LORD BYRON
The Biblical drama “Cain”――Byron and the Bible――The _Hebrew
Melodies_――A poet and a hero――The Hon. Douglas Kinnaird――Isaac
Nathan――John Braham――Lady Caroline Lamb――Sir Walter Scott
――Dr. John Gill――Dr. Henry Hunter――The Rev. John Scott――Mr.
Joseph Eyre.
AT that time the ideal aspirations of the Jewish nation found their
most forceful expression in English poetry. George Gordon Byron
(1788‒1824), the sixth Baron Byron, who was conversant with every
phase of human life, and touched every string of the divine lyre from
its faintest to its most powerful and heart-stirring tones, rivals
Milton, in his own sphere, in his noble and powerful Biblical drama
_Cain_. He was one of the greatest of English poets, and his genius,
like that of Milton, was penetrated with the aspirations of the
Bible.¹ Byron had seen much in his Eastern wanderings, and by his
_Hebrew Melodies_ had constituted himself in some sort the laureate
of Disraeli’s own race.² There is in his work an intensity of grief
and yearning, a vigour of thought combined with enchanting beauty of
imagination, a tenderness which make him comparable only to the sweet
_Hebrew_ Muse of _Jehudah Halevi_. Zionist poetry owes more to Byron
than to any other Gentile poet. His _Hebrew Melodies_, which are among
the most beautiful of his productions, have been translated several
times into _Hebrew_, and there are no lines more popular and more
often quoted than:
The wild dove hath her nest, the fox his cave,
Mankind their country, Israel but the grave.
which might well have been a Zionist motto. Byron was a poet and a
hero; the keynote of his character is to be found in the word “revolt.”
Whenever the cause of liberty was in danger, his entire being was
roused to indignation; this was the passion of his soul, and for this
he gave his life. This “Pilgrim of Eternity,”³ who died a martyr to
his zeal in the cause of the freedom of Greece, might perhaps have
been equally able to sacrifice his life for the freedom of Judæa,
had the deliverance of Judæa offered scope for a similar struggle in
his time. As it was he expressed the Jewish tragedy, not only in its
poetical but also in its political aspect.
¹ “The Pilgrim Poet: Lord Byron of Newstead.” By Albert
Brecknock ... Illustrated ... London ... 1911, _p._ 61.
“Old Nanny” often spoke of the reverence and love Lord
Byron had for his Bible, and states that in his quieter
moments he could often be seen reading it. The verse Byron
wrote on the fly-leaf of his Bible was taught to William
Smith when quite a boy, by his mother. It runs as follows:――
Within this sacred volume lies
The mystery of all mysteries.
Oh! happy he of human race
To whom our God hath given grace――
To read, to learn, to watch, to pray,
To lift the latch, to force the way.
But better he had ne’er been born
Who reads to doubt, who reads to scorn.
² _Shelley_ (1792‒1822) _and Lord Beaconsfield_, by Richard
Garnett (1835‒1906). London: Printed For Private Circulation
Only. 8º. _pp._ 22. 1887, _p._ 9.
³ Adonais ... By Percy B. Shelley ... MDCCCXXI. Stanza xxx.,
line 3.
The genius of pure imagination is usually apt to evade the actual
facts of political and social life, and to wing its way into an ideal
world of abstractions. But some there are who derive their material
from the realities of social and national life, and transmute into
poetry the prevailing ideas of the actual world. The Pilgrim Poet
belonged to the latter category. He re-echoed the aspirations of his
time. Thorough understanding of and sincere compassion for the sorrows
of _Israel_ found eloquent expression in the English writings of
that epoch. At that time English writers were keen students of Jewish
history, and since the time of Vespasian (9‒79) Jewish history has
recorded only sorrowful scenes: it tells mainly of fugitives banished
to all quarters of the world, where they have sought asylum and have
been compelled to realize the unanimity of the desire to annihilate
them. “The Jews were a prey to innumerable calamities, and their
existence was little else than a protracted agony.” “The numberless
banishments, oppressions, exactions, persecutions, massacres and
miseries of all kinds, which they have undergone in almost every age
and nation from their first dispersion down to these latter times――the
various causes which have concurred to wipe off the very name and
memorial of them from the face of the earth ... are indescribable.”
This was what Byron read in the English literature of his time, and
what he realized in his wanderings. A homeless nation――that was the
fact which impressed itself most forcibly upon his mind.
Byron’s _Hebrew Melodies_, which were written at the suggestion of the
Honourable Douglas James William Kinnaird (1788‒1830),¹ were published
with music in January, 1815. Kinnaird was a man of considerable
ability and great intellectual attainments. He introduced a Jewish
composer, Isaac Nathan (1791‒1864), to Lord Byron about 1812. This
was the beginning of a friendship which ended only with the death of
the poet. Byron wrote the _Hebrew Melodies_ with the express purpose
of their being set to music by Nathan, who subsequently bought the
copyright of the work. Nathan decided to raise the means for the
publication of the _Melodies_ by subscription, and with that object
associated himself with his co-religionist, the melodious tenor John
Braham (1774?‒1856), who began his musical career as a chorister at
the Synagogue in Duke’s Place. Braham composed several operas, one
of them the _Americans_, containing that famous song, _The Death of
Nelson_; and achieved a European reputation in his time. On signing
the subscription list, Braham intimated his desire to assist in the
publication of the _Melodies_ and to sing them in public. Hence on the
title-page of the first edition, which was published in 1815, it was
recorded that the music was newly arranged, harmonized and revised by
I. Nathan and I. Braham.
¹ Fifth son of George (_ob._ 1805), seventh Baron Kinnaird of
Inchture.
The _Melodies_ consisted mainly of a selection of favourite airs
sung in connection with the observance of Jewish religious ceremonies
(Appendix l). It is interesting to observe that the music was reviewed
first. Some of the remarks respecting Hebrew music are worthy of note.
“In our very limited Review, it cannot be expected that we should
attempt to throw any new light on the dark subject of Hebrew musick....
Whether the present Melodies were ever performed by King David’s 4000
Levites, ... we shall not venture to decide: their age and originality
are left entirely to conjecture, having been ‘preserved by memory
and tradition alone.’ Some of them possess an interesting wildness of
character, which leaves no doubt as to their real antiquity; and the
Editors assure us that they have preserved as much of this feature as
the rhythm of written musick and the adaptation of the words, would
permit.”¹ The Literary Review of the same Magazine devotes a very few
lines to a criticism of the poems: “To say that these _Melodies_ are
Lord Byron’s, is to pronounce them elegant. We select the following
Poem, in addition to that already given in Part I., _p._ 450” (_i.e._
“I saw thee weep”). There follows the poem “Saul.”²
¹ _Gentleman’s Magazine_, June, 1815, _p._ 539.
² _Ibid._, August, _p._ 141.
More light is thrown on the subject of Byron’s attitude to the
Jewish people and the Zionist idea in Nathan’s _Fugitive Pieces and
Reminiscences of Lord Byron_ (Appendix li). In a note (_p._ 24) to
“Oh! Weep for those,” Nathan writes: “Throughout the composition of
these melodies, it will be observed by the attentive reader that Lord
Byron has exhibited a peculiar feeling of commiseration towards the
Jews. He was entirely free from the prevalent prejudices against that
unhappy and oppressed race of men. On this subject, he has frequently
remarked, that he deemed the existence of the Jews, as a distinct
race of men, the most wonderful instance of the ill-effects of
persecution....” That a period of 1800 years should have elapsed, and
that these people should still preserve their own religion, their laws,
and their customs, in defiance of ecclesiastical and civil oppression,
does indeed seem astonishing; but less so, when the effect of his
Lordship’s observation is sufficiently understood. On one occasion
he remarked, “unfortunate men, surrounded by enemies among whom they
are compelled to live; oppressed, scorned, and outcast: condemned
as criminal, because they cannot succumb to their oppressors,...” In
another note (_p._ 61) contributed to the poem, “From the last hill
that looks on thy once holy dome.” _On the day of the Destruction of
Jerusalem by Titus_, Nathan says: “In the composition of the foregoing
stanzas, he professed to me, that he had always considered the fall
of Jerusalem, as the most remarkable event of all history; for (in his
own words), ‘who can behold the entire destruction of that mighty pile;
the desolate wanderings of its inhabitants, and compare these positive
occurrences with the distant prophecies which foreran them, and be an
infidel?’”
The authenticity of Nathan’s co-operation is beyond question. Nathan
was a composer of acknowledged ability, and a writer on various
subjects. He was born at Canterbury, Kent, and early in life was
sent to Cambridge to study Hebrew and the classical languages. Lady
Caroline Lamb (1785‒1828) was among Nathan’s friends, and wrote poetry
for him to set to music. Sir Walter Scott (1771‒1832), was also an
admirer of Nathan’s Jewish musical productions.
Enthusiasm for the revival of _Hebrew_ music was characteristic
of the time, and was partly due to the prevailing sympathy for the
Jewish people, for their sufferings and their hopes (Appendix lii).
If _Hebrew Melodies_ were written at the suggestion of Kinnaird, this
must not be taken to mean that poems like _Hebrew Melodies_ can be
written merely in response to the suggestion of a personal friend:
they must be the product of a certain aspiration.
At the same time, the idea of the Restoration of _Israel_ made
considerable headway in other quarters. Rev. Dr. John Gill (1697‒1771)
remarks that “the Protestant Princes will be assisting the Jews in
replacing them in their own land.”¹ Rev. Dr. Henry Hunter (1741‒1802)
says: “It is indeed now pretty generally agreed among the learned,
that we are warranted by the Scriptures to expect ... their return
to their own land;...”²
¹ A Body of Doctrinal Divinity;... By John Gill, D.D. ...
London:... M.DCC.LXIX. Vol. ii., _p._ 715.
² The Rise, Fall, and Future Restoration of the Jews.... By
the late Dr. Hunter,... London:... 1806.
The Rev. John Scott (1777‒1834), speaking of the preservation of the
Jews, asks: “But wherefore are the Jews thus preserved? Is it only
as monuments of divine vengeance, and to bear testimony to others of
blessings which they shall never taste themselves? ‘Hath God’ for ever
‘cast off His people’? ‘Have they stumbled that they might fall,’ to
rise no more? God forbid! All the facts before us, and particularly
their preservation, might well raise hopes in our minds that mercy was
still in reserve for _Israel_.”¹
¹ The Destiny of Israel:... By the Rev. John Scott, A.M.,...
Hull:... 1813. _pp._ 17‒18.
The “Advertisement” to Extracts from a work on the Prophecies, by Mr.
Joseph Eyre, informs us that “The design in re-publishing them is to
call the attention of Christians to those Prophecies of the Scriptures,
which have a primary reference to the Jewish people, and which predict
events concerning them that have not yet been fulfilled, and promise
blessings to them of which they have not yet been partakers.”¹
¹ Extracts from a work, entitled Observations upon the
Prophecies, relating to the Restoration of the Jews. By
Joseph Eyre, Esq. Originally published in the year 1771....
London: ... 1823.
“Civis” writes: “With respect to the restoration ... permit me to
refer your readers to Mr. (George Stanley) Faber’s (B.D.) (1773‒1854)
work on that subject, and also to _The Sacred Calendar of Prophecy_,
1828. The reasons ... are ... satisfactory and convincing. Even if
there were no other passage to prove it, the one where God declares
that it shall in future times be said ‘The Lord liveth, who brought up
and who led the children of Israel out of the north country, and from
all the countries whither I had driven them, and they shall dwell in
their own land,’ would, I think, be sufficient to prove it; because
it seems too minute and circumstantial to admit of a merely figurative
interpretation; and, indeed, what can it be a figure of? What is the
reality which the figure is supposed to represent? I would ask, if
a prophecy were intended to declare a literal restoration, what more
plain and forcible terms could have been made use of? We should never
resort to figures except where the nature of the subject, or common
sense, imperatively requires it.”¹
¹ Christian Observer, 1838, _p._ 443.
To this period belong the following articles on the
Restoration of the Jews in _The Christian Observer_ (Church
of England):
1838 May, _pp._ 286‒7
1838 July, _p._ 443
1838 August, _pp._ 518‒520
1838 September, _pp._ 554‒556
1838 November, _pp._ 665‒670
1841 January, _pp._ 2‒4
1841 May, _pp._ 271‒273
“Paulinus” taking the opposite view, says: “In some circles a writer
is almost unchristianized if he does not follow the opinion therein
current ... the literal restoration of the Jews to Palestine; in
favour of which there is a much more general concurrence of opinion
than in any other of the particulars.”¹
¹ _Ibid._, 1838, _p._ 286.