Chapters of Bible Study Part 4

Yet there are those, the same Apostle says, "who, always learning, never attain to the knowledge of truth" (II. Tim. iii. 7). Why?

Because they do not study rightly.

[1] Geikie, "Hours With the Bible," v. 134.

XIV.

PROSPECTING.

"Man is the perfection of creation, the mind is the perfection of man, the heart is the perfection of the mind," says St. Francis de Sales.

Our aim is to become perfect in mind and heart, in character and disposition. Books are the readiest means of study to this end. They are at our command at all times. When we have discovered a beautiful thought, a strong chain of reasoning, which, whilst convincing, attracts and leads us into the domain of truth, however partial, we ponder it and make it our own, and we feel stronger in the permanent possession of it. We desire truth, and we look for it in books, mostly. Yet we may be anxious for knowledge, and worry or dream out our days in a course of reading without gaining any real advantage from it. Perhaps we fail in the proper choice of books, or else we do not observe the right method in reading and study.

Yet it is impossible for most men to go in search of and test everything that is labelled "_truth_." Is there no remedy provided against the danger of oft going wrong in order to find the right? Yes.

G.o.d has given us a compendium of everything that fosters true knowledge and wisdom in a book consigned to the direction of an old, experienced, and wise teacher. That book is the Bible, and the teacher is the Church of Christ. In the book we find a store of great truths, of all that is beautiful and enn.o.bling, an infallible manual in the school of human perfection, which leads us so high that, having mastered its contents, we touch the very gates of heaven, where we may commune with the Creator of wisdom and of all that our souls are capable of knowing.

There are many who are thoroughly convinced of this. They believe that the Bible is the most perfect book on earth, that it is the book of books, as it has been called from time immemorial; for the word _Bible_ means simply a book, _the_ book of all others by excellence, as if there were none so worthy of study, and none which could not be dispensed with rather than this. And so it is. It contains all knowledge worthy of the highest aspirations and of the exercise of the best talents.

Yet, as a traveller in search of fortune may pa.s.s over seemingly barren tracts of desert land or mountain ridge, which treasure beneath the surface richest mines of gold, and caverns of splendid crystal and rarest marble, so the reader of the sacred books, in search of knowledge, may wearily tread along the paths of Bible truths, his eye bewildered by endless repet.i.tions of precepts and monotonous scenes and seemingly uninteresting facts, unconscious of what wealth and beauty lie beneath him. And the reason of this listless and tiring sense in scanning over the pages of this book, which has from the first captivated the admiration of the n.o.blest minds of every race and age, is the lack of sufficient preparation. The traveller looks for mines of gold and diamonds, but he has never learnt the art of prospecting.

He stumbles over the heavy, dark ore, and the clods of metallic sand, and his feet toil along the path lined with pebbles that, if polished, would rival the stars of heaven, but they are a hindrance to him, for he does not know _that_ or _how_ he should examine and utilize their precious contents. He requires the previous training of the prospector, the sharp eve of the skilled mining master, and the unwearied courage to go down to examine the often crude-looking stones.

Without these qualities he not only fails in his attainment of wealth, but becomes discouraged and even sceptic of its existence.

In other words, there are certain essential conditions required upon which depends the acquisition of that excellent knowledge which the Scriptures contain for every sphere of life. They are conditions which affect us in our entirety as men--I should say as the images of G.o.d, in whose likeness we were created. Sin has tarnished this image, and we are to restore it to its original beauty by correcting it. Our model is G.o.d Himself. The Bible is the text-book containing the image of this Model, drawn by Himself, and He has provided the preceptor to explain the various meanings of lines, lights, and shadows, and the use of the instruments which must be employed in completing the process.

It is a little tedious, as all art training is in its beginning.

Sometimes we copy with tracing-paper, and of late the kodak has done much to help us by the aid of photography.

XV.

USING THE KODAK.

You know that through the art of photography a perfect picture of an object may be produced by the action of light upon a smooth and sensitive surface. The light reflected from the object which is to be photographed enters through a lens into the dark chamber of the camera, and makes an impression upon the plate which is rendered sensitive by a film of chloride (or nitrate) of silver. To produce a good picture, therefore, three things are princ.i.p.ally required:

1. _A faultless sensitized plate_ on which the reflection of the object is to be made;

2. _A concentrated light_; that is, the rays must enter the camera through a lens, but be excluded from every other part;

3. _The right focus_; that is to say, you must get the proper distance of your object in order to preserve the just proportions between it and its surroundings.

The same requisites may be applied to ourselves when we wish to image in our souls the object of divine truth, which is identical with G.o.d.

1. The sensitive plate of our hearts and minds must be clean, without flaw, so as to admit the ray of heavenly light, and let it take hold upon its surface. A tarnished mirror gives but a blurred and imperfect reflection. Just so the mind occupied with the follies and vanities of worldliness, the heart filled with the changing idols of unworthy attachments, is no fit surface for the delicate impressions of those chaste delineations of truth which are nothing else but the image of G.o.d in the human soul. To His likeness we were created, and to His likeness we must again conform ourselves by a right study of truth.

2. Next, in order to obtain a correct impression of the sublime truth contained in the sacred volumes, we must concentrate our lights. That is to say, we must read with a.s.siduity, must study with earnestness, and also with prayer, to obtain the light of the Divine Spirit who caused these pages of the Bible to be traced for our instruction--for, as one of our greatest English writers, though not a Catholic, has beautifully said:

"Within that awful volume lies The mystery of mysteries!

Happiest they of human race To whom G.o.d has granted grace To read, to fear, to hope, to pray, To lift the latch and force the way; And better had they ne'er been born, Who read to doubt, or read to scorn."[1]

This implies that all side-lights which may distract the mind from this concentrated attention and reverend att.i.tude should be excluded. To read the Sacred Scriptures in a flippant mood, or even in an irreverent posture, and without having previously reflected on the fact that it is G.o.d's word, is to lessen immeasurably one's chance of profiting by the reading. The Mahometan or Jew in the East reverently lifts each piece of paper or parchment which he finds upon the road, for fear that it might contain the name of Allah or Jehovah, and be profaned by being trodden under foot. We owe no less to the inspired word of G.o.d, above all if we would gain the key to its intelligence.

The concentration into a focus is obtained through a perfectly-shaped, convex lens. Now this lens, which is capable not only of bringing into one strong point all the scattered rays of light, but under circ.u.mstances gathers the particles to intensity of heat producing a flame, is that centre of the affections commonly termed the heart.

There is a tendency among those who seek intellectual culture to undervalue this quality of the heart, which nevertheless contains the secret power of generating supreme wisdom. We are considering true wisdom, not superficial, exclusively human wisdom, which is the very opposite, and which debases man to a mere repository of facts and impressions, like an ill.u.s.trated encyclopedia, or makes of him a shrewd egotist, whose cleverness we may admire as we admire the antics of a dancing serpent without wishing to come in contact with its slimy body or its poisonous fangs.

"As in human things," says Pascal, "we must first know an object before we can love it, so in divine things, which const.i.tute the only real truth at which man can worthily aim, we must love them before we can know them, for we cannot attain to truth except through charity." "In all our studies and pursuits of knowledge," says Watts, "let us remember that the conformation of our hearts to true religion and morality are things of far more consequence than all the furniture of our understanding and the richest treasures of mere speculative knowledge."

If it be true that "nothing is so powerful to form truly grand characters as meditation on the word of G.o.d and on Christian truths,"

then we must suppose an inclination, a love for the lofty ideals which Christianity sets before us. "To whom has the root of wisdom been revealed?" asks that wise and n.o.ble old rabbi, son of Sirach; and he answers: "G.o.d has given her to them that love Him." If the wise man in the sacred book tells us that "wisdom walketh with chosen women," may we not a.s.sume that it is because woman enjoys the prerogative of those qualities of heart which make her counsels so often far surer than the carefully pondered reasons of men?

If the fear of the Lord is the _beginning_ of wisdom, is not charity or love its consummation? "Blessed is the man that shall continue in wisdom. With the bread of life and understanding G.o.d's fear shall feed him, and give him the water of wholesome wisdom to drink, and ... shall heap upon him a treasure of joy and gladness, and shall cause him to inherit an everlasting name. But ... foolish men shall not see her: for she is far from pride and deceit.... Say not: It is through G.o.d that she is not with me, for do not thou the things that He hateth"

(Eccles., ch. xiv. and xv.).

But there is no need of multiplying these sayings of G.o.d. The knowledge we seek here is the knowledge which comes from the Divine Spirit, source of all science as of all goodness and beauty. What the fruits of that spirit are we are told by St. Paul: Charity, joy, peace, patience, etc.; and we know how the Apostle of the Gentiles, who had learnt much in many schools, at the feet of Gamaliel and in the halls of the Greek philosophers, valued these fruits of wisdom above all the doctrines of men.

Catholics are fortunate in this, that they may gain from the study of the Bible that purest light of wisdom which is only partially communicated to those who find no way, through the sacraments, of cleansing their souls,--that mirror in which G.o.d's image can show clearly only when it is polished and purified from the dust-stains of our earthly fall. Whatever opportunities for thorough study of the Bible we may have, there can be no doubt that this is one of the most important conditions for its proper and fruitful appreciation, because the intelligence is always warped by sin.

A correct knowledge of our faith, as the primary rule of our conduct, is, of course, supposed. We cannot understand the written word of G.o.d unless we have become accustomed to the language He speaks to the heart, and that language is taught in our catechisms and textbooks of religion. Some need less of this knowledge than others, so far as the difficulties and controversies of religion are concerned. The Bible is a book of instruction for all, and hence the preparatory knowledge required varies with the mental range and ability, and the consequent danger of doubts and false views of each individual. A child knows the precepts and wishes of its parent often by a look or gesture, without receiving any explicit instruction, because love and the habit of faith supply intelligence. Others require a certain amount of reasoning to move their hearts to the ready acceptance of divine precepts. This reasoning is supplied by the study of popular theologies, of which we have a good number in English.

3. Lastly, we must not only get a right gla.s.s, a good lens, but we must likewise get the right focus for our picture. We must know the distance of our objects and their surroundings, the lights and shades, the coloring, natural and artificial. In other words, we must become familiar with the circ.u.mstances of history, the dates, the places, the customs and laws, national and social, which throw light upon the meaning of the incidents related in the Sacred Scriptures, and which often aid us in the interpretation of pa.s.sages mysterious and prophetic. Hence we have to give some attention to, and study what we can, of the ancient records and monuments brought to light by the archaeologist and the historian. We must likewise inquire into the origin, history, authority, purpose, and general argument of each of the inspired books. All this is the object of what is called _Introduction to the Study of the Sacred Scriptures_, and is nothing else but a becoming and essential preparation for the right use of the Bible.

Ah, may our understanding ever read This glorious volume which G.o.d's wisdom made, And in that charter humbly recognize Our t.i.tle to a treasure in the skies!

[1] Scott, _The Monastery_, c. xii.

XVI.

THE INTERPRETATION OF THE IMAGE.

The Bible is not only a text-book which leads us to the acquisition of the highest of arts--that of fulfilling the true purpose of life--but it is itself, as has already been suggested, a work of fairest art inasmuch as it contains a perfect delineation of the divine Beauty drawn by the sovereign Artist Himself.

Now true art needs, as a rule, an interpretation; for the outward form which appeals to the senses may have its deeper and real meaning disguised beneath the figure, so as to be understood only by the finer perceptions of the intellect and heart. Take, for example, a canvas such as Millet's popular picture ent.i.tled "The Angelus." It is a small, unpretentious-looking work, representing a youth and a maid in a fallow field, a village church in the distance, all wrapt in the gloom of eventide. Ask a child looking at the picture what is the meaning of it, and it will probably answer: "Two poor people tired of work." Ask a countryman, without much education, and he will say: "Two poor lovers thinking of home." But to the poet who has perchance dwelt in some village of fair Southern France, and knows the simple habits of devotion among the peasant folk, the picture will awaken memories of the sound of the Angelus:

"Ave Maria," blessed be the hour, The time, the clime, the spot where I so oft Have felt that moment in its fullest power Sink o'er the earth, so beautiful and soft, While swung the deep bell in the distant tower, Or the faint dying day-hymn stole aloft, And not a breath crept through the rosy air.

And the reflecting, devout Catholic will see in that picture even more than the thoughts it suggests to the poet. It will speak to him of the angelic salute to a Virgin fair at Nazareth; it will touch a chord of tender confidence and hope in the Madonna's help and sympathy; it will arouse a feeling of grat.i.tude for the mystery of the Redemption. And all this difference of judgment arises from the varying degrees of intelligence and knowledge with which we approach the image.