numerous works on Theology, Hermeneutics,
Philology, History, and Literature, written in Hebrew, in Italian, and
in German, have tended much to revive the taste for Hebrew literature,
and to reconcile modern education to the study of Jewish antiquities.

The present little book is one of his latest productions in the Italian
language. In a style at once concise and perspicuous, and with a form of
reasoning suited to the scientific requirements of the times, he
introduces the student to an enlarged view of Religion, ascends with him
to the heavenly source from which it emanated, and leads him, through
the paths of virtue and love, to the comprehension and admiration of the
objects contemplated by it. In short, he teaches--if I am permitted the
expression--_the philosophy of religion_.

I humbly, but firmly believe that, in the hands of able Jewish teachers,
this work will considerably assist them to infuse into religious
instruction a little more spirituality, and to impart a more
comprehensive view of religion, than the routine of former days deemed
necessary, and that, by so doing, they will be better able to enlarge
and satisfy the minds, improve the hearts, and generally advance the
moral education of youth.

Notwithstanding the well-intentioned and beneficial efforts of many
friends of education among the British Jews, and the praiseworthy
exertions of some excellent teachers, the education of the mass is, we
must confess, still in a condition, in which the attainment of those
objects has not ceased to be a desideratum. We may or may not be on a
level with our neighbours, but we have very urgent and special calls of
our own for self-improvement, we have a particular mission to fulfil,
with its concomitant duties. Such self-improvement and such duties are
demanded by the spirit--not of _the age_, as is too commonly said and
believed--but of an age which began thirty-two centuries ago, at the
revelation on Mount Sinai--the spirit of Judaism, of well-understood
Judaism. Our age, with all its boasted and undeniable progress, is
still, morally, far below the type designed by Providence for humanity
in the Sinaitic dispensation, far behind the spirit which dictated and
pervades the pages of the sacred volume, and which, when thoroughly
understood and generally acted upon, must bring about the supreme reign
of justice, charity, and universal love, and--as far as attainable--the
ultimate perfection of mankind.

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