The times. [volume] (Richmond, Va.) 1890-1903, 1902-07-27

And yonder march the nations tua OF
eyes.
Already is doom a-spinning, If unstirred
In leisure of ancient pathways she lose
touch
OF the hour, and over1nuch
Recline upon achievement, and be slow
To take the world arriving. and forget
How perilous are the stature and part
that SO
Invite the arrows. how uns!umbering all
The hates that watch and crawl.
Further we need not quote, to show the
calibre of this ode. a mastery poem;
mastery In its choice Of aim and style,
mastery and sustained in Its execution,
it is scarce likely that any other yet
ungotten and unborn" Will dispute Its
supremacy among our Coronation poetry.
The Jew sh Encyc opedia. Prepared by
more than four hundred scholars and
specialists Isadore Singer, Phi. D.
protector and managing editor. Funk
and Wagnalls, Publisher, New York.
Complete in twelve volumes. Vol II.
BY subscription.
The second volume of the now famous
Jewish Encyclopedia fully measures up
to the standard set by the first, and is
like it devoted to a. sympathetic descrip-
two record, thoroughly illustrated of the
history, religion. literature and customs
of tie Jewish people. from the earliest
times, to the present day. Certainly no
user of reference books. and no Jewish
family should delay in subscribing to
this epoch-making production.
The second volume. reaching from Apo
crypha 10 Benash, was issued by the
Funk and Wagnalls Co. July Sd 1t has
been produced under the direction of the
same staff Of editors and writer's that
made the first volume and in every re-
spect equals it in excellence and thor
oughness. Volume I. was hailed by prac-
tically the entire press Of the world as
one Of the great literary achievements OF
our age. The mere fact that two volumes
of over 700 pa ges each Gncluding intro
ductory matter) of closely printed text
were required to cover one and one
third letters of the alphabet is explained
by the farther fact that three editorial
staffs and nearly 200 contributors whose
articles make up these two volumes have
included in them every archaeological,
historical, theological. philosophical, bio
graphical and sociological topic about
which any reader, Jew or Christian may
desire information.
General encyclopedias are written and
published merely to sum up the status
Of the branch of science to which they are
devoted The Jewish Encyclopedia, like
the people whose life story it is destined
to tell, is unique in that four-ffths OF
its material had to be crerAad, collected
and digested for this special purpose.
Its particles and paragraphs In histor
and biography are more important to
Jews for of course. the most interest
ing part of the great work us is its
description of Jewish theology. and Its
ferences to the Bible. Here again
we become aware Of the real pioneer
character Of the Jewish Encyclopedia. for
neither Jewish theology, properly So
called, nor its great sub-division the
Jewish religious philosophy of the Mid
die Ages, has ever yet received syste-
matte trea tment.
The want anything like a systematic
Jewish theology was painfully felt in
Jewish circles, when. about a year age
Professor Harnack's famous book
The Essence OF Christianity stirred
up public opinion. Christian and Jewish
in Germany and England. No Jewish
theologian was able to answer the at
lacks made on Judaism by the Berlin
theologian with the necessary authority;
the literary weapons were wanting
Neither Professor Lazarus mastery
treatise on Jewish ethics nor Chief Rabbi
Gudemanns quite recent essay on "Dhs
Judenthum in Semen Grundzugen'
(Vienna, 1902. quite covers the fleloi
Undertaking to present both the doctrines
and the practices Of Judaism in thai
scientific spirit which seeks nothing b,A
the truth. and this in the light of his
torical development, the Jewish Ency-
clopedia in its theological department
takes full cognizance not only of the
Bible. Talmud. and the Hellenistic Rabbi
meal literature with its various and most
recent ramifications.
Rationalism and mysticism, conserva-
tive and progressive Judaism. dis
cussed fully and impartially; the mutual
relations Of Jewish and non-Jewish
creeds, and philosophical systems. and
the attitude Of Judaism to the social
and ethical problems of the day. receive
due consideration The claim that the
Jews have upon the Bible. and their
right to the name Of The People of
the Book are set forth with enthusiasm.
with enthusiasm.
It must interst the vast number who
have no definite knowledge of what's
the Jewish belief to read the following
thirteen Articles of Faith formulated ac-
cording to Manonides in his Mishnah
Commentary to Sanhedrin, which have
been accepted by the great majority of
Jews and are found in the old prayer
book:
/. urmly DelleFe tnat the Creator
blessed be His name!-is both Creator
and Ruler Of all created beings, and that
He alone hath made, doth make. and
ever will make all works of nature.
H. firmly believe that the Creator
blessed be His name!-is one; and no
Unity is like His in any form and that
He alone is our God who was, is, and ever
will be.
III. firmly believe that the Creator
blessed be His name.-is not a body: and
no corporal relations apply to Him; and
that there exists nothing that has any
similarity to Him.
". firmly believe that the Creator
blessed be His name.-was the first and
will also be the last.
V. firmly believe that the Creator
blessed be His name.-is alone worthy OF
being worshiped. and that no other be-
ing is worthy of our worship.
VI. firmly believe that all the words
of the Prophets are true
VII. I firmly believe that the prophecy
of Moses. our masterpiece be upon him
was true; and that he was chief Of the
Prophets, both OF those that preceded
I