Walter Hilliger

Triumphs of Poverty Walter Hilliger

- from the PrefaceNo other author before David Nieto disclosed a complete exegesis of the metaphor and the images of the chariot in Ezekiel's vision. And his interpretation in Triumphs of Poverty, according to its Jewish tradition, is passed down from generation to generation to our days. Three centuries ago, Rabbi David Nieto (Venice, 1654 - London, 1728), Hakham of the Spanish and Portuguese Jewish Community in London, and one of the most accomplished Jews of his time, was equally distinguished as a physician, astronomer, poet, theologian, and philosopher (On Divine Providence or Universal Nature or Natura Naturante, in the same collection). In Triumphs of Poverty, he revealed the meaning behind the mystical ascent into heaven of Ezekiel's chariot. His glorification of poverty faced censorship of the materialistic mainstream thought of 18th-century England and was buried in time. Its publication was never translated into English. This second unabridged edition has been expanded to include various sources omitted in the original facsimile and a prologue about the virtues of poverty.