renounce any pretension to public recognition—the virtue of contentment and moderation. In the seventh chapter, Ibn Ezra discusses the question of whether it is possible to compose poetry in dreams, as some writers claim to have done. The eighth chapter deals with twenty-three traditional Arabic figures of speech, illustrated with examples from the Koran, Arabic poetry, and Hebrew Andalusian poetry. Rhetorical technique Ibn Ezra's use of biblical as well as Arabic ideas has been well noted. Many of his poetic phrases use Arabic ornamentation and style. Ibn Ezra uses Arabic examples to illustrate the badi, twenty rhetorical techniques found in the Kitab al-Muhadara. The presence of the badi in Ibn Ezra's work reflects a tension among Arabic, Greek, and biblical authority. In the early parts of the Kitab, Ibn Ezra cites Aristotle's eight techniques through which poetry is refined. In this part of the work, Ibn Ezra gives more credit to the Greek and Hebrew influences on literary techniques and refrains from praising Arabic style. However, Ibn Ezra later turns to Arabic poets to discuss the isti-ara, the excellence of metaphor. Here he praises the literary techniques employed by early Arabic poets. Ibn Ezra also turns to ancient Hebrew Scriptures and praises the use of metaphor in early biblical writing. In essence, Ibn Ezra's style is a result of different sources and influences which helped him develop his own poetic definitions. His poetry Ibn Ezra is considered by many Jews as a masterly Hebrew poet. He specifically focused on the theory of poetry and is considered to be one of the greatest experts on the subject. His secular poems are contained in two works: in the Tarshish, and in the first part of his diwan. The "Tarshish" is divided into ten chapters, each of which contains in order the twenty-two letters of the alphabet. It is written in the Arabic style of poetry termed "tajnis," which consists in the repetition of words in every stanza, but with a different meaning in each repetition. The first chapter is dedicated to a certain Abraham (certainly not Abraham ibn Ezra), whose merits he exalts in Oriental fashion. In the nine remaining chapters he discusses wine, love, and song (chapter ii).; the beauty of country life (iii.); love-sickness and the separation of lovers (iv, v.); unfaithful friends (vi); old age (vii); vicissitudes of fortune and death (viii); confidence in God (ix) ; and the