The evening telegraph. [volume] (Philadelphia [Pa.]) 1864-1918, 1870-01-06
TIE ASTRONOMY OF JOB.

Every one is familiar with the story of
\ Galileo 1t is a dark..scene in the page of his
tory. We are not about to repeat the account.
Our object is simply to bring out new point
4 In Biblical criticism which recalls Galileo to
mind. When the ecclesiastical tribunal, in
1888, condemned the Italian astronomer for
! maintaining propositions, in regard to the
4 revolution of the earth, "philosophically
4 false, erroneous in faith, and expressly con-
. trary to Holy Scripture, and triumphantly
pointed to the command of Joshua, ''Sun,
stand thou still upon Gideon; and thou, Moon,
in the valley of Ajalon; and the sun stood still
and the moon stayed, the churchmen thought
that the Ptolemaic system was as incontro-
vertible as the Aristotelian philosophy, and
that both were in entire accordance with
Scripture. They had been, years before,
amazed and enraged by the letter of Galileo
to the Able Castelli, written to prove that
the Scriptures we're not intended to teach us
science and philosophy, and that it was
equally difficult to reconcile the Ptolemaic
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 revo-
luton of the earth upon its axis, taught by
/ Galileo, is fully affirmed Yet such is the
/ case; and, had their eminences been as good
Hebraists as they were priests and inquisi-
tors, they would have known that the Lord,
when He answered Job out of the storm, had
| distinctly declared it, and would not have
Edarkened counsel by words without know
\ ledge"
| 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 revelation on astronomy.
They may say that the science of the heavens
was born in the pure atmosphere of the
= Il - l.
seen without the aid of the glass of Fiesole,
and that it is not strange that the greatest
among the sons of the East" should be ac-
quainted with the peculiar science of his
native land but they are not prepared to ac-
knowledge that Job was in advance of Copper
nicus. He was so, however, as we propose
to show to their satisfaction.
few years since the Rev. Carteret Pri-
aulx Carey, Incumbent of st. Johns, Guern-
sey, published Translation of the Book
of job 1t is in blank verse, amply illus
trated by critical notes and a commentary,
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 verse
well-known passage in the English Bible:-
'Hast thou, since thy days, commanded the morn
ing,
And caused the day-spring to know his place
To take hold of the wings OF the earth
1t turneth round like a seal Of 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 An
glican version. A verbal critique would be
out of place here The translation alludes to
the turning round of the earth like seal OF
clay Both in Assyria and Egypt these clay
seals are found. They are made in the form
of wheel, and have their designs wrought in
relief upon the tire, and when used were
rolled over the soft wax or whatever was in
tended to take the impression. Thus the
t'objects," or designs, stand out, and, as
the seal rolls round the revolution of the
earth is declared and illustrated, and one re-
markable agreement between science anG
Scripture is established conclusively.
In Galileos time, had not q knowledge oi
Hebrew been limited to very few, and haG
not the eccesiastics of that day, like toe
xneny of the clergy of our own time con
tented themselves with such acquaintance
with Holy Writ as may be obtained from yer
sions, there would not have been enacted tha
dark scene which affords, in the punishment
and retraction of Galleo, so triumphant al
exhibition of the wickedness and weakness Of
man. ''Human nature" says Sir Davic
Brewster, sis here drawn in its darkest color
ing; in surveying the melancholy picture, i
is difficult to decide whether religion or phi
losophy has been most degraded. While W,
hear the presumptious priest pronouncing in
fallible the DEGREES of his own erring judg
ment, we see the high-minded philosopher ab
4 juring the eternal and immutable truth
which he has himself the glory of estab
lishing.'
We will add that they who make it bust
ness to interpret Scripture should inform
themselves in regard to the original Ian
guages in which Scripture was written, an
shouldnot be terrified at the developments o
modern scholarship. Appgeton's Journal.