The Renascence of Hebrew Literature (1743-1885) | Page 9

it. In the preface to his tragedy, "Athaliah's
Recompense" (_Gemul Athaliah_, Amsterdam, 1770), he set himself
the task of demonstrating the superiority of the sacred language to the
profane languages. Yet this very tragedy, in spite of its author's
protestations, is nothing more than a rifacimento of Racine's drama, and
rather infelicitous at that, though it must be admitted that Mendes' style
is of classic purity, and some of his scenes are in a measure
characterized by vivacity of action. His other drama, "Judith", also
published at Amsterdam, has no greater merit than "Athaliah's
Recompense." Besides these dramas, Mendes wrote several
biographical sketches of the learned men of the Middle Ages for
_Ha-Meassef_.
It were far from the truth to say that Mendes succeeded in rivalling the
French and Italian authors whom he set up as models for himself.
Nevertheless he was endorsed and admired by the literary men of his
time as the heir of Luzzatto.
* * * * *
An enumeration of all the writers and all the scholars who, directly or
indirectly, contributed to the work of _Ha-Meassef_, would be
wearisome. Only those who are distinguished by some degree of
originality will be set down by name.
Rabbi Solomon Pappenheim (1776-1814), of Breslau, was the author of
a sentimental elegy, _Arba' Kosot_ ("The Four Cups", Berlin, 1790).
The poem, inspired by Young's "Night Thoughts," is remarkable for its
personal note. In his plaints recalling Job's, this Hebrew Werther
mourns the loss, not of his mistress--that would not have been in
consonance with the spirit of the ghetto--but of his wife and his three
children. The elegy came near being a popular poem. Its vapid
sentimentality and its affected and exaggerated style were to exercise a
baneful influence upon the following generations. It is the tribute paid
by Hebrew literature to the diseased spirit of the age. Pappenheim
wrote, besides, on Hebrew philology. His work, _Yeri'ot Shelomoh_

("The Curtains of Solomon"), is an important contribution to the
subject.
Shalom Hacohen, the editor of a second series of _Ha-Meassef_,
published in 1809-1811 (Berlin, Altona, and Dessau), deserves mention.
He won considerable fame by his poems and articles, which appeared
in the second series of _Ha-Meassef_ and in _Bikkure ha-'Ittim_ ("The
First Fruits of the Times"), and especially through his historical drama,
"Amal and Tirzah" (Rödelheim, 1812). The last, a naïvely conceived
piece of work, is well fitted into its Biblical frame. Hacohen is one of
the intermediaries between the German Meassefim and their successors
in Poland. [Footnote: Another writer of the epoch, Hartwig Derenburg,
whose son and grandson have brilliantly carried on, in France, the
literary and scientific traditions of the family, was the author of a
widely-read allegorical drama, Yoshebe Tebel ("The Inhabitants of the
World", Offenbach, 1789).]
Mendelssohn, the master admired and respected by all, contributed, as
was mentioned before, only minor controversial articles to _Ha-
Meassef_. His preface to the Biur and his commentary on Maimonides'
treatise on logic are in good style. His philosophical works,
"Jerusalem" and "Phaedon," translated into Hebrew by his disciples,
were largely instrumental in giving prevalence to the idea that the
Jewish people is a religious community rather than a nation. This
circumstance explains the banishment of Hebrew from the synagogue
by his less religious followers, such as David Friedländer, and the
attacks of Herz Homberg on traditional Judaism in his pamphlet "To
the Shepherds of Israel" (_El Ro'e Yisraël_).
The chief editor of _Ha-Meassef_, Isaac Euchel (1756-1804), became
known for his polemic articles against the superstitions and
obscurantism of the fanatics of the ghetto. Euchel wrote also a
biographical sketch of Mendelssohn, which was published at Vienna in
1814.
There were also scientific writers among the Meassefim. Baruch
Lindau wrote a treatise on the natural sciences, Reshit Limmudim ("The
Elements of the Sciences", Brünn, 1788), and Mordecai Gumpel

Levisohn, the learned professor at the University of Upsala, was the
author of a series of scientific essays in _Ha-Meassef_, which
contributed greatly to its success.
Up to the time we are speaking of, Poland had supplied the Jewish
people with Rabbis and Talmudists, and when the German Jews
became imbued with the new spirit, their Polish brethren did not lag
behind. Polish authors are to be found among the Meassefim, and
several of them deserve special notice.
Kant's brilliant disciple, the profound thinker Solomon Maimon,
published only his exegetical works and his ingenious commentary on
Maimonides in Hebrew. Another Polish writer, Solomon Dubno
(1735-1813), one of the first to co-operate with Mendelssohn in his
_Biur_, was a remarkable grammarian and stylist. Among other things
he wrote an allegorical drama and a number of poetic satires. Of the
latter, the "Hymn to Hypocrisy", published in _Bikkure To'elet_, is a
finished production.
Judah Ben-Zeëb (1764-1811) published in Berlin a Manual of the
Hebrew Language