life, its easily intelligible and commonplace morals, endeared it to the “general reader” of the Middle Ages. Few books have been more often printed, few more often translated.
Another favorite class of ethical books consisted of compilations made direct from the Talmud and the Midrash. The oldest and most prized of these was Isaac Aboab’s “Lamp of Light” (Menorath ha-Maor). It was an admirably written book, clearly arranged, and full to the brim of ethical gems. Aboab’s work was written between 1310 and 1320. It is arranged according to subjects, differing in this respect from another very popular compilation, Jacob Ibn Chabib’s “Eye of Jacob” (En Yaakob), which was completed in the sixteenth century. In this, the Hagadic passages of the Talmud are extracted without arrangement, the order of the Talmud itself being retained. The “Eye of Jacob” was an extremely popular work.
