THE BOOK OF DANIEL
[To the Editor of the SPECTATOR.] SIR,—I am not learned in the questions concerning the date and authorship Of the Book of Daniel, but as no one who is has answered Mr. Clarke's letter on the subject, which you pub- lished on January 4th, may I call your readers' attention to the fact that Dr. Charles, a scholar of authority concerning Apocryphal writings, has just brought out a commentary An this book The reviewer of it in the current Modern Church- man says : " He sets out his reasons for regarding the date of the composition of Daniel about or shortly before 165 B.C. Some recent attempts to date the work in the sixth century B.C. he cannot but regard as an absolutely hopeless task. Even linguistically it is now -possible to prove the later date.' " The reviewer .adds further on r=- " Much of the complicatedlinguistic argument, • • will be appreciated only by very advanced students. But Dr. Charles is able to convey its significance to the ordinary student. As for the clergy, if they could be persuaded to study this book their eyes would be opened to the true value of those confident assertions that the whole critical position in regard to Daniel has been over- thrown, which the Editors of Church Newspapers deem worthy of publication and which our scholars naturally but, unfortunately, too often deem unworthy of refutation."
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