broken, or the pitcher be broken at the fountain, or the wheel broken at the cistern. The funeral processions in the streets mean more to an old man than to youth, being a kind of public rehearsal of his own tragedy; the silver cord may be the spine, and the golden bowl the head, containing the brain, which has lost its activity; what is meant by the pitcher and the wheel nobody knows; Professor Jastrow thinks they may refer to the kidneys and intestines. But they may mean simply the inability of the old man to carry out any plan; at the very moment of action, his purpose is made sterile by weakness, as the pitcher is broken just when you want to fill it, and the wheel broken at just the time when you need its revolution. Vanity of vanities, saith the preacher; all is vanity. Last scene of all, That ends this strange, eventful history, Is second childishness and mere oblivion; Sans teeth, sans eyes, sans taste, sans everything. Which speech Shakespeare put into the mouth of an idle and disillusioned spectator, as the Bible places similar views in the mouth of a tired and jaded king. The commentator could not let such philosophy pass without an antidote; just as a physician gives a remedy for disease, so this commentator, whether he were the original philosopher or some one who had read the despairing words with curiosity and dissent, added very sensibly: This is the conclusion of the whole matter; fear God and keep His commandments. Or, as Tennyson says, Hold thou the good; define it well For fear divine Philosophy Should push beyond her mark, and be Variety of Literary Forms in the Book of Job-The Opening Scene-Problem of Evil-Character of Job-Bad NewsSatan's Technique-Effect of Bodily Pain on the Mind-The Boils-The Three Friends-Their Speeches and Job's Replies-His Exasperation-Job's Remarks on Death-The Question in Job, and the Answer in John-Job's Appeal to Posterity-Job's Long Apology for His Life-An Outbreak from the Younger Generation-Conceit, Assurance, and Verbosity of Elihu-God's Patience Exhausted-The Voice Out of the Whirlwind-Sublime Figures-Humility of Job-His Final Prosperity-Passionate Love in Solomon's Song-The Lyrics in the Psalms-The Twenty-third Psalm and Its InfluenceHunger and Thirst for Righteousness-Security in God-The Imprecatory Psalms and the Sermons Preached During the Great War-Solemn Grandeur of the Ninetieth Psalm-Length of Life-Philosophy of Life-The Modern Attitude-Hotspur and Roosevelt-God's Search for Man-Patriotic Psalms— Isaiah's Passion for Right Conduct-His Attack on the Leaders of the Church-His Prophecy of Ultimate Triumph Through the Coming of Jesus Christ. |