The herald and news. [volume] (Newberry S.C.) 1903-1937, 1906-03-23
OLD TESTAMENT LITERATURE
Last Lecture in Course of Lyceum by
DR.. J. II. Penniman of Pennsyl-
Vania.

bed!4 VI Vic University bL tliilS.Nl-
vania. who delivered his lecture THE
Old Testament as Literature, IN
Holland Hall, on Wednesday night,
DR.. Scherer we'll said that his address
would be fttin" climax to the Ly-
ceum course, which it completed. DR..
Penniman employed none Of the arts
Of the orator to arouse or hold the
interest Of his hearers. but during an
hour that passed all too quickly held
from becinnin" to end the closest at
tention OF his audience He spoke Of
the Bible as the only book with which
all are familiar. book to be regarded
not merely as a book. or collection
OF books. but as all that is left Of a
great literature, a book to be read and
studied not alone as the source of re-
liyious ideas and ideals. The speaker
affirmed his belief in the inspiration
Of the Bible. but emphasized the fact
! that read solely as a human docu~
ment, leaving out Of account its in
spiration. it will be found most Won
deifully interesting book. Reading
for example the book of Chronicles,
late compiled, it is found that men
made use Of other books as sources OF
infolmation,' giving evidence of the
Use Of the scientific method, frequent
ly referring to original sources Of
knowledge, quoting from valuable
books, now lost, preserving passages
Of sublimity and beauty. as for ex-
ample the lamentation Of David over
Jonathan, found in the book Of
Samuel.
! The truth Of the Bible is demon
! strated in the history of the Jewish
people, The preservation Of the
books that remain. while so much Of
great literature has been lost, ac-
counted for by the fact that it is such
a history. The genealogy Of Jesus
accounts for the preservation Of the
beautiful Idyll. the book Of Ruth. In
reading the Old Testament as litera-
ture. it's three great divisions to be
kept in mind, The Law, The Prophets
and the Holy Writings, covering a
period Of one thousand years Of jew
ish history. Old Testament is no his
tory of the world, but of the Jews. In
it there is little mention Of other ma
tions except in connection with the
chosen nation. In the literature Of
other nations, there is little mention
of the Jews Its literature was not
produced by weaklings. Moses and
Paul were cited as examples. The
speaker read portion Of Moses fare
we'll address, and characterized the
last chapter Of Deuteronomy as one
Of the finest passages in all literature.
The Bible should not be thought of IN
a narrow way. Studying it, one
should divest himself Of preconcelved
opinions and prejudiees, and let it
speak for itself. "Do not read things
into the Bible, read things out Of it. ~
Speaking Of the nratory of the Bible,
the lecturer employed the Illustrative
method. anl described the crime Of
David and the rebuke Of Nathan,
strongly showing the dramatic climax
as the aged prophet declared "Thou
ART the man, as forceful as any
thing in all literature, not excepting
the strongest passages from Shakes
peare. He then called attention to
| the use Of parallels, describing the
difference between fable and para
BILE. A parable and a fable similar
in many ways, there is something III
each to teach a moral lesson. A fa-
Bile always transcends the course Of
nature, a parable never. There are
only two fables in the Bible, Judges
9 s.: 2 Kings 1919. The Bible is full
Of parallels and each is literary
gem. In fables only maxims Of world
ly wisdom are to be found, in para
bles, divine truth, always marked by
simplicity, directness, and though
teaching the profoundest philosophy,
always with wondrous clearness: the
simplest parable marked by skill,
care and tremendous literary power.