Chloroform in Print
Everyone knows the famous Mark Twain quotation about the Book of Mormon being "chloroform in print." For the most part I think he's right; its prose is less than user-friendly and its plot is fairly complicated. But I wonder if it's literary construction is that way for a reason. Isaiah, prophecying of Jesus' incarnation, writes that he "hath no form nor comeliness; and when we shall see him there is no beauty that we should desire him." You could say the same thing about the Book of Mormon.
Maybe this all goes back to Kierkegaards thoughts on aurthority and aesthetics. We don't want to mistake the beautiful for the authoritative, and one way to keep things clear is to make sure the authoritative isn't very beautiful. (I don't say that's the only reason for the Book of Mormon's clunky prose, just one possibility)
posted by Chris @ 11/02/2005 04:45:00 PM
1 comments
1 Comments:
Interesting idea, Chris, but I have to disagree. I think the dryness of particular sections of the Book of Mormon were not a result of divine design, but of divine necessity---the Lord had to work with what he had and what he had was a bunch of boys with sharp sticks and sheets of metal. And let's face it, most of these boys (okay, men), weren't exactly the literary type. I mean, a good quarter of the book is written by army generals. And Patton ain't known for his eloquence (maybe his lack thereof, but that's another story).
Now on to Twain. Yes, Mark, I disagree with you too. I happen to believe that parts of the Book of Mormon are not only interesting, but beautiful literature. Take Alma 41:14--
Therefore, my son, see that you are merciful unto your brethren; deal justly, judge righteously, and do good continually; and if ye do all these things then shall ye receive your reward; yea, ye shall have mercy restored unto you again; ye shall have justice restored unto you again; ye shall have a righteous judgment restored unto you again; and ye shall have good rewarded unto you again.
Okay, Mr. Twain, show me such where I can find such perfect parallelism in Huck Finn.
Or look at the exchange of letters between Moroni and Pahoran. Talk about a page turner! I'm even tempted to suggest that Moroni's letter rivals Elizabeth Bennet's response to Mr. Darcy's proposal of marriage in condescention and biting criticism (and Chris knows in what great regard I hold this scene). It's good reading!