, 1879-07-27

anu IN Tue street. too.
Prince Henry. Thou didst well: for wisdom
CRIES out in the streets. and no man regards IT,.
The nineteenth verse of the twenty.seventh
chapter OF Proverbs is rather obscure, and the
commentators very much differ ia their inter-
uretatson OF it. "As IN water face answereth
e5a to 1acc, SO the hesrt OF man to man." But
Shakespeare seems to have ex plained it as well as
anr OF them, II not better. In 4sJulius Cesar"
Cdssttks thus speaks:
therefore good Brutus. be prepared to hear;
s. ~Ano. since you cannot see yourself -. 80,
50 well as by rejection. I. your glass;
WIN modcstiy discover to YOURSELF
That OF yourself which you get know not Of.
That seems to be the exact meaning Of Solomon
IN t'it: above t'assage- Ope mans heart is as
mirror, In which mother NAV see reflection OF
himself: One more illustration must suffice.
1u Proverbs. xiii, 81. the drunkard is thus ad-
dressed: "Yea. thou shalt he as he that lieth
down in the midst Of the sea or as he that lieth
upon the top Of mast" Shakespeare has drawn
out the image more fully in the exclamation Of
Hastings on finding himself betrayed BY Rich
ard: -
g 0momcntary grace OF mortal men. .-.
Which we more hunt for ttan the grace OF Godf
Who builds his hope in air OF your fair looks,
Lives like a drunken sailor on Il mast;
Ready with every nod to tumble down
Into the fatal bowles OF the deep.
We now turn to the New Testament for few
specimens OF Shakspeare's Scriptural knowl-
edge. There arc many illusions to that King
Aerod who occupies such conspicuous place
in the early purt Of ST. Matthew's Gosnel. Ono
example must DO sufficient Henry 7. at Har-
iieur is warning the inhabitants Of the town Of
the dire consequences that will follow should
they refuse to open their gates to him:
Therefore. you men, of uarteur,
Take pity OF your town, and OF your people,
Whites ret my soldiers are in my command
II not, why, in moment look to see. !. i.
Your fathers taken by the silver boards.
And their 1nost reverend heads dashd to the walls;
ycur naked infants spitted upon pixies; =
Whites the mad mothers with their hows confused,
Do break the clouds, as did the wives OF Jewry
At uerod's BLOODY hunting slaughtermen..
This forc,ble description shows that the poet
had powerfully realized this savage work Of
Herod's. The allusious to another New Testa-
vudas the traitorl are very frequent and varied.
Richard II. thus speaks OF his three farorites
who had betrayed him:
Three Judases, each one thrice worse than Judasl
GEoster, attervard Richard III, having. in pre-
tense Of affection, kissed the young Prince that
he afterward murdered. thus epeaks aside:
To say the truth. so Judas kissed his Master,
And cried. All hail, when as he meant--all harm.
Again, OF dissembler it is said: .tHis kisses
are Judas' own children.n And speaking Of
the flastcry that abonnds in the world one says:
"Who can call him his friend that dips in the
same disha" The Detkx Of Chester (beiore men,
toned, after saving, aside, that BY his misrep-
resentations he has Induced Stanley and others
to whct him On to be revenged on Rivers, Dor
SET, and Grey. adds:
Bnt then SIGH. and with piece Of Scripture
Tell them that God bids US do good for evil.
And thus clothe nv naked vilainy
With old odd ends, stolen forth Of Holy Writ;
And seem saint when ynost play the Devil.
This owes its pungEncy to the iuxtapositon
made between the mind Of the arch-yillafn Fic.-
ard and the sentiments and spirit Ut Hulv Writ.
So Naebefh refers to another clause ia the same
verse {" Pray for them which despiteful1y use
you ~ when he is urging an assassin to murder
Banquo III retaliation for the wrongs done to
him:
Are you 80 eospelrd
To uray for this good man and for his Issue,
Whose heavy hand hath bowed yon to the grayet
Cardinal Beaufort is very appropriately ad~
dressed as "Tnou wolf in sheep's array," con-
sidcring that the words In the Gospel are ap-
piled to false prophets, and to those who for
wicked purposes assume the office OF Christian
Again. ne find Hanla saying, "The1e:s
special providence in the fall Of sparrow.'
The allusion is obvious; and very beautifully is
the same passage introduced in "As You Like
It-'' Adana, like faithful old servant, in dis
suading his MASTER, Orlando, from plunging
into an evil course to get a.llVfng, saws:
i. But do not go: Ihave five hundred crowns,
The thrifty hire saved under your father,
Which did store to be my foster-nurse
When service should In MY old limbs lie lame,
And unregarded age in corners thrown;
. Take that: and ne that doth the ravens feed.
Z e. R5;Sas9 y $751; 1e@ tas sparrow
In contrast with this, here is sentiment Of
Shyfock's stepped in gall:
There be the Christian husbands: I have q
Would any of the stock Of Darabbas
Had been her husband, rather than Christian.
Numerous other passages, equally or even
more striking, might easily be quoted. But,
after all, the most interesting illustrations of
Shakspearc's use OF the Bible are those which
cannot be referred to in one or two texts, but
are stepped in scriptural sentiment aud religious
truth. There Is, tor instance, that grand proph-
ccy of Archb shop Crannser's at the end Of
"Henrr VIII" concerning the Princess Eiiza-
beth: - This royal infaEt (Rcaven move still
well-known appeal of portia to Shy|ock: s'1che
quality of mercy is not strained" etc. A similar
sentiment occurs IN LsdbeIa's appeal to A71ge'o
on behalf Of her brother, who, AnQeio says, has
become forfeit to the law:
Alas! nlasl
Why, all the souls that were, were forfeit oncel
And He that might the vantage best have took
Found out the remedy. How would you be
II He, which is the top 81 Judgment. should
And mercy then will breathe within your lips
Like man neW-made- =
These are sentiments that could have come only
from soul III love with goodness. They are
genuinely religious, and the state Of mind they
imply could hardly be assumed for the occasion.
On the whole, we may say that for inspiring
true detestation Of vice, and a genuine lore OF
goodness, no human writings can surpass Shak-
apeare's. No wonder, then, that Shakespeare,
whilst inteliigble to the Understanding Of
child, aud fascinating to the youthful imagina~
ton, should still be the friend of the full-grown
man, and the st1arer OF his most serious feel
ings; and when many auttors once admired
have ceased to charm, no wonder that this author
still retains bis hold upou lis.
DOGMA VS.. REASON.
THE CONFLICT TBETWEENREL1GION AND SCIENCE.
To the Editor Of The Irioune.
. CHICAGO, July 20.-The purpose Of Mr. Glad
stones last article in the NinetcenM Century, on
s. Probability as the Guide Of Conduct,'' is
evident. By giving prominence to doctrine