The daily dispatch. [volume] (Richmond [Va.]) 1850-1884, 1877-02-07
xso,,sserrul Hook--.The Unity and va
- i. rtoty or taic Bable.

x,s,,,aerrul uook-..The Unity and Va
- i. rtoty OF chic Bsbie.
! The fourth Of a series OF ten lectures ON
the Bib,e was delivered by the ReV. DR..
Storrs at Association Hall, New York, Tues
day evening. The ectnrer spoke at length
an the wonderful dissemination that had
heen given the Bible. It had worked
its way Into all the countries 'of ohe
world, whether Christians, civilized, OF
unc,yilized. 1t had been translated
into more than two hundred different lam
guages, and it was the only book "a
the world that could be thus translated. lt
was so full OF story, Of song, OF history an q! a
revelation that II there was no place ior IL
In strange and barbarous language II maae
place for itself. When any language en-
countered the Bible it expanded TIL It was
large enough to embrace that wonaer1ui
book, and the result was that the fio'e was
now read in nearly all the languages OF the
earth. from the Chinese and Japanese
to the dialects Of the races OF Northern
Europe, the Bushmen OF south Africa,
and the idol-worshippers OF india Inc
Bible was the most learned, various, ana
comprehensive Of all books. 1t taught
science, art, history, philosophy, literature,
and religion. The poets, painters, anu
scuIptors had always selected their subjects
from it. Although large book, taken alto
rether It was a model of compactness. In
many places it summed up in single SEN
tence the truths that might be spread out
through whole volumes. The lecturer
quoted some specimen passages TO Illus
trate.
The commentaries, explanations ana
calculations that had been written on the
Bible would fiji whole libraries. At
tempts had also been made to paraphrase
the Scriptures, but without success. Elas-
mus was a bright genius, and the perfume
OF his spirit infused everything he wrote.
His paraphrase Of the New Testament was
a masterpiece Of work; but, asked the lee.
turcr, "Who ever reads the paraphrase OF
Erasmus now i' Nobody would pass over
the original narratives Of Mathew, Mark,
Luke, aud John to take up the paraphrase
of Erasmus. The book was seldom II ever
seen at the present day, unless it was on the
shelves Of some musty old book-shop.
Speaking of the Bible as whole, ne said
it was written by forty men whose minds
were enlightened by God himself, and II
any man was ever enabled to match it ne
would have to be master in science and
art, poetry and song, history and phi!oso-
ply, and, above all, inspired by God. AS
it came from the hands that wrote it, the
Bible was perfect. OF course there are, and
always would be, differences OF opinion on
the exact meaning Of some OF the passages
as we find them. There would be
learned controversies over Greek
vowel here and an accent there,
but these resulted from the origl-
nal carelessness or WEAKNESS OF the transla-
tors and subscribers. Human hands were
not inspired, and the eyes OF the translator
sometimes grew dim. But those little de-
fects detracted nothing from the majesty
and grandeur Of the whole work. They were
like the faint scratches on the walls Of the
great es...nedral at Milan. In both cases the
great structure remained whole, and, view
ed from any point where the whole could
be taken in by the eye and comprehended
by the mind, they appeared beautiful and
unmarried by the puny hands Of meddlers.
Furthermore, the Bible as work and as
a fact was indestructible. It had been so
by the hands of God that nothing
could destroy it, unless indeed it was torn
asunder and scattered in fragments by
hands as mighty as those that put
it together. AS literary work the
Bible never could have rival. 1t suited
every mood OF the human heart, every
aspiration of the human mind. The
grandfather and the lisping child could set
down and read it together. II mel
ancholyr, down-hearted man or woman
wanted to find consolation, the Bible,
with its simple words 81 love and tender
ness, was resorted to. II learned scholar
wished to put himself through a thor
ough course Of intellectual gymnastics,
he could do no better than to take
the Bible for his master. 1t was book
which everybody could read with pleasure
and profit. Sometimes people read por-
lions of the Bible with feelings Of disap-
pointment, rs they did not md the same
satisfaction which they had experienced in
reading the same many years before. But
this proved the wonderful variety and mani
foldness Of the work. Parts Of it are
adapted to young minds and other parts to
mature ones. 1t did not matter how young
or how old, how ienosant or how Iearn NED
a person was, be could always =. "u ec -.
instructor in the Bible. The Koran ull-
fered from the Bible in beng the emanation
Of one mind as against the wisdom Of forty
minds, guided by the Supreme Intelligence.
A Journalist, formerly OF Chicago, but
now employed in this city, is afflicted with
and also the ambition to excel
rs a dramatic writer. A New York mana
ger recently consented to hear him read
short farce, the sole condition being that the.
reading should not occupy more time than
the manager did in smoking the cigar he
had just lighted. Away they started, the
one +, no less nuriyy than the other, and the
reading and smoking were concluded to-
gether. Of course the question was imme-
diately put, "What do you think OF it?"
" Well" replied the manager, 8. it's not
bad idea. Father, mother, lover, daughter,
all suffering, viii have "a novel effect.''
The journalist iwiously exclaimed: "They
d-d-don't st-st-stammer; it's only my mis-
q a. IL