Page:Who is God in China.djvu/21

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10

tioning one reading for the most important word in the whole Bible; and then, after that, expelling it, covered with anathemas. On the contrary, we should say, the Committee of the Bible Society may take credit to themselves for their slow deliberation. For, in this case, if ever, the Arabic adage is true—

في العجلة تكون النذامة
وفي التوني السلامة

"In haste lies repentance; and in moderation, safety." And—

الصبر مفتاح الفرح
والعجلة مفتاح النذامة

"Patience is the key to joy; but haste, on the other hand, opens the door to regret."


II.

What then, we ask, is our object at present? It is not, let us hope, to bend the version of Holy Scripture in Chinese, to present circumstances only, by adapting it to the taste, notions, or prejudices of the insurgents. It is, rather, to give the people of China a translation of the "pure milk of the Word," in a style alike acceptable to the educated, and easily understood of the common people: so that they may live and "grow thereby," as long as the Hoang-ho