, 1880-08-15

tn the cunticles. The political and sooial s,,neo
taey aesyEy;, Of o. Epnram J. before the conflict with
epoch begins with tho rise Of written ~nronhana,
~ tho eighth century. By this time writing nY'd
ttsrary ni;i knowledge Ters widely liFnsed iisa.
lont stylst, In whose book Gully perverse IN
genuity cnn trace marks Of rusttcity c@lm~
hcrdssnan in the wilderness Of judah. Yet #
appears that the origin OF written Prophecy was
dae less to the spread Of education than to TIC
ana aims were in conflict with the official pro-
pPnea,o societies, the unworthy successors OF
III the terrible struggle With Nincyeh. when
me Kingdom Of Ephraim perished and Judea
seemed lost beyond hope, the. new prophecy.
clear Of Vision when all were blinded, calm IN its
, uusnaKen fa1th OF ultimate victory, and pursu-
1ng with unfalterfng steadfastness a great pur-
Pose or righteousness, established spiritual and
VESTS @ FSS whch is o. tho
periods. In the book OF Deuteronomy the ancient
ordlnances or Israel were rewritten in the pro-
Josfnh on the basis Of this book is the decisive
proof Of the influence of the written word as
t3.sg ne organ or prophetic idens; The sau1o in
in psalms that express the type Of Indi-
vldual faith, and in the historical books as they
wero yer nnally shapsd after the fall Of Jcrusa
filled out aud continued ID spirit Of prophetic tic
prhgnnIsm, and with the direct object OF on
robp%g robtng prophetic teaching The eSio which
1~~-~ -~%@A0
increased value and authority to tho written
word, and In the author Of Isa-, x1 Xvi, we ind
@ who no 1onese
the pen. There are other short prophecies Of
ne kabylonian age, Us Isa., kill, XIV. which
seem % to have beon tlrst published us anonymous
brondsiucs-a Characteristic change from the
the method Of the former prophets, who wrote
only what they had first spoken to the people,
orIc Of the old pregnant Hebrew G style inter- ee
spelsed with bursts Of song. Even before the
exile this style had undergone It change: the
thing OF the old force, while they dis
play a subtier habit of reflection and a
pnthos which had its origin In the conflict Of
ovorpowcring sense Of prophetic duty. Jere- re-
miah was much occupied with the dark prob
lens Of Providence and the meaning of the suf-
goes beyond the sphere of tho earlier prophecy,
but forms q chief theme Of Isaiah, Il.-lxvi..
and from I. different point Of view is taken up
named book is the highest utterunce OF another
CHARACTERISTIC form of Hebrew literature, the
Chokma, that is, wisdom or pr7lctIcal philosophy
IN parabolc. cpigrammAtio, and poetic form.
Tho earliest distinct trace OF literary cultivation
Of this paiIosopy, which from, its nature must
mouth, is the Collection Of ancient ] 1a proverbs S
Pro- XIV, H. A1ons SsateG with tho % simple seeae ep
favogit vehicle Of Jewish thought long after
Hebrew had given way to 4Ar.maic the earliest
fornl OF Hebrew Wi5dun seems to have been the
xiv, 8. Ct. l. Kings. ", 3d. 50 different, from tic
animal fabics OF kailag and Damnag' or Slnd-
ban; which the later Semitic literature borrowed
Chokma ran parallel with the progress Of proph-
ecy, and though It is generally maintained that
Jeremiah quotes the Book of Job. it Is perhaps
more likely that the contrary Is the case. and
that tho latest aud most medltatiye phase or
prophecy was absorbed into the poetry OF tha
Chokma. The brief revival Of spoken prophecy
Sftf f11a fftf
no notable literary feature except the use Of
somewhat fantastic symbolic imagery, the pro-
totypo Of the latter apocalyptc literature
GUS systcmatization of the ceremonial law On
lines first drawn By Ezokicl. uarS the COM
menccment Of the third and last period of
Hebrew literature Tho age Of religiOua pro-
ducttvity was past, and tho narrow limits and
political nnality OF tho now Jcwish settlement
on. tn9 F no oP v coa
tional literature. The scribes took the place Of
the prophets. md the growth Of tradidonaiism
thaSgh TSe freshest and JEST ths
perlotl are the post-exile psaims the hymns Of
the second temple, which occupy q large part Of
the lyrics in tho highest poetIcal qualities,
are often full Of the charm Of genuine feel
ing and sweet urternnce, and sometimes
prose idyl OF Ruth has natural affinity.
Tho ,othor writings Of the lust age are on the
whole much inferior. as the language dccayed,
the cruces of the older prose style wore lost.
The memoirs OF Ezra and Nehemiah, tile color
less narrative Of tile Chronicles, and even the
BooknfsEather, ara. suga1lorly destitute Of lit
er1ry merit.
Yet letters were scd,1lousIy' cultivated. The
The Mfdrnsh, or serlnoniztng treatment Of the
Old history which holds so lQrgc place In inter
Jewish literature, had come in before the tune
OF the Chroncler, WHO quotes 9 work Of the
Kings II. Chron., XIV, Fl, of- xiii. 22 Along
with this came the beginnings Of Haggada, the
historical names, IT which tho Book of Jonah Is
gener,.l!y taken as an emily example, Ind which
attnins much greater dimensions in the apocry-
the close uf the Old Testament period the author
OF Ecclesfastes could speak Ut the weartuess Of
much study and the endless sterility of book
makiug. His Judgment was confirmed BY pos
terity, for Of these many books scarcely truce
remains.