26 OCTOBER 1907, Page 17

[TO THE EDITOR OF THE"SPECTATOR."] SIR,—In connexion with the above

correspondence, the follow- ing sayings of Jewish Rabbis may interest your readers. They are taken from the " Ethics of the Fathers," a collection of moral precepts whioh were embodied in early editions of the Jewish Prayer-book, and appointed to be read on the Sabbath :- "Four Dispositions are to be met with among Mankind :

One that saith : that which is mine is mine, and that which is thine is thine, this is a mean disposition, and some say this was the custom of Sodom.

He who saith : what is thine is mine, and what is mine is thine, is an ignorant plebeian.

He who saith: what is mine is thine, and what is thine is also thine, is a Saint.

He who saith: what is mine is mine, and what is thine is also mine, is wicked."