Page:Poems of Emma Lazarus vol 2.djvu/271



The life and character of Paulim dw Santa Maria are thus described by Dr. Graetz : —

Among the Jews baptized in 1391, no other wrought so much harm to his race as the Rabbi Solomon Levi of Burgos, known to Christians as Paulus Bnrgensisy or de Santa Maria (born about 1351-52, died 1435) who rose to very high ecclesiastical and political rank. ... He had no philosphical culture; on the contrary, as a Jew, he had been extremely devout, observing scrupulously all the rites, and regarded as a pillar of Judaism in his own circle. . . . Possessed by ambition and vanity, the synagogue where he had passed a short time in giv- ing and receiving instruction, appeared to him too narrow and restricted a sphere. He longed for a bustling activity, aimed at a position at court, in whatever capacity, began to live on a grand scale, maintained a sumptuous equipage, a spirited team, and a numerous retinue of servants. Ah his affairs brought him into daily contact with Christians and entangled him in religious discussions, he studied ec- cesiastical literature in order to display his erudi- tion. The bloody massacre of 1301 robbed him of all hope of reaching eminence as a Jew, in his for- tieth year, and he abruptly resolved to be baptised. The lofty degree of dignity which he afterwards at-