The Wheeling daily intelligencer. [volume] (Wheeling, W. Va.) 1865-1903, 1880-03-01

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elements when practically developed re,
turn q rich reward for the outlay OF labor
and money. GRAzIRR.
SHAKESPRARR.S FAITH IN GOD.
DR.. BoIles' Lecture In Reply TO the Theses
ofCoIoneI "Bob" Ingersoil.
From tue New York World.
DR.. Henry @. Potter introduced to an
audience OF ladies and gentlemen at Grace
Chapel, in Fourteenth street yesterday
afternoon, DR.. James A. Bolles, Of Cleve-
land, o., who was, at the instance OF sew
eral Of the clergy Of New York, to give q
public talk on "The Religion Of Shakes
peare as illustrated by his Plays" ~
trust you will graciously bear in mind"
said DR.. Bolles, "that I have had no ex.
perience in reading Shakespeare and in
deed have witnessed the acting Of but two
or three Of his plays" This was an ex-
cuse for which the audience would never
have asked, iuasmuch as the many quota.
tions with which his lecture was necessar-
ily filed were read by DR.. Bolles, with q
hearty earnestness, which went quite as far
among.the Shakespearian scholars present
as any more dramatic elocution. II was the
purpose OF the lecturer to show not only
that Shakespeare believed in God, but in
the incarnation OF Christ, and in special
overriding Providence as well-that he
was true priest OF Catholicism. DR.. Bolles
holds that It Is absurd and unreasonable
TO believe that Shakespeare was an athe-
ist as 1t would be to regard the paintings
OF Raphael or the sculpture OF Michael
Angelo as evidence OF Immortality. In q
lust measure the tendency 10 regard
Shakespeare not Christian is due, the
lecturer thought, to the fact that his
writings took the form OF the drama. But
how absurd was such an argument. Was
not the Bible the greatest OF dramas?
Shakespeare was q dramatist, but in his
dramas truth was personifed, virtue ex-
allied. crime exposed, pride punished, and
life illustrated.
One by one through many quotations
the lecturer next proceeded to show that |
the germs OF Shakespeare's thought were
drawn from the Bible. The description |
Of innocent boyhood from "Winter's
Tale"
We thought there was no moro Deulnut
But such DAY tomorrow rs to-day
And to the boy eternal,
was found in Isaiah's prophetic utterance:
"They shall renew their strength, mount
up with wings as eagles, run and not be
weary" There was no poet not profess
eddy sacred, from CHANGER down to the
present day, who had drawn more largely
from the Bible. "Notice, too" continued
DR.. Bolles, show he shows a familiarity
with the prayer Of all Catholics, Lord
have mercy, as opposed 10 the prayer OF
Lord, | thank thee in his
lines beginning, THE quality OF mercy is
not strained which, after all is but a
OF the words OF Jesus, 1t is
more blessed to give than to receive
How full OF holy inspiration is the
description OF the Christmas season in
Hamlet Can anybody read 'Hamlet's'
wonderful description OF man without
being reminded OF Psalm yiii-'What is
man that thou art mindful OF him|
might also dwell upon tho famous solilo-
guy, TO be or not to be- for in evory
thought l could find basis OF Holy Scrip
ture. What, | ask, but belief in the
worm that never dies aud the fire that is
never auenched could have induced the
cry OF The murderous and lecherous King,
oh, my oiIense is rank; it smells to heav-
emf How does the believer in Shakes
peare's atheism reconcile with his belief
the wonderful language oil Cardinal VOL
sey 10 Cromwell, i charge thee, fling away
ambition Shakespeare an atheist? Hor-
rible! horrible! Not less than thousand
times does he mention the name OF God
more often, indeed, than that sacred name
is mentioned in the Bible. Not less than
q thousand times does he refer to God by
some OF his works." :.
Dr.. Bolles next cited many passages OF
to show that the great poet
believed in personal loving, and just
God, and that be was OF all writers, ancient
and modern, most plain in his teachings
an overriding Providence. He
quoted the faithful Adam in " AS You
Like It." from Romeo and julie" and
the well known lines from Hamlet"
"rhere's divinity that shapes our ends"
To show Shakespeare's belief in the in
carnation OF Christ, DR.. Bolles quoted
from "Henry VIII, ""Therefore, friends, 1
as far as to the sepulchre OF Christ" the
Duke OF Lancaster Sfron ,,'RiGhard Ill,
and Isabella's eloquent appeal to Angelo
In "Measure for Measure"
"What reply" he asked, "can be made
to all this cumulative proof? lit be urged
that Shakespeare intended only to show
the religious folly Of his fellow men, then
YOU divest all his utterances OF their
grandeur, and the great poet himself sinks
from his mighty position as the grandest
OF humsn teachers"
In conclusion, Dr.. Bolles referred to
Shakespeare's will as proof OF his belief
in Christianity. Suppose" says he, "that
atheist who Is ow.going about this coun.
try, seeking whom he may devour, and
whose name will not mention, should
make a will commencing his body aud
soul to God, as Shakespeare did-would
any future generation pretend TO look up.
on that will as a joker No, the thought is
too awful, They would rather be forced
10 admit that at the last moment, before
making it-as thank God was not the case
with shakespeare-he had been converted,
Tor which on sure we all devoutly
pray"
Remember Friends, Remcmbcr,