Comfort Found in Good Old Books

by George Hamlin Fitch

In 1870 a new revised version of the Bible, which should receive the benefit of the labors of modern scholars, was decided on. The Upper House of Convocation of Canterbury appointed a committee to report on revision. A joint committee from both houses a few months later was elected and was empowered to begin the work. Two committees were established, one for the Old and one for the New Testament. Work was begun June 22, 1870, but in July it was decided to ask the coöperation of American divines. An American Committee of thirty members was organized, and began work October 4, 1872. The English Committees sent their revision to the American Committee, which returned it with suggestions and emendations. Five revisions were made in this way before the work was completed. Special care was taken in the translation of the Greek text of the New Testament.

In 1881 the Revised New Testament appeared. Orders for three million copies came from all parts of the English-speaking world. The Revised Old Testament appeared in 1885. The preferences of the American Committee were placed in a special appendix in both books. In 1901 the American Committee issued the American Standard Revised Version, which is in general circulation in this country.

The tercentenary of the King James Version was celebrated in March, 1911, and it brought out many interesting facts in regard to the book that has been one of the chief educational forces in England and in all English-speaking countries since it was issued.

Among the famous Bibles are the Gutenberg Bible, which was the first to be printed from movable types; the "Vinegar" Bible, because of the printer's misprint of vinegar for vineyard; the "Treacle" Bible, which owed its name to the phrase "treacle in Gilead" for "balm in Gilead"; the "Wicked" Bible, so called because the printers omitted the "not" in the Seventh Commandment.

Of famous manuscript Bibles may be named the Codex Alexandrinus, presented by the Sultan of Turkey to Charles II of England, and the Codex Sinaiticus, discovered in a monastery on Mount Sinai by the great Hebrew scholar, Tischendorf.

Dr. Grenfell, who has made an international reputation by his work among the fishermen of Labrador and by his books on the Bible, suggests that the Scriptures should not be brought out with any distinctive binding. He believes the Bible would gain many more readers if it were bound like an ordinary secular book, so that one could read it on trains or boats without exciting comment. His suggestion is a good one and it is to be hoped it will be acted on by Bible publishers. Anything that will help to make people read the Bible regularly deserves encouragement.

One of the best Bibles for ordinary use is The Modern Reader's Bible, edited with introduction and notes by Richard G. Moulton, Professor of Literary Theory and Interpretation in the University of Chicago. The editor has abolished the paragraph form and he has printed all the poetry in verse form, which is a great convenience to the reader. It makes a volume of 1733 pages, printed on thin but opaque paper. (New York: The Macmillan Company. Price, $2.00 net.)

The Soul of the Bible (Boston: American Unitarian Association) is the very best condensation of the Scriptures. It is arranged by Ulysses G. B. Pierce and consists of selections from the Old and New Testaments and the Apocrypha. The editor has brought together parts of the Bible which explain and supplement each other. The result is that in five hundred and twenty pages one gets the very soul of the Bible. Nothing could be better than this book as an introduction to the careful reading and systematic study of the Bible, which is the best means of culture of spirit and mind that the world affords.

SHAKESPEARE

The first folio edition of Shakespeare was published by J. Heminge and H. Condell in 1623. A copy of the first folio is now very valuable. A reprint of the first folio was issued in 1807 in folio. The first photolithographic reproduction was brought out in 1866. The first folio text is now being brought out, with a volume to each play, by the T. Y. Crowell Company of New York.