A History of the Bible as Literature Volume 1, From Antiquity to 1700 [Paperback]

This volume provides the only full account of how people have thought of the Bible and Bible translations from biblical times to the end of the seventeenth century.The first volume of this magisterial two-volume work provides the only full account of how people have thought of the Bible and Bible translations from biblical times to the end of the seventeenth century.The first volume of this magisterial two-volume work provides the only full account of how people have thought of the Bible and Bible translations from biblical times to the end of the seventeenth century.It is regarded as a truism that the King James Bible is one of the finest pieces of English prose. Yet few people are aware that the King James Bible was generally scorned or ignored as English writing for a century and a half after its publication. The reputation of this Bible is the central, most fascinating, element in a larger history, that of literary ideas of the Bible as they have come into and developed in English culture; and the first volume of David Norton's magisterial two-volume work surveys and analyses a comprehensive range of these ideas from biblical times to the end of the seventeenth century, providing a unique view of the Bible and translation.List of plates; Preface; List of abbreviations; 1. 'This treasure in earthen vessels'; 2. The early Christians and biblical eloquence; 3. Jerome; 4. Augustine and his successors; 5. The occult text; 6. The challenge to the translators; 7. Slaves of the vulgate; 8. Creators of English; 9. From the Great Bible to the Rheims-Douai Bible; 10. The King James Bible; 11. Presentations of the text, 15251625; 12. Sixteenth-century movements towards literary praise and appreciation of the Bible; 13. The struggle for acceptance; 14. 'The eloquentist books in the world'; 15. Versifying the Psalms; 16. 'The best materials in the world for Poesy'; Appendix; Bibliography; General index; Biblical index.'This is a patient, intelligent and enjoyable book. The tl3A