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read the Introduction carefully, no doubt could have existedthat the book was printed in Salonica; and this is moreoversaid by the editor of the second edition( Venice 1546-7,Vol. If. 221a). This collection, commenced first by Jacobben Habib, was brought to a close by his son: Levi b. Jacobben Habib() who published the second volume.37. In point of fact, they were preceded however by ano-nymous author, who probably lived long before the XVIthcentury and whose Collection of Talmudical legends was print-ted in Cstple 1511 under the title ofin folio,

( XII 142). R. Joseph b. Joel Vivas wrote on the title page arhymed epistle wherein the date and place of printing aregiven. This book has had the same fate as the ancient collec-tions of Agadot, it was superseded by the later, more famouscompilation and has become now so scarce that only 2 or 3copies are known to exist. It was supplanted immediatelyby the superior collection of ben Habib.

38. The En Yaakob has been reprinted over and over again,but has not escaped mutilation at the hand of the censorand of unthinking selfish printers. Much of the original mat-ter added by Jacob ben Habib, together with the Indices wassuppressed in later editions, and Commentaries from otherwriters were added. Nor was it preserved in its entirety.Groups of legends were selected from the En Yaakob andpublished under different names. The people would nevertire of listening to those ancient stories, though greatlychanged; and the popularity of the Collections, great or smallhas been maintained to our very days¹.

39. A rich material was thus brought near to the peopleand it availed itself fully of the proferred repast. The pro-cess of producing new Compilations continued unchecked.New Collections were started, amalgamating the old with themore recent legends, and these went on growing and exten-ding in many directions. The example set by ibn Habib wasfollowed by Samuel Yafe( author of the commentary:

to the Rabboth), who compiled a collection of Agadoth1 Cf. Jellinek лnen oop Wien 1881( 36 pp.).