thither from Brafil, was not only a celebrated preacher but a great cabbalift; and tranflated from Spanish into Hebrew the treatife intituted the Gate of Heaven (18), written by another Spaniard named Irira, or Abraham Cohen Herrera (19), and from that Hebrew verfion it is, that á new Latin one hath fince been made. Aboah likewife wrote a paraphrafe on the Pentateuch, where in he fings Mofes's triumphs in heroic verfe.

Benjamin Mufaphia was like wife a very learned commentator on the thalmud, but applied himself to another ftudy equally abftrufe, viz. the Flux and Reflux of the Sea. He was fo perfect a master of the Hebrew tongue, that he compiled a dictionary of it, in a quite new and eafy method (20), and intituled it Maffaph Hagharuc, or additions to the Gharuc, another lexicon, formerly mentioned (21). He likewife published his Zeker Rab, or large memory, which is a collection of all the Hebrew roots, to which he tacked certain fentences or maxims, for the better learning and retaining their fignification. There is likewife an epiftle attributed to him, on the fubject of potable gold, and under the fictitious name of M.zahab (de Auro) (22`.

But the most remarkable of all the Jews of this city, was the late Spinofa, author of a new kind of Atheism, and well known

are

to all the learned for his philofophical works. His parents were of Portuguese extract, and in good circumftances, but he was born at Amfterdam, an. 1632, and at his father's death, would only accept of a bed of all that he had left him, and chofe to live in the meaneft and lowest way, and get his living by polishing of fpectacles and other fuch glaffes, which brought him fo little gain, that tho' he liv ed chiefly upon milk and gruel, he was as poor at the year's end as at the beginning. He refused a confiderable fum, however, from a friend; and confented only to accept of a very fmall penfion from him, upon which he lived. Some think that he received the first feeds of his atheism from his Latin master Vanden Ende, who both professed and taught it. But whether fo or not, it is probable that the philofophy of Defcartes gave him a difrelish to all Jewish learning, and at length to their religion. They foon perceived it by his abfenting himself from the fynagogue, and would have retained him by a confiderable penfion; but he rejected it, and became fo odious to them, that fome of them attempted more than once to ftab him; upon which he left that city, where he found they were too powerful and exasperated against him, to ftay any longer amongst them; thence he retired to Leiden, and afterwards to the Hague. They

§. 6.

(19) Vid. Cabbala Denudata. (21) Id. ibid. Bafnag. ub. fap.

Hague.

purfued him, however, with their grand excommunication; but he proteited against their fentence by a writing in Spanish, directed to the rabbies of the fynagogue. He foon after published his geometrical demonftrations, and his meditations, and brought forth at length his Tractatus Theologico - Politicus, in which was formed his new fyftem of Atheism, for which he hath been fo much admired and ca. reffed by all loose lovers of novelty, both in Holland, Germany and France, from whom he received feveral invitations, and large encouragements, but refufed them all, and died at the Hague, an. 1677, aged 44 years. We fhall forbear other particufars of his life and death; fuch especially as his being often heard, in his laft fick nefs, calling upon God to have mercy on him, a miferable finner; his having always by him fome piece of mandrake to haflen his death, and ftupify him against the approach of it. The reader may fee them in his life, written by a Lutheran minifter, then at the Hague (23).

His books have been tranflated into divers languages, and in fome with a different title, the better to conceal their author and poifon. Particularly the French intitles his verfion 4 Treatife of the ancient and modern ceremonies of the Jews. We are told that he defigned to have given the world a compleat verfion of the Old Tefta

ment, and had gone thro' the Pentateuch, but burnt it a few days before his death. He did the fame by his treatife on the rainbow, because some learned, who had read it, did not think it worth printing. He was likewife fufpected to be the author of a treatife of ecclefiaftical rights, published an. 1665, in which he maintained that the clergy being fubject to the civil power, ought not to teach what they believe, but what that commands. However, Spinefa difowned the book, which hath been fince fuppofed to have been written by the phyfician who affifted him in his laft ficknefs, and who was also the writer of another called Philofophia S. Scripturæ interpres, or the boly Scripture interpreted by Philofophy. He only put the initial letters of his name L. M. or Lewis Meir. Spinofa left another work which was printed after his death, and called hisOpera Pofthuma; among which one finds a moral geometrically demonftrated, the cure of the understanding, fome letters, a Hebrew grammar, and a political treatife (24).

As Spinofa had many followers and difciples, not indeed united into one fect, but feattered here and there; fo had he alfo many learned oppofers, which it is out of our province to take notice of here. We fhall content ourselves with mentioning thofe of his nation, and particularly the learned Balthazar Orobio, a Spaniard

by

Orobio who had ftudied philofophy (24) and had been profeffor of metaphyfics at Salamanca, found fo much leifure, during his imprifonment, to improve himself in that science, that he was become a perfect mafter of it; fo that, inftead of retiring into fome other country, he once more obtained the chair, and was fome while profeffor at Tholofa; till being at length tired of diffembling his religion, and coming to Amfterdam, he was circumcifed, and made open profeffion of Judaism. He acquired fuch reputation by his fuccefs in phyfic, that he had hardly time to follow his ftudies; and when Spinofa's book appeared, he at firit defpifed it, on account of its author, and thought his principles too evidently falfe to be efpoufed by any man of sense. But when he received Bredenburgh's anLwer to it, in which that author agreed with him in two dangerous pofitions, or feemed to hefi

government,

tate about them; viz. 1ft. That nothing ought to be admitted in matters of religion, but what is agreeable to reafon. And, 2dly. That as ex nihilo nil fit, God could not be admitted to have created the world out of

nothing. Orobio therefore undertook to confute them both, and did it with fuccefs, and like the found philofopher and metaphyfician he was, though he feemed to level his answer only against Bredenburgh (25).

Orobio likewife entered the lifts in defence of Judaism, with the learned remonftrant, profeffor Limborgh; which gave birth to that excellent conference, well known to all the learned (26), and died foon after the publication of it, an. 1687. He left fome other works, of which the reader may fee a farther account in the authors quoted in the margin (27).

There flourished about the fame time feveral learned rabbies in other cities in Holland, whom we omit for want of room, and fhall mention only two of the most celebrated, viz.

David Coben de Lara, a difciple of the famed Huziel, and author of the City of David, a treatife in which he proves the affinity of the Hebrew with the Greek and several other tongues, He compiled likewife the Kether Kebunnah, or Crown of priesthood, which is a much more copious lexicon than that of R.

Nathan