No More Learning

The Kabbalists get over this difficulty by the theory of
Tsimtsum (contraction or concentration), which explains that when
the material world was about to be created the En-Soph was in a
« tsimtsum” condition (i. e. , contracted himself): an explanation which
is as difficult to understand as the original question. The promoter
of this doctrine is Rabbi Mosheh ben Jacob Cordovero (1522-1570), the
author of the famous Kabbalistic work (Pardēs Rimmonim' (The Gar-
den of Pomegranates).
Whether the present statement of the fundamental doctrines of the
Ten Sephiroth was known or not prior to the tenth century A. D. ,
cannot be positively stated. It appears, however, that the Sepher
Yetsirah' (The Book of Creation) is the first book from which the
author (or compiler) of the Zohar,' and subsequent commentators,
have drawn their main information.
It is to be regretted that several important Kabbalistic works are
attributed to fictitious authors. Tradition asserts that the author of
the “Sepher Yetsirah” is the Patriarch Abraham, and the author of
the book called “Sepher Raziel Hamalach) the First Adam. This,
(
XV-528


## p. 8434 (#34) ############################################

8434
THE KABBALAH
(
>
Kabbalists never doubted, yet scientific investigation demonstrated
that neither the first nor the second was entitled to such antiquity.
They belong to a much more recent period: the (Sepher Yetsirah' to
the Geônim period (after the fifth century A. D. ); and the author of
Raziel the Angel’ is Rabbi Eliezer of Worms.
Another authority, called (Sepher Habahir) (The Book of Brilliant
Light), is attributed to Rabbi Nehunyah ben Hakanah (of the first
century); but it has also been demonstrated (cf. Winter and Wünsche,
Die Jüdische Literatur, Vol. iii. , 257) that this is a pseudonym, and
its real author is Isaac «The Blind” of the eleventh century, or one
of his disciples.
There are several Kabbalistic Midrashim (see Jellinek's Beth Ha-
Midrash') supposed to be contemporaries with Midrash Rabbah and
Tanhumah, etc. ; but most of them have likewise been proven to be
apocryphal. Considering these things, the student of the Kabbalah
can do no better than to refer to authorities beginning with the
twelfth century.
The book called Zohar' is ascribed to Rabbi Simeon, the son
of Yohai (Yochai), who was contemporary with the famous Rabbi
Akiba (second century A. D. ). Modern critics, however, believe they
have discovered some elements in the text which tend to prove
that it is of a later date (cf. Ginzburg, “The Kabbalah,' pp. 78-94), and
attribute it to Rabbi Moses ben Shem Tob de Leon (born 1250, died
1305).
Notwithstanding those criticisms, the Zohar) continues to be the
corner-stone upon which the whole structure of the Kabbalah rests.
It is the fountain-head from which all modern Kabbalistic writers
have drawn their material; and no true adherent to its doctrines has
ever disputed its authorship. The most recent edition (Wilna: 1882),
now before me, bears the same title as the first edition published
by Da Padova and Jacob ben Naphtali (Mantua: 1558-1560). The title
is as follows: (Sēphěr Ha-Zohar 'al Hamishah Humshē Torah meha-
tana ha-Elokē Rabbi Shimeon ben Yohaï? [Yochaï] (The Book of
Zohar, [a Commentary) on the Pentateuch by the Tana, the Divine
Rabbi Simeon ben Yohai).
Whilst it cannot be denied that there are numerous additions and
interpolations, probably whole treatises, in the Zohar' which might
be ascribed to a later period than the second century of our era, it
is nevertheless certain that the greater part of the work belongs to
an early period. What Moses de Leon might have done (if he ever
did anything) was to compile the disjecta membra of various Midra-
shim and add them to the Midrash Y'hi Ôr (the Exposition «Let
there be Light,” Gen. i. 3); thus changing Ôr (Light) into the more
significant name Zohar (shining Light).


## p. 8435 (#35) ############################################

THE KABBALAH
8435
)
The 'Zohar,' like the Hebrew Pentateuch, is divided into fifty-two
Parshioth (sections) and contains several treatises, which are for the
most part a Kabbalistic exposition of the Pentateuch. One of the
dissertations (Vols. ii. and iii. ), called Ra'āya Mehemna' (the Faith-
ful Shepherd), contains the discussions of Moses (the Faithful Shep-
herd), the prophet Elijah, and Rabbi Simeon ben Yohai. Another
treatise, the Book of Secrets, discusses Demonology, Psychology,
Metempsychosis, and kindred subjects.
HERMENEUTICAL RULES OF THE KABBALAH
WE HAVE space only to explain a few of the more important rules
so frequently used in the Kabbalistic interpretation of the Scriptures.
The most important exegetical rule in the Kabbalah is called Gematria
(formed by metathesis from the Greek ypaupateia), according to which
every Hebrew letter has a numerical value. There are in the Hebrew
alphabet, including the finals, twenty-seven characters, which are
divided into nine groups of threes. The first letters of each group
from right to left are the units from 1 to 9; the second represent
the tens from 10 to 90; the third represent the hundreds, from 100 to
900. This arrangement of the 27 letters in nine groups is called the
AIK BKR (the Ayak Bekhar) alphabet, being the six letters con-
tained in the first two chambers of the diagram.
AG
Num. val.
3
Kum, val.
2
Num. val.
I
•
6
30
3 в
OK. .
SR. .
20
SL
w Sb.
XA.
» I (Y).
K. .
IO
ܐܘ
300
200
IOO
7 V
6
.
5
4
7D. .
pM. .
OS
H. .
N. .
57 Kb (final)
60
50
40
M (final)
600
co
500
T. .
400
I
9
Пн
8
ง
co
UT
y Ts :
үт
.
P.
90
80
iz . .
9 (A).
y N )
70
Ts (final)
900
Pb (final)
800
N (final)
700
By this ingenious but illogical mode many Hebrew verses, words,
or letters are computed and compared with other verses, words, or
letters; and if their numerical value happens to correspond, which


## p. 8436 (#36) ############################################

8436
THE KABBALAH
9
6
IH V H
105
6 5
not infrequently happens, their affinity is held to be established. For
example, the numerical value of the three Hebrew letters forming the
word I (Tobh), "good,” amounts to 9+6+2=17; reduce 17 to its
IV B
component figures thus: 1+7=8; then compare this reduced number
with the numerical equivalent of the Tetragrammaton 10+5+
6+5=26; reduce 26 into its component parts thus: 2+6=8: ergo, it is
plain, to the Kabbalist, that whenever the word Tobh (good) occurs
in the Scriptures the Deity is meant (IHVH-Jehovah).
Some of these deductions are very interesting. See for instance
the exposition of Exodus ii. 2, in the Zohar,' ii. ib.
' ar,' ii. ib. When Moses
was born, it is said: “And she [the mother) saw him that he was a
goodly (literally, good) child. ” Rabbi Jose said that “the mother be-
held the light of the Shekhinah shining within him”; and according
to both the Talmud and the Midrash, “the house was filled with Ôr
[light). ” It was by this same method that the author of the Kab-
balistic work (Shelah) * discovered that the reduced number of the
letters composing the Hebrew En-Soph (Infinite) amounts to 207=9:
precisely the same as that of Ôr (Light) and of Adon 'Olam (the
Lord of the Universe).
When one considers these exhaustless means of interpretation at
the disposal of the Kabbalists, it is not in the least surprising that
they could twist and interpret any text of Scripture to suit their
own purposes.
Another rule which the Kabbalists often employ is the Notarikôn.
According to this the initials or finals of a whole phrase make one
word, and vice versa; for instance, war – We Are Ruined.
It is narrated of a certain Rabbi Abner (of the fifteenth century),
a skeptic and disbeliever in the symbolic interpretation of the Script-
ures, that disputing with a Kabbalist who maintained that by means
of the exegetical rules of the Kabbalah one could trace the past, pres-
ent, and future of men from the beginning to the end of the world, he
challenged his opponent to indicate the verse in the Torah' where-
in his own name and fortune occurred. The Kabbalist pointed out
Deuteronomy xxxii. 26, where we read: A Ma RTI A Ph A Hem
ASh BITHa M'ANOSh Zi Kh RaM (“I said . . . I would make
the remembrance of them to cease among men"). “Your name and
fortune,” said the Kabbalist, «are indicated in the third consonant
of each of the five words — R(abbi) Abn(e)r. ” What impression this
argument made on Rabbi Abner is not stated; but the story is often
quoted by the Kabbalists as a convincing proof that every letter, yea,
each scintilla, has some secret meaning understood by the qualified,"
but unknown and invisible to the profane and uninitiated.
*SH e La H is the abbreviated form composed of the initials of the
Hebrew words Sh'nē Lûhoth Haberith,- the two tables of the Covenant.


## p. 8437 (#37) ############################################

THE KABBALAH
8437
Besides these inexhaustible means, there are several additional
rules; so that if the point in dispute cannot be settled by any one
of the above-named rules, others may be brought forward. Thus,
if the Gematria and Notarikon should fail to produce the desired
effect, the Temurah (Permutation) is resorted to, by which means
each and every one of the twenty-two letters of the Hebrew alpha-
bet may be substituted for another. There are about twenty-eight
alphabets of that category. The At-Bash alphabet -- formed by pair-
ing the first Hebrew letter, Aleph (A), with the last, Tau (T); the
second letter, Beth (B), with the last but one, Shin (Sh); etc. — is
the most frequently used. By this canon the Aleph (A) can assume
the character of Tau (T), and vice versa, Beth (B) the character of
Shin (Sh), etc. , as here shown (read from right to left): -
9
THE AT-BASH ALPHABET
ימ כּל
ט נ
את בּשׁ גר דק הצ ופּ זע
LK
MI
NT
SH
'AZ
PV TS H
KD
RG
Sh B
TA
or
or
Y
W
Permutation of letters seems to have been in practice centuries
before our present era. We meet traces of its use as early as the
time of Jeremiah, when (Jerem. xxv. 26) Ba Be L (Babylon) is called
She Sha K. Now if the letters BBL are placed above SSK, we see
that Jeremiah made use of the At-Bash alphabet. If this were the
only instance, we might call it an accident; but there is another
example (ibid. , li. 1), where the Chaldeans (Hebrew Ka SDIM) are
called L'B K a MI, by the same permutation process of the At-Bash
alphabet.
Considering the number of their alphabets, we understand how
easy it is for the Kabbalist to predict anything and everything. But
copious and all-sufficient as this system would seem to be, the Kab-
balists have yet another resource: by this last, the alphabet is divided
into three sections forming triads composed of three letters, and the
letters of the same triad (see diagram, page 8435) are interchanged
one with the other.
THE PRACTICAL KABBALAH
The Practical Kabbalah' is the immediate outcome of — first, her-
meneutical interpretation of Scripture; second, the use for practical
purposes of the Shem-Hamphorash (the unutterable name of God -
IHVH) and his numerous attributes; third, the introduction of het-
erogeneous elements proceeding from heathen sources and alchemist
1


## p. 8438 (#38) ############################################

8438
THE KABBALAH
enthusiasts; and fourth, the persecution of the Jews in the Middle
Ages.
It was then that the esoteric theosophy (hitherto exclusively in
the hands of the Jewish elect”) became public property. This pub-
licity was owing to the internecine contention among the ranks of the
Spanish Hebrew philosophers of the thirteenth century, which caused
a split in the synagogue. The war was carried on between the two
factions. One, the most intellectual, was championed by the famous
Maimonides (1235-1304); who did not renounce the philosophical bear-
ing of the Sephiroth, but was opposed to the mystical interpretation
of Scripture by the successors of Rabbi Isaac the Blind. The other,
the most numerous and influential faction, had for their champion
the youthful but famous Kabbalist Rabbi Moshe ben Nachman, called
Nachmoni or Nachmonides.
Maimonides was denounced by his opponents as a heretic; and the
hatred which kept smoldering among them was fanned into an open
conflagration, which compelled the Gentile world also to inquire into
the subject.
The persecution and forced conversions of the Jews have also con-
tributed to the publicity of the Hebrew esoteric philosophy. Many
of the learned Rabbis embraced the Christian faith, and the principal
books were translated into Latin. Christian philosophers embraced
the Kabbalah as a godsend. At first they were somewhat hampered
by the doctrine of “Three Trinities”; but since the doctrine of three
is the basis of the Sephiroth, and since it deals also with «Father»
and “Mother,” the Makroprosorpon (Great Face), the Mikroprosorpon
(Small Face), the “Infinite,” etc. ,- they overlooked the impediments
and accepted the essential points.
This foreign doctrine found additional friends among the “prac-
tical scientists of that age, and it enrolled among its admirers men
of great learning, - physicians, metaphysicians, alchemists, mathema-
ticians, etc. ,— as the learned works of that period (1300-1700) testify;
from the famous scholastic Raymond Lully, who died 1315, to the
most eminent Christian scholar Baron C. Knorr von Rosenroth, of the
seventeenth century.
Whilst the Kabbalah was making rapid strides in these new quar-
ters, and absorbed in its progress not a few of the heterogeneous
doctrines entirely foreign to the Sephiritic system, it did not remain
idle in its former abode. The check it received from Maimonides's
followers was counteracted by the formidable array of Nachmonides
and his disciples. The number of elect” and “saints » multiplied,
and the Zohar) came to be considered as a Holy Book on the same
level with the “Torah. ' The Gentile Kabbalists who engaged in the
Practical Kabbalah were ignored by the Hebrew (elect. ” The Rabbis


## p. 8439 (#39) ############################################

THE KABBALAH
8439
(
>>
declared that their “wonder-workings” were accomplished by means
of the Shem Hamphorash (the ineffable name of God), his attributes,
and the Angels, whilst the Gentiles performed them by means of
Satan and his hosts.
The principal Hebrew colleges for the study of the Kabbalah were
located in Spain; but after the expulsion of the Jews (1492) from that
country, various schools were opened in France, Germany, and Pales-
tine.
Whilst the Gentile alchemists endeavored to discover the philoso-
pher's stone by means of the Practical Kabbalah,' the Rabbis, on
the other hand, by help of the all-powerful Prophet Elijah, tried to
obtain saintly virtues, in order to become the possessors of the Divine
teachings (Grace); and there were not a few who even attempted the
liberation of the Jews from their captivity by means of the Shem
Hamphorash, and even assumed the title of «Messiah. ” Abraham
Abulafia in the thirteenth century, born in Zaragosa, and the famous
Sabbathai Zebhi in the seventeenth century, born in Smyrna, are
examples of those who tried it, but who failed miserably. It was not
long before the latter pseudo-Messiah proclaimed himself King of the
Jews. Plans to march on Constantinople and subdue the Gentiles –
of course not by the sword, but by miraculous deeds - were laid.
The globe was portioned out among his immediate disciples and
relatives, reserving for his own dominion the Holy Land, with Jerusa-
lem for his own residence. The day for the capture of Constantinople
.
was already appointed. But the unusual multitude which gathered
around him attracted the attention of the authorities, and the intended
uprising was quelled in its inception. Sabbathai Zebhi and his dis-
ciples were cast in prison. His adherents still confided in him, and
waited for Divine intervention when the gates of the prison should
open. This drama ended in the total discomfiture of the pseudo-
Messiah and his followers. Sabbathai Zebhi embraced the Moslem
faith, and died in prison. In his belief he was a follower of Isaac
Loria's Kabbalistic doctrines, and considered himself able to perform
miracles; his right-hand disciple was Nathan of Gaza, who assumed
the title of Prophet. ” The fame of Sabbathai Zebhi spread among
the Jews in all parts of the world, and he proclaimed himself to
be the long-expected Messiah. Deputations were sent from various
centres of Hebrew learning to ascertain the truth as to his claims of
the Messiahship. The deluded Kabbalist had succeeded in convincing
some of them that certain Messianic passages in the Scriptures (by
means of the above-named Gematria, Notarikon, etc. ) point directly
to himself. For instance, the three Hebrew consonants SBT, form-
ing the word ShēBhet (sceptre), mentioned in Balaam's prophecy,
« There shall come a star out of Jacob, and a sceptre (ShēBheT)
(


## p. 8440 (#40) ############################################

8440
THE KABBALAH
shall rise out of Israel” (Numbers xxiv. 17), amount to the number 5,
the same as the Hebrew letters of his own name; a slender founda-
tion for the Messiahship.
Notwithstanding the efforts of those modern occultists who attempt
to infuse new life into the Practical Kabbalah' by means of hetero-
geneous materials, it is, like sorcery, doomed to become a thing of
the past. As a matter of fact, its incantations, charms, and exorcisms
are nothing more than sorcery. There are numerous books on this
subject, some of them written by eminent Kabbalists. One of the
most curious of these is the production of Rabbi Israel Baalshem,
called Miph'aloth Elohim' or 'Elokim' (Workings of the Almighty).
This book is the storehouse of Kabbalistic therapeutics, and among
the numerous recipes are directions how to expel unfamiliar spirits
from the possessed by means of exorcisms and charms; how to draw
wine from the wall, how to create wine, etc. The vade mecum of
the modern Baalshem is the book called Shimûsh Tehilim,' which
teaches how to cure all diseases, put out fires, become a favorite,
conquer enemies, counteract an evil eye, discover hidden treasure,
etc. , by means of certain Psalms. Each Psalm, yea, verse or word, is
asserted to contain the name or attributes of God and the Heavenly
Hosts. The injunctions to the postulants are of the most severe
nature. A worldly man, even if he chances to learn the doctrinal
part of the theosophy, can penetrate no further. The Keeper of
those secrets is Elijah the Prophet, who will never permit the un-
godly to acquire them. Not only is the unworthy student threatened
with dire punishment, but the betrayer of the Divine secrets must
meet the same fate.
The Kabbalists believe that Moses acquired these heavenly secrets,
the Shem 'A B (Seventy-two Name), at the “burning bush. ” Whoso-
ever utters the holy name of the “Seventy-two, the Kabbalists
declare, “will surely die. ” The name of the “Seventy-two” proceeds
from the Hebrew letters of the verses in Exodus xiv. 19-21, beginning
with Vayis'a, Vayabho, Vayēt. These verses speak of the doings of
the "Angel of the Lord” and Moses at the Red Sea. Each verse has
seventy-two letters, and is by the Kabbalists written in three lines;
the first from right to left, the second from left to right, and the
third again from right to left. The verses, placed horizontally and
in juxtaposition so as to correspond exactly letter for letter, if ver-
tically divided form seventy-two triads of letters; each triad is sup-
posed to represent one of the attributes of the Deity, and to possess
a recondite meaning.
The Prophet Elijah never tasted death (2 Kings ii. 11). He is,
according to the Kabbalists, a ubiquitous personage engaged in the
same mission now as when he was on earth. This assertion they


## p. 8441 (#41) ############################################

THE KABBALAH
8441
base on quasi-Scriptural authority, as in Malachi iv. 5-6: «Behold I
will send you Elijah the Prophet before the coming of the great and
dreadful day of the Lord. ” Many stories of his exploits are related
in the Talmud,' the Midrash,' and the 'Zohar': how he relieves the
needy and suffering, chastises the godless, etc. But his main mission
is to assist the ascetic saints when they are engaged in the study of
the Divine secrets.
Not only the Hasidim sect, but even many orthodox Hebrews,
repeat every Saturday evening songs and hymns wherein are cited
the deeds of Elijah, as related in the Bible and tradition. Satur-
day evening is specially a propitious time for those who keep the
Sabbath holy; for Elijah sits then under the Ets Hayim (Tree of
Life), and records the good deeds of the pious. Elijah's name is
then repeated one hundred and thirty times. The five Hebrew let-
ters in “Elijah” are transposed one hundred and twenty times, in the
following manner:-
ELIAH (Elijah), ELIHA, ELHIA, ELHAI,
ELAHI, ELAIH, EILHA, EILAH, EIHLA,
EIHAL, EIAHL, EIALH, Etc. , Etc. ,
(
corresponding to the numerical value of the Hebrew letters compos-
ing «Eliahu Hanabhi” (Elijah the Prophet): 1+30+10+5+6+5+50+2+10
+1=120. In addition to these 120 transpositions they repeat ten times
the regular untransposed name of ELIAH (Elijah), making the total
130. Those who are unable to pronounce these difficult transposi-
tions repeat 130 times “Elijah the Prophet, Elijah the Prophet,” etc.
This points to the Hebrew word Ka L = 130 (Swift), and hints also at
'AB= 72 (Cloud); both words are mentioned in Isaiah xix. 1: "Behold
the Lord rideth upon a 'Swift (Ka L, 130) Cloud('AB, 72).
Among those who chiefly distinguished themselves (since 1550) and
who are designated by the title Elohe or Eloke (Divine), and could
perform miracles, are Moses ben Jacob Cordovero (1522–1570), author
of the Kabbalistic work Pardes Rimonim” (The Garden of Pome-
granates); Jesaiah Horwitz (1570-1630). author of the (Sh L a H”;
Isaac Loria, author of Ets Hāïm' (Tree of Life), and “Sepher Haguil-
gulim? (Metempsychosis); and his disciple Haim Vital (Vidal), and
Israel Baal Shem, born in 1750, at Medziborze, Poland.
The number of the Hebrew books and commentaries on the Kab-
balah amounts to thousands. The following are the most important
and accessible:-
The Talmud, Tract. Chagigeh (Haguigah), Chap. ii. , fols. 11-16.
The 'Zohar,' attributed to Rabbi Simeon ben Yohaſ. First edi-
tion, Cremona and Mantua, 1560. (There are numerous
later editions. )


## p. 8442 (#42) ############################################

8442
THE KABBALAH
(Sepher Tikûne Ha-Zohar (attributed to the same). Leghorn,
1842.
(Sepher Yetsireh (The Book of Creation), with ten Comment-
aries. Warsaw, 1884.
(Sepher Habahir” (The Book of Brilliant Light). Amsterdam,
1651. (There are several editions. )
(Pardes Rimônim? (The Garden of Pomegranates), by Rabbi
Moses Cordovero.
(Sha'arē Ôrah (Gates of Light), by Joseph ben Abraham Gika-
tilia. (There is a Latin translation by P. Ricius, 1516. )
Ets Hayim (The Tree of Life), compiled by Hayim (Chayim)
ben Joseph Vital (Vidal). Korzec, 1784.
(Sh’nē Lūhoth Habrith (The Two Tables of the Covenant), by
Jesaiah Horwitz.
Beth Ha-Midrasch,' a collection of apocryphal midrashim, mostly
treating of Jewish folk-lore and Kabbalah; compiled and
translated by Adolph Jellinek. Leipzig, 1853-55.
(Guinzē Hakhmath Hakaballah : Auswahl Kabbalistischer Mystik
(A Selection of Kabbalist Mystic). Jellinek, Leipzig, 1853.
Beiträge zur Geschichte der Kabbala' (Contributions toward
the History of Kabbalah). Jellinek, Leipzig, 1852.
Kabbalah Denudata' (Latin). By Baron C. Knorr von Rosen-
roth. Sulzbach, 1677. English translation, with Preface
by S. L. MacGregor Mathews. London, 1887.
'The Kabbalah, An Essay,' by C. D. Ginzburg, 1865.
Kabbalah in "Encyclopædia Britannica,' Ninth Ed. , by C. D.
Ginzburg.
La Kabbale, ou la Philosophie Religieuse des Hebreux,' by
Adolphe Frank (new ed. ). Paris, 1889.
(Midrash Hazohar: Die Religionsphilosophie des Zohar: Eine
Kritische Beleuchtung der Frank'schen “Kabbala”) (The
Religious Philosophy of the Zohar': A Critical Examina-
tion of Frank's Kabbalah '). (By) Joel (D. H. ), Leipzig,
1849.
(Le Livre des Splendeurs' (The Book of Splendors), by Eliphaz
Lévi, Paris, 1894.
( Geschichte der Juden' (History of the Jews), Graetz, Vol. viii. ,
pp. 96-98, 219–221, 242.
I
80.
SO Bion


## p. 8443 (#43) ############################################

8443
THE KALEVALA
BY WILLIAM SHARP
(
>
(
>>
HE great Finnish epic, the Kalevala,' is in a sense the most
significant national epic in existence. In it are reflected
not only the manners, beliefs, superstitions, and customs
of a race, but the very soul of that race. The Finnish pulse beats
in the Kalevala,' the Finnish heart stirs throughout its rhythmic
sequences, the Finnish brain molds and adapts itself within these
metrical limits. There is, too, certainly no other instance so remark-
able of the influence upon the national character of an epic work
which as it were summarizes the people for itself. 'In no exaggerated
sense, the Finland of to-day is largely due to the immense influence
of the national sentiment created by the universal adoption of the
Kalevala' as, after the Scriptures, the chief mental and spiritual
treasure-house of the Finnish nation.
The word “epic) is frequently used too loosely; as for example
when applied to the Ossian' of Macpherson. In the sense of con-
tinuity alone can the word “epic properly be used; whereas great
epical works such as the "Kalevalaare really aggregations of epic
matter welded into a certain homogeneity, but rather by the accident
of common interest, and by the indomitable skill of one or more saga-
men, than by any inherent necessity of controlled and yet inevitable
sequent relation. When therefore one sees the Kalevala' referred
as recently in the instance of a critic of some standing – as an
epic comparable with those of Milton or Dante, one must at once dis-
count a really irrelevant comparison. For though both Dante and
Milton, and doubtless Homer in his half-mythic time, summed up an
infinitude of general knowledge and thought, their actual achievement
stands to this day as individual and distinctive. But though we
owe the "Kalevala' as we know it to the genius of one man, — Elias
Lönnrot of Helsingfors, — this man was the editor rather than the
creator of the national epic. For the famous national epic of Finland
is in reality composed of a great number of popular songs, ballads,
incantations, and early runic poetry, strung together into an artistic
whole by the genius of Dr. Lönnrot.
The Finns were gradually dying out as a nation before the Kale-
vala' appeared. National hopes, aspirations, and ideals had long been
slowly atrophying; and in another generation or two Russia would
to-
!
.
1
1
.


## p. 8444 (#44) ############################################

8444
THE KALEVALA
have absorbed all the intellectual life of the old Northern realm, and
Finland have sunk to the status of a mere outlying province. At
the same time the Finns have ever been a people of marked racial
homogeneity, and have cherished their ancient language and litera-
ture with something of that passionate attachment which we find in
all races whose heroic past dominates a present which in no respect
can be compared with it. The upper classes would inevitably have
become Swedish or Russian, and the majority of the people would in
time have degenerated into a listless and mentally inert mass. Per-
haps a great war, involving a national uprising, would have saved
them from this slow death: but happily the genius of one man and
the enthusiasm of contemporary and subsequent colleagues obviated
any such tragically crucial test; for by applying the needed torch to
the national enthusiasm, Lönnrot and his fellow-workers gave incal-
culable stimulus to the mental and actual life of their countrymen.
For many ages the Finnish minstrels, who had ever been beloved
of the people, went to and fro reciting the old sagas of the race,
singing old national songs and telling the wonderful folk-tales of a
remote and ancient land. These singers were known as the Runo-
lainen, and played to the sound of the kantela, a kind of harp much
like that which the Gaelic minstrels used to carry in their similar
wanderings to and fro from village to village and from house to
house. For generation after generation, much of the essential part of
the Kalevala, as we now know it, lived within the hearts and upon
the lips of the peasants and farming classes: but with the changed
conditions which came to the whole of Europe early in the present
century, and with the political and other vicissitudes through which
Finland in common with almost every other country has passed, it
was inevitable that as elsewhere, this oral legendary lore should
slowly fade before the pressing actualities of new and radically dis-
tinct conditions.
The first man to make a systematic endeavor to stem the ebb
of the national poetry and sentiment was Dr. Zacharias Topelius,
who in 1822 published a small collection of Finnish folk poetry and
legends. But fifteen years later Dr. Elias Lönnrot achieved that
marvelous success which has been the admiration and wonder of
Europe ever since, as well as the delight — and in a sense, as already
indicated, the regeneration of Finland itself.
Dr. Lönnrot, inspired with a passionate enthusiasm for the histori-
cal language and legendary literature of his people, set himself the
task of rescuing all that was best in the vast unprinted and uncol-
lected mass of folk-lore which existed in his country. To this end he
lived with the peasantry for many years and wandered from place to
place, everywhere taking down from the lips of the people all that


## p. 8445 (#45) ############################################

THE KALEVALA
8445
they knew of their popular songs or legendary lore, and including
of course all they could tell him of local superstitions, incantations,
and so forth. At first his researches were limited to the district of
Karelia, in the Government of Kupio. Even within this limited scope
he obtained, besides numerous fragmentary songs and a great num-
ber of proverbs and charms, a complete epos consisting of some
12,000 lines. These either fell naturally, or were arranged by him,
in thirty-two parts, each consisting of from 200 to 700 verses. They
were given to the world just as he had heard them sung or chanted;
and in this, of course, lies their primary value. At the first, however,
this all-important work attracted little attention when it was pub-
lished in 1835 — and this notwithstanding the fact that it appeared
under the title of Kalevala' (Kalewala), the ancient poetic designa-
tion of Finland. Five years later the Academy of Dorpat made the
publication the subject of discussion at their meetings. Some nine
years subsequently Dr. Lönnrot issued a new edition of nearly 23,000
verses in fifty so-called runes. But already the attention of scientific
Europe had been drawn to this wonderful Finnish find. Not only the
Swede and famous Finnish scholar Castrén, but the great German
philologists, the two Grimms and Brockhaus, agreed in regarding the
Kalevala' as a genuine epic; and as an epic it has ever since been
received - although, as already hinted, a splendid epical national mir-
ror rather than epic in the strict literary sense of the term. It would
be pedantic, however, to refuse the term "epic » to the Kalevala,'
for all that it does not conform to certain literary conditions which
we associate with the epic pure and simple. Not only, from the date
of the first discussions at Dorpat down to the present time, has the
Kalevala' been admitted to be one of the most curious monuments
of its kind posessed by any European people, but the chief authorities
have agreed in regarding it as a composition possessing an almost
unparalleled wealth of images and tropes, great flexibility of rhythm,
and a copiousness of synonyms not to be met with in any other
Northern tongue. Of course there is great divergence of opinion as
to the identification of historic facts and arbitrary figments; that is,
as to whether the incidents of the narrative refer to definite histori-
cal epochs, or are mainly mythical or allegorical. It is too loose a
way of writing to aver, with one authority on the subject, that the
date of its composition must be referred to a period anterior to the
introduction of Christianity among the Finns in the fourteenth cen-
tury; for while there is internal evidence to an even more ancient ori-
gin than this,- indeed, of an identity of names and traditions which
points to an epoch anterior to the immigrations of the Karelin Finns
into the districts which they now occupy,—not enough allowance
is made for the arbitrary archaic coloring which by a natural law


## p. 8446 (#46) ############################################

8446
THE KALEVALA
characterizes all renascent folk-lore. It does not follow, because a
narrative is remote in date and is archaic in form, that it belongs to
a remote date itself; though the conditions and circumstances which
preserve traditionary folk-lore are pre-eminently conservative. Stu-
dents of all early and mainly traditional literatures have long agreed
upon this point, and one of the first efforts of the philological folk-
lorist is to penetrate the illusion of an arbitrary archaism.
Once the importance of this great indigenous epic of Finland was
fully recognized, translations from Dr. Lönnrot's invaluable version
appeared in Swedish, German, and French, - and latterly in English,
with which may be included the few representative selections trans-
lated by the late Professor Porter of Yale College (published in New
York, 1868). The Kalevala) is written in eight-syllabled trochaic
verse, and an adequate idea of its style and method may be obtained
from the popular Hiawatha' of Longfellow; who, it may be added,
adopted this particular metrical form from his knowledge of the
great Finnish poem. Some eight or nine years ago a complete
edition of the Kalevala' appeared in English, the work of Mr.
John Martin Crawford (2 vols. , 1888). In the interesting preface to
this work — which deals with the Finns and their country, and also
with their language and mythology — the translator remarks, what the
famous Grimm had already affirmed, that the Kalevala' describes
Finnish life and nature with extraordinary minuteness, verisimilitude,
and beauty; and that indeed no national poem is to be compared
with it in this respect, unless it be some of the epics of India. He
adds also some interesting additional evidence for the genuineness
of certain of the more archaic portions, which have been disputed
by some critics. For, as he says, some of the most convincing evi-
dences of the genuineness and great age of the Kalevala' have been
supplied by Barna, the Hungarian translator. The Hungarians, it is
well known, are racially closely connected with the Finns; and their
language, the Magyar, has the same characteristics as the Finnish
tongue. Naturally therefore Barna's translation might well be, as it
admittedly is, much the finest rendering of the original. (In a book
written by a Hungarian in 1578 are collected all the incantations in
use among Hungarian country-people of his day for the expulsion of
disease and misfortunes. These display a most satisfactory sameness
with the numerous incantations in the Kalevala' used for the same
purpose. )
The Kalevala' (whose direct significance is “the land of heroes”)
relates as its main theme the ever-varying contests between the
Finns and a people referred to in the epic as “the darksome Lapps,”
just as the Iliad relates the contests between the Greeks and the
Trojans. It is more than probable, however, that these Laplanders
(


## p. 8447 (#47) ############################################

THE KALEVALA
8447
are
are not exactly the Lapps of to-day; and it is possible that another
interpretation of the Kalevala' points to a contest between Light
and Darkness, Good and Evil, — the Finns representing the Light
and Good, and the Lapps the Darkness and Evil. The celebrated
Swedish scholar Castrén is of opinion that the enmity between the
Finns and the Lapps was sown long before the Finns had left their
Asiatic birthplace. Certainly this possibility is enhanced — collater-
ally affording another proof of the great antiquity of the fundamental
part of the Kalevala'— by the silence throughout concerning the
neighboring Russians, Swedes, and Germans. Nowhere in the poem
are there any important signs of foreign influence; indeed, from first
to last it is a true pagan epic, and some of the narrative portions-
for example the story of Mariatta recited in the fiftieth rune
pre-Christian.
It has been well said of the architecture of the Kalevala,' that it
stands midway between the epic ballads of the Servians and the
purely epical structure of the Iliad: for although now accepted as a
continuous whole, it contains several almost independent parts; as
for example the contest of the Yonkahainen, the Kullervo episode,
and the legend of Mariatta. To this day its eight-syllabled trochaic
verse, with the part line echo, is the characteristic literary expression
of the Finnish people. It is this which gives peculiar value to Mr.
Crawford's translation, to which allusion has already been made; for
it is in the original metre,—a wonderfully versatile metre, he adds,
which admits of keeping the right medium between the dignified
and virile hexameter and the quieter metres of the lyrics. Its feet
are nimble and fleet, yet are full of vigor and expressiveness; while in
addition the Kalevala' uses alliteration, and thus varies the rhythm
of time with the rhythm of sound. While therefore all honor is
given to Dr. Lönnrot, it must not be forgotten that the substance of
the Kalevala' existed before he wandered minstrel-wise from vil-
lage to village; that, in a word, it has descended unwritten from the
mythical age to the present day, kept alive from generation to gen-
eration, and in this sense is the veritable expression of the national
life. We must remember the national idiosyncrasy in judging the
monotonous effect of this great epic. For what is congenial to the
Finns is not so to us, who have something of the Celtic love of vari-
ety and vivacity. For this epic of fifty books, written throughout in
the (Hiawatha' metre, seldom relieves the ear by a pause or a final
long syllable, but is one uninterrupted stream of trochees, which
have in prolonged perusal a wearisome effect to our ears. Strangely
enough, we find at least one Southern people with the same charac-
teristic; for the metre of the dialogues in the plays of Calderon and
other Spanish masters is akin.


## p. 8448 (#48) ############################################

8448
THE KALEVALA
of the
the Son
Veron
tered t
of the
(
21€ na
and is
posed
cer
addit
A great many theories have arisen as to the origin and full sig-
nificance of the Kalevala,' but these may be merely alluded to en
passant. In the words of Mr. Oxenford: «To admit any conjecture
as to the veritable import of the Kalevala'— as to the nucleus of
truth, moral, historical, or theological, that would remain if it were
stripped of its wild fancies would be an act of presumption, as the
profoundest investigators of the subject are still in darkness. ” There
are certain features, however, which may be pointed out; and these
we have already indicated. All authorities agree on one point: that
the surprising development of the Finns during the present century
is to a large extent due to the fostering efforts of the Finnish Liter-
ary Society (itself an outcome of the labors of Dr. Lönnrot and other
pioneers), and the collection of those marvelous stores of folk-lore
which have so long lain half buried under the austere reserve of the
Finnish peasant. The critics, moreover, — native, Swedish, Russian,
German, and English, — all concur in recognition of the Kalevala's)
immense importance in this political and national development. With
the best fitted to judge of these, we may agree in saying that the
(Kalevala' has stirred the fibre of nationality among a people who
have never yet shown any political genius; that it has revealed to
an obscure race their own unity and power; that it has awakened an
enthusiasm for national culture and historic life which appears des-
tined to have far-reaching effects.
Some idea of the immense extent of contemporary research may
be gained from the fact that by the year 1889 the Finnish Society
had already collected
the
WI
tat
the
10
ad
C
1
22,000 songs,
13,000 stories,
40,000 proverbs,
10,000 riddles,
2,000 folk melodies, and
20,000 incantations, games, etc.
The main body and frame of the Kalevala) is compounded of
four cycles of folk-songs. The poem itself takes its name from three
heroes of ancient Kalevala; namely, Wåinåmỏinen, Ilmarinen, and
Lemminkåinen. It is the struggles of these with the mythical “dark-
some Laplanders” or others, out of Pohjola, a land of the cold north,
and from Luomela, the land of death, that constitute the theme of
the epic narrative. The poem, which begins at the creation of the
world, ends at last in the triumph of Wåinåmỏinen and his comrades.
Besides the four divisional cycles just alluded to, there are seven dis-
tinct romances or folk-tales woven into the general fabric; namely,
(The Tale of Aino,' (The Fishing for the Mermaid, “The Wooing


## p. 8449 (#49) ############################################

THE KALEVALA
8449
ܘܘܘܘܘ. ܣ ܚ
of the Daughter of the Air,' (The Golden Bride,' (The Wooing of
the Son of Kojo,' «The Captivity and Deliverance of the Sun and
Moon,' and 'The Story of the Virgin Maria. Besides these, and scat-
tered freely throughout the work,—sometimes placed in the mouths
of the characters, sometimes absorbed into the narrative itself, -
are many prayers, chants, religious formulas, and other magic songs
and lyrics, roughly divisible thus: (1) origins; (2) charms; (3) lyrics;
(4) marriage songs; (5) the origin of the harp; (6) introductory and
closing songs. Finally, there seem to be additions apparently com-
posed, paraphrased, or adopted by Dr. Lönnrot himself; though it is
uncertain if these are not merely later and perhaps contemporary
additions to the national treasures of folk-lore.
No one who has ever visited Finland can fail to note the truth of
the delineation of the national genius as reflected in this representa-
tive work: truth of observation, love of nature, mental independency,
unmistakable racial idiosyncrasy. Something of the spirit of that vast
and for the most part strangely bleak and desolate country has satu-
rated the (Kalevala. ' The immense plains, the great treeless pastures,
the lakes like inland seas, the trackless gloomy pine forests, have
together thrown something of their shadow across the national epic:
and in it we hear - almost as distinctly as the voices of men and
women and the sharp antagonism of rival forces bodily or spiritual —
the lone cry of the wind, the dashing of solitary seas, and the solitary
cry of the wild swan along unfrequented lakes. This characteristic
melancholy is to be found not only in the ancient poems, but in the
writings of contemporary Finnish poets; and we may take it that
that Finnish legend is true in spirit which displays the genius of
Finland as a wild swan, singing a death-song beautifully, while, be-
wildered by the slow increasing mists of death, it circles blindly above
the forests and lakes and vast snow plains of the great Northland. If
the ‘Kalevala' be indeed the swan-song of the Finns, we must admit
that it has at least the note rather of virility and endurance than of
undue melancholy or decrepitude.
Fortunately, it is no longer considered boorish in Finland to speak
the ancient Finnish tongue. For a time the Russian government did
its utmost to encourage the cultivation of Finnish in every direction;
but this, it is to be feared, was not so much from disinterested love
of an ancient language and its literature as the desire to alienate
the people from the language and general sympathies of the Swedes,
under whose dominion Finland formerly was. Latterly, Russia has
broken its solemn pledges and done its utmost to Russianize Finland.
It needs all the enthusiasm and native independence of the Finns
to resist the organized assault made against them from school and
church and the public courts; but at present, at any rate, the national
H. . . .
XV-529


## p. 8450 (#50) ############################################

8450
THE KALEVALA
patriotism is likely to prove a stronger factor than Russian bureau-
cratism. The Finnish literary movement inspired by the Kalevala
has as yet achieved very little; but if not stamped out by Russian
influence, it is possible that it may have a marked development before
long. Many of the younger Finns display remarkable promise, though
they have to face the fact that the people who will read the native
language are mostly of a class who can ill afford to buy books.
Moreover, the prose literature of Finland has ever been almost exclus-
ively devoted to religious and moral subjects; and it seems as though
the mental soil were not yet ready to bear a harvest akin to that
remarkable aftermath which is so noticeable a feature of the contem-
porary intellectual development of Sweden, and still more of Norway.
We may take leave of the Kalevala' in the words of one of the
most popular writers on kindred subjects, Mr. Max Müller:
.
«From the mouths of the aged an epic poem has been collected, equaling
the Iliad in length and completeness; nay,- if we can forget for a moment
all that we in our youth learned to call beautiful, — not less beautiful. A Finn
is not a Greek, and a Wainamoinen was not a Homer. But if the poet may
take his colors from that nature by which he is surrounded, if he may depict
the men with whom he lives, the Kalevala) possesses merits not dissimilar
from those of the Iliad: and will claim its place as the fifth national epic of
the world, side by side with the Ionian Songs,' with the Mahābhārata, the
(Shabnāmeh,) and the Nibelungen. ) »
>
As exemplifying the style and method of the Kalevala, I may
give the opening and closing lines in the translation of Mr. Crawford.
as that more adequately conveys a notion of the original than any
other save that of the Hungarian, Barna.
PROEM
M
ASTERED by desire impulsive,
By a mighty inward urging,
I am ready now for singing,
Ready to begin the chanting
Of our nation's ancient folk-song,
Handed down from bygone ages.
In my mouth the words are melting,
From my lips the tones are gliding,
From my tongue they wish to hasten;
When my willing teeth are parted,
When my ready mouth is opened,
Songs of ancient wit and wisdom
Hasten from me not unwilling.


## p. 8451 (#51) ############################################

THE KALEVALA
8451
Golden friend, and dearest brother,
Brother dear of mine in childhood,
Come and sing with me the stories,
Come and chant with me the legends,
Legends of the times forgotten,
Since we now are here together,
Come together from our roamings.
Seldom do we come for singing,
Seldom to the one, the other,
O'er this cold and cruel country,
O'er the poor soil of the Northland.
Let us clasp our hands together
That we thus may best remember.
Join we now in merry singing,
Chant we now the oldest folk-lore,
That the dear ones all may hear them,
That the well-inclined inay hear them,
Of this rising' generation.
These are words in childhood taught me,
Songs preserved from distant ages;
Legends they that once were taken
From the belt of Wainamoinen,
From the forge of Ilmarinen,
From the sword of Kaukomieli,
From the bow of Youkahainen,
From the pastures of the Northland,
From the meads of Kalevala.
These my dear old father sang me
When at work with knife and hatchet:
These my tender mother taught me
When she twirled the flying spindle,
When a child upon the matting
By her feet I rolled and tumbled.
Incantations were not wanting
Over Sampo and o'er Louhi,
Sampo growing old in singing,
Louhi ceasing her enchantment.
In the songs died wise Wipunen,
At the games died Lemminkainen.
There are many other legends,
Incantations that were taught me,
That I found along the wayside,
Gathered in the fragrant copses,
Blown me from the forest branches,


## p. 8452 (#52) ############################################

8452
THE KALEVALA
Culled among the plumes of pine-trees,
Scented from the vines and flowers,
Whispered to me as I followed
Flocks in land of honeyed meadows,
Over hillocks green and golden,
After sable-haired Murikki,
And the many-colored Kimmo.
Many runes the cold has told me,
Many lays the rain has brought me,
Other songs the winds have sung me;
Many birds from many forests,
Oft have sung me lays in concord;
Waves of sea, and ocean billows,
Music from the many waters,
Music from the whole creation,
Oft have been my guide and master.