The daily Gate City. [volume] (Keokuk, Iowa) 1855-1916, 1916-03-10
Charles Reign SeovIiIe Discussed This
Form of Literature In His Talk
To Women Yes
terday.
HAD HEROES IN PLENTY
Golden Age Of Hebrew Poetry Is
Found In the Time Of David
Style Destitute Of
Meter.

Forty women attended the parlor
conference yesterday afternoon at the
home of Mrs. Eugene S. Baker and
heard DR.. Charles Reign ScoviIle lee
ture on Hebrew Poetry" In opening
the meeting he expressed his pleasure
at the interest taken in the confer
ence and expressed his gratitude to
Mrs. Baker in having opened her
beautiful home for the meeting. He
said: From the reports in the daily
papers you might draw the Inference
that have hoofs and horns. I want to
assure you that it is a real pleasure
to talk in this quiet way on the beauty
of Hebrew poetry as we find it in this
Bible" Before the lecture Mrs. SEQ
Vile sang, Whom Have You Helped
Today" and at the close of the serv-
ice she sang "Tarry With Me-" play.
ing her own accompaniment.
Mrs. c. F. Mcfarland offered her
home for the next conference which
will be held next Thursday afternoon
at 8 O'Clock.
The lecture of the afternoon was
taken from a thesis which Dr.. SEQ
vile wrote as a part of his college
course. He defined poetry in general
terms and said: -..s... .. -g
Hebrew poetry is entirely destitute
Of meter, but this lack of vibratory
movement is compensated for by cor
responding arrangement Of clauses
called parallelism. In addition to this,
there is some times an alphabetical
arrangement of verses after the style
of the modern acrostic. This is true
in Psalms 9, 10, %, "a, III, 112, 119
and 145 as it is written in the original
Hebrew" DR.. Scoville said that the
earliest form in which the thoughts
and feelings of a people find utterance
is the poetic. Poetry gives utterance
to the emotions and aspirations Of the
heart. Greece has been called the
brain Of the ancient world and the
Hebrews the heart, hence we find this
heart expression, this music Of soul,
beautifully expressed In the Hebrew
verse.
Influence Of Poetry. ..
mo poetry has such influence over
the souls Of men as Hebrew poetry.
Dav1d's psalms, Solomon's sentences,
Isaiah's predictions are as fresh and
potent in their influence as when first
uttered. ages ago. AS Gypsy Smith
says: Their truth is as old as light,
yet as fresh az the morning.
"Whatever higher critics may do
with the books Of Moses, 1t is certain
ly true that the Hebrew poetry framed
by the very circumstances under
which it is written, the country and
the climate, the institutions, rights
and observances: the singular re-
ligious history all wildly rejecting
the characteristics Of a peculiar peo-
ple-can never be taken for that OF
any other nationality. While Hebrew
poetry is intensely national, there are
no patriotic psalms. that is none that
glorify Palestine. The Hebrews were
so intensely religious that they glor-
ify God first of all. When they speak
Of Jerusalem, it Is never as the home
Of their temporal ruler, but as the
dwelling place of Jehovah.
There are no lack Of national heroes
among the Hebrews, yet not one has
psalm in his honor. They are only
great in the psalmists eyes because
God works through them. They seek
always and only to exalt God. The
golden age Of the Hebrew nation was
in the time Of David. It was then
that its literature reached the zenith.
The poets played upon the great heart
of the Hebrew people as upon
thousand stringed Tyre, sounding the
tones as by a divinely guided touch, !
and in the poetic books Of the Bible
the sweet tones of the Tyre are pre-
served for us as it accompanys their
songs Of penitence and faith and ex-
altation and 1lallelujah."