He himself suffered expatriation, for, though a
distinguished physician and the private doctor of the Doge Andrea Doria,
he was expelled with the rest of the Jews from Genoa in 1550. Settled in
the little town of Voltaggio, he devoted himself to writing the annals
of European and Jewish history. His style is clear and forcible, and
recalls the lucid simplicity of the historical books of the Bible.

The only other histories that need be critically mentioned here are the
"Branch of David" (_Zemach David_), the "Chain of Tradition"
(_Shalsheleth ha-Kabbalah_), and the "Light of the Eyes" (_Meoer
Enayim_). Abraham de Porta Leone's "Shields of the Mighty" (_Shilte
ha-Gibborim_, printed in Mantua in 1612); Leon da Modena's "Ceremonies
and Customs of the Jews," (printed in Paris in 1637); David Conforte's
"Call of the Generations" (_Kore ha-Doroth_, written in Palestine in
about 1670); Yechiel Heilprin's "Order of Generations" (_Seder
ha-Doroth_, written in Poland in 1725); and Chayim Azulai's "Name of the
Great Ones" (written in Leghorn in 1774), can receive only a bare
mention.

The author of the "Branch of David," David Cans, was born in Westphalia
in about 1540. He was the first German Jew of his age to take real
interest in the study of history. He was a man of scientific culture,
corresponded with Kepler, and was a personal friend of Tycho Brahe. For
the latter Cans made a German translation of parts of the Hebrew
version of the Tables of Alfonso, originally compiled in 1260. Cans
wrote works on mathematical and physical geography, and treatises on
arithmetic and geometry. His history, "Branch of David," was extremely
popular. For a man of his scientific training it shows less critical
power than might have been expected, but the German Jews did not begin
to apply criticism to history till after the age of Mendelssohn. In one
respect, however, the "Branch of David" displays the width of the
author's culture. Not only does he tell the history of the Jews, but in
the second part of his work he gives an account of many lands and
cities, especially of Bohemia and Prague, and adds a striking
description of the secret courts (_Vehmgerichte_) of Westphalia.

It is hard to think that the authors of the "Chain of Tradition" and of
the "Light of the Eyes" were contemporaries. Azariah di Rossi
(1514-1588), the writer of the last mentioned book, was the founder of
historical criticism among the Jews. Elias del Medigo (1463-1498) h