B. XVI. A. C. dom of Naples, where they met with such severe ufage from 1539. the inquifitors, that the people mutinied, and the viceroy re folved to banish them all out of that kingdom, that he might be at once rid both of them and of the plague of those inHated by quifitors. Charles V. foon after authorised his viceroy's conCharles duct, by refufing to grant them any toleration either in that V. A. C. kingdom or in Sicily. And indeed his whole behaviour to 1534. wards them shows that he really hated them, on account of fome impoftures he had found them guilty of, and which they feem too much to have deserved of him: the reader may fee an inftance or two in the margin (O). This did not, however, discourage DACHERII Specil. tom. ix. p. 162. for his too great esteem of them; kind a friend and patron to the perfecuted Jews. About the fame time one Bonis de Latis, a native of Provence, dedicated to pope Alexander VI. his treatise on the ufefulness of an aftronomical ring, which he had invented. He wrote it in tolerable good Latin, tho' he thought himself obliged to make an apology for it in the following diftich prefixed to it. Parce, precor, quæ funt rudibus errata Latino. (0) One of them had, it originally a few, but had been (10) Pic. Mirend, apolog. p. 82. Portugal, when the other named David Lemelein came thither from Rome, and refolved to make him act in concert with him. David gave himself out to be the chief of the army of Ifrael, and had done the fame at Rome before Clement VII. and being arrived atLisbon, perfuaded the young convert to return to his Judaism, and gave him the name of Solomon Malcho. He fet him immediately upon ftudying the rabbinic writings; in which he made so swift (11) Bafnag, ub. fup. §. 4. a pro. difcourage one Ricci, a converted Jew, from dedicating to that Ricci. monarch his celebrated treatise on, what he stiled, celeftial agriculture. He was a physician in Germany, and a most profound cabbalift, and pretended to prove all the mysteries of Christianity from the Gabbalah; but whoever reads that work, or his 50 theorems and expofitions on the Sephiroths, &c. will own that they did not deserve those encomiums which fome learned men have made on them (P); and that some of them, especially his a progrefs, that the Italic Jews affirmed that fome angel dictated his fermons. Not content with preaching, he compiled feveral curious treatifes, which still added to his fame. All this while David diftinguifhed himself by his long fafting, being fometimes fix whole days without taking any fuftenance; infomuch, that thofe who were witneffes of it, looked upon him as fomething more than human. Neither he nor Malcho, however, had dared to affume the title of Meffiah, but contented themselves with that of his forerunner. At length Malcho was imprudent enough to defire an audience of Charles V. then at Mantua, which he readily granted; but as foon as he was got out of his prefence, that prince caufed him to be arrested, and burnt alive; and David Lemelein was fent prifoner into Spain, and died there a few days after his confinement. Yet fuch was the ftupidity of the Italian Jews, that they would not believe, for a good while, but that he was ftill alive there, and that he came conftantly once a week to pay a private vifit to his wife, who was ftill in Italy (12). (P) Erafmus, who was commonly as lavish of his praises as of his fatyrs, and was intimately acquainted with him, cries him up to the skies, as a good philofopher, and profound divine: he knew him profeffor of philofophy in Pavia, and was charmed with him. But he ftill more admired the fimplicity of his manners, which fhewed him to be a guileless Ifraelite, who had no other pleasure or exercise but the study of the fcriptures; on which ac count he was extremely fol licitous to procure him fome honourable employment, by the help of which he might make the beft advantage of his talents (13). But befides what we have obferved above of his writings, he displays but an indifferent judgment in the parallel he makes in his theorems of the writings of Dionyfius the areopagite, and the book of Zohar, formerly mentioned t, as well by his unfkilfulness in his chronology, and making those two authors to have been cotemporaries, and to have lived about the time of the deftruction of Ferufalem. (12) Imbonat. Bibliot. Rabb. tom. v. Gantz Tzemach fub an. 293. Shalfheleth, p. 45, 48. Wolf, Bibl. Rabb. N. 2004. p. 176. Peritfol Itinerar, c. 14. p. 91, feq. & al. (13) Erafmí. Epift. lib. i. epift. 37. p. 88. ↑ De bx, vid. fup. 8. 227, & seq. dialogue dialogue on the Apostle's creed, are far below the dignity of a found and reasoning divine". THE Jews were become fo powerful under pope Paul III. Jews porerful under that cardinal Sadolet, bishop of Carpentras (R), grew quite Paul III. out of patience with them and their protector, against whom A. C. he bitterly inveighs, as being kinder to them than to the 1539. Christians, who lived amongst them as sheep among wolves. cardinal Sadolet. His letter, which was written to cardinal Farnefe, is full Oppofed by of the fevereft reflections against that pontif and his partial fondness for those enemies of Chrift; and that none could be raised to either civil or ecclesiastical dignities but thro' their favour and intereft, whilst he fcrupled not to perfecute the Lutherans, &c. He concludes with difcovering the true motives of it, the great profit they helped to bring into his finances and treasury. This complaint, if it had not quite the defired effect, procured at least a redrefs of the moft flagrant abuses; whilst those that were of a more profitable nature, were palliated and winked at. Thalmud burnt, A. C. 1554. A. C. 1582. SOME time after this, pope Julius III. being of opinion that all the allegorical interpretations of the Gemarrah were dangerous, caused the thalmud to be burnt; fo that according to the Jewish writers, all the Gemarrahs in Italy were de ftroyed. And it was under the fame pontiff, that one Jofeph Tzarphati, a celebrated rabbi, after having taught a confiderable time at Rome, embraced Christianity, and in honour of that pope, took the furname de Monte (S), and proved that pontif, by h BASNAG. ub. fup. c. 31. §. 7, & feq. ISADOLET, lib. xii. epift. 5 & 6. * BULLAR. tom. i. Conft. Paul IV. p. 19, & 24. 1 GANTZ TZEMACH, P. 153. (R) This city [which is in upper head garment. but of Fezan extract; but finding that the Jewish learning flourished more at Rome, he removed thither, and expound ed the thalmud both in the fynagogue and in their academy. After his converfion he wrote a peaceful letter to the Jews there, An. C. 1582, in which he proved to them that the Meffiah was really come, and was made foon after to preach both to them and to the new converts; but his defection had rendered him fo odious to the former, that they complained of it to cardinal by the help of the Gemarrah, to have been mentioned in the facred text. But of all the learned Jews that flourished at Rome about this time, Elias Levita, author of feveral excellent Elias Letreatises, deserves the first rank. Some make him a native of vita, his Padua, and lay that fome of his relations were still settled at extract, Rome, particularly Abraham Afchenazi, chief of that family, and one of the judges of the fynagogue". Not confidering that the word Afchenazi is the appellative which all the German Jews take, from Alkenaz, the fon of Gomer", whom they fuppofe to have peopled Germany †, and is accordingly affirmed by others, with more probability, to have been born at the small town of Eyfch, near Nuremberg. Some have likewife imagined that he turned Christian, because he was very converfant among them; but that is a mistake, for he died a few; and in one of his works gives God thanks that learned he was born one (T). However, he was a very moderate works,&C. one, n Genef. x. 3. + See • GENEBR. BUXTORF. WOLF, Bib. m BARTOLOC. ub. fup. tom. i. p. 135. before, vol. vi. p. 1, & feq. Rab. Num. 249. p. 153. cardinal Sirlet; upon which that employment was taken from him. He wrote afterwards a treatife, ftiled, The confufion of the Jews, in which he pretended to prove that all the myfteries of Chriftianity are found in the Old Teftament (14): but as it was not printed, anItalian writer, author of the Dialogo di Fede, hath taken the liberty to plunder what he thought fit for his purpofe out of it. (T) Elias was no lefs unfortunate than learned; and this obliged him, having been totally ruined at Padua, when that city was taken and plundered, to teach Hebrew, to maintain himself and family, particularly to cardinal Gilles, who proved a generous patron to him. But for this, his whole nation cried him down at a fevere rate, fome charging him with aposta- However that be, Elias eafily (14) Fabian Fiochi. Bartoloc. Bibliot, Rabb, tom, iii. p. 818. Bafnag.ub. fup. 12. (16) Pf. cxlvii, 19, 29 B. XVI. one, and free from that rancour and gall against the Christians that one meets with in the writings of those of his nation. The rest of his character and works the reader may fee in the last note. There flourished likewise at Rome a celebrated Jewish poetefs, named Deborah, who began to make herself Deborah. famous, by her poetic and other works, about the year 1 560, and lived to the beginning of the 17th century P. She was wife to Jofeph Afcariel, a learned rabbi, commonly known by the name of Afcarellus Romanus. Paul IV's THE Jews fared much worfe under Paul IV. who really two edicts hated them, and from the beginning of his pontificate iffued againft out two fevere bulls against them; by the first of which, every GENEBR. BUXTORF, WOLF, Bibl. Rab. N. 465. p. 287. to his book ina, Bachur, or He was again reduced to An expofition of Kimchi's grammar. His own grammar, or Bachur, divided into four parts or treatifes: the firft of which treats of the conjugations; the fecond of verbs regular and irregular; the third of perfect names; and, the fourth of imperfect ones with rules for the true pronunciation of the Hebrew tongue. His treatife on compofition is another grammatical book. His Sepher Zichronoth, or book of remembrances; or a collection of Majoretic obfervations, from ancient authors. His Tob Taham, (Pf. cxix. 66.) or treatise on Hebrew accents. His Maf foreth Hammasforeth, or critical art on the Hebrew text. His Meturgaman, or Chaldaic, tar gumic, and rabbinic lexicon. His Pirke Eliahu, or grammatic rules in verfe. His Shibre Luchoth, or breaking of the ta bles, a grammatic treatife on true reading, &c. His Thighby, or dictionary. Some other poetical performances, in praise of certain books and authors, with fome others of inferior note, the reader may fee a fuller account of, in the authors lak quoted. (17) Vid. Bafnag, ub. fup. Bartoloc, Welf, ub. Sup. fynagogue |