I. The foundation of foundations, and the pillar of wisdom, is to know that there exists a first Being, and that He called all other beings into existence, and that all things existing, heaven, earth, and whatever is between them, exist only through the truth of His existence; so that if we were to suppose that He did not exist, no other thing could exist; but if we were to suppose that all other things existing, beside himself, did not exist, He himself would still exist, and would not be destroyed in consequence of their destruction; since all things existing stand in need of Him, but He, blessed be He! does not stand in need of them, not even of any one of them. His truth, therefore, is not like the truth of any one of them. Thus the prophet says: But the Lord is the TRUE God (Jer. x.10.), [meaning that] He alone is truth, and that there belongs to no other being a truth like His truth. This too is what the law says: There is none else (Deut. iv. 39.), that is to say, there is not a being, beside Himself, who, as to truth, is like Him.

II. This Being is the God of the Universe, the Lord of the whole earth; and it is He who conducts the orb with a power, to which there is no end or limit-with a power, of which there is no cessation; for the orb revolves continually, and it is impossible that it should revolve without some one causing it to revolve; and it is He, blessed be He! who causes it to revolve, without a hand and without a body, (i.e. without bodily effort).

III. Now the knowledge of this matter is a positive commandment, for it is said: I am the Lord thy God (Exod. xx. 2.); and every one who holds the opinion that there is another God besides this, transgresses a negative commandment, for it is said: Thou shalt have no other Gods before me (Exod. xx. 3.); and also denies the radical principle, for this is the great radical principle upon which every thing depends.

IV. This God is one—not two, nor more than two, but onee-whose unity is not like the unity of any one of the individuals existing in the universe-not one as a kind [is one], for this includes many individuals; nor one as a body [is one], for this is divisible into parts and portions; but one, and such an One, that there is no other unity like His, in the universe.

V. Were there many Deities they would needs be bodies and frames, since things, that can be numbered, which are equal in their essence, are distinguishable one from another only by the accidental qualities which belong to bodies or frames; now were the Creator a body or frame, he would have an end and a limit; for it is impossible that there should be a body which has not an end; and of every thing that has an end and a limit, the power too must have an end and a limit.

VI. But as to our God, blessed be His name! since His power has no end, and never ceases (for behold! the orb revolves continually); His power is not the power of a body; and since He is not a body, none of the accidental qualities of bodies can belong to Him, so that he should be separable and distinguishable from another. Therefore it is not possible that he should be other than one; and the knowledge of this matter is a positive commandment, for it is said: The Lord our God is ONE Lord (Deut. vi. 4.)

VII. Behold! it is plainly stated in the law and in the Prophets that the Holy One, blessed be He! is not a body or frame; for it is said: That the Lord He is God in heaven above, and upon the earth beneath (Deut. iv. 39.); but a body cannot be in two places [at the same time]. Again it is said: For ye saw no manner of similitude (Deut, iv. 15.); and it is also said: To whom then will ye liken me, or shall I be equal? (Isai. xl. 25.), now if He were a body, He might be likened to other bodies.

VIII. But if so, what means this which is written in the law? And there was under His FEET, (Exod. xxiv. 10.); Written with the FINGER of God (Exod. xxxi. 18.); The HAND of the Lord (Exod. ix. 3.); The EYES of the Lord (Deut. xi. 12.); The EARS of the Lord (Numb. xi. 18.); and other expressions like these. All these [are used] with reference to the intellectual capacity of the sons of men, who can comprehend only corporeal beings; so that the law spoke in the language of the sons of men, and all these are expressions [merely],

just as: If I whet my glittering sword (Deut. xxxii. 41.); [for] has He then a sword? or does He slay with a sword? [certainly not], this is only a figure; and thus all are figures.-Pp. 71-75.

XII. And now since it has been demonstrated that He is not a body or a frame, it is clear that none of the accidental qualities, belonging to bodies, can belong to Him; neither composition nor decomposition; neither place nor measure; neither ascent nor descent; neither right nor left; neither before nor behind; neither sitting nor standing; neither does He exist in time, so that He should have a beginning or an end, or a [precise] number of years; nor is He liable to change, since in Him there is nothing, which can cause a change in Him.

XIII. Again, with Him there is neither death nor life, like the life of a living body; neither folly nor wisdom, like the wisdom of a wise man; neither sleep nor waking; neither anger nor laughter; neither joy nor sorrow; neither silence nor speech, like the speech of the sons of men; and thus the sages say: "Above there is neither sitting nor standing, neither neck nor fainting.'

XIV. Now since the matter stands thus, all these and similar expressions, which are made use of in the law and in the words of the prophets, are altogether figurative and ornamental. Thus it is said: He that sitteth in the heavens shall laugh, (Ps. ii. 4.); They have provoked me to anger with their vanities (Deut. xxxii. 21.); As the Lord rejoiced (Deut. xxviii. 63.); and other expressions like these. With regard to all these, the sages say: "The law spoke according to the language of the sons of men." And thus it is said: Do they provoke me to anger? (Jer. vii. 19.)

XV. Behold! it is said: I am the Lord, I change not (Mal. iii. 6.) If He were sometimes angry, and sometimes joyful, He would suffer change; now these things are found only in bodies dark and low-in those who dwell in houses of clay, the foundation of which is in the dust; but as to Him, blessed be He! He is blessed and is exalted above all this.-Pp. 78-80.

The expression, "neither neck nor fainting," at the conclusion of par. 13, is somewhat beyond our comprehension; but, on the whole, the idea here formed of the nature of the Deity, appears to us just, and pious, and philosophical; and, at the first perusal of it, we felt no slight gratification at receiving from this learned disciple of the Talmud so bold and masterly a refutation of the blasphemies Who, after such an which it has detailed on the same subject.* opening, can be prepared to meet the profane perversions of Scripture, the childish quibbling, and the ludicrous burlesque of rational argument, which, in other parts of his work, the author has adopted from the sages of the Gemara? or, meeting them, who can help longing for the day, when men of such intellectual endowments shall be delivered from their spiritual bondage into the glorious liberty of the children of God?

The very next chapter unfortunately exhibits a striking contrast. It opens thus:

With regard to this glorious and awful God—we are commanded to love Him, and to fear Him, for it is said: and thou shalt LOVE the Lord thy God (Deut. vi. 5.), and it is also said: Thou shalt FEAR the Lord thy God (Deut. vi. 13.) But what is the way to the love and the fear of him?-P. 81.

See CHRISTIAN REMEMBRANCER, for November, 1831. Vol. XIII. p. 651-2.

And how does the reader suppose this solemn question is answered? Most persons, we imagine, feeling that our love of God can be no other than gratitude for blessings received, would have no difficulty in deducing it from those instances of benevolence and love, which he has displayed towards us. They would naturally dwell on all the proofs of God's love to man, which appear in our creation, in the rich and abundant provision made for our support and enjoyment in this life, and in every act in which his mercy and loving-kindness are displayed, whether in the volume of nature, or in that of revelation. And, though a Jew cannot be expected to say, God so loved the world, that he gave his only-begotten Son, that whosoever believeth in him should not perish, but have everlasting life (John iii. 16.);— In this was manifested the love of God towards us, because that God sent his only-begotten Son into the world, that we might live through him. Herein is love, not that we loved God, but that he loved us, and sent his Son to be the propitiation for our sins (1 John iv. 9, 10.): —Though, we say, a Jew cannot be expected to echo this language, surely we might suppose that he would adopt the general principle on which this reasoning is built, that God is love; surely we might hope that the language of the Old Testament would be familiar to his thoughts, when writing on such a theme; that he would dwell with holy earnestness on some of those motives by which Moses, and Joshua, and David, endeavoured to awaken the dormant piety of his forefathers, and inspire them with grateful love towards the God of Israel. But our learned Rabbi has no such notions. He affirms that,

At the time when one considers His works, and His wonderful and great creations, and perceives from them His wisdom, which is incomparable and unbounded, immediately he loves, praises, and glorifies, and longs with great eagerness to know that great God, just as David said: My soul thirsteth for God, for the living God (Ps. xlii. 2.)-P. 81.

Thus, as if admiration of the works of God, though they may be totally unconnected with ourselves, were really the same thing as a grateful sense of mercies received, he says not one syllable on the love of God towards man, but proceeds

to explain some great principles [drawn] from the work of the Lord of the Universe, in order that they may be an opening to the intelligent man to love God.-P. 82.

Again, at the conclusion of the volume, he reverts to the same subject.

But now, what is [the nature of] that love which is due [unto Hi m]? It is that a man should love the Lord with a love so excessively great, and so exceedingly strong, that his soul, by thus becoming fastened to the love of the Lord, shall be constantly absorbed in the same.-P. 316.

But now, the matter is clear and manifest, that the love of the Holy One, blessed be He! cannot be made fast in the heart of a man, unless he be

constantly and duly absorbed in the same, and unless he renounce every thing in the world except this [love], as He has commanded [us], saying: [And thou shalt love the Lord thy God] WITH ALL THINE HEART, AND WITH ALL THY SOUL (Deut. vi. 5.) A man, however, can love the Holy One, blessed be He! only by the knowledge which he has of Him; so that his love will be in proportion to his knowledge; if [the latter be] slight, [the former will also be] slight; but if [the latter be] great, [the former will also be] great. And therefore a man ought solely and entirely to devote himself to the acquisition of knowledge and understanding, by applying to those sciences and doctrines, which are calculated to give him such an idea of his Creator, as it is in the power of the intellect of man to conceive; as was stated by us in the precepts relating to the foundations of the law.-P. 320.

We need scarcely remark that all this is addresed to the head, not to the heart; and that the fallacy of the principle lies in the inference, "so that his love will be in proportion to his knowledge;" for who needs to be informed that a man may "understand all mysteries and all knowledge," and yet be a total stranger to the love of God? Without dwelling, therefore, on so obvious a point, let us follow our author into the detail of his argument. His discourse on these works of God occupies three chapters; in the first of which he treats (no doubt very profoundly, could we but understand him) of the different orders of angels. In the next he gives us an outline of astronomy, according to the Ptolemaic system, which prevailed in that day; informing us, among other things, that

All the planets and orbs are beings possessed of soul, mind and understanding.* Moreover they are alive, they exist, and know Him who spake [the word], and the Universe existed. All of them, in proportion to their magnitude and to their degree, praise and glorify their Creator, just as the angels [do]; and in the same way as they know the Holy One, blessed be He! so do they also know themselves; they also know the angels that are above them. Now, the knowledge of the planets and of the orbs, is less than the knowledge of the angels, yet it is greater than the knowledge of the sons of men.-Pp. 97, 98.

After this he introduces the four elements, and in the next chapter explains how all things are composed of them, and will be again resolved into them. Having thus exhibited the detail of his argument, our author winds up his conclusion in these words:

This opinion is supported by so singular a piece of criticism, that we cannot forbear quoting it from our author's later work, entitled Moreh Nevochim. "Quòd orbes cælestes sint animalia intelligentia et ratione prædita, h. e. quòd apprehensionem habeant, id verissimum et rectissimum est secundum legem quoque nostram; quòdque non sint corpora mortua sicut ignis et terra, (uti fatui et imperiti arbitrantur,) sed, ut philosophi loquuntur, animalia, quæ colunt laudant et celebrant Dominum et Creatorem suum. Hinc dicit David, Cali ENARRANT gloriam Dei, &c. (Ps. xix. 1.) Procul enim abest a veritate, quod quidam existimant hic agi de re ipsâ (h. e. hic intelligi id quod homines ex illis intelligunt): quia Hebræi non tribuunt narrationem alicujus rei nisi illis quæ intellectum habent."-Moreh Nevochim, a Buxtorf. Pars II. cap. V. So that, even in those books of Scripture which are professedly poetical, there is no instance of a personification of inanimate things. But our author is at least consistent in this strange fancy, for he afterwards interprets, literally, the following passage: When the morning stars sang together, Job xxxviii. 7.

The three subjects here discussed are considered by our author as embracing the whole circuit of human knowledge. "Quòd omnia Entia, quæ sunt sub Creatore, in tres partes

At the time when a man reflects on these things, and knows all the creatures, whether they be angels, orbs, or men, or the like [beings], and sees the wisdom of the Holy One, blessed be He! in all things formed and created, he increases in his love to God, his soul thirsts, and his flesh longs to love God, blessed be He! -Pp. 108, 109.

Now, though it is certain that the eternal power and godhead of the Creator may be understood by the things that are made (Rom. i. 20.); and though we are far indeed from wishing to undervalue natural religion, or to discourage attempts to shew "the wisdom of God manifested in the works of the creation ;" and though we confess that, by a profound study of natural philosophy and natural history, the mind may be most powerfully led "to look from nature up to nature's God;"— we yet must acknowledge ourselves unable to perceive how the contemplation of these subjects can, of itself, tend to awaken the principle of love towards God. For, in the midst of all these interesting speculations, the understanding will indeed be enlightened, the mind strengthened, and the taste refined; but surely the conscience may remain untouched, the heart unsoftened, and the thoughts altogether led astray from the practical truth, so emphatically stated by the apostle, We love him because he first loved us. (1 John iv. 19.) But let this foundation be once laid by faith, and we then read the page of nature with a religious eye, and the heart learns to glow with more fervent gratitude towards its all-wise and benevolent Author. But the notions which Maimonides had imbibed on this subject, are the genuine fruit of wilful unbelief. The heart of the Jew is closed against "the inestimable love of God in the redemption of the world, by our Lord Jesus Christ," the only root of all true love towards him; and, consequently, his love, instead of being a vital, influential principle of action, having its seat in the heart, and operating in the life, is, according to the temperament and imagination of the individual, either a cold, speculative, fruitless sentiment, or visionary mysticism.

In the midst, however, of the trifling, contained in these chapters, we are unexpectedly relieved by the following admirable remarks on the nature of the human soul, well worthy of earnest and repeated perusal; and which, as Mr. Bernard informs us in the preface, induced him, contrary to his original intention, to include the third and fourth chapters in his selections. They contain a complete refutation of the dreams of the materialists, and might put some of our modern philosophers to the blush.

Ch. IV. par. XIV. The soul of all flesh is the quality thereof, given to it by God; moreover that more excellent knowledge, which is found in the soul of man, is the quality of man, who is perfect in his knowledge; and it is with regard to this quality that it is said in the law: Let us make man in OUR IMAGE, AFTER

dividantur: quarum prima sunt Intelligentiæ separatæ; secunda, Corpora Sphærarum Cælestium; . . . tertia, Corpora . . . . generabilia et corruptabilia.-Moreh Nevochim, Pars II. chap. xi.

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