The daily morning journal and courier., 1900-11-24
WISE SAYINGS OF THE JEWS.
WIT IN THEIR WISDOM AND JEWS
 OFTEN THE BUTT OF TT

Seriousness and Fun in Dealing With
 the Subjects of Poverty and Wealth [ Jewish Aphoristic References to ' Christians.
 There is not a people, whether civil ' ized or savage, that does not possess it's stock of proverbs in which the wisdom of practical life is expressed Natural
 ly, many of the sententious maxims of
 the various nations must coincide in Y meaning, whatever their mode of eX- | pression This is particularly true of the saws of the nations of Europe, where community of ideas and similar ity of customs have led to identical eX-
 perlences. Besides, the constant inter-
 change of their oral and written litera-
 lures has caused a continuous influx Of
 foreign elements into the native pro-
 verbs, so that it is frequently difficult
 to ascertain the original home of this
 or that aphorism. The difficulty is still
 greater when the adage is transmitted
 by means of a homely garb and is giy-
 en the appearance of spontaneous
 growth.
 The Jewish proverbs are subject to
 the same laws and, consequently, re-
 fleet the philosophy of the European
 nations, more particularly those among
 whom they live or have lived. The av-
 craze popular morals of the Jews, as
 they betray themselves in these max
 inns, are neither better nor worse than
 those of the Germans, Russians, Poles,
 and they may as we'll be studied from
 the large collections of the German
 folk-lorists as from the slim lists Of the
 Jewish writers on the subject. About
 the middle of the century Dukes made
 an anthology of rabbinical saws per
 petuated in the Jewish writings, ana
 Tendlau expatiated at greater length on
 those current among the Jews or Ger
 many. In these writers and in the se-
 lections of more modern times there IS,
 after the reduction of the elements
 common to all the other nations, cer-
 tain residuum which is distinctly Jew
 ish-tfiat is which is the outgroWth of
 special characteristics and in it's en-
 tirety cannot easily be reproduced else where.
 It is that part of the Jewish aphoris- tic wisdom in which is reflected the Jews conception of religion and rela- tion of man to man, his view on mar
 ried life and his treatment of women and children, his love of learning and
 praise of work but also his practical sense and admiration of wealth. There ade also many adages which tell Of centuries of suffering, and almost the largest single division treats most es- pecially with the blind alley of Jewish poverty. We find here the same themes that form the stock in trade of Judeo- German literature, and even as there a pungent wit pervades the tragedy of life and heightens the dismal feeling superinduced by the self-abnegation and lf-depreciation that runs through the mind of the humble Jew. It is with this aspect of his proverbs, as it mani fests itself in the collected saws of the Russian and Galician Jew, that we shall try to get acquainted now.
 Gods justice is frequently pro- claimed, and mans relations to Him are to be gauged by his actions to his fellow-men. "He who has no shame DeIOrG men l,dS no ledI DelUle dou, yet God punishes him whom he loves;" and with patent sarcasm, which freely mingles with his pious devotion, the Jew exclaims, God will help, wish to God, God would help until God helps" In the meantime goodwill to all men is the surest key to heaven, and Acts of kindness are dearer in the eyes of God than almsgiving." Many precepts ! enjoin strict honesty, for Better a pain in the heart than a shame in the | face" yet recognizing the general du- | plicity of man, we are not to trust inn I plicitly to appearances, but Treat me like a rabbit and watch me like a thief"
 Somehow the rabbi does not fare ! well In public opinion, which credits | him with a greater number of foibles than is allotted to common mortals: | You may be able to stand a rabbi's eating and a horses drinking, but it is not possible to tolerate a rabbi's drink ing and a horses eating" It is not | only the rabbi, but the Jew in general of whom the Jew has no high opinion, for even Moses could not get along with the Jews" and "a good Jew pre- fers to take rather than give;" with Jew it is good to eat shalet, but not from the same dish" and "a Jewish evil eye is worse than Christian mag ic" In general, the Christian is to be preferred for all ordinary purposes of life: "Bette in the hands of the Gen tiles than in the mouths of the Jews" Tt is best to live among Christians and die among Jews.'
 Just as English fairy tales may begin with the words "Once upon time there lived king" so Jewish nursery stories commence with the sentence: "Once upon a time there lived a rabbi and his wife," hence the proverb says: "A rabbi without rabbis wife is but half a story" This adage expresses the principle of the marital relations, on which the whole Jewish fife is based. Indeed, "a house without a housewife is a wagon without wheels" and though marriage does not always lead to happiness, "it is better to be a young widow than an old maid" but the Jewish old maids are rare for "a Jewish girl is never left" No wonder then. that with the prone- less to marry again as soon as the wife ! a dead or has been divorced diyOrCeS | ,