, 1874-06-21

Il
Tho reign of Solomon is the Hebrew 1de0 ot
tho profane OF purely q alar life. His a!ianea
made without any regard Tor religious o]eL1e
tious, his splendid hasem, the order and msSt
ni6ceoce OF his palace, the industrial and ooar
mercial prosperity Of his reign. the wf1tnga "
trbnted to him. and above al tho silence u.
posed on those formidable agitatora- the "napl
or prophete, ali point to an interval OF ca1e'esa
and Joyous festivity- Whatever the lnuneneaaa
Moses once WAS, it Ens lost now. E"ald faosea
has shown in tho most coocluslTe MANNER w. -.
the fame of Moses underwent long eclipeo u
ter his death, that his name was almost "
known uuler the Judges and during tue eatii
ares OF the monarchy, and that it WaB noE uuIa
within two centurien OF the fall Of the hingoos0
Of Judah that he attained bis subsequent gl@net
eur. Thus there Was kind OF tole1as1ou -.
foreign cults, induced By intercourse Will otuea
uations, and supported by tho ihapenes
Of Egyptian, Phnnician, and - moaus.SS ss.p.S
women It wAs an interval in the sae1e4
career Of Israel-s liberal latituilnaEan sse, 49, ~
which the consciousness OF an au-apsoTnn3 uuS
tiuv was az yet upfelt. Under sucA conu'A 49,,
as these the drama We are considering "aa piio
duced. For it is drama. The widest opaT. y.
ions. it is true, have been held On this poln.. -
has been regarded on the one hand ~ Poe..
properly SO called, with both unity and ptoaIsns
OF events, and on the other as mere cols..si asi.
Of lovo-songs, bound together op1y p5 sno -, n s1.
ory OF their nature. But n. Renan, py ~ III. r.
Laustlve examination of tho work i.een conen,. a.
cred verse by verse, Inns shown In th0 , c.es tsr.
manner that it is pastoral d1au1a Inc cu1 -,
acters are distinct aud we'll defined, and ~ na
sufficient to say that whoever WAS 1t1 au.nvt s~s
certainly Solomon was not Inc p11. .1;san;sed H.
is but = poor one and indeed an ul-dsga,a,s
hostility to his reign and lis r1la tnelt1es ~
pervades the whole composition; 1ne ,.,,s nss
tribes OF tho North preserved to the lass Iaoss u
Of the Semitic spirit aud nomadlc lmpstemsi sioa
organized coutrol, and III We bha't hane ,orth-
eTn compoaition. Briefly described, tue us
| mats persoup arc as follovs: The sulamiso ~
Young girl OF the tribe OF 1Baachar, ca1iaeo -
from her native village of Sulem by tne So.
wants OF Solomon. nnd brought into tne s ~
at Jerusalem. Her lover young ero pan " .tteI t
same Village, follows her, and With whom. s aass'
several into, views, sne at last escapes so!omun,
who il displayed as tue powerful but nnsuod snd
ful sultor, and various choruses OF m7u ~. -
! women Of Jerusalem, odalisauea ana lauas0 ,ht
the Beraglio and at the close OF the d1anss M
brothers OF the Sularnite- The concluding se1Ss 80.
| form = moral dszvn from the events oi 1at ~
play, and we're doubtless placed in the mon.n =. !.
| a sape or elder. The Bong OF Songs, tnopt -
u composition occupying middle pos"snni aeiocns
| tween ~the regular drama and the tsss5d S9s5sd
or pastoral dialogue: Re&ulas M aa ats s1;st aplone
the Jews. The des rs we'll a. the pFacs1ce w, nd
entirelv opposed to their habfts Of thought, at ao
in later tines they regarded it with tho stfonsss'
aversion. The High Priest. Jason, vas @ g. Il
ecrated Tor having established gymnasium
Jerusalem and celebrated the Greek 1esltsnt1. an1.
Herod outraged this feeling still m2Ie ,J uGI En-.
when he built theatre in tho holy cry anu 81. ~
cnuraaed cana rex dramatic representations TIE tas,i ai
FOR th1s srt, indeed, Is still wanting IN races -,
samitic attraction, The Musaulrnan OF our oTa -
daT s:iu retains his old ant'psthy to"sfnrs ~
l. has never succeeded even in Algeria. 1r.ms rn
therefore, va speak of this poem Is otaaus,
ws must entirely lay aside tie idea Of ts oeu,s ~
avsr acted publicly aud with Vhat We consider tas s
neressary decorations of sthcasre: Ana 5e.
undoubtedly it was acted~-The Hes'"''''s'<
| Reoie.c.