To God I will render the thanks of them that are redeemed—it shall be set and put in my mouth. I declare that, unlike created things, my Rock has no beginning and no end; I declare that the dead shall be quickened, when the end of the mysterious heptad[90] comes; that Moses and the Torah which is in our hands are true—it is marked with perfection; that the words of our sages are straight and upright, their Talmud and their Mishnah are pleasant; that there is a goodly reward for the pure in the next world, a recompense for them that die for the sake of the traditional law. God has dominion over land and sea, over heaven, the Great Bear, and Pleiades. His fear is put upon my countenance, and His Torah is perfect in my heart. XIV. SOLOMON B. JUDAH IBN GEBIROL [Deep thinker and lyric poet. One of the most original and noblest minds of medieval Jewry. He was born at Malaga about 1021, and died at Valencia about 1058. In his philosophic works and in his poems which are still extant one discerns a spirit that strives to soar high and to attain to the loftiest state of mental development. In his soul mystic and rational elements are wonderfully blended. He had great influence upon subsequent writers.] 1. On Leaving Saragossa[91] My throat became dried from crying, my tongue cleaved unto my palate; my heart flutters because of my great anguish and pain. Great is my sorrow, that it no longer allows mine eyes to slumber. To whom shall I speak and complain? to whom shall I declare my grief? Would there were one to comfort and to pity me, who would hold my right hand! I would pour out my heart to him, and would relate some of my woes. Perchance by uttering my grief the tempest of my heart may subside a little.