a study of bible-第30部分

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ch；　to　endure　for　centuries。〃＇1＇　The　genius　of　the　period　is　more　scientific　than　literary；　yet　we　would　be　helpless　if　we　had　not　already　eliminated　from　our　discussion　everything　but　the　works　and　writers　of　pure　literature。　The　output　of　books　has　been　so　tremendous　that　it　would　be　impossible　to　analyze　the　influences　which　have　made　them。　There　are　in　this　Victorian　period　at　least　twelve　great　English　writers　who　must　be　known；　whose　work　affects　the　current　of　English　literature。　Many　other　names　would　need　mention　in　any　full　history　or　any　minute　study；　but　it　is　not　harsh　judgment　to　say　that　the　main　current　of　literature　would　be　the　same　without　them。　A　few　of　these　lesser　names　will　come　to　mind；　and　in　the　calling　of　them　one　realizes　the　influence；　even　on　them；　of　the　English　Bible。　Anthony　Trollope　wrote　sixty　volumes；　the　titles　of　most　of　which　are　now　popularly　unknown。　He　told　George　Eliot　that　it　was　not　brains　that　explained　his　writing　so　much；　but　rather　wax　which　he　put　in　the　seat　of　his　chair；　which　held　him　down　to　his　daily　stint　of　work。　He　could　boast；　and　it　was　worth　the　boasting；　that　he　had　never　written　a　line　which　a　pure　woman　could　not　read　without　a　blush。　His　whole　Framley　Parsonage　series　abounds　in　Bible　references　and　allusions。　So　Charlotte　Bronte　is　in　English　literature；　and　Jane　Eyre　does　prove　what　she　was　meant　to　prove；　that　a　commonplace　person　can　be　made　the　heroine　of　a　novel；　but　on　all　Charlotte　Bronte's　work　is　the　mark　of　the　rectory　in　which　she　grew　up。　So　Thomas　Grey　has　left　his　〃Elegy〃　and　his　〃Hymn　to　Adversity；〃　and　some　other　writing　which　most　of　us　have　forgotten　or　never　knew。　Then　there　are　Maria　Edgeworth　and　Jane　Austen。　We　may　even　remember　that　Macaulay　thought　Jane　Austen　could　be　compared　with　Shakespeare；　as；　of　course；　she　can　be；　since　any　one　can　be；　but　neither　of　these　good　women　has　strongly　affected　the　literary　current。　Many　others　could　be　named；　but　English　literature　would　be　substantially　the　same　without　them；　and；　though　all　might　show　Biblical　influence；　they　would　not　illustrate　what　we　are　trying　to　discover。　So　we　come；　without　apology　to　the　unnamed；　to　the　twelve；　without　whom　English　literature　would　be　different。　This　is　the　list　in　the　order　of　the　alphabet：　Matthew　Arnold；　Robert　Browning　（Mrs。　Browning　being　grouped　as　one　with　him）；　Carlyle；　Dickens；　George　Eliot；　Charles　Kingsley；　Macaulay；　Ruskin；　Robert　Louis　Stevenson；　Swinburne；　Tennyson；　and　Thackeray。


＇1＇　Early　Victorian　Literature；　p。　9


It　is　dangerous　to　make　such　a　list；　but　it　can　be　defended。　Literary　history　would　not　be　the　same　without　any　one　of　them；　unless　possibly　Swinburne；　whose　claim　to　place　is　rather　by　his　work　as　critic　than　as　creator。　Nor　is　any　name　omitted　whose　introduction　would　change　literary　history。

Benjamin　Jowett　thought　Arnold　too　flippant　on　religious　things　to　be　a　real　prophet。　At　any　rate；　this　much　is　true；　that　the　books　in　which　Arnold　dealt　with　the　fundamentals　of　religion　are　his　profoundest　work。　In　his　poetry　the　best　piece　of　the　whole　is　his　〃Rugby　Chapel。〃　His　Religion　and　Dogma　he　himself　calls　an　〃essay　toward　a　better　apprehension　of　the　Bible。〃　All　through　he　urges　it　as　the　one　Book　which　needs　recovery。　〃All　that　the　churches　can　say　about　the　importance　of　the　Bible　and　its　religion　we　concur　in。〃　The　book　throughout　is　an　effort　to　justify　his　own　faith　in　terms　of　the　Bible。　The　effort　is　sometimes　amusing；　because　it　takes　such　a　logical　and　verbal　agility　to　go　from　one　to　the　other；　but　he　is　always　at　it。　He　is　afraid　in　his　soul　that　England　will　swing　away　from　the　Bible。　He　fears　it　may　come　about　through　neglect　of　the　Bible　on　one　hand；　or　through　wrong　teaching　about　it　on　the　other。　Not　in　his　ideas　alone；　but　markedly　in　his　style；　Arnold　has　felt　the　Biblical　influence。　He　came　at　a　time　when　there　was　strong　temptation　to　fall　into　cumbrous　German　ways　of　speech。　Against　that　Arnold　set　a　simple　phraseology；　and　he　held　out　the　English　Bible　constantly　as　a　model　by　which　the　men　of　England　ought　to　learn　to　write。　He　never　gained　the　simplicity　of　the　old　Hebrew　sentence；　and　sometimes　his　secondary　clauses　follow　one　another　so　rapidly　that　a　reader　is　confused；　but　his　words　as　a　whole　are　simple　and　direct。

There　is　no　need　of　much　word　on　the　spell　of　the　Bible　over　Robert　Browning　and　Mrs。　Browning。　It　is　not　often　that　two　singing…　birds　mate；　but　these　two　sang　in　a　key　pitched　for　them　by　the　Scripture　as　much　as　by　any　one　influence。　Many　of　their　greatest　poems　have　definite　Biblical　themes。　In　them　and　in　others　Biblical　allusions　are　utterly　bewildering　to　men　who　do　not　know　the　Bible　well。　For　five　years　（1841…1846）　Browning's　poems　appeared　under　the　title　Bells　and　Pomegranates。　Scores　of　people　wondered　then；　and　wonder　still；　what　〃Pippa　Passes〃　and　〃A　Blot　in　the　Scutcheon　〃　and　the　others　have　to　do　with　such　a　title。　They　have　never　thought；　as　Browning　did；　of　the　border　of　the　beautiful　robe　of　the　high　priest　described　in　the　Book　of　Exodus。　The　finest　poem　of　its　length　in　the　English　language　is　Browning's　〃Saul〃；　but　it　is　only　the　story　of　David　driving　the　evil　spirit　from　Saul；　sweeping　on　to　the　very　coming　of　Christ。　〃The　Death　in　the　Desert〃　is　the　death　of　John；　the　beloved　disciple。　〃Karshish；　the　Arab　Physician〃　tells　in　his　own　way　of　the　raising　of　Lazarus。　The　text　of　〃Caliban　upon　Setebos〃　is；　〃Thou　thoughtest　that　I　was　altogether　such　an　one　as　thyself。〃　The　text　of　〃Cleon〃　is；　〃As　certain　of　your　own　poets　have　said。〃　In　〃Fifine　at　the　Fair〃　the　Cure　expounds　the　experience　of　Jacob　and　his　stone…pillow　with　better　insight　than　some　better…　known　expositors　show。　In　〃Pippa　Passes；〃　when　Bluphocks；　the　English　vagabond；　is　　introduced；　Browning　seems　to　justify　his　appearance　by　the　single　foot…note：　〃He　maketh　His　sun　to　rise　on　the　evil　and　on　the　good；　and　sendeth　rain　on　the　just　and　on　the　unjust〃；　and　Mr。　Bluphocks　shows　himself　amusingly　familiar　with　Bible　facts　and　phrases。　Mr。　Sludge；　〃the　Medium；〃　thinks　the　Bible　says　the　stars　are　〃set　for　signs　when　we　should　shear　sheep；　sow　corn；　prune　trees；〃　and　describes　the　skeptic　in　the　magic　circle　of　spiritual　〃investigators〃　as　the　〃guest　without　the　wedding…garb；　the　doubting　Thomas。〃　Some　one　has　taken　the　trouble　to　count　five　hundred　Biblical　phrases　or　allusions　in　〃The　Ring　and　the　Book。〃　Mrs。　Browning's　〃'Drama　of　Exile〃　is　the　woman's　side　of　the　fall　of　Adam　and　Eve。　Ruskin　thought　her　〃Aurora　Leigh〃　the　greatest　poem　the　century　had　produced　at　that　time。　It　abounds　in　Scriptural　allusions。　Browning　came　by　all　this　naturally。　Raised　in　the　Church　by　a　father　who　〃delighted　to　surround　him　with　books；　notably　old　and　rare　Bibles；〃　and　a　mother　Carlyle　called　〃a　true　type　of　a　Scottish　gentlewoman；〃　with　all　the　skill　in　the　Bible　that　that　implies；　he　never　lost　his　sense　of　the　majesty　of　the　movement　of　Scripture　ideas　and　phrases。

We　need　spend　little　time　in　discussing　the　influence　of　the　English　Bible　on　Thomas　Carlyle。　He　does　not　often　use　the　Scripture　for　his　main　theme；　but　he　is　constantly　making　Biblical　allusions。　On　a　railway　journey　when　I　was　rereading　Car