, 1877-03-05

o1sLnc individual and of nations. Such was the
asspect oi Inc age, aud such the great problems
I'LL ~ Inc solution vi which Spinoza, the Anstcr
oa.n jew, was to take part. -
:, Turning now to the Jewish affairs OF Amster,
4a'n, 1''', "e hnd there settlement OF Portuguese
Jye"s' VINO, under the free Constitution Of the
Sether!ands, bad found refuge from the scourge
VI tne Holy lnquisitiou. The peace and pros
pefity they enjoyed there induced mauy Of their
Gtetlircn to join them. Partly they came from
germany to escape the trials Of the war, partly
rom ns spain and Portugal to throw OF their
tLnsastan t disguise, under which they had alone
Decns ~uen ape to maintain their lives The Portu,
IoAsn Jews, proud Of their higher pedigree and
Ine great "reminiscences Of their past. Indeed,
There was still the mark Of nobility on their
countenances and in their demeanor, aud their
anas N nus, still bstryeti traces Of long phosophie
a = and methodcal training. True, The old
Spanisn-Hebrcw spirit had long sine died out.
No philosopher like Salomo 1bn Gabirol SCARED
np any more to sublime heights Of thought,
selmuiatlng others to follow. Reason MAS no
more held to be the highest judge in the inter-
probation OF Biblical passages as in the days OF
Malmonides and Ibn Ezra Free thought was
shacklcd; philosophy iucumbcred aud over
crown with mysticism. The fantastic doc
1rines o. the llalf-heathenish and Christian, alf
oe"ish tabbala were In fashion. Still they were
not excluded from the surrounding world by a
blind orthodoxy. Classical studies were fos-
tered knowledge was loved for its own sake.
N Inc same year when Spinoza was born,
q work entitled ssIhe Conr;iiator !, infrnIicIi tn
reconcile the discrepancies of the Bible, both in
the Portuguese ind Latin lanpnarc which. hv
Its vast erudition, shown by ITS quotations from
eratilre. won hin, at thr a;,e of ~ ore,t fa,nn
in the world. Ic rorrcsnonlci, r;t on,os1 al
scholars Of renown, who admired and reroln-
mended him uEto Kings and also to the Lord
the sympathy manifested by Cromwell for the
Jews. lie went to Lonllon tn nl,ad for t},er rc.
admission into Fnrjau,l md ,rr,,tn tl,ern lie W.
markahlc defense vt the Jews agafnst the false
accusations brought forth asainst them by their
enemies rsa,.i,in'r +hcr.t.r n,ral t;o3,,1 -;
spite Of the failurc If his nnrnose 'fA1 49,
Manasse ben Israel was. however. not reoan1-
cd as profound in Ta],m,di,a s,.hn}arshn NJ his
colleagues Saul Morteira ana Isaa,. i bnah. ,yhn
stood at the head OF the Rabbinical school, into
which y,un9 Rar,,ch Oe Esninozo-such was his
naue-wcnf, The thirst Of the Youth for
knowledge and his vigorous intellect coull] not
fail tn attrart thn attertion nf S.u1 Nnr+,;r.
But whether the promisinr punl really lnyeI1
his masters method we know mt. hnt fail
quite sure that the hairsnlittine, ,l;s,ssnns on
rtualistic subtleties did mt sif 1s IoSi,ai .s- "a.
Illus Of S;iuoza for any length of time. His
clear mind crayel for better food He read tnc
commentaries, On the Bible next At hand and
most in fashion, but was not satisfied. He
turned to tie philosophical writings OF Gerson-
idcs aud Maitnouidcs; thev stimulated his re-
searches. pushed him onward to new inoujries
but at last tasted like water of the sea. which
only increases the thirst of the drinker, Thrv
stopped half way, pressing the letter into tie
yoke of the spirit, Nor could the Cnhlmja
solve his puzzles Only the suggestive hints
and striking notes uf 1bn Ezra to the Holy
Scriptures Interested him deeply. But was IL
not gradually led by this keen critic to disbe-
1ieye Il, tn. a,,thenticty of 1he yn hooks ri thn