VIRGIL THE MAGICIAN IN
AN EARLY HEBREW TALE
D avid Flusser
Hebrew l i t e r a t u r e
and p h i l o s o p h i c a l
n e ig h b o u r s ,
and,
if
lite ra tu re o n ly .
M ediaev al J e w s ,
lo v e d a good sto ry even i f
such s t o r i e s were c r e a t e d in
them in t o H e b rew .
sto ries
in the M idd le Ages was n ot r e s t r i c t e d
There was i n
and in t h e ir
and l i k e w i s e
i t had no r e l a t i o n s h i p
the C h r i s t i a n w o r l d ,
w o rk .
th is
too d i d n o t exempt i t s e l f
U nderstandably,
c r e a tiv it y
t h e ir g e n t i l e
to r e l i g i o n ;
Jews t r a n s l a t e d
the M iddle Ages g r e a t i n t e r e s t in e n t e r t a i n i n g
a cc o m p lished r e c i t a t i o n .
T h is p e r io d a l s o w it n e s s e d the
c r e a tiv e d evelopm ent o f the e p ic in both prose and p o e t r y .
Hebrew l i t e r a t u r e
to t h e o l o g ic a l
F o rtu nately ,
from t a k in g an a c t iv e p a r t i n t h is
o ur contemporary t ast e i s
is n e g le c t e d in our own d ay .
su ffic ie n tly
d i f f e r e n t th at
From ano th er p e r s p e c t iv e we
s h o u ld remember th at a d i s c e r n i b l e p o rt io n o f modern l i t e r a t u r e w o uld have
c au sed em barrassm ent and s t i m u la t e d d is g u s t in the " d a r k n e s s " o f the M iddle
Ages.
i f n ot fo r t h e ir in n oc en t c u r i o s i t y
and p r e f e r e n c e f o r f in e
p l o t there w o uld n ev e r have d ev elo p ed such c l a s s i c s
H o w ev er ,
as the Decameron o r The
C an terb ury T a l e s .
One o f the more famous m ed iaeval n o v e l l a e w h ic h ,
ho w ev er,
does n o t f i t o u r contemporary t a s t e , even though i t was p o p u l a r among m ed i­
a e v a l rea d e r s and even a r t i s t s ,
is
the sto ry o f V i r g i l
in the b a s k e t and h is
vengeance.
We u n co vered t h is s h o r t sto ry in a Hebrew m a n u s c r ip t .
Hebrew v e r s io n
th is r e a s o n ,
is a m ec h a n ica l t r a n s l a t i o n ,
I have d e c id e d
to the s tu d y o f V i r g i l
in
to p u b lis h
i t has
Even though the
lit e r a r y v a lu e ,
and,
fo r
i t as w r it t e n b oth as a c o n t r ib u t io n
the M idd le A g e s ,
145
to the en ric h m en t o f o u r know ledge
o f m ed ia ev a l s e c u l a r Hebrew l i t e r a t u r e ,
p ure e n te r ta in m e n t o f
T h is sh o rt Hebrew sto ry
m a n u sc rip t in
the
and f i n a l l y —
about V i r g i l
fo r the
is p r e s e r v e d i n a la r g e w e l l known
the B o d le ia n L ib r a r y a t O x fo r d
f i r s t part o f
I hope —
the r e a d e r .
(MS.
2797 Hebr.
1 1 ).
t h is m a nu script has a lr e a d y app eared i n E n g l is h
A lth o ug h
tra n slatio n ,
1
o u r sto ry appears i n the se c o n d p a r t o f the m anuscript w h ic h has y e t to be
p ub lish e d .
The m a n u scrip t i s known as the "C h r o n ic l e s o f J e r a h m i e l ," b u t
a c t u a l l y the s t o r i e s were c o l l e c t e d and e d i t e d by a Jew known as Rabbi E l a z a r
2
b en A sh e r ha- Levi
who l i v e d in the Rhine r e g io n .
T h is i n d i v i d u a l l i v e d in
the seco nd h a l f o f
the
fo u rt e e n th
cen tu ry and thus s u p p l ie s
a term inus ad
guem fo r our s h o r t s t o r y .
The modern d e s ig n a t i o n
"C h r o n ic l e s o f J e r a h m ie l " stems
Rabbi E l a z a r b en A s h e r ha- Levi i n c lu d e d i n h i s
stemmed from the pen o f Rabbi Je ra h m ie l ben Shlom oh .
and l i t u r g i c a l p o e t
t io n stemmed q u i t e
h ist o ry of Is r a e l
( p a y e t a n ) , l i v e d most l i k e l y
clearly
from the f a c t t h at
c o l l e c t i o n m a t e r ia l t h at
from S e p h e r J o s i p p o n ,
3
The l a t t e r ,
in I t a l y .
4
a s c h o la r
P a r t o f h is
collec-
a work w h ich d e s c r ib e s
the
in the Seco n d Temple p e r io d u n t il the f a l l o f M asada.
S e p h e r Jo sip p o n was w r it t e n in 9 5 3 ,
and Jerah m iel t h e r e f o r e l i v e d a f t e r t h at
date.
in
Some o f h i s m a t e r i a l appears
'A r u g a t ha-Bosem o f Rabbi Abraham ben
'A z r i e l o f B o h e m ia ,^ w h ic h was w r it t e n i n 1 2 3 4 .
sometime betw een 9 5 3 and 12 3 4
Je r a h m ie l w rote t h e r e fo r e
and was an author o f the e le v e n t h o r t w e lft h
century.
The sh o r t s t o r y oh V i r g i l
o r d e r to a s c e r t a in
is
im portant
is p a r t o f the "C h r o n ic l e s o f J e r a h m i e l ."
the p e r i o d o f co m po sitio n o f th is s h o r t Hebrew s t o r y ,
to v e r i f y w h eth er i t was an in t e g r a l p a r t o f J e r a h m i e l 's
t io n o r w hether R a b b i E l a z a r b en A sh e r added i t .
composer was an I t a l i a n ,
for,
as we s h a l l s e e ,
In
it
collec­
I n s h o r t , we know t h at the
he added the I t a l i a n p h rase
bonomini
If
Ita ly .
J erah m iel w ere
S till,
an I t a l i a n J e w ,
then o ur c o m po sitio n is
a product o f
t h a t does n o t p rove t h a t o u r author was Je r a h m ie l h im s e l f
s in c e h i s s t y l e d i f f e r s
from t h a t o f Je ra h m ie l as f a r as we can t e l l .
I t is
c l e a r that Rabbi E l a z a r b en A sh e r d i d n o t w r it e t h is s h o r t s t o r y , n o t o nly
b ec au se
the a u th o r was an I t a l i a n and Rabbi E l a z a r ben A sh er l i v e d i n the
Rhine r e g io n ,
than
b u t a ls o b e c a u se the Hebrew o f Rabbi E l a z a r is much po orer
that o f our author, whose s t y l e i s
v i b r a n t a nd n a t u r a l .
T h e r e fo r e the
s t o r y was w r it t e n by an anonymous I t a l i a n Hebrew author and was a lr e a d y e i t h e r
p a r t o f J e r a h m i e l 's
c o l l e c t i o n o r in
the corpus o f E l a z a r b en A s h e r .
Rabbi E l a z a r b en A sh er o r g a n i z e d the ex ta n t m a te r ia l as much as p o s s i b l e
in
c h r o n o lo g ic a l
fa s h io n .
I n a d d i t i o n he d iv i d e d up the Se p h er J o s ip p o n
w h ic h he
found in the copy o f J e r a h m i e l 's m anu script and in te rw o ve w it h i t
o t h e r m a t e r ia l w hic h p a r a l l e l e d J o s i p p o n 's
va rio u s p e r i o d s .
o f J e r a h m i e l " J o sip p o n ends on f o l io
the s h o r t s u b s eq u en t en tr y on the
197a;
I n the "C h r o n ic l e s
d i s p e r s io n o f the Jews by T it u s was a lre a d y p a r t o f the m a nu script o f J o s ip p o n
a v a ila b le
F o l io s
h is
to J e r a h m i e l;
i t is a ls o
found in o t h e r m anu scripts o f J o s i p p o n .
197a- b c o n t a in an e x c u rsu s on Josephu s F la v iu s
c o m p o s itio n s ,
C h r is tia n it y .
the fam ily o f J e s u s ,
T h is
a fo lk t r a d i t i o n on the so urce o f
T it u s .
in o th e r docum ents,
p e r t a in s
a lth o u g h i t
the m a g ic ian —
and n e x t appears
b u t w it h no m ention o f the p o e t 's
is p l a c e d in T i t u s 's p e r i o d .
A f t e r o u r sto r y i s
who i s m istak e n ly i d e n t i f i e d as T i t u s 's
t h is p a s sa g e i t says
ta t io n s R a b b a . "
"T he
heir.
(14
In the l a s t l i n e o f
r e s t o f the deeds o f H a d r ia n are w r it t e n i n Lamen­
The rem ainder o f
t h is p ag e is b la n k as is
the f o l l o w in g o n e ,
a copy o f M id ra sh La m enta tio n s R a b b a .
sto ry is
the c h r o n o lo g ic a l framework o f
subm erged w i t h i n
i s p l a c e d in the days o f T i t u s .
in t e g r a l
added i t .
I t is
to J e r a h m i e l 's
the t h ir t e e n t h
century.
The sto r y reads
as
Thus
the
"c h r o n i c l e s ,"
and
im p o ssib le to a s c e r t a i n i f i t was
c o l l e c t i o n o r i f Rabbi E l a z a r ben A sh er ha-
The f i r s t p o s s i b i l i t y
i s e le v e n th o r t w e lfth c e n t u r y , w h il e
in
name,
a passage
w h il e on the n e x t page is
a lr e a d y
tra d itio n ,
b a s e d upon the talm u dic t r a d i t i o n o f the d e s t r u c t io n o f B e i t a r by
H a d rian ,
Levi
(16 l in e s )
T h is
to the d is p e r s i o n o f the Jews by
F o llo w in g i t are two l i n e s on the d eath o f T i t u s ,
our st o r y on V i r g i l
lin e s )
The s u c c e e d in g E xc u rsus
the p r a y e r "ve- hu r a h u m ."
g
found a ls o
from the dawn o f
s e c t io n ^ is b a s e d on C h r i s t i a n L a t i n so urc es and was
a p p a re n t ly w r it t e n by Je ra h m ie l h i m s e l f .
is
(Joseph ben M a t i t y a h u ) ,
and o th e r i n d i v i d u a l s
su g g e sts
th at the so urce o f the sto ry
the seco nd w o uld d e s ig n a t e
In eith er case,
the source
the author was an I t a l i a n Jew .
f o llo w s :
And there was i n
the days o f T it u s
the w ic k e d a very w ea lth y
man who h a d la r g e ho uses and c o urtyards w it h gard ens and to w e r s .
T h is man was among the n ob les o f Rome and h i s
bonom ini
in the la ng ua ge o f Rome,
w i f e whose s p le n d o u r was
l ik e
he b u i l t h e r a tower in h i s
from h e r h o u s e .
[5]
fa m ily was c a l l e d
and he h a d an e x c e e d in g l y comely
the moon,
and b ec au s e o f h e r beau ty
c o u rty a r d and she d i d n o t go fo rth
Once upon a time there was a w e d d in g and they
p ro c e e d e d w it h tam bourines and drums and c o n t in u e d w it h
in g ,
flute p lay ­
and the dance was in the s t r e e t s o f the c it y unto the very
tower in w hich t h is woman was p r e s e n t .
sound o f the drums and the d a n c e ,
c e r t a in man,
a m a g ic ia n ,
And b e h o l d she h e a r d the
looked o u t the window, and a
saw h e r and began
to l u s t
for h e r .
He
sen t h is
s e r v a n t to t h at tower to see i f
in g the n ig h t and he w ould l i e
she d esc end ed from i t
in w a i t f o r h e r
[1
0
dur­
] c o n t in u o u s l y .
And when he saw t h a t she d id n o t d es c en d from t h e r e , he s a i d ,
"What s h a l l I do?
I f I go by m y self i t w o u ld b e d is a s t r o u s .
What s h a l l I d o ? "
He w ro te h e r a l e t t e r and s e n t i t
and i n d i c a t e d i n h i s
her.
l e t t e r t h a t i t was h i s d e s ir e
via a d e v il
to come unto
When morning came, she went to the window as was h e r custom
and b e h e ld the l e t t e r w h ic h was b e fo r e h e r and h e r h e a r t b e a t
f a s t e r and she s a i d ,
What d i d she do?
"W hat i s
"Go fetc h t h at s c r ib e
[15]
l e t t e r and whence d i d i t
i n the c o u r t y a r d ."
and c a l l e d him and he came,
arose t h is m o rn in g ,
I
come?1"
l e t t e r by the w in do w .
"When I
T e l l me
A nd he r e l a t e d to h er the words o f the
She s a i d to h im ,
d e s ir e and curse h i m ! "
She w en t fo r him
and she s a i d to him p r i v a t e l y ,
found t h is
what is w r it t e n i n i t . '"
letter.
t h is
She c a l l e d to h e r m a id s e r v a n t and s a i d to h e r ,
"W r i t e him an answ er t h a t I do not so
A few days l a t e r h e r h u sband w en t on a long
journey a nd commanded h e r n ot to lea ve h e r house w it h h e r m aid­
servant.
The m a g ic ia n h e a r d t h a t h e r h u sb a nd h ad gone and s e n t h e r
s i l v e r a nd g o ld a nd je w e ls
m a id s e r v a n t s ,
she do?
"How mad i s
[20]
t h at sh e obey him .
She s a i d to h e r
t h is man t h a t he tempts m e !”
She a c c e p t e d the sum and s e n t to h im s a y i n g ,
W hat d id
" I w a n t you
to come to me f o r I d e s ir e y o u , b u t I do n o t w is h t h a t yo u e n t e r by
the d o o r,
r a t h e r by the w i n d o w ."
the d arkn ess o f the n i g h t .
jo y ed and from h is
books.
A nd so he s h o u ld do and come in
When he h e a r d h e r w o r d s , he was o v e r ­
g r e a t h a p p in e s s he
fo r g o t h i s m a g ic a l t r i c k s and
A nd he g a ze d upon the tower a t n i g h t ,
come she went to a n o th er o f h e r
[25]
and b e f o r e he c o u ld
h u s b a n d 's tow ers n earb y and
p r e p a r e d a la r g e b a s k e t w it h three in t e r t w i n e d ropes arou nd i t ;
and when the m a g ic ia n
we s h a l l p u l l i t
u p ."
came they s a i d to h im ,
"E n t e r the b a s k e t and
He e n t e r e d and they p u l l e d i t h a lfw a y up
the to w e r.
M eanwhile she r e t u r n e d to the tower where she was
o r ig in a lly ,
and they t i e d o f f
the ropes on the in n e r w a l l s
tower and n e it h e r r a i s e d him n o r lo w ered h im .
h ig h and he was h a n g in g i n mid a i r ,
o f the
And the tow er was
and he was in the
fo r three days and th ree n ig h t s w it h o u t food o r d r i n k ,
[30] b a s k e t
and he grew
hungry and t h ir s t y a nd so u g h t t o le a p down from the b a s k e t .
But
when he w o uld g aze down to the ground a nd w o uld see how h ig h i t
was
from the g ro u n d ,
he fe a r e d l e s t he w o uld d ie
the f a l l n or c o u ld he a s c e n d up w ards,
from the
fo rc e o f
and the d e v il s d id n o t come
to him a c c o r d in g to h i s
custom b ec au se he c o uld n ot command s in c e
he d id n ot have h is books w it h him and he d id not know w h a t to d o.
So he s to o d and was
s t r e e t c o n t in u a lly
[35]
a sto u n d e d , w h il e
the p a s s e r s by on
lo o ked a t him and s a i d to each o t h e r ,
he d o ing h a n g in g on the tow er?"
the
"W h a t is
And they w ere q u it e am aze d.
the y oung la ds used to throw sto n es a t h im .
And i t
And
came to p a s s
on the t h ir d day and she approached the window and s a i d to h im ,
and s o ,
how are y ou and how do you stan d
[come s t a t e ] ?
"S o
D i d n ' t you
know t h a t I was n ot a whore when y ou s e n t me y o ur s i l v e r and g o ld
and b a u b le s ?
d i d not
[40]
And now y ou have l o s t y o ur fo rtu ne and y o u r l u s t you
f u l f i l l ."
And he p le a d e d w i t h h e r and c r i e d f o r the
love o f God to l e t him down to the ground so t h a t he w o u ld n ot
c o ntin ue
so in sham e.
And she s a i d
to men l i k e you who d e s ir e
frie n d s" —
to h im ,
"It
is
f i t t i n g t o do so
to commit a d u lt e r y w it h the w i f e
and she l e f t him u n t i l the fo urth d a y .
And i t
o f t h e ir
came to
pas s on the fo urth day t h at h e r mercy was s t i r r e d and she commanded
to lo w er him to the g ro u n d .
And when they had lo w ered him tow ard
the ground a p p ro xim ately t o the h e i g h t o f a t a l l man,
dropped the b a s k e t to the ground and h is
fo rce o f the
out;
r ib b ro k e
they s u d d e n ly
[45]
f a l l b ec au se he had f a l l e n upon a s t o n e ,
from the
and he
c r ie d
and p e o p le g a t h e r e d abo ut him fo r they h ea r d h i s s h o u t and
they s a i d
to him ,
the m a t t e r .
w ounded,
" W h a t 's w it h y o u ?"
And he fe a r e d to t e l l
And they accom panied him to h i s h ouse w it h h i s
them
r ib
and he o r d e r e d the d octo rs and they h e a le d h im .
When he r e g a in e d h i s s t r e n g t h ,
w i l l a ven ge m y s e lf on t h is w o m an ."
o f magic b e b ro u g h t b e fo r e him .
t in g u i s h e d every
fire
he s a i d
to h is
serv an ts,
"I
And he conmanded t h a t h i s books
What d i d he do?
throughout Rome
[50]
and a l l
He w en t and e x ­
the s u r r o u n d in g
v i l l a g e s w it h h i s m a gic ,
and no f i r e c o u ld be
kingdom o f Rome.
they w ere to b r i n g any from a n o t h er p la c e
And i f
e i t h e r in stone o r i n w ood,
i t w o uld not reach more than a t h i r d
o f the way b e f o r e i t was e x t i n g u i s h e d .
beams or t r e e s ,
found th r o u g h o u t the
And even wood as l a r g e as
a l l e x t i n g u i s h e d and many d ie d from h u n g e r f o r
there was no b re a d in the c it y s in c e
there was no f i r e
to l i g h t
t h e ir o v e n s .
[55]
And a l l
the in h a b it a n t s o f Rome came to the same agreem ent
and took c o u n c il w it h him where
each had h is
say,
to f i n d f i r e
and w h a t to d o .
the m a gic ian r e p l ie d s a y i n g ,
to g iv e me a fo rtu ne
"If
it
A fter
is y o u r d e s ir e
and you prom ise me t h a t you w i l l not s e i z e me
a nd you w i l l
do w h a t I say to y o u , you s h a l l
A nd they s a i d ,
f in d
f i r e and l i v e . "
" I t w i l l be done w h a t you have spoken to d o . "
they gave him a g re a t f o r t u n e .
b e h o ld the Romans came to him
w h ic h you are g iv i n g to u s ? "
[60]
a nd s a i d ,
"W h ere is
And he s a i d to them ,
such a woman who has f i r e and she w i l l
and he accom panied them a nd in
can d le o f w a x .
the f i r e
"G o to such and
g ive y o u ! "
So they w ent
the ha n d o f ea c h and everyone was a
Then he s a i d to them,
"S e iz e h e r ! "
So they s e i z e d
h e r and s e t h e r on a wooden tower and s t r i p p e d h e r n a k e d .
h o ld the m a g ic ian
A nd b e ­
came fo rth a nd p l a c e d the w a x can d le n e x t to her
uteru s a nd the can d le ig n i t e d
from i t .
Nor was anyone p e r m it te d
to l i g h t from a n o t h e r 's
ra t h e r o n ly
And
And when m orning came to p a s s ,
[65]
from h e r n a k e d n e s s .
And so a l l o f them d i d .
c a n d le ,
And b e h o l d the woman was m o r t if ie d
w it h a g r e a t shame the lik e o f w h ic h h ad n o t b een s in c e the
foun­
d a t io n o f the c it y u n t il now.
A nd i t
came to p as s a f t e r some days t h a t l o ,
the hu sb and o f
t h a t same woman came a nd they r e l a t e d t o h im the e n t i r e
t h at had o c c u r r e d to h is w i f e ,
he do?
sto ry
the
fa m ily and w ith h i s a id e s and they smote each
o th e r w it h no q u a r t e r u n t i l t h er e rem ained n ary a o n e ,
d ead who d i e d on account o f that woman w ere 4 0 , 0 3 5
T h is
What d id
He g a t h e r e d a l l h i s p e o p le and came to h e r fa m ily w it h
m a g ic ia n a nd w it h h i s
[70]
a ffair
and he became very a n g r y .
and the
Romans.
i s a Hebrew v e r s io n o f the well-known m ed ia eva l s h o r t sto ry
9
I t seems t h at the Hebrew a u t h o r d id n ot know ,
a b o u t V i r g i l the m a g ic i a n .
how ever,
h is
m a g ic ia n are
bonom ini
was
is
id e n t i t y
as
the m a gic ian V i r g i l ,
unnamed i n the s t o r y .
n o t the w o m an 's
I t is
and so b o th the woman and the
c l e a r t h at the I t a l i a n word
fam ily name —
i t o nly i n d i c a t e s
from a good fa m ily whose members were the bonom ini
know the Hebrew e q u i v a l e n t a ç i l i m
o f the m a g ic i a n ,
(n o b le s ) .
Ihe
part,
t h at the woman
o u r auth or d id not
N o r d i d the a u th o r know the name
r a t h e r he o n ly knew t h a t the e v e n t o c c u r r e d in a n c ie n t Rome,
and so i t was e a s i e s t to i n s e r t the sto ry in t o T i t u s '
u n it —
—
p e rio d .
f i r s t p a r t o f the s t o r y , V i r g i l i n the b a s k e t ,
is
a s e lf- c o n t a in e d
the woman p u n is h e d the s e d u c e r and made him a m ockery.
the p un ishm en t o f
the woman by the m a g ic i a n ,
is a lso
s t o r y i n w h ic h the g u i l t o f the woman is o n ly h in t e d a t .
The seco nd
a s e l f - c o n t a in e d
Both s t o r i e s were
fu s e d t o g e t h e r n o t o n ly b ec au s e they were i n t e r e s t i n g b u t a l s o bec au se
the
w o m an 's shame and the h a rs h h a n g in g o f the lo v e r c o n t a in elem ents w h ich
clarify
the c r u e l
veng eance o f the s o r c e r e r .
It
is
c l e a r then t h a t the two
s t o r i e s were s e p a r a te and t h e i r hero was n ot o r i g i n a l l y
w ell-known V i r g i l .
There is
10
a book in modern Greek
cen tu ry in w h ic h both p a r t s o f our sto ry are
n ot V i r g i l ,
jo ine d,
e x c e p t t h at the hero is
b u t r a th e r the Emperor Leo the P h i l o s o p h e r .
u n d er sta n d how V i r g i l was i d e n t i f i e d as the h e r o :
i d e n t i f i e d as the
from the e i g h t e e n t h
I t i s easy
11
p o p u la r b e l i e f in
to
the
M idd le Ages was w id e s p r e a d t h a t V i r g i l , who p r o p h e s ie d the coming o f the
C h r i s t i a n m essiah and d e s c r ib e d H e l l in the A e n e i d , p o s s e s s e d s u p e r n a t u r a l
p o w ers;
thus the p o p u la r view made him a m a g ic ia n .
S in c e
the h ero in the
seco nd p a r t o f our s h o r t sto ry was a m a g ic ia n , he must have been V i r g i l .
It
is
becau se
im p o s sib le
a llu sio n s
to know the e a r ly h i s t o r i c a l b ac k g r o u n d o f o ur sto ry
to the f i r s t o r second p a r t alon e are no p r o o f
auth or d id n ot know the w ho le s t o r y .
The f i r s t e v id e n c e i s
teen th c e n t u r y .
The tro u ba do r G u ira u d de C alanso n sp eak s
that he
(V ir g il)
knew to e x t i n g u i s h ."
V irg il,
th er e is
e v id e n c e
from the t h ir t e e n t h c e n t u r y ,
h alf of
the
is p a r t o f
century,
fo u r t e e n t h ,
and i t
is
the c o l l e c t i o n o f the
century.
T h is
12
b u t we h a ve no way
Je ra h m ie l l i v e d ,
as n o t e d ,
and Rabbi E l a z a r b en A s h e r ha-Levi i n
in
the
the f i r s t
im p o s sib le to determ ine w h eth er o u r sto ry
former or the l a t t e r .
Hebrew v e r s io n o f the st o r y a b o u t V i r g i l
t h ir t e e n t h
"a b o u t the f i r e
R egardin g the e n t i r e s t o r y about
o f know ing w h eth er i t p r e c e d e d t h a t d a t e .
e le v e n t h o r t w e lfth
th at the
from the t h i r ­
In any c a s e ,
the m a g ic ian is no l a t e r
then is one o f the e a r l i e s t —
the
than the
i f n o t the e a r l i e s t
-- documents w h ic h m entions t h i s sto ry and w hic h has b een p r e s e r v e d fo r u s .
I
have a lr e a d y n o t e d t h at the Hebrew author d i d n ot know the true
id e n t i t y o f h i s h e r o .
story,
From t h is
r a t h e r he h e a rd i t
p o ssible
t h at they
more l i k e l y
it
from h i s
too had a lr e a d y
is a p p are n t t h at he d id n o t r e a d the
I t a l i a n C h r is t i a n n e ig h b o u r s .
fo rg o t te n the name V i r g i l ,
I t is
b u t i t seems
to me t h a t the Hebrew author e l i m in a t e d the name r a t h e r than
a s c r i b e any im portance to h im .
V ir g il was.
In
any c a s e ,
It
is p o ssible
author q u i t e a c c u r a t e ly w it h o u t any la c u n a e .
d i f f e r o nly s l i g h t l y
other v e r s io n s .
t h at he d i d not even know who
the s h o r t sto ry was t ra n s m itt e d to the Hebrew
E x t a n t v e r s io n s o f the sto ry
from ea c h o th e r and i t i s a p p a r e n t t h a t th er e were y e t
I t i s n ot p o s s i b l e ,
ho w ev er,
to know w h ic h p a r t i c u l a r s 1 ^
o u r author ad d ed .
The com parison o f the s h o r t Hebrew sto ry w it h o th e r te x t s p roves i t s
v alu e o v e r o t h e r v e r s io n s .
O ur sto r y is
s h ip to the c l a s s i c
short sto ry .
u n successfu l.
14
to an e n d .
fin a lly
fell
Ita lia n
Perhaps
a lread y notew orthy by i t s
the Hebrew author added i t
And p erhap s
the i n j u r y
relatio n ­
O nly the s l a u g h t e r at the end is
to b r i n g
the s t o r y 's p l o t
that the m a g ic ian r e c e i v e d when he
from the b a s k e t d i d not f i t the good t a s t e o f the m e d ia e v a l s .
But the p lo t is w e l l w o ven.
The o p p o rtu n ity when the m a g ic ian f i r s t saw
the woman stemmed from the w ed d in g p arade in
d i d not know how to r e a d ,
letter
the s t r e e t .
and she had to i n v i t e a s c r ib e
fo r h e r and to w r it e an answ er f o r h e r .
The Roman woman
in o r d e r to r e a d the
The most im p o rta n t im p ro ve­
ment t h at the Hebrew a u th o r in t r o d u c e d was the e x p la n a t io n o f the m a g i c i a n 's
in a b ility
joy,
to es c a p e
no e x p la n a t io n
son fo r th is
whereas
they were o r i g i n a l l y
an app ro priate
ture,
rev eng e
reader,
to i d e n t i f y
s t o r y 's h i s t o r y .
c en tu r y ,
to u s .
to a n a ly z e
a n d , w it h
And s in c e i t s
The sto ry is w e l l
is
told,
the unknown
to en r ic h o u r know ledge o f the
the Hebrew v e r s io n is by c o i n c i ­
i n V i r g i l 's
and w r it t e n i n
own hom eland.
very good H e b r ew .
B u t from a no ther p e r s p e c t iv e ,
The s t y l e is
there is
no
a nd the in f l u e n c e o f l a t e r Hebrew is q u i t e e v i d e n t .
and n ot m e c h a n i c a l.
Hebrew rea de rs
the p u b l ic a t io n o f
among the e a r l i e s t v e r s io n s o f the sto ry known
d i f f e r i n g l i n g u i s t i c s t y l e s show that
there i s
Hebrew l i t e r a t u r e ,
the m a g ic ia n ;
to p r e s e n t the s h o r t sto ry to the
so u rc e was i n I t a l y ,
grounded in B i b l i c a l H e b r e w .
and t h erefo r e
to the h is t o r y o f Hebrew l i t e r a ­
The Hebrew v e r s io n was n ot w r it t e n a f t e r the t h ir t e e n t h
dence the e a r l i e s t whose so urc e is
and l i v i n g ,
c o n t r a d ic t io n and added
the sto ry o f V i r g i l
famous s h o r t s t o r y ,
and t h e r e fo r e i t
lin g u is t ic p u r it y ,
the r e a ­
the t a le
it .
I w a n t ed o nly
the h e r o ,
Hebrew v e r sio n o f t h i s
and as we sa w ,
se p a r a te and o nly the hero o f the seco nd sto r y
the c o n t r ib u t io n s
ra th er ea sy to d o .
great
la c k o f powers in the f i r s t p a r t o f the
t h a t the two s t o r i e s are u n it e d in
to c an c el
the framework o f
b ec au s e o f h i s
the o th e r v e r s io n s th er e is
The Hebrew a u th o r r e c o g n iz e d t h is
i t was not my i n t e n t i o n
is
In
s u p e r i o r m ig ht in the second p a r t ;
c o n t r a d ic t io n i s
was a m a g ic ia n .
In
t r i c k s and b o o k s .
fo r the s o r c e r e r 's
sto ry and fo r h i s
t h is
from the dilemma through s o r c e r y ;
he fo rgo t h is m a g ic a l
v a lu e i n
b u t even
the language o f the s t o r y i s
The
c o n s is t e n t
T h is sto ry has a l i t e r a r y v a lu e a l l
i t s own,
i t s p u b l ic a t io n not o n ly f o r the h i s t o r y o f
fo r Hebrew l it e r a t u r e i t s e l f .
[and s t u d e n t s o f m ed ia ev a l l it e r a t u r e —
in i t .
I s r a e l Academy o f S c ie n c e s a n d H u m a n it ie s ,
J erusalem .
May contem porary
t r .]
f in d p l e a s u r e
NOTES
*
T r a n s la t e d from the Hebrew v e rs io n w hich app ea red as " V i r g i l i o
un r accanto e b r a ic o m e d io e v a l e ," S c r i t t i
R. B o n fil et a l .
(Stev en Bowman)
(J e ru sa le m 1 9 7 8 )
a re d e s ig n a t e d
^ M. G a s t o r ,
in Memoria d i
168- 75.
C f.
s c h rift
Perle s,
Zum 7 0 .
364,
(London 1 8 9 9 )
Z u n z 's
D ie
Dr.
H.
C f.
D.
g o t t e s d ie n s t l ic h e n
Flusser,
T his h is t o r y is
present translator
5
C f.
6
Ita lia n
w h ic h is
1 9 - 23.
11
V o rtrage d e r J u d e n .
(J e r u sa le m 1 9 4 7 )
325.
H i s t o r i s c h E n t w ic k e l t
A lso c f .
(B e r l i n 1 889)
"T he A uth or o f S e p h er J o s i p p o n , "
L.
Zunz,
485- 86.
Zion
18
(1 9 5 3 )
109-
c u r r e n t ly b e in g p re p a r e d i n an E n g l is h e d i t i o n by the
[ t r .] .
e d i t i o n by E . E .
in f l u e n c e
a lit e ra l
(B r e s l a u 1 887)
See a ls o H . A l b e c k 's note to h i s Hebrew t r a n s l a t io n
L i t e r a t u r g e s c h i c h t e d e r sy na go g ale n P o e s ie
26.
G r a e tz
Jubel-
"J e r a h m ie l ben S h lo m o ," J e w is h Q u a r t e r l y R e v ie w , O . S .
697- 99.
e n t i t l e d H a d r a sh o t Be- Y israel
4
r p t . w it h a new i n t r o ­
(New York 1 9 7 1 ) .
"D i e B e r n e r H a ndschrift des K l e in e n A r i s c h , "
G e b u r t s ta g d es P r o f .
382,
ed.
I t r .]
C h r o n ic le s o f Jerahm iel
A. N eubauer,
3
(1 8 9 8 )
of L.
J.
Umberto N ahon,
in
A d d it i o n a l n otes by the t r a n s l a t o r
d u c tio n by Hayyim Schw artzbaum by K tav P u b l i s h in g
2
'ttego'
Urbach
is
(1 9 3 9 )
I,
281;
a ls o e v id e n t in
II,
107;
the q u e s t io n
t r a n s l a t io n o f the I t a l i a n e x p r e s s io n
^ P u b lis h e d by A . N e u b a u e r,
IV ,
144.
"How do y o u s t a n d ? "
"come s t a t e ? "
M edieval J e w is h C h r o n ic le s
(O x f o r d 1 8 8 7 )
I,
1 9 0 - 9 1.
0
The s to ry o f the three Jew is h s a g e s ,
found i n J e r a h m i e l ,
the S id d u r o f R abbi Shlomoh ben Shimshon o f Worms
J e r u s a le m ,
1 97 1)
1 27 - 28.
A.
c o p ie d from MS. O x fo r d 1 1 0 2 ,
f. 23 i n JQR 4
(J er u sa lem 19 44)
pp.
128,
1 74
g o t t e s d ie n s t l ic h e n
(2n d e d .
V o rtra ge
w h ic h H . A lb ec k a n n o t a t e d ,
in M o n a t s c h n ft
a ls o in
(e d i t e d by Moses H e r s h l e r ,
Neub au er p u b l is h e d the same s to r y w h ic h he
i t in h is M e g i lla t h Ahim aaz
a nd c f .
is
pp.
129,
(1 8 9 2 )
55-56
1 5 2 ).
1947,
pp.
f u r G e sc h ic h t e d e s Judenthums
(p p .
s to ry in "C h r o n ic l e s o f J e r a h m i e l ,"
619
fo lio
1974,
f .)
197b.
pp.
4 5 - 4 7 ),
Z u nz D i e
(in the Hebrew e d i t i o n
182,
(1 8 9 6 )
"S e tt le m e n ts o f the Jews in So u th ern I t a l y , " JQR 4
v e r sio n w hich N e ub au er reproduces
B . K l a r r e p u b l is h e d
(2n d e d .
On the s to r y c f. L .
(F r a n k fo r t 1 8 9 2 )3 8 8 - 8 9
J e r u s a le m ,
616;
4 85
376;
(1 8 9 2 )
f .; n.
1 0 6 );
H.
P e r le s
A . Neub au er
616- 20.
The
i s alm ost i d e n t i c a l w it h the
See D . C o m p a r e t t i,
1946)
249,
108- 20,
260- 61.
V ir g ilio
1 51- 53.
T exts on p p .
(E n g l is h
tr.
del Medio Evo
180,
by E . F . M .
188- 90,
Benecke,
(nuova e d i z i o n e ) , I I
200 - 7 ,
V ir g il
225,
in
232- 36,
(F ir e n z e
247,
the M idd le A ges
(New
York 1 9 5 9 ) .
C om p aretti
11
12
It
Ib id .
112.
Ib id .
113.
(a t n .
111- 1 3.
For a p i c t u r e o f V i r g i l
c an n o t be assumed from t h is
unknown to the a r t i s t s .
^
in
9)
For ex a m p le ,
it
the W e lt c h r o n ik o f
200- 7)
the h e r o in e
is
in the b a s k e t ,
ib id .
114- 1 5 .
t h a t the seco nd p a r t o f the sto ry was not
L a t e r the vengeance o f V i r g i l
is
cf.
in teresting
is
a ls o r e p r e s e n te d .
t h at b oth in the Hebrew v e r s io n and
the German p o e t Jan sen E n i k e l
an unnamed woman,
dated c a .
and when a l l
the
1280
(ib id .
f i r e o f Rome was
e x t i n g u i s h e d the Romans were n o t a b le
to cook and bake
(ib id .
Romans s a i d
the la c k o f
"u n s s t i r b e t w i f und
k in t"
to V i r g i l
(ib id .
the s u f f e r i n g
w ise ,
2 0 5 ).
t h at b ec au se o f
fir e
A c c o r d in g to the Hebrew v e r s io n the m a g ic ian r eq u e s ted
Romans n o t to harm him b e fo r e he o f f e r e d them h is
a c c o r d in g to E n i k e l ,
V i r g i l r e q u e s te d s i m i l a r as s u r a n c es
B u t from a n o t h e r p e r s p e c t iv e E n i k e l 's
v e r s io n d i f f e r s
s p e c i f i c m o tifs.
14
2 04) , and the
Compare the e n d in g o f the Book o f E s t h e r
[tr],
a id .
(ib id .
L ik e­
2 0 5 ).
from the Hebrew in