Richmond dispatch. [volume] (Richmond, Va.) 1884-1903, 1897-01-10

The vain attempt TO name the mowers 'na,
va ,,.voa with They were the fields ana
flowers of his youth. TO him, ana Shah,'
peare knew lis art too well 10 HaN'
them otherwise. -,
The artistic argument ought 10 ne az
sufficient in dealing win pee ~
Shakespeare's poetry, but am s"ul,
aware that this sort Of reason GOES 10
apueal 10 the professional critic. Ihe'
fore II IA fortunate that there Is tac'
OF the knock down variety. lying In wait
lust at this place for gentlemen "n WIZ,
cannot take hint and pam to'h
will nut Thorn down. IL IL Impossible th",
Falstaff at His death should nave hap
the green pastures" OF the z5u isIIni
In mind. because at the time OF FalStni
death there were no green pastures III tne
2sd Psalm. The translation ocN"'o
first I'm the Coverdale Bible. prin'en I"
hundred and twenty years after taiS,ai,
death. III sir John knew aught OF lne
nsaI,n NJ ALL he probably knew the wye
lidlte yerslons-"In the place Oh Les"'
where he me ful sette"; or, "in the place
Of pasture there he hath set me- VI
course. Shakespeare knew the CoVerdale
text. and even the King James text came
ont before he died. and 1t IS poSslp'o
thot he committed the blunder OF making
inc KNIGHT refer TO the Covcrdale Blble'
but 10 ask US TO believe. In order 10
holster no an invalid gloss, that 'he
poets mind was Of this, now you Sc.
me and now you don't" kind, Is surely
asking n little too much.
Governing this matter and GOVERNS
thousands OF matters ike it IS great
law which we al acknowledge in theory
hut of whose practical importance we
freouently lose sight 1t is the law that
inspiration. whether OF the religious OF
The artistic sort, is simple, ana 'hat ne
valuable. useful parts ~ II Ie 90 clearly
on the surface that he that runs may
read.
/ have known numbers Of people VINO
could make the highest use or pictures
rendered unhappy by the OPINIONS o.
person whose only claim 80 con5ldeta-
ton as n critic lay in the possession OF
a string Of phrases in which the term
"old masters was commonly cheek ~
fowl with chiarO-oscdrO and foresnoi Ten
ing. The knowledge Of all these Things
f. absolutely useless. save as they con
tribute TO one end. the enjoyment OF
nictfires: and Sc IueI can rtach that
light by "A shorter way than the PAIN
of the schools. he, of All people III the
world. need least regret the absence OF
those scrappy bits OF lore, glow-worms
which the critics are likely 10 mistake
for the glare OF the monday sun.
I have known people 20 close com
mentary on the Bible. and eXclalm I'D
DESPAIR over what seemed the endless
task of acquiring learning enough In
.f.sf-h and prrthiqu ard McGOootaman
10 gain an acquaintance with the VIII
of God. There are so many OF thtse
pcople. and the matter IS so important
that ] wish TO make one or two oose'Fa-
lions for their comfort.
In the FIRST place these commentators do
not by any means know all that they
seem to know. Most of this learning
is got up for the occasion, and Vanishes
vifhout leaving It's temporary owner
much wiser for his acquisition. / DO
not suppose that there Is n review
writer on earth who has not had the ex-
perience of coming across an old, Tor
gotten article written by himself, ana
wondering where in the world he ever
got so much learning. He had COM
posed carefully on the immortal prlnci-
pie laid down by the Etanswill Gazette
and the lore had vanished with the occa-
sion that gave il birth.
In the second place. the man VINO Is
50 unlettered that he has to have his
Bible read 70 him Is in much the same
condition as the commentator little
different In degree. but identical in kind.
The ablest of the divinity schoolmen had
to cross some chasms I'm their knowledge
ON bridge of faith, and the iliiterate
peasant of our day substitutes strong
| faith for feeble learning in few more
places, and is probably gamer by the
| trade
IT is true that religious inspiration does
contain some matters so far above a
finite comprehension that We cannot even
| say whether they are simple or not; bur
/ az to these tho argument is quite the
same, and the harmony between tree
/ agency and predestination was a. tar be-
/ vond Calvin and Arminius as it is beyond
| the humblest Christian in the world.
| have met but one divine who could eX-
mound the doctrine of the Trinity, and
! he declared that the explanation was a
professional secret, and not 10 be di-
vulged to laymen.
In a word. many of the commentators
have obscured the texts Of our sacred
books with an opaque varnish OF CLOUDY
words. in the effort 10 elucidate tha'
which was already luminous; or hav
| furnished us with feeble stones OF exc
gesis. by the possession OF when we
may be tempted to climb immeasuraDl'
heights and only lose ourselves In me
mists that hang about their base. The
| study or commentaries y eDJul % ~
cessary to understanding the will OF God
as an apprenticeship TO q clockmaker Is
needful to learn TO tell the time of day
am quite sure that " Shakespeare
could ioin the crowd of lads around the
Professor Of Literature I'm many Of oul
COLLEGES. the poet himself would otter
prove the dullest scholar in the class or
questions about what Shakespeare haC
in mind when he wrote certain words
much as the Apostle Paul would often FIND
himself called on TO go foot in many
of our seminary classes engaged on me
| Epistle TO the Romans. JOHN HART.