a study of bible-第22节

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If　we　speak　of　the　influence　of　the　Bible　on　these　men；　it　must　be　on　their　literary　work；　and　when　we　find　it　there；　it　becomes　peculiar　mark　of　its　power。　They　had　little　sense　of　it　as　moral　law。　Their　consciences　approved　it　and　condemned　themselves；　or　else　their　delicate　literary　taste　sensed　it　as　a　book　of　power。

This　is　notably　true　of　Shelley。　When　he　was　still　a　student　in　Oxford　he　committed　himself　to　the　opinion　of　another　writer；　that　〃the　mind　cannot　believe　in　the　existence　of　God。〃　He　tries　to　work　that　out　fully　in　his　notes　on　〃Queen　Mab。〃　When　he　was　hardly　yet　of　age　he　himself　wrote　that　〃The　genius　of　human　happiness　must　tear　every　leaf　from　the　accursed　Book　of　God；　ere　man　can　read　the　inscription　on　its　heart。〃　He　once　said　that　his　highest　desire　was　that　there　should　be　a　monument　to　himself　somewhere　in　the　Alps　which　should　be　only　a　great　stone　with　its　face　smoothed　and　this　short　inscription　cut　in　it；　〃Percy　Bysshe　Shelley；　Atheist。〃

It　would　seem　that　whatever　Shelley　drew　of　strength　or　inspiration　from　the　Bible　would　be　by　way　of　reaction；　but　it　is　not　so。　However　he　may　have　hated　the　〃accursed　Book　of　God；〃　his　wife　tells　in　her　note　on　〃The　Revolt　of　Islam〃　that　Shelley　〃debated　whether　he　should　devote　himself　to　poetry　or　metaphysics；〃　and；　resolving　on　the　former；　he　〃educated　himself　for　it；　engaging　himself　in　the　study　of　the　poets　of　Greece；　England；　and　Italy。　To　these；　may　be　added；〃　she　goes　on；　〃a　constant　perusal　of　portions　of　the　Old　Testament；　the　Book　of　Psalms；　Job；　Isaiah；　and　others；　the　sublime　poetry　of　which　filled　him　with　delight。〃　Not　only　did　he　catch　the　spirit　of　that　poetry；　but　its　phrases　haunted　his　memory。　In　his　best　prose　work；　which　he　called　A　Defense　of　Poetry；　there　is　an　interesting　revelation　of　the　influence　of　his　Bible　reading　upon　him。　Toward　the　end　of　the　essay　these　two　sentences　occur：　〃It　is　inconsistent　with　this　division　of　our　subject　to　cite　living　poets；　but　posterity　has　done　ample　justice　to　the　great　names　now　referred　to。　Their　errors　have　been　weighed　and　found　to　have　been　dust　in　the　balance；　if　their　sins　are　as　scarlet；　they　are　now　white　as　snow；　they　have　been　washed　in　the　blood　of　the　mediator　and　redeemer；　Time。〃　There　is　no　more　eloquent　passage　in　the　essay　than　the　one　of　which　this　is　part；　and　yet　it　is　full　of　allusion　to　this　Book　from　which　all　pages　must　be　torn！　Even　in　〃Queen　Mab〃　he　makes　Ahasuerus；　the　wandering　Jew；　recount　the　Bible　story　in　such　broad　outlines　as　could　be　given　only　by　a　man　who　was　familiar　with　it。　When　Shelley　was　in　Italy　and　the　word　came　to　him　of　the　massacre　at　Manchester；　he　wrote　his　〃Masque　of　Anarchy。〃　There　are　few　more　melodious　lines　of　his　writing　than　those　which　occur　in　this　long　poem　in　the　section　regarding　freedom。　Four　of　those　lines　are　often　quoted。　They　are　at　the　very　heart　of　Shelley's　best　work。　Addressing　freedom；　he　says：

　〃Thou　art　love：　the　rich　have　kissed　　Thy　feet；　and；　like　him　following　Christ；　　Gave　their　substance　to　the　free；　　And　through　the　rough　world　follow　thee。〃

Page　after　page　of　Shelley　reveals　these　half…　conscious　references　to　the　Bible。　There　were　two　sources　from　which　he　received　his　passionate　democracy。　One　was　the　treatment　he　received　at　Eton；　and　later　at　Oxford；　the　other　is　his　frequent　reading　of　the　English　Bible；　even　though　he　was　in　the　spirit　of　rebellion　against　much　of　its　teaching。　In　Browning's　essay　on　Shelley；　he　reaches　the　amazing　conclusion　that　〃had　Shelley　lived；　he　would　finally　have　ranged　himself　with　the　Christians；〃　and　seeks　to　justify　it　by　showing　that　he　was　moving　straight　toward　the　positions　of　Paul　and　of　David。　Some　of　us　may　not　see　such　rapid　approach；　but　that　Shelley　felt　the　drawing　of　God　in　the　universe　is　plain　enough。

The　influence　of　the　Bible　is　still　more　marked　on　Byron。　He　spent　his　childhood　years　at　Aberdeen。　There　his　nurse　trained　him　in　the　Bible；　and；　though　he　did　not　live　by　it；　he　never　lost　his　love　for　it；　nor　his　knowledge　of　it。　He　tells　of　his　own　experience　in　this　way：　〃I　am　a　great　reader　of　those　books　＇the　Bible＇；　and　had　read　them　through　and　through　before　I　was　eight　years　old；　that　is　to　say；　the　Old　Testament；　for　the　New　struck　me　as　a　task；　but　the　other　as　a　pleasure。〃＇1＇　One　of　the　earliest　bits　of　his　work　is　a　paraphrase　of　one　of　the　Psalms。　His　physical　infirmity　put　him　at　odds　with　the　world；　while　his　striking　beauty　drew　to　him　a　crowd　of　admirers　who　helped　to　poison　every　spring　of　his　genius。　Even　so；　he　held　his　love　for　the　Bible。　While　Shelley　often　spoke　of　it　in　contempt；　while　he　prided　himself　on　his　divergence　from　the　path　of　its　teaching；　Byron　never　did。　He　wandered　far；　but　he　always　knew　it；　and；　though　he　could　hardly　find　terms　to　express　his　contempt　for　the　Church；　there　is　no　line　of　Byron's　writing　which　is　a　slur　at　the　Bible。　On　the　other　hand；　much　of　his　work　reveals　a　passion　for　the　beauty　of　it　as　well　as　its　truth。　His　most　melodious　writing　is　in　that　group　of　Hebrew　melodies　which　were　written　to　be　sung。　They　demand　far　more　than　a　passing　knowledge　of　the　Bible　both　for　their　writing　and　their　understanding。　There　is　a　long　list　of　them；　but　no　one　without　a　knowledge　of　the　Bible　would　have　known　what　he　meant　by　his　poem；　〃The　Harp　the　Monarch　Minstrel　Swept。〃　〃Jephtha's　Daughter〃　presumes　upon　a　knowledge　of　the　Old　Testament　story　which　would　not　come　to　one　in　a　passing　study　of　the　Bible。　〃The　Song　of　Saul　Before　his　Last　Battle〃　and　the　poem　headed　〃Saul〃　could　not　have　been　written；　nor　can　they　be　read　intelligently　by　any　one　who　does　not　know　his　Bible。　Among　Byron's　dramas；　two　of　which　he　thought　most；　were；　〃Heaven　and　Earth〃　and　〃Cain。〃　When　he　was　accused　of　perverting　the　Scripture　in　〃Cain；〃　he　replied　that　he　had　only　taken　the　Scripture　at　its　face　value。　Both　of　the　dramas　are　not　only　built　directly　out　of　Scriptural　events；　but　imply　a　far　wider　knowledge　of　Scripture　than　their　mere　titles　suggest。


＇1＇　Taine；　English　Literature；　II。；　279。


There　are　striking　references　in　many　other　poems；　even　in　his　almost　vile　poem；　〃Don　Juan。〃　The　most　notable　instance　is　in　the　fifteenth　canto；　where　he　is　speaking　of　persecuted　sages　and　these　lines　occur：

　〃Was　it　not　so；　great　Locke？　and　greater　Bacon？　　Great　Socrates？　And　Thou　Diviner　still；　　Whose　lot　it　is　by　men　to　be　mistaken；　　And　Thy　pure　creed　made　sanction　of　all　ill？　　Redeeming　worlds　to　be　by　bigots　shaken；　　How　was　Thy　toil　rewarded？〃

In　a　note　on　this　passage　Byron　says：　〃As　it　is　necessary　in　these　times　to　avoid　ambiguity；　I　say　that　I　mean　by　'Diviner　still'　Christ。　If　ever　God　was　manor　man　GodHe　was　both。　I　never　arraigned　His　creed；　but　the　use　or　abuse　of　it。　Mr。　Canning　one　day　quoted　Christianity　to　sanction　slavery；　and　Mr。　Wilberforce　had　little　to　say　in　reply。　And　was　Christ　crucified　that　black　men　might　be　scourged？　If　so；　He　had　better　been　born　a　mulatto；　to　give　both　colors　an　equal　chance　of　freedom；　or　at　least　salvation。〃　Byron　could　live　far　from　the　influence　of　the　Bible　in　his　personal　life；　but　he　never　escaped　its　influence　in　his　literary　work。

Of　Coleridge　less　needs　to　be　said；　because　we　think　of　him　so　much　in　terms　of　his　more　meditative　musings；　which　are　often　religious。　He　himself　tells　of　long　and　careful　rereadings　of　the　English　Bible　until　he　could　say：　In　the　Bible　〃there　is　more　that　finds　me　than　I　have　experienced　in　all　other　books　together；　the　words　of　the　Bible　find　me　at　greater　depths　of　my　being。〃　Of　course；　that　would　influence　his　writing；　and　it　did。　Even　in　the　〃Rime　of　the　Ancient　Mariner〃　much　of　the　phraseology　is　Scriptural。　When　the　albatross　drew　near；

　〃As　if　it　had　been　a　Christian　soul；　　We　hailed　it　in　God's　name。〃

When　the　mariner　slept　he　gave　praise　to　Mary；　Queen　of　Heaven。　He　sought　the　shriving　of　the　hermit…priest。　He　ends　the　story　because　he　hears　〃the　little　vesper　bell〃　which　bids　him　to　prayer。　When　you　read　his　〃Hymn　Before　Sunrise　in　the　Vale　of　Chamounix〃　you　find　yourself　reading　the　Nineteenth　Psalm。　He　calls　on　the　motionless　torrents　and　the　silent　cataracts　and　the　great　Mont　Blanc　itself　to　praise　God。　Coleridge　never　had　seen　Chamounix；　nor　Mont　Blanc；　nor　a　glacier；　but　he　knew　his　Bible。　So　he　has　his　Christmas　Carol　along　with　all　the　rest。　His　poem　of　the　Moors　after　the　Civil　War　under　Philip　II。　is　Scriptural　in　its　phraseology；　and　so　is　much　else　that　he　wrote。　Frankly　and　willingly　he　yielded　to　its　influence。　In　his　〃Table　Talk〃　he　often　refers　to　the　value　of　the　Bible　in　the　forming　of　literary　style。　Once　he　said：　〃Intense　study　of　the　Bible　will　keep　any　writer　from　being　vulgar　in　point　of　style。〃＇1＇


＇1＇　June　14；　1830。


The　very　mention　of　Coleridge　makes　one　think　of　Wordsworth。　They　had　a　Damon　and　Pythias　friendship。　The　Wordsworths　were　poor；　they　had　only　seventy　pounds　a　year；　and　they　were　not　ashamed。　Coleridge　called　them　the　happiest　family　he　ever　saw。　Wordsworth　was　not　narrowly　a　Christian　poet；　he　was　not　always　seeking　to　put　Christian　dogma　into　poetry；　but　throughout　he　was　expressing　the　Christian　spirit　which　he　had　learned　from　the　Bible。　His　poetry　was　one　long　protest　again