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To the Very Reverend William John Butler
Elderfield
July 11th [1889]

MS Mrs Julia Birley/2

My dear Mr Dean

Please tell me if I am wrong in objecting to have the 1st Psalm set down wholly as Maccabean? It is in Mr Rodwell’s comments on the Psalms in his new Newbery Magazine1 which I have had to notice. There was no previous explanation why any Psalms should be said to be Maccabean (though of course I know it is said of more obvious ones, though I don’t believe it) And the reason was odd, that the 1st Psalm seemed to belong to a time when everybody was to study the law, not only rulers as in Deut XVI and Joshua I- Just as if the 6th of Deuteronomy did not enforce it upon everybody! I know the 1st Psalm is said not to be David’s but I never saw it attributed to anyone later than Ezra. I don’t want to be too narrow and ignorant of criticism but I don’t find this in Wordsworth or Thrupp and I have not Browne.

Surely I need not believe in direct inspiration between Malachi and St Matthew.

I should like to be discussing it in the porch at the Mead2

yours affectionately
C M Yonge

1The Newbery House Magazine was new in 1889, and Rodwell's series of articles on the Psalms were advertised in the first issue, but CMY does not seem to have mentioned them in MP.
2The Mead, Wantage, was a house where William Butler used to stay in Wantage after he ceased to be vicar and became successively (1877) canon of Worcester and (1885) Dean of Lincoln.

Cite this letter


The Letters of Charlotte Mary Yonge(1823-1901) edited by Charlotte Mitchell, Ellen Jordan and Helen Schinske.

URL to this Letter is: https://c21ch.newcastle.edu.au/yonge/2911/to-the-very-reverend-william-john-butler

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