #ac ,the       
original runs3 ,der ,verstand sucht     
bloss zu fassen1 die ,einbildungskraft  
aber zu umfassen4--,tr4  #ad ,that is1  
,the ,branch 7or ,offspring7 of ,david4 
,see ,jeremiah xxiii4 #e2 xxxiii4 #ae2  
,isaiah xi4 #a4--,trans4  #ae ,the      
,hebrew word for a globe4  #af ,this    
rabbi belonged to a family of eminent   
linguists4 ,the father1 ,joseph ,kimchi1

 was one of the numerous ,jews who were 
obliged to flee from ,spain to escape   
the cruel persecutions of the ,mohades  
about the middle of the twelfth century4
 ,he left two sons who both followed his
 favourite studies4 ,the elder1 ,moses1 
has the credit of having educated his   
younger and more illustrious brother1   
,david1 whose ,hebrew grammar and       
dictionary continued in general use     
among scholars for centuries4 ,kimchi is
 said to have been powerfully           
influenced1 not only by ,maimonides1 but
 also by ,aben ,esra1 who preceded him  
by nearly a century1 and who was one of 
the most learned scholars1 as well as   
one of the most versatile authors1 of   
his time4 7,jost's ,geschichte des      
,judenthums1 vol4 ii41 pp4 #dai-dbc2 and
 vol4 iii1 pp4 #cj-ca74--,trans4  #ag   
,that is1 about #ajj ,english           
miles4--,trans4  #ah ,see above1 p4     
#ad4--,trans4  #ai ,solomon ben ,isaac1 
as he is more correctly named1 or       
,raschi1 as he is also called1 was an   

eminent ,talmudic scholar of ,troyes in 
the latter half of the eleventh century4
 ,it was his son-in-law1 ,mer1 and the  
three sons of ,mer1 who may be said to  
have begun the ,tosaphoth1 referred to  
in the text4--,trans4  #bj ,as it was at
 one time throughout all ,christendom1  
and probably under every civilisation at
 a certain stage of its                 
history4--,trans4  #ba ,this seems to be
 ,job xxvii4 #ag1 which in our          
,authorised ,version runs3--,he 7a      
wicked man7 may prepare it 7raiment71   
but the just shall put it on4 ,maimon   
seems to render it from memory3--,der   
,gottlose schafft sich an1 und der      
,fromme bekleidet sich damit4--,trans4  
#bb ,evidently viii41 #ab1 rendered in  
our ,authorised ,version1 ,thou1 ,o     
,solomon1 must have a thousand 7pieces  
of silver71 and those that keep the     
fruit thereof two hundred4 ,maimon      
translates apparently from memory1 ,die 
tausend ,gulden sind fr dich1 ,salomo1  
und die ,zweihundert fr die1 die seine  

,frchte bewahren4 ,in my rendering of   
this the pronoun his must be understood 
in its old ,english latitude as either  
neuter or masculine4--,trans4  #bc ,the 
bulk of the gift explains its           
costliness4 ,the ,babylonian ,talmud is 
about four times as large as that of    
,jerusalem4 ,its thirty-six treatises   
now cover1 in our editions1 printed with
 the most prominent commentaries 7,rashi
 and ,tosafoth71 exactly #bidg folio    
leaves in twelve folio volumes4 7,e4    
,deutsch's ,literary ,remains1 p4       
#da74--,trans4  #bd ,maimon gives merely
 the initial ,r of this name2 but as he 
has already 7,chap4 i47 told us that his
 prince was ,radzivil1 there is not much
 mystery in this artifice4--,trans4  #be
 ,this horror of memory tormented       
,maimon to the end of his days4 ,he     
dreamed often that he was in ,poland    
again1 deprived of all his books2 and   
,lucius metamorphosed into an ass was   
not in a more pitiable plight4 ',from   
this agony1' said ,maimon1 ',i was      

usually aroused by a loud cry1 and my   
joy was indescribable on finding that it
 was only a dream4' 7,maimoniana1 p4    
#id74 ,he once received a visit from his
 brother1 for whom he was deeply        
affected4 ,poor as he was himself1      
,maimon kept him a long while1 gave him 
clothing and everything else that he    
could1 besides procuring from some      
friends enough money to pay his         
travelling expenses4 ,above all1 he told
 me1 he was affected at letting his     
brother go back into the wilderness2 and
 if he had not had a wife and children  
at home1 he would have tried to keep him
 beside himself4 7,ibid41 p4            
#age74--,trans4  #bf ,it was probably a 
reminiscence of this labour of          
deciphering1 that led to the following  
outburst of sympathy3--,one day ,maimon 
read in an ,english work1 that the      
author had only commenced to learn the  
,,abc when he was eighteen years of age1
 and that the first book which fell into
 his hands was one of ,newton's works4  

,his master 7for he was a servant7 came 
upon him at this task1 and asked1 ',what
 are you doing with that8 you can't     
read8' ',o yes1' he replied1 ',i have   
learnt to read1 and ,i began with the   
most difficult subjects4' ,maimon read  
this in my presence with tears in his   
eyes4 7,maimoniana1 pp4                 
#bcj-a74--,trans4  #bg ,both of these   
,cabbalists belonged to the sixteenth   
century4 ,the former1 as his name       
implies1 belonged to ,cordova in ,spain2
 the latter1 to the ,german community in
 ,jerusalem 7,jost's ,geschichte des    
,judenthums1 ,vol4 iii41 pp4            
#acg-adj74--,trans4  #bh ,rabbi ,mers   
teacher was ,elisha ben ,abuyah1 the    
,faust of the ,talmud1 as he has been   
strikingly styled by ,mr4 ,deutsch4 ,the
 ,talmud preserves a beautiful story    
illustrative of the devoted affection   
which ,mer continued to cherish for his 
apostate master4 ,four men1 so runs the 
legend1 entered ,paradise2 that is1     
according to ,talmudic symbolism1 they  

entered upon the study of that secret   
science with its bewildering labyrinth  
of speculative dreams1 through which it 
is given only to a few rare spirits to  
find their way4 ,of these four1 one     
beheld and died1 one beheld and lost his
 senses1 one destroyed the young plants1
 one only entered in peace and came out 
in peace4 ,the destroyer of the young   
plants was ,elisha ben ,abuyah4 ,once he
 was passing the ruins of the temple on 
the great day of atonement1 and heard a 
voice within moaning like a dove1--,all 
men shall be forgiven this day save     
,elisha ben ,abuyah who1 knowing me1 has
 betrayed me4 ,after his death flames   
hovered incessantly over his grave1     
until his loving disciple threw himself 
upon it and swore an oath of devout     
self-sacrifice1 that he would not       
partake of the joys of heaven without   
his master1 nor move from the spot until
 his master's soul had found forgiveness
 before the ,throne of ,grace4 ,see     
,emanuel ,deutsch's ,literary ,remains1 

p4 #ae2 and ,jost's ,geshichte des      
,judenthums1 ,vol4 ii41 pp4 #ajb-d4  #bi
 ,the ,gates of ,light4--,trans4  #cj   
,thus saith the ,lord in the ,english   
version4--,trans4  #ca ,about #aej      
,english miles4--,trans4  #cb           
,highpriest about the time of ,antiochus
 the ,great1 that is1 the first half of 
the third century before                
,christ4--,trans4  #cc ,also named below
 ,jehudah ,hanassi or ,hakades1 died    
probably in #bai or #bbj ,a4,d4--,trans4
  #cd ,rabbina is a contraction for     
,rabbi ,abina and ,rabassi for ,rabbi   
,ashe4 ,maimon puts ,abina first1 but he
 was the younger of the two4 ,they both 
belonged to the fifth century4--,trans4 
#ce ,this seems to be ,psalm cxix41     
#abf1 rendered in our ,authorised       
,version3--,it is time for thee1 ,lord1 
to work2 for they have made void thy    
law4 ,see ,mendelssohn's ,jerusalem1    
,vol4 ii41 p4 iii41 7,samuels'          
translation74--,trans4  #cf             
,charakteristik der ,asiatischen        

,nationen1 ,theil ii41 pp4 #aei-afj4    
#cg ,and ,kinah and ,dimonah and ,adadah
 in the ,english ,authorised            
,version4--,trans4  #ch ,here apparently
 ,maimon makes a slip4 ,he seems to     
forget the passage he had selected for  
illustration2 and his eye1 if not his   
memory1 glances at the last word in     
verse #cj1 instead of verse             
#bb4--,trans4  #ci ,probably ,isaiah    
xxxiii41 #f4--,trans4  #dj ,psalm1      
lxxxi41 #i4--,trans4  #da ,in the       
original1 ,das ,kind mit dem ,bade      
ausschtten4--,trans4  #db ,in the same  
way a fool1 called ,chosek1 was going to
 starve the city of ,lemberg1 against   
which he was enraged2 and for this      
purpose he placed himself behind the    
wall1 in order to blockade the city with
 his body4 ,the result of the blockade1 
however1 was that he nearly died of     
hunger1 while the city knew nothing     
whatever of a famine4  #dc ,in our      
times1 when so much is said both pro and
 contra about secret societies1 ,i      

believe that the history of a particular
 secret society1 in which ,i was        
entangled1 though but a short time1     
should not be passed over in this sketch
 of my life4  #dd ,that is1 of course1  
the #agth century4--,trans4  #de        
,baalshem is one who occupies himself   
with the practical ,cabbalah1 that is1  
with the conjuration of spirits and the 
writing of amulets1 in which the names  
of ,god and of many sorts of spirits are
 employed4  #df ,as ,i never attained   
the rank of a superior in this society1 
the exposition of their plan cannot be  
regarded as a fact verified by          
experience1 but merely as an inference  
arrived at by reflection4 ,how far this 
inference is well founded1 can be       
determined merely by analogy according  
to the rules of probability4  #dg ,the  
ingenuity of this interpretation        
consists in the fact1 that in ,hebrew   
may stand for the infinitive of play1 as
 well as for a musical instrument1 and  
that the prefix  may be translated      

either as1 in the sense of when1 or as1 
in the sense of like4 ,the superiors of 
this sect1 who wrenched passages of the 
,holy ,scriptures from their context1   
regarding themselves as merely vehicles 
of their teachings1 selected accordingly
 that interpretation of this passage1   
which fitted best their principle of    
self-annihilation before ,god4  #dh     
,maimon in a footnote here refers1 by   
way of a parallel1 to the interpretation
 by a ,catholic theologian of a passage 
in ,ezekiel 7xliv41 #a-b7 as an         
allegorical prophecy of the ,virgin     
,mary2 but most readers will probably   
prefer to leave the exposition of the   
allegory to the imagination of those who
 choose to follow it out4--,trans4  #di 
,a trait of these1 as of all            
uncultivated men1 is their contempt of  
the other sex4  #ej ,of this class ,i   
became acquainted with one4 ,he was a   
young man of twenty-two1 of very weak   
bodily constitution1 lean and pale4 ,he 
travelled in ,poland as a missionary4   

,in his look there was something so     
terrible1 so commanding1 that he ruled  
men by means of it quite despotically4  
,wherever he came he inquired about the 
constitution of the congregation1       
rejected whatever displeased him1 and   
made new regulations which were         
punctually followed4 ,the elders of the 
congregation1 for the most part old     
respectable men1 who far excelled him in
 learning1 trembled before his face4 ,a 
great scholar1 who would not believe the
 infallibility of this superior1 was    
seized with such terror by his          
threatening look1 that he fell into a   
violent fever of which he died4 ,such   
extraordinary courage and determination 
had this man attained merely through    
early exercises in ,stoicism4  #ea ,born
 #agbj2 died #agig4 ,see ,jost's        
,geschichte des ,judenthums1 ,vol4 iii41
 pp4 #bdh-bej4--,trans4  #eb ,exodus1   
iii41 #ac1 #ad4  #ec ,these names are   
taken from ,maimoniana1 p4              
#ajh4--,trans4  #ed ,the method1 in     

which1 as before explained1 ,i had      
learnt to read and to understand books  
without any preparatory studies1 and to 
which ,i had been driven in ,poland by  
the want of books1 grew to such an      
expertness1 that ,i felt certain        
beforehand of being able to understand  
anything4  #ee ,here there seems in the 
original an evident misprint of         
,vereinigung for ,verneinung4--,trans4  
#ef ,the incident referred to was the   
following4 ,lavater had translated into 
,german a work1 which had a great       
reputation in its day1 by the eminent   
,swiss scientific writer1 ,bonnet1 on   
the evidences of ,christianity4 ,out of 
respect for ,mendelssohn1 ,lavater      
dedicated the translation to him1       
requiring him1 however1 either to refute
 the work1 or to do what policy1 love of
 truth1 and probity demand1--what       
,socrates would doubtless have done1 had
 he read the work1 and found it         
unanswerable4 ,mendelssohn was thus     
placed in an awkward dilemma4 ,he could 

not well let the challenge pass         
unacknowledged2 and yet1 owing to the   
disabilities under which the ,jews      
laboured all over the world1 he would   
have seriously imperilled their         
interests by appearing even to impugn   
the evidences of ,christianity4 ,he had1
 moreover1 resolved never to enter into 
religious controversy4 ,under the       
circumstances his reply was masterly as 
it was dignified and candid4 ,lavater   
saw his mistake2 and it is but due to   
him to say1 that he publicly apologised 
for it in the fullest and frankest      
manner4--,trans4  #eg ,this hiatus haud 
valde deflendus is in the               
original4--,trans4  #eh ,this name is   
taken from ,maimoniana4--,trans4  #ei   
,the love of life1 that is1 the instinct
 of self-preservation1 seems rather to  
increase than to decrease with the      
diminution or uncertainty of the means  
of living1 inasmuch as man is thereby   
spurred to greater activity1 which      
developes a stronger consciousness of   

life4 ,only this want must not have     
reached its maximum2 for the necessary  
result of that is despair1 that is a    
conviction of the impossibility of      
preserving life1 and consequently a     
desire to put an end to it4 ,thus every 
passion1 and therefore also the love of 
life1 is increased by the obstacles     
which come in the way of its            
gratification3 only these obstacles must
 not make the gratification of the      
passions impossible1 else despair is the
 result4  #fj ,afterwards when he spoke 
of ,poland1 he used to be deeply        
affected in thinking of his wife1 from  
whom he was obliged to separate4 ,he was
 really very much devoted to her1 and   
her fate went home to his very heart4   
,it was easy when the subject came up in
 conversation1 to read in his face the  
deep sorrow which he felt2 his          
liveliness then sensibly faded away1 he 
became by and by perfectly silent1 was  
usually incapable of further            
entertainment1 and went earlier than    

usual home4 ,maimoniana1 p4 #agg4 ,he   
seems1 however1 at a later period1 to   
have at least spoken to his friends     
about marrying a second time2 but the   
project was never carried out4 ,ibid41  
p4 #bdh4--,trans4  #fa ,he died #dth    
,jan41 #aghf4--,trans4  #fb ,kant's work
 must still have been quite new1 as it  
appeared in #agha4--,trans4  #fc ,the   
name is left blank by ,maimon1 but is   
known to be that which ,i have inserted4
 ,see ,fischer's ,geschichte der neueren
 ,philosophie1 ,vol4 v41 p4             
#aca4--,trans4  #fd ,samuel ,levi1      
according to ,maimoniana1 p4            
#gh4--,trans4  #fe ,see above1 p4       
#da--,trans4  #ff ,the last few pages   
have been condensed from the original2  
in which the author gives detailed      
information1 which seems no longer of   
any special interest1 about the articles
 he contributed to periodicals4--       
,trans4  #fg ,by the kindness of my     
friend1 the ,rev4 ,meldola de ,sola1 of 
the ,portuguese ,synagogue in ,montreal1

 ,i am enabled to make an interesting   
note on this subject4 ,among the        
,talmudic passages enjoining industry   
are the following3--,rather skin a      
carcase for pay in the public streets1  
than be idly dependent on charity1      
,rather perform the meanest labour than 
beg4 ,as a further evidence of the      
estimation in which labour was held by  
the sages of the ,talmud1 it may be     
mentioned that ,hillel1 before being    
admitted to the ,great ,college1 earned 
his livelihood as a wood-cutter2 that   
,rabbi ,joshua was a pinmaker2 ,rabbi   
,nehemiah ,halsador1 a potter2 ,rabbi   
,judah1 a tailor2 ,rabbi ,joshua        
,hasandler1 a shoemaker2 and ,rabbi     
,judah ,hanechtan1 a baker4 ,of all     
things1 says ,mr4 ,deutsch1 the most    
hated were idleness and asceticism2     
piety and learning themselves only      
received their proper estimation when   
joined to healthy1 bodily work4 ',it is 
well to add a trade to your studies2 you
 will then be free from sin1' ',the     

tradesman at his work need not rise     
before the greatest doctor1' ',greater  
is he who derives his livelihood from   
work than he who fears ,god'--are some  
of the most common dicta of the period4 
7,literary ,remains1 p4 #be1 where there
 are some striking stories in           
condemnation of asceticism74 ,mr4       
,deutsch elsewhere quotes1 ,rather live 
on your ,sabbath as you would on a week 
day than be dependent on others1        
7,ibid41 p4 #cj74--,trans4  #fh ,see    
above1 pp4 #adj-a4  #fi ,maimoniana1 pp4
 #aif-bjj4  #gj ,ibid41 p4 #hj4  #ga    
,ibid41 pp4 #hj1 #hc-d4  #gb ,ibid41 p4 
#ie1 note4  #gc ,ibid41 pp4 #hb-c4  #gd 
,ibid41 pp4 #aed1 #aeg4  #ge ,ibid41 pp4
 #hj1 #ie1 #ajd4  #gf ,ibid41 p4 #hd4   
#gg ,ibid41 p4 #aje4  #gh ,ibid41 p4    
#aei4  #gi ,ibid41 pp4 #bca-b4  #hj     
,ibid41 p4 #if4  #ha ,ibid41 p4 #adj4   
#hb ,ibid41 p4 #if4  #hc ,ibid41 p4 #ig4
  #hd ,fischer's ,geschichte der neuern 
,philosophie1 vol4 v41 pp4 #acc-d4  #he 
,maimoniana1 pp4 #aij-f4  #hf ,ibid41   

pp4 #ij-a4  #hg ,ibid41 pp4 #ahc-h4  #hh
 ,ibid41 pp4 #aja-d4  #hi ,ibid41 p4    
#bag4  #ij ,ibid41 pp4 #aji-aab1 #bjh1  
#bab-c4  #ia ,ibid41 p4 #hg4  #ib       
,ibid41 p4 #bac4  #ic ,ibid41 p4 #bdi4  
#id ,ibid41 p4 #hh4  #ie ,ibid41 p4     
#bcj4  #if ,ibid41 pp4 #hf-g4  #ig      
,ibid41 p4 #hi4  #ih ,see1 for example1 
,ibid41 pp4 #aab1 #aae1 #bji1 #bej-a4   
#ii ,ibid41 p4  #ajj ,ibid41 pp4 #afe-f4
  #aja ,ibid41 pp4 #bja-baj4  #ajb      
,ibid41 pp4 #ahc-h4         99       99 
99       99       99  ,notes on some    
,books of ,special ,interest            
,,published ,,by  ,,alexander ,,gardner1
  ,,paisley ,,and ,,london4  ,,at ,,all 
,,libraries4   ,,james ,,hepburn1 ,free 
,church ,minister4 ,by ,,sophie ,f4 ,f4 
,,veitch1 ,author of ,angus ,graeme1    
,gamekeeper1 etc4 #b vols41 ,crown      
#hvo41 #bas4  ,a strong story of real   
life and cannot fail to give ,miss      
,veitch a prominent position among      
modern novelists4444 ,the whole story is
 exceedingly powerful4--,saturday       

,review4  ,the work of fiction which    
heads the list may fairly be described  
as a singularly powerful and fascinating
 novel4 ,description by comparison is   
frequently convenient1 though           
occasionally misleading2 but we do not  
think we shall convey a wrong impression
 if we say that ',james ,hepburn' bears 
a strong resemblance to some of the most
 vigorous and characteristic of ,mrs4   
,oliphant's realistic ,scottish         
stories4444 ,james ,hepburn is one of   
the most truly heroic characters in     
recent fiction1 with a certain largeness
 and grandeur in his heroism which are  
wonderfully impressive1 and yet with a  
homeliness which never permits him to   
slip for a moment outside the range of  
our imaginative belief4 ,in creating an 
ideal character of unmistakable flesh   
and blood1 ,miss ,veitch has achieved an
 unequivocal success1 and one or two of 
the pivot situations in the book are    
conceived and presented with such       
dramatic power and sympathetic insight1 

that in virtue of them alone ',james    
,hepburn' takes place among the most    
remarkable and admirable of recent      
novels4444 ,there are chapters in       
',james ,hepburn' of which we feel      
convinced that the author of ,scenes of 
,clerical ,life would not have been     
ashamed4444 ,such a novel is not only a 
book to admire1 but one for which to be 
grateful4--,the ,spectator4  ',james    
,hepburn' is a novel in two volumes1    
which is quite startling in the         
freshness and beauty of its             
conception4444 ,this book deserves      
careful reading2 there is much more in  
it than the mere interest of a clever   
story1 and only good can result from its
 influence4--,literary ,world4  ,the    
author of ',angus ,graeme1 ,gamekeeper1'
 has produced another ,scottish novel of
 remarkable power4 ',james ,hepburn1    
,free ,church ,minister1' is at once a  
striking character study1 a skilful     
picture of the social life of a country 
town and district1 and a powerful       

sensational story4 ,it is in the first  
of these aspects that it displays most  
original vigour4444 ,it must be admitted
 to be one of the strongest productions 
of the fictional art that have recently 
appeared4--,scotsman4  ,there can be no 
question that ',james ,hepburn' is the  
most notable ,scottish story that will  
be issued in the jubilee year4--,the    
,christian ,leader4  ,and of this       
tendency towards pure character-painting
 and everyday incident ,miss ,sophie    
,veitch promises to be the best         
exponent4 ,in the two volumes which     
contain the story of episodes in the    
life of ,james ,hepburn1 each character 
is carefully studied and presented as a 
finished masterpiece4444 ,the book is a 
drama palpitating with intense and real 
life1 whose author should have a grand  
professional future4--,whitehall        
,review4  ,the book deserves the highest
 praise4 ,hepburn's relations with ,lady
 ,ellinor--his pure and noble love for  
her--are fitly crowned by his splendid  

self-sacrifice4444 ,the descriptive part
 of this fine and often brilliant novel 
is admirably done4--,london ,figaro4    
,no one who begins this story will pause
 till he has seen the hero through his  
troubles1 and we are sure no one who has
 done so will think he has spent his    
time badly4--,the ,british ,weekly4     
,james ,hepburn is a story of very      
unusual power1 promise1 and desert4444  
,the story of ,lady ,elinor is          
exceedingly pathetic2 and all her moods1
 as she gradually progresses along a    
path of peril1 are described with a hand
 at once sure and delicate4--,academy4  
,seldom do we meet with a novel by a    
comparatively unknown author which can  
afford such unalloyed pleasure4444 ,it  
is not every writer who can1 like ,mrs4 
,oliphant1 throw a glamour over the     
sordid details of bourgeois life4       
,amongst the few who can do so ,miss    
,veitch may now claim to rank2 her novel
 is a remarkable one1 and if it does not
 attain to considerable popularity the  

fault will not be with the author4444   
,there is intense pathos in the loyal   
struggle of the beautiful young wife who
 believes herself to be unsympathised   
with4444 ,we had marked more than one   
passage for quotation1 but space warns  
us that the pleasure must be forgone4   
,we must1 however1 draw special         
attention to ,lady ,ellinor's withering 
summary of ,radicalism 7vol4 ii4 p4     
#bdb74 ,the novel is one of the very few
 that follows ,mr4 ,weller's recipe1 and
 makes us wish that there was more of   
it4--,pictorial ,world4  ,a ,,successful
 ,,scotch ,,novel4--,it is long since a 
,scottish novel met with such a demand  
or created such a genuine sensation as  
has attended the publication of ',james 
,hepburn1 ,free ,church ,minister1'     
which was issued a few weeks ago by ,mr4
 ,gardner1 of ,paisley1 and which we    
noticed in the week of its publication4 
,we hear that already ,mr4 ,mudie has   
ordered four separate supplies1 the     
latest being for a large number of      

copies1 so great is the demand for the  
story on the part of the subscribers to 
his library4 ,miss ,sophie ,veitch1 the 
authoress1 had already made her mark by 
her fine novel of ',angus ,graeme1      
,gamekeeper4'--,daily ,mail4  ',james   
,hepburn1' by ,miss ,veitch1 is a clever
 and strong novel4444 ,its power and    
literary skill are undeniable4--,world4 
,novel-readers who may think there is   
not much promise of entertainment in the
 title which ,sophie ,f4 ,veitch has    
chosen for her new story1 will commit   
the common blunder of forming an        
erroneous judgment from superficial     
appearances4 ,a more interesting or     
vigorously-written tale we have not met 
with for some time back4--,the ,scottish
 ,leader4  ,a cleverly written story    
here includes both interesting incident 
and well-drawn character4--,the ,queen4 
,,supplement ,,to ,,jamieson',s         
,,scottish ,,dictionary4 ,by ,,david    
,,donaldson4 ,now ,ready1 ,price #bes42 
,large ,paper1 #dbs4  ,the work1 taken  

as a whole1 entitles ,mr4 ,donaldson to 
the gratitude of all interested in the  
study of philology1 for having performed
 so thoroughly and so well a difficult  
and laborious task4--,scotsman4  ,the   
soundness of the judgment which he has  
applied to this portion of his herculean
 task is only equalled by the fulness of
 his knowledge of those works which     
cover the whole period of ,scottish     
history1 during which the vernacular was
 written and spoken by all classes of   
society4 ,a very large number of the    
words in the ,supplement are recorded by
 ,mr4 ,donaldson for the first time1 at 
least as ,scottish words1 and of many of
 them the explanation will be found     
nowhere else4444 ,of ,mr4 ,donaldson's  
work1 it may safely be said that it is  
the most complete and scholarly         
endeavour that has thus far been made to
 accomplish a very difficult            
task4--,mail4  ,on every page we find   
evidence that ,mr4 ,donaldson has       
mastered all the works that cover the   

entire period of ,scottish history      
during which the vernacular was written 
and spoken by all classes of society4   
,he has1 furthermore1 utilised an       
extensive personal knowledge derived    
from the living speech of the people2   
and alike in the definitions and        
illustrations he displays unfailing     
soundness of judgment1 shown sometimes  
as much in what he has omitted as in    
that which is given4 ,an excellent      
memoir of ,dr4 ,jamieson1 admirable both
 for the fullness of its information and
 the generous warmth of its spirit1 adds
 to the value of a work without which1  
we may safely affirm1 no ,scottish      
library can henceforth be regarded as   
complete4--,leader4   ,,idyll ,,of ,,the
 ,,captive ,,king2 and ,other ,pieces4  
,with ,etchings4 ,by ,,james ,,sharp4   
,crown #hvo1 cloth1 #fs4  ,the author   
gives undoubted evidence of his right to
 be heard1 and our perusal of this      
volume enables us to commend his wide   
reading and knowledge of the world1 both

 in its physical and ethical aspects4   
,it is needless to add that ,mr4        
,gardner has done his part              
admirably4--,the ,kelso ,chronicle4     
,whether ,mr4 ,sharp's poetry be        
regarded in the abstract1 or as the     
product of the hours of leisure of a man
 of business1 much of it is commendable1
 and much is genuine and sound in       
feeling4--,the ,scottish ,news4  ,mr4   
,james ,sharp does not miss the occasion
 in his volume of poems1 ,the ,captive  
,king 7,alexander ,gardner74 ,his       
,jubilee ,ode1 like those of            
better-known bards1 scarcely represents 
his poetic powers1 as the following     
couplet may show3--  _/p       ,much as 
we love the ,prince of ,wales1 the      
,princess fair1 serene1       ,we want  
no other sovereign6 ,we want no other   
,queen6 p_/  ,tullibardine's ,bride1    
though a little diffuse1 is a readable  
narrative poem based on a ,perthshire   
legend4 ,in other lyrical pieces ,mr4   
,sharp sustains a patriotic vein with   

fervour4--,saturday ,review4  ,mr4      
,sharp's lyrics and shorter pieces1 are 
always pleasing in sentiment1 and are   
often sweet in expression4--,scotsman4  
,the book of poems which we introduce to
 our readers to-day has1 we think1 amply
 justified its issue in the beautiful   
form in which it is presented to the    
public4444 ,this delightful book will do
 something to modify that conception1   
and to show that mercantile pursuits and
 the exalted1 if traditionally prosaic1 
dignity of ,bailieship are not          
incompatible with a successful          
cultivation of the ,muses4 ,in depicting
 one of the most tragic chapters in our 
national annals1 ,mr4 ,sharp has        
attained charming results in his use of 
those heroic measures which the genius  
of ,scott and of ,edmonstone ,aytoun has
 made classic1 and through which these  
masters have made the dim shadows that  
erewhile flitted across the stage of    
,scottish history to stand forth as     
living men4444 ,we have directed the    

attention of our readers to these poems 
because of their intrinsic              
merits4--,strathearn ,herald4  ,if it be
 the poet's task to feel pleasure in    
life and discern beauty in nature1 to   
praise virtue and rejoice in love1 and  
make his readers do the same1 then ,mr4 
,sharp has succeeded admirably in       
effecting his purpose4--,dundee         
,advertiser4  ,mr4 ,sharp is seen at his
 best in his shorter poems4 ,in these1  
as a rule1 healthy sentiment is         
expressed in unpretentious              
verse4--,academy4   ,,second ,,and      
,,enlarged ,,edition4  ,,law ,,lyrics4  
,fcap4 #hvo1 #cs4 #f;d4  ,the anonymous 
author of the ',lyrics'--is he not to be
 met with among the sheriffs8--plays his
 tunes for session and vacation on the  
'goose-quill of the law1' and he manages
 to produce from that ancient instrument
 a considerable variety of              
expression4444 ,his pronounced national 
tastes are admirably shown in           
',oatmeal1' etc42 in lyrics like        

',stornoway ,bay1' there is the true    
lyrical gush2 while in such poems as ',a
 ,still ,lake1' there is revealed an    
exquisite power of                      
word-painting4444--,scotsman4  ,for     
neatness and aptness of expression1 it  
is equal to anything we have            
seen4--,scots ,law ,review4  ,a very    
agreeable little book for an idle hour4 
,the author shows himself equally at    
home in the serious as in the           
comic4--,graphic4  ,they are exceedingly
 clever1 and brimming over with fun and 
humour4 ,the author has earned a right  
to be called the ,laureate of the ,law1 
for certain it is that he invests the   
most prosaic of all professions with    
quite a halo of poetical                
interest4--,nonconformist4  ,unkempt    
enthusiasm and rollicking good humour   
are the chief features of this little   
volume4--,academy4  ,a charming little  
book4 ,we should seek the author on the 
bench1 not at the bar4--,glasgow ,daily 
,mail4  ,will please not only those     

'gentlemen of the long robe' to whom the
 tiny volume is dedicated1 but a far    
larger circle4 ,it is a delightful book 
of verses daintily got up4--,glasgow    
,herald4  ,these lyrics will bear       
comparison with the best work that has  
been done in this particular line4 ,will
 rival some of the best of ,outram's    
lyrics in common sense and              
humour4--,scottish ,news4  ,the lyrics  
are written for the most part with      
sprightliness and ease4 ,the more       
serious and imaginative pieces disclose 
a rich vein of poetic fancy4 ,there are 
many who will procure the second edition
 from a recollection of the pleasure    
which the first gave them4--,journal of 
,jurisprudence4  ,will bear comparison  
with ,outram's1 ,neave's1 and ,aytoun's4
 ,faultless in rhythm1 and remarkable   
for rhyme4--,evening ,news4  ,the       
picture seems to us exquisite4          
,altogether1 the work proves the writer 
to be a true poet4--,stirling           
,advertiser4  ,the verses are inspirited

 and inspiring1 expressive of the       
feelings of many in these golden days of
 summer4 ,to the second edition the     
author has added some sixty pages       
brimful of the delightful verses which  
are found so attractive in the first    
edition4--,weekly ,citizen4  ,one of the
 two strongest and purest writers in the
 ,scottish vernacular that have been    
added to the choir of ,northern         
minstrels during the present            
century4--,christian ,leader4  ,the     
admirable ,law ,lyrics 444 bright with  
strokes of pawky humour1 and abounding  
in verses each of which contains a      
picture1 the volume is one which will   
become a lasting favourite with its     
readers4--,the ,bailie4  ,strongly      
incentive to hearty honest laughter     
which makes the heart grow brighter1    
while to staid and grave and reverend   
seigniors the sweet lark-song-like      
verses relating to nature1 no less form 
subjects for reflection4--,ayrshire     
,weekly ,news4  ,the little volume is   

interesting from the first page to the  
last4--,inverness ,courier4  ,some of   
the verses exhibit a power of           
picturesque description which it would  
be difficult to match1 except out of the
 masters of song4 ,reveal in attractive 
style the patriotism which animates the 
poet1 and establishes a claim additional
 to that of his undoubted genius1 to a  
large and appreciative ,scotch          
audience4--,greenock ,telegraph4  ,such 
pieces as ',scotch ,porridge1 etc4 are  
amongst the most felicitous examples of 
,scotch poetry we have seen in recent   
years4--,brechin ,advertiser4  ,strong  
common sense pervades the whole1 and the
 views of the author are expressed with 
a directness1 force1 clearness1 and     
simplicity1 which leaves nothing to be  
desired4--,north ,british ,advertiser4  
,of a highly captivating nature1 the    
author being possessed of a keen sense  
of the humourous4--,stirling ,observer4 
,equal to anything of their kind known  
to us after ,burns4 ,a very genial and  

enjoyable volume4--,aberdeen ,gazette4  
,he expresses himself with a felicity   
and pawky humour that equal ,lord       
,neaves and ,outram at their best1 and  
in several poems the natural grace and  
pith of expression remind one more of   
,burns than any other writer4 ,this may 
seem pitching it very high1 but in our  
opinion1 the poems will bear out the    
assertion4 ,we recommend it to all in   
the profession of its author1 and to    
everyone who can appreciate true humour 
and good poetry4--,the ,people's        
,friend4  ,many of the lyrics which     
celebrate the charms of rural life and  
scenery are extremely fine1 displaying  
as they do rare observing powers1 a rich
 fancy1 and flowing tasteful            
language4--,dumfries ,standard4  ,he is 
a follower of ,robert ,burns and finds  
in the ,court1 and in the ,temple1 an   
inspiration which the great ,scotch poet
 found in the fields of                 
,ayrshire4--,pall ,mall ,gazette4  ,he  
possesses the power of writing simple   

flowing verse in an eminent             
degree4--,literary ,world4   ,,the      
,,survival ,,of ,,the ,,fittest ,,and   
,,the ,,salvation ,,of ,,the ,,few4 ,a  
,criticism of ,natural ,law in the      
,spiritual ,world4 ,by ,rev4 ,a4        
,,wilson4 ,crown #hvo1 cloth1 #bs4 #f;d4
 ,post free4  ,in a former number of    
this ,review we drew attention to two or
 three of the main fallacies of         
,professor ,drummond's shallow but      
attractive book4 ,we are glad to see    
that ,mr4 ,alexander ,wilson has1 with a
 scientific knowledge equal to          
,professor ,drummond's1 and with a      
logical faculty far superior1 subjected 
it to a far more systematic and         
exhaustive analysis4 ,those who were    
interested in the dazzling pages of     
,natural ,law in the ,spiritual ,world1 
but not blinded by their glitter1 will  
welcome this justification of their     
doubts in the solid form of facts and   
arguments1 and those who were fascinated
 by the ,professor's brilliant rhetoric 

and imagery will have a rather painful  
awakening4 ,they will see the idol      
shattered which they had to fall down   
and worship as a condition of attaining 
to an intellectual standpoint from which
 they might see all known facts in their
 harmony and continuity4 ,it is1 no     
doubt1 very fascinating to be able to   
harmonize and to systematize2 but       
suppose your theory of law1 identical in
 the natural and in the spiritual       
worlds1 results in the necessity of     
assuming that man is nothing more than a
 part of material nature until he is    
converted1 and of believing that the    
survival of the fittest means the       
salvation of the few 7according to the  
analogy of the seeds of an orchid1 of   
about one person in a generation71 would
 a ,god who has made men so be the      
object of religious feeling1 or this    
spiritual world1 with its rare and      
lonely tenants1 be worth arguing for8   
,it is probable that few readers of this
 new analogy drew such inferences1 but  

were merely interested in ,professor    
,drummond's spiritual and scientific    
gymnastics2 but for the thoughtful few  
who may have been disturbed by them it  
is well that he has been answered by one
 so capable1 both from a ,christian and 
scientific point of view1 as ,mr4       
,wilson4--,saturday ,review4  ,it is    
this fallacy1 the presumption that the  
laws of matter are continuous through   
the spiritual universe1 that ,mr4       
,wilson finds himself first called on to
 meet2 and he does so by contending that
 the principle of continuity applies    
only if the spiritual universe be itself
 material1 and not necessarily even     
them1 inasmuch as there are in the      
material universe imponderable bodies to
 which the law of gravitation1 for      
example1 does not extend4444 ,mr4       
,wilson has written a very able1 acute1 
and temperate criticism1 in a thoroughly
 religious spirit1 with perfect courtesy
 to his opponent2 and we should be glad 
to think that his work would be widely  

read4--,scotsman4  444 ,the critique is 
interesting1 clever1 earnest1 and1 we   
may add1 respectful to ,professor       
,drummond4444 ,here1 we think1 ,mr4     
,wilson occupies a very strong--indeed1 
an invulnerable position4 ,this is not1 
however1 so much the critic's own       
position as that of other writers1 but1 
he appears to us1 in great measure1 to  
recognise and accept it4 ,his own words 
farther on are3 ',the identification of 
the natural and spiritual laws1 if taken
 absolutely1 would lead to the          
confounding together of mind and body1  
,god and ,nature4' 444 ,we are much     
interested in the author's criticism of 
the ,professor's arguments touching the 
subject which gives the book its title4 
,it forms an earnest and powerful       
chapter4444--,literary ,world4  ,an     
answer to ,professor ,drummond1 a work  
of some importance has just made its    
appearance4 ,it is certain that ,mr4    
,wilson's able examination of ',natural 
,law in the ,spiritual ,world' will     

attract a good deal of attention and    
controversy4--,london ,figaro4  ,mr4    
,wilson1 with great vigour and          
intrepidity1 criticises the ,professor's
 conclusions4444 ,the great question    
raised by ,professor ,drummond's work is
 that of the relation of the natural law
 of the survival of the fittest to the  
doctrine of election4 ,his critic       
combats this conclusion with much       
acuteness and ability4--,glasgow        
,herald4   ,,with ,,portrait ,,and      
,,numerous ,,illustrations4  ,,david    
,,kennedy1 ,the ,scottish ,singer3      
,reminiscences of his ,life and ,work4  
,by ,,marjory ,,kennedy4 ,and ,,singing 
,,round ,,the ,,world3 ,a ,narrative of 
his ,colonial and ,indian ,tours4 ,by   
,,david ,,kennedy1 ,junr4 ,demy #hvo1   
#dhj pages1 cloth extra1 #gs4 #f;d4     
,post free4  ,these unique musical tours
 were from time to time described by the
 chief musician's son ,david in         
different books having reference to the 
,colonies1 to ,india1 and to the ,cape4 

,they have now found a graceful and     
appropriate preliminary chapter in the  
form of a memoir of ,david ,kennedy     
himself4444 ,the memoir has been        
prepared by ,miss ,marjory ,kennedy with
 much taste and judgment1 and will be   
read with interest1 not only for the    
sake of her father's characteristic     
letters and stories of early life1 but  
as recalling in various other ways      
pleasant memories associated with a     
family of rare gifts and                
graces4--,glasgow ,herald4   ,,life ,,in
 ,,shetland4 ,by ,,john ,,russell4      
,crown #hvo1 ,cloth1 #cs4 #f;d4 ,post   
free4  ,contains a great quantity of    
very interesting information about      
,shetland and its people4 ,by a happy   
instinct1 ,mr4 ,russell has been led to 
write about those things which he knows 
thoroughly--namely1 his own doings and  
experiences4444 ,there follows the story
 of the strange minister at the 'second 
diet' of a ,presbytery meeting who      
wanted to propose a toast1 but was      

informed by the horrified moderator that
 ',god's people in that part of the     
country were not in the habit of        
drinking toasts4' ,the rebuked stranger 
quietly rejoined that he 'had never     
before seen ,god's people drink so much 
toddy4' ,much1 both edifying and        
entertaining1 might be quoted from this 
unique volume1 but enough may have been 
said to gain for it the public attention
 it deserves4--,scotsman4  ,we owe much 
to men like ,mr4 ,russell1 who1 without 
any pretence1 note down what comes under
 their observation of an interesting    
nature regarding curious customs1 habits
 of life1 and folk-lore1 among the      
people with whom they come into         
contact4444 ,he is never entirely dull1 
and we prefer such volumes which bring  
us into actual contact with a poor but  
unsophisticated people to many          
pretentious stories4 ,we follow the     
minister as he goes out and in among the
 people1 suffering hardship1 visiting1  
catechising1 getting up a stock of fifty

 sermons1 relating odd anecdotes1 and   
noting down peculiarities4 ,we recommend
 this book to all who are interested in 
the subject4 ,it makes luminous to us   
the obscure lives and labours of an     
interesting people4--,pen and ,pencil4  
,an interesting and thoroughly realistic
 picture of life in ,shetland is        
presented to us in this volume by ,mr4  
,russell1 whose sojourn in those        
,northern islands gave him good         
opportunity of observing the place and  
the people4444 ,good stories1 and brief 
observations and remarks on the geology1
 natural history1 and antiquities of the
 islands1 and the peculiar manners and  
customs of the people1 ever and anon    
crop out in the narrative4444 ,it       
contains1 however1 a faithfully accurate
 and very reliable description of       
,ultima ,thule4 ,and as the reader      
closes the volume he will find that he  
has made acquaintance at once with a    
singular country1 and a pleasant guide  
to its chief points of                  

interest4--,aberdeen ,free ,press4  ,a  
bright and entertaining volume1 and a   
valuable volume withal1 anent ,shetland 
and the ,shetlanders4444 ,i know no book
 on ,shetland equal to this of ,mr4     
,russell's4 ,its style is pointed and   
racy2 the author talks about what he    
knows and what he knows intimately4 ,to 
put the matter in a word1 there isn't a 
dull page in ',three ,years in          
,shetland1' from the title to the       
sentence at the close in which ,mr4     
,russell expresses the wish that 'all   
good things may attend' the islanders   
among whom he spent three delightful    
years4--,bailie4  ,a very readable book 
about a very interesting people4444 ,a  
minister1 of course1 enjoys altogether  
exceptional opportunities1 and ,mr4     
,russell seems to have made good use of 
them4 ,he writes frankly about things as
 he found them1 which he is perhaps all 
the better able to do for his change to 
the position of an outsider4--,glasgow  
,herald4  ,it contains some of the best 

clerical stories--though not always of  
the most dignified nature1 nor such as  
will tend to exalt the cloth in the     
estimation of rude and irreverent       
laics--that we have come across1 and it 
gives very interesting1 and for the most
 part accurate1 details of the everyday 
life of the people4--,elgin ,courant and
 ,courier4   ,,uniform ,,with           
,,benderloch4  ,,loch ,,creran4 ,notes  
from the ,west ,highlands4 ,by ,w4      
,,anderson ,,smith4 ,crown #hvo1 cloth1 
#fs4 ,post free4  ,readers of ,mr4 ,w4  
,anderson ,smith's ,benderloch will     
welcome from the same pen a second      
instalment of notes of natural history  
in the ,western ,highlands entitled     
,loch ,creran4444 ,the influences of    
free moorland air and buoyant water1 of 
a spacious heaven and wide horizon1 are 
with us1 and give zest to the study of  
fish and fowl and flower that are       
liberally displayed4 ,whether it is the 
flight of a solitary bunting1 or the    
habitat of the pipe-fish 7,sygnathus71  

the progress of ,my in the refluent tide
 or a nested robin domiciled among      
strange perils1 the scenic suggestion   
cannot fail to persuade the senses4 ,a  
large and distinctive portion of ,mr4   
,smith's book is devoted to the         
investigation of the rich spoil of the  
dredger1 as might be anticipated of so  
enthusiastic a student of fish culture1 
and many of the most interesting pages  
describe excursions on the waters of    
,etive and ,creran and ,benderloch1 or  
among the rocky pools and stretches of  
sand exposed by the ebbing sea4 ,by sea 
or land1 on the wild hills or among the 
flowers and insects of his garden1 ,mr4 
,smith has ever something to say that is
 worth hearing1 and he says it with     
admirable clearness and                 
force4--,saturday ,review4  ,these      
charming notes from the ,western        
,highlands are truly fascinating4       
,entering into the very spirit of the   
life and scenery by which he is         
surrounded1 ,mr4 ,smith gives his       

readers the benefit of the vast and     
out-of-the-way stores of information he 
has gathered in all branches of natural 
history4 ,each month1 as it passes1 has 
a chapter devoted to all its manifold   
changes and doings1 and we get many     
glimpses of charming excursions1 not    
unmixed with danger1 when overtaken by  
those sudden climatic changes to which  
that grand wild mountainous coast is    
often exposed4 ,an enthusiastic         
naturalist1 the writer does not ride his
 hobby to death1 but1 like a true lover 
of ,nature1 his sketches are bright and 
fresh1 and full of vivid descriptions1  
interspersed with many curious anecdotes
 and facts relating to both the animal  
and vegetable kingdoms4 ,no better or   
more instructive guide to the fauna and 
flora of the ,western ,highlands could  
be had than ,mr4 ,anderson ,smith's most
 pleasant book4--,literary ,world4      
,they will be well rewarded who follow  
,mr4 ,anderson ,smith along the         
sea-shore1 the hill-side1 or the        

trouting stream2 they will find how much
 a quiet and attentive eye can glean    
from a loving study of the denizens of  
earth1 air1 and water4 ,the book is     
provided with a good index1 and those   
who have not leisure or patience to read
 it through at a sitting may dip where  
they please4 ,like ,mr4 ,smith's dredge1
 they hardly ever fail to bring up      
something of interest4--,scotsman4      
,students of natural history who read   
,benderloch1 by ,mr4 ,w4 ,a4 ,smith1    
will give a cordial welcome to ,loch    
,creran1 another and even more          
attractive work by the same observant   
author4 ,with the exception1 perhaps1 of
 ,mr4 ,jefferson1 no living naturalist  
is gifted with a more picturesque manner
 of depicting the habits of birds1      
beasts1 and fishes than is ,mr4         
,smith4444 ,then what a vast fund of    
entertaining instruction is gathered in 
these excursions2 a royal road to       
natural history is laid down by ,mr4    
,smith1 and the student follows it      

leisurely1 culling charming bits of     
zoological lore here and there4 ,one    
never knows what a new day may bring    
forth when accompanying ,mr4 ,smith on  
his rambles4444 ,there is1 indeed1 no   
end to the curious things observed by   
,mr4 ,smith4 ,he seems only to sleep at 
home1 for1 with his waterproof handy1 he
 roams about all day in the open air1   
and comes home at night with a          
well-filled note-book4444 ,the wealth of
 interesting matter in this delightful  
volume is1 however1 tempting us beyond  
our space1 and we think we have collated
 enough to make all who love the        
country1 its sights and sounds1 and     
health-giving breezes read the work     
itself4--,dundee ,advertiser4  ,to those
 who are familiar with ,mr4 ,anderson   
,smith's ,benderloch1 no introduction or
 recommendation will be necessary on    
behalf of his new book1 ,loch ,creran4  
,the work is1 in fact1 as the preface   
explains1 simply a continuation of the  
natural history sketches of which       

,benderloch is composed4444 ,with what a
 happy combination of vivacity and      
patience1 insight and enthusiasm1 ,mr4  
,anderson ,smith scans the open pages of
 that great tome of nature4444          
,treasure-trove of this kind1 along with
 notes of a more strictly scientific    
character1 is freely scattered through  
,mr4 ,anderson ,smith's pages2 and so it
 will have a charm for every reader with
 healthy natural tastes4--,scottish     
,leader4  ,there are few books in the   
language more delightful than ,white's  
,selborne1 and in ,mr4 ,w4 ,anderson    
,smith that earnest ,hampshire          
naturalist has a distinguished          
successor4 ,his most recent volume is   
worthy of the author of ,benderloch1 a  
book which1 it may be hoped1 is already 
familiar to our readers4444 ,the variety
 of his researches on land and water    
prevent monotony4 ,the author has much  
to tell1 and he explains what he has    
seen and done without waste of          
words4--,illustrated ,london ,news4     

,mr4 ,anderson ,smith's observations    
extend over #ahha-b1 and refer mainly to
 the natural history of the district1   
but he deals also with other aspects of 
,nature1 and his book is well worth     
reading4--,times4  ,there can be no     
hesitation in assuring lovers of ,nature
 that in ,loch ,creran they will find a 
work after their own heart4444 ,the     
charm of the volume before us is that it
 is not the hasty outcome of the        
bookmaker feverishly eager to piece     
together into a volume odds and ends of 
information4 ,there is an air of        
leisureliness about ,loch ,creran4      
,month by month are given the results of
 two years' close intercourse with loch 
and sea1 field and wood4 ,the work is   
one to be enjoyed by those who share the
 writer's tastes and spirit1 and not to 
be rushed by the heedless4--,graphic4   
,every page has its charm1 something at 
once to instruct the mind and to tickle 
and amuse the fancy4 ,it is not a book  
to be read through at one sitting1 but  

one to dip into occasionally and to     
ruminate over in pleased contentment4   
,perhaps its worth will be best         
appreciated by those taking a holiday in
 the country1 or1 above all1 at the     
seaside4 ,and it will serve as a very   
efficient guide to persons beginning the
 study of natural history1 directing    
them what and how to observe4 ,many a   
capital story he gives illustrating the 
remarkable intelligence of the lower    
animals4 ,some of these border upon the 
marvellous4--,perthshire ,constitutional
 and ,journal4  ,chatty and discursive1 
rather than elaborate1 the interest in  
',loch ,creran' is well maintained      
throughout1 and the book appeals to the 
general reader1 by whom it will         
doubtless be perused with greater       
pleasure than a more highly scientific  
disquisition4--,pall ,mall ,gazette4    
,he is a charming companion4 ,his       
descriptions are vivid and true to      
nature--whether he makes us shiver and  
feel glad of the shelter of the house1  

as he tells us of winter's storms and   
floods1 or whether he fills our hearts  
with a longing for the freshness and    
gladness of spring as he notes the signs
 of its advent on the shores of ,loch   
,creran4--,glasgow ,herald4   ,,old     
,,church ,,life ,,in ,,scotland3        
,lectures on ,kirk-,session and         
,presbytery ,records4 ,second ,series4  
,by ,,andrew ,,edgar1 ,d4,d4 ,demy #hvo1
 cloth1 #gs4 #f;d4 ,post free4          
,antiquaries may welcome the minister of
 ,mauchline as an elder brother of their
 craft4 ,we have not seen the first     
series of lectures1 but certainly these 
contain much that is queer and quaint4  
,odd people1 these ,scotch folks2 but   
there is a homeliness and a reverence   
about them which we greatly value4 ,our 
author is evidently of the ,established 
,church1 and knows most about the old   
customs of that body1 of which he writes
 with a twinkle in his eye which causes 
our eye to twinkle also4 ,the grim want 
of humour in some of the proceedings is 

about the same thing as the presence of 
humour3 you may laugh till you cry1 and 
cry till you laugh2 between the         
tremendously solemn and the ridiculous  
there is but a step4 ,we have been so   
interested with the lectures that we    
must get the former volume4 ,what times 
those must have been when guests at a   
funeral began to meet at ten in the     
morning1 though the body might not be   
moved till three or four6 ,five or six  
hours6 ,how did they spin them out8 ,no 
marvel that the ,kirk-,session had to   
hear charges of drunkenness4 ,such books
 as these are the best of history1      
leading us indeed into byways and lone  
paths which the general historian never 
traces4--,c4 ,h4 ,spurgeon4   ,,my      
,,college ,,days3 ,the ,autobiography of
 an ,old ,student4 ,edited by ,r4       
,,menzies ,,fergusson1 ,m4,a41 ,author  
of ,rambles in the ,far ,north1 c4 #hvo1
 cloth1 #es4 ,post free4  ,mr4          
,fergusson1 either as author or as      
editor1 has well earned our gratitude by

 giving us a volume which all may read  
with enjoyment and pleasure4444 ,space  
and its limits will not allow us to     
dwell on many other points of interest  
to be found in this entertaining volume2
 but we cannot pass without mentioning  
the worthy dame who said1 in praise of  
her preacher3 ',there's ae thing aboot  
yon man--he's a grand roarer4' ,nor must
 we forget the careful landlady who was 
always anxious to know if her           
student-lodger was as yet an unengaged  
man1 or1 to use her own graphic phrase1 
was 'a bund sack set by4'444--,literary 
,world4  ,we own to a suspicion that in 
this instance ,mr4 ,fergusson has been  
his own literary executor4 ,whether this
 be the case or not1 he has no reason to
 be ashamed of the bequest4 ,the        
sketches have a pleasant grace of       
literary style1 and a good deal of power
 in description of character-sketching1 
while there is in the writer a subtle   
under-strain of pawky humour1 and he has
 brought together and put permanently on

 record a number of traditions of       
,university life in ,edinburgh and ,st4 
,andrews that are well worth            
preservation4444 ,our old student's     
reminiscences of ,st4 ,andrews1 where he
 took the theological course after      
graduating in arts at ,edinburgh1 are   
not less lively or interesting than     
those he sets down respecting his ,alma 
,mater2 and his book is likely to take a
 place both on the shelves and in the   
enduring regard of many readers who have
 had similar experiences and tasted     
similar pleasures4 ,a word of praise is 
due to the excellence of its typography 
and get-up4--,scottish ,leader4  ,we    
think the verdict will be that ,mr4     
,fergusson has done well in publishing  
this thoughtful book4 ,it abounds in    
vigorous1 and1 in many cases1 eloquent  
delineations of ,university life2 it is 
sympathetic in its spirit and catholic  
in its tone1 especially when dealing    
with such subjects as the stage1 so     
frequently abused4 ,its author was a    

student of the ,universities of         
,edinburgh1 ,st4 ,andrews1 and ,oxford1 
his reminiscences of which are often    
humorous1 and always interesting4 ,some 
of the anecdotes recorded in this volume
 regarding the ,edinburgh ,professors   
are exceedingly entertaining4444 ,we    
venture to predict for this             
autobiography a wide                    
circulation4--,dundee ,advertiser4  ,the
 book is eminently readable1 very quiet 
for the most part1 but not without a few
 touches of gaiety and sprightly humour2
 and it betokens no little culture      
together with a strong poetic tendency4 
,the contents are almost entirely       
confined to sketches of life at         
,scottish ,universities1 with some      
playful personal satire1 of which       
various ,professors1 some mentioned by  
name and others denoted by initials1 are
 the objects in chief1 although the     
peculiarities of certain landladies     
whose province it is1 or was1 to let    
lodgings to students at ,edinburgh or   

elsewhere1 come in for their share of   
more or less satirical delineation4 ,but
 there is nothing spiteful1 nothing     
bitter1 nothing cynical in the mode of  
treatment4 ,two chapters are devoted to 
a sketch1 brief but graphic and         
sympathetic1 of academic ,oxford1       
whither the author went to sojourn and  
to study for two months4--,illustrated  
,london ,news4  ,this is a delightful   
book1 calculated to afford much         
pleasurable amusement of a quiet kind4  
,it is written in a light sparkling     
style4444 ,the book itself is an        
enjoyable one1 and perhaps none will    
read it with greater relish than the old
 fogies who see in it much of what they 
themselves passed through1 and who1 by  
the perusal are led to recall1 with     
mingled feelings1 the aspirations1 the  
freshness1 and the frolic of their own  
,college days4--,perthshire             
,constitutional4  ,by those who have    
passed through the ,universities it will
 be read with considerable pleasure1    

affording as it does such happy         
reminiscences of ',college days1' with  
their grave1 plodding seriousness1 or   
that more boisterous playfulness which  
is supposed to be the characteristic of 
students as a class4 ,those1 again1 who 
are simply outsiders1 and have had no   
,college days whatever1 will be charmed 
by the recital here given of the doings 
of the students1 and the customs        
associated with the respective          
,universities1 the pen-portraits of the 
several professors1 the opinions        
expressed regarding men and things1 the 
poetry1 original and selected1 and the  
hundred and one subjects here treated of
 by a man of observant nature possessing
 facility of expression1 besides a keen 
sense and appreciation of the           
humorous4444--,stirling ,observer4      
,many a 'varsity man1 who has won his   
decree in the modest 'little city1 worn 
and grey1' will welcome the appearance  
of ,mr4 ,r4 ,m4 ,fergusson's ,college   
,days4 ,redolent every page of it1 of   

the class-room1 and the wild            
,bohemianism of student life1 and       
bristling with the 'classic' ditties    
which have so often made the halls of   
,st4 ,salvator's resound1 here is       
material for a mental revel in the      
past4--,northern ,chronicle4  ,this     
series of autobiographical notes deserve
 recognition1 if only because the style 
is perfectly natural and perfectly      
good-natured4444 ,the book contains     
several capital anecdotes and some      
excellent verse4--,london ,figaro4  ,but
 after all the charm of the volume lies 
in the whole life of a student which is 
presented to us1 for his joys and his   
troubles1 his amusements and his hard   
reading1 are here written of by one who 
has evidently experienced all4          
,scattered throughout these pages are   
numerous verses1 some original1 some    
well-known students' songs4 ,the        
original verses are very                
good4444--,stirling ,journal4  ,the     
volume contains some very excellent     

poems which are worthy of finding1 and  
doubtless will find1 a place as verses  
to future songs4 ,there is not a chapter
 in the book which is not thoroughly    
entertaining4--,the ,tribune4  ,the     
',old ,student' has to speak of ,scotch 
,universities1 ,edinburgh1 to wit1 and  
,st4 ,andrews1 while he gives some      
impressions1 gained as an outsider1 of  
,oxford4444 ,there is much that is      
interesting and entertaining1 some good 
stories1 and generally a pleasant       
picture of a happy and busy             
life4--,spectator4  ,the writer is      
always entertaining and kindly1 is wise 
in season1 and also desipit in loco1 and
 tells some good stories--professors    
being naturally his chief               
subjects4--,pall ,mall ,gazette4  ,it   
is1 to say the least1 eminently probable
 that ,mr4 ,fergusson relates his own   
experiences in ,edinburgh and ,st4      
,andrews4 ,he does so in a sufficiently 
lively and 'freshman' style4444 ,my     
,college ,days is1 on the whole1 as     

readable as any book of the kind that   
has recently been published4--,the      
,academy4  ,mr4 ,r4 ,menzies ,fergusson 
paints life as he thinks he saw it as a 
young man at ,st4 ,andrews and          
,edinburgh1 in ,my ,college ,days4 ,this
 'autobiography of an old student'      
contains much interesting reminiscence1 
and ,mr4 ,fergusson has perhaps not     
erred in introducing into his text      
specimens of the verse into which some  
of his ,caledonian student              
contemporaries were in the habit of     
dropping occasionally4 ,mr4 ,fergusson's
 little book should find many a         
sympathetic reader among former alumni  
of the ,scottish ,universities1 for he  
writes without affectation4--,graphic4  
',seldom have we had more pleasure than 
in the perusal of these reminiscences of
 ,college days4 ,no one who has gone    
through the curriculum of a ,scotch     
,university can fail to attest the      
fidelity with which his experience here 
finds expression4444 ',an ,old ,student'

 was privileged to have more than one   
alma mater4 ,he could boast the         
fostering care of ,edinburgh1 of ,st4   
,andrews1 and of ,oxford1 and of all    
these he has most pleasant              
reminiscences4 ,our author's experiences
 at ,oxford will repay perusal4 ,the    
whole book1 written in a most happy1    
though thoughtful and affectionate      
strain1 must incite the most cordial    
sympathy of all whose student days have 
not been forgotten1 while the general   
public will peruse it with responsive   
hearts and a regretful feeling that they
 have missed the experiences of which it
 treats4'--,brechin ,advertiser4  ',the 
minister of ,logie1 who made a decided  
hit with ,rambles in the ,far ,north1   
has attempted a very difficult bit of   
work in ,my ,college ,days4 ,this       
purports to be the ,,ms4 legacy of a    
,college friend who died young after    
some experience of student life in      
,edinburgh1 ,st4 ,andrews1 and ,oxford4 
,the fiction will impose upon nobody1   

although it may shield the editor from  
some blame1 for while there is mirth and
 vigour and kindly reminiscence1 there  
is also some very sharp criticism1 and  
much reference to ,academic dignitaries 
who are still in the flesh1 and may be  
sensitive and inclined to sting when    
they find some of their class jokes not 
merely in print but bound in a book4444 
,if certain ,edinburgh divines beguile a
 leisure hour over these pages1 they    
will for once see themselves as the     
keen-witted see them1 and be amazed at  
the impudence of the rising generation4 
,everybody who knows ,edinburgh will    
recognise the portrait of the preacher  
who is likened to ,dr4 ,andrew ,thomson 
in one thing--',there's ae thing about  
yon man1 he's a grand roarer4' ,the ,st4
 ,andrews part is full and cleverly     
done1 and will have a charm for most    
alumni of the ',college of the scarlet  
gown1' because it contains a large      
number of the songs1 original and       
selected1 with which the lobby of the   

,natural ,philosophy class-room was wont
 to resound4--,elgin ,courant4  ,the    
style is lively1 and the descriptions of
 scenes of student life are graphic4    
,the account of the election of ,rector 
at ,edinburgh will doubtless interest   
many1 and the chapter dealing with      
landladies1 their varieties and         
idiosyncracies1 is humorous4--,morning  
,post4  ,to recent students of our two  
greatest ,scottish                      
,universities--,edinburgh and ,st4      
,andrews--,my ,college ,days is charged 
with intense interest1 though its racy  
humour and chatty discursiveness will   
render it attractive reading to those   
uninitiated in academic mysteries and   
innocent of student frivolities4 ,the   
life of an ,edinburgh student1 in       
college and out of college1 in the      
class-room1 the debating society1 the   
theatre1 and the church1 is described   
with untiring vivacity4444 ,whether     
author or merely editor1 ,mr4 ,menzies  
,fergusson is to be sincerely           

congratulated upon his success4         
,reminiscence is a species of literature
 not always instructive1 not always even
 entertaining2 in ,mr4 ,fergusson's     
hands it becomes both4--,fifeshire      
,journal4  ,we think the verdict of     
every impartial reader will be that ,mr4
 ,ferguson has done well in publishing  
this book4 ,it abounds in vigorous1 and1
 in many instances1 impressive          
descriptions of ,university life2 it is 
enlivened at judicious intervals with   
original verses1 which evince lyrical   
power2 its style is admirably condensed 
and clear2 it is sympathetic in its     
spirit and catholic in its tone1        
especially when dealing with such       
subjects as the stage and its modern    
exponents by narrow-minded writers so   
frequently abused4--,ayr ,observer4  ,it
 is pleasantly written1 is full of the  
fun of student life1 full1 too1 of its  
hardships1 abounds with excellent       
stories1 is very discriminating in      
professional criticism1 while scattered 

throughout the racy pages are many      
snatches of jovial college songs        
recorded nowhere else4444 ,altogether   
the volume is very readable1 and no     
student1 at all events1 can find a dull 
page in it4--,kelso ,chronicle4   ,,the 
,,tragedy ,,of ,,gowrie ,,house4 ,an    
,historical ,study4 ,by ,,louis ,a4     
,,barb4 ,fcap4 #dto1 #fs4  ,in this new 
work on the interesting and mysterious  
episode of ,scottish ,history1 usually  
known as the ,gowrie ,conspiracy1 the   
author has not only submitted the old   
materials to a close examination1 but   
also thrown new light on the subject by 
the help of letters to be found in the  
,record ,office1 but overlooked or      
suppressed by former historians1 of     
documents recently discovered by the    
,commission on ,historical ,,mss41 and  
also of important papers preserved in   
the ,french ,archives4  ,a treasure of  
almost priceless thought and            
criticism4--,contemporary ,review4  ,in 
the press4 ,second ,edition1 ,thoroughly

 ,revised4 ,cr4 #hvo1 #cch pp41 #gs4    
#f;d4   ,,wit1 ,,wisdom1 ,,and ,,pathos1
  ,,from ,,the ,,prose ,,of ,,heinrich  
,,heine4  ,,with ,a ,,few ,,pieces      
,,from ,,the ,,book ,,of ,,songs4       
,,selected ,,and ,,translated ,,by ,j4  
,,snodgrass4  ,mr4 ,snodgrass has       
produced a book in which lazy people    
will find a great deal to please them4  
,they can take it up at any moment1 and 
open it on any page with the certainty  
of finding some bright epigram2 they    
need not turn down the page on shutting 
up the volume1 as it matters little     
where they resume4 ,there is nothing    
jarring in the whole book4--,athenum1   
,april #ai1 #ahgg4  ,no ,englishman of  
culture who is unacquainted with ,heine 
can fail to derive a new intellectual   
pleasure from ,mr4 ,snodgrass's         
pages4--,contemporary ,review1          
,september #ahhj4  ,mr4 ,snodgrass would
 appear to have saturated himself with  
,heine literature1 to have so caught    
,heine's mode of thought and his turns  

of expression--quaint1 droll1 swift1 and
 scathing by turns--that the translator 
would appear to have had no more        
difficulty in presenting ,heine as he   
was to the reader than he would have in 
presenting his own thoughts4--,glasgow  
,herald1 ,march #ca1 #ahgi4  ,mr4       
,snodgrass1 in his ',wit1' c41 has dime 
a great service in this respect1        
presenting as it were a full-length     
miniature of the man1 clear and         
effective1 wherein his characteristic   
expression is faithfully caught and     
where1 if we look carefully1 we can see 
him as he really was1 for he is made to 
paint his own portrait4--,british       
,quarterly ,review1 ,october #ahha4     
,mr4 ,snodgrass has certainly done great
 service to ,english literature in      
presenting us with a compact little     
volume like that before us4--,spectator4
  ,a word of cordial praise is due to   
the translator1 ,mr4 ,j4 ,snodgrass1 for
 his admirable performance of a very    
difficult task4 ,his book is one to     

welcome and to keep as a treasure of    
almost priceless thought and            
criticism4--,contemporary ,review1      
,february #ahha4  ,mr4 ,snodgrass is to 
be thanked for a very seasonable bit of 
work4--,examiner1 ,april #bf1 #ahgi4    
,we are bound to say that ,mr4          
,snodgrass has done his work            
exceptionally well4--,the ,literary     
,world1 ,may #i1 #ahgi4  ,mr4 ,snodgrass
 has made a valuable addition to        
,english literature in this volume1 and 
has given us a most attractive and      
efficient introduction to the study of  
,heine4--,the ,nonconformist1 ,august   
#bj1 #ahgi4  ,he has performed his task 
with skill1 tact1 and judgment2 and it  
is easy to perceive that he has a       
thorough acquaintance with his author   
and sympathy for his matter4--,notes and
 ,queries1 ,april #ai1 #ahgi4  ,the     
result of ,mr4 ,snodgrass's attempt has 
been the production of a volume which1  
for variety and interest1 may be        
pronounced one of the most successful   

books of the season4--,aberdeen         
,journal1 ,march #bf1 #ahgi4  ,in       
,heine1 whose prose writings in ,german 
fill well on to a score of volumes1 we  
find in remarkable combination the best 
qualities of ,german thought1 along with
 the sparkle and brilliancy of an       
accomplished ,frenchman's               
style4--,aberdeen ,daily ,free ,press1  
,april #ba1 #ahgi4  ,mr4 ,snodgrass has 
done his selection and translation      
admirably well and we owe him thanks for
 a volume which has in it mere wit of   
the highest sort1 and more political    
insight1 than any book that has lately  
been given to the public4--,vanity      
,fair1 ,november #h1 #ahgi4  ,the       
compiler of this interesting little     
volume1 ,mr4 ,j4 ,snodgrass is perfectly
 right in saying that ,heine is chiefly 
known to ,english readers as the author 
of the ',book of ,songs4'--,the ,week1  
,april #ai1 #ahgi4  ,the ',english      
,fragments' have a special interest for 
the ,english reader2 but the selection  

from ,heine's prose works in general1   
most judiciously made and excellently   
translated by ,mr4 ,snodgrass1 gives a  
much completer view of the qualities of 
the writer's mind4--,saturday ,review4  
,mr4 ,snodgrass has not essayed to give 
at all an exhaustive collection of      
,heine's witty1 wise1 and pathetic      
sayings2 but he has selected1 in the    
order in which they occur in the        
complete ,german edition1 such extracts 
as have specially commended themselves  
to himself4 ,he has produced a very     
enjoyable volume1 exactly adapted to the
 taste of lazy and luxurious persons1   
who can just take up the book for five  
minutes to read a delightful passage1   
complete in itself1 and not long enough 
to fatigue the most fastidious          
attention4--,academy1 ,may #ca1 #ahgi4  
,,alex4 ,,gardner1 ,,paisley ,,and      
,,london4