made available by ,the ,internet ,archive47 ,,wit ,,and ,,humor ,,of ,,the ,,bible4 ,a ,,literary ,,study4 ,,by ,,rev4 ,,marion ,d4 ,,shutter1 ,d4 ,d4 ,bibles laid open2 millions of surprises4--,herbert4 ,,boston1 ,,mass41 ,arena ,publishing ,company1 ,,copley ,,square4 #ahic4 ,,copyright1 #ahib1 ,,by ,,marion ,d4 ,,shutter4 ,all rights reserved4 ,dedication4 ,,to ,,my ,,wife1 ,,mary ,,wilkinson ,,shutter4 ,,preface4 ,while many have taken in hand to set forth in order the pathos and sublimity of the ,bible1 those literary elements comprised under the title of this book have rarely been mentioned4 ,feeling that here was a field untraversed1 the author of this little volume began an investigation whose results were originally embodied in an article published some years ago in an ,eastern review4 ,that article is given in ,poole's ,index as the only one extant upon the subject4 ,since its publication1 additional study has brought to light other examples of the use of ,wit and ,humor by the writers of the ,bible4 ,these later results were embodied in a course of lectures delivered last winter before the students of ,lombard ,university1 ,galesburg1 ,ill4 ,they are now given to the public in the present volume4 ,it would be presumptuous to claim that these few pages exhaust the subject4 ,such a claim the author does not wish to make4 ,further research would no doubt bring to light instances that have escaped him4 ,it is hoped1 however1 that these studies may be sufficiently complete to awaken interest in a long-neglected side of our sacred literature4 ,,marion ,d4 ,,shutter4 ,minneapolis1 ,minn41 ,dec4 #bd1 #ahib4 ,first ,universalist ,church4 ,,introductory4 ,there is still one question before us4 ,if humor be what we have claimed for it1 not a mere farce1 but the depicting of the whole of human life1 then we should expect that the highest literature should be found to contain it4 ,we should expect to find it everywhere2 that it should satisfy all that desire which a reading in theology1 or philosophy1 or science1 or history1 or a study in art1 has created in man4 ,are there1 then1 any great books1 or still more any great forces in human life which seem devoid of it8 ,is there any humor in the gospels8 ,this is a dilemma that must be faced2 for if humor be life itself1 how can human life in its highest development dispense with it8--,shorthouse4 ,,introductory4 ,even ,st4 ,paul could invent and enjoy a humorous pun2 the proof of which see ,galatians ,v3#ab1 in the original2 so there is high authority for jesting4--,kirke4 ,the title of this book will no doubt affect many persons unpleasantly at first4 ,flat blasphemy6 ,i can hear some one exclaim1 ,we have already had the authority of the ,bible undermined by critics1 and here is a flippant rogue who goes still farther1 and assures us that it is nothing more than a jest-book6 ,this is the very climax and culmination of godless folly4 ,the author makes haste1 therefore1 to disclaim any intention of irreverence4 ,to cheapen or degrade sacred things1 to depreciate the moral currency1 is at the farthest remove from his intention4 ,it is easy enough to take the language of ,scripture and use it for coarse and vulgar purposes1 and such use deserves the severest censure4 ,it is not to be tolerated4 ,passages that have been light and guidance to multitudes1 that have brought strength to the tempted1 certainty to the doubting and consolation to the bereaved2 that have been bread of life to those who have hungered for righteousness1 inspiration to the purposeless and help to the needy1--have been turned into sources of merriment to freshen exhausted wit1 and season the insipid discourse of stupidity4 ,persons whose brains are barren of pleasant conceits find no difficulty in so perverting a ,scriptural expression as to make the groundlings laugh4 ,in no such motives has this volume originated4 ,the title has been chosen and the work which it covers has been done in the spirit of one who loves the ,great ,book1 and who would secure for it an additional claim upon human affection4 ,the studies of the writer have led him into fresh fields and pastures green1 where he has gathered many things out of the ordinary that have given the ,bible a larger place in his own heart4 ,no2 the ,bible is not a collection of jests2 nor do we characterize it as a jest-book when we say that it contains ,wit and ,humor4 ,these elements are in the ,bible1 and with good reason4 ,they are not introduced to amuse4 ,they are not intended to dissipate the weariness of an idle hour4 ,they are not designed to produce convulsions of laughter4 ,they are subsidiary to the main theme4 ,they are incidental to the development of religious history and religious thought4 ,they help reveal in their true light the characters who from time to time appear2 they show the absurdity of the opposing error and sharpen the arrows with which folly is transfixed4 ,they enhance in many ways the value and power of our ,sacred ,book4 ,i4 ,the ,scripture documents may be viewed from several standpoints2--historical1 exegetical1 theological and literary4 ,one may1 for example1 study the book of ,job to find out the actual basis of fact that underlies it1 or for the purpose of ascertaining and systematizing its doctrines1 or he may read it as a great dramatic poem1 and criticize it by the rules that would apply to any other dramatic poem4 ,he may go through the ,apocalypse1 grammar and lexicon in hand1 or he may study its flashing imagery as he would that of any other magnificent work of genius4 ,he may read the ,psalms as he would the odes of ,horace4 ,in these pages the ,scriptures are considered simply as ,literature4 ,the question of inspiration or authority does not enter4 ,doctrinal inquiries are set aside4 ,to understand1 says ,matthew ,arnold1 that the language of the ,bible is fluid1 passing1 literary1 is the first step towards a right understanding of the ,bible4 ,the literary character of the ,bible is admirably set forth in the following paragraph from a recent critic3 ,as a particular book1 the ,bible is an unequaled source of literary inspiration4 ,as a book of religious truth1 it is supreme2 but religious truth1 without any impairment of its value or obscurity of its meaning1 may be studied from the literary standpoint2 in fact1 in the light of literary criticism1 or tested by the usual canons of the scholar1 it will appear more sacred1 more beautiful1 more divine4 ,never forgetting that it is our manual of religion1 it is also the vehicle of the most wonderful literature in human annals1 and precedes in importance all others4 ,there is no book so composite in character and yet so harmonious in plan1 so multiplex in styles and yet so educational in rhetoric and logic1 so varied in contents and yet so progressive in its philosophy and religion1 as the ,bible4 ,taken as a whole1 it is massive1 comprehensive1 a revelation of the ,infinite4 ,studied in its parts1 it stimulates single faculties while it ministers nourishment to the whole frame4 ,its histories are more compact than those of ,herodotus1 ,gibbon or ,macaulay2 its poetry1 whose key is a mystery1 quiets ,homer1 ,shakespeare and ,tennyson2 its prophecies are unique climaxes of wisdom1 both in drapery and substance2 its biographies excel those of ,plutarch1 ,irving1 ,carlyle and ,boswell2 its chronicles of wars are superior to those of ,julius ,caesar1 ,wellington1 ,napoleon1 and ,ulysses ,grant2 its epistles eclipse those of ,pliny1 ,madame ,sevigne and ,francis ,bacon2 its laws1 in their ethical and spiritual import1 are quite beyond ,justinian1 ,blackstone and the ,english ,parliament4 ,every phasis of literature1 every norm of wisdom1 is in the ,bible4 ,it ministers to all tastes and arouses the slumbering intellects of all who can comprehend the difference between reality and fiction1 and who incline to virtue rather than vice4 ,ruskin confesses his indebtedness to the ,bible1 ,homer and ,sir ,walter ,scott1 for his mental discipline2 ,charles ,reade pronounces the characters in ,scripture a literary marvel4 ,matthew ,arnold daily read the ,new ,testament in ,greek for its style2 ,milton could not have written ,paradise ,lost without ,genesis2 ,renan's witchery of style is traceable to the ,new ,testament4 ,job has taught the poets the art of construction1 and ,david has sung an undying melody into the ears of the race4 ,the ,book of ,ruth is the model idyl1 and the ,books of ,esther and ,daniel abound in incomparable dramatic elements2 ,isaiah has plumed the statesman for oratorical flights2 ,jeremiah has opened the fountains of pathos and sentiment in pathetic souls2 ,ezekiel has furnished a usable style of judicial denunciation for the criminal lawyer4 ,of all books1 whether rhetoric1 logic1 vocabulary1 poetry1 philosophy1 history1 or whatever be the end1 the ,bible should be first and most carefully studied1 its literary spirit and form should be closely traced and discerned1 and its truth should be reverently incorporated into the daily speech1 thought and life4 ,but in this summary there is no mention made of the literary qualities which it is here proposed to consider4 ,they are as completely ignored as if the very suggestion of their presence were profanation4 ,,ii4 ,the presumption is that in such a book1 or rather collection of books as the ,bible1 the elements of ,wit and ,humor would be found4 ,we have here the best historical1 poetical1 and moral works of a whole people4 ,these documents cover in time more than a millennium and a half4 ,it is more than probable that during that time amusing incidents occurred1 even in connection with the religious trend of the history1 some of which would be reported2 that grotesque and odd characters existed1 some of whom would be described1 and their sayings and doings noted2 that among the moral teachers of the people1 there were some at least1 who would point their precepts with wit and edge their rebukes with sarcasm4 ,we should expect to find all these things1 as we should expect to find pathos or sublimity4 ,the humorous is just as legitimate in literature and quite as much an element of influence4 ,it glows in all the other great books which have shaped the life and thought of mankind2 and it is only fair to presume that we shall find its light shining from those pages that have been most potent of all4 ,but is not the volume of this book a serious one8 ,is it not profoundly in earnest8 ,are not its themes most solemn8 ,is not its purpose the highest under heaven1 the most important to the inhabitants of earth8 ,the conclusion1 however1 that the questioner has in mind is by no means inevitable4 ,it is a mistake to suppose that humor is incompatible with seriousness1 earnestness and solemnity4 ,as in one of my lectures1 says ,henry ,reed1 ,i spoke of attempting to draw too precise a line around sacred literature1 making it too much a thing apart1 so in regard to the literature of wit and humor4 ,i shall be very sorry1 if such a title as that which ,i have been obliged to use1 led any one to think of it as of a more distinctive existence than is the case1 instead of regarding those faculties as pervading the literature in various degrees1 and thus forming some of the elements of its life4 ,i shall have occasion to trace these elements in close connection with elements of tragedy1 and to show how the processes we generalize under the names of wit and humor are kindred with the most intense passion and the deepest feeling4 ,in human nature1 the sources of laughter and tears lie close together1 and the highest literature must express that nature in its entirety4 ,it is an understood fact1 says ,whipple1 that mirth is as innate in the mind as any other original faculty4 ,the absence of it in individuals or communities is a defect4 ,he who laughs1 says the mother of ,goethe1 can commit no deadly sin4 ,if it be true as ,whipple says1 that the absence of mirth in individuals or communities is a defect1 then is the absence of it in literature likewise a defect4 ,it is a defect because the literature which omits it fails to set forth all that there is in man4 ,it leaves an important territory unexplored4 ,on the other hand1 the literature which is designed to move and mold men must be addressed to human nature in its completeness4 ,freighted with destiny1 charged with eternity as are the messages of the ,bible1 they are yet intended to impress men2 they are addressed to human faculties in human speech4 ,whatever the capacities of language for touching the heart and operating upon the will1 they may all be employed1 though the theme soar to heaven or take hold on hell4 ,the ,bible is not an instrument of a single string2 it gives forth a thousand harmonies4 ,it is attuned to every note in human nature4 ,,iii4 ,thus far we have simply dealt with the presumption4 ,the considerations advanced show us what we might expect to find4 ,when we proceed from presumption to actual investigation1 our conjectures are verified4 ,there are certainly passages in the ,bible which in any other writings we should call ,wit and ,humor4 ,since this is the case1 our discussion is legitimate1 however repugnant the very suggestion may be to the feelings with which we are accustomed to regard the ,bible4 ,let us take some examples4 ,if we found in any other book such a saying as this1 ,dead flies cause the ointment of the apothecary to send forth a stinking savor1 so doth a little folly him that is in great reputation for wisdom and honor1 should we not call it witty8 ,is it not witty as the ,russian proverb ,a spoonful of tar in a barrel of honey8 ,or consider such sentences as the following3 ,all the labor of a man is for his mouth1 and yet his appetite is not filled4 ,as he that taketh away a garment in cold weather1 and as vinegar upon nitre1 so is he that singeth songs to a heavy heart4 ,bread of deceit is sweet to a man1 but afterwards his mouth shall be filled with gravel4 ,he that answereth a matter before he heareth it1 it is folly and shame unto him4 ,a man of great wrath shall suffer punishment2 for if thou deliver him1 yet must thou do it again4 ,in other words1 a man of violent temper is always getting into difficulties2 you have no sooner helped him out of one than he madly plunges into another4 ,like the irascible person in the old nursery rhyme1 who jumped into a bramble bush and scratched out both his eyes1 he is no sooner extricated1 than with all his might and main1 he jumps into another bush and puts them out again4 ,can a man take fire in his bosom and his clothes not be burned8 ,can he go upon hot coals and his feet not be burned8 ,wealth makes many friends1 but the poor is separated from his neighbor4 ,he that passeth by and meddleth with strife belonging not to him1 is like one that taketh a dog by the ears4 ,if we came upon such sentences in ,johnson or ,goldsmith1 we should say in a moment that they were instances of genuine wit4 ,let us not hesitate to carry the same frankness of literary judgment to the ,bible4 ,when ,isaiah characterizes certain ones as mighty to drink wine and men of strength to mingle strong drink1 does he not use essentially the same reproach that ,prince ,hal fastened upon ,falstaff1 ,wherein is he good but to taste sack and drink it8 ,who shall say that the earlier satire did not suggest the later8 ,much has been written about ,shakespeare's indebtedness to the ,bible4 ,here is a passage of biting sarcasm from ,job4 ,we should surely call it sarcasm if we found it in the pages of ,robert ,south4 ,job is expressing his scorn for those who affect to look down upon him in his adversities3 ,but now they that are younger than ,i have me in derision1 whose fathers ,i would have disdained to set with the dogs of my flock4 ,they are the children of fools1 yea1 children of base men2 they were viler than the earth4 7,we have an equivalent expression in meaner than dirt47 ,they are members of the long-eared fraternity4 ,he does not say so in the bluntest form of expression that can be used1 and that any one less skillful would have used4 ,job puts it much more effectively3 ,among the bushes they brayed2 under the nettles they were gathered together4 ,if that is not wit1 says one1 there is no such thing as wit4 ,and yet the commentators do not see it1 or will not see it4 ,they are perfectly wooden when they come to any such gleam of humor4 ,there is a bit of ridicule in ,jeremiah that we should be quick to call ridicule1 if we came upon it elsewhere4 ,he is describing the disasters that fell upon the allies of the ,king of ,egypt4 ,why are the strong ones swept away8 ,they stood not because the ,lord did thrust them down4 ,he made them to stumble1 yea they fell one upon another2 and they said1 ,arise1 and let us go again to our own people1 and to the land of our nativity1 from the oppressing sword4 ,they are defeated in spite of all the promises of the ,king of ,egypt4 ,he does not seem to avail them4 ,his boasts are ineffectual4 ,his disgusted allies depart1 flinging at him the withering reproach1 ,pharoah1 ,king of ,egypt1 is but a noise2 he hath let the appointed time pass by4 ,that is to say1 according to one paraphrase1 ,pharoah is of no account now1 he has had his chance and lost it2 he has outlived his influence2 his day is over2 he is not a sovereign any longer2 he is only a noise4 ,or as ,matthew ,henry puts it1 ,pharoah can hector and talk big2 but that is all2 all his promises vanish into smoke4 ,in the same spirit1 ,queen ,catherine says of the dead ,wolsey1 ,his promise was as he then was1 mighty2 ,but his performance1 as he now is1 nothing4 ,if we found a little sketch like the following in ,thackeray1 we should1 beyond doubt1 pronounce it humorous3 ,all the brethren of the poor do hate him2 how much more do his friends go far from him4 ,he pursueth them with words1 yet are they wanting to him4 ,the words of a poor man can not travel fast enough to overtake his rich friends and neighbors4 ,indeed1 ,thackeray has drawn such a picture in his more elaborate description of ,harry ,warrington in the sponging-house1 making vain appeals for help to his rich relatives and friends4 ,he pursued them with words1 yet were they wanting to him4 ,his aunt1--a member of the great and always established ,church of the ,pharisees1 sent him her blessing1--and a tract6 ,if we found1 in any modern literature1 a sketch of the ruling deacon in a church1 like ,john's description of ,diotrephus1 we should say it was tinged with satire4 ,i wrote unto the ,church1 but ,diotrephus1 who loveth to have the pre-eminence among them1 receiveth us not4 ,wherefore if ,i come1 ,i will remember his deeds which he doeth1 prating against us with malicious words2 and not content therewith1 neither doth he himself receive the brethren1 and forbiddeth them that would1 and casteth them out of the ,church4 ,evidently there was a deacon in one of the apostolic churches1 who always had to be consulted4 ,everything must go as he dictated4 ,he did not even stand in awe of an accredited apostle4 ,the minister must preach according to his views of theology1 or signify his willingness to accept a call to a new field4 ,those members of the church who upheld a minister whom ,diotrephus did not like1 found their connection with the body severed without the formality of asking their consent4 ,in the matter of having a ,diotrephus within their borders1 some churches to-day find themselves in the direct line of apostolic succession4 ,in the book of ,acts1 there is an account of ,paul's reception at ,athens4 ,and they took him and brought him unto ,areopagus1 saying1 ,may we know what this new doctrine is1 whereof thou speakest8 ,for thou bringest certain strange things to our ears2 we would know1 therefore1 what these things mean4 ,in the comment which follows this account1 the writer indulges in a touch of ridicule upon the ,athenian gossips and curiosity mongers4 ,we should say it was a touch of ridicule if we found it in ,addison4 ,for all the ,athenians and strangers which were there1 spent their time in nothing else1 but either to tell or to hear some new thing4 ,indeed there is a sketch in ,addison of which this might easily have been the ground-work4 ,there is no humor of my countrymen which ,i am more inclined to wonder at than their general thirst after news4 ,a victory or defeat is equally agreeable to them4 ,the shutting of a cardinal's mouth pleaseth them one post1 and the opening of it another4 ,they are delighted to hear the ,french ,court is removed to ,marli1 and are afterwards as much delighted with its return to ,versailles4 ,they read the advertisements with the same curiosity as the articles of public news2 and are as pleased to hear of a pye-bald horse that is strayed out of a field near ,islington1 as of a whole troop that has been engaged in any foreign adventure4 ,in short1 they have a relish for anything that is news1 let the matter of it be what it will4 ,they are men of a voracious appetite4 ,is not the comment of the ,scriptural writer upon the ,athenians in the same vein with ,addison's comment upon the ,english8 ,isaiah rebukes those who call evil good and good evil2 who put darkness for light and light for darkness2 who put bitter for sweet and sweet for bitter1--thus confusing moral distinctions4 ,this is the same sort of sophistry that ,addison exposes1 in his gentle way1 by proposing the following form of agreement3 ,we whose names are hereunto subscribed1 do solemnly declare that we do in our consciences believe that two and two make four2 and that we shall adjudge any man whatever to be our enemy who endeavors to persuade us to the contrary4 ,we are likewise ready to maintain1 with the hazard of all that is near and dear to us1 that six is less than seven in all times and at all places2 and that ten will not be more three years hence than it is at present4 ,we do also firmly declare that it is our resolution as long as we live to call ,black black and ,white white4 ,and we shall upon all occasions oppose such persons that upon any day of the year shall call ,black white or ,white black1 with the utmost of our lives and fortunes4 ,the rebuke1 in both cases1 is the same4 ,,iv4 ,what do these illustrations show8 ,that the ,bible is1 on the whole1 a humorous book8 ,far from it4 ,that religion is a humorous subject8 that we are to throw all the wit we can into the treatment of it8 ,no4 ,but they show that the sense of the ludicrous is put into man by his ,maker2 that it has its uses2 that we are not to be ashamed of it2 that we are not to be horrified at the mention of it in connection with things we deem most sacred4 ,they show that the literature of the ,bible contains the same elements that in any other literature we call ,wit and ,humor4 ,they show us1 also1 that wit and humor do not of necessity produce hearty laughter or boisterous mirth2 not always do they manifest themselves in gibes and gambols and flashes of merriment that set the table in a roar4 ,those1 therefore1 who may expect something in these chapters that will shake one's sides with jollity1 or make him laugh till his face be like a wet cloak ill laid up1 will doubtless be disappointed4 ,wit and humor often lie too deep for laughter1 as pathos often lies too deep for tears4 ,no attempt is here made at exact definition of the two words that are prominent in the general title of this book4 ,perhaps after they have passed through their final analysis we shall not be any wiser than before we cast them into the alembic4 ,barrow says of ,humor3 ,it is a thing so versatile and multiform that it seems no less hard to settle a clear and certain notion thereof1 than to make a portrait of ,proteus or to define the figure of the fleeting air4 ,we usually include under the general term all forms of pleasantry1 grotesqueness1 drollery1 sarcasm1 irony1 ridicule4 ,our common acceptation shall serve us in these studies4 ,there are many things1 says ,prof4 ,matthews1 that definition helps us to understand1 but there are other things that we understand better than we can any possible definition of them2 among these are the cold1 sparkling1 mercurial thing we call wit1 and that genial1 juicy1 unconscious thing we call humor4 ,with these preliminary observations1 we proceed to examine the subject in detail3 ,are there not two points in the adventure of the diver8 ,one when a beggar he prepares to plunge2 ,the other when a prince he rises with his pearl8 ,festus1 ,i plunge4 ,,ii4 ,,character ,,sketches4 ----,now1 by two-headed ,janus1 ,nature hath framed strange fellows in her time2 ,some that will evermore peep through their eyes1 ,and laugh like parrots at a bag-piper2 ,and other of such vinegar aspect1 ,that they'll not show their teeth by way of smile1 ,tho' ,nestor swore the jest were laughable4-- ,merchant of ,venice4 ,,character ,,sketches4 ,with what prudence does the ,son of ,sirach caution us in the choice of our friends4 ,and with what strokes of ,nature1 7,i could almost say of ,humour17 has he described the behavior of a treacherous and self-interested friend6--,addison4 ,the history of the ancient ,hebrews1 says ,george ,eliot1 gives the idea of a people who went about their business and their pleasures as gravely as a society of beavers2 the smile and laugh are often mentioned metaphorically2 but the smile is one of complacency1 the laugh of scorn4 ,against the authority of so illustrious a name1 the writer of these pages confesses a somewhat different impression4 ,it is difficult to believe that such sentiments as the following could have arisen among a people whose only smile was that of complacency1 whose only laughter that of scorn3 ,he that is of a merry heart hath a continual feast4 ,a merry heart maketh a cheerful countenance4 ,a merry heart doeth good like a medicine4 ,go thy way2 eat thy bread with joy and drink thy wine with a merry heart4 ,the voice of mirth1 the voice of gladness are phrases of frequent occurrence4 ,the ancient ,hebrews believed that there was a time to laugh as well as a time to weep4 ,grave and serious as they were1 there must have been in them1 after all1 something sunny and pleasant4 ,they did not find the heavens forever black and the earth forever cheerless4 ,when we turn to the historical and biographical portions of ,scripture1 we find here and there a bit of quaintness and drollery in pictures of life and delineations of character that must have brought to the faces of those who read them or heard them smiles other than those of complacency2 that must have been enjoyed with laughter other than that of scorn4 ,mr4 ,shorthouse says1 ,nature and humor do not lie far apart2 the source and spring of humor is human life4 ,the essence of humor1 ,carlyle remarks1 is sensibility2 warm1 tender fellow-feeling with all forms of existence4 ,the man of humor1 writes another distinguished critic1 seeing at one glance the majestic and the mean1 the serious and the laughable2 indeed1 interpreting what is little or ridiculous by light derived from its opposite idea1 delineates character as he finds it in life1 without any impertinent intrusion of his own indignation or approval4 ,the writers of the ,bible sketched manners and traits as they found them4 ,their pencils were faithful to nature4 ,they reported what they saw4 ,the features which provoke the smile1 as well as those which move us to admire1 condemn or weep1 are pictured on their canvas4 ,they had an eye for the ludicrous side of life1 as well as for its more sober aspects4 ,so1 genial is much of their--often unconscious--humor1 so far removed from bitterness or scorn1 that it should seem as if ,addison and ,irving might have drawn some of their inspiration from these old ,hebrews4 ,in this chapter we shall give some illustrations from their sketches of character4 ,i4--,,abimelech4 ,in the time of the ,judges the unprincipled ,abimelech contrived to have himself proclaimed king in ,shechem4 ,knowing his unfitness for the throne1 and vexed at his successful machinations1 ,jotham1 a man of ready wit1 ridicules the pretensions of the monarch and the folly of the people1 in an admirable fable4 ,addison says3 ,fables were the first pieces of wit that made their appearance in the world1 and have been still highly valued1 not only in times of the greatest simplicity1 but among the most polite ages of mankind4 ,jotham's fable of the ,trees is the oldest that is extant1 and as beautiful as any that have been made since that time4 ,perching himself upon the top of a hill1 that his parable may not be brought to an untimely end1 he speaks to the multitude3 ,the ,trees went forth on a time to anoint a king over them4 ,and they said to the ,olive ,tree1 ,reign thou over us4 ,but the ,olive ,tree said unto them1 ,should ,i leave my fatness1 wherewith by me they honor ,god and men1 and go to be promoted over the ,trees8 ,then said the ,trees unto the ,fig ,tree1 ,come thou and reign over us4 ,but the ,fig ,tree said unto them1 ,should ,i forsake my sweetness and my good fruit1 and go to be promoted over the ,trees8 ,then said the ,trees unto the ,vine1 ,come thou and reign over us4 ,and the ,vine said unto them1 ,should ,i leave my wine which cheereth ,god and ,man1 and go to be promoted over the ,trees8 ,thus far the ,trees have been unsuccessful4 ,they have found among their fellows of the forest no available candidate whose character and record are good4 ,they anticipated a difficulty of more modern times4 ,but they are becoming desperate4 ,they are determined to have a king4 ,in this extremity what step do they take8 ,then said all the ,trees unto the ,bramble1 ,come thou and reign over us4 ,the ,bramble cannot plead business4 ,it cannot say1 as do the ,olive and ,fig and ,vine1 ,i am of some better use4 ,there is no reason1 so far as any beneficent occupation is concerned1 why it should not be king4 ,the offer is eagerly accepted1 and the pompous bush delivers itself of this high and mighty coronation address3 ,if in truth ye anoint me king over you1 then come and put your trust in my shadow2 and if not1 let fire come out of the ,bramble and destroy the cedars of ,lebanon6 ,this ,bramble1 ,jotham explains1 represents ,abimelech1 while the misguided trees are the men of ,shechem4 ,having made this application1 ,jotham became convinced that his mission was ended1 and abandoned ,mount ,gerezim for a place of greater security4 ,and ,jotham ran away and fled1 and went to ,beer and dwelt there for fear of ,abimelech his brother4 ,he did not wait to see what impression he had made4 ,he was willing to let his story1 moral and all1 take care of itself2 for in that day1 as in every subsequent age1 there was no room for a satirist in the kingdom of an incompetent ruler4 ,,ii4--,,samson4 ,farther on in the book of ,judges1 we have the portrait of ,samson4 ,how quaintly is the character drawn6 ,a great lubberly1 good-natured giant1 but now and then bursting out into fits of unreasoning and uncontrolled anger1--not unlike ,ajax in the play4 ,he is constantly making himself ridiculous in his love affairs4 ,in ,love's ,labor ,lost1 the following dialogue occurs3-- ,,armado4--,comfort me1 boy4 ,what great men have been in love8 ,,moth4--,hercules1 ,master4 ,,arm4--,most sweet ,hercules6 ,more authority dear boy1 name more2 and sweet my child1 let them be men of good repute and carriage4 ,,moth4--,samson1 ,master2 he was a man of good carriage1 for he raised the town gates on his back like a porter2 and he was in love4 ,he tries to joke in clumsy riddles3 ,out of the eater came forth meat1 out of the strong came forth sweetness4 ,but his jokes were usually of a more practical and even more disastrous kind4 ,l',estrange1 in his ,history of ,humor1 says3 ,the first character in the records of antiquity that seems to have had anything quaint or droll about it is that of ,samson4 ,standing out amid the confusion of legendary times1 he gives us good specimens of the fierce1 wild kind of merriment relished in ancient days2 and was very fond of making very sanguinary sport for the ,philistines4 ,he was an exaggeration of a not very uncommon type of man in which brute strength is joined to loose morals and whimsical fancy4 ,people were more inclined to laugh at sufferings formerly than now1 because they were not keenly sensitive to pain1 and also had less feeling and consideration for others4 ,that ,samson found some malicious kind of pleasure and diversion in his reprisals on his enemies and made his misfortunes minister to his amusement1 is evident from the strange character of his exploits4 ',he caught three hundred foxes1 and took firebrands1 and turned tail to tail1 and put a firebrand in the midst between two tails1 and when he had set the brands on fire1 he let them go into the standing corn of the ,philistines1 and burned up both the shocks and also the standing corn of the ,philistines1 with the vineyards and olives4' ,on another occasion1 he allowed himself to be bound with cords and thus apparently delivered powerless into the hands of his enemies2 he then broke his bonds 'like flax that was burnt with fire1' and taking the jawbone of an ass which he found1 slew a thousand men with it4 ,his account of this massacre shows that he regarded it in a humorous light3 ',with the jawbone of an ass1 heaps upon heaps1 with the jawbone of an ass1 ,i have slain a thousand men4' ,we might also refer to his carrying away the gates of ,gaza to the top of a hill that is before ,hebron1 and to his duping ,delilah about the seven green withes4 99 99 99 ,samson was evidently regarded as a droll fellow in his day4 ,what a touch of human nature there is in the scene between ,samson and his wife1 when she asks for the solution of that wretched riddle6 ,thou dost but hate me1 is her reproach1 and lovest me not2 thou hast put forth a riddle unto the children of my people1 and hast not told it to me4 ,what6 is there a domestic storm already brewing8 ,there is something of a thunderclap in the angry retort of the husband3 ,behold1 ,i have not told it to my father and my mother1 7as if that would make any difference to her67 and shall ,i tell it to thee8 ,comparisons of this sort are but little noted for their conciliatory tendencies1 and so we are fully prepared for what follows3 ,and she wept before him the seven days while the feast lasted4 ,poor ,samson is not proof against woman's tears4 ,he could rend the lion as a kid1 and carry off the gates of ,gaza as easily as a shepherd could bear a lamb upon his shoulders1 but his superhuman strength is of no avail against women's weapons1 water-drops4 ,we are not surprised to find that it came to pass on the seventh day he told her4 ,thus did conjugal quarrels end in the time of the ,judges4 ,but if ,samson was worsted in the encounter with his wife1 he scored a victory against the ,philistines who had frightened her into telling them the answer to the riddle4 ,when they came with an air of insolent triumph and said3 ,what is sweeter than honey8 and what is stronger than a lion8 he rather impolitely retorted1--traces of gall and wormwood at his recent humiliation by his wife still rankling in his mind1--,if ye had not ploughed with my heifer1 ye had not found out my riddle4 ,but he paid the debt of honor he owed them1 the wager he had lost4 ,he went down to ,ashkelon1 and slew thirty men of them1 and took their spoil and gave changes of raiment unto them which expounded the riddle4 ,thersites would have said of him as he did of ,achilles1 ,his wit was his sinew4 ,samson had wonderful muscular power of repartee4 ,on another occasion ,samson amused himself by telling monstrous lies about the secret of his strength3 ,if they bind me with seven green withes that were never dried1 then shall ,i be weak and be as another man2 if they bind me fast with new ropes2 if thou weavest the seven locks of my head with the web2 and so on4 ,as ,prince ,hal said of the stories of his boon companion1 ,these lies are like the father that begets them2 gross as a mountain1 open1 palpable4 ,delilah1 wearied with these practical jokes1 exclaims at last1 ,how canst thou say ',i love thee1' when thine heart is not with me8 ,thou hast mocked me these three times1 and hast not told me wherein thy great strength lieth4 ,then she began a course of teasing and entreaty that finally proved successful4 ,it came to pass when she pressed him daily with her words1 so that his soul was vexed unto death1 that he told her all his heart4 ,samson was great physically1 but so weak mentally and morally that he is continually reducing himself to an absurd spectacle4 ,he could not resist ,delilah's persistent importunities1 nor had he sufficient resolution to betake himself from the presence of temptation4 ,he had1 no doubt1 laughed loud and long at the victims of his huge falsehoods1 but he is finally harassed by a woman whose reproaches and entreaties are like a continual dropping on a rainy day1 into telling the fatal truth4 ,upon the whole1 as we look upon the portrait of ,samson1 we find it impossible to respect him4 ,we can only smile at his folly4 ,the one flash of genuine nobility comes at the last4 ,nothing in his life became him like the leaving it4 ,after all1 that heroic death more than half redeems the vacillating career it closes4 ,,iii4--,,nabal4 ,there is quite a different character in the first book of ,samuel4 ,his name is ,nabal4 ,the word itself means fool2 and the man's wife1 ,abigail1 volunteered the opinion that it was a very accurate description of her husband3 ,as his name is1 so is he3 ,nabal is his name and folly is with him4 ,he is self-satisfied1 hard-headed1 irritable1 obstinate4 ,we are told that he was churlish and evil in his doings4 ,he is blunt in speech1 rude1 and even boorish in manners4 ,he stands out of the story like an old1 gnarled tree4 ,it would not be a matter of marvel if he suggested to ,fielding the character of ,squire ,western4 ,they have many points in common4 ,the servants of ,nabal are afraid of him3 ,he is such a son of ,belial that a man cannot speak to him6 ,he is fond of wine1 and sometimes falls asleep over his cups4 ,when ,david asks a favor of him1 he exclaims3 ,who is ,david8 and who is the son of ,jesse8 ,there be many servants now-a-days that break away1 every man from his own master6 ,as much as to say1 ,the country is full of runaways and tramps1 and how do ,i know but this ,david is one of them8 ,then he goes on--,shall ,i take my bread and my water1 and my flesh that ,i have killed for my shearers1 and give it unto men whom ,i know not whence they be8 ,let this ,david look out for himself2 it is all that ,i can do to provide for my own family and servants6 ,how exactly in the ,squire ,western vein3 ,it's well for un ,i could not get at un2 ,i'd spoiled his caterwauling2 ,i'd a taught un to meddle with meat for his master4 ,he shan't ever have a morsel of meat of mine1 or a varden to buy it with6 ,just the man1 after he has stormed his life away1 to die of apoplexy6 ,and ,nabal did die suddenly1 a few days after he had been very drunken4 ,,iv4--,,jonah4 ,there are some elements of genuine humor in the story of ,jonah4 ,whatever may be thought of the miraculous portions of the narrative1 the character of the shirking and whimpering prophet is faithfully drawn4 ,he first tries to escape the command of the ,lord by fleeing to ,tarshish1 but finds that he who runs away from duty runs into danger4 ,thoroughly alarmed by the disastrous outcome of his attempt to get away from responsibility1 he finally goes to ,nineveh1 but is not reconciled to his task4 ,he did not go because he was anxious to serve the ,ninevites1 but because he wished to avert further danger from himself4 ,he is in just the mood to complain of everything1 to snatch at any straw of justification for his former conduct4 ,contrary to his expectations1 and even1 it must be confessed1 to his secret wishes1 the ,ninevites were moved to repentance by his half-hearted preaching1 with its undertone of grumbling1 and ,god forgave them and turned away the threatened destruction of their city4 ,but when the forty days expire1 and the city does not fall1 ,jonah is angry1 and he insists that he does well to be angry4 ,he has been obliged to trudge through the streets of the city day after day shouting his predictions of doom1 and now he is denied the poor satisfaction of seeing the bolts fall from heaven in vengeance4 ,he has even gone so far as to prepare for himself a booth in a safe place1 under whose shadow he might sit and enjoy the spectacle1--where he might see what would become of the city4 ,and now there is nothing to come of it all6 ,it displeased ,jonah exceedingly and he was very angry4 ,surely the ,lord is not considerate of the feelings of his prophet4 ,jonah's pent-up displeasure breaks forth3 ,i pray thee1 ,o ,lord1 was not this my saying while ,i was yet in mine own country8 ,did ,i not tell you so8 ,did ,i not say then and there how this whole affair would turn out8 ,therefore ,i fled before unto ,tarshish4 ,why should ,i blister under the sun of ,nineveh1 when ,i might take mine ease in ,tarshish8 ,for ,i knew that ,thou art a gracious ,god1 slow to anger and of great kindness and repentest thee of the evil1--too good-natured to do this thing6 ,and now that ,i have come1 my prophecy has failed and my mission is a farce4 ,these wretches are spared and the prophet of ,god is a laughing-stock6 ,i do well to be angry1 even unto death6 ,he goes farther3 ,i beseech thee1 take away my life from me2 for it is better for me to die than to live4 ,it is better to die than to be made ridiculous4 ,nothing could reconcile ,jonah1 just then1 to the thought of further existence4 ,like ,mr4 ,mantilini1 he was determined to become a body4 ,v4--,,absalom4 ,we must not pass by that exquisite likeness of the demagogue in ,second ,samuel4 ,absalom rose up early and stood beside the way of the gate2 and it was so that when any man that had a controversy came to the king for judgment1 then ,absalom called unto him and said1 ,of what city art thou8 and he said1 ,thy servant is one of the tribes of ,israel4 ,and ,absalom said unto him1 ,see1 thy matters are good and right1 but there is no one deputed of the king to hear thee4 ,things are getting very loose in the government2 the country is going to the dogs4 ,the present administration has been so long in power1 that it has grown careless of the interests of the people4 ,absalom said1 moreover1 ,o that ,i were made ,judge in the land2 that any man which hath any suit or any cause might come unto me1 and ,i would do him justice6 ,we need a change4 ,put our party in power and see whether the rights of the people will not be better regarded2 see whether there will not be reform in all departments of the government1 and better times in the nation4 ,and it was so that when any man came to him to do him obeisance1 he put forth his hand and took him and kissed him4 ,really1 here we have the origin of the hand shaking candidate of to-day4 ,here are the beginnings of that cajolery of the poor laboring man1 the honest farmer1 the oppressed people1 which the modern aspirant to office so earnestly affects4 ,and in this manner did ,absalom to all ,israel that came unto the ,king for judgment2 so ,absalom stole the hearts of the men of ,israel4 ,in one point the comparison between ,absalom and his later imitators fails4 ,absalom1 it will be remembered1 closed his career by getting hung upon a tree4 ,it is greatly to be regretted that many of our modern demagogues do not complete the parallel4 ,,vi4--,,shimei4 ,if ,absalom is a type of the demagogue1 ,shimei surely is a type of the sycophant4 ,while ,david was in power1 ,shimei was devoted4 ,when ,david was supplanted by the scheming ,absalom and went forth heart-broken and weary from the city where he had reigned1 ,shimei basely deserts him to become the tool of ,absalom1 and heaps insults upon the head of the fallen monarch4 ,here is a specimen of his conduct and language3 ,he cast stones at ,david and at the servants of ,king ,david4 99 99 99 ,and thus said ,shimei when he cursed1 ,come out1 come out1 thou bloody man and thou man of ,belial3 the ,lord hath returned upon thee all the blood of the house of ,saul in whose stead thou hast reigned2 and the ,lord hath delivered the kingdom into the hand of ,absalom thy son2 and behold thou art taken in thy mischief because thou art a bloody man4 ,this exhibition of meanness rouses the just wrath of ,abishai1 who wishes to put an effectual stop to the miserable proceeding3 ,why should this dead dog curse my lord1 the ,king8 ,let me go over1 ,i pray thee1 and take off his head4 ,but ,david forbids1 and ,shimei secure in the continued possession of his head followed after ,david and his men and cursed as he went1 and threw stones at him and cast dust4 ,but the scene changes4 ,absalom lies dead under a heap of stones in the forest4 ,david is returning to ,jerusalem as king4 ,a boat has carried him across the ,jordan4 ,who is this that meets him as he lands and fawns upon him8 ,the wretch who stoned and cursed him the other day4 ,it is ,shimei who forsook him and pelted him when he was unfortunate1 but who returns to offer1 in a bondman's key1 his humble services when ,david is restored to power4 ,let not my ,lord impute iniquity unto me1 neither do thou remember that which thy servant did1 the day that my lord the king went out of ,jerusalem1 that the king should take it to heart4 ,do not grieve over it1 do not take it too sorely4 ,i admit that it was rather hasty and ill-advised4 ,for thy servant doth know that ,i have sinned4 ,to be sure ,i threw some stones1 and kicked up a little dust1 and swore a few oaths1--very inconsiderate it seems now2 but ,i am willing to forget the whole affair4 ,and see what splendid atonement ,i offer6 ,behold1 ,i am come first this day of all the house of ,joseph1 to go down to meet my ,lord1 the ,king4 ,think of that6 ,ah1 it is my lord1 the king to-day2 no longer a man of ,belial4 ,my lord the king can grant favors4 ,any little trifle of an office for which he may want an incumbent would be considered4 ,remember1 ,i am come this day1 the first of all the house of ,joseph to go down to meet my lord the king4 ,sterne says3 ,the wheel turns round once more2 ,absalom is cast down1 and ,david returns in peace4 ,shimei suits his behavior to the occasion1 and is the first man also who hastens to greet him2 and had the wheel turned round a hundred times1 ,shimei1 ,i dare say1 in every period of its rotation would have been uppermost4 ,then he adds3 ,o ,shimei1 would to heaven when thou wast slain1 that all thy family had been slain with thee and not one of thy resemblance left4 ,but ye have multiplied exceedingly and replenished the earth2 and if ,i prophesy rightly1 ye will in the end subdue it4 ,go where you will1 in every quarter1 in every profession1 you see a ,shimei following the wheels of the fortunate through thick mire and clay4 ,it is not claimed that the writers of the ,bible drew these portraits for the purpose of making ludicrous those whom they painted1 but the features were in the originals1 and they who wrote were simply faithful to nature4 ,they portrayed what they saw4 ,they did not blind themselves to facts2 and now worthless usurper1 weak-willed giant1 churlish country squire of ,palestine1 grumbling prophet1 scheming demagogue and oily sycophant live forever on their canvas4 ,now1 by two-headed ,janus1 ,nature hath framed strange fellows in her time2 and some of those strange fellows lived in ,judea thousands of years ago4 ,,iii4 ,,touches ,,of ,,nature4 ,the ludicrous has its place in the ,universe2 it is not a human invention1 but one of the ,divine ideas1 illustrated in the practical jokes of kittens and monkeys1 long before ,aristophanes or ,shakespeare4--,,holmes4 ,,touches ,,of ,,nature4 ,to explain the nature of laughter and tears is to account for the condition of human life2 for it is in a manner compounded of these two4 ,it is tragedy or comedy1 sad or merry1 as it happens4--,,hazlitt4 ,one touch of nature1 says ,shakespeare1 makes the whole world kin2 but the great dramatist did not define exactly what he meant by touch of nature1 and the critics of many generations have been at war over the question4 ,perhaps he could not have told us1 even if he had tried1--any more than the critics can tell us4 ,when ,democritus was asked his definition of a man1 his only reply was1 ,a man is that which we all see and know4 ,further than this the philosopher could not proceed4 ,but while ,shakespeare has not given us a definition1 he has given us an illustration3 ,one touch of nature makes the whole world kin1-- ,that all1 with one consent1 praise new-born gauds1 ,tho' they are made and moulded of things past2 ,and give to dust that is a little gilt ,more laud than gilt o'erdusted4 ,the whole world is kin in this1 that all with one consent inexcusably forget the substantial past and praise the present folly1 if that folly be well tricked out4 ,humanity proves its oneness by its foibles as well as by its virtues4 ,foolery1 sir1 doth walk about the orb2 like the sun it shineth everywhere4 ,things deserving of laughter and things intended to provoke it have always been happening2 and the faculties by which men perceive the foolish and ludicrous have always existed in human nature4 ,quips and cranks and wanton wiles1 ,nods and becks and wreathed smiles1 ,sport that wrinkled care derides1 ,and laughter holding both his sides1-- all these were in the past as well as in the present4 ,they are touches of nature that make the whole world kin4 ,the statement was made in the preceding chapter that the writers of the ,bible1 especially of the historical books1 drew faithfully from real life1 and sketched manners and traits as they found them4 ,they neither smoothed over nor concealed anything4 ,they were absolutely frank4 ,this fidelity to nature made it inevitable that the writers should now and then depict the ludicrous side of life and character1 describe grotesque situations and paint amusing scenes4 ,these are not uproariously funny1 they will not provoke boisterous merriment1 any more than will a page of ,addison2 but they are none the less specimens of genuine humor4 ,indeed1 ,carlyle reminds us that true humor springs not more from the head than from the heart2 it issues not in laughter1 but in smiles that lie far deeper4 ,we may be sure that all life from the very beginning has had its humorous no less than its serious side4 ,if any record had been kept1 we should no doubt find that ,adam and ,eve had their jokes about the apples--it is universally assumed that they were apples--on that forbidden tree1 and that they were quite as good as any jokes that have been made about those same apples in more recent years4 ,the masons and bricklayers on the tower of ,babel no doubt poked their thumbs into each other's ribs and slapped each other on the back to emphasize their rude jokes about the late wet spell1 and wondered how long it would take to get to ,heaven with their building4 ,and we imagine that even during the flood itself there were sanguine souls who took the whole matter philosophically1 declaring that 'it never rained long when the clouds looked that way and the wind was in that direction4' ,the ,israelites1 we suspect1 lightened their bondage in ,egypt by mimicking the pompous manners of their hated taskmasters and ridiculing the fools who thought that bricks could be made without straw4 ,and the grimmest ,egyptian mummy that now graces a museum or helps to fertilize the wheat-fields of the ,west once wore a smile or grin upon his leathern face as he related to a brother mummy how ,pharoah made sport of the ,israelites by promising to let them go1 and then when they were all on tip-toe with expectation1 countermanding the order4 ,then they would both shake their heads and chuckle with delight over the pleasant humor of their monarch and declare that ',pharoah was in high spirits to-day4' ,thus the world has rolled and chirruped and cackled on since the time when man emerged from the animal4 ,and ,holmes suggests1 in our motto1 that the sense of humor was in the animal before man4 ,i4 ,sometimes the humor of the ,bible lies in the thing described1--the odd or awkward or absurd thing said or done4 ,the ,iliad1 says ,sidney ,smith1 would never have come down to these times1 if ,agamemnon had given ,achilles a box on the ear4 ,we should have trembled for the ,a,eneid1 if some ,trojan nobleman had kicked the pious ,a,eneas in the fourth book4 ,a,eneas1 may have deserved it1 but he never could have founded the ,roman ,empire after so distressing an accident4 ,and yet accidents quite as distressing1 if not of precisely the same nature1 have happened in the best families that ever lived upon this planet4 ,the writers of the ,bible have not hesitated to give us a very frank account of some of them4 ,imagine the vacant look of the terrified ,aaron1 as he gave his imbecile explanation of the golden calf6 ,moses and ,joshua are coming down from the mountain4 ,and when ,joshua heard the noise of the people as they shouted1 he said unto ,moses1 ,there is a noise of war in the camp4 ,and ,moses answered1 ,it is not the voice of them that shout for mastery1 neither is it the voice of them that cry for being overcome2 but the noise of them that sing do ,i hear4 ,soon they draw near the camp and see the calf and the dancing4 ,then does the anger of ,moses wax hot4 ,in his rage he flings down and shatters the tables of stone4 ,like a whirlwind he descends upon the camp1 hurls the miserable calf into the fire1 and demands an explanation of his recreant brother4 ,what did this people unto thee that thou hast brought so great a sin upon them8 ,aaron quails beneath the wrath of ,moses and stammers3 ,thou knowest the people that they are set on mischief4 ,for they said unto me1 ,make us gods which shall go before us3 for as for this ,moses--think of that1 this ,moses--that brought us up out of the land of ,egypt1 we know not what has become of him4 ,you see they are set on mischief2 they were disrespectful even unto you--this ,moses4 ,something had to be done4 ,and ,i said unto them1 ,whosoever hath any gold1 let them break it off4 ,so they gave it to me1 and ,i cast it into the fire1 and--what do you suppose happened8--there came out this calf6 ,i was as much surprised as you are1 but no one is responsible--it did itself6 ,in quaint fashion did ,saul make honest confession when smitten with remorse on account of his persecution of ,david3 ,behold ,i have played the fool6 ,the regret of ,prince ,hal also--,thus do we play the fools with time1 while the spirits of the wise sit in the clouds and mock us4 ,what an odd--almost laughable--spectacle is the bombastic ,nebuchadnezzar1 one moment proudly striding along the battlements of his palace1 ,is not this great ,babylon which ,i have builded8--the next eating grass like the beasts of the field6 ,as ,carlyle says3 ,a purple ,nebuchadnezzar rejoices to feel himself now veritably emperor of this great ,babylon which he has builded2 and is a nondescript1 biped-quadruped1 on the eve of a seven years' course of grazing4 ,there is a scene in the life of ,david in which that worthy is represented as cutting fantastic capers before high heaven4 ,at one time1 in order to keep out of ,saul's way1 ,david went down to ,gath4 ,the servants of ,king ,achish recognize him1 and tell their royal master that this is the famous ,david over whose exploits the daughters of ,israel sang4 ,is not this ,david1 the king of the land8 ,did they not sing to one another of him in dances1 saying1 ,saul hath slain his thousands1 and ,david his ten thousands8 ,but ,david does not wish his identity known and with characteristic shrewdness he feigns insanity4 ,he feigned himself mad1 and scrabbled on the doors of the gate and let his spittle fall down upon his beard1--a sorry looking hero6 ,so thinks the king ,achish4 ,what1 this the man that slew the giant8 this drivelling lunatic the victor that ,israel's daughters praised8 ,his disgust knows no bounds4 ,he is almost as grotesque in his anger as is ,david in his appearance and conduct4 ,he turns upon his courtiers in offended dignity and cries1 ,lo1 ye see the man is mad2 wherefore have ye brought him to me8 ,have ,i need of madmen1 7are not ye my own servants sufficient87 that ye have brought this fellow to play the madman in my presence8 ,shall this fellow come into my house8 ,fool me no fools1 says ,king ,achish4 ,when ,king ,achish asked1 ,have ,i need of madmen8 he evidently thought of his own servants and courtiers as did ,christian ,i41 of ,denmark1 in modern times1 of those who graced his ,court4 ,he sharply remarked1 on a presentation to him of several court fools1 that he was not in want of such things1 and if he were1 he had only to give license to his courtiers1 who1 to his certain knowledge1 were capable of exhibiting themselves as the greatest fools in ,europe6 ,in ,nehemiah's account of building the walls of ,jerusalem1 he shows how sorely the ,jews took the clumsy jibes of their foes and gives us a specimen of ,samaritan joking in that early day4 ,sanballat mocked the ,jews and said1 ,what do these feeble ,jews8 ,will they fortify themselves8 ,will they sacrifice8 ,will they make an end in a day8 ,will they revive the stones out of the heaps of rubbish which are burned8 ,tobiah1 the ,amorite1 was yet more caustic3 ,even that which they build1 if a fox go up1 he will even break down their stone wall4 ,this ridicule1 although the jests do not seem very formidable to us1 was harder to bear than attacks with sword and spear4 ,it is so to-day4 ,we can stand anything but laughter4 ,one would rather be made to appear infamous than ridiculous4 ,the only answer the builders could make was to pray for the destruction of their sarcastic persecutors4 ,they wished that heaven's bolts of lightning might answer these bolts of wit4 ,,ii4 ,sometimes the humor lies in the description itself rather than in the thing described4 ,dr4 ,barrow1 in his famous essay1 says of facetiousness1 ,sometimes it is wrapped up in a dress of humorous expression4 ,an excellent example is furnished in the account of the mob at ,ephesus3 ,some1 therefore1 cried one thing and some another2 for the assembly was confused2 and the more part knew not wherefore they were come together4 ,when ,sidney ,smith speaks of distressing accidents1 we are reminded that an exceedingly distressing accident happened in the very first family of which we have any record--the family that started in ,eden4 ,aside from any question as to the literal truth of the story1 nothing can exceed the simplicity and naturalness with which the writer has described the culprits and their excuses4 ,the first thing they did after their transgression was to hide4 ,the supreme and perpetual folly of guilt is to imagine that it can be hid when the voice of the ,lord ,god is heard in the garden4 ,and the ,lord ,god called unto ,adam1 and said unto him1 ,where art thou8 ,the culprit creeps forth from his hiding-place and stammers1 ,i heard thy voice in the garden1 and ,i was afraid because ,i was naked2 and ,i hid myself4 ,who told thee that thou wast naked8 ,hast thou eaten of the tree whereof ,i commanded thee that thou shouldst not eat8 ,now the guilty secret is out and ,adam pleads in extenuation1 ,the woman that thou gavest to be with me1 she gave me of the tree and ,i did eat4 ,it was no fault of mine4 ,that woman was to blame--the woman1 ,o ,lord1 remember1 that thou gavest to be with me4 ,is not a little of the responsibility thine also1 ,o ,lord8 ,a touch of nature6 ,as it was in the beginning1 is now and ever shall be6 ,but ,eve will not bear all the blame4 ,she also is ready with her excuse3 ,the serpent beguiled me and ,i did eat4 ,another remove in the location of the responsibility4 ,if we can forget all that theology has put into this story and look on it simply as a bit of literature1 it is a charming description of the way in which we mortals disclaim accountability for our deeds4 ,and oftentimes excusing of a fault1 ,doth make the fault worse by the excuse2 ,as patches set upon a little breach1 ,discredit more in hiding of the fault1 ,then did the fault before it was so patched4 ,job has expressed his contempt for ,adam's conduct in ,eden by invoking upon himself even greater ills than he was then suffering1 if he followed that disgraceful example1--,if ,i covered my transgression as ,adam1 by hiding my iniquity in my bosom4 ,in magnificent scorn of ,adam's hiding from the ,lord and laying his guilt upon another1 ,job exclaims1 ,behold1 my desire is that the ,almighty would answer me6 and avows that he would declare unto him the number of his steps1 and as a prince would go near unto him1--not skulk away from his presence among trees and bushes4 ,the low estimation in which ,job holds ,adam suggests that the old ,hebrew who wrote the story in ,genesis1 may have intended to hold up that primal man in a humorous light4 ,whether the story of ,balaam is literally correct in its details is one of the questions this little volume is not intended to discuss4 ,the writer of that story tells his tale as naively as if conversations between men and animals were of everyday occurrence4 ,if we read it as we would any similar piece1 any other fable in which men and beasts speak to each other1 we should say that there were some elements of the ludicrous in the picture of the prophet rebuked by his ass4 ,and the ass saw the angel of the ,lord standing in the way1 and his sword drawn in his hand2 and the ass turned aside out of the way and went into the field4 ,and ,balaam smote the ass to turn her into the way4 ,just what any one would do to a shying animal1 upon impulse4 ,but the angel of the ,lord stood in a path of the vineyards1 a wall being on this side and a wall on that side4 ,and when the ass saw the angel of the ,lord1 she thrust herself unto the wall and crushed ,balaam's foot against the wall2 and he smote her again4 ,naturally enough6 ,and the angel of the ,lord went further and stood in a narrow place where there was no way to turn either to the right hand or to the left4 ,and when the ass saw the angel of the ,lord1 she fell down under ,balaam2 and ,balaam's anger was kindled1 and he smote the ass with a staff4 ,the rising wrath of the prophet can no longer be controlled4 ,the turning from the way1 the crushing of his foot against the wall1 and finally the falling down under him and refusing to proceed further1--these indignities on the part of the ass at length exasperate the prophet beyond all measure1 and he right lustily lays on the cudgel4 ,what have ,i done unto thee that thou hast smitten me these three times8 meekly inquires the belabored ass4 ,because thou hast mocked me1 ,i would that there were a sword in my hand1 for now ,i would kill thee1 roars ,balaam4 ,thou hast mocked me2 thou hast played tricks upon thy master1 the prophet of ,god4 ,thou hast done this on purpose to vex me and put me to shame4 ,thou hast made a sorry spectacle of me with thy pranks1 and thou hast crushed my foot in the bargain4 ,am ,i not thine ass upon which thou hast ridden ever since ,i was thine unto this day8 ,was ,i ever wont to do so unto thee8 ,should you not have known there was something unusual8 ,these are touches of nature in a story which might illustrate the saying of ,isaiah in which he attributes higher wisdom to brutes than to men3 ,the ox knoweth his owner and the ass his master's crib1 but ,israel doth not know1 my people will not consider4 ,was it this saying that ,shakespeare had in mind when he said1 through the lips of ,mark ,antony3 ,o judgment1 thou art fled to brutish beasts1 ,and men have lost their reason4 ,at one time the king of ,assyria brought men from ,babylon and other cities1 and put them into the cities of ,samaria to take the places of the children of ,israel2 but the new inhabitants did not fear the ,lord1 so the writer tells us that the ,lord sent lions among them and slew them4 ,some one spoke to the king of ,assyria1 saying1 ,the nations which thou hast moved and placed in the cities of ,samaria know not the manner of the ,god of the land4 ,they are not acquainted with his habits and methods1 and have gotten themselves into great trouble4 ,the ,god of the land has sent lions among them4 ,the king1 hearing this1 is in great dismay4 ,it will never do--the ravages of those lions must be stopped4 ,he evidently thought1 as did ,nick ,bottom1 ,there is no more fearful wild-fowl than your lion living1 and we ought to look to it4 ,then the king of ,assyria commanded1 saying1 ,carry thither one of the priests whom ye brought from thence1 and let him go there and dwell and teach them the manner of the ,god of the land4 ,the priest went and taught the uninitiated people not to provoke a ,god who could let hungry lions loose upon them at any moment4 ,the people listened in terror4 ,the result of the instruction was that the people feared the ,lord1--with a side glance at the lions4 ,they tried to refrain from what would make him angry enough to order out the lions but after all--and there must have been a twinkle in the eye of the scribe as he recorded it--they served their own gods4 ,when ,queen ,vashti refused to come into the presence of ,king ,ahasuerus and his drunken lords1 she did something that was wholly unprecedented4 ,nothing of the kind had ever before been heard of in the whole history of the empire4 ,the revellers are shocked sober4 ,consternation reigns supreme4 ,when did a queen ever refuse to do the bidding of a king8 a wife the bidding of a husband8 ,are all our ancient notions of propriety to be overturned8 ,what will be the effect of ,vashti's rebellion8 ,the feelings of the king are outraged because the queen declines to unveil her beauty before his roistering courtiers4 ,enraged1 he demands1 ,what shall be done unto ,queen ,vashti because she hath not performed the commandment of the ,king ,ahasuerus8 ,it is a grave question4 ,the lords themselves have a stake in this matter4 ,they fear the result of this strong-minded example4 ,the contagion of disobedience may spread4 ,if it should1 whose authority as husband is safe8 ,and ,memucan answered1 ,vashti1 the queen1 hath not done wrong to the king only1 but also to all the princes1 and to all the people that are in the province of the ,king ,ahasuerus4 ,for this deed of ,queen ,vashti's shall come abroad to all women1 to make their husbands contemptible in their eyes1 when it shall be reported that the ,king ,ahasuerus commanded ,vashti the queen to be brought in before him1 but she came not4 ,and this day shall all the princesses of ,persia and ,media which have heard of the deed of the queen1 say the like unto all the king's princes4 ,so shall there arise too much contempt and wrath4 ,such a thought could not be entertained4 ,as ,dogberry would put it1 ,it is most tolerable and not to be endured4 ,memucan1 therefore1 advises3 ,if it please the king let there go a royal commandment from him1 and let it be written among the laws of the ,persians and ,medes1 that it be not altered1 that ,vashti come no more before ,king ,ahasuerus2 and let the king give her royal estate unto another that is better than she4 ,the penalty is severe1 but the case is one that demands heroic treatment4 ,and when the king's decree which he shall make1 shall be published throughout all his empire1 all the wives shall give to their husbands honor1 both great and small4 ,the advice is accepted4 ,the saying pleased the king and the princes2 and the king did according to the word of ,memucan2 for he sent letters into all the king's provinces1 into every province according to the writing thereof1 to every people after their language1 that every man should bear rule in his own house4 ,thus perished the first recorded movement in the direction of woman's rights6 ,,iii4 ,the humor of the ,biblical writers is often shown in the way they pierce through outward actions and penetrate to the hidden motives of men4 ,before their keen vision external disguises are vain4 ,let us turn to the account of sending the demons from the maniac into the swine4 ,let us take the account that speaks of but one maniac4 ,then they that fed the swine fled and told it in the city and in the country4 ,and they went out to see what it was that was done4 ,and they came to ,jesus and see him that was possessed of the devil and had the legion1 sitting clothed and in his right mind2 and they were afraid4 ,it must have seemed absurd to the evangelist that these ,gadarenes should have been afraid of the insane man after he had been restored4 ,but the swineherds have not yet told all their story4 ,and when they that saw it told them how it befell to him that was possessed with the devils and also concerning the swine-- ,aye1 there's the rub6 when they heard that1 they began to pray him to depart out of their coasts4 ,a man has been restored1 but a herd of swine has been lost4 ,this new prophet will ruin us all1 if he stays here4 ,let him begone4 ,though he saved men1 they prayed him to depart because he let the swine be drowned4 ,jesus himself said once that every man was of more value than many sparrows2 but these ,gadarenes seemed to think that no man was worth two thousand swine4 ,in the preceding section of this chapter1 ,paul's description of a mob is noted4 ,it will be interesting to understand the occasion of that mob4 ,when ,paul preached at ,ephesus1 there was a marked decline in the demand for images and silver shrines of ,diana4 ,the market became weak4 ,one of the principal manufacturers1 ,demetrius1 called together all who were in the same business and said3 ,sirs1 ye know that by this craft we have our wealth4 ,moreover1 ye see and hear that not alone in ,ephesus1 but almost throughout all ,asia1 this ,paul hath persuaded and turned away much people1 saying that there be no gods which are made with hands3 so that not only this our craft is in danger to be set at naught1 but that the temple of the great goddess ,diana should be despised and her magnificence should be destroyed1 whom all ,asia and the world worshippeth6 ,demetrius1 the unctuous hypocrite1 seems to throw the real consideration into the background1 and to be actuated mainly by concern for the honor of his goddess4 ,ah1 ,demetrius1 ,demetrius1 little do you1 little do your fellow craftsmen care for ,diana and her worship1 except as you get your gain through her devotees4 ,but make the people think you are full of zeal for religion1 and under the mantle of this falsehood cloak your motives1 as you rush through the streets crying1 ,great is ,diana of the ,ephesians6 ,rouse the populace1 always ripe for mischief1 and always more furious than ever when they think that religion1 something of which they do not understand the first letter1 and of which they are absolutely destitute1 is in danger4 ,rouse the people1 make a pious demonstration1 ,o ,demetrius1 but know that he who recorded it all for future ages1 wrote down your inmost secret--,by this craft we have our wealth6 ,another instance of hypocrisy similar to that of ,demetrius1 occurred at ,philippi4 ,paul and his comrades had spoiled the business of certain ones who had in charge a damsel who uttered prophecies and told fortunes1 by casting out her spirit of divination4 ,and when her masters saw that the hope of their gains was gone1 they caught ,paul and ,silas and drew them into the market-place unto the rulers1 and brought them to the magistrate1 saying1 ,these men being ,jews do exceeding trouble our city1 and teach customs which are not lawful for us to observe1 being ,romans4 ,it is patriotism that furnishes the cloak in this case4 ,no allusion to their loss of money--surely not2 what matters that8 ,he who steals my purse steals trash4 ,but we must do our duty by our fellow-citizens4 ,we must not let these ,jewish notions corrupt our civilization4 ,we are loyal ,romans1 let all the world know6 ,is there not something in this incident to suggest the truthfulness of ,dr4 ,johnson's remark1 ,patriotism is the last refuge of a scoundrel8 ,the result of the uproar was that the apostles were beaten and cast into prison4 ,somehow it was soon discovered that they themselves were ,roman citizens1 and when it was day1 the magistrates sent the sergeants1 saying1 ,let these men go4 ,and the keeper of the prison told this saying to ,paul1 ,the magistrates have sent to let you go2 now1 therefore1 depart and go in peace4 ,it is now ,paul's turn to be indignant1 and he is not the man to let the opportunity slip4 ,paul insisted1 as he had a right to do1 upon his dignity as a ,roman citizen4 ,he tartly replied1 ,they have taken us openly1 uncondemned1 being ,romans1 and have cast us into prison2 and do they now thrust us out privily8 ,nay1 verily2 but let them come themselves and fetch us4 ,a touch of nature there6 ,and they came 7meekly enough now1 those pompous magistrates7 and brought them out4 ,a man who never lacked courage was ,paul4 ,it had been told him that there were certain ones among the ,corinthians who had respect for his letters1 but something bordering on contempt for his person4 ,for his letters1 they say1 are weighty and powerful1 but his bodily presence is weak and his speech contemptible4 ,this is his answer3 ,let such an one think this1 that such as we are in word by letters1 when we are absent1 such will we be also in deed1 when we are present4 ,let those scoffers look to themselves6 ,in lighter and almost playful vein1 is his remark about the church at ,corinth1 in his second letter3 ,truly the signs of an apostle were wrought among you in all patience1 in signs and wonders and mighty deeds4 ,and yet there was one point in which the ,corinthian church was inferior to others3 ,for what is it wherein ye were inferior to other churches1 except it be that ,i myself was not burdensome unto you8 ,paul had allowed the other churches with which he labored to support him1 but to the ,corinthian church he had not accorded the same privilege4 ,he had favored it with no opportunity for benevolence4 ,forgive me1 he exclaims1 this wrong4 ,paul relates that on one occasion he had a dispute with ,peter at ,antioch1 in which he withstood ,peter to the face1 because ,peter was to blame4 ,it is to be doubted whether ,peter ever quite forgot this dispute4 ,the memory of it may have lingered and been particularly active when he referred in one of his own letters to our beloved brother ,paul who1 according to the wisdom given unto him1 hath written unto you2 as also in all his epistles speaking of these things2 in which are some things hard to be understood1 which they that are unstable and unlearned do wrest1 as they do also the other ,scriptures1 7pray do not think that ,i am making brother ,paul's writings an exception7 to their own destruction4 ,there is another phase of this general subject that is reserved for separate treatment in the following chapter4 ,we pause here to say that the people of ,bible times have been removed from the people of to-day by a chasm too wide and deep4 ,we have been accustomed to look upon them as belonging to another race--almost to another world4 ,it is difficult to believe that they were men of like passions with ourselves4 ,it seems almost like sacrilege to intimate that they had their follies and weaknesses2 that they did things absurd and laughable1 and sometimes went farther and did things that were mean and wicked4 ,there was a vast deal of human nature in those sublime characters4 ,gail ,hamilton sums them up as follows3 ,adam had dominion over the earth1 but he attempted to shield himself from the divine displeasure by laying the blame upon his wife1 which no gentleman would ever do4 ,noah was a 'just man and perfect in his generation1' if you do not mind an occasional fit of drunkenness4 ,abraham was a fine old sheik1 a truly heroic figure1 brave1 generous1 courteous1 hospitable1 magnanimous2 no wonder the haughty ,jews loved to remember and repeat that they were ,abraham's children4 ,but ,abraham had his weaknesses and fell before his temptations2 and ,isaac followed in his footsteps4 ,of ,jacob perhaps the least said the better1 though he maintained his position as head of his family with unrelenting vigor1 calling no man master1 either son or king4 ,there may have been other men whose life was 'without fear and without reproach'2 but their history is unknown to us2 their portrait is hardly more than a name4 ,,iv4 ,,the ,,sense ,,of ,,humor ,,in ,,jesus4 ,when a child1 with child-like apprehensions that dived not beneath the surface of the matter1 ,i read those parables--not guessing the involved wisdom--,i had more yearnings toward that simple architect that built his house upon the sand1 than ,i entertained for his more cautious neighbor2 ,i grudged at the harsh censure pronounced upon the quiet soul that kept his talent2 and prizing their simplicity beyond the more provident1 and to my apprehension1 somewhat unfeminine wariness of their competitors1 ,i felt a kindness that amounted almost to a tendre for those thoughtless virgins4 ,i have never made an acquaintance since that lasted1 or a friendship that answered1 with any that had not some tincture of the absurd in their characters4--,charles ,lamb4 ,,the ,,sense ,,of ,,humor ,,in ,,jesus4 ,amid the sorrow1 disappointment1 agony1 and anguish of the world1--our dark thoughts and tempestuous passions1 the gloomy exaggerations of self will1 the enfeebling illusions of melancholy1--wit and humor1 light and lightning1 shed their soft radiance and dart their electric flash4--,whipple4 ,how curious it is1 says the ,autocrat of the ,breakfast ,table1 that we always consider solemnity1 and the absence of all gay surprises and encounters of wits1 as essential to the idea of the future life of those whom we thus deprive of half their faculties and then call blessed6 ,there are not a few who1 even in this life1 seem to be preparing themselves for that smileless eternity by banishing all gayety from their hearts and all joyousness from their countenances4 ,rather than believe in the smileless eternity of such as these1 we should accept the conjecture of ,soame ,jennings1 that a portion of the happiness of seraphim and just men made perfect would be derived from an exquisite perception of the ludicrous4 ,to that school of melancholy teachers who frown upon all pleasantry1 and buttress their gloomy position with the assertion that ,jesus wept but never smiled1 the title of this chapter will be particularly offensive4 ,it will strike them as downright blasphemy to intimate that ,jesus possessed and used the sense of humor so common to mankind4 ,we assuredly appreciate the delicacy of the position1 and shall endeavor to avoid1 in our treatment of this subject1 anything that might wound the most sensitive soul4 ,there are several considerations that will pave the way4 ,we take it for granted that ,jesus was a complete human being1 and that as such a being he must have had all the human attributes and faculties1--the faculty of mirthfulness among them4 ,he was a man1 and lacked nothing that pertains to men4 ,then1 too1 had he been without the sense of humor1 much in the lives and characters of those with whom he had to deal1 he never could have understood and reached4 ,the full success of his mission depended upon his knowing all that there is in man1 and upon being able to gain access to him through every avenue of his nature4 ,nor were the circumstances of his life unfavorable to the development of this particular attribute4 ,theology and ,art have conspired to produce upon the world the impression that ,jesus was an exceptionally wretched and suffering man4 ,they have taken one or two expressions in ,isaiah1 such as1 his countenance was marred1 he was a man of sorrows and acquainted with grief1 expressions which they misunderstood and misapplied1 and with them have laid the foundations of their house of woe4 ,they have seized upon a few of the sadder incidents of his career1 and have exaggerated them into undue prominence1--have given them undue proportions4 ,especially have they made much of his agony in the garden and his death upon the cross4 ,these events have been magnified into such mountains that all the rest of his life seems to lie hidden beneath their shadows4 ,it appears never to have entered the mind of either preacher or painter that the physical anguish of his death must have been even less than that which many martyrs at the stake or martyrs upon sickbeds have borne2 and that before death came1 he had lived a life with many bright days and many happy experiences4 ,his existence upon earth was not a protracted sorrow1 a monumental grief4 ,many a rose had blossomed at his feet before the thorns were twisted into a crown for his brow4 ,what shall we say of the thirty peaceful years under his father's roof1 with his brothers and sisters8 ,did he not in boyhood have the amusements of other children8 ,is there not a memento of his youthful sports in what he says of the games of the children in the marketplace1 when they were playing at weddings and funerals8 ,did he not1 when a young man1 delight in his home and in his companions8 ,can we imagine that he moved among those who were nearest and dearest to him1 with a face to which a smile was as much a stranger as a tropic flower to the frozen zone8 ,when1 as a mature man1 he entered upon his public ministry1 although he was exposed to frequent attacks from the representatives of the established religion1 yet he was never without friends2 never without a place of refuge from the heat of battle4 ,there were many homes in which a welcome always awaited him1 and whose hospitality he gladly accepted4 ,is it probable that he was accustomed to sit in these homes--to use ,shakespeare's phrase--like his grandsire cut in alabaster8 ,more than once we are directly told that he rejoiced in spirit2 more than once he spoke of his joy to his disciples4 ,there is much evidence that ,jesus was not a wretched but a happy man4 ,did this happiness never express itself in words or countenance8 ,there are other considerations that go far to refute the dismal assertion that ,jesus wept but never smiled4 ,tired mothers brought their children to him and he rebuked the supercilious disciples who interfered4 ,can we think that on this occasion he had a woe-begone look8 ,we read of him often at feasts2 would he have been invited if he had been accustomed to sit at the table like the skeleton at an ,egyptian banquet8 ,did he not by his frequent attendance upon festive occasions incur the odium of being a wine-bibber and a glutton8 ,he was also a favorite with the common people4 ,they heard him gladly4 ,but there must have been something attractive in his presence and manner1 as well as in his words1 and the words themselves must have appealed to the shrewd1 homely1 common sense of his hearers4 ,if he had been the sad spirit he has been pictured1 would the people have followed him and listened to him as they did8 ,when we leave the outward circumstances and the presumption they furnish1 and examine the fragments of his speech that have been preserved for us1 many of them certainly contain the element of humor4 ,we should undoubtedly call it humor if it came from any other lips than those of ,jesus2 if we found it in any other book than the ,new ,testament4 ,the purpose of this chapter will be grossly misapprehended1 however1 if any one shall suppose that we are trying to degrade ,jesus to the level of a professional joker4 ,nothing is further from our intention4 ,the very thought is repulsive4 ,one may have and use the sense of humor without putting on the cap and bells4 ,he may use it with the highest motives and for the noblest ends4 ,it was said of ,hosea ,ballou1 that it was no uncommon thing for him when preaching to excite a smile2 but usually it was done by some ingenious argument that would electrify every one present4 ,his biographer adds3 ,it is not known that any person ever listened to one of his sermons who was not so impressed with his sincerity1 dignity and earnestness1 that the recollection of his occasional humorous sayings was held subsidiary and helpful to his main serious purpose4 ,his mother-wit was sanctified4 ,it served a divine mission in diffusing cheerfulness and health4 ,we must always remember that wit and humor do not mean buffoonery4 ,it is difficult to understand how any one can read many of the parables and other sayings of ,jesus1 and still believe the doleful tale that he wept but never smiled4 ,he saw the dancing lights as well as the deep shadows1 the more genial and even ludicrous aspects of life1 as well as its various phases of sorrow and sin1 and all these furnished subjects for his discourse as well as illustrations for his teaching4 ,let us now consider some of the ways in which the sense of humor in ,jesus manifested itself4 ,i4 ,the sense of humor often tempered his rebukes4 ,there was often sunshine on the cloud4 ,there were times1 indeed1 as we shall see1 when he spoke with unmeasured severity1 when his words fell like fiery hail1 beating and burning the heads of offenders2 but anon he spoke half smiling1 half pitying1 as if disposed to laugh at the very inconsistencies he censured4 ,in this respect his spirit has been caught by ,addison and ,goldsmith1 by ,irving and ,dickens4 ,richter says that no one has a right to laugh at men but he who most heartily loves them4 ,taine says of ,dickens1 ,before reading him we did not know there was so much pity in the heart4 ,jesus loved men1 he pitied them1 even while his eye detected and his words exposed their faults and foibles4 ,he had looked with pleasure 7remembering his own childhood71 upon the games of the boys and girls in the streets of ,jerusalem2 he thought of their whimsical complaints1 as they played at weddings and funerals in the market-place4 ,on one occasion1 his severity mitigated by his sense of the ludicrous1 he exclaimed1 ,whereunto shall ,i liken this generation8 and to what are they like8 ,they are like unto children sitting in the market-places and calling to one another and saying1 ,we have piped unto you and ye have not danced2 we have mourned unto you and ye have not lamented4 ,everything had gone wrong4 ,the others would not play fair4 ,they would not dance when we wanted to play wedding2 they would not be mourners when we wanted to play funeral4 ,we have done all we could to please them1 but they are too mean for anything4 ,to the mind of ,jesus1 the people of that generation appeared to be making the same complaint4 ,they were childishly dissatisfied with every divine messenger1--none could please them4 ,for ,john the ,baptist came neither eating bread nor drinking wine1--solemn1 gloomy1 austere2 but they would have none of him4 ,he mourned unto them1 but they would not lament4 ,they would not play at funeral with him4 ,they turned away and said1 ,he hath a devil4 ,then came the ,son of ,man1 bright and cheerful1 eating and drinking1 but they would not dance to his piping4 ,they pointed at him and said1 ,behold a gluttonous man and a wine-bibber1 a friend of publicans and sinners6 ,it was impossible to please that generation4 ,if we place this passage side by side with the following from ,goldsmith1 we shall see at once that if there be humor in the latter1 there must also be humor in the former4 ,the subject is the reception accorded the ,chinese philosopher who tried to please his friends by his demeanor upon the death of an ,english sovereign3 ,i thought it at least my duty to appear sorrowful2 to put on a melancholy aspect1 or to set my face by that of the people4 ,the first company ,i came amongst after the news became general was a set of jolly companions who were drinking prosperity to the ensuing reign4 ,i entered the room with looks of despair1 and even expected applause for the superlative misery of my countenance4 ,instead of that1 ,i was universally condemned by the company and desired to take away my penitential phiz to some other quarter4 ,i now corrected my former mistake1 and with the most sprightly air imaginable entered a company where they were talking over the ceremonies of the approaching funeral4 ,here ,i sat for some time with an air of pert vivacity1 when one of the chief mourners immediately observing my good humor desired me1 if ,i pleased1 to go and grin somewhere else2 they wanted no disaffected scoundrels there4 ,fum1 thou son of ,fo1 what sort of people am ,i amongst8 ,whereunto shall ,i liken this generation8 ,there was a certain time when multitudes followed ,jesus1 not knowing what they were about1 but simply swept along by the enthusiasm of the moment4 ,he saw that they understood not1 so he turned and gave them this gentle caution3 ,which of you intending to build a tower sitteth not down first and counteth the cost1 whether he have sufficient to finish it8 ,lest1 haply1 after he hath laid the foundation and is not able to finish1 all that behold it begin to mock him1 saying1 ,this man began to build and was not able to finish4 ,whoever comes after me and does not count upon bearing his cross1 is in the predicament of this foolish tower-builder1--a ludicrous spectacle as he sits beside the unfinished structure1 his materials exhausted1 while all his neighbors1 as they pass by1 wag the head and point the finger4 ,such a spectacle as that will each one of you be who does not count the cost of discipleship4 ,with such gentle strokes of humor did ,jesus stay the thoughtless multitudes who imagined that their empty zeal was genuine loyalty4 ,he set forth their conduct in terms that would most effectually impress upon them its folly1--in terms that appealed to their sense of the ridiculous4 ,in a sarcastic paragraph of his ,french ,revolution1 ,carlyle speaks of the work of the ,national ,convention thus3 ,in fact1 what can be more unprofitable than the sight of six hundred and forty-nine ingenious men struggling with their whole force and industry1 for a long course of weeks1 to do at bottom this2 to stretch out the old ,formula and ,law phraseology1 so that it may cover the new1 contradictory1 entirely uncoverable thing8 ,whereby the poor formula does but crack and one's honesty along with it4 ,the thing that is palpably hot1 burning1 wilt thou prove it by a syllogism to be a freezing mixture8 ,this of stretching out formulas till they crack is1 especially in times of swift change1 one of the sorrowfullest tasks poor humanity has4 ,was it not this very formula-stretching that ,jesus satirized in more playful vein1--this formula-stretching that existed in old times and that still exists1--when he said3 ,no man putteth a piece of new garment upon an old2 if otherwise1 then1 both the new maketh a rent1 and the piece that was taken out of the new agreeth not with the old8 ,you can not patch up old terms with new meanings4 ,the new meaning agreeth not with the old term4 ,and no man putteth new wine into old wine-skins2 else the new wine will burst the wine-skins and be spilled1 and the wine-skins shall perish4 ,but new wine must be put into new wine-skins1 and both are preserved4 ,the man who tries to put new senses into old words1 new ideas into old formulas1 is like a man who cuts up a new garment to mend an old2 like one who puts wine not yet done fermenting into a skin whose capacity admits no further strain4 ,he spoils his new coat and he loses his new wine4 ,with such illustrations as these1 illustrations embodying a figure or comparison or situation essentially amusing1 was ,jesus wont to temper his rebukes4 ,,ii4 ,the sense of humor in ,jesus enabled him to detect pretension1 imposture1 hypocrisy1 and expose them to the derision of mankind4 ,if we should find in ,dickens or ,thackeray such pictures as ,jesus has given of the ,scribes and ,pharisees1 they would strike us at once as the very quintessence of humor4 ,they go arrayed in long clothing1 they love the uppermost rooms at feasts and the chief seats in the synagogues4 ,they are always posturing to attract attention4 ,they love greetings in the market-places1 to be called of men ,rabbi1 ,rabbi4 ,in their way1 they are as much given to deportment as ,mr4 ,turveydrop1 when he says1 ,i suppose ,i must now go and show myself about town2 it will be expected of me4 ,when they pray1 they do it standing in the synagogues or at the corners of the streets that all may see how pious they are2 when they perform their deeds of righteousness1 a trumpet is sounded before them1 to make solemn proclamation2 as who should say1 ,will the public please take notice2 ,i am about to drop a mite into this poor widow's hand4 ,when they fast they put on a sad countenance and disfigure their faces with fictitious woe and weeping1 that they may appear unto men to fast4 ,see how ,i lay the dust with my tears1 says ,launce4 ,everything they did was done for effect2 nothing came from the heart4 ,their religion was the veriest sham4 ,they had well-nigh reached the measure of ,south's ideal hypocrite1 who never opens his mouth in earnest1 but when he eats or breathes4 ,well might ,jesus say1 ,the ,scribes and ,pharisees sit in ,moses' seat2 all things1 therefore1 whatsoever they bid you observe1 that observe and do1 but do ye not according to their works2 for they say and do not4 ,does not this remind us of ,pecksniff1 who was a most exemplary man1 fuller of virtuous precepts than a copy-book2 but some people likened him to a direction-post which is always telling the way to a place1 and never goes there4 ,,iii4 ,not only did the sense of humor in ,jesus enable him to unmask pretentious hypocrites1 but also to expose the absurdities that the multitudes commonly practiced in the name of religion4 ,there are those1 for example1 who in prayer use vain repetitions1 thinking that they shall be heard for their much speaking4 ,they estimate the efficacy of prayer by its quantity and not by its quality4 ,they think that if they only keep at it long enough1 if they only use multitudes of words1 they will surely attract attention on high4 ,there are others who think that religion consists in the washing of pots and cups and such like things and they lay aside the commandment of ,god4 ,one of their representatives in modern literature is ,dolly ,winthrop1 who tells ,silas ,marner about the letters ,i4,h4,s4 pricked upon the ,christmas cakes3 ,i can't read 'em myself1 and there's nobody1 not ,mr4 ,macey himself1 rightly knows what they mean2 but they've a good meaning1 for they're the same as is on the pulpit-cloth at ,church2 an' if there's any good1 we've need of it in this world4 ,it is curious how the superstition of externalism has affected many1 even noble minds4 ,dr4 ,johnson once said of ,john ,campbell1 a political and philosophical writer1 ,campbell is a good man1 a pious man2 ,i'm afraid he has not been inside of a church for a good many years1 but he never passes a church without pulling off his hat4 ,this shows he has good principles4 ,,iv4 ,jesus perceived the blunders of the well-meaning1 but ignorant and ambitious1--such as the man who went to the wedding party without suitable garments1 and was unceremoniously shown to the door2 such as the obtuse people who1 invited to a feast1 always took the seats of honor and were as often courteously escorted to seats further down the table4 ,when the more honorable man came1 the host would say1 ,give this man place1 and the other would begin with shame to take the lowest seat4 ,jesus saw these blunders1 and we cannot believe that he was blind to their comical side4 ,he must have felt that the mistake was a ludicrous one1 even when he advised the stupid people who made it1 ,when thou art bidden1 go and sit down in the lowest room2 that when he that bade thee cometh1 he may say1 ,friend1 go up higher2 and then thou shalt have worship in the presence of them that sit at meat with thee4 ,v4 ,the sense of humor in ,jesus is still further shown by his selection of characters for his parables and illustrations4 ,how many of them are what we should call odd sticks to-day6 ,could any one devoid of humor1 or opposed to its use1 have described such odd or eccentric people as the fool who thought that sand was as good a foundation for his house as rock2 or the drowsy friend roused at midnight to lend his neighbor bread and scolding furiously at the annoyance8 ,then we have the shepherd's coward hireling who ran away from his flock when he saw the wolf coming2 the foolish rich man2 the unscrupulous steward who provided for himself by cheating his master2 the three fellows who made such puerile excuses for absenting themselves from the king's banquet1--one was interested in a real estate transaction1 another was dealing in stock1 while the third had just married a wife4 ,perhaps the characterization of all these excuses as puerile1 may be too sweeping4 ,this last case may be an exception4 ,having just entered the holy estate of matrimony1 any plans this man might have formed before that event were of course subject to revision4 ,let us not be too hard upon him4 ,it may be that he rests under too heavy a load of censure4 ,he may even be deserving of sympathy4 ,he said--was there a suggestion of desperation in his words8--,i have married a wife and therefore ,i can not come4 ,the king ought very likely to have exempted this man from his wrath2 for he seems to say1 ,i should like to come1 but--6 ,then there was the servant who1 in his lord's absence1 got above his business1 assumed the master1 became drunken in the company of roisterers1 and beat his fellow-servants2 but was at last put to shame by the sudden and unexpected arrival of his master4 ,this servant was a veritable ,jaques who1 in the old play1 assumed to be his master1 the ,duke1 and who was likewise brought to grief by his master's return3 ,i must appear important2 big as a country pedagogue when he enters the school-room with a-hem1 and terrifies the apple-munching urchins with the creaking of his shoes4 ,i'll swell like a shirt bleaching in a high wind2 and look as burly as a ,sunday beadle when he has kicked down the unhallowed stall of a profane old apple-woman4 ,bring my chair of state6 ,there are other characters1 such as the shrewd laborer who1 digging in a field1 finds a hidden treasure and secreting it goes and buys the field2 the unjust judge who finally1 completely tired out1 gives way in no very amiable mood to the widow's unceasing petitions for justice2 the timid soul1 who1 fearing to use his talent1 hid it in a napkin and buried it in the earth2 the self-righteous ,pharisee who recounts his good deeds before the ,lord of the ,temple and complacently congratulates himself that he is not as other men6 ,god1 ,i thank thee that ,i am not as the rest of men1 extortioners1 unjust1 adulterers1 or even as this publican4 ,i fast twice in the week2 ,i give tithes of all that ,i get6 ,mr4 ,pecksniff once more6--so satisfied with himself1 so radiant with ingenuous honesty that ,mrs4 ,lupin almost wondered not to see a stained-glass glory1 such as the saint wore in the church1 shining about his head6 ,,vi4 ,in the introduction1 reference was made to the words of ,mr4 ,shorthouse which suggested this investigation4 ,this seems a fitting place to present the only example in which ,mr4 ,shorthouse has carried out his own suggestion1--the ,parable of the ,prodigal ,son4 ,but is it trite that there is no humor in the gospels8 ',what strokes of nature1 if not of humor1' to use ,mr4 ,addison's words again1 may we find in the story1 let us say1 of the ,prodigal ,son8 ,what1 in the light of the modern conception of humor1 will come out of this8 ,here1 surely1 there is no want of real life1 of low life1 even4 ,here is a wild young scamp1 as like ,tom ,jones as heart could wish4 ,here is ingratitude1 forgetfulness of parents1 riotous living1 taverns1 harlots1 what not8 ,then beggary1 and feeding swine1 and living upon husks4 ,then when evil living is found not to answer1 penitence--like ,tom ,jones again4 ,and 'when he was yet a great way off his father saw him1' along the stony road beneath the vine-clad hills4 ,who can tell how often the father's eyes had gazed longingly down the road since his son's figure1 gay1 reckless of the benefits just bestowed1 accompanied by servants1 eager for the pleasures of the world1 had vanished from his sight8 ,now1 at last1 after so long waiting and looking1 he sees in the far distance1 a very different sight4 ,he sees a solitary figure1 worn and bent down1 in rags1 dragging on its weary steps2 how could the old man's gaze expect such a sight as this8 ,nevertheless1 his father knew him1 'and ran and fell on his neck4' ,he did not wait for any accents of repentance1 nor did he enforce any moral precepts which might advantage posterity4 ',he fell on his neck and kissed him4' ,foolish old father6 ,tom ,jones is brought in4 ,he goes to the bath4 ,the familiar feeling of luxury comes over him once more4 ,he is clothed in fine linen1 and has a gold ring placed on his finger1 the past seems an evil dream4 ,then the fatted calf is killed4 ,the banquet is spread and there is festivity1 music1 and dancing-girls4 ,but suddenly1 in the midst of his delight1 some trouble passes over the old man's face2 his eldest son is not in his place1 and they bring him word that he is without and refuses to come in4 ,some perception of a neglected truth passes through the father's mind1 and he rises and goes out4 ',therefore came his father out and entreated him4' ,the eldest son has been out all day working in the vineyards2 all his life had been one long performance of duty1 taken for granted1 and therefore unpraised and unrecognized4 ,in how many households will silent witness be borne that this is real life--the gentle and obedient service overlooked--nay1 more than this1 the cross word or hasty temper where there is no fear that it will be returned4 ',all these years have ,i served thee 99 99 99 and yet thou never gavest me a kid that ,i might make merry with my friends4' ,i am a man like others1 gayety and feasting are pleasant to me1 as to them4 ,a look of perplexed1 but growing insight comes into the father's face4 ',son1 thou art ever with me1 and all that ,i have is thine4' ,this is all very well1 still he is conscious that there is something to be said for the eldest son1 too4 ,but his lost son--his wayward1 and therefore loved son1 is come again4 ',it is meet that we should make merry and be glad1 for this thy brother was dead and is alive again4' ,we can see the pitiful1 pleading look in the old man's eyes1--'thy brother was dead4' ,yes1 ,addison must be right4 ,nature and humor cannot be far apart4 ,the source and spring of humor is human life4 ,its charm consists1 not merely in laughter or even in joy1 but in the stirring of those sympathies and associations which exist invariably in the race2 for we inherit a world-life and a religion1 the earth-springs of whose realities lie1 perchance1 too deep for laughter1 but not1 ,heaven be praised1 too deep for tears4 ,surely the examples given suggest an eye for the humorous in him who saw and described them4 ,these illustrations were1 indeed1 used to convey moral truths1 but they show how wide was the acquaintance of ,jesus with all sorts of characters1 and how he loved to use such as were out of the ordinary2 such as1 to-day1 we should at least call peculiar4 ,a recognition of this fact will help us better to appreciate and more thoroughly to enjoy those simple1 yet wonderful parables1 out of which the heavy hand of a severely literal criticism would crush all touches of nature4 ,v4 ,,proverbs ,,and ,,epigrammatic ,,sayings4 ,proverbs1 must not be passed over in our enumeration1--proverbs1 the philosophy of the common people2 short1 pithy1 homely sayings that embody the concentrated essence of the common people's wisdom4 ,it has been difficult to give a perfect definition of a proverb1 so crowded is it with the life of shrewdness and experience2 yet so easy and negligent is it1 and saucy as it were4 ,its characteristic excellences are shortness1 sense and salt4 ,it is the wit of one man1 the wisdom of thousands4--,macbeth4 ,,proverbs ,,and ,,epigrammatic ,,sayings4 ,the proverbialists occupy themselves with life in all its aspects4 ,sometimes they simply catch the expression of men1 good or bad1 or photograph their actions or thoughts2 more generally they pass a verdict upon them and exhort or instruct men in regard to them4 99 99 99 ,some of the proverbs have a certain flavor of humor4--,davidson4 ,the wise men of old1 says ,whipple1 have sent most of their morality down the stream of time in the light skiff of apothegm or epigram3 and the proverbs of nations which embody the common sense of nations1 have the brisk concussion of the most sparkling wit4 ,almost every sensible remark on folly is a witty remark4 ,wit is thus often but the natural language of wisdom1 viewing life with a piercing and passionless eye4 ,the object of the present study is to consider those proverbs and other epigrammatic sayings which distinctly contain the element of wit in some form or other1 and which are so liberally scattered over the pages of the ,bible4 ,i4--,,the ,,book ,,of ,,proverbs4 ,in such an investigation1 we naturally turn1 first of all1 to that great collection of proverbs1 with which the name of ,solomon has become identified4 ,they do not1 however1 represent his genius alone1 although we shall frequently use his name as representative of the whole class of philosophers4 ,they are the productions of many wise men through many generations4 ,they are1 indeed1 the outcome of the life of a whole people1 put into definite shape by those who had insight sufficiently keen and power of expression sufficiently terse to formulate the lessons of human experience4 ,the wise men1 says ,canon ,driver1 took for granted the main postulates of ,israel's creed1 and applied themselves rather to the observation of human nature as such1 seeking to analyze character1 studying action in its consequences1 and establishing morality upon the basis of principles common to humanity at large4 ,on account of their prevailing disregard of national points of view1 and their tendency to characterize and estimate human nature under its most general aspects1 they have been termed1 not inappropriately1 the ,humanists of ,israel4 ,their teaching had a practical aim2 not only do they formulate maxims of conduct1 but they appear also as moral advisers1 and as interested in the education of the young4 ,the ,book of ,proverbs is a perfect mine of cunning and glittering sentences1 many of which are witty as well as wise1 and none the less wise because they are witty4 ,there are swords that pierce the hidden motives of men1 and whips that lacerate the backs of their open follies and sins4 #a4 ,the ,fool4 ,there is a personage1 or more exactly1 an assemblage of certain qualities1 constantly held up to ridicule under the general title of ,the ,fool4 ,ruskin says that folly and sin are to some extent synonymous4 ,the ,fool in the ,book of ,proverbs is one who combines mental stupidity with moral obtuseness4 ,he has a hard time of it at the hands of the proverbialists4 ,he that begetteth a fool doeth so to his sorrow2 the father of a fool hath no joy4 ,foolish persons have always been noted for parading their folly1 and sounding a trumpet to proclaim their lack of understanding4 ,so ,solomon says3 ,a fool's mouth is his destruction1 and his lips are the snare of his soul4 ,the tongue of the wise useth knowledge aright2 but the mouth of fools poureth out foolishness4 ,when he that is a fool walketh in the way1 his wisdom faileth him1 and he saith to every one that he is a fool1--his scanty supply of sense is not enough to last him to the end of his journey4 ,there is a modern proverb to the same effect3 ,he has not wit enough to last him over night4 ,everything the fool undertakes comes to grief4 ,he that sendeth a message by the hand of a fool cutteth off the feet and drinketh damage4 ,the labor of the fool wearieth every one1 because he knoweth not how to go to the city4 ,the simple believeth every word1 but the prudent man looketh well to his going4 ,let a bear robbed of her whelps meet a man1 rather than a fool in his folly4 ,no discipline can be too severe for the fool4 ,judgments are prepared for scorners and stripes for the back of fools4 ,a whip for the horse1 a bridle for the ass1 and a rod for the fool's back4 ,but ,solomon is not sanguine that the most rigorous course will produce extraordinary results4 ,a reproof entereth more into a wise man than a hundred stripes into a fool4 ,wisdom is before him that hath understanding2 but the eyes of a fool are in the ends of the earth4 ,wherefore is there a price in the hand of a fool to get wisdom1 seeing he hath no heart to it8 ,one can almost see that picture--the fool wandering about the city with money in his hand1 inquiring where a person in need of it might purchase a commodity of good common sense4 ,though thou shouldst bray a fool in a mortar among wheat with a pestle1 yet will not his foolishness depart from him4 ,in many other proverbs is the fool gibbeted4 ,as snow in summer1 and as rain in harvest1 so honor is not seemly for a fool4 ,the legs of the lame are not equal2 so is a parable in the mouth of fools4 ,as he that bindeth a stone in a sling1 making a dangerous weapon1 so is he that giveth honor to a fool4 ,as a thorn goeth up into the hand of a drunkard1 so is a parable in the mouth of fools4 ,it is better to hear the rebuke of the wise1 than for a man to hear the song of fools4 ,for as the crackling of thorns under a pot1 so is the laughter of the fool4 ,in one chapter ,solomon describes a group of foolish persons4 ,for three things the earth is disquieted and for four which it can not bear2 for a servant when he reigneth--the modern instance is the beggar on horseback1--and a fool when he is filled with meat2 for an odious woman when she is married2 and a handmaid that is heir to her mistress4 ,these four characters play such fantastic tricks before high heaven1 that whether the angels weep or not1 the earth groans and is disquieted4 ,and yet ,solomon seems to have found a more grotesque and incorrigible character than the fool3 ,seest thou a man wise in his own conceit8 ,there is more hope of a fool than of him4 ,the contempt of the proverbialists for the class of persons here described was quite as strong as that of ,dr4 ,samuel ,johnson4 ,when some one hoped that the good doctor might meet in heaven a certain person whose conduct had aroused his ire1 he retorted with some warmth1 ,madam1 ,i am not fond of meeting fools anywhere4 #b4 ,the ,idler4 ,how these writers love to castigate laziness6 ,they toss the sluggard on all manner of sharp-pointed epigrams4 ,he that gathereth in summer is a wise son2 he that sleepeth in harvest is a son that causeth shame4 ,the way of a slothful man is as a hedge of thorns1--he walks as slowly and painfully as if avoiding thorns on either hand4 ,as vinegar to the teeth and as smoke to the eyes1 so is the sluggard to them that send him4 ,the slothful man roasteth not that which he took in hunting4 ,the sluggard will not plough by reason of the cold1 therefore he shall beg in harvest and have nothing4 ,drowsiness shall clothe a man with rags4 ,he that tilleth his land shall be satisfied with bread2 but he that followeth vain persons--those who teach him that there is any other way to success than honest industry1--is void of understanding4 ,the slothful man says1 ,there is a lion without2 ,i shall be slain in the streets4 ,as the door turneth upon its hinges1 so doth the slothful upon his bed4 ,the slothful hideth his hand in his bosom2 it grieveth him to bring it again to his mouth4 ,too lazy to eat6 ,this is the very acme of indolence4 #c4 ,the ,babbler4 ,these wise men recommend1 in pithy terms1 the judicious control of the tongue4 ,they commend the value of silence4 ,whoso keepeth his mouth and his tongue keepeth his soul from troubles4 ,the beginning of strife is as when one letteth out water2 therefore leave off contention before it be meddled with4 ,it is an honor to a man to cease from strife1 but every fool will be meddling4 ,even a fool when he holdeth his peace is accounted wise2 and he that shutteth his lips is esteemed a man of understanding4 ,this is the same idea which we find1 in more elaborate form1 in ,shakespeare3 ,there are a sort of men1 whose visages ,do cream and mantle like a standing pond2 ,and do a wilful stillness entertain1 ,with purpose to be drest in an opinion ,of wisdom1 gravity1 profound conceit2 ,as who should say1 ',i am ,sir ,oracle1 ,and when ,i ope my lips1 let no dog bark6' ,oh1 my ,antonio1 ,i do know of these1 ,that therefore only are reputed wise ,for saying nothing3 ,who1 ,i am very sure1 ,if they should speak1 would almost damn these ears1 ,which1 hearing them1 would call their brothers fools4 ,in point of condensation1 the wit of the proverb has the advantage4 ,coleridge relates an incident which illustrates that even a fool when he holdeth his peace is accounted wise1 and he that shutteth his lips is esteemed a man of understanding4 ,he once saw1 at a dinner table1 a dignified man with a face as wise as the moon's4 ,the awful charm of his manner was not broken until the muffins appeared1 and then the imp of gluttony forced from him the exclamation--,them's the jockeys for me6 ,there is a passage concerning the tongue in the ,book of ,james1 full of sayings quite as terse and striking as any in the ,book of ,proverbs4 ,if any man offend not in word1 the same is a perfect man1 and able also to bridle the whole body4 ,the tongue is a little member and boasteth great things2 behold how great a matter a little fire kindleth4 ,every kind of beasts and birds and serpents is tamed1 and hath been tamed of mankind2 but the tongue can no man tame2 it is an unruly evil1 full of deadly poison4 99 99 99 ,out of the same mouth proceedeth blessing and cursing4 99 99 99 ,doth a fountain send forth at the same place sweet water and bitter8 ,this passage from ,james may be placed side by side with the familiar story of ,a,esop4 ,his master1 ,xanthus1 sent him to market to procure the best things it afforded4 ,when the dinner hour arrived1 ,xanthus discovered that nothing but tongues had been provided4 ,what1 he exclaimed in a rage1 did ,i not tell you to procure the best things the market afforded8 ,and have ,i not obeyed your orders8 ,is there anything better than a tongue8 ,is it not the bond of civil society1 the organ of truth and reason1 the instrument of our praise and adoration of the gods8 ,the next day ,a,esop was directed to go to the market and purchase the worst things it afforded4 ,he did so and again purchased nothing but tongues4 ,what6 cried ,xanthus1 tongues again8 ,certainly2 for the tongue is surely the worst thing in the world2 it is the instrument of all strife and contention1 the inventor of law-suits1 and the source of all division and wars2 it is the organ of errors1 of lies1 of calumnies1 and blasphemies4 ,therewith bless we the ,lord and ,father1 and therewith curse we men who are made after the likeness of ,god2 out of the same mouth cometh forth cursing and blessing4 #d4 ,the ,scold4 ,to return to the proverbs4 ,solomon had some unhappy domestic experiences1 and such proverbs as these may have been the outcome3 ,as a jewel of gold in a swine's snout1 so is a fair woman without discretion4 ,a continual dropping in a very rainy day1 and a contentious woman are alike4 ,whosoever hideth her1 hideth the wind4 ,it is better to dwell in the wilderness than with a contentious and angry woman4 ,better is a dinner of herbs where love is than a stalled ox and hatred therewith4 ,it is better to dwell in the corner of a house top than with a brawling woman in a large house4 #e4 ,the ,power of ,money4 ,the proverbialists had been close observers of human nature1 and of the ways of the world4 ,hell and destruction are never full1 so the eyes of a man are never satisfied4 ,a feast is made for laughter1 and wine maketh merry2 but money answereth all things4 ,the rich ruleth over the poor1 and the borrower is servant to the lender4 ,these wise men had seen much to justify the sharp arrows they shot at those who crook the pregnant hinges of the knee where thrift may follow fawning4 ,the poor is hated even of his own neighbor1 but the rich hath many friends4 ,many will entreat the favor of a prince1 and every man is a friend to him that giveth gifts4 ,a man's gift maketh room for him1 and bringeth him before great men4 ,there is an incident in the second ,book of ,kings1 that exemplifies1 with touches of humor1 the truth of these proverbs4 ,and the king of ,assyria found conspiracy in ,hoshea1 7king of ,israel17 for he had sent messengers to ,so1 king of ,egypt1 and brought no present to the king of ,assyria1 as he had done year by year4 ,the king of ,assyria is greatly shocked at this sign of disrespect4 ,his feelings are outraged and wounded at receiving no present4 ,it is suspicious1 very suspicious6 ,let this ,hoshea be looked to4 ,the man who fails to bring the usual present is fit for treasons1 stratagems and spoils4 ,there is no telling what evil he may be plotting4 ,surely there is conspiracy in him4 ,therefore1 the king of ,assyria shut him up and bound him in prison4 ,solomon was right--,a man's gift bringeth him before great men1 but the absence of it bringeth him into prison as a traitor6 #f4 ,miscellaneous4 ,many other examples of wit and wisdom might be given4 ,let us add a few miscellaneous ones4 ,solomon advises against making long calls4 ,busy men would do well to hang this motto up in their offices3 ,withdraw thy foot from thy neighbor's house1 lest he weary of thee and so hate thee4 ,in ,solomon's wide and varied experiences1 there had evidently been occasional encounters with bores4 ,it may sometimes be well to present a stern front to the slanderer3 ,the ,north wind driveth away rain1 so doth an angry countenance a back-biting tongue4 ,excellent advice this for those who indorse other people's notes3 ,be not one of them that strike hands1 or one of them that are sureties for debts2 if thou hast nothing to pay1 why should he take away thy bed from under thee8 ,he that hateth suretyship is sure4 ,there were those in that day1 as well as in our own1 who tried to beat down the price of an article by depreciating its quality3 ,it is naught1 it is naught1 saith the buyer2 but when he hath gone his way1 then he boasteth4 ,donald ,g4 ,mitchell1 in his charming book1 ,my ,farm at ,edgewood1 has a chapter on ,dickering which is1 in effect1 an elaboration of the proverb last quoted4 ,sometime or other1 if a man enter upon farm life--and it holds in almost every kind of life--there will come to him a necessity for bargaining4 ,it is a part of the curse1 ,i think1 entailed upon mankind at the expulsion from ,eden1 that they should sweat at a bargain4 99 99 99 ,if ,i were to take the opinions of my excellent friends1 the purchasers1 for truth1 ,i should be painfully conscious of having possessed the most mangy hogs1 the most aged cows1 the scrubbiest veal1 and the most diseased and stunted growth of chestnuts and oaks with which a country-liver was ever afflicted4 ,for a time1 in the early period of my novitiate1 ,i was not a little disturbed by these damaging statements2 but have been relieved by learning on further experience that the urgence of such lively falsehoods is only an ingenious mercenary device for the sharpening of a bargain4 ,,ii4--,,epigrammatic ,,sayings ,,from ,,other ,,sources4 ,the epigrammatic sayings of the ,bible are not confined1 as we have already seen1 to the ,book of ,proverbs4 ,we find them elsewhere4 ,hosea says of idolaters1 ,they have sown the wind and they shall reap the whirlwind4 ,micah declared of the mercenary prophets1 ,he that putteth not into their mouth1 they even declare war against him4 ,at the same time princes and judges are so corrupt1 that the best of them is as a briar2 the most upright is sharper than a thorn hedge4 ,jeremiah charges against the people1 ,as a cage is full of birds1 so are their houses of deceit4 ,can the ,ethiopian1 he asks1 change his skin1 or the leopard his spots8 and adds1 ,then can ye also do right who are accustomed to do evil4 ,this is equivalent to the proverb of another people3 ,though you feed milk to a young snake1 will it leave off its habit of creeping under the hedge8 ,can a maid forget her ornaments or a bride her attire8 asks ,jeremiah2 yet my people have forgotten me days without number4 ,yea1 the stork in the heavens knoweth her appointed times2 and the turtle and the crane and the swallow observe the time of their coming2 but my people know not the judgment of the ,lord4 ,as the partridge sitteth on eggs and hatcheth them not2 so he that getteth riches and not by right1 shall leave them in the middle of his days1 and at the end shall be a fool4 ,isaiah admonishes the people1 ,lo1 thou trustest in the staff of this broken reed1 on ,egypt2 whereon if a man lean1 it will go into his hand and pierce it2 so is ,pharoah1 king of ,egypt1 to all who trust in him1--a saying which calls to mind the message ,jesus sent to ,herod1 ,go1 tell that fox4 ,to those who trusted in the prowess of the ,egyptians1 ,isaiah declares1 ,now1 the ,egyptians are men and not ,god2 and their horses are flesh and not spirit4 ,he assures the people that the time will come when names shall be used with greater discrimination--,the vile person shall no more be called liberal1 nor the churl said to be bountiful4 ,job says3 ,for vain man would be wise1 though man be born like a wild ass's colt4 ,and it is ,job who has given us the common expression1 ,i am escaped with the skin of my teeth4 ,david says of the hypocrite3--,the words of his mouth were smoother than butter1 but war was in his heart2 his words were softer than oil1 but they were drawn swords4 ,man that is in honor and understandeth not1 is like the beasts which perish4 ,the fool hath said in his heart1 ,there is no ,god4 ,of the wicked the psalmist exclaims3 ,their poison is like the poison of a serpent2 they are like the deaf adder that stoppeth her ear2 which will not hearken to the voice of charmers1 charming never so wisely4 ,recalling an incident of ,israel's journey through the wilderness1 he gives his opinion of the transaction ,aaron tried to disclaim3 ,they made a calf in ,horeb and worshipped the molten image4 ,thus they changed their glory into the similitude of an ox that eateth grass6 ,fools1 because of their transgressions and because of their iniquities are afflicted4 ,he says of those who gave him pain1--the ploughers who ploughed upon his back and made long their furrows1--,they shall be as the grass upon the house-tops which withereth before it groweth up2 wherewith the mower filleth not his hand1 nor he that bindeth sheaves his bosom4 ,paul speaks of those whose ,god is their belly1 and whose glory is their shame2 and also of certain ones who speak lies in hypocrisy1 having their conscience seared with a red-hot iron4 ,rulers1 he says1 are not a terror to good works1 but to evil4 ,if a man thinketh himself to be something when he is nothing1 he deceiveth himself4 ,the ,book of ,james has already been quoted in this chapter2 but there is another passage of the proverbial or epigrammatic character that must not be omitted3 ,be ye doers of the word and not hearers only1 deceiving your own selves4 ,for if any man be a hearer of the word and not a doer1 he is like unto a man beholding his natural face in a glass2 for he beholdeth himself and goeth his way1 and straightway forgetteth what manner of man he was4 ,the ,veman proverb is very like this3 ,whatever he devoid of understanding may be reading1 his virtue continues only so long as he is reading2 even as a frog is dignified only so long as it is seated on a lotus leaf4 ,one of the best examples of the kind of wit we are now discussing is found in the account of ,king ,asa's sickness and death4 ,the writer of the ,book of ,chronicles says3 ,yet in his disease he sought not unto the ,lord1 but to the ,physicians2 and then adds with imperturbable gravity1 ,and ,asa slept with his fathers4 ,referring to this passage1 ,professor ,matthews says3--,it looks like a sarcasm on the medical practitioners of ,palestine4 ,there is something similar to this in ,ecclesiastes3 ,wisdom is good--with an inheritance1 an ancient instance of the old flag--and an appropriation4 ,,iii4--,,the ,,sayings ,,of ,,jesus4 ,to this chapter belong many of the sayings of ,jesus4 ,he spoke in proverbs as well as in parables4 ,it is easier for a camel to go through the eye of a needle than for a rich man to enter the kingdom of heaven4 ,many are called1 but few are chosen4 ,the first shall be last1 and the last first4 ,a prophet is not without honor save in his own country and among his friends4 ,he that humbleth himself shall be exalted2 he that exalteth himself shall be abased4 ,be ye wise as serpents and harmless as doves4 ,physician1 heal thyself4 ,ye are the light of the world2 a city that is set on an hill can not be hid4 ,neither do men light a candle and put it under a bushel1 but on a candlestick and it giveth light unto all that are in the house4 ,let the dead bury their dead4 ,no man having put his hand to the plough and looking back is fit for the kingdom of ,god4 ,and why beholdest thou the mote that is in thy brother's eye1 but considerest not the beam that is in thine own eye8 ,there are several proverbs in other literatures very like this4 ,the ,russian3--,a pig came up to a horse and said1 ,your feet are crooked1 and your hair is worth nothing4 ,the ,bengal3--,the sieve said to the needle1 ,you have a hole in your tail4 ,the ,chinese3--,let every one sweep the snow before his own door1 and not busy himself with the frost on his neighbor's tiles4 ,ye can not serve ,god and ,mammon4 ,a house divided against itself can not stand4 ,beware of false prophets which come to you in sheep's clothing1 but inwardly they are ravening wolves4 ,ye shall know1 them by their fruits4 ,do men gather grapes of thorns or figs of thistles8 ,for unto every one that hath to him shall be given and he shall have abundance2 but from him that hath not shall be taken away even that which he hath4 ,wheresoever the carcass is1 there are the vultures gathered together4 ,give not that which is holy unto the dogs1 neither cast ye your pearls before swine1 lest they trample them under foot and turn again and rend you4 ,similar proverbs may be gathered from other sources4 ,the ,persian says1 ,it is folly to give comfits to a cow2 the ,veman1 ,though you anoint an ass all over with perfumes1 it feels not your fondness1 but will turn again and kick you2 the ,telugu asks1 ,what can a pig do with a rose-bottle8 the ,tamul says1 ,like reading a portion of the ,veda to a cow about to gore you2 and again1 ,though religious instruction be whispered into the ear of an ass1 nothing will come of it but the accustomed braying4 ,they that are whole need not a physician1 but they that are sick4 ,such sayings of ,jesus are true proverbs and instances of genuine wit4 ,archbishop ,trench says1 ,any one who by after investigation1 has sought to discover how much our rustic hearers carry away even from sermons to which they have attentively listened1 will find it is hardly ever the course or tenor of the argument1 supposing the discourse to have contained such2 but if anything is uttered1 as it used so often to be by the best ,puritan preachers1 tersely1 pointedly and epigrammatically1 this will have stayed by them while all the rest has passed away4 ,great preachers to the people1 such as have ever found their way to the universal heart of their fellows1 have ever been great employers of proverbs4 ,this principle helps to explain why1 in the case of ,jesus1 the common people heard him gladly4 ,,vi4 ,,repartee4 ,he that can define1 he that can answer a question so as to admit of no further answer1 is the best man4 ,jesus spent his life conversing with humble people on life and duty1 in giving wise answers1 showing that he saw at a larger angle of vision1 and at least silencing those who were not generous enough to accept his thoughts4--,emerson4 ,,repartee4 ,and no one was able to answer him a word1 neither durst any man from that day forth ask him any more questions4--,matthew4 ,the present chapter brings us to the subject of ,repartee4 ,of this form of wit1 ,professor ,matthews says1 ,nothing is more admirable1 nothing more quickly enlists our sympathies1 than this perfect command and quick1 instantaneous concentration of the faculties1 when a man is taken at a disadvantage and has to repel an insinuation or an insult at a moment's warning4 ,that felicity of instantaneous analysis which we call readiness1 has saved thousands of men from mortification or contempt4 ,the dextrous leap of thought by which the mind escapes from a seemingly hopeless dilemma is worth more than all the logic and learning of the world4 ,the impromptu reply1 says ,moliere1 is precisely the touchstone of wit4 ,the pages of the ,bible are sometimes enlivened by sharp repartees4 ,the men of old time1 the men of the ,hebrew nation1 understood the power of the quick and flashing answer1 as well as more modern generations4 ,johnson and ,foote and ,sheridan might have found it by no means easy to hold their own in ,judea4 ,it is very likely that their powers would have been put to the severest test4 ,i4 ,turning to the pages of the old ,testament1 we find many striking examples4 ,ben-hadad sends word to the king of ,israel1 threatening to destroy his army4 ,the king of ,israel replies1 ,tell him1 ,let not him that girdeth on his harness1 boast himself as he that putteth it off4 ,amaziah desired war with ,jehoash4 ,he sends to him saying1 ,come1 let us look one another in the face4 ,jehoash simply responds to the presumptuous challenge1 ,the thistle that was in ,lebanon sent to the cedar that was in ,lebanon1 saying1 ,give thy daughter to my son to wife4 ,and there passed by a wild beast that was in ,lebanon and trod down the thistle4 ,job retorts upon ,zophar1 after a wearisome recital of dreary commonplaces intended for comfort1 ,no doubt but ye are the people1 and wisdom will die with you4 ,but ,i have understanding as well as you2 ,i am not inferior to you2 yea1 who knoweth not such things as these8 ,to the speech introduced by these words1 ,eliphaz sharply replies1 ,art thou the first man that was born8 or wast thou made before the hills8 ,hast thou heard the secret of ,god1 and dost thou restrain wisdom to thyself8 ,what knowest thou that we know not8 ,what understandest thou which is not in us8 ,with us are both the gray-headed and very aged men1 much elder than thy father4 ,upon this latter sentiment ,elihu expresses himself when he finds opportunity to put in a word2 ,great men are not always wise1 neither do the aged understand judgment4 ,indeed the ,book of ,job abounds in sharp speeches and replies as cutting as the speeches they answer4 ,the sufferer obstinately refuses to accept their theory of his affliction or to adopt the remedies his friends propose4 ,ye are forgers of lies1 he exclaims1 ye are physicians of no value4 ,o that ye would altogether hold your peace1 and it should be your wisdom4 ,in response to this appeal1 ,eliphaz becoming piqued proceeds to administer consolation with the lash3 ,shall a wise man utter vain knowledge1 and fill his belly with the east wind8 ,should he reason with unprofitable talk or with speeches wherewith he can do no good8 ,i have heard many such things1 cries the wretched ,job1 miserable comforters are ye all4 ,if your soul were in my soul's stead1 ,i could heap up words against you1 and shake mine head at you2 but ,i would strengthen you with my mouth1 and the moving of my lips should assuage your grief4 ,there were some word-battles between ,sanballat and ,nehemiah while the latter was trying to build the walls of ,jerusalem1 and the former was doing his best to hinder the enterprise4 ,come1 says ,sanballat1 let us meet together in one of the villages in the plain of ,ono1--let us be friendly1 let us have a pleasant visit together1--but he thought to do me mischief4 ,the crafty ,sanballat did not take the builder of ,jerusalem napping4 ,nehemiah replies1 ,i am doing a great work so that ,i can not come down2 why should the work cease whilst ,i leave it to come down to you8 ,are your wishes of such mighty importance1 ,o ,sanballat that ,i should leave the ,lord's work8 ,must the building cease that ,i may gratify your whim8 ,go to1 ,sanballat1 go to2 ,i can not come down4 ,my work is great and noble2 thou art a trifler and hypocrite6 ,in precisely this vein was ,spurgeon's reply to the pious bore who sent up word1 ,tell him a servant of the ,lord wishes to see him4 ,it was ,saturday afternoon1 and ,spurgeon replied1 ,tell him ,i am busy with his ,master6 ,sanballat will have at him again3 ,it is reported among the heathen1 and ,gashmu said it1 that thou and the ,jews think to rebel2 for which cause thou buildest the wall that thou mayest be their king1 according to these words4 ,and thou hast appointed prophets to preach of thee at ,jerusalem1 saying1 ,there is a king in ,judah2 and now shall it be reported to the king according to these words4 ,come now1 therefore1 and let us take counsel together4 ,to this tissue of falsehoods manufactured by the mendacious ,gashmu1 ,nehemiah flashes back with indignation1 ,there are no such things as thou sayest1 but thou feignest it out of thine own heart4 ,nehemiah comes very near giving what ,touchstone would call the lie direct1 and he gives it without the qualifying ,if4 ,robert ,collyer has the following comment upon ,gashmu1 who was quoted by ,sanballat as authority for the charge that ,nehemiah was going to set up for a king3 ,this only1 this one thing is left3 ,a good man was doing a good work with all his might1 and bad men tried to hinder him4 ,they tried to hurt his person4 ,gashmu was above that4 ,he was none of your common rowdies4 ,sanballat and ,tobiah might do that1 but not ,gashmu2 yet ,gashmu will sit there and nurse his dislike1 and be glad to hear the petty stories that float like thistledown through the neighborhood against the innocent man2 words are twisted and turned to meanings ,nehemiah never thought of1 and ,gashmu hopes they are true2 he wishes they were true2 the wish is father to the thought1 and he believes them4 99 99 99 ,so ,gashmu has permitted his prejudices to grow into a lie4 ,gashmu is to live thousands of years for one purely false assertion1 and to be the representative man of unprincipled gossips and narrow bigots as long as the world stands4 ,another illustration4 ,when the woman1 in time of famine1 appealed to the ,king of ,israel as he passed by1 ,help1 my lord1 ,o ,king1 he turned upon her with the somewhat grim rejoinder1 ,if the ,lord do not help thee1 whence shall ,i help thee8 ,her case was hopeless1 if the ,lord could do nothing4 ,although the resemblance is not very strong1 this incident suggests a story of ,michael ,angelo4 ,it calls to mind the way in which he took revenge upon ,biagio di ,cesena4 ,this courtier ventured to criticise his ,last ,judgment4 ,with a swift stroke he turned the ,minos of the fresco into a likeness of his critic4 ,biagio complained to the ,pope4 ,where has he placed you8 inquired the ,pontiff4 ,in ,hell1 said ,biagio4 ,i am sorry1 replied the ,pope2 ,if it had been in ,purgatory1 something might have been done1 but in ,hell ,i have no jurisdiction4 ,,ii4 ,examples of prompt and keen retort are not confined to the ,old ,testament4 ,when we turn to the ,new ,testament1 we find additional illustrations4 ,when ,paul was making his defence before the ,council1 he said1 ,men and brethren1 ,i have lived in all good conscience before ,god until this day4 ,this declaration of innocence offended the ,high ,priest ,ananias1 and he commanded those who stood by1 to smite the speaker on the mouth4 ,this raised the indignation of ,paul1 and with the swiftness of an arrow he transfixed the ,priest1 ,god shall smite thee1 thou whited wall2 for sittest thou to judge me after the law and commandest me to be smitten contrary to the law8 ,this was understood as a bolt of invective by those who heard it1 for they asked in alarm1 ,revilest thou ,god's ,high ,priest8 ,the answer of ,paul was a still more subtle sarcasm3 ,i wist not1 brethren1 that he was the ,high ,priest4 ,there was nothing in the conduct of the man to betoken the dignity of his office4 ,god's ,high ,priest must surely be fair and impartial4 ,god's ,high ,priest would never counsel violence4 ,the mistake1 ,paul would imply1 was perfectly natural and excusable4 ,there is a story of ,john ,randolph not unlike this4 ,indeed1 the sarcasm is the same in spirit and purpose4 ,paul admitted that one must not revile ,god's ,high ,priest1 but he did not perceive that the ,high ,priest was present4 ,the coarse1 loud1 ill-tempered person who commanded to smite him on the mouth could not be ,high ,priest6 ,the following was the occasion of ,randolph's sarcasm3 ,during the winter of #ahcd a member of the ,house1 to whom he was much attached1 died4 ,his place was taken by a young man1 vain and ambitious1 who began his career by making a bitter attack on ,mr4 ,randolph4 ,no reply was made by the latter4 ,several days passed1 when a question came up in which he was deeply interested1 and he delivered a very earnest and impressive speech4 ,as he closed1 he said1 ,i should not1 ,mr4 ,speaker1 have returned to press this matter with so much earnestness1 had not my views possessed the sanction and concurrence of my late departed friend1 whose seat1 ,i lament1 is now unhappily vacant4 ,how skillfully1 in the story of the young man who had been healed of his blindness1 does the subject of the cure parry the thrusts of the synagogue authorities6 ,give ,god the praise1 they exhort1 we know that this man is a sinner6 ,whether he be a sinner or no1 says the young man1 ,i can not tell2 one thing ,i know that whereas ,i was blind1 now ,i see4 ,thus repulsed1 they begin again4 ,what did he to thee8 ,how opened he thine eyes8 ,he replies1 ,i have told you already1 and ye did not hear2 wherefore would ye hear it again8 ,will ye also be his disciples8 ,stung to the quick1 they revile him1 ,thou art his disciple1 but we are ,moses' disciples4 ,we know that ,god spake unto ,moses1 but as for this fellow we know not from whence he is6 ,thoroughly aroused1 the young man sends home to them a final thrust3 ,why herein is a marvelous thing that ye know not from whence he is1 and yet he hath opened mine eyes8 ,now we know that ,god heareth not sinners2 but if any man be a worshipper of ,god and doeth his will1 him he heareth4 ,since the world began1 was it not heard that any man opened the eyes of one born blind4 ,if this man were not of ,god1 he could do nothing6 ,abuse and excision alone remain to the rulers of the synagogue4 ,thou wast altogether born in sins1 and dost thou teach us8 ,and they cast him out4 ,excommunication is the sole answer of priest-craft and bigotry to reason4 ,,iii4 ,to many readers it may seem impious to say that under the head of ,repartee we must classify many of those words of ,jesus with which he cuts through the sophistry of opponents and disentangles himself from the webs that are woven about him4 ,let it be remembered1 however1 that we are dealing with his utterances simply as literature2 with their religious significance1 we are not now concerned4 ,we are discussing the sayings of ,jesus as we would the sayings of ,johnson or ,goldsmith4 ,one of the most striking instances is found in the controversy over exorcism4 ,when the scribes who came down from ,jerusalem charged1 ,he hath ,beelzebub and by the prince of the devils casts he out devils1 he quickly reduced the accusation to an absurdity3 ,how can ,satan cast out ,satan8 ,if he rise up against himself and be divided1 he cannot stand1 but hath an end4 ,he goes further--,if ,i by ,beelzebub cast out devils1 by whom do your children cast them out8 ,there was one occasion1 however1 when ,jesus himself seems to have been vanquished by a swift rejoinder4 ,when the ,syro-,phenician woman came to him in behalf of her daughter1 in order to test her faith he said1--,let the children first be filled1 for it is not meet to take the children's bread and to cast it unto the dogs4 ,yes1 ,lord1 she answered1 yet the dogs under the table eat of the children's crumbs4 ,these words came from a bright intellect as well as from a trusting heart4 ,jesus appreciated the keenness of the reply no less than the confidence it expressed4 ,for this saying go thy way2 the devil is gone out of thy daughter4 ,for once1 says ,macbeth1 ,jesus was refuted and that by his own figure2 and he wished to be refuted4 ,how we enjoy such a dilemma as the one in which he placed the chief priests and the scribes and the elders6 ,they asked him1 ,by what authority doest thou these things8 ,and who gave thee authority to do these things8 ,i will also ask of you one question1 says ,jesus1 and answer me1 and ,i will tell you by what authority ,i do these things--the baptism of ,john1 was it from heaven1 or of men8 answer me4 ,and they reasoned with themselves1 saying1 ,if we shall say from heaven1 he will say1 ,why then did ye not believe him8 ,but if we shall say of men1--they feared the people2 for all men counted ,john that he was a prophet1 indeed4 ,and they answered and said unto ,jesus1 ,we can not tell4 ,and ,jesus answered and said unto them1 ,neither tell ,i you by what authority ,i do these things4 ,another time came to ,jesus ,scribes and ,pharisees which were of ,jerusalem1 saying1 ,why do thy disciples transgress the tradition of the ,elders8 for they wash not their hands when they eat bread8 ,how quick and effective the reply3 ,why do ye also transgress the commandment of ,god by your tradition8 ,nothing could be said in response4 ,the question was absolutely closed4 ,the disciples violate your tradition8 ,very good2 but what does your tradition violate8 ,can we not see his opponents1 falling back beaten1 knitting their brows1 taking counsel together1 planning some overwhelming defeat for this impudent young heretic8 ,what ,thersites said of ,ajax would well apply to them3 ,he bites his lips with a politic regard1 as who should say1 ,there were wit in this head an' 'twould out2 and so there is1 but it lies as coldly in him as fire in a flint1 which will not show without knocking4 ,when the woman poured the spikenard on the head of ,jesus1 ,judas1 the virtuous ,judas1 forsooth6 made objection4 ,why was not this ointment sold for three hundred pence and given to the poor8 ,why not1 indeed1--for ,judas is custodian of the poor fund4 ,judas1 returns his ,master1--and there was pathos as well as rebuke in the words1--,judas1 the poor ye have with you always1 and whenever ye will1 ye may do them good4 ,this was the first time ,judas had ever manifested any solicitude for the poor4 ,but me1 ye have not always4 ,judas was silenced2 but he began to brood revenge4 ,soon he stole out and went to the chief priests4 ,he had not secured the price of the spikenard1 but he would indemnify himself by selling his ,master6 ,with what relish do we read the trenchant replies of ,jesus to the ,scribes and ,pharisees and ,herodians who had leagued to entangle him in his talk4 ,easily as ,samson broke the green withes1 did he break the verbal fetters they forged4 ,in the resurrection1 they neither marry nor are given in marriage6 ,render unto ,caesar the things that are ,caesar's1 and unto ,god the things that are ,god's4 ,what can be more admirable viewed simply as repartee1--as illustrations of the dexterous leap of thought by which the mind escapes from a seemingly hopeless dilemma8 ,if one were to read such fragments of ,gospel history for the first time1 without the idea that he must attach a solemn and awful meaning to every word1 how would he delight in these intellectual contests and hail the genius of the victor6 ,after the besiegers1 in the preceding incident1 had exhausted their fruitless ingenuity1 ,jesus turns upon them with the question1 ,what think ye of ,christ8 ,whose ,son is he8 ,the ,son of ,david1 they feebly mutter4 ,how then doth ,david call him ,lord8 ,if ,david call him ,lord1 how is he his son8 ,that ended the controversy4 ,the combined forces of theology and politics retired in confusion1 evidently looking1 as ,dickens said of the portraits of the ,dedlock family1 as if they did not know what to make of it4 ,they had lost the battle4 ,one can imagine the evangelist who afterwards wrote the account1 almost chuckling with inward satisfaction1 as he recalled the scene and recorded the result3 ,and no man was able to answer him a word1 neither durst any man from that day ask him any more questions4 ,,vii4 ,wit and ,logic4 ,who would say that truth ought to stand disarmed against falsehood1 or that the enemies of the faith shall be at liberty to frighten the faithful with hard words or jeer at them with lively sallies of wit1 while the ,christians ought never to write except with a coldness of style enough to set the reader asleep8--,augustine4 ,,wit ,,and ,,logic4 ,i was not gone far before ,i heard the sound of trumpets and alarms1 which seemed to proclaim the march of an ,enemy2 and as ,i afterwards found was in reality what ,i apprehended it4 ,there appeared at a great distance a very shining light1 and in the midst of it a person of most beautiful aspect2 her name was ,truth4 ,on her right hand1 there marched a male deity1 who bore several quivers on his shoulders1 and grasped several arrows in his hand4 ,his name was ,wit4--,addison4 ,in her essay on ,heine1 ,george ,eliot writes3 ,every one who has had the opportunity of making the comparison1 will remember that the effect produced on him by some witticisms is closely akin to the effect produced on him by subtle reasoning which lays open a fallacy or absurdity2 and there are persons whose delight in such reasoning always manifests itself in laughter4 ,this affinity of wit with ratiocination is the more obvious in proportion as the species of wit is higher and deals less with words and with superficialities than with the essential qualities of things4 ,some of ,dr4 ,johnson's most admirable witticisms consist in the suggestion of an analogy which immediately exposes the absurdity of an action or proposition2 and it is only their ingenuity1 condensation and instantaneousness which lift them from reasoning into wit4 ,the opinion of ,george ,eliot has been shared by others4 ,pitt declared that all wit is true reasoning1 and ,rogers says that wit is truth4 ,a ,french writer has observed that reason needs to be armed with the terrible epigram4 ,and even solemn ,john ,milton writes of ,plato's dialogues1 ,there is scarce one of them1 especially wherein some notable sophister lies sweating and turmoiling under the inevitable and merciless dilemmas of ,socrates1 but he that reads1 were it ,saturn himself1 would be robbed of more than a smile4 ,there are in literature abundant examples of the condensed logic of wit1--the logic that exposes a fallacy1 answers an objection and demolishes an argument1 without resorting to major and minor premise and formal conclusion4 ,one or two of these may pave the way to the main purpose of this chapter4 ,where was your ,protestant ,church before ,luther8 asked a ,catholic of ,wilkes4 ,did you wash your face this morning8 said ,wilkes4 ,i did1 sir4 ,where was your face before you washed it8 ,the logic of wit as employed by ,dr4 ,johnson1 is referred to by ,george ,eliot4 ,on one occasion it was debated whether a clergyman who had five years before been guilty of some grave sin should be reinstated4 ,johnson inquired whether the man had repented4 ,it was admitted that he had4 ,then1 said ,johnson1 if he has repented1 is he not good enough to go to heaven8 ,certainly4 ,why1 sir1 then there is no objection4 ,a man who is good enough to go to heaven is good enough to be a clergyman4 ,johnson denounced ,lord ,bolingbroke in the following immortal analogy3 ,sir1 he was a scoundrel and a coward2 a scoundrel for charging a blunderbuss against religion and morality1 a coward because he had not resolution enough to fire it off himself1 but left half-a-crown to a beggarly ,scotchman to draw the trigger after his death4 ,a certain clergyman who had been addicted to bawling and roaring in the pulpit said1 ,i once thought it was the thunder that killed1 and know now that it is the lightning that does the execution4 ,i mean to thunder less and lighten more4 ,sir ,thomas ,overbury punctures certain pretensions thus3 ,the man who has not anything to boast of but his illustrious ancestors1 is like a potato--the only good belonging to him is underground4 ,thompson1 of the ,westminster ,review1 defended the ,radicals against the attacks of the ,whigs in this manner3 ,noah was a ,radical when1 hearing the world was to be drowned1 he went about such a commonsense proceeding as making for himself a ship to swim in4 ,an antediluvian ,whig would have laid together half-a-dozen sticks for an ark and called it a 'virtual representation4' ,the principle that underlies these instances is obvious4 ,the form may vary but in every case there is an analogy that serves all the purposes of formal logic1--an analogy which immediately exposes the absurdity of an action or proposition4 ,the writers of the ,bible understood and employed the same principle4 ,i4 ,one of the best examples of its use is found in ,nathan's parable4 ,he goes to ,david and tells him3 ,there were two men in our city2 the one rich1 the other poor4 ,the rich man had exceeding many flocks and herds2 but the poor man had nothing save one little ewe lamb1 which he had brought and nourished up2 and it grew up together with him and with his children2 and it did eat of his own meat and drank of his own cup1 and lay in his bosom1 and was unto him as a daughter4 ,and there came a traveller unto the rich man1 and he spared to take of his own flock and of his own herd to dress it for the wayfaring man that was come unto him2 but took the poor man's lamb and dressed it for the man that was come unto him4 ,such an action is so atrocious that it kindles ,david's wrath4 ,he little suspects the purpose of the wily prophet4 ,as the ,lord liveth1 he cries1 the man that hath done this thing shall surely die6 ,and he shall restore the lamb four-fold because he did this thing1 and because he had no pity4 ,beware1 ,david1 beware6 ,this ,nestor-prophet1 this ,nathan of the subtle wit and keen-edged tongue hath digged a pit for thee and thou hast fallen into it4 ,swiftly the prophet smites the bewildered king with the conclusion1 ,thou art the man6 ,could a volume of reasoning have so impressed ,david with the enormity of his crime as this simple analogy of ,nathan8 ,a similar instance is found in the first book of ,kings4 ,ahab the king of ,israel had allowed the ,syrian general1 ,ben-hadad1 to escape4 ,one of the prophets1 determined to rebuke him1 disguised himself and sat by the wayside1 waiting until the king should pass by4 ,and as the king passed by1 he cried unto the king and said3 ,thy servant went out into the midst of the battle1 and behold a man turned aside and brought a man unto me and said1 ,keep this man2 if by any means he be missing1 then shall thy life be for his life or else thou shalt pay a talent of silver4 ,and as thy servant was busy here and there he was gone4 ,ahab does not suspect the snare of the prophet4 ,what would my lord1 the king1 decide8 ,shall thy servant pay the forfeit8 ,and the king of ,israel said unto him1 ,so shall thy judgment be2 thyself hath decided it4 ,and he made haste1 removed his disguise1 and said to the king3 ,thus saith the ,lord3 ,because thou hast let go out of thine hand a man whom ,i had appointed to utter destruction1 therefore thy life shall go for his life1 and thy people for his people4 ,ahab has judged himself4 ,no wonder he was vexed4 ,and the king of ,israel went to the house heavy and displeased4 ,nothing so disconcerts one as the recoil of his own logic4 ,let us place side by side with these illustrations one or two pieces of the same kind of reasoning from ,shakespeare4 ,the ,court ,fool endeavors to show ,lear his own pitiful lack of wisdom in giving away his kingdom to his daughters3-- ,,fool4--,nuncle1 give me an egg1 and ,i'll give thee two crowns4 ,,lear4--,what two crowns shall they be8 ,,fool4--,why1 after ,i have clove the egg i' the middle and eat up the meat1 the two crowns of the egg4 ,when thou clovest thy crown i' the middle and gavest away both parts1 thou borest thine ass on thy back o'er the dirt2 thou hadst little wit in thy bald crown when thou gavest thy golden one away4 ,upon another occasion the following dialogue occurs3-- ,,fool4--,canst thou tell how an oyster makes his shell8 ,,lear4--,no4 ,,fool4--,nor ,i neither2 but ,i can tell why a snail has a house4 ,,lear4--,why8 ,,fool4--,why to put his head in2 not to give it away to his daughters and leave his horns without a case4 ,lear is so stung with the sense of his folly by these analogies of his jester that he exclaims in rage and bitterness1 ,i shall forget my nature6 ,it is the argument of ,nathan1 ,thou art the man4 ,upon the same principle1 but in a different way1 the ,psalmist reasons with those who slay the widow and the stranger and murder the fatherless1 and who say1 ,the ,lord shall not see1 neither shall the ,god of ,jacob regard it4 ,thus he argues3 ,understand1 ye brutish among the people2 and ye fools1 when will ye be wise8 ,he that planted the ear1 shall he not hear8 he that formed the eye1 shall he not see8 ,under this head must we also place the judgment of ,solomon1 when the two women came before him1 each claiming the living child4 ,then said the king1 ,the one saith1 ,this is my son that liveth and thy son is dead2 and the other saith1 ,nay2 but thy son is the dead and mine is the living one4 ,and the king said1 ,bring me a sword4 ,and they brought a sword before the king4 ,and the king said1 ,divide the living child in two and give half to one and half to the other4 ,then spoke the woman whose the living child was unto the king1 for her heart yearned upon her son1 and she said1 ,o my ,lord1 give her the living child and in no wise slay it4 ,but the other said1 ,let it be neither thine nor mine1 but divide it4 ,then the king answered and said1 ,give her 7the first7 the living child1 and in no wise slay it2 she is the mother thereof4 ,solomon had to use a sharp argument1 but he settled the controversy4 ,,ii4 ,the suggestion of an analogy that immediately exposes the absurdity of an action or proposition1 was the favorite method of argument with ,jesus4 ,he spun no metaphysical cobwebs1 he used no long chains of linked propositions2 it is no irreverence to say that his quick wit was his main reliance4 ,in a sentence or two1 with a simple1 homely figure1 he reduced to an absurdity the conduct he censured and the proposition he opposed4 ,on one occasion he was asked1 ,is it lawful to heal on the ,sabbath day8 ,what man shall there be among you1 he answered1 that shall have one sheep1 and if it fall into a pit on the ,sabbath day1 will he not lay hold on it and bring it out8 ,how much more1 then1 is a man better than a sheep8 ,wherefore it is lawful to do well on the ,sabbath day4 ,at another time the same subject came up4 ,because ,jesus had healed on the ,sabbath day1 the ruler of the synagogue was filled with indignation and made a very grotesque spectacle of himself4 ,he stormed1 scolded1 and roared to the people1 ,there are six days in which men ought to work2 in them therefore come and be healed1 and not on the ,sabbath day4 ,jesus answered3 ,thou hypocrite1 doth not each one of you on the ,sabbath loose his ox or his ass from the stall and lead him away to watering8 ,and ought not this woman1 being a daughter of ,abraham1 whom ,satan hath bound1 lo1 these eighteen years1 be loosed from this bond on the ,sabbath day8 ,the indignant ruler had to smother his wrath4 ,and when he 7,jesus7 had said these things1 all his adversaries were ashamed4 ,the people enjoyed their confusion1 and evidently applauded the sharp-witted young prophet who had silenced the fault-finding tongues of the rulers4 ,all the people rejoiced for the glorious things that were done by him6 ,the ,scribes and ,pharisees were once murmuring and complaining that he mingled with publicans and sinners1 and even condescended to eat with them4 ,and ,jesus answering said unto them1 ,they that are whole need not a physician1 but they that are sick4 ,i came not to call the righteous1 but sinners to repentance6 ,when the ,pharisees and ,sadducees desired that he would show them a sign from heaven1 he answered and said unto them1 ,when it is evening1 ye say that it will be fair weather for the sky is red4 ,and in the morning1 ,it will be foul weather to-day2 for the sky is red and lowering4 ,o1 ye hypocrites1 ye can discern the face of the sky2 but can ye not discern the signs of the times8 ,he uses essentially the same argument for a similar request3 ,when ye see a cloud rise out of the ,west1 straightway ye say1 ,there cometh a shower1 and so it is4 ,and when ye see the ,south wind blow1 ye say1 ,there will be heat1 and it cometh to pass4 ,ye hypocrites1 ye can discern the face of the sky and of the earth2 but how is it that ye do not discern this time8 ,says ,geike1 ,with biting irony1 he turned on them in a few brief1 incisive sentences4 99 99 99 ,an evil and adulterous generation seeks after a sign of the approach of the ,kingdom of ,god1 while it is blind to the signs around that the ,messiah must come1 if the nation is not to perish4 ,in a similar manner he shows how ridiculous are the doubts of those who fear that ,god will not answer prayer4 ,if a son ask bread of any of you that is a father1 will ye give him a stone8 ,how this must have arrested the attention of his auditors2 how they began to listen1 curious to know what was coming next4 ,or if he ask a fish1 will he for a fish give him a serpent8 ,now they exchange glances as much as to say1 ,no1 no2 surely we would not do that6 ,but only for a moment4 ,the expectant faces are again turned upon the ,great ,teacher4 ,or if he shall ask an egg1 will he offer him a scorpion8 ,no1 no6 and now they are eager for the conclusion3 ,if ye then being evil1 know how to give good gifts unto your children1 how much more shall your ,heavenly ,father give the ,holy ,spirit to them that ask him8 ,it is the climax of absurdity for you to think that you are better than ,god1 and will do more for your children than the ,great ,father will do for his children6 ,the disciples of ,jesus came to tell him that the ,pharisees are offended at some of his sayings4 ,his only reply is1 ,let them alone2 they be blind leaders of the blind4 ,and if the blind lead the blind1 both shall fall into the ditch4 ,when he charges the ,pharisees with tithing mint1 anise1 and cummin1 while neglecting judgment1 mercy and faith1 he stamps their conduct with an analogy that makes them ludicrous forever1 ,ye blind guides which strain out a gnat and swallow a camel4 ,at dinner1 he was rebuked by his host for permitting a penitent woman to wash his feet with her tears and wipe them with the hairs of her head4 ,simon1 calmly returned the guest1 ,i have somewhat to say to thee4 ,master1 ,say on4 ,jesus then proceeds to impale him upon the following question3 ,there was a certain creditor which had two debtors2 the one owed him five hundred pence1 the other fifty4 ,and when they had nothing to pay1 he frankly forgave them both4 ,tell me1 therefore1 which of them will love him most8 ,simon understands whither the question tends1 and slowly and reluctantly comes his answer3 ,i--suppose--that--he--to--whom--he-- forgave most4 ,thou hast rightly judged4 ,yes1 ,simon1 but thou hast condemned thyself and justified the woman4 ,the story of the vineyard and its application are similar to ,nathan's parable4 ,there was a certain householder which planted a vineyard1 and hedged it round about and digged a wine-press in it1 and built a tower1 and let it out to husbandmen1 and went into a far country4 ,and when the time of the fruit drew near1 he sent his servants to the husbandmen1 that they might receive the fruits of it4 ,and the husbandmen took his servants1 and beat one1 and killed another1 and stoned another4 ,again he sent other servants1 more than the first2 and they did unto them likewise4 ,but last of all1 he sent unto them his ,son2 saying1 ,they will reverence my ,son4 ,but when the husbandmen saw the ,son1 they said among themselves1 ,this is the heir2 come1 let us kill him1 and let us seize on the inheritance4 ,and they caught him and cast him out of the vineyard1 and slew him4 ,this is the story4 ,jesus turns to the ,pharisees3 ,when the ,lord1 therefore1 of the vineyard cometh1 what will he do unto these husbandmen8 ,priests and ,pharisees are moved with indignation4 ,this is horrible2 it almost exceeds belief4 ,those husbandmen were monsters of ingratitude and wickedness6 ,the ,pharisees answer3 ,he will miserably destroy those wicked men1 and will let out his vineyard unto other husbandmen1 which shall render him the fruits in their seasons4 ,fatal answer for you1 ,o ,scribes and ,pharisees6 ,therefore ,i say unto you1 the ,kingdom of ,god shall be taken from ,,you1 and given to a nation bringing forth the fruits thereof4 ,there is a touch of humor in ,matthew's description of the manner in which the real object of this story dawned upon the minds of the hearers4 ,and when the ,pharisees had heard his parable1 they perceived that he spake of them4 ,are we not irresistibly reminded of ,falstaff1 when the fairies in the forest turned out to be flesh and blood1 ,i do begin to perceive that ,i am made an ass8 ,do we not feel about many of these condensed arguments of ,jesus1 as ,milton did about the sophist sweating and turmoiling under the inevitable and merciless dilemmas of ,socrates1 that he who reads1 were it ,saturn himself1 would be robbed of more than a smile8 ,let us add by way of comparison1 a passage from the ,athenian ,master4 ,here is a fragment of dialogue upon the enslaving power of money4 ,come1 now1 and let us reason with the unjust who is not intentionally in error4 ',sweet sir1' we will say to him1 'what think you of things esteemed noble and ignoble8 ,is not the noble that which subjects the beast to the man1 or rather to the god in man8 and the ignoble that which subjects the man to the beast8' ,he can hardly avoid saying ,yes1--can he now8 ,not if he has any regard for my opinion4 ,but if he admit this1 we may ask him another question1--,how would a man profit if he received gold and silver on condition that he was to enslave the noblest part of him to the worst8 ,who can imagine that a man who sold his son or daughter into slavery for money1 especially if he sold them into the hands of fierce and evil men1 would be the gainer1 however large might be the sum which he received8 ,and will any one say that he is not a miserable caitiff who sells his own divine being to that which is most atheistical and detestable1 and has no pity8 ,this selection will enable us to see that the method commonly used by ,socrates was essentially the method that ,jesus so frequently employed4 ,,iii4 ,when we pass on to other portions of the ,new ,testament1 we find examples of the same kind of reasoning in ,james and ,paul4 ,most admirably does ,james show the futility of faith without works4 ,what shall it profit1 my brethren1 though a man say he hath faith and hath not works8 ,can faith save him8 ,if a brother and sister be naked and destitute of daily food1 and one of you say unto them1 ,depart in peace1 be ye warmed and filled2 notwithstanding ye give them not those things which are needful to the body1 what doth it profit8 ,even so faith1 if it hath not works1 is dead1 being alone4 ,the class of people referred to by ,james are aptly described by ,fielding in the character of ,peter ,pounce4 ,sir1 said ,adams1 my definition of charity is a generous disposition to relieve the distressed4 ,there is something in that definition1 answered ,peter1 which ,i like well enough2 it is1 as you say1 a disposition to do it1 and does not so much consist in the act as in the disposition to do it4 ,but1 alas6 ,mr4 ,adams1 who are meant by the distressed8 ,believe me1 the distresses of mankind are mostly imaginary1 and it would be rather folly than goodness to relieve them4 ,sure1 sir1 replied ,adams1 hunger and thirst1 cold and nakedness1 and other distresses which attend the poor1 can never be said to be imaginary evils4 ,how can any man complain of hunger1 said ,peter1 in a country where such excellent salads are to be gathered in almost every field8 or of thirst1 where every river and stream produce such delicious potations8 ,and as for cold and nakedness1 they are evils introduced by luxury and custom4 ,a man naturally wants clothes no more than a horse or any other animal2 and there are whole nations who go without them4 ,peter ,pounce would have said to the brother or sister naked and destitute of daily food1 ,depart in peace2 be ye warmed and filled4 ,the declaration of ,james that faith without works is dead1 is illustrated in the sayings of others also3 ,sweet words1 empty hands4--,telugu4 ,kindness1 but no milk4--,urdu4 ,though they are brothers1 their pockets are not sisters4--,turk4 ,it is not by saying ,honey1 ,honey1 that sweetness comes into the mouth4--,ib4 ,his words leap over forts1 his feet do not cross the threshold4--,telugu4 ,if you do not ask me for food and raiment1 ,i will care for you as my own child4--,ib4 ,equally admirable is that comparison of ,paul in which he likens the ,church to the human body and shows the folly of jealousy and schism3 ,if the foot shall say1 ,because ,i am not the hand1 ,i am not of the body2 is it therefore not of the body8 ,if the whole body were an eye1 where were the hearing8 ,if the whole were hearing1 where were the smelling8 ,very pleasantly1 but very effectually1 does he remind those who professed to speak with tongues a sort of supernatural language1 in the early ,christian assemblies1 that it was better to speak five words with the understanding than ten thousand words in an unknown tongue4 ,an illustration serves his purpose4 ,even things without life1 giving sound1 whether pipe or harp1 except they give a distinction in sound1 how shall it be known what is piped or harped8 ,for if the trumpet give an uncertain sound1 who shall prepare himself for battle8 ,so likewise ye1 except ye utter by the tongue words easy to be understood1 how shall it be known what is spoken8 for ye shall speak into the air4 ,paul maintains the right of those who establish and teach churches1 to be supported by those churches4 ,it was a right upon which he did not always insist in his own case2 but he fought for it as a great principle4 ,mine answer to them that do examine me is this3 ,have we not the power 7the right7 to eat and drink8 ,the objector would admit this4 ,very well6 ,who goeth a warfare any time at his own charges8 ,who planteth a vineyard and eateth not of the fruit thereof8 or who feedeth a flock1 and eateth not of the milk of the flock8 99 99 99 ,if we have sown unto you in spiritual things1 is it a great thing if we shall reap of your carnal things8 99 99 99 ,do ye not know that they which minister about holy things live of the things of the temple8 ,they which wait at the altar are partakers with the altar8 ,even so hath the ,lord ordained that they which preach the gospel should live of the gospel4 ,there is no gainsaying this argument4 ,the analogy is unanswerable4 ,already once or twice in this chapter1 reference has been made to ,socrates and his method4 ,much of the following passage would apply equally well to ,jesus or ,james or ,paul3 ,he generally begins with some question1 apparently so simple1 so stupidly simple1 and at such a distance from the field of discussion1 that his opponent often hesitates whether most to admire the docility or wonder at the stupidity of the querist1 and with a complacent smile1 half of pity1 half of contempt1 promptly replies4 ,other questions succeed faster and faster1 more and more difficult1 and gradually approaching1 in one long spiral of interrogations1 the central position in which the unhappy sophist's argument stands4 ,he now finds it impossible to escape1 and confounded1 perplexed and irritated1 discovers that he is compelled to admit some palpable contradiction to his original assertions1 and this too by means of those simple and innocent premises which he had so unsuspectingly granted4 ,he feels himself within the coils of a great logical boa-constrictor who binds his folds together tighter and tighter till the poor sophist is absolutely strangled4 ,,viii4 ,,the ,,use ,,of ,,ridicule ,,in ,,the ,,old ,,testament4 ,wisdom crieth without2 she uttereth her voice in the streets2 she crieth in the chief place of concourse1 in the openings of the gates2 in the city she uttereth her words1 saying1 ,how long ye simple ones will ye love simplicity8 ,and the scorners delight in their scorning1 and fools hate knowledge8 ,turn you at my reproof6--,solomon4 ,,the ,,use ,,of ,,ridicule ,,in ,,the ,,old ,,testament4 ,the oldest jibe in literature is the ridicule of false religion4--,emerson4 ,he that sitteth in the heavens shall laugh3 the ,lord shall hold them in derision4--,psalms4 ,in the ,bible1 the elements of wit and humor are effectively employed in dealing with the sins of men4 ,evil doing1 in its various motives and manifestations1 is denounced1 rendered repulsive1 made ghastly and terrible1 and when everything else has been done1 it is exhibited as grotesque and ludicrous4 ,sin is the great absurdity of the universe4 ,were it not so tragic1 it would shake the very heavens with laughter4 ,one of the old ,english poets has these lines3-- ,he who does not tremble at the sword1 ,who quails not with his head upon the block1 ,turn but a jest against him1 loses heart2 ,the shafts of wit slip thro' the stoutest mail4 ,there is no man alive that can live down ,the inextinguishable laughter of mankind4 ,with this fact the writers of the ,bible were quite as well acquainted as are the writers of modern times4 ,they took advantage of it for the same purpose4 ,of this we may be sure1 says ,hazlitt1 that ridicule fastens on the vulnerable points of a cause1 and finds out the weak sides of an argument2 if those who resort to it sometimes rely too much on its success1 those who are chiefly annoyed by it almost always are so with reason1 and can not be too much upon their guard against deserving it4 ,into hearts impervious to all else1 the writers of the ,bible drove the javelins of ridicule4 ,the ,sluggard4 ,if anything could make a lazy man feel uncomfortable1 it would be such thorns as those ,solomon has planted in his pillow3-- ,i went by the field of the slothful1 ,and by the vineyard of the man void of understanding2 ,and lo6 it was all grown over with thorns1 ,the face thereof was covered with nettles1 ,and the stone wall thereof was broken down4 ,then ,i beheld and considered well1 ,i saw and received instruction3 ',a little sleep1 a little slumber1 ,a little folding of the hands to sleep4' ,so shall thy poverty come as a robber1 ,and thy want as an armed man4 99 99 99 99 99 ,how long wilt thou sleep1 ,o sluggard1 ,when wilt thou rouse thee out of thy sleep8 ,the ,unfaithful ,friend4 ,if anything could make an unfaithful and deceitful friend1 one who professes much in times of prosperity and performs nothing in times of need1 ashamed of himself1 it would be such a comparison as we find in the book of ,job3-- ,my brethren are deceitful1 like the brook ,as the channel of brooks that pass away1 ,they become turbid from ice1 ,the snow hides itself in them4 ,at the time they are poured off1 they fail2 ,when it is hot they are consumed from their place4 ,the caravans along their way turn aside2 ,they go up into the wastes and perish4 ,the caravans of ,tema looked1 ,the companies of ,sheba hoped for them2 ,they were ashamed that they had trusted1 ,they came thither and were confounded4 ,the friends of ,job were like streams in the early spring1 when melting ice and snow filled their channels1 and the waters were not needed2 but in the heat of summer1 when fainting caravans looked for refreshment1 dry and dusty4 ,the ,drunkard4 ,if anything could move a drunkard to forswear his cups and lead a sober life1 it would be such a sarcastic description of him as that which follows3-- ,who hath woe8 ,who hath sorrow8 ,who hath contention8 ,who hath complaining8 ,who hath wounds without cause8 ,who hath redness of eyes8 ,they that tarry long at the wine1 ,they that go to try mixed wine4 99 99 99 99 99 ,thine eyes shall behold strange things1 ,and thy heart shall utter froward things1 ,yea thou shalt be as he that lieth down in the midst of the sea1 ,or as he that lieth upon the top of a mast4 ,the poem closes with a terrible thrust4 ,after the folly of the drunkard has been described1 his physical and mental condition pointed out--the red eyes1 the strange things seen in delirium1 the incoherent babbling1 the unsteady gait1 the surrounding perils1--the devotee of strong drink is made to exclaim1 ,when shall ,i awake8 ,i will seek it yet again6 ,knowing its effects1 suffering in mind and body from his potations1 such is the incorrigible stupidity of the wine-bibber that he no sooner wakens from his drunken slumber than he goes forth to seek again the source of his wretchedness6 ,the ,idolater4 ,nowhere is the use of ridicule by the writers of the ,old ,testament displayed to better advantage than in their treatment of idolatry4 ,against this sin they brought to bear the most potent weapons of their wit4 ,none of the resources of expression were left untried4 ,witness the withering irony with which ,elijah mocked the frantic priests of ,baal3 ,and it came to pass that at noon ,elijah mocked them and said1 ,cry aloud1 for he is a god2 either he is talking1 or he is pursuing1 or he is in a journey1 or peradventure he sleepeth and must be awaked4 ,no finer bit of irony can be found in any literature4 ,indeed1 we may regard it as the most perfect specimen extant of this species of wit4 ,jeremiah exclaims1 ,as the thief is ashamed when he is found1 so is the house of ,israel ashamed2 they1 their kings1 their princes and their priests1 and their prophets1 saying to a stock1 ,thou art my father1 and to a stone1 ,thou hast brought me forth4 ,the ,psalmist thus speaks of the gods of the heathen3 ,they have mouths1 but they speak not2 ,eyes have they1 but they see not2 ,noses have they1 but they smell not2 ,they have hands1 but they handle not2 ,feet have they1 but they walk not2 ,neither speak they thro' their throat4 ,having thus described the senselessness and impotence of the gods of the heathen1 he adds3 ,they that make them are like unto them1 ,so is everyone that trusteth in them4 ,in a similar vein ,jeremiah ridicules the idols3 ,for the customs of the people are vain2 for one cutteth a tree out of the forest1 the work of the hands of the workman1 with the axe4 ,they deck it with silver and with gold2 they fasten it with nails and with hammers that it move not4 ,they are upright as the palm tree1 but speak not2 they must needs be borne1 because they can not go4 ,be not afraid of them2 for they can not do evil1 neither also is it in them to do good4 99 99 99 ,the stock is a doctrine of vanities4 ,isaiah satirizes the idolaters in this fashion3 ,they shall be turned back1 they shall be greatly ashamed that trust in graven images1 they that say to the molten images1 ,ye are our gods4 ,hear ye deaf1 and look ye blind that ye may see4 ,who is blind but my servant8 or deaf as my messenger that ,i sent8 ,who is blind as he that is perfect 7in his own estimation71 and blind as is the ,lord's servant8 ,seeing many things1 but thou observest not2 opening the ears1 but he heareth not4 99 99 99 ,who among you will give ear to this and hearken and hear for time to come8 ,ezekiel declares that1 on account of their idolatries1 the people have become as worthless as a withered vine4 ,nothing useful can be made out of it4 ,it is only fit for the fire4 ,what is the vine tree more than any tree1 or than a branch which is among the trees of the forest8 ,shall wood be taken thereof to do any work8 or will men take a pin of it to hang any vessel thereon8 ,behold it is cast into the fire for fuel2 the fire devoureth both the ends of it1 and the midst of it is burned4 ,is it meet for any work8 ,behold1 when it was whole1 it was meet for no work2 how much less shall it be meet yet for any work1 when the fire hath devoured it1 and it is burned8 ,therefore1 thus saith the ,lord ,god3 ,as the vine tree among the trees of the forest1 which ,i have given to the fire for fuel1 so will ,i give the inhabitants of ,jerusalem4 ,there is an elaborate piece of sarcasm in the forty-fourth chapter of ,isaiah3 ,he heweth him down cedars1 and taketh the cypress and the oak which he strengtheneth for himself among the trees of the forest2 he planteth an ash and the rain doth nourish it4 ,then shall it be for a man to burn2 for he will take thereof and warm himself2 yea1 he kindleth it and baketh bread4 ,the tree which this idolater takes has grown up as any other tree1 and after it is cut down1 it is devoted to the same ordinary uses4 ,yet out of that very tree1 he maketh a god and worshippeth it2 he maketh a graven image1 and falleth down thereto4 ,the prophet repeats and amplifies1 ,he burneth part thereof in the fire2 with part thereof he eateth flesh1 he roasteth roast and is satisfied2 yea1 he warmeth himself and saith1 ,aha1 ,i am warm1 ,i have seen the fire2 and the residue thereof he maketh a god1 even his graven image2 he falleth down unto it and worshippeth it1 and prayeth unto it and saith1 ,deliver me1 for thou art my ,god4 ,then he concludes3 ,and none considereth in his heart1 neither is there knowledge nor understanding to say1 ,i have burned part of it in the fire2 yea1 also ,i have baked bread upon the coals thereof2 ,i have roasted flesh and eaten it2 and shall ,i make the residue thereof an abomination8 ,shall ,i fall down to the stock of a tree8 ,the idolater does not see1 does not consider what an abject simpleton he is to make a god out of the same material with which he bakes bread and roasts meat4 ,it is as if the prophet should say1 ,what sort of a god is that1 ,o ,israel1 with which you do your broiling and baking8 ,robert ,south comments on this passage3 ,with one part he furnishes his chimney1 with the other his chapel4 ,a strange thing that the fire must consume this part and burn incense to that6 ,as if there were more divinity in one end of the stick than in the other2 or as if it could be painted and graven omnipotent1 or the nails and hammer could give it an apotheosis4 ,the fatalistic excuse which the people make for their idolatries and other sins1 is thus disposed of by ,jeremiah3 ,behold ye trust in lying words that can not profit4 ,will ye steal1 murder1 and commit adultery1 and swear falsely1 and burn incense unto ,baal1 and walk after other gods whom ye know not2 and come and stand before me in this house which is called by my name1 and say1 ,we are delivered to do all these abominations8 ,is this house which is called by my name become a den of robbers in your eyes8 ,refuges of ,lies4 ,isaiah charges the rulers of the people with forsaking the word of the ,lord1 and substituting for his truth false maxims and iniquitous precepts4 ,they refuse to obey the divine commands1 and lead their subjects also into rebellion4 ,they have adopted other rules of life than those delivered by the prophets of ,jehovah1--other national policy than that promulgated from above4 ,in their overweening pride and self-confidence1 they look with disdain upon the requirements of ,god4 ,isaiah represents them as saying1 ,we have made a covenant with death1 and with hell are we at agreement2 when the overflowing scourge shall pass through1 it shall not come unto us2 for we have made lies our refuge1 and under falsehood have we hid ourselves4 ,but the prophet warns them that their fancied security shall be broken up4 ,judgment also will ,i lay to the line and righteousness to the plummet2 and the hail shall sweep away the refuge of lies1 and the waters shall overflow the hiding-place4 ,and your covenant with death shall be disannuled1 and your agreement with hell shall not stand4 ,when the overflowing scourge shall pass through1 then ye shall be trodden down by it4 ,he pauses a moment1 after this strain of invective1 and then sarcastically describes the insufficiency of their refuges by another figure1 ludicrous enough1 that of a man trying to stretch himself upon too short a bed1 and to cover himself with too narrow a blanket4 ,for the bed is shorter than that a man can stretch himself on it2 and the covering narrower than that he can wrap himself in it4 ,false ,prophets4 ,ezekiel tells us that the word of the ,lord came to him1 saying1 ,son of ,man1 prophesy against the prophets of ,israel that prophesy1 and say unto them that prophesy out of their own hearts1 ,hear ye the word of the ,lord4 ,thus saith the ,lord ,god3 ,woe unto the foolish prophets that follow their own spirit and have seen nothing4 ,o ,israel1 thy prophets are like the foxes in the desert4 99 99 99 ,they have seen vanity and lying divination1 saying1 ,the ,lord saith2 and the ,lord hath not sent them4 ,these prophets were endeavoring to soothe the people1 to cover up their sins1 to dissipate their fears of retribution4 ,they have seduced my people1 saying1 peace1 when there is no peace4 ,then ,ezekiel describes their work4 ,they are like foolish masons who build a wall with mortar that will not hold the stones together1--untempered mortar6 ,can such work last8 ,can such a structure stand8 ,say unto them which daub it with untempered mortar that it shall fall4 ,there shall be an overflowing shower2 and ye1 ,o great hail-stones1 shall fall2 and a stormy wind shall rend it4 ,lo6 when the wall is fallen1 shall it not be said unto you1 ,where is the daubing wherewith ye have daubed it8 ,did ye not boast of your mortar8 ,did ye not promise the people that it would hold8 ,alas for you1 ,o prophets6 ,alas for your work6 ,the wall is no more1 neither they that daubed it2 to wit1 the prophets of ,israel which prophesy concerning ,jerusalem1 and which see visions of peace for her1 and there is no peace1 saith the ,lord4 ,most contemptuously does ,isaiah speak of the false prophets3 ,the ,lord will cut off from ,israel1 head and tail1 branch and root1 in one day4 ,the ancient and honorable1 he is the head2 and the prophet that teacheth lies1 he is the tail4 ,the ,king of ,assyria4 ,isaiah ridicules the high and mighty pretensions of the ,king of ,assyria4 ,that monarch boasts of his achievements4 ,he takes the credit of all to himself4 ,he wears the glory alone4 ,by the strength of my own hand1 ,i have done it1 and by my wisdom2 for ,i am prudent2 and ,i have removed the bounds of the people1 and have robbed their treasures1 and ,i have put down the inhabitants like a valiant man4 ,falstaff could not proclaim his own prowess1 in more bombastic style4 ,i am a rogue1 if ,i were not at half-sword with a dozen of them two hours together4 ,i have 'scaped by miracle3 ,i am eight times thrust through the doublet2 four through the hose2 my buckler cut through and through2 my sword hacked like a handsaw4 ,i never dealt better since ,i was a man4 ,now let the ,assyrian resume his parable3 ,and my hand hath found as a nest the riches of the people2 and as one gathereth eggs that are left1 have ,i gathered all the earth2 and there was none that moved the wing1 or opened the mouth1 or peeped4 ,falstaff will match him again3 ,there is not a dangerous action can peep out his head1 but ,i am thrust upon it4 ,well1 ,i can not last for ever2 but it was always yet the trick of our ,english nation1 if they have a good thing1 to make it too common4 99 99 99 ,i would to ,god my name were not so terrible to the enemy as it is6 ,the prophet1 after allowing the ,assyrian to sound his brazen trumpet1 turns upon him1 and sarcastically reminds him that he is simply a tool1 a rod1 a staff1 in the hands of the ,lord1 and that he has of himself accomplished nothing3 ,shall the axe boast itself against him that heweth therewith8 or shall the saw magnify itself against him that shaketh it8 as if the rod should shake itself against them that lift it up1 or as if the staff should lift itself up as if it were no wood6 ,the ,king of ,babylon4 ,one of the most powerful passages of invective in any literature is that in which ,isaiah pictures the fall of the ,king of ,babylon4 ,he begins--,how hath the oppressor ceased6 ,then he sets forth the joy of the earth itself over the discomfiture of him who smote the people in wrath with a continual stroke4 ,all creation is glad4 ,the whole earth is at rest and is quiet2 they break forth into singing4 ,yea1 the fir-trees rejoice at thee1 and the cedars of ,lebanon1 saying1 ,since thou art laid down1 no feller is come up against us4 ,this is the state of things on earth4 ,there is commotion in the lower world1 there is mockery of the humiliated monarch as he descends among the shades4 ,hell from beneath is moved for thee to meet thee at thy coming2 it stirreth up the dead for thee1 even all the chief ones of the earth2 it hath raised up from their thrones all the kings of the nations4 ,the shadowy1 ghostly company gather about the fallen potentate and taunt him3 ,art thou also become weak as we8 ,art thou become like unto us8 ,thy pomp is brought down to the grave1 and the noise of thy viols2 the worm is spread under thee1 and the worms cover thee4 ,how art thou fallen from heaven1 ,o ,lucifer1 son of the morning6 how art thou cut down to the ground which did weaken the nations6 ,for thou hast said in thine heart1 ,i will ascend into heaven1 ,i will exalt my throne above the stars of ,god3 ,i will be like the ,most ,high6 ,yet thou shalt be brought down to hell1 to the sides of the pit4 ,they that see thee shall narrowly look upon thee and consider thee1 saying1 ,is this the man that made the earth to tremble1 that did shake kingdoms1 that made the world as a wilderness1 and destroyed the cities thereof8 ,then the prophet concludes3 ,all the kings of the nations1 even all of them1 lie in glory1 every one in his own house4 ,but thou art cast out of thy grave like an abominable branch1 and as the raiment of those that are slain1 thrust through with a sword1 that go down to the stones of the pit1 as a carcass trodden under feet6 ,it is truthfully remarked that keen thrusts and tingling ironies will rouse the slumbering1 startle the stolid1 shame the profligate1 and set the thoughtless to thinking4 ,while it is true that ridicule is not the test of truth1 it is equally certain that it is only by ridicule that many dull-witted and sin-steeped persons can be made to see and feel the truth4 ,it would be well for mankind in general1 if all could be made to feel that wickedness is as contemptible as it is hateful4 ,there is a stupidity in sin1 a thick1 rhinoceros skin of insensibility1 which only the feather-winged arrows of wit can pierce4 ,iniquity has a pachydermatous hide1 and can feel only when coals of fiery ridicule are laid upon its back1 and blown by the breath of laughter4 ,,ix4 ,,the ,,use ,,of ,,ridicule ,,in ,,the ,,new ,,testament4 ,if our ,savior himself never laughed1 it is difficult to believe that the bystanders did not laugh1 or at least smile1 when he tore the mask from the hypocritical pharisees who laid heavy burdens on men's shoulders which they themselves would not move with their fingers1 and devoured widows' houses1 even while for a pretence they made long prayers4--,matthews4 ,,the ,,use ,,of ,,ridicule ,,in ,,the ,,new ,,testament4 ,rebuke them sharply1 that they may be sound in the faith4--,paul4 ,the writers of the ,old ,testament who used the glittering lances of wit against the foes of truth and righteousness1 had worthy successors in evangelists and apostles1 and in ,jesus himself4 ,these men were indignant at hypocrisy and wrong-doing2 they looked with scorn upon the swelling pretensions of the religious leaders2 they expostulated with affectionate earnestness and severity with their own brethren who suffered themselves to be led astray4 ,indignation is not necessarily wrong or unchristian4 ,the faculty of indignation is an essential part of human nature1 and when aroused against evil its operations are beneficent4 ,it in no wise diminishes the reverence we feel for ,jesus1 that he made a scourge of cords and lashed the traders and money-changers from the temple6 ,ruskin says1 ,there is no black horse in the chariot of the soul4 ,one of the driver's worst faults is starving his horses2 another is not breaking them early enough2 but they are all good4 ,take1 for example1 one usually thought of as wholly evil--that of anger1 leading to vengeance4 ,i believe it to be quite one of the crowning wickednesses of this age1 that we have starved and chilled our faculty of indignation1 and neither desire nor dare to punish crimes justly4 ,this faculty of righteous wrath when it takes shape in irony1 ridicule1 sarcasm1 invective1 is the mightiest foe of vanity1 hypocrisy1 pretension1 corruption1 and vice4 ,by its sword do they perish4 ,the teachers and writers of ,new ,testament times1 did not disdain to use in their work every instrument of power known to the human mind4 ,from their own stand-point1 at least1 they had many false notions and customs to combat2 they had the ignorant1 prejudiced1 officious and fault-finding to deal with2 they were harrassed by narrow and persistent opponents2 they had to do battle at every step4 ,they might have exclaimed with a modern writer1 ,let us be thankful that we have in wit a power before which the pride of wealth1 and the insolence of office are abased2 which can transfix bigotry and tyranny with arrows of lightning2 which can strike its object over thousands of miles of space1 across thousands of years of time2 and which through its sway over an universal weakness of man1 is an everlasting instrument to make the bad tremble and the foolish wince4 ,the ,choice of the ,jews4 ,there is an excellent piece of quiet sarcasm in ,john's account of the trial of ,jesus4 ,he first gives us ,pilate's conclusion in these words3 ,and when he had said this1 he went out again unto the ,jews and saith3 ,i find no fault in him at all2 but ye have a custom that ,i release unto you one at the passover2 will ye therefore that ,i release unto you the king of the ,jews8 ,pilate is willing2 he pronounces ,jesus innocent2 but the crowd clamor and refuse4 ,then cried they all again1 saying1 ,not this man1 but ,barabbas4 ,john closes the account with an inoffensive looking sentence1 but one so full of bitter satire1 that we can not help thinking of the time when he wished to call down fire from heaven4 ,jesus is an innocent man--so pronounced by the governor--but the ,jews cry out for his blood4 ,they want ,barabbas released4 ,and who is ,barabbas8 ,who is this popular idol8 ,who is the man that the people prefer to ,jesus the upright and spotless8 ,with a rapier-like thrust1 ,john pierces the heart of that iniquitous choice1 ,now ,barabbas was a robber4 ,it is a stroke worthy the ,son of thunder4 ,the ,weakness of ,pilate4 ,but think not1 ,o ,pilate1 that thou shalt escape4 ,the same hand that cast the first javelin1 will also send one to pierce thy heart4 ,in the next chapter1 ,john tells us how1 up to a certain point1 ,pilate sought to release ,jesus4 ,he was convinced of his innocence1 and did not wish him put to death4 ,but there is a weak spot in ,pilate's nature1 and ,john points it out with infallible precision4 ,pilate is not the man to stand for the right at personal sacrifice4 ,when his own interests are at stake1 he will permit injustice and cruel wrong to others4 ,why does he deliver ,jesus to the cross8 ,john is determined that all the world shall know4 ,the ,jews cried out1 saying1 ,if thou let this man go1 thou art not ,caesar's friend2 whosoever maketh himself a king1 speaketh against ,caesar4 ,my lord ,pilate is not proof against this insinuation4 ,he can not face the possibility of losing his office4 ,when ,pilate1 therefore1 heard that saying1 he brought ,jesus forth4 99 99 99 ,then delivered he him therefore unto them to be crucified4 ,john has stamped ,pilate as a weak1 vacillating and selfish ruler2 and his portrait1 marked with these features1 has been transmitted to all ages4 ,paul and his ,detractors4 ,perhaps none of the great characters of ,new ,testament times were so beset by foes of all kinds as was ,paul4 ,he has himself assured us that he was often in perils from his own countrymen1 and in perils from false brethren4 ,he was denounced by priests and scribes1 and opposed by upstarts in the very churches he had founded4 ,in replying to arguments and meeting objections he sometimes showed his mastery of more than one form of wit1--although the form he most frequently used was irony4 ,by many his preaching was characterized as foolishness4 ,there was nothing in it to commend it to the ,jews who required a sign1 or to the ,greeks1 who sought after wisdom4 ,very well1 is his reply1 foolish it may be1 but after all it has accomplished more than either ,jew or ,greek has been able to do for the world4 ',where is the wise8 ,where is the scribe8 ,where is the disputer of this world8 ,hath not ,god made foolish the wisdom of this world8' ,what has it achieved8 ,where are its monuments8 ',for after that the world by wisdom knew not ,god1 it pleased ,god by the foolishness of 7just such7 preaching 7as mine7 to save them that believe4' ,this foolishness has lifted men from vile and sinful lives into righteousness and honor4 ,have your own way about it1 ,o ,greeks and ,jews2 ,i will be accounted a fool if you will1 and am willing to let my words be stigmatized as folly2 but you will find that ',god hath chosen the foolish things of the world to confound the wise2 ,god hath chosen the weak things of the world to confound the things that are mighty2 and base things of the world1 and things that are despised hath ,god chosen2 yea1 and things that are not1 to bring to nought things that are4' ,i accept the low estimate you put upon me and my work1 but ,i triumph over you and your work1 however exalted4 ,results shall determine4 ,this is glorious folly6 ,in writing to the ,corinthians1 he says of certain members of the church who thought that in spiritual things they were superior to himself1 ,now some are puffed up1 as though ,i would not come to you4 ,but ,i will come to you shortly1 if the ,lord will1 and will know1 not the speech of them which are puffed up1 but the power4 ,to those thus puffed up1 he addresses himself in the following ironical strain3 ,now ye are full1 now ye are rich2 ye have reigned as kings without us2 and ,i would that ye did reign1 that we also might reign with you4 ,for ,i think that ,god has set forth us the apostles last4 99 99 99 ,we are fools for ,christ's sake1 but ye are wise in ,christ2 we are weak1 but ye are strong2 ye are honorable1 but we are despised4 ,he denounces certain teachers who were sowing the seeds of discord among his churches1 as false apostles1 deceitful workers1 transforming themselves into apostles of ,christ4 ,and no marvel2 for ,satan himself is transformed into an angel of light4 ,therefore1 it is no great thing if his ministers also be transformed as the ministers of righteousness2 whose end shall be according to their works4 ,such teachers as these pronounced ,paul a fool and did everything to bring his work into contempt4 ,very good1 says ,paul to the ,corinthians1 receive me then as a fool1 and then proceeding1 with his favorite irony1 ,for ye suffer fools gladly1 seeing ye yourselves are wise6 ,how scathing is his rebuke to those who misrepresented his doctrine3 ,we be slanderously reported1 and some affirm that we say1 ,let us do evil that good may come6--whose condemnation is just4 ,this is his only answer to evil tongues4 ,it is conceded by the best authorities that ,paul did not write the ,epistle to the ,hebrews1 but there is a passage in that letter not unlike him1--the rebuke to those who ought to be strong1 manly and intelligent ,christians1 but who have not yet gotten out of their swaddling clothes3 ,for when for the time ye ought to be teachers1 ye have need that one teach you again which be the first principles of the oracles of ,god2 and are become such as have need of milk and not of strong meat4 ,for every one that useth milk is unskillful in the word of righteousness2 for he is but a babe4 ,but strong meat belongeth to those that are of full age1 even those who by reason of use have their senses exercised to discern both good and evil4 ,similar to this is ,paul's treatment of the ,corinthians when they were divided in their allegiance1 some claiming to belong to one teacher and some to another4 ,first ,paul himself had been there and taught among them in that broad and liberal spirit which always characterized him4 ,he made very little of forms and ceremonies1 and very much of charity and brotherhood4 ,then came ,peter who was always more narrow than ,paul1 but very intense4 ,paul was a broad river1 ,peter a mountain torrent4 ,peter never completely freed himself from the bondage of the ,jewish system1 and he insisted upon some of the things that ,paul discarded4 ,soon a party was formed4 ,some thought1 no doubt1 that ,paul was too far away from the ,jewish creed1 that he was not strict enough1 that it was perhaps safer to take ,peter as a guide2 so while some said1 ,i am of ,paul1 others said1 ,i am of ,cephas4 ,then came ,apollos who is described as being very eloquent4 ,when he stood up to speak1 many said1 ,he beats both ,paul and ,peter2 ,i am of ,apollos4 ,so there were envyings and strifes and divisions4 ,paul ridicules the ,corinthians for these childish quarrels1 and says that he must still speak to them as to babes4 ,i have fed you with milk and not with meat2 for hitherto ye were not able to bear it1 neither yet now are ye able6 ,examples from other ,apostles4 ,the epistle of ,james that has furnished illustrations for some of the preceding chapters1 shall yield one for this1 in its notice of a grave abuse that existed in the early churches1 and that has not entirely died out of modern churches4 ,my brethren1 have not the faith of our ,lord ,jesus ,christ1 the ,lord of glory1 in respect of persons4 ,for if there come into your assembly1 a man with a gold ring1 in goodly apparel1 and there come in also a poor man in vile raiment2 and ye have respect to him that weareth the gay clothing1 and say unto him1 ,sit thou here in a good place 7,take this high-priced and fashionable pew1 where you can listen to the gospel in luxurious ease1 and at the same time dazzle the eyes of those in neighboring pews with the latest fashions71 but say to the poor1 ,stand thou here1 or sit here under my foot-stool 7or go up in the gallery71 are ye not then partial in yourselves1 and are become judges of evil thoughts8 ,peter silences certain ones who complained of persecution1 by saying1 ,if ye are reproached for the name of ,christ1 happy are ye 7that is nothing to complain of71 but let none of you suffer as a murderer1 or as a thief1 or as an evil-doer1 or as a busy-body in other men's matters 7if any one of you suffers in such a character1 he deserves the lash74 ,in either case1 there is nothing to justify your outcry4 ,he also denounces certain ones who have forsaken the right way and gone astray as wells without water1 clouds without rain that are carried of a tempest4 ,they speak great swelling words of vanity1 promising liberty while they are themselves the slaves of corruption4 ,and then he fastens the reproach of their apostasy upon them with what ,falstaff would call a most unsavory simile1--,it is happened to them according to the true proverb1 ,the dog is turned to his own vomit again1 and the sow that was washed to her wallowing in the mire4 ,such are those who turn back to error from the paths of truth4 ,in much the same strain does ,jude write to the same class3 ,these are spots in your feasts of charity2 clouds without water1 carried about of the winds2 trees whose fruit withereth without fruit1 twice dead1 plucked up by the roots2 raging waves of the sea1 foaming out their own shame2 wandering stars to whom is reserved the blackness of darkness forever6 ,john wrote to the ,laodiceans3 ,i know thy works that thou art neither cold nor hot2 so then because thou art lukewarm1 and neither cold nor hot1 ,i will spew thee out of my mouth4 ,thou sayest1 ,i am rich and increased with goods1 and have need of nothing2 and knowest not that thou art wretched and miserable and poor and blind and naked6 ,the ,laodiceans needed the familiar prayer of ,burns3 ,o wad some power the giftie gie us1 ,to see oursel's as ithers see us2 ,it would frae mony a blunder free us1 ,and foolish notion6 ,they needed a look into the glass of ,lao1 which revealed the blemishes of the soul1 how fair soever the exterior4 ,christ's ,use of ,invective4 ,even more severe than his apostles in his use of denunciation1 was the ,great ,master himself4 ,in his controversies with the recognized religious leaders of his day1 he heaped coals of fire upon their claims and teachings and practices4 ,ye leave the commandment of ,god and hold fast to the tradition of men1 he says to the ,scribes and ,pharisees2 and then adds1 with terrible irony1 ,full well ye reject the commandment of ,god1 that ye may keep your tradition4 ,surely1 when the commandments of ,god were placed side by side with rabbinical glosses1 they were in an extremely cruel position6 ,no passage of invective1 in any literature1 is more crushing than this3 ,woe unto you1 ,scribes and ,pharisees1 hypocrites6 for ye shut up the kingdom of heaven against men2 for ye neither go in yourselves1 neither suffer ye them that are entering to go in4 ,woe unto you1 ,scribes and ,pharisees1 hypocrites6 ,for ye compass sea and land to make one proselyte1 and when he is made1 ye make him two-fold more the child of hell than yourselves4 99 99 99 ,woe unto you1 ,scribes and ,pharisees1 hypocrites6 for ye devour widows' houses and for a pretense make long prayers2 therefore ye shall receive the greater damnation4 99 99 99 ,woe unto you1 ,scribes and ,pharisees1 hypocrites6 for ye make clean the outside of the cup and platter1 but within they are full of extortion and excess4 ,blind ,pharisees6 cleanse first that which is within the cup and platter1 that the outside of them may be clean also6 ,woe unto you1 ,scribes and ,pharisees1 hypocrites6 for ye are like unto whited sepulchers which1 indeed1 appear beautiful outward1 but within are full of dead men's bones and all uncleanness4 ,even so ye also outwardly appear righteous unto men1 but within ye are full of hypocrisy and iniquity4 99 99 99 ,woe unto you1 ,scribes and ,pharisees1 for ye are as graves which appear not1 and men walk over them and are not aware of them4 ,but not only the leaders1 but the people also1 fall under his lash4 ,the men of ,nineveh shall rise up in judgment with this generation and shall condemn it1 because they repented at the preaching of ,jonas2 and behold a greater than ,jonas is here4 ,the queen of the ,south shall rise up in the judgment with this generation and shall condemn it2 for she came from the uttermost parts of the earth to hear the wisdom of ,solomon2 and behold a greater than ,solomon is here6 ,when the unclean spirit is gone out of a man1 he walketh through dry places1 seeking rest and findeth none4 ,then he saith1 ,i will return to my house from whence ,i came out2 and when he is come1 he findeth it empty1 swept and garnished4 ,then goeth he and taketh with him seven other spirits more wicked than himself1 and they enter in and dwell there2 and the last state of that man is worse than the first4 ,even so shall it be also unto this wicked generation6 ,upon another occasion1 he upbraided the cities in which he had wrought and preached4 ,woe unto thee1 ,chorazin2 woe unto thee ,bethsaida2 for if the mighty works had been done in ,tyre and ,sidon1 which have been done in you1 they had a great while ago repented sitting in sackcloth and ashes4 ,but it shall be more tolerable for ,tyre and ,sidon at the judgment than for you4 ,and thou1 ,capernaum1 which art exalted to heaven1 shalt be thrust down to hell6 ,does it seem strange that such language should have come from the lips of ,jesus8 ,should we not rather have expected it from the stern ,baptist1 his forerunner1 who denounced the brood of vipers that came to his baptism8 ,is it inconsistent with that spirit of love which we believe to have been the distinguishing characteristic of ,christ8 ,but love is not mere invertebral amiability or moon-faced complacency4 ,by as much as love is strong and true1 by so much does it seek1 at any cost and by any means1 to remove the faults and follies of its object4 ,if the lash be needed1 the lash it will take4 ,he who has never experienced the affectionate bitterness of love1 says ,f4 ,w4 ,robertson1 who has never known how earnest irony and passionate sarcasm may be the very language of love in its deepest1 saddest moods is utterly incapable of even judging this passion6 99 99 99 99 99 ,here the writer's task ends4 ,the subject may be capable of much more elaborate treatment2 it would be claiming too much to suppose that these chapters exhaust it4 ,the writer trusts1 however1 that he may have suggested a line of study to others1 as it was first suggested to him4 ,the poetry1 the dramatic portions1 the oratory of the ,scriptures1 are unsurpassed4 ,viewed simply as a literary work1 the ,bible is the most interesting in the whole realm of letters4 ,it becomes increasingly interesting1 as its great human elements are recognized4 ,over history1 biography1 and most serious discourse1 play the soft gleams of healthful humor and the lightning-like bolts of sarcasm and wit4 ,the book touches human nature at all points4 ,the more we view it as literature1 the less as dogma1 the firmer will become its hold upon the heart of man4 ,that these fragmentary studies may help some one to appreciate his ,bible better and enjoy it more1 is the writer's wish4 ,he may also express1 in closing1 the hope that whoever has taken the trouble to read these pages may have found them free from that which he disclaimed at the outset--irreverence2 as he believes them to be free from the other extreme1 superstition4