History of the Jews, Vol. 3 (of 6)Graetz, Heinrich
History
History of the Jews, Vol. 3 (of 6)
Graetz, Heinrich
Jews -- History
In his correct view of the value of speculative thought, Jehuda Halevi
stood alone in his own time, and anticipated many centuries. The
thinkers of his time, Jewish, Mahometan and Christian, Rabbi, Ulema and
Churchman, bowed the knee to Aristotle, whose philosophical judgments
upon God and His relation to the world they placed above Holy Writ,
or at least they strained and subtilized the Biblical verses until
they expressed a philosophical idea, and thus they became at once
believers and sceptics. Jehuda Halevi alone had the courage to point
out the limits set by nature to human thought, and to proclaim, "Thus
far shalt thou go, and no further." Philosophy has no right to attack
well-accredited facts, but must accept them as undeniable truths;
it must start with them for bases, bringing to bear its power of
co-ordinating the facts and illuminating them by the aid of reason.
Just as in the realm of nature the intellect dare not deny actual
phenomena when they present themselves, however striking and contrary
to reason they may appear, but must strive to comprehend them, so
must it act when touching on the question of the knowledge of God.
This excellent and irrefutable idea, which of late years, after many
wanderings in the labyrinth of philosophy, has at length discovered a
way for itself, was first enunciated by Jehuda Halevi. In a poem, which
is as beautiful as its matter is true, he thus expresses his opinion
of the Greek spirit which studious disciples of philosophy so eagerly
affected:
"Do not be enticed by the wisdom of the Greeks,
Which only bears fair blossoms, but no fruit.
What is its essence? That God created not the world,
Which, ever from the first, was enshrouded in myths.
If to its words you lend a ready ear, you
Return with chattering mouth, heart void, unsatisfied."
Public-domain text, read in full here on John Shaqi.
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