Vermont phÅ“nix. [volume] (Brattleboro, Vt.) 1834-1955, 1906-01-05
THE STORY OF ARISTOTLE
AND OF ISAAC.
A Story which is also a study Of Modern
Industrial Conditions In a Great city

In gray, lifeless Russian hamlet, as
the dust thickened, old Isaac sat by his
mud-hut door, eagerly nodding over a
book and straining his eyes to finish the
chapter. His tall back was crooked
and bony; a black cap covered his bald
ness; his clean gray beard hid deep
wrinkles his eyes by overuse we're small
and faded; his bushy brows twitched
nervously up and down. In the miry
street before him two hollow bellied dogs
were smiling garbage; a rooster with a
lonely but still gay feather in his tail
was contemplating three shy, featherless
hens; and baby sat chucBlng at its
muddy, weighing toes Suddenly the
babes face grew solemn and resoiute; he
crept behind the ogling rooster and jerked
out the one gay feather In despair and
rage the bird turned and pecked the babe.
The babe howled. Isaac put his hands to
his ears, but 1t was useless; he looked up,
tired and nervous. and you could see now
that his left eyelid dropped. He observed
the bowling babe gripping the feather
and his eye twinkled as he turned and
thus addressed the bird
Saul" he said, in Yiddish, fear not
The hens shall still sing thy praises
There is no young rooster David here"
AS he looked around the dead squalid
street he added: "Oh, young rooster
David still unborn, be joyful and praise
God For where thou art, there would
we be alsol He sighed, waited patient
ly till the babe was boxed and hushed,
and then bent to his book. His head again
began to nod. In one minute more his old
eyes were shining.
Where thou art, there would we be
also" That was why Isaac read-to
dream himself out of the mud His
whole life had been just this mud and
toll. Already, at forty-eight, he was de-
crepit. From his ninth year he had bent
to his sewing, in the winter twelve hours
a day and in summer from four in the
moraing till eight at night. To read he
had to strain his eyes. Only two nights
a week could he AFFORD to light the lamp.
| On other nights he bent close in the dark,
| or in winter by the fire.
In his reading Isaac had dreamed two
| long dreams OF happiness.
The first was the dream OF Haschu-
| mlam, the Hebrew heaven. When four
| years old he had gone to the little cheder
| (Hebrew SCHOOL,, and there at first for
| eight and then for ten hours each day
] he had studied. When he left and went
| to work. at nine he could read the Talmud
| that vast. bewildering mass OF com
| mentaries on the TOrah (the Pentateuch).
Isaac was told that he must read no other
/ book Why? Because the Talmud had
all that was wise and true; any book that
said other things was false and therefore
| deadly; any book that said the same thing
was a repetition and therefore wasteful.
Twice a day for twenty years Isaac had
pored over the Talmud. He knew the six
| hundred and thirteen precepts, great and
| small, from Thou shalt love thy neigh
| Dor as thyself' to "A garment of diverse
| kinds-of linen and of wool-thou shalt
| not wear" Most of these precepts we're
| pure and wise, but all were fitted into one
| great command-submission. So Isaac,
| degraded as the subject of a Russian
despot, starved as poor man, perse-
| cuted as Jew. was taught by this book
| to bow under tyranny, to smile meekly
| while starving. to pray under insults.
| Why? To gain the dreamed-of happi-
ness In heaven.
| The second dream had come only two
years before the gay ROSTERS bereave-
! ment. Ono night a neighbor, Jonathan,
| had brought over one of those deadly
| books-a battered Hebrew translation OF
| Aristotle Old Isaac was shocked and
waved it aside. but Jonathan smiled and
began to read II aloud. Again old Isaac
| waved and nodded fervently over his Tai
| mud, but soon. In spite OF his horror. the
/ new words forced the radiant Greek
images into his mind. Deep feelings
| arose He could barely see his holy book
| His mind whirled. Suddenly-bang! The
| big Talmud had slipped from his knees.
| He picked It up with low cry. Again
| he tried to read. but again he only listen
| ed, trembled, thrilled. And that night he
dreamed a new dream-happiness on
/ eartnI
| isaac ana Jonathan began 10 teuu TO-
| gether often. You know what queer
/ wrecks OF books are found in a Russian
| hamlet Well, they saved and searched
| for books on Greece. They discussed
every page OF that Aristotle. They drank
| in that Greek life like old wine. The
| gloomy old Talmud had trained their
/ minds to grasp deep thoughts, so now
/ they grappled with new ideas. a new life,
| a new religion. Does happiness in heaven
| require unceasing toll. pain. cramped
| minds and feelings here? No" cried
| Isaac, mol" And so the new dream had
| gone on.
Now the baby's yeIls had gurgled down.
and the dusk deepened. but still old Isaac
| bent over his Aristotle, and now even
| his eye that dropped was shining. Then
| Yetta, his only child. stole out behind
him, and the muddy street was brighten
| ed. A girl OF fourteen. she had soft. black
| wavy hair and smiling eyes, the slender
charm of child, and even then a hint
| OF womanly beauty But she looked tired.
Besides her sewing she had cared tender
| ly for old Isaac since the mother died
three years before; she had seen him faint
once from heart weakness; she was often
| anxious; his long work hours were bad
| enough without the reading. So now she
] put her cool fingers over his eyes. At
once his old face wTinkled into smiles.
| for he had been dreaming OF her while
he read. He kept on smiling. At last
| he reached up MS Dig right hand, took
| her arm, and drew her around to his
knee. His eyes opened, still shining from
| his dream.
I'm Athens" he said, softly. II dreamed
| l saw thee walking All around thee
| were beautiful statues, and behind one of
these thy old father hid, winking his
| eyes like a fool. Hark!-a breeze brings
the music OF harps and of maidens sing
ing. Here poets like David Of old lift up
| voices OF praise. over there noble think
ers speak fearlessly out, for there are
| no Russian censors. And all these thy
| friends by so beautifully living, grow
| beautiful themselves in thoughts and feel
| ings I'm face and voice and figure" He
| kissed her so / dreamed thy beauty
, grew" he whispered
There was one terrible fault" said
| old Isaac, and now his big brows con-
tracted. I'm Athens only a few could
| grow beautiful. Most OF the people were
only ugly. unhappy slaves they staggered
| under burdens or bent over tasks from
| daylight until dusk; for them all the light
of day meant toll" Isaac controlled him
self sternly, his left hand gripped the
chair his eyes stared into darkness, and
his old voice shook as he cried:
ION this life the great Aristotle looked
And then he wrote down-It must be sol
|. Most men must be slaves!
Slaves Until the shuttle
shall move itself - But If that =.