Tazewell Republican. [volume] (Tazewell, Va.) 1892-1919, 1911-05-04
THE CELEBRATION OF THE BIBLE.


This is the tercentenary year of the
King James translation of the Bible.
Throughout the world the event has
been celebrated. 1t was observed here
on Sunday, April 23rd, in each of the
churches having services on that day.
by the pastors delivering appropriate
sermons on the event. A brief review
of the history of the events connected
with the King James version will be of
interest, no doubt, to our readers.
In 1904 in the chapel at Hampton
Court Palace. conference having been
called by King James vi, of Scotland.
who bad succeeded, as King James /, of
England, Queen Elizabeth, to consider
the serious condition of the ecclesiasti-
cal affairs of his dominions, DR.. John
Reynolds, President of Corpus Christi
College, Oxford. one day made the very
happy suggestion that the time had
come for a new translation of the Scrip
lures, and James, who was very much
Of pedant, seized upon the suggestion
at once, and despite the strong opposi-
ton of the clericals, appointed COM
mission of fifty-four of the most learned
men of the day to make the translation.
Seven of this number either died or de-
clined to take part in the great task.
but the remaining forty-seven, divided
into six sets, devoted their attention to
the work, which was finished in the
course of between three and four years.
Says Mackenzie, in his History of Scot
land:
1t is not only the standard trans
lation, it is the standard of the Eng
hsh tongue. The English Bible is
the anchor of the English langu-
age"
1t stands today as it stood the day
after the translators had completed
their work, the highest achievement
that &holarship, divinely directed, we
believe, has ever reached. The higher
critics have assailed it, the ignorant and
vicious have scoffed at it, commenta-
tors have twisted it in many ways; but
it stands unapproached and unapproach-
able In all the realm of letters, the yery
word of God that endureth forever.
Three hundred years, and what a con-
trast between the periods. Our fore
fathers in 1911 numbered about three
million, or less than one-fortieth as
many as now speak the tongue. Edu-
cation had made rapid progress through
the reign of Queen Elizabeth. The Eng
lish universities were fourishing. and
were said to have had as many students
and buildings as all other European
univ srsities combined. Assuming that
their registers contained about six
thousand names in 1911, we would have
as large a percentage of population
seeking the best education of the times
then as we have in America today. The
country was generally prosperous. Lon
don, with its quarter of million Inhabi-
tantS, was well supplied with theaters.
and the number of poets and dramatists
large. Literary activity was intense
nowhere more so than in the field of re-
hgious controversy-andt the annual out
put Of books was remarkable. both in
quantity and quality. There was, there
fore, in 1911 large reading class, and
the Bible was much read by all.
The effects of Bible reading is shown
q the literature of that day. King
James could introduce Scripture words
md examples into his letters and speech
3 as readily as any Bishop or Puritan =
livine.
Sir Henry Wotton, Ambassador IN q
tally, spent several hours each morning T
eading the Bible Sir Walter Raleigh, 4
q his History of the World" used n
reqrent Scriptural quotations. Thomas n
'ekker, dramatist of the day, two .
ears after the publication of the King .
amsa version, sent out a book on pray G