There is also another objection to these titles. It is that they seem sometimes not quite consonant with our notions of modesty. Thus we have “Desirable and Sweet” on astronomy, “Sweeter than Honey” or “He shall comfort us,” and many others of this kind. But it must not be thought that we have a right to infer from the title to the author. There is, indeed, an anecdote that three authors were rather too little careful about the choice of their titles, namely Maimonides in calling his Code _Mishneh Torah_ (which is the traditional title of the Book of Deuteronomy), R. Moses Alshech in calling his homiletical commentaries _Torah_ of Moses, and R. Isaiah Horwitz in calling his book _Shene Luchoth ha‐Berith_ (The Two Tables of the Covenant). These authors, as the story goes, had for their punishment that their works are never quoted by the titles they gave to them, the former two being usually cited as Rambam or Alshech, whilst the last is more known by its abbreviated title of SHeLa(237) than by its full name. I do not remember where I have read this story, but I am quite sure that its pious author would have been more careful about repeating it had he known that this accusation against Maimonides was a favourite topic with apostates, who thought to hit Judaism in the person of its representative Maimonides. But, as R. Solomon Duran in his polemical work remarks, Maimonides was too much of a truly great man to find any satisfaction in such petty vanity. Nor do I believe that even the character of less‐known authors can in any way be impugned by the seemingly conceited titles of their books; just as on the other hand the humility of the author is not proved by calling his book “The Offering of the Poor,” or other modest titles. The fancy title was in common use, and was therefore a commonplace with no significance whatever. The real disadvantage of such titles lies in the fact that, as already pointed out, they conceal from the student the contents of the book which he might otherwise consult in the course of his researches. Did these authors perhaps foresee that there would come a time in which index‐knowledge would pass for deep scholarship? and did they thus by using these obscure titles try to put a check on the dabblers who speak the more of a book the less they have read of its contents? If this be the case we can only admire their foresight. XII. THE CHILD IN JEWISH LITERATURE