Mark Twain, Bible Scholar 1861-1863
Sundays with Mark Twain #67
1861
1861.1.12) Quote, Reference, or Allusion: And through those hidden dangers,---and shrouded in that Egyptian darkness—the steamer plowed her way, watched by an unerring eye and guided by a master hand, whose nerves trembled not for a single instant!
Scripture: And the LORD said unto Moses, Stretch out thine hand toward heaven, that there may be darkness over the land of Egypt, even darkness which may be felt. -- Exodus 10:21
Work; Date: Ghost Life on the Mississippi; 1861
Source: Tales, Sketches, Speeches, & Essays: 1852-1890
1862
1862.1.13) Quote, Reference, or Allusion: ...arrayed in purple and fine linen.
Scripture: Alas, that great city, that was clothed in fine linen, and purple, and scarlet... -- Revelation 18:16
Work; Date: Letter to his mother Jane and his sister Pamela; February 8, 1862
Source: https://www.gutenberg.org/files/3193/3193-h/3193-h.htm
1862.2.14) Quote, Reference, or Allusion: Doesn’t she remember telling me the story of Moses, one Sunday, last Spring, and how hard she tried to explain it and simplify it so that I could understand it—but I couldn’t?
Scripture: The “story of Moses” likely refers to an account or accounts in the book of Exodus, but could in fact be anything in the first five books of the Bible (also known as “The Pentateuch”), which were primarily written by Moses.
Work; Date: Letter to his mother; April 2, 1862
Source: https://www.gutenberg.org/files/3193/3193-h/3193-h.htm
1862.3.15) Quote, Reference, or Allusion: You will then sit quietly under your vine and figure--paying your assessment regularly year after year, without hearing a discouraging word to spend a chill of fear to freeze the joyous bubbles of hope rising so pleasantly upward in your calm imagination.
Scripture: But they shall sit every man under his vine and under his fig tree; and none shall make them afraid: for the mouth of the LORD of hosts hath spoken it. – Micah 4:4
Work; Date: How to Get a Big Thing in Washoe – Advice Gratis to Those Wishing to Invest; July 17, 1862
Source: http://www.twainquotes.com/18620717t.html
1862.4.16) Quote, Reference, or Allusion: He told how the fountains of their great deep were broken up, and they rained forty days and forty nights, and brought on a flood of toll roads over the whole land.
Scripture: In the six hundredth year of Noah’s life, in the second month, the seventeenth day of the month, the same day were all the fountains of the great deep broken up, and the windows of heaven were opened. -- Genesis 7:11
Work; Date: A Big Thing in Washoe City or The Grand Bull Driver’s Convention; December 23, 1862
Source: http://www.twainquotes.com/18621223t.html
1862.5.17) Quote, Reference, or Allusion: Dan is gone, but he departed in a blaze of glory, the like of which hath hardly been seen upon this earth since the blameless Elijah went up in his fiery chariot.
Scripture: And it came to pass, as they still went on, and talked, that, behold, there appeared a chariot of fire, and horses of fire, and parted them both asunder; and Elijah went up by a whirlwind into heaven -- 2 Kings 2:11
Work; Date: The Illustrious Departed; December 28, 1862
Source: http://www.twainquotes.com/18621228t.html
1863
1863.1.18) Quote, Reference, or Allusion: ...they all seemed to have got a little angry about something - nobody knows what, for the ways of women are past finding out.
Scripture: O the depth of the riches both of the wisdom and knowledge of God! How unsearchable are his judgments, and his ways past finding out! -- Romans 11:33
Work; Date: Local Column; January 10, 1863
Source: Early Tales and Sketches, Volume 1: 1851-1864
1863.2.19) Quote, Reference, or Allusion: As a matter of principle, it may be well enough to stand by your rights until the lake of fire and brimstone is no longer in a state of liquification, but whether it be good policy to do so at all times is a question which admits of argument.
Scripture: And the devil that deceived them was cast into the lake of fire and brimstone, where the beast and the false prophet are, ... -- Revelation 20:10
Work; Date: Local Column; January 11-21, 1863
Source: http://www.twainquotes.com/18630121t.html
1863.3.20) Quote, Reference, or Allusion: How much deeper it reaches, no man knoweth.
Scripture: But of that day and hour knoweth no man, no, not the angels of heaven, but my Father only. -- Matthew 24:36
Work; Date: The Spanish [Mine]; February 1863
Source: Early Tales and Sketches, Volume 1: 1851-1864
1863.4.21) Quote, Reference, or Allusion: I am of the opinion that none of his ancestors were present when the five thousand were miraculously fed in the old Scriptural times. I base my opinion upon the twelve baskets of scraps and the little fishes that remained over after that feast. If the Unreliable himself had been there, the provisions would just about have held out, I think.
Scripture: And they did all eat, and were filled: and they took up of the fragments that remained twelve baskets full. And they that had eaten were about five thousand men, beside women and children. – Matthew 14:20,21
Work; Date: Letter from Carson City; February 3, 1863
Source: Tales, Speeches, Essays, & Sketches: 1852-1890
1863.5.22) Quote, Reference, or Allusion: ...the crucible is placed in a brick furnace; in the midst of a charcoal fire as hot as the one which the three Scriptural Hebrew children were assayed in;
Scripture: Nebuchadnezzar spake and said unto them, Is it true, O Shadrach, Meshach, and Abednego, do not ye serve my gods, nor worship the golden image which I have set up? Now if ye be ready that at what time ye hear the sound of the cornet, flute, harp, sackbut, psaltery, and dulcimer, and all kinds of musick, ye fall down and worship the image which I have made; well: but if ye worship not, ye shall be cast the same hour into the midst of a burning fiery furnace; and who is that God that shall deliver you out of my hands? Shadrach, Meshach, and Abednego, answered and said to the king, O Nebuchadnezzar, we are not careful to answer thee in this matter. If it be so, our God whom we serve is able to deliver us from the burning fiery furnace, and he will deliver us out of thine hand, O king. But if not, be it known unto thee, O king, that we will not serve thy gods, nor worship the golden image which thou hast set up. Then was Nebuchadnezzar full of fury, and the form of his visage was changed against Shadrach, Meshach, and Abednego: therefore he spake, and commanded that they should heat the furnace one seven times more than it was wont to be heated. And he commanded the most mighty men that were in his army to bind Shadrach, Meshach, and Abednego, and to cast them into the burning fiery furnace. Then these men were bound in their coats, their hosen, and their hats, and their other garments, and were cast into the midst of the burning fiery furnace. Therefore because the king’s commandment was urgent, and the furnace exceeding hot, the flame of the fire slew those men that took up Shadrach, Meshach, and Abednego. And these three men, Shadrach, Meshach, and Abednego, fell down bound into the midst of the burning fiery furnace. Then Nebuchadnezzar the king was astonied, and rose up in haste, and spake, and said unto his counsellors, Did not we cast three men bound into the midst of the fire? They answered and said unto the king, True, O king. He answered and said, Lo, I see four men loose, walking in the midst of the fire, and they have no hurt; and the form of the fourth is like the Son of God. Then Nebuchadnezzar came near to the mouth of the burning fiery furnace, and spake, and said, Shadrach, Meshach, and Abednego, ye servants of the most high God, come forth, and come hither. Then Shadrach, Meshach, and Abednego, came forth of the midst of the fire. And the princes, governors, and captains, and the king’s counsellors, being gathered together, saw these men, upon whose bodies the fire had no power, nor was an hair of their head singed, neither were their coats changed, nor the smell of fire had passed on them. -- Daniel 3:14-27
Work; Date: Local Column; February 17-22, 1863
Source: Early Tales and Sketches, Volume 1: 1851-1864
1863.6.23) Quote, Reference, or Allusion: Given under my hand, and in the spirit-presence of the bright being whose love has restored the light of hope to a soul once groping in the darkness of despair, on the day and year first above written.
Scripture: And thou shalt grope at noonday, as the blind gropeth in darkness... -- Deuteronomy 28:29A
Work; Date: Ye Sentimental Law Student; February 19, 1863
Source: Early Tales and Sketches, Volume 1: 1851-1864
1863.7.24,25) Quote, Reference, or Allusion: We might enlarge upon this subject until Solomon himself couldn’t understand it -- but we have settled the question, and we despise to go on scattering pearls before swine who have not asked us for them.
Scripture: ...I have given thee [Solomon] a wise and an understanding heart; so that there was none like thee before thee, neither after thee shall any arise like unto thee. -- 1 Kings 3:12
Scripture: Give not that which is holy unto the dogs, neither cast ye your pearls before swine, lest they trample them under their feet, and turn again and rend you. -- Matthew 7:6
Work; Date: Local Column; February 25, 1863
Source: http://www.twainquotes.com/18630225t.html
1863.8.26) Quote, Reference, or Allusion: Chief Engineer Peasley and officer Birdsall said that the supper contract was for a table supplied with everything the market could afford, and in such profusion that the last who came might fare as well as the first (the contractor to receive a stipulated sum for each supper furnished) - and they also say that no part or portion of that contract was entirely fulfilled. The entertainment broke up about four o’clock in the morning, and the guests returned to their homes well satisfied with the ball itself, but not with the supper.
Scripture: So the last shall be first, and the first last: for many be called, but few chosen. -- Matthew 20:16
Work; Date: Local Column; February 25, 1863
Source: http://www.twainquotes.com/18630225t.html
1863.9.27) Quote, Reference, or Allusion: ...he was the property of one Baalam [sic], and received honorable mention in the Bible.
Scripture: And Balaam rose up in the morning, and saddled his ass,... – Numbers 22:21A
Work; Date: City Marshall Perry; March 4, 1863
Source: http://www.twainquotes.com/18630304t.html
1863.10.28) Quote, Reference, or Allusion: Under the head of “Object Teaching,” we found some ten questions - some of them, like a wheel within a wheel, containing ten questions in one.
Scripture: The appearance of the wheels and their work was like unto the colour of a beryl: and they four had one likeness: and their appearance and their work was as it were a wheel in the middle of a wheel. – Ezekiel 1:16
Work; Date: Examination of Teachers; March-April 1863
Source: http://www.twainquotes.com/18630400t.html
1863.11.29) Quote, Reference, or Allusion: But the said Judge Jones was a baldheaded Samson from that moment; for he was a great man in Israel, but utterly shorn of his power.
Scripture: And she made him sleep upon her knees; and she called for a man, and she caused him to shave off the seven locks of his head; and she began to afflict him, and his strength went from him. – Judges 16:19
Work; Date: Judicial Broil; July 19, 1863
Source: http://www.twainquotes.com/18630723.html
1863.12.30) Quote, Reference, or Allusion: I consider that it is no business of mine to inquire into the means which the Creator has seen fit to make use of in the consummation of his will regarding this or any other portion of his handiwork.
Scripture: For this is good and acceptable in the sight of God our Saviour; Who will have all men to be saved, and to come unto the knowledge of the truth. – 1 Timothy 2:3,4
Work; Date: From Thence to Steamboat Springs; August 20, 1863
Source: http://www.twainquotes.com/18630830.html
1863.13.31) Quote, Reference, or Allusion: The Almighty created the earth and all that is in it, and who shall presume to dictate to Him the disposition of His handiwork?
Scripture: In the beginning God created the heaven and the earth. – Genesis 1:1
Scripture: For every house is builded by some man; but he that built all things is God. – Hebrews 3:4
Work; Date: A Rich Decision; August 20, 1863
Source: http://www.twainquotes.com/18630830.html
1863.14.32) Quote, Reference, or Allusion: After the storm which had been raging in my stomach had subsided, and no more good Samaritans happening along,
Scripture: But a certain Samaritan, as he journeyed, came where he was: and when he saw him, he had compassion on him, – Luke 10:33
Work; Date: How to Cure a Cold; September 20, 1863
Source: http://www.twainquotes.com/18630830.html
1863.15.33) Quote, Reference, or Allusion: By order of Gen. Wright, baskets were procured, and Bill Stewart and Judge Field proceeded to gather up the fragments of their late principals, while I gathered up my notes.
Scripture: Therefore they gathered them together, and filled twelve baskets with the fragments of the five barley loaves, which remained over and above unto them that had eaten. – John 6:13
Work; Date: The Great Prize Fight; October 11, 1863
Source: http://www.twainquotes.com/Era/18631011.html
1863.16.34) Quote, Reference, or Allusion: The water from these ditches might be made to cause a thousand gardens in the city to ‘bloom as the rose.’
Scripture: The wilderness and the solitary place shall be glad for them; and the desert shall rejoice, and blossom as the rose. – Isaiah 35:1
Work; Date: First Annual Fair of the Washoe Agricultural, Mining and Mechanical Society; October 19, 1863
Source: http://www.twainquotes.com/18631019t.html
1863.17.35) Quote, Reference, or Allusion: As nearly as I can get at the facts in the case - and I have taken unusual pains in collecting them - the dire misfortune occurred about as follows: It seems that certain enemies ill-treated this man, and in revenge he burned a large amount of property belonging to them. They arrested him, and bound him hand and foot, and brought him down to Lehi, the county seat, for trial. And the Spirit of the Lord came mightily upon him, and the cords that were upon his arms became as flax that was burnt with fire, and his bands loosed from off his hands. And he found a new jaw-bone of an ass, and put forth his hand and took it, and slew a thousand men there with. When he had finished his terrible tragedy, the desperado, criminal (whose name is Samson), deliberately wiped his bloody weapon upon the leg of his pantaloons, and then tried its edge upon his thumb, as a barber would a razor, simply remarking, “With the jaw-bone of an ass, heaps upon heaps, with the jaw of an ass have I slain a thousand men.” He even seemed to reflect with satisfaction upon what he had done, and to derive great comfort from it - as if he would say, ‘ONLY a mere thousand - Oh, no I ain’t on it, I reckon.’
Scripture: And Samson said With the jawbone of an ass, heaps upon heaps, with the jaw of an ass have I slain a thousand men. – Judges 15:16
Work; Date: Another Bloody Massacre; November 15, 1863
Source: Early Tales and Sketches, Volume 1: 1851-1864
1863.18.36) Quote, Reference, or Allusion: We average about four murders in the first degree a month, in Virginia, but we never convict anybody. The murder of Abel, by his brother Cain, would rank as an eminently justifiable homicide up there in Storey county.
Scripture: And Cain talked with Abel his brother: and it came to pass, when they were in the field, that Cain rose up against Abel his brother, and slew him. And the LORD said unto Cain, Where is Abel thy brother? And he said, I know not: Am I my brother’s keeper? – Genesis 4:8,9
Work; Date: Letter in The San Francisco Daily Morning Call; November 19, 1863
Source: http://www.twainquotes.com/18631119.html
1863.19.37) Quote, Reference, or Allusion: Now, why will a man, when he gets to be a thousand years old, go on hanging around the women, and taking chances on fire and brimstone, instead of joining the church and endeavoring, with humble spirit and contrite heart, to ring in at the eleventh hour, like the thief on the cross?
Scripture: And one of the malefactors which were hanged railed on him, saying, If thou be Christ, save thyself and us. But the other answering rebuked him, saying, Does not thou fear God, seeing thou art in the same condemnation? And we indeed justly; for we receive the due reward of our deeds: but this man hath done nothing amiss. – Luke 23:39-41
Work; Date: Letter from Mark Twain; December 5, 1863
Source: http://www.twainquotes.com/18631205t.html
1863.20.38) Quote, Reference, or Allusion: ...in thus guarding and protecting the poor miner, let us endeavor to do unto others as we would that others should do unto us (as was very justly and properly observed by Jesus Christ upon a former occasion).
Scripture: Therefore all things whatsoever ye would that men should do to you, do ye even so to them: for this is the law and the prophets. – Matthew 7:12
Work; Date: Letter from Mark Twain; December 5, 1863
Source: http://www.twainquotes.com/18631205t.html
1863.21.39) Quote, Reference, or Allusion: But we are fearfully and wonderfully made, and we glorious Americans will occasionally astonish the God that created us when we get a fair start.
Scripture: I will praise thee; for I am fearfully and wonderfully made: marvellous are thy works; and that my soul knoweth right well. – Psalm 139:14
Work; Date: The Bolters in Convention; December 30, 1863
Source: http://www.twainquotes.com/America.html
1863.22.40) Quote, Reference, or Allusion: The company is “TO BE” organized - at some indefinite period in the future probably in time for the resurrection.
Scripture: Marvel not at this: for the hour is coming, in the which all that are in the graves shall hear his voice, And shall come forth; they that have done good, unto the resurrection of life; and they that have done evil, unto the resurrection of damnation. – John 5:28,29
Work; Date: A Gorgeous Swindle; December 30, 1863
Source: http://www.twainquotes.com/18631230bt.html
You can get the entire book (MARK TWAIN, BIBLE SCHOLAR: 919 Bible Quotations, References, and Allusions from Mark Twain’s Writings) here.
You can read and download other writings of mine here.
Twain certainly knew his Bible.
Enjoyable comparisons & research on your part Clay.