Halakot, and Haggadot, and departed from this world without sin. Thou shouldst surely accept consolation for him, when thou hast restored thy trust unimpaired.’ Whereupon Rabbi Johanan said unto him: ‘Eleazar my son, thou hast comforted me in the manner men should comfort.’ When they went forth from his presence, Rabbi Eleazar said: ‘I shall go to Dimsith which is a beautiful place with pleasant and delicious waters.’ But the others said: ‘We shall go to Jamnia, where there are many scholars who love the Torah.’ He who went to Dimsith which is a beautiful place with pleasant and delicious waters, his fame as a scholar waned; but they who went to Jamnia, where there are many scholars who love the Torah, their fame as scholars became great. IV. THE BABYLONIAN TALMUD [Lengthy discussions of the subjects treated of in the Mishnah. It likewise contains numerous anecdotes and legends. While most of the discussions relate to the legal and ritual topics, the Talmud may at the same time be termed a store-house of almost all the sciences cultivated in those days, as medicine, astronomy, and mathematics. It is of extreme interest to the student of folk-lore. The noblest minds of the Jewish race have up till comparatively recent times been devoted to the study of the volumes of the Talmud, which has contributed to the shaping of the Jewish character. The language is for the most part Aramaic, but Hebrew passages occur now and again. It was redacted about 500 C. E.] 1. The Martyrdom of Rabbi Akiba[18] Once upon a time the wicked Roman government decreed that the Israelites should not study the Torah. One day Pappos the son of Judah met Rabbi Akiba, who publicly called assemblies together, and studied the Torah. He said: ‘Akiba, fearest thou not the government?’ Rabbi Akiba replied: ‘I shall give thee a parable: A fox walked about by the riverside. Perceiving fishes that were fleeing in companies from place to place, he said unto them: “Why do ye flee?” They answered: “On account of the nets that men bring against us.” He said unto them: “Do ye wish to go up to the dry land, so that I and ye may live together in the same manner as my forebears lived with your forebears?” They said unto him: “Art thou he who is said to be the shrewdest of the animals? Thou art not shrewd, but foolish. If we are terror-stricken in the place where we live, how much greater our fear in the place where we are like to die!” This is our case. If we are in such distress now that we study the Torah, concerning which it is written: “For it is thy life and the length of days;”[19] how much more shall we be in distress, if we cease to study the Torah!’