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The Rothschilds - About the Jews

by John Reeves

The rise of the Rothschilds is the more remarkable seeing that they belong to an outcast and down-trodden race. No other race has experienced such persecution, nor passed through such trials as have the Jews. From time immemorial they have been loaded with scorn and contumely, they have been harassed and fettered by tyrannical laws and barbarous edicts, but they have always passed through their tribulations patiently and triumphantly. Their very name has been a term of reproach to them, and they have been the common butt for the sneers and ridicule of their Christian neighbours. It would be difficult to describe in a few words the intense hatred which the mere word: “ Jew,” roused in the breasts of Christians, but ample proofs of the bitter animosity between the believers in the old and the believers in the new dispensation are to be found in the writings of our poets and historians. “Thou dog of a Jew” was a term eloquent with savage hatred and unmeasured contempt. These feelings were formerly far more rampant than they are now, but even in these much vaunted days of liberalism and progress there is a very general inclination to cast the words of Shylock in the face of anyone who by his features or manners excites the slightest suspicion of a Jewish origin:

" You call me misbeliever, cut-throat, dog,

And spit upon my Jewish gaberdine."

That the long-standing hatred of the Christian for the Jews is not extinguished, has been proved only too clearly of recent years. In Russia, Turkey, Poland, Hungary, and elsewhere, the Jews are still, in the eyes of the populace, an accursed race, to be despoiled and persecuted without mercy. Those who cannot compete with them in industry, thrifty habits, or intelligence, show a painful and deplorable eagerness to lend themselves to a propaganda of extermination started often by scheming tricksters, with the result that many innocent lives are sacrificed to the fury and ignorant passions of brutal mobs. Especially is it to be regretted that such lawless proceedings receive a powerful support in some countries from Court chaplains and others, who profess—but whose professions are belied by their deeds—to act up to a creed in which “ charity that thinketh no evil” holds a distinguished place. Nothing surely can be more detrimental to true religion than the sanction given by men of education and influence to the perpetration of such barbarities. These continual outbreaks are a forcible proof that even in these enlightened days the spirit of persecution is but poorly concealed, and that a spark may at any moment set it ablaze, when the law would be powerless to control or restrain the excited passions of the multitude.

In England the spirit of intolerance is, we are thankful to say, fast dying out. It is our just pride and boast that our island is the land of liberty, the refuge to which the persecuted of other lands flock. No doubt there still is among Englishmen a prejudice against the Jews, bat bitterness in the feeling is now less marked than pity. We no longer regard the language or nationality of those who live in our midst; it is the mental qualities and abilities that awaken our regard and esteem. Here in England we welcome men of every nation, whether Jew or Gentile; here all can and do live in friendly rivalry without any animosity being excited. The thrifty and industrious habits of the Jews, combined with their great intelligence, have long been recognized and acknowledged here in England, and any attempt to start a crusade against those who trusting to our generosity and good nature have settled in our midst, would at once meet with general and well- merited disapproval. In no other country do the Jews enjoy such liberty and privileges as in England. Abroad they live apart, despised and shunned by their so-called Christian neighbours, and harassed in their business and private life by restrictions and edicts originating in the envy inspired by their success. Here they live peacefully and quietly, enjoying the same privileges and opportunities as the rest of the community; no hindrances bar their way to attaining the highest civil or military honours in the land; they are looked upon as a worthy and estimable part of the nation. But whilst on the one hand they are rapidly abandoning their peculiar habits, and are assimilating themselves to our own mode of living, they still fondly cling to their ancient religious ceremonials and doctrines, and assert their claim to a history that dates back to the genesis of our race and reproduces the symbolism of their desert wanderings. Their ceremonies and memories flourish under the protection which is accorded to them in the same measure as to all the other numerous sects and communities that exist in our great metropolis. No less honour or respect is accorded to the Jewish creed than to any other; they are all on an equal footing, and have to trust to their own efforts for support. While in religious matters we practically ignore the existence of the Jews, it cannot be denied that we, in common with all civilization, owe them a debt which we are very prone to forget, for it is certainly to them that we owe the very bases of our faith, and, were it not for the books of Moses, Christianity would lose one of its main supports, and much of its power.

From the Jews we have that short pithy code of morals embodied in the Ten Commandments, which are placed in the most prominent parts of our churches. The Jews have contributed to the ranks of poets, historians, philosophers, and musical composers a long succession of names that are the admiration of the whole world. In every department of science, art, or philosophy, we have representatives of the Jewish nation, who have by their labours and researches left an indelible impress upon the pages of history and helped to enlighten and ennoble the human race. It is from the Bible that many of our poets and writers have derived their greatest inspiration; the Bible is a storehouse full of the most noble, the grandest ideas, inspiring our writers to their greatest and most successful efforts. The Psalms of David, the Book of Job, and the teachings of Isaiah have never been surpassed, and still retain their sway over the hearts of millions. No higher homage to the intelligence and lofty genius of the Jewish writers could be paid than the universal pre-eminence accorded to the worka of their great law-givers and prophets. The moral law of Moses is virtually unaltered; the principles are still as sound and true as when first propounded, and it is only in the details by which their execution is effected that any change has been made. In the more ordinary and prosaic spheres of thought the superior intelligence of the Jews has been equally conspicuous. The doctrines of Spinoza lie at the root of the whole of that metaphysical philosophy which has had an immense influence upon the opinions and modes of thought of the whole civilized world, for he may undoubtedly be regarded as the founder of modern Rationalism. In music and the acted-drama the children of Israel are far ahead of all their rivals. The number of Jews who have distinguished themselves in these two branches of art is surprisingly large, and includes such famous masters aa Meyerbeer, Mendelssohn, Rubinstein, Ernst, Moscheles, Benedict, whilst on the stage are to be found such brilliant performers as Grisi, Rachel, and Sarah Bernhardt. It would be altogether superfluous to specify those Jews who have distinguished themselves in literature, science, or philosophy; their name is legion. One thing is certain and unquestionable: to the Jews we owe our knowledge of the sciences of mathematics and astronomy. During the Middle Ages, in spite of the risk they ran and the suspicion they were likely to incur of being astrologers and necromancers, they were the only students of mathematics and astronomy, the mysteries of which they patiently and unceasingly laboured to solve. In these two branches they have from the most ancient times been pre-eminent for their surpassing knowledge, as these two subjects have always had a great attraction for minds in which the powers and habits of calculation are innate and conspicuous. The earliest professors of mathematics in our universities were Jews, and in Germany, notwithstanding the ill- feeling that exists between the Christian and Jewish communities, the bulk of the mathematical professors belong to the Jewish faith. In commerce and finance the reputation of the Jews for success and ability is remarkable and world-wide, whilst in politics we have but to mention such distinguished names as Gambetta and others, to prove that in whatever path the Jews enter their talents and indefatigable energy will invariably enable them to place themselves in the foremost rank. If any farther proofs of the great intellectual powers of the Jews are required they will be found in the leaders of the legal profession. Few will be prepared to question the learning and acumen of such eminent lawyers and advocates as Lord Herschell, Sir George Jessel, Mr Benjamin, and Mr Cohen. Among the well-known politicians with a promising career opening out before them we must not overlook such men as Mr Mocatta, Baron de Worms, and others.

Of the many charges brought against the Jews, rapacity was by far the most frequent. It was a charge that could be brought forward with very little support, any evidence in refutation of it being sure to find but scant credit in the minds of Christian judges imbued with the strong prejudice everywhere prevalent against the Jews. It was the universal belief that the Jew would always exact his pound of flesh from the poor victim in his clutches. No abatement or reduction was ever to be expected from the relentless, merciless Shylock. Doubtless there was some reason for these accusations, but it will be somewhat of a surprise to our readers to learn that it was to the possession of qualities considered unusual and unlooked-for in a Jew, honesty and integrity, that the founder of the Rothschild family owed his success. From our infancy we have been taught to regard Jews as above all things sordid, mean, and selfish, ever grasping and coveting the goods of others. No impression could be more misleading or mistaken. The wish was father to the thought, and ignorant and intolerant Christians seized upon “”',usury as a weapon with which they could wreak their vengeance upon inoffensive Jews. “Whether these charges of rapacity brought against the Jews were often unfounded, or whether the first Rothschild was a marvellous exception to the rest of his co-religionists, we will not argue; it is sufficient for us to know that Mayer Amschel Rothschild was well known in Frankfort for his justice and fairness, and that even his Christian neighbours agreed in calling him ” the honest Jew.“ Why honesty should be so generally regarded as an exceptional trait in a Jew's character, we cannot say, but that such is the general opinion few will dare to deny. When we remember the frugal, abstemious habits of the Jews, and the careful economy by which they are distinguished, it should surely not appear surprising or incompatible if they were found to be not altogether wanting in honesty and love of fair dealing. The narrow prejudice that formerly existed against the Jews on the score of their grasping avarice is not so pronounced now, but still it cannot be said to have altogether ceased to exist. That public opinion should have become so much more lenient and favourable to the Jews is no doubt greatly owing to the respect and esteem that cannot be denied even by Christian rivals to the unim-”' peachable lives and characters of the Rothschilds, the Montefiores, and other prominent families. The history of such well-known firms has done much to remove the ill-feeling formerly so rife, and has gone far to prove that Jews when placed on an equal footing with their Christian fellow-citizens can and do trade with a fairness and justice not a whit inferior to those of their business rivals. But, while this prejudice is nearly extinct in England, it still burns with undiminished fury on the Continent. Even when its fury is apparently exhausted and smouldering away, Court chaplains and others, as already stated, abuse their position and fan its dying embers once more to a flame. There is no just cause for this violent outcry; it arises more from envy and jealousy than from any reasonable and well-founded grievance. In Germany of late years there has been a violent agitation or crusade against the Jews, in which all the charges formerly brought against them, such as that of sacrificing Christian children, have been revived, and have found belief among the ignorant classes. The only objection for which there is the least show of reason, is that the Jews everywhere supplant the Christians, and secure all the best and most lucrative appointments, whether in commerce or in the learned professions. But that the Jews do this is surely we think a great and convincing proof of their superior talents and abilities, for they would never receive such honour, in the face of the general ill-will, were it not for their surpassing and undeniable abilities. In making this the basis of an unwarrantable agitation to secure the expulsion of the Jews, the greatest want of reason and justice is displayed. The success of the agitation is rendered impossible by such conduct, which deprives the movement of the support of all thinking men, who cannot fail to see that jealousy and envy are the real causes which excite the animosity of their Christian neighbours in the nineteenth century. Their bitterest opponent never thinks of accusing the Jews of gaining their successes by foul or unfair means. The secret of their invariable success in life is that they not only have an innate and remarkable aptitude for business, but that they at the same time excel their Christian rivals in frugality and economy. The saying that “ A penny saved is a penny gained ” recommends itself strongly to their minds, and they fully appreciate the wisdom of Fielding's remark, that “ Men do not become rich by what they get, but by what they keep.” Now thrift is a quality which we have always heard described in terms of praise and approbation, so that to persecute the Jews simply because they are industrious and thrifty is certainly a novel, but hardly a commendable doctrine. Jealousy is however proverbially blind, and will seize on any pretext, however weak, as an excuse for its mad and unjustifiable proceedings. The Jews are thrifty, the Christians luxurious; consequently success must always rest more with the former than with the latter. The great cry now against the Jews is not so much that they are rapacious, as that they undersell or do business cheaper than others, and thus gradually get the balk of whatever business there is into their hands. But in these days of free trade, when competition is the soul of business, it would strike most persons on considering the matter that the greatest gainers must be the public at large. Christians are always at liberty to do business on the same terms as their Hebrew rivals, but they find themselves unable to maintain the struggle, for their luxurious habits are against them, and they see themselves practically handicapped out of the contest. The remedy however is in their own hands; let them adopt the thrifty, economical habits of their rivals, and they will soon cease to have any grievances on the score of underselling. Jews, we do not deny, like to make the best bargains they can, and are apt to be 'cute and sharp in their dealings, but in this they are by no means singular. Their Christian competitors, if we mistake not, are not so disinterested in their dealings as to be ready and willing to abandon a large profit for a smaller one. Sharp practices are common to both parties. The great Sir Thomas Gresham in many of his business transactions displayed great financial skill and a careful solicitude to secure an ample return for the accommodation he was pleased to place at the disposal of his clients. Had he been a Jew the large percentage of profits he made on many of his transactions would have called forth severe denunciation and many hard words. Our gracious lady, Queen Elizabeth, a perfect mistress of the art of diplomacy, but above all things a woman of the world, proved herself remarkably sharp in her money matters. She forced the loyal City companies to advance her large sums, and, finding she had more money than she required, very graciously returned the surplus,—but with the condition that she was to be paid interest on the amount so restored to its owners. Taken as a body, the Jews will be found as honest and open in their dealings as others, and in any case it is a matter of history that the Rothschild family is largely indebted for its present unexampled prosperity to the honesty of its founder. It cannot, however, be denied that his successors, in their anxiety to augment the fortune bequeathed them, did not hesitate to employ those expedients in common use on the Stock Exchange, which are not free from objection, but which they in common with other speculators were at perfect liberty to adopt. Playing their cards with greater skill than their opponents, the Bothschilds were invariably successful in their speculations, and it was only after their defeat that the losers began to doubt and question the morality of their rivals' manoeuvres. Those who engage in such contests should count the risks beforehand, and should remember that the laugh is with him that wins.

We have now said enough to prove what great intellectual gifts the Jews as a race possess, and how well qualified they are to become successful in whatever walk of life they may enter. There is, however, one question which cannot fail to suggest itself:—How is it that with their acknowledged abilities, with their remarkable industry and thrift leading them to the acquisition of splendid fortunes and fame in their careers;—how is it that the Jews still remain an outcast and an alien race amongst the civilized nations of the earth? The answer is short and simple, being contained in the few words—pride of race. Amidst all the sufferings and trials through which they have passed, despite the universal contumely and disdain heaped upon them, careless of and undismayed by the jeers and derision hurled at them, the Jews have clung steadfastly to the belief and conviction that they are the chosen people, that in the distant future their promised supremacy will be achieved and recognized.

" A people still, whose common ties are gone,

Who, mix'd with every race. are lost in none;

A part there are, whom, doubtless, man might trust,

Worthy as wealthy, pure, religious, just;

They who with patience, yet with rapture, look

On the strong promise of the Sacred Book."

This faith has made them hold themselves apart; they have neither adopted the religious teachings, yielded to the national spirit, nor mingled their lives with those among whom they live. They nave no foothold in the countries in which they have settled, but are indeed strangers in the land. To be let alone and allowed to pursue the even tenour of their way is all they desire, but even this is a concession not readily granted them in many countries. Though for centuries they have had to endure the opprobrium and hatred of those in power, they have never tried to resent their wrongs, but have borne them with patient and silent resignation. An outcast race, they still maintain their proud reserve, and never solicit aid from any but coreligionists, which is certainly more than can be said of the Christian community whose benevolent institutions receive handsome and liberal support from Jewish philanthropists. The isolation in which they live not unnaturally gave rise to feelings of suspicion and distrust, which were intensified by the envy inspired by their enormous wealth and extraordinary success. The rough intellect that found itself unable to cope with the subtle Hebrew mind lent a ready belief to every wild rumour of sorcery and supernatural agency. The results have been seen in Poland, Hungary and elsewhere, where raids on Jewish households have been frequent, ending in many cases in cruelty, spoliation, and bloodshed. In England a better feeling prevails; the barriers that separate the Jews from their neighbours are rapidly falling away, and the Jews are steadily amalgamating with their fellow citizens, as is proved by the ever increasing number of mixed marriages that are made. Besides this there is a feeling among Jews that England is their home, that here their nature and qualities are best appreciated, as it was here that they received the full benefits of citizenship.