"He blesses you now," said the astonished king, "whom he used to curse." "Ah!" replied Samuel, "I did as you advised.

I cut out his angry tongue, and put a kind one there instead." Samuel was not only vizier, he was also Rabbi.

His knowledge of the Rabbinical literature was profound, and his "Introduction to the Talmud" (_Mebo ha-Talmud_) is still a standard work.

He expended much labor and money on collecting the works of the Gaonim.

The versatility of Samuel was extraordinary.