direct, but not always accurate, quotations from scripture and allusions to biblical characters and events are very numerous in english literature. they are found in all sorts of books. professor albert t. cook has recently counted sixty-three in a volume of descriptive sketches of italy, twelve in a book on wild animals, and eighteen in a novel by thomas hardy. a special study of the biblical references in tennyson has been made,[2] and more than five hundred of them have been found.
bishop charles wordsworth has written a book on shakespeare’s knowledge and use of the bible,[3] and shown “how fully and how accurately the general tenor of the facts recorded in the sacred narrative was present to his mind,” and “how scriptural are the conceptions which shakespeare had of the being and attributes of god, of his general and particular providence, of his revelation to man, of
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our duty toward him and toward each other, of human life and of human death, of time and of eternity.” it is possible that the bishop benevolently credits the dramatist with a more invariable and complete orthodoxy than he possessed. but certainly shakespeare knew the bible well, and felt the dramatic value of allusions and illustrations which were sure to be instantly understood by the plain people. it is his antonio, in the merchant of venice, who remarks that “the devil can cite scripture for his purpose,” evidently referring to the gospel story of the evil one who tried to tempt jesus with a verse from the psalms.
the references to the bible in the poetry of robert browning have been very carefully examined by mrs. machen in an admirable little book.[4] it is not too much to say that his work is crowded with scriptural quotations, allusions, and imagery. he follows antonio’s maxim, and makes his bad characters, like bishop blougram and sludge the medium, cite from holy writ to cloak their hypocrisy or excuse their villainy. in his longest
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poem, the ring and the book, there are said to be more than five hundred biblical references.
but more remarkable even than the extent to which this material drawn from the scriptures has been used by english writers, is the striking effect which it produces when it is well used. with what pathos does sir walter scott, in the heart of midlothian, make old davie deans bow his head when he sees his daughter effie on trial for her life, and mutter to himself, “ichabod! my glory is departed!” how magnificently does ruskin enrich his sesame and lilies with that passage from isaiah in which the fallen kings of hades start from their thrones to greet the newly fallen with the cry, “art thou also become weak as we? art thou become like unto us?” how grandly do the images and thoughts of the last chapters of deuteronomy roll through kipling’s recessional, with its scriptural refrain, “lest we forget!”
there are some works of literature in english since the sixteenth century which are altogether biblical in subject and colouring. chief among these in prose is the pilgrim’s progress of john bunyan, and
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in verse, the paradise lost, paradise regained, and samson agonistes of john milton. these are already classics. some day a place near them will be given to browning’s saul and a death in the desert; but for that we must wait until their form has stood the test of time.
in general it may be observed—and the remark holds good of the works just mentioned—that a scriptural story or poem is most likely to succeed when it takes its theme, directly or by suggestion, from the bible, and carries it into a region of imagination, a border-realm, where the author is free to work without paraphrase or comparison with the sacred writers. it is for this reason that both samson agonistes and paradise lost are superior to paradise regained.
