doctrine of Scripture is that it is the duty and privilege of every man to read it, and to read intelligently, taking advantage of all the light afforded by history, archæology and criticism. The great object of the Expositor's Bible has been just this--to let the Bible speak for itself. III.--RECENT RELIGIOUS LITERATURE--GENERAL. Criticism has powerfully stimulated public interest in the Bible, and the wealth of new information and new ideas has produced an extensive popular literature on the Sacred Scriptures. The traditional etiquette which demanded that the Bible should be marked off from all other books by its sombre binding and its arrangement in chapters and verses has been rudely set aside. Almost every possible variety of editions have been published of late years--Bibles of every shape and size, from the portly quarto for the lectern to the dainty series of duodecimo volumes for the pocket; Bibles with and without notes or illustrations; Bibles treated as classic literature; Bibles bound in cheerful colors with æsthetic tooling. It has become possible to read the Scriptures in a railway train without being guilty of pharasaic ostentation. At the same time there has been a deluge of "Helps," "Companions," "Teachers' Notes," etc., etc., intended to supply the latest information in popular, but sometimes a little misleading as to the critical results of modern, Biblical study. But the most important feature of recent literature for ordinary Bible students is the publication of standard works of reference in which the real results of modern research are made accessible. For nearly thirty years Smith's _Dictionary of the Bible_, in its English and American editions, rendered invaluable service; and a revision of this work was published some time since. But just recently two entirely new Bible Dictionaries have been published in which British, American, Dutch, German and Swiss scholars of all the Evangelical Churches, together with one or two learned Jews, co-operate. Dr. Hastings' _Dictionary of the Bible_[7] represents the more conservative position, while somewhat more advanced views find expression in the _Encyclopædia Biblica_,[8] edited by Prof. Cheyne and Dr. J. Sutherland Black. [7] T. & T. Clark, Edinburgh. Four Volumes, with a fifth supplementary volume. [8] A. & C. Black. Four Volumes.