in this form: "He who-planted thee; he was accessory to
the murder of his parents, and sprinkled his chambers with
the blood of his guest; he dealt in the poison of Colchis,"
&c.: but anger and vexation dissipated the order of his
ideas, and destroyed the construction of this sentence. But
should some officious grammarian take in hand the passage,
(for this is a very diligent race of beings, and sometimes
more than sufficiently exact and scrupulous), and attempt/
to restore it to its primitive purity and perfection, the whole
grace and excellence of that beautiful exordium would be
immediately annihilated, all the impetuosity and ardour
would in a moment be extinguished.-But to return to
Job:

"Lo! that night, may it be fruitless !"*

He appears to have a direct picture or image of that night
before his eyes, and to point it out with his finger.
"The
doors of my womb," for " the doors of my mother's womb,"+
is an elliptical form of expression, the meaning of which
is easily cleared up, but which no person in a tranquil
state of mind, and quite master of himself, would venture to
employ. Not to detain you too long upon this subject, I
shall produce only one passage more, which is about the
conclusion of this animated speech:

"Wherefore should he give light to the miserable?

And life to those who are in bitterness of soul?
Who call aloud for death, but it cometh not;
Who dig for it more than for hidden treasures;
Who would rejoice even to exultation,
And be in raptures, if they had found the grave.
Well might it befit the man whose way is sheltered,
And whom God hath surrounded with an hedge:
But my groaning cometh like my daily food,

And my roarings are poured out like water."§

The whole composition of this passage is admirable, and deserves a minute attention. "Wherefore should he give light to the miserable?"-But who is the giver alluded to? Certainly God himself, whom Job has indeed in his mind; but it escaped his notice that no mention is made of him in the preceding lines. He seems to speak of the miserable in general, but by a violent and sudden transition he applies § Ver. 20-24.

Ch. iii. ver. 7.

† Ver. 10.

A

the whole to himself, "But my groaning cometh like my daily food." It is plain, therefore, that in all the preceding reflections he has himself only in view. He makes a transition from the singular to the plural, and back again—a remarkable amplification intervening, expressive of his desire of death, the force and boldness of which is incomparable: at last, as if suddenly recollecting himself, he returns to the former subject, which he had apparently quitted, and resumes the detail of his own misery. From these observations I think it will be manifest, that the agitated and disordered state of the speaker's mind is not more evidently demonstrated by a happy boldness of sentiment and imagery, and an uncommon force of language, than by the very form, conduct, and arrangement of the whole.

The peculiar property which I have laboured to demonstrate in this passage, will, I apprehend, be found to prevail as a characteristic of the Hebrew poetry, making due allowance for different subjects and circumstances-Ï mean that vivid and ardent style which is so well calculated to display the emotions and passions of the mind. Hence the poetry of the Hebrews abounds with phrases and idioms totally unsuited to prose composition, and which frequently appear to us harsh and unusual, I had almost said unnatural and barbarous; which, however, are destitute neither of meaning nor of force, were we but sufficiently informed to judge of their true application. It will however be worth our while, perhaps, to make the experiment on some other passages of this nature, and to try at least what can be done towards the further elucidation of this point.

LECTURE XV.

OF SUBLIMITY OF EXPRESSION.

The character of the Poetic Dialect further illustrated by examples of different kinds from the Song of Moses, Deut. xxxii.-The frequent and sudden transition from one person to another; its cause and effects-The use of the tenses in a manner quite different from common language: the reasons of this- The Hebrew language peculiar in this respect-The future is often spoken of in the perfect present, and the past in the future tense: the reason of the former easy to be explained; the latter is a matter of considerable difficulty, which neither the Commentators, the Translators, nor even the Grammarians have elucidated— Some examples of this, and the explanation of them- The frequent use of this form of construction may be considered as characteristical of the Poetic Dialect.

In order to demonstrate more completely the sublimity of the Hebrew poetry by a comparison with prose, I referred the student of Hebrew to the Book of Job, convinced that he would easily perceive, both in the matter and diction, a very considerable difference between the historical introduction of that book and the metrical passages immediately succeeding. But lest these passages should be objected to as improper instances for such a comparison, on the supposition that although both of them were written entirely either in verse or prose, yet the different nature of the subjects would require a very different style; we shall now make the experiment on some other passages, and compare the manner of treating the same subject in verse and prose. The book of Deuteronomy will afford us a convenient instance; for Moses appears there in the character both of an orator and a poet. In the former character he addresses a very solemn and interesting oration to the people of Israel,* exhorting them, by the most inviting promises, to the observance of the covenant, and dissuading them from the violation of it by threats of the most exemplary punishment: and for

* Deut. xxviii, xxix. xxx. xxxi.

the purpose of impressing the same more forcibly on their minds, he afterwards, by the command of God, embellishes the subject with all the elegance of verse,* in a poem which bears every mark of divine inspiration. In these two passages is displayed every excellence of which the Hebrew language is capable in both species of composition; all that is grand, forcible, and majestic, both in prose and verse: from them, too, we may be enabled easily to comprehend the difference between the style of oratory among the Hebrews, and that of their poetry, not only in sentiment, but in the imagery, the arrangement, and the language. Whoever wishes, therefore, to satisfy himself concerning the true character and genius of the Hebrew poetry, I would advise carefully to compare the two passages, and I think he will soon discover that the former, though great, spirited, and abounding with ornament, is, notwithstanding, regular, copious, and diffuse; that, with all its vehemence and impetuosity, it still preserves a smoothness, evenness, and uniformity throughout: and that the latter, on the contrary, consists of sentences, pointed, energetic, concise, and splendid; that the sentiments are truly elevated and sublime, the language bright and animated, the expression and phraseology uncommon; while the mind of the poet never continues fixed to any single point, but glances continually from one object to another. These remarks are of such a nature, that the diligent reader will apprehend them better by experience and his own observation, than by means of any commentary or explanation whatever. There are, however, one or two points which have attracted my notice in the perusal of this remarkable poem; and as they are of general use and application, and may serve to elucidate many of the difficult passages of the Hebrew poetry, they appear to me not undeserving of a more particular examination.

Taking, therefore, this poem as an example, the first general observation to which I would direct your attention is, the sudden and frequent change of the persons, and principally in the addresses or expostulations; for enough has been said already concerning the introduction of different characters or personifications. In the exordium of this poem Moses displays the truth and justice of Almighty God, most sacredly regarded in all his acts and counsels: whence he takes occasion to reprove the perfidy and wickedness of his

Deut. xxxii.

ungrateful people; at first as if his censure were only pointed at the absent

"Their evil disposition hath corrupted his children, which are indeed no longer his :"*

He then suddenly directs his discourse to themselves:

"Perverse and crooked generation!

Will ye

thus requite JEHOVAH,

Foolish people and unwise?

Is he not thy father and thy redeemer;
Did he not make thee and form thee?"

After his indignation has somewhat subsided, adverting to a remoter period, he beautifully enlarges upon the indulgence, and more than paternal affection, continually manifested by Almighty God towards the Israelites, from the time when he first chose them for his peculiar people; and all this again without seeming directly to apply it to them. He afterwards admirably exaggerates the stupidity and barbarity of this ungrateful people, which exceeds that of the brutes themselves. Observe with what force the indignation of the prophet again breaks forth:

"But Jeshurun grew fat and resisted;

Thou grewest fat, thou wast made thick, thou wast covered with fat!

And he deserted the God that made him,

And despised the rock of his salvation."

The abrupt transition in one short sentence to the Israelites, and back again, is wonderfully forcible and pointed, and excellently expressive of disgust and indignation. There is a passage of Virgil, which, though it be less animated, is certainly not unworthy of being compared with this of Moses; it is that in which, by an ingenious apostrophe, he upbraids the traitor with his crime, and at the same time exonerates the king from the imputation of cruelty:

By godlike Tullus doom'd the traitor dies;
(And thou, false Metius, dost too late repent

Ver. 5, 6. I have endeavoured, as far as I was able, to render perspicuous the Hebrew reading; but after all, that which is adopted by the LXX, the Sam. and Syr. is perhaps nearer the truth, 2 ib ab innw;

They are corrupted, they are not his, (they are) sons of error, or blemish." Which is also partly confirmed by Aquila, Vulg. Symmachus.—Author's Note.