The daily morning journal and courier. [volume] (New Haven, Conn.) 1894-1907, 1897-03-15
THE BIBLE AS LITERATURE
PR0F. WINCHESTER'S LECTURE BE-
FORE TIRE MEMS CLUE.

Studied-Its Influence on English Liter
ature-A Word About Jacobs Dream and
the Book of Job-Poetry Not to be Read
as History or Dogma.
The Mems club of the United church
last evening was addressed by Profess
sor Winchester of Wesleyan university
on THE Bible as Literature" Profess
sor Winchester is one of the best stu
dents of English literature in the coun-
try and also possesses great power as a
speaker. His audience last evening
was large and appreciative one,
Professor Winchester said Il do not
propose to take your time in asserting
the literary merit Of the Scriptures.
Anyone who has not felt the poetic
charm and power of the book ought to
be ashamed of his ignorance and is to
be pited,
"Our whole literature both in sub
stance and form, has been more infiu-
enced by old William Lyndall's trans
English book.
Il propose first to discuss what makes
the Bible literature. There are doubt
less some portions of the book which
are not literature. Many books are
given up to details of the custom and
legal technicalities of the people, and
though they have an historic interest
they have not much of that permanent
interest which we call literary The
literary value of a writing is tested by
its power to move the emotions.
THE Bible is not one book but
library of books, all growing out of
one idea Of religious power and emo
tions, These emotions may be said to
be the highest ends of life and we need
ask no higher test of some of these
biblical writings than that they move
the higher emotions of life.
Take the book of Ruth, for example,
which surpasses Goethe's Herman
and Dorothea" in it's power and beauty,
and is undoubtedly of great literary
merit. Take also that other book which
has been so scandalized, the book of
Solomon, which is a pure love poem.
The Interpretation of the poem which is
most satisfactory to me, is that which
makes it, is the story of rustic lass at
the court of Solomon proving true to
her lover in spite of all temptation
Most of the Psalms are pure lyrics not
written to teach, but pure songs Most
of the books of the Old Testament
which are in substance history are in
form and spirit poetry Of the piec kind.
Hebrew literature is an expression
Gf thn djviY,o In q II ttn
rounding universe and also in the NOR
al world.
Amy writing which has any great
didactic value will take on literary
form and spirit in order to be most eff
fective.
Zone or two practical suggestions I
can make as to the use of the Bible;
and, first, very commonplace sugges-
tion is, read it in spite of all that is be-
ing said about it, The best things in
literature can never be taught by a
third party, but we must get ourselves
into sympathy with the authors mind.
We must not again read lyric poetry as
if it were histcry or drama as if it were
dogma
1T does not make any more differ
ence as to the value of the drama of
Job, as to whether there was such an
historical person as Job, than it would
as to Shakespeare's Hamlet, about the
existence of a true Hamlet; it is just
as true and powerful and beautiful in
any event.
You cannot translate the language
of poetry as though it were science. I
think our reading would be easier and
our difficulties would vanish if We
would often remember that what we
are reading is poetry.
'The story of Jacobs dream and the
ladder stretching from heaven to earth
is poetry, beautifully true, yet why
should we interpret it with our hard
western literalness and insist on MAX
ing it miraculous, not that [ would de-
ny the miraculous in the Bible, for
there is dogma in the Bible and there is
history.
Some of the finer literary qualities of
the Bible we must of necessity lose be-
cause we have to read it in transla-
tion. We get their meaning and the
broad outlines of the imagery, but we
lose the more tangible and literary eff
feet of style. We are, however, able
to trace the characteristics of the men
In their writings.
Another thing to be sought is the
situation or environment of the author
to put OURSELVES in his place 1t re-
ouires some historical knowledge How
much greater a Psalm has for us when
we know the situation of the psalmist
and at what period and condition of
his life. Or take some of the lyrics in
the prophets religious war songs as
they are. How much better we under
stand them when we know the situa-
tion of the Israelitish notion at the
time. We are ofen warned against the
prohpet, but almost as dangerous, to
my mind Is the use of typical texts.
Let us read the Bible as we read any
other literature. Then we shall appre-
ciate the true characteristics of the
book and we will have to get into SYM
pathy with the religious emotions of the
writer's, for the highest charm of the
literature of the Bible is always a re-
ligious charm; it's highest beauty a re-
ligious beauty
The Mems club next Sunday evening
will be addressed by Rev. DIR. Melanc-
than Wright, president of Hamilton
college:
Owned Hundreds of Thousands of Acres