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(Continued from p.
134.)
It is averred by historians,*
as also by some most honourable Israelites, who
spake with him, that R. David did undoubtedly
petition the Pope that there should be given to him
metal instruments of war for projecting missiles,
and also expert workmen to forward them to Arabia
Felix, so that they might thereby be enabled to
overcome their enemies, as above stated; and that R.
David, for his part, promised to the Pope many
advantages, and that arrangements should be made for
his rule in some of these places where are tellers
of collections,† and where grew spices and many
medical drugs. This was in order that the Jews there
might assemble and unite themselves, and even pass
over, subdue, and inherit the Holy Land, which is an
everlasting inheritance to Israel. Now all this I
have seen in authentic writings, and heard from
honourable persons and men of veracity.‡ God, the
Eternal, is the perfection of all truth; He lieth
not, neither doth He deal deceitfully; and those who
trust in Him shall not be put to shame, for truth
proceedeth from Him, and he will ever act in
accordance with this his attribute.§
At the present period, (being
the year 285 of the sixth millennium, and the month
Marchesvan,) we have heard certain persons affirm||
<<210>>that this Pope Clement, King of the Gentiles,
did determine, and so decree, that R. David should
be sent honourably away, in a spacious ship, laden
with instruments of war, and accompanied by divers
artisans; both Jewish and Christian. He was to go by
way of Portugal, the king of which country was to
show still farther kindness to him, by issuing such
orders as should secure to him honourable treatment,
respect, and the fulfillment of his wishes from
every Christian nation (having friendly intercourse
with the King of Portugal) through whose territory
he might pass. Now as to all these things, whichever
way they be, so (in the end) will they be established.*
As for me, I do but propose to
set down the way in which, according to my opinion,
he might travel with the greatest safety,† supposing
that historians have correctly affirmed in respect
to his going to Portugal. From Portugal, then, they
might proceed by sea, rounding the continent of Fes,‡
and leaving to seaward, on their right, the Insulae
Fortunatae (now called Hispaniola); then extending§
their journey by Cape Verde, on land, they might
proceed along Africa to their left, then (south)
eastwardly to the great promontory called Cabo de
Boa Esperança, passing the Barbary Gulf to find the
straits of the Red Sea; and then, by land, to arrive
at the desert of Chabor, wherever it be,|| and so
proceed to the place of his destination,—all of
which novel route we shall hereafter dwell upon more
at length.
The appearance of this Jew,
according to what was heard concerning him, may be
thus described. He was of short stature, spare in
flesh, but of very strong heart, (i.e. spirited and
bold); he was constantly at his devotions, and
afflicted himself with numerous fastings. Indeed, it
is said by some writers,¶ that he once continued six
consecutive days without tasting food of any
description. He conversed chiefly in the sacred
tongue, but occasionally he could not be clearly
understood, as << 211>>though he had some impediment
in his speech. Many honourable persons, and even
cardinals, went to visit him in Rome, but he would
not receive them. He rode through Rome on a mule, to
see the novelties of the city, and entered, on this
mule, the great church of St. Peter’s, i.e. as far
as the great altar, not choosing to alight from the
said mule. There were about ten Jews, and more than
two hundred Christians running before him. The
Eternal will yet declare favourably concerning
Israel.
¶ Our author still quotes
authorities for what he advances.
Extracts From The “Shalsheleth
Hackabbalah,” Referred To In The Preceding Notes.
“In the year 5294 of the
creation, (i.e. 1466 years after the destruction of
the second temple,) there came from remote regions a
Jew, whose name was R. David, the Reubenite. He
arrived at Rome, and conferred with Pope Clement,
who received him favourably. Concerning himself, he
affirmed that he was captain of the host of the King
of Israel. He was of short stature, black, as an
Ethiopian, and apparently of about forty-five years
of age. He also spake with the King of Portugal, but
by means of an interpreter, as he could only
converse in Hebrew or Arabic. He informed this
monarch that the Kings of Israel beyond Halach,
Habor, and Gozan, had sent him to ascertain whether
his majesty was willing to combine with them against
their enemies, and provide them with battering-rams,
in which case they would be able to subdue their
said enemies. The king promised that this should be
done.”
R. Ghedaliah then proceeds to
state; that during the “many days” of R. David’s
stay in Portugal, “the Lord stirred up the spirit”
of a young man, one of the king’s scribes, who
became a convert to R. David, and publicly preached
many wondrous things concerning the written and oral
laws. R. Joseph Hacohen makes a similar assertion,
observing that this Solomon [Molka] (the name of the
young man) was of Jewish descent. For the long and
interesting address made by the proselyte to the
Hahamim of the period, as also for other
information respecting him, the reader is referred
to R. Cohen’s דברי הימים,
p. 90, b., and R. Ghedaliah’s
של״ הק״, p. 34, b.,
Amst. eds. R. Ghedaliah continues to observe: “This
R. David once fasted six days consecutively; and I
have heard one R. Judah Deblenes, a person quite
worthy of credit, asseverate that, when at Rome, and
an attendant on this man, he did not at all partake
of food during the time just stated.”
With the above extracts from
the work of R. Ghedaliah, we conclude
<<212>>our
review of the fourteenth chapter of R. Abraham Peritsol’s “Cosmography.”
Our design has been to show the
injustice of the attacks leveled more particularly
against this portion of the book; and it is, of
course, for the reader to decide how far we have
succeeded. Still, we cannot but flatter ourself that
we have fully disproved the charge of Basnage and
Hyde, that the circumstance of which this chapter
treats is an invention and impudent falsehood of
Peritsol himself; and also that we have shown the
discrepancies with which our author has been taxed
by his annotator, to be in reality not such. We have
shown, in our notes, that R. Abraham is particularly
careful to make no direct assertion of his own, but
advances all on the authority of others, and is thus
exempt from all responsibility. He certainly does
say “we ourselves have seen R. David;” but this can
be understood as either meaning himself, or his
countrymen. As he gives a description of the
appearance of the messenger, “according to what was
heard in this respect,” (לפי
הנשמע) which no doubt he would not have done,
had he himself seen him, we would be inclined to
believe that it is his countrymen he means, the more
especially as at the commencement of the chapter he
speaks of himself in the singular number.
Notwithstanding, giving to his
antagonists the benefit of the doubt, we have
endeavoured to show the extreme probability of such
a person as R. David having actually visited Rome,
and of his having represented himself to be
messenger sent from the ten tribes.*
Peritsol nowhere expresses his
conviction that the messenger was actually so, but
always speaks with the greatest uncertainty and
reserve. To determine the messenger an imposter, or
otherwise, he does not seem to consider his
province. He gives the sense of some of his
countrymen, and leaves his readers to form their own
conclusions. Thus, then, the only charges that his
opponents could bring against him, would be that he
retails what appears to them as improbable stories,
and that he says either he or his countrymen have
seen a man whom they do not believe ever existed.
But, as before said, we have shown how extremely
probable it is that such a personage did really
visit Italy and Portugal and if our readers will
only agree with us that we have as much reason to
believe this one fact as to reject it, then we shall
have succeeded in clearing these Hebrew authors from
<<213>>some of the groundless and somewhat illiberal
charges of the opponents.
A. D. S.
Montreal, Iyar 5609. |
