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ECHOES
OF
WISDOM



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Echoes of Wisdom
Talmudic Sayings with Classic,
especially Latin, Parallelisms,
BY
G. TAUBENHAUS,
Minister Cong. Beth Elohim, Brooklyn.
PART I.
HAEDRICH & SONS' PRINT,
Cor. Jay & Johnson Sts., Brooklyn,


H due +908-
ANDOVER-HARVARD
TOKARY
CALARE
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Maulana
Entered according to Act of Congress, in the year 1900, by
G. TAUBENHAUS,
In the Office of the Librarian of Congress at Washington.
one antichilases


PREFACE.
In presenting Talmud and Classics together, the
object is not to throw the charge of plagiarism at any
door, but to bring the Talmud nearer to the under-
standing of at least some of the many who, lacking all
knowledge of the same, profanely disparage it.
The beautiful form is not the chief boast of the
Classics. They are at their noblest when glorifying
some metaphysical or practical truth. Where that
is absent they fail to charm us. Homer and Virgil,
Plato and Cicero have no fascination in spite of their
rhythmic and blossoming diction when they correct
no error, improve no moral, clarify no idea, and
elevate no truth. -
That wisdom which is the pulsation and vitality
of the Classics is a part of the wisdom laid up in the
Talmud, I say a part, because as to vastness of
influence and loftiness of religious thought the
Talmud is without a compeer. It is the luminous
stratum of the Bible, and has been and is still, to a
vast extent, the enlarged and illustrated Bible of
Israel.
The present volume, comprising Talmudic
sayings beginning with “Aleph,” is the first of a
proposed series to come forth in alphabetical order,
and on the same plan.
Recognizing my indebtedness to the “Milin
D'rabbanan” and to Ramage's “Beautiful thoughts of
Latin Authors," whose translation I occasionally
adopted, I wish this booklet a cordial reception.
THE AUTHOR.


ECHOES OF WISDOM
"The pipe which affords sweet music to princes is not
appreciated by weavers.”—Talmud.
We should seek to earn the plaudits of refined
taste. Although it is some accomplishment to
please any class of people. The cheap dining-room
is as much needed as the high-toned restaurant.
Shall those starve who have no taste and no means
for dainties and delicacies? But to please all tastes
alike is a difficult matter.
So Horace: “What shall I give, what shall I not give.
Thou refusest what another demands."
אכול לחרי זמר לגרדאי לא מקבלוה מיניה (יומא כ)
2. “Quid dem? Quid non dem? Renuis tu, quod jubet
alter.”—Epist. ii. 2.
II.
“At the door of the well-supplied store-room there
are brethren and friends; but at the door of poverty
· neither brethren nor friends are seen.”
This is a universal experience and it were
useless to ask why it is so. Aristotle having been
asked why people like to spend so much of their
time with handsome persons remarked: “This is a
question fit for a blind man to ask.”
Everything in this world must feed on something.
Love and friendship, too, must have some means of
sustenance.


ECHOES OF WISDOM
IV.
“The stones of one's house, the walls of one's house will
testify against him.”—Tal.
Wrong, though done unobserved and unwatched,
will come to light. Our home will not afford us
sufficient help to cover and hide it. We are reminded
of the lines of Swift:
"For by old proverbs it appears,
That walls have tongues and hedges ears.”
“Oh! Corydon, poor, simple Corydon! Do you think aught
that a rich man does, can be secret? Even though his slaves
should hold their tongues, his cattle will tell the tale; and his
dogs and door posts and marble statues.”—Juvenal.
אבני ביתו של אדם וקורות ביתו של אדם מעידין בו (תענית יא)
Secretum divitis ullum esse putas? Servi ut taceant ju-
menta loquentur et canis et postes et marmora.-Sat. ix.
V.
"By the way threaten the enemy.”—Tal.
The idea is to check evil at the very start and not to
allow it to gain any ground. The angel Gabriel, com-
missioned to go and to ripen the fruit of Israel's
fields, was advised to cut off the Assyrians on the
road. For to bless the harvest without obviating
hostile invasion would have been tantamount to pre-
paring a sumptuous banquet for the enemy. Indeed,
that gardener is careless and indiscreet who makes


ECHOES OF WISDOM
no timely provisions against injurious influences.
Persius expressed the same thought. “Meet the
disease on the road.”.
אגב אורחך לבעל דבבך אישתמע סנהר צ'יה)
Venienti occurrite morbo.-Persius iii. 64.
VI.
“The reward of the religious discourse is haste.”—Tal.
Our religious obligation does not centre in the
hand. A man, carrying a hundred Bibles and having
nothing in his heart and conscience to duplicate any
portion of their sacred contents, carries a heavy load
but not the word of God. An action itself does not
determine its merit or demerit. Water is achromatic
and receives an agreeable or disagreeable color from
something else. A few minute rain-drops, upon
which sun-rays fall, reflect the gorgeous hues of the
rainbow, the sign of God's promise, the flag of
Providence, which we see suspended in the sky after
storms to announce, as it were, the victory over the
enraged elements of nature. The same deed which,
if performed by a sincere man, might elicit our hearty
congratulation, is to us a source of annoyance and
irritation if done by a hypocrite.
Religion is primarily an internal element: the con-
sciousness of our higher relation. To strengthen
and to foster this consciousness—what an inestima-
ble gain! Light of truth and holy ardor within,


ECHOES OF WISDOM
what a strong impulse to ideal realization without!
“Hasten, my dearest Lucilius, think how you would
accelerate your speed, were an enemy pursuing you.'
-Seneca.
(11 11372) 80077 x7707 8738
Propero ergo, Lucili carissime, et cogita quantum addi-
turus celeritati fueris, si a tergo hostis instaret.-Epist.xxxii.
VII.
“The reward of study (tradition) is the understanding."
-Tal.
The Talmudic sages reverenced tradition not
as the despot of the mind; but as its emancipator,
tutor and educator. They laid great stress upon
finding the reason why things were said or done so,
and not otherwise. They were rational followers of
tradition. “Ask_me a point of law,” said Rami har
Chami, "and though I will answer according to rea-
son, you will find its parallel in tradition.”
Rabbi Jochanan grieved when Rabbi Elieser, in
an almost flattering manner, backed his statements
with corroborative references to tradition, and
mournfully cried: “Where is the son of Lakish,
who, by cross-questioning, compelled me to be more
exact and elaborate in my teachings?”
Once it happened, when the head of the Baby-
lonian college was to be elected, that there were
two prospective candidates, each of whom was dis-
tinguished in his way. Rabbi Joseph was a pro-


ECHOES OF WISDOM
found scholar, but less of a thinker; Rabbah was an
acute dialectician, but less of a scholar. The com-
munity, at a loss in whose favor to decide, sent to
Palestine for advice in the matter. The reply was
that knowledge was preferable to subtlety and argu-
mentive skill, because without knowledge the mind
is helpless—a tabula rasa. Yet Rabbi Joseph, upon
whom the choice fell, voluntarily left the field and
made room for his more intellectual rival.
The most irrefutable argument in favor of tradi-
tion was made by the great Hillel when he con-
vinced a heathen, who desired to embrace Judaism,
on the condition of being exempt from the oral law,
that even the alphabet cannot be learned without
the assistance of tradition.
Reason is not antagonistic to tradition; tradition
is no opponent of reason. Before we can speak we
have to hear, and before we can form an opinion of
our own, we must submit to the instruction and
authority of others. Tradition is the sum of the
experience and the outcome of the active brain of
the past. It is generation speaking to generation,
age impelling age—the magnificent scope of an im-
mensely widened and broadened present, the chariot
of progresive thought.
"Not to know what happened before one was
born is always to remain a child."--Cicero.
אגרא דשמעתא סברא (שם)
“Nescire autem, quid antea, quam natus sis, acciderit, id
est semper esse puerum.”-Or. 34.


ECHOES OF WISDOM
VIII.
"Silence is the reward of the visit of condolence.”—Tal.
Considering what tattlers we are, and how un-
manageable a thing the tongue is, it is not at all to
be wondered at that the suppression of speech at
the house of mourning has been declared a virtue.
But our saying has a loftier meaning. We come
grumbling into the world. Some of us continue the
mortifying exercise until a few shovels of earth put
an end to it. But most of us imitate the hooting of
the owl and strike the plaintive notes of the pessi-
mist too often. We have domineering dispositions,
hence we are beside ourselves when aught goes
against our will and expectation.
A great calamity is not the unbearable part of
life. We murmur more against sultriness than
against the thunder. When the worst occurs we
are calmed. Resignation is an unfailing antidote.
But trivial losses, common-place disappointments,
avoidable altercations, insults that we magnify, cares
which we invite and wants which we create are the
most provoking and vexing things, nipping so many
joys in the bud. And if we reflect upon the final
and inevitable blast or upon the danger which
threatens our house, our very life, every hour of our
existence, does it not look comical and irrational to
pine and complain about trifles? “It is better to go
to the house of mourning than to the house of


ECHOES OF WISDOM
feasting,” says the wise Solomon. For here our
vanity and discontent is fed. There in the shadow
of the departed soul, solemn considerations loom up
and humility and resignation or, what is the same,
silence recommends itself as wisdom.
"To be silent is learned by the many misfortunes
in life.”-Seneca.
(DW) xmponu spo 27 898
"Tacere multis discitur vitae malis.”—Thyest 319.
IX.
“The reward of fasting is charity.”—Tal.
If fasting itself were a religious act the people
who gladly starve themselves in order to fatten their
purse would be the most religious. What ordinance
would be so welcome to the miser as that which
gave him the religious right to keep his family in
starvation at short intervals? But it was custom-
ary to distribute the savings in consequence of fast-
ing among the poor. This impressed upon the fast-
day a true religious character. Self-denial, not for
the sake of accumulation, but for the sake of ex-
tending a helping hand to those who cannot do
without it, is charity, indeed.
“Let us use those things intrusted to us, let us
not boast of them; and let us use them sparingly


ECHOES OF WISDOM
as a loan deposited with us which will soon depart.”
-Seneca.
אגרא דתעניתא צדקתא (שם)
“Utamur illis non gloriemur; et utamur parce, tamquam
depositis apud nos et abituris.”—Epist. Ixxiv.
“The reward of the funeral oration is the lamenting
voice.”—Tal.
"It is some relief to weep; grief is satisfied and
carried off by tears.”—Ovid.
(DW) 1957 XT5017 NOIR
Est quaedam flere voluptas, expletur lacrymis egeritur-
que dolor.”—Trist iv. 3.
XI.
"While the sand is yet on thy feet, sell.”—Tal.
When you return with merchandise from your
journey sell at any profit, and do not wait for a
better market. This advice Rab gave to his son,
when he said to him: “I have done my best to edu-
cate and fit you for the learned profession, and
failed. Now let me teach you how to conduct your-
self as a business man.”
The son of Rab must have belonged to those


12
ECHOES OF WISDOM
delusion of earthly splendor, how frequent is the
repulsion! As an eagle, whose pinion fails in his
lofty flight to the sun, sinks exhausted upon some
strange mountain, where he has to tarry to regain
strength, and is suffering in the meantime from
both a thirst for the upper air and a longing for.
more genial environs, so many a man with strong
religious propensities, moving amidst the tempta-
tions and allurements of the world, finds himself
often between two realms-one which he cannot
call his, and one that gives him no satisfaction.
Body and soul—what opposites! Yet man has to
live in both. The world and the religious idea-
what antagonists! Yet the one has to be worked
out in the other. The flesh is the loom of immor-
tality; matter the door to eternity.
The saying is attributed to Rabbi Meier, who was
a disciple of Elisha ben Abijah, the famous apostate,
called in the Talmud Acher. It bears a striking
resemblance to the words of Faust: “Two souls, alas!
within me contend.” The same sentiment Seneca
expresses: “What is it, Lucilius, that we are inten-
tionally going one way, still drives us another? What
is it that impels us to the very place from which we
desire to recede?”
(P"11372) nyop 5 9897879 35 98
"Zwei Seelen wohnen, ach! in meiner Brust, die eine will
sich von der andern trennen.”—Goethe's Faust.
“Quid est hoc Ludili, quod nos alio tendentes alio trahit,
et eo unde recedere cupimus, impellit?”—Ep. 52.


ECHOES OF WISDOM
"Woe unto me, if I speak; woe unto me if I do not
speak.”—Tal.
Rabbi Jochanan Ben Saccai made that exclamation
with reference to the frauds and imposters of his age.
"If I speak about them, some of my disciples be-
coming familiar with their vulpine practice might be
tempted to try it. Should I not expose them they will
continue undisturbed to take advantage of my disci-
ples who are ignorant of their methods."
"It is misery,” says Syrus, "to be compelled to
suppress the very thing you desire to proclaim."
אוי לי אם אומר אוי לי אם לא אומר (בבא בתרא ס"ט)
“Quam miserum est tacere cogi quod cupias loqui.”
XVI.
"Woe unto people who see and do not know what they
see; stand and do not know upon what they stand."
-Tal.
The saying, though dressed in sceptical phraseol-
ogy, opposes scepticism. There is a difference,
according to Kant, between scepticism and the scep-
tical method. "Scepticism—a principle of technical
and scientific ignorance—undermines the founda-
tions of all knowledge, in order, if possible, to destroy
our belief and confidence therein. The sceptical
method aims at certainty.” Indeed, in the Bible,
especially in the book of Job and Ecclesiastes, that


ECHOES OF WISDOM
method is used in order to bring about a complete
surrender of reason to faith. The Talmud, too,
avails itself of it, and has many a dispute which is
left undecided because revelation sheds no light upon
it, and the evidences on both sides appeal with equal
force to reason.
On the same Talmudic page from which the above
saying is copied, there is a controversy between the
school of Hillel and that of Shammai about the
priority in the order of the creation of Heaven and
Earth which embarrasses and confuses reason, be-
cause both theories, contradictory as they are, seem,
each in its turn, admissible and legitimate.
The idea which our saying is intended to convey is
that if we ignore revelation and disparage faith, we
will reason and theorize without arriving at any satis-
factory conclusion. Every affirmative meets its nega-
tive, and every thesis is weakened by the opposition
of an antithesis. Duty the contract and agreement
of society, the leading thought in the Book of Life,
becomes misty and illegible, and if reason unassisted
by revelation does stand by it, it is only as an inter-
rogation.
"O miserable thoughts of men! O shaded minds!
In what dangers and what darkness is spent what-
ever there is of life!”—Lucretius.
אוי להם לבריות שרואות ואינן יודעות מה רואות עומדות ואינן
(I'm garan) 71701y jo io Sy niyor
“O miseras hominum mentes! O pectora caeca!”-11. 13.


ECHOES OF WISDOM
15.
XVII.
"Woe to the wicked and woe to his neighbor.-Tal.
"Your affairs are at stake when the next house is
on fire."—Horace.
(1") D1D) 1905 1989 yes 1988
"Tua res agitur paries cum proximus ardet.”—Ep. i, 18.
XVIII.
“Either company with man or death.”—Tal.
Choni Hamagol, who is highly spoken of in the
Talmud for his piety and learning, once saw a man
plant a tree, and said: “You do not expect to eat
the fruit of this tree; why do you plant it?" "I have
found trees in the world,” answered the man; “my
father planted such trees for me, and I plant them
for my children.” Pleased with this wise reply,
Choni Hamagol walked away. In a place of solitude
he was overtaken with sleep, where he slept for
seventy years. At the end of that period he
awakened, and returned home, where he inquired
for his son. He was dead. His grandson refused
to recognize him. He went into the school where
the sages philosophized. He heard his name men-
tioned with respect. A scholar, discussing a point
of law, said; “This is as clear to-day as it was in the
days of Choni Hamagol.” The resurrected man


16
ECHOES OF WISDOM
cried out: “I am Choni Hamagol.” But no one gave
credence to his story. He prayed for death.
“If his solitude be such that he could not come
in contact with man, he would wish to get out of
life.”—Cicero.
או חברותא או מיתותא (תענית כ"ג)
“Tamen, si solitudo tanta sit ut hominem videre non pos-
sit, excedat e vita.”—De Offic i. 43.
XIX. . .
“This people is likened to the dust and is likened to the
stars, because if it goes down it is to the dust, if it
ascends it is to the stars."-Tal.
We fall deep and rise high. Clinging to our
teachings and principles we are superior to all
nations; abandoning them we are inferior. Politic-
ally and socially our history presents the same oppo-
sites. Either we are despised or raised to the high-
est honors; either are we called, "the people chosen
by God” or “the people cursed by God.”
"Man is a god or a brute,” is a Latin saying
adopted from Aristole.
אומה זו משולה לעפר ומשולה לככבים כשהן יורדין יורדין לעפר
(put on suun) d'a335 dy gwyr Swy 37021
“Deus aut bestia."


18
ECHOES OF WISDOM
XXI.
"The scholarship is appreciated, the daughter is not ap-
preciated.”—Tal.
Rabbi Jochanan desired to have Seira for a son-in-
law and made to him a proposal to that effect. But
Seira who was a proud Babylonian did not like to
marry into a Palestine family, and avoided Rabbi
Jochanan as much as he could, in order not to be
compelled to repeat the refusal and to embarrass the
sage a second time. Accidentally, however, they
met on the road, and coming to a stream, Seira
carried the Rabbi over on his shoulders. Rabbi
Jochanan then remarked: “My wisdom is good
enough, my daughter is not good enough for you."
“Philosophy does not consider pedigree. She did
not receive Plato as noble, but made him so.”
(N19097p) wa Syediaa 1703 "798
“Platonem non accepit nobilem Philosophia, sed fecit.”
-Seneca. Ep. 44.
XXII.
"If one of the society dies, all its members should
tremble.” —Tal.
Let it not be said that he died because he was old
and feeble, or because he led an indiscreet life, or


20
ECHOES OF WISDOM
XXIV.
“Does it follow that he is no great man because he does
not know this?”—Tal.
We cannot know and learn everything, and that
which we have learned and believe to have mastered,
we cannor always apply with equal skill. Rabbi
Jochanan was perplexed by a simple question of Ves-
pasian. Rabbi Saphra disappointed his interrogators,
to whom he had been highly recommened. Rabbi
Jehudah was silent when asked to explain a Biblical
passage.
When Plato defined man as being a two-footed
animalwithout feathers, he was ridiculed by Diogenes,
w!lo, on the following day plucked a cock, broughi
it to the academy and said: “This is Plato's man."
“Even the great Homer nods at times.”—Horace.
אטו מאן דלא ידע האי לאו גברא רבה הוא (מ"ק ט"ז)
Quandoque bonus dormitat.—Homeros (A. P.)
XXV
“Do you think that the sage can proceed in the manner
of the dealer in spices.”—Tal.
His article cannot be put in the scales. It is not
a thing about which to say: “I want just so much and
no more and no less." You desire to have ten differ-
ent rules to apply to ten different conditions in life,
and he imparts only one, but in that, the principles


ECHOES OF WISDOM
21
of all others are contained, and it is for you to find
them.
There is no book, philosophical, theological or
poetical, no matter how excellent and exhaustive it be,
that you could read with any benefit if your reason
and imagination did not assist you. Good style is
buta pleasant manner of presenting a subject whereby
an interest for it is created. The way to truth may
be pointed out, but self-culture must do the rest.
We are reminded of Lessing's Nathan: "Strange!
how is this? What wills the Sultan of me? I came
prepared with cash—he asks truth. Truth? As if
truth, too, were cash—a coin disused, that goes by
weight-indeed, 'tis some such thing. But a new
coin, known by the stamp at once, to be flung down
upon the counter-it is not that.”
So Cicero: "For our mode of speaking is to be
adapted to the ear of the multitude, to fascinate and
excite their mind and to prove things which are not
weighed in the scales of the goldsmith.”
אטו תנא כי רוכלא ליחשב וליזול (גיטין ל''ג)
Heac enim nostra oratio....ad ea probanda quae non
aurificis statera ... examinantur. (De Or. II, 38.)
XXVI.
“If the king says: 'Let the mountain be removed,' it
will surely be done.”—Tal.


ECHOES OF WISDOM
the head of the College of Pumpaditha and the chief
figure of his age. Once he sent Purim gifts of an
ordinary nature to a man of high station and refined
taste. Abayi seeing the poor selection the sage made
quoted the above adage as a possible criticism which
the patrician might fling at him, when receiving the
coarse presents.
Promotion, like a new and beautiful garment, im-
proves appearance, but does not change habits. The
wider the leap and the more abrupt the elevation, the
more difficult is the task of perfect assimilation.
"Whatever is innate or inbred, may be corrected
by art, but cannot be rooted out.”—Seneca.
אי חקלאה מלכא ליהוי דיקולא
(:ibuan) ning is 77978139
Quidquid infixum et ingenitum est lenitur arte, non
vincitur.-Ep. xi.
XXIX.
"Had I not picked up the potsherd wouldst thou have
found the pearl?” —Tal.
So Rabbi Jannai observed, when his disciple,
Rabbi Jochanan, made an excellent point in argument.
While we may claim the credit of application,
we ought not to forget our indebtedness to our
teachers for the knowledge we acquire with their
assistance.


24
ECHOES OF WISDOM
Carneades, speaking about Chrysipus, whose
writings he absorbed, said: “If Chrysipus had not
lived I should never have existed."
Our sages have appreciated the evolution of in-
struction to such an extent that they taught: “If one
learns from a person one maxim or one word, he
owes him the respect due to a teacher." One maxim
or one word may enable us to uncover pearls of
wisdom.
“You buy an inestimable treasure from your
teacher.”—Seneca.
אי לאו דדלאי לך חספא מי אשכחת
(''93') izsnina Xhuvana
Emis... rem inestimabilem ...bonarum artium
ceptore.-De Ben. iv.
prae-
XXX.
“Had not a great man praised thee, I might have taken
exception to what you say.”—Tal.
We rely not only upon the superior judgment
of the great man, but also upon his superior sense of
justice, and taking it for granted that he will not
stoop to misrepresentation, we extend courtesy to
his protege.
“Good men will yield thee praise, then slight the
rest."


ECHOES OF WISDOM
25
“ 'Tis best praise-worthy to have pleased the best.”
-Capt. John Smith.
Cicero expresses the same idea: "For it is un-
doubtedly true, that applause is sweet, when it pro-
ceeds from those whose own life has been most
applauded.”
(I've 'p3") 31 727 8922 705p7 185
Est enim profecto jucunda laus, quae ab iis proficiscitur,
qui ipsi in laude vixerunt.-Fam. xv, 6.
XXXI.
"Were it not for this day, there would be many Josephs."
-Tal.
Rab Joseph was in habit of giving a banquet to
his friends on the feast of weeks, because to the event
of that day he felt indebted for his exalted position.
There would be more consistency, gratitude and
light of beneficence in the world, if those who enjoy
distinction should honor the sources which lend it to
them.
“Law is what distinguishes right and wrong.
-Cicero.
אי לאו האי יומא כמה יוסף איכא בשוקא (שבת ס"ט)
Lex justorum injustorumque distinctio.-Leg. ii, 5.


ECHOES OF WISDOM
XXXII.
“If this prince will rule, thou wilt be his subject, and if
that prince will rule, thou wilt be his subject. (There
is nothing for thee to gain.)—Talmud.
So the wife of On Ben Peleth reasoned with her
husband when he intimated to her his intention to
join the conspiracy of Korah against Moses.
The moral is: “We should not take sides in
contests of the great. Let them fight it out among
themselves. So Seneca:
“What is it to you, Marcus Cato! It is not a
question of liberty. The question is whether Caesar
or Pompejus shall be master of the commonwealth.
The conquest does not concern you. What matters
it to you who of them conquers?”
אי מר רבא אנת תלמידו ואי מר רבא
(op 70730) 979950 nok
Quaeritur utrum Caesar, an Pompejus possideat rem
publicam. Dominus eligitur, quid tua, qui vincerit.—Ep. 14.
XXXIII.
“If the book, then no sword, if the sword, then no book."
-Tal.
Peace favors and war impedes culture and refine-
ment. When the book glories, the sword is rusty, and
when the sword is unsheathed, the dust accumulates
on the book.


ECHOES OF WISDOM
: No man can be both a scholar and a soldier; a
servant of God, and an enemy of His creature; an up-
holder of religion, and an assasin of truth.
We are reminded of Lucan: “Faith and probity
are not found among the men who follow the camp."
אי ספרא לאו סייפא ואי סייפא
(yra gry) XDD 185
Nulla fides probitasque viris qui castra sequuntur.-
Bel. Civ. x.
XXXIV.
"If you have hired out yourself, you have to beat the
wool if you are told to do so.”—Tal.
We should either not undertake to do anything
which is beneath our station, or we must abide by the
agreement.
Rab came to Nahardua, and incognito performed
the function of interpreter. At that time the leading
Rabbi of the city did not speak directly to the people.
He suggested the text and the points to be discussed,
but the homily was worked out, and delivered in the
idiom of the masses, by one who was engaged for that
purpose, and was called Methurgeman or Emora.
In some instances he towered intellectually high
above the Rabbi, as was the case with Judah Bar
Nachmaini who acted as speaker for one so ignorant
that he could not even furnish a suitable text for the


28
ECHOES OF WISDOM
occasion, and he, astonished at the uninstructed
usurper, cried out in the words of the prophet: “Woe,
if it is said to a piece of wood awake, and to a stone
arise.”
It was not so bad with Rabbi Shilo. His erudi-
tion entitled him to the position which he occupied
with dignity. But his scholarship was inferior to that
of Rab, and as the latter was progressing in his dis-
course, it dawned upon Rabbi Shilo that his tempor-
ary Methurgeman was no less a personality than the
famous Rab. At once he rose from his seat, and
interrupting the speaker, said: “I am not worthy to
preside where you stand.” Rab, however, insisted
upon finishing the work he began.
"Either do not begin or finish,” is also a Latin
proverb.
אי תגרית ליה פוץ
('S 919) 7 noy
Aut nunquam tentes, out perfice.
XXXV.
“The parts of one's own bodily structure will testify
against him.”—Tal.
The idea is not that we can know a man's mind
and character by looking at him. “Do not judge the
contents by the pitcher, is a Talmudic sentiment
which reminds of Shakespeare, when he says: “There


ECHOES OF WISDOM
is no art to find the mind's construction in the face.”
Is the spirit of a Samuel, an Isaiah, Ezrah, Akiba,
Copernicus, Goethe in the face? How many people
there have been and are, who likened them in size and
weight of body, and resembled them in complexion
and features, but intellectually were no more like
them than is the moon like the sun.
Moses had to perform wonders with his staff to
prove to Pharaoh that he was sent by God. The pro-
phet Elisha was molested by the bad boys for his
bald-headedness, and perhaps some other bodily
defect. Hannah was taken for an inebriate by the
High Priest Eli. Rabbi Jehudah was told that he re-
sembled a swine breeder more than a scholar, because
he had a flushed face. In a conversation with Rabbi
Joshua Ben Chananyah who had an ungainly appear-
ance a Roman princess expressed her astonishment
that such a bright intellect should have no manifesta-
tion in facial delineation.
Homer was blind, and Sophocles, charged by his
sons with silliness, read his latest work to his judges,
and thus proved that he was not the dotard com-
plained of. Socrates was declared an immoral man
by a famous phrenologist.
Diognes Leartius, tells about Cleanthes: "He
boasted that on the principles of Zeno he could judge
a man's character by his looks. A young man
brought him a profligate fellow having a hardy look
from working a good deal in the field, and requested


ECHOES OF WISDOM
31
Cicero declares that "the countenance is the im-
age of the mind, and the eyes are its interpreters,"
but involuntarily admits their deceptiveness.
איבריו של אדם מעידין בו שנאמר
• at nogyn) Oxy 979 OK
"Imago animi vultus, indices oculi.—De Orat. iii, 59.
XXXVI.
"When the sun rises the weak rise.”—Tal.
To the sick and troubled heart the shades of
night are peculiarly depressing, and the very stars
are emblematic of flowers strewn upon graves.
In such an unhappy mood, Young wrote: “Night,
sable goddess! from her ebon throne, in rayless
majesty, now stretches forth her leaden sceptre o'er
a slumbering world. Silence, how dead! and darkness,
how profound! Nor eye, nor listening ear, an object
finds; Creation sleeps. 'Tis as the general pulse of
life stood still, and nature made a pause, an awful
pause! prophetic of her end."
Morning is resurrection. Beaming with awak+
ened glories the world rises as from an abyss of dark-
ness to new life and expectation. Man recovered from
his stupor looks again for his opportunity. There is
some relief in the chamber of anguish and sorrowful
watchfulness.


ECHOES OF WISDOM
"The morn is up again, the dewy morn, with
breath all incense, and with cheek all bloom, laughing
the clouds away with playful scorn and living as if
earth contained no tomb.”—Byron.
Figuratively, the saying means that when the
good man is in the ascendency, others ascend with
him. It is associated in the Talmud with a beautiful
myth. Abraham wore a jewel which restored to
health all the sick that had an opportunity to cast a
glance at it. When the Patriarch died, the Almighty
hung it upon the sun. Now, Abraham's jewel is the
blessing of God, that he shall be a benefit to those
who wish him well. That blessing did not cease
with Abraham's death, but was transferred upon the
righteous who followed him. In the Bible, the right-
eous are compared to the rising sun.
“One comfort,” says Carlyle, “is that great men
taken up in any way are profitable company. We
cannot look, however, imperfectly upon a great man
without gaining something by him. He is the living
light-fountain which it is good and pleasant to be
near. The light which enlightens, which has enlight-
ened the darkness of the world, and this not as a
kindled lamp only, but rather as a natural luminary
shining by the gift of Heaven.”
אידלי יומא אידלי קצירא ב"ב מז)
Apollo morbos depellit.


ECHOES OF WISDOM
35
forces, and to do no injury to the city. He requested
them, however, to bring him bread, and oh! how
great was his disappointment, when in place of bread,
meant what he said, and had no desire for gold, but
was hungry, and actually craved for bread, and the
women shouted: “What! didst thou have no bread at
home that thou hast come that perilous distance to beg
for it?" Hereupon he wrote on the gate of the city:
“I, Alexander the Great, have been a fool until I came
to this place, where I have learned wisdom."
That Hegel should have inveighed against those
who, favoring a calmer polity, questioned the great-
ness of Macedonia's most discontented son, seems
strange, to say the least. It were wicked to think
that the famous philosopher had the ambition that his
voice be appreciated in the house of the Prussian
Pharaoh.
Shakespeare's Roman play, Julius Caesar, is per-
haps nothing else than a satire on Rome's heroes.
They all look upon life as upon a plaything, yet with
what a resolution they brandish the sword in the
interest of their ambition, and how rapturously they
speak about virtue. What a comical heroism! Is
the life held so cheap, worth the steel and the senti-
ment they lavishly bestow upon it?
Even Brutus, “the noblest of them all,” is no
satisfactory personification of the higher conception
of true heroism. He has brilliant traits in character,


36
ECHOES OF WISDOM
but is too conscious of them, and that consciousness
breeds self-admiration. In spite of his moral super-
iority, he sees too often through the eyes of Cassius,
and is his follower when he should be his leader. He
despises the method of Cassius of raising funds, but
applies to him for pecuniary aid when in need, and
loses his temper when refused. His philosophy is
not enough to hold him when the thought of Portia's
death comes upon him without the strength which the
spirit of the grape administers. Losing his battles,
he, rather than bear the ignominy of defeat, puts an
end to his life-an act for which he boldly censured
Cato.
The Bible, too, unfolds a picture of perverted
heroism in the life of Samson. That muscular Danite
kills lions, removes cities, but is a helpless boy in the
presence of Delilah—a characteristic which prompted
our sages to remark: "Samson followed his eyes.”
“'It is foolish to command others, and not to be
able to control ourselves."-Syrus.
איזהו גיבור הכובש את יצרו (אבות ד')
“Stultum est imperare caeteros qui nescit sibi.”
XXXVIII.
"Who is wise? He who learns from every man.”—Tal.
To Pythagoras we are indebted for the term
philosopher. Herefused to be called wise, and thought


ECHOES OF WISDOM
that man could be at best only a lover of wisdom.
For the same reason our sages preferred the title of
Talmid Chacham (pupil of the wise) to that of wise.
The wise man is pre-eminently a student, and
learns even when teaching. Rabbi Chaninah used to
say: “Much I have learned from my teachers, more
from my associates, but most from my pupils.”
It is a bad sign, if one thinks he has finished
school, or he has to look to the clouds for a teacher.
Thought is bountifully diffused. Rabbi Jochanan
taught that by being observant, we could learn many
a moral lesson even in the zoological realm.
King Solomon, you remember, refers to the ant,
that creeping dot, as an efficient professor of economy
and industry.
As to man, how much could be learned from
him? “Surely, the proper study of mankind is man.”
“No one is sufficiently wise by himself.”—Plautus.
איזהו חכם הלומד מכל אדם (אבות ד')
Nemo solus satis sapis.-Mil. Glor. iii.
XXXIX.
"Who is honored? He who honors others.”—Tal.
It is said about Napoleon, as he returned in a
coach from his successful wars with Italy and Austria,
the people everywhere manifested their loyalty and
admiration in a loud and conspicuous manner, but


38
ECHOES OF WISDOM
he took little notice of all the proceedings. Bourienne,
who sat with the Emperor, said to him: “It must be
delightful to be greeted with such demonstrations of
love and attachment.” “Bah!” Napoleon said, “this
same unthinking crowd, under a slight change of cir-
cumstances, would just as eagerly follow me to the
scaffold.”--Little's H. L.
Honor must be reciprocal. He who receives it
must have a good opinion about the one who confers
it, and unless one sees and honor's God in His
creation all honors are farcical.
"He who can ... honor anyone, will quickly be
honored himself.”—Seneca.
איזה מכובד המכבד את הבריות (אבות ד')
Qui sic aliquem vereri potest cito erit verendus.-Ep. xi.
XL.
"Who is rich? He who takes delight in his portion.”
The most of us claim a share in wisdom. We may
have minutes of recognizing our stupidity, but self-
infatuation quickly returns, and is the printing press
of our opinions, and the mint of our actions. What
is more natural to us than that we should be num.
bered among the wise? Do we not despise that man
as a blasphemer who dares to question our wisdom?
Not so as to riches. Our discontent and incessar


ECHOES OF WISDOM
Rabbi Jochanan, the founder of the famous
school at Jamnia, proposes to his disciples to care-
fully consider that something in which the truly reli-
gious life centers. “Go and see,” he says, “which
virtue, which quality a man should cultivate with the
utmost care and solicitude.”
Rabbi Elieser answered: “A good eye,” that is
contentedness and pleasantness, which regards the
whole world as if it were a bouquet in the hand of
God.
Rabbi Joshua answered: “A good friend.” This
sage thought that we cannot afford to treat all alike,
but out of the whole mass of men we ought to select
some one to whom we should attach ourselves, and
that some one, it is understood, must be a good per-
son, capable of uplifting his associate.
Seneca quotes Epicure to have said: “You must
be more careful with whom you eat, than what you
eat. For good cheer without a friend is the life of a
lion or wolf.”
Rabbi Jose answered: “A good neighbor," that
is good surroundings.
"I consider neighborhood the first step to friend-
ship.”—Terence.
Rabbi Simon answered: “Looking ahead.”
“The cautious seldom err.”—Confucius.
Rabbi Elasar answered: “A good heart.” And
the master declared this answer the best of all.
That the golden rule is altogether omitted from


ECHOES OF WISDOM
this discussion goes to show that Hillel did not press
it upon his disciples as the test and criterion of the
good life, and the sum total of Judaism. Had he done
so, then Rabbi Jochanan, who was the exponent of
his teachings, would either not have propounded the
question of the chief good which he must have re-
garded as settled, or if he had done it with a view of
enlightening his disciples on the subject, or of testing
their reasoning and speculative faculty, he would, at
least, have done his master the honor of quoting his
favorite saying as the torch of life.
Hillel gave utterance to that rule accidentally
only, and in a sense suitable to the occasion. A
heathen came to him, and expressed the desire of
embracing Judaism on the condition to be instructed
in all its precepts and tenets while he stood on one
foot. Hillel saw that he had to deal with an impudent
fellow. "Stans in pede una,” (standing on one foot)
was a satirical phrase. And he cited the golden rule as
a lesson which the heathen was most in need of at the
time. "What is disagreeable to you, do not unto
others.” Hillel meant to say: "You came to have
sport with me, how would you like it if others sported
with you?”
To declare that rule the quintessence of Judaism;
the apex, and all other teachings as its supporters;
the great general, for whose safety and elevation all
other teachings and usages are in the field, is to make
the idea of God subservient to the purpose of man.


ECHOES OF WISDOM
Moreover, that rule raising, as it does, the ego of each
individual as the measure and standard of the conduct
of others, as the supreme court and sovereign of our
entire being, is destructive to all rule, since there is
among men a signal difference in the temperament,
taste, desire, circumstances and even in the concep-
tion of right and wrong. According to that rule, a
man has to consult in every case his likes and dislikes,
and make his actions fit the one or the other. A man,
for instance, who detests to be advised and corrected,
would have absolutely no right to let others have the
benefit of his advice. A man who thinks it shameful
and unmanly to receive charity, and is satisfied in his
mind that, were he poor, he would rather starve than
make use of the kindness of people, would be per-
fectly justified to refuse every application of the needy
for assistance.
Time and again inquiry was made into the fun-
damental principle of Judaism with no favorable
result, which goes to show that there has been no
unanimity on the subject among the learned in Israel,
and that it is an ungrateful task, as the Marsho puts
it, "to make Judaism stand on one foot.” (See the
following chapter.)
Rabbi Elasar's answer that the good heart is
the chief good, leaves enough room for speculation.
What constitutes the good heart? Is not the good
heart easily misled? Can the good heart be acquired?
But in the sense that the chief good is the good which


ECHOES OF WISDOM
43
has its spring in the heart, it may be said that Rabbi
Elasar struck the highest keynote. Without the heart
pleasantness is only a painted flower, friendship an
impossibility, foresight makes the pedant, and religion
leads to hypocrisy.
According to Seneca, the chief good depends
upon the judgment and the possession of a virtuous
mind.
איזו היא דרך טובה שידבק בה האדם.....
לב טוב (אבות פ' ב')
Summum bonum in ipso iudicio est, et habitu optimae
mentis.—De Vit Bea. ix.
XLII.
“ Which passage in the Bible,” says Bar Kappara, “com-
prises all the essentials of the Thora (Law)? That
which in the book of Proverbs reads: 'In all thy
ways asknowledge Him, and He will make level thy
path.'"
Bar Kappara was not the only Talmudic sago
who read the Bible with such discrimination. Other
sages have done the same thing. Rabbi Akiba, for
instance, designated the injunction of love for fellow-
man as the emphasis of revelation. Ben Azai found
more light in the words: “This is the book of the gen-
erations of Adam.” Ben Zoma recognized the supre-
macy of the passage: “Hear, O Israel, the Eternal is


44
ECHOES OF WISDOM
our God, the Eternal is One. “Ben Pazai was satisfied
that the words: “And the one lamb thou shalt take
in the morning,” were the most significant in Scrip-
tures. And while Rabbi Simlai accorded to the
teaching of the Prophet Amos: “Seek me and ye shall
live," the merit of comprehensiveness, Rabbi Nach-
man was more pleased with the words of Habakkuk:
"And the righteous shall live by his faith."
Even in the Bible, where every letter stands for
something and every dot is suggestive, there is a
gradation of meaning. Happy, he who finds in it the
most fertile spot, and the fountain-head of instruction
and enlightenment.
Reading is a privilege. The book is the chief
victory of man. “Were I to pray for a taste," says
Sir John Hershel, "which should stand me instead
under every variety of circumstances, and be a source
of happiness and cheerfulness to me during life, and a
shield against its ills, however things might go amiss,
and the world frown upon me, it would be a taste for
reading.” But there is economy to be used in that
exercise. Not all books are desirable auxiliaries, and
the pages of the best book have not the same value
and importance. To know to imbibe the good of the
good book, as the bee knows how to extract honey
from the flower, is an enviable accomplishment.
To be sure, the Jew knew how to use his Bible.
It was to him in its entirety the gift of God. He read
it again and again. Yet he took out of it one verse


ECHOES OF WISDOM
45
which he attached to his name—the first letter of that
verse corresponded to the first letter of his name-
and that was his theme of meditation in solitude, his
weapon in danger, his protector against temptation,
a lamp to his feet, the companion of his mind, and a
part of his consciousness. It was the diminutive
Bible he carried in his very bosom, and hoped to use
it as a pass-word at the Gate of Heaven. “That I,
too, do,” Seneca writes, “of the many things I read,
I apprehend somewhat.”
איזו היא פרשה קטנה שכל גופי תורה תלויין
Card 71273) na
“Hoc ipse quoque facio: ex pluribus, quae legi aliquid
adprehendo.”—Ep. ii.
XLIII.
“And he brought a very fine glass and broke it, and they,
(the invited guests) became sad.”—Tal.
Rabbi Ashi, at the wedding of his son sought to
lower the tone of hilarity of the invited guests by
breaking a glass in a conspicuous manner.
This incident explains the origin of the usage of
breaking a glass at a wedding. (See Tosefoth.)
"Fortune is like glass, it breaks while shining."
-Syrus.
(goocy 1137331 7271 xn4117 xda yup
"Fortuna vitrea est, tum cum splendet frangitur.”


ECHOES OF WISDOM
XLIV.
“The world has been given over to fools."
Rabbi Acha made the insinuation when he was
informed that Rabbi Chisdai, a high state official,
could give no satisfactory answer, when asked by
King Shabur, whether there was an injunction in the
Bible concerning burial.
"All places are replete with fools.”—Cicero.
אימסר עלמא בידי דטפשאי (סנהר מ"ו)
“Stultorum plena sunt omnia.”—Ep. ix, 22.
XLV.
“Man does not know whereby he may profit.”—Tal.
Cromwell used to say: “One never goes up so
high as when one goes, and one does not know
where one goes.”
"Let your hooks always be ready; in the pool
where you least expect, there a fish will be.”—Ovid.
אין אדם יודע במה משתכר (פסחים נ"ד)
"Semper tibi pendeat hamus, quo minime credas gurgite
piscis erit.”—Ant. Am. iii, 425.


X2
ECHOES OF WISDOM
the effect of carelessly handling a thing with a sharp
edge. There is no such thing as chance. The law
of cause and effect operates everywhere, and as the
law has its origin in the Deity, it may be said philoso-
phically, that whatever happens has been decreed
above. “He who is the builder and creator of all has
written the fate of all."-Seneca.
אין אדם נוקף אצבעו מלמטה אא"כ מכריזין עליו מלמעלה (חולין ז:)
“Ille ipse omnium conditor et rector scripsit quidem
fata."-De Prov. v.
XLIX.
“No man is suspected of having done anything unless
he has done it, or has done some of it, or had at
least the thought of doing it.”-Tal.
Malice is one thing, and suspicion is another.
The wiles of hatred do not come under this heading.
Nor is here meant the suspicion which is begotten
by a feverish imagination, that arch blunderer that
sees spectres climb the lamp-post, and mocking
faces float in the vacant air.
But the suspicion conceived and kept up by the
impartial and sober-minded is not without some
foundation.
“You can fool some of the people all of the time,
and all of the people some of the time, but you can-
not fool all of the people all of the time.”—Lincoln.


ECHOES OF WISDOM
49
“No one has ever deceived all, nor have all ever
deceived one.”—Pliny.
אין אדם נחשד בדבר אלא אם כן עשאו ואם לא עשה כולו עשה
(: 7° pob) 1931 1nype
“Nemo omnes, neminem omnes fefellerunt.”—Pangyr, 62.
L.
"A man is not accountable for what he says or does
under the influence of pain and grief.”—Tal.
Heine, perhaps, thought of this passage when he
ridiculed the priests, who, in proof of the indispensi-
bility of religion, boastfully cite the fact that some of
the outspoken atheists and sceptics have, in the last
hour of their lives, expressed a desire for the sacra-
ment. This, according to the illustrious humorist,
argues against the priests inasmuch as it goes to
show that as long as those men had their wits they
were above such needs.
In the Talmud, however, the saying is used in a
solemn sense, in answer to a serious question con-
cerning the believer. Why is it, that he, too, weeps
and mourns over losses? Believing in Providence
and the noble destiny of man, is it not rather incon-
sistent to lament death which to him is the door to
his better and real home?
The answer is, that allowance must be made for
some inconsistencies. Religion seeks to refine our


ECHOES OF WISDOM
many instances unjust. What assurance have we that
we would act better in his circumstances? Unless we
belong to the class of the godly, who pray not for
riches, but for daily bread, we have no right to cen-
sure the sons of a better fate. Acquire wealth and
your definition of charity and quality will radically
change.
"Even the most illustrious generals became in-
solent in prosperity.”—Tacitus.
אין ארי נוהם מתוך קופה של תבן אלא משל בשר (ברכות ל"ב)
"Rebus secundis etiam
egregrios duces indolescere."
Hist. ii, 7.
LIII.
"Say before the dead what is creditable to the dead.”
-Tal.
"Nothing should be said about the dead, if not
good.”—Lat. Prov.
אין אומרין בפני המת אלא דבריו של מת וכו' (ברכות ג)
“De mortuis nil nisi bonum."
LIV.
“The son of David Messiah, will come at a time when
it will be difficult to procure a fish for a patient.”
-Tal.
The belief was that the Messiah will come when
the general condition of things will be very critical.


ECHOES OF WISDOM
Can we conceive of harder times than when fish are
rare? Plutarch quotes the following as a favorite
saying of Cato: “It is hard to preserve a city when a
fish sold for more than an ox.”
אין בן דוד בא עד שיתבקש דג לחולה ולא ימצא (סנהד' צ"ח)
“Difficulter posse salvam esse urbem in qua majoris
piscis quam bos venerat.—Plut. Cato. Ma.
LV.
“The blessing is in the thing which is hidden from the
eye.”—Tal.
The eye is not an ever competent and safe guide
Though its services are beyond all computation, and
we can ill afford to keep the shutters always closed
upon it, we are bound to go astray if we place too
much confidence in this whimsical sovereign of our
senses, which often magnifies and diminishes things,
There is no thing which discloses to the eye or
any other sense, its inner being. Subtract from any
given object its attributes or those.characteristics by
which it is known, and an unknowable something is
left in which these attributes have their origin and
sustenance.
Then we have to consider that everything has
a relation to something else which determines its real
value. We enjoy the present hour because we hope
that there is another one for us in waiting. What, if


ECHOES OF WISDOM
LVII.
"The captive cannot accomplish his own release.”—Tal.
In some instances our helplessness and depend-
ence upon others is more apparent than in others, but
in reality, we are always inadequate to the task, and
in need of some support and lifting hand. Independ-
ence is a shallow phrase. The link must be attached
to another link to be a part of the chain. “The bell
must be pulled, that its sounds shall be heard.”
Thoughts need the wing of language.
Success is not independent. The teacher must
have pupils, the author readers, the potentate
subjects.
Abuzurg-Mihir, the Persian Seneca, is said to
have invented the play of chess, with a view of prov-
ing to King Hormuz how little the ruler can do with-
out the assistance and protection of army and people.
“No one is sufficiently strong to rise by himself;
some helping hand is always necessary.”—Seneca.
אין חבוש מתיר עצמו מבית האסורים (שם ה')
"Nemo per se satis valet ut emergat.”—Ep. 52.
LVIII.
"It is in the work of the loom that woman is expected
to show her wisdom.”-Tal.


ECHOES OF WISDOM
55
So Rabbi Elieser observed, when a woman em-
barrassed him by raising the question, why the
worshippers of the golden calf did not all die the
same death, since they committed the same sin. What
he meant to say is what Lord Littleton expressed
with the help of the muse
“Seek to be good, but aim not to be great:
A woman's noblest station is Retreat,
Her fairest virtues fly from public sight,
Domestic worth—that shuns too strong a light.”
Theodorus, annoyed by the arguments of the
female philosopher Hypparchia, asked: “Who is the
woman that left the shuttle so near the warp?”
Juvenal is too severe on the literary woman when
he says: “I hate her who is forever poring over and
studying Palaemo's treatise; who never violates the
rules and principles of grammar, and, skilled in anti-
quarian lore, quotes verses I never knew, and corrects
the phrases of her friend as old-fashioned which mer.
would never heed. A husband should have the priv-
ilege of committing some solecism."
אין חכמה לאשה אלא בפלך (יומ' כ"ז)
"Odi hanc ego quae repetit volvitque Palaemonis artem
soloecismus liceat fecisse marito.”—Sat. vi.


ECHOES OF WISDOM
57
LXI.
"No one is so poor as he who has no sense.”—Talmud.
“There is nothing either good or bad, but think-
ing makes it so.”—Shakespeare.
"The mind is the master of every kind of fortune:
itself acts in both ways, being the cause of its own
happiness and misery.”—Seneca.
(Puro D'773) 79972 868 y 1988
"Valentior omni fortuna animus est.”—Ep. 98.
LXII.
“The habitual disputant can be no defender.”—Tal.
“In excessive altercation, truth is lost."-Syrus.
אין קטיגור נעשה סניגור (ברכות ירו')
“Nimium altercando veritas amittitur.”
LXIII.
“You cannot compare the foolishness which is harmful
to that which is innocent”—Tal.
How we enjoy the foolish prattling of children!
Thus, there is many a joke which may be appreciated
by the devout religionist. Austerity is no virtue and


58
ECHOES OF WISDOM
joviality no vice. But the humor which misrepre-
sents principle, and sports with the moral feeling, is
like an obscene picture.
"That laughter costs too much which is pur-
chased by the sacrifice of principle.”—Juvenal.
אינו דומה הבל שיש בו חטא להבל שאין בו הטא (שבת קי"ט)
est si probitatis
impendio
“Nimium risus pretium
constat.”—vi, 3.
LXIV.
“Do not compare the man who has a subsistence to the
one who is without it.”—Tal.
Our disposition and character are in alliance with
the body. The stomach is the autocrat whose man-
dates must be attended to. Hunger is a despicable
tyrant, and the care for the next day's food will en-
able to do many a thing which under other circum-
stances might not be dreamed of.
“The belly is the teacher of art and the bestower
of genius.”—Persius.
אינו דומה מי שיש לו פת בסלו למי שאין לו פת בסלו (יומא ע"ד)
“Magister artium ingeniique largitor venter.”—Prologue.
LXV.
“There is a difference between learning one's lesson a


60
ECHOES OF WISDOM
to be noticeable. Among weaklings a man with little
strength is feared as an athlete. Among beggars one
having something in his purse is envied for his wealth.
Among the utterly uninstructed a man having the
ability to readand write is admired for his scholarship.
Then again, our saying may be taken in the sense
of the Latin proverb: "Empty vessels give out the
loudest sound.”
(17!!) ') pop op rap a350 xand's
“Vasa vacua plurimum sonant.”
LXVII.
“Woman spins while she speaks.”—Tal.
Literally, it means that she is loquacious. Figur-
atively, it implies that there is method in her talk-
ativeness. She aims at something.
"It is easy for you women to counterfeit your
words and your actions.”—Propertius.
איתתא בהדי שותא פילכא (מגילה י"ד)
"Sed vobis facile est verba et componere fraudes."-ii, 5.
LXVIII.
“Thy wife is short, bow down and consult her.”—Tal.
How do you like that sentiment, my dear female
reader? Believe it, that the Talmudic sages had the


ECHOES OF WISDOM
61
highest regard for your sex. Consider the following
Talmudic expression: "He who lives without a wife
lives without joy, without light, without peace.”
Again: “He who has no wife is no complete man.”
And again: “A husband should love his wife like
himself, and honor her more than himself.” And
again: “Let every husband be solicitous about the
honor of his wife, for it is through her that a house-
hold is blessed.”
Plutarch quotes Cato to have said: “Men gener-
ally govern women, but we command all men, and
women command us."
(003 ") is anns na yong X992 gon's
“Omnes homines mulierebu's imperant nos omnibus
hominibus, nobis mulieres."--Cat. Ma.
LXIX.
“The wife of Korah, said to her husband: 'Behold what
Moses is doing! He is king. His brother he made
high priest, the sons of his brother he made
priests.'”.
“There are few disputes in life which do not
originate with a woman.”—Juvenal.
איתתיה דקרח איל חזי מאי קעביד משה (סנהדרין ק"י)
“Nulla fere causa est in qua non foemina litem moverit.”
-Sat. iv.


ECHOES OF WISDOM
LXX.
“To eat vegetables with a tranquil mind is preferable to
eating poultry and have palpitation of heart in con-
sequence thereof.”—Tal.
The Midrash tells of a fox who fasted three days
in order to enter an orchard through a small open-
ing of the fence. Having banquetted therein for
three days he became so fat that he could not make his
exit through the same loop-hole. Remembering,
that he will be severely punished if discovered, he
fasted again three days to make his escape possible.
“Now learn what, and how great benefits a
temperate diet will bring with it.”—Hor.
('76p Dida) Syo aun Sya S138
“Quae virtus et quanta boni sit vivere parvo discite."
LXXI.
"Let no one distribute more than one-fifth of his income
among the poor, that he should not become an
object of charity himself.”
According to a tradition, Moses introduced the
system of tithes, not only for the benefit of the poor,
but the protection of the rich. When he enunciated
to the children of Israel the divine lesson of brotherly
love, it kindled in them an enthusiasm which caused
many of them to give away all they had. He saw
the danger which such an utter disregard for self


ECHOES OF WISDOM
- 63
brings with it, and counteracted it. “It is enough if
one gives the tenth part of his income.” But to spend
more than one-fifth of his income is to wrong one-
self.
“Our purse should neither be so closed that our
generosity cannot open it, nor so unfastened that it
lies open to all, a bound should be set and bear
reference to our means.”—Cicero.
אל יבזבז אדם יותר מחומש (כתובות ג')
“Nec ita claudenda res est familiaris ut team benignitas
aperire non possit, nec ita reseranda, ut pateat omnibus.”
-De off. ii, 15.
LXXII.
“Do not trust thyself until the day of death.”—Tal.
Epaminondas being asked which of the three he
held in greatest esteem, Chabrias, Iphicrates or him-
self. “You must see us die before that question can
be settled,” was his reply.
Solon, too said, being asked by Croesus to pro-
nounce him the happiest man: “No one is to be
regarded happy before his death.”—Ovid.
אל תאמין בעצמך עד יום מותך (אבות ב')
"Dicique beatus ante obitum nemo.”—Met.


ECHOES OF WISDOM
fortune shuns and rejects all comfort, but at length
if touched with tenderness, calmly and willingly
resigns.”—Pliny Minor.
אל תנחמהו בשעה שמתו מוטל לפניו (אבות ד')
“Ut enim crudum adhuc vulnus medentium manus
reformidat, deinde patitur, atque ultro requirit etc.”
-Hist. v, 16.
LXXVII.
“Do not maim yourself."
A sensible person will not cut off his nose or any
part of his body. Hence, the saying cannot be taken
literally. Nor does it refer to moral disfigurement.
Plainer language would have been used in that case.
It is an advice, according to the Talmud, given by a
father to his son, not to weaken his position in busi-
ness. For instance, if one goes in partnership with
three persons, he will have to sacrifice his interest to
their interest for fear they might conspire against
him, one of them will appear as his accuser and the
other two as witnesses against him.
Emerson, however, might take our saying to
mean what he expressed in the following words:
“Why should we make it a point with our modesty to
disparage that man we are, and that form of being
assigned to us? A good man is contented.”


ECHOES OF WISDOM
Yet to Martialis, we would have to give the credit
of originality in this point. For he said long before
Emerson: “Be satisfied with what you are, and
have no desire to be anything else.”
Camp Dinda) yoyya dio wyn se
"Quod sis, esse velis, nihilque malis.”—X, 47.
LXXVIII.
“Do not worry over the possible mishaps of to-morrow,
for thou knowest not what a day may bring forth.”
-Tal.
"Such,” says Montaign, “as accuse mankind of
the folly of gaping and panting after future things, and
advise us to make our benefits of those which are
present, and to set up and rest upon them as having
too short a reach to lay hold upon that which is to
come-have hit upon the most universal of human
errors. For we are never present with, but always
beyond ourselves. Fear, desire and hope are still
pushing us on towards the future, depriving us in the
meantime of the sum and consideration of that which
is to amuse us, with the thought of what shall be,
even when we are no more.".
“Do not seek to know what will happen to-
morrow.”—Hor.
אל תצר צרת מחר כי לא תדע מה יולד יום שמא מחר בא ואיננו
(2D nina)
“Quid sit futurum cras fuge quaerere."—i, 9.


ECHOES OF WISDOM
LXXIX.
“Do not sit, do not stand, do not walk excessively."
-Tal.
: “There is a mean in all things.”—Hor.
(genop 'zina) 13"0"natn 5x
"Est modus in rebus.”—Sat. i, 1.
LXXX.
“Do not seek to reconcile your friend while he is in a
state of anger.”—Tal.
“Anger is a passing madness.”—Hor.
אל תרצה את חברך בשעת כעסו (אבות ד')
"Ira furor brevis est.”—Ep. i, 2..
LXXXI.
“Do not engage in scholarly discussion on the road.”
-Tal.
You might lose your way. Thales was looking
up to the stars while walking along a river, and fell
into it. Satire observed: “Had Thales looked into the
river, he could have seen the stars."


70
ECHOES OF WISDOM
“No one sees what is before him. They scru-
tinize the starry region.”—Cicero.
(“ nuyn) na sa 7272 poynn
“Qod est ante pedes nemo spectat, coeli plagas
scrutantur.”—Divin. ii, 13.
LXXXII.
“These as well as these are words spoken in the
religious spirit, yet those of the school of Hillel
shall prevail.”-Tal.
Hillel and Shamai were contemporaneous
teachers of great renown in Israel. Their names
are closely united like those of Shmayah and
Abtalion. Yet in disposition and method they were
no more like one another than Democritus and
Heraclitus.
Hillel was cheerful and patient; Shamai austere
and irritable. The people whom Shamai drove away
were cordially received by Hillel. Hillel enjoyed the
present making at the same time provision for the
future; Shamai sacrificed the present to the future.
Their teachings exhibited the same differences.
Those of Hillel were liberal, progressive and in touch
with the conditions of the times. Those of Shamai
were rigorous and restrictively uncompromising.


72
ECHOES OF WISDOM
works destruction at the same time. So controversy.
While it promotes the interest of truth, creates doubt
somewhere, and while it seeks to establish certainty,
proves that there is no certainty.
But since there is no other method for the exten-
sion of the government of truth, the manner in which
the school of Hillel disputed is worthy of consider-
ation and emulation.
"Yield to thy opponent, by yielding, thou shalt
come out victor."-Ovid.
agoon 2179) jo n'P 29 189 188
“Cedo repugnanti; cedendo victor abibis."-Art. Am. ii.
LXXXIII.
"If it is truth, why then should it be called parable?"
The object of the parable is to bring truth nearer
home.
“Art is the agency of the inexpressible."-Schiller.
Our higher mental efforts are in the service of
the majesty of truth. We flatter fiction if we take
it for truth, but there is no grosser insult than when
we let truth pass for fiction.
Truth is self-supporting; when established, it
takes care of itself. Mathematical truth, for instance,
is not in need of the lordly hexameter of a Homer
for its immortalization.


74
ECHOES OF WISDOM
“The people expect of those greater than they,
greater things.”—Seneca.
אם אני כאן הכל כאן ואם אין אני כאן מי כאן (סוכה ל''ג)
“Majora populus semper a summo exigit."-Oct.
LXXXV.
"If you desire to strangle, let it be on a high tree.”—Tal.
Rashi takes it in the sense, if you would overcome
your opponent in argument cite a great authority.
Indeed, we find in the Talmud that Hillel put an end
to a very heated debate when he said: “I heard it from
Shemayah and Abtalion.”
Quotation is both the jewelry and weapon of
composition. It is a sign of respect for the work
and opinion of others, elevation of authority by
which the quoter, too, is raised.
"It is generally supposed,” says Disraeli, “that
where there is no quotation, there will be found
nost originality ... The greater part of our writers
in consquence, have become so original, that no one
cares to imitate them; and those who never quote are
in return never quoted.”
Another reading of the saying is: “If you
desire to be strangled hang yourself on a large tree.”
This version may be taken in the sense, if you have io
ignore your own opinion and to act according to


76
ECHOES OF WISDOM
“Those direct us properly who advise us not to
do anything which we doubt whether it is right or
wrong.”—Cicero.
אם ברור לך הדבר כבקר אמרהו ואם לאו אל תאמרהו (סנהד' ז')
“Quocirca bene praecipiunt, qui vetant quicquam agere,
quod dubites, aequum sit an iniquum.”—De off. i, 9.
LXXXVIII.
"If one says: “I have exerted myself and yet accom-
plished nothing," do not believe him; “I have taken
no pains and yet I reached the object,” do not be-
lieve; "I have worked and succeeded,” believe him.
—Tal.
Hillel was altogether without the means of a sub-
sistence when he came from Babylon to Jerusalem, to
quench his burning thirst for knowledge. During the
day he chopped wood for a living, and studied in the
evening at the school of Shemayah and Abtalion,
where he divided with the porter of the same his
scanty earnings in order to obtain admission. Once,
it happened that he was not able to gratify the porter,
and could not or would not seek free admission.
But in order not to loose the benefit of the lecture,
he climbed to the window-sill of the school and
listened there.
About Rabbi Akiba the Talmud tells us that
every day during his period of learning, he was in the


ECHOES OF WISDOM
habit of cutting bundles of straw, half of which he
would sell for his needs and the other half use for
light. His neighbors were not at all pleased with
his manner, and said: “Akiba, the smoke greatly
annoys us. Sell us the straw and buy oil.” But
Rabbi Akiba answered: “The straw serves me in
three ways, I study by its light, warm myself by its
fire and make my bed on it at night.”.
Moses Mendelson became deformed as a boy,
in consequence of the persistent studies he made of
the philosophical writings of Maimonides. When
pursuing a course of studies in Berlin, he lived for a
while on bread, and that, too, he used sparingly. In
order not to overeat himself at one meal and then be
left without food, he made cuts in the loaf of bread
by which he knew how many meals he could make of
it and how far he could go at each meal.
Cleanthes was so poor, that "he was forced to
undertake mercenary employments, and he used to
draw water in the gardens at night, and by day he
exercised himself in philosophical discussions; on
which account he was called Phrenaulles. They also
say that he was on one occasion brought before a
court of police to be compelled to give an account of
what his sources of income were; and that then he
was acquitted, having produced as his witness the
gardener, in whose garden he drew the water, and a
woman who was a meal-seller in whose establishment
he used to prepare the meal.”—Yonge's Diog. Leart.


ECHOES OF WISDOM
“The heights by great men reached and kept,
Were not attained by sudden flight;
But they, while their companions slept,
Were toiling upward in the night.”—Longfellow.
“Labor overcomes all things.”—Virgil.
אם יאמר לך אדם יגעתי ולא מצאתי אל תאמין וכ' (מגילה ו')
“Labor omnia vincit.”—G. i.
LXXXIX.
"If the young tell you to build and the old tell you to
destroy, listen to the latter; for the building of youth
is destruction and the destruction of the old is
building.”—Tal.
That is the young build in order to destroy, and
the old destroy in order to build.
“Rashness, beyond a doubt, belongs to life when
in its bloom, wisdom to it in old age.”—Cicero.
אם יאמרו לך ילדים בנה וזקנים סתור שמע לזקנים ואל תשמע
(OD'979) Dibos
“Temeritas est videlicet florentis aetatis, prudentia
senescentis.”—De Sen. 5.


ECHOES OF WISDOM
XC.
"If thou hast the means, enjoy thyself, for there is no
pleasure in the grave, and no postponement of death
... Human beings are like the grass of the field,
while some Aourish, others wither."-Tal.
The enjoyment alluded to is that kind which the
noble consciousness of an upright and good life
affords.
Seneca has a similar thought: “Few have the
pleasures of safe repose who bear in mind how swiftly
never returning time passes. While the fates allow,
enjoy yourselves and be merry.”
(9'y 7921790) 91 75 2097 75 Page DS
"Novit paucos secura quies ... Dum fata sinunt vivite :
laeti.”—Her. Fur.
XCI.
"If you will work for the earth like a slave you will have
plenty, ignore her claim, and you will not have
enough bread.”—Tal.
So Seneca: “If you live according to nature you
will never be poor, if according to the opinion of
others, you will never be rich.”


ECHOES OF WISDOM
אם עושה אדם עצמו כעבד לאדמה ישבע לחם (סנהדרין נ"ח)
pauper, si ad
“Si ad naturam vivas, nunquam eris
opinionem, nunquam eris dives."--Ep. 16.
XCII.
"If an ignorant person is extremely pious, do not live
in his neighborhood.”—Tal.
The ignorant person (am aretz),referred to in the
Talmud, scorned knowledge and despised authority.
He was more embittered against the Jewish scholar
than was the heathen against the Jew. Rabbi Akiba,
who began to study at an advanced age frankly admits
that at the time he was ignorant (am aretz) he had
such an animosity against the learned classes that
many a time he wished he could get hold of a scholar
and break his bones. The more airs of piety those
lovers of ignorance put on the more intolerable they
were,
“Nothing is more disagreeable than a man
of mean origin raised into power.”—Clodian. '
אם עם הארץ הוא חסיד אל תדור בשכונתו (פסחים מ"ט)
“Asperius nihil est humili, cum
Eutrop. 1.
surgit in altum.”—In


ECHOES OF WISDOM
81
XCIII.
“If our ancestors were like angels, we are only like
human beings; if our ancestors were like human
beings, we are like donkies.”—Tal.
Diction is one thing and thought another. The
idea may be transcendent, and the expression com-
monplace. The word may be high sounding, and the
thought objectionable. It does not follow that,
because the cup is golden, the liquid therein is
acceptable, nor is the refreshing drink less so, because
the pitcher is not of exquisite make.
The wording of the above apophthegm is not
free from extravagence but the idea it expresses,
which is, that we are greatly inferior to our ancestors,
commands respect.
Israel always believed that in the past was the
refulgent east and window of divine revelation, and
glorified the lives of his ancestors as patterns and
their words as oracles. If King Solomon exhorts us
not to say that the former ages were better, he does
not mean to weaken and abrogate the authority of
the inspired teachers of ages gone by. It was tradi-
tion that lent force to his sceptre. King Solomon
contends against palliating religious relaxation by the
groundless assertion that in former times circum-
stances were more favorable to high religious
pursuits.
Many of us to-day are wont to look back to


ECHOES OF WISDOM
antiquity with the smile and exaltation of a pros-
perous man looking back to the child that he once
was. Is it really so sure a thing that knowledge
increases and the human mind becomes stronger in
proportion to the succession of generations? History
does not show it. It does not exemplify such a
constant process of higher development of the
intellect; such a continuous improvement and perfect-
ing of man.
There is no such a period as the childhood of the
human race in history. It begins with existing
organizations, with the admirable work of men of
amazing mental power. History is biography,
fragmentary biography. The history of a nation is
the narrative of the signal virtues and vices, victories
and defeats of its rulers and leaders. The history of
the human race is the record of the struggles and
creations of comparatively few men who instructed
and awakened the masses and impressed their own
image upon them. A comparison between the mind
of to-day and that of ages gone by, does not justify
that pride and self-aggrandizement of which we have
an abundant supply. We are still under the sway and
influence of antiquity.
Religion is an old institution. Our ethics are the
amaranths of antiquity. Our governments, the best
and noblest, are either continuations or reproductions
of old principles. The poetry of to-day is imitation,


ECHOES OF WISDOM
the philosophy repetition, the theatres and museums
are copies.
Our whole civilization must be attributed to the
genius of two peoples, the old Jews and the Greeks.
Other nations of antiquity have contributed their
share, but those two peoples have bequeathed the
most wonderful legacies.
There is a difference in the kind of work they
have done and in the ideas which led them to it. The
Jews had a firm religious conviction, the Greeks
lacked a criterion. The Jews had the rule of life, the
Greeks were in search of such a rule. The Jews spirit-
ualized the material; the Greeks materialized the
spiritual. The aim of the Jew was holiness, the aim
of the Greek was the beautiful. Hence, the one
raised a saintly life above all attainments, while the
other ran into extasy over a pleasing poem, a sharp
syllogism, a beautiful statue and an heroic perform-
ance in the battlefield. Heine contrasts the two
peoples with prophectic force when he says: “I see
now, that the Greeks were beautiful youths, while the
Jews impress me as having been men mature and
strong, fearless and invincible.”
Yet it is very difficult to duly estimate the influ-
ence of the Greeks and to tell exactly where it ceases.
A man of no less acumen than Schlegel deemed it
proper to say: “The Greeks are the second chosen
people of God."
But can we think of Jews and Greeks without


ECHOES OF WISDOM
thinking of Moses and Homer? Moses is not only
the proem, the incipiency of the brilliant career of his
people, but the holy ark which moves with them,
giving them direction and inspriation. His spirit
breathes in our immortal prophecies, those fearless
admonitions, stirring exhortations, piercing com-
plaints, soothing consolatories, and fiery religious
discourses which are the majestic utterances of the
divine in man. His wisdom enables the Talmudic
sages to open a realm where the sky is radiant with
certainty, the air balmy with faith and the soil blos-
soming with hope. His genius endows Israel with
that valor of endurance which has rendered our
history unique and unparalleled.
The words in the Bible: “And no man knows his
(Moses) grave” has a deeper meaning than the letter
conveys. Who can imagine that mysterious person-
age dead and buried? His institutions are sacred.
His writings are written miracles, to be instructed in
them is a religious duty, to interpret them a privilege,
to live in them a blessing, and to die for them an
honor. The history of Israel is the history of the
exegesis, and embodiment of Mosaism, the paragon
of intellectual achievement, the panacea of the world.
What Moses is in Israel, Homer was in Greece,
the law-giver, the scientist, the artist. He is not the
dawn, but the constant co-worker of a great history.
Under the influence of his genius, a band of poets
flourish whose words are sweet music, giving wings


ECHOES OF WISDOM
to imagination and delight to the ear. Philosophers
build a labyrinth of thought so tempting, that
to be lost in it seems a pleasure. Sculptors chisel
the cold marbel into forms that seem to breath.
Historians describe the past with a magic skill as
to make it a part of our own experience. Heroes
rise who attain distinction for superiority of senti-
ment no less than that of strategy and courage.
Homer is the sweet dream of the Greeks, or rather as
Hegel puts it: “The element in which the Greek world
lives as man lives in the air."
“Those who have lived before us have done
much, but have not finished the work, yet they are
to be esteemed and reverenced like gods.-Seneca.
אם ראשונים בני מלאכים אנו בני אנשים וכ' (שבת קי"ב)
Multum egerunt qui ante nos fuerunt, sed non perege-
runt; sus pic iendi tamen sunt et ritudeorme colendi.-Ep. 64.
XCIV.
“If thou art free from slanderous utterances thou shalt
live in peace.”—Tal.
“ 'Tis slander;
Whose edge is sharper than the sword; whose tongue
Outvenoms all the worms of the Nile; whose breath
Rides on posting winds, and does belie
All corners of the world; kings, queens and states,
Maids, matrons, nay the secrets of the grave
This viperous slander enters." - Shakespeare.


ECHOES OF WISDOM
tory ordinance of the Romans and anxious to save
him from the impending punishment, said to him:
"Brother! do you not see what a mighty power the
Romans are? They destroyed the city of God, burnt
his temple and slew so many of his servants, yet they
rule and succeed, and you dare to oppose and defy
them?” To this Rabbi Chananyah replied: "Heaven
will have mercy.”
It reminds of Cicero: “You oppose me ... with
stories, but I demand reasons of you.”
אני אומר לך דברים של טעם ואתה אומר מן שמים ירחמו (ע"ז י"ח)
"Rumoribus mecum pugnas, ego autem a te rationes
requiro.”-D. N. D. iii, 5.
XCVII.
“The myrtle though standing among thorns is neverthe-
less a myrtle.”—Tal.
It is not safe to judge always a man's character
by those with whom he associates. Antisthenes was
once approached for being intimate with wicked
people and said: “Physicians also live with those who
are sick and yet they do not catch fevers.”—Diog.
Leart.
"The rose is often found to be near the nettle.”
-Ovid.
אסא דקאי ביני חילפא אסא שמיה ואסא קרו ליה (סנהד' מ"ד)
"Urticae proxima saepe rosa est.”-Remed. Am. 45.


ECHOES OF WISDOM
XCVIII.
“It is forbidden to steal the good will even of a heathen."
-Tal.
"Steal” is a strong word. Our sages put him
down as a thief, who obtains the good wishes of any-
body on a false pretence.
That they have given the same consideration to
the heathen would itself prove that they did not
nourish that apathy against him which is maliciously
attributed to them. But there are numerous passages
in the Talmud which indicate that our sages stood
upon the platform of universal love. For instance:
“The heathen who is engaged in the study of
the Law is like a high priest.” “Also the pious of the
heathens has a portion in the world to come.” “Who
steals of a heathen will also steal of an Israelite, and
who commits perjury against a heathen will be
guilty of the same sin against a Jew." "We should
feed the poor of the heathens, attend to their sick,
bury their dead and save their property for the sake
of peace.”
Our saying is the most forcible expression of the
duty of fair dealing with all men compared with which
Cicero: “No one should take advantage of the ignor-
ance of others,” is weak.
(7''705907) 39 nman nyt 21235 nyox
“Neminem ita agere ut ex ulterius praedetur inscientia.”
-Cicero.


ECHOES OF WISDOM
XCIX.
“A physician for nothing is worth nothing."-Tal.
He may not take enough interest in the patient
if his services are not remunerated. In the Talmud,
the physician is spoken of as a material necessity.
Although the Talmud is not in favor of giving over
to him the leadership of a city, it cautions against
living in a city which has no physician. If it says:
“The best of physicians is doomed to h-1,” we are
to take it as a stricture upon the conceited physician,
who thinks himself the best of his profession, and
refuses to consult a colleague though seeing that his
patient sinks under his treatment.
Yet at first sight, the saying which heads this
chapter, seems to convey the idea which Arbiter
expressed when he said: “The physician is nothing
else but a consolation of the mind.”
(7“ pól) XY® yan yana yaa7 X'DX
"Medicus nihil aliud est quam animi consolatio."-Sat.
“The physician who comes from a distance makes blind."
-Tal.
Having his practice and reputation elsewhere, he
may treat the patient as an object of experiment with


ECHOES OF WISDOM
(7“: “9) T5v ngh a new
“Nullum memorabile nomen in foeminea poena nec ita
victoria habet laudem.”-Aen. ii.
CVIII.
“A woman reads the people coming to her house better
than man.”
Had Buckle been familiar with this apophthegm
he might have quoted it with some show of Talmudic
knowledge in his lecture on “Woman's influence on
the progress of knowledge.”
“Another circumstance,” says Buckle, “which
makes women more deductive,is that they possess
more of what is called intuition. They cannot see as
far as man can, but what they do see they see quicker.
Hence, they are constantly tempted to grasp at once
at an idea, and seek to solve a problem suddenly in
contradistinction to the slower and more laborious
ascent of the inductive investigator. That women
are more deductive than men, because they think
quicker is a proposition which some persons will not
relish, and yet it may be proved in a variety of ways."
"To this, I may add another observation which
many travellers have made, and which anyone can
testify; namely, “that when you are in a foreign
country and speaking a foreign language, women will
understand you quicker than men will."


ECHOES OF WISDOM
95
אשה מכרת באורחים יותר מאיש (פסחי' ג')
"Parvis mobilis rebus animus muliebris.”—Levy vi, 34.
CIX.
"The man is well off who does not go to theatres.”—Tal.
That is the man upon whom time does not hang
heavily and who finds amusement and diversion in
pursuits the legitimacy of which can not be ques-
tioned. And our sages are not without support in
this respect.
Boswell has the following item about Samuel
Johnson: "He for a considerable time used to fre-
quent the green-room, and seemed to take delight in
dissipating his gloom by mixing in the sprightly chii-
chat of the motley circle then to be found there. Mr.
David Hume related to me from Garrick that John-
son at last denied himself that amusement from a
consideration of rigid virtue, saying: “I come no
more behind the green scenes, David; for the silk
stockings and white bosoms of your actresses excite
my amorous propensities.”—Little's Hist. Lights.
“Ovid employs two hundred lines in the research
of places the most favorable to love. Above all, he
considers the theatres as the best adapted to collect
the beauties of Rome and to melt them with tender-
ness and sensuality.”—Ibid.
Solon, the lawgiver of Athens, "forbade Thespis


ECHOES OF WISDOM
to perform and represent his tragedies, on the ground
of falsehood being unprofitable; and when Pisistratos
wounded himself, he said it all came of Thespis
tragedies.”—Yonge's Diog. Leart.
Seneca advises his young friend to stay away
from public shows, saying: “Nothing is so hurtful to
good morals as to while away the time at some public
show."
(nem prog) nionna 7627 rese W987 'TUR
"Nihil vero tam damnosum bonis moribus, quam in
aliquo spectaculo desidere.”—Ep. vii.
СХ.
“The generation is to be congratulated which has Rabbi
Elazar, son of Azariah.”—Tal.
When the position of Nassi was made vacant by
the abdication of Rabbi Gamliel, Rabbi Elazar was
declared the best equipped man for the office. He
was learned, influential and of a family which traced
its genealogy to Ezrah. His wife, however, did not
care for the promotion, and said to him: “They will
depose you as they did Rabbi Gamliel.” “This,” he
said, “does not trouble me.” “We use costly glass-
ware knowing that it may break.” She then referred
to his extremely useful appearance. He was then
only eighteen years old.
At any rate, he was elected, and having been in


ECHOES OF WISDOM
97
the exalted office a short time, a reconciliation was
effected between Rabbi Gamliel and his opponents,
whose rehabilitation was desired. Cheerfully and
readily Rabbi Elazar resigned, and headed a party
to congratulate the reinstated Nassi.
“There are Clodii at all times, but the Catos are
rare."-Seneca.
(6) Aduan) 11 131na 70 y' as 'n 9977 708
"Omne tempes Clodii, non omne Catones feret.”—Ep. 97
CXI.
"Happy are the martyrs.”—Tal.
Rabbi Joseph recovered from his sickness, and
his father, Rabbi Joshua, asked him, what vision he
had when he was in a state of apparent unconscious-
ness. Rabbi Joseph answered: “I have seen a world
with a reversed order of things. The high-stationed
were down and the lowly were up.” And the father
said: “Thou hast seen a well ordered world. But
what hast thou seen of us scholars?" And he
answered: “As we are here, so we are there. And I
heard say: "Happy who comes here with learning in
his hand, (that is, whose learning caused good
action). And I also heard say: "Happy are the
martyrs." Commenting on this last utterance the
Talmud says: “It does not refer to Rabbi Akiba and


ECHOES OF WISDOM
his associates who had other great merits, but to the
martyrs in Lydda. It happened that a king's daugh-
ter was murdered, and, as the murderer was not found,
the whole Jewish colony was charged with the crime.
But in order to remove all suspicion from, and thus
save their brethren, two brave young men sacrificed
themselves. They gave themselves up to the thought-
less government as the assassins of the king's
daughter, and were innocently put to death.
"It is sweet and glorious to die for the father
land.”-Hor.
('3 Dinda) niaba 47707
“Dulce et decorum est pro patria mori.”—Od. iii, 2.
CXII.
"Happy the man who repents while he is yet a man.”
-Tal.
That is when one's better nature has still that
warmth and impressionability to become victor of
the base passions.
It reminds of Juvenal: “When armed and
helmeted it is too late to repent of the fight."
(ora qu'Y) ** 81703 naivn merye p
"Galeatum sero duelli poenitet."-Sat. 1.


100
ECHOES OF WISDOM
he recited passages from the Scriptures. His
disciples, seeing that the executioner was determined
to break the constancy of his victim, and therefore pro.
longed his agonies, cried out: "Master, it is enough.”
But the mutilated master calmed them, saying: “It is
written: “And thou shalt love the Eternal, thy God,
with all thy soul.” It means even at the cost of thy
life. Many a time I wondered whether I will have an
opportunity to manifest such a love for my God. And
now that I have it shall I not use it? Again he said:
"Hear, O Israel, the Eternal is our God, the Eternal
is One,”and kept up the sound of the last word "One"
until his body sank, and the glory that tenanted it
rose heavenward.” A voice from above (Bath Kol).
exclaimed “Happy art thou, Rabbi Akiba, that thy
soul departed with "echod” on thy lips.”
"Who falls for the love of God shall rise a star."
Ben Jonson.
(p"0 01372) 708) ynowi nnyiv yo'ng your
CXIV.
“It is written: 'Thou shalt fear the Eternal thy God,"
this teaches at the same time that the sages must be
respected.'”—Tal.
Our wise men revered the Bible as an emanation
of divine Intelligence in which the solution of life's


102
ECHOES OF WISDOM
and at all hours, the vivifying influence in man's life.
Religion I find stand upon it.”—Carlyle.
“Next and immediately after the gods men are
most useful to men..... It is by the wisdom and
virtues of excellent men that we areurged and excited
to study and improve our conditions." --Cicero.
(25 TDĐ) nºn 275 von x 3 nữ
"Proxime autem et secundum deos homines... Hominum
studia virorum praestantium sapientia excitantur.”—De Off.
ii, 3, 5.
CXV.
"The donkey came and kicked the candelabrum."-Tal.
There was a philosopher who used to brag of
his deep sense of justice and utter abhorrence for
bribery, but whom Rabbi Gamliel and his sister knew
to lead a double life. In order to expose him, they
pretended to have a disagreement about their father's
estate, and appointed him judge in the matter. Both
bribed him, she with a golden candelabrum,and Rabbi
Gamliel with an imported donkey. During the trial
she said to the judge: “May thy judgment be as
bright as the candelabrum,” and Rabbi Gamliel, in
order to remind him of his gift said: “The donkey
came and kicked the candelabrum."
Whether Rabbi Gamliel and his sister actually
played such unbecoming parts may reasonably be


ECHOES OF WISDOM
103
questioned. It is more likely that some disappointed
scholar gave birth to the above saying, and means
that nonsense is often more appreciated by the people
than substantial thought
It reminds of the story of the shadow of an ass.
Demosthenes pleaded a very important case, and
observing that the judges paid him no attention, told
them that once a man hired a donkey to ride on its
back to some city. On the road the man sat down
under the donkey to rest. The owner of the same
then demanded extra pay for the use of the shadow
of his animal, which the other party refused. They
went to court. At this point of the story the famous
orator turned to leave the room, but the judges
anxious to hear how the court disposed of the shadow
of the ass bade him stay and continue.
“Comedy carries the day.”
אתא חמרא ובטש לשרגא (שבת קט"ו)
“Vocem comoedia tollit.”—L. Prov.
CXVI.
"You have, I have not said it.”—Tal.
Bar Kappara was sent by the Rabbies to inquire
about Rabbi Jehudah Hanassi, whose sickness had
taken an alarming turn and for whose recovery a
fast was ordained and prayers were said. Coming


ECHOES OF WISDOM
105
Rabbi Jehudah and Rabbi Chiya came into a city
and inquired whether a learned man dwelled there.
They were informed that a learned man lived there,
but he was blind. They paid him a visit. What the
conversation of these scholars was is not repeated.
But when the distinguished visitors were about to
leave him he blessed them in the above words..
There is a passage in Cicero which deserves to
be cited in this connection. It is this: “Pompejus
used to relate that when he came to Rhodus, he had a
great desire to hear Posidonius lecture. But he was
informed that the philosopher was a great sufferer,
and though he gave up all hope of hearing him, he
paid him a visit. Pompeius after greeting the phil-
osopher expressed his regrets that he could not hear
him lecture. But Posidonius said: “I shall not per-
mit any illness to cause such a distinguished visitor
to leave me without hearing me." And he discussed
earnestly and fluently the proposition: “Nothing was
good but what was honest.” But as often as his
malady gave him severe pain so that he had to
interrupt himself, he said: “Pain, thou accomplishest
nothing. Thou art annoying, but I will never admit
that thou art an evil.”
אתם הקבלתם פנים הנראים ואינן רואין תזכו וכ' (חגיגה ה')
“Nihil agis dolor: quamvis sis molestus, nunquam te
esse confitebor malum.”—Tuscul. ii, 25.