upon all occafions; as if he had been to prescribe a Pattern of true Eloquence, as well as to enact Laws. Paronomafia, which is a Figure of Speech frequently us'd by Ifaiah, and other Writers of the Old Testament, is an Attick Idiotism, and was very common in the Ancient Greek Authors, from whom Ennius, Plautus, Terence, and other Latin Authors had it. H. Stephens has observ'd, that there is a great Refemblance in Herodotus to the Style of the Scriptures. Herodotus had Homer in his view throughout his History, and Homer's Expressions are the fame with those us'd in the Scriptures, in many instances; as particularly, when he so often mentions the Children of the Trojans, and the Children of the Greeks, as the Scriptures mention the children of Ifrael; and other Greek Authors say, the Children of the Physicians, and the Children of the Philosophers, as the Scriptures say, the children of the bride-chamber, and the children of light. Grotius compares Ifaiah to Demofthenes, a fublime, but a most natural and judicious Writer: the fame Author compares Ezekiel to Homer for the Beauty and Nobleness of his Style. • M Cowley compares the Prophets, especially Ifaiah, to Pindar: but of Pindar he says, that if a man should undertake to translate him word for word, it would be thought that one Mad-man had translated another. For which he gives this Reason, that we must consider in Pindar the great difference of time betwixt his Age and ours, which changes, as in Pictures, at least the Colours of το ̓Αντίβιον πόλεμον πολεμίζειν, Hom. Il. iii. v. 435. "Οδ' ἀζοράς ἀγόρον, ΙΙ. ii. v. 395. Εύρημα εύρηκα, Herodot. J. vii. c. 10. Μεγέθη μέζας, & μέγι , Pausan. paffim. Πλήθε πολλοὶ, id. Achaic. p. 220. Ἰδων οἶδα, id. Corinth. p. 75. Bœot. p. 307. Μεγέθη μέζιςοι, Arr. Exped. Alex. 1.5. Πλήθε πλεῖςοι, id. Rer. Indic. lib. Inceptum amentiuin, non amantium: vivere vitam: fervire fervitutem, &c. apud Latinos. Vid. Mer. Cafaub. de Ling. Heb. Grot. ad 4 Reg. xix. 2. & ad Ezech. initio. • Pref. to Pindarick Odes, and Notes upon Pind. Ode on Ifai.xxxiv. Poetry Poetry, the no less difference betwixt the Religions and • Customs of our Countries, and a thousand Particularities of Places, Persons and Manners, which do but confusedly appear to our Eyes at so great a Distance; and lastly, we must confider that our Ears are Strangers to the Musick of his Numbers, which sometimes (especially in Songs and Odes) almost without any thing else, makes an excellent Poet. And of David he observes, that the best Tranflators have been so far from doing Honour, or at least Justice to that Divine Poet, that methinks, says he, they revile him worse than Shimei. And Buchanan himself comes, in his opinion, no less short of David, than his Country does of Judea. Yet Ifaiah and the rest of the Prophets, and the Pfalms, are translated into our Language word for word, as far as it is poflible for one Language to be thus render'd into another: and notwithstanding all the Differences of Time, and Place, and Customs, and Persons, no sensible Man reads them in the English Tongue, but he must acknowledge that their Style, with all these Disadvantages, is truly great and excellent. Whereas there are none of the Heathen Authors, that are so much esteem'd, which, if they were literally translated, as the Scriptures are, would bear the Reading, but they would appear ridiculous and impossible to be understood. For the Spirit, and Genius, and peculiar Idioms of most Tongues being so very different one from another, and depending upon the Customs and Humours of the People of several Countries, it was the evident Care and Providence of God, to cause great part of the Scriptures, though written by so many different Men, and at such distant times, and fome Books of them in the earlier Ages of the World, to * Quod fi cui non videtur linguæ gratiam interpretatione mutari, Homerum ad verbum exprimat in Latinum. Plus aliquid dicam: eundem in sua linguâ profæ verbis interpretetur, videbit ordinem ridiculum, & Poetam eloquentiffimum vix loquentem. Hieron. Præf. in Chron. Eufeb. be 1 be penn'd in such a Language and Style, as is most natural, and which, without any want of Art, exceeds the most artificial and study'd Eloquence in fublime and noble Thoughts and Expressions, and in all the Beauties and Ornaments of Speech: and yet, which in all the necessary points of Salvation is easse to be understood, under all the Disadvantages of a Verbal Translation, by Men of ordinary Capacities, who live so many Ages after. The Prophecies of Ifaiah cannot be read, or heard, or thought of, without being mov'd by them: with what Life then, with what Zeal and Flame must they have been deliver'd? And what a mighty Blessing was such a Prophet to his own Age, and to all fucceeding Generations? Of Royal Blood, and of a Style and Behaviour suitable to his Birth; of Divine Virtues, and of Divine Eloquence! He declares things, which were not to be fulfill'd till many Ages afterwards, as plainly as if he had seen them before his Eyes, and would make all others to see them; he speaks of Christ as clearly, as if with Simeon he had had his Saviour in his Arms, or with the Wife-men had been kneeling down before him, and presenting him with more precious Gifts, than any they had to offer; and describes his Passion as fully, as if he had follow'd him through every part of it, and having been crucify'd with him, had been just entring with him into Paradise. If this be thought a Digression from my Subject, I hope it may easily be excused: for who can speak of Ifaiah, without a Digression, when Men choose the Food of Swine, and trample upon Pearls, as things of no value; as if he and the other Prophets had always the hard fate, to preach to the Rulers of Sodom, and the People of Gomorrha. 1 But if the Style of the Scriptures be not in all places alike excellent and exact, let it be consider'd, that 1. The fame Style is not suitable to all Subjects, and the Style and Dialect is different, according to the Difference of the Matter, or of the Persons, for whose use it was immediately design'd. What concerns the Affyrian Monarchy in the Prophet Daniel, is in the Chaldee Tongue, and what relates directly to the Jews is in the Hebrew. Part of Ezra is in Chaldee, being a Relation of Matter of Fact contain'd in the Chaldee Chronicles; and Jerem. x. xi. is in the same Tongue, that the Jews might reject the Idolatry of the Chaldeans in their Language, and openly profess their own Abhorrence of it. And as upon these occasions the Language of Scripture is chang'd, with respect to the Subject and the Persons concern'd, so the Style must be sometimes alter'd upon the fame ac count. 2. Artificial Strains of Rhetorick, whereby the Passions are mov'd to the utmost Heighth, were very necessary to gain a present point, and carry a Caufe by a violent and fudden Transport, before Reason could interpose. But Religion being to be propounded upon reasonable Motives, there could be no need of Rhetorick, when the Evidence of those Miracles by which it was establish'd, afforded so many other more certain and powerful means of Perfuafion. The Scriptures are not written in the enticing words of mans wisdom, but in Truth and Simplicity, and therefore might well have been without any Advantages of Eloquence, as needing no such helps to recommend them to serious and impartial Minds: And tho' God has been pleas'd to condescend so far to the Infirmities of Men, as to convey very much of his Reveal'd Will to us, in such a Style, as for its own fake is highly to be esteem'd and admir'd; yet it was fit that other parts of the Scriptures should have the bare Force and Evidence of Truth only, to convince Men, that it might appear that our Religion was propagated not by any Arts of humane Eloquence, but by its own Worth and Excellency: For Eloquence was not used, where it would have been most necessary, if any humane means ミ means could be so, in asserting and propagating the Divine Truth. In the propagation of the Gospel, all the Eloquence, as well as the Power, and Prejudices, and Vices of Mankind were combined against it, and yet less Elegancy and Accuracy of Style was employ'd by the Apostles and Evangelists, than had been before used by Mofes and the Prophets, who yet had nothing which seem'd so strange and wonderful to deliver. Which is one great Argument of the Power and Efficacy of the Gospel, that it could prevail so much against all the Opposition in the World, only by telling a plain Truth, and in the plainest manner. For where the thing is evident, the fewest and plainest Words are best, as in Mathematical Demonstrations, it is enough if Men make themselves to be understood: this likewise was all that the Apostles aim'd at, their Cause and Doctrine was so certain and demonftrable, that any Words, which did but fully and clearly express their Meaning, were fufficient for their purpose; their Rhetorick lay in the things themselves, not in words: there is no great Art required to prove that to any Man, which he sees with his Eyes; and therefore as the power of Miracles was greater under the Gospel, than under the Law, fo there was less need of Eloquence in the New Testament than in the Old. Yet it cannot be deny'd, as a * learned Critick has declar'd, that St. Paul, in some kind, and upon some subjects, is as eloquent as ever Man was; not inferior to Demofthenes (in whose Writings he believes that Apostle had been much conversant) or Æschines, or any other anciently most admired. 3. It is reasonable to believe, that the Scriptures may be written in the Words and Phrases of the Pen • Τιω ἢ γλῶτζαν ἰδιωδύοντες τῇ γε μὲ πρὸς το Σωτῆς αὐ τοῖς δεδωρημψη θεία, κι πεαδοξοποιῷ διμάμε θαρσῶνες, τὸ μ ἐν πεινοίᾳ κὶ τέχνη λόδων τὰ τὸ διδασκάλο μαθήμαζα πρεσβεύειν ἔτε ἤδεσαν, ἔτε ἐνεχείρον. Eufeb. Hift. l. iii. c. 24. Mer. Cafaub. of Enthus. C. 4. : men |