The central Presbyterian. [volume] (Richmond, Va.) 1856-1908, 1870-01-19
The Astronomy Of Job.

Every one is acquainted WlCE Cue story vi
Calico. 1t is dark scene in the page of
history. We are not about to repeat the
account Our object is simply to bring out
a new point in Biblical criticism which re-
calls Calico to mind When the ecclesias-
tical tribunal, in 1888, condemned the Ital.
ian astronomer for maintaining propositions
in regard to the revolution of the earth,
" philosopbically false, erroneous in faith,
and expressly contrary to Holy Scripture"
and triumphantly pointed to the command
of Joshua, "Sun, stand thou still upon Glib,
con; and thou, Moon, in the Valley of Ala
lon; and the Sun stood still, and the Moon
stayed" the churchmen thought that the
Ptolemaic system was as incontrovertible as
the Aristotelian philosophy, and that both
were in entire accordance with Scripture
They had been years before amazed and en-
ragged by the letter of Calico to the Able
Casteili, written to prove that the Scriptures
were not intended to teach us science and
philosophy, and that it was equally difficult
to reconcile the Ptoemaic and Copernican
systems with expressions in the Bible
They little thought, however, that there was
passage in Scripture, written more than
two hundred years before Joshua crossed the
Jordan, in which the doctrine of the revolu
ton of the earth upon its exis, taught by
Calico, is fully affirmed. Yet such is the
case; and, had their eminences been as good
Hebrewists as they were priests and inquis-
tors, they would have known that the Lord,
when He answered Job out of the storm, had
distinctly declared it, and would not have
"darkened counsel by words without knowl
edge"
Perhaps some of our readers will be not
less surprised than the cardinals themselves
would have been, to find that the old patri-
arch had received a revelation on astronomy.
They may say that the science of the heav
ems was born in the pure atmosphere of the
Orient, where the moons of Jupiter can be
seen without aid of the glass of Fiesole, and
that it is not strange that the greatest
among the sons of the East" should be &C
uuainted with the peculiar science of his ma
tive land; but they are not prepared to ac-
knowledge that Job was in advance of Co
pernicu8. He was so, however, as We pro
pose to show to their satisfaction.
A few years since the Rev. Carteret Pri-
aux Carey, Incumbent of St. Johns,
Guernsey. published "Translation of the
Book of Job. 1t is in blank verse, amply
illustrated by critical notes and common
tary. The work is but little known in this
country, though it possesses great merit
We extract the following lines from the
thirty eighth chapter. They begin with the
twelfth versa well-known passage in the
English Bible:
q Hast thou, since thy days, commanded the morn
And caused the day-8pring to know his place
To take hold of the wings of the earth
That the wicked might be shaken out of it?
1t turneth round like seal of the clay,
And things stand out as though in dress"
An examination of the original will satisfy
any one moderately acquainted with Hebrew
that Mr.. Carey is correct. The words will
not bear the rendering given them in the
Anglican version. A verbal critique would
be out of place here. The translation al.
ludes to the turning round of the earth like
seal of clay. Both in A8syria and Egypt
these clay seals are found They are made
in the form of wheel, and have their de-
signs wrought in relief upon the tire, and
when used, were rolled over the soft wax or
whatever was intended to take the impress
sion. Thus the objects or designs "stand
ont, and as the seal rolls round, the revo-
luton of the earth is declared and illus
trated, and one remarkable agreement be-
tween science and Scripture is established
conclusively,
In Galileo's time, had not knowledge of
Hebrew been limited to very few, and had
not the ecclesiastics of that day, like too
many of the clergy of our own time, con-
tented themselves with such acquaintance
with the Holy Writ as may be obtained from
versions, there would not have been enacted
that dark scene which affords, in the pun
ishment and retraction of Calico, so tri-
umphant an exhibition of the wickedness
and weakness of man. "Human nature"
says Sir David Brewster, sis here drawn in
it's darkest coloring; in surveying the melan'
choly picture it is difficult to decide whether
religion or philosophy has been most de-
graded. While we hear the presumptious
priest pronouncing infallible the DEGREES of
his own erring judgment, We see the high.
minded philosopher abjuring the eternal