Little is known of the life and character of the first two founders of the Andalusian-Jewish culture. As far as can be gathered from existing sources, Menachem ben Saruk, of Tortosa (born 910, died 970), was in needy circumstances from his earliest years; at any rate, his patrimony was too small to maintain him. Chasdaï's father Isaac was interested in him, and took care that pecuniary difficulties should not destroy the germ of poetry which was latent in him. His favorite occupation was the study of the Hebrew language; he made use of the works of his predecessors, but he did not acquire his noble Hebrew style from them--that was inborn. When Chasdaï attained his high position, he invited the favorite of his father, with flattering words and glowing promises, to come to Cordova. Menachem became Chasdaï's court poet, and was warmly attached to him, praising him in every kind of verse, and, as he himself affirms, "exhausted poetry in singing Chasdaï's praises." Chasdaï encouraged him to write on the philology of the Hebrew language, and to endeavor to ascertain its various forms, and to investigate the meanings of words. Menachem in consequence wrote a complete Hebrew dictionary (Machbereth), with some grammatical rules, in which he corrected his predecessors in many respects. Brought up amidst surroundings by which harmonious and impressive speech was prized, the grammarian of Tortosa valued language in general very highly, and the Hebrew language in particular, and it was the aim of his work to discover the peculiar refinements of this language. Menachem ben Saruk was the first to distinguish clearly the pure roots in the Hebrew language, and to separate them from the formative prefixes and suffixes--a theory which now appeared for the first time, and which had been misapprehended by previous grammarians. This misapprehension, indeed, had led them into using malformed and ill-sounding words in their verses. Menachem, in his lexicographical work, puts the various forms under each root, and often expounds their meanings with surprising clearness and nicety. In cases where he gives a peculiar explanation according to his understanding of the Biblical verse, he often shows healthy thought and refined taste, and there is a marked step forward in exegesis from Saadiah to Menachem. Now and again he gave explanations which were opposed to Talmudic tradition and the ideas of the time. His lexicographical work was much read and used, because it was written in Hebrew. It found its way into France and Italy, supplanted the works of Saadiah and the Karaites, and, for a long time, was the guide-book for Bible expositors. But grand and flowing as Menachem's Hebrew prose is, his verse is unattractive and awkward; he did not understand how to handle Hebrew meter. He was, however, supplemented by his rival, Dunash ben Labrat.