While "many have taken in hand to set forth in order" the pathos and
sublimity of the Bible, those literary elements comprised under the title
of this book have rarely been mentioned. Feeling that here was a field
untraversed, the author of this little volume began an investigation whose
results were originally embodied in an article published some years ago in
an Eastern review. That article is given in "Poole's Index" as the only
one extant upon the subject. Since its publication, additional study has
brought to light other examples of the use of Wit and Humor by the writers
of the Bible. These later results were embodied in a course of lectures
delivered last winter before the students of Lombard University,
Galesburg, Ill. They are now given to the public in the present volume. It
would be presumptuous to claim that these few pages exhaust the subject.
Such a claim the author does not wish to make. Further research would no
doubt bring to light instances that have escaped him. It is hoped,
however, that these studies may be sufficiently complete to awaken
interest in a long-neglected side of our sacred literature.