977
THE KING’S BUSINESS
bines facts, but produces none. Theories are only thoughts. The mind in its think ing produces no facts except for the one subject of psychology. Even so patent a truth needs to be stated at the present time and in the present temper and attitude of criticism. One might even be pardoned for sometimes fancying that somd critics some times think that in their thinking they think facts. Then the exegetes and commentators rarely, if ever now, bring to light new facts, any more than present-day philosophers give to the world new thoughts or our poets-laureat drape their muse in new imagery. A flood of light is, indeed, pour ing across the page o'f the exegete and the commentator and the critic in these la.tter days which makes their work inestimably more helpful for interpretation, but the source of that light is neither criticism nor exegesis nor comment, but archaeology. Archaeology it is that sets around Bible his tory the facts of its environment, which illustrate Bible literature and literary meth ods by the literature of the times and the methods of its own literati, which make the purity and the sanctity and the divinity of all the things of revelation stand out in their own glorious light by putting back of them the shadows of contemporary ritual and morality and superstition and which thus put to the test of actual observation the teachings of exegesis, comment, and criticism. These, then, are the facts with which to test critical theories and they have no other source. Hence no critical theory concern ing the Bible is to be finally accepted and admitted into the faith and life until tested and attested by archaeological facts. The function of archaeology in criticism as thus brought out has been glimpsed here and there by Bible students in various departments of investigation far back in the history of modern learning and all along to the present time without being permit ted to exert permanent or serious influence upon its course or methods. Even Well- hausen, than whom no one has made more
important that no theory be given final acceptance and made a part of one’s mental furniture and allowed to influence ones atti tude and conduct in life, until it is tested and attested by facts. Surely the warnings of the study of Egyptian and classical his tory and literature are not to be disre garded. Menes and other early kings of Egypt were declared by criticism to be mere mythological characters; Minos of Crete was relegated to the same limbo;-and the stories of Troy and her heroes were said to belong to “cloudland.” How recently was all this included in the universal -opin ion of criticism. And what generations, even centuries of learned critical scrutiny lay back of this opinion in justification of it! Has the label, “Myth,” which criticism has fastened to anything in sacred or class ical story, more or bettet- critical argument to support it than had the opinion that these kings and heroes were only the creatures of a romancing fancy? Yet the spade of Petrie at Abydos, of Evans at Knossos, and of Schlieman at Troy has revealed the s“cloudland” as solid earth and shown the ghostly heroes to have been substantial men of flesh and blood. If we are to learn anything from expe rience, if reason has anything to do with human guidance, then certainly no theory of either sacred or profane history of ancient times is to be finally accepted as correct until tested and attested by facts. If human intellect is not to hold the pilot wheel at the passing of these little known and dangerous straits, then we may well ask, When is it ever to guide thought and investigation ? III. O nly arch aeo lo g y is b rin g in g fo rth a n y new facts o n th e quesions raised by criticism . But whence are to come the facts with which to test critical theories ? Only archaeology is bringing forth any new facts on the questions raised by Biblical criti cism, the very raising of which is a kind of dissent from the authority or the suf ficiency of the known or seeming facts. Criticism produces only theories; it com
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