199 THE LIST OF BOOKS REFERRED TO BY MAIMOON. 1. Josephus Flavius Cont. Apion. 2. Origens Cont. Celsus. 3. J. G. Eichorn's Allgemeine Geschichte der Literatur. 4. Jo. Cristoph. Wolfii Bibliothecæ Hebraicæ Hamburg. 5. G. B. de Rossi Dictionario Stor. degli Aut. Ebr. 6. J. Bartolocii Bibl. Ejusd. lib. jud. Rabbin. 7. Dohm, Ueber die bürgerliche Verbesserung der Juden. 8. Dissertation on the Jews, by T. Czackiego. 9. Rettung der Juden, von M. ben Israel, translated by Mendelssohn. 10. Charakter des Judenthums, von Wolf und Solomon. 11. Jeschurun, von Wolfssohn. 12. Die Emancipation der Juden, von Professor Krug in Leipzig. 13. Jerusalem, von Mendelssohn. 14. Sulamith, eine Zeitschrift von Dr. D. Fraenkel. 15. Actenstücke, von Carl A. Buchholtz. 16. Ueber die Aufnahme der Jüdischen Glaubens genossen zum Bürgerrecht, von Carl A. Buchholtz. 17. Dr. J. M. Jost's Geschichte der Israeliten. 18. Letters of a Jew to Voltaire. Moscow, 1808 and 1817. APPENDIX. THE following is a translation of a letter written by Dr. Johannus Reuchlin (professor of Humanioræ at the Universities of Basil, Ingoldstadt, and Tübingen), in the Hebrew language, and addressed to Bonetto de Lates, an Israelite, who, at the time being, was chief physician to Pope Leo. Bonetto was born in Provence, on account of which he is also known by the appellation of Medicus Provincialis. He was highly celebrated for the invention of an astronomical ring, which indicated the hour during both the day and night, and determined the height of the sun and planets. This invention is described in a work which he dedicated to Pope Alexander IV., entitled, De Annuli Astromici Utilitate.* Reuchlin's Defence of the Talmud. "To my lord who sits in the Councils of the Wise, who is the light and support of the exiled Israelites; to him who is my master and instructor, Bonetto, first physician to his Holiness the Pope," &c. &c. After prefacing his epistle with a number of profound * See Allgemeine Zeitung des Judenthums. D D compliments, the strict signification of which it is very difficult to render into English, the writer proceeds "It is the beginning of my task to acquaint your lordship that, about two years ago, his gracious majesty the reigning emperor, whom God preserve, made a journey to Köln, which is a town containing a Christian university, and many distinguished men learned in theology. As his imperial majesty was passing through the town, the major part of the inhabitants, as it were by previous agreement, suddenly ran and assembled in a crowd before him, simultaneously exclaiming, in a tone that betokened distress of mind, Help, O King and Emperor.' And thus they continued:- For this reason do we cry for help. There is in thy empire a body of people who belong to a nation that is dispersed and degraded over the face of the whole earth; and their laws are not like the laws of thy subjects at large, nor like those of other nations; they are an offence and a great evil to those who render to thee due allegiance; and they are made so by certain books which they prize, in which their religious tenets are set forth, and which contain passages deeply insulting to our church, and conjurations against the Pope, the bishops, and all the clergy of whatever degree, -yea, and against the nobility of the nations of Europe, against kings and emperors, and, finally, against our whole nation, and the nations of the world. These books constitute what is called the Talmud. In addition to the evils which we have thus briefly enumerated, these books contain another still greater. If there were none such in existence, there would be only one religion; all men would then yield their faith to our Saviour Jesus Christ; but these books are the sole cause that so many people live in error. For this reason, mighty monarch, thou shouldst not allow these books to exist in thy dominions any longer; and after having, with mature deliberation, convinced ourselves of the justness of our prayer, we earnestly petition that thou wouldst issue a command that all such books be delivered into the custody of a royal commissary or officer by thee appointed, by whom they may be deposited in the royal archives, and afterwards, in one mass, excepting the twenty-four books of the Holy Scriptures, be burnt and utterly destroyed; so that the evils of which we complain may be rooted out from amongst us, and that all men may worship one God under one name, and not be separated in their religious faith as these books have caused them to be separated hitherto.' "All these tumultuous supplications had been produced by the intrigues of one sprung from your own people, an apostate, to whom the following passage in the Scriptures will doubtless apply:- Thy destroyers, and they that made thee waste, shall go forth of thee.* That apostate, as you are accustomed to designate him, was in possession of several letters from princes and counts, and also of one from a nun, the sister of the emperor. Not only did the nun give her countenance to the apostate, by communicating to him her sentiments in writing, but she proceeded in person to the emperor, threw herself at his feet, and vehemently besought him, saying, 'Oh, my * Isaiah, xlix. 17. |