THE
PREFACE
.
THE
great
Mischiefs
which
we
already
feel
,
and
the
far
greater
yet
,
we
justly
fear
from
the
Vniversal
Depravation
of
our
Manners
,
and
horrible
Contempt
of
Sacred
and
Divine
Things
,
have
with
good
reason
alarm'd
all
the
Wiser
part
of
the
Nation
,
who
have
a
due
Concern
for
the
Interests
of
Religion
,
or
the
Good
of
their
Country
.
Considering
Men
in
all
places
express
their
Melancholy
Apprehensions
,
that
if
Vice
and
Prophaness
should
without
controul
spread
their
Infection
much
farther
,
the
Consequences
would
be
fatal
;
and
that
notwithstanding
we
have
by
His
Majesty's
unrivall'd
Courage
,
and
most
prudent
Conduct
,
surmounted
our
fears
of
Foreign
Enemies
,
the
Nation
is
still
in
greater
Danger
from
our
Vices
and
Immoralities
,
our
more
formidable
ones
at
Home
.
His
Majesty
therefore
,
to
put
a
stop
to
the
progress
of
this
dreadful
Evil
,
and
after
he
has
sav'd
us
from
our
Enemies
,
to
deliver
us
from
our
Selves
,
(
his
last
and
hardest
Task
)
has
been
pleas'd
to
recommend
from
the
Throne
the
Suppressing
of
Vice
and
Irreligion
;
and
our
Honourable
Representatives
,
in
nothing
more
honourable
than
in
this
,
have
express'd
a
ready
and
becoming
Zeal
for
the
accomplishing
this
Great
and
Good
Design
.
To
think
of
extirpating
Vice
would
be
indeed
a
vain
Imagination
;
to
suppress
its
growth
,
and
reduce
its
Power
and
Interest
,
is
not
impossible
.
And
tho'
it
must
be
granted
,
that
even
this
is
hard
to
be
effected
,
yet
when
a
Work
is
necessary
,
the
Difficulty
should
only
whet
the
Courage
,
and
provoke
the
Zeal
of
the
Vndertakers
.
And
when
our
Government
shall
endeavour
to
stop
the
various
Sources
of
this
Mischief
,
when
it
shall
attack
with
vigour
the
many
monstrous
Heads
of
this
Hydra
,
that
terrible
one
that
poisons
the
Stage
,
and
from
thence
conveys
a
deadly
Contagion
through
the
Kingdom
,
may
,
perhaps
,
receive
a
mortifying
stroke
.
It
must
be
confess'd
,
but
not
to
the
Honour
of
a
Christian
Nation
,
that
Poetry
was
never
in
the
worst
of
Times
,
or
among
the
worst
of
Men
,
employ'd
to
more
detestable
●urposes
than
it
has
been
by
the
Writers
of
this
Age.
This
Weapon
which
might
have
been
manag'd
with
great
advantage
against
Vice
and
Prophaness
,
they
have
made
an
Instrument
of
Destruction
,
and
plung'd
it
into
the
Bowels
of
their
Native
Country
.
I
will
not
●ay
that
the
worst
of
our
Poets
,
no
not
he
who
in
the
late
loose
Reigns
introduc'd
and
establish'd
that
pernicious
way
of
Writing
,
which
corrupted
the
Stage
,
and
deprav'd
our
Manners
,
had
this
effect
in
view
,
and
really
design'd
the
fatal
Consequences
that
attended
their
performances
.
'T
is
hard
to
imagine
that
any
Men
should
be
so
intellectually
Wicked
,
as
to
promote
Immorality
and
Irreligion
,
meerly
for
the
sake
of
doing
so
;
but
this
has
been
,
and
is
still
my
complaint
,
that
it
is
eventually
true
,
that
the
Loose
and
Prophane
Writings
of
our
Poets
,
whatever
they
design'd
,
have
greatly
contributed
to
that
decay
of
Vertue
,
and
corruption
of
Manners
,
which
threaten
the
Nation
with
such
dangerous
Consequences
.
The
Regard
I
have
for
the
Interests
of
Religion
,
and
my
Zeal
for
the
Safety
and
Happiness
of
my
Country
,
have
extorted
these
Complaints
from
me
:
And
though
I
know
't
is
impossible
to
escape
the
Reproaches
of
those
who
will
think
themselves
either
unjustly
,
or
too
severely
censured
in
this
Matter
;
yet
that
is
no
discouragement
to
me
.
If
I
can
escape
the
Defamation
of
their
Panegyricks
,
I
think
my self
very
safe
.
I
have
no
Personal
Quarrel
with
any
of
the
Writers
I
have
censur'd
;
and
if
they
think
fit
to
expose
my
Name
for
asserting
the
Cause
of
Vertue
and
Religion
,
I
have
no
reason
to
be
displeased
with
them
for
doing
me
so
great
an
Honour
.
If
it
be
not
possible
to
regulate
this
Grievance
,
and
reform
this
evil
Manner
of
Writing
,
at
least
I
am
willing
that
Posterity
should
know
,
if
my
Writings
should
continue
so
long
,
that
the
Interests
of
Religion
and
Vertue
,
I
mean
as
far
as
Poetry
●s
concerned
in
them
,
were
not
given
up
without
Opposition
,
or
any
Protestations
enter'd
against
it
.
One
of
the
most
Famous
Poets
of
the
Stage
has
at
last
expresly
own'd
,
that
the
Charge
brought
against
him
is
too
just
.
He
has
done
it
in
two
Lines
;
the
two
best
he
ever
writ
,
and
by
which
,
in
my
Opinion
,
he
has
acquir'd
more
true
Honour
than
by
all
the
Volumes
he
has
publish'd
.
The
two
Lines
are
these
:
What
I
have
loosely
,
or
prophanely
writ
,
Let
them
to
Fires
,
(
their
due
Desert
)
commit
.
Verses
before
Beauty
in
Distress
.
Though
particular
Persons
endeavour
to
vindicate
themselves
,
yet
in
the
general
't
is
allow'd
that
the
Stage
requires
a
Reformation
.
The
chief
things
that
are
said
in
the
defence
of
our
Modern
Plays
,
are
these
;
that
they
are
an
agreeable
Diversion
,
and
that
they
mightily
polish
and
improve
our
Language
.
But
of
what
Persons
must
that
Audience
he
compos'd
,
who
shall
call
that
an
agreeable
Diversion
,
where
Prophaness
and
Immorality
are
kindly
treated
and
encouraged
,
and
Vertue
and
Wisdom
exposed
and
put
out
of
Countenance
?
Was
it
not
an
Argument
of
the
great
Degeneracy
of
the
Romans
,
when
they
became
delighted
with
the
bloody
●ntertainments
of
the
Amphitheatre
,
where
the
Gladi●to●s
mangled
and
killed
one
another
for
the
Sport
and
Pastime
of
the
cruel
Spectators
?
But
't
is
infinitely
more
pardonable
to
be
thus
diverted
,
than
to
make
Sport
with
the
Tragical
Performances
of
the
English
Theatre
.
'T
is
sad
indeed
that
Humane
Nature
should
at
any
time
be
so
●ar
divested
of
all
tender
Passions
,
as
that
it
should
be
de●ighted
with
the
Torments
and
dying
Agonies
tho'
of
condemn'd
Criminals
;
but
for
any
People
to
make
it
a
Diversion
to
see
their
Religion
in●ulted
,
hurt
,
and
wounded
,
to
see
Vertue
it self
receive
such
cuts
and
deep
gashes
,
is
a
certain
mark
of
the
most
deplorable
Corruption
.
As
to
what
is
said
of
the
Improvement
of
our
●anguage
by
the
Writers
for
the
Stage
,
I
believe
●is
in
part
true
;
though
it
must
be
own'd
at
the
same
time
that
our
most
famous
Masters
,
and
most
correct
Writers
of
English
,
are
either
of
the
Clergy
,
or
else
are
Gentlemen
whose
Stile
seems
to
have
nothing
of
the
Air
of
the
Theatre
in
it
.
But
suppose
it
were
indeed
true
,
that
we
owe
all
the
Refinements
of
our
Language
to
the
Stage
,
will
that
make
amends
for
the
Mischiefs
which
are
universally
laid
to
its
Charge
?
Does
the
Honour
and
Happiness
of
a
People
depend
upon
the
Politeness
of
their
Language
,
or
the
Purity
of
their
Manners
?
let
these
Gentlemen
restore
the
old
English
Vertue
,
but
so
far
as
't
is
impair'd
by
them
,
and
we
'll
be
contented
to
take
our
old
Language
in
the
Condition
they
found
it
.
There
is
a
degree
of
Vertue
necessary
to
the
support
of
every
Civil
Society
,
without
which
the
wisest
Laws
,
and
the
most
prudent
Provisions
will
be
in
vain
.
Not
many
Princes
have
Vertue
enough
for
themselves
,
but
none
,
no
not
the
Best
,
not
our
Great
King
himself
,
who
has
enough
for
many
Kings
,
has
enough
for
himself
,
and
his
People
too
.
For
if
the
Corruption
of
any
Nation
should
encrease
to
that
degree
,
that
there
should
not
be
Men
of
Vertue
le●t
to
put
the
Laws
in
Execution
;
if
the
Numbers
and
Confidence
of
the
Criminals
become
so
great
,
that
they
stand
upon
their
defence
,
despise
the
Authority
,
and
defy
the
Power
of
the
Magistrate
;
that
Nation
for
want
of
Vertue
,
let
the
Magistrate
and
Laws
be
never
so
good
,
must
be
certainly
undone
.
Whoever
therefore
,
as
the
Poets
of
the
Stage
have
done
,
shall
by
any
means
sink
the
Vertue
,
and
corrupt
the
Manners
of
the
People
,
do
effectually
undermine
the
Foundations
,
and
subvert
the
Pillars
of
the
Government
;
for
a
profligate
and
flagitious
People
will
destroy
themselves
in
spite
of
the
best
Laws
and
the
wisest
Ministers
in
the
World
.
This
is
the
ground
of
my
Controversie
with
the
Stage
.
If
a
Foreign
Enemy
should
invade
the
Nation
,
every
English-man
should
take
the
alarm
,
although
he
has
receiv'd
from
them
no
personal
Provocation
.
The
same
Reason
will
justifie
the
Opposition
I
have
made
to
those
Poets
I
have
at
any
time
condemn'd
,
and
will
plainly
show
that
I
did
not
do
it
unprovok'd
.
Whoever
undermines
the
Goverment
,
provokes
every
Man
that
loves
It
,
to
resist
him
.
'T
is
a
great
damage
also
to
the
Nation
,
that
so
much
of
its
finest
Spirit
is
thus
wasted
,
or
employed
to
very
bad
Ends.
'T
is
plain
that
many
of
a
Poetical
Genius
are
likewise
fit
for
the
greatest
and
highest
Employments
both
in
Church
and
State
;
and
there
are
but
very
few
,
that
are
such
meer
Poets
,
as
only
to
be
capable
of
being
Turners
of
Verses
.
If
therefore
our
Youth
who
are
Poetically
inclin'd
,
would
consider
the
Matter
,
and
thereupon
apply
themselves
to
Business
,
or
severer
Studies
,
many
of
them
might
arise
to
eminent
Stations
,
and
at
the
same
time
advance
themselves
,
and
become
very
serviceable
to
their
Country
;
and
by
this
means
they
would
acquire
greater
Honour
and
Reputation
,
than
ever
they
will
do
by
their
Rhimes
and
Plays
:
For
if
they
would
reflect
,
they
would
soon
be
convinc'd
,
that
tho'
Poetry
is
indeed
an
Ornament
to
those
that
have
more
noble
and
more
useful
Qualities
,
yet
when
it
becomes
a
Profession
,
't
is
one
of
the
meanest
and
lowest
sort
:
'T
is
like
Dancing
and
Musick
which
we
value
in
a
Gentleman
,
when
a
Musician
or
a
Dancing-Master
make
no
considerable
Figure
:
So
greatly
different
are
the
degrees
of
Esteem
,
which
all
Men
pay
,
and
not
without
good
reason
,
to
the
same
Attainment
,
when
't
is
in
one
an
Accomplishment
,
in
another
,
a
Trade
.
And
that
I
may
not
only
censure
the
Performances
of
others
,
but
likewise
give
a
fresh
Example
of
a
Writing
that
may
both
entertain
and
instruct
the
Reader
,
I
have
made
a
third
,
which
I
intend
as
my
last
Attempt
in
Poetry
.
It
has
been
observed
by
great
Judges
,
Le
Clerk
of
the
same
Opinion
,
that
the
Moderns
have
wholly
form'd
themselves
on
the
Models
of
the
Ancients
,
and
that
we
have
scarce
any
thing
but
the
Greek
and
Latin
Poetry
in
the
World
.
We
have
no
Originals
,
but
all
Copiers
and
Transcribers
of
Homer
,
Pindar
,
and
Theocritus
,
Virgil
,
Horace
,
and
Ovid.
Their
Design
,
their
Phrase
,
their
Manner
,
and
even
their
Heathen
Theology
,
appear
in
all
the
Poems
that
have
since
their
Time
been
published
to
the
World
,
especially
in
the
Learned
Languages
.
'T
is
therefore
to
be
wish'd
that
some
good
Genius
,
qualify'd
for
such
an
Undertaking
,
would
break
the
Ice
,
assert
the
Liberty
of
Poetry
,
and
set
up
for
an
Original
in
Writing
in
a
way
accommodated
to
the
Religion
,
Manners
,
and
other
Circumstances
we
are
now
under
.
But
however
we
write
,
I
think
't
is
high
time
to
leave
out
our
Allusions
to
the
Pagan
Divinity
;
for
how
beautiful
soever
they
might
be
in
in
the
Pagan
Authors
,
who
wrote
to
a
People
that
believ'd
in
those
Deities
,
't
is
the
most
ridiculous
and
senseless
thing
in
the
World
for
a
Christian
Poet
to
bring
in
upon
all
Occasions
the
Rabble
and
Riffraffe
of
Heathenish
Gods
;
and
yet
if
we
reflect
on
our
Modern
Poems
one
would
think
we
were
all
Pagans
to
this
day
.
What
have
we
to
do
with
Jupiter
and
Juno
,
Mars
and
Venus
,
and
the
rest
?
We
know
they
are
a
Iest
,
and
yet
they
are
brought
into
all
our
most
grave
and
chastest
Poems
.
Solemn
Prayers
are
made
to
them
by
Christian
Writers
,
than
which
there
cannot
be
a
more
intollerable
Absurdity
.
I
know
't
is
said
,
as
I
have
elsewhere
ob●erv'd
,
that
the
Christian
Scheme
of
Religion
is
not
so
well
accommodated
to
P●etical
Writings
,
and
therefore
our
Poets
are
oblig'd
to
embelish
their
Works
with
the
Pagan
Theology
:
A
wretched
Apology
!
Are
our
Poets
then
so
dry
and
barren
,
have
they
so
little
Learning
,
and
so
poor
a
stock
of
Images
,
that
they
are
not
able
to
furnish
themselves
with
proper
Allusions
,
surprizing
Metaphors
,
and
beautiful
Similes
,
without
reviving
the
old
exploded
Idolatry
of
the
Heathens
?
As
in
this
Book
of
Job
,
they
will
find
a
Poem
that
is
indeed
an
Original
,
and
not
beholding
to
the
Greek
and
Latin
Springs
;
so
they
will
find
,
if
it
be
not
depress'd
by
the
Paraphrase
,
a
sublime
Stile
,
elevated
Thoughts
,
magnificent
Expressions
where
the
Subject
requires
them
,
and
great
richness
and
abundance
throughout
the
whole
,
without
the
Aids
of
the
Pagan
System
of
Divinity
.
It
has
been
generally
allow'd
that
almost
all
the
Book
of
Job
is
writ
in
Metre
;
though
a
very
learned
Person
,
famous
for
his
Skill
in
these
Matters
,
has
assured
me
that
this
is
a
mistake
:
However
that
be
,
't
is
universally
agreed
that
the
Subject
of
it
is
treated
in
a
Poetical
manner
;
that
is
,
the
Narration
,
the
Allusions
,
the
Similes
,
and
the
Diction
,
are
such
as
are
proper
only
to
Poems
.
But
't
is
a
Controversie
among
learned
Men
what
kind
of
Poem
it
is
:
Some
are
of
Opinion
that
there
never
was
any
such
Man
in
Being
as
Job
,
but
that
the
Person
is
feigned
,
and
all
the
Sacred
Story
concerning
him
is
made
up
of
Allegories
and
Fables
,
composed
for
the
Instruction
of
Mankind
,
like
the
Parabolical
Relations
in
the
New
Testament
;
and
of
this
Opinion
were
many
of
the
Ancient
Jews
.
Others
believe
that
this
Book
contains
a
relation
of
nothing
but
real
Facts
,
without
feigned
Incidents
or
Episodes
;
and
that
therefore
it
is
an
Historical
Poem
,
like
that
of
Lucan
,
which
contains
the
Narration
of
a
Series
of
real
Actions
in
a
poetical
way
without
interposing
any
feign'd
Stories
.
Most
of
the
Commentators
and
Criticks
that
have
writ
on
this
Book
,
if
not
all
,
are
of
one
of
these
two
Opinions
.
But
I
have
in
Conversation
met
with
learned
Men
that
are
of
a
middle
Opinion
;
that
is
,
that
this
is
a
Poem
founded
on
a
true
History
,
as
those
of
Homer
probably
were
:
But
then
they
say
the
Conduct
,
the
Method
,
the
Machines
,
the
Incidents
,
and
the
Episodes
,
which
make
up
a
great
part
of
the
Poem
,
were
form'd
in
the
Poet's
Imagination
,
and
that
therefore
this
Poem
is
of
the
Epick
kind
.
As
to
the
first
Opinion
,
I
think
the
Scriptures
fully
confute
it
,
by
asserting
the
Person
and
Patience
of
Job
so
plainly
,
that
it
leaves
no
room
for
any
tolerable
Evasion
.
As
to
the
two
last
,
many
things
of
Weight
and
Importance
may
be
urg'd
on
either
side
;
and
therefore
I
shall
not
undertake
to
decide
the
Controversie
,
but
content
my self
in
giving
the
Reasons
that
I
have
read
or
heard
offer'd
to
support
each
Assertion
.
Those
of
the
last
Opinion
in
the
defence
of
it
alledge
,
that
the
Frame
of
the
whole
Book
shews
it
to
be
the
Work
of
Imagination
and
Contrivance
,
and
not
a
relation
of
a
Series
of
real
Actions
.
No
Body
can
believe
,
say
they
,
that
Satan
did
really
appear
before
God
,
and
that
the
Discourse
recited
in
the
Book
was
indeed
held
between
them
in
the
Presence
of
the
Holy
Angels
:
'T
is
not
credible
that
the
Messengers
that
brought
an
account
to
Job
of
so
many
Sufferings
that
befel
him
,
did
really
come
upon
the
heels
of
one
another
so
fast
,
and
in
such
a
manner
as
is
there
related
.
They
think
't
is
improbable
that
Job
should
sit
so
long
upon
a
Dunghil
,
and
that
his
Acquaintance
should
wait
seven
days
and
nights
together
without
speaking
a
word
to
their
sorrowful
Friend
.
They
look
on
this
to
be
a
Poetical
way
of
representing
the
vast
Distress
that
overwhelmed
the
patient
Sufferer
.
They
say
,
't
is
incredible
that
all
those
prolix
Discourses
should
be
actually
held
between
Job
and
his
Friends
:
and
that
a
Man
in
such
sad
Circumstances
,
as
Job
is
supposed
to
be
,
should
speak
so
very
long
,
and
use
so
many
Poetical
Similes
,
Metaphors
,
and
beautiful
Descriptions
as
are
found
in
his
several
Speeches
.
They
urge
also
that
it
has
an
Air
of
Contrivance
to
sink
a
Man
so
suddenly
from
the
most
prosperous
Condition
,
and
to
lay
him
under
such
grievous
Sufferings
,
and
the
very
extremity
of
Misery
,
and
then
by
a
no
less
sudden
and
surprizing
Revolution
,
in
so
short
a
space
of
time
,
to
make
him
again
the
most
happy
Man
in
the
World
.
They
urge
that
in
the
Catastrophe
,
when
this
patient
Man
is
rewarded
for
his
inflexible
Perseverance
,
the
allotting
him
just
the
same
number
of
Children
as
he
had
lost
,
and
just
a
double
quantity
of
Riches
as
he
enjoyed
before
,
seems
too
nice
to
be
a
real
Fact
.
The
Men
of
this
Opinion
do
not
dispute
the
reality
of
the
Person
of
Job
:
They
allow
there
was
a
Person
of
that
Name
,
eminent
for
his
Righteousness
,
and
famous
for
his
Patience
;
for
this
the
Scriptures
expresly
affirm
;
and
they
suppose
some
great
Poet
,
under
the
Guidance
and
Assistance
of
Divine
Inspiration
,
did
for
the
Instruction
of
Mankind
chuse
this
Subject
,
and
contrive
the
Poem
upon
it
of
which
we
are
now
discoursing
.
They
affirm
that
this
Poem
of
Job
is
of
the
Epick
kind
,
here
being
found
all
the
essential
parts
requir'd
in
the
Constitution
of
such
a
Poem
.
They
add
farther
as
a
confirmation
of
their
Opinion
,
that
though
Machines
,
that
is
,
the
introducing
of
Invisible
Superiour
Beings
,
and
the
interesting
of
them
in
the
Business
of
the
Poem
,
are
not
necessary
to
an
Epick
Poem
;
yet
as
it
does
greatly
heighten
and
embelish
the
Narration
,
they
can't
but
take
notice
that
this
Conduct
is
observed
here
;
for
the
chief
Apostate
Angel
,
and
even
the
Divine
Being
himself
,
are
both
introduced
in
the
most
proper
manner
that
can
be
;
and
as
this
perhaps
is
the
Original
of
that
sort
of
Writing
,
so
it
does
thereby
discover
a
great
Air
of
the
Allegorial
Epick
Poetry
.
Those
on
the
other
side
argue
thus
:
As
according
to
a
settled
Maxim
of
Interpreting
the
Scriptures
,
we
should
not
without
apparent
Necessity
quit
the
plain
and
literal
Sense
,
and
embrace
a
foreign
,
more
strain'd
and
less
obvious
Meaning
:
so
without
the
same
necessity
we
should
not
turn
the
Relation
of
any
Fact
into
Invention
and
Allegory
.
And
to
make
it
appear
that
there
is
no
such
reason
in
this
Case
,
they
alledge
that
there
is
nothing
related
in
this
Book
,
but
what
may
well
be
suppos'd
to
have
actually
happened
;
that
though
many
things
appear
improbable
and
hardly
credible
to
the
Reader
,
this
is
no
convincing
proof
that
they
were
not
real
Facts
.
For
all
Men
that
are
are
verst
in
History
will
meet
with
many
wonderful
and
improbable
Occurrences
,
which
notwithstanding
upon
sufficient
Evidence
they
are
forc'd
to
believe
;
and
they
say
that
for
that
reason
,
because
the
Facts
were
so
extraordinary
and
surprizing
,
they
were
recorded
in
this
Book
for
our
Admiration
and
Instruction
.
They
had
rather
give
their
Assent
to
some
things
that
sound
only
harsh
and
improbable
,
for
many
such
Relations
are
undoubtedly
true
,
than
by
departing
from
the
literal
Sense
encourage
and
embolden
uncautious
and
wanton
Wits
to
break
in
upon
the
Scriptures
,
and
turn
the
History
of
the
Bible
into
Parables
and
Allegories
;
for
the
Consequence
of
such
a
licentious
way
of
interpreting
the
Scriptures
they
look
on
as
very
mischievous
.
They
think
that
the
unnecessary
Concessions
of
some
Divines
in
these
Points
tend
mightily
to
unsettle
Men
in
the
Principles
of
their
Religion
,
and
weaken
their
Reverence
of
Divine
Revelation
.
They
do
indeed
al●ow
the
appearance
of
Satan
before
the
Throne
of
God
,
and
the
Discourse
on
that
Occasion
to
be
an
Allegory
,
for
there
are
cogent
Reasons
for
it
;
but
for
the
rest
of
the
relations
in
the
Book
they
see
no
necessity
of
making
them
Allegorical
also
.
There
is
the
like
Allegory
us'd
in
the
History
of
Ahab
,
where
't
is
said
a
Spirit
appear'd
before
the
Throne
of
God
,
and
offer'd
to
be
a
lying
Spirit
in
the
Mouths
of
Ahab's
Prophets
to
perswade
their
Master
to
go
down
to
War
to
R●amath
Gilead
,
and
he
had
leave
given
him
to
do
so
:
But
though
this
be
an
Allegory
,
yet
without
doubt
all
the
rest
of
the
Story
about
this
Expedition
of
Ahab
against
the
King
of
Syria
was
real
.
And
to
be
more
particular
,
that
Almighty
God
should
permit
the
great
Enemy
of
Mankind
to
afflict
and
persecute
a
great
and
a
good
Man
for
the
proof
of
his
Constancy
and
Uprightness
;
and
to
make
his
Vertues
more
conspicuous
and
exemplary
,
that
he
should
leave
him
for
a
time
under
this
sharp
and
severe
Trial
,
and
at
last
deliver
the
patient
Sufferer
,
and
restore
him
to
his
former
flourishing
Condition
:
This
has
nothing
in
it
but
what
is
very
agreeable
to
the
Course
of
Divine
Providence
;
and
if
there
be
any
Facts
in
the
Book
,
that
seem
improbable
,
't
is
owing
to
the
Poetical
manner
of
representing
them
,
in
which
perhaps
the
Time
,
Order
,
Place
,
and
other
Circumstances
,
are
not
so
nicely
observed
.
But
whether
this
be
an
Epick
,
or
barely
an
Historical
Poem
,
which
I
leave
undecided
,
the
Character
of
Job
may
in
my
Opinion
be
every
way
proper
for
the
first
.
The
Hero
is
indeed
a
passive
one
,
and
this
perhaps
will
be
made
a
great
Objection
against
this
Assertion
;
because
Homer's
and
Virgil's
Heroes
are
very
active
●ersons
.
For
the
Criticks
forming
their
Model
of
an
Heroick
Poem
intirely
upon
the
Example
of
these
two
famous
Writers
,
make
great
and
illustrious
Actions
necessary
to
the
Hero
of
the
Poem
,
which
con●orming
my self
to
their
Precepts
,
I
have
formerly
asserted
.
But
upon
what
Authority
is
this
imposed
on
the
World
?
What
Commission
had
these
two
Poets
to
settle
the
limits
and
extent
of
Epick
Poetry
,
or
who
can
prove
they
ever
intended
to
do
so
?
They
wrote
according
to
their
own
Notions
and
Measures
;
and
must
all
future
Ages
be
bound
up
to
follow
their
Examples
,
without
producing
any
other
Reason
?
Yet
this
Opinion
,
how
groundless
and
absurd
soever
it
appears
,
some
imagine
,
has
been
the
great
obstruction
to
the
Improvement
of
Poetry
among
the
Moderns
.
But
it
may
be
urged
that
the
Book
of
Job
was
written
before
Homer
and
Virgil
,
and
the
World
has
as
much
reason
to
be
governed
by
this
Example
,
as
by
that
of
the
Pagan
Writers
.
And
if
we
look
into
the
Reason
of
the
Matter
,
and
reflect
on
the
End
and
Design
of
an
Epick
●oem
,
which
is
to
instruct
the
World
in
some
important
Moral
Truth
,
by
the
Narration
of
some
great
and
illustrious
Subject-Matter
,
there
is
no
question
but
the
relation
of
the
Sufferings
,
as
well
as
the
Actions
of
great
Persons
,
are
very
conducive
to
that
end
;
and
indeed
what
else
is
the
Subject
of
the
Odysses
?
'T
is
true
,
the
Iliad
is
all
active
,
and
a
very
fighting
Poem
;
but
if
the
Odysses
be
consider'd
,
't
is
of
another
nature
,
there
is
more
a
great
deal
of
the
Heroes
Sufferings
not
evaded
by
Arms
,
but
by
little
Tricks
and
Subtilties
,
than
there
is
of
Action
;
and
yet
Mr.
Rapin
accounts
this
the
more
perfect
Poem
.
In
short
,
't
is
hard
to
offer
any
Reason
why
the
Hero
of
the
Poem
may
not
be
as
well
active
as
passive
.
If
it
be
said
,
the
Authority
of
Homer
is
against
it
(
for
as
for
Virgil
he
is
but
a
Copier
of
Homer's
Model
)
the
answer
is
,
that
the
Authority
of
the
Book
of
Job
is
for
it
;
and
moreover
that
Homer
is
of
this
Opinion
in
his
second
,
th●
against
it
in
his
first
Poem
.
If
it
be
said
that
Reason
is
against
it
,
let
that
Reason
be
produc'd
;
let
it
be
shown
that
the
Sufferings
of
a
great
Man
manag'd
with
equal
Skill
,
will
not
equally
serve
the
Ends
of
Epick
Poetry
.
As
for
what
the
Criticks
say
on
this
Point
,
't
is
plain
that
Homer
has
been
the
great
Lawgiver
to
those
Men
;
they
have
done
little
but
turn'd
his
Examples
into
Precepts
;
and
bringing
no
Reasons
to
support
what
they
assert
,
they
are
of
no
weight
in
this
Matter
.
Job
then
is
a
Hero
proper
for
an
Epick
Poem
,
an
Illustrious
Person
fit
to
support
the
Dignity
of
that
Character
:
He
is
by
the
Instigation
of
Satan
brought
into
miserable
Streights
and
unparalell'd
Sufferings
,
to
try
his
Constancy
and
Integrity
.
He
appears
brave
in
Distress
,
and
valiant
in
Affliction
,
maintains
his
Vertue
,
and
with
that
his
Character
,
under
the
most
powerful
Temptations
,
and
exasperating
Provocations
that
the
Malice
of
Hell
could
invent
,
and
thereby
gives
a
most
noble
Example
of
passive
Fortitude
,
a
Character
no
way
inferiour
to
that
of
the
active
Hero
.
When
the
various
Efforts
to
break
this
mighty
Man's
Invincible
Constancy
prov'd
ineffectual
,
he
is
at
the
latter
end
of
the
Poem
acquitted
by
God
Himself
,
and
rewarded
highly
for
his
Patience
and
Perseverance
;
whereby
the
Justice
of
Divine
Providence
is
asserted
,
and
Mankind
encouraged
to
be
stedfast
in
their
Religion
and
Integrity
,
upon
a
sure
Belief
that
Vertue
will
not
always
be
neglected
,
but
will
at
last
receive
a
suitable
Reward
.
Whatever
others
assert
,
in
my
Judgment
the
Hero
of
the
Poem
ought
not
to
be
drawn
without
some
defects
;
for
as
the
representing
of
a
perfect
Idea
of
Vertue
,
which
is
never
to
be
found
in
any
meer
Man
,
offends
against
the
Establish'd
Rule
in
Epick
Writings
,
which
excludes
all
things
improbable
,
so
instead
of
promoting
,
it
rather
obstructs
the
End
of
that
Poetry
:
For
a
perfect
Idea
of
Vertue
and
Excellency
may
amaze
and
dazle
us
;
but
when
propounded
for
our
Imitation
,
it
will
rather
discourage
,
than
excite
us
:
But
when
the
Examples
of
Vertue
that
are
set
before
us
,
are
discern'd
to
have
a
mixture
of
Imperfection
,
we
are
provok'd
and
embolden'd
to
form
our selves
according
to
such
a
Pattern
,
where
there
appears
no
Impossibility
,
as
there
does
in
the
other
,
●f
becoming
like
it
.
This
Poem
seems
to
me
to
abound
in
all
kinds
of
Beauties
,
which
are
admir'd
in
Poetical
Writings
.
What
noble
strains
of
Eloquence
occurr
in
every
place
where
they
ought
to
appear
,
especially
in
the
latter
part
of
this
Book
?
How
tender
and
moving
are
the
Thoughts
in
the
Passionate
,
how
proper
,
just
and
instructive
in
the
Moral
,
how
sublime
,
admirable
and
majestick
in
the
other
Parts
?
What
Variety
is
there
of
elegant
Expression
,
beautiful
Similitudes
,
bold
and
surprizing
Metaphors
,
natural
,
strong
,
and
lively
Images
and
Descriptions
throughout
the
whole
?
In
many
of
these
it
exceeds
,
and
in
all
of
them
it
equals
the
most
Celebrated
Writings
of
the
Greeks
and
Romans
.
And
if
it
should
hereafter
happen
,
that
Homer
or
Virgil
should
be
well
Translated
into
the
English
Language
,
I
am
very
confident
that
this
Book
,
were
it
Translated
or
Paraphrased
with
equal
Skill
,
would
outshine
them
in
all
sorts
of
Perfection
.
But
as
to
the
chief
End
and
Design
of
an
Epick
Poem
,
the
giving
a
noble
and
true
Idea
of
the
Divine
Being
,
the
Justification
of
his
Providence
,
the
Instruction
of
Mankind
in
Moral
Duties
,
and
animating
the
Reader
from
proper
Motives
to
imitate
the
Illustrious
Examples
of
Piety
and
Vertue
set
before
them
,
in
this
respect
,
which
is
infinitely
the
most
considerable
,
this
of
Job
put
all
the
Poems
of
the
Heathen
World
out
of
Countenance
.
How
will
Homer's
wretched
Tribe
of
Gods
and
Goddesses
,
introduc'd
with
all
the
Follies
and
Vices
too
of
corrupt
Mankind
appear
to
the
World
as
now
instructed
and
inlighten'd
with
the
Christian
Revelation
?
And
tho'
Virgil
is
in
that
,
as
in
other
things
,
more
judicious
and
cautious
than
the
Greek
Poet
,
yet
his
Theology
must
be
very
odious
to
a
Christian
Reader
;
and
if
the
Machines
of
these
Poets
in
which
so
much
of
the
Beauty
of
their
Poems
consists
are
so
contemptible
and
ridiculous
,
a
great
part
of
their
Excellency
is
gone
.
There
are
indeed
some
few
Moral
Sentences
interspers'd
in
these
Poets
;
but
as
they
seem
inserted
only
as
Embellishments
of
the
Writing
,
so
the
Body
of
the
Poem
carries
little
Instruction
in
it
.
For
my
part
,
when
I
consider
these
Poems
,
I
am
of
Mr.
L●
Clerk's
Opinion
,
that
the
Authors
had
nothing
else
in
their
view
than
to
entertain
and
please
the
Reader
,
Author's
Thoughts
,
have
found
out
wise
and
instructive
Morals
in
the
Poems
before-mention'd
;
yet
this
seems
an
Invention
of
their
own
.
For
as
the
Learned
Man
before-mentioned
observes
,
't
is
scarce
possible
to
relate
any
wonderful
Action
of
a
Great
Person
,
or
any
considerable
Occurrence
,
but
't
will
be
very
easie
to
draw
some
Moral
Inference
from
it
,
tho'
the
Writer
never
had
it
in
his
Imagination
.
And
the
very
same
Person
has
with
as
great
grounds
of
Probability
drawn
from
the
Iliad
and
the
Aencis
,
Morals
very
different
from
those
that
are
commonly
mention'd
,
and
has
offer'd
sufficient
Reasons
to
make
us
doubtful
whether
the
Morals
attributed
to
these
Poems
were
ever
intended
by
the
Authors
.
And
if
this
be
true
of
these
two
famous
Writers
,
that
only
the
pleasing
and
amusing
,
not
the
instructing
of
Mankind
was
their
Design
,
't
is
more
apparently
true
of
the
greatest
part
of
the
Moderns
,
especially
the
Dramatick
Poets
.
Since
this
Book
of
Job
,
and
other
Poetical
parts
of
the
Scripture
,
some
of
which
I
have
likewise
undertaken
to
paraphrase
,
does
at
least
equal
the
chief
Beauties
of
the
Heathens
,
and
by
their
Vsefulness
in
their
excellent
Instructions
infinitely
excel
them
,
't
is
a
Matter
of
Admiration
that
the
Christian
Poets
should
be
so
far
enamour'd
with
the
Pagan
Writings
,
as
to
form
themselves
entirely
by
their
Patterns
,
to
be
taken
up
with
the
Study
of
them
to
the
total
neglect
of
these
inspir'd
Writings
.
What
pains
and
labour
have
our
Men
been
at
,
how
great
a
part
of
their
short
Lives
have
they
spent
,
what
a
multitude
of
Volumes
have
they
publish'd
to
illustrate
the
Meaning
and
discover
the
Excellencies
of
Greek
and
Latin
Poets
,
and
to
translate
them
into
their
own
Languages
?
If
this
were
the
Work
of
Gentlemen
,
that
had
nothing
else
to
employ
themselves
about
,
and
had
no
other
Capacity
of
being
useful
to
Mankind
,
it
might
perhaps
pass
for
an
inoffensive
Amusement
,
and
a
pardonable
●ort
of
Idleness
.
But
't
is
indeed
wonderful
that
to
give
a
new
Sense
to
an
Expression
in
an
ancient
Poet
,
to
slop
a
Period
more
exactly
,
to
rectifie
a
Word
,
to
give
a
truer
Spelling
to
a
Man's
Name
,
or
to
restore
a
corrupt
Sentence
,
should
be
look'd
on
as
such
a
Perfection
,
as
sets
a
Man
in
the
first
Rank
of
Learned
Men
;
and
that
a
kind
of
Knowledge
which
does
not
make
Mankind
any
ways
wiser
or
better
,
should
procure
a
mighty
Reputation
,
and
dignifie
the
Owners
of
it
with
the
honourable
Titles
of
great
Criticks
,
and
Masters
of
polite
Learning
.
I
would
not
derogate
from
the
true
value
of
Classical
Knowledge
.
The
Greek
and
Latin
Poets
should
be
study'd
,
that
we
may
understand
those
Languages
of
which
there
is
such
a
manifest
Necessity
:
But
't
is
most
evident
,
that
for
the
Sense
,
for
the
noble
and
sublime
Thoughts
,
and
what
is
more
than
all
other
Considerations
,
for
the
forming
a
Man's
Mind
according
to
the
justest
Ideas
of
Vertue
and
true
Wisdom
,
and
thereby
promoting
his
Honour
and
his
Happiness
,
the
Poetical
parts
of
the
Scripture
have
,
as
before
suggested
,
an
infinite
advantage
above
all
others
put
together
,
and
therefore
one
would
think
should
not
be
less
worthy
of
a
Christian's
Study
and
Application
,
than
Homer
and
his
Followers
.
The
Language
in
which
this
Book
was
written
is
Hebrew
;
and
considering
the
very
great
difference
there
is
between
the
Stil●
or
manner
of
Expression
in
the
Eastern
and
Western
part
of
the
World
,
their
Eloquence
,
as
well
as
their
Customs
and
Habits
,
being
of
another
kind
than
ours
,
't
is
very
strange
that
a
literal
Translation
of
this
Book
as
't
is
now
found
in
the
Bible
,
especially
considering
how
long
time
since
it
was
written
,
how
little
the
Language
is
understood
,
and
how
much
the
Idiom
of
it
is
lost
,
should
not
sound
much
more
harsh
,
and
be
less
capable
of
being
understood
than
it
is
.
I
am
confident
that
if
several
of
the
Greek
Poets
should
be
verbally
translated
,
they
would
be
more
obscure
,
if
not
altogether
unintelligible
.
And
if
in
a
literal
Translation
the
Book
of
Job
written
in
an
Eastern
Language
does
so
much
affect
us
,
and
raises
in
our
Minds
such
an
Admiration
of
its
Beauty
and
Majesty
,
what
a
wonderful
and
inimitable
kind
of
Eloquence
must
be
suppos'd
in
the
Original
,
when
we
can't
translate
verbatim
a
good
Poem
from
one
Modern
Language
into
another
,
tho'
it
be
done
by
the
nearest
Neighbours
,
without
a
mighty
diminution
of
its
Excellence
?
As
to
the
Time
when
Job
liv'd
,
it
is
highly
probable
that
he
was
Moses's
Predecessor
,
or
at
least
his
Contemporary
;
and
that
for
these
Reasons
.
This
righteous
and
devout
Man
was
allow'd
to
offer
Sacrifices
to
God
,
which
only
the
Priests
under
the
Mosaical
Dispensation
had
Authority
to
do
,
and
that
only
before
the
Tabernacle
or
Temple
.
This
devout
Person
seems
intirely
ignorant
of
the
Modes
of
the
Jewish
Religion
,
and
of
their
manner
of
asking
Counsel
of
God
either
by
Urim
and
Thummim
,
or
by
the
Prophets
;
and
therefore
't
is
evident
the
Mosaical
Scheme
of
Religion
was
not
yet
instituted
.
In
the
whole
Book
of
Job
there
is
no
mention
made
of
the
Law
and
the
Prophets
,
nor
of
the
many
Miracles
wrought
either
in
Egypt
,
or
in
the
Passage
of
the
Children
of
Israel
to
Canaan
,
though
nothing
could
have
been
more
pertinent
and
sutable
to
the
Design
of
the
Author
of
this
Book
,
had
Job
liv'd
after
that
wonderful
Deliverance
;
and
there
is
scarce
any
Writer
that
follow'd
that
Time
,
that
does
not
mention
or
allude
to
that
famous
History
.
And
this
is
yet
farther
confirm'd
by
the
long
Life
of
Job
,
which
was
protracted
to
two
hundred
Years
,
which
agrees
to
the
Times
of
the
Old
Patriarchs
.
As
to
the
Land
of
Utz
,
the
Country
in
which
this
great
Man
liv'd
,
there
are
different
Opinions
,
occasion'd
chiefly
by
the
uncertainty
which
Utz
it
was
(
for
three
are
mention'd
)
from
whom
it
receiv'd
its
Name
.
The
first
Utz
the
Son
of
Aram
is
mention'd
,
Gen.
10.
23.
who
is
reported
to
be
the
Founder
of
Damascus
and
Trachonitis
;
and
many
Writers
,
for
this
reason
,
conclude
the
Seat
of
Job
to
have
been
in
the
Plain
of
Jordan
in
the
Region
of
Trachonitis
,
where
the
Tomb
of
Job
is
shown
to
Strangers
at
this
day
:
Others
place
it
in
the
Famous
Valley
of
Damascus
.
A
second
Utz
,
the
Son
of
Nachor
is
mention'd
,
Gen.
22.
21.
from
him
the
Country
where
he
liv'd
is
call'd
Usitis
or
Ausitis
,
which
by
Ptolemy
is
plac'd
near
Euphrates
,
and
the
City
Babylon
;
and
therefore
many
Authors
believe
Job
had
his
Habitation
in
that
part
of
Arabia
.
A
third
Utz
,
who
,
as
Spanh●mius
observes
,
was
a
Horite
of
the
Posterity
of
Sehir
,
and
not
as
commonly
accounted
of
the
Race
of
Esau
,
is
mention'd
,
Gen.
36.
28.
the
Horites
being
driven
out
by
the
Edomites
,
their
Country
was
after
that
call'd
Idumea
,
which
has
for
its
bounds
Arabia
,
Canaan
,
and
the
Red
Sea
,
and
in
this
Country
many
believe
was
the
Habitation
of
Job
.
But
if
a
Man
could
remove
the
Obstructions
of
great
Learning
and
Critical
Remarks
,
methinks
it
should
be
a
very
easie
matter
to
settle
this
controverted
Point
.
`T
is
allow'd
by
all
,
that
Utz
the
Country
of
Job
was
expos'd
to
the
Incursions
and
Depredations
of
the
Chaldeans
;
and
't
is
allowed
likewise
that
Chaldea
was
Eastward
of
Arabia
.
Now
suppose
that
in
our
English
History
there
had
been
mention'd
a
great
Man
,
that
had
in
ancient
Times
been
plunder'd
by
a
Band
of
Scotch-men
;
and
the
Habitation
or
Country
of
this
unfortunate
Man
being
mention'd
by
an
obscure
or
obsolete
Word
,
a
Controversie
should
arise
in
what
part
of
England
this
Man
lived
;
would
not
any
Man
that
was
derivered
from
the
encumbrance
of
great
Reading
and
learned
Observations
,
presently
conclude
,
that
he
lived
in
the
North
part
of
England
not
far
from
the
Borders
of
Scotland
?
And
must
it
not
have
been
a
Critick
of
extraordinary
Sagacity
that
should
have
found
out
his
Seat
in
Middlesex
,
or
at
the
Land's
End
?
And
yet
those
that
place
the
Country
of
Job
in
Idumea
,
or
near
Damascus
,
remove
it
farther
from
Chaldea
than
those
two
Places
before-named
are
from
Scotland
.
'T
is
not
therefore
to
be
doubted
but
that
the
Country
of
Job
was
in
the
Eastern
part
of
Arabia
,
and
't
is
probable
't
was
near
the
River
Euphrates
,
and
that
he
was
of
the
Posterity
of
Nachor
.
The
▪
Stories
therefore
of
Job's
Well
near
Jerusalem
,
of
his
Scpulchre
in
the
Plain
of
Jordan
,
and
of
the
Region
in
the
North
of
Syria
,
which
the
Inhabitants
shew
to
Travellers
for
the
Seat
of
Job
,
are
all
Modern
Fables
,
and
not
to
be
regarded
.
But
much
more
ridiculous
is
the
●●rror
of
those
Commentat●rs
,
who
make
Constantinople
to
have
been
the
Seat
of
Job
:
The
Scpulchre
of
Job
in
Armenia
that
favours
this
Opinion
,
't
is
very
probable
according
to
the
Conjecture
of
several
learned
Men
,
was
erected
in
honour
of
some
Captain
of
the
Turks
of
that
Name
.
As
to
the
Time
when
the
Author
of
this
Book
liv'●
▪
there
are
many
different
Opinions
.
Some
believe
〈◊〉
this
Book
was
wrote
in
the
Time
when
the
Israelites
were
under
the
Aegyptian
Bondage
,
and
that
it
was
compos'd
to
encourage
them
to
a
patient
suffering
of
their
Afflictions
,
and
to
confirm
them
in
their
dependance
upon
God
for
Deliverance
.
And
those
of
this
Opinion
believe
,
that
either
Moses
himself
was
the
Author
,
or
at
least
the
Translator
of
it
;
and
that
this
was
a
Tradition
among
the
ancient
Jews
several
Authors
testifie
.
Others
are
of
Opinion
,
that
the
Writing
was
of
much
later
date
,
and
give
these
Reasons
for
it
.
They
alledge
that
there
are
many
Syriack
and
Arabick
Words
,
and
Forms
of
Expression
that
were
not
in
use
among
the
ancient
Hebrew
Writers
,
the
Interpretation
of
which
must
be
fetch'd
from
the
Rabbins
;
that
there
are
many
Elegancies
relating
to
the
Constellations
,
and
several
Fish
and
Birds
which
shew
it
to
be
of
a
Modern
Date
,
and
from
hence
they
conclude
that
it
was
then
wrote
when
these
Foreign
words
and
manners
of
Expression
were
introduc'd
into
the
Hebrew
Language
.
They
believe
therefore
that
the
Author
liv'd
after
David
and
Solomon
,
and
before
Ezekiel
,
because
he
is
mention'd
by
that
Prophet
.
Some
believe
that
Isaiah
himself
was
the
Author
,
the
time
when
he
lived
being
very
sutable
to
this
Conjecture
,
besides
the
Majesty
and
Sublimity
of
his
Stile
,
his
singular
Erudition
,
the
similitude
of
Character
,
and
many
Words
,
and
Forms
of
speaking
common
to
them
both
.
Grotius
imagines
the
Author
to
be
an
Hebrew
,
because
after
the
Custom
of
that
Nation
,
he
calls
Arabia
the
East
,
tho'
others
suppose
he
was
an
Idumean
,
because
he
abounds
with
Syriack
and
Arabick
Words
:
Whether
he
was
the
one
or
the
other
,
't
is
plain
the
Author
was
well
vers'd
in
the
Hebrew
Language
and
those
of
the
Neighbouring
Countries
:
And
that
in
the
Writing
of
this
Book
he
was
under
the
direction
and
guidance
of
Divine
Inspiration
,
has
been
universally
acknowledged
by
the
Jews
and
Christians
in
all
Ages
.
But
one
single
Reflexion
prevails
with
me
to
believe
that
the
Author
was
of
the
oldest
date
;
and
that
is
,
that
I
cannot
imagine
that
if
he
had
lived
after
the
Deliverance
of
the
Children
of
Israel
from
their
Aegyptian
Bondage
,
and
after
the
Institution
of
the
Mosaical
Scheme
of
Religion
,
he
could
have
been
so
perfectly
silent
as
to
both
.
'T
is
hardly
to
be
imagin'd
that
if
he
had
liv'd
after
Moses
he
should
ever
have
design'd
to
be
so
accurate
and
nice
in
relation
to
Time
,
as
not
to
say
any
thing
in
the
whole
Book
but
what
might
be
well
suppos'd
to
have
been
said
by
one
who
liv'd
before
Moses
.
This
exact
Care
seems
not
agreeable
to
the
Writers
of
that
Age.
And
if
it
should
be
suppos'd
,
that
an
Author
,
that
many
years
after
took
this
Subject
of
Job
to
write
upon
,
should
resolve
to
say
nothing
but
what
might
be
fit
to
be
said
in
that
time
when
Job
liv'd
;
yet
't
is
a
great
difficulty
to
believe
that
he
should
be
so
successful
,
as
not
in
any
one
Place
,
or
in
any
one
Expression
,
to
drop
any
thing
that
should
mention
or
allude
to
some
Matters
of
Fact
that
happen'd
after
;
especially
such
famous
ones
,
as
the
Miracles
wrought
when
the
Israelites
were
brought
out
of
Aegypt
,
their
Settlement
in
the
Land
of
Canaan
,
and
the
Rites
of
the
Mosaical
Religion
.
The
same
Reasons
therefore
that
convince
me
that
Job
himself
liv'd
before
,
or
in
the
Time
of
Moses
,
perswade
me
to
think
the
Author
of
this
Poem
,
whoever
he
was
,
did
so
too
;
and
therefore
't
is
very
probable
that
this
of
Job
is
the
oldest
Book
in
the
World
.
The
Argument
of
the
Poem
is
this
:
Job
,
a
Prince
in
his
Country
,
of
distinguish'd
Piety
and
eminent
Justice
,
at
the
Entrance
of
the
Narration
,
is
represented
as
happy
as
the
favour
of
Heaven
,
and
the
affluence
of
all
Earthly
Possessions
can
make
him
.
From
this
present
State
of
Prosperity
he
is
all
on
a
sudden
,
by
the
permission
of
Providence
,
for
the
trial
of
his
Integrity
,
depriv'd
of
his
Estate
,
his
Children
,
his
Friends
and
Health
,
and
reduc'd
to
a
Condition
as
perfectly
miserable
,
as
his
former
had
been
happy
.
After
this
surprizing
change
of
his
Fortune
,
to
exasperate
the
bitterness
and
anguish
of
his
Soul
,
his
Wife
,
in
a
most
profane
manner
,
provokes
and
tempts
him
to
quit
all
his
Pretensions
to
Piety
,
and
desperately
to
renounce
all
his
dependence
upon
God
,
and
all
expectations
of
Deliverance
from
him
.
In
this
,
she
is
imitated
by
the
Aegyptians
and
old
Grecians
,
as
well
as
other
Idolatrous
Countries
,
who
us'd
under
any
great
Calamities
to
rail
bitterly
at
their
Gods
,
to
pull
down
their
Images
,
and
drag
them
about
the
Streets
,
to
be
reveng'd
on
them
for
not
preventing
their
misfortunes
.
After
this
three
Persons
,
eminent
for
their
Birth
,
Vertue
and
Wisdom
,
Eliphaz
,
Bildad
and
Zophar
(
perhaps
Elihu
was
with
Job
before
)
went
to
comfort
their
distress'd
Friend
.
Their
Design
was
good
,
and
they
considering
that
Wickedness
was
the
meritorious
Cause
of
Suffering
,
and
that
Divine
Justice
was
not
to
be
clear'd
,
if
proffligate
and
impious
Men
should
go
unpunish'd
;
and
having
themselves
often
seen
as
well
as
heard
by
Tradition
from
their
Forefathers
,
that
wicked
Nations
and
Families
had
frequently
,
by
the
just
Judgment
of
God
,
been
utterly
destroy'd
,
concluded
that
,
Job
notwithstanding
the
outward
Figure
he
made
of
a
very
upright
and
religious
Person
,
must
needs
be
guilty
of
some
great
,
tho'
secret
Crimes
:
Otherwise
they
could
not
conceive
how
it
was
consistent
with
Divine
Justice
and
Mercy
to
suffer
him
to
be
so
very
miserable
.
Their
Opinion
was
,
that
a
good
Man
,
such
as
Job
was
suppos'd
to
be
,
could
never
be
so
far
forsaken
of
God
,
and
abandon'd
to
such
prodigious
Sufferings
.
This
is
the
Point
they
labour
to
prove
.
They
press
this
very
hard
on
their
afflicted
Friend
,
hoping
thereby
to
bring
him
to
a
Confession
of
his
Sins
,
and
a
sutable
Repentance
,
upon
which
they
believ'd
,
as
they
often
assur'd
him
,
God
would
withdraw
his
afflicting
hand
,
ease
his
Complaints
,
and
restore
him
to
his
former
Prosperity
.
On
the
other
hand
,
Job
,
who
was
sure
he
was
no
Hypocrite
,
but
that
he
was
in
good
earnest
a
Lover
of
God
and
of
his
Neighbour
,
and
was
not
conscious
of
any
such
conceal'd
and
secret
Guilt
,
as
his
Friends
reproach'd
him
with
,
asserts
in
his
defence
,
that
his
Friends
proceeded
in
their
Debates
on
erroneous
grounds
:
That
they
mistook
his
Case
,
and
the
Methods
of
relieving
him
.
He
affirms
that
neither
their
Notions
,
nor
their
Observations
were
true
.
For
tho'
they
asserted
the
contrary
,
he
was
fully
assur'd
that
God
did
often
afflict
even
with
the
greatest
Severity
many
just
and
upright
Men
,
and
suffer'd
in
the
mean
time
the
Enemies
of
God
and
Man
to
live
in
the
most
flourishing
Condition
;
and
that
therefore
there
could
be
no
Argument
drawnfrom
〈◊〉
Mans
Sufferings
that
he
was
a
wicked
and
unrighteous
Person
.
In
some
of
his
Debates
on
this
Head
,
he
is
so
far
transported
as
to
censure
rashly
the
Divine
Administration
,
as
if
God
had
too
little
regard
to
the
Piety
and
Righteousness
of
good
Men
,
whom
he
punish'd
with
so
severe
a
hand
,
whilst
he
favour'd
the
Wicked
,
and
prosper'd
their
Vndertakings
;
or
at
least
that
he
made
not
that
distinction
between
them
that
the
Iustice
of
Righteous
Government
requires
.
But
as
to
himself
his
Anguish
and
Impatience
rose
to
such
a
degree
,
as
vented
themselves
in
many
Expressions
relating
to
God's
Severity
to
him
,
unbecoming
an
humble
and
patient
Sufferer
,
which
made
a
learned
Critick
say
,
that
Job
who
had
a
good
Cause
,
discomposed
by
his
Impatience
manag'd
it
ill
,
as
his
Friends
had
a
bad
one
,
but
manag'd
it
well
.
Their
Debates
being
ended
,
Elihu
a
wise
young
Man
that
had
heard
the
Arguments
on
either
side
,
undertakes
as
Moderator
to
compose
the
Controversie
,
and
set
them
both
right
.
He
agrees
with
Eliphaz
,
and
his
two
Companions
,
that
God
was
a
Hater
of
Wickedness
and
Irreligion
,
and
that
he
often
punished
those
that
were
guilty
of
them
;
but
then
he
will
not
allow
that
Job
may
from
thence
be
justly
condemn'd
as
a
wicked
Man
,
because
a
good
Man
may
often
be
afflicted
by
God
for
great
and
wise
Ends.
On
the
other
side
,
tho'
he
does
not
censure
Job
for
his
Hypocrisie
,
or
any
concealed
or
secret
Guilt
,
yet
he
condemns
him
for
the
Impatience
he
express'd
in
his
Sufferings
,
and
for
his
bold
and
rash
Expressions
that
seem'd
to
charge
God
with
Injustice
.
After
this
God
himself
condescends
to
speak
and
put
an
end
to
their
long
Debate
.
He
condemns
Eliphaz
,
and
his
two
Friends
,
for
their
unjust
Censures
of
Job
,
and
Job
for
his
unjust
Censures
of
Divine
Providence
;
but
on
the
comparison
declares
that
Job
had
the
better
Cause
,
and
had
spoken
better
of
him
than
his
Friends
had
done
;
perhaps
that
Expression
of
Job's
is
alluded
to
,
The
Lord
has
given
,
and
the
Lord
has
taken
away
,
blessed
be
the
Name
of
the
Lord
.
Then
he
delivers
him
from
his
great
Afflictions
and
restores
him
to
his
former
happy
Condition
.
'T
is
evident
that
the
Design
of
the
Book
is
to
show
that
the
Providence
of
God
does
not
only
guide
and
over-rule
the
highest
and
most
important
Affairs
,
The
Enterprizes
of
aspiring
Princes
,
and
the
Rise
and
Fall
of
States
and
Empires
,
but
that
it
inter●sts
and
mingles
it self
with
all
the
Concerns
of
Humane
Life
,
and
thereby
prepares
the
Mind
of
the
Reader
to
acknowledge
him
as
the
great
Moderator
of
the
World
,
the
Director
of
all
our
Actions
,
and
Disposer
of
all
the
Events
that
happen
to
Mankind
.
By
which
Impression
he
is
dispos'd
to
submit
himself
and
all
his
Concernments
with
humble
Resignation
to
the
Almighty's
Righteous
and
Unerring
Conduct
.
And
more
particularly
,
the
Design
is
to
justifie
the
Divine
Providence
in
suffering
impious
and
flagitious
Men
to
live
in
the
undisturbed
Enjoyment
of
all
the
Power
and
Plenty
their
Hearts
can
desire
,
while
good
and
upright
Men
are
often
overwhelmed
with
Poverty
and
Distress
,
and
expos'd
to
the
scorn
and
outrage
of
their
insulting
Enemies
.
The
solving
of
this
difficulty
,
which
has
so
often
puzled
the
Understanding
,
and
discomposed
the
Temper
of
the
Wisest
and
Best
of
Men
,
seems
to
be
chiefly
aim'd
at
in
this
Writing
.
And
't
is
observable
that
in
the
Debates
between
Job
and
his
Friends
,
when
they
are
prest
with
any
difficulty
concerning
the
Divine
Administration
of
Affairs
,
and
are
at
a
loss
how
to
reconcile
Occurrences
with
their
own
Notions
of
Iustice
and
Goodness
,
they
fly
to
God's
Infinite
Greatness
,
and
seem
to
resolve
the
Controversie
into
his
absolute
Sovereignty
,
and
uncontroulable
Power
,
which
occasions
many
wonderful
Descriptions
of
God's
Majesty
and
Omnip●tence
.
They
seem
to
think
that
when
we
are
puzled
and
confounded
,
and
after
all
our
Attempts
can
by
no
means
account
for
the
Proceedings
of
Divine
Providence
,
that
directly
thwart
our
Opinions
of
Wisdom
and
Justice
,
we
should
enter
upon
the
Contemplation
of
the
Glorious
Attributes
of
God
,
and
consider
they
so
far
transcend
all
the
low
created
Perfections
in
Man
,
that
ours
are
by
no
means
to
be
a
measure
of
his
.
They
may
and
do
assist
us
in
many
Instances
,
as
faint
Representations
of
the
Divine
Excellency
;
but
whenever
we
see
any
Conduct
of
Divine
Providence
that
we
can't
reduce
to
our
ways
of
Reasoning
,
we
should
humbly
adore
and
not
dispute
.
We
should
fetch
a
Solution
from
the
Sovereignty
and
boundless
Perfections
in
God
,
who
is
always
Good
,
and
Iust
,
and
Wise
,
even
when
in
his
Administration
he
seems
to
be
most
the
contrary
.
And
't
is
very
plain
that
when
God
bespeaks
them
in
the
latter
end
of
the
Book
,
he
insists
on
no
other
Justification
of
his
Proceedings
with
Men
,
than
his
Dominion
and
Property
,
his
absolute
Sovereignty
,
and
transcendent
Greatness
,
that
render
him
unaccountable
able
to
his
Creatures
for
all
his
Actions
.
And
therefore
in
the
sharpest
and
severest
Trials
,
when
Providence
seems
vigilant
and
industrious
,
as
Job
expresses
it
,
to
find
occasions
of
afflicting
,
when
it
runs
counter
to
all
our
Desires
,
defeats
our
Hopes
,
and
disappoints
all
our
Designs
;
in
such
a
hard
Case
we
are
to
moderate
our
Passions
,
submit
our
Wills
and
our
Reason
too
,
and
acquiesce
in
this
Belief
,
that
nothing
is
more
certain
than
that
God
can
do
his
Creature
no
wrong
,
and
that
in
all
his
Dispensations
he
has
both
wise
and
gracious
Designs
,
tho'
our
shallow
and
incompetent
Reason
is
not
able
to
discern
them
.
'T
is
probable
that
one
Reason
why
we
are
apt
to
censure
God's
Proceedings
is
,
that
we
take
his
Idea
too
nicely
from
our selves
.
For
tho'
we
must
form
our
Idea
of
him
from
the
Contemplation
of
our selves
,
yet
this
must
not
be
too
strict
,
nor
extended
too
far
.
For
't
is
plain
that
God's
Knowledge
is
another
thing
from
ours
;
he
knows
by
one
single
Act
of
Intuition
,
we
know
by
Reasoning
,
that
is
by
deducing
one
Proposition
from
two
others
,
and
by
forming
in
a
tedious
way
,
a
long
depending
Chain
of
Consequences
,
which
are
for
that
reason
apt
to
create
a
distrust
.
Now
as
our
inferiour
kind
of
Knowledge
is
by
no
means
a
measure
of
that
most
perfect
kind
in
the
Divine
Understanding
,
so
the
Iustice
,
Mercy
and
Goodness
,
which
are
the
Perfections
of
a
Creature
's
,
may
be
of
a
lower
kind
,
and
therefore
an
unfit
measure
of
those
Perfections
in
the
Divine
Will
.
'T
is
probable
that
for
this
reason
the
Disputants
in
this
Poem
,
for
the
clearing
of
God's
Justice
and
Goodness
,
betake
themselves
so
often
to
the
transcendent
Greatness
and
Excellency
of
the
Divine
Nature
,
whereby
they
plainly
intimate
that
we
are
by
no
means
competent
Judges
of
his
Actions
.
Another
means
to
quiet
Men's
Minds
concerning
the
Wisdom
and
Justice
of
God's
Dispensations
in
those
Instances
that
are
the
●arshest
and
most
unaccountable
to
us
,
is
to
reflect
on
the
narrow
and
broken
,
as
well
as
obscure
Prospect
which
we
have
of
the
wide
Sphere
of
his
Providence
.
Did
we
clearly
and
fully
understand
how
we
are
related
to
all
the
Parts
of
Mankind
,
both
to
our
Contemporaries
,
and
to
those
who
have
liv'd
in
the
past
,
or
shall
live
in
the
future
Ages
of
the
World
;
had
we
besides
a
clear
Knowledge
of
our
relation
to
other
Reasonable
,
but
Superior
Creatures
,
I
mean
the
Angels
that
inhabit
the
Immense
and
Glorious
Regions
above
us
,
and
to
those
that
●ill
the
Stars
and
Planets
;
(
for
't
is
improbable
this
Ball
of
Earth
,
the
Dregs
and
Sediment
of
the
World
should
be
so
full
of
Reasonable
Beings
,
and
the
nobler
Parts
of
the
Creation
should
not
be
peopled
with
sutable
Inhabitants
)
Had
we
a
perfect
and
comprehensive
View
of
the
whole
Scheme
of
the
Divine
Oeconomy
in
relation
to
all
these
Parts
of
his
Government
,
and
how
in
his
Administration
in
the
different
Parts
of
it
he
promoted
the
great
and
glorious
Design
of
the
whole
,
we
should
have
quite
another
Apprehension
of
God's
Wisdom
and
Iustice
.
He
that
contemplates
a
Leg
or
an
Arm
with
its
relation
to
a
Humane
Body
,
of
which
they
are
Parts
,
has
a
very
different
Notion
of
them
from
him
,
who
considers
them
divided
,
without
any
dependance
on
,
or
connexion
with
the
Whole
.
It
is
not
in
our
Power
to
make
any
but
partial
and
very
lame
Observations
of
God's
Government
of
his
Creatures
,
and
upon
such
imperfect
Views
,
't
is
no
wonder
if
our
Constructions
and
Conclusions
are
often
erroneous
,
and
this
,
it
may
be
,
is
another
Reason
why
these
Wise
Men
that
manage
the
Debate
about
Providence
in
this
Book
,
lead
us
so
often
to
contemplate
the
Works
of
God's
Creation
,
of
which
our selves
are
so
small
a
Part.
Besides
this
Principal
and
most
Conspicuous
Design
,
other
Vseful
and
Excellent
Ends
are
pursu'd
in
this
Poem
:
One
of
which
is
to
enlarge
and
raise
our
Conceptions
of
the
Divine
Being
,
to
give
us
worthy
and
honourable
Thoughts
of
his
Infinite
Perfections
,
and
form
in
our
Minds
a
sutable
Idea
of
his
Greatness
.
The
Representations
of
God's
Transcendent
Excellencies
,
of
his
Independent
,
Sovereign
and
Irresistible
Power
,
as
well
as
of
his
Purity
,
Wisdom
,
Justice
and
Beneficence
,
are
in
many
Parts
of
this
Book
so
noble
,
so
lively
and
admirable
,
that
they
are
very
capable
of
leaving
in
our
Thoughts
very
deep
and
lasting
Impressions
:
And
to
give
us
right
and
just
Conceptions
of
the
Divine
Nature
,
on
which
our
Notions
of
Religion
,
the
Conduct
of
our
Lives
,
our
Honour
and
our
Happiness
depend
,
is
to
do
one
of
the
greatest
Services
that
can
be
done
to
Mankind
.
Another
great
End
is
to
set
before
us
for
our
Imitation
an
Illustrious
Example
of
Piety
,
and
all
kinds
of
Vertue
,
in
the
most
contrary
Circumstances
of
Life
that
can
be
,
the
most
Flourishing
,
and
the
most
Miserable
.
And
this
is
done
in
the
Character
of
Job
:
While
he
possess'd
a
greater
Substance
than
any
Man
in
the
Country
where
he
liv'd
,
and
was
blest
with
a
compleat
Collection
of
all
those
Enjoyments
,
that
are
suppos'd
to
make
a
Man
happy
in
this
World
,
he
maintain'd
his
Religion
and
Integrity
inviolable
,
he
was
no
less
eminent
for
his
Piety
,
than
for
his
Power
and
Abundance
.
He
strictly
preserv'd
his
Moderation
and
Humility
,
his
Temperance
and
Justice
,
his
Continence
,
his
Compassion
,
and
his
great
Love
to
Mankind
;
as
appears
by
the
first
,
and
Thirty
first
Chapters
of
this
Book
.
And
when
by
a
strange
and
surprizing
Revolution
the
Scene
was
chang'd
,
and
this
Righteous
Person
being
depriv'd
of
his
Children
and
Possessions
,
and
afflicted
with
grievous
Pain
and
Sickness
,
became
the
most
wretched
and
unhappy
Man
that
can
be
imagin'd
,
he
then
by
the
Exercise
of
other
rare
Vertues
,
maintains
as
great
a
Character
in
his
Sufferings
:
He
shows
an
admirable
Instance
of
Patience
and
Resignation
,
of
Constancy
and
Perseverance
,
holds
fast
his
Religion
,
and
still
expresses
his
unalterable
Dependence
on
his
God
.
In
short
,
his
Mind
was
neither
elated
,
nor
soften'd
by
the
greatest
Prosperity
,
nor
sowr'd
or
broken
by
the
greatest
Adversity
.
'T
is
true
indeed
that
he
vented
several
passionate
,
rash
,
and
unbecoming
Expressions
;
but
when
we
consider
the
Anguish
of
his
Soul
under
such
prodigious
Sufferings
,
the
profane
Provocations
of
his
Wife
,
the
exasperating
Reproaches
of
his
mistaken
Friends
,
who
after
all
his
heavy
Losses
would
have
robb'd
him
too
of
his
Integrity
,
it
will
not
be
hard
to
excuse
those
Expressions
:
And
no
more
can
be
concluded
from
them
than
this
,
that
tho'
he
was
an
Excellent
,
he
was
not
a
Faultless
Man
.
Moses
,
who
was
honour'd
with
the
Character
of
the
meekest
Man
on
Earth
,
did
on
some
provoking
Occasions
lose
his
Temper
;
and
Job
may
be
allow'd
to
be
the
most
patient
Person
in
the
World
,
tho'
in
such
Streights
and
Distress
,
and
urg'd
with
such
Provocations
,
some
impatient
Speeches
might
be
extorted
from
him
.
I
cannot
but
observe
in
this
place
,
that
Job
a
Person
of
such
Piety
,
and
so
many
rare
and
admirable
Vertues
,
had
no
Advantages
from
the
Divine
Revelations
made
to
Moses
and
the
Jewish
Prophets
.
He
was
a
Stranger
to
their
Law
and
their
System
of
Religion
.
The
Light
that
directed
him
must
be
only
that
of
Natural
Reason
and
Conscience
,
assisted
by
some
Oral
Traditions
from
Adam
and
Noah
,
and
by
what
God
was
pleas'd
sometimes
to
communicate
by
Dreams
and
Visions
in
those
darker
Ages
of
the
World
.
By
this
it
appears
,
that
great
Advances
may
be
made
in
Vertue
by
a
diligent
attendance
to
the
Dictates
of
our
Natural
Light
.
Would
Men
but
improve
their
Reason
,
reverence
their
Consciences
,
and
stand
in
awe
of
themselves
,
they
would
become
Worshippers
of
God
,
as
well
as
Sober
and
Righteous
in
an
eminent
degree
.
I
refer
this
to
the
Consideration
of
those
Gentlemen
that
do
not
acknowledge
the
Divine
Authority
,
either
of
the
Mosaick
,
or
of
the
Christian
Institution
.
Another
●nd
,
and
a
very
useful
one
too
,
is
by
the
Example
of
Job
to
con●ince
the
Reader
of
the
Instability
of
a
prosperous
Condition
,
and
the
great
Vicissitude
of
Humane
Affairs
,
whereby
his
Mind
may
be
dispos'd
to
Moderation
,
Humility
,
Temperance
,
Compassion
and
Charity
,
and
preserved
from
that
Pride
and
Contempt
of
others
,
from
that
arrogant
,
cruel
and
haughty
Temper
,
which
great
Riches
and
high
Stations
are
too
apt
to
produce
,
especially
in
Men
of
a
mean
and
low
Spirit
.
I
have
not
attempted
a
close
Translation
of
this
Sacred
Book
,
but
a
Paraphrase
.
For
the
Original
being
written
in
an
Eastern
Language
,
their
Manner
and
Turns
of
Expression
are
,
as
before-mention'd
,
so
very
different
from
ours
,
that
I
thought
a
Paraphrase
more
proper
and
advantageous
for
a
Modern
European
Language
.
But
as
I
judg'd
it
would
not
bear
a
strict
Translation
,
so
on
the
other
hand
I
have
endeavour'd
,
that
the
Paraphrase
should
not
be
too
loose
and
wide
,
but
that
the
Reader
may
all
along
carry
with
him
the
Sense
of
the
Original
.
I
have
often
diffus'd
the
Sense
in
other
Expression
.
I
have
amplify'd
the
Text
in
many
Places
that
appear'd
more
Poetical
,
and
from
General
Heads
I
have
descended
sometimes
to
Particulars
,
the
Enumeration
of
which
,
I
believ'd
,
would
illustrate
and
enliven
the
Original
.
I
have
avoided
the
immediate
Repetition
of
the
same
Thought
in
Words
little
different
from
the
first
,
which
is
so
very
common
in
this
Book
,
as
well
as
in
that
of
the
Psalms
,
and
other
Poetical
Places
of
the
Scripture
.
For
tho'
this
was
no
doubt
accounted
in
the
Eastern
Countries
at
that
time
a
great
Beauty
and
Ornament
to
the
Writing
,
yet
we
have
quite
another
Taste
of
Eloquence
,
and
therefore
I
have
thought
it
best
to
accommodate
that
Matter
to
the
Modern
way
of
Writing
.
The
Method
of
Writing
in
the
Eastern
Countries
is
what
the
Europeans
think
irregular
;
the
same
Matter
treated
on
before
frequently
recurs
,
and
the
Connexion
is
sometimes
broken
,
and
often
obscure
.
The
Transitions
are
sometimes
neglected
,
and
a
new
Subject
enter'd
upon
without
the
preparation
for
it
which
we
expect
should
be
made
.
We
censure
these
Modes
and
Customs
in
Writings
as
defects
,
and
no
doubt
they
would
censure
ours
as
much
.
I
would
not
peremptorily
condemn
their
Taste
,
for
the
Opinion
of
Beauty
and
Ornament
seems
not
to
be
capable
of
being
determin'd
by
any
fixt
and
unalterable
Rule
.
Truth
and
good
Sense
are
setled
upon
Eternal
and
unchangeable
Grounds
and
Reasons
;
but
the
manner
of
Expression
,
and
the
method
of
conveying
them
,
and
what
concerns
the
Dress
,
the
Pomp
and
Ornament
of
them
,
these
are
perhaps
indifferent
Ceremonies
,
and
every
Nation
may
have
Authority
to
establish
which
they
please
.
'T
is
plain
the
Eastern
World
have
not
the
same
Apprehensions
of
Beauty
and
Ornament
that
we
have
:
They
believe
there
is
a
great
Beauty
in
the
neglect
of
what
we
call
Order
and
Regularity
,
as
is
evident
in
their
Gardens
and
Buildings
.
What
we
censure
as
careless
,
wild
and
extravagant
,
strikes
them
with
more
Admiration
,
and
gives
them
greater
Pleasure
,
than
all
our
elaborate
and
orderly
Contrivances
.
All
that
can
be
said
is
,
that
our
Tasts
are
different
,
and
if
they
are
barbarous
to
us
,
we
are
so
to
them
,
some
of
which
especially
the
Chinese
are
,
or
at
least
have
been
very
Wise
and
Polite
Nations
.
We
in
this
part
of
the
World
are
all
so
full
of
Homer
and
Virgil
,
and
are
so
bigotted
to
the
Greek
and
Latin
Sects
,
that
we
are
ready
to
account
all
Authors
Heretical
that
are
without
the
Pale
of
the
Classicks
.
This
seems
to
me
to
be
a
narrow
Sectarian
Spirit
,
that
prompts
Men
to
impose
their
Fancies
and
Opinions
on
all
the
World
besides
.
Whatever
high
Opinion
we
have
of
our
own
Attainments
,
we
should
have
that
Temper
and
Moderation
,
that
might
preserve
a
due
regard
for
the
Wisdom
and
Judgment
of
other
Nations
;
and
not
with
the
haughty
Air
of
a
Supercilious
Critick
,
censure
and
condemn
every
thing
that
deviates
from
the
Examples
of
the
Greek
and
Latin
Authors
.
I
have
therefore
in
this
Paraphrase
proceeded
all
along
from
Chapter
to
Chapter
,
and
Verse
to
Verse
,
in
the
Order
they
are
set
down
,
excepting
some
very
few
inconsiderable
Transpositions
:
So
that
I
have
by
no
means
alter'd
the
Method
and
Order
of
the
Narration
,
or
any
way
chang'd
the
Model
.
And
't
will
be
hard
to
give
a
Reason
why
the
Author
of
this
Book
has
not
as
great
a
Right
to
be
made
the
Standard
whereby
to
try
Homer
and
Virgil
,
as
those
two
Authors
have
to
bring
this
to
their
Tribunal
.
If
the
Knowledge
of
the
Hebrew
Language
had
been
look'd
on
in
Europe
to
have
been
as
necessary
as
the
Greek
and
Latin
;
had
it
been
as
great
an
Honour
and
Accomplishment
for
a
Man
to
understand
the
first
as
the
last
;
and
had
there
been
as
great
a
variety
of
Authors
of
all
sorts
of
Learning
left
in
the
Language
,
that
there
might
have
been
an
equal
Inducement
to
have
study'd
and
taught
it
universally
in
the
Schools
,
I
say
had
this
been
,
the
Grammarians
and
Criticks
might
perhaps
have
●ixt
on
this
as
the
best
Model
of
Poetical
Writings
,
and
have
drawn
their
Rules
and
Remarks
from
the
Example
they
found
here
:
For
't
is
plain
all
their
Precepts
are
founded
on
Examples
,
and
on
those
Examples
with
which
they
were
most
conversant
,
and
in
such
Languages
as
were
most
in
vogue
,
and
which
most
of
them
were
oblig'd
to
profess
and
teach
.
I
have
indeed
supply'd
in
some
Places
the
Transitions
and
other
Connexions
,
which
according
to
their
manner
of
Writing
are
omitted
in
the
Original
,
that
the
Reader
of
the
Paraphrase
,
who
is
unaccustomed
to
that
way
,
may
not
be
embarrass'd
or
interrupted
.
There
are
many
hard
and
obscure
Places
,
about
the
meaning
of
which
I
have
consulted
the
ablest
and
most
famous
Writers
,
and
have
taken
that
Sense
which
I
look'd
on
as
most
natural
,
and
supported
by
the
best
Reasons
:
And
in
this
I
have
chiefly
been
obliged
to
the
Excellent
Paraphrase
of
the
Learned
Bishop
of
Ely
,
and
the
Collection
of
the
Critici
.
I
have
added
a
Paraphrase
upon
several
other
Poetical
Parts
of
the
Bible
;
which
,
in
my
Opinion
,
are
nobler
Examples
of
the
true
sublime
Stile
,
than
any
can
be
sound
in
the
Pagan
Writers
.
The
Images
are
so
strong
,
the
Thoughts
so
great
,
the
Expressions
so
divine
,
and
the
Figures
so
admirable
,
bold
and
moving
,
that
the
wonderful
manner
of
these
Writers
is
quite
inimitable
.
One
thing
I
must
advertise
the
Reader
of
,
that
in
the
Prophets
't
is
common
with
them
,
that
they
may
represent
the
Certainty
of
their
Predictions
with
the
greater
Advantage
,
to
use
the
past
for
the
future
Tense
,
that
is
,
to
speak
of
Things
to
come
,
as
already
done
;
so
that
their
Prophecies
often
seem
Historical
Narrations
of
Matters
already
transacted
:
Therefore
the
Reader
is
not
to
be
surpriz'd
,
when
in
the
second
Song
of
Moses
he
finds
that
great
Prophet
speaking
of
what
befel
the
Children
of
Israel
in
Canaan
,
as
things
past
in
his
own
Time
,
which
did
not
happen
till
long
after
his
Death
.
I
am
of
Mr.
Cowley's
Judgment
,
who
in
his
Preface
declares
that
there
are
no
more
noble
Subjects
of
Poetry
to
be
found
than
those
the
Scriptures
furnish
us
withal
,
and
therefore
I
have
made
this
Attempt
.
'T
is
true
,
Mr.
Sandys
,
a
Gentleman
of
great
Merit
,
has
done
this
before
;
but
that
I
did
not
know
till
after
I
had
begun
this
Work
,
and
made
some
Progress
in
it
;
and
when
I
had
perus'd
part
of
his
Paraphrase
,
I
thought
I
might
be
able
to
supply
some
Defects
,
especially
in
relation
to
Perspicuity
and
Coherence
.
As
to
the
Leviathan
and
Behemoth
,
mention'd
in
the
latter
Part
of
this
Book
,
I
have
appropriated
the
Character
of
the
first
to
the
Crocodile
,
and
of
the
last
to
the
Elephant
.
I
believe
the
Marks
enumerated
by
the
Learned
Bochart
,
do
justly
determine
the
Description
of
the
Leviathan
to
the
Crocodile
;
but
I
can't
see
any
necessity
from
what
he
urges
,
to
conclude
Behemoth
to
be
the
Hippopotamus
,
or
River-Horse
.
The
Character
given
in
Job
is
,
in
my
Opinion
,
more
sutable
to
the
Elephant
.
The
Reasons
alledg'd
on
both
sides
may
be
seen
in
the
Critici
before-cited
;
and
whether
the
one
or
the
other
be
true
,
is
not
a
Matter
of
that
Importance
as
should
oblige
me
to
transcribe
the
Arguments
in
this
Place
.
Perswaded
by
the
Reasons
of
some
Learned
Commentators
,
I
have
taken
the
Unicorn
for
the
Uri
or
wild
Bull
,
and
not
the
Oryx
,
or
wild
Goat
,
according
to
Boshart
,
or
the
Rhinoceros
,
according
to
others
.
I
impose
not
my
Opinion
on
others
:
These
are
Matters
of
small
Moment
,
and
every
Man
is
at
liberty
to
think
as
he
pleases
.