CHAPTER XXII THE LITERARY CHARACTERISTICS OF THE BIBLE THE student would do well to read the little book by Professor A. S. Cook, of Yale University, on the Bible and English Prose Style, in connection with this chapter. All writers on the subject are agreed that the chief charm of the literary style of the Bible is its extreme simplicity. If competent judges were asked to write down the most sublime passage of English in existence, there is no doubt but the first verse of Genesis, "In the beginning God created the heaven and the earth," would receive a large number of votes. Every time we read this passage we are impressed with its remarkable dignity and grandeur. A similar passage is found in the first chapter of the Gospel of Saint John, "In the beginning was the Word, and the Word was with God, and the Word was God." It is interesting to note a method used by great writers in introducing their principal characters. Shakespeare, for example, introduces Hamlet on the seventh page, Julius Cæsar on the fourth, Macbeth on the fifth, Lear on the second, and Othello on the seventh. Goethe brings in Faust after a somewhat lengthy introduction and all of our great writers seem to be obliged to resort to the employment of a certain literary setting before they introduce the chief character. It is interesting to compare this with the method employed by the author of the book of Job. In the first verse of the first chapter we read, "There was a man in the land of Uz whose name was Job." For literary simplicity and daring this has no equal in literature. It is ap proached, to be sure, by Virgil in the Eneid, where he tells us in the first line that he sings of arms and the man, meaning Æneas; and by Homer, who announces his subject as divine wrath in connection with the son of Peleus. Ruskin (Præterita) tells us that he owes whatever excellence of style he possesses to his familiarity with the Bible. He gives a list of passages which were assigned to him by his mother for memorizing: Exod. 15 and 20; 2 Sam. 1. 17-27; 1 Kings 8; Psa. 23, 32, 90, 91, 103, 112, 119, 139; Prov. 2, 3, 8, 12; Isa. 58; Matt. 5, 6, 7; Acts 26; 1 Cor. 13 and 15; James 4; Rev. 5 and 6. Tributes to the beauty of the literary style of the Bible have been written by many of our masters of English. George Saintsbury tells us that he regards the sixth and seventh verses of the eighth chapter of the Song of Solomon as the best example known of absolutely perfect English prose: Set me as a seal upon thine heart, as a seal upon thine arm: for love is strong as death; jealousy is cruel as the grave: the coals thereof are coals of fire, which hath a most vehement flame. Many waters cannot quench love, neither can the floods drown it: if a man would give all the substance of his house for love, it would utterly be contemned. Many writers have undertaken to compare the style of the Bible with that of other pieces of literature which were contemporaneous with it. Chateaubriand, for example, compares the sixteenth verse of the first chapter of the book of Ruth with a supposed rendering by Homer. While we may not be ready to concede that Chateaubriand has quite done justice to Homer, it is evident that the biblical narrative does not suffer by comparison. The reader should make a study of the passages in the Bible quoted in this book and other striking passages with reference to their literary characteristics. In another part of the book is given a list of passages which have been selected for their literary charm. Especial attention is directed to the story of the good Samaritan, which is printed in the chapter on "Short Stories in the Bible." CHAPTER XXIII FIGURES OF SPEECH IN THE BIBLE BELONGING to Oriental literature, the Bible would naturally contain many figures of speech. A remarkably complete collection has been made by Dr. E. W. Bullinger (London, Eyre and Spottiswoode, 1898). A few representative illustrations are given here: 1. Aposiopesis. Exod. 32. 32: Yet now, if thou wilt forgive their sin—; and, if not, blot me, I pray thee, out of thy book which thou hast written (compare Saint Paul). [Virgil, Book I, line 135: Quos ego-! sed motos praestat componere fluctus. Dante, Canto IX, 8: Pure, a noi converra vincer la punga, comincio ei, se non-Tal ne s'offerse. However, it will be proper for us to win the battle, began he. If not-such a one has offered herself to us.] Other illustrations will be found in 1 Chron. 4. 10; Dan. 3. 15; Judg. 5. 29-31; Luke 19. 42; John 6. 61-62. 2. Ellipsis. 1 Cor. 10. 24. Let no man seek his own, but every man another's (wealth). 3. The use of "and." a. "And" omitted: Judg. 5. 27: At her feet he bowed, he fell, he lay down at her feet he bowed, he fell: where he bowed, there he fell down dead. b. "And" repeated: 1 Sam. 17. 34, 35: Thy servant kept his father's sheep, and there came a lion, and a bear, and took a lamb out of the flock: and I went out after him, and smote him, and delivered it out of his mouth: and when he arose against me, I caught him by his beard, and smote him, and slew him. 4. Belittling. 1 Sam. 24. 14: After whom is the king of Israel come out? After whom dost thou pursue? After a dead dog, after a flea? See also Gen. 18. 27; Num. 13. 33; Psa. 22. 6; Isa. 40. 15. 5. Sentence Similarity. a. Beginning Psa. 115. 12-13: He will bless the house of Israel; He will bless them that fear the Lord. Other illustrations may be found in Jer. 8. 1 and Hos. 3. 4. b. Ending: The best illustration of this figure is in Psa. 136, where each verse ends with "His mercy endureth forever." c. Both beginning and ending: Judg. 11. 1: Now Jephthah the Gileadite was a mighty man of valor, and he was the son of an harlot, and Gilead begat Jephthah. Psa. 27. 14: Wait on the Lord; be of good courage, and he shall strengthen thine heart, |