The Universalist. [volume] (Chicago [Ill.]) 1884-1897, 1895-12-21
THE OUTER DRESS OF THE BIBLE.

Too little attention has been paid,
by critics and commentators, to the
dress of the Bible. History, poetry,
philosophy, abstract reasoning and
narrative, fact and description, have
all been jumbled up together and
treated alike. 1t has been assumed
that language is used to convey ideas
and so sufficient discrimination has
not been observed in treating it. The
poetical and the logical have been
subjected to the same critical process
and hence blunders have been made
and errors multiplied.
NY attention has been called anew
to this subject by reading Hagen
backs comments onHerders theology
in his history of German Rational
ISM" Herder was poet, or rather
poem in himself, embracing the good
the true and the beautiful in his own
person. This poetical disposition OF
Herder was of infinite value to his
theological views. The ability to
comprehend religion POLITICALLY, to
enter into the spirit of the Scriptural
oriental Old Testament poetry,
and to interpret the sacred books in
geniously from thespirit, was OF great
value. It furthered the cause OF in
depreciation and suddenly removed
many theological difficulties; for in
my opinion the reconciliation OF theo-
logical extremes lies to great extent,
in this ingenious poetical view. For
where do these extremes mostly orig
mate, if not from an intelligence too
dry, freed from all poetry of life, from
prosaic, insipid, consequences,
from misunderstanding the symbol
cal? Herder, at once, cut the thread
of rabbinic scholastic subtleties, when
be tore the holy things from prosane
hands and bore them to those regions,
into which only consecrated taste.
one susceptible to the beautiful,
the peculiar, the strange, such as
poetry nourishes, can enter" Here
is a lesson which we all who read the
Bible would do we'll to learn, warn
ing which we would do well to heed.
Yet how many take no heed of the
lesson! The Orientals were peculiar
ly an imaginative people. They de-
lighted in bold figures of speech, in
striking personifcations, in extrava-
CANT hyperboles. And this appears
in their sacred writings. The Bible is
pre- eminently an Oriental book. It's
written in the language OF the East
which, in many respects, is in direct
contrast to the language of the West
And to this distinction we must give
heed if we would get clear view of
their thoughts.
The Orientals were, also, an i'm
pulsive, excitable people. They dwelt
in tropical climate and this so acted
on their sensitive nature as to appear
in their rapid gestures and their
modes of expressing their thoughts
and feelings. Hence they used ex-
travagant figures of speech which
corresponded with their gestures. We
are astonished at the multitude and
variety of their imagery. They spec
tally delight in the use of bold hyper
boles, which shock the cool, calculat-
ing minds of this western cline.
Let us quote few passages from
the Psalms and other books and see
whether they will fit into our modes
of speech. "The hills melted like
wax at the presence of the Lord"
He casteth forth his ice like NOR
sells "The sea saw it and fled" "The
mountains skipped like rams and the
little hills like lambs. ""Let the foods
clap their hands, let the hills be joy
tul together" There is bold meta
phor in the Goth Psalm: "Lord, thou
mast been our dwelling place in all
generations" 1t has become so ia
niliar that we are not moved by it as
We should be, if we had just heard it
Uttered for the first time, yet it is the
highest style of the poetical.
Turn to jeremiah and he astonishes
US by e1claimihg in the midst of his
grief: "Oh that my head were waters
md mine eyes were fountain of
ears, that l might weep day and.
light for the slain of the daughter of
ny people" Listen also to Ezekiel
IS he describes the valley of the dry
zones which were clothed in flesh.