Mashal Hakadmoni [“Proverb of the Ancient”]

<<“The illustrated Hebrew book par excellence.”>> A.J. Karp. From the Ends of the Earth: Judaic Treasures of the Library of Congress (1991) p. 125. Rare Venetian edition of a collection of allegories, fables and puns with moral inferences all written in rhymed prose. The book takes the form of a dialogue between the author and an opponent. The opponent attempts to prove that the cultivation of virtue is worthless, while the author defends the necessity of each virtue. Both sides employ animal fables as a means of expressing their ideas. Not only do the animals talk, they actually hold long discourses on matters scientific and philosophical and serve as the mouth-piece of the author’s views on all branches of knowledge. Thus, for example, in one portal, a deer delivers a discourse on the classification of the sciences, and in another, a dog delivers a lecture on the principles of psychology. These animals are well versed in the Bible and Talmud and make dexterous references to Biblical verses and Talmudic passages in the subjects under discussion. The style of the work imparts a charm and naivete which affords amusement as well as instruction. The author illustrated his original 13th-century manuscript copy of the work (now lost) in order to attract the interest of youth. Almost all extant medieval manuscripts of the work contain illustrations apparently following the original. For this reason, the printed editions of Mashal Hakadmoni include more than eighty remarkably high quality illustrations. See C. Roth, Jewish Art, cols. 476-77; Pierpont Morgan Library, Hebraica from the Valmadonna Trust (1989) no. 32; National Library of Canada, The Jacob M. Lowy Collection (1981) no. 111; New York Public Library, A Sign and a Witness (1988) no. 181.