Joseph Salvador, par James Darmesteter [1849‒1894], Versailles, 1882. To state that he wrote this passage just before the outbreak of the Crimean War, which seemed a suitable moment for considering the possibilities in the East more thoroughly than had previously been done, suffices to indicate the immediate cause. But the mere opportunity could not by itself awaken such thoughts without the strong foundation and support of deeper convictions. As he justly says, “the Jew of the new era must rise upon the very soil where the Jew of the old era was established.” It is clear that he did not think of the half-united Jews who do not feel the existence of their spiritual nationality, and wish to eradicate every trace of it. He was eager to insist that “the Jewish forces of the Orient and even of a part of Europe” should create this new Jew. Joseph Salvador was, like all progressive thinkers of his age, inspired by the great Revolution, the emancipation of the Jews, and the brotherhood of all nations. The main thesis of his books about the Laws of _Moses_ was the “universal mission of Judaism.” No Jewish thinker of the Assimilation school has defended this theory more consistently and more powerfully, in language more eloquent and magnificent. He was therefore generally regarded as the father of modern progressive Judaism in France. But he did not see any contradiction between his idea of a spiritual achievement and the idea of a terrestrial centre, which was suggested by the political thinking of his day. This fact, in our judgment, proves that the first idea of a Jewish mission, as conceived by the great Jews of the last century, was far from negating the desirability of a Jewish national future.