"The originals are not original."

"For neither now nor yesterday began

These thoughts, which have been ever, nor yet can
A man be found who their first entrance knew.”

"Sacred Scriptures always are anonymous."

"Proverbs are sayings without an author."

Truth axioms need nor names, nor dates, nor nationality, nor demonstration; to all genuine Truth-lovers they are self-evident.

"Why, even of yourselves, judge ye not what is right"

"Let every man be persuaded in his own mind."

"But there is neither East nor West, Border, nor Breed, nor Birth,

When two true men stand face to face, tho' they come from the ends of the earth."

B

GENERAL PREFACE

IBLES are cyclopædias of the best religious literature of the world. Cyclopædias are valuable for purposes of reference and occasional use; but for general use they are cumbersome and inconvenient.

All Bibles are made up of the best ancient literature of the ages and people that produced them. They represent what we may call the survival of the fittest out of the mass of devout literature of the ancient world. In this sense all are valuable, and not a scrap should be lost. But being cyclopædias they are not well adapted to common use.

For the student, as books of reference they are invaluable; but for practical purposes-that is, as books of devotion, of devout instruction, or of ethical guidance and suggestion they are unquestionably confusing as well as cumbersome and inconvenient. So much irrelevant matter of mere history, genealogy, incident, explanation, repetition, etc., is (quite naturally) included, that they become like metamorphic rocks or alluvial soils, from which much rubbish must be cleared away before one can get at the embedded gold. For practical purposes the gold should be ready at hand and in a convenient form. So for practical purposes the practical instructions and suggestions of the Bibles of the World should be separated from the mass of history, genealogy, and detail, so that eye and mind may at once apprehend their meaning and be quickened by their timely inspirations. The want of such a selection is widely felt by all catholic-spirited ministers in Pulpits, teachers in Sunday-schools and in Day-schools, parents in Homes, and individuals in hours of Devotion.

To answer this "want," in some measure at least, this volume has been prepared. From the Bibles of the World all has been selected that seems of practical value, for purposes either of moral instruction or of devout inspiration. May these selections stand as confirmations of the truth and beauty of all Divine Revelations and, at the same time, bear living testimony to the fact that, In times past the Eternal One has not left Himself without a witness in any nation; but hath from time to time raised up prophets among them all such as they were able to hear.

As to the selections made and parts omitted, it is inevitable that a compiler of any sort can never hope to satisfy the taste and judgment of all. What one would retain another would reject; what one would reject, another would retain. Some would retain all; and some would reject all. So, on his own taste and judgment must every compiler rely; and, especially in such a serious matter as attempting "to tamper with Sacred Writ" must one be prepared for criticism, and for finding that personal satisfaction and benefit are the only compensation to be received from even one's most studious and devout labors.

EXPLANATION OF METHODS

The compiler of this volume may here be permitted to make some personal explanations with reference to his fitness to undertake so great a work as that which he has ventured to assume, and the general methods he has adopted. From

childhood he has been unusually familiar with the Christian Bible. Very early in life he committed to memory large portions of it. In college, in theological schools, and during the many studious as well as busy years of a clergyman's life which have followed, the Christian Bible has unceasingly been his "book of books." He has also during these years, from opportunities as pastor and preacher in country as well as in city parishes; from opportunities also of wide studies and various associations, both in America and in Europe, in Universities and with people of all grades of intellectual and theological appreciations, sought to arrive at just and wise conclusions as to the relative worth of the various Bibles of the World as adapted to the needs of people in general, and of the more intelligent and critical classes in particular.

With so much of early and of continued preparation to recommend him to the task, or at least to recommend the task to him, he began about thirty years ago to devote his leisure hours to gathering and arranging the materials for this volume-chiefly that he might have it for use in his own home and congregations. The general methods which he adopted and has followed out, are:

(1) To select all the parts, whether chapters, paragraphs, or isolated sentences, which seemed to be of especial importance for purposes of ethical instruction, or, as aids to either public or private devotion.1

(2) To bring these Selections together, part to part, in a way that would render them most effective, and at the same time do no violence to the critical and historical sense of the various books, chapters, or paragraphs from which they were taken.

(3) To faithfully translate-with standard lexicons and with all scholarly versions in hand-the Selections thus made and brought together, carefully studying the context and noting the various meanings of all disputed parts, with the resolution of leaving unchanged every sentence, phrase, or word that represents even approximately the meaning of the original writings, as the present translator might be able to understand them; but with the resolution also, of rendering all parts which have important ethical or devotional bearings into whatever new or changed words, phrases, or sentences would most truthfully and clearly represent the meaning of the original writings, as the present translator might be able to understand them.

(4) To change or to retain the common punctuation according to the above rule of translation.

(5) To omit all unnecessary particles and meaningless repetitions of words, in cases where the sense of a passage would be obscured or burdened by their retention.

(6) To gather into paragraphs or verses such portions of each Selection as seemed to be kindred; i.e., as seemed to have been originally spoken or written as a continuous sentiment or thought.

1As has already been hinted, the Christian Bible, like all the other Bibles of the World, and like all masses of literature-especially ancient literature,-may be fittingly compared to a great mine, rich in deposits of precious ore. To delve for these "precious deposits," and to bring them forth-whether found in the form of veins, or of nuggets, or of scattered grains, this is wisdom; it is benevolence also; and moreover, is, in its highest form, reverence for the original sources of revelation and of truth.

To or three anticipated criticisms may here be noticed also by way of general explanation.

First, that the translator has ventured to adopt what are known as free renderings in place of the common (professedly) literal renderings; and that in doing this he has very often filled in or pieced out his translations with such connecting or explanatory words as would serve the better to bring out his view of the author's full or evident meaning. In reply he would say that literal or word-for-word translations of the various Bibles of the World, all alike, are based upon the old, but now generally rejected, idea of verbal inspiration. Those who have come to believe that every Bible, without exception, is simply a book among books, will insist upon the privilege of translating them as they would translate Homer or Virgil, or any other book. Moreover, the literal method of translation on the part of the old school of theologians is only a professed one; as a matter of fact, it has never been followed. All translators from the earliest times have woven into the original text words and phrases of their own, the better to express their sense of its meanings. Certainly a translator from the modern and liberal standpoint may enjoy the privilege of doing the same.

Everybody knows that the original text of all the Bibles of the World was exceedingly ungrammatical, disconnected, confused, and uncertain-necessarily so because their authors and first transcribers were unlearned men and obliged to write or dictate in a language of whose grammatical and perspicuous use they knew little or nothing. So that, from the beginning, all translations have been largely a matter of guess as to the original meaning. From the first translations there have been no really literal renderings, but "filling in and piecing out" with such words and phrases as seemed to the translators to assist in best bringing out the meaning of the text. The same privilege, from a different standpoint of interpretation only, is all that the present translator has claimed.

Another anticipated criticism which it may be well here to forestall, is that so much has been omitted. But a sufficient reply to this is a reference to the fact, that the compiler of this volume has made it his main object to leave out (1) all improper, (2) all irrelevant, (3) all theologically or ethically unnecessary, and (4) all parenthetical and inadequately testified to or confirmed, parts, in order to produce a Selection not at all for critical, but entirely for moral and devout purposes.

A word of explanation may also here be added with reference to the form in which the pages and selections have been arranged. The form of paragraphs or verses gathered into selections has been adopted as best for two reasons: (1) All Bibles are made up of fragments of history and of thought, which have loosely drifted together without much if any discernible order or connection, and hence the fragmentary form of preserving them is most natural and suggestive. (2) Ethical teachings and devout sentiments have always been found most effective, both for the memory and for purposes of meditation, when presented in brief paragraphs or in isolated sentences. This is shown in the growing tendency in our times of all authors whose main object is suggestion or instruction, to break up their pages into headings, sections, paragraphs, and short sentences. Of all writings the ancient scriptures of the world, which, for the most part, originally were only sentences or fragments of thought and of devout utterances written upon stones, bark, parchment, anything most convenient, and at length

gradually gathered in volumes, of all writings these are most suggestive and impressive when presented as nearly as possible in their original fragmentary form.

The question also will, doubtless, be asked: Why are not authorities for changes in the translations given? The answer is, that the translator, being a classical scholar and reasonably familiar with the various ancient languages, has thought it best to be his own authority for changes in the common translations; at the same time he would acknowledge his indebtedness to every well-known version, and to every well-known volume of Translations or of Selections from the various Sacred Scriptures of the World.

It may also here be added that no references to exact page and verse, or to probable or possible authors have been made, first, because this is not designed as a volume for critical study; and, second, because every selection may be traced and verified by critical students-each for himself.

As the Christian Bible is a book of fragments, so are all the other Ancient Scriptures books of fragments. The Selections here given are fragments of fragments; sentences or parts of sentences picked up and thrown together, without much regard to connection, something as the books of Proverbs and Ecclesiastes, in the Old Testament, and the Gospels in the New Testament, without much regard to the order of thoughts or events contained in them. They are designed for purposes of devout thought and meditation only; and, as such, should be read by single verses, not by pages or Selections.

No attempt has been made to give the names of authors; the nationality, or what may be called the school of thought, such as Persian, Egyptian, Hindu, etc., has been deemed sufficient. Of the Truth contained in them, as of all Truth wherever found, the author is the Eternal One; and it matters but little by what name may be called the human instrument through whom He has chosen to reveal it. Better, perhaps, that the name be entirely forgotten, in order that Truth may be "all in all."

PLURAL OR COLLECTIVE PRONOUNS OF WORLD-RELIGION.
OUR OURS-WE-US

In the evolution of terrestrial Life the My-Mine-I-Me, characteristic of sensuousness and of self love, has prevailed through numberless æons. Now super-realms of spirituality are being opened to mankind in which the coöperation of selfless love is found to be the supreme law and the highest gladness. All who would be super-men, in the sense of fitness for the consciousness of Life Eternal, must renounce the self love of My-Mine-I-Me for the selfless love of OurOurs-We-Us. All my books and other publications relative to WorldReligion will have, for their ideal of aspiration and truth, the words OUR FATHER -Our, not My-and every page of their contents will ignore, as fully as possible, the My-Mine-I-Me and emphasize the Our-Ours-We-Us.

PERSONAL NAMES, BIOGRAPHY, AND HISTORY

All details of and allusions to Biography and History are carefully omitted from all the Selections, impartially, as also are all personal names. The following notes, added here, as explanatory, seem to be expedient.