Page:Chapters on Jewish literature (IA chaptersonjewish00abra).pdf/225

Rh of parts of the Hebrew version of the Tables of Alfonso, originally compiled in 1260. Gans wrote works on mathematical and physical geography, and treatises on arithmetic and geometry. His history, “Branch of David,” was extremely popular. For a man of his scientific training it shows less critical power than might have been expected, but the German Jews did not begin to apply criticism to history till after the age of Mendelssohn. In one respect, however, the “Branch of David” displays the width of the author’s culture. Not only does he tell the history of the Jews, but in the second part of his work he gives an account of many lands and cities, especially of Bohemia and Prague, and adds a striking description of the secret courts (Vehmgerichte) of Westphalia.

It is hard to think that the authors of the “Chain of Tradition” and of the “Light of the Eyes” were contemporaries. Azariah di Rossi (1514-1588), the writer