a study of bible-第38节

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ces。

There　are　familiar　reasons　for　it。　For　one　thing；　there　has　been　a　great　increase　of　literature。　Once　there　was　little　to　read；　and　that　little　became　familiar。　One　would　have　been　ashamed　to　pretend　to　culture　and　not　to　know　such　literature　well。　Now　there　is　so　much　that　one　cannot　know　it　all；　and　most　men　follow　the　line　of　least　resistance。　That　line　is　not　where　great　literature　lies。　Once　the　problem　was　how　to　get　books　enough　for　a　family　library。　Now　the　problem　is　how　to　get　library　enough　for　the　books。　Magazines；　papers；　volumes　of　all　grades　overflow。　〃The　Bible　has　been　buried　beneath　a　landslide　of　books。〃　The　result　is　that　the　greatest　literary　landmark　of　the　English　tongue　threatens　to　become　unknown；　or　else　to　be　looked　upon　as　of　antiquarian　rather　than　present　worth。　There　our　Puritan　fathers　had　the　advantage。　As　President　Faunce　puts　it：　〃For　them　the　Bible　was　the　norm　and　goal　of　all　study。　They　had　achieved　the　concentration　of　studies；　and　the　Bible　was　the　center。　They　learned　to　read　that　they　might　read　the　literature　of　Israel；　their　writing　was　heavy　with　noble　Old　Testament　phrases；　the　names　of　Old　Testament　heroes　they　gave　to　their　children；　its　words　of　immortal　hope　they　inscribed　on　their　tombstones；　its　Mosaic　commonwealth　they　sought　to　realize　in　England　and　America；　its　decalogue　was　the　foundation　of　their　laws；　and　its　prophecies　were　a　light　shining　in　a　dark　place。　Such　a　unification　of　knowledge　produced　a　unified　character；　simple；　stalwart；　invincible。〃　It　is　very　different　in　our　own　day。　As　so…called　literature　increases　it　robs　great　literature　of　its　conspicuous　outstanding　character；　and　many　men　who　pride　themselves　on　the　amount　they　read　would　do　far　better　to　read　a　thousandth　part　as　much　and　let　that　smaller　part　be　good。

Another　reason　for　this　decay　of　the　influence　of　literary　knowledge　of　the　Bible　is　the　shallowness　of　much　of　our　thinking。　If　the　Bible　were　needed　for　nothing　else　in　present　literary　life；　it　would　be　needed　for　the　deepening　of　literary　currents。　The　vast　flood　of　flotsam　and　jetsam　which　pours　from　the　presses　seldom　floats　on　a　deep　current。　It　is　surface　matter　for　the　most　part。　It　does　not　take　itself　seriously；　and　it　is　quite　impossible　to　take　it　seriously。　It　does　not　deal　with　great　themes；　or　when　it　touches　upon　them　it　deals　with　them　in　a　trifling　way。　To　men　interested　chiefly　in　literature　of　this　kind　the　Bible　cannot　be　of　interest。

That　is　a　passing　condition；　and　out　of　it　is　certain　to　come　here　and　there　a　masterpiece　of　literature。　When　it　does　appear；　it　will　be　found　to　reveal　the　same　influences　that　have　made　great　literature　in　the　past；　issuing　more　largely　from　the　Bible　than　from　any　other　book。　That　is　the　main　point　of　a　bit　of　counsel　which　Professor　Bowen　used　to　give　his　Harvard　students。　To　form　a　good　English　style；　he　told　them；　a　student　ought　to　keep　near　at　hand　a　Bible；　a　volume　of　Shakespeare；　and　Bacon's　essays。　That　group　of　books　would　enlarge　the　vocabulary；　would　supply　a　store　of　words；　phrases；　and；　allusions；　and　save　the　necessity　of　ransacking　a　meager　and　hide…bound　diction　in　order　to　make　one's　meaning　plain。　Coleridge　in　his　Table…Talk　adds　that　〃intense　study　of　the　Bible　will　keep　any　writer　from　being　VULGAR　in　point　of　style。〃　So　it　may　be　urged　that　these　times　have　and　still　need　the　literary　influence　of　the　Bible。

Add　that　the　times　have　and　still　need　its　moral　steadying。　Every　age　seems　to　its　own　thoughtful　people　to　lack　moral　steadiness；　and　they　tend　to　compare　it　with　other　ages　which　look　steadier。　That　is　a　virtually　invariable　opinion　of　such　men。　The　comparison　with　other　ages　is　generally　fallacious；　yet　the　fact　is　real　for　each　age。　Many　things　tend　in　this　age　to　unsettle　moral　solidity。　Some　of　them　are　peculiar　to　this　time；　others　are　not。　But　one　of　the　great　influences　which　the　Bible　is　perpetually　tending　to　counteract　is　stated　in　best　terms　in　an　experience　of　Henry　M。　Stanley。　It　was　on　that　journey　to　Africa　when　be　found　David　Livingstone；　under　commission　from　one　of　the　great　newspapers。　Naturally　he　had　made　up　his　load　as　light　as　possible。　Of　books　he　had　none　save　the　Bible；　but　wrapped　about　his　bottles　of　medicine　and　other　articles　were　many　copies　of　newspapers。　Stanley　says　that　〃strangest　of　all　his　experiences　were　the　changes　wrought　in　him　by　the　reading　of　the　Bible　and　those　newspapers　in　melancholy　Africa。〃　He　was　frequently　sick　with　African　fever；　and　took　up　the　Bible　to　while　away　his　hours　of　recovery。　During　the　hours　of　health　he　read　the　newspapers。　〃And　thus；　somehow　or　other；　my　views　toward　newspapers　were　entirely　recast；〃　while　he　held　loyal　to　his　profession　as　a　newspaper　man。　This　is　the　critical　sentence　in　Stanley's　telling　of　the　story：　〃As　seen　in　my　loneliness；　there　was　this　difference　between　the　Bible　and　the　newspapers。　The　one　reminded　me　that　apart　from　God　my　life　was　but　a　bubble　of　air；　and　it　made　me　remember　my　Creator；　the　other　fostered　arrogance　and　worldliness。〃＇1＇　There　is　no　denying　such　an　experience　as　that。　That　is　precisely　the　moral　effect　of　the　Bible　as　compared　with　the　moral　effect　of　the　newspaper　accounts　of　current　life。　Democracy　should　always　be　happy；　but　it　must　always　be　serious；　morally　steady。　Anything　that　tends　to　give　men　light　views　of　wrong；　to　make　evil　things　humorous；　to　set　out　the　ridiculous　side　of　gross　sins　is　perilous　to　democracy。　It　not　only　is　injurious　to　personal　morals；　it　is　bound　sooner　or　later　to　injure　public　morals。　There　is　nothing　that　so　persistently　counteracts　that　tendency　of　current　literature　as　does　the　Bible。


＇1＇　Autobiography；　p。　252。


From　an　ethical　point　of　view；　〃the　ethical　content　of　Paul　is　quite　as　important　for　us　as　the　system　of　Schopenhauer　or　Nietzsche。　The　organization　of　the　New　England　town　meeting　is　no　more　weighty　for　the　American　boy　than　the　organization　of　the　early　Christian　Church。　John　Adams　and　John　Hancock　and　Abraham　Lincoln　are　only　the　natural　successors　of　the　great　Hebrew　champions　of　liberty　and　righteousness　who　faced　Pharoah　and　Ahab　and　put　to　flight　armies　of　aliens。〃　But　aside　from　the　definite　ethical　teaching　of　the　Bible　there　is　need　for　that　strong　impression　of　ethical　values　which　it　gives　in　the　characters　around　which　it　has　gathered。　The　conception　of　the　Bible　which　makes　it　appear　as　a　steady　progression　should　add　to　its　authority；　not　take　from　it。　The　development　is　not　from　error　to　truth；　but　from　light　to　more　light。　It　is　sometimes　said　that　the　standards　of　morality　of　some　parts　of　Scripture　are　not　to　be　commended。　But　they　are　not　the　standards　of　morality　of　Scripture；　but　of　their　times。　They　are　not　taught　in　Scripture；　they　are　only　stated；　and　they　are　so　stated　that　instantly　a　thoughtful　man　discovers　that　they　are　stated　to　be　condemned。　When　did　it　become　true　that　all　that　is　told　of　a　good　man　is　to　be　approved？　It　is　not　pretended　that　Abraham　did　right　always。　David　was　confessedly　wrong。　They　move　much　of　the　time　in　half…light；　yet　the　sum　total　of　the　impression　of　their　writings　is　inevitably　and　invariably　for　a　more　substantial　morality。　These　times　need　the　moral　steadying　of　the　Bible　to　make　men；　not　creatures　of　the　day　arid　not　creatures　of　their　whims；　but　creatures　of　all　time　and　of　fundamental　laws。

Add　the　third　fact；　that　our　times　have　and　still　need　the　religious　influence　of　the　Bible。　No　democracy　can　dispense　with　religious　culture。　No　book　makes　for　religion　as　does　the　Bible。　That　is　its　chief　purpose。　No　book　can　take　its　place；　no　influence　can　supplant　it。　Max　Muller　made　lifelong　study　of　the　Buddhist　and　other　Indian　books。　He　gave　them　to　the　English…speaking　world。　Yet　he　wrote　to　a　friend　of　his　impression　of　the　immense　superiority　of　the　Bible　in　such　terms　that　his　friend　replied：　〃Yes；　you　are　right；　how　tremendously　ahead　of　other　sacred　books　is　the　Bible！　The　difference　strikes　one　as　almost　unfairly　great。〃＇1＇　Writing　in　an　India　paper；　The　Kayestha　Samachar；　in　August；　1902；　a　Hindu　writer　said：　〃I　am　not　a　Christian；　but　half　an　hour's　study　of　the　Bible　will　do　more　to　remodel　a　man　than　a　whole　day　spent　in　repeating　the　slokas　of　the　Purinas　or　the　mantras　of　the　Rig…Veda。〃　In　the　earlier　chapters　of　the　Koran　Christians　are　frequently　spoken　of　as　〃people　of　the　Book。〃　It　is　a　suggestive　phrase。　If　Christianity　has　any　value　for　American　life；　then　the　Bible　has　just　that　value。　Christianity　is　made　by　the　Bible；　it　has　never　been　vital　nor　nationally　influential　for　good　without　the　Bible。


＇1＇　Speer；　Light　of　the　World；　iv。


Sometimes；　because　of　his　strong　words　regarding　the　conflict　between　science　and　theology；　the　venerable　American　diplomat　and　educator；　Dr。　Andrew　D。　White；　is　thought　of　as　a　foe　to　religion。　No　one　who　reads　his　biography　can　have　that　impression　half　an　hour。　Near　the　close　of　it　is　a　paragraph　of　singular　insight　and　authority　which　fits　just　this　connection：　〃It　will；　in　my　opinion；　be　a　sad　day　for　this　or　for　any　people　when　there　shall　have　come　in　them　an　atrophy　of　the　religious　nature；　when　they　shall　have　suppressed　the　need　of　communication；　no　matter　how　vag