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O'J1JJ il110

LIBER DUC~rOR PERPLEXORUM.

BY DR . WI SE.

THE readers of this journal have certainly heard a great deal aboutthis book of our great Maimon ides o":m1, wherefore I deem a sketch ofit of some interest to those who are not initiated in the difficult study ofHebrew philosophy and theology. O'J,:lJ il110 means "the guide ofthose who know no path." Rabbi Moses Maimonid es, a native of Spain,and a res ident of Egypt, living in the second half of the twelfth cen tury,possessed more knowledge of mathematics, physics, medicine, and ofthe Greek philosophy, than an y other schola r amon g his conte mpora­ries; and though he belonged to the medical profession, and had at­tain ed grea t renown as a practising physician as well as an author, henevertheless wrote voluminou s work s on Hebrew theology. Hisilpmil " Yad Hackasakah, is a co mplete abstract of the Talmud, inwhich the result s of the rabbin ical discus sions are written out in an ad­mirable order, brevity, and in an elegant Hebrew style. The ju di­cial part of it is the best work of anti quit y in this branch; and were ittranslated in the English tongue, it would to a certainty obtain theadmiration and the attention of the legal profession. He wrote also inthis department of literature , mlUOil ~11~, a Commentary on the Mish­nah, which is distinguished for its acutenes s, brevity, and correct nessof ideas. The Greek philosophers, and particularly Ar istotle , prin ci­pally employed his attention. He ga ve the fruits of his studies to theworld in the Arabic tongue, in which he wrote a Logic bearing thenam e j1'mil n~o, "Terms of Logic," which was translated in theHebrew by E ben Tibon, and in the German language by SamuelNewman, and commented by Mendelssohn. Next a Psychology, bear­ing the name 0'P1~ m10lU, "The Eight Sections," which was alsotranslated into the Hebrew and Ge rman languages. But his prin cipalwork in philosophy is u'J1:lJ rrn», Liber Ductor Perplexorum, of whichwe will speak more in deta il.

Maimonides in the introduction to this work says: " This work hasfor its problem the explanation of some terms used in the propheticScriptures; some of them can be applied to many subjects; but others

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are abstract and metaphorical terms, which must be understood accord.ing to the su bject to which they are app lied, but which ignorant readersunder stand according to their origina l signification ; whi lst, at the sametime, some other terms are doubt ful. It is not my intention in the presentwork to explain these terms to such men as arc ofa vulgar sort, or begin.ners in speculative thinking; nor do I intend to instruct those who wish toknow nothin g but the dead letter of the law ; but I intend it to be thebasis to the knowledge of the divine legislation. I merely intend givinga brief instruction to those in whose mind religion is rooted by a goodeducation, who have a good moral cha rac ter, and who are no strangersin the departments of philosophy and speculation ; but who belongingto the other side are inclined to listen to the dictates of reason," &c.

" Hence it is the problem of this work to expound the different alle­gories of the prophetic Scriptures, or at least to mak e them known assuch, which are generally tak en for facts, and bring the investigator ing reat confu sion," &c.

" I will give in this work, accordin g to the dicta of the Talmud, someof the principles of natural philosophy and metaph ysics to the self.thinker; but these principles will not be given in a sys tematic order; Iwill only cite them by chance to expound other matt ers."

" God revealed to us a pra ctical law which is based upon pure thea.ries, which must be again bused upon correct notions of God and ofhis relati on to us, or upon natural theology. Since the first requisitefor the com prehension of these theor ies is natural philosophy, so Godcomm enced his law-book with the history of the creation, which is buta manifestation of the prin ciples of natural philosoph y. Our sages say:'The manner and method of the creation can be taught to nobody,wherefore the Scrip tures say in short terms, In the beginning Godcreated heaven and earth.' Therewith they meant to say that thehist ory of the creat ion comprises great secrets of natural philosophy,which, to express, Scripture was to make use of expressions whichhave a multifarious signification, which are simply understood by thesimple, and which display a profound depth of thought to the wise."

I think these few quotations of his preface will suffice to give to thereader a correct notion about the tendency of the renowned composit ionin question.

The work is divided in three parts or books. The first book ex-pound s the Hebrew terms which a re used in Scripture in conn exionwith God. Maimonides shows that the Hebrew language, the first-borndaughter of nature, being too poor in abstract terms, had to use sensualterms in conn exion with God, the most absolute spirit, hut which must

I.·IllER DUCTOR PERPLEXORUlIl. 33

be understood in accordance with the biblical principal doctrine con­cern ing God an d his att ributes, they being exclu sively spiritual. Hencehe states that the s ignificance of abstract words not onl y is changed fre­quently, but is not seldom forgotten, and then the abstract word is aphantom void of an y mean ing; but the expressions of nature are immu­table, and so the Bible will be understood for ever. Maimonides dis­plays in the lexicographical part of his work the whole theoret ical princi­ples of biblical theology, the purest spiritual theosophy, which he showsto be embodied in the natural words of the Bible. A critical investi ga­tion about God and His attributes, about the powers and limits of thehuman reason, concludes the first book.

The second book commen ces with the outlines of the peripatetic phi­losoph y, and with the arguments derived from that system to demon­strate the existence of God, His unity, spirituality, and immensity.Then follows an explanation about the Aristotelian views of the celes­tial bodies, which he held to be living and rational beings. Then hespeaks of the angels. Maimonides tries to show, that the expression ofScripture, that God sends an gels to execute His will in the sublunarworld, are anthropomorphous, which ought to be understood as thePsalmist did, when he said that wind and fire are the angels of theLord. He then argues with Aristotle against the idea of the eternityof the earth; and after hav ing proved, that the world is creat ed, hegives a problematical possibility of the creation. He then proceeds tospeak of 'prophecy and of divine revelation, which he explains to bepsychological possibilities, and which can be understood only andmerely psychologically. He proceeds then to show the grace of Pro..vidence j the symbolic arts of the prophets; and the hyperbolic andmetaph oric expressions In their Scriptures. In the conclusion of thisbook he speaks about the percept ive facility of the prophets.

The third book commences with the explanation of Ezekiel's descrip­tion of the ange lic council of God, n:JJ'D nW,VD. He says on that sub­ject, that it is an allegoric picture of cosmological truths. Next heproves that every evil consists in a mere privation; then he speaks offinal causes ; and next of the destiny of the world. Maimonides is averseto the opinion that all creatures are for man's sake, which he thinks tobe proved by the overwhelming numb er of creatures besides man. Hethen dwells on the Providence, Omn iscience of God, and man's freedomof will. He shows that the book of Job is a mere vehicle to furnish usa metaphysical treat ise on Provid ence. He then divides the Mosaicceremonial laws in fourteen classes, giving profound reasons for eachclass, drawn from the history, customs, and habits of Egypt; from the

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paganism of that which was to be prevented; from the customs,circumstances, characteristics of the Israelites themselves, and from thevulgar notions about God and His will. In conclusion he shows, whatmay be called, in truth, the service of the Most High, and how he servesthe Lord who has learned to know Him, and how eternal happinessmay be obtained through serving the Lord. The whole work has aphilosophical, theological nature, more inclined to rationalism than tomysticism. Maimonides wrote this work at the request of his scholarRabbi Joseph, son of Rabbi Judah Hallevy, Samuel Eben Tibon trans­lated it into the Hebrew during the lifetime of the author, whom heconsulted about some very difficult passages. The first Hebrew editionappeared in Parma, 1480. (See Joh.ls Berch. De Rossi, AnnalibusHebrreo. p. 121.) The first, but very incorrect, Latin translation of itappeared in 1520. (See Wolf's Biblioth. Hebr. P. III., p. 780-782.)

In 1692 appeared a correct Latin translation of it by the youngerBuxtorf. Solomon Maimon, a contemporary of Mendelssohn, wrote anepitome of the Moreh Nebuchim, which was published in 1793, in hisbiography by K. P. Moriz, p. 15-150. The same Maimon, a greatgenius and little known, wrote a profound commentary on the MorehNebuchim, Many others have been written, too numerous to be men­tioned. Dr. Firrstenthal of Breslau translated and commented the Mor,

Neb. in the German language, but only the first part has as Xet appeared.

THE ABORIGINES AND CHRISTIANITY.

WE need not remind our readers, that many efforts are made, asthey have been for centuries past, to convert not alone the heathen butJews ; and still the absolute success of the missionaries hasbeen very small among the untutored savages, though they have beenaided by all the support which invading armies and government influ­ence could bestow, and many of those who formerly were prosperousand healthy, such as the Sandwich Islanders and Otaheitians, have lostmuch of their worldly happiness and actually diminished before theinroads of vice and drunkenness brought in the train of Europeancivilization. And even warfare has been invoked to establish missionsof a particular kind,-witness the brutal attack on the poor TahitianQueen Pomare, by the late king of the French, Louis Philippe. And