tter in their
original tongues, than in his own. If he means, by this assertion,
that he knew the sense of many passages in the original, which were
obscure in the translation, the account, however wonderful, may be
admitted; but if he intends to tell his correspondent, that his son
was better acquainted with the two languages of the Bible than with
his own, he must be allowed to speak hyperbolically, or to admit, that
his son had somewhat neglected the study of his native language; or we
must own, that the fondness of a parent has transported him into some
natural exaggerations.

Part of this letter I am tempted to suppress, being unwilling to
demand the belief of others to that which appears incredible to
myself; but as my incredulity may, perhaps, be the product rather of
prejudice than reason, as envy may beget a disinclination to admit so
immense a superiority, and as an account is not to be immediately
censured as false, merely because it is wonderful, I shall proceed to
give the rest of his father's relation, from his letter of the 3rd of
March, 1729-30. He speaks, continues he, German, Latin, and French,
equally well. He can, by laying before him a translation, read any of
the books of the Old or New Testament, in its original language,
without hesitation or perplexity. _He is no stranger to biblical
criticism_ or philosophy, nor unacquainted with ancient and modern
geography, and is qualified to support a conversation with learned
men, who frequently visit and correspond with him.

In his eleventh year, he not only published a learned letter in Latin,
but translated the travels of rabbi Benjamin from the Hebrew into
French, which he illustrated with notes, and accompanied with
dissertations; a work in which his father, as he himself declares,
could give him little assistance, as he did not understand the
rabbinical dialect.

The reason for which his father engaged him in this work, was only to
prevail upon him to write a fairer hand than he had hitherto
accustomed himself to do, by giving him hopes, that, if he should
translate some little author, and offer a fair copy of his version to
some bookseller, he might, in return for it, have other books which he
wanted and could not afford to purchase.

Incited by this expectation, he fixed upon the travels of rabbi
Benjamin, as most proper for his purpose, being a book neither bulky
nor common, and in one month completed his translation, applying only
one or t