Chapter XIII

[1]Dr. Louis F. Benson has well characterized this Psalter in its
influence on French character: “The metrical Psalter made the
Huguenot character. No doubt a character nourished on Old
Testament ideals will lack the full symmetry of the Gospel. But
the Huguenot was a warrior, first called to fight and suffer for
his faith. And in singing psalms he found his confidence and
strength.... In the wars of religion, the Psalms in meter were the
songs of camp and march, the war cry on the field, the swan song
at the martyr’s stake.”

[2]“Of course, psalms in the ballad form were easily learned and kept
in memory. And in the days when the ability to read was less
general than now, these rhymes, scattered so freely broadcast,
took root in many a mind and contributed powerfully to the
righteousness and stability of the nation.” (J. Balcom Reeves, in
_The Hymn in History and Literature_.)