"... I have given these quotations just as they are in the works from which they are taken, without putting them in verses or even providing them with stops. Such an arrangement would have implied some metrical division, which I strongly desired to avoid ... That my collection will contribute much towards solving the great Sirach difficulties, I in no way flatter myself. The quotations are too few in proportion to the bulk of the book to throw much light on the problem. I must also distinctly state that the quotations do not always exactly correspond with references given to Ecclesiasticus. Sometimes only one of many sentences of the quotation is contained in Sirach, sometimes none at all. And thus, they can only be used after the closest examination. But still I venture to think that the bringing together of all the passages with their variae lectiones will be of some service to the student, as revealing the fact that the version of Ecclesiasticus known to the Rabbis was mostly written in pure Hebrew. And when the Rabbis who did not quote literally made some alteration, it was for such terms as are to be found in the Mishnah or the Baraithot, e.g., the Avot de Rabbi Nathan ..."