his ideals, arrive perhaps at a juster conception of Halevi’s charming personality than did we possess the very pen with which he wrote and the desk at which he sat and the minutest and most authentic particulars as to his wont of using both. His ideal of religion was expressed in every practical detail of daily life. ‘When I remove from Thee, O God, I die whilst I live; but when I cleave to Thee, I live in death.’[3] These three lines indicate the sentiment of Judaism, and might almost serve as sufficient sample of Halevi’s simple creed, for, truth to tell, the religion of the Jews does not concern itself greatly with the ideal, being of a practical rather than of an emotional sort, rigid as to practice, but tolerant over theories, and inquiring less as to a man’s belief than as to his conduct. Work--steady, cheerful, untiring work--was perhaps Halevi’s favourite form of praise. Still, being a poet, he sings, and, like the birds, in divers strains, with happy, unconscious effort. Only ‘For Thy songs, O God!’ he cries, ‘my heart is a harp’; and truly enough, in some of these ancient Hebrew hymns, the stately intensity of which it is impossible to reproduce, we seem to hear clearly the human strings vibrate. The truest faith, the most living hope, the widest charity, is breathed forth in them; and they have naturally been enshrined by his fellow-believers in the most sacred parts of their liturgy, quotations from which would here obviously be out of place. Some dozen lines only shall be given, and these chosen in illustration of the universality of the Jewish hope. ‘Where can I find Thee, O God?’ the poet questions; and there is wonderfully little suggestion of reserved places about the answer:-- ‘Lord! where art Thou to be found? Hidden and high is Thy home. And where shall we find Thee not? Thy glory fills the world. Thou art found in my heart, And at the uttermost ends of the earth. A refuge for the near, For the far, a trust. ‘The universe cannot contain Thee; How then a temple’s shrine? Though Thou art raised above men On Thy high and lofty throne, Yet art Thou near unto them In their spirit and in their flesh. Who can say he has not seen Thee? When lo! the heavens and their host Tell of Thy fear, in silent testimony. ‘I sought to draw near to Thee. With my whole heart I sought Thee. And when I went out to meet Thee, To meet me, Thou wast ready on the road. In the wonders of Thy might And in Thy holiness I have beheld Thee. Who is there that should not fear Thee? The yoke of Thy kingdom is for ever and for all, Who is there that should not call upon Thee? Thou givest unto all their food.’