[353]. David Castelli, a cool and cautious scholar but not original, is naturally better fitted to appreciate Koheleth (see Il libro del Kohelet, Pisa, 1866).
[354]. ‘Die harte, ungefügige, tiefgesunkene Sprache des Buches entzog ihm in Luzzatto’s Auge den verklärenden Lichtglanz; er blickte mit einer gewissen Missachtung auf den Schriftsteller, der sowenig Meister der edlen ihn erfüllenden Sprache war’ (Geiger).
[355]. Not only Geiger, but the learned and fairminded Kalisch, has made this view his own (Bible Studies, i. 65); among Christian scholars it has been adopted by Nöldeke and Bickell (the latter includes iii. 17 among the inserted passages, and I incline to follow him).
[356]. De Prediker vertaald en verklaart door P. de Jong (Leiden, 1861).
[357]. Theologisch Tijdschrift, 1883, p. 114.
[358]. See however Kuenen’s condensed criticism in Theol. Tijdschrift, p. 127 &c.
[359]. Hitzig, for instance, has been passed over in spite of Nöldeke’s judgment that no modern scholar has done so much for the detailed explanation of the text. This may be true, or at least be but a small exaggeration. No critic has so good a right to the name as Hitzig, who, though weak in his treatment of ideas, has the keenest perception of what is possible and impossible in interpretation. But for the larger critical questions Hitzig has not done much; the editor of the second edition of his commentary (Nowack) has therefore been obliged to rewrite the greater part of the introduction. The historical background of the book cannot be that supposed by Hitzig, nor has he hit the mark in his description of Koheleth as ‘eine planmässig fortschreitende Untersuchung.’ Wright fails, I venture to think, from different causes. He is slightly too timid, and deficient in literary art; and yet his scholarly work does honour to the Protestant clergy of Ireland.
[360]. See especially her early sonnet ‘Vanity of Vanities,’ and her striking poem ‘A Testimony.’
[361]. L’Antéchrist, p. 101.
[362]. L’Ecclésiaste, pp. 24, 90.