Morning appeal. [volume] (Carson City, Nev.) 1877-1906, 1880-05-02
TWO VIEWS OF THE BIBLE.

Fer some years past Bob Ingersoll has
raked the bible with fine tooth comb and
succeeded in finding some very ridiculous and
laughabe things in it. Let the most orthodox
believer listen to his description OF how the
ark was built and navigated and he IS bound
to laugh at Bobs unexpected sallies. Here
are some extracts from his Mistakes OF Moses
There we're forty-6v thousand mothers in
Israel and three million people. Now this
would average about sixty-eight children to
each mother. Some stories are too thin, this
IL too thick.
Speaking of the building of the ark he says:
The ark was five hundred feet long, ninety
feet broad and fifty feet high. 1t had one
door for the animals to 60 which they shut up
when they weighed anchor and window
twenty two inches square. If Noah had any
hobby it was ventilation. Noah picked out
all living things in pairs. Thousands OF
insects live on single leaf and he had no
microscope You have no idea what trouble
that man had.
1t rained forty days and forty nights and
the waters rose above the highest mountains
which are about five and half miles high
How much was that a day Eight hundred
feet How is that for dampness
On the subject of the diet of the children
Of Israel the sacriligious lecturer continues:
They ate mama for forty years and wanting
change Of diet cried out, "Our souls abhor-
eth this light bread" Then the Lord sent
snakes to bite them. Suppose your boarding
house keeper gave you hash for forty years
and when you told her that your soul alb
hored hash, what would you think if she let
loose basketful of rattlesnakes upon you
While all this is very amusing to the audi.
ence, no one can forget that the writer's who
helped to make up the book We call the bible
we're monarchs of the pen. Some of the des-
criptive portions of the great work are incom-
parably beautiful. Nothing can exceed the
force of language employed by Job and
David and their metaphors are unapproachable
No more terse and comprehensive descrip
ton of battle was ever given us than the fol-
lowing:
''For every battle of the warrior is with
confused noise and garments rolled In bo"ds
Nothing ever written is SO we'll calculated
to smooth the pillows of the dying or make
one 3 last moments sweet with hope, than this
comforting allusion to heaven:
"Where the wicked cease from troubling
anil the weary are at rest.
The following gives a grand idea of Gods
movement through the heavens:
"Who maketh the clouds his chariot, and
walketh upon the wings of the wind.
The bible abounds ia metaphors which seem
common place now because they have been so
often appropriated by modern writer's. 1t is
hard to read the poets Of the last two hundred
years and find figure of speech or compari-
son that cannot be traced to the bible. 1t is
the fountain head of imagery and powerful
description Shakespeare, visited the spring
and there is not poet of note that can be
named, who has not drank deep and often
from its inexhaustible waters. The best
flights of lngersolls eloquence are plagiar-
lied from the bible When he treads the lower
plane of his lecture, his wit and fun TEEN
with originality, but when he cleaves the
azure heights of oratory, and makes an effort
to move his audience by sheer force of elo-
quence. he takes bis metaphors from the bible
only to clothe them in more modern garments.
They still are SO like the originals that their
origin is at once detected. Modern poetry
after all, is nothing more than the ideas Of
biblical writers put in rhyme, and as rule is
very much weakened in consequence.
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