We should as soon think of requiring good breeding
or politeness in the writers. Such phraseology belongs
to the period, and its absence would take away one
mark of truth from the record. But what the advo-
cates of a literal and suggesting inspiration are to do
with such instances, it passes our comprehension to
devise.* We beseech them to consider those instances,
— it would be improper to quote them, we dare not refer
to the text — and to tell us whether they are ready to
pledge the sense and delicacy of Christian men for the
propriety of such passages in sacred books or any other
books. We warn them, if they do confound the
claims of revelation with the defence of such passages,
if they dare to present themselves before the searching



286 NATURE AND EXTENT OF INSPIRATION.
and free spirit of this age with such a defence, that
they will have something to do with infidelity, besides
conjuring up a phantom of it in the faith of their fellow
Christians.
