to sustain and cheer the soul in its passage through the dark valley and shadow of death. One sentence from the lips of Jesus has more to comfort and inspire, than all the Socratic philosophy of the "Memorabilia." It may be doubted, after all, whether in all points, Socrates lived or died, as he had taught, like a philosopher: but the world has never questioned that Jesus Christ lived, and taught, and died, as never man did—as none but God could do.

XII. CONCLUSION.

But finally; from the survey now taken of the eloquent oratory of the Bible, both in the Old Testament and the New, the conclusion seems fair and legitimate, that this book is entitled to hold the first rank in the annals of human eloquence ; that it contains models of thought and expression in almost every department of speech, possessing the highest attractions. of taste and genius, as well as of inspiration-models equal, if not superior, to any that mortal ears have ever listened to, or human hearts ever felt.

Now this is no small claim which we are making for the Book of God, when we ascribe to it the highest attractions of eloquence. For there is nothing in all the walks of genius that men more admire than real eloquence and it is impossible to over-estimate the influence which eloquence has wielded over the destinies of men and nations. The gift of speech is one of the greatest and best of God's gifts to man. The tongue of eloquence is one of the sublimest and most effective of all the endowments of genius.

There is no music this side of the music of the spheres and

the songs of angels, so sweet and entrancing as the music of the human voice. There is no creature that God hath placed on earth so eloquent, so musical, as man; and there is no eloquence or music which man can make, so sublime and godlike, as that which he makes with his voice. Man hath sought out many inventions to extend his dominion and supplement his power; but there is no instrument yet invented so attractive, so sublime, so sweet as his voice. What is the inarticulate roar of the cannon, or burst of the bomb-shell, or beat of the drum, or blast of the bugle, or whistle of the steam car, or pealing note of the organ, compared with the thought-laden thunder and meaning-melody of the human voice? What is the rude roar of the monarch of the forest, or the wild scream of the eagle, or the loud neighing of the steed, or the sweetest music of the nightingale, compared with the male or female voice of our species? Nay further; what is even the deeptoned anthem of the sea, and the earthquake, the cataract, the volcano and the storm? It is louder and stronger; but is it more eloquent and sublime, than the articulate, intelligent voice of man? Says the apostle, "there are, it may be, so many kinds of voices in the world, and none of them is without signification." But there is no voice on earth so significant as man's. There are voices of music, eloquence, poesy-voices of high and holy significance to the ear of reason and religion— in all the realms of nature; but it is only when the human voice hath taken them up and given to them a tongue in human speech, that these inarticulate voices of nature become intelligi ble, eloquent and sublime.

In the very

But these, you may say, are the voices of God. same sense is the voice of man the voice of God; for he is its author. The great intellect-the great orator, with all the

music of his eloquent tongue, is not less the workmanship of God, than is the great mountain or the great sea. A distin guished statesman and orator of our times, Lord Brougham, has remarked that a great mind, on some important occasion and some lofty theme, giving utterance to itself in eloquent speech, is the sublimest spectacle which the world now affords. Who has not felt the force of that remark? If we include, as we ought, in the term eloquence, man's address to God in prayer as well as his address to his fellow-men, it is clear, that eloquent speech is the sublimest act which he can perform, since the age of miracles. In accordance with this idea, we find the inspired Psalmist repeatedly speaking of his tongue or voice as the glory of his physical frame: "Wake up my glory," "I will sing and praise thee with my glory." If it were possible, who now would not give more to hear Paul's speech on Mars Hill, or before the bar of Nero, than to see the Parthenon at Athens, or the Coliseum and Pantheon at Rome in all their glory? Who that has a soul within him, would not go farther to hear Chalmers or Robert Hall preach, than to see London or Edinburgh, Ben Nevis or Loch Lomond? The grandest monument of human art now on earth, is probably St. Peter's at Rome; but who would not pay more for one hearing of Sheridan's speech on the trial of Warren Hastings, than for one vision even of all the glory of St. Peters? The cataract of Niagara is considered the sublimest single spectacle in all the realms of nature; but where is the man, who, if he had the option of gazing for an hour on that "glorious robe of beauty and of power," or of hearing Patrick Henry, or Henry Clay speak an hour, would not say, let me hear the great man eloquent? Yes, we hold this double truth-that man himself, is, after all, the sublimest of all God's works on

earth, and that eloquence is the sublimest of all the acts of man, provided only he be a true man.

Hence we are not surprised at the prominence which public speaking holds in the Bible, and in the whole economy of God's grace to the world. We do not wonder that God hath ordained by public speech-the preaching of the cross-to accomplish the greatest work that is ever to be done on earth. In the conversion of a sinner to God, through the preaching of the truth-in the conversion of a world to God, by the agency of living, speaking men, the gospel has given to human eloquence at once its noblest mission, and its grandest development.

By all that admiration, then, which we feel for genius and eloquence when employed in the accomplishment of the greatest and noblest ends, we are attracted to the Bible as the book of books. And in all that superiority, which, from the sublimity and importance of their themes, its orators have attained over others, we have an argument that the book is from God. For that its comparatively unfavored orators, in what has been called a rude, unlettered age, and of an unartistic race, should have reached this perfection of beauty and sublimity, and should still hold an acknowledged mastery over all civilized nations, are facts which admit of but one solution-which is, that God himself is the great speaker, and all its other speakers have been his mouth-piece, his authorized oracles and ambassadors.

CHAPTER V.

TYPES OF FEMALE CHARACTER IN THE BIBLE.

Interest of the Subject-General View-Classification-Picture of Eve-Sarah and Rebekah-Character of Deborah-Character of Esther and Ruth-Jezebel and Athaliah-Herodias and her dancing Daughter-Abigail, Hannah, and Martha-The Marys-Concluding Remarks.

I. INTEREST OF THE SUBJECT.

In illustration of our main proposition in these pages-the classical attractiveness of the Bible-it is important to present, at least, a specimen of its historical or biographical characters. In nothing perhaps does its superiority over all other books appear more manifest, than in its brief, graphic, inimitable del ineations of human character. From first to last, it opens to our view, besides its poets and orators, a magnificent succession of living characters-kings and statesmen, heroes and sages, patriarchs, prophets, and apostles, young men and maidens, old men and children. In a field so vast, where volumes might be filled, we can only select a few prominent groups, by way of example. For this purpose, let us take first the Women of the Bible, or, as they may be called in modern phrase, "the Ladies of the olden time." In order to win from the youth of both sexes a deep and abiding interest in our task at the outset, we would here seek to present, on the foreground of the picture, the loveliest group of all. We would call them to the contem.