The times. [volume] (Richmond, Va.) 1890-1903, 1891-01-25

1t Is unfortunate that the word Bible has
come down To us as expressive of what orig
inally was the law, the prophets and the
Sacred Writings. For the term Bible signi-
hes book; the Hebrew divisions indicate a
literature. A good deal Of mlsuudcrsttnd-
ing respecting scripture ANA ndllvIenc. u
its study can Ice traced 90 its being regarded
as book. We are accustomed O. associate
with the word book a certain logical sc-
quence, a plan or plot. a deVe opmcni. aeon
clusiOn, finality of some sort. But the blnir
is Just the reverse Of "a book, luj -eI ny th'H
standard. II il uO, a book. save in meta
phOr n the pin )logy o. ne am thinking
IL is hrst and last literature. Ana
what literature; running the Whole
ganut OF feeling, aud presenting
within the compass of few hundred pages
what irfnite variety Of suhjecf, treatment,
style, thought. Here We have history,
genealogy, drama, the lyric, The epic' the
Understanding psalm. the heart-brohen
lamentatiOn, the love song, whose exquisite
beauty shines like gem in its Eastern
casket: the sober prOvCrb, as fresh and slim
ulating az when first uttered 10y the city's
gate; the imnassiOned ,uutburst OF the seer,
the dry de a l. q the chroniclcr, the lovely
idyl of Ruin, the profound philosophy OF
job, mystic rhapsody. precise statutes,
waiting ecstasy, the problem, o life aud of
life beyond death. thoughts OF God and Oi
wider humanity than one race aud people
how varied is the literature embodied in
Scripture. Call it moi Scripture rather, for
here surely il is not written. but craven 10y
the Hand divine.
But the Bible is not only "a literature in
the variety Of its subjects from the cosmogo-
nv OF the Pentateuch 10 the prophecy of
Malachi. II reveals as we'll The genius of
literature in its style language. literary
method. As IL to stamp 10 with peculiar
4 x.HH .alt.s AZ ~
TO resist age and cline, il illustrates almost
every variety Of literary composition and
figure OF rhetoric. Compare the simple
style Of the author Of Genesis with the vivid
word colOring OF an Isaiah, the easy nara
tive Of the books Of Samuel win the rhl thm
and swell Of the Psalms, or Ruth ANA ITS
picturesque ag' marks, with the dirge OF
koLeleth or the fiorld wealth of the song OF
songs. But more than tnis-would Nou
have humOrY What better example than
Tliiah's appeal 10 the priests OF Baal
or Jotham's fable OF the Olive treef can
pathos OF David's sorrow at Absalom's death
H. surpassedY Is II saurcf There are
ebeaves Of IL in the prophets. Is 10 singing
ironyY why, lsaiah's sarcasms cuts stili
10 the quick. Would you have examples OF
the sublime? job supplies II in SMILES that
possess all the majestic elements OF prime
val forests, of nature In It's immensely. And
20 descend a step 70 mere matters OF form
the literary artist will ind many a HUT Ia
the parallelism Of the psalmist in the puns
aud word-play OF the prophet But for the
finer appreciation Of these points no transla-
ton will suffice. The original text alone
must be consulted. LIS dew and sparkle, |
and genius OF the Hebrew language, can |
not always be translated any more than you /
can translate perfume. Its metaphors lose /
much OF their force. its Smiles become eX-
aggerated when iransplanted from their
Eastern clime.-Jewish Messenger.