to enter with zest into the study of the Letters of Paul without remembering constantly what manner of man he was. His letters abound indeed in hints of personality.*

3. The third step in the grasp of any book of the Bible is to understand the particular situation or occasion that caused it to be written. With some the occasion is of a general nature; but with others it is very definite, even local or personal in some cases. The neglect of this in Bible teaching is the neglect of an im portant element of interest. To show an audience, for example, that Deuteronomy is in reality nothing more than the Farewell Address of Moses to the people, his repetition and summing up of the Law before his departure, is to show at once the raison d'être of the book, to give it coherency and perspective, to secure for it in the mind of the reader its logical place in the Revelation. The whole advantage of local color comes with the recognition of occasion. The ordinary reader has his interest at once quickened when he appreciates the fact that the Book of Amos in reality represented the work of a Home Missionary, he having been sent from Judah to preach in Israel; that the Book of Acts was not so much the Acts of the Apostles, as it was the Acts of the Holy Spirit in the strategic and far-reaching first years of the history of the Christian Church; that the Epistle to the Philippians was written by the Apostle Paul in response to the kindly act of the Philippian Christians in sending a gift to him in his Roman imprisonment; that the Epistles to the Thes

* See Chapter VIII, "The Charm of Letters."

salonians grew very largely out of the speculations that arose in Thessalonica over the second coming of Christ; that the Epistles to Timothy and Titus were letters of personal advice to younger ministers in charge of churches or fields of Christian activity; and that the Epistle to Philemon was a letter of appeal sent to a Christian master upon the return of a runaway slave who had recently become a Christian. The result of this method is to give the Bible student a hold upon the books that no amount of study of separate verses and passages can produce. Such grasp of the books is bound to be accompanied by interest-the interest born of knowledge. The books now stand for something. They no longer hang in the air. The knowledge of their origin and occasion becomes a part of their effectiveness. In short, the more concrete the books are seen to be, the closer they come to human life and need.

4. With some knowledge of the author, and with as clear an understanding as possible of the occasion, the teacher must now apprehend the message of the book. The message grows out of the situation. It is the answer of the inspired writer to the condition or need that is apparent. One may study every book of the New Testament thus: given a certain set of conditions or a certain occasion, or a certain attitude or temperament of mind-what is the answer of the author out of the gospel, through the media of his own temperament and experience? The result is the message of the book. The climax of interest in the grasp of the books comes here. The wide adaptability of the gospel to human conditions is never so apparent as when the reader discovers

the varying conditions revealed in the various books of the Bible.

5. The real crux in the mastery of the books is, after all, the problem of skill. The public presentation of the books may be made very dull. On the other hand, it may be made to thrill with interest from beginning to end. After the main points already considered have been made to stand out, the final and the most particular part of the teacher's task is the review of the book, and the application of its teaching to present-day life. This must be rapid and condensed. It may sometimes be done by chapters. It is often better done by a rapid and orderly presentation of the phases of the main thought as it is unfolded in the notable passages of the book. In Ephesians, for example, the thought of union with Christ-"to sum up all things in Christ" (1:10)-is presented in several ascending figures. First. The figure of the Temple-"in whom ye also are builded together" (ii: 22). Second. The figure of the Head and Body-"may grow up in all things into him, which is the head" (iv: 15). Third. The figure of the Husband and Wife-"that he might present the church to himself" (v:27). The art in this kind of Bible teaching consists in knowing for one's self exactly what the meaning of the book is; and then in knowing how to attach part to part, what to emphasize and what to omit, in a rapid impressionistic review that is calculated to leave with the hearer the feeling that he has himself been spoken to in the message of the book. Any teacher or preacher who will recognize the value of this method of instruction will "covet the best gifts."

For this kind of work with the Bible appeals to the feeling of mastery both in the mind of the teacher and in the mind of the scholar. It removes all impressions of effeminacy or diletantteism in handling the Book. It is at least thoroughgoing. The result is nearly always a growth of interest in the Scripture, and a deeper response to its manifold appeal. A pastor who will occasionally lead his congregation in studying the books of the Bible, either from the pulpit or in the prayer-meeting hour, or in a pastor's Bible class, will find that he has opened a new secret of power in the life of the Christian Church.

VII

THE LITERATURE OF COURAGE

"ALL the world loves a lover." that all the world loves a hero.

It is equally true

A missionary in

Africa relates how a village in the interior was stirred to transports of delight by the deed of a native in rescuing a drowning man. The drowsiest age and the most commonplace people are often moved to unusual displays of enthusiasm by acts of human courage. Courage indeed is one of those redemptive features in humanity's life which are constantly producing surprises, opening sudden vistas, and easing the burdens of mankind. "There is no finer flower in this green earth than courage." It is the ornament not alone of those who are in the press of the great throng, but of those also who are called to interpret "the terms of silence." It is as often the "passion of patience" as the initiative of aggression; it is as often "the white flower of a blameless life" as the flash of the sword on the battlefield.

The elements that constitute courage are easily discernible. The first is the sheer love of adventure. There is a spirit of daring in man that makes a constant protest against ease, complacency, and sloth. "At heart all men and women are romantic and adventurous." Whether it be the Search for the Golden Fleece or the quest of the North Pole-there will al