Page:George Eliot and Judaism.djvu/32

 and to impart to them a power of attraction, before which moderation and half-heartedness fly like leaves before the storm. The history of Israel presents a number of such figures. Ezra and Nehemiah succeed to the Prophets of the Captivity, John of Giskala stands beside Judas Maccabæus, Akiba-ben-Joseph defends the Star-Son of Bethar, and even through the darkness of the Middle Ages the fiery pillar of Jehuda-ha-Levi gleams forth. Shall we some day be able to say—"and so on"?

It is to an English Christian authoress that the historian of culture must assign the glory of having grasped these ideas most profoundly, and of having perceived with the prophetic eye of genius the proper moment for answering the fundamental questions of Judaism, and investing them with a poetic charm. Much can be adduced to explain this