Produced by Al Haines CHAPTERS OF BIBLE STUDY OR A POPULAR INTRODUCTION TO THE STUDY OF THE SACRED SCRIPTURES BY THE REV. HERMAN J. HEUSER PROF. OF SCRIPTURAL INTRODUCTION AND EXEGESIS, ST. CHARLES SEMINARY, OVERBROOK, PA. THE CATHEDRAL LIBRARY ASSOCIATION 123 E. 50th Street New York 1895 Nihil Obstat: D. J. McMAHON, _Censor Librorum_. Imprimatur: MICHAEL AUGUSTINE, _Archbishop of New York_. COPYRIGHT BY JOSEPH H. MCMAHON, 1895. PREFACE. The following pages are printed from notes used in a series of lectures before the "Catholic Summer School of America" at Pittsburgh. They are neither an exhaustive nor a scientific exposition, but are meant as a suggestive introduction, in popular form, to the intelligent reading of the Bible. Some of the answers to questions proposed by members of the "School" during the course have been inserted where it seemed most suitable. I take occasion here to express my deep appreciation of the courtesy shown to its visitors by the Directors of the "Catholic Summer School." Their self-sacrificing spirit has secured to the organization the earnest co-operation of many gifted men and women animated by that refined Catholic feeling which constitutes the highest type of a truly cultured society. Nothing could have placed the institution on a firmer basis, or could better have given it that guarantee of success to which the last session has borne witness. H. J. H. CONTENTS. I. The Ancient Scroll II. Strange Witnesses III. The Testimony of a Confession IV. The Stones Cry Out V. Heavenly Wisdom VI. The Vicious Circle VII. The Sacred Pen VIII. The Melody and Harmony of the "Vox Coelestis" IX. The Voice from the Rock X. A Source of Culture XI. The Creation of New Letters XII. English Style XIII. Friends of God XIV. The Art of Prospecting XV. Using the Kodak XVI. The Interpretation of the Image XVII. "Deus Illuminatio Mea" XVIII. Bush-Lights XIX. The Use and the Abuse of the Bible XX. The Vulgate and the "Revised Version" XXI. The Position of the Church XXII. Mysterious Characters XXIII. Conclusion XXIV. Appendix CHAPTERS OF BIBLE STUDY. I. THE ANCIENT SCROLL. If a mysteriously-written document were brought to you, and its bearer assured you that it contained a secret putting you in possession of a great inheritance by establishing your relationship to an ancient race of kings, of which you had no previous knowledge, how would you regard such a document?