a study of bible-第1节

按键盘上方向键 ← 或 → 可快速上下翻页，按键盘上的 Enter 键可回到本书目录页，按键盘上方向键 ↑ 可回到本页顶部！
————未阅读完？加入书签已便下次继续阅读！






THE　GREATEST
ENGLISH　CLASSIC

A　STUDY　OF　THE
KING　JAMES　VERSION　OF　THE　BIBLE
AND　ITS　INFLUENCE　ON　LIFE
AND　LITERATURE

BY
CLELAND　BOYD　McAFEE；　D。D。




CONTENTS

　LECTURE
　PREFACE
　I。　　PREPARING　THE　WAYTHE　ENGLISH　BIBLE　BEFORE　KING　JAMES
　II。　THE　MAKING　OF　THE　KING　JAMES　VERSION；　ITS　CHARACTERISTICS
　III。　THE　KING　JAMES　VERSION　As　ENGLISH　LITERATURE　
　IV。　THE　INFLUENCE　OF　THE　KING　JAMES　VERSION　ON
　　　　　ENGLISH　LITERATURE
　V。　　THE　KING　JAMES　VERSIONITS　INFLUENCE　ON　ENGLISH
　　　　　AND　AMERICAN　HISTORY
　VI。　THE　BIBLE　IN　THE　LIFE　OF　TO…DAY



PREFACE

THE　lectures　included　in　this　volume　were　prepared　at　the　request　of　the　Brooklyn　Institute　of　Arts　and　Sciences；　and　were　delivered　in　the　early　part　of　1912；　under　its　auspices。　They　were　suggested　by　the　tercentenary　of　the　King　James　version　of　the　Bible。　The　plan　adopted　led　to　a　restatement　of　the　history　which　prepared　for　the　version；　and　of　that　which　produced　it。　It　was　natural　next　to　point　out　its　principal　characteristics　as　a　piece　of　literature。　Two　lectures　followed；　noting　its　influence　on　literature　and　on　history。　The　course　closed　with　a　statement　and　argument　regarding　the　place　of　the　Bible　in　the　life　of　to…day。

The　reception　accorded　the　lectures　at　the　time　of　their　public　delivery；　and　the　discussion　which　ensued　upon　some　of　the　points　raised；　encourage　the　hope　that　they　may　be　more　widely　useful。

It　is　a　pleasure　to　assign　to　Dr。　Franklin　W。　Hooper；　director　of　the　Institute；　whatever　credit　the　work　may　merit。　Certainly　it　would　not　have　been　undertaken　without　his　kindly　urgency。　　　　　　　　　　　　　　　　　　　　　CLELAND　BOYD　McAFEE。

　Brooklyn；　New　York；　May；　1912。



THE　GREATEST　ENGLISH　CLASSIC

LECTURE　I

PREPARING　THE　WAYTHE　ENGLISH　BIBLE　BEFORE　KING　JAMES

THERE　are　three　great　Book…religions　Judaism；　Christianity；　and　Mohammedanism。　Other　religions　have　their　sacred　writings；　but　they　do　not　hold　them　in　the　same　regard　as　do　these　three。　Buddhism　and　Confucianism　count　their　books　rather　records　of　their　faith　than　rules　for　it；　history　rather　than　authoritative　sources　of　belief。　The　three　great　Book…religions　yield　a　measure　of　authority　to　their　sacred　books　which　would　be　utterly　foreign　to　the　thought　of　other　faiths。

Yet　among　the　three　named　are　two　very　distinct　attitudes。　To　the　Mohammedan　the　language　as　well　as　the　matter　of　the　Koran　is　sacred。　He　will　not　permit　its　translation。　Its　original　Arabic　is　the　only　authoritative　tongue　in　which　it　can　speak。　It　has　been　translated　into　other　tongues；　but　always　by　adherents　of　other　faiths；　never　by　its　own　believers。　The　Hebrew　and　the　Christian；　on　the　other　hand；　but　notably　the　Christian；　have　persistently　sought　to　make　their　Bible　speak　all　languages　at　all　times。

It　is　a　curious　fact　that　a　Book　written　in　one　tongue　should　have　come　to　its　largest　power　in　other　languages　than　its　own。　The　Bible　means　more　to…day　in　German　and　French　and　English　than　it　does　in　Hebrew　and　Chaldaic　and　Greek　more　even　than　it　ever　meant　in　those　languages。　There　is　nothing　just　like　that　in　literary　history。　It　is　as　though　Shakespeare　should　after　a　while　become　negligible　for　most　readers　in　English；　and　be　a　master　of　thought　in　Chinese　and　Hindustani；　or　in　some　language　yet　unborn。

We　owe　this　persistent　effort　to　make　the　Bible　speak　the　language　of　the　times　to　a　conviction　that　the　particular　language　used　is　not　the　great　thing；　that　there　is　something　in　it　which　gives　it　power　and　value　in　any　tongue。　No　book　was　ever　translated　so　often。　Men　who　have　known　it　in　its　earliest　tongues　have　realized　that　their　fellows　would　not　learn　these　earliest　tongues；　and　they　have　set　out　to　make　it　speak　the　tongue　their　fellows　did　know。　Some　have　protested　that　there　is　impiety　in　making　it　speak　the　current　tongue；　and　have　insisted　that　men　should　learn　the　earliest　speech；　or　at　least　accept　their　knowledge　of　the　Book　from　those　who　did　know　it。　But　they　have　never　stopped　the　movement。　They　have　only　delayed　it。

The　first　movement　to　make　the　Scripture　speak　the　current　tongue　appeared　nearly　three　centuries　before　Christ。　Most　of　the　Old　Testament　then　existed　in　Hebrew。　But　the　Jews　had　scattered　widely。　Many　had　gathered　in　Egypt　where　Alexander　the　Great　had　founded　the　city　that　bears　his　name。　At　one　time　a　third　of　the　population　of　the　city　was　Jewish。　Many　of　the　people　were　passionately　loyal　to　their　old　religion　and　its　Sacred　Book。　But　the　current　tongue　there　and　through　most　of　the　civilized　world　was　Greek；　and　not　Hebrew。　As　always；　there　were　some　who　felt　that　the　Book　and　its　original　language　were　inseparable。　Others　revealed　the　disposition　of　which　we　spoke　a　moment　ago；　and　set　out　to　make　the　Book　speak　the　current　tongue。　For　one　hundred　and　fifty　years　the　work　went　on；　and　what　we　call　the　Septuagint　was　completed。　There　is　a　pretty　little　story　which　tells　how　the　version　got　its　name；　which　means　the　Seventythat　King　Ptolemy　Philadelphus；　interested　in　collecting　all　sacred　books；　gathered　seventy　Hebrew　scholars；　sent　them　to　the　island　of　Pharos；　shut　them　up　in　seventy　rooms　for　seventy　days；　each　making　a　translation　from　the　Hebrew　into　the　Greek。　When　they　came　out；　behold；　their　translations　were　all　exactly　alike！　Several　difficulties　appear　in　that　story；　one　of　which　is　that　seventy　men　should　have　made　the　same　mistakes　without　depending　on　each　other。　In　addition；　it　is　not　historically　supported；　and　the　fact　seems　to　be　that　the　Septuagint　was　a　long　and　slow　growth；　issuing　from　the　impulse　to　make　the　Sacred　Book　speak　the　familiar　tongue。　And；　though　it　was　a　Greek　translation；　it　virtually　displaced　the　original；　as　the　English　Bible　has　virtually　displaced　the　Hebrew　and　Greek　to…day。　The　Septuagint　was　the　Old　Testament　which　Paul　used。　Of　one　hundred　and　sixty…eight　direct　quotations　from　the　Old　Testament　in　the　New　nearly　all　are　from　the　Greek　versionfrom　the　translation；　and　not　from　the　original。

We　owe　still　more　to　translation。　While　there　is　accumulating　evidence　that　there　was　spoken　in　Palestine　at　that　time　a　colloquial　Greek；　with　which　most　people　would　be　familiar；　it　is　yet　probable　that　our　Lord　spoke　neither　Greek　nor　Hebrew　currently；　but　Aramaic。　He　knew　the　Hebrew　Scriptures；　of　course；　as　any　well…　trained　lad　did；　but　most　of　His　words　have　come　down　to　us　in　translation。　His　name；　for　example；　to　His　Hebrew　mother；　was　not　Jesus；　but　Joshua；　and　Jesus　is　the　translation　of　the　Hebrew　Joshua　into　Greek。　We　have　His　words　as　they　were　translated　by　His　disciples　into　the　Greek；　in　which　the　New　Testament　was　originally　written。

By　the　time　the　writing　of　the　New　Testament　was　completed；　say　one　hundred　years　after　Christ；　while　Greek　was　still　current　speech；　the　Roman　Empire　was　so　dominant　that　the　common　people　were　talking　Latin　almost　as　much　as　Greek；　and　gradually；　because　political　power　was　behind　it；　the　Latin　gained　on　the　Greek；　and　became　virtually　the　speech　of　the　common　people。　The　movement　to　make　the　Bible　talk　the　language　of　the　time　appeared　again。　It　is　impossible　to　say　now　when　the　first　translations　into　Latin　were　made。　Certainly　there　were　some　within　two　centuries　after　Christ；　and　by　250　A。D。　a　whole　Bible　in　Latin　was　in　circulation　in　the　Roman　Empire。　The　translation　of　the　New　Testament　was　from　the　Greek；　of　course；　but　so　was　that　of　the　Old　Testament；　and　the　Latin　versions　of　the　Old　Testament　were；　therefore；　translations　of　a　translation。

There　were　so　many　of　these　versions；　and　they　were　so　unequal　in　value；　that　there　was　natural　demand　for　a　Latin　translation　that　should　be　authoritative。　So　came　into　being　what　we　call　the　Vulgate；　whose　very　name　indicates　the　desire　to　get　the　Bible　into　the　vulgar　or　common　tongue。　Jerome　began　by　revising　the　earlier　Latin　translations；　but　ended　by　going　back　of　all　translations　to　the　original　Greek；　and　back　of　the　Septuagint　to　the　original　Hebrew　wherever　he　could　do　so。　Fourteen　years　he　labored；　settling　himself　in　Bethlehem；　in　Palestine；　to　do　his　work　the　better。　Barely　four　hundred　years　（404　A。D。）　after　the　birth　of　Christ　his　Latin　version　appeared。　It　met　a　storm　of　protest　for　its　effort　to　go　back　of　the　Septuagint；　so　dominant　had　the　translation　become。　Jerome　fought　for　it；　and　his　version　won　the　day；　and　became　the　authoritative　Latin　translation　of　the　Bible。

For　seven　or　eight　centuries　it　held　its　sway　as　the　current　version　nearest　to　the　tongue　of　the　people。　Latin　had　become　the　accepted　tongue　of　the　church。　There　was　little　general　culture；　there　was　little　general　acquaintance　with　the　Bible　except　among　the　educated。　During　all　that　time　there　was　no　real　room　for　a　further　translation。　One　of　the　writers＇1＇　says：　〃Medieval　England　was　quite　unripe　for　a　Bible　in　the　mother　tongue；　while　the　illiterate　majority　were　in　no　condition　to　feel　the　want　of　such　a　book；　the　educated　minority　would　be　averse　to　so　great　and　revolutionary　a　change。〃　When　a　man　cannot　read　any　writing　it　really　does　not　matter　to　him　whether　books　are　in　current　speech　or　not；　and　the　majority　of　the　people　for　those　seven　or　eight　centuries　could　read　nothing　at　all。　Those　who　coul