That would procure him heaven's meed,
He thought, and thought, then bade at last
His servants one whole day to fast.
A frequent charge preferred against Jewish literature by modern critics[[70-2]] is, that it is deficient of humour. The instances given in this essay, as well as in some others forming part of the present volume may, perhaps, contribute in some small degree to dissipate this fallacy.
Footnotes:
[60-1] There is also in existence a witty epigram composed by the same author when a certain Jewish scribbler plagiarized one of his poems, and circulated it as his own. In this epigram Gabirol compares himself to an ever-flowing stream, which continues its course, and does not mind if some poor mortal draws from it now and again a bucketful of water. Cp. Dukes, Shire Shelomo, p. 50.
[61-1] Cp. Geiger's Jüdische Dichtungen, Leipzig, 1856, p. 21.