Hetrofpe Si of French Literature — Miscellanies,^ Q61 



t^-»n in favour of tlie liberty of his bre- 

 thren ; and lliis fact alone ferves to over- 

 turn the argtiinent, that tlie learned body 

 in quellion was inclined to deny any new 

 fraticliid'S to an unhappy and opprefi'ed 

 people. 



JM. Bnnald had blamed the Conftitii- 

 cnt AlTenihly " lor forcing; the barriers 

 ivhich religion and policy had reared be- 

 t\vecn the Jews and the Chriftiaus, and 

 callini; on them to enjoy the benefits of 

 the new conllitntion.'' On the other 

 hand, lii,- fair antat^onill praifes tlie Ic- 

 gillaturc " for having repaired an outrage 

 committed as^ainlt human nature, during 

 f'> manyccntm-ies. In recognizing in the 

 Jews,"' adds (lie, " the fame rights as in 

 other citizens, the members of that af- 

 fenibly performed a lingular act of jultice, 

 and pofterity will always hold their names 

 in honour. Already a noble emulation 

 bcsins to take place among the Ifraelites 

 ill France, which will foon render them 

 worthy of their new condition. The edu- 

 cation of their children is no longer cir- 

 cumfcribcd, as heretofore, within the 

 Marrow circle of the Hebrew tongue. 

 The dead and living languages, mathe- 

 matics, liilbuy, geography, jurifprudcnce, 

 and the mechanical arts, are all taught 

 U) the cliii<iren of thofe in eafy circuni- 

 llances. Tlie parents arc at great pains 

 t<i obtain mailers for them in every branch 

 of fcicucc, and the pupils not only bid 

 f^ir to become fome day afeful citizens to 

 their country, but even to confer honour 

 on it. 



" Nothing of this kind," continues flie, 

 " everexilied, or could jiolulily exift, an- 

 terior to that law, equally fage and bene- 

 ficent, which permitted thciu to become 

 members of the threat family. Formerly 

 repulfed from all the liberal profeinous, 

 delivered over to the fcorn and the in- 

 fultsofthe people, covered with infamy 

 a4id opprobrium by means of barbarous 

 retlriftions, they exhibited the manners 

 wf Haves, and were confequeiitiy fubject 

 to all their vice^." 



Our anthorcfs next proceeds to cnumc- 

 ratt! the vaiiffus objections which have, 

 from tinie to time, been raifcd againft, the 

 cnfranclufcment of the Jews, and then 

 li-ate.-> I lie able refutation of thefe popular 

 jUTJudices, by I\I. Thierry, an advocate 

 of the J^arliamcnt of Xancy, who was 

 crowned by the Academy of that city, on 

 iuxount of his celebrated dillertation. 

 That celebrated lawyer obje6ts to a falfe, 

 outrageous, and intolerant zeal. " Re- 

 liu'ion teaches us," fays he, " that the 

 Jews of a former nice, having committed 

 the ijreatelt of ^11 jjoliiblc crimes, draw 



down upon them the vengeance of the 

 Divinity ; and that by way o^ punilh- 

 ment, their nation was difperfed over the 

 furfuce of the earth. But does it apper- 

 tain to us to mifinterpret the orders of 

 the Divinity? Is the execution of his jul- 

 tice confided to us.? And are we entitled 

 to denominate ourfelves the inlbrumcnts 

 of his vengeance ? Ah ! let us leave to 

 Providence the tafk of accompliflimg its 

 own defigns, without daring either to pe- 

 netrate or to interpiet them ! far diftant 

 be the idea from us, and from that Rge 

 when leafon, at length aihamed ef odt 

 madnefs, contemplates fuperftition and 

 fanaticifm with honor ! — far diltant from 

 that augull religion, thofe ideas of a bar- 

 barous iiitolercince, which would at once 

 difgrace and diihonotir it !" 



" Thi,-," fays Madimic de • • • *, " is 

 the language of a Clmllian, of a maa 

 actuated by the love of humanity, and 

 who is iutcrefted in the fate of the Jews, 

 not becauie they are .lews, but becaufe 

 they are men. Let it be recollected too, 

 that the difcouife in quellion was com- 

 pofed in 178S, and that, at thi> day, the 

 enj-oyment of the liberty of al! worihips 

 conliitutes one of the fimdameiual 1 ivvi 

 of the F"rench empire. So much for re- 

 ligion. In refpeCt to thofe barriers, 

 crettc'd by human policy, between the 

 Jews and'the Chriflians, let me demand 

 what policy can that be which tends to 

 throw fcorn and opprobrium oi. a parti- 

 cular clali of men, liy branding tiiem, in 

 the face of public opinion, through tlie 

 aid of iniquitous and barbarous laws i'" 



After rtiis, we are prefented with an 

 account of the perfecutioui which the 

 Jews had undergone in Chrillian coun- 

 tries ; and we leain, that, even fo late 

 as the year 1738, an individual traveller 

 of this perfecuted nation could not lleep 

 a iingle ni^ht at Stralburgh, without pay- 

 ing eiaiit I'oua for a peniiilliou, and at the 

 fame time depofiting tliiee li\res, by way 

 of fecurity for the toll next day. Jii 

 1639, a Jew could not enter that city 

 without a previous examination; and, 

 even after that, he was to be accom- 

 panied by one of the .jailors, who was im- 

 mediately, on the couclufion of his buli- 

 nefp, to conduct him back again to the 

 barriers ! 



After enumerating thefe and a variety 

 of other pai ticulnrs^ this lady concludes 

 with many com[)limcnls to the Kmperor 

 of the French, to whom llie appears to 

 look up, as to the Saviour of the Jews. 



" Excerpta ; ou, Fables Choices de La 



Fontaine ; avec dcs Notes nouvelles. 



Ldition preO-ritj; cl adoptee par la v-.on- 



4, i> 2 iniliioa 



