, 1879-07-27
chaksneare's Wonderful Fa-
n1i|iarity with the
Scriptures.
1,ocn1s versus Reason-~-The Con-
dict Between Religion
and Science.
.nother Essay on Biblical III
spiration--.0ld Testament
Contradictions.
r,o cruc;fx;on as Described in the
odinic ,Mythslogy--The Root .
less Tree.

General Notes, Personals, Sun
day Srnall-Talk--Serv-
ices To-Day.
sHAKSPEARE'S BIBLE.
-,s EXTRAORDINARY FAM1LIARITT WITH TIE
1'' SCRIPTURES.
ch.tsneare lived at time when the Bible be-
c,n onec more to be eagerly studied, and he
Gems to have been fully alive to the new i'm
,r1se. This is shown not merely By his direct
a,otstious from Scripture, but far more tm-
n-essiye)y BIZ his indirect illusions. There are
nonr nassagcs into which Shakespeare {without
a,ot;nc, has compressed the essence Of portions
II scrinture which could only have been the re-
.n,t of a careful meditation OF the sacred page.
pasdps this. there Is almost everywhere recog-
,ton of the other world aud invisible things,
,,orinc that bis mind had been In familiar COM
mnnication with the chief source OF religious
troth. It is not LOO much to say that in Shaks-
na,,a RELIGION is a vital ann active principle,
sustaining the good, alarming the wicked, and
tnanencinc the heart and life For example, in
"y;rasuze for Measure" 1sa5e'la's character is
n,cs eoua1 to the task OF overcoming her tempta-
ton. On the other hand, Angelo, who makes
profession OF strict moral purity, is destitute OF
religious principles, and therefore falls
We could find in Shakespeare illusions to pas
saoes CHILLED from almost every book IN the b.
t1c. Tnc references to. the earliest historical
characters Of Sczip,ure-Adam and Eve, Gam
md Abel-are very numerous and very varied
In ..Much ADO About Nothing," NC find Benz
G:ci savinp nj Beatrice: 81 would not marry ner,
though she we're endowed with all that Adam
had left him before he transgressed." 1hls
owes its force to the effect it has on our lmagt-
nation. Nc recall an image OF the bliss ana pro-
fusion Of good with which Adam was surround
ed before he fell In the forest OF Arden, the
Duke says:
Are not these WOODS
More free from peril than the euvious courts
Here feel We but the penalty Of Adam
IN reference, no doubt, to the curse, "1u the
sweat OF tbr face thou shalt eat bTead.'
In "Henry "" Shakespeare makes line fig
uratiye use Of Adams expulsion from Paradise.
The Archbis1op Of Canterbury is describing the
change in Hanry ?. from frolicsome youth to
wise King:
Consideration like IN angel ame.
And whipp'd the offending Adam out or him,
Leaving his body rs paradise
70 enveio. aud contain celestial spirits,
But the idea here that paradise became the
abode of celestial spirits is exrraBiblical and de-
rived from tradition.
IN sRicbard H. the Queen thus upbraids the
Gardener for bringing the news OF the Kings
deposition: X 49,
Thou o,dAdam,a 1ikcneas,x-=.-:
Set to dreaa the garden. how dares -:
III: horsn rude tongue SOUND this unpIeaslng neHBg
Wtat Eve, what serpent, hnth suggested thee
To make second fall OF cursed many
Here the three or four earliest pictorial sketches
Of the Bible are combined in one view, and thAt
in vcry strong co1ors. .....
Fa!stof makes very witty allusfon to Adams
fall in excuse Of his own offenses: !" In the
state o. inuocepcy Adam fell; and what should
poor Jack Falstatf do in the days Of villainy?"
These IRE but few Of Shakspesre's references
to the earliest historical records Of the Bible.
The a1lnslons to Cain and Abel are not less nu-
1nerous and s.riking. Constance thus speaks OF
Prince Arthur:
For since the birth of Cain, the first male child
To him that did but yesterday suspire,
There Was not such gracious creature born.
The Bishop Of Winchester when threatened by
the Dnkc Of Goster thus speaks q - Henry
w." /, 3):;
Nay. stand thou back, I viii not bulge a foot;
This be Damascus, be thou cursed Cain,
To slay thy brother Abel, if thou wilt.
ian irritating mode this Of claiming relation
ship, and yet at the same time superiority.
In "Richard Ill., Boingbroke charges 4no,o-
bray with the murder Of the Duke Of GlosGer,
Ind says:
Which blood. like sacrificing Abes, cries
Even from the toneue1ess carerns OF the earth,
70 me, for Justice and rough chastisement.
The words OF Northumberland in the second
part OF '.Heury w. reveal his agony Of heart
Eheu he hears that his rebel army is defeated,
md that his son, Henry Percy, is slain. Thor
9ughlg aroused from bis apathy BY grief and
desperation, he now resolves to hazard all, and
tuds his fierce invocation thus:
Now let not Natures hand
heen the wild flood conhnedi Let order dial
And let this world no longer be frage
To feed contention In q lingering act;
Brt let one spirit OF the frst-born Cain
Reign in all bosomsl
Ne don't know whether people, in reading
the account Of Noah In the Book OF Genesis.
vas; and in Twelfth Night " We have Sir Toby
SAYING: Judgment aud reason were grand
1nrymen before Noah was sailor.n In the
Comedy OF Errors" one of the "great un-
Washed, is spoken Of as having '*fault that
Noah's food could not mend" .Fdstaf, who is
little too fond Of quoting, Scripture, makes in
ms self-defense an allusion to one OF Pharaoh's
dreams: II to be fat is to be hated, then Pha-
laoh's lean kline are to be lored." In another
!,! n!ag tnere IS rather . unique allusion to the
plague Of darkness: "Thefe is no darkness but
ignorance, in which thou art more puzzled than
1he Egyptians in their fog.''
Inc commandments are thus alluded to.
Luco, In ''Measure for Measure says to gen.
e!euoau EMO mas used somewhat tricky argu-
"eot to suiI his purpose:
Laco. Thou concludest like the santimopious
pfale mat Went to sea with the ten command
nents. but scraped one ont Of the table,
Lentten'dH. |'Thou shalt not steaI7''
Lucao. Az, that he razed
iasslng by tue numerous a{lus;oos tn In met
with to Jephthah, Samson, Sanl. Darid- oni1
others, one example may be riyen nf E,,e;, ~ ~
curious way Of putting togethar texts from ;;fe
ferent parts ot the Bible: II fear mt Gn,;ath
with wearer's beam, because know a,so a r..
Is shuttle" ~19o nAo
Shakespeare has made liberal use of tha poo,-
Of Job. There is no need to recall yerbsl refers
ences, such as the phrases, s'As slanderous a.
Satan," ''As poor as job, !" ''As wicked as 5oh,s
wife" But in *tOthello" We have half dozcn
lines which give us the substance Of the second
shapter Of Job. OGaetio, bewailing the supposed
snddelity OF Deade,nona, says:
had it pleased Heaven
To try me With atliiction: had be rain'd
All kiuus Of cores and shames on my bare hesd
Sfcep'd me in poverty to the very lips,
Given to captivity me and my utmost hope4
should have found in some part OF my soul
4 drop Of patience
Here, and IN many other places. Shakespeare re-
verses the process Of the preacher The preach
ct expands and dilutes Scripture. Our poet
congresses it, and gives the essence OF large
portions in line or two. In one Of bis sopnets
y aa'lton has done the same with the Parable Of
the Ten Virgins.
IL another place (s Henry W. ILL.,, 81 there
% oe following reference to Jobs leyiathan: