The two great divisions of _Halacha_ and _Agadd_ have already been explained in the chapter on the Mishna (xxxi). These same two classes of material, the legal and the narrative, characterize the Gemara. It will be understood at once then that the Talmud is not merely a code of laws for Jewish guidance, though primarily that is its purpose. It gives us also, though incidentally, an insight into the manners and customs of the Jews, their theological views and general reflections on life; their hopes and their sufferings for a period of some six hundred years--"A work in which a whole people had deposited its feelings, its beliefs, its soul." We have fragments of biography of Jewish scholars, bits of inner history under Roman and Persian rule, homely philosophy of the sages; glimpses too of their weaknesses and occasionally of their superstitions--all the more reliable because unconsciously portrayed. Interspersed between their legal discussions will be found an anecdote, an abstract thought of the rabbi whose decision is quoted, a bit of humor, a picture of Oriental civilization. As direct outgrowth of many of their ritual arguments, we are introduced to their science; astronomy and mathematics in the drawing up of their calendar; botany in their agricultural laws; hygiene, anatomy and physiology in the _shechita laws_ (slaughtering animals for food); and natural history and medicine in various laws. There is, of course, very unequal value in their data, and naturally they shared some of the errors of their age. The legal discussions in themselves reveal keen mental acumen, subtle logic, "deductive reasoning raised to the highest power;" they display a vivid sense of justice and philanthropy; and, touches of harshness too--wrung from a patient and forgiving people in the hour of agony. The study of the Talmud was to become the chief occupation of the Jews for many centuries. It was a world in itself in which they lived, and in which they could forget the cruel world without. Its study reacted on their character. First the Jew made the Talmud, then the Talmud made the Jew. Talmudic Literature. Like the Bible, the Talmud produced a literature still vaster than itself. While the _Gemara_ is a commentary, it needed later commentaries to explain it to the student--for although so diffuse in treatment, its language is terse. Frequently a letter stands for a word and a word for a sentence. Therefore in editions of the Talmud to-day, Mishna and Gemara together form the text and are printed in the centre of each page, while commentaries in smaller type are grouped around it. Since the days of printing all editions are paged alike. Saboraim.