a study of bible-第25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！


n's　continued　to　be　the　smoothest；　easiest　style　in　our　English　literature。　He　also　was　a　Hebraic　spirit；　but　of　the　gentler　type。　Mr。　Chapman　calls　him　the　Elisha　to　Carlyle's；　Elijah；　a　capital　comparison。＇1＇　Ruskin　is　one　of　the　few　writers　who　have　told　us　what　formed　their　style。　In　the　first　chapter　of　Praeterita　he　pays　tribute　to　his　mother。　He　himself　chose　to　read　Walter　Scott　and　Pope's　Homer；　but　he　says：　〃My　mother　forced　me　by　steady　daily　toil　to　learn　long　chapters　of　the　Bible　by　heart；　as　well　as　to　read　it；　every　syllable　aloud；　hard　names　and　all；　from　Genesis　to　the　Apocalypse　about　once　a　year；　and　to　that　discipline　patient；　accurate；　and　resoluteI　owe　not　only　a　knowledge　of　the　Book　which　I　find　occasionally　serviceable；　but　much　of　my　general　power　of　taking　pains　and　the　best　part　of　my　taste　in　literature。〃　He　thinks　reading　Scott　might　have　led　to　other　novels　of　a　poorer　sort。　Reading　Pope　might　have　led　to　Johnson's　or　Gibbon's　English；　but　〃it　was　impossible　to　write　entirely　superficial　and　formal　English〃　while　he　knew　〃by　heart　the　thirty…　second　of　Deuteronomy；　the　fifteenth　of　I　Corinthians；　the　One　hundred　and　nineteenth　Psalm；　or　the　Sermon　on　the　Mount。〃　In　the　second　chapter　of　Praeterita　he　is　even　more　explicit。　〃I　have　next　with　deeper　gratitude　to　chronicle　what　I　owed　to　my　mother　for　the　resolute　persistent　lessons　which　so　exercised　me　in　the　Scripture；　as　to　make　every　word　of　them　familiar　in　my　ear　as　habitual　music；　yet　in　that　familiarity　reverenced　as　transcending　all　thought　and　ordering　all　conduct。〃　He　tells　how　his　mother　drilled　him。　As　soon　as　he　could　read　she　began　a　course　of　Bible　work　with　him。　They　read　alternate　verses　from　the　Genesis　to　the　Revelation；　names　and　all。　Daily　he　had　to　commit　verses　of　the　Scripture。　He　hated　the　One　hundred　and　nineteenth　Psalm　most；　but　he　lived　to　cherish　it　most。　In　his　old　Bible　he　found　the　list　of　twenty…six　chapters　taught　by　his　mother。


＇1＇　English　Literature　in　Account　with　Religion。


Not　only　was　Ruskin　well　trained　in　the　Bible；　but　he　was　a　great　teacher　of　it。　In　his　preface　to　the　Crown　of　Wild　Olives　he　answers　his　critics　by　saying　he　has　used　the　Book　for　some　forty　years。　〃My　endeavor　has　been　uniformly　to　make　men　read　it　more　deeply　than　they　do；　trust　it；　not　in　their　own　favorite　verses　only；　but　in　the　sum　of　it　all；　treat　it　not　as　a　fetish　or　a　talisman　which　they　are　to　be　saved　by　daily　repetition　of；　but　as　a　Captain's　order；　to　be　held　and　obeyed　at　their　peril。〃　In　the　introduction　to　the　Seven　Lamps　of　Architecture　he　urges　that　we　are　in　no　danger　of　too　much　use　of　the　Bible。　〃We　use　it　most　reverently　when　most　habitually。〃　Many　of　Ruskin's　most　striking　titles　come　straight　out　of　the　Scripture。　Crown　of　Wild　Olives；　Seven　Lamps；　Unto　this　Lastall　these　are　suggested　by　the　Bible。

It　is　almost　superfluous　to　speak　of　Robert　Louis　Stevenson。　John　Kelman　has　written　a　whole　book　on　the　religion　of　Stevenson；　and　it　is　available　for　all　readers。　He　was　raised　by　Cummy；　his　nurse；　whose　library　was　chiefly　the　Bible；　the　shorter　catechism；　and　the　Life　of　Robert　Murray　McCheyne。　He　said　that　the　fifty…eighth　chapter　of　Isaiah　was　his　special　chapter；　because　it　so　repudiated　cant　and　demanded　a　self…denying　beneficence。　He　loved　Bunyan's　Pilgrim's　Progress；　but　〃the　Bible　most　stood　him　in　hand。〃　Every　great　story　or　essay　shows　its　influence。　He　was　not　critical　with　it；　he　did　not　understand　it；　he　did　not　interpret　it　fairly；　but　he　felt　it。　His　Dr。　Jekyll　and　Mr。　Hyde　is　only　his　way　of　putting　into　modern　speech　Paul's　old　distinction　between　the　two　men　who　abide　in　each　of　us。　They　told　him　he　ought　not　to　work　in　Samoa；　and　he　replied　that　he　could　not　otherwise　be　true　to　the　great　Book　by　which　he　and　all　men　who　meant　to　do　great　work　must　live。　Over　the　shoulder　of　our　beloved　Robert　Louis　Stevenson　you　can　see　the　great　characters　of　Scripture　pressing　him　forward　to　his　best　work。

Not　so　much　can　be　said　of　Swinburne。　There　was　a　strong　infusion　of　acid　in　his　nature；　which　no　influence　entirely　destroyed。　He　is　apt　to　live　as　a　literary　critic　and　essayist；　though　he　supposed　himself　chiefly　a　poet。　His　own　thought　of　poetry　can　be　seen　in　his　protest　in　behalf　of　Meredith。　When　he　had　been　accused　of　writing　on　a　subject　on　which　he　had　no　conviction　to　express　（〃Modern　Love〃）；　Swinburne　denied　that　poets　ought　to　preach　anyway。　〃There　are　pulpits　enough　for　all　preachers　of　prose；　and　the　business　of　verse　writing　is　hardly　to　express　convictions。〃　Yet　it　is　impossible　to　forget　Milton　and　his　purpose　to　〃assert　Eternal　Providence；　and　justify　the　ways　of　God　to　men。〃　Naturally；　most　poets　do　preach　and　preach　well。　Wordsworth　declared　be　wanted　to　be　considered　a　teacher　or　nothing。　Mrs。　Browning　thought　that　poets　were　the　only　truth…tellers　left　to　God。　But　Swinburne　could　not　help　a　little　preaching　at　any　rate。　His　〃Masque　on　Queen　Bersaba〃　is　an　old　miracle　play　of　David　and　Nathan。　His　〃Christmas　Antiphones〃　are　hardly　Christian；　though　they　are　abundant　in　their　allusions　to　Scripture。　The　first　is　a　prayer　for　peace　and　rest　in　the　coming　of　the　new　day　of　the　birth　of　Christ。　The　second　is　a　protest　that　neither　God　nor　man　has　befriended　man　as　he　should；　and　the　third　is　an　assurance　that　men　will　do　for　man　even　if　God　will　not。　Now；　that　is　not　Christian；　but　the　Bible　phrases　are　all　through　it。　So　when　he　writes　his　poem　bemoaning　Poland；　he　needs　must　head　it　〃Rizpah。〃　At　the　same　time　it　must　be　said　that　Swinburne　shows　less　of　the　influence　of　the　Bible　in　his　style　and　in　his　spirit　than　any　other　of　our　great　English　writers。

We　come　back　again　into　the　atmosphere　of　strong　Bible　influence　when　we　name　Alfred　Tennyson。　When　Byron　died；　and　the　word　came　to　his　father's　rectory　at　Somersby；　young　Alfred　Tennyson　felt　that　the　sun　had　fallen　from　the　heavens。　He　went　out　alone　in　the　fields　and　carved　in　the　sandstone；　as　though　it　were　a　monument：　〃Byron　is　dead。〃　That　was　in　the　early　stage　of　his　poetical　life。　At　first　Carlyle　could　not　abide　Tennyson。　He　counted　him　only　an　echo　of　the　past；　with　no　sense　for　the　future；　but　when　he　read　Tennyson's　〃The　Revenge；〃　he　exclaimed；　〃Eh；　he's　got　the　grip　o'　it〃；　and　when　Richard　Monckton　Milnes　excused　himself　for　not　getting　Tennyson　a　pension　by　saying　his　constituents　had　no　use　for　poetry　anyway；　Carlyle　said；　〃Richard　Milnes；　in　the　day　of　judgment　when　you　are　asked　why　you　did　not　get　that　pension；　you　may　lay　the　blame　on　your　constituents；　but　it　will　be　you　who　will　be　damned！〃　Dr。　Henry　van　Dyke　studied　Tennyson　to　best　effect　at　just　this　point。　In　his　chapter　on　〃The　Bible　in　Tennyson〃　are　many　such　sayings　as　these：　〃It　is　safe　to　say　that　there　is　no　other　book　which　has　had　so　great　an　influence　upon　the　literature　of　the　world　as　the　Bible。　We　hear　the　echoes　of　its　speech　everywhere；　and　the　music　of　its　familiar　phrases　haunts　all　the　field　and　grove　of　our　fine　literature。　At　least　one　cause　of　his　popularity　is　that　there　is　so　much　Bible　in　Tennyson。　We　cannot　help　seeing　that　the　poet　owes　a　large　debt　to　the　Christian　Scriptures；　not　only　for　their　formative　influence　on　his　mind　and　for　the　purely　literary　material　in　the　way　of　illustrations　and　allusions　which　they　have　given　him；　but　also　for　the　creation　of　a　moral　atmosphere；　a　medium　of　thought　and　feeling　in　which　he　can　speak　freely　and　with　an　assurance　of　sympathy　to　a　very　wide　circle　of　readers。〃

I　need　not　stop　to　indicate　the　great　poems　in　which　Tennyson　has　so　often　used　Scripture。　The　mind　runs　quickly　to　the　little　maid　in　〃Guinevere；〃　whose　song；　〃Late；　Late；　so　Late；〃　is　only　a　paraphrase　of　the　parable　of　the　foolish　virgins。　〃In　Memoriam〃　came　into　the　skeptical　era　of　England；　with　its　new　challenge　to　faith；　and　stopped　the　drift　of　young　men　toward　materialism。　Recall　the　fine　use　he　makes；　in　the　heart　of　it；　of　the　resurrection　of　Lazarus；　and　other　Biblical　scenes。　Dr。　van　Dyke's　〃four　hundred　direct　references　to　the　Bible〃　do　not　exhaust　the　poems。　No　one　can　get　Tennyson's　style　without　the　English　Bible；　and　no　one　can　read　Tennyson　intelligently　without　a　fairly　accurate　knowledge　of　the　Bible。

In　this　Victorian　group　the　last　name　is　Thackeray's。　He　is　another　whose　mother　trained　him　in　the　English　Bible。　The　title　of　Vanity　Fair　is　from　Pilgrim's　Progress；　but　the　motto　is　from　the　Scripture；　and　he　wrote　his　mother　regarding　the　book：　〃What　I　want　is　to　make　a　set　of　people　living　without　God　in　the　world　（only　that　is　a　cant　phrase。）〃　It　is　certain　his　mother　did　not　count　it　a　cant　phrase；　for　he　learned　it　from　the　Scripture。　The　subtitle　of　his　Adventures　of　Philip　says　he　is　to　show　who　robbed　him；　who　helped　him；　and　who　passed　him　by。　Thackeray　got　those　expressions　from　the　Bible。　Somewhere　very　early　in　any　of　his　works　he　reveals　the　influence　of　his　childhood　and　manhood　knowledge　of　the　English　Bible。

All　this　about　the　Victorian　group　is　meant　to　be　very　familiar　to　any　who　are　fresh　from　the　reading　of　literature。　They　are　great　names；　and　they　have　differences　as　wide　as　the　poles；　but　they　have　this　in　common；　that　they　have　drunk　lightly　or　deeply　from　the　same　fountai