Part 7

Those who are acquainted with the Hebrew Bible, the Midrash, and the Talmud, cannot fail to appreciate the art with which Biblical phrases, used with an occasional striking play on words, are worked into a mosaic. Take, for instance, the following sentences which occur in chapter IX:—

אפס כי לא תהיה תפארת הממנות נמשכת—עוד מעט ויצאה רוח אלהים לבזור רכושיך—ויהיו כלא היו חמשים אלפי זהב אשר בקנינם מכרת נפשך• תתהפך הזמן כמעט רגע לקחת חן וכבוד מעל ראשך—תרד אש האלהים מן השמים ותאכל אותך ואת חמשיך•

“By no means let thy pride in thy wealth endure, for at any moment a blast may come from God, which will scatter and disperse all thy treasures. Then will vanish as naught the fifty thousand ducats for which thou hast bartered thy soul, and thy former honour and glory will likewise depart at thy sudden reverse of fortune. Or a fire may come down from heaven, and devour thee along with thy five myriads of ducats.”

Here it will at once be seen how cleverly the author uses for his own purpose certain phrases found in the second chapter of 2 Kings in connexion with the prophet Elijah, and how ingenious the play on the word ‪חמשיך‬ is.

As this peculiar mode of composition is a marked feature of the _Bechînath Olam_, a few more examples of a somewhat different kind may be given here for the sake of illustration. In chapter IV we read as follows^[74-1]:—

Thy belongings in sooth are but passion and lust, Thy strength sinks asunder like light crumbling dust; Thy treasures, like thorns, are surrounded with stings, Thy most precious possessions are but worthless things, Thy pride is enkindled like flames in the night, Thy riches, like insects, soon hasten to flight.

And again, in chapter XI, the author gives the following description of the four seasons of the year:—

The lovely Spring gives me no peace, For constant cares disturb my ease. The Summer, too, is full of pain, Its glow and heat are but my bane. The Autumn has no charms for me, From cold and ills I ne'er am free. When Winter brings its snow and frost, Oh, then I am undone and lost^[75-1].

Another conspicuous feature of the _Bechînath Olam_ is its frequent use of poetical metaphors, which the author employs with great aptitude and force. The eighth chapter of the book in question, beginning with the words: ‪התבל ים זועף‬ may fitly serve as an illustration of this, and the following free English translation of it will afford the reader at the same time an insight into the general contents of the whole poem. It runs as follows:—

“The world is as a boisterous sea of immense depth and width, and time forms a fragile bridge built over it. The upper end thereof is fastened to the ground by means of weak ropes, and its lower end leads to a place which is shone upon by the rays of the divine light, emanating from God's majesty. The breadth of the bridge is but one short span, and has no balustrade work to save one from falling over it. Over this narrow path, thou, O son of man, art compelled to go, and notwithstanding all thy might and glory, thou canst not turn either to the right or to the left. Now, threatened as thou art on both sides with death and destruction, how canst thou maintain thy courage, and how can thy hands remain firm? In vain dost thou pride thyself on the possession of vast treasures obtained by thee through violence and wickedness; for of what avail are they to thee when the sea rises, and rages, and foams, thus threatening to wreck the little hut (i.e. the body) wherein thou livest? Canst thou boast thou canst calm and subdue the powerful waves, or wilt thou try to fight against them? Drunk with the wine of thy vanity, thou art pushed hither and thither, until thou sinkest into the mighty abyss; and tossed about from deep to deep, thou wilt at last be merged in the foaming waves, and none will bring thee to life again.”

The ninth and eleventh chapters of the _Bechînath Olam_ contain some passages which refer to the author's own sufferings, at the time of the expulsion of the Jews from France, and to the cowardice then displayed by some wealthy French Jews, who, in order to be permitted to remain in the country, and to retain their riches, had embraced Christianity. How shamefully these renegades behaved, in the face of the great calamity which had befallen their co-religionists, may be seen from the following passages, which occur in chapter XI:—

What care they for those gloomy envoys of fate? They dance all the night, and they rise very late. Feasting they love, and high play and flirtation, And laughter, and pleasure, and wild dissipation. They look upon evil, of whatever sort, As a mirth-causing jest, and an innocent sport^[76-1].

The chief fault of the book is the frequent use of Chaldaic and Aramaic words and phrases, a proper translation of which is almost impossible, but these are more than counterbalanced by its many merits.

Another small treatise, composed by the same author when he was eighteen years old, is one that bears the title ‪צלצול כנפים‬, and has for its subject “The Defence of Women.” Till about fifteen years ago there was one MS. in existence—that in the Bodleian Library; but Dr. Neubauer published it for the first time in the _Jubelschrift_ (Berlin, 1888), issued by some friends of Zunz on the occasion of his celebrating his ninetieth birthday, under the title of ‪אוהב נשים‬, “The Women's Friend” This title is more appropriate than the one it originally bore, for the simple reason that the treatise in question was evidently written by Yedaya in opposition to another, composed in 1208, by the physician Judah ben Sabbatai, under the title of ‪שונא נשים‬, “The Woman-hater.” This treatise, which Yedaya dedicated to two of his friends, viz. to Meïr and Judah, the sons of Don Solomon Del Infanz, is written in rhymed prose, intermixed with a few short verses. Its style is rather heavy, and all that can be gathered from its subject-matter is this, that a certain king, called Cushan Rishataïm, a great woman-hater, once waged war against an army composed of the friends of womankind, and led by a general named Seria. The latter ultimately defeated the king and his hostile troops, and, out of gratitude for his great victory, he was himself proclaimed king by his own followers. Under his reign a new and happy era opened for the women, who are then wooed and married, and loved more dearly than before; and wedded life is everywhere declared to be the most desirable state of existence.

The ‪אוהב נשים‬ closes with the description of the appearance of Judah ben Sabbatai's ghost on earth, and of how it agrees with all Yedaya's statements made there, with the exception of one. Every man, the ghost declares, ought certainly to marry once; but it would be the height of folly on his part if he were to enter again upon the matrimonial state, after his first marriage had turned out a failure.

In passing, it may be mentioned that the same controversy about the merits and demerits of the married state was still carried on in the sixteenth century among some learned Jewish writers in Italy. Among these are most conspicious: Jacob of Fano, who in his poem ‪שלטי הגבורים‬, “The Shield of the Mighty,” makes a strong attack on women, and Judah Sommo, of Portaleone, who in his treatise ‪מגן נשים‬, “The Women's Protector,” which exists in a MS. in the Bodleian Library, presents himself as a champion of women. To these writers may be added Messer Leon (flourished at Mantua, at the end of the fifteenth century) who, in a commentary on the thirty-first chapter of Proverbs, eulogizes the female sex in general, and a few specially named women in particular. Among them he mentions Laura, the lady-love of the poet Petrarch; and it is interesting to notice the trouble which the author takes to prove that Laura was by no means a myth, as some writers on Petrarch consider her, but that she really existed in person, and was remarkable for her exquisite beauty and grace.

Resuming now our review of Yedaya's literary compositions, especially of those he wrote when he was still very young, we have to refer to a Hebrew hymn of his, well known under the title of ‪בקשת הממין‬, the formal characteristic of which is this, that each word of it begins with the letter _Mem_ (מ). Bartolocci, in his _Bibliotheca Rabbinica_, III, p. 7, gives the same hymn the title of ‪תהלה לשם‬, “Praise of God.” This seems to have been Yedaya's first literary attempt, it being generally assumed that it was composed by him at the age of fourteen. His father, Abraham, himself a writer of Hebrew verses of inferior quality, was so delighted with his son's hymn that he sang its praises in a short Hebrew quatrain. Although, from a literary point of view, the _Supplication of the Memmin_ has little to recommend it, it has passed through fifteen editions, and has frequently been translated into German, and once also into Latin by Hil. Prache, who published his version at Leipzig, in 1662.

Another short composition belonging to an early period of Yedaya's life is his ‪ספר הפרדס‬, “The Book on Paradise,” which was composed by him at the age of seventeen, and appeared for the first time in print at Constantinople, in 1517. It is divided into four chapters, each of which has a different heading, while the fourth chapter is again subdivided into four sections. The principal subjects discussed in these chapters are (_a_) The worship of God; (_b_) Friendship and Enmity; (_c_) The Lack of Stability in the World; and (_d_) The Desirability of Studying Science after the usual Devotions. After having reached manhood, he wrote several other treatises of a similar description, each of which will be briefly noticed here.

(1) ‪לשון הזהב‬, “The Golden Tongue.” This forms part of a commentary (existing as a MS. on the _Agada_ and the _Midrashim_), and was first printed at Venice in 1599.

(2) A MS. bearing the inscription ‪פירוש מסכת אבות ופירוש אגדות בתלמוד‬, Commentary on the Ethics of the Fathers, and on the Agadoth in the Talmud.

(3) ‪אגרת התנצלות‬, An apologetical Letter. This well-known and often-quoted letter was addressed by Yedaya to Rabbi Solomon ben Adereth (‪רש״בא‬), on the occasion of his publicly censuring the Jewish communities of the Provence for their occupying themselves with scientific studies. There a passage occurs which throws some light on the author's own ideas thereon. It was as follows:—

“We cannot give up science; it is as the breath of our nostrils. Even if Joshua were to appear and forbid it we would not obey him; for we have a warranty which outweighs them all, viz. Maimuni, who recommended it, and impressed it upon us. We are ready to set our goods, our children, and our lives at stake for it^[79-1].”

(4) A Liturgical Poem. It is composed of a number of words, each of which begins with the letter _Aleph_ (‪א‬), and refers, according to Graetz^[79-2], to the sufferings endured by the French Jews in 1306.

(5) A Treatise on Medicine, based on a similar work composed by the Jewish philosopher Ibn Sina.

(6) ‪כתב הדת‬, “A Treatise on Intellect.” This, too, is based on another book treating of a kindred subject, and bearing the inscription ‪ספר השכל‬ ‪והמושכלות‬, the author of which is Al-Fabri. A Latin translation of the latter exists under the title of _De Intellectu et Intellecto_, Venice, 1595.

(7) ‪הדעת בשכל החמרי‬, “Opinions on the Material Intellect.”

(8) ‪המאמר בהפכי המהלך‬ is a philosophical treatise on the movements of bodies, and has been quoted by Ibn Habib under the title of ‪כתב הפכי‬ ‪האנח‬.

(9) ‪כתב ההתעצמות‬, “Treatise on Consolation.”

(10) Is a MS. without any title; but judging from its contents, it seems to correspond with the ‪ספר הצורות המיניות‬ once quoted by the same Ibn Habib.

(11) ‪מדבר קדמות‬, “The Desert of Kedemoth.” This is a commentary on the twenty-five propositions placed by Maimonides at the beginning of the tenth chapter of his ‪מורה נבוכים‬.

(12) A Hebrew poem, having for its subject the thirteen articles as arranged by Maimonides.

The authorship of the following four compositions is also attributed to Yedaya:—

(1) A Divan, compiled by a member of the family of Bedaresi, that member being, according to Luzzatto, no other than our Yedaya.

(2) ‪מעדני מלך‬, “The Pleasure of a King,” is a short treatise on the game of Chess, and has several times appeared in print.

(3) Wolf, in the _Bibliotheca Rabbinica_, I, p. 403, attributes to Yedaya the authorship of a commentary on another commentary, written by Abraham Ibn Ezra on the Book of Genesis, the former of which exists as a MS. in the Paris National Library.

(4) ‪אגרת התשובה‬, “A Letter of Response,” This letter, which was published by Dr. Berliner in 1888, and copies of which are found in various MSS., is attributed to Yedaya by Bartolocci and de Rossi.

Enough has been said to show the industry, which was Yedaya's most striking characteristic. At a time when a man's mind is perturbed by external influences, involving not only his abilities but even his personal safety, it would seem that intellectual work would be impossible: it was, however, at such a time that the bulk of Yedaya's work was undertaken and executed.

Footnotes:

[72-1] Cp. Graetz's _Gesch. d. J._, VII, p. 277.

[74-1]

‏ החוקים מחשכים—וכלי הנשקים שקים, ‏ הפנינים צנינים—והשושנים קמשונים, ‏ הרהבים להבים—והזהובים זבובים•

‎[75-1]

‏ 1 האביב לא יאנה השקימני—כאובות במכאובות חדשים יבקעני— ‏ 2 הקיץ יקוץ בחיי במצוקות יציקני—יקיצני משנת מנוחה מקטב מרירי— ‏ 3 החורף יחרפני למות יחרף לבבי מהיות שלו בפגעי— ‏ 4 הסתיו יסית צנה וסגריר לבלעני חנם•

‎[76-1]

‏לא האמינו לשמועתו—אורבי מחולות—אוהבי כלילות—חושׁקי יעלות—נושקו אילות—שוחרי ‏עדניו—סוחרי רנניו—חשבוהו כמהתל—ויהי כמצחק בעיני חתניו•

[79-1] Cp. Miss Löwy's translation of Graetz's _Gesch. d. J._, IV, p. 42.

[79-2] _Gesch. d. J._, VII, p. 269.

IX

IMMANUEL DI ROMA

A THIRTEENTH-CENTURY HEBREW HUMORIST AND A FRIEND OF DANTE

In the present essay a short sketch will be given of the life and works of Immanuel di Roma, the Heine of the Middle Ages, as Graetz terms him, commonly called Immanuel ben Shelomoh; and reference will also be made to his literary and friendly relationship to the poet Dante Alighieri. It ought, however, to be stated at the outset that, although Immanuel was the composer of several Italian sonnets, he owes his fame mainly to his Hebrew production entitled _Machberoth_. Apart from its value as an entertaining book it is at the same time the chief source from which information about its author's life is obtainable. But as such the volume is not always entirely reliable, as certain episodes mentioned therein have hitherto not been fully authenticated. Modern writers, however, among whom Graetz and Güdemann may be especially mentioned, have ably utilized the old and new material available, and, thanks to their fruitful labours, a more complete and trustworthy sketch of Immanuel's life and works can now be given. According to Graetz's ingenious combination of dates and circumstances (cp. _Die Geschichte der Juden_, VII, note 3), it would seem that Immanuel was born in the year 1265, which is also the year of Dante's birth. Immanuel's parents, Solomon and Justa by name, belonged to a renowned Jewish family called Ziphroni, and occupied an honourable position in the Jewish community of Rome. They devoted great care to their son's early education. One of his earliest teachers was Benjamin ben Yechiel, a clever physician and a great Hebrew scholar, who made him acquainted with the works of Maimonides. Later on he was taught by a relative, Leone Romano by name, who held the post of Hebrew instructor to Robert, king of Naples, and was also the translator of the works of Albertus Magnus and of Thomas Aquinas. He had another master in Judah Siciliano, author of several pretty Italian poems, who cultivated in his pupil's mind a taste for poetry and literature. Through these teachers, who mingled with the best society of Rome, Immanuel often came in contact with the members of a secret literary and political society called “Young Italy.” It was composed of young men of education and talent, and its object was to propagate liberal ideas among their less enlightened countrymen, and to induce them to shake off the yoke of the dominant Church, which at that time pressed heavily upon them. Dante, during his brief stay in Rome, used to attend the meetings of this society; and there young Immanuel seems to have first entered on a friendly relationship with the poet, whose genius and personality could not fail to impress themselves on him. In fact, he has so many points in common with Dante, that it may well be believed that he took him for his model. There is also a curious similarity in the history of their life and death. Both of them, who had in the prime of life occupied prominent positions, were obliged in their declining years to wander forth into exile, and both found their last resting-place far from their native city. From the literary point of view they, too, resembled one another; but of this more will be said later on. Reference will also be made to some recent publications which seem to show that Dante, for his part, also entertained friendly feelings for Immanuel. The following two lines, which occur in _Paradiso_ (Canto v. 80 and 81), show that their author may have been favourably disposed to the race from which Immanuel sprang. They run thus:—

Uomini siate, e non pecore matte, Si ch'il Giudeo di voi tra voi non rida.

Act ye as men, and not as stupid cattle, Lest the Jew in your midst should scorn you.

It is not known whether Immanuel underwent any special training to obtain his medical qualifications. There is, however, no doubt that he practised successfully for a number of years in his native town. On reaching manhood he married the daughter of Rabbi Samuel, president of the Jewish community of Rome, whose functions seem to have been secular as well as religious.

His marriage was a happy one. Immanuel considered his wife a model of womanhood, and never wearied of singing her praises. With the exception of the untimely death of their only son Moses, which naturally caused them intense sorrow, nothing occurred during the greater part of their married life that could have seriously interfered with their happiness. In his leisure hours Immanuel continued to enlarge his acquaintance with books treating of grammar, exegesis, mathematics, astronomy, medicine, philosophy, and cabbala, and acquired at the same time some knowledge of Latin, Greek, and Arabic. He occasionally wrote essays on some of these subjects, but his favourite occupation was the composition of verses, either in his native tongue or in Hebrew. The rhymed prose (‪מליצה‬), which he wrote in Hebrew, was his best work. In the year 1315, when Immanuel was just fifty years old, his father-in-law was murdered by robbers whilst travelling in the country, and Immanuel succeeded him. In his new position, as the spiritual head of the Jewish community of Rome, he enjoyed a continuance of his popularity, his kindness of heart and his great literary attainments procuring for him a large following of admirers and friends. His fame as a scholar and a poet spread even as far as France and Spain.

In the midst of his prosperity, however, a misfortune occurred, which changed the whole tenor of his life. According to Immanuel's own account, he had stood security for some friends of his, and, as the latter failed to redeem their obligations, he himself was obliged to satisfy the demands of the creditors. Being thus reduced to poverty he emigrated, and turned his back for ever on the scene of his unmerited misfortune. This explanation, however plausible it may appear, does not throw any light on the mystery of Immanuel's forced resignation of the post he held in the community. But it would seem that there were among his flock several persons who hated him as the author of erotic poems, and of other compositions in which certain religious rites were lightly spoken of. While he had ample means at his disposal, and was independent of the community, they dared not attack him publicly. However, they took advantage of his monetary embarrassment to denounce him as an unbeliever and heretic, who in their opinion was unfit to occupy his position; and they ultimately succeeded in effecting his removal.

But, whatever the explanation, the fact remains that Immanuel left Rome as a prematurely aged and broken-hearted man, and that he wandered about for some time with his wife until he arrived at Fermo, a town situated in the district of Ancona. There a wealthy and liberal-minded man, Benjamin by name, and at the same time a great admirer of Immanuel's poems, took him and his wife into his house, and provided for their wants. But this happiness did not last long, for in the year 1321 he lost both his wife and his friend Dante. Bosone da Gobbio, a renowned lawyer in his time, and a friend of both Dante and Immanuel, on hearing of this sent him the following lines as a token of his sorrow and sympathy:—

Bosone to the Jew Manuello after Dante's Death.

Two lamps of life have waxèd dim and died, Two souls for virtue loved and blessèd grace; Thou, friend, may'st smile no more with happy face, But weep for him, sweet song's and learning's pride. And weep for her, thy spouse, torn from thy side In all her charm of native loveliness, Whom thou hast sung so oft ere thy distress, That is mine, too, and with me doth abide.

Not I alone bewail thy hapless lot, But others too: do thou bewail thine own, And then the grief that all of us have got, In this the direst year we e'er have known; Yet Dante's soul, that erst to us was given, Now ta'en from earth, doth glisten bright in heaven.

Manuello's Answer.

The floods of tears well from my deepest heart; Can they e'er quench my grief's eternal flame? I weep no more, my woe is still the same; I hope instead that death may soothe the smart. Then Jew and Gentile weep, and sit with me On mourning-stool: for sin hath followed woe; I prayed to God to spare this misery, And now no more my trust in Him I show.

When Immanuel's time of mourning was over his host suggested that he should devote himself to a collection and revision of his compositions. Immanuel gladly accepted this proposal, partly because he wished to perpetuate the memory of his beloved wife and that of his friend Dante, and partly because he thought that this would be the best occupation for his declining years.

The work occupied him till his death in 1330, when he was sixty-five years old. Bosone received some lines referring to Immanuel's death, composed by Cino da Pistoza, a noted lawyer and poet of some renown in his time. These lines are interesting in so far as they contain an unmistakable reference to the friendly relationship that existed between Dante and Immanuel. They run as follows:—

Cino to Bosone after the Death of Dante and the Jew Manoel.

Bosone, your friend Manoello is dead, Still keeping fast to his false, idle creed; Methinks to the regions of hell he is sped, Where no unbeliever from anguish is freed. Yet not 'mongst the vulgar his soul doth abide, But Dante and he still remain side by side.

Bosone's Answer.

Manoel, whom thou hast thus consigned Unto the dark domains of endless night, Has not within those regions been confined, Where Lucifer holds sway with awful might. Lucifer, who once 'gainst Heaven's lord, In lust for empire drew rebellion's sword.