Bozeman avant courier. [volume] (Bozeman, Mont.) 1872-1882, 1874-06-19
BOZEMAN, TERRITORY. FRIDAY. 10, ~.

2IDAY, JUNE 10, i
MARCH OF THE BIBLE.
4 Let MS look at the Bible in the cha
actcr simply Of q historical fact. Di
miss for the time question of its III
th0rity or inspiration, and inquire 0ql
what it's actual career has Dcen-wha
is the truth about its infuencei Ho,
far is it q potent element in human
affairsl Those who have no faith il
the Bibic rs the word Of God, must a
least acknowledge that it is one Of tn
works Of God, /. e., permitted ant
proyidential fact; and . little reflcc
ton will convince them that it is o
all facts, perhaps, the most stupendous
and Influential in the history Of tn.
world. A few simple statements vii
show how great fact this aatter4o
Bible influence has proved itself to b.
In the first place this book has b: {
entire priority over all others ing
nection with printing and the press
Probably it was the first book that
ever was printed with types-the first
i'll England and Germany, and where
ever the art of printing originally
spread. Nova days the same fact is
true of all heather nations and tongues
their first book is the Billie. The Bible
and the Press were married from the
first discovery of types, and hand in
hand they have. tr1vcrscd nearly the
entire habltab1e globe, and in almost
every nation the Bible has preceded
all other printed books. 5.
Then the Bible stands foremost CT
all other printed books in point Of cir
culation, immensely so. Much has
been said about the extraordinary cir
culation of Mrs. Stoves book-sUn-
Gle Toms Cabin"-it has been trans
lated into some half dozen langrages
and the extent of its publication, they
say, has reached more than million
of copies. But how does it compare
with the circulation of the Biblei The
Bible has been translated into more
than hundred different tongues and
dialects, or nearly all the known lan-
guages of the human race; and to
show its unparalleled circulation, it
ne1f on!y be stated that The British
Bible Society alone, has issued more
than eight millions of copies annua11y.
The expression is sometimes used CON
cerning such leading authors as
Shakespeare and Milton, that their
works rank "next to the Bfbie,n y as
though there were some comparative
nearness between the two in point of
influence and universally. But the
facts above, representing the Bibles.
circulation, shows that that there is
no ground of eomparison-that the
Bible stands alone as the worlds book.
And this is the case as matter of
fact, quite independent of any ques-
ton as to its authority and inspiration.
To mark the contrast still more
strongly, take the case of q cotempo.
rary -HOmer's Iiad-one Of the
most celebrated literary productions of
There is bare sprinkling
Of men here and there among the civ.
ilized nations, who know something
of this boca-b:;t to the great mass;
it is mere matter Of htacsaY, and
scarcely that-but few have ever read
it or seen it. On the other hand, the
Of persons is comparatively
small in the civilized world, who have
not a general understanding Of the
Bible. 's+ss'. 81
Passing in review the great fact 6fl
the unparalleled circdfafion of the
Bible, leads us to inquire how it hAe
affected the world. .=E .i5:tIss Il
In the first place itshas worked it.
self thoroughly into connection with
he fine arts-sculptqre, painting, mu.
,ic and poetry. Root up the Bible,
md you would heave the very founda.
ions Of these arts-the things that !
people love 20 we'll, and which address
She strongest passions in human. nar
;ure. A great part of the material Of /
sculpture, painting and poetry, is Ia
zen from the Bible. = 10
The Bible again, has leavened to q
.reat extent the literature Of the civil
zed part of the world. As an index,
ust consiuer that those Who hate the
Bible, and would be glad to see it put
Town, are nevertheless induced by its
nimitable quality, tospice their books
md writings constantly with scraps
rom if; and the Bible quotations they
introduce form the most interesting
,art Of their productions. Whoever
wishes to bring out what he supposes
o be q bright idea in the hest Wy, is I
lu.te sure to clothe or adoFn it with
Iolne Bible figure. Shakespeare has
,een noted as magazine Of illustra-
ion and apt remark; but in popular
lse, there are q hundred Bible express
ions employed f6f dhe Of Shakespeare.
Thus 9 single glimpse ct the matter
s enough to convince any one that
Bible influence is q tremendous fact.
And the more it is looked at, the
|reater it will seem, and the more fool
1hrit will appear for any ono to neg.
set this fact who desires to under
tand the secret Of the. world hist0ry1l |.
10 other book has vast palaces de- |
loted 10 its sole publication. No other
,oek has gained that whole hearted
oyalty of mankind which insures it :
Tatuitous circulation. That tho Bible |;
tands on this ground Is ! fact 81 great
Saxuf Il