Biblical Influence on English Language: Development of Standard Prose Relinquishing the Crude Style of the Liturgical Treatises

The Impact of the Bible on English Language: From Crude Liturgical Treatises to the Rise of Standard Prose

 The Bible's Enduring Impact on English Literature

“The greatest of all translations is the English Bible. It is even more than that: It is the greatest English book, the first of the English classics, the source of the greatest influences upon English Character and speech………. It is in a singular degree, the voice of a people.” ---- George Sampson. It is needless to say that the influence of the Bible on English literature has been immensely great and most valuable. Ever since the publication of the first translation of the Bible by Wycliffe to the publication of the Authorized Version in 1611, its influence on English literature and language has been constant and steady. These productions exerted great influence in the development of standard prose relinquishing the crude style of the liturgical treatises. The influence of the Bible on the English language is profound and far-reaching, particularly in the development of standard prose and the transition from the crude style of liturgical treatises. The Bible, as a foundational text of Western literature, has shaped English language and literature in numerous ways. The influence of the Bible was immensely felt in other branches of literature especially in poetry.

Transformation through Bible translation: Clearer prose

In the early stages of English language development, during the medieval period, the Church played a central role in society, and religious texts, including liturgical treatises, were written in Latin. These texts were often characterized by a crude and archaic style, which made them difficult for the common people to understand.

However, with the translation of the Bible into English, such as with the influential Wycliffe Bible in the 14th century, there was a significant shift in the use of language. The translation of the Bible into the vernacular allowed ordinary people to access the sacred texts directly and understand the teachings of Christianity. This accessibility fostered a desire for clearer and more intelligible prose.

The early translation of the Bible played a crucial role in the development of the English language itself. The translators had to grapple with the challenge of rendering the ancient Hebrew and Greek texts into a comprehensible and coherent form in English. In doing so, they had to make choices regarding vocabulary, syntax, and style, and these choices had a lasting impact on the language.

The translators sought to create a standard prose that was not only faithful to the original texts but also clear and accessible to the English-speaking audience. They aimed to convey the beauty and power of the biblical message while using language that resonated with the people. This endeavor influenced the development of English prose and helped establish a standard style for written English.

Biblical Influence: Controversies and English Prose

However, The Authorized Version of the Bible was published in 1611 and it changed the entire scenario. It was the work of forty-seven scholars nominated by James I, over whom Bishop Lancelot Andrews presided. It is very difficult to distinguish the influence of Authorized Bible from that of the earlier forms yet it found a righteous conclusion of religions controversies started in 1523 in England.

Humanism, the product of the Renaissance and the religions Reformation came into conflict during the mid 16th century England. The greatest advantage of this was that they largely contributed to the development of English prose. The controversialists wanted to reach the public and win over their sympathies. For that purpose they had to write their pamphlets and treatise in simple English so that it could easily be understood by the common people. That is how the translation of the Bible into English raised the controversies and how these controversies helped in the development of English prose. Let us now study the Biblical influence upon the modern English as it stands now.

Proverbs & Phrases:

Moreover, the Bible provided a rich source of idioms, phrases, and figures of speech that became integrated into the English language. Many familiar expressions, such as "the apple of my eye," "the salt of the earth," and "a voice crying in the wilderness," have their origins in biblical texts. These phrases have become deeply ingrained in the English language, enriching its vocabulary and providing a cultural and literary heritage. Many proverbs and phrases, which are in common use in modern English, are the gifts of the Bible. Quotations from the Bible are given profusely. English language has been enriched by the Bible so much that a proper assessment is practically impossible. Some illustrations of Biblical phrases are given below: ‘arose as one man’, ‘broken reed’, ‘a law unto themselves’, ‘the man of sin’, ‘moth and rust’, ‘clear as crystal’, ‘the eleventh hour’, ‘city of refuse’, ‘whited sepulcher’, ‘wash one’s hands off’ and many other familiar scriptural phrases and allusions. From Tyndale we owe ‘long-suffering’, ‘peacemaker’, ‘stumbling block’, ‘the fatted calf’, ‘filthy lucre’, ‘mercy seat’, ‘day spring’ and ‘scapegoat’. From Coverdale we have ‘tender mercy’, ‘loving-kindness’, ‘valley of the shadow of death’, ‘avenges of blood’ etc. Many such Biblical phrases and idioms are current in modern English without even knowing its source.

Poetry:

 Right from Chaucer to the present day the influence of the Bible is clearly discernible in poetry. Even Chaucer drew the material for some of his tales from the Bible. Spenser’s Fairy Queen is also “steeped in the humanism of the classics and Italian literature and it everywhere testifies to the strenuous idealism and moral earnestness of Protestantism”. Milton’s Paradise Lost is Biblical while the metaphysical poets were interested in Biblical allusion. In the twentieth century the poetry of T.S.Eliot, Yeats, and Dylan Thomas is full of the Biblical references. Technically the Biblical influence can be seen in the use of ‘th’ such as in hath, ‘loveth’, ‘hateth’, ‘giveth’ etc in place of ‘has’, ‘haves’, ‘gives’ etc as a poetical style. Again, we find old past tenses in ‘gat’, ‘clave’, ‘brake’ instead of got, clove, broke in poetry mastered by Tennyson, Morris, Coleridge etc. Instead of using ‘s’ ending in verbs we have: “He prayeth best who loveth best/All things both great and small”- Ancient Mariners.

Superlatives, Scriptural Proper Names:

On the analogy of the scriptural ‘holy of holies’ which contains a Hebrew manner of expressing the superlatives, we get in modern English similar phrases such as: In my heart of hearts, the place of all places, a friend of friends, the pearl of pearls, a prince of princes etc.

Further scriptural proper names are often used as appellatives to designate types of character. As for example, ‘to raise Cain’ meaning to make a determined angry fuss; ‘David and Jonathan’ means ‘any pair of devoted friends’.

Revival of Some Archaic Words: 

Biblical usage has revived some of the lost words into full life. Such words are like ‘damsel’ for young women, ‘raiment and apparel’ for dress, ‘firmament’, a poetical synonym for sky’.

Conclusion:

In summary, the Bible's influence on the English language is extensive and multifaceted. Its translation into English not only made the sacred texts accessible to the common people but also contributed to the development of standard prose by relinquishing the crude style of liturgical treatises. The translators' efforts to create clear and intelligible prose influenced the evolution of English language and literature, while biblical idioms and expressions became deeply rooted in the language, adding depth and richness to its vocabulary. The modern world has seen many changes; but it has, so far, seen no movement that has shaken the supremacy of the greatest of English books ‘The Bible’. If ever the Bible falls from its high sovereignty, we may be sure that the English character has fallen with it.

Ardhendu De

References

1. Department of University Extension, Pass Course for Teachers, 1949-1950 : University of Toronto : Free Download, Borrow, and Streaming : Internet Archive. (n.d.). Internet Archive. https://archive.org/details/passcourseteach1949uoft_0

2.  The Concise Cambridge History of English Literature , A Sampson, G. , A Churchill, R.C.,  https://books.google.co.in/books?id=gS3RoUYJSi8C ,1970, Cambridge University Press

3. How to teach the Bible : Coleman, Lucien E : Free Download, Borrow, and Streaming : Internet Archive. (n.d.). Internet Archive. https://archive.org/details/howtoteachbible0000cole