THUS the Zionist Movement was launched. Before we follow its progress during the intervening twenty years, it will be as well to give some account of the forces at work in Jewish life which made the movement and its success possible. For Zionism cannot be properly understood if it is regarded merely as a result of certain political combinations or as a reaction against anti-Semitism. It must be traced to its roots, which lie deep in the national consciousness of the Jewish people; and that national consciousness is not simply a vague sentiment, but has long had its concrete expressions in connection with the revival of Palestine and of the _Hebrew_ language. The inner history of Zionism, then, is to be traced along the lines of Palestinian colonization and the _Hebrew_ renascence. For convenience we may divide our brief survey into three main headings: 1. Modern _Hebrew_ Literature. 2. The _Chovevé Zion_ and University Zionist Groups in various countries. 3. The pioneers of the _Hebrew_ Revival in Palestine. It must be remembered, however, that these are not watertight divisions, and we naturally meet with the same men in different fields of work. The aim of the present chapter is to trace the development of each of these three forces (so far as that has not been done in earlier chapters), giving some account of the outstanding figures in each department. There is in each field a host of less distinguished but not less devoted workers. Of some of these mention is made in Appendix lxxv. 1. _Modern Hebrew Literature_ From a linguistic and literary point of view, no less than from a moral and religious standpoint, the Bible is a great and wonderful book: ¹‏בן בג בג אומר הפך בה והפך בה דכלא בה פּרקי אבות. ה׳ כה.‏ ¹ Ben Bag Bag said, ponder in it, and ponder in it, for all is in it. _Ethics of the Fathers_, v., 25. Not that modern _Hebrew_ writers use the Bible merely as a storehouse of words and phrases, depending on reminiscence for their effect. The practice of cramming _Hebrew_ writings with scriptural quotations so as to give them an artificial brilliance and a second-hand wealth of idiom and grandeur of diction was characteristic of the so-called _M’lizah_.¹ In our time there is no more of this patchwork writing. The _Hebrew_ language has become independent of quotations, but none the less the traditional spirit continues to live, and the Bible is the corner-stone of modern _Hebrew_ literature. It could not be otherwise, for in the Jewish view the Bible must enter into every phase of man’s life, must exert an influence upon the words of his mouth, the thoughts of his mind, and the feelings of his heart. This is the result not of any dogma, but of the tradition of Jewish learning, which is a sort of intellectual devotion, a reverent feeling, a particular worship of the _Torah_ as knowledge, teaching, thought.