LITERARY NOTICES.

Southland Times, Volume I, Issue 28, 13 February 1863, Page 3

LITERARY NOTICES.

gJLm Smith, Elder & Co.'a Monthly Circular. a«P/ic' Pentateuch, and Book of Joshua Criti Wicallv examined. By the Kipht Key. Jolin ■ nfiwiiliam Colenso, D.D., Bishop of Natal. Part if J. Bvo, pp. 10U. Os. tjsji As our readers are aware, we do not profess, . -Hinder ordinary circumstances, to devote more than e S few lines of description to wirks on theology Jlid biblical criticism; partlj because the titles of Mich works usually speak for themselves, and the . o Huthor3 arc well known, but in a much greater de"Bree because works of this special character lie "flevond our province, which is to keep our readers couranl with the general literature of the day. 4 Jhe work before us, however, is so exceptional in .^3 character, and has created so much sensation (flK'.'ng the few days that have elapsed since its yßupblicntion, that we feel it no more thau just to ■Hhe distinguished author — and, wo may also say to 3Kur readers — to give it the same prominence that Bas b^en accorded to it i i the leading journals of kflterature. There is. too, some decree of homng •• '"fine to that love of the truth which arms a man lo lljrave any amount of obloquy, and makes any sa-jHrifk-e for its sake, and by which alone, a man of Kjftishop Colenso's standing could have been influijSnecrt to puulisii such a work, or could have dared [Jfcd.i so. The courage of an individual who make a liacrifice of external advantages tor conscience' igake is. we are happy to say, not without preceBent ; but here is the case of one who has to con''mider, in addition, the effect of his example as Sftrising from a position of hitjh dignity in the '{church; who may doubt his right to do an act, ilhoiicjh it may render his life unhap >y to forbear, JBrhich insy unsettle the faith rf thousands, and mor ou,'ht that he knows, like the torch of Erostra|Ju9, may set fire to the sanctuary. Something ■.Ijrore than courage, and more than a spirit of seltJ|acriie is demanded in such a case. There must be jfhe c .nfidence of one who may indeed be mistaken ||bs to what constitutes the truth, but who honestly Solds, with the apostle, that we cap do nothing jgigainst the truth, and that truth can do nothc Kn2 agaiust the best interests of mankind. ! fl To account for the appearance of his critique, Hjlßisliop Colenso makes an interesting personal Statement. It is about nine years since he wa3 afconspcrated bishop of Natal, and on arriving on liKhe field of his labors, he commenced the study of fihe Zulu tongue, and the translation ot the Seripffiurea into it.° He was aided in his labours by infiellioent natives, and he acquired such a knowledge Sof their language that he was able to commune with them in the freest manner, to avail himself of fiheir criticism while engaged in his task, and to appreciate fully their objections and difficulties. BTlius it happened that lie was brought face to face ravith questions that had caused him some uneasiBaess in earlier days in England, but which lie had Seasily dismissed at the time, when he was fully oc • irupied with his parochial duties, in which the jpoetrinal and devotional parts of the Bible were l&non needed. At Port Natal the circumstances Severe reversed. Doubts that his own mind, or that Bntelligent natives suggested, could no longer be postponed. Questions were asked, and answers "Is all that true?" one would say, Hwhile he was translating the 3tory of the Flood, i" Do you really believe that allihis happened thus J— that »11 the beasts and birds,and creeping things Slipon the earth, large and small, from hot countries and cold, came thus by pairs and entered into the ark with Noah ? And did Noah gather food for them all, for the beasts aDd birds of prey as well fi3 the rest?" The bishop was compelled to test his faith by his knowledge of facts, and search deeply into these questions ; yet he declares that he had tben not the most distant idea of the results at Which he at length arrrived. "When, under these circumstances, the bishop commenced his close study of the Pentateuch, it was a serious question with him bow be could retain his episcopal office, in the discharge of which he had to require from others a solemn declaration that they " unfeignedly believe all the canonical books of the Old and New Testament ; " which with the evidence he gathered, he found it increasingly impossible to believe. When he had arrived at the conclusion that considerable portions of the Mosaic narrative could not be historically true, (tor this is the substance of what he affirms) the question assumed a much more than personal importance — it concerned the wholo church. When once the facts that he had ascertained were realized in their full force, he conceived it would be impossible for any of the more hopeful and intelligent of our young men to take orders in the Church of England, unless freedom of speech were conceded to them in these matters. Uow, then, with consequences of such gravity before him, could Bishop Colenso justify the publication of his strictures? Above all, how could he reconcile it with his conscience to publish a work of the kind without devoting years to its consideration ? lie says: — " Situated as I am I have had no altnernrtive. Being invested with the episcopal office, I cannot, as ordinary clergymen might, obtain leave of abBence from my duties for a year or two, and have them carried on by a substitute; nor can I, arriving in England as a missionary bishop, and receiving therefore, calls from many quarters to plead the cause of missions, decline acceding to such calls without assigning, as I do by the publication of this book, the reason why, with my present work in hand, I cannot comply with them. '■The question, however, has been to me a matter of life and death, and I have laboured upon it incesfantly with all the powers of which God has given »c. Yet this toil has been mainly bestowed upon tho critical and subsidiary portion of my book ; and, by a careful comparison of my own conclu»i<raß with those of Bleek and Kucnen, which contains the latest results of Continental criticism in Germany and Holland, I bolievo that I have made myself sufficiently master of the subject to be a%le to place confidence in the general soundness of the views that JwjJJ i»er<? maintained. eTvn

though, on some points, as will lie seen, I Toe obliged to differ with the above eminent critics. The essential portions, however, of tli id work, viz: the results arrived at in Part I. (the volume now published) required comparatively very liUlo labor. The facts have only to be stated, as 1 hnve endeavored to state them, in a form intelligible to the most unlearned laynanjtmd the truth of the conclusions drawn, will, as it appears to me, bo selfevident to my readers who have courage to face the truth and courage to confess it." Finally, he sayp, — and this is most important, — " I am not aware of any breach of the law of the Church of England, as declared by the recent judgment in the Court of Arches, which is involved in this publication. It is now ruled that the words in the Ordination Service for Deacons, ' I do unfeigned ly believe in all the Canonical Scriptures,' must bo understood to mean simply the expression of a bond Jide belief that ' the Holy Scriptures contain even thing necessary to salvation,' and that to ' that" extent they have the direct sanction of the Almighty.' "lam not conscious of having said anything here which contravenes this decision. Should it be otherwise, and should the strange phenomenon be witnessed of a bishop of tho Protestant Church of England — more especially one who has been expressly occupied in translating the Scriptures into a foricgn tongue, — being precluded by tho law of that church from entering upon a close critical examination of them, and from bringing before the great body of the church (not the clergy only, but the clergy' and laity) the plain honest results of such criticism, I must, of course, bear the consequences ot my act." The consequences he does not fear. Ho believes that our Church, representing the religious feeling of a free Protestant nation, requ ires us now, as in tho days of the reformation, to protest against all perversion of the truth, and all suppression of it for the sake of peace. He holds that the foundation of our National Church are laid upon the Truth itself, and not upon opinions merely prescriptive. He feels that, as a bishop, he is bound to bo nn example to the flock of that walking in the Light without which there cannot be true life in the Church. lie even cherishes the hope that, if his conclusions be accepted as well-grounded and true they will lead to reform in the Church, and to an enlargement of her boundary; so that sho may become — v.hat a national church should be — '' the mother of Spiritual life to all within the realm, embracing, as far as passible, all the piety, and learning, and earnestness and goodness of the nation." Perhaps he is too sanguine on this point; but the hope is one in which the majority of his readers must sympathise, even if they think his reasons not sufficiently well-grounded to justify the act of publication. We have endeaveored to state fairly all that con be deemed of personal importance to tlie author !in connection with this work. Our readers will now be anxious to know something about its contents, what it pretends to prove. and how its proofs are made out. As already hinted, it contravenes the belief, held by the majority of Christians, in the verbal inspiration of the Books af Moses; but what is of more importance, it dot-s so on the alleged ground that those books are not historically true. The principal points are the following : — I. That, in the account of the family of Jttdalt at the time when Jacob and his sons went down into Egypt, the most contradictory and unaccontablc statements are made. Thus, tvo sons of Pharez, grandsons of Judah, are included in the enumeration of the seventy persons who went into Egypt. Yet, certainly, those grandsons could not have been born at the time, unless the previous events recorded in the narrative did not happen. In discussing these points, the author quotes largely from the works of biblical critics who endervor to reconcile the alleged fucts. 2 That the given number of the people could never have been assembled in the court of the Tabernacle, the size of which is also given. Ihe estimate is, that " the whole congregation ot Israel" would have made a body of pe'P'o noiu-lv twenty miles long and more than eighteen feet wide, wbile the area of tho court -was only sis.lv yards long by thirty yards wide. 3. That it was a physical impossibility for Moses and Ji shua to address the pcojiie un er (Ikcircumstances detailed in the several texts examined. 4. That the extent of the camp rendered it impossible for the priests to perform the duties assigned to them. 5. That precisely the same number is given for the census of the people at two different periods. Connected with this are other curious observations upon the alleged numbers of the tribes. ls. That the Israelites are spoken of as dwelling in tents immediately after the Exodus, yet it whs physically impossible they could have been provided with tents. 7. That it is stated the Israelites went up armed out of Egypt, and that the number of their fighting men was GUI), 00 inconceivable in connection with other statements in the record. 8. That it was a physical impossibility to brate the Passover in the manner described. 9. That the inarch out of -Egypt, as described, involves impossibilities. 10. That the possession of flocks and herds by the Israelites in the desert, and particularly ot the enormous number of he- lambs required for the celebration 'of the Passover, was physically impossible. 1 1. That the number of Israelites compared wilh the extent of Canaan involves an extreme improbability 12. That the number of tie first-borns is inconsistent with the number of adults, ns we are requir d to believe that every mother had not less than 3i» children. The same calculations show that only one man in ten could have had a wife. Other important conclusions are deduced from the same data, especially that the entire number of men capable of bearing arms, who left Egypt, could not have exceeded 2000.* 13. That there are discrepant statements as to the number of years that the Israelites sojourned in Egypt. The difficulty here admits of a pariial explanation, but the time being reduced it becomes ■ insufficient for the stated increase of the people. It is afterwards shown that evcu tho full time is inadequate to that effect. 14. That the Exodus from Egypt in the fourth generation is inconsistent with a sojourn there of | 430 years, and c converse*, that there could not | have been 600,000 men capable of bearing arms i in the fourth generation, but only '2000, as shown above. 15. That the number of Israelites at the Exodus is great !}• exaggerated, assuming for data tho statements of the Pentateuch itself. Some very curious and startling results are shown in all the chapters bearing on this part of the evidence. 16. That (he number of Danites and Levites it the time of the Exodus is exaggerated. This is a particular development of the previous general argument, with equally surprising results. 17. That the number of priests at the Exodus bears no proportion to their assigned duties, and to the provision made for them. 18. That the duties assigned to the priests at the celebration of the Passover could not have been performed by them. 19. That the record of tho war on Midian abounds in incredible statements. It is only right to observe that we have not in the above summary, followed the words of Bishop Colenso, but have endeavored to express the peneral tenor of his arguments in rather a clumsy formulary perhaps. Of the collateral evidence brought to bear on each subject, tho logical connection of the whole, and the related topics that are introduced, we must not attempt to give an idea. To these texts of the argument may be added ihe following in the author's own words, by way ot recapitulation : — " From the above considerations (ho snys) it surely folio ws that the account of tr- Exodus of the Israelites, as given in the Pentateuch, whatever real foundation it may have had in the ancient history of the people, ia mixed up, at all events, with so great an amount of contradictory matter, that it cannot be regarded as historically true, so as to be appealed to as absolute incontestible matter of fact in church formularies. For, let it be observed, the objections which have been produced are cot such as touch only one or two points of the story. They aflVct the entire substance of it, and until they are removed, they make it impossible foi a thoughtful person to receive, without further inquiry, any considerable portion of it as certainly true in an historical point of view. It is plain that, in its own essential statements of matters of fact, tho narrative of the Exodus ie full of contradictions. We cannot here have recourse to the ordinary supposition, that there may be something wrong in the Hebrew numerals. This suggestion will not avail liere, however it might be applied in other cases to reduce within the bounds of proba- • It formed no part of the nuflioi-'splfin to compare the Scripture account of the Exodus with other documents, or several curious frsi<rments ot Egyptian tradition on the subject might liuve been referred to. Manetho speaks of the laborers who were collected together by Kinp; Amenopbis, and who, to the. mini iinr of 80,000 persons, were compelled to work in the quarries on the east side of the Nile. Among them wore some learned priests who were :ifllicterl with leprosy, nnd Manetho briefly inentionH a series of" events which led to their exodus from bpypt under a leader at first called Osarsiph, but whose name was afterwards changed to Moyses. A tmgrmeut of Chaeeremon is also quoted, which Htntes tlmt certiiin unclean persons, to the number of MO.OOO (this wouid, of course, include women and children;, were collected together, and "driven out" from IJpypt, in accordance with v mandate from Isis. They made their Exodus nnder two leaders, oue of whom was a BRCrod scribe. This account is referred to by Piodorus Sicujuo.

bilify tho oitrnv.ig'infc statements of TTcbiew writer^, such ni t.mt in Jo. xii. 0. where we are told that the C;ile<i'lile<; under JrtiiliMiah slew of their brethren the F,r»hrai:nites 42,000 m n ; or. that- in Jh. xx.. where, first, the Benjamites slay of Ihe [srnelit.es 4°,000 men. v. 21, Sn.'and then the Israelites kill of the Benjnmites 43,100, v. So, 44. All these being " men of valor " that " drew the sword ;" or, that in 1 Sol. iv. 10, where the Philistines b\q\v of Israel 30.0 >0 footmen ; or, in 1 Sol. xiii. 5, where the Philistines had 30.000 warchariots ; or, in 2 Sol. x. 18, where David slew of the Syrians 40,003 horsemen ; or, in 2 Ch. sxviii. 6, 8, whero Peknh, King of Israel. slew of Judah in one dav 120,000 " sons of valor ;" and carried away captive 200.000 " women. sons, and daughters;" or. in 2 Ch. xiii. 3, where Abijnh's force consisted of 400,000, and .leraboain's of 800,000 And Judah slew Israel, v. 17, with a great slaughter; so there fell cimvn slain of Israel ] ■500,000 chosen men ! ! ! ' It being remeinbeted that at tho buttle of Waterloo there were killed of the allies, ' British, Germans. Hanoverians, Brunswickers. men of !N;issnu, Belgians, and Prussians.' altogether only 4,172 men. (The author adds in a n*>te. It is impossible for me not to perceive that a systematic hnbit of exaggeration in respect of numbers prevails among Hebrew writers of history, probably from not realizing to their own minds the actual meaning and magnitude of the numbers employed. 'Jhus Asa's force consisted of 680.000, Zernh's of 1.000,000 (2 Chr. xiv. 8,9.) Jehoshnphat's of 1 ,1(50,000. besides all the garrisons in .Tudea, xvii. 14 — 19. The kingdom of Jiitlah contained about 2.500 squire miles, (hut is in extent, it wns about half as large as the counties of Norfolk. Suffolk, nnd Essex together; but in Jehoshaphat's time it contained, according to 2 Ch.xvii. 14—10, 1,160,000 warriors, that is, about, 4.000,000 of inhabitants ; in other words, it was eight times ns thickly peopled as the three eastern counties in tho present dav ; and yet a great part of Judah was very unfruitful.) '■' But as regards the Pentateuch, not only is the number ' COO.OOO on foot, besides women and children,' sriven distinctly in Ex. xii, 37, at the time of their leaving Egypt; but we have it recorded again, thrice, over, in different forms, in Ex. xxxviii. 25 — 2S, at the beginning of the forty years' wanderings, when the number of all that ' went to be numbered from twenty years old and upward 'is reckoned at G'O3.scio; and this is repeated again in Num. i. 40 ; nnd it is modified oneeinorent (lie end of the wanderings to 001,730, Num. xxvi, 51. Besides which, on ench occasion of numbering, each separate tribe is numbered, nnd the sum of the separate, results makes up the whole. " Thus this number i? woven, as a kind of thread, into tho whole story of the Exodus, and cannot be taken out, without tearing the whole fabric to pines. It afU'cts. directly, flic account of tho construction of the tabernacle, Ex. xxxviii. 25 — 28. and. therefore, also the reality* of the institutions, whether of the priesthood or of snenttee connected with it. .And the multiplied impossibilities introduced by this number alone, independent of all other considerations, are enough to throw discredit upon the historical character of the whole narrative. "These things we have all along been looking at, a.s it- were, from a distant point of vie.v— through a misty atmosphere- — dreading, it may be, some of us. to approach ami g.-ize more closely upon the truth itself, which, once clenrlv seen, must dissipate many of our most cherished convictions, and hardly daring, indeed, to engage in (what so many would deem) an irreverent anil impious undertaking. To those of our renders, however, who hnve followed me thus t':u\ 1 hope it will now be apparent that there is no longer any cause tor superstitious terror in regard to the inquiries which we are making — rather that it is out h'umdcu dufy as servants of Clod, the very God of Truth, and in dependence on 11 is help and blessing, to peruse them "vet firtlu-r, whatever the result may be. tearing no evil : fur what shall harm us, if we are fol owers of th.it which is ri^hc, iv\d good, and true ? '•' But how tbanl:fci! we must ho tlmt wo are no longer obliged to believe, as v matter of fact, of vital cniseqiienci'-s to our eternal hope, the slory related in Numb, xxxi , where wo ore toM that a force of 12.t.!00 Israelites slew nil the males of the Miilinnitc.:, took captive all the females and children, seized ell th>'ir cuttle anil flicks (72.000 oxen, Gi.Oni.) asses, 07">."0o sheep) and nil their giiiuN, and burnt all their cities, and all their | goodly castles, without the loss of a single man; I and then by command of Mo*es. butchered in culil ! blood all the women ami children, " except all the I w-imen nnd children who have not known a man by lying with him." These last the Israelites ! were to '• keep to themselves." They amounted we j are told fo 3J,')o'\ v. Ao, mostly, we'must suppose, under the aire of sixteen or eighteen. We. may ; fiiirlv reckon that Ih. re were as many more under | the age of forfv. and half Ms many more above I forty, making, altogether. S0,00l.) females, <if whom, } according to the stnrv. M ses cau-ed IS, OOO to bo | kiPei), besides (sa.i) iii'.OOO young boys. The tragedy of Ciiwnpore, where li'O were bu'eherod, would sink into nothing compared with such a imissncre, if. indeed, we were required to believe it. And these 45,U10 females must have represented 45."00 men, nil of whom, in that ease, we r:ust also believe to have been killed, their properly p-llflcci, their c.iftk's de:no : ished, and towns destroyed by rj/'OO Israelites, who, in addition, must have carried nff lOO.t'OO captives (mure than eight per-oris to each iijun), and driven before them M'J-iO)') head of cm I lie (more than sixtv-soven for • ach man) , and all wi:liout the loss of a single man ! lloiv is it possibv to quote the Bible as in nnv wav condemning slavery. when we read here, v. 40. of '•) .-hovah's tribute' of slaves, thirty-two persons ?' We have sni<l ami quoted sufficient by way of introducing this remarkaMe book to our readers, and in «ui*h a wav a^ to make them acquainted with its contents from the bishop's point of vi"w. It 13 felt by tin- ninjon'iv of believers — as we hnve intimated — thai evil consequei ces must certainly result from its publication ; but whet her such bo the result or ni'f, a comfortable and reassuring inference, we think, may be drawn from the words of Plutiireh, who remarks that, "when the reasons for which cert lin thinirs have been held sacred nre no longer regarded or known, some, still adhering to them, fall into mere superstition ; while others, in dread of that slagn-.rt lake, 11 v to the other extreme, and become absolute unbelievers." It is possible, we would submit, that the reasonable grounds on which tho Bible was first held sacred have thus been forgotten or neglected. At any rate the spectacle presented to us by the personal siatfincnt of Bishop Colenso is that of a church, which having abandoned its ancient faith in the living Deity, nn<] in his perpetual inspiration ot truth, is at length without an answer to the simple doubts of an African savage! It would lie premature to indulge in surmises ns to what discovery Bishop Coleaso may have in store tor his readers after his searching inquiry into the foundations of their present, tru.-t is completed ; but there arc signs in his work that he by no means intends to rest in the mere negative. " I cannot but feel," he says, "that having been thus impelled to take an active part in showing the groundlessness of that notion of Scripture inspiration, which so many have long regarded as the very foundation of their faith nnd hope, a de. mandmny hu made, upon me for something to supply the loss, for something to fill up the aching void which will, undoubtedly, be felt at first, where that faith, which lms been built only or mainly upon the basis of the historical truth of the Pentateuch, must be in danger of collapsing, together with its support. In the, present stage of the discussion., it is impossible for me to answer fully as I would to such a demand, though I trust to lie enabled to do so before my work is brought to its close." In the meantime, he announces, ns the subject of Part 11., now in preparation, "The si^ns which these books of the Pentateuch give, upon close inspection, of the manner, and of the age or ages, in which thny may hnve been composed." However this book may be received, the intention of its author is apparenlly — nnd judging from nil his antecedents — a good one. Following so closely on the " Essays and Reviews," and adding its light to the scintillations of science which are revealing one by one- the facts of the past history of our race and Iho laws hy which the Creator has wilii-d that, his works shall be governed, he is of opinion th.it i( may assist: in preparing the mind to receive a living faith in place of a mere formula of belief. '1 he question, as put by Bisliop Colenso, is not whether the Bible contains tho doctrines of raveulcd truth, or whether it was written by inspired men but whether it is verbally inspire?. It it fhould really bo demonstrated that the Mosaic narrative is not true in the sense that a strictly historical document is held to be so, the way is cleared for considering whether it may not be true in some other sense — in a higher and diviner one. So long as people believe that a literal serpent literally persuaded Eve to eat of the fruit of a tree which was forbidden her, the sense is held in thral! arid a higher meaning is neither looked for nor desired. But. let it be clearly seen that the narrative is not. literally true, and the question arises, whether it was meant to be literally true. From this point there is au open door to knowledge, and the intelligent inquirer may proceed in search of those fundamental reasons for sacred things to which PI. 1 larch alludes.