published in Hebrew, and its author, Joseph Pensa de la Vega, was the
last of Spanish, as Antonio de Silva was the last of Portuguese, Jewish
poets. The three act play is an allegory, treating of the victory of
free-will, represented by a king, over evil inclinations, personified by
the handsome lad Cupid. Though imbued with the solemnity of his
responsibilities as a ruler, the king is lured from the path of right by
various persons and circumstances, chief among them Cupid, his
coquettish queen, and his sinful propensities. The opposing good forces
are represented by the figures of harmony, Providence, and truth, and
they eventually lead the erring wanderer back to the road of salvation.
The _dramatis personae_ of this first Hebrew drama are abstractions,
devoid of dramatic life, mere allegorical personifications, but the
underlying idea is poetic, and the Hebrew style pure, euphonious, and
rhythmical. Yet it is impossible to echo the enthusiasm which greeted
the work of the seventeen year old author in the Jewish academies of
Holland. Twenty-one poets sang its praises in Latin, Hebrew, and Spanish
verse. The following couplet may serve as a specimen of their eulogies:

"At length Israel's muse assumes the tragic cothurn,
And happily wends her way through the metre's mazes."

Pensa, though the first to publish, was not the first Hebrew dramatist
to write. The distinction of priority belongs to Moses Zacuto, who wrote
his Hebrew play, _Yesod Olam_[58] ("The Foundation of the World") a
quarter of a century earlier. His subject is the persecution inflicted
by idolaters upon Abraham on account of his faith, and the groundwork is
the Haggadistic narrative about Abraham's bold opposition to idolatrous
practices, and his courage even unto death in the service of the true
God. According to Talmudic interpretation a righteous character of this
description is one of the corner-stones of the universe. It must be
admitted that Zacuto's work is a drama with a purpose. The poet wished
to fortify his exiled, harassed people with the inspiration and hope
that flow from the contemplation of a strong, bold personality. But the
admission does not detract from the genuine merits of the poem. On the
other hand, this first dramatic effort naturally is crude, lacking in
the poetic forms supplied by highly developed art. Dialogues, prayers,
and choruses follow each other without regularity, and in varying
metres, not destitute, howev