The Literary Value Of The Bible

Lilly

"Consider the lilies of the field, how they grow; they toil not, neither do they spin: yet I say unto you that even Solomon in all his glory, was not arrayed like one of these." Luke 12: 26 - 28.

There are many people who do not look upon the Bible as a readable book; yet its pages are full of unusual charm. It is a book full of marvellous incidents and engaging history, with sunny pictures of old world scenery, and charming and pathetic anecdotes of patriarchal times. Any one who wishes literature having unity, variety, beauty, strength, and interest, can find it in this volume of sixty-six books.


 He will there find law, folk-lore, tradition, official records, historical narrative, epic poetry, dramatic poetry, lyric poetry, proverbial philosophy, patriotic addresses, religious addresses, parables, prayers, prophecies, biographies, theology, circular letters, private letters, riddles, fables, dream literature, love songs, patriotic songs, and songs of praise.

 These writings were produced by probably thirty-one writers through a period of fifteen hundred years. Some of them lived in palaces and some in prisons; some were princes and some were peasants; some were scholars and some were illiterate men; some were philosophers and some herdsmen, fishermen, and mechanics. So it is a book appealing to the learned and the ignorant, to the prince and the peasant, the sage and the child, to all races, all nations, all classes, and it approaches all these in the way they can best breached.

The place of the origin of the Bible should give it variety. It originated in a land which is a sort of epitome of the world. The configuration of Palestine, its immense variety of scenery, its vast range of climate, its extraordinary range of animal and vegetable life, reproduce, in a way, the features of the whole world. So the book is cosmopolitan in its atmosphere and imagery. It is full of the imagery of the sea and has in it also the quiet serenity of the secluded valley and lonely shore. It is filled with pastoral imagery.

The Bible tells of a God who is a Shepherd, of a king who came from the sheepfold. It is warm with the breath and brilliant with the light of the eastern clime: It tells of gardens and spices, of roses and lilies, of gold and jewels, of pomegranates and palms: its imagery is oriental in its richness. On the other hand it is also a book of mountains and snow and ice; its atmosphere is affected by the winds from Lebanon and snow-capped Hermon, as well as by breezes from the City of Palm Trees.

The forms of literature found in the Bible are numerous and varied. Do you want biographies? Here you may find biographies which in directness of narrative, vigour of movement, interest, and in faithfulness to life are superior to any that were ever written—certainly more faithful in telling the truth and the whole truth. Or do you want to study love stories? Here you can find stories of such genuineness, naturalness, noble simplicity, and straightforward truthfulness that they put to shame the multitude of sickly, silly sentimental novels of to-day. Or do you want to read annals of war? Here your blood may be stirred with accounts of battles, sieges, deadly encounters, ignoble treachery, noble patriotism, galling defeats, glorious victories, and remarkable bravery, records not surpassed in the history of any nation. Or do you want to study law literature? Here you can find a system of jurisprudence to which the best countries of the civilized world must acknowledge themselves indebted ; and these laws set forth in statutes so simple, so plain, and withal so unmistakable in their meaning that you will begin to feel pity for our own lawmakers who use vain repetitions as the heathen do, and write their statutes in language like Samson's riddles.

Or do you want to study fiction? Here you will find the wonderfully effective parables, the instructive fables, and the warning dreams, all with a moral lesson so forcibly put that you need hardly ask why there should be fiction in the Bible, or why the imagination may not be inspired as well as the reason and the judgement. Or do you want to read poetry? Here you may find poems of transcendent genius, some of the noblest poems of the world, poems breathing such lofty piety, such fervent devotion, such noble sentiments, and all expressed.

in imagery so beautiful and sublime that you can not choose but be entranced by their beauty and their power. It is profitable to study the Bible because it contains the best forms of literature in satisfying perfection.

By RICHARD G. MOULTON M.A. PH.D.