The Farmville herald. [volume] (Farmville, Va.) 1890-1934, 1910-06-24
The Enduring Influence OF The
Bible.

Bible.
The Bible is a part Of world lit
erature. With the exception Of the
novel and the editorial, both Of
which arose in the eighteenth CEN
fury, there is hardly type Of mod
ern literature or form Of modern dis
course that may not be found in
the Bible. / yield to no one my ad-
miration Of the classical literatures,
of the modern literatures, and Of the
more technical literature Of scien-
tific achievement. But in vividnese
and intensity, in elevation Of appeal,
in the extent of her literary en-
pire. and in the duration. of her
sovereignty, the Bible takes easy
and secure precedence. The most
advanced nations of the earth are
children OF her fire-side; the CEN
turtles themselves have been hand
maidens in her service. There is
no modern literature worthy the
name that has not felt her influence,
there is no Tegnant people whose
strivings she has not shepherded.
Not only is the Bible literature
in itself, but it is a literature that
has peculiarly influenced the litera-
ture of which our own is part.
From Caedmon to Kipling, English
literature is permeated by Bible
thought and Bible diction. The
first coherent words of English
speech that have come down to us
are Caedmon's hymn, hymn which
is not only Biblical in its phraseolo-
gy. but which is itself paraphrase
of the first verse of Genesis.
OF Shakespeare's use of the Bible,
Bishop Charles Wordsworth says:
Take the entire range of English
literature, put together our best
authors who have written upon sub
jects not professedly religious or
theological, and we shall not find, /
believe. in them all united. so much
evidence of the Bible having been
read and used as we have found in
Shakespeare alone"
"Bacon's acquaintance with Holy
Writ" says Professor J. Scott Clark
in his study of English Prose Writ
ers. lis almost equal to that of
Shakespeare, and the works OF both
unite with many modern MASTERPIECE
es in testifying to the value OF the
English Bible as a literary model.
Professor Hiram Corson, of Cor
nell. thinks that Chaucer made
greater use OF the Bible than did
even Shakespeare. "Given any thou
sand consecutive lines" he says
taken at random from Shakespeare
and from Chaucer. and 1t will be
found | think, that the propotion
of illusions in those of the latter
will be greater than those OF the
former"
Are the more modern writers
equally indebted to the Bible? .
have found" says DR.. Henry Var
Dyke. in 1.-The Poetry Of Tennyson'
more than four hundred direc
references to the Bible in the poems
of Tennyson." 1t may be confident
w stated that Browning draws fal
more themes from the Bible thar
does Tennyson.
! Intense study Of the Bible,
says Coleridge, will keep any writ
er from being vulgar in point o
style" Raskin tells us that in nj
childhood, as a part Of his hom'
education. his mother required hin
10 commit to memory select chapter
from the Bible. "And truly" say
this master of English prose
though / have picked up the ele
ments of a little further knowledge
and owe not a little to the teachin'
OF many people, this material install
lation of my mind is that propert.
Of chapters, count very confident
" the most precious, and, on IN
whole. the one essential part Of m,
education" by Professor c. Al
phonso Smith.
And yet the great CD Dr. Ello
hasn't room enough in his librar
for the Bible. ''The beginning o
wisdom is to fear God and keep HI