a study of bible-第31节

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xpect　that　national　morality　can　prevail　in　exclusion　of　religious　principles。〃　Thomas　Jefferson；　of　whom　it　is　sometimes　said　that　he　was　indifferent　to　religion；　had　yet　done　his　great　work　under　inspiration；　which　he　himself　acknowledges　in　his　inaugural　address；　when　he　speaks　of　the　nation　as　〃enlightened　by　a　benign　religion；　professed　indeed；　and　practised　in　various　forms；　yet　all　of　them　inculcating　honesty；　truth；　temperance；　gratitude；　and　the　love　of　man；　acknowledging　and　adoring　an　overruling　Providence；　which　by　all　its　dispensation　proves　that　it　results　in　the　happiness　of　man　here　and　his　greater　happiness　hereafter。〃　Greater　than　Jefferson　had　appeared　John　Marshall；　greatest　of　our　Chief　Justices；　like　in　spirit　to　that　John　Marshall　Harlan；　whose　death　marked　the　year　which　has　just　closed；　of　whom　his　colleagues　said　that　he　went　to　his　rest　each　night　with　one　hand　on　the　Bible　and　the　other　on　the　Constitution　of　the　United　States；　a　description　which　could　almost　be　transferred　to　his　great　predecessor　in　that　court。　Moreover；　when　Lincoln　came；　Joseph　Story；　the　greatest　teacher　of　law　which　our　country　had　produced；　had　only　just　died　from　his　place　on　the　Supreme　Bench；　In　his　Phi　Beta　Kappa　address　at　Harvard　（1826）；　in　a　brilliant　and　masterful　analysis　of　〃The　Characteristics　of　the　Age；〃　he　had　paid　tribute　after　tribute　to　the　power　of　religion　and　the　Bible。　He　had　declared　his　belief　that　the　religion　of　the　Bible　had　〃established　itself　in　the　hearts　of　men　by　all　which　genius　could　bring　to　illumine　or　eloquence　to　grace　its　sublime　truths。〃　Of　the　same　period　with　Lincoln　was　also　Webster；　who　was　called　the　〃concordance　of　the　House。〃　Many　of　his　stately　periods　and　great　ideas　came　from　the　Bible。　Indeed；　there　is　no　oratory　of　our　history；　which　has　survived　the　waste　of　the　years；　which　does　not　feel　and　show　the　power　of　the　Scriptures。　The　English　Bible　has　given　our　finest　eloquence　its　ideas；　its　ideals；　its　illustrations；　its　phrases。

The　line　is　unbroken。　And　it　leads　to　this　tall　figure；　crowned　with　a　noble　head；　his　face　the　saddest　in　American　history；　who　knew　Gethsemane　in　all　its　paths。　The　heart　of　the　American　people　has　always　been　touched　by　his　early　years　of　abject　poverty。　But　there　were　compensations。　He　had　few　books；　and　they　entered　his　blood　and　fiber。　In　his　earliest　formative　years　there　were　six　books　which　he　read　and　re…read。　Nicolay　and　Hay　name　the　Bible　first　in　the　list；　with　Pilgrim's　Progress　as　the　fourth。　Mr。　Morse　calls　it　a　small　library；　but　nourishing；　and　says　that　Lincoln　absorbed　into　his　own　nature　all　the　strong　juice　of　the　books。＇1＇　How　much　he　drew　from　the　pages　of　the　Holy　Book　let　any　reader　of　his　speeches　say。　Quotation；　reference；　illustration　crowd　each　other。　The　phrases　are　familiar。　The　man　is　full　of　the　Book。　And　what　the　man　does　is　part　of　the　work　of　the　Book。


＇1＇　American　Statesman　Series；　Abraham　Lincoln；　i；　12；　13。


One　of　his　biographers　says　that　there　is　nothing　in　the　life　or　work　of　Lincoln　which　cannot　be　explained　without　reference　to　any　supernatural　influence　or　power。　That　depends　on　what　is　meant　by　supernatural。　There　were　no　miracles；　no　astounding　visions　nor　experiences。　But　there　ran　into　Lincoln's　life　from　his　young　manhood　onward　this　steady　and　strong　current　of　ideas　and　ideals　from　the　Bible。　In　his　second　inaugural　address　he　worded　the　thought　that　was　the　deepest　horror　of　the　Civil　War　that　on　both　sides　of　the　strife　men　were　reading　the　same　Bible；　praying　to　the　same　God；　and　invoking　His　aid　against　each　other！　In　that　very　brief　inaugural　Mr。　Lincoln　quotes　in　full　three　Bible　verses；　and　makes　reference　to　two　others；　and　the　whole　address　lasted　barely　four　minutes。　There　could　be　no　mistaking　the　solemn　importance　of　the　fact　to　which　he　referred　in　the　inaugural；　the　presence　on　the　other　side　of　men　who　held　their　Bibles　high　in　regard。　〃Stonewall〃　Jackson　was　devout　beyond　most　men。　The　two　books　always　at　his　hand　were　his　Bible　and　the　Manual　of　the　Rules　of　War。　Robert　E。　Lee　was　a　cultured；　Christian　gentleman；　as　were　many　others　with　him；　while　throughout　the　South　were　multitudes　who　loved　and　reverenced　the　Bible　as　fully　as　could　any　in　the　North。　As　we　look　back　over　half　a　century；　this　comes　out　plainly：　that　so　far　as　the　American　civil　war　was　a　strife　about　union　pure　and　simple；　having　one　nation　or　two　here　in　our　part　of　the　continent；　it　was　matter　of　judgment；　not　of　religion。　There　grew　around　that　question　certain　others　of　national　honor　and　obligation；　which　were　not　so　clear　then　as　now。　But　men　on　opposite　sides　of　the　question　might　read　the　same　Bible　without　finding　authoritative　word　about　it。　In　so　far；　however；　as　the　war　had　at　its　heart　the　matter　of　human　slavery；　it　was　possible　for　men　to　differ　only　when　one　side　read　the　letter　of　the　Bible　while　the　other　read　its　manifest　spirit。　Written　in　times　when　slavery　was　counted　matter　of　course；　its　letter　dealt　with　slavery　as　a　fact。　It　could　be　read　as　though　it　approved　slavery。　But　long　before　this　day　men　had　found　its　true　spirit。　England　had　abolished　slavery　（1808）　under　the　insistence　that　it　was　foreign　to　all　right　understanding　of　God's　Word。　Lincoln　knew　its　letter　well；　he　cared　for　its　spirit　more；　and　he　found　his　strength　not　in　the　familiar　saying　that　God　was　on　his　side；　but　in　the　more　forceful　one　that　he　believed　himself　to　be　on　God's　side。　So　he　became　a　point　around　which　the　great　fluid　idea　crystallized　into　strengtha　point　made　and　sustained　by　the　influence　of　the　Bible；　which　he　knew　only　in　the　King　James　version。


We　have　spoken　of　some　wide　movements　and　of　men　around　whom　they　crystallized；　finding　in　them　the　influence　of　the　Bible。　It　will　be　well　to　note　two　outstanding　traits　of　the　Bible　which　in　English　or　any　other　tongue　would　inevitably　tend　to　strong　and　favorable　influence　on　the　history　of　men。　Those　two　traits　are；　first；　its　essential　democracy；　and；　secondly；　its　persistent　moral　appeal。

Here　must　be　recalled　that　century　before　the　King　James　version；　when　by　slow　filtration　the　fundamental　ideas　of　the　Bible　were　entering　English　life。　Surely　it　is　beyond　words　that　the　Bible　made　Puritanism；　though　it　was　in　strong　swing　when　James　came　to　the　throne。　Now　John　Richard　Green　is　well　within　the　fact　when　he　says　that　〃Puritanism　may　fairly　claim　to　be　the　first　political　system　which　recognized　the　grandeur　of　the　people　as　a　whole。〃＇1＇　It；　was　the　magnifying　of　the　people　as　a　whole　over　against　some　people　as　having　peculiar　rights　which　marked　Puritanism；　and　which　is　democracy。　Shakespeare　knew　nothing　of　it；　and　had　no　influence　on　the　movement　for　larger　democracy。　After　we　have　said　our　strong　word　of　Shakespeare's　powerful　influence　upon　literature　it　yet　must　be　said　that　it　is　difficult　to　lay　finger　on　one　single　historical　movement　except　the　literary　one　which　Shakespeare　even　remotely　influenced。　The　Bible；　meanwhile；　was　absolutely　creating　this　movement。　Under　its　influence　〃the　meanest　peasant　felt　himself　ennobled　as　the　child　of　God；　the　proudest　noble　recognized　a　spiritual　equality　with　the　meanest　saint。〃　That　was　the　inevitable　result　of　a　fresh　reading　of　the　Bible　in　every　home。　It　assured　each　man　that　he　is　a　son　of　God；　equal　in　that　sonship　with　all　other　men。　It　assured　him　no　man　has　right　to　lord　it　over　others；　as　though　his　relation　to　God　were　peculiar。　The　Bible　constantly　impresses　men　that　this　relation　to　God　is　the　essential　one。　Everything　else　is　incidental。　Granted　now　a　people　freshly　under　the　influence　of　that　teaching；　you　have　a　large　explanation　of　the　movement　which　followed　the　issuance　of　this　version。


＇1＇　Short　History　of　the　English　People；　chap。　vii；　sec。　vii。


James　opened　his　first　parliament　（1604）　with　a　speech　claiming　divine　right；　a　doctrine　which　had　really　been　raised　to　meet　the　claim　of　the　right　of　the　pope　to　depose　kings。　James　argued　that　the　state　of　monarchy　is　the　supremest　thing　on　earth；　for　kings　are　not　only　God's　lieutenants　on　earth　and　set　upon　God's　throne；　but　even　by　God　Himself　are　called　gods。　（He　never　found　that　in　the　Genevan　version　or　its　notes！）　As　to　dispute　what　God　may　do　is　blasphemy；　so　it　is　sedition　in　subjects　to　dispute　what　the　king　may　do　in　the　height　of　his　power。　〃I　will　not　be　content　that　my　power　be　disputed　on。〃　The　House　of　Commons　sat　by　his　grace　and　not　of　any　right。

Set　that　idea　of　James　over　against　the　idea　which　the　Bible　was　constantly　developing　in　the　mind　of　the　people；　and　you　see　why　Trevelyan　says　that　the　Bible　brought　in　democracy；　and　why　he　thinks；　as　we　have　already　seen；　that　the　greatest　contribution　England　has　made　to　government　is　its　treatment　of　the　Stuarts；　when　it　transferred　sovereignty　from　the　king　to　Parliament。　Among　the　men　who　listened　to　that　kind　of　teaching　were　Eliot；　Hampden；　Pym；　all　Puritans　under　the　spell　of　the　Bible。　But　the　strife　grew　larger　than　a　merely　Puritan　one。　The　people　themselves　were　strongly　feeling　their　rights。　〃To　the　devout　Englishman；　much　as　he　might　love　his　prayer…book　and　hate　the　dissenters；　the　core　of　religion　was　the　life　of　family　prayer　and　Bible