comprehends all the discursive elements that come up in the legal
discussions in the old Babylonian and Palestinian academies. These
elements are occasionally biographical,--fragments of the lives of the
great scholars, occasionally historical,--little bits of Israel's long
tragedy, occasionally didactic,--facts, morals, life lessons taught by
the way; occasionally anecdotic, stories told to relieve the monotony of
discussion; not infrequently fanciful; bits of philosophy, old
folk-lore, weird imaginings, quaint beliefs, superstitions and humor.
They are presented haphazard, most irrelevantly introduced in between
the complex discussions, breaking the thread that however is never lost,
but always taken up again.

From this point of view the Talmud is a great maze and apparently the
simplest roads lead off into strange, winding by-paths. It is hard to
deduce any distinct system of ethics, any consistent philosophy, any
coherent doctrine. Yet patience rewards the student here too, and from
this confused medley of material, he can build the intellectual world of
the early mediæval Jew. In the realm of doctrine we find that "original
sin," "vicarious atonement," and "everlasting punishment," are denied.
Man is made the author of his own salvation. Life beyond the grave is
still progressive; the soul is pre-existent.

A suggestion of the wit and wisdom of the Talmud may be gathered from
the following quotations:--

A single light answers as well for a hundred men as for one.
The ass complains of cold even in July.
A myrtle in the desert remains a myrtle.
Teach thy tongue to say, "I do not know."
Hospitality is an expression of Divine worship.