Nevada County picayune., 1889-04-03
THE BOOK OF BOOKS.
Gods Word the Greatest of Liter
 ary Productions.

There are few people that read the Holy Bible as work of literature. Those who read it seek it's pages for the spiritual solacc that it gives them. They read it for the doctrine it i'm parts. Yet, considered purely and only as d literary work. there are few books that can compare with it., Homer, Dante, Guthc and Shake spere alone can be placed in the same category. But, with all their beauties. not one of these great mas ter-pieces equals the Bible in the varied character of its contents and it's remarkable finish. Leaving out of consideration the historical books of the Scriptures, consider only those which have a general interest. There Is not in Homer, Dante, Gp- the or Shakespeare such heights of sublimity reached as we can find in in Isaiah or the book of Job. This last book is intensely human, It's metaphors lose none of their grand ctr or strength because they are drawn from the life about us. On the contrary, because of this prox- imity to the human heart that they are so strong and SO easily under stood hy even the least cultured. Where can we find a more touching, more tender love story than is to be read in the book of Ruth? Where q better example of woman's tender ness and gentle perslstency when she loves, toward the object of that love :? In Esther there is shown in the sim plest and most forohle language the immeasurable depth of womanly af- lection and lilial gratitude. David's Psalms have no equal for poetical fancy, rhetorical finish and mex haustihle metaphors and simies. Shakespeare, with all his rich fancy, is no more striking in this respect than was David There is more wis dom, not speculative but real, In Sol omon's Proverbs and his Ecclesiastes if 1t 1t his-than in all the books that have since been penned, and which are known to the general read ing public. There is much wisdom in the words of COnfucius, but not so much as to be found in Solomon's. The Song of Solomon far excels the delicate grace of Anacreon, Ovid or Horace. Leaving out of mlnd the spiritual construction placed upon it, it stands an ornamental monument to the poesy and imagination of King David and Bathsheba's son. Jeremiah, to, has much too commend it to the student of literature. Even the historical books of Holy Writ have an undeiinable value as throw ing light upon the customs and char acter of the progenitors sof the hu- man race.
 There is not grander code of ethics eNtant than that which is em- braced in Christ's sermon on the mount. It is model for every man and every woman, of every speech and of every condition. It is univer- sal in its breadth, and intensely human in its simple wisdom. If all religious lines were to be obliterated and the touching words of this ser mon on the mount adopted as the creed of humanity there would be religion enough to leaven the whole loaf, In fact, in these words are to be found the essence of all religion. They are inexhaustible. Christ S parables are something that we all understand and of which we all feel the force. They are not alone q matter for spiritual thought, but they are valuable to the rhetorician for their accurate metaphor and their direct style. In all His teachings and comings and goings, the example set by Jesus is rich with good for human kind.
 The epistles of St. Paul are mar vels of deep thought, simplicity and intensity. There is dignity and oftentimes grandeur, about the Apostle Paul, which is reflected in his writings. Study the epistle to the Romans and see how replete it is with vigor, how grand the denuncia- tion, how earnest the appeal. St. Paul never lowers his literary tone any more than he lowers his evangel- ical standard. His epistles are full of instruction, which, if followed,