Middletown transcript., 1881-07-01

fore irving LyceuIn, VI MIuu1oCo"h'
Del.
The Bible is often spoken of as an
ancient book, a mysterious book and a
sacred book, but rarely as a literary
book.
The Bible is consulted by infdels for
discrepences, by the sorrowing for COM
fort, by the lost for salvation, by the
christian for guidance, and the minister
for examples of holy living. But how
seldom is it examined for its literary
merits. Many who are unacquainted
with its beauty have presented it as
tasteless, inelegant, unliterary work,
heavy in its style and entirely wanting
| in rhetorical finish.
If critics represent this celestial gar
den, with its tree of knowledge hung
with the finest fruits and flowers of
literature, as a wilderness, it is our duty
to set aside such a representation and
our privilege to invite those Of literary
tastes to this second Paradise" fair
as the first and more secure, for where
its fountains sparkled and its groves
entwined their floral beauties there
lurked the serpent to beguile.
But here no tempter lies in wait, no
death bearing tree presents its fruit.
Sir VIM. Jones, the great master of
oriental literature, has said ] have
regularly and attentively read The
Holy Scriptures, and am of the opinion
that this volume, independent Of its
divine origin, contains more sublimity
and beauty, more pure morality, more
Independent history and finer strains of
poetry and eloquence than can be col
lected from all other books, in what
ever age or language they may have
been composed"
To this might be added the opinion
Of Rosso, the great infdel Of France:
"I will confess to you that the ma
iesty Of the scriptures strike me with
admiration as the purity Of the Gospel
has it's influence on my heart. Peruse
the works Of all our philosophers, with
all their pomp and dictien, how mean,
how contemplate are they, compared
with the scriptures"
See how this infdel admires the maj
esty Of the scriptures and the purity OF
the Gospels. But it is the very strug-
gle of the noble Othello.
ellis heart relents but his hand is
firm. He kisses the beautiful maiden
before he would destroy her."
We find literary excellence in Bible
histories. Strange place to look for it,
say some. We feel sure the noted
q Bob'' would think 50, from his idea
Of Moses.
Instead Of seeing this valley Of dry
bones clothed with flesh and standing
up an exceeding great army he would
expect to see something like Irving's
Icabod Crane, "who was tall but ex-
ceedingly lank, with narrow shoulders,
long arms and legs, hands that dangle
a mile out Of his sleeves, feet that
might have served for shovels, and his
whole framemost loosely hung together.
His head was small and fiat at the top,
with large ears and a snipe nose, so
that it looked like a weather cock
perched on his spindle neck to tell
which way the wind blew. To see him
striding along the profile Of hill on
windy day, with his clothes bagging
and fluttering about him, one might
have mistaken him for the genius Of
famine descending upon the earth, or
some scare-crow eloped from a corn
field.
Read the histories of the Bible. You
will neither find valley of dry bones
nor an Icabod Crane. For the histor-
ians have breathed upon the dry bones.
They live an exceeding great army.
While we read, the worlds ''gray faith
ers'' pass before us, and among them we
behold, the Poet, the Prophet, the
Priest, the Politician, the Prince and
the Courtier.
There is an awful grandure around
these men. They live as in the presence
of God and depart into the unknown to
be forever with the Lord.
Compare the Bible history of creation
with that of the Koran. Mohammed
says: "God created the earth in two
days and he placed in the earth noun
tains, firmly rooted, rising above the
same and he blessed it and provided
therein food of the creatures designed
to be the inhabitants thereof in four
days. Then he set his mind to the Gre
alton of the heavens; and it was smoke
and he said unto it and unto the earth,
come either Obediently OF against your
will. They answered, we come"
How different from those stately
StepingS of the historian IN GeneslS.
SIN the beginning God created the
heavens and the earth"
The Bible contains the Oldest history
in the world and at the same time the
most modern. 1t reaches back to the
beginning and forward to the ending
1t describes what took place on the first
day and declares what will come tt
pass on the last day.
. We behold also literary excellence il
this wonderful book, in the pen pic
lures it places before us of the Holy
Land and its inhabitants. We are
compelled to acknowledge that tht
''Hebrew Bards' have made the lane
Of Palestine, in its geographical fea
lures, remarkable localities and inhabi
tants, much more familiar to the stran
ger than the "Grecian Bards'' hav'
the isles of the Egean. There is onl
pen picture which at this time deserve