In the Early and Middle Ages.— The first translation of a book into another language was the Greek translation of the Bible—the Sep tuagint. This leads us to the participation of Jews in Greek literature. Of Philo, who has already been mentioned, it was said in Alexan dria that he wrote as fine Greek as the divine Plato. Then lived, too, the first Jewish drama tist, Ezekiel; then a long line of philosophers, poets, historians, the author of the Sibylline books, and many other writers in Greek. In the Middle Ages the Jews familiarized them selves with Arabic literature, under whose in fluence the new Hebrew poetry in Spain devel oped. What Arab and Jew united in those cen turies accomplished is not to be overlooked. They rescued the treasures of classical antiquity from oblivion and preserved them for posterity; they enriched the arts and sciences and truly promoted the intellectual growth of humanity. Jews appear, too, among the Arab poets, like Abraham Ibn Sahl, who is praised by them as one of the most graceful singers of love, Ibn el Mudawwer, Kasmune, etc. The Indian and Greek world of fable was communicated to Europe by Jews. During the entire Middle Ages, when the old literary treasures were practically lost, they preserved almo3t the only knowledge of those romances, stories and fables which were to enter modern literature by a roundabout way through Arabia and Spain from the world of the ancients and the pictured pomp of India. They took a prominent part in those stories from the Orient, which still serve as material for our narrative literature. Later, too, when the Mohammedans were driven from Spain, the Jews displayed a lively interest in the development of the Arabic literature and language. A Moorish Israelite, Ibn Alfange, wrote the first 'Chronicle of the Cid' ; another the first Spanish romance; a third— the bap tized Petrus Alphonsus — the first story in Ori ental manner, 'Disciplina Clericalis' ; a fourth was the first Castilian troubadour, Santob de Carrion; and a fifth, Rodrigo de Cota, is cred ited with the authorship of the first Spanish drama In the Spanish song books of the 15th century can be found many poems of baptized Jews. At the same era Jews were familiar with French literature. From the glosses of Rashi, the famous Biblical commen tator, the old French language has been partly reconstructed; and Rashi's contemporaries, who through Nicolas of Lyra directly influenced Luther, already knew German and utilized that language. At the very period when the Jews in Germany were persecuted in the cruelest fashion, there lived a Jewish minnesinger, Siiesskind von Trimberg; a Jew shared in the authorship of 'Percival.' Their epics and elab orations of romantic legends aid to-day in inter preting old German literature.
In Modern Times.— When through Lessing and Mendelssohn the Jews in literature, at least, were emancipated, they devoted themselves to authorship with special zeal. Jewesses, like, Henriette Herz, Rachel Varnhagen von Ense, Dorothea Veit, founded the Berlin Salon and gave distinct impetus to Romanticism. Moses Mendelssohn was not only a philosopher, but one of the first authors in the era of rationalism. Heine is unquestionably the greatest German lyric poet after Goethe, Ludwig Borne the first German critic after Lessing. Berthold Auer bach founded the school of village tales; Fanny Lewald that of the woman's social romance. Jews have taken marked interest in all later literary movements. One may mention in this field the German authors, Karl Beck, Michael Beer, Theodor Creizenach, L. A. Frankl, Leo pold Kompert, Karl Emil Franzos, E. Kulke, Moritz Hartmann, L. Kalisch, S. Kapper, Hie ronymus Lorm, S. H. Mosenthal, Max Ring,
Ludwig Robert, J. Rodenberg, August Silber stein, M. G. Saphir, H. Stieglitz, Daniel Spitzer, J. V. Weiler, L Wihl, 0. L. B. Wolff, Wilhelm Wolfsohn; and of later writers Theodor Herzl, L. Hevesy, A. L'Arronge, F. Lubliner, Fritz Mauthner, Oscar Blumenthal, Max Bernstein, J. J. David, I... Fulda, Max Nordau, Georg Hirschfeld, Felix Hollander, L. Jaoobowski, J. Liiwenberg, A. Schnitzler, J. Wassermann, Ernst Rosmer, Henriette Ottenheimer, Lina Morgenstern, Betty Paoli, Jenny Hirsch. In the history of literature Ludwig Geiger, Richard M. Meyer, Gustav and Otto Hirschfeld, Otto Pniower, Max Hermann, Eduard Engel, Max von Waldherg, E. Wolff can be mentioned.
In France Jews contribute to all branches of poetry— in dramatic composition may be in cluded Catulle Mendes, Abraham Dreyfus, Er nest Blum, Leon Halevy, A. d'Ennerv, A. Vala bregue, and as lyric poet Leon Gozlan, Gustav Cahn, Eugene Manuel, Louis Ratishonne. In England Sir Philip Magnus has written exten sively on education, Joseph Jacobs is an au thority on folklore, Sidney Lee is a leading Shakespeare scholar, Emanuel Deutsch was the first to tell the English world what the Talmud really was, B. L. Farjeon was a voluminous novelist, while I. Zangwill is prominent in vari ous lines. In Italy one may point to Alessandro d'Ancona, David Levi, Tullo Masserani, Er rninia Fua; in Denmark to Henrik Hertz, M. Goldschmidt, Georg and Eduard Brandes, Silvia Benet; in Sweden to 0. Levertin and Sophie Elkan; in Holland to Isaac d'Acosta of the past and H. Heijerrnans of the 'present; in Russia to S. Erin?, S. Nadson, N. Minsky; in Rumania to Ronetti Roman, the greatest poet of our day, and to H. Tiktin, the greatest philologist; in Hungary.to Ludwig Doczi, Josef Kiss, Adolph Agai, A. Nemeny, all writers of distinction. In the United States Isaac Harby, Mordecai M. Noah are names of the past; with Emma Lazarus admittedly the leading poet and essayist, and among present-day story writers I. K. Friedman, Ezra S. Brudno, Emma Wolf, Miriam Michaelson, Martha Wolfenstein, Mary Moss, Abraham Cahan, Montague Glass. Prof. L. Wiener has written on the history of Yiddish literature, Oscar S. Straus on
We have given merely a survey, necessarily incomplete, of Jewish activity in art, science and literature, in all ages and among all nations. It has been shown, however, with sufficient clearness that they have always striven with ardent enthusiasm for ideal aims, and with marked energy, despite unfavorable conditions, have taken an active interest in all the develop ments of the world's intellectual life.
Bibliography.— Art.— Kaufmann, (Zur Ge schichte der Kunst in Syn> (1897); Giidemann, 'Das Judenthum und die Bildenden Kunst& (1890) ; A. Wolff, Kunstler) (1902) ; S. J. Solomon, 'Art and Judaism) (in Q. R. XIII 533 ff.) ; D. H. Muller, 'Die Handal' von Serajewo) (1898).
Science.— Steinschneider, 'Die hebr. Uber setzungen des Mittelalters' • Giidemann, 'Gesch. der Cultur und des Erzieh, bei den Jude& ; M. J. Schleiden, 'Die Verdienste der Juden fur die Erh, der Wiss. im Mittelalter) ; I. Abra hams, 'Jewish Life in the Middle A. Kohut, Israel Manner und etc.
Literature.— Steinschneider, 'Jewish Litera ture); G. Karpeles, Literature and Other Essays); and his Gesch. der Litteratur.>