But in the revised version, which is exact, we have only "His hand hath pierced the Swift Serpent!" All the poetry is dead.
There are two methods for the literary study of any book--the first being the study of its thought and emotion; the second only that of its workmanship.

A student of literature should study some of the Bible from both points of view.

In attempting the former method he will do well to consider many works of criticism, but for the study of the text as literature, his duty is very plain--the King James version is the only one that ought to form the basis of his study, though he should look at the Douai version occasionally.

Also he should have a book of references, such as Cruden's Concordance, by help of which he can collect together in a few moments all the texts upon any particular subject, such as the sea, the wind, the sky, human life, the shadows of evening.

The study of the Bible is not one which I should recommend to very young Japanese students, because of the quaintness of the English.