The Maccabaean

severely logical philosopher, intent upon building up a system of thought, but an easy-going dilettante, who unfolds in a series of charming, witty, and loosely connected causeries his view of life, as gained by a long and varied experience,"

experience. In an introduction that occupies the greater part of this volume, Dr. Jastrow develops this point of view. He tells what is known of authorship among the Hebrews, early and late, how the sacred collection grew, what new ideas altered the older faith, the possible connections with Greek thought, the chief points in Koheleth’s philosophy of life, the parallels between Koheleth and writers of other lands—Lucian, Hesiod, and, above all, Omar Khayyam.

Hesiod, and, above all, Omar Khayyam. That the process of emendation and alteration which has been referred to was not illegitimate, Dr. Jastrow cleverly proves by the parallel of the modern newspaper, the making of which, he holds, furnishes a good illustration of the manner of bookmaking in antiquity. It is the work of many hands and it is issued anonymously. Editors and managers are not the authors, but merely the mediums of publication, just like the ancient scribes. The reporter, when he puts his items into shape, sinks his personality into the general anonymity that marks a newspaper; his work is modified by the city editor, precisely as a production in ancient times underwent modification by other hands than the one which gave it its original form.

"Perhaps the most distinctive achievement of authorship," remarks Dr. Jastrow, "will some day be recognized to be the creation of a new punctuation mark —the quotation sign—and a new crime—plagiarism."

Koheleth Dr. Jastrow believes to be no more than a literary disguise, later accepted as real. The author of the book stands midway between the earlier age of anonymity and the age of Jesus Ben Sira, the first author actually to issue a book under his own name. This would place him in the post-exilic period; i. e., about 500 B. C., possibly as late as the beginning of the second century B. C.

ie Fe Two questions may be raised by readers, Dr. Jastrow anticipates, as they contemplate his critical and historical manner of treating a book belonging to a sacred collection. The first is this: Is it really necessary to assume that the “additions” were made by someone other than the other? The second is this: If one accepts the implications of the critical method in studying Biblical books, what becomes of their supposedly sacred character? Each of these questions (or objections) Dr. Jastrow endeavors to answer in a fair-minded way. As to the second, he maintains that “the new approach towards the books of the Bible which has become a commonplace in modern scholarship throughout the world affects beliefs about the Bible, but not belief in the Bible.”

One particular point in Koheleth’s views, the injunction to “eat, drink, and be merry,” is given an individual interpretation by Dr. Jastrow. He holds that Koheleth preaches moderation, that his injunction does not mean playing the röle of the idler and spendthrift, who indulges his passions and seeks for mere physical sensations to stimulate his jaded body. Koheleth’s enjoyment of life is that which comes as a respite from toil. He represents in general a reaction against the unbending ecclesiasticism and conventional piety of his surroundings—as was the case with his parallel Omar. nn . i

The late Imber, as one of the last of his poetical tasks, rendered the reflections of Fitzgerald’s “Omar Khayyam” into Hebrew quatrains.. Will somebody not undertake to put Koheleth (as he cries aloud to be) into English qua- trains? Meanwhile, one is glad to learn that Dr. Jastrow intends to carry the method he has employed in the case of Koheleth over into a rendering of Job and of the Song of Songs. Doubtless the results will be equally interesting.

M. J. H .

The "Babushka" of the Russian Revolution

The Little Grandmother of the Russian Revolution. Reminiscences and Letters of Catherine Breshkovsky. Edited by ALICE STONE BLACKWELL. Boston: Little, Brown & Co.

N “The Little Grandmother of the Russian Revolution,” Catherine Breshkovsky reveals her hopes and sufferings for her great cause, the emancipation of Russia. But it is written in such a way that the reader must say, “What a wealth of love is contained in this great woman’s heart. Babushka, as the author is affectionately called by her innumerable friends in Russia, where she has inspired the devoted affection of the leading men and women engaged in farward Iankino mnvemants.

iii > ne Russian economic conditions are described with a directness, created by a simple recital of the facts, with no attempt at style or oratory. The author had the necessary opportunities for observing the life of even the highest classes in the circumstances of her own birth. The daughter of a Polish aristocrat, her early associations taught her that “the peasant was an abject creature who did not understand even the meagre rights he already had.” The decade following the emancipation of the serfs, which was issued in 1861, brought additional privations. When “the peasant was free, no longer bound to the land, his landlord ordered him off. He was shown a little strip of the poorest soil, there to be free and starve.” The peasants who refused to leave were flogged. “Many were carried into her father’s house, crippled by the knout. Sobbing wives told of husbands killed before their eyes.” It is surprising that a woman of tender sensibilities should resolve to devote her energies to the ending of such desperate tyranny. Her co-workers she recruited from the Kiev University, where she was studying. Having definitely made her decision, she broke all family relations and thenceforth, from the age of twenty-six, she threw in her fortunes with the Revolutionary Party. For her pains. she spent many years in prison and exile.

But even in bleak Siberia, Catherine Breshkovsky’s spirits were not daunted and she continued her efforts in behalf of her people. How she escaped and made her way to America is vividly described in the book, and is known to a large body of Americans. Some of our finest spirits, among whom is the editor of the present volume, Miss Alice Stone Blackwell, have long been associated with Babushka and others working for the salvation of Russia.

But the book serves other than a biographical purpose. To the general public, Russia today is synonymous with Bolshevism. Though the word it not even mentioned, Bolshevism loses its terrors after a careful examination of the conditions described. The temptation to quote is endless, but the following may explain something of the conditions out of which Bolshevism springs:

“In Russia there was no possibility of obtaining justice by law, even for the most monstrous crimes. No subject had any legal rights as against the Czar. And the Czar’s irresponsible power was delegated, to a whole army of police and other subordinate officials, who oppressed the people at their pleasure. The country’s noblest men and women were persecuted, imprisoned and exiled, and the officials who treated them worst, were thought to deserve the best of the Czar.

Even the much doubted nationalization 01 women, which has lately horrified the world, needed no original minds for its invention. We read: “*[n the Caucasus, a convention of women teachers met to discuss plans for an improved curriculum. A Colonel who disapproved of teachers holding meetings for any purpose, ordered the Assembly to disperse. Two or three of the more spirited teachers went to him to protest. He was so enraged by the remonstrance that he said to his men, “These women are yours,” and turned the whole convention of teachers over to the soldiers to be outraged. He could not be brought to justice. In the eyes of the government such deeds were a mark of zeal, and were looked upon as deserving promotion, rather than punishment. The Colonel was assassinated’”

Though Russia is reaping the whirlwind today, there is much in the book that affords confidence for the future. Not