■» ■\>; ;*vc>; HEBREW SATIR w^. 'Yj-f '-^'J^-tJc^Pj^ jC JOSEPH CHOTZNER, PH.D. AUTHOR OF 'HEBREW HIMOUR* CORNELL UNIVERSITY LIBRARY BOUGHT WITH THE INCOME OF THE SAGE ENDOWMENT FUND GIVEN IN 1891 BY HENRY WILLIAMS SAGE Cornell University Library PN 6231.J5C55 Hebrew satire / 3 1924 027 222 623 Cornell University Library The original of tliis book is in tine Cornell University Library. There are no known copyright restrictions in the United States on the use of the text. http://www.archive.org/details/cu31924027222623 HEBREW SATIRE HEBREW SATIRE J. CHOTZNER, Ph.D. LATE HEBREW MASTER AT HARROW AUTHOR OF "HEBREW HUMOUR," ETC. LONDON KEGAN PAUL, TRENCH, TRUBNER & CO., Ltd. NEW YORK THE BLOCH PUBLISHING CO. 40 EAST 14TH street'^ (' PREFACE Very little attention has hitherto been paid by authors generally to those works forming part of Hebrew literature, in which much of delightful satire is predominant. The object of this volume, therefore, is to make the reader familiar with the contents of several of these writings which may prove interesting to him. A few portions of this volume have already appeared in London periodicals, including " The Jewish Review," and some others thereof have served as the themes of lectures delivered to various literary societies. J. C. London, February 191 1. CONTENTS Preface ...... Introduction ..... "Tithes" ...... A Wife's Ruse ..... A Rabbinical Story of Alexander the Great The Boastful Merchant. By Alcharizi (1300) The Farmer's Folly. By the Same Author Piety and Remorse. By Sahula (1300) . Extracts from the Writings of Manoello di Roma, a Friend of Dante (1400) . Fickleness of Women. By Joseph Zabara (1200) The Revealer of Secrets. By Joseph Perl (1774) Extract from the Satirical Writings of Isaac Erter (1792-1815) .... A Strange Story. By M. D. Brandstater The Disappointed "Rebbe." By the Same Author The Waggon's Axle. By Leon Gordon (1831) . "Shalet." By the Same Author . The Fatted Geese. By the Same Author A Curious Incident. By the Same Author The Dot of the Letter " Yod." By the Same Author The Missing Pancakes. By Peter Smolenskin (1872) The "Chedbr," By the Same Author . PAGE V I 3 5 7 9 12 16 "9 23 28 30 33 38 42 46 SO 52 54 57 64 VIU HEBREW SATIRE The Extinguishing of Two Great Lights. By Mendel Dolitzki (1856) The Hebrew Poet. By an Anonymous Hebrew Satirist TiRZA, A Disillusion. By Simon Bacher (i860) A Grievous Disappointment. By M. Scheikewitz, a modern Hebrew Satirist False Hopes. By Bialick, a modern Hebrew Writer The Pride of Possession. By M. Berdaschevsky The Rich Uncle. By A. G. Genesin. . A Dream and its Meaning. By M. Frischman A Lover's Tragedy. By M. Peretz Jov AND Sorrow . A Pleasant Surprise Berel and Shmerbl A Curious MS. A "Purim" Play . Lost and Found . "The Song of Songs" Poverty and Wealth Unpleasant Surprises Two Ghetto Idiots The "Rebbe's" Pipe Layzbr and Payzer The Ghetto Marriage-Broker Wandering Jewish Preachers Hebrew Epigrams Hebrew Fables . 68 72 75 76 78 79 84 89 91 9S 100 103 107 IIZ 118 122 126 136 140 143 148 1S3 156 171 HEBREW SATIRE. HEBREW SATIRISTS. Since the birth of Hebrew literature, many centuries ago, satire has been one of its many characteristics. It is directed against the foibles and follies of the miser, the hypocrite, the profli- gate, the snob. The dull sermoniser, who puts his congregation to sleep, fares badly, and even the pretty wickednesses of the fair sex do not escape the hawk-eye of the Hebrew satirist. The luxury and extravagance of the " Daughters of Zion" were attacked by no less a person than Isaiah himself; but human nature, especially that of a feminine kind, was too strong even for so eminent a prophet as he was, and there is no reason to suppose that the lady of those days wore one trinket the less in deference to his invective. There are, in fact, several incidents mentioned here and there in the pages of the Bible, which are decidedly of a satirical nature. Most pro- minent among them are the two that refer respec- 2 HEBREW SATIRE tively to Bileam, who was sermonised by his ass, and to Haman who, as the Prime Minister of Persia, had to do homage publicly to Mordecai, the very man whom he greatly hated and despised. Nay, we are told, that, by the irony of fate, Haman himself ended his life on the exceptionally huge gallows which, while in a humorous turn of mind, he had ordered to be erected for the pur- pose of having executed thereon the object of his intense hatred. And again, there are two excellent satires to be found respectively in the 14th chapter of Isaiah, and in the i8th chapter of the ist Book of Kings. In the first, one of the mighty Babylonian potentates is held up to derision, on account of the ignominious defeat he had sustained in his own dominions, after he had been for a long time a great terror to contemporary nations, living in various parts of the ancient world. Even the trees of the forests are represented there as having mocked at his fall, saying : " Since thou art laid down, no feller is come up against us." In the second satire, the false prophets of Baal are ridiculed by Elijah for having maimed their bodies, in order to do there- by honour to a deity which is sometimes sarcasti- cally referred to in the Bible as being " the god of flies." HEBREW SATIRE 3 Delightfully satirical are also the two fables quoted in the Bible in connection with Jotham and Nathan, the Prophet. These are commonly well-known, and no extracts from them need be given here. The satirical turn of mind manifested by Hebrew writers living in Biblical times, has been transmitted by them as a legacy to their descendants, who flourished in subsequent ages down to the present day. The first among them was Ben Sira who, in i8o B.C., wrote a book, some of the contents of which are satirical, for there the vanity of contemporary women, and the arrogance of some of the rich in the com- munity are ridiculed with mild sarcasm. But much more keen was the sense of the satirical that was possessed by some of the ancient Rabbis, who were among those that brought into existence the vast and interesting Talraudical literature. One of their satires, called " Tithes," runs as follows : — In Palestine there once lived a widow with her two daughters, whose only worldly possessions consisted of a little field. When she began to plough it, a Jewish official quoted to her the words of the lawgiver Moses : " Thou shalt not plough with ox and ass together." When she began to sow, she was admonished in the words 4 HEBREW SATIRE of the same lawgiver not to sow the fields with two kinds of seed. When she began to reap and pile up the stacks, she was told that she must leave " gleanings," the poor man's sheaf, and the " corner." When the harvest time came, she was informed that it was her duty to give the priest's share, consisting of the first and second " tithes." She quietly submitted, and gave what was demanded of her. Then she sold the field, and bought two young ewes, in order that she might use their wool, and profit by their offspring. But, as soon as the ewes gave birth to their young, a priest came, and quoted to her the words of Moses : " Give me the first-born, for so the Lord hath ordained." Again she submitted, and gave him the young. When the time of shearing came, the priest again made his appearance, and said to her that, according to the Law, she was obliged to give him " the shoulder, the two cheeks, and the maw." In a moment of despair, the widow said : " Let all the animals be consecrated to the Lord ! " " In that case," answered the priest, " they belong altogether to me ; for the Lord hath said : " Everything consecrated in Israel shall be thine." So, he took the sheep, and went his way, leaving HEBREW SATIRE 5 the widow and her two daughters in great distress, and bathed in tears.^ A WIFE'S RUSE. (A Rabbinical Tale.) There is a Rabbinical law which makes it obligatory upon every Jewish husband to divorce his wife, if after ten years of married life she shall remain childless. Now, there once lived in an Oriental town a man and his wife who were greatly attached to each other, but who had, unfortunately, no children, though they had been married for a considerable time. When the end of the tenth year of their marriage was approaching, they both went to the Rabbi, and asked hira for his advice. The Rabbi listened with great sympathy, but declared his inability to alter or modify the law in their favour. The only suggestion, he said, that he could make, was, that on the last night before their final separa- tion, they should celebrate a little feast together, and that the wife should take some keepsake from her husband which would be a permanent token of her husband's unchangeable affection for her. ' Cp. The Jewish Encyclopedia, sub Satire. 6 HEBREW SATIRE Thus, on the last night, the wife prepared a sumptuous meal for the two of them, and, amidst much merriment and laughter, she filled and refilled her husband's goblet with sparkling wine. Under its influence, he fell into a heavy sleep, and while in this condition, he was carried by his wife's orders to her father's abode, where he con- tinued to sleep till the following morning. When he awoke, and was wondering at his strange surroundings, his cunning wife came smilingly into the room, and said : " Oh, my dear husband, I have actually carried out the Rabbi's sugges- tion, inasmuch as I have taken away from home a most precious keepsake. This is your own dear self, without whom it would be impossible for me to live." The husband, moved to tears, embraced her most affectionately, and promised that they should live together to the end. Thereupon they joyfully returned home, and, going again to the Rabbi, they told him what had happened, and asked him for his forgiveness and blessing, which he readily accorded them. And, indeed, the Rabbi's blessing had an excellent result. For after the lapse of some time, they both enjoyed the happiness of fondling a bright little child of their own. HEBREW SATIRE A RABBINICAL STORY OF ALEXANDER THE GREAT. Alexander the Great, being on a visit to an Oriental potentate, learned how justice was ad- ministered there. Two persons came into court, and invited the king's decision on the following point. The one had bought a mound of rubbish from the other, and on exploring it, found it contained a treasure. He therefore wished to return it to the owner, but the owner refused to accept it. What was there to be done? Now, the decision was that, as it happened that one of the two persons had a son, and the other a daughter, they should be united in marriage, and the treasure should be given to both of them as a dowry. Alexander, in some surprise, pointed out that in his country the matter would have been differ- ently settled. Both parties would have been put to death, and Government would have appropriated the treasure. The potentate then asked whether there were cattle in his country, and whether the sun shone there and the rain fell. Being answered in the affirmative, he remarked that he thought Providence had meant the rain and sunshine for the cattle only. For 8 HEBREW SATIRE human beings of such inhuman disposition hardly deserved these heavenly boons. On the termination of the long period, during which the Talmud and some cognate books — the " Midrashim," for instance — were composed, several centuries passed, during which no book appeared that contained anything satirical. Hebrew satire, however, again made its appear- ance in some of the literary productions of Hebrew authors who flourished in the Middle Ages, chiefly in Spain, France and Italy. Most prominent among them were, Abraham and Moses Ibn Ezra, Jehudah Halevi, Moses Ibn Chasdai, Kalenymos ben Kalonymos, Joseph Zabara, Judah Sabbatai, and last, but not least, Jehudah Alcharizi, and Immanuel di Roma. Several extracts from the writings of these satirical authors have already appeared in a volume published some time ago by the present writer, under the title of " Hebrew Humour." But it is intended to quote here a few additional specimens of their literary compositions, and chiefly those that have Jehudah Alcharizi and Immanuel di Roma for their authors. HEBREW SATIRE 9 THE BOASTFUL MERCHANT. By Jehudah Alcharizi (1300.) Heman, the Ezrachite, related the following adventure he met with : — " While once travelling in the East, I arrived in a large and populous town. As I passed a small house, I noticed a middle-aged man sitting in front of it, with hands and feet partly bandaged, and with a rather strange and pitiful look about him. And seeing him thus, I could not help asking him, with some sort of com- miseration, what it was that brought him to such a deplorable condition. Whereupon the man answered that, in truth, he hardly deserved any expression of pity, as his present suffering was certainly by his own fault. He had, he said, an uncommonly large appetite, and was always ready for a meal. When I heard this, I begged him to tell me his latest adventure, and this he did. " A few days ago," he said, " I was standing in one of the Bazaars of this town, when I suddenly felt a great desire for a good meal. Unluckily, I had no money with me, and was too far from home to get any. But it so happened that an old acquaintance of mine, a wealthy 10 HEBREW SATIRE merchant whom I had not seen for a long time, passed by, and invited me cordially to dine with him. Needless to say that I gladly accepted the invitation. Now this merchant was known to be a great braggart, and had a very high opinion of himself and of all his belongings. Thus he at once began to talk about his importance in the world of commerce, of the great beauty and virtue of his wife, and of the high attainments of each of his children. " I listened as politely as I could, expecting all the time that I would soon be rewarded for my patience and attention with a sumptuous meal. But, to my great disappointment, this was not so. For, when arriving at the house, my host conducted me through the various rooms, pointing out the magnificent articles they con- tained, each of which, he said, was quite unique, and had cost him a large amount of money. " Presently he took me into his wife's boudoir, and showed me the beautiful couch on which, he said, she generally indulged in her afternoon doze. She, he added, was indeed an angelic creature, and the thought of her charms and ravishing figure made him truly happy. " By this time I was faint with hunger and thirst, and would certainly have dropped down with utter exhaustion had not at that very HEBREW SATIRE 11 moment the door leading to the dining-room been opened. The vision of this room somewhat revived my drooping spirits, for I saw the servants busy laying the table. My host then introduced to me each of the domestics, telling me their respective names and ages, and the amount of their monthly pay. Likewise he pointed to a little page, who was standing near the door, and who, he said, was a great favourite with all, although he did no work, and only served as an ornament in the house. He got him, he added, in a distant town, where he did a large and increasing profitable business." Heman, the Ezrachite, then related the con- cluding part of his strange adventure. " Having waited for my dinner so long, and thinking that I should soon have to listen to still more of the merchant's boasts, I could endure it no longer. I therefore said curtly to my would- be entertainer that pressing business compelled me to go home at once, but that I would return in good time for the dinner. Saying which, I rushed downstairs as fast as I could, while the merchant gesticulated, and shouted at the top of his voice that I should stop, and not run away like a thief. When the porter at the gate heard this, he raised a hue and cry of thief, thief! A whole crowd pursued, and tried to catch me. If HEBREW SATIRE Being in a great rage at not being able to get home quickly, in order to assuage my ravenous hunger, I struck some of my pursuers, and they retaliated. In the end, I came home badly battered and bruised, and the doctor sent me to bed, forbidding me to take any other food than gruel and barley-water. He also bandaged my wounded limbs, which are still sore, and far from being healed. All this trouble would have been avoided, had I only not had such an abnormal appetite. I am, however, thankful to Providence that I escaped with my life." THE FARMER'S FOLLY. Bv THE Same Author. Heman, the Ezrachite, related the following story : — " When travelling in the Eastern countries, I one day met an old friend of mine, named Heber, whom I had not seen for a considerable time. He had always been a kind of adventurer, and his ready wit, as well as his quips and pranks, used to amuse me greatly. Being a man of no occupation, he eked out his meagre income by taking advantage of the credulity of the unwary. HEBREW SATIRE 13 He was by that time old and gray, but he had still the same waggish look about him that used to characterise him in his younger days, and this led me to conclude that he was but little changed. " To satisfy myself, however, I invited him to take some refreshment with me, and thus I hoped to learn something about his latter-day doings. He accepted my invitation with alacrity, and while we were sitting at our simple meal, he entertained me with an account of some of his adventures, the latest of which was as follows : — " One day last week," he said, " I was particu- larly hungry but, unfortunately, I had no money to buy food with. At the time I noticed a simple-looking farmer coming out of the adjoining Bazaar, and counting the money that he had seemingly just obtained by the sale of some of his produce. I at once went up to him, and embracing him most affectionately, said that I saw in his face an extraordinary resemblance to my dear old friend, Abida Gideoni, and that I presumed that he must be a near relative, or perhaps even a son of his. " The farmer stammered out an excuse, and said that there must be some mistake, as his own name was Adiba Giboni. I replied that, as many years had elapsed since I last saw his father, I might have forgotten the correct spelling of his 14 HEBREW SATIRE name, but that there was no mistaking his likeness to his sire, who was a great wit, and a most enjoy- able companion. The farmer again demurred, saying that his father, who was now dead, had never said a witty thing in all his life, but that, on the contrary, his conversation, so far from being amusing, had rather frequently caused dissension in the family circle. " When the farmer thus mentioned his father's death, I pretended to be greatly overcome, and even wiped away a tear, which seemed to impress him with the sincerity of my assertion. For, when I invited him to dine with me at one of the best inns in the neighbourhood, he said he would do so with much pleasure, as he would like to spend a few pleasant hours in the company of one of his late father's intimate friends." Heber then went on as follows : — " It did not take us very long to go to a first- rate inn, where I ordered the best dinner procurable, together with a few bottles of the choicest wine. After a little while, the meal was served, and we demolished it greedily, and with an ever-growing appetite. We also did full justice to the excellent wine, with which we were plentifully supplied by the innkeeper, who, taking us for men of great wealth, thought he would be well paid for his special attention. We stretched ourselves comfort- HEBREW SATIRE 15 ably on two divans which stood opposite to each other in a corner of the room. Presently the farmer fell into a heavy sleep, and I noticed that his face bore a smile of ineffable happiness. I therefore slipped out of the room, and having managed to leave the inn unobserved, I hid myself behind a big tree that stood close by, and awaited developments. " A little later the innkeeper came in, and presented his by no means small bill to the still happy-looking farmer. But, on seeing it, he pulled a long face, and said that he was not responsible for the bill, as it was his companion who ordered the meal, and was thus morally bound to settle it as soon as he made his appearance. The inn- keeper, however, refused to listen to the farmer's arguments, and insisted, with many threats, on having at once his bill paid. This was ultimately done by the farmer, who went off in a sad frame of mind, while I was greatly amused over the way that I got an excellent meal for nothing," When Heber had finished his story, I could not help remarking that, as he was getting old, and near his end, he ought to cease from being a vagabond and adventurer. Besides, I said, that although his pranks were certainly amusing enough, he could not indulge in them without deceiving innocent people, and as such no decent person 16 HEBREW SATIRE could approve of them. But Heber laughed bitterly at my remark, and quoted the following lines, which he himself had written : — " Most men are wicked : why should I be good ? The tiger's claws are meant to bring him food. I use my cunning as a general rule To dupe the simple, and beguile the fool." PIETY AND REMORSE. By Sahula (1300.) There once lived in an Oriental town a wealthy Hebrew, whose name was Elimelech. Being some- what of an ascetic, he shunned every kind of enjoyment which life offers to well-to-do people, and devoted much of his leisure to the reading of prayers in the synagogue. These frequent devotional exercises occupied his mind so fully that, though a bachelor, he hardly ever noticed his lonely state. But when he got old and infirm in body and mind, he thought that a help- mate would be an excellent thing for him, and being well off, it was easy for him to carry out his intention. He made, however, one serious mistake, which consisted in this, that, instead of uniting himself to a woman of ripe age and experience, he fixed his eye on a young and HEBREW SATIRE 17 pretty girl, whose name was Tamar. As she was poor and an orphan, too, he easily succeeded in getting her consent to become his wife. After his marriage, Elimelech continued to attend prayer meetings, leaving his young wife at home to amuse herself as best she could. The only diversion he afforded her, if this really deserved to be called so at all, was to read to her now and again certain homilies, through which he sought to impress her mind with the necessity of implicit obedience, and of being indifferent to his frequent neglect of the duties that wives generally expect from their husbands. On one occasion, he admonished her impressively to be careful not to follow the bad example set by some young women who, having elderly men for their husbands, often took advantage of their absence from home to indulge in flirtations with the gay young men about town. This admonition, however, produced on Tamar an effect entirely opposite to that contemplated by her husband. For, soon after, when he had gone out to one of his prayer meetings, she left the house, in which she was kept like a prisoner, and went to the public promenade, where crowds of merry folk were walking to and fro. Presently, a young man of pleasant appearance, who was no doubt attracted by Tamar's many charms. 18 HEBREW SATIRE approached her, and greeted her politely. She accepted his salutation with a slight blush and unfeigned pleasure. They then strolled together for a little while, during which time they became enamoured of each other. On the following day the two lovers met again, and when the young man learnt from Tamar how miserable her married life was, he suggested that they should elope, and that, after her aged husband died, they should be united to each other in marriage. This proposi- tion was readily accepted by Tamar, as she had found her union with the pious Elimelech quite intolerable, and was therefore naturally delighted with the prospect of having it soon permanently dissolved. What then followed can easily be guessed. As Tamar and her lover considered it imprudent to attempt to run away in broad daylight, they decided to wait till Elimelech would go out to a long and protracted prayer meeting in the evening. Thus, when the opportunity arrived and Elimelech was away from home, his wife mounted one of the two horses kept in readiness for her by her lover, and they both merrily galloped away. Tamar, of course, did not forget to take with her all the beautiful and costly presents given to her by her ■husband on her wedding day. When Elimelech returned home late at night, HEBREW SATIRE 19 and became aware of what had happened during his absence, he was greatly distressed. Not till then he learnt that the cause of his grief was no other than his own foolishness. Had he, he thought, been less frequently at the synagogue, and had he paid more attention to the comforts of his wife, she would no doubt not have eloped with another man. But his remorse was of no use, and did not improve his awkward position. By his subsequent death he made Tamar's happiness quite complete. MANOELLO DI ROMA (1400). The Messiah. Divine Messiah, now we look for thee With hope and longing and eternal joy ; For, with thy coming we shall blessings see, Our woes and grievous sufferings to alloy. Thou wilt revive old Zion's glorious fame. And we, the race whom all the world deride, Shall, in our turn, put all our foes to shame, Who caused us sorrow, and our name decried. go HEBREW SATIRE But, I pray thee, come not riding on an ass, As thou art pictured in the holy writ ; If thou in royal splendour dost not pass, How could we bear the mean disgrace of it ? TEARS, IDLE TEARS. By the Same Author. With many sweet charms I'm by Nature endowed My skin is of lilies, of gold are my curls, And yet I must often sit lonely and bowed ; I'm one of the bevy of dowerless girls. By a fond crowd of lovers I'm frequently girt, And each of them's burning to call me his own. But, alas, they're less anxious to love and to flirt, As soon as the state of my income gets known. Among my fair sisters the youngest am 1, But 'tis idle for me to yearn to be wed ; And now the one prayer that I fervently sigh, Is that I may soon, a fair virgin, be dead. HEBREW SATIRE 21 THE HATEFUL MAN. By the Same Author. E'en as the Turk abjures swine-flesh and wine, E'en as the sluggard hates his work to do, E'en as the unlovely woman doth decline Her imperfections in the glass to view ; E'en as the maidens scorn the backward wight. Who fails in eagerness to press his suit. E'en more than all, the grey-beard I detest, Who makes his love affairs his only quest. THE DELUSIVE CXERIC. By the Same Author. The pulpited parson, who fiercely inveighs 'Gainst the jovial youngster of frolicsome ways, But who, for his own part, will never decline The kiss of a woman, or a beaker of wine. Is like the blind man, who through darkness of night. Guides others to bed with the help of a light. 22 HEBREW SATIRE A MAXIM. By the Same Author. Make every man your friend However poor or weak, With every solace tend The humble and the meek. Do you ask the reason why ? The giant feels the stinging fly. QUESTIONS AND ANSWERS. By the Same Author. Q. Hast thou seen Belinda's lovely eyes ? A. Aye, they are worthy of a royal prize. Q. Who are her lovers in the West and East ? A. All holy men, some Rabbi and a Priest. Q. What news is there of Delia, wicked flirt ? A. They lately found her lying in the dirt. Q. And how with her sweet sister doth it fare ? A. For her repute she doth not greatly care. Q. Tell me, why Zillah of her spouse complains ? A, Because her flirtation he much disdains. HEBREW SATIRE 23 Q. What should his fate be, who neglects his wife? A. He should be shot, and thus bereft of his life. Q. What does a lady from her spouse desire ? A. Kisses and embraces, jewels and attire. Q. What shall I do, my wife is such a fright ? A. Look not upon her, save when it is night. Q. When do you like your loveless wife the best? A. When she is sleepy, and has gone to rest. During the Middle Ages several Jewish authors wrote certain Hebrew booklets in rhyme and prose, in which they made the supposed frivolity and fickleness of women the butt of their satire. One of them was Joseph Zabara, whose collection of short tales, entitled ''Book of Delight," appeared about the year 1200. Most characteristic among them is one wherein a curious episode is mentioned that had once occurred in the life of a married \ couple, living in the far East. The tale runs somewhat as follows : — A certain Arab king was one day discussing with his courtiers the merits and demerits of the gentle sex. They praised the many virtues of women, mentioning particularly the great love and attachment manifested by them towards 24 HEBREW SATIRE their husbands and children. The king, how- ever, did not share their opinion, but, on the contrary, declared emphatically that he considered women to be selfish and deceitful, so much so that their husbands could not with certainty rely upon their keeping faithfully their marriage vow. The king then suggested to his courtiers that they should, in corroboration of their assertion, point out to him at least one married woman in his dominions, whose unshaken and lasting fidelity to her husband could not possibly be doubted. After the lapse of a few days, the courtiers reported to the king that they had found such a woman in the wife of a wealthy merchant, who was generally believed to be deeply devoted to him and her offspring. Thereupon the king summoned the merchant to the palace, and, on his arrival, received him most kindly, and spoke to him as follows : — " I have," he said, " an only grown-up daughter who is both beautiful and accomplished. She has several admirers, belonging to the highest nobility of the land, but I have resolved not to give her in marriage to any of them. For I would rather prefer having her married to such a one of my subjects who, though of a less high descent, is yet known to lead a simple and honest HEBREW SATIRE 25 life. Now, you are the man whom I have chosen as being the most suitable person to become the consort of my only daughter, the princess. It is true that your present wife is still alive, but you could easily get rid of her by slaying her this or the following night." When the merchant heard the king's strange proposal, he did not know what to do, and being unable to accept or reject at once the great temptation held out to him by the king, he asked to be permitted to postpone giving his final decision till the following day. This being allowed, he went home greatly dejected in mind, and there found his pretty wife, playing merrily with her two children. He quickly embraced her with the fondness of an ardent lover, and firmly resolved in his mind never to part from her, nor to give her up in exchange for the possession of even the fairest princess in existence. As the king had certainly expected, the mer- chant failed to come the following day to the palace, and he therefore summoned his wife secretly to appear before him. He at once ex- pressed his great admiration of her beauty and loveliness, telling her at the same time that he was burning with the desire to marry her, and to raise her to the dignity of a queen. But, first of all, the king added, she must, as the wife 26 HEBREW SATIRE of another man, get rid of him as soon as possible. When the woman had readily consented to act on the king's suggestion, he gave her a tin sword, but told her not to use it more than once, as he was sure that one blow would be sufficient to put her husband to death. The woman, after leaving the palace, went home, and prepared a sumptuous meal for her husband, and while eating it, she gave him plenty of strong wine to drink. He soon became intoxi- cated, and fell into a sound sleep. While in this helpless condition, he was struck on the head by his wife with the tin sword, but the blow did no other harm to him than to awake him from his slumber. When his wife made some plausible excuse, the merchant accepted it without any. comment, and fell asleep again. On the following day, the merchant and his wife were commanded by the king to come to the palace, and were ordered to recount, in presence of the courtiers, the episode that had occurred on the previous night at their house. When this was done, the king said to his courtiers with a triumphant air that he hoped they would henceforth discontinue their praises of the virtues of the gentle sex. HEBREW SATIRE 27 The satirical writings belonging to an early period in the history of Hebrew literature are comparatively few in number, and the extracts from them hitherto given had, of necessity, to be limited in number. But much more numerous are the writings of the same kind that had been composed by Hebrew ^ authors living in Austria and Russia in the eighteenth and nineteenth centuries, and it will therefore be possible to quote these more extensively. It may at first sight seem paradoxical that satire could find expression in an atmosphere of intolerance and persecution, which have always existed, and still exist to a large extent in the aforementioned two countries. But it must not be supposed that the Jewish satirists chose the secular authorities as the targets of their shafts. They, being themselves men of enlightenment and culture, believed, whether rightly or wrongly, that the persecutions to which their co-religionists were subjected were mainly due more to their own faults and failings than to anything else. They perceived that the community were plunged in a fathomless gulf of superstition, and blindly obeyed the behests of their spiritual guides, the majority of whom were not distinguished either for honesty of purpose or clearness of vision. It was, therefore, in the hope of saving them from 28 HEBREW SATIRE utter demoralisation that many of the satires were written. One of the earliest of those satirists who flourished in Austria in the eighteenth and nineteenth centuries, was Joseph Perl. Born at Tarnopol, in 1774, a son of wealthy parents, young Perl received a liberal education, acquiring thereby such culture and learning as gained for him a prominent position among his fellow- townsmen. He saw, not without deep concern, the deplorable religious and social condition of his Jewish countrymen, and, being fully convinced that this was due to the evil influence exercised upon them by their usually ignorant and super- stitious leaders, the so-called " Rebbes," who were averse to all progress and enlightenment, he determined to expose them in their true light. With this object in view, he published a satire in Hebrew, under the pseudonym of " Obadia ben Petachia," in which he attacked the trickeries and secret practices of the " Rebbes," as well as the foolishness and moral degradation of their followers. It appeared in Vienna, in 18 19, under the title of "■ Megallek Temirin" (the Revealer of Secrets), and immediately created a great sensa- tion among those who lived where the " Rebbe "- fraud and " Rebbe"-worship obtained. It was HEBREW SATIRE 29 written in a corrupt style, being an exact imitation of that usually employed by the " Rebbes " in the letters they wrote to their adherents. It was somewhat akin to the dog- Latin used by the author of the satire well- known under the title of " Epistol