The daily crescent. [volume] ([New Orleans, La.]) 1848-1851, 1850-10-16

u~-
,Wby y event IN the moral history Of our race.
!, w w tne appointed im- had come. The writings Of
,7et' VI DsNd, and IGsiah, locked no ina dja ect
' IN ~ saa Iasting away in the cties of Judah.
fi'N on NE hlis of Palestine "a ,.aio :, 50,
a., q 2s IS our New England were ,r.nsf,ssd
-, - - LfS7ennR, widely spoken tongue. which
-. 80 e llssngnage OF governments af erm-
,nefce. ano " philosophy from the m ,o,bs ~ -.
Rhone 10 thr Indus. Ard 10 III. Ian1,,aas o -
ms crIIIcal iuncture Of religions hs,a,s a I.u
heir authors were Jews, the hooks Of ibs NJ,
lfstament We're written In Greek When anoiher
stnp"ndous revolution, or rather s~re4 az raooIn-
Ern'- md transferred the seeptre ~ en,.i,. -
R'pH~, end tie Latin language had acdlir@; an
ilrnng' "z'1u-ive pre1ommance IN Western Enrooe
tnd NtT''Hn Africa, with s"me extension in the
Etst HtrL IS th- first incl e Hu,l phrnnmena Of
tie new rrte' If ttngs G find the old Ilallc var-
sion Of y brew aud Gre Strip ures, The parent
ni the tnleafe and 20 macy suhs qusnt uansia-
'ions' In thI' way, by means If tn Roman Ian
guags, which did exist as a dial c. on the Tins
men when the earlier bo ks Of the Old Tesra.
ment were write D,-the language of perple Who
IN the days of Noes ant David psrs wandering a
wild clan along the banks Of tie Tiber,-thr,,ugh
hts singular med tnm.-raIher let me saw IN . awe
inspiring instrUmsnfsiiiy, these old Hebrew
voices-mute and unInfelligble as originally
llttered-are rer dgr-d andIbls and significant 10
| he Western church and word. And then, as we
descend the line Of history as Ih- LATIN and Grrek,
tyreat World-dialects, become Obsolets-dviaE
dead langutges, as significantly II them,-
t7hh new tongues created by the mysterious
power of the vocal faculty we a'e sure TO b-ho d,
"a Was 80 well observed by Mr.. Hill, a. sn nvari-
able COZ sequence, often as the first result If The
change, new translation Of ~ Scriptures Mo-
wree is thus 40 to BE- the case as in tie great
nstIoual sto, TO which we belong Gothic ard
saxon ntquHy has handed down to Us, through
rhe wreck ut the dalk ages, nothing older than
pO tl0ns of the para aphras.s and vpr.ons of The
Scrp u'es, winch were mad in those dialects
-p-cuvely, not long after ihe introduction Of
CtrsuanHy into Germany and Britain. Indeed,
m be ancient Gthic tongue ! am not snre that
thing ha survived hut portions Of The IransIa-
ton Of the New Tes ament.
l"ts gr-ar and v widespread families of men
ave been broken up or have silently passed away,
toi the tongues they spoke have ceased to he a
MEDIUM of living inte c ,urse hordes Of Indigenous
,1sph-fds Indigenous We ca them) gr up into
enlightened states wild tribes Of nomadic cnn-
querors pour down from he norh and ri en- INTO
rdlshe cummonweai'hs undscDyered continenis
aud Islands filled with strange races are madr,
~ were, to emerge from the dep; lanRusg that
are diving Out mIugle On tie rauva- Of human for
nne with languages that coming in, Ike the
m-lIu images of the illusive glass, tli IL is impns
-lhle to tell where one begins or the o her tnis
tut the Ward OF G ID is heard aIprg ih- Imr of the
g-s, d'-linet amidst the cnnfu ion, addressing
Nnt-l'g'hle ulierance 10 each sncerss've race in
gr's gfeat pr, c.sson Of humanity. fhe miracle Of
kPeulsc, g. becomes the law of human progress, and
aiUns that have sprung into bring, cycles Of ages
t-nce Moses, ard the prophets, aid he ap stiles
1 Wrote, sui hear them speaking, every man IN his
,wn language.
Il will be said, perhaps, that whar has thus hap
pened 10 the Scriptures has also happened TO the
prOfane lirera ure of Gr-ece and r me- and hat
;, we may read II 'm-r aud Vi gil we read the Old
and New iest m-nt, 10 translation To - ms
y-nt this is true as far as the parallel applet to
tfue Gr-ek Scriptures; bu | need not say that, as
4 far the ancient literature of Western ASIA is
| rouGrrned, nothing has descended to u but the
\ Scriptures Of the OLD Tes am-nt. OF the language
| ut Lhe PEmnrIans the psups who are sup Io~ed 10
1 hatr 4nDd he oil, hat hasD nod
= destruction but ten or twelve lines preaerved in
Ltun play, and even that fragment representing
hhe language as spoken IN colony But i any
yphe ls d, ysr-ed ta infer from ths preservation of
some Di the Latin and Greek classics that there
was no principle of vitality concerned IN the trans
mission Of the Scriptures | may state in reply the
Il IN loubIed fact that as far as We can hread The
"halu Of cause and effect, it IS Chri>tanIty which
! was mainly instrumrn'al in Ghfs result 1t not
tie kIo" ledge of the Latin and Gree which Kept
rr- hi from peristing, " hle they were Ih- tenn
pJrary vehicles of IT'S circulation; il was The study
uf the Scriptures and the labOrs of Christian men
Which maiDly contributed tp prevent those lang uages
| ,r m dying out. But ioT the organic ttion OF the
Christian church aud the eccesaS ical uses made
| Of the Greek and LaIln, the language of Cicero
| and D. mOsthen might have shared the fate of
| those Of Egypt ami Assyria. On the other hand !,
| If there had BEEN version of the Od Testament
into the language and character of ancient Egypt
| or ancient ASeyria, the scupuired sides Of Ihe
| ubeI,sks and temples of NJ mphis and Thebes
wOuld not have remained mystery and riddle
tOF ages; nor would ths arrow. headed inscriptions
of The wonderful ruins of Nmroud and Perse polls
still deiy the sagacIty OF the learn world. THY
would have been as intellglble as Hebrew or
Arabic.
Il Is not my purpose, sir, to urge the importance
of the Scupu Is iR connection with human learn
ing IN any of IT'S branches nor to intimate that
here Is any thing miracOou,RH heir prese walton
| rom remote Antiquity; s-Etfgh We can6o', |
huk, doubt hem TO ba S4neRS n bt The ohj-e's # an
overTu ig and dspUsiHG fPddence. What |
have wished 10 point out to tie Unslderaon of The
society and the assembly is, that kind OF instInci-
| If NAV 80 call it-whIch has led the church, (by
Which | understand the mass If b-les in all
ages, 10 provide for the reading OF he Scriptures
by the general ty Of mankind and this in oppOsi-
ion 10 the interest which The proiessed deposltaries
+ Of religious truth have in most, perhaps in all,
! other cases, shown, to monop ze the knowledge
of 1t. | cannot but think that s a strong srgu-
ment in favor of the circulation of he Scriptures
; basis of religious belief, Geduced from The
! experience OF the world IN all periods of history.
There is another consideration OF practical
nature, which ! should be glad 10 offer to The
m etng, If | have moi exceeded my allowance o
, Dimr. We all have pretty strong, and as rhinl
u /, impressions of the superiority of Chrislendu
over the Mahomrian, Hndoo, and Pagan cuun
tries. Our cvIzation, know, is s i'll very imper
ect, impaired by many vice whl h dlsgracrs gu
Christian nurture,-bs which many which
Appears SPOT upon vestal's robe,
The wore for what it soils "
But when We compare The condition of things ii
Chrisier dom wlh tha' which prevails in the cuun
Ires just named We find that all the evils hici
5 exist among US p--vai. there in greatrr degree
, While they subject 10 Innumerabls Others, Sc
| dreadful to make us almost ready 10 h'nk il
J., were better for he of The popGlalon, humahlI
d speaking, if they had never heen b rn. Well
Is nuw, Mr.. Chairman, VI a. msk-th US to dltf-rf
k know of no fl al ana SUFFICE Mt cause but the q II r
Il ent character Of Chrlsuanry, aud the religion
k which prevail in lurkry, Prr'lt, lndia China
|, | aud the other semi civilized or haitar u, Gun
NJ tries and This diff renee, far as know arcu
IN ratey heced m their sacred hA k respect vely
n. | mean sIr that the Bible stands to the Koran anC
a. I IL Vrdas in the same relation that IN whcl
Al Christianity stands 10 MahUm-faHlsm, Brah
A. mani.m or Buddhism; or ChrstendOm to TuIkey Y
" Hintt stan, or tina
,ir We should all, | believe more fully appreciate
N The value OF the Scriptures, if compared then
Isl with other bouks assuming he character of sacred
ID | have not done it 50 much wish | mad
Is but one r-ason-a main one has ben the exrrm
re rrpu 81, eness of those bouks when have ri-d
e read. | have several times in my lie attempt I
h. read the Koran. | have done 81 lately | hav
r approached it NTH highly excited literary cur
n usy. have felt sIrnr ,r sir to penetrate hi
d sra mystery If ,h- Ars hi ,n d-s-r, As hay,
d in some quiet Turkish town, (for in tn psoviueis
'r Turkish Towns II e is hue ut The buse Of Ot
., western ite) listened at he close Of day 10 II
clear, calm voice Of the mueZZn tr, m the top
A. the graceful minaret, cal ing The faithful eveDiI
a prayer,-as l have mus on the veisslIu les of n
NJ human things, beneath the vene rable dome Of 5
to SOPHIA s,-l have, may say, lOnged to find sor
rational ground of sympathy between ChrIsiiani
| k,V, b Il