Social Envirotunenf 



sufficient relaxation and amusement. Plato and 

 Shakespeare demand that we take them seri- 

 ously. They refuse to play the part of the clown 

 in the circus. We do not quite understand 

 Shakespeare's fools, but have a dim suspicion 

 that they are laughing at us. The best books 

 from the evolutionist's standpoint are not neces- 

 sarily those of most elegant diction or startling 

 phrases. They are not necessarily the most ex- 

 hausting or complete catalogue of scientific facts 

 or the finest dissections of normal or diseased 

 personality. They are true to life, as we say. 

 They teem with the highest vitality. Their 

 characters remain with us as friends and close 

 companions and infect us with strength and 

 courage. They not merely amuse or instruct, 

 they build up and vivify. 



Judged from this standpoint, no volume or 

 library has such value as the Bible. Only a 

 book of extraordinary vitality could have occa- 

 sioned or survived the misunderstandings, mis- 

 use, and abuse of friends and foes which this 

 book has suffered. It is a record or picture of 

 the experience, feelings, and life of strong men 

 and women facing and overcoming doubt and 

 fear, hardship and pain, temptation and trial, 



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