Isaac Mayer Wise — American Clergyman born on March 29, 1819, died on March 26, 1900

Isaac Mayer Wise, was an American Reform rabbi, editor, and author... (wikipedia)

The nations of antiquity rolled away in the current of ages, Israel alone remained one indestructible edifice of gray antiquity... preserved by an internal and marvelous power.
This book, conceived in sorrow, composed in grief, and constructed at the brink of despair, contains my mind's best thoughts, and my soul's triumph over the powers of darkness.
Never preach a sermon without a text from the Bible, a text containing the theme which you can elaborate. The text is the best proof in support of your argument. A sermon without a text is an argument without a proof.
It flourished with the Saracens, and suffered in the obscure and fanatical days of the Middle Ages.
Had the Hebrews not been disturbed in their progress a thousand and more years ago, they would have solved all the great problems of civilization which are being solved now under all the difficulties imposed by the spirit of the Middle Ages.