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Shelley or Byron； you are troubled by their lives； or even Carlyle； the very
master of the Victorian eraone would not like to scan his life according
to the laws of true poetry。 Then there is Coleridge； falling a prey to opium
until； as years came； conscience and will seemed to go。 Only a very ardent
Scot will feel that he can defend Robert Burns at all points； and we would
be strange Americans if we felt that Edgar Allen Poe was a model of
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propriety。 That is a large and interesting field； but the Bible seems even to
gain power as a book…making book when it lays hold on the book…making
proclivities of men who are not prepared to yield to its personal power。
They may get away from it as religion； they do not get away from it as
literature。
The first and most notable fact regarding the influence of the Bible on
English literature is the remarkable extent of that influence。 It is literally
everywhere。 If every Bible in any considerable city were destroyed； the
Book could be restored in all its essential parts from the quotations on the
shelves of the city public library。 There are works； covering almost all the
great literary writers； devoted especially to showing how much the Bible
has influenced them。
The literary effect of the King James version at first was less than its
social effect； but in that very fact lies a striking literary influence。 For a
long time it formed virtually the whole literature which was readily
accessible to ordinary Englishmen。 We get our phrases from a thousand
books。 The common talk of an intelligent man shows the effect of many
authors upon his thinking。 Our fathers got their phrases from one great
book。 Their writing and their speaking show the effect of that book。
It is a study by itself； and yet it is true that world literature is； as
Professor Moulton puts it； the autobiography of civilization。 〃A national
literature is a reflection of the national history。〃 Books as books reflect
their authors。 As literature they reflect the public opinion which gives
them indorsement。 When； therefore； public opinion： keeps alive a certain
group of books； there is testimony not simply to those books； but to the
public opinion which has preserved them。 The history of popular estimates
of literature is itself most interesting。 On the other hand； some writers have
been amusingly overestimated。 No doubt Edward Fitzgerald； who gave us
the 〃Rubaiyat of Omar Khayyam〃 did some other desirable work； but
Professor Moulton quotes this paragraph from a popular life of Fitzgerald；
published in Dublin： 〃Not Greece of old in her palmiest daysthe Greece
of Homer and Demosthenes； of Eschylus； Euripides； and Sophocles； of
Pericles； Leonidas； and Alcibiades； of Socrates； Plato； and Aristotle； of
Solon and Lycurgus； of Apelles and Praxitelesnot even this Greece；
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prolific as she was in sages and heroes； can boast such a lengthy bead…roll
as Ireland can of names immortal in history！〃 But 〃this was for Irish
consumption。〃 And popular opinion and even critical opinion has
sometimes gone far astray in its destructive tendency。 There were
authoritative critics who declared that Wordsworth； Shelley； and Coleridge
wrote 〃unintelligible nonsense。〃 George Meredith's style； especially in his
poetry； was counted so bad that itwas not worth reading。 We are all near
enough the Browning epoch to recall how the obscurity of his style
impressed some and oppressed others。 Alfred Austin； in 1869； said that
〃Mr。 Tennyson has no sound pretensions to be called a great poet。〃
Contemporary public opinion is seldom a final gauge of strength for a
piece of literature。 It takes the test of time。 How many books we have seen
come on the stage and then pass off again！ Yet the books that have stayed
on the stage have been kept there by public opinion expressing itself in the
long run。 The social influence of the King James version； creating a public
taste for certain types of literature； tended to produce them at once。
English literature in these three hundred years has found in the Bible
three influential elements： style； language； and material。
First； the style of the King James version has influenced English
literature markedly。 Professor Gardiner opens one of his essays with the
dictum that 〃in all study of English literature； if there be any one axiom
which may be accepted without question； it is that the ultimate standard of
English prose style is set by the King James version of the Bible。〃＇1＇ You
almost measure the strength of writing by its agreement with the
predominant traits of this version。 Carlyle's weakest works are those that
lose the honest simplicity of its style in a forced turgidity and affected
roughness。 His Heroes and Hero Worship or his French Revolution shows
his distinctive style； and yet shows the influence of this simpler style；
while his Frederick the Great is almost impossible because he has given
full play to his broken and disconnected sentences。 On the other hand；
Macaulay fails us most in his striving for effect； making nice balance of
sentences； straining his 〃either…or；〃 or his 〃while…one…was…doing…this…the…
other…was… doing…that。〃 Then his sentences grow involved； and his
paragraphs lengthen； and he swings away from the style of the King James
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version。 〃One can say that if any writing departs very far from the
characteristics of the English Bible it is not good English writing。〃
＇1＇ Atlantic Monthly； May； 1900； p。 684。
The second element which English literature finds in the Bible is its
LANGUAGE。 The words of the Bible are the familiar ones of the English
tongue； and have been kept familiar by the use of the Bible。 The result is
that 〃the path of literature lies parallel to that of religion。 They are old and
dear companions； brethren indeed of one blood； not always agreeing； t