Isaac Abarbanel, born in Lisbon, 1447, died in Venice, 1508, wrote various dogmatic treatises in which, as in his commentaries on the Pentateuch, he outlined his views. He showed little independence, sometimes plagiarized, and is very verbose. He put together a great number of questions on some topic in Biblical literature, and attempted to answer them. From this time philosophy and scientific literature are on the decline. The intellectual activity of the Jews is confined mostly to Rabbinic literature. Secular subjects are rarely taken up until the end of the eighteenth century. Then a revival of secular knowledge and scientific literature took place. Of the scientific writers Jacob Anatoli, 1200-1250, in Italy, translated serious scientific works from Arabic and Hebrew into Latin for Frederick II. Kalonymos ben Kalonymos of Rome, 1280-1340, wrote an ethical treatise, “Eben Bohan” (Tried Stone from Isaiah xxviii, 16), and a travesty on the Talmud, “Masseket Purim.” To the same period belong Immanuel ben Solomon of Rome, a friend of Dante, author of “Mehabberot,” a poem in the style of the “Divina Commedia.” This in some places is lascivious, and was condemned by Joseph Caro in the “Shulhan Aruk.” In the style of Dante, Moses Rieti (1388-1460) wrote his “Mikdash Meat.” To the fifteenth century belong Judah Messer Leon of Mantua, who wrote a text-book on rhetoric in Hebrew, Nofet Zufim (honeycombs), and Elijah del Medigo, a native of Crete, who was professor of philosophy in Padua. He wrote an apology for Judaism in Hebrew, “Behinat Ha-Dat” (Evidenced Religion). In this class the polemical writers against Christianity are included. Joshua Allorqui of Spain, who later on became a convert to Christianity, wrote such a polemical treatise under the title “Be not like thy fathers.” In scientific literature we have the anthology of the Midrashim called “Yalkut Shimeoni,” by Simeon Kara (the Bible reader) of the thirteenth century. This is a selection of homiletical expositions from old Rabbinic works arranged in the order of the books of the Bible. A similar work is the “Yalkut Machiri” of uncertain date, but most likely from the fourteenth century, by Machir ben Aba Mari. Only parts of it are in existence. TALMUDIC LITERATURE