The Pupil knows more than the Teacher--A theft _à la Rousseau_, which is
discovered--"The ungodly provideth, and the righteous putteth it on."
My father's condition had thus externally an improved appearance, but so
much the more doubtful did it appear internally on that account. My
mother, notwithstanding her unwearied activity, was able to make only a
very sorry provision for the family. Accordingly my father was obliged
to seek, in addition to his other duties, a position as teacher, in
which he carried on my education; and I must confess that in this
connection I gave him, on the one hand, much joy, but, on the other
hand, not a little vexation. I was then indeed only about nine years
old; still, I could not only understand the Talmud and its commentaries
correctly, but I even took delight in disputing about it, and in this I
felt a childish pleasure in triumphing over my honest father, whom I
thereby threw into no small perplexity.
The arendant and my father lived together like neighbours; that is, they
envied and hated each other. The former looked on my father as a
vagrant, who had forced himself upon him, and disturbed him in his
undivided possession of the advantages of the place. My father took the
arendant for a wealthy blockhead, who, against the consent which he had
granted, which my father might have dispensed with altogether and had
sought merely from the love of peace, endeavoured in every way to
restrict him and to narrow his rights, notwithstanding the fact that he
received actual advantages from his settlement. For from this time
Mohilna had acquired a sort of independence, by means of which the
arendant was spared many expenses and depreciations. There was also a
small synagogue erected, and my father took the position of chief rabbi,
preacher, and director of the conscience, as he was the only scholar in
the place. He lost, indeed, no opportunity of representing all this to
the arendant, and making complaints of his conduct; but unfortunately
this was of little use.
I must take this opportunity of mentioning the only theft which I ever
perpetrated in my life. I often went to the house of the arendant, and
played with his children. Once, when I entered a room and found no one
there, it being summer and the people of the house all busy out of
doors, I spied in an open closet a neat little medicine-box which
appeared to me uncommonly charming. When I opened it, I found, to my
very great sorrow, some money in it; for it belonged to one of the
children of the house. I could not resist the desire to carry off the
little box; but to take the money seemed to me in the highest degree
shameful. But when I considered that the theft would be all the more
easily discovered if I put the money out, full of fear and shame I took
the box as it was and thrust it in my pocket. I went home with it, and
buried it very carefully. The night following I could not sleep, and was
disquieted in conscience, especially on account of the money. I
resolved, therefore, to take it back; but in regard to the little box, I
could not conquer myself: it was a work of art, the like of which I had
never seen before. The next day I emptied the box of its contents, slunk
with them into the room already mentioned, and waited for an opportunity
when nobody was there. I was already engaged in smuggling the money into
the closet; but I had so little skill in doing this without noise and
with the necessary despatch, that I was caught in the act, and forced to
a confession of the whole theft. I was obliged to dig up again the
valuable work of art,--it must have cost about a quarter of a
groschen,--to return it to its owner, little Moses, and to hear myself
called _thief_ by the children of the house.
Another incident, which happened to me and had a comical issue, was the
following. The Russians had been quartered for some time in Mohilna, and
as they obtained new mountings, they were allowed to sell the old. My
eldest brother Joseph and my cousin Beer applied to Russian
acquaintances of theirs, and received in a present some brass buttons,
which, being considered a fine decoration, they got sewed on to their
hose instead of the wooden buttons they had before. I also was
delighted with the decoration; but as I had not the skill to furnish
myself by my own diligence, I was compelled to make use of force. I
applied, therefore, to my father, and demanded that Joseph and Beer
should be required to share their buttons with me. My father, who,
indeed, was extremely fair, but still was fond of me above everything,
said that the buttons were, of course, the rightful property of their
owners, but that, as these had more than they required for their own
wants, it was but fair that they should give me some of those that they
did not require. To my commendation and their confusion he added the
passage of the Bible, "The ungodly provideth, and the righteous putteth
it on."[21] This decision had to be carried out in spite of the protest
of Joseph and Beer; and I had the pleasure of also shining in brass
buttons on my hose.
Joseph and Beer however could not get over their loss. They complained
loudly of the impious wrong which had been done to them. My father, who
wished to get rid of the affair, told them therefore, that, as the
buttons had been already sewed on to Solomon's hose, they must not use
force, but that, if they could get them back again by stratagem, they
were at liberty to do so. Both were pleased with this decision. They
came to me, looked at my buttons, and both at once exclaimed in
astonishment, "Oh! what is that we see? Buttons sewed on to cloth hose
with linen instead of hemp thread! They must be taken off at once."
While they were speaking, they took off all the buttons, and went off
with joy over their successful stratagem. I ran after them, and demanded
that they should sew the buttons on again; but they laughed me to scorn.
My father said to me smiling at this, "Since you are so credulous, and
allow yourself to be deceived, I cannot help you any longer; I hope you
will be wiser in the future." With this the affair came to an end. I was
obliged to content myself with wooden buttons, and to have often
repeated to my mortification by Joseph and Beer, the biblical passage,
which my father had used to my advantage, "The ungodly provideth, and
the righteous putteth it on."