Abstract

In a paper published in 1740, Carolus Linnaeus described the strange periodic migrations of the lemmings. This paper was summarized by the Swedish-Jewish poet and critic Oscar Levertin in his unfinished study of Linnaeus. Levertin also took Linnaeus’ description as the basis for his famous metaphor, in which he compared the migration of peoples with the migration of lemmings. It is possible that Levertin was also inspired by Max Nordau’s speech at the Fourth World Zionist Congress, in which Nordau employed a similar metaphor to describe the tragedy of Romanian Jewry. Nordau, in turn, may have seen Linnaeus’ paper, which was available in both German and English translation. Levertin was very concerned with the history and fate of his people. There are in his writings several parallels to Nordau’s imagery. Of particular significance is his short story Kalonymos in which the motif of Jewish migration is of fundamental importance.