[CHAPTER XIV.]
REUCHLIN AND THE TALMUD.
Antecedents of the Convert John Pfefferkorn—Pfefferkorn and the Dominicans of Cologne—Hoogstraten, Ortuinus Gratius and Arnold of Tongern—Victor von Karben—Attacks on the Talmud and Confiscation of Copies in Frankfort—Reuchlin's Hebrew and Kabbalistic Studies—The Controversy concerning the Talmud—Activity on both Sides—Public Excitement—Complete Victory of Reuchlin's Efforts in Defense of Jewish Literature—Ulrich von Hutten—Luther—Revival of Hebrew Studies.
1500–1520 C.E.
Who could have anticipated that from the German nation, everywhere considered heavy and stupid, from the land of lawless knights, of daily feuds about trifles, of confused political conditions, where everyone was both despot and slave, mercilessly oppressing his inferiors, and pitifully cringing to his superiors—who could have anticipated that from this people and this country would proceed a movement destined to shake European affairs to their center, create new political conditions, give the Middle Ages their death-blow, and set its seal on the dawn of a new historical era? A reformation of church and politics, such as enlightened minds then dreamt of, was least expected from Germany. Yet there slumbered latent powers in that country, which only needed awaking to develop into regenerating forces. The Germans still adhered to ancient simplicity of life and severity of morals, pedantic, it is true, and ludicrous in manifestation; whilst the leading Romance countries, Italy, France and Spain, were suffering from over-refinement, surfeit and moral corruption. Because the Germans had retained their original Teutonic dullness, the clergy could not altogether succeed in infecting them with the poison of their vicious teaching. Their lower clergy, compared with that of other European countries, was more chaste and modest. The innate love of family life and genial association, which the Germans have in common with Jews, preserved them from that moral depravity to which the Romance nations had already succumbed. In the educated circles of Italy, especially at the papal court, Christianity and its doctrines were sneered at; the political power they conferred alone being valued. But in Germany, where there was little laughter, except in taverns, Christianity was treated as a more serious matter; it was looked upon as an ideal, which had once been alive, and would live again.
But these moral germs in the German race were so deeply buried that it needed favorable circumstances to bring them to light, and cause them to stand forth as historical potencies. However much the Germans themselves may ignore it, the Talmud had a great share in the awakening of these slumbering forces. We can boldly assert that the war for and against the Talmud aroused German consciousness, and created a public opinion, without which the Reformation, like many other efforts, would have died in the hour of birth, or, perhaps, would never have been born at all. A paltry grain of sand caused the fall of an avalanche, which shook the earth around. The instrument of this mighty change was an ignorant, thoroughly vile creature, the scum of the Jewish people, who does not deserve to be mentioned in history or literature, but whom Providence seems to have appointed like some noisome insect involuntarily to accomplish a useful work.
Joseph Pfefferkorn, a native of Moravia, was by trade a butcher, and, as may easily be surmised, illiterate. His moral turpitude was even greater than his ignorance. He committed a burglary, was caught, condemned to imprisonment by Count de Guttenstein, and released only at the urgent prayers of his relatives, and on payment of a fine. It appears that he hoped to wash away this disgrace with baptismal water; the church was not scrupulous, and received even this despicable wretch, when at the age of thirty-six he presented himself with wife and children, to be received into Christianity (about 1505?). He seems to have been baptized at Cologne; at any rate, he was kept and made much of by the ignorant, proud and fanatical Dominicans of that city. Cologne was an owls' nest of light-shunning swaggerers, who endeavored to obscure the dawn of a bright day with the dark clouds of superstition, hostile to knowledge. At their head was Hochstraten (Hoogstraten), an inquisitor or heretic-hunter, a violent, reckless man, who literally longed for the smell of burning heretics, and in Spain would have been a useful Torquemada. His counterpart was Arnold of Tongern (Tungern), a Dominican professor of theology. The third in the coalition was Ortuin de Graes, of Deventer (who Latinized his name to Ortuinus Gratius), the son of a clergyman. Ortuin de Graes entertained so violent a hatred against Jews that it could not have been due solely to religious zeal. He made it his special business to stir up the wrath of the Christians by anti-Jewish writings. But as he was too ignorant to concoct a book or even a pamphlet, he surrounded himself with baptized Jews, who had to supply him with materials. A Jew, who, during a persecution or for some reason, had become a convert to Christianity in his fiftieth year, and assumed the name of Victor von Karben, though he had but little Hebrew and rabbinical learning, was dubbed rabbi, in order to give more weight to his attacks on Judaism and to his confession of Christianity. It is not precisely known whether Victor von Karben, who sorrowfully stated that on his conversion he left his wife, three children, brothers and dear friends, voluntarily or by compulsion reproached the Jews with hating Christians and reviling Christianity. He supplied Ortuinus Gratius with materials for accusations against them, their Talmud, their errors and abominations, which Ortuinus worked up into a book. But Victor von Karben appears, after all, not to have been of much service, or he was too old (born 1442, died 1515) to assist in the execution of a deep scheme, destined to bring profitable business to the Dominicans, the heresy-judges of men and writings. But they needed a Jew for this purpose; their own order had not long before got into rather bad odor. Pfefferkorn was the very man for them. He lent his name to a new anti-Jewish publication, written in Latin by Ortuinus Gratius. It was entitled "A Mirror for Admonition," inviting the Jews to be converted to Christianity. This first anti-Jewish book with Pfefferkorn's name dealt gently with the Jews, even sought to show the groundlessness of the frequent accusations with regard to stealing and murdering Christian children. It entreats Christians not to banish the Jews, nor to oppress them too heavily, since to a certain extent they are human beings. But this friendliness was only a mask, a feeler put forth to gain firm ground. For the Cologne Dominicans aimed at the confiscation of the Talmudic writings, as in the days of Saint Louis of France. This was distantly pointed to in Pfefferkorn's first pamphlet, which endeavored to throw suspicion on the Talmud, and adduced three reasons to explain the stiff-necked unbelief of Jews: their practice of usury, the fact that they were not compelled to go to church, and their attachment to the Talmud. These obstacles once removed, Jews would throng to church in crowds. The pamphlet, therefore, admonished princes and people to check the usury of the Jews, to compel them to attend church and listen to sermons, and to burn the Talmud. It admitted that it is not just to infringe upon the Jews' claim to their writings, but Christians did not hesitate, in certain cases, to do violence to Jews, and compared with that the confiscation of the Talmudic books was a venial offense. This was the sole object of the pamphlet under Pfefferkorn's name. It was generally believed in Germany that the Cologne owls expected to do a good stroke of business; if they could induce the ruling powers to sequestrate all copies of the Talmud, Dominicans, as inquisitors, would have the disposal of them, and the Jews, who could not do without the Talmud, would pour their wealth into Dominican coffers to have the confiscation annulled. Hence, in the succeeding two years, still putting Pfefferkorn forward as the author, they published several pamphlets, wherein it was asserted to be a Christian duty to expel all Jews, like so many mangy dogs. If the princes would not do so, the people were to take the matter into their own hands, solicit their rulers to deprive the Jews of all their books except the Bible, forcibly take from them all pledges, above all, see that their children be brought up as Christians, and expel the adults as incorrigible rogues. It was no sin to do the worst to Jews, as they were not freemen, but body and soul the property of the princes. If they refused to listen to the prayer of their subjects, the people were to assemble in masses, even create a riot, and impetuously demand the fulfillment of the Christian duty of degrading the Jews. The masses were to declare themselves champions of Christ, and carry out his will. Whoso did an injury to Jews was a follower of Christ; whoso favored them was worse than they, and would hereafter be punished with eternal suffering and hell fire.
But Pfefferkorn, Ortuinus Gratius and the Cologne Dominicans had come too late in the day. Riots for the killing of Jews, though they were no less hated and despised than in the times of the crusades and of the Black Death, were no longer the fashion. Princes were little disposed to expel the Jews, since with them a regular revenue would disappear. Zeal for the conversion of Jews had considerably cooled down; in fact, many Christians pointed scornfully at baptized Jews, saying that they resembled clean linen: as long as it is fresh the eye delights in it, after a few days' wear it is cast aside as soiled. Thus a converted Jew, immediately after his baptism, is cherished by the Christians; when some days have passed he is neglected, avoided, and finally made sport of.
The German Jews, dreading new dangers from Pfefferkorn's zeal, endeavored to thwart him. Jewish physicians, usually held in high favor at the courts of princes, appear to have exerted their influence with their patrons to show the falsity of Pfefferkorn's accusations, and to render them ineffectual. Even Christians manifested their dissatisfaction with the machinations of the baptized Jew, and loudly proclaimed Pfefferkorn to be a worthless fellow and a hypocrite, who was not to be believed, his object being simply to delude the foolish, and fill his own purse. He, therefore, published a new pamphlet (March, 1509), which he impudently entitled "The Enemy of the Jews." This venomous libel reiterated all his former accusations, and showed how the Jews, by charging interest on interest, impoverished the Christians. He blackened the character of Jewish physicians, saying that they were quacks, who endangered the lives of their Christian patients. It was, therefore, necessary to expel the Jews from Germany, as Emperor Maximilian had driven them from Austria, Styria and Carinthia; or if allowed to remain, they were to be employed in cleansing the streets, sweeping chimneys, removing filth and carrion, and in similar occupations. But, above all, every copy of the Talmud, and all books relating to their religion, the Bible excepted, were to be taken from them. In order effectually to carry out this step, house to house visitation was to be made, and the Jews were to be compelled, if necessary by torture, to surrender their books. Ortuinus Gratius had a hand in the drawing up of this pamphlet, too.