Among the minor Hebrew poets who lived at Barcelona in the early part of the thirteenth century there is, perhaps, none more remarkable than Abraham Ibn Chasdai. Little is known of him beyond what may be gathered from a letter addressed by him to his friend Alfakar. From it we learn that the writer was a native of Barcelona and a contemporary of the famous Hebrew grammarian David Kimchi (1160–1232), who is referred to there as _Hazakan_ (“the old man”). According to some historians^[117-1] Abraham Ibn Chasdai was the spiritual head of the Barcelona Jewish community, but it is not impossible that he also may have been somewhat intimately connected with the medical profession. In his book _The Prince and the Dervish_ there are several references to the healing art and its many intricacies, which suggest more than a superficial acquaintance with the subject. But there is no doubt whatever that Ibn Chasdai was an eminent Hebrew and Talmudical scholar, and that he had a considerable knowledge of Arabic and Greek, which enabled him to translate into Hebrew some books written in these two languages^[117-2]. His only book, however, which has a permanent literary and ethical value is _The Prince and the Dervish_. Though it is only a free Hebrew translation of an Arabic book, which was in itself a mere version of a volume that had originally been composed in Greek, it has always enjoyed much popularity among readers of neo-Hebrew literature. It has not only been repeatedly published^[118-1], but it has also been translated into several languages, including Latin^[118-2], Spanish, and Jewish German. _The Prince and the Dervish_ possesses in an eminent degree the qualities which make any book attractive, viz. a pleasing style and interesting subject-matter. In style it is a happy imitation of that found in the Bible, and is remarkable for the ingenuity with which certain verses thereof are used in a somewhat different sense from that which they have in it. It consists of thirty-five chapters, full of charming tales and fables, together with many valuable maxims and proverbs. Rhymed prose intermingled with verse is generally used. The subject-matter is derived chiefly from the Talmud and the Midrash, but partly also from other Oriental sources. It is curious to note that several of the stories have been reproduced in a somewhat modified form by Boccaccio, Lafontaine, and other writers belonging to more modern times. But they possess a special characteristic of their own—they invariably end with a moral. Passing now to a more detailed account of its contents, it is necessary to give the story, which is the framework within which the subordinate episodes are included. It runs as follows:—