the meditations of thy heart and all thy thoughts according to thy wisdom. Lo, there is no bravery like the bravery of a man who conquers his strong passions and rules over his spirit; only the heart that keeps vexation far away rests and reposes. XLVI. NAPHTALI HIRZ (HARTWIG) WESSELY [Educationalist and poet. He was born at Hamburg in 1725, and died in 1805. Although he lacked poetic imagination, his purely biblical style gained for him a great reputation, and he exerted unusual influence on his contemporaries and on subsequent writers. In a certain sense he may be regarded as the father of the modern Hebrew renaissance. He was also the author of a commentary on some books of the Bible, and was an enthusiastic follower of Moses Mendelssohn. His master-piece is the epic poem entitled _Shire Tif’eret_ (Songs of Glory), describing the exodus.] Moses Prepares the People for the Divine Revelation[262] Filled with divine rejoicing and words of pleasantness, Moses came down from the mountain unto the people that waited for him. He declared to them the words of their God and said: ‘I heard from God’s mouth more bliss than ever I hoped for; He will create for you that which has never been since His hands fashioned the earth, O house of Jacob, hark and stand aghast! The voice of the living God from heaven shall ye hear speaking unto you. The laws which ye are to keep shall ye learn now from God’s mouth, not from an interpreter. Howbeit, that ye may know that He raised me for His prophet, ye shall behold me bring word between you and God. And seeing that I am esteemed by Him a faithful prophet, ye shall believe me, too, when I enjoin you in His name, that I heard all the commandments from the mouth of God.’