n of chicanery--no supposition of dishonesty
will attach itself to them, and _your_ word will be taken. When _their
religious_ observances are known, they will be appreciated; and _your_
pledge of _honour_ as a _Jew_ will be guarantee for the quality of
your commodity. Thus everything is to be gained, and the
accomplishment is within your own power. Will you quietly sit by and
hear vituperation heaped upon your creed and upon yourselves, without
being roused to the slightest effort? I will readily admit that it is
only the prejudices of the ignorant and vulgar which draw the
distinction between yourself and the Christian: enlighten _him_
therefore where requisite; associate as much as possible with him; let
your press address _him_; prove by _your_ acts, _your_ words and
dealings, the falseness of his assertions against you, and his sneer
loses all its sting from its inapplicability. Let the phrase, "_He is
a Jew in his dealings_," be an _honourable testimonial_, equally as
desirable to you as that "_He acts like a Christian_," is to our
fellow-citizens of the faith alluded to: and let those who think that
the only worth of the Jewish religion is to be measured by the
purchase-money offered for apostasy from it, find that the price they
pay is only a bribe for _seeming assent_ from the outcasts of society,
and that the very worst and lowest Jew is sufficiently informed to
know that he will not be raised by becoming a bad Christian, or an
infidel. It is equally clear that a bad Jew will never make a good
Christian: and I am not quite sure if we ought not to be thankful for
the removal of such an excrescence from our body.

In turning to those who are sometimes termed our aristocracy, that is
to say--the wealthy portion of the Jewish community, I would ask, Are
you contented that the stigma which unjustly presses on the Jewish
name should longer continue? I am free to admit that the Christians
rather than the Jews require to be enlightened upon this point; but
have you attempted this? What has been done by you for the elevation
of your brethren? But let all that is practicable in this respect be
attained, and you will ascend with them; as the majority become
refined in their manners, talented in their professions, known in
their dealings, so will you, always the most conspicuous, be exalted
with them. Honour will emanate from the people and be reflected upon
the leaders. Every onward movement of the middle and lower ord