Cardoso, Isaac

Cardoso, Isaac (originally Pernando), brother of Abraham, a Jewish physician of Spain, was born in 1615. He practiced medicine at Valladolid and Madrid. While professing Christianity he bore the name of Fernando. After having openly professed Judaism, at Venice, he took the name of "Isaac," and retired to Verona, where he died after 1681. Of his works we mention, De los Excellenkias de los Hebreos, on the prerogatives of. the Israelites (Amsterdam, 1679) : — Philosophia Libera (Verona, 1673):

The first of these works consists of ten, chapters, in which. the. author expatiates on the privileges of the Jewish people, and refutes the calumnious charges commonly alleged against them. These privileges are

(1) the divine election; (2) the seal of circumcision; (3) the Sabbath; (4) the sacred law; (5) the gift of prophecy; (6) the Holy Land; (7) the revelation of the one God; (8) national unity; (9) divers virtuous characteristics; (10) separation.

The calumnies refuted relate to

(1) false worship; (2) impurity; (3) blood-shedding; (4) vindictiveness against Christians; (5) proselyte-making; (6) disloyalty; (7) profligacy; (8) corrupting the text of the Holy Scriptures;

(9) destruction of images (10) murder of children.

The first part has, an emblematic vignette of a hand scattering flowers from the skies, with the motto, "He who disperses swill gather;" and the second, another, of a rose surrounded by thistles, with the motto, Though they curse, I will bless "See Furst,- Bibl. Jud. i, 143; De' Rossi, Dizionario Storico (Germ. transl.), p. 66; Etheridge, Introd. to Hebr. Literature, p. 471; Lindo, Hist. of the Jews, p. 367; ;Finn, Sephardim, p. 462: Basnage, Hist. des Juifs, p. 694 (Taylor's transl.); Kayserling, Sephardim, p. 189 sq.; Id. Gesch. des Juden in Portugal, p. 302; Hoefer, Nouv. Biog. Generale, s.v. (B. P.)