Lectures to my students - Spurgeon - XXX - Chapter 6 (Books of fables, emblems, and parables) concluded

Required reading
Lectures to my students by Charles Spurgeon (Available from Amazon or free here) - Conclude Chapter 6 (Books of fables, emblems, and parables).

My summary
Today we finish Spurgeon's review of books on fables with more excerpts from his favourite authors. 

Spurgeon gives a good summary of his advice at the end of the chapter: 'Thus I have mentioned to you a considerable variety of works. If you manage to get some of them, you will probably have to be satisfied. Gotthold's Emblems are the best of all; they are really first-rate. You must get that little book by E. B., if you can. John Bunyan's Emblems you will find in his works; and Flavel's, in his. Austen you may not very readily get; but Quarles, Spencer, and Aesop, you can and ought to buy. Krummacher's style is very pretty, and tasteful; but he uses more words than I relish. I like Gotthold most, he has not a word too many; I think that you also will be pleased when you have got hold of him.'

What grabbed me
Spurgeon was not full of praise for all the authors mentioned.

Spurgeon quotes the following from Krummacher: '"John and Peter were once talking of former times when the Lord was yet with them, and they began also to speak of the day when the Lord was anointed at Bethany. Then Peter said: 'Dost thou remember how seriously Christ looked at Judas, when he said: "Why has not this ointment been sold for three hundred pence, and given to the poor?" And at us he looked kindly though we approved of the saying of Judas.' "Then John said: 'I questioned the Master concerning it. Then he said to me: "You did not speak rightly; but in the integrity of your heart you spoke sincerely. How could I be wroth with you, and not reprove you mildly? But Judas lacked the chief virtue — truthfulness." Thus he said.' And John added: 'Did he not, a short time after, betray the Master with a kiss?' "Thus said the disciple whom Jesus loved. In the eyes of the grave Peter tears were glistening, for he remembered that he also had once been a traitor to truth."'

Spurgeon then comments: 'I do not think, brethren, that anyone has the right to put such a story as that into the mouth of any man mentioned in the Scriptures.'

I totally agree!

Next week's reading
Commence Chapter 7 (The sciences as sources of illustration) by reading up to the paragraph beginning with 'The nearest planet that revolves around the sun is MERCURY, which is about 37,000,000 miles from the great luminary.'

Now it's your turn
Please post your own notes and thoughts in the comments section below.