books of fcripture appear to have been more happily tranflated than the writings of this prophet. Majefty is his reigning character; a majefty more commanding, and more uniformly. fupported, than is to be found among the reft of the Old Teftament poets. He poffeffes, indeed, a dignity and grandeur, both in his conceptions and expreffions, which is altogether unparalJeled, and peculiar to himself. There is more clearness and order too, and a more visible diftribution of parts, in his Book, than in any other of the prophetical writings.

When we compare him with the rest of the poetical prophets, we immediately fee in Jeremiah, a very different genius. Ifaiah employs himself generally on magnificent subjects. Jeremiah has little turn for the fublime, and inclines always to the tender and elegiac. Ezekiel, in poetical grace and elegance,. is much inferior to them both; but he is diftinguished by character of uncommon force and ardour. To use the elegant expreffions of Bishop Lowth, with regard to this prophet: “ Est "atrox, vehemens, tragicus; in fenfibus, fervidus, acerbus, “indignabundus; in imaginibus fecundus, truculentus, et non<< nunquam penè deformis; in dictione grandiloquus, gravis, "aufterus, et interdum incultus; frequens in repetitionibus, "non decoris aut gratiæ caufa, fed ex indignatione et violentia.

Quicquid fufceperit tractandum id fedulò perfequitur; in "eo unicè hæret defixus; a propofito raro deflectens. In cæt "cris, a plerifque vatibus fortaffe fuperatus; fed in eo genere, "ad quod videtur a natura unice comparatus, nimirum, vi, "pondere, impetu, granditate, nemo unquam eum fuperavit." The fame learned writer compares Ifaiah to Homer, Jeremiah to Simonides, and Ezekiel to Æfchylus. Moft of the Book of Ifaiah is ftrictly poetical; of Jeremiah and Ezekiel, not above one half can be held to belong to poetry. Among the minor prophets, Hofea, Joel, Micah, Habakkuk, and especially Nahum, are diftinguished for poetical fpirit. In the proph ecies of Daniel and Jonah, there is no poetry.

It only now remains to fpeak of the Book of Job, with which I fhall conclude. It is known to be extremely ancient; generally reputed the moft ancient of all the poetical books; the author uncertain. It is remarkable, that this book has no

connexion

pe.

connexion with the affairs or manners of the Jews, or Hebrews. The fcene is laid in the land of Uz, or Idumæa, which is a part of Arabia; and the imagery employed is gen-> erally of a different kind, from what I before fhowed to be culiar to the Hebrew poets. We meet with no allufions to the great events of facred hiftory, to the religious rites of the Jews, to Lebanon or to Carmel, or any of the peculiarities of the climate of Judæa. We find few comparisons founded on rivers or torrents: these were not familiar objects in Arabia. But the longest comparison that occurs in the book, is to an object frequent and well known in that region, a brook that fails in the feafon of heat, and difappoints the expectation of the traveller.

The poetry, however, of the book of Job, is not only equal to that of any other of the facred writings, but is fuperior to them all, except thofe of Ifaiah alone. As Ifaiah is the most fublime, David the most pleafing and tender, fo Job is the most defcriptive, of all the infpired poets. A peculiar glow of fancy, and ftreng of description, characterise the author. No writer whatever abounds fo much in metaphors. He may be faid not to defcribe, but to render vifible, whatever he treats of. A variety of inftances might be given. Let us remark only those strong and lively colours, with which, in the following paffages taken from the 18th and 20th chapters of his book, he paints the condition of the wicked; obferve how rapidly his figures rife before us; and what a deep impreffion, at the fame time, they leave on the imagination, "Knoweft thou not this of old, "fince man was placed upon the earth, that the triumphing "of the wicked is fhort, and the joy of the hypocrite, but for a moment? Though his excellency mount up to the heavens, and his head reach the clouds, yet he fhall perish for16 ever. He fhall fly away as a dream, and fhall not be found;

46

yea, he fhall be chafed away, as a vifion of the night. The "eye alfo which faw him, fhall fee him no more; they which "have seen him, fhall fay, Where is he ?—He shall fuck the

poison of afps; the viper's tongue fhall flay him. In the "fulness of his fufficiency, he fhall be in ftraits; every "hand fhall come upon him. He fhall flee from the iron

weapon, and the bow of steel fhall ftrike him through. All "darkness

"darkness fhall be hid in his fecret places. A fire not blown "fhall confume him. The heaven fhall reveal his iniquity, " and the earth fhall rife up against him. The increase of his "houfe fhall depart. His goods fhall flow away in the day of, "wrath. The light of the wicked fhall be put out; the light "fhall be dark in his tabernacle. The fteps of his ftrength, "shall be straitened, and his own counsel fhall caft him down. "For he is caft into a net, by his own feet. He walketh up

on a fnare. Terrors fhall make him afraid on every fide; "and the robber fhall prevail against him. Brimstone shall be "fcattered upon his habitation. His remembrance fhall perish. "from the earth, and he shall have no name in the street. He. "fhall be driven from light into darknefs. They that come af"ter him shall be astonished at his day. He fhall drink the "wrath of the Almighty.”

LECTURE

LECTURE XLII.

EPIC POETRY.

IT now remains to treat of the two highest kinds of

poetical writing, the epic and the dramatic. I begin with the epic. This Lecture fhall be employed upon the general principles of that fpecies of compofition: after which, I fhall take a view of the character and genius of the most celebrated epic poets.

The epic poem is univerfally allowed to be, of all poetical works, the most dignified, and, at the fame time, the most difficult in execution. To contrive a ftory which shall pleafe and intereft all readers, by being at once entertaining, important, and instructive; to fill it with suitable incidents; to enliven it with a variety of characters, and of descriptions; and, throughout a long work, to maintain that propriety of fentiment, and that elevation of ftyle, which the epic character requires, is unquestionably the highest effort of poetical genius. Hence fo very few have fucceeded in the attempt, that strict' critics will hardly allow any other poems to bear the name of epic except the Iliad, and the Eneid.

There is no fubject, it must be confeffed, on which critics have displayed more pedantry, than on this. By tedious difquifitions, founded on a fervile fubmiffion to authority, they have given fuch an air of mystery to a plain fubject, as to render it difficult for an ordinary reader to conceive, what an epic poem is. By Boffu's definition, it is a difcourfe invented by art, purely to form the manners of men, by means of inftructions disguised under the allegory of fome important action, which is related in verfe. This definition would fuit feveral of fop's Fables, if they were fomewhat

fomewhat extended, and put into verfe: and, accordingly, to illuftrate his definition, the critic draws a parallel, in form, between the conftruction of one of fop's Fables, and the plan of Homer's Iliad. The first thing, fays he, which either a writer of fables, or of heroic poems, does, is, to choose fome maxim or point of morality; to inculcate which, is to be the defign of his work. Next, he invents a general story, or a feries of facts, without any names, fuch as he judges will be moft proper for illuftrating his intended moral. Laftly, he particularifes his ftory; that is, if he be a fabulift, he introduces his dog, his fheep, and his wolf; or if he be an epic poet, he looks out in ancient hiftory for fome proper names of heroes to give to his actors; and then his plan is completed.

4

This is one of the most frigid and abfurd ideas that ever entered into the mind of a critic. Homer, he fays, faw the Grecians divided into a great number of independent states; but very often obliged to unite into one body against their com mon enemies. The most useful inftruction which he could give them in this fituation, was, that a misunderstanding between princes is the ruin of the common cause. In order to enforce this inftruction, he contrived, in his own mind, fuch a general ftory as this. Several princes join in a confederacy against

their enemy. The prince who was chofen as the leader of the reft, affronts one of the most valiant of the confederates, who thereupon withdraws himself, and refuses to take part in the common enterprize. Great misfortunes are the confequence of this 'divifion; till, at length, both parties having fuffered by the quarrel, the offended prince forgets his difpleafure, and is reconciled to the leader; and union being once restored, there enfues complete victory over their enemies. Upon this general plan of his fable, adds Boffu, it was of no great confequence, whether, in filling it up, Homer had employed the names of beafts, like Afop, or of men. He would have been equally inftructive either way. But as he rather fancied to write of heroes, he pitched upon the war of Troy for the scene of his fable; he feigned fuch an action to hap-.; pen there; he gave the name of Agamemnon to the common leader; that of Achilles, to the offended prince; and fo the Iliad arofe.

.

He