by each class to all the other classes; after
this, all the classes met together, and while one read the others
criticized. The translation was commenced in the year 1607, and was
finished in three years. The first public issue was in 1611, when the book
was dedicated to King James, and has since been known as King James's
Bible. It was adopted not only in the English Church, but by all the
English people, so that the other versions have fallen into entire disuse,
with the exception of the Psalms, which, according to the translation of
Cranmer's Bible, were placed in the Book of Common Prayer, where they have
since remained, constituting the Psalter. It should be observed that the
Psalter, which is taken principally from the Vulgate, is not so near the
original as the Psalms in King James's version: the language is, however,
more musical and better suited to chanting in the church service.

THE LANGUAGE OF THE BIBLE.--There have been numerous criticisms, favorable
and adverse, to the language of King James's Bible. It is said to have
been written in older English than that of its day, and Selden remarks
that "it is rather translated into English words than into English
phrase." The Hebraisms are kept, and the phraseology of that language is
retained. This leads to the opinion of Bishop Horsley, that the adherence
to the Hebrew idiom is supposed to have at once enriched and adorned our
language. Bishop Middleton says "the style is simple, it is harmonious, it
is energetic, and, which is of no small importance, use has made it
familiar, and time has rendered it sacred." That it has lasted two
hundred and fifty years without a rival, is the strongest testimony in
favor of its accuracy and the beauty of its diction. Philologically
considered, it has been of inestimable value as a strong rallying-point
for the language, keeping it from wild progress in any and every
direction. Many of our best words, which would otherwise have been lost,
have been kept in current use because they are in the Bible. The peculiar
language of the Bible expresses our most serious sentiments and our
deepest emotions. It is associated with our holiest thoughts, and gives
phraseology to our prayers. It is the language of heavenly things, but not
only so: it is interwreathed in our daily discourse, kept fresh by our
constant Christian services, and thus we are bound by ties of the same
speech to the devout men of King James's day.

REVISION.--The