a study of bible-第25部分

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blic　taste　for　certain　types　of　literature；　tended　to　produce　them　at　once。

English　literature　in　these　three　hundred　years　has　found　in　the　Bible　three　influential　elements：　style；　language；　and　material。

First；　the　style　of　the　King　James　version　has　influenced　English　literature　markedly。　Professor　Gardiner　opens　one　of　his　essays　with　the　dictum　that　〃in　all　study　of　English　literature；　if　there　be　any　one　axiom　which　may　be　accepted　without　question；　it　is　that　the　ultimate　standard　of　English　prose　style　is　set　by　the　King　James　version　of　the　Bible。〃＇1＇　You　almost　measure　the　strength　of　writing　by　its　agreement　with　the　predominant　traits　of　this　version。　Carlyle's　weakest　works　are　those　that　lose　the　honest　simplicity　of　its　style　in　a　forced　turgidity　and　affected　roughness。　His　Heroes　and　Hero　Worship　or　his　French　Revolution　shows　his　distinctive　style；　and　yet　shows　the　influence　of　this　simpler　style；　while　his　Frederick　the　Great　is　almost　impossible　because　he　has　given　full　play　to　his　broken　and　disconnected　sentences。　On　the　other　hand；　Macaulay　fails　us　most　in　his　striving　for　effect；　making　nice　balance　of　sentences；　straining　his　〃either…or；〃　or　his　〃while…one…was…doing…this…the…other…was…　doing…that。〃　Then　his　sentences　grow　involved；　and　his　paragraphs　lengthen；　and　he　swings　away　from　the　style　of　the　King　James　version。　〃One　can　say　that　if　any　writing　departs　very　far　from　the　characteristics　of　the　English　Bible　it　is　not　good　English　writing。〃


＇1＇　Atlantic　Monthly；　May；　1900；　p。　684。


The　second　element　which　English　literature　finds　in　the　Bible　is　its　LANGUAGE。　The　words　of　the　Bible　are　the　familiar　ones　of　the　English　tongue；　and　have　been　kept　familiar　by　the　use　of　the　Bible。　The　result　is　that　〃the　path　of　literature　lies　parallel　to　that　of　religion。　They　are　old　and　dear　companions；　brethren　indeed　of　one　blood；　not　always　agreeing；　to　be　sure；　squabbling　rather　in　true　brotherly　fashion　now　and　then；　occasionally　falling　out　very　seriously　and　bitterly；　but　still　interdependent　and　necessary　to　each　other。〃＇1＇　Years　ago　a　writer　remarked　that　every　student　of　English　literature；　or　of　English　speech；　finds　three　works　or　subjects　referred　to；　or　quoted　from；　more　frequently　than　others。　These　are　the　Bible；　tales　of　Greek　and　Roman　mythology；　and　Aesop's　Fables。　Of　these　three；　certainly　the　Bible　furnishes　the　largest　number　of　references。　There　is　reason　for　that。　A　writer　wants　an　audience。　Very　few　men　can　claim　to　be　independent　of　the　public　for　which　they　write。　There　is　nothing　the　public　will　be　more　apt　to　understand　and　appreciate　quickly　than　a　passing　reference　to　the　English　Bible。　So　it　comes　about　that　when　Dickens　is　describing　the　injustice　of　the　Murdstones　to　little　David　Copperfield；　he　can　put　the　whole　matter　before　us　in　a　parenthesis：　〃Though　there　was　One　once　who　set　a　child　in　the　midst　of　the　disciples。〃　Dickens　knew　that　his　readers　would　at　once　catch　the　meaning　of　that　reference；　and　would　feel　the　contrast　between　the　scene　he　was　describing　and　that　simple　scene。　Take　any　of　the　great　books　of　literature　and　black　out　the　phrases　which　manifestly　come　directly　from　the　English　Bible；　and　you　would　mark　them　beyond　recovery。


＇1＇　Chapman；　English　Literature　in　Account　with　Religion。


But　English　literature　has　found　more　of　its　material　in　the　Bible　than　anything　else。　It　has　looked　there　for　its　characters；　its　illustrations；　its　subject…matter。　We　shall　see；　as　we　consider　individual　writers；　how　many　of　their　titles　and　complete　works　are　suggested　by　the　Bible。　It　is　interesting　to　see　how　one　idea　of　the　Scripture　will　appear　and　reappear　among　many　writers。　Take　one　illustration。　The　Faust　story　is　an　effort　to　make　concrete　one　verse　of　Scripture：　〃What　shall　it　profit　a　man　if　he　shall　gain　the　whole　world　and　lose　his　own　soul？〃　Professor　Moulton　reminds　us　that　the　Faust　legend　appeared　first　in　the　Middle　Ages。　In　early　English；　Marlowe　has　it；　Calderon　put　it　into　Spanish；　the　most　familiar　form　of　it　is　Goethe's；　while　Philip　Bailey　has　called　his　account　of　it　Festus。　In　each　of　those　forms　the　same　idea　occurs。　A　man　sells　his　soul　to　the　devil　for　the　gaining　of　what　is　to　him　the　world。　That　is　one　of　a　good　many　ideas　which　the　Bible　has　given　to　literature。　The　prodigal　son　has　been　another　prolific　source　of　literary　writing。　The　guiding　star　is　another。　Others　will　readily　come　to　mind。

With　that　simple　background　let　our　minds　move　down　the　course　of　literary　history。　Style；　language；　materialwe　will　easily　think　how　much　of　each　the　Bible　has　given　to　all　our　great　writers　if　their　names　are　only　mentioned。　There　are　four　groups　of　these　writers。

1。　The　Jacobean；　who　wrote　when　and　just　after　our　version　was　made。

2。　The　Georgian；　who　graced　the　reigns　of　the　kings　whose　name　the　period　bears。

3。　The　Victorian。

4。　The　American。

There　is　an　attractive　fifth　group　comprising　our　present…day　workers　in　the　realm　of　pure　literature；　but　we　must　omit　them　and　give　our　attention　to　names　that　are　starred。


It　is　familiar　that　in　the　time　of　Elizabeth；　〃England　became　a　nest　of　singing　birds。〃　In　the　fifty　years　after　the　first　English　theater　was　erected；　the　middle　of　Elizabeth's　reign；　fifty　dramatic　poets　appeared；　many　of　the　first　order。　Some　were　distinctly　irreligious；　as　were　many　of　the　people　whose　lives　they　touched。　Such　men　as　Ford；　Marlowe；　Massinger；　Webster；　Beaumont；　and　Fletcher　stand　like　a　chorus　around　Shakespeare　and　Ben　Jonson　as　leaders。　As　Taine　puts　it：　〃They　sing　the　same　piece　together；　and　at　times　the　chorus　is　equal　to　the　solo；　but　only　at　times。〃＇1＇　Cultured　people　to…day　know　the　names　of　most　of　these　writers；　but　not　much　else；　and　it　does　not　heavily　serve　our　argument　to　say　that　they　felt　the　Puritan　influence；　but　they　all　did　feel　it　either　directly　or　by　reaction。


＇1＇　History　of　English　Literature；　chap。　iii。


Edmund　Spenser　and　his　friend；　Sir　Philip　Sidney；　had　closed　their　work　before　the　King　James　version　appeared；　yet　the　Faerie　Queene　in　its　religious　theory　is　Puritan　to　the　core；　and　Sidney　is　best　remembered　by　his　paraphrases　of　Scripture。　The　influence　of　both　was　even　greater　in　the　Jacobean　than　in　their　own　period。

It　is　hardly　fair　even　to　note　the　Elizabethan　Shakespeare　as　under　the　influence　of　the　King　James　version。　The　Bible　influenced　him　markedly；　but　it　was　the　Genevan　version　prepared　during　the　exile　of　the　scholars　under　Bloody　Mary；　or　the　Bishops'　Bible　prepared　under　Elizabeth。　Those　versions　were　familiar　as　household　facts　to　him。　〃No　writer　has　assimilated　the　thoughts　and　reproduced　the　words　of　Holy　Scripture　more　copiously　than　Shakespeare。〃　Dr。　Furnivall　says　that　〃he　is　saturated　with　the　Bible　story；〃　and　a　century　ago　Capel　Lloft　said　quaintly　that　Shakespeare　〃had　deeply　imbibed　the　Scriptures。〃　But　the　King　James　version　appeared　only　five　years　before　his　death；　and　it　is　in　some　sense　fairer　to　say　that　Shakespeare　and　the　King　James　version　are　formed　by　the　same　influence　as　to　their　English　style。　The　Bishop　of　St。　Andrews　even　devotes　the　first　part　of　his　book　on　Shakespeare　and　the　Bible　to　a