The common folk of the Ghetto, as well as of the rest of 

 the City, attributed to the benevolent Rabbi supernatural 

 powers, but never accused him of using them for evil pur- 

 poses ; his learning extended not only to the mysteries of the 

 Kabbala but to many branches of natural philosophy as 

 well, and his knowledge of the camera obscura, experiments 

 with which had been shown to a few privileged friends, 

 formed a fairly substantial basis for their belief; he was 

 popularly supposed to have transferred to his dwelling in 

 the Ghetto by magic spells, the hundred-windowed palace on 

 the Hradschin and to have exhibited the marvel to Rudolph 

 on the occasion of his memorable visit. Had the modest 

 philosopher been known to Gabriel Naude, the Frenchman 

 would have included him in the list of honorable men defended 

 in his "Apologie pour les grands hommes soup9onnez de 

 magie," written a few years later. 



The gifted Rabbi was believed to have surpassed the 

 achievement of the English Bare-foot monk of the thirteenth 

 century, called by scholastics " Doctor Mirabilis," on account 

 of his prodigious learning; according to tradition Roger Bacon 

 had made a human head out of brass and had endowed it 

 with the power of speech, and rumor reported that Loew, 

 by the aid of kabbalistic formulae and supernatural gifts, 

 had formed of clay a~ dwarf possessing attributes far more 

 marvellous than those of the brazen head. The "Hebrew 

 Roger Bacon of Prague" by touching the forehead of the in- 

 animate dwarf with his consecrated finger and impressing 

 thereon the mystical letters 



GOLEM 



had communicated to it life, willpower and intelligence. This 

 automaton long served his master with cheerful obedience; 

 on the Sabbath and on Holy days of the Israelites, the dwarf 



157 



