The evening telegraph. [volume] (Philadelphia [Pa.]) 1864-1918, 1867-10-25
----DrcDr1RE AND SCRIPTURE.

-oaro and Scripture. One ls assOola'eu WIZ"
% Sx0s, 49, q is worldly, frivolous, vain, even
'"io,,od the other with all that is high, hea'
"onlv and holy. Yet, with reverence Dc II
'Ootsn. they touch each other very nearly
III, deal with men and their actions, their
,,oros and passions, their sorrows and songs
P.,i sot forth, not by mere precept but by
-.y,I,,,o example, the solemn truth that the
~ ~ the transgressor is hard. Both show
,be greatness of goodness, the splendor o.
,,rrty the beauty of holiness. Nevertheless,
a. R;ble is entitled to far the highest place.
Deep as the great master OF the drama goes
$40 tbe secrets of the heart, keen as is his
1,orception of the hidden springs of action,
{aitbful as is his report of what he has seen
onJ known. the oracles of God 60 deeper, see
more plainly, report more faithfully. His
Ivorks are the result of consummate art; the
book of books is the sum of nature. In
Sbakespeares scheme the superhuman has
nlace. because he did not and could not over
look or neglect that element of the mind which
vearns towards the sphere of the invisible.
THE witches in Macbeth "Ariel' in the Tenn
NEST. the hosts from fairy-land in a Midsummer
NiGhps Dream are proofs of this. 1t Is need
less to say that in the Scriptures the super
natural comes in not merely to accommodate
a condition OF the SOUL but also to account for
IL,
shaping the possible out of the materials fur
nished by the actual; it is history recounted
by men who have beheld the seen and the un-
seen, and been enabled to perceive the union
between the two. The productions of Shake
speare are the fruit of alofty mind; the books
OF the Bible were born of intellect exalted by
the TRANSMISSION of the Spirit of God.
1t must not be forgotten, either, in consider
ing the greatness of Shakespeare, that he had
access to the magnificent poetry, the touching
pathos the clear NATURALIZATION with which
the Scriptures abound. That he was wise
enough to avail himself of them would be a
reasonable conclusion from his literary habits,
were there no clear traces of the influence they
exercised upon him. The man who took the
plots of Boccaccio's novels, and created the
characters necessary to work them out in a
manner perfectly natural, to their conclusion
who laid under contribution the writers of his
own time as well as those of antiquity, gather
ing materials of thought everywhere, but
putting the stamp of his own genius upon the
Touph metal whencesoever derived-that man
could not have neglected the wonderful vol
ume which is unrivalled even as literary per-
formance That he did not despise this
treasure nor fail to use 1t is evidenced by
phrases in his plays borrowed almost bodily
from Holy Writ. 1t is still further evidenced
in the delineation and development of certain
characters which bear marked similarity to
Biblical personages. This is most strik-
ingly shown in the tragedy of Macbeth, that
Scottish king whose dark history presents so
many points of resemblance to that Of Saul,
the unhappy monarch of Israel.
Both these men are physically brave, witt
natures displaying certain traits OF noOleuosn
both have stood face to face with death il
changing battle, and have not wavered; bu
both are, morally, towards. They have M
strength, no courage to oppose temptation
they yield themselves willing captiyes to ever.
evil suggestion. Macbeth would be KING
and at the prompting of ambition murders hi
kinsman. guest, and monarch, that he ma.
reach the throne. Saul, being king, pre-
anonymously arrogates to himself the otic
of priest and dares to amend the stric
and explicit command of God. A
Gilgal he yielded to his impatience, an
offered sacrifice before going to battle, instea
of waiting for Samuel, whose right 1t was
present the Offering before the Lord. VINE
he smote the Amalekites, he took Agag the
king alive, instead of putting him to tn
sword as Jehovah required. If ambition Wa
Macbeths spur to crime, presumption was I'll
goad that drove Saul to great ofenses again
that Divine Ruler whose agent he was. 1
thought himself sufficient for any office, az
esteemed himself wise beyond the wisdom
the Almighty.
For this the prophet warned him that I'll
kingdom should not continue to his hous
but be given to another. So also Macbeth b
prophecy held ''barren sceptre in his grasl
no son of his succeeding"
Both are under the influence of evil spirits
for the weird sisters, or witches as they al
commonly called, had power over M cbetl
moving him to wicked purposes and atrocior
acts and from Saul {" the Spirit of the Lol
departed, and an evil spirit troubled him,
that his heart was full of dark intentions, al
his hand was eager for bloody deeds" As 6
good and holy influences departed from til
Hebrew king, leaving him under the contr
of evil, SO in the play we behold Macbeth 70
saken by all of good and left in awful bondal
to his sins -
"There's one did laugh in his sleep. and OF
cried, Murder
That they did wake each other; stood an
heard them:
But they did say their prayers, and addresse
them
Again to sleep.
Indy M-There are two lodged together
Adc.-One cried God bless as! and Amen Il
other:
AS they had seen me with these hangman
hands
Listening their fear. I could not sag, Amen,
Lady M-ConsIder IL not so deeply.
Aoc;-But wherefore could not pronount
I had most need ofblessiug, and Amen stuck
my throat"
If ever there was man forsaken of God,
was that blOody-handed Thane.
When David had returned from the Sian ug
Ger of Goliath, triumphal professions met hi
with music and song. Saul" said the
s'has slain his thousands, and David his L
thousands" The quick jealousy of the XII
took alarm, and whispered to him &C
nerning the ruddy STRIPPING, ''What G
hrIf no hi, A.