a study of bible-第17章

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amiliar　one。　A　biographer　says　he　began　the　day　always　with　the　reading　of　Scripture　and　kept　his　memory　deeply　charged　with　its　phrases。　In　later　life　the　morning　chapter　was　generally　from　the　Hebrew；　and　was　followed　by　an　hour　of　silence　for　meditation；　an　exercise　whose　influence　no　man's　style　could　escape。　As　a　writer　he　moved　steadily　toward　the　Scripture　and　the　religious　teaching　which　it　brought　his　age。　His　earlier　writing　is　a　group　of　poems　largely　secular；　which　yet　show　in　phrases　and　expressions　much　of　the　influence　of　his　boyhood　study　of　the　Bible；　as　well　as　the　familiar　use　of　mythology。　The　memorial　poem　〃Lycidas；〃　for　example；　contains　the　much…quoted　reference　to　Peter　and　his　two　keys

　〃Last　came　and　last　did　go　　The　pilot　of　the　Galilean　lake；　　Two　massy　keys　he　bore　of　metals　twain；　　（The　golden　opes；　the　iron　shuts　amain）。〃


But　after　these　poems　came　the　period　of　his　prose；　the　work　which　he　supposed　was　the　abiding　work　of　his　life。　George　William　Curtis　told　a　friend　that　our　civil　war　changed　his　own　literary　style：　〃That　roused　me　to　see　that　I　had　no　right　to　spend　my　life　in　literary　leisure。　I　felt　that　I　must　throw　myself　into　the　struggle　for　freedom　and　the　Union。　I　began　to　lecture　and　to　write。　The　style　took　care　of　itself。　But　I　fancy　it　is　more　solid　than　it　was　thirty　years　ago。〃　That　is　what　happened　to　Milton　when　the　protectorate　came。＇1＇　It　made　his　style　more　solid。　He　did　not　mean　to　live　as　a　poet。　He　felt　that　his　best　energies　were　being　put　into　his　essays　in　defense　of　liberty；　on　the　freedom　of　the　press　and　on　the　justice　of　the　beheading　of　Charles；　in　which　service　he　sacrificed　his　sight。　All　of　it　is　shot　through　with　Scripture　quotations　and　arguments；　and　some　of　it；　at　least；　is　in　the　very　spirit　of　Scripture。　The　plea　for　larger　freedom　of　divorce　issued　plainly　from　his　own　bitter　experience；　but　his　main　argument　roots　in　a　few　Bible　texts　taken　out　of　their　connection　and　urged　with　no　shadow　of　question　of　their　authority。　Indeed；　when　he　comes　to　his　more　religious　essays；　his　heavy　argument　is　that　there　should　be　no　religion　permitted　in　England　which　is　not　drawn　directly　from　the　Bible；　which；　therefore；　he　urges　must　be　common　property　for　all　the　people。　There　is　a　curious　bit　of　evidence　that　the　men　of　his　own　time　did　not　realize　his　power　as　a　poet。　In　Pierre　Bayle's　critical　survey　of　the　literature　of　the　time；　he　calls　Milton　〃the　famous　apologist　for　the　execution　of　Charles　I。；〃　who　〃meddled　in　poetry　and　several　of　whose　poems　saw　the　light　during　his　life　or　after　his　death！〃　For　all　that；　Milton　was　only　working　on　toward　his　real　power；　and　his　power　was　to　be　shown　in　his　service　to　religion。　His　three　great　poems；　in　the　order　of　their　value；　are；　of　course；　〃Paradise　Lost；〃　〃Samson　Agonistes；〃　and　〃Paradise　Regained。〃　Whoever　knows　anything　of　Milton　knows　these　three　and　knows　they　are　Scriptural　from　first　to　last　in　phrase；　in　allusion；　and；　in　part　at　least；　in　idea。　There　is　not　time　for　extended　illustration。　One　instance　may　stand　for　all；　which　shall　illustrate　how　Milton's　mind　was　like　a　garden　where　the　seeds　of　Scripture　came　to　flower　and　fruit。　He　will　take　one　phrase　from　the　Bible　and　let　it　grow　to　a　page　in　〃Paradise　Lost。〃　Here　is　an　illustration　which　comes　readily　to　hand。　In　the　Genesis　it　is　said　that　〃the　spirit　of　God　moved　on　the　face　of　the　waters。〃　The　verb　suggests　the　idea　of　brooding。　There　is　only　one　other　possible　reference　（Psalm　xxiv：　9。）　which　is　included　in　this　statement　which　Milton　makes　out　of　that　brief　word　in　the　Genesis：

　　　　　　　　　　　　　　　〃On　the　watery　calm　　His　broadening　wings　the　Spirit　of　God　outspread；　　And　vital　virtue　infused；　and　vital　warmth　　Throughout　the　fluid　mass；　but　downward　purged　　The　black　tartareous　cold　infernal　dregs；　　Adverse　to　life；　then　formed；　then　con…globed；　　Like　things　to　like；　the　rest　to　several　place　　Disparted；　and　between　spun　out　the　air　　And　earth　self…balanced　on　her　center　swung。〃


＇1＇　Strong；　The　Theology　of　the　Poets。


Any　one　familiar　with　Milton　will　recognize　that　as　a　typical　instance　of　the　way　in　which　a　seed　idea　from　the　Scripture　comes　to　flower　and　fruit　in　him。　The　result　is　that　more　people　have　their　ideas　about　heaven　and　hell　from　Milton　than　from　the　Bible；　though　they　do　not　know　it。

It　seems　hardly　fair　to　use　John　Bunyan　（1628…1688）　as　an　illustration　of　the　influence　of　the　English　Bible　on　literature；　because　his　chief　work　is　composed　so　largely　in　the　language　of　Scripture。　Pilgrim's　Progress　is　the　most　widely　read　book　in　the　English　language　after　the　Bible。　Its　phrases；　its　names；　its　matter　are　either　directly　or　indirectly　taken　from　the　Bible。　It　has　given　us　a　long　list　of　phrases　which　are　part　of　our　literary　and　religious　capital。　Thackeray　took　the　motto　of　one　of　his　best…known　books　from　the　Bible；　but　the　title；　Vanity　Fair；　comes　from　Pilgrim's　Progress。　When　a　discouraged　man　says　he　is　〃in　the　slough　of　despond；〃　he　quotes　Bunyan；　and　when　a　popular　evangelist　tells　the　people　that　the　burden　of　sin　will　roll　away　if　they　look　at　the　cross；　〃according　to　the　Bible；〃　he　ought　to　say　according　to　Bunyan。　But　all　this　was　only　the　outcome　of　the　familiarity　of　Bunyan　with　the　Scripture。　It　was　almost　all　he　did　know　in　a　literary　way。　Macaulay　says　that　〃he　knew　no　language　but　the　English　as　it　was　spoken　by　the　common　people；　he　had　studied　no　great　model　of　composition；　with　the　exception　of　our　noble　translation　of　the　Bible。　But　of　that　his　knowledge　was　such　that　he　might　have　been　called　a　living　concordance。〃＇1＇


＇1＇　History　of　England；　vol。　III。；　p。　220。


After　these　threeShakespeare；　Milton；　and　Bunyanthere　appeared　another　three；　very　much　their　inferiors　and　having　much　less　influence　on　literary　history。　I　mean　Dryden；　Addison；　and　Pope。　It　is　not　necessary　to　credit　the　Scripture　with　much　of　Dryden's　spirit；　nor　with　much　of　his　style；　and　certainly　not　with　his　attitude　toward　his　fellows；　but　it　is　a　constant　surprise　in　reading　Dryden　to　discover　how　familiar　he　was　with　the　King　James　version。　Walter　Scott　insists　that　Dryden　was　at　heart　serious；　that　〃his　indelicacy　was　like　the　forced　impudence　of　a　bashful　man。〃　That　is　generous　judgment。　But　there　is　this　to　be　said：　as　he　grows　more　serious　he　falls　more　into　Bible　words。　If　he　writes　a　political　pamphlet　he　calls　it　〃Absalom　and　Ahithophel。〃　In　it　he　holds　the　men　of　the　day　up　to　scorn　under　Bible　names。　They　are　Zimri　and　Shimei；　and　the　like。　When　he　is　falling　into　bitterest　satire；　his　writing　abounds　in　these　Biblical　allusions　which　could　be　made　only　by　one　who　was　very　familiar　with　the　Book。　Quotations　cannot　be　abundant；　of　course；　but　there　is　a　great　deal　of　this　sort　of　thing：

　〃Sinking；　he　left　his　drugget　robe　behind；　　Borne　upward　by　a　subterranean　wind；　　The　mantle　fell　to　the　young　prophet's　part；　　With　double　portion　of　his　father's　art。〃

In　his　Epistles　there　is　much　of　the　same　sort。　When　he　writes　to　Congreve　he　speaks　of　the　fathers；　and　says：

　〃Their's　was　the　giant　race　before　the　flood。〃

Farther　on　he　says：

　〃Our　builders　were　with　want　of　genius　curst；　　The　second　temple　was　not　like　the　first。〃

Now　Dryden　may　have　been；　as　Macaulay　said；　an　〃illustrious　renegade；〃　but　all　his　writing　shows　the　influence　of　the　language　and　the　ideas　of　the　King　James　version。　Whenever　we　sing　the　〃Veni　Creator〃　we　sing　John　Dryden。

So　we　sing　Addison　in　the　paraphrase　of　Scripture；　which　Haydn's　music　has　made　familiar：

　〃The　spacious　firmament　on　high；　　With　all　the　blue　ethereal　sky。〃

While　Dryden　yielded　to　his　times；　Addison　did　not；　and　the　Spectator　became　not　only　a　literary　but　a　moral　power。　In　the　effort　to　make　it　so　he　was　thrown　back　on　the　largest　moral　influence　of　the　day；　the　Bible；　and　throughout　the　Spectator　and　through　all　of　Addison's　writing　you　find　on　all　proper　occasions　the　Bible　pressed　to　the　front。　Here　again　Taine　puts　it　strikingly：　〃It　is　no　small　thing　to　make　morality　fashionable；　Addison　did　it；　and　it　remains　fashionable。〃

If　we　speak　of　singing；　we　may　remember　that　we　sing　the　hymn　of　even　poor　little　dwarfed　invalid　Alexander　Pope。　He　was　born　the　year　Bunyan　died；　born　at　cross…purposes　with　the　world。　He　could　write　a　bitter　satire；　like　the　〃Dunciad〃；　he　could　give　the　world　The　Iliad　and　The　Odyssey　in　such　English　that　we　know　them　far　better　than　in　the　Greek　of　Homer；　but　in　those　rare　moments　when　he　was　at　his　better　self　he　would　write　his　greater　poem；　〃The　Messiah〃；　in　which　the　movement　of　Scripture　is　outlined　as　it　could　be　only　by　one　who　knew　the　English　Bible。　And　when　we　sing

　〃Rise；　crowned　with　light；　imperial　Salem；　rise〃

it　is　worth　while　to　realize　that　the　voice　that　first　sung　it　was　that　of　the　irritable　little　poet　who　found　some　of　his　scant　comfort　in　the　grand　words　and　phrases　and　ideas　of　our　English　Bible。

With　these　sixShakespeare；　Milton；　Bunyan；　Dryden；　Addison；　and　Popethe　course　of　the　Jacobean　literature　is　sufficiently　measured。　There　are　many　lesser　names；　but　these　are　the　ones　which　made　it　an　epoch　in　literature；　and　these　are　at　their　best　under　the　power　of　the　Bible。

In　the　Georgian　group　we　need　to　call　only　five　great　names　which　have　had　creative　influence　in　literature。　Ordinary　culture　in　literature　will　include　some　acquaintance　with　each　of　them。　In　the　order　of　their　death　they　are　Shelley　（1829。）；　Byron　（1824）；　Coleridge　（1831）；　Walter　Scott　（1832）；　and　Wordsworth　（1850）。　The　last　long　outlived　the　others；　but　he　belongs　with　them；　because　he　was　born　earlier　than　any　other　in　the　group　and　did　his　chief　work　in　their　time　and　before　the　later　group　appeared。　Except　Wordsworth；　all　these　were　gone　before　Queen　Victoria　came　to　the　throne　in　1837。　Three　other　names　could　be　called：　Keats；　Robert　Burns；　and　Charles　Lamb。　All　would　illustrate　what　we　are　studying。　Keats　least　of　all　and　Burns　most。　They　are　omitted　here　not　because　they　did　not　feel　the　influence　of　the　English　Bible；　not　because　they　do　not　constantly　show　its　influence；　but　because　they　are　not　so　creative　as　the　others；　they　have　not　so　influenced　the　current　of　literature。　At　any　rate；　the　five　named　will　represent　worthily　and　with　sufficient　completeness　the　Georgian　period　of　English　literature。

Nothing　could　reveal　more　clearly　than　this　list　how　we　are　distinguishing　the　Bible　as　literature　from　the　Bible　as　an　authoritative　book　in　morals。　One　would　much　dislike　to　credit　the　Bible　with　any　part　of　the　personal　life　of　Shelley　or　Byron。　They　were　friends；　they；　were　geniuses；　but　they　were　both　badly　afflicted　with　common　moral　leprosy。　It　is　playing　with　morals　to　excuse　either　of　them　because　he　was　a　genius。　Nothing　in　the　genius　of　either　demanded　or　was　served　by　the　course　of　cheap　immorality　which　both　practised。　It　was　not　because　Shelley　was　a　genius　that　he　married　Harriet　Westbrook；　then　ran　away　with　Mary　Godwin；　then　tried　to　get　the　two　to　become　friends　and　neighbors　until　his　own　wife　committed　suicide；　it　was　not　his　genius　that　made　him　yield　to　the　influence　of　Emilia　Viviani　and　write　her　the　poem　〃Epipsychidion；〃　telling　her　and　the　world　that　he　〃was　never　attached　to　that　great　s