THE ] [BRARY THE UNIVERSITY OF CAL :FORNIA LOSANGE ES THE SACRED CLASSICS DEFENDED and ILLUSTRATED: O R, An E S S A Y Humbly offcr'd towards proving the Purity, Propriety, and true Eloquence Of the WRITERS of the NEW TESTAMENT In TWO PARTS. In the FIRST of which Thole Dr< INL WRITERS arc vindicated jgainit the Charge of barbarous LANGUAGE, falfe GREEK, and SOLECISMS. In the S E e o N D i s {hewn, That all the Excellencies of STYLE, and fublime Beauties of LA N G u A G E and genuine E LO QJJ E N c E do abound in the Sacred WRITERS of the NEW TESTAMENT. WITH In Account of their STYLE and CHARACTER, and a Repre fentation of their Superiority, in feveral Inftances, to the beft CLASSICS of GREECE and ROME. To which are fubjom'd proper INDEXES. By A. BLACKBALL, M. A. ~ LONDON: Printed \>yJ.Bettenhaix, For C. R i v i N G T o N , at the Bible and Crtnvn in Sr. Paul's Churchyard, and W. CANTRELL Bookfeller in Derby. M,DCC, XXV. The S A C R E D CLASSICS Defended and Illuftrated : O R, An ESSAY in Two Parts towards proving the Purity, Propriety, and true Eloquence of the Writers of the NEW TESTAMENT. In which thofe Divine Writers are vindicated againft the Charge of barbarous Language , falte Greek, and Solecifms. LONDON: Printed in the Year M^DCQXXV. THE PREFACE. N refpect to the fubject it felf which I treat of, lean- not pretend to prefent my reader with a difcourfe en- tirely new: but if the copioufnefs and choice of my materials, with the manner and method of my managing and difpofmg of them be confiderM, it may appear that there is fomething new in this EfFay. I have read the beft and moft au- thentic Greek writers, with a view of comparing them with the divine wri- ters of the new Teftament ; by w r hich I have been enabled to prove the pu- rity 8 i ,v PREFACE. rity and elegance of numerous paf- fages ? which for feveral ages have by eminent fcholars been condemned for folecifms. Many learned and good men, whofe fentiments may not entirely agree with mine in the Firft Part, will, I believe, allow me to be right in the Second; and in general ac- knowledge the fublime eloquence and noble beauties of the infpirM writers; only charge me, which I humbly ac- knowledge, with a very imperfedt re- prefentation of them. I have done my poor endeavours; and have per- haps, by opening the way, done fer- vice to the publick, by giving the hint to fome greater and more able genius, who is qualify \1 to do more juftice to this glorious Jubjeft. With modeft fcholars and Chriftians the honefty of my intention and the diligence of my labours will pkad for favour- PREFACE. favourable abatements. If any fetch worthy perfon lhall think it proper to correcStanyot my miftakes in public, it will not be by way of haughtinefs and infult, but charitable advertifement and inftru&ion ; and tho' I may have oppofers I ihall have no enemies; nor lhall I exprefs any refentment, but return my grateful acknowledgments. Thro' my whole EfTay, I hope none can charge me with ill manners, or want of fidelity in my quotations and reprefentation of things. Thofe doc- trines of heavenly charity and eternal truth condemn all fpigbt, envy, and ill manners, and the effects of fuch vile qualities, fcurrilous language and railing, anddifdain ; and are infinitely above all equivocation and forry ileights of worldly cunning; and what fome foften with the term of pious, but, in plain terms, are im- pious frauds, On PR E FA C K On the other hand, if any of thofe unhappy wits, who undervalue and de- fpife the language of the facred writers, becaufe they don't underftand it, or hate and are afraid of the doctrines it expreffes, lhall attack me in a hoftile manner, as I lhall be fo far from apo- logizing for my felf, that I fhall own and glory in fome parts of their charge: fo if any thing lhall be thought material, and to have the ap- pearance of a rational objection, I fliall endeavour to vindicate my labours upon the facred and moft admirable writers of the new Teftament, which unworthy, tho' well-meant labours I humbly fubmit to the judgment, and recommend to the acceptance and pa- tronage of the pious and intelligent reader. A. BLACK WALL. THE SACRED CLASSICS Defended and Illuftrated. PART i. CHAP. I. By 'way of Introduction, wherein an account is giv- en of the Hebraifrns of the new Teftament; fe*ve- ral mijtakes of antient and modern critics and grammarians upon this head are difwverd ^ the peculiarities of the facred writers, and the f re- tended barlarifms or foreign words and phrafes are defended) Toy Jhewing that the fame liberties are taken ly the loefl and mojl accurate Greek authors. I k are (b far from denying that there are Helraifms in the new Teftament,, that we efteem it a great advantage and beauty to that facred book that it abounds with them. The old Teftament is the rich treafury of all the fublimity of thought, moving tendernefs of B palTion, ^ "The SACRED CLASSICS paflion, and vigorous ftrcngch of expreiTion, which are to be found in all the language by which mortals declare their minds. The Hebrew is an original and eflential Ian- c^ guage; that borrows of none, but lends to all. Some of the fharpefr, pagan writers, inveterate enemies to the religion and learning of both .Jews and Chriftians, have allowed the Hebrew tongue to have a noble emphafis, and a clofe and beautiful brevity 3 . The metaphors in that admirable book are appofite and lively ; they il- Juftrate the truths exprefled by them, and raife the admiration of the reader. The names of men, animals, &c. are very fignificant. One word is often a good description, and gives you a fatisfactory account of the chief and diftinguifh- mg property or quality of the thing or perfbn nam'd. It would be no difficult matter for a man of ^diligence and good tafte, competently skill'd in the Hebrew and claffical learning, to prove that the Hebrew Bible has every beauty and excellence that can be found in all the Greek and Roman au- a lamblichus apud Flac. Illyric. de ftylo SS. I.iterarum, Traft. f. p. 45*2.. Prasftantia novi Teftamcnti non minuitur, i\ dicamusl illud Hebraifmis (catere, Leufden, Philol. Heb, . Spicikg. PhiloL c, 40 p. 45 5. chors 3 Defended and llluflr cited. 3 thors , and a great many more and ftronger than any in all the molt admir'd daffies. Was ever hiftory related with fiich neat plain - nefs, fuch natural eloquence, and fuch a choice variety of circumftances, equally probable and moving, as the hiftory of the antediluvian Patri- archs 5 of Abraham and his defendants; and particularly ofjofefh and his brethren? Theocri- tus and Virgil come nothing: near to thofe lively o O ' defcriptions, thofe proper and fwect companions, that native delicacy of turn, and undiiTembled fervency of paffion, which reign in Solomon s divine paftoral. The prevailing pailion in fiich poems is defcribed above the imitation of art, and the reach and genius of all other authors b . The \Vife Man's Proverbs and Ecclefiaftes contain a {elect variety of precepts of good and happy life, derived from their true principles, by a flrong genius and very elevated capacity, improv'd by a thorow knowledge of mankind, and a long courfe of experience. They have fuch a foperiority in their fenfe and agreeable manner of expreffion, that any critic would wonderfully hazard his re- putation, who Ihou'd, with Julian the Apoftate, prcfume to bring them into any comparifon with b _Dr. Fiddes's Theologia Pra&ica, B i the 4 The SACRED CLASSICS the dry precepts of Theognh, or the affected turns and fprucenefs of the morals of Ifocrates. The laws and commandments of the molt high God are deliver'd in grave and awful terms > and if compar'd either with the Attic or Roman Laws,, it will immediately appear, that the firlt as much excel the laft in force and (bftnefs of expreffion, as they do in the wifdom of their confKtution, and their fare tendency to pro- mote the fmcere piety and happmefs of man- kind. The longs of Mofes and Deborah, and the Pfalms, that moil precious treafury of devotion and heavenly poetry, raife the foul to the highelt heavens j and are infinitely more marvelous and transporting than the noblelt and moil happy flights of Pindar and Horace. There is nothing in all the tragedians, not in Euripides himfelf, io maiterly in his mourning ftrokes, that is equally moving and tender with the Lamentations of the Prophet Jeremy. Oh ! that my head were waters, and mine eyes a fountain of tears 3 that I might weep day and night C J all ye that fafs bj, behold and fee, if there be any for row like mine d . The com- plainant is fb very miferable, that he has no friend or comforter left to open his grief toj he is r - Jcr. ix. i, a Lamen. i, n, forc'd Defended and Illuflrated. j forc'd to implore the pity of ftrangers and pafTen- 2;ers j and then his diitrefs is fo great and vifible, that he needs no words to raifc compaffion : he only deilres them to look upon his diftreffed Hate., and then judge whether any forrow cou'd be equal to his. 'Tis a piece of fuperlative beauty, and in one thought comprifes all the elo- quence of mourning. " Did we ever find, fays the eloquent Dr. South, (C {brrow flowing forth <c in fuch a natural prevailing pathos, as in the cc Lamentations of Jeremy? One would think <c that every letter was wrote with a tear 5 every cc word was the noife of a breaking heart ^ that cf the author was a man compacted of fbrrows, fc difciplin'd to grief from his infancy, one who <c never breath'd but in fighs, nor (poke but in a cc groan 6 ." Where did majefty ride in more fplendor than in thofe defcnptions of the divine power in Job? chap, xxxviii, xxxix, xl. Can any prejudice fo far biafs any man of com- mon underftanding (tho'ever (o much an enemy to his own pleafure and improvement,, by having a low opinion of the (acred writers] as to make it a queition with him whether Jolfs natural hiftory, his clefcription of the oftrichj the eagle, vultur, Behemoth, Leviathan, &c. do not very much excel c Scrm. Vol. IV, p. 31. 3 d 6 The SACRED CLASSICS Arijlotle, Pliny, and Elian , as well in the elo- quence and grandeur of the language, as in the truth of the philofophy? The Greek and Latin posts have happily exerted their talents in draw- 'ing a fine horfe, and yet no wonder that they all yield fo much to the horfe in Job ; fince the Almighty and infinite mind, who created that no- ble and uieful creature, has graciouily condefcend- ed to entertain us with a perfect: and moil tranC- porting defcription of one of the chief pieces of his own workmanfhip in the animal crea- tion f . One might with pleafure enlarge upon numerous instances of the fublimity and admirable beauties of the old Teftament, which are above imitation, and defy criticifin and cenfure. But I proceed to name a few out of many vigorous Helralfms In the new Teftament. To do things acceptable to God is common language. To do things accept- able before, or in the prefence of God, is zHelra- ifm : but does it not enlarge the thought, and en- liven and invigorate the expreffion ? And is it any breach of the rationale of grammar, or does it any ways trefpaft upon concord or government? It places every ferious reader under the inrpeftion and all-feeing eye of the mod Higheft 5 and f Job xxxix. 3 therefore Defended and llluflrated. 7 therefore is apt to infpire him with a religi- ous awe for that immenfe and adorable Pre- fence. That God Almighty hears prayers is an exprefli- on common to all writers. That prayers afcend up to heaven as a fweet-fmelling favour to God, is an Hebrew form of fpeech not of left vi gour, propriety, or agreeablenefs. 'Tis a beautiful allufion to the odors and fra- grancies of facrifice and incenfe afcending into the skies ; grateful to God Almighty as his own ap- pointment ; and a proper expreffion of the duty and obedience of his pious worihippers g . In the Aff s of the Apoftles the prayers and almfdeeds of the devout Cornelius are faid to be afcended as a memorial before God ; that is, as an accept* able facrifice V for in Leviticus the offering of in- cenfe is call'd a memorial 11 . St. Paul calls God to witnefs that he vehemently loves the Philippians in the bowels of Jefus Chnft, that is with the moft afFedionate tendernefs and Chriitian charity, But could any words in any language reprefem that love and goodnefs with fuch energy and power as thefe, which affecl: both foul and body, and pierce into our inmoft conftitution, which raife the tenderefl fentiments of human nature^ E Pfal. cxli. z. Ads x. 4, J1 Levir. ii. i. and 8 The SACRED CLASSICS and heighten them by the ftrongeft and moil (acred endearments of Chriitianity. But 'tis in vain to bellow words upon any perfbn to convince him of the excellence of this divine paflage, who does not feel the force and pathos of it 1 . There are a great many ways of expreffion which are originally Hetrazfms, but have been transplanted into the Greek by the bed authors ; and are now proper and genuine phrafes in the Greek tongue \ tho' that be railily deny'd by ieve- ral grammarians and commentators. . 2. There was in the laft century a Eimotis conteft between Pfochenius and our countryman Gataker. The firft affirm'd that there were no Hebraifms at all in the Greek of the new Tefta- ment. But 'twas impoffible he fhould have iiic- cefs in that attempt. Indeed in his book he proves fbme paflages,, which had been thought by many to be peculiar to the Hebrew language, to be good Greek too : but he is generally too for- ward and afliiming j and produces many of his authorities out of low writers,, which can have no rank among the genuine Clailics. Gataker runs into the contrary extreme, and denies the 1 Philip, i. 8. Gen. xliii. $o. Efa. ixiii. if. purity Defended and llluflrated. 9 purity of feveral expreflions in the new Tefta-r ment, tho' they be found in the firft-rate Greek authors, becaufe they are likewife ufed in the He- brew Bible. Which feems to me very humour* fbm and unreafbnablej becaufe different lan- guages in many inftances agree in phrafeologyand common ways of fpeaking; and a form of fpeech in any language, which agrees with the Hebrew, is fb far from defer ving to be rejected for that reafbn, that 'tis more authentic and valuable, as agreeing with that facred and original lan- guage. This learned man will not grant that the no- bleft and beft poets do eftablifh any idiom -, and fays no phrafe can be prov'd to be pure Greek, only becaufe it is found in poets, tho' they be the moft celebrated for purity : which is an affir- mation that tends to render {bme of the nobleft productions of human wit of little fervice j and fbme of the greateft mafters barbarians in their own language. There are indeed fbme peculi- arities in the poets, fbme liberties in ranging their words, and fome words which profc - writers fcarce ever ufe. But the greateft part of the phrafes and figures of language are common to the poets and profe-writers. The plaineft andpureft. of the profe authors in fome places are as dar- ing in ftronc; metaphors and his;h flights, as the o or o D j C lofrieft - i o The SACRED CLASSICS loftieft poets them (elves. Herodotus, Thucidider, Plato, and Xenophon, a very familiar and eafy writer., fometimes have as high expreffions, and as much going out of the vulgar way,, as any thing in the chorus of the tragedians,, or the lofty franza's of Pindar. Herodotus frequently ufes the Tmejis, fb rare in profe-writers ; and de- lights in Homers expreffions, even when moil daring. 'Av# r' sfyapov ^ fit.zscv Trafzyvy.voT 's~cc sx7r?.to<ravTeg T vox in Herodotus k , nlefzy in Plato 1 , n$7Pcd r r}Mfi&Toi, and oi KV in Xenophon, more bold and poetical than Homers fjisvex TtvtiovTsg m ^ are inflances of poetical liberties not the moft daring, which are taken by thofe profe-writers. There are vaft numbers of the fame nature, fome few of which we may have occafi- on to produce in the procedure of this work. Can any equal judge, who does not condemn thefe chief authors of Greece, be offended at that beautiful bold expreffion of 5^. Luke, W.cfa ^ dwctfisw ayTo^Qz^ftsft TW avspu, when the JJnf could no longer look the form in the face ? Qectt- k p. 4^i.l- 2.1. Her. p.p. f 1(5.1. ulr. Herod. (5. p. 33^.!. 3$-. 1 Plat. Ref. f . 372.. Ed. Maficv. m Xcn. Cyr. exp. i. p. 17. Xen. Hell^n. 7. The critics allow poetical expreflions to be prudently us'd by profe- writers. AeV 7; ^pJjVv"aj avrri TTCIIO'T^ I%a\\d.r7ti ydc ri x) ^evix/iv 'aroiet TIJV X?iv. Ariit. Rhct. 1. 3. c. 3. Defended and lUuftrated. 1 1 menius, a native Greek, and commentator on the acred writers, feems not to relifli this noble ex- prellion, but formally and coolly tells us., that the word is properly apply'd to a man only. Tis a vigorous compound word us'd by Poly- liusy and in this place is iurprizingly bold and agreeable j and the paflage is rais'd and ftrength- en'd by two lively Profopope'ias. 'Tis the obfer- vation of the great critic Demetrius Pbalerettf, that {bmething of the poetic phrafe and fpirit gives noblenefs and magnificence to a difcourfe". In- deed there always wants both fpirlt and 'pleafint- nefs in a profe-author, who is altogether inienfi- ble of the charms and graces of poetry. But when and how far to throw in the heightenings and embellifhments of poetry is not to be learnt by tumbling over fcholiafts and writers of Lexi- cons, nor railing duft in libraries $ but requires a delicate ear, a quick apprehenfion and great ftrength and foundnefs of judgment. How fmall a portion of the poetical fpirit fell to the fhare of Mr. Gataker appears from all his writings 5 particularly his tranilation of the Greek verfes he quotes into Latin. That iiiiooth line of one the politcft and iweetefV of the Greek poets ,, " Dem. Phal. in. p. 71. Theoc. Id L-+. v. 64, C 2. nz*5sw n The SACRED CLASSICS is fo heavily fetter'd, and moves fb aukwardly in this gentleman's Latin verfion, that I believe it will make a very grave man fmile. Venevam ego hue yirgp, at mulier fum jam h'mc reditura p . This digreffion, I hope, will be eafily par- don'd, becaufe the ufe and pertinence of it will appear in the procefs of this work. .3. It will now be a fit preparation to the following chapters tofhewthat not only this learn- ed man, but feveral authors, antient and modern, native Greeks, celebrated linguifts and commenta- tors, have too forwardly pronounc'd many places in the new Teftament to be mere Helraifms, Ara- lifms, &c. which are found exactly parallel to the common expreflions of the firft-rate writers of old Greece ; and have boldly affirm'd many to be falfe and barbarous, which upon examination come up to the ftandard of primitive purity, I enter upon this examination, not with the leaft intention to gratify the vanity of contradict- Gat. de ily) NT p. 131, mg Defended and llluftrated. 1 3 ing or finding fault with great men in the com- monwealth of letters, to whofe names and me- mories I fhall always pay a fincere refpect and de- ference. I only in this diiTertation humbly pro- pofe and defign to do juftice to the {acred books, and to prevent the prejudices that young fcholars may receive by the authority of fbme great men, againft the flyle of our Lord's Apoftles andEvan- gelifts, by confuting fbme vulgar errors, and wiping off fbme dirt that has been thrown upon thefe precious volumes. Therefore the nature of my work obliges me to make it appear, without difrefpect or refle&ion, that little regard is to be had to many celebrated critics on this head, who, without confidering the matter deeply, and read- ing the Claflics and divine writers with the view of carefully comparing them together, have nia- gifterially dictated to the world, that the Greek of the new Teftament is either quite a new language or a barbarous dialect prodigioufly different from the common. Many young fcholars, taking the charge of fblecifms, blemillies and barbarifms in thefe (acred authors for granted, have, to their great lofs and difadvantage, conceived an early difouft, and have either neglected to read thole ineftimable treafures of wifdom and genuine elo- quence, or have read them with- a carelefs indif- ference and want of tafte, 3 To 14 *fke SACRED CLASSICS To purfue my defign. I begin with the la- borious gentleman we nam'd firft. '!<$&)> tJbv q in "the Septuagint and the newTefta- ment writers is a vigorous repetition after theffr- ireiv dialed: ; but 'tis at the (ame time pure Greek. Lucian has it, and 'tis quoted by Pfochenius: but his adverfary fets afide Lucian 's authority ; and lays he mixes many poetical phraies in his ftyle, and insinuates this may be one. Or elfe he rather fuppofes, that that (coffing buffoon ufes it here by way of contempt and ridicule of the facred phrafe. Tho' I think there is no ground for thefe fuppofitions, let 'em pa(s. We prove the expreffion claffical by authority fupe- rior., and fuch as muft entirely filence all cavils. Xsyovrsg, and sty tsyw in Herodotus*, toiiilhucidiJes*, and PUV av airsXbov $%STO in Plato *, are the fame repetitions expreis'd in the fame manner. But sg &XMJV ctLxifiz and fieydSel' (jLeydteg* are repetitions more harfh and licentious than any I have obierved in the divine writers. UgofyyTV)$ is inftanced by Gataker, as ridicul'd by Lucian, as 9 Ads vii. 34. Exod. iii. 7. Gat de ftyl. N. T. pS. r Her. Gr. 9. fop. 1. pen. 3. 219. 1. 44. f f. 197. 1. ii. 1 Plat. Phied. p. 164. 1. 30, 31. in Divin. Dial. Cant. v Her. Gale 3. p. zof. Her Gr. i. ip. 1. n. ? if' Defended and llluftrated. ij if it was not a claffical word ; and he fays not a word to vindicate it w : but Herodotus often ufes it, and fure the authority of fuch a noble writer is enough to liipport it x . 'AP.P.2 for si y.Y] is objected againft, and thought not to be pure and claffical j but Hero- dotus puts it beyond all exception 7 . The chil- dren or ions of Ifrael for Israelites y and ions of men for men will not be allow'd by this writer to be an idiotifhi of the Greek language, nor juftify'd by Homer s fbns of the Greeks j becaufe, fays my author, Homer is a poet, and the poetical language will not eftablifh any idiom. And he farther fays that no Greek author ufes fbns of men for men. But Herodotus, whom moft of the critics aliow to be a tolerable good Greek author, fpeaks commonly in this manner, the fbns or children of the Lydians, &thiofians y lonians ftand barely for Lydians, ^Ethiopians, and lonians *. The learned man feems to reje6t cc~o awbsv 'su$ XZTU* in St. Mark as a form very rarely, if ever^ us'd by the approv'd Claflics : but expreffions ex- w Gat. p. 80. x "E-nruTa tTErsi^cjTEUV TV ttrpo^/iTCts 1 TO atriov T aragfioyT^- /.ax Her. Gr. <j. 5-43. 1. pen. So does Plato^ Alcibiad. z. ) Gar. de ftyl. N. T. 104. St. Mar. ix. 8. Herod. Gr. 7.. 410. 1, 38. ' Her. Gr. i . 10. 1. 33,. 3. 167. 1. 46. f , 303. 1. i r. St. Mar. xv. 38. 1 6 The SACRED CLASSICS actly parallel are very commonly us'd by the bed authors of Greece \ y^X? 1 Koppu rqq Yjfjisoxg ii$ CTC'T' s?zi JT/ ^taAAov hg TOT?) till that time b . Tho' it cou'd not be allow'd thztPfochenius had prov'd from Euripides, that oizog for a Family or Lineage was claffical Greek, yet the authority of Herodotus and Demojlhenes muft carry it. &SVTS- gog zTog 7/7 otxbje rz'jrr/c, he was the fecond of this family. OuAaVcroj, /c obferve laws, rites and cufioms is deny'd to be us'd by the ancient Greeks, but againft the refifllefs authority of the two foremention'd noble authors. Herodotus having ipoken of feveral, both religi- ous and civil, rites and cufioms prevailing among the Per/tans, concludes, TZVTZ pey vuv XTU (pufaiff- ffBTcti ' thefe things are thus obferv'd and praffiifed. Demojthenes tells the Athenians, that they ought to confider and weigh well what laws they enact, but, when they have made Jaws, to keep and obferve them . Xcfrafij is (aid to be us'd only of the feeding of biutes, and never of men, in the Claflics. Lambert Bos brings {everal inftances to the con- fc Xen. Hel. 7. p. 469. y r chin. adv. Ctef. p. 65. !. 2.. Oxon. Her. Gr. 1.40. 1. 16. Plat. Alcib. z. p. iyi. Ed. Hen. Sceph. c Her. Gr. i. p. f<5. 1. 6. Demofthenes adv. Mid. p. 3^0. 1. f. trar.y. Defended and Illuflrated. 1 7 trary. Plato uies it of human creatures : Bocrzoy- TOLL xpgrotZpfji.evoi ti) o%svovT$ e . Tho' it muft be acknowledged, that the men there defcribed aded below the dignity of their nature,, and the dictates of their reafon, and were totally degenerated, and deeply funk into a ftate of brutality and fbttifh- nefi. Tis in my thoughts a perverie and unrea- fonable adherence to an hypothefis once laid down, to object againft a word or phrafe in the new Teilament being pure and claflical, becaufe it is more us'd in the Hebrew or Syriac than the Greek. When a word or conftrudion is found in any good and authentic writer of old Greece* nothing but otilmacy can hinder any man from allowing it to be pure and proper. Gataker has fix'd upon an inftance very foreign to the purpofe he defign'd it for : Xs^i/ psydxyv cQofyz sx&err cxv f , where he fays there is a double Helraifm- y he rejoicd a joy, and then exceeding great : and whatever can be {aid to the contrary, he deter- mines 'em to be Helraifms or Syriafms rather than Grecifms. They were originally in the Helrew j but 'tis certain they are equally proper in Greek. Con- itrucldon parallel to %#f ^ e%sifqffzv may, I believe, e Plat. Refp. 9- p. i66. 1. if. Ed. IVhfley. f Si- Mar. ii, 10. Gat. dc itylo, p. if 8. D be i8 be found in above two hundred places in four or five of the chief authors of Greece. is not worfe Greek than s&vos psyot gu$ and A/fyv iir%i>fzl npufai in Herodotus k . Gro- titis, Pifeator, and Caflalio tell us, that the ufe of a participle for a fubftantive is a Helraijm, with- out taking any notice that 'tis common in the belt Greek and Roman authors. 'O weifsitjuv in St. Matthew is the Tempter j (b rV Xsyovrccg and rwy teyovTw are ffo Orators in Vemofthenes, and TI> TUgstvyevovTuv are iT/gj and Governors in Ifocrates 1 . A reverend commentator on u4ffj vii. 2 . with a grave air informs his reader,, that 'tis cuftomary with the Hebrews to add the word man, when it imports no more than the word to which it is annex'd. But the nicety of the obfervation had been fpoil'd, if he had added,, and 'tis cuftomary likewife in the Greek writers of the beft age and merit. 'AV^WTTW fixer i>.eT in St. Matthew is as good Greek as paur&Sjl' eivfyl in Homer j ctrfoy. cax- in Tbucidides, avtysg ai%z?xl in Demofthenes 3 $ Xcn. Cyr. Exp. z. i. n. p. 81. h Plat, de Leg. ic. p. 2.10. Csmb. ' J( chin. adv. Ctef. 41. I. 13, 14. add. k Gr. p. 180. I. 16. 171. 1. 39. Her. Gr. i. 21. 1. 59. 1 St. Mat. iv. 5. Herod. Gr. 3. 172,. 1. 39. Dem. i Olyn, 4. 1. ult. adv. Mid. 41 1. 1. 38. Defended and Illuftrated. r p *OT? in Herodotus and Xenofkon} Tully has ta0 Gladiator". Mixfu fcj iA.eydt.to in /4&r xxvi. 12,. is a H<f- Iraifm, lays the learned Grotius: but the fame form of fpeech in Thucidides fhews it to be Gra^., 7ToXtz$ y ^ pxfz<;, 5 pey d>.a<; . No form of ex preffion has been cavil I'd at more by the defamers of the ftyle of the new Teflament than the ufe of the particle ev j and particularly put before the inftrument with which any thing is done. 3 Ev <rd- {jLzri {jLa-xjzigag and sv fuzxaifx are affirm'd by al- moft all commentators to be a pure Helraifm. But as this particle is us'd much with the fame variety in other fignifications, fb peculiarly in this we find it in the purefl claflic authors. So Slat&9sifovTau sv totig X f aLV &VT&V in "fhucidides^ sv (bovctit; o^Xvrai in Ariflofhanes. So that the obfervation of the excellent Grotius on i Thejf. iv. i 8. fv TGT$ l.Qyoiq TZTOLS' By or with thefe words m St. Mat. xxii. i. Horn. 'IX. y . 170. Thuc. i. 41. I. if. Her. Gr. p. ff 1. 1. 41. Xen. Cyr. Exp. i. 6. i. p. 41. 1. i. n Tullii Ep. ad Fam. n. 2.1. 1. i. Thucid. 4. p. 2.77, Arifloph. Aves. v. TOTI.. i ThefT. iv. iS. Horn. 'IX. rt. Xern 8.7. i. 519. Weils. St. Mar. vi. 7. Xen. Cyrop. i. ;. 14. p. 16. Oxon. Grcc. sv c^oXw. St. Mark xiv. i. ouxsv <//'K, unjuflly, PLit. Eutbyphron. p. 6. 1. i. Plato has Iv iu^r,pioTaTOjf ovojua^rtv ovo/wta'^?iv, to call 'cm by the moft favourable names, z Alcibiad, p. 140. Edit. Hen, Steph. D ^ comfort 20 Tloe SACRED CLASSICS comfort one another, is vain : ly, fays he upon the place, is added after the Hebrew manner: the purer Greeks exprefs the inftrumental caufe by the dative alone. Homer has ~h oGSahuofou i'fauzu i i j I v xflowioig crwtASioig* by fans from heaven* is in Xe- ' J J o J nophon. 'Ev Tcolvto'yt'K, for their much fpeaking, in St. Matthew, is exactly parallel'd by that pat- lage in Xenophon sv TXTU ps STtaiffsv o S^defnoc^o^ for this my matter ftrttck me. St. Mark has -h <J&w, j /// deceitfully or by treachery: Plato's sv $ixrj y jujlly, exactly parallels it. Pifcator, on Revel, xviii. z. affirms that sv fo%vt is put for Ivvveug by a He- 3 T 1 ' ^ ' ' ' ' irS I- vraijm'i but f/ ^t^ TrftgecrovTai sv Ta%si in Tbuctaz- des proves it pure Greek p . The excellent Grotius, on St. Mat . v. 1 1 . af- fures his reader that the dative cafe there cannot be laid of the perfbns who fpoke, but muft mean the perfbns fpoken to. However that place may be tranflated, 'tis certain from Ihucidides that his aflertion is rafh and wrong, ug $ ToT$ 7rz?.zio'i TTOI- ijraTg $e$tf?wrau } as it has been declared by the anti tnt poets q . The great Cafaulon, who had a good notion of the purity and propriety of the new Tefta- mcnt Greek, and has illuftrated many paffages by parallel claffical expreffions, fbmetimes too unad- P Thucid, 4, p, 177, 'i Thucid. i. p. ]. y. vifedly Defended and IttuftratecF. ^ ! vifedly pronounces thofe to be mere Helraifms which are {band Grecifms , and prov'd fb by the beft authors. MeSveiv, fays this learned critic,, on St. John ii. i o. according to the ufage of the Hebrew, does not fignify here to le drunk > but only chearful drinking within the bounds of tempe- rance. It fignifies the fame in the Grecian Claf- fics. Herodotus of the Perjians fays, that when they have drank chearfully and freely, then they debate about the mofl ferious and important affairs. The word is ^S^VO-KO^SVO^ whicn often i expreffes the debauchery and crime of drunkennefs, but muft here be limited to an allowable indul- gence*. The fame judicious fcholar is miftakeir when he charges St. Luke with want of purity in chap. iv. 3 . of the AHs. He will not allow r/?- Yi<ng to be a claflical Greek word for a prifon$ and unwarily fays, thofe who fpeak Greek with more purity wou'd have us'd -tyvteyw. \Thu- cidides be an author of pure Greek this cenfure is wrongs if not, this controveriy is at an end. He has a<rQaterdTiqv TY^YPW, the fecurejl hold or- of confinement for pr if oner s f . 'Twasbecaufe that univerfal and judicious fcho- lar Dr. Hickes run in with the prejudicate opini- on of feveral eminent men upon this fubject, r Her. Gr. i, f<5. 1. 7. f Thuc. 7. .i5f . 1. 14, ^^ and had not himfelf compar'd the foreign and fa- cred writers together, that he affirms noteu to be Helleniftical or Hebraijing Greek, when it fignifies to perform divine rites, to celebrate a fejlival, or offer facrifice. Which muft in his opinion im- ply that it is not pure and claflical Greek, or elfe the aflertion wou'd be entirely vain and infignifi- cantj becaufe every body knows 'tis frequently (b us'd by the Greek tranflators of the old Teftament, and the divine authors of the new; who often u{e their words and phrafeology s . But the moft approv'd and noble writers of Greece commonly ufe the very fame expreflion. We have woLrja-avrsg ioa in Herodotus \ xxroi yw 77ofy<rs fjLvg-rjtiz, he celebrated myjlerious rites, in Xenopbon v , &UVLM eicoiyffocro ry 'Afrspfo, be offered facrifice to Diana, mThucidides $ to which add that of Herodotus, avsv yaf Sr] pdyx ov <rtyi vopog ezl Svcriag 7rcLo-$xi* , 'tis not lawful for them to offer facrifice without one of tbe magicians. Thefe mflances may ferve to give young fcho- lars caution not to take things upon truftj nor to be too much influenced by the plaufible s Dr. Hickes's colleflion of controverfial letters, preface, p. 77. St. Mat. xxvi. 1 8. Deut. xvi. i. c Her. Gr. 9. fi6. 1. 18. y Hcllen. i. p. 30. w Thuc. 8. j-zp.l. pen. * Her. Gr. i. 5-5-. ]. 27. conjectures Defended and llfoftrated. 22 conjectures and confident affirmations of gram- marians and critics. . 4. I now proceed to {hew in different in- fiances that great miftakes have been made by antient and modern writers., when they have magifterially determined what is not Attic Greek or good Greek in general. And I think that fbme captious critics never fb remarkably blun- der, as when they attack the propriety and pu- rity of the Greek Teftament, and prefumptuoufly charge the Amanuenfes of the divine fpirit with {blecifms, and breaches of the reafon and analo- gy of grammar 7 . PhrynichuS) a native Greek, and profeflbr of criticifm,, declares y^vu bvgav to be barbarous Greek) and, with a dicl:atorian air, requires xoVJw S-Jfay to be put in place of it: which wou'd fall hard upon St. Matthew, St. Luke, and St. John, who all ufe this phrafe: but they are as iafe as the pure and polite Xenofbon himfelf, who has it in his banquet Qifavnos oe o yeXuTc- r.cwq Kgxffas rr/v BvfotV'liTrs TW ^T^xyV^>ri z . The Emperor Julian ridicules eteqpoffvw, as us'd by our >' FacefTimt illi, qui ftylum noviTeftamenti non fatis Grx- cum cfTe (eti;im qui fibi aliifque maxime vigilnrc videbantur) fomniabant. Pufor. Grrec. Grarn. Sac. p. '* I/acian. Solecift. p. 7-5*8 . n. i. 5 divine SACRED CLASSICS divine authors for alms and fruits of charity to the poor 5 when Callimacbus, a very elegant and po- lite author of his own religion, ufes it for mercy and goodnefs. And is it either an unufual or faint trope to put a noble caufe for its genuine erfed 3 ? The Greek fophifts often contradict themfelves in their own remarks and critical obfervations. Eipe- cially Lucian^ one of the moft learned and fharp of 'em, tranfgreffes his own rules j ferioufly ufes thoie expreilions which he condemns and feoffs at in better authors, and runs into that abfurdity in one place, which he expofes in another. He affirms that (rvfyi'vopxi rivl, to be compar'd to any one, is barbarous, which wou'd fall upon St. Paul b ; but the drolling critic ferioufly ufes it in his Pa - rajlte . He fatyrically reflects on puy and r^ oq y us'd by authors far fuperior to him both in the advantage of a better age, and fir more elevated genius. Mwy is often us'd by Plato and Arifto- fhanes d . ^H^' og is almoft in every page in the divine Plato. I fliall only refer to one place, be- caufe I propofe to prove every thing that I ad- a Callim. Del. not. Spanhemii. b 2. Cor. x. ii. c Luc. Soleciti. 743. n. z. - Plat, de Log. 10. p. 104. 1. z. Camb. Seleft.Di.il. vance Defended and HhiftrateeL ij vance e . The fame faroaftical writer advances a nice diilinc"tion between vpflfy ?&& and vfigify sig TIV<X. The firft he will have to fignify the in- juring a man in his own ferfcn j the laft injuring and abufing any perfon or thing in which he has an inter eft or property, or that is dear to him, and infults and laughs at thofe who neglect his di- ftinCtion : but the ridicule returns upon the (cof- fer, and the critic confounds his own diftindion, Plutus complains of limon, Zfififa lie, si/s, $ e^s- Qoffi, he abus'd me, and threw me out of doors . There is no diltindtion between theie two ways of expreflion in the true claffic writers, 'O-j $f SMS 5 . Julius Pollux, the famous author of the Ono majlicon, boldly pronounces, that 'Ayw is not pure Attic Greek $ it muft be ' AywV xyc. But this flight obfervation is overturn'd by the ufage of two excellent Attic writers, greater judges and mafters of the purity and graces of the Greek tongue, than all the tribe of fcholiaits and rammarians j iroisTv oiymxg fixvimg xj e Plat. Apol. Soc, 6. 1. ult. Camb. { Lucian. Solccift. yfp. n. i. Timon, 81, n. 4. 8 Demoft. in Mid. 596. 1. 8. ante fin. Ibid. 405. I. & 388. I. f. 26 The SACRED CLASSICS xovs in Ariftophanes*. Thucidides has both ways of expreffion in the compafs of a few lines: *Av/iJK S7T-OLSLTO OtVTobl* Y* yjUVMOC* K^ UXCTiXOe St. Jerom, a learned and ufeful commentator, but too bold a cenfurer of the (acred writers, ftrikes St. Lz/fe thro' the Greek tranflators of the old Teftament, when he reflects on 'em for fay- ing of Abraham $ iyJJixuv dxebzvs k - y . and adds this remarkable reafbnj, becaufe a good man never fails. Yes, with refpecl to this world, he fails and finks, when his foul leaves the mortal and decay 'd body. Which is the fame expref- fion with that of the great Cyrus on his death- bed, who firmly believed a future ftate and the eternal duration of human fouls. 'A/./.2 yoL,o tf$'i C'/MTZSW poi (bzwcrai r/ '^rjy^r^ Now my foul begins to fail me > that is, is juil lea vino- this ruinous body, and going into the ftate of immor- tality^. Oecumemus brings a raik and weak charge r.- gainft St. John for the inaccuracy of liis. Greek ^ and fup.por.ts it with a reafon becoming fuch 2 criticifm j becaufe it adds ftrength to iircnqrh, and amplification to, amplification ; that is, ^be- h Plut. 1164. i ThuciJ. 3. 207. 1. i f , 2 . ; . k Sr. Luke xvi. 9. Gen. xxv. 8. 1 Xcn. Cyrop. 8, c. 7. p. 334. . antepenult. eauli Defended and llluftrated. 17 ciufe (jLetfyrefw is a more expreffive and vehe- ment word than fteifyvz, and more ftrongly repre- {cnts to the reader the intenfenefs of the Apof tie's -zeal and Chriltian charity" 1 . The propriety of the word is juftiry'd by the ufage of the beft au- thors. ThucidiJes forms xxHiursfos from xoc}.>.iu\- y as St. John does ^st^ors^og from \j.slfyv el'ds T. ' EiTS XS&JjUTSQV. BIS $iXXtOTW TXTtiV $OX& . When Homer has a mind to brand the moft profligate and worthless of mortals with the deep- eft mark of ignominy, and the utmolt feverity of contempt,, he uies this form, 'Ov yxg syu crso ^y.l '/S^OTS^J figoToy St. Paul very happily exprefles his tranfcen* dent humility and penitent forrow, for his mil- taken zeal and rage againft the name and goipel or the blefled Jefus, by forming a noble compa- rative from a Superlative ; spot TW faaworefu 7rdv~ TUV Tw'y //w!', excellently render'd in our Eriglijh translation,, to me 'who am lefs than the kajl of all faints. Grotius on the place names fbme words compounded much after the fame manner 5 but m St. John Ep. 5. . 4, n Thucid. 4. i8o.l.ult. Hom.'lx /3. 148. E 2. it iS The SACRED CLASSICS it feems to me a beauty not to be paralled in the Ckffics. Such a comprehensive word in Plato or fhucidides wou'd have been pointed out,, and ad- mir'd by interpreters and fcholiaits - y as the pro- priety and fublimity of this is juftly admir'd and eloquently celebrated by St. Chryfoftom. I fliall only here beg leave to put in two or three observations which were omitted in their proper place, and then go on to another matter. Grotius, on Rom. v. . %3Lfiv r^rr^ ev fj e&jw- JULSV, remarks, tliat the preterperfect tenie is put for the prefent after the Hebrew. He might have {aid and after the Greek manner too. Demofthenes has fVjjxs wA c.u~uy y he now Jlands Jtlewt ? . And Homer : Lucian, Suidas, Pollux, and others* affirm^ that 'tis falfe Greek to join a future tenfe of a verb to the particles rjy., cyj. But the ufage of Homer, Plato, fkucidides and Xenophon at once overthrows the groundleis fancies and arbitrary determinations P Demoft. adv. Mid. 3^8. 1, 44, 1 Horn. MX 7'. v. 131. of &e fended and Ilktftrated. 29 of a thoufand fophifts and compilers of lexi- cons \ g aeutest V ty trs Kgcc'Sfxo'i vuv ol sTriTtffeioi s . Quo- tations from the other noble authors abovemen- tioned the Reader may find in Gravius upon Lu- cian s Solecijl \ To conclude this, after Gr&vius has taken a great deal of pains in producing and examining the clashing and contradictory opinions and deter- minations of the critics,, he makes this juft re- mark; that no rule or determination of theirs is fb firmly eftablifli d but that in fome cafe it fiiils and admits exceptions v . 5 . There are, it is confefs d, feveral words* and expreffions in the new Teftament not to be found in any claflic author of Greece: becaufe Chriftianity_, tho' it agreed in the main with the r Lucian. Sophift. p. 75-8. n. i. f Horn. 'IX. X'. v. 141. 'IX u. 307. s Phu. Pho:d. in Divin.Dial. Scicft. Cantab, p. 76. 1. 7. 8. 1 P ; 7fP-. v Grsev. in Luc. Solecift. n. z. p. 75*9. Here I add an ob- fervation made by Dr. IVkitby, that Suiclas undPbavorinus fay c^s^a) is only to excoriat?, and cT'a^a) to beat) whereas cNoco is to beat at finite in N.T. St. John xviii. 2.3. and Arilloph, Vefp. eAlg^fl 3> The SACRED CLASSICS pure J-eewJh religion, yet in many refpeds ic was a new institution, much different from and iuperior to all former inflitutions and religions. Therefore "'twas neceflary to frame new terms in the Greek to reach the propriety and force of th~ Hebrew-, and cxprefs the mo ft auguft myfleries and refm'cl motels of Chriftianity, lb far exalted above the morals of Paganism; its notions of 'God, and its religious rites. New names muft be given to new things, as 'Tully apologizes for his own pra6tice w . That contaminate Orator and Philofopher, tho' as careful of the purity of his language as any man, freely makes u(e of Greek words and phrafes to adorn his noble body f Latin Philofophy. The words judicioufly chofen, however before unufual, muft needs be proper and fatisfactory, that fully exprefi fuch ad- mirable fenfc. And who can blame the language, c * & that is capable to under/land the philofophy t Plato, the admir'd moralift and divine of the pa- gan world, in his Theology, ules metaphorical ex- preilions, harlher than any in the new Teftament, - w Tul. de Nat. Deor. I. 17. p. 41. Ed. Davis. All wri- rers of great genius have m;ide fome new words which have been applauded and received into general life. And fhall the n:w Teilament writers, fo well qualify 'd, be deny'd that pri- vilege, when necefTity requir'd ic, and the words and phrafes found fo wtll, and are To agreeable to the analogy of gram- mar? J r . ILr, /Iri, Poet. i\ 46, &c. i and Defended and llluftrated. 3 * and yet not fb expreffive and appofite to his purpofe. The molting of the feathers of the foul, and railing upward the eye of the mind that was deep plung'd into the dirt and mire of barbarifm, found- as harili and are as difbfteful as any one can pre- tend that mortifying the members of the body, and crucifying the flefh with its luffs and affections do in the Chriitian inftitution- x '. Indeed there never was any religion, but one branch of it was ablti- nence from bodily indulgences, and a refilling to> gratify the lower and meaner appetites of our na- ture, on account of decency and purer pleafure - y . of contemplation and a freer addrefs to God, the fountain of all happinefs, m a6b> of devotion. Plato is juftly prais'd for the found account he gives of this refin'd and improving doctrine y , But the cleared and moll fatisfaclory account of it- will by a diligent and fober enquirer be found in die Cbriftian philofophy, To crucify the flefh carries greater force and' propriety, than all. the heft things faid, upon that iiibje6l in the pagan theology. 'Tis a very en- gaging allufion and. accommodation to our Lord's: exquiute pains and ignominious fufferings on the: x Plat, dc Rep. 7. p. 132,. Ed. MafTcy. y PUt. Phaedo. p. 8p, 90. Selc<9f. Diyin. Dial. in fcriptis. 3 1 'The S A c R E D CLASSICS cro/s for oar fake; and repreleiits to us the ini- menfe obligations he has laid upon us to be hum- ble and thankful, to be pure and cautious of all thoughts which may tend to withdraw our alle- giance from our Saviour., to defile our nature which he took upon him-, and unqualify us for the falvation he has purchaled ; and enjoying the full effects of his moil precious pad ions. The remembrance of our Saviour's agonies., and the (pilling his molt meritorious and preci- ous blood for us men and for our (alvation, makes every Chriftian's penitent iorrow for his fins bleed afreili; powerfully touches all the (prints of human nature j works up all its tendernefs, its hopes and fears j and, in a word, is an argu- ment and motive to every duty of Chriftianity, which none but monfters of men and (bns of perdition can refill. 6. In common morals and matters of con- vert and hiitorical relation, the (acred writers ufe the (ame words and exprefiions with Herodotus, Thttcidides, Xenofhon, dec. and have a proper and agreeable method, a beautiful plainne(s and gracefulnefi of (lyle, which equal the mod cele- brated authors in that language. So that the ground and main fubftance of the language, the words and phrafeology in general are the (ame in the Defended and llluflrated, * ^ the facred and foreign Claffics. But then there are feveral words and phrafes (befides thofe which are new for the reafons abovementioned) which are not at all, or not in the fame fenfe in the old Claffics of Greece. Befides that in thefe feeming irregularities in the new Teflament there is no violation of fyntax and the general analogy of language; we are to confider, that there is not DO 7 one good author extant, but has peculiar ways with him and difficulties, which diftinguifh him from all others of the fame denomination. 'ThePativmity of Livy (which moft probably relates to his ftyle) and the obfblete coiiftriidtions of the Attic dialect, renew'd by Thucidides, don't prejudice the reputation of thofe noble,, and very entertaining and improving authors in the opi- nion of capable readers , nor hinder the authors from being great mailers of noble fenfe and lan- guage. Some peculiar forms and idioms in fuch au- thors do not diminifh their character, but encrcafe the plcaiure of the reader, and gratify his curio- fity they don't extinguifli, but rather enliven the beauty and graces of his ftyle. Ks$z/.zio* to woumdin the head", d&upol.oy^ pzi, to give thanks* , i&w 'Iw^'yv/jv, they tfteemd 1 St. Marc, xii 4, Sr Luke ii, 3? F fohli 3 4 7fo SACRED CLASSICS John b , yvwft'<5w c , an ox f bo putt , to begin a difcourfe \ TtysvpaTi and vo'i oppos'd, sxvijfyzTe hxxiug for sic dizsucrj'/qv e are, as far as I have obferved, peculiar to the iacred writers. And there are a great many more peculiarities which I have collected; but they are (b obvious to gentlemen converfant in thefe ftudies, that it is unneceflary tare to pro- duce 'em. I beg my reader's leave humbly to propofe one conjedlure by putting down dyaXXidopcti as a pe- culiarity in St. John, fignifying to dejire luith <ve- hemence*. And this fenfe.affix'd to it_, which is not ftrain'd or unnatural, will fblve what {eems to me a grofs tautology in our tranilation. 'Tis this, he rejoycd to fee my day) andfaw it> and was glad, that is, be was glad to fee my day, andfaw it, and fo was glad. Let the defpifers of the ilyle of the iacred writers delight in (uch elegancies i but in this figmhcation it runs eaiy and clean, he earneftly wijb'd or deprd to fee my day, and faw it, and rejoycd. The Perjlan, Syriac and Ara- bic verfions all give it this fenfe ; and the particle b St. Mat. xiv. f . ' Philip, i. 12.. d Sr. Marc. x. 24. & p.tflltn in SS. Lireris. ' i Cor. xv. 34. f St. John's Gofpel. viii. f<5. I cannot find that fo rejoice ever (ignified to defire earnefttj in old //?/.'/v j 'tis pliin it does noc in our prefent way of expreffion. Defended and Illuflrated. 3 y I'M in the original {eems to require it g . The word iignifies to re Joyce both in the Claflics and Greek translators of the Bible ; and in the latter it fignifies to give thanks or joyfully to praife h : here only to defire earneflly, which is a very natural metonimy, whereby antecedents and confequents are put for each other 5 more natural than the ufing aoTratffu to fignify to contend or eamejlly ftri<ve*, which properly fignifies to pant or breath hard', Give me leave to name a few peculiarities in the claffic authors of Greece, and then we fhall pafi on to another matter. 'T/3f#X to lor ay like an afs k , ououi Y&M SGCJ- i % 5 l^oifyvTBg^ like people admiring ( y xfaewn'ys?ws, amix~ tureofjoyandforrow m y Tr/*utxTo$, ft fmaH n , <fca- mafttyeu, to difperfe or fyuander a<way , TX$O$, a dead body, in Thucidides^ in other authors a'/J. pulchre p . 'iJiwV^^ 1 , in Pto^ is a profe-writer in oppofition to Kowryg*, dttipog JJS, 8 Gravii Annot. in Perfic. Evangel. Verfionem, p. p<J. 2 Col. h Pfal. xlix. itf. f Her. Gr. 8. 461. AcTa'juiavr' qirar&ipt asv j . ' Herod. Gr. 2.6^. 1. 5-. 1 Xen. Cyr. Exp. 3. p. 182. m Xen. Hel. 7. 464. n Demof. Philip, i. p. 17. 1. 10. I foe. Areop. p. 194. P Thucid. i. 74.1. ulr. r i Ev /-tsTg<u, <u? woiyiTxif) n avsu usrpa, wj irioJr/i<-. Plat Plncdr. if 8,1. i. before E. F 2. 3 6 The SACRED CLASSICS the way*, heu(r(t>STSgoG y a foreigner naturalizd', - ' /re' i '- r -r - ~ TtPWAOLioLsjentto. to lole , STtMsuwrsc for s\%x}.wrc+ 5 I ^ ^? j accupng*) VTTQ T$V ^3> /{#T#x2eW#, lyfew ^ ta#- ^fe iytf.r burnt. A great number of peculiarities befide thefe might be produced out of the Greek writers if there was any neceffity. Thefe may {uffice to excufe the facred authors on this head, who don't more difagree from the Claffics in their deviations from the common and more ufu- al forms of {peaking, than any one of the au- thentic Claffics does from the reft. For inftance, examine Herodotus with this view and you will find fb many words and turns of expreffion peculiar to himfelf, that upon this confideration you may as well call his language a new fpecies of Greek, and a language different from Xenophon, Plato and fhutidides, as call the facred language of the new Teftament Hebraizing or Helleniftical Greek, or give it any other hard name, which the arbitrary critics ftiall pleafe to impofe. We plainly fee by comparing the peculiarities and Ids ufual ways of expreffion in the facred and fo- reign Claffics, that thefe latter have taken larger c Xen.Cyr.Exp. 2. 2. 3. p. Sf. 1. f. f Her. Gr. p. f 22. i. 36. f Thuc. 4. 2-4p. 1. antepenult, ' Thucid. i. 78. 1. 4. Her. Gr. i, ip. 1. if, liberties, Defended and lllufl rated. 57 liberties, and have made nearer approaches tofole- ciim and violation of grammar than the former. 'Ey TV y.Yj y.s'/.s rojyri dfcvysTUTSgot ecroy~%i, lecaufe they will not praffife and exercife themfehes, they will be the more unskilful, i~i(pfw o*yzg rm, to gratify and oblige any one*. C A/ c= ruy I3#*x2&y yj:/2i'x zol vw 7rto$ r/jffi fix?} yeyoyrM, the Barcean 'women will neither tajle the flejh of hogs or cows 7 . T&wry ^ y.u7.}M Ty Y'^I^I Ktefco? iy-i, -f rather endine to this opinion L . Kctl $ya ttpzvzy OVTLV & ozxgvosvT a~o~ s-gsQsffSat, they fay there was no man that return 'J without tears*. 'AAAc TiSv we ST*OV r/jv dyfyfay TYJS STrtfyfJLiqg Mo TCMTZ slsyss j did you affirm otherwife, than that thefe t r ojo> courage and knowledge, were different*? . 7. 'Tis further objedted againft the new" Teftament writers, that their language is rough, by adopting barbarous and foreign words and ff ^ *~^ expremons. There are not many of this fort, but are equally to be defended with the old Greek writers, who have many foreign words as well as the facred dailies. In the times when the mod eminent Greek writers flounlhed^ the * Thuc. i, 8 1. > Her. Gr. 4. zSi.l. if. 2 Herod. Gr. 7. p. 45- 3. 1. i. a Xen. Cyrop. 4. if. p. 46, b Plato, " r Per/tan j 8 The SACRED CLASSICS Perfian empire was of vail extent, and had a mighty influence upon all Greece., and therefore by their wars, commerce, and travels many of their words became familiar in the Grecian lan- guage. So, in the time of our blefTed Saviour's O O n , Apoftles and Evangelifts, the writers of thefe m- eftimable volumes we humbly endeavour to vindicate, the Roman empire had extended its conquefts over the greateit part of the world where Greek was fpoken ; and therefore there are feveral reaifbns why they fhould take into then- writings fome of the Roman words and phraies. Thofe terms put into Greek characters were very well underftood by the perfons to whom they were addrefTedj and upon feveral confiderations might be more pleafmg and emphatical than the original words of the language. Shall it be allow'd to Xenophon, Herodotus and Thucidides freely to ufe Perfian, Egyptian, and other oriental words j and can it be an unpardon- able fault for St. Matthew, St. Mark, St. Paul, St. Luke, upon occafion to ufe Roman f or do qs found ftronger or are purer Greek than The infpired writers of the new Teftament having all the dialects of the old Greek language agree- Defended and Illuftrated. agreeably intermixt, the main fubftance of the (acred book being inconteftably the feme, both in words and phrafes, with thofe of the pureft Claflics, and their peculiarities in the fignification of fbme words and turn of ibme phrafes as allow- able as the fame liberties taken by them, it may with modefty and reafbn be affirmed that the vigorous Hebraifms found in the Greek Teffca- ment (their conftruftion being perfectly agree- able to good grammar) give great advantage to the divine writings , enrich the tongue with the treafures of a new and noble dialect, and give ad- ditional variety and beauty to the heavenly book. Becaule there are many Hebrew or Syriac forms of fpeech in the new Teftament, in expreffing the rites and ceremonies of the Je<wijh religion, and the relation which the Chriitian mftitution bears to that ; therefore to affirm in general that the language is intirely different from the claffical Greek is great raflmefs., and an error which many people have run into, who have very indecently and unadvifedly attacked the ftyle of the holy writers : I wifh Mr. Lock had not laid of all the Epiftles of St Paul without guard or I muta- tion : (C The terms ? lavs he, arc Greek } but the fc idiom or turn of phraies mav be truly (aid ro c( be Hebrew or Syriac". c Lock's preface to AIT. and Notes on St Pxars Eri:l. What The SACRED CLASSICS What ! is there nothing of the idiom or turn of the old Greek in St. Paul? Had he learn'd nothing from the pure Claffics which he had read, and fb pertinently cites ? may not a large collection be made out of his Eptftles of pailages which have the true purity and propriety of that noble language ? This learned and fagacious man here implicitely followed tradition and the autho- rity of writers, which he would have utterly dif- avow'd and fcorn'd in other cafes. I {hall clofe this chapter with a pafTage or two of Beza, who fpeaks, in my opinion, with great decency and judgment. cc The reafon why the Evangelifts < f and Apoftles mingled Hebraifms with their " Greek was not becaufe they were Hebrews, ff but becaufe they difcourfed of many things de- ff livered in the Hebrew learning and law; fc therefore 'twas neceflary to retain many things cc of that nature, left they might be thought to 4C introduce fome new dodrine. And I cannot cc wonder that they retain'd fb many Hebraifms } when many of 'em are fuch, that they cannot be fo happily exprefled in any other language 5 or rather cannot be exprefled at all : fo that unlefs they had retain'd thofe forms of expreiii- on, they muft fbmetimes have invented new words and phrafes, which would not have been underflood, In a word, fince they were the 3 " only fC SI C ft (t CC If Defended and llluflrated. 4 1 only perfons whom God was pleas'd to employ to write all things neceffary for our {alvation,, We mud alfo conclude that God fo guided their tongues and pens that nothing fell raihly from them, but that they exprefs'd all things fo plainly^ properly and pertinently, that 'twas impoflible for any one to ipeak of thefe things With greater plainnefs and force d . - B?~a on^fr?; x. 45, p. 4f f The SACRED CLASSICS CHAP. II. Wherein tie f acred writers of tie new Teflament are fully vindicated againjt the rajh and ground" lefs charge of folecifms. E are now come to what is elteem'd the grand objection and difficulty -, and hope to clear the divine writers of it; and that is that there are fb- lecifms and abfurdities in the ftyle of the new Teflament. The Greek of the ho- ly Gofpels and Epiftles has been repreiented to be almoft as unpolite and horrid as the Latin of the fchoolmen. Only feme of the cenfurersof thefe m- fpired authors have allowed St. Luke to write up to rhe propriety and purity of the language, and have ([ think) very partially and with want of judgment heap'd exclusive praife upon him. 'Tis plain this Evangelift has as many Hebrew forms of fpeech (which thefe gentlemen do not allow to be confident with the purity of the Greek] as any writer of the new Tcftamenc. Scholars of great 4 note Defended and Illuftrated. 4 3 note fay he has more 8 . St. Luke is indeed ad- mirable for the natural eloquence and eafine/s of his language. And don't the reft write with a wonderful perfpicuity, and a very beautiful and inftru&ive plainnefs ? We hope to iliew their ex cellencies in a proper place. No wonder if thefe (acred volumes have been attack'd on one hand by lewd libertines., and on the other by conceited critics, imce they con- tain fuch pure and fpiritual doctrines, and preach fuch profound humility., that at once lay ftricl: reftraints upon the lufts and exorbitant appetites ,, and beat down the vanity and pride oF fliort- lighted and prefuming mortals. Homer had his Zoilus; Thucldides was ungratefully carp'd at by a celebrated author, whofe chief glory it was to imitate him, even in thofe forms of expreflioii which he call'd faults j who could not diiparage him as a critic, nor come near him as an hifto- rian b . The incomparable Tully, oneofthemoft unexceptionable of all the Clailics for the fbund- nefs of his fenfe and purity of his ftyle, has been ridiculoufly charg'd with fblecifms by critics of a Ego contenderim San6lum Lucam plus Hebraifmorum ufurpaflb quam ullum cxterorum N. T. fcriptorum. John Vorft. Philol. facra, in Simon's Tex: of N. T. c. 28. p. 331. h Vid. Hobbe's preface to tranflatton of Thucidides. G 2, note, 44 The SACRED CLASSICS note, fome of which have paid the very fame ci- vilities to the infpired authors. 'Tis very pleafant to obferve the confidence and pedantry of the old fcholiafls and gramma- rians, Donatusy Sey^'ms, Acron and Porfhyrio^ when they charge Firgil, Terence and Horace, with folecifm and falfe Latin , and pronounce fentence againft thofe fupreme judges and authors of the correctefl language and moll admirable fenfe c . The {acred writers have been us'd with the fame freedom. . z. Before we proceed it may be neceflary to eftablifh the notion of a folecifm, and lay the foundation of our difcourfe upon a clear and found definition. A folecifm, then, as I define it, is a vicious and barbarous way of writing, contrary to the eflential reafbn and rules of grammar, to the concord and government of words in conftrucli- on, which conftrudion is eftabliih'd and autho- riz'd by the moft approv'd and beft authors in a language. St. Auguftin, a found judge of purity and elo- quence, and a juft admirer of the genuine and fovereign beauties of the new Teflament, has, in c Vid. D, Prat. Gram. Part. II. p. 2pi, 4. better Defended and Ittuftrated. 4 ^ better and fewer words, defined it to the fame fenfe. A fblecifm is when words are not ap- plied and adapted to one another in that regular and natural proportion in which they are apply M and adopted by the antients, whofe authority is decifive d . He adds afterwards, what then is purity of lan- guage, but the prefervation of the ufage of it re- commended and eitabliflied by the authority of the antients? Erafmus {peaks in the fame manner : What is it, fays he, to be guilty of afblecifm but to fpeak con- trary to the cuilom of thofe who fpeak properly"? Tiberius, the Rhetorician, put out with De- metrius Phalereus and others by the learned Dr. Gale y defines a fblecifm to be a change of the common and cuftomary way of fpeech, which is made without either neceility or ornament f . Chartftus (quoted by the reverend and learned Dr, Prat") fays, a fblecifm has words that either dif- agree with each o:her, or that are inconfequent j that is, a fblecifm is either a breach of concord a De Dottrina Chriftiana, e Eraf. Ep. 1. 13. i.p. 188. Quid enim efl foloeciflare quarn pr;~erer confuetndincm recte loquenrium loqui ? 2oXcry.<c7/jios l^aXXayy) T tv t^fi Ir'V aXK' S'TE yp?f^? Iv-jut srs xocr/^a rrvor. s Grammar, Lar. part. I, zi ~ y yi'vs-faj. D-r.vcr. Phal. 114, p. 12, The SACRED CLASSICS and government in grammar, or want of con- lequence in reafbning. My bufinefs will be to ihew that thofe paflages in the new Teftament, which many eminent commentators and critics have charg'd as fblecifms, that is,, falfe and vici- ous Geeek, are not fb, but pure and proper,, by the ready and only way, that is., by parallel ex- preflions and forms of fpeech in Homer, Ana- creon, Herodotus, Thucidides, Xenophon, Plato, Ifocrates, Vemojlhenes, and a few other authors,, which are without difpute acknowledged by all icholars to be the genuine Claflics of the Greek o tongue. I likewife ihall endeavour, by the fame incontefled authority, to clear feveral paflages which I have not met with in books, but heard in conversation j or that I could not be fatisfy'd about, when I found 'em in the {acred books, be- fore I compar'd 'em with the foreign Claflics, which carry as much the appearance of fblecifni as any place attack'd by Origen, Jerom, Caftalio, Pif- cator, Mill, or any others that have implicitly re- figned themfelves to the determination of people that went before 'em. And furely no man of found and polite let- ters can be fb diimgenuous j no Chriilian, no man of common juilice and honeily fb preju- dic'd againft the divine writers of our Saviour's Jife and dodrines as to condemn in them, the fame Defended and llluftrated. fame thing he juftifies in the old Greek authors; and cenfure an expreflion in St. Paul, &c. as a blemifh, which in Herodotus, dec. he marks out and admires as a beauty. Indeed the Spirit of divine wifdom directed the writers infpired by him to ufe the fame noble li- berties that are taken by the foreign authors, who beft underftood mankind j and in the moft forci- ble manner apply'd to their reafon and affections. Schmidius, onAlfsxv. 2,2,. (ays to this purpofe, " We ought to be religioufly cautious not to " pretend fbleciims or barbarifms in the new cf Teftament. We don't (b much as allow that there is any appearance of folecifm. 'Tis certainly great boldnefs not only to examine, but to correct in grammar, the Sacred Spirit, " the author of laneuao-es." As to folecifms o o I entirely approve and defend the affertion of this learned man, and the reaibn he (iipports it with h j but as to his denying that there is any ap- pearance of {blecifm, I muft think he was too zealous and fcrupulous without occafion. 'Tis reiiftlefsly plain, that the divine writers do not always confine thcmfelves to plain and common Jl Apoftoli eutn - ftylum - cdoli fuerunt ab ipfo Spiritu San6lo, quo JoClore c magiftro, quis qua:fo unquara chicrtius atit mais rorie diccre otuit? Paf. Gram. Grarc, propre ccre potut Sac . (5rp, grammar^ 48 'The SA'CRED CLASSICS grammar, but often exprefs their vigorous fenti- meats in the language of the figurative con- ftruclion -, as all authors do, who have ftrong and bright notions of things 5 who have a ful- nefs of (enfe and fervour of fpirit j who are fin- cerely concern'd and entirely fatisfied of the truth and importance of the matters of fact affirrrfd, and the doctrines recommended and prefs'd. 'Tis a juft obfervation of that true critic Longmus y that writers of a low fize and languiflring genius (el- clom depart from the rules of vulgar grammar. They want that quicknefs of apprehenfion, thofc fprightly images, and that generous warmth and emotion of {pirit, which are neceflary to produce the fublime. But authors of rich fenfe and ele- vated notion write with the unconftraint and no- ble freedom of the figurative conftrudion '. o AfoUonius Rhodius, as the fame Longinus obferves, is (crupuloufly exact in keeping up to the pre- cepts of plain grammar, ieldom makes an ex- curfion out of the beaten road, or a feeming falfe ftep: Homer has a vehemence and fire in his genius that cannot be confin'd. Therefore in him, as in all fublime authors, you find bold breaks and furpnzmg turns j you are per- petually entertam'd with a rational vehemence, 1 Dionyf. Long. . 35*. p. ipi. 6c . 56. p. i<,6, 3 and Defended and llluftrated. and a fucceflion of (brightly thoughts, and a delightful variation of the order and contexture of his words. In his free and mafterly ftyle there are daring liberties and fparkling metaphors, which men of clear difcernment and fteddy judg- ment admire and are charm'd with-, but their (plendor and majefty quite dazzle and confound weak-ey'd grammarians and fcholiafts. Now wou'd the moft bigotted and plodding editor of this cautious and formal poet, fb gram- matically accurate, prefume to compare him with Homer, who difregards feveral lit- tle niceties in vulgar grammar, and difdains to be confin'd to an anxious and fpiritlefs regu- larity \ I cannot here omit a paflage out of an excel- lent writer and critic of our own, equal to the antients. " The moft exquifite words and cc fineft .ftrokes of an author are thofe which cc very often appear the moft doubtful and ex- cc ceptionable to a man who wants a relifh.forpo- cc lite learning j and they are thefe. which a four undiftinguifhing critic generally attacks with the greateft violence. Tully obferves that us very eafy to brand or fix a mark upon what cc he calls verlum ardens, or, as it may be ren- ' Long, ubi fupra. H dcrM '50 The SACRED CLASSICS <c der'd into Etiglifl, a glowing bold exprejfion, and <c to turn it into ridicule by a cold ill naturd " criticifm k . I am highly plcas'd with the account the learned Beza gives of the pretended folecifms in N. T. in anfwcr to the intolerable liberties which Erafnus often takes with the facred wri- ters. According to which account this great man does not efteem 'em to be any blemifhes of fpeech, or violations of rational grammar, but really does juftice to the infpired authors ; makes fhort work, and gives up the caufe we are attacking. ff I allow there is the greateft fimplicity in the * f Apoftolical writings, neither do I deny that " there are tranfpofitions, inconfequences, and al- <f fb fbme fblecifrns. But this I call an excellence cc not a fault; and from thefe tranfpofitions, ff fblecifrns who can vindicate either cc Demoflhenes or Homer himfelf 1 ? If thefe feeming improprieties be real excel- lencies and beauties, they have no occafion to be clear 'd of them; and we only make this very reafbnable demand, that the facred writers in Greek may have the lame juftice with the fo- reign claflical authors. k Mr. Addifon, ] Bcza in dfts x. 46, p. 45*4. 5 This Defended and llluflrated. $ i This learned critic and fcholar feems in fbme places to have forgot this conceflion. We excufe human infirmities, and wiili that fbme other great fcholars and divines had any where (poke with the fame temper and refpecl; to the Evan- gelical and Apoftolical ftyle. That there are any real fblecifms in the writers of the new Teftament I abfblutely deny : the ap- pearances of fblecifhi is' the fame in them with the authentic writers of old Greece : and this Soleco- pbanes, or appearance of fblecifm, always proceeds from fbme one of thefe four caufes : i . Eltipjis, or a want of a word, or words, to make up the complement of the (enfe, or a grammatical period. t. Pleonafmus, or the ufing more words than are flrictly neceflary barely to underftand the meaning of an affirmation or propofition. 3 . Exchanging the feveral parts of fpeech, and their accidents one for another, which, to people of weak capacities, renders the difcourfe perplex'd and difficult , but to thofe, who have heads right turn d to polite literature, give high pleafiire by the charming variety of ideas, and beautiful al- lufions, and new relations which arife from fuel) exchanges properly and judiciouflymade. 4. Prom Hyperlaton or Tranfpofition (under the conduct of judgment and a true genius, H z which 5 i TToe SACRED CLASSICS which we fuppofe of the reft) which puts words out of that order , which, accdrding to the rules of vulgar grammar, is moil (afe; and the report of heavy and injudicious ears (bunds with the eafieft fmoothnefs and har- mony. . 3 . Ellifjls or defect, in the firft-rate authors often makes the language ftrong and clofe, and pleafes an intelligent reader,, by leaving fomething For him to fill up, and giving him room to exer- cife his own thought and fagacity. Becaufe the verb is an eflential part of a fen- tence, when that cannot be fupply'd by the com- mon ways of filling up the Ellipjts, it feems to be as formidable an objection as any the adver- faries have rais'd C O y#f Moco-rjg Iv-rcg eg Tho' this may be made out another eafy way, by fuppofing dK'/jt&s, aQzvTcz sysvsro or iiteSotye un- derftood. The people being in a fufpence - This Mofes // gone y vanijhea a^ay^ or we know not what is become of him. Yet if none of thofe words, or any others of the fame importance cou'd be understood; we defend it, and all of the fame nature in the di- m A&s vii-40. from Exod, xxxii. i, Vid. Pfal. ciii. if. vine Defended and llluflrated. vine writings by the ufige of the antients, which commands language a ov the army being large, every city or ft ate will not loe alle to quarter it n . The Hebrew Septua^int and ecclefiailical writers frequently ufe the fame way of expreflion. St. Clement has it particularly i Ep. to Cor. p. 4 p. not. i. where the very learned edi- tor of that venerable father might with equal truth have call'd it claffical as Helleniflical Greek. So the admirable Grotius might as well have call'd it, on A$s vii. 40. aforementioned, a Greek as a Hebrew form of (peech . Sometimes a verb is omitted that is neceflary to the fenfe, but 'tis very eafy and obvious to fap- ply it: /? $e yuy/j Iva (bofr/JTzi rov civfya, i. e. if aw or |8/57rfTW, let the woman fee or take care that Jhe reverence her husband". The commentators puzzle themfelves and their readers about far-fetcli'd ways of folving it, making i'yz fuperfluous., &c. But this is plain, and fb far from being a fault that 'tis an Attic elegance : j cTra^ w^ AwV# swavSa rJ w Thucid. 6. $61. 1. 17. Her. Gr. 4. 1. 5, 7. Xen. Cyrop. p. ii. 1. ii, 13. Oxon. Greek. Deut. iv. 3. Pial. xviii. 30. P Ephef. v. 33. 6'pa, which we fuppofe here underftnod, is cxp-efs'd in Pht. Gorgias. p. f n. 1. 3. before E^ 'AXX' o") pi? cpa /vtri d>.Xo TJ TO yvvaTcv 3 Jt, TO ay^^^v ij T erw^et'.? '" 54 The SACRED CLASSICS dia")(vyo{Jivog 3 take heed left you he furpris'd or caught thro your modefty*. There is an appearance of impropriety in nu- merous places in the facred book, which is clear'd by fupplying a word understood, and juftify'd by incontelted examples of the nobleft authors. 'Af%STo$ ydf jfwiv - and then xsTrofsv- ju*W follows, which muft agree with yy.xg un- c!erftood r . notfyfysite j TO ten AcatetoufMvfourt d.a- That leeming want of confequence in St. Luke ', and if it JhM hear fruit hut if not 3 cut it do^n y is an Attic elegance : r t v JJLM 'fvu- f3 : fj q Ktiw if that attempt happily fucceed - hut if not y they Jhould command the Mityleneans to deliver their fiips, and demolijh their walls v . sv Isai underftood will fill up the fenfe in both thefe, and all fuch cafe. Sometimes in a long period in the facred writers there is a want of confequence, becaufe the laft member,, which was to anfwer the precedent, and compleat the fenfe, is fupprefs'dj but it is immediately fupply'd by - q Plat. Gorgias. 489. i. Ariftoph. Ran. 1018. The- moph. 2.74. 1 i Pet. iv. 3. f Her. Gr. p. f 30. 1. i. 1 St. Luke xiii. 9- v Thucid. 3. 149. 1. 12.. 3 JX a', i^f, a+~\ r / .1,1 / Defended and Illuftrated. 55 any man who is a capable reader of any good author. So in St. Peter, if God fpared not the old world, nor the cities of Sodom and Gomorra> nor the angels 'which fell from their allegiance, and high Jlations in glory. Then he paries on to another thing, without filling up the ienfe. 'Tis very obvious and eafy from the defign and argument of the Apoftle to fupply what is wanting : Neither will a juft God fpare thefe moji <vile and impious heretics which I have deferred. Such an omiffion is frequent with the moft polite and correct of Roman as well as Greek writers x . The verb "sms or l$Y t is fbmetimes underftood., which makes an agreeable change of the perfon, and the turn of the difcourfe quick: And he commanded him to tell no man, lout go y Jhew thyfelf to the friejl 7 . That paflage in Xenofhon is exactly parallel to that in St. Luke: Cyrus lad him be of (rood courage, lecaufe he woud be with them in & jhort timej fo that, if you fleafe, you will have opportunity of feeing me T . * i Pec. ii. 4, f . 6. x Ariftoph. Pint. v. 465, 467, 468, 469. Tul. de Oat, p. 308. not. a Ed. Pearce. Virg. ^En. J. v. 15, 14. VL V. I 19, 12.0, HI. y St. Luke v. 14. So A&s xvii. 5. * Xcn. Cyrop. i. p. 18, 1. 21, 22. Ed. Oxon. Greek :^ Xen, Hellen. i. p. p, The $6 The SACRED CLASSICS The pronoun, for emphafis and diflinftion, is fbmetimes omitted in the facred writers: livct &7reteucrofJi9at ; pij [terra pr& xiuvfe lx si $** beft claffic writers have the iame omiflion : STtgSTrev w FAavxwv Af'y^y, 2 >Jysig b . Mcvov is often underftood in the writers of the new Teftament : 6w sy.s $e%erou 9 aXXa TM d^o- <?i}.&v?x ps c . So in Plato, Thucidides and S of ho- cks 'tis omitted d . The verb fubftantive is frequently underjftood in the writings of the Evangelifts andApoftles e 5 and a learned commentator tells us 'tis an idiom of the Helleniftical Language f . But s?i is as often omitted in the beft authors of old Greece, and the omiflion of it might as well have been call'd a Grecifm or Latmifm as a Hellenifm*. 'Tis elegantly left out in fliort quick fayings and mo- ral fentences : cvz &ya&ov no&vxoifatyfy*. KQIVYI yxg Tj TJ%/1) $ TO flsfoOV dogZTOV* 1 . CCVCcfatf fid - TO I'J 7T5/52V 1 . St. John vi. 68. b Plat, de Repub. f . 390. 1. 14. Ed. Mafley. c St. Marc. ix. 37. d Plat. Orito. 66. 1. 26. Dial. Sel. Camb. tgyca ; /utrj Thuc.8. fi6. 1. ult. Sophoc. Antigone v. 5-49. e i Thef. ii. 10. i Cor. viii. 7, fcfa. f Exam. Var. Lee. 86. g Horn. 'IX. 0'. 2.04. h Ifoc. ad Demon, p. * Plat. Gorgias. 499. I. 5*. after C. ? The Defended and Illuftrated. 5 7 The omiflion of the little words 3v, or o hb y and 2>A#, makes that paflage in St. Paul to Timo- thy feem a little harfh and abrupt : ^ to wangle and quarrel about words, which is to no profit) lout to the fubver ting of the hearers k . But we find the fame omiflion in authors of the greateil purity-, and good critics call it a beauty of the Attic dialed;: ff9#i dvrw, ovx a%iw, Men feem to miflake about the power of this God Pluto, and to fear him, which is not ft and reafonalle\ Sometimes there fecms to be a defecl: and ble- miih in a difcourfe, becaufe one verb or adjedtive is applied to two nouns., when the (enfe of it only fuits with one ; (o that either another word muil be underftood, or the fingle verb or adjec- tive be taken in a double or two contrary fenfes : T?te 'juixg STroTio-a KJ o-j ( 3frO';/;t m . The verb cannot with equal propriety be apply 'd to both the words thatfecm to be govern'dof it: {bme add ;J^xa,aiid the Arabic andSyriac verfions fupply it : / have not nourifid ot fed you with meat. Homer has luw &%- soowzg. That want of a word in k 2. Tim. i. 14. 1 Plat. Cracylus. 405. 1. 13. m i Cor. iii. i. I St. Paul TJje SACRED CLASSICS St. Paul to St Timothy ieems as harlh as any in-- ftance of figurative orammar in the new Tefta- / ment: XXV.^/T^V y^aV, &7rg%scr&xi forbidding or commanding not to marry > [command- ing] to ah/fain from meats n . The negative word is put down in the former, and the affirmative underllood in the latter part of the fentence. The fame Ellifjis is often met with in the greateft Claflics. So in Tully, when the word deny was exprefs'd in the former claufe, fay or affirm muft be underftood in the latter of his fentence . No man aff lauds a p erf on for ff caking fo that the hear- ers may underjtand what he fays j but defpifes him who cannot do it. Every man muft be underftood before deffifes in the laft Claufe p . . 4. Pleonafmus, or ufing more words than are ftriclly n . ceflary to make up the grammatical fenfe^ is frequent in the {acred writers., and in all the antient and valuable writers of Greece and T1 i Tim. iv. 5. De Orat re. P Qui fir, Mccxnas, u: nemo quarn fibi for tern Scu ratio dcdent, feu fors objeceric, ilh'i Contcntus viv.u 5 iuudct divcrfa fequentes. V/liere nemo cannot be the nominative to laudct, but cm- nishomo mull bs underftood, Reafon mull fupply and nil up this deficiency and departure from plain vulgar grammar, [for. Sat. I.I. i, 2, ?. i Rome, Defended and Illuftrated. 59 Rome. The Pleonafm, as us'd by thefe noble au- thors, is fb far from obfcuring or flattening the o o difcourfe, that it makes the fcnfc intelligible and clear, and heightens the emphafis of the exprcflion : it imprefles ideas deep in the mind , and is of pe- culiar ufe to raife the value and majcily of great and lofty fubjeds The repetition of the fame fenfe varied by different words is not only accord- ing to the cuftom of the Hebrew, which ha:; o great variety and noble beauties 5 but nature in many inftances directs and requires repetitions > and they are frequent in all languages. boxeu is elegantly fleonajlical in St. Patil l - y which is peculiarly worth notice, becaufe upon it depends the emendation of an obfcure and faulty rendring of that paflage of the Apoftle in our EnglifJo : ij any man feems to be contentious : it fhould be either, if any man is difpoid to be contentious, or, agreeable to the life of the phrafe in the beft claffic authors, if any man is contenti- ous: So Xenofbon on efoxsi xzrfixoz Ctt.oq xuro^ y lecauje be was their father s friend". 'Ev Tzig TJ- ' ~. ' rv ' ' o. f {* ' K t.. ? ^ xel'y in Ariftophanes is rendered, they did injuries'* <i i Cor. xi. i<5. r Hellen. 6. p. 410. 1 Xcn. CEconom. p. 2,3. c Ariitoph. Aves. v. 15*84. 60 The SACRED CLASSICS Oi corny? zg zfx ly T ^ v &&My m St. Mark, as y. zcriy xitTWy i. e. I&&V in St. Luke v . The eloquent and judicious Archbifhop Tillotfon observes that it is the manner of the Hebrews to exprefs a thing both affirmatively and nega- tively,, when they would (ay it with great certain- ty and emphaiis w . And we may further add, which vigorous form of fpeech is common in the new Teftament, and the nobleft CJaffics, whofe manner it is to exprefs a thing both ways. The fame thing is cxprefTed three times in St. John, once negatively:, and twice affirmatively : He confejfed and denied not, and confeffed- - He was fb juft and modeft. as to confefs and not deny the truth j and what he confefs'd was this^ that he was not tbeMeJfias x . Ifpeak the truth in Chrift, I lye not 7 , is a folemn and feafbnable repetition^ proper to convince St. Timothy of the pious zeal and autho- rity of St. Paul. Beza on this place allows it to have great emphafis and fays it is an Hebrew Pleonafin. To which Cafaubon replies^ and why an Hebrew Pkonafm (i. e. fb as to exclude it Y St. Mar. x. 41. St. Luke xxii. if. w Ser. Fol. 14. p. 15*0. on Pfal. cxix. f<5. x St. John i. 2.0 y i Tim. ii. 7. Beza and Cafaub.. on place. i from "Defended and 11 Iterated. 61 from being chflical Greek) when the bcfi authors of Greece frequently ufe it ? St. Luke very vigorously exprefles the virulency and rage of the Je<ws againft the doctrines and profeflbrs of Chriltianity in that very apt and lively repetition : they r xere piled with malicious zealy and contradicted the things faid by Paul, con- traditi'r/ig and llaffheming*. Thefe furious zealots contradicted St. Paul's heavenly doclrines^ and not that only., but they aggravated their obftir nacy by impudence and outragious language j they contradicled without reafbn and decency j they added horrid blafphemy to their groundlefs contra- diction. Erafmus has a fcruple upon him whether the repetition be right ; but 'tis found in a great majority of books j and that it is not unclamcal but pure^ I iliall iliew by parallel forms of expref^ (ion in the nobleft dailies j and that it is not flat but emphatical, we not only prove by the fre- quent Lilage of the moft noble writers in the world; but appeal to the judgment of all per- fons who imderftand human nature. A paffage parallel to that above-mentioned in St. John we have in ThucidiJes : That afterwards you may d r &ell m f a f er y y our fetots* an d have the command of all. * Aftsxiii. 4f. Greece. 6 1 The S A c R F. D CLASSICS Greece consenting to it y not by jorce, hit voluntary^ nvith their o- oo d affection^. <i> .'J Crho, in exprefling his hearty concern for his clear friend Socrates, and eagerly preflmtr him to make his efcape out of prifon, and Ihun ap- proaching death,, runs into a repetition very na- tural and moving : /ill things muft be done this wight but if ruje delay any longer, it r &ill be zmpcffible, and not feafible, therefore by all means be perfuaded by me, and take no other resolution c . If OMCOO[JLSZ<TL oMiS. in Herodotus*, and /.V-SLTO P:J* :~zc in Plato e , be pure Greek, filre no confiderate man will carp at iw.lzy oiy.oooy.slv and %xf%y ex^~ grpocj in the E vangelift f . Repetition of the fame word exprefTes increafe and addition with much force in moft languages ; i .1 fray that your charity may more and more abound". So in Xenofhon there is a repetition of /rP.^jy, multitudes flill more and more pour'd in upon them h . Beza's altering the reading in Si. Luke o o b Thucid. 6. p. 4Of. 1. 3, 4. Kal rfc dwdwi?, 'EXXccVc; 5Xt/o-/:r ^ j8/a, y.ar' svvctav o n s rr/'r^i]^"-- c Cnco f4- 1. 2.. Ed. Camb. A Herod. Gr. i. 41. e Plato Soc. An. 8. Camb. Plato Theag. izp. Hen. Steph. f Sr. Mat. ii. 10. vii. 18. g Phil. i. 9. zr>,ftiv JG c-rXei'wv lartppa. Xen. Cyrop. 7. xix. /?., Defended and Illuflrated. xix. 4. and preferring T:se<r$*y.my to T^J^-^JJV O s 5 ' 9 S I upon the authority of one manufcnpt and one printed book, is intolerable liberty, and the rea- ibn he gives weak and vain; becauie Trfcfyxpuy euxfctts'.' will make a Pleonafmus That learn- ed man had read fifty inftances of Pleonafmus in the moil; accurate and celebrated authors. They are fo common in both Roman and Greek authors, that I iliall only name one out of the noble hi ftorian SW/SO'STXI ~ox}.z*jcrzy7e TI^OOTO'/. In comparatives a repetition invigorates the fentence, and doubles the emphafis. \\ 7 e have y.:'f/./ oy 7;e*ur<rcT.?oy in the new Teftamenr, paral- lel'd in the Claflics, vg zy.suov s^ T&vzyzt y.z/.?.sy TJ &;v uz/./.cy e/.fiiuTfo; k . Another ftrong word ftill added gives the utmoft advantage and i rr - vigour to the expreliion: 7ro/-./.! u.y.}./cy ;<;~l-~oy t? i ' ^ ~ " is as ftrong an emphalis as any language can bear; but no language can reach the glory of the fub- jed the Apoftle there treats of, and the exceflive happinefs which he deicnbes '. Ifocrates has the very lame bold beautiful form of fpeech apply 'd. to a fubjecl infinitely inferior m , i Hcrou.Gr.f. p. 189. 1. 8. k Sc. Mark vii. 3<S. Herod. Gr. i. p. 12. 1. 21. ibid, i. 13.1. 17- i Philip, i. 2.], m Hoc. Archid. n. 416. 1. ^. Ball!. Gr, irjLtf, SACRED CLASSICS Erafmusy upon this place of the Apoftle, well obfcrves that he doubles the comparative out of vehemence, and to defcribe excefnve preference j and adds, and that according to the idiom of the Hebrew tongue. He ought either to have omit- ted the latter claufe, becau/e your critics, that find radt with the ftyle of the new Teftament, always by it mean that it is not claffical Greek: or clic he ought to have laid, and that according to the <C? C? manner of both the Helr&w and Greek tongues. Repetition of a principal word in a long pe- riod is often found in the bcft authors 5 and fince it is excus'd in them by their capable readers, it wou'd be great injuftice to reflecl: upon it as un- politenefs or deformity in the iacred authors. Txrci/ rsv M:-.;>^ begins a verfe in St. Luke, and towards the middle TZTCV is repeated, and then the Evangelift finifhes his period". So inXenophona ledlion begins with 0^* &>; i- T0" y thai after five lines, without compleatmg the fenfe, and with the interpofition of other matters, and a very long parenthefis, that polite writer re- peats GJM L] with a change of: MIQI z~zc?y//j'.>gi>cy in the beginning, into TC> xo?y.cy TZ ~z~-;v in the latter part of the period '. n Acts vii. ^f. Xen. Cyrop. r. ;. i. p. ID . Grxc. O.con. Vid, Pl^t. Thcag. p. 12,8. 1. ^, ct. When Defended and lilufl rated. 6$ When St. Paul and any of the other facred writers have a period any way interrupted or per- plex'd after this manner, fad outcries are made of the unpolitenefs of the ftyle, the breach of gram- mar, of inconfequence and barbariim. In the claflic writers fuch liberty is excus'd and vindi- cated, when all the favourable allowances fhou'd be made for the ftyle of the new Teftament that can be made, for reafbns which cannot equally be pleaded for the others. No language can fup- ply words and expreffions equivalent to the vehe- mence and impetuoufhefs of the facred writers fpirit, to the heavenly fublimity of the notions, to the auguft myfteries, and moft blefled and important morals contain'd in thofe divine com- pofitions. Sometimes one thing is exprefled as if it was two , for the hope and the refurreffion of the dead, that is, for the hope of the refurrettion of the dead, and in the region and fhadow of death, are in- fiances of this form of fpeech in the new Tefta- ment p . 'Tis ufual in the Hebrew and Greek tranflators of the old Teftament q : P A6b xxiii. 6. St. Mat. iv. 16. i. 14. K And 66 The SACRED CLASSICS And not uncommon in the noble daffies f&J- sro y^ Trfcs&'jutsTo, he facrificd and was very zea- lous, that is, be very zealoufly facriftc 'd r . Two relatives are often in Hebrew us'd for one 1 ": the Septuagint often uie the fame repeti- tion-, and fb do the Evangelifts and Apoftles of our Lord : . But this manner of expreflion is not a mere Helraifm, but is us'd by the nioft ap- prov'd and pure authors o Greece , noTSfov o v E*u$ xtebx y eriy fw v , em&v t u,el #;/r. 'Avrog is often fuperfluous and put down when the principal noun makes a compleat fenfe without it : The pronoun cs is redundant in Herodotus in a manner that appears more licentious than any thing; of this nature in the new Teftament *. o r Herod. Gr. p. fH- ^ 3- Herod. Gr. 8. 493. Ari- ftoph. Pax. v. 138. f Pfal. i. 4. 1 Exod. iv. 17. St. Mar. vii. if. i Pet. ii. 2.4. in which two places aVnfr and aura are left out.the tranfcribers vainly fancying 'em to be falie Greek > and Dr. Mill pronounces i'c Hebraizing Greek. v Plat. Conviv. npi. Francofurt. w Xen. Cyr. p. if. 1. ult. Gr. Oxon. Two pronouns are redundant in Herod. Gr. p. 148. j3sXo,usvev TCV TO nr\r,&@' HtX&av ulv x T/ ff sya) Kcotov y; aurof, o T;OV ia:o'y r/s 1 as arcoyo'v&jy TO, >i' crs fl TOOV <rwy T/va. Herod. Gr. 8. 493. 1. 12., 13, 14. 'J'he pronoun is often redundant m Latin: Virginem iftam, Thaidi qua; dono data ell, fern' earn hinc civem eile ? Ter. Eun. f. f. v. p, 10. 4 Plutarch Defended and llluftrated. Plutarch juftly admires Thucidides for his clear and moft marvellous reprefentation of the fatal overthrow of Nicias and all his forces in Sicily. In the conclufion of that dcfcription that noble hiftorian makes u(e of a {elect variety of fynony- mous words to exprefs with all poITible emphafis that univerfal and remedilefs mifchief. In all refpeffs they were entirely defeated, and they fuffered no fmall mifchief in any particular: lut they were cut off with an un'merfal dejlruttion, loth army and fleet 5 there was nothing but what periftd*. Several pafiages will, in the (econd part, be produc'd out of the (acred writers, which claim a luperiority over the nobleft places in Greek and Latin Claffics. At prefent I cannot but think that the variety and emphafis of thofe elegant and fublime repetitions of St. Paul to the Epbe- fans z are at 1 call equal to that celebrated paflage. The beft tranilation muft do injury to the great original. But that conclufion of the Apoitle, , & / S V r. , r. ~ , J C ?.(q -notvac, ra$ ysvszs TZ ziMos TW> Gtiwuv denes any vcrfion to come any thing near ; and commands our wonder. Thucid. 7. p. 468' > Ephef. in. 10, ii, K r The 6 8 The SACRED CLASSICS The {acred writers often ufe repetitions for rcaions fupcrior to any that can be given for the ale of them in foreign authors. The word was with God } and was in the beginning with God y is a repetition that divines judge was intended by theApoftle to confute the impudence ofCerinthus, who aflerted that the Demiurgus or Creator was eitrang'd or feparated from God. cc Nothing, {ays an excellent divine and champion of Chriitianity, (C can be more di- " redly level'd agamft that doctrine than this <c aflertion of St Johns, that the Word, who was fc the Creator of the world, was from the beginning) <c or always with God a , 'Tis {aid of the MeiTiah by St. John, that he made all things y and without him was not made any thing that was madej where the bleffc Apoftle lays down this eflential truth both ways, firft by way of affirmation, and then by negation, to give this fundamental article the utmoft {auction, and ex- clude all poiTibility of juft exception. The eter- nal Word created all worlds and their inhabitants : we are not to except any part of the creation, not the invisible things above, angels, principalities, powers j which the heretics pretended to diftin- a Dr. Waterland's fecond fermon on the divinity of our Saviour, p. 13, 14. guifli Defended and llluftrated. guifli from this lower creation : for they ftupidly pretended that the upper and lower world had not the fame author b . .5. Hyperlaton, or the tranfpofition of words and members of periods out of the common order and Situation, may give an uneven and rugged found to the untun'd ear and judgment of plodding fcholiafts and mere drudges in grammar: but thofe feeming embarafments and harilinefles of lan- guage often reprefent the things defcrib'd with a correspondent found and full efYeclij and agreeably diverfify the ftyle; and entertain a judicious ear that wou'd be offended with a ftyle over-polifh'd, b Dr. Pfaterland's fecond fermon on the divinity of our Saviour, p. 46, 47. " After the Arrian controverfy arofe, 44 the Catholicks made good ufe of this latter part of this 44 text efpecially, which is fa very expreffive and emphati- 4C cal. The Arrian principle is, that the Son was the firft 44 thing that God had ever made-, and that God made him 4 < immediately by himfelf, without the intervention of any 44 other perfon. Againft this the Catholicks pleaded that 44 nothing was made without the intervention of the Son, 44 the Apoftle having emphatically declared, that without 44 him was not any thing made that was made. There was 44 therefore nothing made immediately by the Father with- 44 out the intervention and concurrence of the Son. Con- 44 fequently the Son was not made at all, fince it is abfurd 44 to imagine that he interven'd or concur'd to the making 4C himfelf} which would be the fame as to fay, that he ex- a ifted before he exifted, or vws prior to himfelf. 4. and 70 The SACRED CLASSICS and gliding with a perpetual imoothnefs, and un- interrupted current. Flowery meadows,, open champains ftretcht out into a large extent, clear gently flowing ri- vers, and regular rows of trees, planted and prun'd with art and exactneis are very charming and delightful. But falls of water, wears and rapid ftreams, that murmur loud, that tofs looie Hones, and dalli againft little broken rocks, threa tning precipices and rugged mountains co- vered with trees flourifliins; in their wild o wafts, and green bullies growing out of the clefts of the crags, dreis up a landfcape in its full beauties, and con fum mate the charms of the profpect.. A flyle that imitates the different ap- pearances of nature, and, as fome exprefs it, its beautiful irregularities, which I wou'd rather call its beautiful varieties, entertains the mind and imagination with a mod; grateful variety of fen- fations and reflections - y and gratifies the curiofity of human nature with a perpetual fucceflion of new-riling fcenes and frefh pleafures. That place in St. John\ y^ vusi's TO %?i<r'jt,z o s?:%(37 XT? z'j~z lv v'ju'y tji^si is perplex'd and put out of the plain order, but cannot be faid to be more harfh or mifplac'd than that tranf- c i John ii. 2^ pofition Defended and lllufirated. 71 pofition in Herodotus : "AAAo TI YI tefa'tTzi ro h^ rsy spol xiv&vw o peyigog*. That tranfpofition in St. Matth&w ties TM TV- YI TCV xutyov, % ><%?.&, %J ffrjSTcew may feem a little unufual and irregular, but we have the fame in Homer : oijjuuyij TS ^ eu%&)}.ij TTS- }.eravfyv 'OAP.-jWwv rt ^ ots.vuMw c , where there is no room to objedl that the inverfion of the natural order was occasioned by the necemty of the verfe, becauie either way that is equally (e- cur'd. The natural pofition of the fifth verfe of St. Paul's epiftle to Philemon fhould have been thus: Hearing of thy love to aU faints, and the faith which thou hajl in our Lord Jefus Chrijf. Our tranilators improperly retain'd the tranipo- fition^ which will not be endured in Englijh, but fuch conftrudion is allowable in Greek) and us'd by the nobleft authors. That oDemofthenef is entangled much after the fame manner, and cannot be tranflated into Engtijh, preferving the order of the words. 'Ch >j.ev sflol xxrz'&ucw 01 Sometimes the words are not tranfpos'd or en- tangled, but an epithet is transfer'd by a meto- a Her. Gr. i. 4f. 1. 4. Thucid. 7. 417. 1. antepenult.' c St. Mat. xii. ZL. Horn. 'IX. o v . 4fo. Aio 'Tir TO ct'jro a ) uctpTttV80'iv QTI TSTO &^pa Iv raTr Ariitot. Meini". iixercit. tac. p. 2,1$, nymy 'The SACRED CLASSICS nymy from the moil proper word to one that appears lefi (b j but is dependent upon it, and related in fenfe. So in St. Luke TTfotrunov d-jrz Yp TTCSSVOUMOV li$ 'lefws&'jjfa for nofwopgviSy which is paralleled by that in Herodotus, CUTS onluv SXTSXTZI agtfioy $sy for agYjfav*. The Lat'mes fbmetimes take the fame liberties, efpecially the poets : Ufuspurfura- vum Jidere clarior 5 . Met&y y.^cg rz (3u t u,$ for /Sw//cV [JLi'&jo$ jJLYjXsog makes the fentence ftrong and compadj and gives an agreeable change to the conftructioiT, but is inferior to that vigorous inverfion TrcVwy G-7rv?i$uy 7f>jfjfUfjLstrot xtMorpxTuv, for Tto(rstG (r-i;*iz ntJJfSiG yJ.xcry.zTuy, which en- larges and ennobles the expreffion h . There is a beautiful paffage in Plato, which refembles this in the infpired writer, and is turn'd after the Hebrew manner, whereby fubftantives are put for adjec- tives, xyTratffrluv sy The learned Grotius conjectures that ev&$ is tranfpos'din St. Matthew* 9 civs fit) evbvg for i>bv$ Yj, as foon as he had gone up> and juftifies the f St. Luke ix. f^. 8 Hor. Ode 3. i. v. 42. h Hcrodot. St. Mark viii. 10. ' Plat, de Leg. i. p. <5zf. Ed. Ser. 6c Hen, Sreph, k St. Mat. iii. 1 6, phraic Defended and llluflr cited. 73 phrafe by authorities out of ALfehylus and Avi- Jlotle: to which I add a parallel inftance out of a very pure author : STrsity e fysSq ra^a, as foon as ever be was elected 1 . So upon this fuppofiti- on our tranflation fhould run; After Jefus 'was baptized, as foon as he came up out of the water : the heavens were opened, &c. To (ay our Savi- our immediately came out of the water after he was baptiz'd, feems to be a low circumftance of (mall importance or ufe: but take it the other way, and it very clearly and gratefully introduces the account of the following glorious appearance, and awful atteftation from heaven of our Savi- our's intimate relation and dearnefs to the Lord of eternity. St. Paul makes a noble repetition and interrup- tion in his ftyle, out of a generous eagernefi and impatience to exprefs his fervent charity and gra- titude to good One/if horusy for bravely (landing up for the crofs of Chrift, and him(el cur Lord's glorious prifoner and champion 5 when other timorous profeflbrs meanly deierted him in the time of his diftrefs and danger. The Apoftle begins with a prayer for the good man's family : The Lord grant mercy to the houfe of Onciiphorus^for he often refrejhed me> and was 1 Xcn. Cyrop. i. f . 6. p. 30. lin. pag. 10. L not 74 The SACRED CLASSICS fiot afhamd of my chain : lout being in Rome very carefully fought me y and found me out. Then the facred writer flops his period, and fufpends his fentence., to repeat his acknowledgments and prayer with renew'd fervour and gratitude : (The Lord grant that he may find mercy from the Lord in that day] and in how many inftances he mini- Jlred to me in Ephefas you very well know m . Read over the choiceft authors of Greece and Rome, and; among their many parenthefes and tranipofitions of ftyle, you will fcarce ever find one brought in a manner fb pathetic and lively ; nor for a reafon fb fubftantial and unexception- able. C. There is often great appearance of irregu- larity in the exchange of nouns and verbs, words and their accidents one for another,, which may ftartle and confound people of a low tafte and genius 5 but yield an agreeable variety and enter- tainment to judicious and capable readers of the nobleft authors. By this various changing and forting of the words which compofe language, there arife infinite numbers of new and pleafing ideas j the ftores and riches of fpeech are multi- ply 'd 5 you fee things in all their poflures and m 2 Tim. i. 1(5, 17, 18. i rela- Defended and lllufirated. relations, in all their variety of drefs and co- louring. The principal noun is put for the pronoun which ufes to (land for it to vary the expreffion, and prevent the too frequent repetition of it. When the Lord knew that the Pharifees heard that Jefus made and baftixd more difciples than John . The noble orator of Athens {peaks in the fame manner of himfelf: No loody here makes any men- tion of DemoftheneSj no one charges me 'with any crime. Plato, in one of his dialogues, intro- duces Euthyfhro thus {peaking of himfelf: Euthy- phro ivoud not excel vulgar mortals, if I did not ferfeftly under fland all thefe things ? . A fubftantive is often us'd by the {acred writers of the new Teftament for an adjective, which the {chcolmen call putting the abitract. for the concrete ; and it is a compad and vigorous way of expreflioir, originally Hebrew : ecrovrau ya* exzbxi yjusfxi &>.i'4/* % but it is far from being a barba- riim or repugnancy to pure Greek : voy.u psy yz* TCLXVTZ and t'Jb'xt/ pugix sivzi rzvra, thefe John iv. i. p Dem. de Cor. fo. 1. 7, per Foulks & Friend Sop. i ip. 1. p. Plat. Euthyph. f 1. i. 'EysrsKXtro 6 K^oTcro? Iwctgurav ra y^f'gi^) TfciTsJiiTcu tiitr: Osp^ai K^oTuO 3 . HeroU. Gr. i. :<).\. ult. Herod. Gr. 7- p-43i. 1. 51, 4 St. Mark xiii. ip. L z 7 6 The SACRED CLASSICS things fe em d to he folly*. The putting one fenfe for another fometimes may (bund harih to over- nice ears j but 'tis common in the beft authors, fa- cred and foreign. 57? fee corruption and tafle death in our divine writers will not by capable judges be condemn'd as improper and unclailical, who read and approve thofe liberties in the nobleft Claf- fics : fc)#ra/, $#.c, wV x^Acy o$si 3 fee, my friend, how fragrant it fmelh r l 'EwatfovTee <7ify*iw, in He- rodotus, is feeling of weapons, being vulnerable, tho' the original fignification of the word is to hear'. Kw(p<?V is put for cu.cti.cq in the new Tefta- ment v : we have xvfjum w(pu in Homer, and^r- do verier e in Juvenal"". As fine a writer and (bund critic as any we have, juftly pronounces the tranfition in the au- thor he comments upon, from the ienfe of hearing to that of feeing, to be an elegancy x . There is a remarkable exchange of one pronoun for another of a different perfon in St. Matthew xxiii. 37. TTfos #KT?J!^ the fame as sxurw for ffsavTyy : on which the learned Grotius obftrves, <f 'Tis an expreflion of the eaflern people, who r Thucid. 6. 3f7. 1. penult. Thucid. f. 316. 1. f. f Theoc. i. v. 149. c Herod. Gr. 3. 170. 1. penult. " ^ St. Mat. ix. 33. w Horn. 'IX. '. v. 16. Juven. Sat. 13. v. 194. x Dr. Potter on Lycophron. v. 2.^. p. 138. i " join Defended and llluftrated. join words or pronouns of the third perfbn to the firfl and fecond perfon after a pronoun relative or a participle, which one may ob- ferve in many pailages of the Hebrews, Syrians, <f and Arabians .' The great man fhou'd have added, and the fame form of fpeech is ufed by the old and pureft Grecians. px?.ei ^ bu y ^ fyopybJjvatj x] %gij<rGur&aiT eavrS TfCTru 7 . The article o is fet for a pronoun relative., y xsivy.cy/j, this perfuapon y in the iacred writers : to which that place in Thucidides exactly corre- fponds, sv TcTc Trg&Toi cs 'A&qvcffoi, among thefe the Athenians fajl z . Lewis Cafe I/us, on St. Mark ix. 1 3 . in vain therefore oblerveSj that TO for TZTO may pafi ui verfej but in plain profe is fcarce to be en- dur'd. \Vords of comparifon are fometimes fb exchang- ed and boldly exprefs'd in (acred writers,, that raili critics have not forborn to charge 'em with unal- lowable and unparallel'd liberties. How juftly we fhall now examine. The fuperlative in St. John Hands for the comparative 3 : T^JT^ y.z, before me. The politeft and mod accurate Claffics write in y ^Lfchin. adv. Cref. p8. v. 5. Vid. Plat. Alcib. l- 14?- 1. 2.8. -urpc? rrlv taura /jiriT^a, to you?' own ?nothtr. * Galm. v.8. I 'hucid. r p. 4 v, 8. a Si. J-.hn i. if. the 78 The SACRED CLASSICS the fame manner: teivoTccros CXJ^K TZVTU you out-did your f elf in thefe matters*. The com- parative is put for fuperlative in St. Matthew: fAixf o-re*o$ for &x%i<ro$ : ComAnacreon: yofr-jexto- Tsgov ce TFXVTUV*. Plato has the poiitive for the fuperlative : 7r#Ww> #&A/c d . The divine writers vary the comparative, and .by addition of another word give it ftrength and vehemence : tyo oy ,^r=- goi 'JTrff wg Quros in St. Luke, which is agreeable ro the ufage of the Septuagint^ xgsi'trtrov TO s'/.sog & '*>* fyM.$*. And the moil accurate authors among the Greeks and Romans have parallel forms of expreflion : birw v/ Tjexmq TT^O steubsafys fy z,?- ~z$-oTs0w f : Virgil has - fcelere ante alios immanior omnes g . To exprefs any thing fuperlatively excellent or great, the Hebrews lay, 'tis great or excellent to or before God: Which noble manner of fpeech the new Tefbment writers imitate. St. Luke has xfiioc TU &f h , vfzvioy y 'cacv, frodigioufly - y TL Ssuv $%$%}.[*%, a rare and exquifite piece. ^70- TI'$ TO peys&oS) of a wonderful po-uu- b Xen. Mem.Soc. i. ^. 46. p. 2.7. Wells c St. Mac. xi. ii. xviii. i. Anac. OJ. 46. v. TJT. Barnes. d Plat. Gorg. 472,. 1. 4. before the end. e Su. Luke xvi. 8. Pial. Ixii. 4. Gnibe Gcp. in our tranf- lation, 65. 4. f Herod. Gr. i. 15. 1. 43. n Acts vn. 10. Jonah iii. 3. er Defended and llluftraied. 79 er and face, in the claflic authors feem to bear ibme refemblance to this Hebrew beauty '. The Evangelifts and Apo fries after the Greek tranflators promiicuoufly ufe nouns of number j they put one for the firfl j ^ tro^druv for ?rf orn? k . which is called a Hebrew phrafe, but 'tis claflical, and good Greek too : xyijg psyxSve T for Trevrs G~&XU.UV *. 7#i^d/ has fexta cervice feratur It appears by this,, that the famous Jewijb hi- ftorian JofephushzA not read, or not minded, thofe paflages in Herodatus and leveral others, which might be produced out of other Greek authors j, when he affirmed that this manner of expreffion was a pure Hebrew Idiom, and formally promifed to give peculiar reafbns for it n . One great occafion of rallily cenfuring and im- properly tranflacing the new Teftament has been not taking notice that a verbal adjective or par- ticiple is us'd for any part of fpcech or fpecies of word in language, and more particularly and fre- cj uen tly for a verb: K^rr^ 5-yw 5;/w> for si'%py 1 Ariiloph. Ran. 795. Theoc. Id, r. Plat. Gorg. K f. Civitas magnet Deo. Jonrc iii. 2, i. c. pcrquam maxima Hinc ScGri^ci, Aax.icAa.'/jtova c^uty, & iimiliu iniinita: 8c Ln- tini dicunt, Homo divind fide; divina me rite; divino ingenio prsditus, Buxtorf the Hebrew Grammar, p. $61. * St. Mat. xxviii. i. J Her.Gr. z. iz6.& i. 19. 1. p, ""Juvenal Sit, i. v. <5f, " Antiquities T, i. or $0 The SACRED CLASSICS or ty %w 9 , for eiu,l is oft underftood, more rarely put down. Txro yx$ s^s yiworxoyrsh for this you know*: oinveg egyx d-sfe^dy^ci surl\ "Tis much us'd in Hebrew \ butPifcator and others call it a Helraifniy always meaning exclusively, i. e. that the form of expreilion is not pure and proper in the Greek tongue. But 'tis a very grofs error tho' delivered down by a very long tradi- tion : TLeifsio'QfJLGu * dyu Slxfyutefftruv IY^ eiftyqy y I will endeavour to keep the peace r . Our tranflatorsj for want of obferving this, have, according to their verfion, (everal times made unavoidable fblecifins in the (acred original : I befeech you, brethren, that ye walk worthy of the evocation hy which you are calld, 6cc. forbearing one another f . By which conftrution xve^o^svoi muft necefla- rily agree with vuzc, which would break thro' all rule, and be an irreconcilable fblecifm. But all is right if we put a flop at the end of the fir ft verie j or rather, to make it more cafy and natu- ral, after TrgxoTqToe, with hngfuffering forbear one another in love-, and tranflatc <7-z^ii^T?c, earnefl- ly endeavour, which conftr action is juftify'd by the frequent ufe of the beft authors of Greece. Philip, iii. 4. P Ephcf. v. f. 1 Her. Gv. 2. pi. 1. 4. r Dem. de Cor. fo. 1 6. f Ephef. iv. i, z, 5. And Defended and llluftrated. g i And the obfervation of Grotius on this place, that St. "Paul regards the fenfe more than the o bare words, and their grammatical conftr action in many paflages might have been as well apply 'd to Homer, Herodotus, or Thucidides. O ur tranfla- tion fuppofes a barbarifin in Colofftans iii. i6\ But turn it thus, Let the 'word of Chrift dwell in you richly in all wifJom: Teach and admomjh one another, &c. and every thing is clear and regular. Many other places might be named, but I pro- pofe to confider the chief of them in the Dif fertation I have under hand upon the wrong di- viilon of chapters and verfesin the new Teftament, and the faulty tranflation of thofe ineftimable writers, which either tend to pervert the (enie., or tarnifh the beauty of the admirable originals : Which, with another Diflertation upon the Sep- tuagint, and the advantages of ftudying it in or- der to have a better notion of the fenfe, and taftc of the beauties of the Greek Teftament, will make up the third and laft Part of this Work : Which I hope to publifh a little time after thefe two Parts- have (een the world j and, if that can be expect- ed, have been receiv'd with favour. From what has been (aid it may appear that the learned and admirable Dr. Hammond is miflaken, when upon his review of his annotations upon Gal. ii. he de- clares, that the two places abovemention'd arc M not 8i 'The SACRED CLASSICS not reconcileable with Syntaxis: "Af/sTo for %ufxv 9 the Argives marctid s . That is as bold a conftru&ion in St. John as any to be found in the new Teftament. 'Ovfcle ^ SToXf&z TV sfyrdazi aurov, siSojss c . It may be (blv'd by r Tecy or sl'fyfftzv, and is exactly parallel'd by that pat fage in Thucidides v . ^vgaxxcrioig ri, %ufiftsi%Qig x%]z- Trbrfas xx oX(y/) eysvsro ouvrs$ which cannot be accounted for or fblv'd any way but by allow- ing ofuvres in the Greek claflical language to be tantamount to sV^wv, or %<rav ogwrsc. Thofe two paflages in Thucidides and Plato are very (iir- prizing and uncommon, snl TW n^^^svot r^ *%$*$) $ avTol QfiM Pto&P$M 3 topunijh our enemies, and at the fame time f weferve our fehes w . TTSV'JJTUV, Tijv OE Trtepiuv, olxSvrae sv TW aii eTri&tevovTae aX'XyXoic. To which x let me add, out of Ifocrates y , where sv TW TL^^^SVOI olxxvTxg im- mediately depending on nteo-i'uy and ev6vfJuqQgfIxe> cannot be fo eafily refblv'd, as the foremen tion'd inftances, for a very obvious reafbn; and carry more appearance of difficulty and fblecifin than s Thucid. f. 331. I. if, 16. r St. John xxi. 12. vThucid. 7. 4^7. 1. 12, 14. w Thucid. 1.66. 16, 17. "Plat. Ref. 8. p. ffi. ed. Ser. & Steph. 1. 34, 35-, 36. y Ifoc. Plat. 175*. 1. 10. near beginning ofOrat. any Defended and Illuftrated. 83 any pafla^e in the whole new Teftament. And if thefe phrafes be allow 'd, the authority of theie three eloquent and flouriiliing authors ofoldGreece muft for ever filcnce all objections upon this head againft the (acred Claffics; if not, then there is no ftandard of pure Greek at all j and all language, and every author is alike. Caftalio makes a very cold and aukward com- plement to the divine writer of the Revelation j and firfl imagines him to be guilty of a fblecifm, and then formally makes an apology for him. In his note on AfocaL i. 4. he thus accofls his reader : As to the folecifm (fuch as prefently fol- lows otTtc 'iqffS X^<ry o fjidtrjc) dorit be concern d y fuch things are often found in Paul. Learn mo- rals from the good, and language from the eloquent. All capable readers who are not mov'd with the appearances of (blecifin in the noble authors late- ly produc'd, will not be difturb'd at #T<? rS o uv y HI o y t V) % ?XopM$ ' which are not greater diffi- culties or deviations from plain grammar than thofe and numerous other pafTages in the fublim- eft authors. Grotius and other critics give a fur- ther reafbn why thefe nominatives were not va- ry'd j they emphatically reprefent and exprefs the everlafting veracity and invanablcnefs of God, and the unchangeable majefty of Chrift in the teftimony of his Gofpcl , and the glory of his kindom. M z The 8 4 The S A c R F. D C L A s s i c s The nominative cafe for the vocative may as well give fome people offence^ as fbme things as little difficult have done. St. Luke has /) -xzi'g s~si~ gu z j and 'tis not only found in the Scptuagint and writers of the new Teftament, but 'tis an At- tic elegance : o Q&qgeug OTG$ 'AioW.ofagog zz i~;~ \ Both cafe and number are fometimes chang'dj S^S^STS P.acVy.s b , ax&sre /.s^g C 3 TO istrsrw SXGK'OS snecrSe c . Variation of cafe and change of conduction has rais'd fcruples in fome over-wife critics with rcfpecl; to the purity of the new Teftament jftyle. The learn'd and judicious editor of St. Clement has retain'd an old reading of that Father againil i the correction of Junius and Bois, who were of^ fended at a change of conftruction which they did not efleem to be confiftent with the genuine purity of the clailic Greek * : And he fays 'tis ufual with the facred writers of theGofpel, whofe man- ner of expreflion this venerable Father comes near. 'Tis very right, this form of fpeech is common both in the Septuagint and new Teftament writers. '' ' y/jy =V vSevog f . 2 St. Lukcviii. f4- a Plat. Conv.Ed. Francofurt. p. 1 174. b Apoc. c x^riftoph. Acha. 9pp. a Thucid. i. 1 3^. 1. ip. f Mr. Worton in St. Clement, c. 30. p. i^f. n. L, f Job xxvi. 7. 8 St. Luke i. ff , But Defended and llluftrated, $ j But 'tis equally common in the belt Claflics y & {JLY]X.'dg TS 7TA& , ^ ZTTOfLU (bvXttXTjg*. Whether tllC reading in St. Luke ' be di>r/j x4?%* to agree with [jirjTf!, or ccjTfi yyigct before fy underftooa, makes no manner of difference in the fenfe, or ftrucliure, or found of the words, or variation in the old manufcripts written without accents , or diftine- tion of verfes, in capitals. But if we take it the laft way, as found in fbme very good books, it is pure and clear, and parallel'd by the noble hi- dorian , Bxtfivoi ci T? auryj and xat.cv ir t ucc, fo near in St. Paul, cannot be efteem'd more an inaccuracy, than vsxg MTW ytv~ <rbzt,. and Aoycv ysvuvrai, fo clofe together in Plato \ To conclude, there is not (b bold a tran- fition from cafe to cafe in all the Greek Teftament, and which (eems fb contrary to grammar, as that in Herodotus \ Ovis avrog y{0rpiw clog it tgou z*- XsMy XT? afaov xtevz xfafiuv m , It has been the doctrine of the generality of grammarians that the ^enitive is the only cafe that can be put abfblute ; h Thucid. 6. 3pp. 1. i. vid. etiam Thucid. f. 331. 1- I 3 J. Sr. Luke ix. i. Plat. Ref. f . 390. 1. pen. Ed. Mafley. He- rod. i. i. 1. if, 1 6. Thucid. 7. 466. 1. 14. ' St. Luke vii. n. k Herod. 4. if6. 1. 17, 18. vid. St. Luke i. f f . Pifcator pretends 'tis a violation of Syntax, 1 Heb. vi. 4, f . Plat. Ref. 7. 148, 1. 4, (5. m Her. Gr. 4. itff. 1. 31, 33. that 8<S that is, that implies a confequence, or (bmething that has happen'd, or will liappen upon fuch a (uppofition. But this conftruction is often put in the accufative., and fometimes in the dative, or rather ablative. This one obfervation will clear many paflages of the new Teftament from the charge or irregu- larity and violation of grammar ; and account for feveral various readings occafion'd by the igno- rance and preemption of copyifts. ' CCJTOV sic, oTxov cl a$tf\cd eirygUTuv aturw n . when thefe things were determined and accompli fid, the armies march'd . I\-J^EV at cev 9 when no- thing was determined, which is follow'd by a va- riation of the conftruclion, VLIX]^T eTFiyevopevrje p . The excellent Grotius himfelf feems not throughly to have confider'd this 5 and therefore he approves of eflsQevlos our*, a variation of reading fupport- ed by little authority,, in St. Luke q ,, only to pre- vent the repetition and imaginary fuperfluity of ill the lacred text. KalajSabft ^ OLVTU duo rS is by fome efteem'd a Pleonafmus, but is more naturally folv'd this way, and that paflage in He- rodotus exactly anfwers it, p.yj S'/.^CL cs TOLCL j3z- n St. Mark ix. 18. Xen. Hellen. 3. p. p Thucid. 4. 284. 1. i<5. q A&s vii. ii. 3 Defended and Illuftrated. 87 S7rl TO feftrvov wrong fMrsffdett vtyt h rd olxicc r . 'Tis a rule among grammarians that Aptotes, or nouns that admit no variation in their ending, except proper names and adjectives, are of the neuter gender. Then zod ^iz would fall under cenfure s ; but the old obfervation is overturn'd, and the {acred writer defended by Hejiod's os may feem to violate the reafbn of grammar to thofe who fuperrtitioufly adhere to that pretended rule. Here w# may be underftood as it is often in the Septuagint, Tiotycreig $vo %efxei[jL x?vax ro- gsvla. Sometimes they put a mafculine adjedlive to it, xsfu&lfjt, ex\siwv\e$ rz$ Tflegvyag w . By the (ame word tfiot Jofephus calls the Cherubims. The neuter gender is us'd inftead of the mafcu- line in {acred writers of the new'Teftament, nteTov 'iwa, greater than Jonas of our blefTed Saviour x . 'Tis frequently and elegantly (b us'd by the beft claflic authors, when they {peak of perfons, rsc >.oi7r% <rjy$ie%sififyv, they kill'd the reft of the Per- fians y : oXiyoy fy TO KiTsvoy ^gpoxedrst $ QoSisfjLevoy vy feme few there 'were that lelievd Her- r St. Mat. viii. i. Herod. Gr. 6. 349. 1. 8. Thucid. 4. 167.1. 17, 18. Xen. Hellen. p. ifi. s Apoc. ix. n. e %7 a ^ ijjix. v Hcb. ix. f. w Exod. xxv. 18, ip, 20. x St. Mat. xii. 41. * Her. Gr. ix. 5-47. 1. 31. mocrarcs 88 mocrates, and fear d the event*. Uxi&m, neuter plural, is common in Plato for a Icy lelovd. Ho~ race fpeaks after the fame manner in his praife of Auguftus \ ftzga Kvf& sysvsro ocurri is {aid by feveral to be a Helraifm, and put for TTO b , but the conftruc- tion and fenfe will be equally natural and found, if we refer it to xeQxlyj ywlotq ^ as Ttteophylaft , Grotiusy and Erafmus do. M/av yTwafuj** one thing have I deprd, is brought as a parallel cafe out of the Greek verfion of the old Teftament c : But 'tis very common for the adjective to agree with a fubfhntive underflood and included in the fenfe of the verb,, play o&~Ypn yryjffsifjatjv being the expreilion at length. So in fctfto'ijau 7roX/.z$ in St. Luke 7r>.rj<yz is underftood^ that anies out of the fignification of the verb d . Parallels to which are frequent in the nobleft Claffics : gw/lgiZelo rj-~c- That change of number in St. Paul to St. Timo- o oi&zpev in one part of the period, and ei$ti. 9 7 Thucid. 6. 370. 1. antepenult. & penult. a Nil oriturum alias, nil ortum tale fatentes. Hor. Ep. 2. I. 17. b St. Mat. xxi. 42. c Pfal.xxvi. 7. in the Septuagint. cc atmioriv (tlav lyco airs/aat. 3 Kings ii. i<5, 20. as the Septuagint diitinguifhes it. a Luke xii. 47. Anltoph. Nub. p58. Xen. Cyr. Exp. p. 315-. refer 'd Defended and Illufir cited. 8p refer'd to die fame perfbn, in another,, may feem abrupt and unaccountable to people not well vers'd in the Clailics f : But it is much more eafily fblv'd than fever al paflages of this nature in the nobleft authors. Helen ) in Euripides, (ays of herfelf, *&$ y <Jix2&, *W -Ste'vw, to^we-Sto g . It might very well Hand for oTfay according to Grot'ius, who lays 'tis fre* quent with the Hebrews to ufe a participle for a verb of the prefent tenfe, which they want : but the preter tenfe is put for it j fb the participle is not us'd for that reafbn; neither is it a pure He- Iraifm j 'tis common in all the befl Greek authors ; we have undeniable inftances above. As to the change of number-, that is as bold in Tully as any can be met with in a good author: Mihi quidem, neque fueris noUs, &c. To me, when I was a boy h . 'Tis ea(y to clear the fenfe of iPet. iii. i. but not fb to fblve the difficulty in conftrudion ; $evTf#y tTtizc^) vplv yfzQtt, ev cm;* The Em- peror Antonine has a place exactly parallel; but we don't come fo low for authority'. We have a paflage in Plato that is as bold, and fully comes up to that of the Apoflle: TOWJTW (tvw Iv avSUTroit; f i Tim. i. 8, 9. g Troad. 5)04. h Tullii Offic. i. p. 57, 58. Ed. CockmanOxon. 1716. 1 Cap. 4. 1. z. l Plat. Rel". 6, 20. 1. antepca. & pen, N Their j>o The SACRED CLASSICS There is an appearance of violation of gram- mar in St. Luke, sysvsTo J fisrz T8$ t.oyx 'Tis not impoffible to produce an inftance out of a noble Claffic, of a verb fingular put to a noun plural, not of the neuter gender : Ms>.iyz- gvsg vpvoi fcsguv ccfxatl Aoyuv TBM.STXI, m . There is a conflrudUon exa6Hy the fame in Herodotus: Izi $ (tsrajrv TYIS TS Tco&aiys TT&IOG J rS vyx I*K\& ezhoi*. This way of expreffion in St. Luke may be (bl v'd by underftanding %foyo$ j which is fre- quently fuppreft in the nobleft Claflics. 'AAA' dTTU TTOMZl YjVLSeOtt Qt,Q) - SViXXTS (TUV TO'i'g &SCT$) as oisifYiiJLa may be, in the paflage of Herodotus? quoted. In that paflage of St. Luke, Kal w 'lu<rrj(f) ^ q Wr/tf MTU SzvfJLxfyvTs?, ?jv is put for '/JTM by a iyncope of the Beottans. So Hefody himfelf a Beotian, ufes it: r/j$ o' rr-> Tgiig xsSz/.y.M* . is us'd for both parents bySt.P^/ q ; (b , mEtiripides, is put for Admetus and his Queen". And, what is much bolder, Antigone) in Sof hocks, fpeaks of herfelf in the plural number and ! St. Luke ix. z8. Pind.ir. Ol. n. v. f. Hcroc'. Gr. i. 10. I. i^, 14. Xcn. C'yr, Exp:d. 3. 2. <?. p. ij-o. Wells. ! ." Sr. Luke ii. ^. Hcfiod. Theog. 32.1. ^ Heb. xi. 23, ' r Eurip. Alccfu 130. 4 mafculinc Defended and llluflrated. $\ rnafculine gender: (b does Medea in Euripides** We have in Herodotus 3vo &sx$ fjisytxteg YlsiSu j^ 'Avafozfy/. Now who can doubt but tetrwrsc, in AHs ix. 3 7. may ftand for a woman or women, if any one think that decency wou'd not allow, men to perform the office there mentioned ? A quick tranfition from one number to ano- ther has been efteem'd an impropriety to people who have not confider'd the pathos and empna- fis of it j nor been acquainted with the authors of the fublimeft {endmentSj and pureft language amongft the ancients. The word *yv\y in St. Paul toltmothy v includes the whole fexj and the change of the number in (JLSivu<riv is natural : agrees with yjrij by plain grammar, and by figurative grammar witn navai yvvzlte$ which is included in ywr,, and tantamount to that word in fenfe. Xenofhon delights in this tranfition j r^ cs rig TXTW Ti TtagaSaivy fyi^iccg avToTg STrsQstrav w . ^ craufOTtoiig dvrjf, zg fr/j ^ eTrxive? TO Trt-.rfiog*. Tranfition from plural to fingular adds ftrength to the difcourfe ; and applies clofe to every parti- cular what is of general concern. 'Tis common 1 Sophoc. Antig. v. 338. Eurip. Alceflis 383. Med. 1241. r Herod. Gr. 8. 4pf. 1. 33. v I Tim. ii. if. w Xen. Cyrop. p. 4. 1. 14. Oxon. nil Greek. ; Plat. Ref. 8. 181. 1. 16, 17. Thcog. v. 4fp, 460. See Sept Job xxxvi. 7, N 2. in. 91 The SACRED CLASSICS in the infpir'd Hebrew writers, and their Greek translators y . So in the divine writers of the new Teflament this fudden change of numb > frequently us'd, and always for a Throng reafon ^t. Jerom is high- ly offended at St. Paul for palling from vufy ol wvevfJialixol xalx/K^sls to trxovuv c-;xviw t uij ^ ffv 7tsi~ $oi.cY,q z * Te that are fpiritual reftore a brother over- taken in a faulty conpdering thy felf, lefl thou alfo be tempted. And gathers from this place, that St. Paul, when he {aid that he was rude or unskil- ful in ipeecli, cou'd mean it in no other fenfe, than that he was a foleciit ,, and ignorant of the Greek language. But that this paflage is pure Greek may be gather'd from what we have already laid $ and fliall prefentlybe prov'd by parallel chan- ges and tranfiaons in the moil vigorous and elo- quent authors of Greece. In the mean time we may confider what Erafmus and other critics have (aid upon this paflage : That this change m the na- ture of the thing is here more judicious, more pref- fingy And pertinent to St. Paul V purpofe. Had he iliid, considering your fehes } lefl ye alfo he tempted y it would have been more harfii and ofFenfive to t!ut body of Chriftians : and this great preacher v s fcs all gentle and healing exprefilons to thofe D-. 5 i::cr. vi. i, i. >- Gal. vi. weaker Defended and Illuftrated. weaker Chriftians whom he endeavours to correct and improve. By this abruptnefi and tranfition the Apoftle more effectually addrefles himfelf to every man's conference, he prefles it clofe and home i awakens his reader, and gives every indi- vidual Chriftian an intereft and concern in the danger and duty a . We have the like tranfition in Xenofhon^ ~A$A# TT/OV^KS Totiq no teeny , A collective noun, tho'in grammar of the fin- gular number, and neuter or feminine gender, may have adjectives join'd to it of that number and gender of which the perfbns are, which are included in thefenfej o 0%A<?? 5V^ ? o JJL^ yifrucrxuy TOV vofjioy- exMaloigctlQi slei c ' which is not more dif- ficult than "O%A0 $foi%Sij Ttvog rag vzvg -=$ d . In St. Luke we have TrXr^cg geo alvxfiw Toy Ssov, where dyfsX^y or fbme equiva- lent word mnft be contained in rgstliag zocwlv e . So * Flaccius Illyricu? de ftylo- S3. Literamm. Trab. f. p, 467, 468. Erafm, in loc. h Xen. Hellen. p. zof. Plutarch Confolat. ad Apol. p 6'z, Bibl, if 74. Greek. Galat. iv. f, tf, 7, 8. c St. John vii. 49. d Xen. Hel. i. ij. e St. Luke ii. 1, Pars arduus altis Pulverulentus cquis furit in Virgil is a greater liberty than ever I faw in any other auihor. Virg. ^En, VII, y, (114.5 in SACRED CLASSICS in Thucidides we have Trefiwsffi psgog Tl OTrolsi^Svlstf ( , y&ixh$ efffygcttifffievci, which oflFended the famous Laurentlus Valla g , is exactly the fame as eel 7totei$ dfrfatav vavcroflef in a noble claffic h . lewfa |uS ? ~.-ixiv u$M 9 where the relative refers to a tantamount word included in Tswist, is pa- rallel'd by that pafTage in Thucidides, TZ rsiy XOL\OC- Safiotg sg TO <, gcfloTTsSbv '. There is in Thucidides a harflier change, and more exceffive liberty upon this head than any in the (acred writers k , where Kstevffofltxs depends only upon Nay Sa&aijuvim in the text 5 which muft have relation to wQfUTrxe the men or fafjengers fuppos'd to be on board the (hip. That in Plato is bold, but what is frequent in all the belt authors of Greece j XTS & X^/TTW XT* Ipzy.svcv ewyy %?%$ nsti&utd dvs^slai ., rz fexz X5- gstla STOI pi<rrj(rx<rL, where ZTCI muft have rela- tion to fizffitets prefigured and underftood in x.e- p\y.. This change is anfwer'd for before in nu- merous inftances : I fliall only add one out of the pure and polite Xenophon : Yvuvri TO SsTov OTI where #;JrtfV muft agree with the f Thucid.y. 4^3. 1. 17, 18. Ibid. <5. 595*. 1. 7. 8 Dr. Prat's Gram. parr. II. 164. h Xen. Mem. of Soc. 2,, 5. p. 85. ' Gal. iv. i p. Thucid. 4. 2,13. 1. n. Vid. Deuteron. vxviii. 37- k Thucid. 6. 370. 1. tf, 7. 1 Plat. Phjedr, p. 139. Ed. Steph. cqui- Defended and llluflratett. equivalent word Sex? included and contained in the word 9s7ov m . Ignorance of figurative gram- mar, and the allowable liberties taken by the fob- limeft authors., has occafion'd weak people to run into erroneous and heretical opinions. We have this paflage in St. John: kiao}.c$ fyevzyg ^ nxl'/jg avTx that is, T8 4/aJ&$ included and fully com- pris'd in the fenfe of i^jr/jV. The Devil was a liar, and the father or author of lying". Epi- fhanius in his Panxrium has five or fix times this groundlefs and ridiculous addition, * c TnaC^f CCJTZ '4ssvrsj<; yjy ' whence fbme unftable and weak Chri- itians imbibed that flupid error, that the Devil had a father, 'who was a liar. Nonnus the poe-" tical paraphraft of St. John follows this abfurd reading . In Thucidides there are feveral paral- lels 5 I fliall name one that fully and unavoidably reaches the point: 57 uzX^ovTsg xo/.sufosw yj s U\JTU TI c'/i owes, that is, in TTC/.^W included in the fio-nifi cation of notewjo-sw*. d? The fame reference to a word underftood, and collected out of the fenfe of fbme word exprefs'd and going before, is often found in the facred authors of the old and new Teflamenc, and in m Apocal. 17. 16. Xcn. Mem, Soc. p. fo, n St. John viii. 44. P Thucid. i. 13. 1. all The SACRED CLASSICS all the nobleft dailies. 'O TroifactG avrd in St. Paul' 1 cannot agree with any word before ex- prefs'd, but has reference to ivlzXfjiizla T No'/**?, or fbme equivalent word included in the fenfe. So in ThucidideSy xadisycriv iavlov sg xgiffiv roTs @u- hofisvoi? Tcsgl IXUTUV ihsfysi*'' where, as the fcho- liaft obferves, y^Fo^^xruv mull be underftood. So in ArzftophaneSy TTO^OI TrtelSn itovegol aol- mq ccjiz ffvto%dfteyot s %g9JiMc]a is underftood. In all thefe cafes fome word muft be underftood which is gather xl out of the defign of the dit courfe, and the nature of the fubjedt the author is treating;. o 111 St. Matthew 7rd?,i$ is underftood in T *Iefo<re}Mjji&. So in Pirgil uvle in that place Pr<e- uefle fub iff a. Some critics are offended with i$uy agreeing with msvux in St. Mark l , but with- out reafon: SoufjLuv the fame with xvs3y.a here, may be fuppos'd to agree with it, according to the elegance of figurative conftruction. B^fO^c tyegovlct TO%OV u is the fame in the polite and clear Anacreon, (bev S atyoeQij % HI^YI a . Rom. x. f. Thucid. i, 71. 1. ult. f Ariftoph. Plut. foi, foi. Vid. Pfal. xxxviii. Sept.vulg. 3P- 7- >)craup/^e(j ^ yi\>to<rmi rlvi awdyii aura. ' r St. Mat. u. 3. Virg. JEn. VIII. v. 5-61. St. Mark ix. a?, v Anac. Od. 3. v. 41, 41. p, 8, Barnes, Defended and Illuftrated. 97 w . So in the noble orator, tuxgy, ^ xsfyotty - efytyXuQug * There is a fhew of confufion and difficulty in the {acred writers, by reafon of the various altera- tions and tranfpofitions of the antecedent and re- lative : But that is no more an objection againfl the purity and pleafantnefs of their language, than the fame (eeming irregularities are againft the ftyle of the moft valuable authors of Greece and Italy. The greateft difficulty upon this head is that in the A$s r ? ayovTsg no/ u %svi&&ufJLv Mva&oovi for xyov- regMitdtruvat -KOL^ w Mvdcruvi, dec. which repetitions are {bmetimes found in the cleareft and pureft authors, more particularly in Cofor. In St. Paul vTryxxvars eig ov itot^s^vyrs TVTTOV Mxyyq is for TU'TW Ji^xp^tf eis ov rv^ov 7r&f$Q&tfls*. So, in St. Paul's epiftle to Philemon, t ux TSMX wou'd be at length ov*Ovij<rifMv\ There are innumerable parallel places in the claffic writers. We {hall, to vouch our affeveration, produce a few decifive and certain. In Herodotus ty&dy is fupprefi'd in that paflage si a(pl sn w Xen. Cyrop. 7. 3. p. 415. Wells. * Demoft. in Mid. 401. 1. 13, 14. after C. r A6ts xxi. 16. z Rom. vi. 17. Philemon f. 10. b Her. Gr. 7. p. 419. 1. 30. O So 7The SACRED CLASSICS So 'largixvj in the divine Plato r\v vuv oyj TTSl The putting verbs of different {pecies, and their circumftances and manners of fignifving: r i r one for another, is io common in the new Telia- ment that it wou'd be endlefs to produce inftances of them all. I have {elected fbme of thefe changes, which (eem moft difficult and furprifmg to people not throughly vers'd in thefe ftudies^ out of the (acred writers, and parallel'd them out of the moft valuable ClaiUcs of Greece. By a metonymy any one fpecies of a verb may be put for another, as to {peak in general for to adrift) command, dijjuade, &c. So, in St. Matthew, sine* is command-, {b, in, Thucidides, etnoyrsfr commanding to annoy the ene- my, &c e . On which the judicious editor has this remark very pertinent to our purpofe. f f Amongft other words and forms of ipeech " which are Eilfly thought utterly abhorrent to <f the genius of the Greek language, we meet (< with EiTTsl':-', (ignifying to command. The ufe cc of which is common with Thucidides, who <c had no acquaintance with the Hebrew, from f( which this is imagin'd to be deriv'd. t; Plat.' Gorgias p. 44p, 4^0. d St. Mat. iv. 3. Thucid, 7. 419, 1. i. not. a. 3 What Defended and Illuflrated. 99 What a man endeavours to do, or commands to be done by this ftrong and comprehenfive way of expreflion, he is (aid to do ; what he difluades or advifes againft, he is laid not to fuffer to be done j what lie offers, to give; and what he pro- mifes,, to perform. In this fenfe Herod fays, I fo- teaJeJ John*. So, mXenopbon, o fictTiXtvg due- rsfjivsi MTU vfjv xsfyxtojvy the king cut off bis head 1 , 01 sx el'uv yaufJLa%fyv dfrsserSai, they diffuaded 'em from the thought of, and f reparation of a fea-fght h . Things promis'd and offer'd are faid to be adu- ally given in Herodotus: dig fjuxtyg rd bfopsyx $e- xscr&stiy that you may learn to accept of things offered to you 1 . To hear, in thefacred Claffics, is to obey*-, fb 'tis frequently in the old Greek ClafTics : x IVMZ.- ovltov $s TUV MiTb/wziw, 'when the Mityleneans would not obey 1 - y Aaxsfaipdywi $s xxug r/xxov y the Lacedemonians did not comply 'with their de- mands m . The retaining the figurative way too clofely, has render'd our tranllation of the Bible in fbme f Sc. Mark vi. i5. Xen. Hellen. 3. 175-. Dem. adv. Mid. 410. 1. 2. after B. h Her. Gr. 7. 416. ). 7. ; Her. Gr. 9. f f 1. 1. i. Vid. etiam Her. Gr. p. rro. 1. I- & Demoft. adv. Mid. 410. 1. z. after. B. k Ads iv. 19. i Thucid. 5. ifo.l, i. m Herod, i. 61. 1. p. vid. Thucid. 3. i 62,. 1. 6. O 3. places ico The SACRED CLASSICS places a little perplex'd. Tou Jhall le fold, and none Jhall buy you, in Deuteronomy, had been better translated, to prevent the offence of or- dinary people, you Jhall le fet to fale, and none Jhall buy you". To which form of expreflion that in Herodotus is exactly conformable, ETTS&V- {jL'/jG's 7'/j<; ")(&otv$Qg ri, avify KfoffsXStov uveero, he had a gv 'eat fancy for the cloak, and came and bought it y that is, asked the price, and offered money for it". St. John, in his firft Epiftle, chap. ii. v. i<T. commends the Chriftians he addrefles, for their knowledge and ftrength in Chriftianity ; tells 'em they had a holy unction whereby they had over- come the evil one, and aflures them that he writes to them to caution 'em a^ainft the artifices of o antichriftian and lewd heretics, wickedly in- duitrious to propagate their pernicious opinions. Yet in ver. ^ 6 . according to our vernon, he fuppofts 'em to be already deceived and; drawn aude by thofe impious importers: Thefe things have I written to you concerning thofe that deceive you$ which in my humble opinion is harfh and Severe, and {bmething repugnant to the com- mendations beftowed upon them j therefore I fubmit to better judgment, whether the paflage might not better be render 'd, according to the n Dcuteron. xxviii. 68. Her. Gr. 3. 114. 1. 8. figurative Defended and lltuftrated. \ o i figurative forms mention'd above > I have writ- ten thefe things to you , concerning thofe who endea- vour to deceive you. Verbs neuter or intranfitive often acquire a new fignification, and become tranfitive ; and fo in- troduce a new and different conflrudion. A vail number of critics and commentators have agreed to call this an Hebraifm j and contrary to the geni- us and purity of the old Greek language, Gataker and Grotius make it a Hebraifm, and in (lance SfiapSsuu, which, in its firft fignification, is to triumph over a defeated enemy y but in (acred wri- ters is to caufe another per f on to triumph p . Mr. L ock too rafhly advances a notion on this head;, which cannot at all be defended : " The " cuftom or familiarity of which the Hebrew <c and Syriac tongues do {bmetimes (b far in- cf fluence the expreflion in thefe epiflles, that <( one may obferve the force of the Hebrew con- (< jugations, particularly that of Hiphil, given to cc Greek verbs, in a way unknown to the Grecians Cf themfelvesV But tho' Mr. Locky as a philofbpher, pretends to be a Free-Thinker , and fcorns the flavery of fol - lowing any guide, or being addi&ed to any feel or party 5 yet it will prefently appear that as a P 2, Cor. ii. 14. Vid. i . Sam. viii. 12.. q Mr. Lock's Pref. to Commcn. on St. Paul's Epiftle p. 4. 1 critic ioi The SACRED CLASSICS critic he implicitly embraced the vulgarly receiv'd notion, and walk'd in the old beaten path. The Hebrews uie the preter tenfe of what we call the indicative mood for all other tenfes except the fu- ture, and imperative,, and infinitive moods, and have no potential mood at all ; therefore there is a perpetual change of moods and tenfe one for another : And the Greeks,, tho' they have all the tenfe and moods wanting in the Hebrew 3 and the addition of (bme tenfe which even the Romans have not ; yet for variety they change their moods and tenfe in a manner as bold and (urprifing to people,, that have not compar'd the iacred and fo- reign Claffics, as the Hebrew writers themfelves. Vain is the obfovation of Hentenius : We mnft, (ays he , olferve that the Evangelifts and Apoftles leing native Hebrews, in this matter, as well as many others, follow d the Hebrew idiom, whereby they frequently exprefs the prefent tenfe, which they have not of their own, or the future by the preter tenfe r . I now proceed to prove what I advance upon this head. 'Avx)sM& in St. Matthew figni- fies to arife in one place, and to caufe to arife in ..another s . The r In Pere Sim. Hiftoire Critique du Text du N. T. c. z6. p. 311. 5 St. Mat. iv. 1 5, and v. 45-. One might, fays the great Cafaufon on this latter place, produce a great many fuch in- ftances Defended and Illuflrated. 103 The general fignification of avfcyyu in both fa- cred and foreign Claflics is to rife$ but 'tis fome- times in both to caufe to rife, or raife. l\al eyu CL>ct<?r](Tti aasrov. So in Homer, &sfjuv awrfireig*. 'Ec 'idtifjuyy anenqtw 3 they revolted, or went off to Ithome ; and evteov $s Mfc/flov ug an 0^0-0 flsc y they faitd to Miletus in order to folicit them to a revolt V moftly is to le in hafte , but crTrsvtrzi TOV in Herodotus, is to haften or put forward the marriage w . Verbs adlive reciprocal are us'd for paflive, ) he wasjtrengtherid. So in Plato, si$ fair- L/IS^X^S is changd into an ariftocracy, rS ffvfldpvovloe, the time being accomplifid, in Herodotus, and sfycrucravlsG voig zXXoig for s^taudsilsg^ in Thucidides x . As to the change of verbs from intranfitive to tranfitive, 'tis common in Latin as well as Greek. fiances in the facred Greek looks. The noble critic ought to have given us all the ttuth, and have added, as well as in ths purefl Claffics of old Greece. c St. John vi. f4- Horn. 'IX. w. ffi. v A6rs ix. ip. Thucid. i. ftf. p. 8. 477. v. n. Vid. Dcuteron. vii. 4. w Her. Gr. 3. 2.13. 1. 2,2,. Efther vi. v. 14. ;< A6tsxiv. 19. Plat. Ref. 8. 180. 1. p. Her. Gr. f, ^co, !. penult. Thucid. 6. 400. 1. 6. So/tA ro-4 3^ e SACRED CLASSICS Soils flia lucos Ajjiduo refonat cantu. Viro;. ^n. 7. v. 1 1, 1 2.. o refonat plangoribus <ether. . 4. v. 66%. In precepts of morality, commands, andfbrne- times in plain narrations, the Hebrews ufe the infi- nitive for the imperative mood ^ and Co do the di- vine authors of the new Teftament, xau'fsw p?ix Xpuaofluv y and 'tis as common in Thucidides, He- rodotus y dec. t) s pot sxl wp "EMa^K rgoflsv- strQzi z . 2i) psfloi %ffv%oG tuzi xsflsMuv eg r/jv rs- UVTZ \ Thefc authorities fb full and plain, are fufficient to vindicate this form of fpeech upon any occafion from the unneceflary (cruple of Gr^- <vius^ who tells us that the infinitive put for the imperative is ufual with poets and lawgivers j but he doubts whether it be not barbarous in com- mon plain profe b . There is in St. Luke a variation of mood in the fame claufe, and upon the fame fubjecT: with- out any vifible neceflity, which may to fbme peo- ple be a little furprifing: pv}$sv ai'fsls i Rom. xii. if. 2 Her. Gr. 5. in. 1. 44. a Her. Gr. 4. 174. ad fin. Her. Gr. 7. 449. 1. 44. b Ad Solecilt. Luciani p. 7$f . not. i. ad fin. 3 Defended and Illufirated. IQJ cvo yitumq %eiy c . There are many changes as bold and furprifing in claffic authors : 'Ayftterai on fidxY) TS ysfovs, ) wxwfv ol fjielz TIavtratyisa d . The indicative mood in mo ft of its tenfes is (b commonly put for the potential mood in the beft authors of Greece , that I fliou'd not have produc'd one inftance had not I found (bme peo- ple to be offended with the exchange, and Grotiw himfelf to call it a Helraifm e . El yz li'mvccv, i* av rov Kvgiov 7%$ fofyjs $%'J*upst.v ' ar' e?iv xrs w~ Ttols 'j?Egus yevqlxi in Plato, is, as to the expret (ion, exactly parallel with St. Mark, yefas, ^J py ytvtflxi g . CCVTW myafr si t u.*j NMo<rfx]og em- l.ves, $ie(pQeif<xv OLV, they had kiltd them, if Ni- coftratus bad not refrain d 'em h : el pyj tfv xro$ xz- xoTcoioq, -ax otv croi TragsfoomfJisv aurov 1 , we would not have deliver d him to thee. The indicative future is put for the imperative mood, or rather (ubj unlive that exprefTes the imperative, TS'TC/C dgxeffQwofieia k , let us be content. Vain is that various reading stg%effiq(ruiJLe9a t fince the other is c St. Luke Jx. 3. d Her. Gr. p. f 5 f. 1. 4. e Grot, on Ephef. v. if. ( i Cor. ii. 8. St. John. iv. 10. J xaTWgOawranj vo"'ga'cr: ja av ra. aX.yc>a argofl-tOetrav. Thucid. 7. 4f4. 1, if. g Plat. Phsedrus 2.60. 1. ult. St. Mark. xiii. ip. Both moods are join'd together in the fame fignification in that place: a'rs y-Jyciu? av art aVaova/jtat r'avo/gta. Demofl. Mid. 411, 1. C. * Thucid. 3. 191. 1. 17. 1 St. John xviii. 50. k i Tim. vi. 8. 106 77je SACRED CLASSICS pure and amounts to the fame fenfe. e l>si> & v TUV otW-juy fofcicrmtoi effscfle, Be you inftr utters of the reft 1 . For si sy ru cc%tz\u Sega7rev<ret, 'whether he would heal on the fahhath, in St. Luke m , Ssgx- Ttevtry is found in fbme books j which alteration was made by fbme little pert tranfcriber, who was jealous that the true reading was not pure Greek : 'si Slfixfat avrov o rcgyixg n , whether Gorgias woud teach him, in Plato, is parallel : So el py xjTr/ snipeXrjcrelai, unlefe J&e her felf would take care, in Xenophon . The firft aorift for prefent tenfe is common in the facred Greek writers j but a cenfure paffc upon this form of fpeaking wou'd betray want of read- ing and obfervation in the critic ; this ufage is fb common in the beft Claflics of Greece, and here as in other cafes, of Rome too. This change of tenfe ferves generally to exprefs a cuftom or frequency of ading, fbmetimes that a thing is fhort-liv'd and fbon paffes away. 'E?r2 TYJS TNLucr&us xzfefyzz sxsiturzv, they jit or ufe to fit on Mofes feat p : MSTstf.e yz? o "H/.isc, for as foon as the fun rifes q . Plato (peaking of wickednefs, %> . * ' v "' ', S, 7?QVY)0Qy Tl TCOiEl OJ TCfGCTsyS^STOy Kj TIs.S'JTsJV JAOV -, it does prejudice to whatever it Ph:. Gonviv. p. i ipo. Francof. in St. Luke vi. 7. P.'g. 481. 1. D. Xen, CX-con. p. 70. St. M;U. xxiii. z, s Sr. James i. 1 1, adheres* Defended and lllufir cited. 107 and at lajl totally difjbl-ves and defrays it r . So dTfSTTSfJt^ev evQvc rfa (p.gxazc, immediately remands her to prifon *. The firft aorift is likewise us'd for preterpluperfecl; tenfe; ore hetecrsy o 'lyrSg Trdvlzs V ' / t ' \ N V 111] rj' w /i ^ o ^'/'/^/^ T"^ T"^' /1 ^* ** / ^T (O 2 / 'y V W^^J- ^T^ f}^^f fafi r)/7 /7 heard many reproachful fay ings, he drew his fword upon Mafiftes u . In St. y^w xi. 2,. it feems moft natural to take zXefyGurct in this fenfe, Mary OD/?/^ ^^/ formerly anointed our llejjed Saviour y and to conclude it to have relation to a noted ftory which is deliver'd by St. Luke w . Tis not probable that the Evangelift fhou'd relate a ftory by way of pre- vention, which was in a fhort time to be repeated with fuch various and lively circumftances x . Such a fhort hint cou'd neither give light to the hifto- ry, nor fatisfa&ion to the reader j who was fo {peedily to be entertain'd with an admirable ac- count of that office of piety in this good woman. Let the aorift have its full force and meaning as above, and the reafon plainly appears why Betha- ny is call'd the town cf Mary and Martha, and r Plat. Refp. 10. 311. 1. antepenult. s Plat. Gorgias fif . 1. 8. vid. Ifoc. ad Demon, p. 1. 1. 8, 9, Bafil. Graec. Plutarch nup. Prsec. 85. 1. 3. after B. Horn, 'IX. I'. 180. Virg. Geor. r,v. 330, 331. r St. Mat. xxvi. i. u Her, Gr. f4$>. L *. v St. Luke vii. 37. x St. John xii. 3. Vid. Dr. Ligktfovt on St. John xi, :.. p. f8o, Eng. Works 1684, P 2 nor io8 The SACRED CLASSICS not of Lazants j why they gave our Saviour no- tice of their brother's ficknefs with fb much free- dom and familiarity , and why our Saviour ho- nours the devout and generous family with fuch peculiar tendernefs,, and diftinftion of friend- ihip y . The prefent tenfe is put for the future, and join'd with it when both refer to the fame time; and this change in the {acred writers expreiles {peed and {uddennefs , and aiTurance of the cer- tainty of the thing j of which the very expreffion it {elf gives you a reprefentation and image : /- "Xpij.zi PCI T&%V ^ xivtfcru z ' ^y, svQi>$ atyyvu ctvrov ztf UTTSIUI *' Mx*Tv?i' and xsxgafev in the {ame claufe t j j 5 is cenfur'd by Erajmus as an innovation in St. John b , but is in the oldeft and beft authors : 2ra- yei'fu fAH TtgocrSxhXei $ &% sT>.s, he invades Stagi- rus, lut took it not c . 'AvstSstfyu in St. 'John is for dva^tjcrofJLOti 9 I flail in a few --weeks alfcond d : otfupt is for JiuVw, in Herodotus: %v& uv Tol %gwoy ^ %$- yvfov Ji'^tt/, for which civilities I will give you an immenfe fum of gold and jilver\ y Vid. Lightfoot ut fupra. * Revel, ii. f . J Plat. Apol. Soc. p. if. 1. if. Camb. In DemMenes we have both mood and tcnfe chang'd : XT* cpu'yoi;/ a-j STC a7ragva,a'j ^ Mid. 411. 1. C. b St. John i. if. c Thucid. f. zp^. 1. penult. 4i St. John xx. 17. e Hcr.^Gr. 3. 2.14, 1. 40. - j The Defended and llluftrated. 109 The preterimperfeft tenfe for the prefent tenfe is rare but claflical : ovrog ?v ov SITTOV, this is he of whom Ijfoke { . tfeTy ITCTTOV navv ffndvioy rjv, 'tis rare to fee a horfe *Perfia B . On the contrary, fome- times the prefent tenfc ftands for the preterimper- fect. So in Galatians og&onoSSffi for ' ofSc7rc&$y h > feeing that they did not walk uprightly, si dvrew 7teigyr]vai q&ehrjffe si n oOwiS peTS%iiGri l 9 if he Toad a mind to try 'em whether they had any courage. Kc- \afylLwxcy in St. Peter, is for xofaur&yffofASviis*, J^- $ovTotc 9 mThucidiJesy is (OT Stiff ovrots 1 : So in He- rodotus we have Qsov rov ovx ovoXctfyfievog VTT s t uiu m , a God not to le nanid, or which Jhall not le named, ly me on this occasion. That exchange in Revelation iv. <?, i o. feerns as harfli as any in the newTeftamentj OT&V $tiff%<rt TCC $x $ozM) when the living creatures give glory, and honour and thanks to him that fat on the throne, who liveth for ever and ever". Grotius calls it an f St. John i. if. 8 Xen. Cyr. p. 1 1. Oxon. Grace, h Gal. ii. 14- 1 Her. Gr. 9. fi6. 1. 3. Vid. Xen. Cyr. Exped. ^, i if. p. 82. k i Pet. ii. p. Vid. Gal.ii. n. Ad's xxi, 1 Thucid. 3. iff. 1. antepenult. m Her. Gr. 2. 159. 1-8. n I took the liberty to render this word w# Dr. H*# by living creatures, and I wifh I could have ren- J fee ' was ' der'd ic'by a better word. I think our .tranfla- harfflneff and tion is very improper. 'Tis always in it ren- indecency of der'd Bcafts-) which Jwcv does not primarily fig- our tranflati- nifv -, no The SACRED CLASSICS Hetraifm, whereby the future is put for all other tenfes. But 'tis pmt Greek according to the u(age of the beft authors: e& wv xxSicrwiv cl Usfcrzi on which the Perfians ft or uje to ft There is a quick tranfition from one perfbn to another in the feventh chapter to the Romans, *ver. 4. where the Apoftle addreffes to the Roman Chriftians, and then confidering all the difciples of our Lord as one body and fbciety of true believers, he joins himfelf to 'em, and (peaks in common: My brethren, ye alfo are hecome dead to the lawy that ye Jhould be married to another y to him who is raifed from the dead 3 that we Jhoud tring forth fruit unto God. Upon which place Mr. Lock has this obferva- tion : " St. Paul having all along from the begin- " ning of the chapter^ and even in this very ftn- ff tence, faid Te, here^ with neglect of grammar, " on a fudden changes it into We. I fuppofe <j to prels the argument ftronger^ by iliewing on, and ren- n ify ; and 'tis certain that now it conveys ders the word low idea and is i nto i cra bl y harfh to be ap- Irving creatures. .,, r . ,/.. ri ply d to the taints and dignitaries of hea- Xen. Hel. 4. p. ip8. i fc himfelf "Defended and llluflrated. m " himfelf to be in the fame circumftances and " concern with them, he being a Jew as well c < as thofe he fpoke to. This neglect of grammar (as this ingenious gentleman calls it) expreffes the prudence and dextrous addrefs of the Apoftle with great ad van- tage 5 by familiarly uniting himfelf to 'em he gains their affections,, and engages their attention j and fuch changes as this enforce an exhortation ; and give an agreeable variety to the liyle. Upon that exhortation of St. Paul, Let us walk decently as in the day, 'not in revelling* and drunken meetings, Sec. but put ye on the Lord Jefus Chrijl*. St Chryfojlom obferves, that St. Paul did not fay, walk ye, but let us walk, that he might prevent offence j that he might make his reproof more eafy, and his exhortation more perfuafive and effectual: which beauty in ftyle and pru> dent manner of application and addrefs this faith- ful interpreter and happy follower of the facred writers imitates in his addrefs to his own audience. Let us therefore fiake off this mifchievous Jleep For if that day furfrife us Jleeping, eternal death will fucceed. Does it now feem to le bright day, dont we all imagine that we are awake and P- Rom. xiii, 13. Vid. Dr. Bull. Har, Apof. z. p. 62. $. i^ in The SACRED CLASSICS fober? yet we are all like per fans flee f ing andfnoring in dead of night. If this tranfition from one perfbn to another, for fuch weighty caufes and ftrong reafbns, be a neglect of grammar, the critics muft at leaft ex- cufe it, becaufe 'tis frequent, and admir d as em- phatical and a beauty in Homer and Firgil, in Xe- wophon and Plato, and all the fublimeft writers in both the languages. Agamemnon makes an ab- rupt change of the perfbn in his eager fpeech to the ore OTTOT ev tiAvu y.svscajss ouaarSs q . Xenopboft, in his fpeech to the angry foldiers about to plunder Byzantium, ufes great addrefs, firft ipeaking to them about their juft refentment, which he approv'd ; and then when he fuppofes things harfli and fuch as he could not approve, Ipeaking of himfelf as one of their number, (b taking the propereft method to allay their rage, and divert 'em from their fatal refblutions : That you are angry, Gentlemen Soldiers, and judge float you have 'very unjujt and barbarous ufage in that you are deluded, I do not wonder. But if we i Horn. 3 I\. $>'. v. up, 130. Vid. Plat. Gorg. fO}.!. 3, before D. Vid. Dr. ffhitby on tttw iii. 3. i flould Defended and Illuftrated. \ \ j Jhoutt gratify our pafjion, and punijh the Lacede- monians, for that cheat, and plunder a city which has committed no faulty conftder ferioujly what will Joe the conferences r . 7. Change of the particles, or the lefter in vary'd words, that add to the fignification of nouns and verbs, and ferve to make conftruc~tion eafy and plain, and the connection of the ieveral parts natural and graceful ^ and the variety of their fignifications, with their omiffion and feem- ing fuperfluity in fome places in the new Tefta- ment, has by many fcrupulous and formal inter- preters been thought to perplex and depreciate the (acred ftyle. But thefe changes and varieties are by more able judges pronounc'd to be the beau- ties and graces of the language; and they are jufti- fy'd in their opinion by the ufage of the chief mailers of noble ftyle and compofitionj who take the iame liberties, and often greater than the Apo- ftles and Evangehfts of our Lord. The particle y#f generally (erves to draw an in- ference, or give a reafbn of fbmething before ad- vanc'd. But in eao-ernefs and vehemence of con- o r Xen. Cyr. Exp. 7. i. itf. p. 385. By thefe and feveral more inftances it appears, that Dr. Ligbtfoofs obfervation is not juft, That change of perfons in grammatical con- ftruction is ufual in the Hebrews eloquence and. rhetorick. Dv. Lightfoot Har. on 4. Evang. p. 45-1. ccn? ii4 ?% e SACRED CLASSICS cern 'tis us'd abruptly by the fpcakcr in the very entrance of his difcourfe 5 which very naturally paints his furprize and confufion. So the Town- clerk of Ephefus coming with difturbance and ea- ger haile begins "Avfyss 7 E¬, -rig yz* l~lv a'^^TTcg f j Dennis of Phocis 3 in Herodotus, begins his fpeech in the fame abrupt manner, proceeding from a like difturbance and furprize, 'E?r2 T^g dxpjg s%STai qpTv rx Ttgfiypxroiy wfyse This particle inAffs viii. 3 p. is only an exple- tive and us'd as Jf or ty often are. Our Englijh tranflation is right, and the notion of Gvotws ieems a little forc'd : He faw him no more becaufe he went on his road, and Philip 'was carried ano- ther way. 'Tis frequently fuperfitious in the old Greek writers : C^ITAQ^^ & TX ie^o^ r/is yao ruv r;c Usf(7uy y upon the taking of the wall a Per- jian, not knowing Crxius, advancd to kill hzm v . The fame particle in the facred writers clofes a (entence with a firm clofenefs and a grateful (bund t:o the ear-, ^ a^ylsotV ii~o'^ sQ^w'io */%* "', So the old Claflicsj % 1 Acts xi x. ^f. 1 Her. Gr. 5. 335-, I. u Plat. Conv, 1188. Frnncof ' Her. Or. i. 5^.1.4. Vid, ./Efchin. in Ctef. 141. 1.8. Oxon. w St. Mark xvi. 8. St. John xiii 13. >: (>;rop 8. yi- Wei's. Jfocrates ad Demon p. 10. 1. f. Defended and llluflrated. \\$ Aid has a variety of fignifications in the facred writers parallel to thofe in the Claflics., which being confider'd and compared may be of life to interpret and ilhiftrate feveral paflages in the new, Teftament. A/2 with an accufative inflead of a genitive fig* nifies by or thro' , K#ycJ $ fox TOV ~cc\ztc<, I live thro the Father 9 he eflentially communicates life and divinity y . Plato in his tenth book of la\vs has the fame conftruction 5 hz TSXWi by art* : fox rzc Xf^x? 7^ TifiMTXi y.cvxC) they are only honour d by good men*. Aid rarely fignifies m> $icl co&c, in glory) glorious 13 j CM (lo% y in fear c . It fignifies the /"* * t\^ *^* C " s * i Is ^ */ ipace or time, oix TOIUV Yjusguv oixofofMjffto) m three days time I will luild it up d ; sysvsTo $, Grotius affirms that el for on is an impropriety in the Greek language f ; I wifli that very learned man had not affirm'd fb rafhly : Then that faying of divine infpiration will be foleciftical : TY axis-ov xflbeToti 7tx0 vyuv, Si o Qsoq vsxgxg sysigsi ; why is it judgd incredible by you y that God raifes the dead? But 'tis juflify'd againft all objection by authority, that when produc'd, muft be inconteftable and > St. John vi. 57. ''- Plat, de Leg. 10. ip5. 1. i<5, 17. 197. 1.14, if. Camb. 3 Ariftoph. Pint. ^3. Eccici". fpp. b 2, Cor. xi. c Thucid. 6. ^9- 1. 3. d St. Mark xiv. fb\ * Her. Gr. 7, 4 p. 1. y. f On Ads xxvi. 8. 2. decifive n(5 The SACRED CLASSICS decifive. ^Ef chines fays of his adverlary Demojlhe- neS) xx oiyz7.$. el y$ $M7]y frefiu/tsv, he that is author of fo many mifchiefs is not content that he is come 3 / Tig is put for sV/ h , and implies no manner of doubt 5 ex e%&iv el rif TI eyto eouv.z, f whatfoe<ver I have given to any perfon, let him ha've it '. The ignorance of this caus'd a trifling copyift to put in og xv for sxy rig in St. John k . Eig is elegant- ly fuperfluous in St. Matthew: sTv/floy zi$ TY>V xs~ avT$ l . So 'tis in the noble hiftorian : rJ- sg $e sg TQV bugwx m . It is peculiarly put for l in Afts, AS/^ &eysi elg XVTOV n . So in JEfchi- oy elg kvflwQewg Trofarstxy , a prophecy TKpon or concerning the adminiftration of Demofthe- nes. So in fhucidides, el'g TS yvyafaxg ^ Trcti'^xg KJ $eg TtXTftoxg -ngotyeeopeya, things ufually faid upon *wi<ves and children , and the religion of the coun- try*. is peculiarly us'd in St. Peter , -/.arx Toy v^ag uyiovy in imitation of that holy One Adv. Ctef. 88. 1. n. Vid. etiam p. 129. 1. 9. 6c De- nioft. dc Cor. 140. 1. i. h Ephef 4. 29. ' Xen. Cyrop. 4. 16. p. 46. Wells. k St.Johnviii. fi. Robert. Steph. MSS. z. 1 27. 30. m Herod. Gr.p. f 17. L 18. ibid, i.pi.l. 3 = a Afts ii. 25-. -/Efchin, adv. Ccef. 83. 1, f. Thucid. 7, 4ffl. ii. 'who Defended and llluflrated. \\j who calfd you p , which is mark'd down by Vata- llus for a Helraifm. Xenophon has exactly the fame form of ipeech : TIUUUBVOZ VTTO oyvLx xzrx TOV TtdiSfx "Afrtova, honoured by the people as bis fa- ther 'was q . This little particle in the firft Epiiile to the Co- rinthians is render 'd of or concerning, which is agreeable to the Syriac and Arabic veriions. Gro~ tins would have it againji God, to his dillionour : There is no occafion, the other way it amounts to the fame. Xenophon fays, TT# psv $yj Y.XVOC xdvTM e'xpiJLsv heysiV) thefe things <zue can fay of all the Perfians r . Kara tips gay TratfOTFtxfattrixS, in tloe day of tempta- tion*, is anfwer'd by that in a foreign Claflic, mra ?ov mrd Kgolacv xpovov, in the time of Crce~ fus \ That is a fignification a little unufual in the Epiftle to the Galatians : "cig mr o^aX^g 77*0- eygdfyy % before <whofe eyes Jefus Chrift has leen evidently fet forth. Arijtophanes has it in the lame fenfe and conftru6tion : Ivx crol HQCT o&Qc&jLv is us'd by way of cjueftion in St. Mark*,, which Grotius fays ought to be number 'd among P i Pet. i. if. i Xcn. Hel. z. pi. Wells. r i Cor. xv. if. Xen. Cyrop. I. 3. i<5. p. 10. I. 4. Ox, Grec. s Ht-b. iii. 8. c Herod. Gr. i. z6. 1. 6. v Gal. iii. i. w Ran. 6^9. vid. Sept. Dcuter. i, 30, Mark ix. i, zS. the n8 ffje SACRED CLASSICS the Hebraifms of that Evangelift. But I think it may be prov'd true Greek by the authority of two elegant and authentic Grecians. C O on z X?V ?y X s f f y Gobryas ask'd him why he did 'not ufe his hand y . "Or/ is often pleonaftical in the (acred writers, as CTI szv y.y.Tzyivtt(rx.Yj YIUM Y] xagMa, on [/.Si'fyv ezl <~)scg z . Some manufcripts and verfions leave the laft OTI out, and Harry Stephens wou'd have sn inftead of it. But the nobleft Claffics ufe this particle pleonaftically., when it feems as harfh and unneceflary as here : O'J^; CTI uwcg o K^~u> w rjtrj- yys. .YJ-J aD.ct ^ cl Qfaci \ Among the numerous fignificatioRS of the par- ticle Tf <?r, I will name two out of the facred wri- ters of the new Teftameiit which are rare and un- common, and parallel them out of the nobleft Claffics : Haog T/JV cr/Jytoxagtizy vptov, 'with refpeff to the ob/lmacy of your temper 3 and hardnefs of your heart*. l\gig wy r^ c^u TZVTW, with refpeff to this rvijion, &c. Hgog TY^ vperefxe aur/jgia$ d , this tends to your health. 'Eyw cs ^ TO, Tfog r)y,uy cvT<z 3 I fee well enougli that mojl things are with us e . >' Her. Gr. 5. ipi. ]. 40. So driflopbancs Plut. v. 19. 2 I John iii. zo. *Xen. Mem. Soc. i.e. 1.8. p. 12.7. vid. Plat. Gorg. 4<Jp. 1 . 3 1. b Mark x. f . c Her. Gr. i . i f . 1. 3 f . a Ads xxvii. 34. e Thucid. 4. 120. 1. 2. So -ar^y rrTi i ij. fit fas c?cr,s rd'Si) tbefe things don't tend to your repu Thucid. 3. 182. 1. 16". Defended and llluftrated. \ \ y N#2 is not only a particle of affent and affir- mation, but of entreating and praying : vxl Trgcg TM bew, I entreat you by our Gods, is both in Euripides and Ariftophanes* . 'Tis fb us'd in the epiftle to Philemon : vzl ovzipw crx ao&.&s s ; which fenfe, methinks, is mod fuitable to that paflags in St. Mark, where the Syrophenician woman entreats our Saviour to heal her daughter : I le~ C) feech thee, O Lord, ha<ve mercy upon me ! for fha the bread does properly belong to the children j yet even the dogs have feme of the crumbs that fall up- on the ground^, QVTW fbmetimes fignifies for this reafon or caufe y as, in St. John, Jefus being weary d with his journey, TU$ exa&efero l , he came to the well, and fate down, as he was thirjly and fatigud, without curiovjly chufing a place. The Athenians having a mind to bring Alcibiades upon his tryal, and put him to death , fb fend a Salaminiau Jhip in- to Sicily to fetch him k . Ov< , in St. Matthew, vii. 12,. feems to be pleonaiHcal, (tho a great man endeavours to m:ke a dependence betwixt this verfe and thofe immediately preceding) and to be no note of in f Medea 1177. Ariftoph. Nub. 782. 8 Ver 20, Mark vii. 28. 'John iv. 6. . . . k Thucid. 6. 584. 1. n. TZTs/Li-Trscnu yrw. vid. Herod Gr. i.f, 13. Subhacpinujacentcsfictemere.Hor.Od. 1. 1 1. v. 13, 14,. fcrcncc txo The SACRED CLASSICS fcrence drawn from the foregoing words, only a rranfition to a new precept of morality. The parallel place is St. Luke vi. 31. oT<r$z y en x< ol cixsTWy &c. you know that fervants often whifper ftich things into the ears of children ! . The Syriac, Arabic , and Perjian verfions of the new Teftament leave out the particle of inference. The particle $s is pleonaftical in Affs xi. 17, and we may believe for that reafbn is not found in feveral manufcripts and verfions ; but being in the major part it ought to be retain'd in the text, efpecially fince 'tis pleonaftical in the moil au- thentic and noble writers : r/v ^ ^ s^y y -TJ o? ru y.zyu Z.y.s*$: y but if he have not ears faffofe that you fleef with Smerdis the Ma^us m . A/^ is by St. Paul us'd by way of inference or drawing a conclufion from what went before : For ye are bought with a price, therefore glorify God with your hody , and with your fpirit , which are God's \ Some ignorant fcribe efteeming it difagreeable to the humour of the Greek language., ftruck out or,, and put Htz in the room, others improv'd up- on the blunder, and made that zgzTs. This par- ticle has the fame ufe in Plato's apology : I will 1 Plat. Ref. 8. 172. 1. 3. See Her. Gr. 9. ^46. 1. f . m Her. Gr. 3. 187. 1. 41. See alfo Xen. Hel. 3. p. 210, Wells. n i Cor. vi. 20. endeavour Defended and llluflrated. \ i i endeavour to jhew you 'what has brought me into this name and (carnal, axxsTe or * therefore loeav j * * j me . The obfervation of fbme of the particular iifes* of ml will ferve to rectify many paffages in the fa cred writers -, to clear their (enfe, and difcover their beauties. In the Epiflle to the Ephejians it (ignifies efpecially or particularly, For all faints, and for me p . So in Demofthenes, You ought to be "zealous and vigorous in carrying on the war, if ever, no-iv efpecially chearjully fupplying money q . Kzl is fuperfluous or pleonaftical in many pla- ces; Keel ore entyo'tyiKV tfueg&i. j ex}.yjQq TO 'ovo- IJLOC CCUTZ r . 'Tis fb often in Plato, and Xenophon, and Demojthenes: liagd rs TM aX^uv ^ o'/j ^ pd/ira .%3 "TiaffOC Ttf VO t U.C@TZ . This particle is adverfative in facred writers of the new Teftament. This is wonderful that you Inow not ^whence he is, and yet he has, or altho* he has of end my eyes \ So 'tis us'd in Thucidides Plat. Apol. Soc. 7. 1. z$. Camb. P Ephef. vi. ip. ^ Dem. Olyn. i. p. 2. 1. f. vid. Plat. Euthyphr. 8. 1. z. poft C. Thucid. i. j-p. 1. i<5. r Luke ii. 21. f Plat.^de Leg. 10. p. ipf. 1. antepenult. Camb. 2^?o^ov c^'6'rc rooVa lw, KJ %\i@> la^vtrc. Xen. Cyr. Ex. I. I. 10. p. 75. "Wells Xen. Hellen. f. p. zj6. Ac~b i. 10. And in the Hebrew often is disjunctive and muft be renderd or, as Gen xxvi. n. Whofoever jhall touch this man and bis wife Anu s Plato himfelf fo ufes it 5 tin lyw ^ Fo^y.'a;, ivbetber I or Gor- gias. Plat. Gorg. 461, c John ix. 30, R and 111 The SACRED CLASSICS and Plato: Zrzyeifu ngoirSdXtei, ^ xx. sT>.s, he in- waded Stagirus, but, or, yet did not tale it \ Y^cd is often interrogative, and very aptly exprefFes a vehement concern, admiration, or iiirprize. K^' n$ 'Svvaereu owQijvoa^ who then can be favd*? So in Demojlhenes and Plato 5 K#/ n ty^o-sTS u zvtysg hxarai 'what will ye fay, O ye judges ? what fair and flaujibJe excufe will you le able to make*'? "Ox?, fignifying when or whereas, is found in 2 Pet. ii. i i . but I think fcarce in any other place of the new Teftament. The belt Claflics ufe it in the fame fen(e j c?/r yz? s^s<ri sv vg-sfu - - zyu- vicrsteQzi for when hereafter there might be an opportunity to engage, &c. y . . 8. The obfervations already made, if pro- perly apply'd, will almoft folve all thofe objecti- ons which Dr. 'Mill and others of his foitiment have made againft the ftyle of the divine writers of the new Teftament. But becaufe that learned and laborious fcholar is very pofitive and confi- dent, that the new Teftament is in many places defil'd with foleciiiiis and falfe Greek, I fhall mo- deftly and with deference to the memory of that v Thucid. f. i5>3- 1. penult. w M:\rkx. 16. See iCor. ii. 2. x Dcmof. Mid. 390. 1. 2. See Plat. Theretc:. 188. after D. 1)1 d. Hen. Steph. Preface to hh G; ceb Tcfiamcnt. p. 2.1. >" Thucid. 8. 481. I. 18. Xen. Cyrop. p. 5-19. 2 worthy Defended and lllufirated. \ 2 $ worthy Gentleman, examine the inftances he pro- duces in the twenty firft page of his Prolegomena. The objections are principally taken out of St. Johns Go(pel, which yet is allow 'd lefs liable to exceptions than the other (acred writers. But before I enter upon this examination, I prefeiit my reader with a pafTage very much to our pur - pofe, out of the {choliaft of Thucidides, who feems to be a Chriftian, and as capable a judge both of the (acred and foreign Claffics, of the beauty and propriety of their ftyle, as Dwnyjius Alexandrine, whofe judgment the Dodor fol* lows, when he falls foul upon the ftyle of the facred books ; but regards it as little as any man in other matters, and eipecially when he (peaks favourably of the divine language of the new Te- ftament. f c Thucidides ought here, (ays the fcho- ff Jiaft, to have (aid (b and (b, according to the <c plain and common way j but being an in venter <c of new conftruclion, and skilful in the old^r- " tic dialed, he did not do it. C Many fuch conftrudions you will find in. the Divine, which tho(e people who do not underftand refled upon, and imagine that great man to be guilty of (blecifms V Where by the Vi<vme I am (atisfy'd the (choliaft meant St. John 1 Thucid. 5. p. 1 66. n. 18, R 2 the cc cc 124 The SACRED CLASSICS the Apoftle, who had that title by way of emi- nence a , and whofe writings , especially the Afa- calypfe, are charg'd with (blecifms by antient and modern critics. St. Gregory Nazianzen was in- deed in latter times calFd the Divine in a lower fenfe b > but was never, that I can learn, accus'd of barbarous Greek, and foleciims. A found and able critic ives this character of this Father. o Cf St. Gregory of Nazianzum is a great matter in ff the art of pcriuafion \ he explains him(clf in ff few words, and with force in refpecl; to the " fenfe > and with great delicacy in regard to his (c expreffions c ." Tne Doctor begins to introduce his inftatices of falfe Greek and folecifms with an air of aflurance, in my humble opinion, not be- coming. " That the writer of the Revelation <c fometimes writes bad Greek , and is guilty of <( fblecifins is too plain to be deny'd. (( But are not moft of the other writers of the f ' new Teftament fo too? and even he, who for <c the elegance and purity of his language is here <c fb much celebrated by Dionyfus^ I mean, John f the Evangeliftj * Ongcn. in. S Johan. i. r. Suidas in voce, b Dr. Cave Hillor. Lirer. in Gregorio Nazianzrno. p. ipp c Pcrc Simon Hilh Crit. des principaux Onnment. du nou- veau Telt. chap. 8. p. up. vid. Nauvellc Mechode Grecqus Preface p. 41. \Y 7 hat JDefendtd and llktftrated. \ i j What expreffions are thofe, I pray you ? o y e'c 7<?y xotocov TV 1:0.100^ y and -XOLYTOC. s&oxev ev T,- ysiol a'uTx d . This learned Gentleman might he - 5 O led into this firft miftake by the authority ofGro- tmsy who on AHs vii. 45 . fays 'tis frequent with the Hellenics to exchange t > and sic $ becaufe the Hebrews for both thefe particles put the prefix Beth. But 'tis very common with the old Greeks, who knew nothing of Hdsraifms., or Helleniftical language, to put sis for &'*, and sv for iV.;. In Herodotus we have ^Lustfog ifyy.zvcg eg rov p&fftfjjl'ov Smerdis fitting en a royal throne" : and in j IXETOLI xaQstyftewi sg TO 'H^.lc'^ fuppli- c ants fitting in the temple ^Juno f . So on the contrary, GmoretSweG oTtMtag sv r?j 2.tzs/.ic-, about to fend heavy armd men into Sicily 5 upon which place of fhucidides the judicious and learned Dr. Hudfon truly (ays, 'tis a w r ay of expreffion fre- quently us'd by this author g . Xenophon ufes it too, ol [ASV avTUv sv TV TTZTzuti s~(7o: , fome of them fell into the river h . That paflage in St. John\ Gofpel, o & 1 )/ iju.eic xsxuTridxare is next marked out: The firft iignification of the word is to labour or a John viii. }, if. e Herod. Gr. 184. 1. ancepenulr. I Thucid. i. if. 1. 6. g Thucid. j. 42.;. 1. p. not. b. II Xen. Heller. 5. p. 174. Wellr. Scpr. Hal. Grabe \r t ^fchin. adv. Gtcl. 51. 1. i, 5. Oxon. Eurip. Oreitcs 131; The /.// authors imitate this mariner of ex.preflion, i','.\v v/e efle in tantum bwkicw. Tcr. Eunuch, z. z. circa mej Sic-n, tte 116 The SACRED CLASSICS loe fatigud, and the objection muft be that the fenfe is alter'd, and that it becomes tranfitive, and fignifies to labour about, or work upon. But fuch changes of the fignification of verbs is perpetual in the belt authors \ and this little quibble is fully confuted above l . KtfTfteawfy sv IY, xolVfdSrjtfqt, for slg xetopr l %*y, is an u (clefs repetition,, being the fame with JFV %eifi above. The next paflage impeach'd is that T<?Tf ufe yehyctey 'when came you hither? There can be no objection here but againft yihvat fignifying to come. But we have it in that fignification in feveral of the beft authors , eg T*JV Arlutijv to come into Attica k : 'Zeviotg Trafsysv&ro el$ Xenias came to Sardis ! . Tr^ dffljjv o, n vpi:y is attack'd as an impropriety, where the ob- jection can only be levell'd at ryv afxw, fignify- ing at the frft, or from the beginning. But the fame word in the lame fignification is found in o the moft authentic Greek writers : O/ dfx#v e^Msg e EAA)?wy, the Greeks that came frft m . If the ar- ticle t be requir'd Ifocrates 'will fuffly it : on TTJV fjLev dfxfiy slg rov xotefjicv x&T<ry<rav n , in the begin- ning they were engagd in the <war. 1 Pag. 85. k Her. G. f. ^17. 1. 5. 1 Xen. Exp. Cyr. i, 2, 3. p. 7. Wells. m Her. Gr. p. fio. 1. 22,. " Ifoc. Panegyr. p. if 2. I. u. Bafil. Greek vid, Plat. Gorg. 478. inter C. & D. Defended and llluftrated. 117- ct'jfjLxs-oy is rank'd among the num- ber of vicious phrafes ; which, I think, can for no other reafon be charged as faulty Greek, but as Savvey is put for //#, which is anfwer'd above p . But I fliall throw in another paflage or two which abundantly clear it. To avfyuTceiov XO;JL- Tw&r, and in the fame author we have T s t u.u J}#- -fsxel' fYjg 'OAvftTna'4/F Seuffag, my ff Undid appear- ance at the Olympic games q . At/w ?; TOV xoV^o:-, /y^y r<? /fe worldy is rank'cl amongft folecifms ; which is clear'd by Herodotus r ; o/ beoxfoTroi aTiyf- ysl.cv eg rov $%[*&', the augurs reported thefe things to the people : And by Xenophon, TM A^^ywv rl<; fi&yfsJAsi si$ TO rgdrsvpa f . r/ Ea?c TTOTS rr/v fyufflv tffluv ai^ic.j how long Jo you keep our mind in doubt or fujpence ? is {aid to be falfe Greek. If we could not find xigu in exactly the lame fenfe in a Claflic, that wou'd only be a peculiarity, and cou'd not be falfe Greek or fblecifm. But we have a parallel place in an admirable Greek author, who is indeed much low- er in time, but little inferior in merit to the no- ble authors which we chiefly make ule of : John ix. 30. P f 9, See. q Thucid. f. 331. I- 14. Thucid. 8. 377. 1. i3. r Herod. Gale 7. 418. 1. }f. John viii. z6. f Xen. Cyr. Exp. 7, i. p. p. 380. 1 2 8 The SACRED CLASSICS USVYJS T%S 'E}.}.^; v , Greece being in fufpence and doubtful expectation cf the iffite. tyuyslTs fjis G &cz(r/.a/.og is.charg'd with impro- priety. The difficulty might be refblvd by lay- ing that o GiczT/.x}.o$ is put for MatrAxl.e 3 of which variation we have produced inftances. Bur common grammar would have inform'd this Gen- tleman, that words put rs^'M^Sy or for them- (elves, are neuter and invariable. We have a pa- rallel place in Demetrius Phalereus, a judicious au/- Qi TO w is charg'd as falfe Greek by the Doctor j I {iippofe becaufe Grotms had pronounc'd T^V to be a He- foaifm for ~&7i\ \\M is govern'd of zz~z y and includes mankind j and therefore avTcl's compleat- ly anfwers it in fenfe. A copyift produc'd by Robert Stephens was fearful the Greek was not true, and therefore officioufly puts in a-Jr^. But the (acred books need no iuch remedies, KXTZ is v Plutarch. Dernoflh. p. 8f 5. paulo ante fin. Francof. apud Hered. Wecheli. John x. 2.4. w C. ip. p. zt, St. Chryfoftom an elegant pure writer has ^ TO |u'\ov \fyco, ^ 6 xagTros 1 , I Thef. 4 Ethic, p. zoo. But 1 do not produce him as authority, only believe he wou'd not have us'd it, if it had not been pure. The Latins ufe it fo. j&tas fi fecitnus aurea nomen Hor. Od. 2. 10. v. 7, 8. * John xvii. z. very Defended and llluflrated. up very frequently underftood in the pureft ClafTics T% rs #/./.#, as in other refpeffs 7 . How common fuch changes of gender and number are we have fufficiently {hewn upon the head of collective nouns, and {hall only add another inftance out of Thucididesy becaufe 'tis (b fully pertinent : To u ?/ Qw y they came in a fmall veffel \ is put down in the black lift of folecifms. I can- not guefs how this obj'edlion is grounded^ unlefs the pretended fault be that sv is underftood. But Herodotus ufes it fb in the fame cafe : llo m Jhifs dejtroyd them . In the firft Epiftle of St. John there is a change of gender^ which is efteem'd to be a violation ot grammar, and the purity of the Greek language, by Dr. Mill. 'EvTtf.ijv o sch %*.-/$ e$ c , o relates to ygYifia underftood^ and nothing is more common in the beft authors than fuch variations. TaV coiz o vpety Tole SKO^'ITS . TTOTSOV XX. Yfi** y Herod. Gr. p. fiS. l.n. 7 - Thucid. .86. 1. 15, 14,1 y. a John. xxi. 8. b Her. Gr. 8. foi. 1. 15. c i John ii. 8. d Xen. Cyrop. i. 3. 9. p. 14. 1. f. c Thucid. 3. 108. 1. 10. On Thucid. I. 67. 1. 6. His fcholiaft obferves that he delights in this variation. Vid. Plat. Gor^ t *s p. 461. 1. uk. 1 3 o The SACRED CLASSICS The fame heinous charge is brought againft another paflage in the fame Epiftle : znqvei % curst SCJTU &~i"i' J -> ? auct/lxvxpi f If we take #'JTW and ziJLot/iXW<ri to relate to the fame fubjecl:, it is a very natural transition from fingular to plural. Then the divine writer firft fays, that God will give pardon and life to one Jinner ; after he en- larges the expreffion, and extends the pardon to all finners in the fame condition, and equally ob- }ecl:s of mercy. If we take the words in the fenfe that our tranflation gives them, and Dr. Mill ap- proves, it is this, God will grant to the charitable petitioner life and pardon for his fallen brethren, if they have not Jin d to death. And afjustfloiywi will very well bear this conftrudion both in divinity and grammar. So the dative is us'd in Vemofthe- nes , i}/ijQitrfMi o/.cv ygxfysv u.ci } the whole decree that was written for me , for my fake and advan- tage g . Dr. Mill was fo flrongly pofTefs'd with the no- tion of falfe Greek and fbleciims in the new Tefta- ment, that he was willing to admit a various read- ing into the text, and contended for it being au- thentic, purely becaufe, as he thought, it made e language fbleciftical and abfurd. f i Ep. v. 1 6. Demof. de Coron, p. 74. ]. z. Ox. Defended and Illufi rated. \ 3 i I fliall only here give one inftance where this learned man, upon a very {lender authority, puts up a various reading as the undoubted original, which in my humble opinion fpoils both the fenfe and grammar of the lacrcd writer. J Tis in the Revelation of St. John c. li. r v. 2.4. where he ftrikes out fcj and reads -JiV & ?.s~u /.OLTISIC. If 7.si~oli agrees with *JuiV, as here it unavoidably mull, 'twill make a folecifin, and be (uch a violation ot prammar, as is no where elfc to be found in the C) lacred or foreign Claffics. It will then be vuCt'y O ' 00-01 ZY. s^xcri The Doctor (ays vpTy cannot have refpecl: to the Biihop of Thy at ir a and the followers of his falfe dodtrine (he had addrefs'd them before) but to the reft, who in the apoftacy of others, had preferv'd themfelves upright and faithful h . But the Doctor, I believe, equally injures the Bifhop by charging him with falfe do<lrine, and the (acred text by charging it with falie Greek. The Bifhop is blam'd for his indulgence and connivance (it cannot amount to a toleration) at the woman Jezebel \ or as fbme read it, his wife Jezebel. That may be want of chriftian care and courage, but cannot come up to falfe dodtrine. He is above commended by his great mafter for his works, his love, his miniftry, his faith, patience, &c. l So h Dr. Mill Prolog, p. 1 10, 1 1 r. > Rev. ii. 2. S 2, that 1 3 1 The S A c R E D CLASSICS that you and the reft ~ - f ecms to be addreft to the Bifhop , Prieftsj and other private Chriftians of the diocefe, who in a regular communion with their Bifhop had in a great apoftacy adher'd to the orthodox faith and found principles. 'Ey TTxefyoi?. itizt', which this learned man cavils at, is neither barbanfm nor (bled (in j only a word us'd in due conftruction of grammar, but in a different (enfe from what it is in other Greek au- thors. Such liberties are often taken by the moft noble writers, and we have given account already of fiich peculiarities: o hofog o s^og z %ufsT ev vy,Ty k > my 'word does not take place in you y is anfwer'd in the fame manner. There is an objection again ft epol xptMTe l y but the cafe is right, o yzg (3zFi?:sji' XP^uQslt m y and the word founds as well as ^.^Vt, only the conjugation is chang'd according to the cuftom of old Greece. 'Tis common with the beft Claffics to ufe a verb in two conjugations of the contracts j fbme- timcs they do in all. &fcbines has dn^M, the more common word is dny^u n . Tbucidides ufes smQvfJLou , the more common word is emQvfJLsu . Xenofhon in the fame paragraph has xxlsw/jwcrsy and w/jyusv p . And fliall a noble writer, and an ' John vii. 4. k John viii. 37. ] John vii. 2,3. Ho. i\' a. n yEfchin. adv. Ccef. ijf. 1. ult, Thucid.6. 363. Liz. P Cyr. Exp. 7. 4. 8. p. 417. 3 injfir'4 Defended and lllufirated. i 33- *nfpird nolle writer be call'd a fblecift and barba- rian, for giving a new turn to a word fb agreeable to the analogy and genius of the Greek tongue ? Indeed in that paffage of St. John, sv TZTU i$odffGq 7r?~'/j? y.u I'v z %&f7[ov 7cc/:jy Qsftfls % 'hoi has a pecu- liar and ftran^e nVnification : But it can but be eiteenVd a peculiarity and neither treipafles a- ;ainft. the government or concord of grammar. O O e^ And 'tis eafy to produce a hundred inftances out of the firft-rate authors of Greece, who take liber- ties in alterins; the fio-nification of w r ords, and the common conftrudion , as great as the ule of woe, in this fenfe amounts to. Homer ufes this particle in a great variety of fenfes ; that in the feventh ///- ad v. 3 5 3 . is an u(e of this little word which is,, 1 believe, very peculiar 5 I'voc prj pefypsv wJt, unlefs *we Jhall a$ after this manner. . 9. Out of a great number of places in the new Teflament which I have heard or read ob- jected againil, or which my (elf thought as great difficulties as any have been produc'd., I prefent the reader with a few. 'A~f;//, 'tis fufficient, is but found once in all the new Teffoment. Several -critics give it a dif- ferent fenfe from our tranilation. Anacreon has 1 John xv. 8. 1 3 4 The SACRED CLASSICS it in the fame: aW^f;* S/,/T;J yx? ckmfa, 'tis enough, for I already fee her'. 'Ev yz^fl ?x u y to be with child y feem'd to me peculiar to the Greek tranflators of the old teftanient, and the {acred writers of the new, 'till I found it in one of the nobleft authors of Greece: iu.~vj:yJ!rat oury kv ystrfi %&rr) f . On before an infinitive mood in St. Luke feems a little bold: bsugu on {JLSTZ i>j3fu$ [*.&jtv sa-so-^xt roy 7T/.5v \ I think there is a parallel place in Euripides : that in Plato is cer- tain and full : sixov on TTPUTOV syJ %$vat Q/jVxi Kar SULX.-JTW v . In that palTage pijfyy $ in the new Tcftament, and theSeptuagint fignifies the breaking out of the voice 'with eager joy and vehemence, and exactly exprefles the He- tmw word in Efaias, and Quvqy mult be under- ftood. Quvyjv is exprefs'd after the verb in Job, in Philo, and in Herodotus: 'cwxc, rig ainsw fyuvijy $%zg I^TTW TS KJ xzxS epfa%s tywrjv. Her. Gr. i . p. 35. in St. Matthew* is the (anie with and oppos'd to yvri j whereas 'tis generally in the r Anac. Od. 2.8. v. 415. Ed. Barn. Mark xiv. 41. ^ Mar. i. 18. Exod. xxi. 2.1. Herod. Gale ;if. 1. 37. * A&s xxvii. 10. v Plat, de Leg. p. 8p2. prope fin. Ed. Ser. & Steph. w Galar. iv. 17. Efaias liv. i. * Herod, Gale. p. jzf, 1. 37, y Mat. xix. 10. beft Defended and llluftrated. i 3 y beft writers us'd to ind ude both {exes, all human race : Herodotus ufes it for yibij z . Some pert tranfcriber, jealous that it was not pure Greek, or fearing that left learned readers might miftake, very officioufly put dvfyog into the text. The word is fo us'd in one of the nobleft Claffics : ToJy IB they carry d out all the men that 'were unferwiceaUe for 'war 'with the women and children. In St. Paul's firft Epiftle to the Thefalonians b that confirmation COV\OL si$ ypze feems a breach of a common gram- mar rule both in Greek and Latin: but it is jufti- fy'd by the fame conflruclion in the beft Claffics : Tc&gstS&vcti TXTQV sis vficxG, to deliver over this man to you> is in Demojihenes c j SvrxTqf ~aj dvfyl sxfefc- pew, is in Xenofhon d . 'ETriQwetav rr/g Mtyc, in St. Paul, fhou'd not offend any critic ., becaufe 'tis a more nervous and noble way of {peaking than e-xifyMsiocv sv$otz~ TCXTW e , and is clamcal, nnce Arijtotle himfelf in his third book of politics has cl Kvgici-Tij$ foyd.usuc, for [jietibx SvvoLusvo!, as a noble critic and found divine obferves to us in his note upon a parallel 7 - n^qadi'^cvrc rs TOV av$0cp7rav y^ Ic^txovro rev FIj/Vf gcrc; - Her. Gr. i. 2.3. 1. 10. a Thucid. i. 88. 1. 8. SoSal/tifli Homines adfciviflc dici- tur, muliercs ctiam aliquot. Bel. Car, p. M. Ed. Elz, 1674 b i ThciT. iv. 8. * Dcmoft. adv. Midian. 5 8f. ). ^ poft. C, ci Cyr. Expcd. p, 191. Wells. r Tiros ii. 13 3 expreffion .i 3 6 The SACRED CLASSICS expreflion in Lyccfhron ', where that great man (ays, (f Hence are rhofe perfbns confuted, who " call thcjfe and the like expreflions of the new C( Teilanient Hetratfms, that is excluilvely, fb as (( not at the iame time to allow them to be pure Greek. l\zdi?z';c iv ~Y, r.rt.si feem'd to me peculiar to St. "Luke '') before I read the Greek Cl allies with n view of comparing them with the facred writers .of our Lord's Goipel. I have found it in feveral good authors. We have in Demojlhenes Trfscr&i? re- Jiding or fettling their abode in Samos, they kept Ionia from revolting ', X^ ft ^> ocnl xzfiTcc, in St. John, perplex'd all the commentators^ till it was obferv'd that the particle x>fjl did not retain its ufu- al fignification in this place. Grace for gracej founds very harilily j and, as I humbly conceive , will Icarce be made fenie. But 'tis natural and eafy, if taken in the lenlein which it is us'd by Theognis, a very pure and Attic wri- ter : fcfys fxvT xwv Oiviaq k , and thon fendejt me f Bp. Potter on v. 318. p. 139. 8 Luke xxiv. 49. h Demoft. de Cor. xxiv. 1. 10. i Her. Gr. foi. J. f. ante fin. See alfo Herod. Gr. 7. ^pi. 1. 33. Tally has the fame expreflion: Nos Corcyrx non federemm. Epift. ad Fam. z(5. <5. p. f ii, Ed. Gracvii. k Thcog. v. 344. cala- Defended and Illufirated. 137 calamities upon calamities. So in the Gofpel of his Son, God Almighty vouchfaf'd mankind va- riety of blefTings, abundant grace., and multiply 'd mercies. That in St.jfude, xgostpfaevcre raW? 1 , according to our tranflation, he prophefyd ofthefe men, wou'd be for 7r=?l T8TUV, which, I believe,, wou'd be an unexampled conftru&ion. But if we render it, he frofhefyd agamjl thefe men, that is, he de- nounc'd the vengeance of God againft fuch pro fane notions, as thofe profligate people embrac'd, and fuch lewd and debauch'd lives as they led, the fenfe will run clear, and the conftruclion be regular. This cafe is us'd in the beft dailies to exprefs opposition and confutation. Thucidides for example has it in this fenfe : eysvsro ^ $ sv 2^' ( u5<j e7ravz?<X(nG VTTO r% or^x roTg frjvctToig m , the commons of Samos made an infurreffion againjl the great men. St. Luke ufes x$pa inftead of the common word ^YUJLOLTZ for money n , which is rarely found in any Greek author. I think there is a paflage in Herodotus that comes very near it: 'Eyw 1 Ver. 14. m Thucid. 8. p. 478. I. antepen. Ss 'tisus'd in St. Mat. xxiii. 31. and in St. James v. 5. where ?;; |urt0Tu/ov u/juv is render'd well by our rranflators /^r ^ /?,/?;'- f/v^ againft you^ agreeably to all the Q; iciuai verirons. iv. 17. T. ^ %. I* V* 138 The SACRED CLASSICS fjisy 7T0A5W xfeyog %$&&?<%) I will not fell this cloak for any money or price . 'EyrsOQev ^ irrsvQey in the laft chapter of St. Johns Revelation and fecond verfe is., I doubt not, the genuine reading, tho' we find eyTSvQsiy x oMslftey in feme MSS. We have the fame phrafe in St. Johns Gofpel where there is no various reading at all p . But I mttft deny that it is a pure Hebraifm, becaufe ex- adtly the fame repetition in this cafe is us'd by the pureft authors of Greece as well as the Sep- tuagint: "EvQz y^ syQz is allow'd equivalent to- 7vdsy y^ syrsvfcy, and to be as much a Hebraifm, and Homer ufes that repetition frequently" 1 . So Xenofhon has syfey $ eyQ& a tantamount phrafe: s $BV IJLS y yz? coy '/jv V7rsgv$fl}}& 9 sv9sy $'s i:o~siucg r . This manner of expreflion is not only pure Greek, but good Latin: Firgil and Ovid have ir ;; n Her. Gr. 3. 2.14. 1. u. p John xix. iS\ > 'vSa H. svOa TroTWvrai ayaXXc/^-cvai -Trl?^'} :-an. 3 J\. 3'. v. 461, 5o v. 47 <7. t/HXOj/jtscv r;9 /t, sySse. ' Xen. Cyr. Exp. p. 18. Weils. Svi in Cyrop. 7. p, i<5~ ;, 2, Gi'KC. Oxon. /ay) /3aXoJ7(v svOsv^svSrV. Hinc arquc hinc va(la: rupes ./En. i. v. 161. l!!ic froena jaccnc, illic temor.e revulfus Axis ! Metam. i.v. 3i<5- 4 The "Defended and llluflrated. The particles ^ and <J aniwer one another ge- nerally in the new Teftament writers, as they do in the old dailies of Greece. Butfome times when fjisv is in the firll member of a period, fs is omit- ted in the next, which anfwers it j as in AHs iii. 2, i . which Beza obferves is ieldom found in good Greek authors. But 'tis found fb often as to juf- tifie the purity of it j and clear it from either be- ing a folecifm in the opinion of many critics, or a cilicifin, as Erasmus tells us St. Jerom calls it in St. Paul'. We have in Herodotus f is often omitted in Pindar, particularly in that paffage, exsi pv dtveu liolxy, [tsv igctyotig erci- [jLov 'faxw y %aifovTX rs tevfaig Tcav&oxoLg . And 'tis the obfervation of that fa^acious critic Deme- o trtus Phakreus, that to be fcrupuloufly exa6t in. always making thefe two particles anfwer one another is a mark of a little and trifling genius *. . 10. I fhall now put an end to this long chapter, after I have anrwered a few objections againft the Greek of St. John in his Revelation. r Erafmus on i Cor. xi. 6. v Herod. Gr. 1.43.1.15. w Pindar. 'OX. 4, v. 13, if. x Dem. Phal. c. j$. p. 38. I admire that AriftotU fhou'd make the omiffion of o A i to anfwer ju?v a breach of good language, which he does in the third book of his Rhetoric. T 2 The 140 The SACRED CLASSICS The famous Denny s Biftxop of Alexandria, tho' he allows the purity of St. Johns ftyle in the Gofpel and Epiftles, is pofitive there is falfe Greek and folecifm in the Apocalypfe. Dr. Mill cannot come up to him in his firft opinion, but eagerly ftrikes in with the latter, not being able to pare with his favourite notion of falfe Greek) and ab- furd language in the books dictated by the all-wife Spirit of perfuajion and reafon y . 'ATTC Td Q &y fc} o fy )$ o if^o^syo^ are the attri- butes of the great God our Saviour put rs-^ny^Cy and would lofe much of their grandeur and ma- jefty, if they were in the leaft alter'd : fince they are defied to defcribe that ever-adorable Perfbn, who is the fame y eft er day 3 to day, and for ever. But if any one fhou'd be fo perverfe not to allow this folution, we can juflify it another way by parallel places in the nobleft daffies \ After this xirc ']'/j(rz Xf/e^ o pagTvg o TT^O; cannot be any difficulty, zrog or cc fd maybe eafily underftood^ j' Here 1 think it not improper to produce the opinion or" rhe excellent Ktifrer, \vho judiciouily rejefts all thofe jpafTges from being various readings, which are entangled with any contradiction, produce an ahfurd ienfe, or are ib corrupted, as to produce any monllrous word or folecifm, >uis enim /h^.-e mentis fcriptor. contradittionibtM* i'el Cent en- ****-* m .-I* * j tns abf'urdi;, vet vocabulis rnonjlrofis, & folecifmis urationem f'j>dtit? Picf. to Dr. A//7/'s Greek Teihment p.' i. * Vid. J i$. as Defended and llluftrated. 141 as it mufl be in many places of the nobleft ClaC- fics. 'O wxwv is a nominative cafe without a verb, which is fully accounted for above. 'Actew for /SA&Vjw or ?.v t u,ai'yo[jLsti y apply'd to the inanimate creation, is a lively Profopeia, and every man of (bund understanding in thefe mat- ters will allow both its force and propriety. The beft Greek authors ufe it fo, particularly Thucidides : TYJV y/jy ir^ UXctrai'tix py ddixsTv, to do no damage to the territory of Platea. yiifaoideg %iMd$tov teyovrsg may be either fblv'd under the collective noun, or may be put for steyov, which is refiftlefly aniwer'd above. I fhall, to what I have produc'd above, add a parallel place which I am now reading in the Fa- ther and Prince of Greek hiftory: AsMsfixipoyiuv fyap&vuv swat dydOqfia - - xx. ogQug teyovrsg a . In the next verfe to this nj/ ^iffjuc may natu- rally be governed of KCCTX underftood, as we have fhew'd in parallel places above: and figni- fies all the orders of being that are properly ca- pable of praidng and adoring the fbvereign Lord and Benefactor of all. And teyovrctg agrees in fenfe with afyhxg and ayfyuxxg included in ) being the two ranks and orders, into a Apoc. i. 4, f, iii. n. vi. 6. Thucid. 2. p. iij% Apoc. v. n, ii. Herod, i. p, ip, 1, z6, zj. Ed. Gron. which SACRED CLASSICS which we commonly divide the rational cre- ation. The change of cafe in Revelation xviii. 1 1, \z, 13. is agreeable to what we have faid up- on this fubjed in its proper place j the accu- fatives are governed of ayogdfyi, and the geni- tives of yopoi,' and this variation of the founds prevents this long period from being harfli and diftaftful to the ear. CHAP. C/*-^*^^r/S^^rys^v*('^^*Y>-^*y>.^^y*^^4/7N^ "X^A/ XsfA. AtA. At A^ - \tAs V^A^i .*J v> ^vs^ ^*-*^ w* w ^Jw ^t *^ ^?%3 ivJ%> "^ %> ^5^^ -^^S S/TPv "VVV^ ^/'\ < '*/'* > V / "V6\^ \ x * > V / VCv vTV v^*^^ VVv^S/'V s / 1 ' s/ s v v^ "x^tfV^ \ / 'ft v "v' Vi N v y \, / 5'\r , J v**%A iA^w\ -^^^u *^v^^ j t",^*Aj tA^Ajt-Sx^-^; i.\^^As ^^* >A.^/o i/^s-'-j -"\/~s/jcv\^j '- \*^V'3 t^^^\***^ : 'O'-j CHAP. III. Wherein fever al pajfages and exprejjions, which are looked upon Toy fome as hlemijhes and faults in the f acred writers, are provd to he proper and agree- able ^ and Jhewn to he exactly parallel to pajfages in the mojt noble and vigorous majters of Jtyle. words in the divine wri- ters are thought to be too weak i T i i to bear that weight, and impor- err ill r i tance or lenie winch they arc de* fign'd to exprefs. Every man of fenfe knows that fometimes leiTening expreilions convey the meaning of the thing to the mind with as much advantage^ as words or ftronger (bund and mean- ing, as they furprize the perfons they are addrefs'd to^ excite his cunoficy to coniider or the matter, and occahon variety of reflections. \Vhen God fays., I will not hold him guiltlefs, which taketb my Name in vain : The manner of the expreilion -car- ries no lefs Loiemnity and awe with it than if his eternal Majefty had {aid, I \vill feverely puniili him which taketh m Name in vain. This a\vful 144 75& SACRED CLASSICS phrafe gives rife to our meditations upon the At- tributes i and particularly, the juftice of the So- vereign Lord and Judge of all ; puts us upon deep- ly confidering the heinouineft of the crime for which infblent mortals fhall be found guilty at the bar of God j and what will be the confequence of the irreversible fentence In the Epiflle to the Hebrews the divine writer ufes a word which leems not to be fufficiently ex- preffive of the danger and horror of the thing he. is fpeaking of : For that will be unprofitable to you, that is, as the context requires, extremely bad and fatal a . A vigorous ClafTic ufes zOvfiQofoc, which pro- perly fignifies unprofitable or inconvenient, to ex- prefs a dreadful misfortune, no lefs than lofing a fea-fight, and the deftrudion which attends it b . "A%tff/ in its firft and general fignification is unpleafant, difagreeable j but is us'd by as great a matter of language as any in Greece, in the de- fcription of the deepen: calamity that can hap- pen c . The great Longinus cenfures Herodotus for weak- ning his noble defcription by too fbft a word j but Mr. k Fevre defends the hiftorian againft the critic 'AXucriTjXk, Heb. xiii. 17. b Thucid. 2. 140. 1. z, Kj TO ri\& cr(pi lyivjTO a^a^f, Her. Gr. 8. 464. 1. 1 1, 4 by Defended and llluflrated. 14$ by the example of vigorous authors 3 and efpe- cially Homer, who ufes dswi)?, efteem'd a word of low fignification , to exprefs the outrageous infolence and barbarity of Achilles in ignomini- ouily dragging the body of the brave He&or at his chariot-wheels d . And who will fay that Homer was either at a lols for words, or made an ill choice ? 'Af yoV in the (acred writer * is tranflated idle, For every idle word men Jfeak tlney fhall give an account in the day adjudgment. Which has rais'd fcruples in the minds of (bme Chriftians , as it our gracious God wou'd with feverity exact an ac- count of every word not carefully weigh'd, every little failure or impertinence of fpeech. Idleneis is the odious parent of fb many and great mit chiefs, that I think it will make up a black cha- racter, wherever 'tis apply'd. St. Chryfoftom did not think xcyc$ a weak word. Idle, (ays he, that is, what is not to the furpofe, void of reafon, ly~ ing, calumny and backbiting. Some critical gen- tlemen imagining the word not to be ftrong c- nough, have been fo complaifant to put in one they vainly imagin'd more proper and expreflive ; which is TF X. ^. V, ^9f . aei". n not. Longm. 113. Ed. Tollii. e Mat. xii. 56. See Sr Chryfoftom on the place. ( Vid, D, Mill in loc. U The SACRED CLASSICS vain or empty, in Sophocles, fignifi.es vile and lewd\ in Herodotus y abufi<ve, injurious. The unfruitful 'works of darknefs in the noble (acred writer g , are thofe lewd and nefarious actions whereby men fhamefully contradid their own rea- fbn and judgment , madly rebel againft Omni- potence j and plunge themfelves into ruin and damnation. In the noble Pindar h , d%e$eict 9 unprofitablenefs y exprefTes that remarkable vengeance and utter ex- cinon^ with which the offended Deity fbmetimes punifhes incorrigible Atheifts and blasphemers. 'EvIfaTrstix, I think, is generally taken for fa- cetioufnefs and a f leaf ant turn of wit. St. Paul ufes it for that licentioumefs of ipeech which tret palfes againft religion and good manners ': which no man ufes or admires but who has an unfbund judgment and vicious tafte. v Effcy ^ snog SVT?Z- /rtvvcy, in Pindar y is an aclion and word of fcur- rilityand lewdnefs k : and that noble writer had pie- ty to be fenfible of the crime^ and a genius to find a word proper to exprefs it. ToT? axa^TTOif T ffMOT^j Ephef. v% ii. Pind/Od. oX .1. 84, 8y. 1 Ephcf. v. 4. The Oriental verlions render it well by fiur- r:lit\. and fcojjing aiufoe iwrds. . Pydi. Od. 4. i8f, i8<5. ^. Vain Defended and llluflrated. i. Vain is the criticifm of feveral antient and modern commentators and grammarians that #/.#- }.<xfa in St. Mark) and 0A0Ai/$u in the Septuagint are us d improperly ft? 7#0#r72 <*W bewail, contra ry to the ufage of thofe writers they complement with the title of purer and more eloquent authors of Greek. 'Tis common to find the fame word us'd in two contrary fenfes in the mod celebrated and eloquent CLflics. The word up/su for the moft part is taken by the Clailics to fignify finging or celebrating the praifes of their Gods and heroes [ : But we find it in Plato and Euripides in the contrary fenfe, to dif- praife and undervalue m . MiMg and pu<rQxxo$oo'fa properly and originally fignify a due recompence for virtue and good actions : The latter of thefe words is us'd by the divine writer to the Hebrews n for the punijhment of difo~ ledience and ^ickednefs. M/^oV is taken in this (enfe of the Apoftle by Herodotus and Thucidides. The former fpeaking of the fons of a Thracian King lofing their eyes for their difobedience to their father's command, concludes the relation TCIXTCV fjufftw ?ASbv, this reward thefe 1 Find. Nem.Od. f. v. 46. m Plat. Refp. 1.8. 1. i5. Ed. Mafiey. vid. Plat. Ep. 3. p. 311. Ed, Ser. &; Stcph. n Heb. ii. 2. U i men 148 The SACRED CLASSICS men receivd . Ksffobu generally is to gain profit and advantage in common and {acred Claffics. In St Luke the fignification is quite chang'd, and is to he exposed to danger , and fall into mifchief*. We find xx*7rxy.zi , a word perfectly fynony- mous, taken in the fame double and contrary fig- nification in the great Plato. When the mind is free from tumult, it reaps the pleafures proper to it felf, the trueft and fncerejl that can le q . And, Does not fuch a man, who cannot govern himfelf y lut affeffis to tyrannize over mankind, reap more mifchiefs lefides thefe r f Zsuvcg is a word that bears as noble a fignifi- cation as any in the Greek language. It expreffes what is decent and graceful, what is worthy of praife, venerable and augufr. in the poets and profe-writers. But inlfocrates, a writer of great purity and elegance of language,, it mull in one place fignify morofe and fulfenly or proudly re- fervd*. . 5 . Sometimes we find words in the (acred writers of the new Teftament, which feem to ex- prcls more than they are intended for. In St. Her. Or. 8 . 497. 1. 38. ibid. 3 . 1 6f . 1. 3 3 . p A6h xxvii. 2 r . 1 Plat. Refp, 9. 170. 1. 6. r Plar. Refp. 9. Z48. 1. ip. y) crs/xvc?, Ifoc. ad Demon, p. p. ip. Jid. Grace. Batil. Jude Defended and llluft rated; Jude ciiwfe TrvfcG ferns to fignifie thofe of fire and brimftone upon Sodom and Gomorrah, which were not quenched till they had utterly laid wafte and deftroy'd the country and inhabitants. God made that terrible judgment an image of the laft conflagration; and imprefTed upon the very face of all that country indelible marks of divine vengeance. 'Aftoos properly fignifies eter- nal, but in Thucidides is ufed in a limited and lower fenfe. "O-SteJ> at hoy fJUff&oQot&y U7rdg%siv v , From whence he expeded a perpetual falary, that is_, one during his life. The Latins call great and high benefits immortal obliations w - o in Plato, fignifies only lafling, and is found in comparifbn x . 'ATroMviMtt, fignifies very often no more than to die, or to fuffer great troubles and miferies j tho' from fiich exprellions in the new Teftament fbme patrons of loofe and atheiftical principles wou'd infer that there are no future punilhments of wicked men, but that upon death they are en- tirely annihilated. The claflic authors take this and the fynonymous words for a flate of great trouble and perplexity j but never in this fenfe r Jude vcr. 7. v Thucid. 6. 363. 1. 18. w Tullii Ep.ad Fam. 6c Oratio Pod Redkum facpius x "ArXavra icr^UfOTtgJV >t, a-^avarcuTf^v. Plat. Ph^J. i. 2.6, Camb. that The SACRED CLASSICS that Latitudinarians wifli it might be taken in> but can never prove that it is. Herodotus has dvoMufAsveg for a perfon departed this life, and liv- ing in happinefs in another: OVTS aTFoSvijcnteiv euvrys VOfrflfeffl, <-' .::* TS TOV dTToMVfJLSVOV TTQtfa 'Z.OLfJLQXfyv oxifjLova y , they do not fappofe that they who die are finally extinff y lout that the perfon that departs this life gees to their God Zamolxis. We have in Xe~ nophon &xo /&}. i ru <f)0Sy z . So diru^ofjL^v $v<nqvo xy.sT sly.\ $y in Euripides a . 'Tis very common in this fenfe likewife in Latin authors b . So deflru* ction and perdition in facred writers only exprefs incurable defpair and endlefs miferies 5 becaufe that eternal deftrudion is declar'd thro' the whole new Teftament to be only a iiate of extreme fufferings, and the fliarpeft fenfe of guilt and divine vengeance 5 and not lofs of being, or an- nihilation c . 4. Denny s of Halicarnajjus and numbers of fcholiafts and editors are pofitive that in good profc there ought never to be an entire verfe. The facred writers then muft fall under their cen- y Herod. Gr. 4. ifz. 1. 3. 2 Xen. Cyrop. 6. p. 341. 3 Hecub. 683. b Uc vidi, ut perii ! Virg. Tacitus Annal. 6. p. 2,03. Ed. Elzevir. 1634. Dii me Deieque pejus pcrdanr, quam perire quotidie fentio. r J Tim. vi. 9 2. Pet. iii.y. Mark ix. 44. Mat. xxv-46. fare Defended and llluflrated. \ j \ fure. St. Barnes in a very fublime paflage has one heroic verfe, and the words immediately following with a (mall alteration will make another d . The couplet will run thus . $3 (rig daty ^ KM S #TT<? And confidering both the language and the it will be no very eafy matter to produce two lines much better. There is a compleat elegiac verfe in St. Paul's noble Epiftle to the Hebrews e . The beft foreign Claffics,, much {iiperior both in judgment and composition to critics, who make (uch groundlefs aiTertions, and impofe fuch arbitrary rules on mankind, (bmetimes have whole verfes in their profe writings, Xenofhon has 'Tis the fame in the Latin authors g . Rhiming, or a clofe and near repetition of the fame found is reckon'cl a fault in compofition, and grates the ears offender and nice critics. The a James i. 17. e Kaj a rj $w<i y~r t v l Heb. xii. 2(5. So has Plutarch A?roSy. Reg. 5c Due. p. 1 1 1, 10 line from end. Greek. Bafii. if 74. KyjpuVlejv ori ^ yetrova^gy^ov ^. f Xen. Cyrop. 8. 452. Grseco lat. Weils, Tacitus in beginning of Annals: - Urbcra Romam in principio reges habuere. 4 divine 15* The SACRED CLASSICS divine writers have a few inftances of this - y and they are as often us'd in the mod admir'd foreign authors. And I hope the philologers will not excufe them in one, and condemn them in the other. TwuffKOftsw tij dyzftmcrxofievy h is not more unpardonable in St. Paul, than sx a%w&TUTe8 9 xGcxo%vvT()Tgx de in Thutidides '. The repetition of three or four words related in their original and found are {bmetimes to be met withal in the {acred and common Claffics. If (bw/)-j xiQ:fj}$v xiQxfifyvruv ev Totig xiQagaig avruy in St. John k , and dtreSsTe dcrsSsiag <XUTMV uv YjcreZ'/ipav dfjuzgrutol avegsi'g l in St. Jude y found difagreeable and grating to an over-curious ear 5 the fame of- fence mull be taken at r&Jug cdsl Teterag TS/uviSyog TsXeog MTug yiTvsTxi in the fublime Plato m j and at that paflage in the clean* and polite Xenophon"; ol iraiosg d'AXoyrsg Tag Sixctg fozzfag hxzfypsvzg sSoxav [jLxvQdvsiv cMzicr/jT?. That repetition in Plato is one of the molt clean and agreeable that I have obferv'd in any Claflic 5 pwxww Tim K Trig %x eiaopi x^Xov elotvui . But no repetition of words of the fame h z Cor. iii. 2. ' Thucid. 6. 391. 1. penult, vid, Virg. Mn. 4. 5-41. Horn. 'IX. //. zpd. Sw/xara^ ^^'juia'la. Xen. Cyrop. i. paul. ante fin. k jRevel. xiv. z. 1 Jude ^. if. m Phxd. 145). 1. 28, 19. Ed. Ser. &Sccph. n Cyrop. lib. 8. p. 358.!. 18, 19. Grxc. Oxon. Pla:. Gorgias 4fp. lin. 2. ante E. 4 original Defended and Illuftrated. \ j 3 original and found is any where to be met with, that has fuch ftrength of fenfe and delicacy of turn as that of St. Paul to the Romans p . M?J sg TO cru- no tranflation can reach the beauties of it. The harmony in the order and ftru&ure of the words is grateful, the repetition and oppofi- tion in the latter part is fprightly and furprizing ; and the moral comprehended in the whole found and edifying. . 5. Repetitions of precepts and morals is often found in the facred writers q , and is defign'd to waken mens attention 5 and by repeated ftrokes to imprefs thoie important truths deeper in their minds* Readers of any laudable curio- fity and hopefulnefs of temper will carefully con- fider a doctrine and the confequences of it, which is by the divine Spirit of wifflom fb often and ib vehemently inculcated. Grotius, on i Theff. v. 5, &c. obferves to his reader, <c See <c how often the Apoftle repeats the fame thing, ff that, by praifmg the Chriftians, he may incite Cf and encourage them. The foundeft and politeft moralifts in the hea- then world are full of repetitions of their rules of condudt, and precepts of piety and morality ; n Rom. xii. 3. ^ Philip, ii. ^. Ephef. vi. f, 5, 7. X and cj4 The SACRED CLASSICS and particularly Tully, in his juftly admir'd Office f, one of the moil elaborate, found, and ufeful of all the writings of that excellent man. Look into the fifth lection of the third book r , where the philofopher is upon that important point, that juftice is inviolably to be obferv'd, and that a, wife and good man will rather fuffer poverty, pain, and death, than fordidly draw profit to himfelf by doing injury to his neighbour: and you'll find the fame doctrine repeated for almoft three pages together, in an elegant variety and moving ve- hemence of expreflion. . 6. Some metaphorical expreflions in the new Teftament have been thought to have been overftrain'd and harih by fome gentlemen, not in- timately converiant with the noblefl Claflics - y and that have not view'd things and perfons in their fe- veral pofitions and numerous relations one to ano- ther : when really the paffages, which incompetent judges pronounce faulty, require learning and judgment not to defend 'em, but to open and fet off their vigorous meaning, and genuine beauties. "Ezv pufwdfj TO z?.og f , if the fait }>e infatuated is a trope very ftrong , and not in the lead agreeable c> r Cockman. Tul. OiTic. p. 151, 151, 155. f Mat. v. 15. Luke xiv. ^4. Plato abounds in bold me- Uphon, which, I bciicvc ? v.-ill be allow'd to be bcaucifu! and Defended and Ittuftrated. ijj agreeable to a true tafte. The Syriac verfion ren- ders it infatuated ; the other verfions mitigate the, teeming harihnefs of that bold word. The relation and ground of the trope is obvi- ous j if fait has loft its feafoning quality and fliarp- neft,, 'tis of all things the moft infipid and entire- ly ufelefi : as a man who has loft the u(e of his reafbn is a mere corpfe, and nuifance to the earth, Girding up the loins of your mind : is a ftrong ex- preflion, and a daring application and transfer- ring of the qualities of the body to the mind, or a communication of idioms, as Divines call it. The propriety of which proceeds from the clofe and near relation of an organiz'd body, and im- mortal fpirit in their aftonifhing union to make up one man. And thofe bold phrafes, Tsg rS vox StiyetrQau ryv ipu^Jy, and eteuSsffy nswxoTSs in the claflic authors are parallel \ Erafmus pays one of his ufual complements to St. James and others of the facred writers, when he cenfures that expreflion efafSTfeiw Trgotruxx w as and emphatical j tho they are more harih and catechreftical than any in the new Teftament : fome initances have been produc'd already, 1 fhall only, out of great numbers, add one fpeaking of a cowardly General : he fays of him, OTTO /jt0je T <poC vaurijt. Leg. i. p. 639. 1 i Pet. i. 13. v Her. Gr. 6, $?f. 1. 3f. Xen, Cyrop. i. p. 7. 1. 10, ii. Grasc. Oxon. Demof. de Cor i<Sp. 4. Oxon. KOJ^OTS^V t<yt in Sc. John iv. fi * James i. 11. X ^ The SACRED CLASSICS har/h. Herbs and flowers are the gayeft beauties of the lower creation : and , beautiful face, gay appearance, &c. afcrib'd to 'em, founds to me neither with harftmefs nor impropriety. I hope at leaft 'tis not harfher than afcribing a brow or a breaft to a mountain 5 we find the firft in Hero- dotus x , to which a paffage in St. Luke is exadly parallel y : the fecond is in Xenophon z , and is bolder than any thing of that nature, which we find in the divine writers of the new Teftament. .7. The facred writers are not always felici- tous to avoid fame feeming inconfiftency that may be cleared by common fenfe and candor; and the allowances that are made by all perfbns, who are not addided to cavil and prejudice. In that paflage to the Romans a , Thanks be to God that ye <were fervants ofjtn y lout now ye have obey- ed, &c. is juft the fame as Thanks be to God, that you, 'who 'were fervants of Jin, now have obeyed, dec. This way of expreflion is called a Hebraifm, but is not unufual in the Greek and Roman Claflics of the firft rank. To yz? axoxiv- tivvevsw 7tfo$ dv$gtoit%g dTzovsvoyfJihxg Trgog sKsfvuv %v sn % itgoq 9 AQqva(uv b 3 is literally thus, Her. Gr. 4. z8i. 1. 4, <J. Y Luke iv. 2p. Xen. Cyr. Exp. p. ipf. Wells. Rom. vi. 17. Thucid. 7. 465-. 1. p. 3 Defended and llhiflrated. 157 To run any risk againft defferate men was no long- er more (or, as Holies) fo much for their advan- tage, as that of the Athenians. But according to the true fenfe and defign of the author 'tis thus : To run any hazard ly then fighting men defperate y who in a little time ivoud certainly fall into their bands, 'was not at all for the advantage of the Syracufans, hut their enemies the Athenians^ as giving them a frejh chance and opportunity to reco- ver their lojl affairs. So in that paflage of Tully c > Nee lilidini potius luxuriaque, quam liberalitati & leneficentia par eat, there's no comparifon intended which way of living fliou'd be prefer'd; but luxury and extravagance are abfolutely con- demn'd. St. Paul to the Corinthians d wonderfully ex- prefles the generous zeal and forwardnefs that the Macedonian Chriflians iliew'd in doing good and contributing to the relief of their diTtreffed bre- thren, which he does in terms that {bme little fbphifls would pretend to cavil at. For of them" felves 'were they willing, according to their foiu- er (I hear 'em witnefs} yea and above their power. The Prince of Greek orators delivers himfelf in the c Tull. Off. i. See Luke xviii. 14. Xen. Hcllcn. 7- 456. Wells, vid, Tullii Epiit. Fam. 6. 6. p. 16-2.. 1. 7, 8, Ed. Grrevii. a 2. Cor. viii. 3. Kara cV^a.uiv xl UTT?^ c /v !am< 158 The SACRED CLASSICS fame vigorous manner cc I have perform'd all fC thefe things with juftice, and care, and great " labour, and induftry above my power e . That (eeming inconfiftency in St. Matthew and St. Mark*, as, to him that has not, even that which he has, Jhall he taken from him, is entirely recon- cil'd by a parallel place in St. Luke 1 , by that equitable conftruction, and thofe fair allowances that ought to be made to all good authors. We have the fame appearance of impropriety in the moft difcerning and moft exalted writers among the Claffics h . ' In fhort, great writers, fecure of the noble- nefs and importance of their fenfe, and the ma- fterly beauties of their language in general, are not always anxious to avoid a little deviation from common grammar, or a fmall feeming in- coherence 5 when little critics cannot judge or difcover either a beauty or material faulty but betray their ignorance and groveling temper in rigoroufly infifting upon the minuteft matters * Dem. de Cor. 1 16 1. pen. ^jXoTro^oor uVs * Mat. xxv. 2p. Mark iv. 25-. or oux ttffiffircu air ceuT. Lukeviii. 18. ^ os av fxq t^jj, ^ 8 cToxet h Juven. Sat. j.r. 208, iop. Nil habuit Codrus & tamen illud Pcrdidit infelix nil Her. Gr. i.zp. 1. zi. mere Defended and Ilhtftrated. 159 mere trifles, and often condemning that for a fault which is really an excellence. People that cannot fupply fuch defects as we have mention'd, and readily excufe and iblve fuch feeming in- coherences,, have not, I don't fay candor but, tafle and ilrength of genius to make 'em capa- ble readers of any good authors. CONCLUSION. BY what we have hitherto obferv'd, I promife to my felf that I have made good the affir- mation of the learned Falricius 1 , ana a great many other very eminent and judicious (cholars, That there are fewer mere Hebraifms in the books of the new Teftament than feveral famous men wou'd have 5 and no folecifms at all. 'Tis probable that it may be thought by {bme, that fbme things I have obferv'd, are too little and inconfiderable. But I don't pretend that complete mafters in thefe ftudies are to be entertain'd after this poor manner j I write chiefly for the ufe of younger (cholars, and others who may want fuch helps, til! ' FabrScii Bibliothec. Groec. lib. f . c. f . p. 124. time 1 60 Tie SACRED CLASSICS time and induftry fhali advance 'em to farther perfection : and I believe I have put nothina down that is entirely ufelcis and foreign to the purpofe. Other Gentlemen are indolent, and entirely unconcern'd whether the icyle of the new Telta- ment be free from (blecifms or no. We are, fay they, fatisfy'd and afTur'd that the holy writers were influenc'd and diredled by the holy Spirit > and that the fenfe of the (acred text is very im- portant and noble > and we are not concern'd whether the language be pure Greek or not. Now for this reafbn that the holy writers were under the influence and direction of the Spirit of infi- nite wiflom, who does all his wondrous works in proportion, harmony, and beauty, I am fully perfuaded he wou'd not fuffer improprieties, and violations of the true and natural reafon and ana- logy of grammar to be in writings dictated by himfelf, and defign'd for the inftruction and plea- fure of mankind to the end of the world. If we confider God, fays an excellent perfbn, as the Creator of our fouls, and fb likelieft to know the frame, and fprings, and nature of his own work- manfhip we ihall make but little difficulty to believe that in the book written for, and addrefs'd to men, he hath employ'd proper language, and genuine natural eloquence, the moft powerful and Defended and llluftrated. 161 and appropriated mean to work upon 'em. But fblecifm and abfurd language give an offence and diiguft to all people of judgment and good (en(e? and are not appropriate means to work and pre- vail upon human minds. The notion of folecifm is by all means to be remov'd from the infpif'd penmen, becaufe it hinders young fcholars from ftudying that book of fuch inefiimable ule and value with that chearful application and pleafure which are neceilary to make 'em tolerable mailers of its language and fen(e. When people have con- ceiv'd a prejudice againft the (acred writers, it ei- ther entirely takes 'em off from the ftudy of 'env or if they be oblig'd to read 'em, they do it with' reluftance and averfion 5 and aim at no greater knowledge than will qualify 'em to undergo an eafy examination, in order to get a livelihood and worldly profit by a profeflion, to which fuch people are generally a di (honour and {candal. 'Tis impoffible to defend our religion againft the in- fults and fophiftry of fubtil Heretics, or to be a Divine of any confiderable value, without a good and intimate acquaintance with the (acred text. The notion of folecifms, &c. has given (bmc conceited wits and (hallow rhetoricians a contempt of thofe ineftimable books. A worthy Cardinal durft not read the Bible for fear of (poiling his fine Ciceronian ftyle, and has Y the 161 The SACRED CLASSICS the horrid aflurance openly to condemn and de- fpife St. Paul's Epiftles j and calls 'em by a forry diminutive word which expreffes the greateft wan- tonnefs of contempt, and fcurrility k . 'Tis eafy to name two chapters in the new Teftament, even confider'd as a common book, that have more (enfe and genuine beauty of language than all Benibus's fix books of Familiar Letters. Tho' I think it wou'd be an abfurd thing to put natural eloquence, fublimity offenfe, and the beautiful graces of clear and eafy language, upon any com- parifbn with a pedantic ollentation of learning, trifles dreft up in ffcudied periods ; and a flavifh imitation, or rather a ridiculous aping ofTulIy. Dr. South's fatyr upon fuch infblence and profii- nefs is juft : cc He who faid he wou'd not read <f the Scriptures for fear of {poilmg his ftyle fliew'd 4 ( himfelf as much a blockhead as an Atheift ; and * c to have as (mall a guft of the elegancies of ex- *' c preffion, as of the facrednefs of the matter f ." How many conceited fcholiafts and tranfcribers, having gotten the whimfical notion of (blecifin k Bcmbus cpiftolas cmncs S. Pauli pakm condemnavit, eafque dcflexoin conrumeliam vocabulo Epiftolaccms elt aulis appt'ilarej cum amico autor efTet, ne illas attingeret; vel ii coepiflet legere, de manibus abjiccrcc (1 elegant iam fcribendi & eloquentiam adamaret. ScipioGentilis in Epift. ad Philem. inter Maj. Grit. p. 4010. A Dr. South Scrm, Vol. IV. p. 31, 51. 4 into Defended and llluflrated* 163 into their head, with intolerable boldneft have corre&ed the facred text, and given us their own Ipurious amendments for the genuine original; and fb have encumber d it with an enormous heap of various readings ? Ogxx is put for cftcy even by Theoftylaffi himfelf in Zacharies hymn m : and Pifcator fays, it being plainly in appofition with &at9qxqs before, muft either be fa, or it will be an irregularity and breach of fyntax. But what if it be governed of ;m# fo often underflood in the facred writers of the new Teftament and the old Claflics of Greece ? The fenfe and grammar are as effectually fecur'd, as by that bold correcti- on made by Theophylaff without any authority. The pure original reading in the laft chapter of St. Luke's Gofpel dfQzusvoy n is in a few books chang'd into df%ct[tsvuv 9 which reading has been approv'd by a few critics, who did not confider that this cafe is as pure Greek -, and is frequently us'd, tho' not fb commonly, as the genitive in thefe forts of conftruftion. Which we have prov'd above, and here add the following inftances. sv u dvr5 sv TUTO 7ra6eTv y 'where Hefiod the poet isfaid to leflain m Luke i. 71, 72. n A6ls xxiv-47- Xen. Cyrop. f. p. 5*. p. 313. Wells. Y i ly The SACRED CLASSICS loy the inhabitants, it being told him Toy the oracle that this Jhould happen to him in Nemea p . That place iiiAffs, [LOiX^z yvucTJy cs oyrx*, has been very per- plexing to (bme critics and tranfcribers j who did not confider how common this conftru&ion is in the pureft and moft authentic writers : feme have put in fi'JwV, and fbme ^r/*?v^, which the rea- der plainly fees are interpolations, when he confi- ders the reafbn of their addition, and obferves in what a great majority of manufcripts the genuine j- r j reading is round. In St. Luke r ciifyyt&og is in fome few manu- (cripts, verfions, and fathers chang'd into a/v2?w* Jiwr, which change was made out of fear left an adjective for an adverb was not claffical Greek. But that is a common elegance in both Greek and Roman authors. I fhall only give two inftances iti one page near together in Herodotus f . The opinion of falfe Greek and barbarous lan- guage in the new Teftament has given offence to many polite gentlemen, great readers and admi- rers of the claflical writers. If that was onc.fi happily remov'd, and the facred book skilfully P Thucid. 3. 103. 1. 17. See Herod. Gr. 9. fi<5. I. 10. * A6b xxvi. 3. r Luke xxi. 51. { *Afffj.tvc: !<po/Ty, they 'willingly went. 'O Ar,Voy.jr ^v 7rc.o<r \2cio Travlo? avcApor, ^ TrgoCaXXojU.sv', ^ aivso/xsv-, U!^; 2;^- loujlyput up and applauded. Her, Gr. i, p. 41. 1. ip, 41. 3 divided Defended and llluftrated. itfj divided into proper chapters and feclions, Co as to fhevv the full connection both of the periods and the reasoning of the difcourfe (which the prefent divifions much perplex and break off) gentlemen of judgment and ingenuity might be prevail'd on to read thofe ineftimable authors; and would {bon admire and love both the beautiful proprie- ty of the language, and the fublimity and noble- nefs of the fenfe. Then a good opinion of the ityle would bring 'em to confider the fbundnefs of the moral, and the majefly and purity of the myfteries of the Gofpel. The pleafure and dili- 2;ence of readino- thofe divine authors wou'd be O O rais'd and heighten'd by the confederation of the near concern and intereft they themfelves had in their mofl important and awful contents ; and a joyful profpe6l of that infinite happinefs which is fb faithfully promifed, demonftrated by fuel) clear proofs, and defcrib'd with fuch fublimity and grandeur in that incomparable book. Tie End of the Firft Part. The S A C K B D CLASSICS Defended and Illuftrated ; O R, An ESS AY humbly offer'd towards proving the Purity, Propriety, and true Eloquence of the Writers of the NEW TESTAMENT. PART SECOND, In which is {hewn that ail the Excellencies of Style, and fublime Beauties of Language and genuine Elo- quence do abound in the facred Writers of the NEW TESTAMENT: With an Account of their Style and Character, and a Repre- fentation of their Superiority in feveral Inftances to the beft CLASSICS of GREECE and ROME. By A B LACKWALL, M. A. LONDON: Printed in the Year M.DCQXXV. THE SACRED CLASSICS Defended and Illuftrated. PART II. C H A P. I. Shall beg leave here to repeat what I advanc'd in the firft Part, that the main fubftance and groundwork of the language of the Gofpels and Epiftles is in- oonteflably the {ame with that of the old authen- tic Grecians^ their narrative and morals are ex- preis'd in parallel terms , and in equal exa&neft of grammatical concord and government. Z In j/o The SACRED CLASSICS In fliort, the language is the Came, excepting when the rites of the Jewifli, and new revelations of theChriftian Religion requir'd new terms j and where the ulage ofHelreiv modes of fpeech, and allufions to the oriental cuftoms exprefs'd the thing with more vigour, and advantage and (a- tisfadion of the people to whom the Gofpel was to be addrefi'd and preach'd. Even in the He- Iraifms and peculiarities of the new Teftament as good a regard has been had to the general analogy and true propriety of grammar, as in the pureft and fublimeft writings, which make up the ftan- dard of the Greek language. 'Tis very remarkable that thofe Helratfms are us'd by the writers of the new Teftament which are us'd by Plato, Herodotus, &c. as fubflantives inftead of adjectives, a nominative cafe without any verb, repetitions of the lame word, that look very like tautologies 5 and other modes of ipeech that we have above fliew'd to be common to the Hebrew and Greek languages : but other Helrew forms of expreffion, tho' fcarce bolder or harfher than thefe, are not us'd by the facred writers 3 I believe becaufc they wou'cj have been real fole- cifms , and violation of the analogy and cuftom of the Greek andRowan language, as never admit- ted into it, nor us'd by their approv'd and prin- cipal writers. The relative ajher is frequently 2 fupprefs'd Defended and Illuftrated. fopprefs'd in Reived ', as the relative 'who or which is in Englijh. In regimen of nouns the govern- ing noun is alter'd, not the governed b . The ad~ jedive and the fubftantive are of different genders and numbers c . The verb fbmetimes does not a- gree with the proper nominative cafe, but is of the fame number with the oblique cafe in the claufe d . And feveral other Helraifms there are that are repugnant to the ufage of the Greek language, and never us'd by the divine writers in Greek. I much wonder at that formal remark of a very learned man on Affs v. 3 o. ff St. Luke being a cc fcholar, ufes many words purely Greek." Why don't St. Matthew, St. Mark, St. Paul, St. John ufe many words and phrafes purely Greek ? Is that to be doubted by any one that ever read them ? Has not that excellent critic himfelf given numerous inftances of it ; and prov'd it by parallel inftanccs out of the beft authors ? &. In this chapter I lay before the young feholar fome remarkable paflages, precepts of mo- rality, companions and proverbial fayings in the Pfal. li. 10. b Prov. xxiv. if. Job xxxiv. 18. c i Sam. ii. 4. Ifa. xvi. 18. d Jerem. x. 2,2. Jobxxix. 10. Haggai ii. 8. Vid. Buxtorf. Thefaur.!Grammat. Linguae Sand. Heb. in Syntaxi. Vid. etiam Bithncr. Inftit. Linguae Sandse ad calcem Lyr^e Prophetic^ cap. p, Vid, Proverb, xxviii. i. Z i facred The SACRED CLASSICS facred writers, which are us'd in the molt lofty and noble foreign writers. And the reafbn I draw this parallel is, only to iliew the wifdom and con- defcention of the Divine Spirit, in directing the Evangelifts and Apoftles to ufe thofe cuftomary and well-known modes and forms of fpeech which are found in thole writers, which are generally and juftly admir'd for their agreeable and preva- lent manner of applying to the reafon and affedi- ons of mankind. The hand of God in the old and new Teftament expreffes his providence and pov/er e : In which fenfe it is taken by the noble Pindar : Qsz ovy TT#A#U f , a haven of Crete that lyeth towards the Southweft, &c. is a low tranfla- tion, and takes away the profopope'ia and vigour of the original j and is not more plain or in- telligible than the literal rendring of it a ha- ven which Jooketh towards the North weft, dec. The nobleft Claffics have the fame form A fromon* Tory of Salamis looking towards Megara g . Ariftophanes iays of Juno , whom the pao-an world fuppos'd to be that Deity which prefided over the nuptial rites, that Jhe keeps the keys of * Pfal. xcv. 4.xlv. 6. Luke i. 66. f Pindar. O 1 . 10. v. zf. Afts xxvii. n. Thucid. z. 141. 1. 8. So in Xen. Cy- rop. 8. f. 2,. 317. -ur^s ECO. ^XlTrsffav T>JV crx^v/fv. Spedlant: in Ssptemtrjones 6c Oacntem folem. Cxwr. Comcien. i lib. p. 4. Variorum. marrave Defended and llluflrated. 173 marriage h . The facred writer, to fhew the inte- refl and fbvereign power our Saviour has in the future ftate, fays that he has the keys of hell and faradife '. Plato fpeaking of perfbns fit to prefide in a well-conftituted government , fays, they are rich, not in gold., hit in that wherein a happy man ftould be rich, a good and prudent life k . Which is much to the fame fenfe with that noble exhor- tation of St. Paul to wealthy men, that they do acJs of charity, and le rich in good works \ 'Tis the opinion of fbme learned men , that the holy Jefus, the moft tender and dutiful Son that ever was born, when he call'd his mother plainly woman , declar'd againfl thofe idolatrous honours which he forefaw wou'd be paid her in latter ages, which is no improbable guefs. Bur in the more plain and unceremonious times it was a title apply'd to Ladies of the greateft quality and merit by people of the greateft humanity and ex- alnefs of behaviour. So Cyrus the great fays to the Queen of the Armenians, 'AA/.2 crv u yjwi m : and fervants addrefs'd Qiieens and their miftrefles in the fame language n . t, Thefmoph. 58 f. i Apoc. i, 1 8, k Piat. Rcip. 7. 99. 1.4, f, 6, ] i Tim. vi. 17. a'ya- Cc?ey'v, < rXTv cv xaXcT? spyoi?. m Xen. Cyrop. p. 103, 1. 4. ante fin. Gr. Ox. n Sophoc. Tracliinia: v, 1^4. To t/4 Tke SACRED CLASSICS To hunger and thirft after right eoufnefs, or the f attractions of true religion^ is an admirable meta- phor, beautifully bold and flrong . Both the Greek and Roman Claffics take delight in it. c Some tempers, {ays Xenopbon ? , nolefs cc hunger after praife than others after meats and fc drinks." "QVTUG eyw <ft;iw yx0(tleo'ai vvuv. Co ' /W 3 ~ 1 J J I thirft y am vehemently dejirous to oblige you*. Thirft ing after thofe arts, of which I ffeak, I have had a fmall tafte r . That paflage in Plato : $%K~ vo~bcti TS Yy ^.ot r /p^jci scrSisiv aAA^Aa s , to loite one another like fierce wild leajls, and fghting to de- vour one another y are juft the (ame Words with thofe of the great Apoille : 'Ef & # AA>?A* fizMere / * ^ t \ 1 / 5 ~ ^ XXTSff&lSTS fi}.~T y fitf V7TO aAA^AWV bVOfatoStfTS C : only here they are cleaner and ftronger; turn'd and finilli'd into a completer fenfe ana moral. Proverbial expreflions are generally very figni- ficant, and contain much fenfe in few words, as refulting from the long obfervation and con- ftant experience of mankind. In the ninth chapter of the, Atts 1 * there is a proverb that comes Mat. V. 6. ; o# /jc?9* oo-Ji? auro T/Ojjo- T. K. St. Chryf. in loc. P Xen. CEcon. p. pj*. Wells. 1 Xen. Cyrop. 4. 2.61. 1, penult. Wells. r Tull. de Orat. 3. p. 313. Ed. Pearce. s Plat. Ref. 9. 174. ad fin. Ed. Maflcy. c Gal. v. if. v A6bs ix. f. Sy.X>i^v CTCJ wgos y.ivl^, XaxD/^ew from Defended and Illuftrated. 175 from the mouth of the worlds Saviour, en- thron'd in fiipreme majefty$ by which he checks the madnefs of Saul, bidding defiance to him, and exercifing impotent malice and blind hoftility againft his moft bleffed and invincible name and Gofpel. The fame proverb is us'd by JEfchylus, Euripi- des, and Terence ; and the noble Pindar has it to the fame purpofe of expreffing the madnefs of murmuring againft, and pretending to refifl the power and pleafure of the great God w : Phy- ficlan heal thyfelf*, is parallel'd by the noble trage- dian JEfchylus*. Our blefTed Saviour's addrefs to Jerufalem is very moving and pathetical in St. Matthew, and is improv'd and heightened by a very natural and clear companion: O Jerufalem, Jerufalem! thou that killejl the prophets, and ftoneft thofe who are fent to thee, how often woud I have gather d thy children together as a hen gathereth her chickens, andyewoudnot? [What a melting exprobration, (to ufe the eloquent words of a great man) what vigour and winning compaflion, what a relenting w Pindar. Pyth. z, v, 175. * Luke iv, 25, >" Kaxos ^ iar^r o v co,r ris 1? voccv riscroov aGu/jteiV, ^ crauTov s'x s^etf. Eupeiv oTro/stf ^a^ccKOif fVi^(^. Prometheus. ftrain 176 7%e SACRED CLASSICS ftrain of tendernefs is there in this charitable re- proof of the great Inftrudor and Saviour of fouls z i Euripides and Sophocles a beautifully and appofitely ufe the (ame comparifoir, by which all the diligence of care^ tendernefs of companion, and readinefs of protection are happily exprefs'd. Two elegant and very appofite comparifons are join'd together in the firft Epiftle to theTbeffa- lonians b more forcibly and fully to reprefent the fuddennefs of our Saviour's coming to judgment; and the verbs are of the prefent time to make the defcription more affecting and awful: The day comes fuddenly, as a thief in the night upon peo- ple buried in fleet), utterly amazd and confounded at that difmal feafon, in that unarm d and helplefs pojlure Ruin andfnal deftruffiion feizes the impe- mtent unprepardj as the pangs of childbirth come upon a woman laughing, eating, and thinking of nothing lefs than that hour. The great Homer often gives you two or three fine comparifons pretty 7 - Mat. xxiii. 37. Dr. South Scrtn. Vol. V. p. s Euripid. Troad. 745*, 746. Nscocrci wVet Trlsguyaj <77rt'lva>y s/jta'?. 'Ot S^' H^y.Xetoj TraTc^sf f xoOTTrTsgss' ,2c)^w vsoorfcff. Here, furens. That paflage in James iii. f. 'I^ oX/yov -576^ X/x/jv eita7i r i&. is parallel to that of Pindar. Pyth. od. 5. FTcXXav r'o^ci TTUO svcr ffTrsf/uaT' svOtfgov aiVwcrij) uXav. b i ThefT. v. z, 3. aV./Cj? { V.wv. Sr, Chryf. in loc. clofe Defended and llluflrated. 177 clofe together upon the fame fubject, to fet it off with variety of ornaments, to give you a de- lightful view of it on all fides ; and entertain you with the unexhaufted flores and riches of his ge- nius c . The comparifon betwixt gold leing tryd and purified ly the fre, and the genuinefs of chriftian faith and piety by afflictions and fevere troubles is quick and clean ; gracefully infinuated, without the formality of bringing it in by the common marks and notices of companion in that noble paflage of St. Peter \ . 3. An excellent collection of morals may be drawn out of the claffical authors, much re- fembling the (acred writers both in fenfe and language. The brave refblution of Socrates > to do bis duty in the utmojl danger, exprefi'd with that native fim- plicity and undaunted courage which innocence and goodnefs infpire, is much the fame in words and meaning as that noble declaration of the Apoftles before the corrupt rulers of the Jews . c Horn. IX. 3'. ver. 4f f. ad v. 484. d i Pet. i. 7. c 'Tjua'f, co avc/Y? 'AOifjvcaci, acrTra^o/jtoa ^ (piXco, Ttreicrc/jtoa j r iaj /JtaXXcv y| J,aTv. Plat. Soc. Ap. If. 1. 7, 8. Camb. ts. A6ls V. 2,p. A a it 178 7%e SACRED CLASS ic s Had Homer exprefs'd that line in the firft Iliad *v. 11 8. in the angular number Qs lirmeQvrw zte T ex}.vsv it had been found morality , and exactly the fame in verfe as that divine maxim of the Evangelift in profe: if any man le a worjhipper of God, and doth his will) him he heareth*. We mujl, {ays Plato, thus judge of a righteous man, that whether he le in poverty or fcknefs, or any other apparent evils, they 'will turn to his advan - iage living or dying g . What a near refemblance is there between this noble pallage of the philo- iopher, and that exalted triumph of the Apoftle : I am perfuaded that neither death, nor life, nor an- gels, nor principalities, nor powers, nor things pre- fent, nor things to come, &c. Jhall be able to fepa- rate us from the love of God, which is in Chrifl Jefus our Lord - ay.d we know that all things work together for good to them who love God'\ God refifts or fets himfelf in hoftility againft proud men, is an important maxim of morality,. ilrongly exprefs'd, and frequently inculcated both m the old and new Teftament 1 . We have the fame moral in Pindar beautifullye xprefs'd, tho' f John ix. 31. 8 Plat. Ref. p. L 334. 1. f, 6, 7. h Romans viii. 38, 39, 18. * Job xxii. zp, Prov. iii. 34, Jam, iv. 6, in Defended and llluftrated. 179 in a manner inferior to that of our facred wri- ters k . There is a found paffcge of morality in Tully, Plutarch, and Plato, importing that nothing buc the body and its lufts and appetites kindle {edi- tions, quarrels and war in the world', which ex- actly correiponds with two parallel paiTages in St. James and St. Peter m . But the thought is more */ o enlarg'd, the manner of the expreffion more live- ly and emphatic (befides the vehemence of a preffing interrogation and the addition of a vigo- rous metaphor) in the Apoftles than the Philo- fbphers: Whence are 'wars and fightings among jl you f are they not hence, even from your lufts that f war in your members ? fays St. James j and St. Pe- ter exhorts his Chriftians as pilgrims and ftr angers to alftainfrom carnal lufts, which <war again/I the foul. That is a fine paflage of (bund morality and generous charity, rais'd above moft of the Pagan moralifts before Chriftianity, in an epiftle of the famous Pliny": I ivou'd have him who is truly to give to his country, kinfmen, friends, I k Pindar. Pyth. z. v. 94, pf, 96. 1 Kai ^S' TtrsiXljusr, ^ raVa?, ^ pca'^af feo^sv d\\o . ' TO crw/jta, ^ ou a?ro rs'ra sTTtOu/jt/oa. Plat. Phiedon. 10. p. 88. Camb. m Jam. iv. i. i Pet. ii. II. n Epift. p. 30. p. 2,39. Ed. Hearne. A z mean 180 The SACRED CLASSICS mean poor friends , not as thofe who give chiefly to thofe perfons, 'who are mofl able ta give again. How near in fenfe and words to St. Luke in one part ? How much inferior in the encouragement to this charity which the Saviour of the world has given and tranfmitted to us by the pen of his Evangelifl ? But when thou makejl a feaft call the poor, the maimd, the lame, the Mind, and thou Jhalt be lie (fed; lecaufe they cannot recomfenfe thee: a vecompenfe flail be made to thee in the RefurrecJion ofthejujl . The Apoftle St. Peter fees off the moil amiable graces and becoming ornaments of chriftian women in the mofl beautiful drefs of language, which is much fuperior to thole places in EfiSetus and Plutarch, &c. that the critics and commentators produce as parallel or refemblmg p , neither gold, nor emerald, nor purple give grace and ornament to a woman; lut all thofe things <which dearly exprefs and fet off her gravity. exat con- duB, modefly q . The Apoftle fpeaks to the fame purpofe$ but excels any thing laid by the Claflks and. Philofo- Luke xiv. i ?, 14. I efteem 7*0 here as an expletive and the !cnie runs clearer ib. The Arabic and Perfian vcriions drop ir. P E^i&et. cap.. 61. Grot, in Luke xiv. 1.4. and i Tim ii. 9. 4 Pi at arch, Precept., conjug. p. 8<5. Bafil. 1 5*74. circs it as a laying of Crates : KCT/^IOJT^^V ' r j -oroicV Tayrnjv Defended cwd llluftratecL i & i pliers on this head in the extent and fublimity of his thought, and the vigorous figures and empha- fis of his language : o xfjTfloe r^g xagftag wQfwrofr f> TW afyQafrip TV TTfasog $ffv%fe TrvsvpaToc, o <rfr svumov TZ 6^5 Ti'olmsXsg r . Every man of genius will admire this at firft view j and the nearer and more attentively he views, the more he will Hill: admire. But who dare promife an adequate and full tranflation into any other language ? How mull all the ihort-liv'd beauties, the fhapes, fea- tures, and moft elegant and rich ornaments of the mortal body, which attract the eyes and ad- miration of vain mortals, fide away and lofe their charm and luftrc, when compared with the hea- venly graces of a pious and regular temper 5 the incorruptible ornaments and beauties of the foul . which are ever amiable and of high value in the eye of God the fbvereign Judge of what is good and beautiful? Can any man ihew me a precepn amongil the moft folid and celebrated mailers of morality io uieful and divine as to the fenfe, (o cleanly compact, and beautifully turn'd as to die expreffion., as that (acred direction, Be not over* come of evil, hit overcome e r oil with good ' ? This is a noble (train of chriftian courage, prudence, r I Per. iii. 4.. { M-^ v.'/.cu >Tji! 7^ x.a>;i;'j a/.Xa V'K Iv TtS ay9w TO xay.j,'-;. Rom. Jiii. y. Ls!r. Vid. St. Ghryfolt, in loc. and i i The SACRED CLASSICS and sjoodnefs that: nothing in Epiltetus, Plutarck> or Ant ovine can vye with. The moralifts and he- rocs of the pap-an world cou'd not write or ad to I O the height of this. Some of the pagan moralifts, efpecially Plato \ have (poken very nobly of a brave man that repu- tably undergoes fcvere trials and cruel fuffenngs for the lake of religion, and the o-ood of his conn- ~ - ^ try 5 and fears death Ids than an unjuft action, or villainous compliance. As to the Stoics preferring their wife man in his fuffenngs to their Sovereign Jupiter) it is rank profanenef s ; and their pretence that he is as happy upon the rack and in the mod exquifite tortures, as on a bed of down in perfect health, is an ab- furd and unnatural rant. The chriftian moralifts follow nature and reafbn 5 and the Son of God improving them : They allow us to grieve as men y but require us as CTortftians not to defpair, or in- temperately grieve and perverfely complain 5 but c Plat. Refpub. 2. where he gives as lively a defcription of the perfon, qualifications, life and death of the Divine Man he fpeaks of, as if he copy'd the fifty third chapter of Ifaiah. He fays that this perfon mufl be poor, and void of all recom- mendation but virtue alone. Th.it a wicked world would not bear his inftructions and reproof j and therefore within three or four years after he began to preach he fhou'd be per- fecuted, imprifon'd, fcotirg'd, and at lad put to a cruel death. This is not the only prophecy of the Meflmh in Plato. rid. Mr. Lefley Truth of Chrijl 16*1. Plat. Alclb. z. p. J fo. whenever I)ef ended and llluftrated. \ g > whenever we fufTer to be patient and courageous : but when we fuffer for religion and conference, to count our fufferings as our valuable privileges - y and to rejoice in 'em as the matter or our chief glory and triumph. Our divine writers fir excel all others upon this topic 5 exprefs the triumphs of a chriftian fufferer in more exalted terms of ilrong eloquence 5 and lay down more prevalent reafbns and motives for glorying in the crofs of Chrift, and for joy in fuffering for the caufe, and after the example of Jefus, than any other fcheme of religion can bear. o How admirable and aftonifhing are the expref- flons of the A pottles on this head, especially St. Paul) who fees off the joy he took in his fuffenngs in magnificent ftrains of eloquence. 'Tis his dar- iing topic j and great critics obferve, that as all his writings are excellent, fo efpccially thofe which were lent from Rome, while he was in chains for the Gofpel v . What a mod amiable and extraordinary mix- rare of chantv, courage and faith in God do we * *^ find in that noble profeffion and exultation of St. Paul I No, tho 1 te facrificd upon the oblation and fervice of your faith > I rejoice and congratulate To EpbefiatiS) PtJ/I:/>f>ia;H, C objjians, to Philemon^ to Timothy. 10U: The SACRED CLASSICS you, all; on the fame account do ye rejoice) and con- gratulate me w . What great occafion has the good man to rejoice, and fb preffingly to urge hisChri- ftians to rejoice with him ? Did he expect fame, riches, preferment, fecular triumphs, empire ? Nothing but difgraces, ftripes, the confinement of a prifbn, the fword of a tyrant, and the bloo- dy crown of martyrdom. We have in the fifth chapter to the Romans x an accurate enumeration of the feveral bleilings which crown the brave champion of the crols which is a very eafy and beautiful gradation rifing to the height of happi- nefs, and making up a very agreeable and corn- pleat period. The Apoftle encourages his Philipfians not to be difturb'd or daunted at the malicious profecu- nous of the enemies of their Lord's Crofs, by a reafbn which is ftrongly conclufive upon the chri- ilian fcheme, but fills upon the pagan, which is exprefs'd in a ftrong Pleonafmus : Becaufcfor Chrijl to you is given not only to believe on him, but to fuffer for him Y . Given is not fully expreffive of the original word, which is, the free grace and favour is kejlowd. God does not only permit or order by his general providence, but he confers w Philip, ii. 17, 1 8. * Ron. v. 1, 5, 4, j-. )' Philip, i. 19. ixagiSrr,. vid. S:. Chryibft. in loc. & Or,u. 2.. on St. Paul, p. 37, 38. Tom. 8. Savil. upon Defended and llluftrated. 18 j upon you peculiar kindnefs and mercy ^ does you unfpeakable honour by admitting you to {iiffer for his Son's bleffed name and caufc. Thofe marvellous paflages of the fame divine author wou'd be extravagances and raving hyper- boles from any mouth or pen., but a Chriftian's. I therefore take fleafure in infirmities, in reproaches, in neceffities, in perfections, in diflrejfes for Chrift's fake. Tou ha<ve been followers of us and of our Lord, having receivd the word in much affliction, with the joy of the holy Ghoft \ In the mouths of thofe who are acquainted with that great myftery of godlinefs, God manifejled in theflejh, and who have a part and portion in the inheritance of the faints pur chafed by his merits , who brought life and im- mortality to light by his Gofpel; thefe grand expre fions are the words of truth and fbbernefs. And thefe men, whom the world defpis'd, but were not worthy of them, not only talk'd great things as preachers and writers ; but aded great things as heroes and champions of the Lordjefus^ and his Gofpel. When the Apoftles were di grac'd and abus'd by the Jewifli magiftrates, they return from that wicked! council rejoycing that they were thought worthy admitted to the ho- nour of {Suffering difgrace, as their enemies falfely * I Cor xii. 10. i ThefT i. 6, B b efteem'd i Q 6 The SACRED CLASSICS efteem'd it, for the fake of fuch an adorable name and caufe a . When St. Paul and Silas were cruelly beaten and imprifon'd for the teftimony of Jefus, the conficleration of the caufe and Mafter they fuffer'd for fill'd 'em with joy in a dungeon, and gave them fongs in the night. Their bodies were cut with deep and cruel ftripes 5 their fouls were refrefh'd and ravifh'd with divine confblations $ and when their feet were faften'd in the flocks, their hearts were enlarg'd with heavenly pleafure j and their tongues with infpir'd eloquence broke out into hymns of praife b . So juft is the pious remark of St. Chryfoftom, To faffer for Chrift is fweeter than all consolation c . 'Tis aftonifhing and above the powers of un- aflilted nature in fuch deep and tormenting fuffer- ings (as the primitive Chriftians fuffer'd) to give all the undiffembl'd expreffions of a mofl exqui- fite and triumphant joy. But as the behaviour and courage of the noble champions of the Crofs was extraordinary j fb were their motives and en- ' a A6ts v. 41. The two words are ftrong and exprefs the thing with great happinefs and beauty not to be come near in a tranflation : xaT^iwOriffav drt[ji.ac$r}vu- b Afts xvi. 2f, c On Ephef. iv. Horn. 8. p. 809. couragements^ Defended and IHufirated. \ 87 couragements , their trail/porting hopes and all- fufficient affiflances d . Cou'd the fervants and difciples think it hard to follow their moll gracious Lord and Matter, who has fbvereign intereft in heaven, and all the preferments of eternity at his difpofal ? who has promifed he will confer 'em on all Chriftians, whofe names are in the book of life, who are fellow-citizens with the faints, and domeftics of God? That Divine Lover and Saviour of fouls lias made faithful promifes, and given tmcontefted proofs that he has both power and goodnefs to inflate all Chriftians that live to him, and dare dye for him, in all the inconceivable glories and high eternal prerogatives, which belong to the members of his body, of his flefti, and of his bones. They fhall all receive the adoption of fbns : be no more regarded as fervants, but as fbns of God, and heirs of heaven. d How great and tranfporting muft St. Stephen's inward joy and fatisfaction be, when it gave heavenly beauty and majefty to his countenance? 'Twas the goodnefs of his caufe, and the fight of his Saviour at the right hand of his eternal Father, that made hinifo undaunted, fo full of joy even in ex- pectation of a cruel lentence and bloody execution ; that his race appeav'd as the face of an Angel to all the fpectators : aJrov aVavTE? etc/^ov TO Tr^ocrcoTrcv OWTS wVei wpo- A6ts vi. if. B b i CHAP. i88 The SACRED CLASSICS QQC6QCOQCOQCGOOPQGQQCQOC QOQQQQ CHAP. II Wherein the leauty and excellence of the new Tefta- ment is flew d from the agreeable mixture of far- ticks and expletives (commonly fo calf a 1 ) the va- riety of the dialers fparingly and gracefully feat- terd abroad^ nolle epithets, Jingle and compound words, Jhorter pajjages, elegant and Jlrong. <& <!&SiQlftlfci.C:f45?A'7/ T T ' If 1 . i T/^^^Sjl Here is great delicacy and grace in the regular fituation and join- ing together the particles or little words, which ferve for the con- nexion of the fenfe and the argument 5 for a quick and clear tranfition from one part of the difcourfe to another j for the Irnoothing, ftrength- ning, abating, or raifing the found, according as the nature of the fubjed requires. They are in a difcourfe, like the joints and li- gaments in a human body : which are abfolutely neceflary for the ftrength, eafe, comely propor- tion, and activity of it. And here by the way, I cannot but much queflion thofe gendernens skill in thefc matters, who cenfure Homer, and fbmc Defended and llluflrated. 189 feme others for negligence and incorrectnefs., in ufing fuch a multitude of what they call fuper- fluous and infignificant words. Homer very well knew the ufe and fignificancy of thefe particles, or elfe 'tis plain he did not want words 3 but was always able to fill up his verfes in the nobleft manner. Never man had greater fluency and command in his own tongue : his own works comprehend all the beauties, and moil of the beft words in the Greek language. But if it be a fault in Homer, 'tis fb, and a greater one in the beft and purefl profe -writers, who ufe as great a variety of thefe little words as Homer himfelf 3 j becatife, as we exped: more in fome cafes from the poets,, fb we allow 'em great- er liberties in others. The holy writers have an agreeable variety of them : #~w yz* /? MvxffQe, CCXA. irs STL vyy Mvztrfe b . The particles here properly plac'd make a quick and vigorous turn. There feems to be a profufion and lavifhnefs of the par- ticles in fbme places of the nobleft Claffics c -, yet we cannot but believe,, that tho' they did not con- a Herod. Gr. 6. 335*. 1. p, IO. ^ c^n X8cr!fl 19 etXXoi nycywv1 cj/^Vnxa/ 6cc. b i Cor. iii. 2. L Her. Gr. 6. 33 f. 1. p, 10. There is a very emphatical continu'd repetition of the articles in that paiTage in the Reve- lation ^ cap. xix. ver. if. CWTCK traret T Xr,vov T ^Ujm- ^ r op^-ti r * ttravTox^aToa^ where ^ is omnted in many books. tnbutf 1 90 The SACRED CLASSICS tribute to ftrength or emphafis, yet at lead they gave {bme ornament and harmony to the fen- tence. Otherwife thofe great mailers wou'd not have ns'd 'em in fuch quantities,, nor their hear- ers and readers have born 'em in that fine and har- monious language. Whatever beauty or grace- ful nefs may be in the multiply 'd repetition of the article in Herodotus, in thofe paffages --o &$ rog T wai$og T<i brjTog T TlsfPixxsQ and gTreigutevv Txg Kgs&rjT%g TO (xi'noy TS TrctfswTog KOLYJ& d : No man of judgment in thefe things but will, I believe, think the article repeated as much to the purpofe, and with as good a grace in thofe paflages of the divine writers, li) si o Xgirog o yog TZ Qsx TX and og ewiQurey sv $ei$ rS Sfovx T% psyz- sv Tdg gxvoT$ e . Are not the words ftrong- er and nobler, and the found more agreeably di~ verfify'd ? does not the fublimity and importance of the fubject much more require and deferve the emphafis of the article ? Negative particles multiply'd deny a thing with vehemence, and exprefs the incongruity, or im- poffibility of it. So they are conltantly us'd in the foreign Claflics. And the facred daffies like- put together feveral negatives which are em- d Herod. Gr. 8. f04- p. e John vi. 69. v. Apoc. Heb. viii. i 3 phatical Defended and Illuftrateet. 191 phatical as to the {enfe 3 and give an agreeable found and turn to the period f . In the original of that paflage , I aw'// never leave tloee nor forfake thee , there are five nega- tives, which is a great beauty not fufficiently pre- ferv'd in any verfion-, which are defign'd to ex- prefs the doctrine contained in the words in the Fulled: and moft comfortable manner; and to give good men an entire dependance on the veracity and gracious promiie of God j and the ftrongeft aflurance that he will never upon any occafion leave or forfake them g . . i. The facred writers for the moft part make u(e of the common QIC Attic dialed, which is clean and neatly compact : but you find all the other dialects (catter'd abroad, fb as to give a very a^ree- able variety. Some peculiarities in the Attic dia- led, which are by critics efteem'd elegancies and beauties of language, are found very fcafbnably us d in the new Teftament. According to this dialed: adjectives in oc, are all common. So we have cvfeg xsTf%$ in the new Teftament h , and tytMcw fisZzicv and ^ f Markxiv. if. Luke xix. if, 13, 7-3. lv a >i ^v VSTTW Vgif x6//jisv. Vid. Sept. Dciu. i. 57. Xen'. Cyrop. i. 4. i. p. 17, 8 Heb. xiii. f. ,^ ffY] a ' V w, h I Tim, ii, 8> The SACRED CLASSICS in Thucidides l . Inftanccs out of all the 2##V authors might be produc'd in great numbers but 'tis unnecefTary. There is an elegancy in this dialed:, when theao cufative is us'd for the nominative, which is pretty frequent and very agreeable in the facred as well as foreign Greek writers. 'ifrovTsg ryvMafizv on Tz%tu$ avsg-ri KJ $}$) that is, on MX? fa T<x%(t)$dve<rq k t So in Plato, Yvtto-eToti 'Hcrfofov on TW cm yv votyog \ We have feveral inftances of the Ionic dialed in the divine writers ^ XXTZ eogrw in St. Luke is Ionic according to the ufage of Herodotus, exr/rloy S7rl s $!**$%$ m . This dialect ufes the incontraded termination both in nouns and verbs. So St. John has 7rfYf T&JV ofeuv n . We have the Doric in St. Luke, Boppz , and in St, John, frucry a-jTols fyw ctiwioy p which paffage of St. John has by a great man been charg'd as a folecifin , but 'tis ill ground- ed : Theocritus the great mafter of that dialed has s Thucid. 5." if 2. 1. 7. 6. 362. 1. i. k johnxi.2i. See Mark 1.24. Xen. Cyrop. 6. $pz. Wells. Xen.Cyrop.S.y. 3. p. 552.Ox.Grxc. Herod. Gr. 1.66. 1.4,5-. 1 Plat.Ref. f. $68. port. med. The fame elegance is found in the pureft Roman Claffics. Rcm frumentariam ut fatis com- mode fupportari pofTet, timere dicebant. Caef. Com. de Bel. Qal. i . p. 42. Ed. var. m Luke xxiii. 17. Her. Gr. 6. $64. 1. 20. * Apoc. vi. if. Luke xiii. 2p. P John xvii. 2. Aei/xa/ytt fjc>j c^n' o-s xaKoarspai avg/ c^afcnj. Idyl. 27. v, 21. 2 the Defended and llluftrated. 195 the fame word. We have the JEolic dialed in St. Matthew, St. Luke, and St. Paul q . v Hv for in St. Luke is the Boeotian dialed:, and fb in St. Paul r . The poetical dialed is fre- quently met with in the (acred writers j and 'tis us'd by the bed profe writers of old Greece ^ and it enlivens and adorns the ftyle. "Hury for %y is poetical, but us'd by Plutarch f . kis&i&awun in St. 'John is like SlStiffopsv in Homer. "ATS? is a poetical prepofition in the (acred writer r , ol for CWT is us'd by Xenofhon and Herodotus v . I thought it proper to give a few inftances of the agreeable variety of the dialects in the new Teftament- any one that wou'd have more may be (atisfy'd in Pafors Lexicon, and his (acred Greek Grammar of the new Teftament of our Lord Jefus Chrift. . 3 . A ftrong fmgle word, or an apt expreC- five epithet, has often the light and force of a full definition. The words of the new Teftament have noble emphafis in their fignification , and i Mat. xiii. if. Luke vi. n. Ephef. v. 14. r Luke ii. 23. Romans iii. i 5. f "EXaf ov aw et' 'AX^av^p^KlW' P'utavch. Apotheg. Reg. p. 108, 1. 13. a fine. Bafil. if74- "H/anv feems ro come of s/xou as scr/jicw, and is us'd by Euripides^ Demoftbems, and other good authors, syw 3 sregJcTYis Jx. /jc>iv TEKVCOV. See Nou- velle Methode Grecque. p. 17^. Ed. Par. i6pd. Luke xxii. 6. v Xen. Exp. Cyr. p. o. Wells. He- rod. Gn i. 41. 1. f. ante fin. C c compre- 1 94 'The SACRED CLASSICS comprehenfion of fenfe : I {hall here only produce a few inftances, becaufe I fhall thro' this whole difcourfe make feveral fuch observations. When the malicious Jews came to Berea to exafperate the people againft St. Paul, the {acred writer ufes the moil fignificant and appofite word in lan- guage to defcribe the boifterous rage and mifchie- vous confequences of popular tumults. 2#/-Jw w is to Jlir the fea to the bottom with a violent ftorm y which cafleth up mire and dirt. The noife and outrage of a feditious people is often compar'd to the fury of a ftorm, and the roaring and rufhing of huge waters. And in the old Teftament, that great treafiiry of all the fublimityand magnificence of thought and language, it is exprefs'd to be the fole privilege of the Almighty to reftrain the rage of the waves,, and the unrulinefs of the people x . How admirably is that goodmeafure and juftice, and thofe generous returns of gratitude and good offices, which Chriftians are to make to one ano- ther, dreft up in thofe moft appofite and felecl: epithets: Msffov xxhov, Tcsxieo-fievov y^ (rscra/.svpsyoy, v7rsfS)i^vvofii/ov 9 Meafure juft and fair, preft to make it clofe : fhaken* and after all ways to make it j ' j j / w A<5ls xvii. 13. x Who ftilletb the raging of the fea 9 and the noife of its waves^ and the madnefs of the people ', Pfal. Ixv. 7. Ixxxix. p. cvii. 19. Job xxxviii. n. Pfal. civ. 7. foKd Defended and llluftrated. 195 folid and compact, Jtill running over y . A'JTW TU ftSTfu ) lul'ov 7 , is ^ found and bonejl precept in. Hejiod$ but not to be compar'd with the ftilnefs and vigour of this divine paflage. The Apoflle to the Hebrews in the fourth chap- ter a defcribes the Divine Majefty of the Aoyo$ or Son of God in a manner very fublime, that makes deep impreflion upon every pious and intelligent reader, and raifcs awe and admiration. Thofe two noble words in particular, yvpoi ^ TeTgz- o"Xy} urfjLhx contain a moil vigorous metaphor and graceful allufion to the cuftom in facrificing of taking off the skin from the victim, and cutting it open, whereby all the vitals and inward con- ftitution are laid open to full view. No words in language cou'd be fb proper and emphatical as thefe two j naked is what has no cover without, and open what has no concealment within. What our tranflation in Romans xii. 1 3 . ren- ders given to hofpitality, in the original fignifies more ftrongly follow after, or purfue hofpitaUty, Imitate the Saviour of the world, go about doing good, and feeking out opportunities of obliging mankind. Stay not till occalions of beneficence y I. like vi. 38. 2 'E^yaxJ r,,u I. v. 347. Illud Hcfio- Jeum Inudatur u doftis, quod ciidcm mcnfura reddere juber, oua accepcris, aut ctiam cumttlatiore, fi poflis. Cicer. de clar. ;r.Uoribi!S. * Urb iv. 13 C c i offer The SACRED CLASSICS offer themfelves. Not only receive poor vifitants, and diftrefs'd and fatigu'd travellers with a flow- ing and generous hofpitality^ but purfue and fol- low after thofe who have paft by your houfe ; bring 'em back, furprize 'em with unexpected bounty ; refrefh and furnifli 'em with fuitable and {eafonable fupplies b . St. Peter in a very ftrong and excellent word very happily exprelfes the fecurity that all fincere Chriftians have of being preferv^d fafe, to the glo- rious coming of our Lord Jefus, from their ghoft- ly enemies j and to be inflated in the joys and ho- nours of a bleffed immortality : rxg h Swapst 0f5 (pfUfvpewg % who are guarded and f referred ly the power and providence of God as in an impregnable zarifon. Can any violence or ftratagem of the ** f L r enemy overpower or furprize them who are un- der the protection of an Almighty hand, and un- der the vigilant obfervation, and moil gracious regards of an all-feeing eye c c B Aa T^ Trofvsi'ag d is in the judgment of the befl critics put in the plural number to obviate the cavils of Free-thinkers, who pretend that forni- b Vid. St. Chryfof. in loe. c i Pet. i. f . cc Add St. James iii. 17. How fully, how beautifully is ^The ivifdom that com.es from above dreft up and fet off", by that admirable variety of proper epithets ! dyvn, ^*]vixyj, rif, fjisjj) iXtss 1 y^ xa^Trwv ayaOcuv, *. d i Cor. vii, 2. catioa Defended and 11 foft rated. 15*7 cation is no fin. For in this number the word is emphaticalj all forts and inftances of impurity and carnal lewdnefs are included in it. Homers expreilions of warriors breathing out vigour and courage are juftly admir'd by the cri- tics : and is that of St. Paul's breathing- out threats o and murder againft the Chriftians an inferior or lefs vigorous beauty of fpeech ? The rage and bloody cruelty of a perfecuting fpirit cou'd not be better exprei^'d than by faying he breath' d out threats and Daughter ; nor the lamentable effects of a bar- barous and cruel zeal than by the words us'd ill this chapter and the Epiftle to the Galatians. A/WKW in the latter place has an allufion to the eager- ne{s of a victorious army purfuing a routed and flying enemy, to cut 'em all off and deftroy 'em. The other word properly fignifies to lay <wajte, and fack a town taken by Jlorm , when the victor in heat of blood and revenge violates all the de- cencies,, diftinctions and tendernefs of human na- ture j where all manner of outrage and barbarities are committed with impunity and greedinefs d d . WVSCVTS ^ouct 1 sw^ in /ut7rva)V ^ sTcv.j Acts ix. i. The pafFage in Gal. i. i Ji is full and ani- mated , and cou'd not have been expreiVd in more proper and emphatical words : y.uV %jrspCoX^J IcftW.ev T I/txXrjj/av iS yv ourljj .. . 4, The The SACRED CLASSICS .4. The Greeks are peculiarly happy in their compound words. Two or three beautiful words in this noble language naturally and eafily incor- porate together to make one elegant and very ex- prcffive word. This compofition multiplies the ftores and beauties of that language j and enables the writers toexprefsthemfelves with compadneis, variety and magnificence fuperior to mod langua- ges that mankind fpeak e . *Hv $'s 'Hfw'Jtys SvpcfixxM Tv?>oi$ a ftrong word both in found and (Signification / Herod made war c? upon the Tyrians in his heart y and bore hoflile in- dinations towards them { . But that haughty-fpi- rited and tyrannous mortal was immediately pu~ nifti'd with the ignominy and tortures of a mod odious and insupportable difeafe j which is ex- prefs'd in proper words, harfti-founding and fuit- able to the direful occafion ysyo l ueyce mutwofyulog ^s&vzsvy he exfird being devour d by vermin g . The word ckroxMa&Mfa h , which our tranilators well render earneji expectation, fignifies, to lift up our heady and Jf retch our felves out as far as pojfl- lle to hear fomething agreeable and of great impor- TO criw^'iTcv 0'jcj.ci ojt TzroixiXfav riva CH t* ,uy > 'j KJ [J.ct. v cvjjTcijia'j nv, { Ads xn. lo. g A&s xii. 15. h Rom. viii. ip. V. i Pet. iii. 8. Can the cxtenfivenefs and fervor of goodncfs and charity be expreis'd in happier words? tance "Defended and llluflratecl. tance j to gain tie frft appearance and glimpfe of a friend that has long loeen abfent ; to gain the ken of a <vejfel at fea that has feme precious freight that *&> have a concern tn> or carries feme pafjenger very dear to us. Tis hard, if not impollibie, to reach the force of it in any language. Xenophon ' and Herodotus k u(e it xatfxfoHrjtroitTa iij; (*%%?]* ?/ ~fc~ STXI , with eagernefs and impatience waiting the event of the latteL In that pafTage of St. Paul, -x%oq TO sv<7%spov ^ svTTfdtrsfyov TW K^/w d7r6i<r7ra$"ug y in order to de- cency, and a clofe andjfriff adherence to God with- out dijlraffion the compound words are very beautiful , and ilrongly expreffive : and St. Jerom obferves that it was omitted in many of the Latin books, becaufe of the difficulty of tranflating it any thing equal to the noblenefs and vigour of the admirable original. By thofe emphatical compound words, &>.#- yuyu and vxumdfy} m , apply'd to mortifying and bringing under bodily appetites, we receive jufl j Xcn. Memor. Soc. p. 149. Wells. k Herod. Gr. 7. p, 454. 1. 21. J I Cor. vii. 35-. Grotius takes the various reading ctnra'gsc/^v inftead of coTr^'crfo^^v in the greater num- ber of books, fad. Erafmum & Grot. in. he. Plutarch has : lie word a7rg/aira?ov to lignify^ clofe application to ftudy, and retirement from the world j and all things that divert a man's Mind from contemplation and the ftudy of 'virtue. Plutarch. P- 310. ra rCor. ix. 27. notions loo The SACRED CLASSICS notions of that abftinence, and thofe wholefbme levcritics which the Chriftian inftitution requires, and reafon dictates to us as neceflary to allay our violent pailion to the pleafures of this world j and to refine our temper, and raife our affections to heaven. The firft fignifies to conquer an ene- my, and carry him captive with us in chains j the other is an allufion to the bruifes and blacknefs of eyes which the boxers give one another contend- ing for victory in the publick games Here a ce- lebrated critic will needs indulge his humour of o alteration and conjecture, and puts in VTr without competent authority n . He makes cus's exchange, parts with a reading of genuine value and noble fignification , for one or much weaker found and feebler meaning j and that not fupported by books fufficient either in number or value. St. James to teach Chriftians what a guard they ought to have upon that unruly member the tongue, ufes a ftrons; word form'd by the fame regular and O JO beautiful way of compoution : p^A/yaywyw , which is, to keep in and check the extravagancy of the tongue with all the rejlraints of resolution, pru- dence, and Chrijlianity j as fiery and high-mettled n Vid. Heinf. in loc. James iii. 2.. horfes Defended and lllufi rated. 201 horfes are kept in by the ftrongeft curb and rein, and the utmoft skill and dexterity of the rider. The obedience and faithfulnefs of fervants to their mailers is by St. Paul in the Epiftles to the Ephefians and ColoJJians fettled upon the firm eft foundation ; and dcliver'd in ftrong and fubftan- tial words, which fill and entertain the ear with the eafinefs and vigour of the compofition, and convey to the mind a clear and noble idea of the duty defcrib'd. Servants obey your majlers , not with eye-fervices as men-fleafers. Don't ferve 'em, only when under their eye and in fear of their dirpleafure ; but out of a principle, that will alle- viate the trouble of your condition, and raife the merit of your fervices, fincerity of heart and con- fcience of duty, and obedience to the Sovereign Lord of all j and the molt wife and gracious dif- pofer of your felvcs and all your affairs. There is a more natural and clean coalition in the com- pound words in the Greek than any other lan- guage. Our tranflation, tho' ftrong and good, yet for this reafon and others, finks much below the great original p . A celebrated critic on Ephef. vi. G. q makes a P Col. iii. 12. Ephef. ri. 6. Myj cv o?SaXjuc7'*X'cy^ cJf avO^j- Tra'^ec-xci) aXX' cv aTrXornrj y.a^ias <p>y/^vc{ 7- ov. 4 H.ibct imerdum voces elt-^nntcr compofitas Paul us, qua* Ics funt hie dux o9aX/xcc? A sXet'a & avO^Tra'gsc-y.oi Grot. D d flint ^oz The SACRED CLASSICS faint and low complement, when he lays, Paul hasfometimes 'words elegantly compounded. Had the excellent writer {aid, St. Paul has often words ve- ry elegantly compounded and nobly fignificant, it wou d have been but juftice to the Apoftle, and no difparagement to the skill and fagacity of the critic. The facred writers are full of the moil expref- five and beautiful compound words. I forbear enlarging on (everal places vigorous and appofite as thole I have product only refer the reader to a few that I have mark'd below r . $. 5 . Before we come to fhew the ftrength and beauties of fbme larger paflages of the new Tefta- -ment, I think it not improper to {elect a few of the fhorter out of great numbers. When St. Paul declares of himfelf that he was mad again ft the Chriftians, Ttsgi'fcrug ey.- xvTGts', cou'd the outrageous zeal and fiercenefs of the perfecutor., or the pious indigna- tion and forrow of the penitent afterward have been expreis d with a more forcible and comprc- v ACTS vii. fl. xv;ii. 14. 2 Tinn. ii. if. aiafw7rug TO ^a- ^,^;ji4 rd5t. 2. Tim. i. 6. ra r &/]Codw avs.^wTru^eiVo. Xcr. He.icn. f. P. 345*. Wells, i Cor. vi. 14. Colofl". ii. 4. Choice cnithcts and vigorous compound words are happily united in :.iW j'lorioin valTje, i Tim. i <*, 6. i Acts xxvi. n. he n five Defended at id llhiftrated^ 203 henfive brevity ? Chriftian charity mull not only be lincere, but intenfe and fervent j which we learn from the great St. Paul in the molt perfua- five and exalted manner; r/j (btia^Qiv. elg z/:/y r tee QAofogyoi c . The beauty of this fine paifage as much exceeds thofe moil celebrated in the fo- reign Claflics, as Chriftianity improves the good- neiS, and heightens the endearments of nature. In the Gofpel we have new motives and examples of charity , and emphatical expreilions of it 5 which were not known to the world before God was manifefted in the fleft. Cou'd the goodnefs and gracious condefcention of the Almighty be let off in a more wonderful and engaging man- ner than it is in the divine Epilile to the He- brews ? In the day that I took hold of their hand to bring them out of Egypt v . The Father of fpirits to en- dear himfelf to mankind, and more effectually to encourage our hopes and dependance on his gra- cioumefs and truth, accommodates himfelf to our infirmities ; and (peaks to us in language that we underftand with moft eafe,, and hearken to with moft pleafiire and fatisfaction. Our heavenly Fa- ther addreffes and applies to us in language that r Rom. xii. 10. OJ yS' c A n //ovcv (p/jcri avuTrcnp^TOV avca ffir, -r dyd^jjj) d\\& ^ Q^nrsTa/jtsvloi -^ ^sgjula) ^ 2|a7r'jfqv 3 S. CJhry- loit. in loc. v Hcb. viii. y. D d 2. natu- 104 The SACRED CLASSICS naturally flows from that moft dear relation, that of a parent being the moft quickly and anxioufly tender, and the moft fmcerely and deeply affedi- onate of all relations betwixt rational crea- tures. When Homer has made a pompous description of his Jupiter fitting in majefty on the top of mount Ida w , how are all his bright and fparkling exprelTions obfcur'd and extinguiilied, if fet in comparifbn with that very fhort but fuperlatively glorious defcription of the Lord and Heir of all things, vfyqloTSfo; TUV &f%mv*i which feems to be derived from that ;reat original in the D O Pfalmsy a paflage of the divined poetry and fub- limity y . The Lord is high above all nations, and his glory above the heavens. Who is like unto the Lord our God y who d^elleth on high ? Who humbleth him- felf to behold the things that are in heaven and in the earth ? That God ivotid fulfil all the benevolence of his Goodnefs, TTXCXV svfoxixy T'/j$ uyctiuvjvY,^, is the fhorteft, and moft charming, and emphatical re- prefentation that is any where to be found of that immenfe gracioufnefs and adorable benignity, which no words or thoughts can fully cxprefs.^ * Horn. 'IX 6'. v. 41, ficc. * Hcb. vii. 2.6. y Pfal cxiii. 4, f, 6. Vid. Hammond on the Place.. * 2. ThclF. i. ii. 1 but Defended and lllufir cited. 205 but was never fb happily and (b fully exprefs'd as here. God is the Saviour of all men, efpecially of believers', is a beautiful fentence of vigorous ftrength and clean comprehend ve brevity. That ever-blefTed Bein^ is kind and good to the un- o o ., grateful and wicked. He protects thole by his providence, who deny itj and feeds wretches with his bounty, who turn it into wantonnefs and occafions of profane abu(c. He lays his hand upon thoughtlefs wretches that are taking deiperate iteps to their own ruin ^ and plucks 'em back when they are jtift falling from a precipice. The eternal Majefty waits with wonderful lorr^- jfufFering and goodnefs for the reformation of ~ c> lewd and obftmate mortals 5 emphatically expo- ftulates with 'em, and condefcends to entreat and befeech 'em to become wile, and qualify them- f elves for his infinite mercies in language that at once caufes admiration, gratitude, joy, fear and trembling in every intelligent and pious reader, All the loftieft flights of Pagan theology and elo- quence on this head are low and fluttering to the inconceivable fubl unity of thofe moft marvellous paflages in the old and new Tefhment writers. c'067v,f ura'vrcov a.vl("cJ7ruv ; ua'/.i-a urij^y. I Tim. IV 1C *o6 The SACRED CLASSICS As I live, faith the Lord God, I have no fleafure in the death of the wicked: lut that the wicked man turn from his way and live. Turn ye, turn ye from your evil ways \ for why will ye die, houfe of Iirael b ?. God was in Chrijl reconciling the World to himfelf Now then we are am- lajfadors for Chrift, as tho God did lefeech you by us, we fray you in Chrift's ftead he ye reconciled to God c . But God is efpecially the Saviour of thofe who believe. He is their immortal Friend and Saviour ; treats them with peculiar care and ten- dernefs; turns the troubles and fufferings of this life to their advantage, and makes their enemies their benefactors : he bleffes them with peace and fatisfaction, fills them with joy in believing, and ftrong hopes of his future mercies : he has pro- mifcd to be their God and guide to death j and after to receive them to himfelfj and to be their exceeding great reward. b Ezek. xxxiii. u. xviii. 23. c zCor. v. ip, no. St. Chryfoflom greatly admires the cha- rity of thefc paflages, and enters into an accurate examina- tion of their various and vigorous beauties. Xoyov, CHAP. Defended and llluftratecL 207 CHAP. III. Wherein an Account is given of the genuine natural eloquence and excellencies of the f acred writers of the new Teftament in general, with fame olfer- *vations of antient and modern authors upon their flyle. confider- able writers that are pofleis'd of the old notion and tradi- tionary fancy of improper Greek, folecifms and harfli language in feme places of the 1.1 . new Teftament, who yet in the main have been oblio-ed, by the refiftlefs evidence of truth to ac- knowledge the true eloquence, and genuine beau- ties and graces of the ftyle of the divine writers. Gataker tells us, that it is fir from him to charge the venerable Amanuenfes of the Holy Spirit with unpolitencls, fordid bafenefs or burba- i ifiii j and readily allows, that with appearance of (olccimis (which are molt common in the beiu authors of the world in all languages) 4 m- (pir : d The SACRED CLASSICS fpir'd writers have gravity, majefty,* vehemence, perfpicuity and beauty d . Piscatory Beza, Ca/lalio, Erafmtts, and a great many others have in feme places fpoken with high and juft admiration and tranfport of the graces and perfections of their language. We have already heard what Bexa meant by the fb- lecifms pretended to be in the new Teilament ; and how little they are in his opinion to the pre- judice of that {acred book. Let us hear him as to the ftyle of the new Teftament in other re- fpects, efpecially of the Fpiilles of St. Paul: Speaking of the plainnefs and fimplicity of his language, " I am fo far, fays he, from blaming cc that, that I cannot fufficiently admire it. Yet f< when St. Paul has a mind to thunder, I do not f f fee what can be imagined more ftrono; and ve- o o <f hement. To produce one example out of ma- < c ny, let the fpeech which he made to the " church of Efhefus be read; who can read it <c without tears ? What (hall we (ay of him when <c he defcribes the engagement betwixt the flefli <c and the {pint? when he earneftly befeeches <c the PMipfians? when he expofes the vain ' eloquence of the Corinthians? when he tefti- * f fies his love to his countrymen ? then what d Gar. de fty 1 . N. T. p. 89. cf gravity Defended and llluft rated. 209 ** gravity is there in John? what freedom and f c majefty appears in Peter e ? <c Nor do I {peak this only of the jfenfe and Cc things themfelves, but of the words and way ff of expreflion, &c. Erafmus tells us, that the language of the Apo- ftles is not only unpolite and rugged, bat imper- fect, confus'd, and fbmetimes has fblecilms in it 1 ', And after, as if he intended to fave other people the trouble of anfwering his bold aflertions, he adds : A fimplicity of language pleas'd the Holy Spirit, but pure and incorrupt, and free from thoie inconveniencies which ufc to hinder the un- derftanding the things or doctrines deliver'd. Now how fuch language, as this critic pronounces that of the infpir'd writers of the new Teftament to be, can have a pure and incorrupt fimplicity, and anfwer the dedgn of the eternal Spirit of reafon and perfuafion in making ic eafy and intelligible to mankind, muft be referred to the determine- c Beza in A6t. x. 46. p. 4f4- f That you may lee I don't aggravate, I have put down the civilities that great man pays to the infpir'd writers in his own words: Outfit at ApoftoUrum fcrmo mn f'olum fit ir/tpc- litus 6? tncGttditus, verum etlam imperfect us, leYturbaius, ali- quvties plane folcc if/an s? On Acts x. 38. This in modern Englifli wou'd br, The flyle of the new Teftament is bafe^ vul- gar, idiotic, full of barbarifms^ fokcifws and abfurdities. V'id. Bcz. in loc. viz. A6ts x. 38. E e 210 The SACRED CLASSICS tion of common fenfe. The learned critic proceeds: " The Greet: interpreters labour and cc fweat over thefe writers, when Vemo/lhenes and " Plato were eafy and perfpicuous to them. The anfwer to this is ready : A great part of the new Teftament is much eafier than Demojthe- fies and Plato; and the difficulties in that moft noble book chiefly arife not from the language, but the fublime myfteries and dodlrines contain'd in it. And what pains fbever a man (pends in flu- dying thofe meftimable volumes, as a modeft fcholar and found Chriitian, not as a fupercilious critic and caviller, will be fully reeompenfed with exalted fatisfaction and blefled improvements, both in knowledge and virtue. He goes on: Cf How often does Origen complain that Paul <C wants the purity of the Greek language? <f How often is he offended at his tranfponti- <c ons, want of confcquence, and ambiguous <f expreflions? The Apoltles learn'd their Greek <c not from the orations of Demojthenes y but <c from the talk of the vulgar." As to Origen s complaints we inall (peak a word in its proper place. But if. either he or this author was of- fended with St. Paul for his tranfpolitions, &c. he muft be offended with Demojlbenes, Thucidides, and all. the fublimeft authors that ever writ, in whom Defended and Illuftratect. u i whom" you find the fame departures from plain grammar, the fame noble liberties. Some of the facred writers were., we believe,, acquainted with the beft authors of Greece; and don't underfland how any of them cou'd learn Greek from the vulgar. They mtift be f irniili'd with the language of foreign countries before they were qualify 'd to preach the Gofpel to them. But they had an initructor infinitely fuperior to all teachers upon earth,, high or low. How- ever the great critics and writers of antiquity do not fb much undervalue the fpeech of the gene- rality of the people. cc Altho', fays the incom- parable Tul/y, cf in other matters, that chiefly ex- cc eels which is farthefl remov'd from the under- <c (landing and apprehenfion of the unskilful; cc yet, in fpeaking, 'tis the greateft fault fcorn- cf fully to go off from the vulgar kind of fpeech, <c and the cuflom of common fenfe g . As to HelraifmSy fbme foreign words and phrafes, and fbme peculiarities in the facred wri- ters, we have given fbme account already, and believe they cannot prejudice any perfbns of found judgment and ingenuity. The Hebrew and ori- ental forms of fpeech, befides the reafbns and neceflity of 'em in other refpeds, will certainly Tull. de Orat. i. p. 6. Ed. Pcarcc. E e z heighten in The SACRED CLASSICS heighten the pleafure of fuch readers j becaufe they add variety and majefty to the divine book. The other foreign words, and phrafes, and pe- culiarities are not very many j and will not be ob- jefted againft by impartial gentlemen. There -tire (bme foreign words., and peculiar phrafes and exprefiions as bold and hard to be reconcil'd to the reafbn and analogy of grammar in the befb authors of the pureft age of Greece. .2,. Now that there is true natural eloquence, various beauties, and fublime excellencies in the (acred writers of the new Teftament, will,. I hope, be clearly and fully iliewn in the fequel of this EfTay. To prove the eloquence of theTacred writers., we are to confider that there are two forts of elo- quence. The one only fo call'd and efteem'd by people of weak judgment and vicious tafte., empty ibphifts and rhetoricians j which confifts of over- labour d and poliilid periods, gawdy embclliih- ments, artificial tranfitions, words that found big and figniry little, formal figures ; an aftecled fpruceneis, and excefhve delicacy of ftyle. This affectation and formality the (acred writers are ut- ter ftranecrs to, This is a vain and childiih elc- c^ quence dcfpis'd and rejected by all the great and wife men among the Greeks and Romans. Ifocra - Defended and llluftr cited. 21 j r . tho' pure and clean in his language, is not of cq-uj value with the other genuine daffies 5 be- ci.ufe he is too felicitous about polifhing and even- ing his periods; and is more remarkable for an emoty elegance and artificial turn of words, than for noble and vigorous thoughts h . This falfe-natn'd and counterfeit eloquence the great Socrates difavows in the very expreffion of St. Peter It does not become me to appear before you at this age, like a looy y affectedly turning and la- louring words '. Yet tho' he diiavows the tinkling ftyle and falfe eloquence of fophifhy, he was a great matter of true natural eloquence \ if we will take the judgment of the antients, particularly of Cicero himfelf, as great a judge and example of eloquence as Greece or Rome can produce. cc He cc was, fays that found critic, by the testimony fc of all the learned, and the judgment of all fc Greece , to whatfoever he tuni'd his genius,. cc without difpute the chief of all their orators " and philofophers in prudence and iliarpnels, in. h Tull. de Oat. 3. p. J4 1 - j TiKdr n t c-jri Xcys;, w>,arcr >,r/' 9 Pl.it. A-H. Sec. p. i,. Ed. Cam!), i.s an artificial^ ddiijivc, pl.utjible falfe ivord or fpsech. So the orienuil tranilicors of the new Teftarnent tranQite it in St. Peter. So the gre-'.r. PLito takes it : G; ij.,1 nr>-.a>-a'V as;~,\ G'VTW; ^tXccctcj. So.phifLi-. p. Li6-. 1. f. ante D, VU. Si. ChrYibft.in Si, johan, Prch P. fdi. cc plcafantnefs, ti4 The SACRED CLASSICS c pleafantnefs and clofe and quick difcernment: " in eloquence, variety,, and copioumefs k . The great St. Paul, when he tells the Corinthians that he came not to them in excellency of fpeecb or wifdom, only rejects the vain philofophy and fophiftical eloquence of the Pagan world j and fuch methods of fating himfelf off, as the intru- ders and filfe Apoftles us'd, who made a party againft him. On which words this is St. Chryfo- ftoms paraphrafe ic I came not to you framing " fyllogifms, or falfe and captious reafonings ! . 2.. True native eloquence confifts in proper and perfpicuous words, in ufeful and found fenfe, in clear and convincing reafon j in fhort, in fuch a ftyle and manner of fpeaking as is proper and fuitable to the fubjecl: ; and fuch as is apt to teach, to affect, and perfuade m . Of this the {acred writers, and particularly St, Paul, fo rudely attack'd by fome critics, were great mafters. St. Paul did not pretend to conquer the fophiftry, power and prejudices of Jews and Pa- gans by any wifdom or eloquence merely human : He had the power of miracles , the afliftance of the eternal Spirit of reafon and perfuafion , that enabled him to conquer all oppofition, and ex~ k Tull. dc Orr.t. 30f, 305. l i Cor. ii. i. 2 srXUjwv q ao^iffij-ara. m Tull. de Orac. tend Defended and llluftr cited. 2 1 j tend the triumphs of the Crofs thro' the whole world. Yet thefe divine gifts and graces did not fuperfede his own natural or acquir'd abilities. He did not labour after the beauties of language and eloquence, but they naturally attended and accompanied the fervor and wrfflom of his fpi- rit, As we believe neither he nor the other infpir'd writers ftudy'd or labour'd their periods ; yet we find in their writings periods as full, as noble, as agreeably diverfify d as any Greece or Rome can produce. When the great Apoflle fays of himfelf that he was rude in fpeech", in my opi- nion he {peaks not of his writings, but his di courfe and preaching, when he prov'd every thing by a miracle. Rude in fpeech is one that {peaks plain language, like a private and ordinary per- fbnj and fuch language muft be us'd to the per- Tons he was to addreis. <f But by this, (ays the great and judicious Dr. Stillwgfcet , " the Apoftle does riot reject man- cc ly and majeitic eloquence ; for that were to " renounce the bell life of fpeech to the corn-in- '* ang and perluading mankind. He only aicribcs * 2, Cor. xi. <5. Volume of Sermons IV. p. 461, 462. Paulus Giaeci penc (ermonis fuit imperitus. Hieron, Atqui de Paulo non ita judicarunt Athena: ipfsc. Ncque Portias Feftus quod barbarc minis c obfcurc loqueretur. Beza in Afta Apoft. x. 45. tfC cc <c zi6 Tloe SACRED CLASSICS * c the fuccefs of his preaching not to his own un- ailifted abilities, or mere human methods of perfuadingj but to the bleilmg of God,, and the demonstration of miracles giving full pow- er and efficacy to his words. For tho' the A- * c poftle has no ftudied turns nor affected caden- fc ces, and does not ftridJy obferve (no true ge- <c nius does) the rhetoricians rules in the nice <c placing of his w T ords 5 yet there is great figm - xc ficancy in his words, height in his expreflion, <c force in his reafonings, and when occafion is, <c a very artificial and engaging way of mfmua- fc ting into the mind of his hearers. Witnefs fc his fpeech at Athens on the occaf Jon of the in- <c fcription on the altar to the unknown God 3 tff and before A griff a and Fejlus, &c. This conceflion of St. Paul is by {bme thought to be ironical, as fevcral pafTages in this Epiftle and others mufl be. As atyfoGvyq in the firft veHe cannot be put farther than for the necefTityofa modefh defence of liimfelf p . According to the notion of the excellent Dr. Bull q , St. Paul in this place does not {peak of his ftyle or the character of his language but rather owns himfelf to be _^ cJ O ^ an indifferent ipeaker by reafon of fbme bodily infirmity, which render'd his perfbn lefs graceful, P Vid. /.c:(* on p'acc. i Cor. iv. 8. vid.Chryfoft. in Ice. '] S^irnonn and D.icouru.^ Vol. I. p. zo^, 104. * A Defended and llluft rated. 2 1 7 and his ipeech and delivery lefs acceptable. He reprefents the (chifmatical Corinthians and their de- ceivers as fcornfully iniiilting him, that his bodily prefence was weak,, and his ipeech contemptible 1 ": Tho' the malice and impudence of the falfe pre- tenders cou'd not hinder 'em from acknowledg- ing that his letters were weighty and powerful f . And tho' it fhou'd be allow'd (which is not rea- fonable) that St. P^/fpeaks of his ftyle and man- ner of writing, 'tis the opinion of the belt and greateil number of commentators, and many of them alfb poffefs'd and prejudic'd with the notion of fbJecifms in the new Teftament, that die im- pudence of ralfe Apoftles cou'd not but own, what the modcfly of the true Apoftle and faith- ful iervant oJefits Cbrift fuppreiles and conceals, Beza (peaks very fully upon this text : <( Whai cc was St. Pan! ignorant of ipeaking and mute, (C as Jerom fuppofes : No ; I rather follow the cc opinion of Chryfoftom and the moll learn'd of cr the Grecian^) and indeed reafbn it (elf. Tho' cc he did not want the natural and o-enuinc orna- <( ments of vigorous eloquence, yet I acknow- cc ledge he wou'd not make ufe of the lophiftical tf arts of falfe rhetoric. It beimi his intention to o *' c carry mcns minds to Cbrift by the power of r 'A^;vr;r, ivfii"f"ti) weak or (i 1 Al ]J. ^',T;:>.W ~1.".:< i u '.{, I i 1 8 'The SACRED CLASSICS cc the Spirit j not to allure 'em by fawning fpeech- fc es after the manner of flatterers. But when I " more nearly view the nature and character of if his language, I find no grandeur of fpecch <c m Plato himfelf like to him, as often as he cc pleales to thunder out the myltcnes of God ; fc no vehemence in Demofthenes equal to him, " when he propofes to terrify mens minds with u the fear of divine judgments or to warn them, c< and draw 'em to the contemplation of God's <f goodnefs, or to exhort 'cm to the duties of pie- IC ty and charity. In a word, I can find no me- *'*" thod of teaching more exact even in Arifloth *' and Galen, tho' very excellent jiiafters. C( The letters written by St. Paul, fays P if cat or, c< prove him to be ciulu'd with a certain natural 11 or rather divine eloquence j tho' he dcfignedly " abftains from the varniili of falfe and unnatural t4 rhetoric. Dr. Wloitly\&.s this remark upon the place - iC This cannot refer to his want of eloquence or " rhetorical artifice in his compofitions 5 for this u fcems equally wanting in the Epiftles of St. Pe- <f ter and St. James j it therefore mull refer to * c iome imperfection in his Ipeech, which they, Cf the falfe Apoftlcs, had not." \Ve agree with this learned Gentleman that none of the Apoftles regarded rhetorical artifice in their compofitions.; ^ .and De ''fended and llluflrated. ^\^ and hope he will agree with us., that he W T ho can- not fee true and genuine eloquence in the apo- ftolical writings is unqualify 5 d to be a critic. For tho' the Doctor has made eloquence and rheto- rical artifice equivalent expreflions, 'tis certain they are different things, and one may be where the other is not. In purfuance of what we have before advanc'd, 'tis not unufual in the beft orators to conceal or Icflcn their own eloquence, in order to inimuate what they fay with more force and advantage. Indeed nothing can be more noble and eloquent than that very chapter where St. Paul (peaks of the rudenefs of his fpeech, (C Being forc'd, lays the great St. Auguftm, C( for the preferving his (( authority, and preventing the pervcriion of ft the Corinthians, to extol himfelf in that place <c where he declares the folly of fb doing - -in or- ft dinary cafes and without neceflity with what cc eloquence and wifdom doth he perform it r The {acred writers are earneft and fervent : they fpcak of things within their knowledge, are thoroughly acquainted with, and zcaloufly concern'd in the importance of the great things they deliver. Thcfe good difpofitions and qua iirications produce a ftylej natural, unaffected and lively;, which is admirably fitted to convince and inflame the readers. For he that hears or reads F f i <a?/7/ no Tloe S A c K K D C i A ^ s i c s ly/// wtfiw fe effectually inflamed) unlefs the difcourje come to him fervent and gloiving '. The ilyle of theGofpel is even, clear, and uni- form-, has all the excellencies which Tally and great authors after him require to the confum- mation of an hiftorian: the order is regular, the didtion pure, pleafant., iliort and noble, Our blefTed Saviour, in his fermon upon the mount., delivered himfelf with the utmoft digni- ty and authority, in terms perfectly becoming the great teacher and lawgiver of mankind. His method is plain and natural ; his expreflions con- cife and clear ; and the diction beautiful and ma- jeftic. That Divine Perfbn fpoke to the wonder of his hearers with full authority and aiTurance, and with a mighty power and conviction. It may not be improper or difagreeable to hear the learned and judicious MY. Reading (peak upon this (abject in different words much to the fame pur- pofe v . <f This whole fermon was fb fubftantial and cc momentous^ deliver'd with fb much plain- ff nefs and perfpicuity., and with fuch majefty Cf and authority, fb different from the formal cc and uncdifying ledures of the Scribes., that c Tull. Orator. i6z. 1. 14, Ncc unquam is, qui audircr, inccaderctLir, nit! ardens ad eum pcrveniret Oratio, " Mr, Readings Life of Chrift, p. 151, 13-3. it <c Defended and llluftrated. 22,1 it had a wonderful influence upon the people ^ they were aftonilh'd at it. Cf That admirable difcourfe in St. John> f( whereby our Saviour took leave of his Apo- fc ftles, fays a great Man, expreffes fb much ec wifclom and goodnefs, fuch care and concern- cc ment for his poor difciples to fupport their fpirits when he fliou'd be gone,, that he teems only to take care to comfort them, and takes no notice of his own approaching agonies." In that farewel difcourfe the chief myfteries, cc doctrines and mod ibvereign confolations of Chriftianity are in one view, and in the moil {atisfa&ory, moving and emphatical manner repreiented and laid before us : never was ma* jefty and divine power expreffed in terms of greater magnificence and loftinefs , nor infinite goodnefs and compaffion defcrib'd in words fo cc encouraging, in language of iiach gracious fc and adorable condefcentioli w . w As is the majefty of thofe divine difcouvfes, fo is the mercy of them. One great end of our Saviour's declaration of his fovereign majefty and intereft both in heaven and earth, in fuch variety of noble and full terms, feems to be the more effectually to adminifter ftrong confolations to his for- rowful difciples j to encourage their entire dependence upon his protection, and their expectation of all happinefs from his_inHnite power and goodnefs, tc cc 1 cc ( ft it 7%e SACRED CLASSICS " I am very confident, fays a polite and found critic, Cf whoever reads the Gofpels with an heart as much prepar'd in favour of them, as when he fits down to Wrgil or Homer) will find no paflagc there which is not told with more natural force than any epifbde in either cf of thofc wits,, who were the chief of mere " mankind 34 . The canonical letters of the Apoftles are gene- rally written in an cafy, pleafant and familiar ityle, very proper toinftrud:, move and engage, 'Tis highly entertaining and inftructive to both the learned and the pious reader to obferve, that in many pafTages the plainefl and moft unlearn'd of the facred college are., by the noblenefs of their fubjeclj, and the affiflance and infpiration of their divine Director, rais'd to a furprizing grandeur and fublimity of ftyle : and that even the plain fifherman St. Peter, without the advan- tage of learning and polite education, is fbme- times equal in the marvellous and majejlic to the learned fcholar of Gamaliel, and great Doffor of the Gentiles. Thefe ineftimable writings have equal plainnefs and power j are fuited to the capacities of the weakeft , as well as the convic- tion of the wifeit. They have ftrong fenfe in x Guardian Vol. I. N 2.1. p. 8f. common 'Defended and Illuflrated. 213 common words ; and plainnefs with fublimity. They have no unnatural rants, no rwelling words of vanity 5 but the amiable, great and noble fim- plicity of language reigns in them; and they always give their reader an imdifguis'd and mov- ing defcription of all the fentiments of man's heart. The facred writers are, as we hinted before, fmcerc good men, entirely poffefs'd with their fubjecl:, fully perfuaded of its truth, and vehe- mently affecled with its infinite importance : Therefore their language is proper and emphati- cal, the natural rcfult and product of fuch found principles 5 inch an impartial regard for truth, fuch love and reverence for the majeity of God, and fuch unfeigned good-will to mankind y . And o o certainly the fublime notions, myfteries, and mo- rals of the new Teftament, with the immenfe va- riety of the hiftorical narration exprefs'd in a plain unaffected ftyle, and a graceful and beautiful iim- plicity, with the appearance of iome little confti- fion, folecifms, and negled of grammar (as feme judge) will give greater pleafure and improve- ment to men of tafte and genius j and better de- Icrvc the title of eloquence with capable judges :) > Peclus eft enim quod difertos fac : r, ^-cvis mentis, Quin- ail. Inflit, or, 10. p. 6of, char. 124 Tloe SACRED CLASSICS than all the tedious exactnefs, meafur'd periods, and fpruce embelliiliments of low and conceited writers, who are rather fcrupulous than judicious, who are deficient in fenfe, andfuperfluous in words. Nature and reafbn confirm this : and the ereat o men or all ages and countries have been of this fentiment, and will be for ever. Longinus in effect throughout his whole book tells you, that the great and immortal wits of an- tiquity rais'd their reputation, and charm'd and conquer'd mankind by the greatnefs and fublimity of their thoughts ; which made 'em often over- look leffer matters, and defpife a fcrupulous accu- racy z . Demetrius Phalereus fays, Cf Too much accura- cy is a mark of a low genius : That a Itrong paffion will only admit of plain and unaffect- ed language 5 and that too much fcruple and labour about the equal meafure of the feveral members of a period, and the oppositions be- " ing perpetually preferv'd, checks the vehemence cc of the thought, and enfeebles the difcourfe \ o Tully tells us, " That words and expreffions are cc always in his judgment fufficiently adorn 'd, if cc they be fuch, that they feem to proceed from cc the fubjedl and nature of the thing it felf b . 7 Longin. de Sublim. c. 33, 54, ^f. p. 180, &c. a Demet. Phaler. c. 17. p. 2.3. b Tull. deOrar. p. 176. 4 Let cc cc cc cc cc ft cc i < a i Defended and llluflrated. 215 Let us hear a noble fcholar and critic of our own. Cf It is certainly a fault in oratory to be curious in the choice of words; a bold pe- riod, tho' agamft rule, will pleafe more than to be always in phrafe ; and a decent negli- gence is often a beauty in expreffion, as well as drefs$ whereas by being over correct, or al- ways flourishing, our periods become either too " lufcious or too {tiff V " Whoever looks into " the laws of the Golpel, lays the learned Bifhop Kidder d , " may (bon difcern that it is a blefTed cc inftitution, It is full of weighty principles, (C of divine and heavenly precepts, of the moil cc endearing and pathetic motives to obedience. cc It hath nothing trifling in it, but is fraught cc with a wifdom that is divine; and is plac'd <c above the contempt and icorn of men. It com- -"' mends it lelf to the conferences of all that are cc ingenuous and inquifitive : and no man will " (peak evil of it, but a fool that underftands it fc not, or the debauch'd (inner who is condemn- '" c ed by its precepts, and denounc'd acrainft by its cc fevereft menaces." The crreat Picus Mirandu- <D lanns {peaks with excellent judgment in his letter ro Hermolaus Barbarus, fc The holy (cripturc, lay c Baker"?, Reflex, on Learning, Chap. 4 p.' f i, T- 1 -- 4 Dcmonitrat. of Mcifias, P. i, p. ifc. 1 2 6 The SACRED CLASSICS he, cc is not only capable of perfuading and mo- cc ving ; but it conftrams, it drives, it forces. " The words of the law feem to be rude and bar- <( barousj but they are powerful, full of life and rc fire, piercing the moft fecret recefles of the (c foul 5 and transform the whole man by a mar- rc velous change." ff 'Tis knpoflible, {ays the excellent Du Pin, who cites this author, cc to form 4C a lighter judgment of the ftyle of holy {crip- " ture y and this opinion is much more becom- t ing not only a Chriftian but alfo a wife man, " than that of fome grammarians, who have had 4< fb little fenfe, as to de{pife the ftyle of the holy cc fcripture, and diffuade Chriftians from reading " it for fear of corrupting their ftyle ; whereas <c nothing can be more proper to form and <( elevate the mind, and give it a true tafte of (c eloquence than the facred writings V I finifli this chapter with an admirable paflage out of Mr. Lefley f j <c The heathen orators have admir'd the " fublime of the ftyle of our {captures. No sc writing in the world comes near it, even with <c all the difad vantage of our tranflation, which o < being oblig'd to be literal muft lofe much of f ''.the beauty of it." After this great man has Du Pin Can. of O. and N. Teft, B. i. Ch. 10. Sec. r. p. 2.69. Eng. Tranf. London i<5pp. f Demonftration of Chriftianity, p. 1^3, if 4. 3 very- Defended and lilitftraied. 117 very juftly prais'd the plainneis and fuccindnefs of the hiftorical part, the melody or the Pfalms, the inftrtttSion of the Proverbs, and the majefty of the Prophets, he is traniportcd with a pious and juft admiration of that eafy (weetnefs which is fo charming, fb prevalent in the new Teftamtnt. <c Where, fays he, the glory of heaven is (et forth " in a grave and moving expreffion> which yet < f reaches not the height of the fubje6i -, not like rc the flights of rhetoric, which fet out fimM o <c matters in great words. But the holy fcriptures " touch the heart j raiie expectation, confirm- our cc hope 5 ftrengthen our faith 5 give peace of con* cc fcience and joy in the holy Ghoit, which is.ii> cf expreffible," I fubjoin to this juft and admi^ rable account of this great 1 man of the noblenefs o and natural eloquence of the facred writers in ge- neral, an account of a particular paflage in St. Luke by a very found and judicious critic, which I al- ways read with pleadire, only inferior to that which the divine original oives me. 'Tis the account of c> , O the manner of our Saviour's joining with two difciples on the way to Emmaus, as an ordinary traveller, and taking the privilege as fuch to en- quire of them what occalion'd a (adnefs in their countenances, &c. C( Their wonder, fays he, that any man fb " near Jerusalem iliou'd be a ftraiagcr to what * o G e i had .12,8 The SACRED CLASSICS <( had pafs'd there j their acknowledgment to one (C they met accidentally that they had believed in (C this prophet-, and that now the third day af- c ter his death they were in doubt as to their " pleafing hope, which occafioned the heavinefs '" he took notice of; are all reprefented in a <f ftyle which men of letters call the great and cf noble fimplicity. The attention of the difci- fc pies, when he expounded the fcriptures con- Cf cerning himfelf, his offering to take his leave fc of them, their fondnefs of his flay, and the cc manifeflation of the great gueft whom they t had entertain'd, while he was yet at meat with them, are all incidents which wonderfully pleafe " the imagination of a chriftian reader j and give (C to him fbmethingof that touch of mind which " the brethren felt, when they faid one to ano- cf ther, Did not our hearts burn within us <while he <c talked to us ly the <way y arid while he opened to cc us the fcriftures * f * Guardian Vol.1. N u. CHAP, Defended and Illufl rated. CHAP. IV. Wherein a fuller account is given of the judgment of the fathers, and particularly of the Greek fa- thers, upon the flyle and eloquence of the facred 'writers of the new Tejlament. J riOSllSin O W f ar tne Gree & fathers were judges of the ftyle of the new Teftament I do not pretend to difpute. That the fecred wri- ters ihun'd all {crapulous and artful composition of words, and what the Scrip- tures call the wiidom of men j and that divine providence accommodated the language of fcrip- ture not only to the learned among the Greeks, but to the idiotifm of the multitude, and that the forcible eloquence of their (andity, and the loftinefs ot their thoughts and fentiments excus'd and made up the want of elegance in their words, and the (implicityor lowncis of their ftyle in fbmc places, we fhall readily allow ; and believe it can- not contradid: any thing we have affirmed, nor do the Icaft prejudice to the iacred caufe we are humbly The SACRED CLASSICS humbly defending. To affirm that the language of the new Teftament is fometimes idiotical, is to fay nothing in this difpute, becaufe we grant it; and people of different fentiments from us can make no advantage of it : the language of the fublimcft authors of Greece is, upon occafion, idiotical and vulgar. o To affirm 'tis bafe and full of barbarisms founds a little harfli to a Chriftian ear : but bold- ly to affirm 'tis abiurd is abominable, and what neither God nor man can bear. Can any word be apply d to thofe holy writings dictated and di- rected by the eternal Spirit of wifdom and per- fuafion, which perpetually, and in all good au- thors bears a bad and odious fenfe ? And if it ever be taken in a good one I will give up this caufe for ever. That we may the better understand what were the fentiments of the fathers concerning; the ftvle O J of the new Teftament, and how far we ought o to rely upon their judgment, thefc following things may be confidered. i. Thofe fathers, who in Ibme places have written that the (acred authors were not eloquent, and that the ftyle of the holy fcriptures was iome- times -idiotical and low, cou'd not (peak of natural and true eloquence. They meant that the lac red writers did not affect rhetorical flouri{hes 5 and, the vain Defended and llluflrated. 231 vain pomp and childifli decorations of fophiftry. Not one father ever affirm'd that there was no eloquence in the facred books ; or that the fim- plicity and plainnefs of thofe admirable writings were mean and contemptible. No j entirely on the contrary they acknowledge them to have an inimitable majefty and grandeur very confident with, and improv'd by iuch a natural and beau- tiful fimpJicity*. z. Many of the Greek fathers were unacquaint- ed with the Hebrew language ; and therefore the oriental phrafes, the Helraifms and Syriafms fb often found in the new Teftament gave them of- fence, and were look d upon by them as blemifhcs of the Greek and plain folecifms. But Hebraifms and folecifms are, by the acknowledgment of our adversaries, quite different things. Father Simon is entirely with us in this; cc One may further sc obferve, fays he b , that if the antient church cc writers had und&c&oodhevre-'uj as well as Greek, < f they would not have found the ilyle of the fa- (( cred books (b barbarous as (bine of them have " believed." And (peaking particularly of the unaccountable boldneis of St. Jeronis cenfures of the facred writers: cf I am, Ciys that learned Vid. Du Pin. Hifl. of Can. of O. and N.T. D. i.C. 10. '- Hiii Crit. dii Tcit, due novcau Teit. c. 2.6. p. 3 if. critic, 2,3* The SACKED CLASSICS critic, u aftoniflied, that St. Jerom, who was cc mafter of the two languages,, has not rather fC taken this method to explain what appear'cl cf fingular in their llyle (/'. e. to {hew the He- cr braifms] than to ace ufe the divine writers of tf folecifms and barbarifins. 3 . 'Tis plain that the fathers often make con- ceffions, as to the lownefs and meannefs of the facred writers in their ftyle^ which go much too far, that they may the more prevalently fet off the piety, zeal, and indefatigable diligence of the preachers and writers, and more gloriouily mag- nify the power and majefly of God, which To wonderfully accompanied and profpered their mi- niftry j and accomplished fuch mighty works by fuch weak inftruments. The primitive Chriflians, in their dilputes with their Pagan adveriaries, generally dropt the eloquence of the firft preachers and writers of our holy religion : not that they gave up even that, or belie v'd there was no true eloquence in them j but they put the caufe upon its fupreme dignity and merit, the fanclity and purity of the doctrine, the demonitration of miracles, the fpeedy victo- ry and large triumphs which thofe defpis'd preach- ers and doctrines made over all the prejudice, power,, wit, learning and malice of the whole World, 'Tis upon this foot that St. Chryfoftom ? exhorts Defended and llluftrated. 233 exhorts Chriftians freely to own that the Apoftlcs were ignorant or unlearned, fuch an accusation being not any reflexion on them,, but their praifc and glory. St. Chryfoftom reproves a private Chriftian for pretending to difputc with a Pagan, and preferring the eloquence of St. Paul to that of Plato, became he ought to have flood to the plain and refiftlefs proofs or the divine power and au- thority of our Saviour and his Gofpel, which conquered all the oppofition of earth and hell. Common Chriftians are feldom much acquainted with ftyle and criticifm$ and 'tis not proper for them to enter into difputes of that nature, they having not learning and abilities to manage 'cm 5 and the beft caufe may be expos'd and fuf- fer by the ignorance and too forward zeal of an incompetent defender. Had this learned Either himfelf been pleas'd to engage in the forcmentioned difpute, I believe 111 no Pagan opponent upon earth cou 'd have gain'd much advantage , or prov'd that the philolbpher had any mighty iuperiority over the Apoftle. For there is not one beauty or grace of genuine and rational manly eloquence, but he produces and admires in the divine writings of the great St. Paul. Therefore, when the fame father lays, there's no vehemence of oratory in this victori- ous preacher, that he iliews no ftrength and force H h o 134 The SACRED CLASSICS of words, but ail the contrary 5 St. Paul being, continues he, illiterate or ignorant to the utrnoit degree ot ignorance : if his orations upon St. Paul be allow'd genuine, and the Either at all confident with him(elf, thcie lowering expreffi- ons muft be meant of the noiie and vain blufter of fophiiHcal and falfe eloquence 5 fuch as the greateft and bell writers and judges of all ages have rejected and defpis'd. That St. Paul did not want true and natural eloquence was St. Chrjfojloms opinion, declar'd in a thoudnd places. When the objection is made in the fourth book of the Pvieftbood y that St. Paul himfelf feem'd to neglect eloquence, and declares that he was rude in fpeecb, the rather anfwers, that many people calTd to holy orders indulg'd thenv f elves in neglecting the proper means to attain true learning, becauie they miilook the great Apoftle, not being able to fearch out the depth of his meaning, nor to underfbnd the fenfc of his words : cc St. Paul indeed diiavow'd and had no <c occafion for the fuperfluous ornaments, for * c the jingling and fophiftry of profane elo- 4C - quence% but he cou'd with redftlefs force and . ae S. Paulo Vol. VIII. Hen. Savile p. 4f. ^ Tvlv rfft r^5?v >.oycov rspO^eiav' r an^/sj'V,' rfj" s / lurir/jicy. Ds SACCJ'. 4. p. 1865 1 88, Camb. 1711. vchc cc (f (C cc cc cc Defended and Illuftrated. 1 3 y cf vehemence vindicate the doctrines of truth. f< And let no man, to excule his own idlenels, ff prelume to delpoil the blelTed Saint of thac ff greateft of ornaments and higheft of prailes. cc Whence, I pray, did he confound the Jews <c at Damafcits y when he had not yet begun (C to work miracles ? how did he baffle the Greeks ? and why was he lent to Tarfus ? was not that after he mightily prevail'd by eloquence and prell 'em lo clofe, that when they cou'd not bear the dilgrace of being conquer'd, they were enrag'd and provoked to murder him ? Nor can any man fay that St. Paid was in <c high admiration with the multitudes for the (C glory of his miracles ; and that thole who en- cc gag'd him were conquered by his luperior reputation : for hitherto he had only con- quered by his eloquence. Againft thole per- fons who began to fet up Judaifm in An- tioch, by what means did he engage and con- " tend? did the famous Areopagite of that molt fuperititious city, together with his wife, ad- here to him upon any motive but thac of his preaching ? When therefore it ap- " tf pears, that before he worked miracles, and (C in the midil of his miracles, he uledmuch elo- cf qncncc5 how then will men dare to call him f( rude> ;'^:. : 7/;, \vho was excellently admir'd for H h 2, his 1 3 6 T%? SACREDCLASSICS Cf his disputing and preaching ? For what reafon cc did thcLycaonians (uppoie him to be Mercury? <c for that Barnabas and he were efteemed to be " Gods, was to be afcnb'd to their miracles ; that (( he was efteem'd Mercury, was not from the mi- ff racks but his eloquence 6 . Wherein had this f c bleffed man the advantage of all the Apoftles ? < c whence comes it that he is celebrated all over :c the world ? whence is it that he is exceffively admir'd above all, not only by us,, but by Jews and Gentiles? is it not from the excel- lency of his epiftles j thofe admirable epiftles fill'd with divine wifdom? Any one that looks into this learned and eloquent father's commentaries and diicouries upon St. Paul's writings, will find that there's not one beauty of llyle or grace of found eloquence recommended by any ojood critic,, or pradtifed by any noble au- thor, but what he frequently remarks and ad- mires in that mfpir'd writer. He gives you in- numerable inftances of that great and marvellous man's prudence and judgment,, the dexterity of <c cc -,:,cv "y^drr.t yJ) xsar- 1 sv/x.a rtS >,oy:.j. St. Chryfoit. cJe Sricerd.i. 4* 188, 190. Cantab, i-'ii. 'Tis plain from the context th'tt V'y{^ and /Jycr; here lignify true nerfuafive elc- :, as they do in the bdl Creek writers: d\\d \oyxv ; on the account of his fla^tencs p Dcmolt. Mid. v \ his Defended and llluftrated. his addrefs, and infinuation into the Eivour and good opinion of thofe to whom he (ends his let- ters, in order to do them the moil important fcr vices, and engage them to confult their own true intereft and happinefs in doing much good f . How often does he admire his accuracy in the choice of the moil nobly-ftrong and expreilive words 5 his fharpnefs and vivacity ; the beautiful vehemence and pathos of his ftyle j the fuitable- nefs of his expreilions to peribns and things 5 his moving condefcenfion and refiftlefs power of per- fuafionj his juft confequences, and the clofeneis and conviction of his reafonings ? After St. Chryfoflom has admir'd and fet out the ftrength and beauty of the expreilion in that no- ble pailage, Rom. viii. 5 5. he concludes w^jth thofe very remarkable and lively words, u St. Paul runs cf over an immenie ocean of dangers and repre- 4C ients all things terrible to mankind in one em- o cc phatical word." After he has accurately iliew'd the winning addreis, and conquering tendernefs, the eloquence and innumerable graces of the Epi- file to Philemon in the twentieth verfe, he cries out ap%tra.i, I Cor. XV. I, 2,. p. 45/4. T-'.r -trapxtviw-s;? ,w^ lyx.aj/vi.'wv c" v -rrciet ^%- ^(x. -ars G"jjJiT<i>s. Phil. i:. 12.. p. 4f. Philemon 16. p. 418, 4ip. i Cor. xv. 13. P. fOp. r Cor. xv. 8 498. ;;J iln. Rom xli. 2., 17)-. Ephef, iv IT, in 138 The SACRED CLASSICS in admiration and traniport, C( What ftone wou'd " not thefe words have mollify 'd ; what wild beaft <c wou'd not they have tamed !'' Wemuftalmoft tranfcnbe this great man's works, if we were to give a full account of all the encomiums he be- llows upon the noble eloquence and incompara- ble graces of St. Paul. I {hall only refer my rea- der to a few paflages below g , and to the great author himfelf. Origen takes notice of ibleciims (as he calls 'em) in the facred writings of the old and new Telia- inent; and defires the readers of thofe ineftima- ble books not to take offence at 'em. But what are thofe fbleciims ? Exchange of perfbns, fudden traniition from one number to another, with a leemino; violation of common grammar. But c? c? they are really beauties in ftyle j and the great man himfelf gives the reafbn of thofe changes; and we have in the firft part of this work juftiry'd thefe 8 M<&' vir?^oXP;'f ^ tEreXX*K Rom. viii. 32.. p. 118. I Cor. iv. y p. 314, }if. Rom. v. f. p. 67. 2. Cor. xi. l^l. p- 666. ( Qf^y -nrwr -nravra^s ras HT. Ou ^ ttTrj /asracA/oWs /aovov, d\\d jy^) cV-sJ/j- s nr^ts-acS'E) aXXa /^) axrss f 'fl? a'^i IXfiVrs, aXXa c. Rom. xii. I!, p. 181. Ef&^r ircor a^a. cruX- &c. I Cor. xv. n. p. 5-05. Eloquentiam Pauli multis merito ce'iebrar. Chryfoitomus Phoiius Ep. i6f. Hieronymus item, nc de aliis dicam, & Eulcbius III. 4 Hilir. eum vocans -nra'vTwv ov u-a^cDcdbo' c'luu- ToJTttTcv Xc'yoov vcn/xatr/ TS ixavsoTarcv ysycvora. Fabricii Biblio- rhec.Gri.-cc. Lib. 4. cr.p. f. p. ifi. 4 liberties Defended and llluftrated. 239 liberties by parallel places, out of the moil valua- ble daffies h . When Ce Ifus and others of his opi- nion and party charge the writers of the new Te~ ftament with lownels and meannefs of ftyle, they mean there are not in them thofe gawdy decora- tions and ornaments of fophiftical language fb much admir'd and practis'd in thofe times : when florid declamation and a jingling and ftudy'doppo- fition of words, and arrangement of periods had almoft driven good fenfe and found natural elo- quence out of the world. Origen fays, that the defign of the Difciples of Jefus and the publifhers of Chriftianity was to ferve and convert mankind, and therefore it moll anfwer'd their end and cha- ritable defign to ufc common and plain language, which the learn'd and unlearn'd wou'cl under- ftand. <c Our Prophets, Jefus and his Apoitles conh cf der'd and had regard to that manner of Ian- not on ^y exprefs'd the truth, but f<r was powerful and proper to engage the multi- (C tude. That all at lad being converted and ' c brought over, they might gladly receive thofe ct myfteries, which were contam'd in expreffions (f that appcar'd or were elteem'd to be low and i{ vulgar. Upon that grand cxpreflion of St.PW, Vul. Part I. p. y i, fi, i\"c 7^<? SACRED CLASSICS {peak wifdom among them that are per- <e fed:,, the wifclom of God in a myftery j even cf the hidden wifdom which God ordain'd before cc the world to our glory, he difcourfes thus : <c We thus apply our ielves to thofe who are of cc the opinion of Cslftts. Had Paul no notion c< of excellent wifdom, when he promis'd he Cf wou'd fpeak wifdom among the perfect? But if he (Celfus) according to his ufual affurance iliall fay, that Paul had no wiidom when he pretended to thefe things, we will make this reply : Do you explain the epiilles of him <c that faid thefc things, and when you have deeply confider'd the meaning' of every word in 'em (for example in thofe to the Ephejians, Coloffians > Theffalonians , Philippians, and Ro- mans] fliew me thefe two things, both that o 4f you underfland the dilcourfes of St. Paul, and < c that you can prove 'em weak and foolifh. But <c if he apply himfelf with attention to the read- <c ing of them, I am well fatisfy'd that he will ei- cc ther admire the underftandinp; of that excel- o lent man that exprefles grand fenfe in plain and common language ; or if he does not ad- -.*-'' ^ mire it, lie himfelf will appear ridiculous '. ''Orig.contraCeif. 1. 3, p. 112, Ed, Spencer. Cantab. 1 577. When Defended and lllmfiralecl. When St. Paul (ays, My fpeech and my preach- ing was not 'with enticing words of mans wifdom, he does not undervalue his own realbning and o ftyle, only diGivows the fubtilties of the pagan pliilofophy, and their fophiftical oratory 5 but fhews that no arguments or language can avail to reform and bring human fouls to the love of God and a true fenfe of their duty without divine af fiflance and inipiration. So Origen dire&ly takes it. <f The divine Word here affirms, that what cc is fpoken is not fufficient (altho' in it felf true cc and proper to perfiiade) to reach the foul of * c man 5 unlefs power be given from God to the cc fpeaker, and grace fhine out in the expreflion * c which is communicated from heaven to thofe <c who fpeak with force and efficacy V This very learned man might have fhewn to his infblent adverfary examples ot other ftyles befides the plain and vulgar in the writers of the new Teftament (as we fliall hereafter fully prove) j but as he took but little care of his own ftyle., he was content to admire the good fenfe, the plain and perfpi- .oious language, and the mighty power of per- fuafion which are in every page of thofe divine authors ; without either endeavouring to clear 'em of the imputation of fblecifms., or regarding thofe k Orig. cont. Celf. 1. 6. p. 2.^ I i SACRED CLASSICS numerous /ublime graces and fbvereign beauties of ftyle which any fair and capable critic muft difcover, and admire in theie invaluable compo- fitions. As to the idiotical or common ftyle., provided there be no mixture or vile and fordid words in it (which none will prefume to (ay there is in the divine books) we have in fbme meafure already iliew'd that to be no juil objection againft the language of the new Teftament $ and, before we finifh this chapter, {hall endeavour farther to prove it. St. Aujim in his admirable book of the Chri- ftian Doctrine, as likewiie in other places, judi- cioufly difcovers and illuftrates the eloquence and beauties of the new Teftament ftyle. And the caufej we humbly defend, has more advantage from this teftimony, than difadvantage from the (evere fpeeches and bold cenfures of St. Jerom : Becaufe St. Aujlin is confident with himfelf, pro- duces numerous grand figures, and fublime pafTa- ges out of the new Teftament , which by the rules of found criticifm and reafbn he demonftrates to be truly eloquent and beautiful. St. Jerom fome- times gives a very low and mean character of St. Paul's ftyle, and tells you, that that great Apoftle was very defective in the Greek tongue, wherein he cou'd not fufficiently exprefs his conceptions in a way becoming the majefty of his fenfe and the Defended and llluftrated. 243 the matter he deliver'd ; nor tranfmit the elegan- cy of his native tongue into another language : That hence he became obfcure and intricate ; that his fyntax was fcarce tolerable j and he was often guilty of fblecifms: and therefore 'twas not the humility of this divine writer, but the truth of the rhino; that made him fay, That he came not with the excellency of fpeech, but 'with the power of God 1 . But this venerable father is not always in this fevere temper 5 but fbmetimes vehemently cele- brates the grandeur, propriety, and noble graces of St. Paul's language. cc He cries him up, fays the excellent Dr. Cave, (whofe words I ufe be- caufe my own wou'd not be fb good) <c as a great cc matter of composition, that as oft as he heard <c him, he feem'd to hear not words but thunder j cc that in all his citations he made ufe of the moft cc prudent artifices, ufing fimple words, and cf which feem'd to carry nothing but plainnefs <f along with them j but which way fbever a man cc turn'd, breathed force and thunder : He feems cc entangled in his caufe, but catches all that ff comes near him 5 turns his back as if intending Cf to fly, when 'tis only that he may overcome m . who admires the father for his varie- 1 Fid. Cave's Life of St. Paul, p. 117. f Ed. 1684. m Cave's Life of St. Paul^ p. 1 17. Vid. ejufd. Hiftor. Lk- tcr, in voce Hieronymus, p, iip, 2.2.0. Lond. 1688. I i i ty, 244 The SACRED CLASSICS ty, the weight of his fentences, the clofenefs and quicknefs of his argumentations, and his elo- quence, which in fome refpedts he prefers to what of Cicero himielf, will not be fuppos'd to fpeak any thing to the difadvantage of a favourite au- thor whom he himielf publilh'd j but only what plain truth oblig'd him to fay On that cele- brated place fb much infilled upon by thoie who undervalue the ftyle of the facred writers, ^ Cor. xi. 6. the editor gives this account of his author. O i f< Jerom is various upon this fubjcct, in many (C places condemning St. Paul as ignorant of the (C more elegant Greek -- That fbmetimes he ufes ( certain words peculiar to his own country Ci- " licia, and does not anfwer the conjunction y.sv with its correfpondent Jf . Moreover that in fbme paflages he is troublefbme by the wind- ings and turnings of his tranfpofitions ^ and fbmetimes leaves his period and fenfeunfinifh'd. c< Again at other times he declaims on the con- " trary fide, driving them far off (as profane per- " fons) who fuppoie that St. Paul fpoke of him- felf here in any way but that of irony, or fup- pofmg without granting 5 fince he very well un~ derflood all the proprieties of language, and was " a perfect mafter of all the turns of argument n . As n Rurfus alias in diverfum declamat, procul fubmovens cos, qui putant Puulum hoc ex animo dixifle ( -j ^ \ foe fended and llluflrated* 24 r As to the per-pUxity of the tranlpofitions, and the inconfequence of fome periods, with the ie - paration of the particles pe y and 3? we have al- ready fjpoken to that matter. Whereas St. Paul us'd (bmetirnes ftrange Greek words, and pectin liar to Cilicia, we have (aid fomething j but for the farther vindication of the facred author we iliall produce a pailage out of St. Jerom himfelfy who tells us that we are not to wonder if the Apo- ftle fometimes ufes words according to the cu- flom of the province in which he was born and educated 3 and j unifies him by the (ame lib.erty taken by Virgil ', one of the moft judicious and accurate of the foreign authors., and the prince of Latin poetry . . i. Before we end this chapter, I fhall Ipeak a word of the idiotical iVylc, which is by feme look'd upon as a fault in the facred writers : but that plain, common and familiar ftylc, without % contemptible lownefi and fordid indecency, whiclv ftS Xcyoj, a'XX' T yvwa) cum omnes fermonis proprietates p'ulchic tenuerit, omnes argumcntorum ftrophas ad unguena call tier it. Multa funt verba quibus juxta morem urbis c proyincio: fuce familiarius Apoftolus utitur. Nee hoc miremur in Apoitoio, fi utarur cjus lingua: ccn= fuecudine, in qua natus eft c nutritus , cum Virgilius ai:er Horaerus apud nos patrice fuie fequens confuetudinem fcckra- turn frigus appeilat. Hicron. ad Algaf qu. 10. ), reigns "The SACRED CLASSICS reigns in the facred writers, efpecially in the holy Evangelifts, is to be efteem'd as a great excellence, and can never be too much admir'd. The plain- eft and moft common w r ords are fluted to all ca- pacities-, and generally make the difcourfe moft uleful and acceptable to all readers of found judg- ment. Language too metaphorical, and floria, is not generally fo well and readily underftood by the unlearn'd 5 and 'tis by judicious fcholars e- fteem'd to proceed from the oftentation and vani- ty of the writer, and his defign and ambition to be applauded j and therefore it lofes much of the power of perfuafion, which ought to be in all difcourfe and writing. Longinus tells you that the idiotical phrafe is fbmetimes far more expreflive and fignificant than artificial drefs ; for 'tis immediately known from common life : and what is ufual and common, is for that reafbn more credible p . The moft eafy, plain and common words properly put together in a difcourfe are capable of fuftaining the utmoft fublimity, grandeur, and majefty of thought. Anacreon has innumerable beauties, and a great many fublime paflages exprefs'd in all fimplicity of ftyle, and the moft common, eafy, and plain words that are to be found in the Greek language. P Longin. Sec. 31. p. 168. Sec. 3$. p. 214, &c. St. Je. Defended and llluftrated. 147 Sr. Jerom (peaking of the Jimplicity and purity of the Apoftle's words , which he oppoies to a dit courfe painted and dawbed with the falfe orna- ments of rhetorical artifice, concludes pure plain- nefs to be no hindrance of grandeur and true elo- quence 3 cc For, fays he to Paula and Eujlochium, <c you will fee as much majefty and comprehen- " fivenefs of true wifHom in thefe, as there Was arrogance and vanity in the learned of the hea- then world q . i Apoftolicorum fimplicitate 6c puritate verborum oratio rhetorics artis fucata mendacio videritis tancam majeftatem & latitudinem in his verx fuifle fapientise, quanta in feculi literatis arrogantia 6c vanitas fuic, Hier, in tell, lib. Com. ad Galatas Proemium. CHAP, The SACRED CLASSICS. CHAP. V. therein is fhe*wn that alljjyles in perfection are to le found in the facred writers of the new Tejta- mentj and fajfages are producd excelling any in the Greek and Roman Claffics on every head. Clear and plain ftyle is pecu- liarly adapted to edify and in- ftrud mankind, and is often very proper to exprefs the fub- limeftfentiments. 'Tis a beau- tiful eafmefs and lively perfpicuity of ftyle that reigns in the new Teftament j and especially the jtacred hiftorians : who are fliort and perfpicuous ; plain and majcftic ; underfloodwith ea(e and plea- lure by the plained and moil; vulgar reader , and jread with eager pleafure and admiration by men of the greateft learning and ftrongeft abilities. This } uft notion has poffeft the true critics of all ages. fc The Cicred and heavenly oracles, fays an .eloquent father, cc fmce they were fpoken and fc written cc cc (C cc Defended and Illuftrated. 249 " written for the advantage of mankind in gc- cc neral, are temper 'd with peripicuity ; fo chat cc ordinary people, who attend the meaner em- ployments of life, receive great advantage by their plainnefs j and in a moment learn what is becoming, juil, and profitable r . In the evangelical preachings, (ays another, cc the beauty of truth flikies out (o clear and pure, " that it illuminates the mind, while it flows in- fc to the fouls of pious men like light. " Thewifdom and croodnefs of the Divine Law- o ^ cc giver deliver'd the doctrines of eternal life in plain and common words and wonderful per- ipicuity of ffylc$ that mean and illiterate peo- ple, who have equal concern in the contents of thofe ineftimable writings with the profoundelt cc fcholars, may learn their duty, and be encou- <c rag'd to obedience by the infinite advantages cc there clearly and Itrongly propos'd to 'em , nei cf ther has Providence neglected the learned and cc the wife : that plain and eafy ilyle often expref- fc fes fuch noble fentiments and treafures of divine cc wifdom, as command the clofeit, attention, and fc moft awful admiration of the moll elevated <f minds f . r Ifidor. Pelcufiot. apud Suicer. i. p. 7 ViJ. Suicer. Thcf. in voce Kk A i$o The SACKED CLASSICS An excellent author of our own has juftly ob- ierv'd to us, that a pure and noble fimplicity is no where in fuch perfection as in the facrcd Scri- pture, and his author Homer '. When the (acred hiftorians give an account of our Lord's heavenly diicourfes and works of won- der, we have 'em represented with fuch evidence and energy, that with cafe and pleafure we readily imbibe the doclrincs, and iee the miracles and their aftonifhing circumflances in the ftrongeft light, in the moil open and entertaining view \ The hiilory of the man poffefs'd with Legion is defcrib'd by the Evangel ills in {uch lively and glowing colours, fuch a clear propriety of expre lion, that the attentive reader has all that glorious 3 Icene of wonder and aitomiliment full in his eye and mind, and feels in his breait a perpetual and quick fucceilion of different paflions, which keep up his concern and attention. Who is not fhocked with horror and trembling: o at the firlt appearance of the raging Demoniac, who was (b fierce, that no chains or fetters cou'd hold him ; and (b mifchievous that he turn'd the place he haunted into a detirt i ji i Mr. Pop's Prcfiice to flower. '"' Magna vlnus ell, res dc quibus loquimur, chrc, arquc -;;t cerni vidcantur, enunciirc. Qu.in. Tnilir. or. 8. p. 4f 3. D Cibfon. Ed. Ox. .But Upended and UlujiratecL i j .r But then how agreeably are your thoughts re~ iievVi ? what an exultation and triumph of joy iuccecds, when you fee the dreadful poffcil crea- ture proftrate at the feet of the mild and humble Tcfu.s j and the man's infernal tormentors acknow- ledging our Lord to have fbvereign command over all the powers of hell and darknefs ] Then with what religious awe, reverence and tenderncfs of devotion do we view the mild Savi- our of human race commanding the infernal Le- gion to quit their poiTeffion of the miferable fuf- ferer! With what iincere goodwill and charity does every chriftian reader congratulate the poor man's happy deliverance ? With what plcafure does he lee him fitting at the feet of his great Deliverer decently cloatnd, ferene and reftor'd to perfect fbundnefi of mind ? Next our compaflion for the man is mov'd, when he is afraid of parting from Jefus -, and fervently prays that he may attend his lacred perfon, fearing, 'tis probable^ left when he left his good benefactor, his old tormentors wou'J again ailault him. In the conclufion we are en- tirely fatisfy'd, admire and adore the wifHom and o-oodnefs of our blefled Saviour, who at once dc^ o liver'd the poor man from all his fears, by giving him a commiffion to preach to his acquaintance and neighbours thofc heavenly doctrines which deftroy the intcreft of the Devil , and fecurc all K k 2. that 5 1 The SACRED CLASSICS that believe and practife them from the power and malice of all the apoftate fpirits of darknefs u . The whole narrative of Lazarus is adorn'd with a great number of the molt moving and lively cir~ cumftances j which are to the mind as the moft beautiful and diverfify'd landscape to the eye. 'Tis a mafterpiece and great pattern of genuine fenfe and eloquence. There is a peculiar pomp and Iblemnity in the account of this miracle, which was immediately preparatory to that of our Sa- viour's raifing himfelf the third day after his mira- culous fubmiilion to death and the grave. Our Saviour's flay two days after the mefTage and pathetical addreis of the mourning filters., Lord, be whom thou lo r oefl is Jick kept 'em a little lon- ger in fufpence and grief; but it fhew'd his perfect wifdom and goodnefs, as it made the wonderful work more remarkable and conducive to the con- viction of the fpectators. If the Son of God had immediately gone and recover'd Lazarus of his (icknefs , the miracle wou'd not have had fo many witnefles, nor have been entirely free from objections, which at leaft wou'd have leflen'd it : But to raiie a perfbn four days dead, ofTenfive and rcduc'd to corruption, was a {urprize of unutterable joy to his friends 5 w Vid. Mat, viii. 2.8. Mark v. i. Luke viii. 2.6. remov'd Defended and llhtjl rated. remov'd all poffible fufpicion of confederacy j fi- lenc'd the peeviihnefs of cavilling, and triumph'd over all the obftinacy and impudence of preju- dice. How amiable is the modefty andwifdom of our meek Saviour, when he (ays, Lazarus is ajleep, and I go to awake km ! He was not pleas'd to lay, Lazarus is dead, and I go to raife him up to pre- vent any appearance of vanity and oftentation. Great words are an improper introduction to fuch aftonifliing actions They fufficiently {hew and magnify thcmfelves. With what mildnefs and compailionate condefcenfion does the Saviour of the world bear the peevifhnefs and infirmities of his Apoftles, and cure the miftakes of Martha, cheriihing her weak faith., and by fteps railing her to the acknowledgment of his Divinity ! What a iolemn concern, what tendernefs of de- votion pofleiTes every Chriftian heart when he at- tends the ever-adorable friend of mankind to the place where Lazarus lay, among the mourning 'Jews and his difconfolate friends, the IiofpitabJe ./ i Martha and the devout Mary / He, who had all the tendernefs and goodnefi, \vkhout the Emits of- human nature, he condoles and (ympathiics with the diflreft mourner* with all the inward concern , and outward cxorci'hon ' i of Lindiflcmblcd rrici. He r ^as troiiUdL zruand ~ The SACRED CLASSICS in fpirit, and wept. After this, one cannot but pity the wcaknefs of thole orthodox Chriftians, who were offended at a paflagc parallel to this in St. Luke v/ , and wou'd have it itruck out of the Canon as a dillionour to our Blefled Saviour, as Eptphanius relates the thing x . How meanly do we think of the affected formality, and unnatural unconcern of the Stoics, when we read of the wifeft and divined Pcrion that ever appear 'd in the world 'EdzxfVffey o 'iqirSs ? This ipoils all the pointed and fmart layings of Seneca upon the unconcern and courage of his wife man j and makes us in love with that faying of the fatyrift (b full of good nature and s;ood fenie : D O Lachrymte nojlri pars optima fenfus y . But after we have been highly pleas'd and en- tertain'd with our Saviour's moll genuine expref- fions of friendfliip, tendernefs, and generous com- pallion, with what wonder and devout awe are we itruck when we hear that royal and godlike com- mand, Lazarus y come forth I With what furprize and amazement do we view the aftonifli'd prifbner of the grave in his funeral attire ftart up at that voice which all nature obeys I Before Jeliis ex- w Chap.xix. 41. * Vid. D. Mill in loc. & D. Whitby Ex. Var. Lee. Millii p. 8. >' Juven. Sat. if. v. 131. prefi'd Defended and llluftr cited. 255 prefs'd all the tendernefs of the moil generous , and prudence of the wifeft of men : Here he claims his full authority; (peaks and acts with the majefty of the God of Gods,, and declares himfelf the Reinrrection, the Life,, and the Truth. Father Simon z is in my opinion guilty of ican- dalous bigottry, when he ipeaks againft the per- fpicuity of the facred writers j and charges the whole body of reform'd Chriftians with unbe- coming and injurious notions of them upon tciK- monies which we reject with as much indignation as the Church of Rome ; thofe of bold and con- ceited Socmians -, even when they attack thofe pla- ces which affert the molt elTential and facred arti- cles. George Enjedon Ipeaks with an miufferable licentioufhefs and fcornful difdain of a writer di- vinely inlpir'c}, fam'd for his familiarity and clear- nefs of ftyle. Cf If, lays this precious com- mentator,, ff a conciie abrupt obfcurity, incon- <c iiftent with it felr] and made up of allegories, <c is to be call'd fublimity of ipeech^ I own John (C to be fublime : for there is icarce one difcourfe u of Chnft which is not altoo-ethcr allegorical, o o <f and very hard to be undcritood.' Gagneius an- other writer of that ipint is remarkably impudent,, especially in that cxpreiTion - - / jhall not a little * Hilloire Critique da N. T. c, 16. p, 3 ID* TToe SACRED CLASSICS glory ) ijlfoall be found to give fame light to PaulV darknefs ; a darknefs, as fome think, induftrioujly offered. Mind the modefty and moderation of: the ene- mies of (bund Chrillianity i Let any of the fol- lowers of thefe worthy interpreters of the Gofpel, and champions of Chriiliamty fpeak worfe., if they can, of the ambiguous oracles of the father of lies. Thefe fair-dealing gentlemen firft difg;uife the O O t? (acred writers, and turn them into a harfh allege- o ry by eluding the exprefs testimonies and proofs of our Saviour's eternal Divinity j and then charge them with that obfcurity and inconfiftency which is plainly coniequent upon that (enfe which their heretical interpretations force upon 'cm. They outrage the divine \vriters in a double capacity : firft they debafe their fenfe as theologues and com- mentators 5 and then carp at and vilify their lan- guage as grammarians and critics. But are there no difcourfes of our Saviour re- lated by his beloved Difciple that are not alle- gorical and very difficult to be underftood ? \Vhat may we think of his difcourfes to the woman of Samaria) and many other inhabitants^ which converted them to die belief that He was the MeJJias ? Oi Defended and llluflrated. 257 Or of that difcourfe, which he had with the Jews related in the fifth chapter,, wherein he not only affirms that he works jointly with the Father, but that he and the Father were one ? which the Jews took to be (b plain an aiTertion of his divine generation and equality with the Father, that they took up ftones to deftroy him as a blafphemer. The longefl difcourfe we have recorded by Su John, is that molt pathetical application of our Saviour to his Apoftles and Difciples, and hen venly prayer to his Father for them and all Chn- ftians to the end of the world. Where he in- forms their underitandmgs and cheers their hearts^ with doctrines of the utmoft dignity and impor- tance, and promi(es of manfions of eternal reft and ineftimable preferments in the kingdom of heaven, which he was going to merit,, and pre- pare for 'em, in terms fb plain and fatisfa6tory, that the Difciples joyfully cry out, Now fpeakcji thou flaintyy and ufefl no f arable a . Does the other bold Socinlan mean that Goci, who infpir'd the blefled St. Paul,, directed him to ufe language affedtedly obfcure ? To what purpofe then did he appoint him to publifh the Gofpel to the world? Or did St. Paul write of his own head., and out of vanity and (milter aims affe6t dark and - St. T^.hn C'i;p. xiv, xv, xvi, xvii. L 1 unin- 258 The SACRED CLASSICS unintelligible language? Such interpreters of the Gofpel would a6t more fairly if they follow'd the examples of their predeceffors of famous memo- ry, Ebion, Cer'mthus, &c. in ftriking the books and paffages, which they don't approve, out of the Canon, than allow 'em to be divinely infpir'd, and yet treat 'em with fuch infolent freedom, as to force a meaning out of them contrary to their exprels words in defiance of all the realbn of gram- mar, and judgment of common lenle, I cannot better conclude this lection than with this beautiful and judicious reflection of Dr. F/W- des b . cc In this character of plainneis if we con- " lider along with it, the form and dignity of <c expremon, leveral writings of the old Tefta- " ment, and in a manner all the writings of the < new, exceed whatever has been at any time <f publifFd by prophane authors. How infipid <c are all the flowing elegancies of Plato , the Imooth tho' elaborate periods of Cicero, and the pointed aphorifms of Seneca, in comparifon only of thole beauties which ftrike us in the fimple narration of the interview Jofeph had with his brethren at the time of his difcovcring him lei f to them , and in that of the parable of the prodigal fan. There is fuch clearnefs and b Theologn Specular, p. 2.30. (C evidence cc <f <c cc <c Defended and llluftrated. 2 ^ fc evidence in the narrations of the Evangelifts , ( that they feem not only to fpeak, but prefent ff things to our eyes. We are concern'd and mov'd, as if we were at- tendants on our Saviour ; were hearers of his words of divine truth, and eye-witneffes of his works or wonder and almighty goodnefs. . i. We come now to mention fome inflances of the ftrong ftyle (in which the new Teftament abounds) which confifts in fblid vigorous thought drefs'd up in forcible expreffionj in few weighty words containing much fenfe$ or in many words to amplify a thing which has fo much grandeur in it, and is accompany'd with fb many noble circumftances , that it cannot be reach'd in a few. When St. Paul to the Coloffiaus finds occafion to exprefs his own zealous endeavours, labours and fufferings in publiflnng the laving myftery of the Gofpel, and to magnify the grace of God that gave fuccefs to his labours of love, he uies great variety of good words, unites feveral empha- tical terms, which give all poflible ftrength to the fnbjcctj fb grand in the original, that they can- not admit an adequate tranflation c . 'Tis not c Col off. i. i i . 'Ev -srcicr, o'vuzuct t?MiaiJ.viJ.*vci Y^l ro y.py.r:s *, y ~ (, T ^ r -\.'f i . cat* T& j c\. '. , L 1 i inferior 160 7%e SACRED CLASSICS inferior to that Pkonafmus in Thucidides, which is very noble and vigorous 'Tis agreed upon an al- liance "between Sparta and Athens, that the Athe- nians Jhall affijl the Lacedemonians in the moft vi- gorous manner they Jhall be able, according to the uttermojl of their power d . With what nervous eloquence and feledl: varie* ty of expreffions does the great Apoftle defcribe the weaknefs of thofe unfteddy Chnitians that are deluded by juggling deceivers ; and fet off the.vilr- lany and enfharing flights of thofe fubtil impo- flors ? e He calls them infants, unfteddy and tri- fling, compares 'em to iliips without ballaft, toft by the waves, and the {port of winds. Then the villany of heretical deceivers is exprefs'd in a man- ner inimitable 5 in, fiich ftrong words as will not bear a full and clofe translation. Our Englijh tranflators have done the firfr part well, but have fiil'd and funk in the latter - - It may be para- phras'd to this purpofe That we may no longer be infants, toiled with waves,, and whirl 'd about with every wind of dofcrine, by the cheating flight of men, by craft and doubling, according to the artifice and fubtil methods of impofture. a Thucid. f. aor. I. I, z. T/uoTra) CTTC.'W civ c^ ^ TO Ephcl. iv. 14. '; T/5' Kv&a r f%S avfl TI'V t aOcc' A 'c'.'; r^r TXav/:r, The Defended and llluflrated. 2<r The mercy and goodnefi of God in /paring and accepting returning iinners, and his juft and terrible feventy upon hard rebels and final impe- nitents cannot be exprefs'd with a nobler em- phafiSj nor in a manner more ftrong and mov- ing than by the great Apoflle to the Romans. Or defpifeft thou, O man, the Riches of God's good- nefs, and forbearance, and long- Buffering, not knowing, not considering, that the goodnefs of God leadeth thee to repentance : But ly thy hardnefs and impenitent heart treafureft up unto thy felf wrath againft the day of wrath, and of the revelation or appearance, and of the righteous judgment of God { ? Here is a {elect variety of admirable words , 7r?:dTQ$ rr/g XgyroTtfroe y^ ?'//? ^o-yj^q ^ T$J? fiaxfo- &jy.:'a? TV 0t5 ' where the critics tell us that the firft word fig-nifies the infinite goodnefs and se- _ , o o o nerofity of the divine nature, whereby he is in- clm'd to do good to his creatures,, to pity and relieve. The iecond cxpreiles his offers of mer- cy upon repentance , and the notices and warn- ings iinners have to amend. Tlie third is his bearing the manners of bold Iinners. waiting lone: o o o f Philo admirably expreflcs this goocincfs, and very agree- ably to the fulncfs and magnificence of fcsipture phrafe : \:7t7'EcCcXri TO ^.y'rs r 1 ayaOornr^ =. Bene thefaurus ira; opponirur diviuis bonitatis. '/ illicir, manu ducit, &r,j<Mi~- <-y coy?)':, habcmus apuci Plurarchum. Vid,.Pooli Synopfin ni Joe. Rom. ii. 4, f . I The SACRED CLASSICS <' for their reformation, and from year to year de- ferring to give the final ftroke of vengeance. In what an apt oppofition do riches of divine good- nefs, and treafures of wrath to come and divine juftice ftand to one another ? What a proper mo- tive is the one to lead any temper that has the lead ingenuity, to repentance, and to work up- on the hopes of mankind? How proper the other to rowze up the folemn reflections of bold fin- ners, and work in 'em refblution of fubmiffion to God, and leading a good life, in order to a- void falling into his hands, who is a confuming fire, and being plung'd into the deeped damna- tion ? That omnipotent power by which our Savi- our's human body was rais'd from the dead is ad- mirably fet forth by the ApoiHewith fuch a flrong cmphafis, and in fb high an exaggeration of cx- pre (lions as is fcarce to be pirallcla in any author. I {hall tranfcribe the original, becaufc our tranfla- c? tion in this place, and we may almoft add, all others, comes far jliort of it 5 and I think we need not doubt, with Bifhop Pearfon, that our lan- guage will fcarce reach it, but may be well affur'd, that it never can : K#2 TL ro v-.?~z/3>cy vJycQcc r/jg VTZ wrx r/jy e^eysix-j ra xearcxg ?>;V Here arc cvszw.c. and Icy^ two words to Defended and Illuflrated. 263 EO exprefs power, and that the power of God 5 and then to ftrengthen the expreffion, psysQo? is added to the one, and xf%To$ to the other. And as if this was not fufficient there is TO VTTSfSxfoov fjisys$o$ TJjz SlivxfJLSuc 9 and evsgysia r5 y.fZTZc, and all this quickned with an active verb rp evs'oywft ' All which the blefled Father fet on work, all which he actuated by railing Chrift from the dead * . 3 . We have in the (acred writers feveral in- fiances of ftrong flyle fharpen'd with a juft feve- rity againil bold blafphemers, and enemies to our Saviour's Crofs. Whence we learn that 'tis a vain pretence, that only gentle and loft expreffions are to be apply'd to people that renounce good principles, and cor- rupt the Gofpel. The holy Ghoft, who knew what is in the heart of man, commands the mi- nifters of Jefus Chrift to rebuke harden'd finners with fliarpnefs and (evcrity. Reprove, rebuke, exhort with all long-fuffevmg and doctrine h . Rebuke 'em Jharffa that they may be found in the faith '. s Ephcf. i. Ip, 10. ViJ. Bifliop Pear fan on the Creed, p> H9* quarto ed. Biihop Kidder Dem. of Meflias Part i. For More inftanccs of this ityle in the new Tcllament fee I PCL. ui. 17. iv. 4. i Pet. iii. 17, &cc. h 2. Tim. iv. 5. * Titus i. i^. 'Tis ftfong^ in the original, l\^yy.i^-.orc^^ rvith (i cutting Jewrity,,. i Oar The SACRED CLASSICS Our Lord's great forerunner, and our ord him- felf, the meek eft perfbn upon earth,, fever eJy ex- pos'd the hypocrify and malice of the Scribes and Pharifces, and call'd 'em a generation of vipers. St. Paul very tartly and eagerly reprimands the (orcerer Elymas for endeavouring to hinder the converfion of the Ood Proconlul to the faith k . r T Some pcrfons are of a ilavifti temper, and not to be reclaimed or worked upon without a charitable cagernefs and vehemence. Some are fb ftupid and fecure as not to be convinced or awaken'd without expofing and inveighing againft their guilt, and expreflmg their danger in all the terrors and loud- eft thunder of eloquence. No words cou'd with more propriety and force xeprefent the madnefs of debaucht and blaipheming heretics than that noble place of St. Jude l ; no- thing in God's creation befides have fupply'd Co proper a metaphor to exprefs the ungovernable infolence and filthy converfation of thcfe infidels, as that unruly element which roars, and rages, and foams out mire and dirt to the ilioars. Ad- mirable is the allufion betwixt the agitation of this o .boilterous element, and the zeal and furious pat- fions of thofe vile impoftors, which foam out in- to datable language, {welling words of vanity, k Acls xiii. 10. Ver. 1 , Defended and llluflrated. and cxpreffions of the moft deteftable lewdnefs No paraphrafe can reach that glorious text: Kt>- rag iavruv a/'- With what cutting feverity and becoming zeal does the great Apoftle to the Philipfians n inveigh againft the profligate lewdnefs and infatuation of deceivers,, that renounced Chrift and all morality ? And tho' juftice and a regard to the honour of the Gofpel, and the fecurity of Chriftians yet un- corrupted engaged this faithful champiom of the Crofs to treat thefe wretches with fuch iliarpnefs, and to foretel their miferable end, to excite them (if poflible) to a fpeedy repentance ; and to warn Chriftians from adhering to fuch blind guides, and walking with them in the road of damnation 5 yet what tendernefs and bowels of companion are mixt with his juft indignation and denunciations of wrath ! Many men walk, of ^whom I have often told you, and even now tell you weeping, that thev are the enemies of the Crofs of Chrijl : J^hofe end is deftru- ftion, whofe god is their belly, and their glory in their flame, &c. The Apoftle here, like an up- m *E?ra(pg/JovT?, as Grotius reads, but 'tis lira^^ovra in moft books. There is no difference in fcnfe or grammar, That great man juttly admires its emphafis and beauty Ho, >.. f, p. 140, 141. H Philip, iii. 18, 19, M m nsht The SACRED CLASSICS right and compaffionate judge, when he is obliged to pronounce the fatal (entence againft an incor- rigible offender, yet does it with reluctance - y with forrow in his heart, and tears in his eyes. The defcription of the artifices and treacherous insinuations of falfe teachers, and the inconftancy of their fottiih and lewd difciples, in the fecond Epift. to St. Timothy is admirably ftrong*, and laflies thofe enemies to mankind with a juft ieverity . What a complication of villany is reprefented to us in that variety of ftrong epithets which com- pofe the character of thefe monfters in the begin- ning of the chapter ? It fills a modeft and vir- tuous reader with horror and grief, that men iliou'd be fo enormoully wicked : And what is an aggravation of their multiply'd villanies, is that the impudent wretches wou'd cover 'em with a difguife and cloke of fanctity ? .. They creep into houfes, clandeftinely fearch and intrude into the fecrets of families, that they may get an abfolute tyranny over the confciences and eftates of thofe they deceive. And who are thofe people, that are deceived by 'em? They are excellently defcrib'd by a diminutive word q , which denotes inconftan- cy> folly and kwdnefs : which with the other fe- iTim. iii. P Ver. f. Defended and llluftrated. ledt particulars of their character give us juft idea of their profligate temper, and miferable ftate. They are laden with fins, and carry 'd away With divers lulls, under the terrors of guilt, yet ftill continue unreform'd, and gratify their (can- dalous appetites : Always learning, endeavouring to find reft by new doctrines which encourage wickednefs, and {both 'em with full affurances of heaven and happinefs, provided they will but im- plicitly follow, and liberally reward their treache- rous teachers. And therefore thefe unfettled loofc people never come to the knowledge of the truth, but rowl from one abfurd doctrine and heretical notion to another ; till they fink at laft into the devouring gulph of profanenefs, and blafphemy, and inveterate malice againft Chriftianity. . 4. The (acred writers of the new Teftament abound with inftances of a tender, delicate and moving ftyle : by which I mean fentiments of fin- cere benevolence and charity exprefs d in language natural and pathetic ; which wins the heart, and affects the reader with the moft tender and pleat ing emotions. But to communicate this to my reader, I {hall rather prefcnt him with examples than be nice and laborious about definitions : fince the words themfelves appear to the beft advan- tage, and he that judicioufly ftudies their beauties M in i will 268 The SACRED CLASSICS will be {atisfy'd that they have divine charms and excellencies above the rules of the greateft critics^ and examples of the nobleft foreign writers, How moving is the Apoille's tendernefs to his Theffalonians* I how vehement his concern for their iteddinefs in the faith, and their conftant progrefs in the ways of immortal bleffednefs i We now live if you fland fajl in the Lord. Tour departing from the faith) and falling from fo great a fal c uation > which infinite goodnefs avert , woud Toe a Jinking grief to me y and embitter all enjoyments in this world ) 'when our belovd Timothy brought me the *very glad tidings of your faith and charity f , I was fully comforted for all my affliction and dijlrefs : when you are in favour with God, and fafe in your deareft interejls, then only is life to me a blejjlng. The Apoftle's aftedion for the fouls that he labour'd to convert and fave is in the fecond chap- ter of this Epillle 1 (if it be poffible) exprefs'd in more forcible vehemence,, and a greater variety of proper words. Tis a paffage equally patheti- cal and noble. How feelingly does this truly re- wer end father in Go d complain of being abfent r I TliefT. iii. 8. OuV. ?r? ?v. aXXa wjt-v St. Chriolt. in loc Ti,aoO{ ct'ayrsXtc'a/jtsvs jf/jiTv T Zt7/Viv ^ T ayaTrZcu u'jutouv. 1 Ver. if, ipj 10. from Defended and llluft rated. from his beloved children in Chrift u ! How ear- neftly does he wiili to fee 'em face to face ! What a beautiful repetition he ufes, what a felecl; at femblage of words near ally'd in fignification to exprefs the thing with more vehemence Trtfic- O TrcffUTrov vjiuv i'y sv How affurcdly does this faithful patter appeal to his charge, whether they were not fatit fy'd by experience of his vigilant care, and affec- tionate concern for them ! For what is our hope, or joy, or crown of glorying ? are not even ye in the f re fence of our Lord Jefus Chrift at his coming ? And to conclude with ilill more vehemence and endearing expreflipns of goodnefs, he pofitively and iblemnly aflerts, what before he propos'd in a preiling interrogation : For, certainly, ye are our glory and joy. Not far from the beginning of this fame chap- ter v , how fincere and flowing; is the benevolence -* o and charity of the good Apoftle, how inimitably- endearing and delicate is his fine manner of ex- preiTing it? 'lusifo^svot is a beautiful poetical word which exprefles the moft warm and paffionate de- fire. We were mild among you, as a nurfe chert fhes her own children. We have fought for no temporal visvTSS ac v -urors /jiyrwgsg warf^ ys 6 ( aa. f o/,TCt>'v avsjUJ^avTO zp-oGoVj fi^ujj^wav Jei^cu ij-oppc- ovra TZ UMJ'^ f 'wty -oroC'cv. Chryf, v Vcr. 7, <S, 9, icx The SACRED CLASSICS , or worldly applaufe in preaching the everlajling Gofpel to you 5 and doing our mofl zea- lous endeavours to contribute to the foliation of thofe fouls and bodies redeem d by the blood of the Son of God. We have labour d with all manner of diligence, and run thro all manner of troubles, out of pure charity and affection to you^ upon the gene- rous motives of Chriftianity. I have been tender of you, as the kindeft mother is to the dear infant at her breajls. Does foe love and cherifo her child out of ojlentation or profpeEt of gain ? No, foe is influ- cncd by fuperior and nobler motives j foe is led by the rejiftlefs benevolence of nature, and the ineffable endearments of parental affe&ion. The Apoftle ftill proceeds in the mod moving declarations of his charity : We being affectionately dejirous of you were 'willing to have imparted to you not the Gofpel of God only, but alfo our own fouls : One the moft precious thing in the world to impart, the other the moll: difficult. Well might the primitive per- fecutorSj from thele paflages, and the correipon- dent practice of the firft and heft profeffors of our religion, cry out in admiration : how thefe Chriftians love one another ! when this {pint of chriftian charity univerfally prevail'd. Which generous fpirit cannot be adequately re- prefented in any words but was never better eonvey'd in any language , nor more beautifully and Defended and lUuft rated. ij\ and ftrongly exprefs'd than in that truly admira- ble pafTage of St. Peter-) which comprises both a lively description o and an earneft exhortation to chriftian charity. There you fee that virtue dreft up in all its amiable features and divine gra- ces of fmcerity, difmterefted generofity, purity x fervour, and intenfenefs of affection. There like- wife you fee the heavenly original of this divine grace j it proceeds from the purification of the foul by obedience to the refining truths of the Gofpel $ and the powerful operations of the infi- nite Spirit of perfuafion and reafbn, love and Goodnefs. T# . Juft is the remark of the very learned and eloquent Dr. South w on i Cor. xi. 1 9. \Vith what a true and tender paflion does the Apoftle lay forth his fatherly care and concern for all the Churches of Chrift ? Who is weak, and I am not weak ? oyia is offended, and I burn not I Than which words nothing doubtlefs cou'dhaveiflu'd from the tongue or heart of man more endearing, more pifthetical* and affectionate. The Epiftle of St. Paul to Philemon is admira- v i Pet. i. ii. Vol. f. of Ser. on Luke xxi. if. P- 4^7- ble 17 1 7& SACRED CLASSICS ble for the tender fentiments of humanity flowing almoftin every word-, for the grateful fimplicity and familiar eafinefs of the ftyle j for the ftrength of its reafoning, the delicacy of the turn, and the prudence of its conduct and addreft. After the ialutation, the divine writer infinuates into his friend's affe&ions by juftly praifing his (teddy faith in Chrift, and generous charity to all Chri- ftians$ and this was a fure method to obtain what he was going to clefire. To put a generous man in mind of his former bounties and charitable of- fices, naturally encourages him to repeat the plea- fure of doing good, and obliging numbers. He but juft mentions his authority to command as a prime minilter of Chriftj and modeftly hints to Philemon his obligation to a perfbn, whole con- vert he was. But with what engaging condef- cenhon does he drop the confederations of autho- rity and obligation j and chufes rather to entreat as a friend, than to command as an Apoille ! Who could refill the moving entreaties of St. Paul, a name fb glorious and dear to the world for his o converdon of a conliderable 'part of it j And St. Paul the elder, now grown old in his labours of charity and indefatigable endeavours to oblige and Cive mankind ! And what goes farther ftill, St. Paul now aprifoner ofJefusCbrift, an undaunted cham- pion of the Crofs, in confinement and chains for x this Defended and llluftratecl, 27 ^ this adorable caufe, and afpiring after the confum- mation -of Chriftian honour and happmefs, the crown of martyrdom ! Cou'd that fervour of charity to a flranger, that humility and condefcenfion to a fugitive Have fail of prevailing upon Philemon a relation to St. Paul's convert-, when the great Apoftle, as we faid, a flranger to him., efpoufes his caufe with fuch warmth ; and pleads for the hopeful convert with all the hearty and flowing tendernefs of a pa* rent ? I entreat thee for my fon, whom I have begotten in my bonds Receive him, that is, mine own bow- els j not now as a fervant, lout above a fervant $ a brother belov'd If he have wrong d thee, or oweth thee ought) put it to my account If thou count me therefore a partner, receive him as my felf, 1 lefeech thee, brother, let me have joy of thee in the Lord: refrejh my bowels in the Lord. The fathers juftly obferve that here the companion of the Apoftle is fb tender., the charity fb undiffem- bled and generous, that it wou'd melt down the mofl obdurate heart. I fliall not enlarge on any more beautiful pat fages in the latter part of the new Teflament in this kind and way of flyle , only refer to a few in the margin out of the Epiftles x , and juft mention x Philip, ii. 26, 27. 2, Cor. vii. 3. Phil ii, f, i N n tome 1 7 4 The SACRED CLASSICS fbme inilances of our blefled Saviour's oreat con- \3 defcenfion, charity and mildncis exprcfs'd in moil render and moving language. Our Lord in his (bvereign Majefty upon the rhronc of his glory, exercifing judicature on the whole rational creation, expreffes wonderful con- defcenfion and goodnefs to his humble Difciples ; applauds and magnifies their charity and labours of love. How gracious,, how glorious is that addrefs to the happy people on his right hand Come ye llejjed of my Father , inherit the kingdom prepared for you from the foundation of the 'world I For I 'was an hungry, and ye gave me meat, thirjty, and ye gave me drink, &c. y . When the righteous in great humility and reverence put off the commen- dation Lord, 'when did <we fee thee hungry and fed thee, or thirjly and gave thee drink, &c. our Lord relieves their mode/ty, and acknowledges their charity to his poor faints and fervants in a manner infinitely gracious and condefcending. Verily I fay unto you, inafmuch as ye have done it unto one of the leaft of thefe my brethren, ye have done it unto me. This coniideration that the Sa- viour and Judge of the world regards the little iervices that Chriftians do one another, as if done ? Mat. xxv, 34, $f, 40, to Defended and Ilhtftraled. 275- to his own facred perfbn in his flate of humilia- tion is their grand fupport and confblation in their fufferings, guards innocence in a profperous ftatc, and adorns and heightens all its felicities and en- o joymentsj is an eternal obligation to gratitude and a prevalent motive to the nobleft charity, to the moft chearful diligence and devotion in the happy fervice of fuch a Mafter. As the mild Saviour of the world was very good and gracious in his behaviour to all perfons he was pleas'd to converfe with, and who apply'd to him j fo he exprefTes a particular regard and oracioufhels to thole, who moil want and deferve C!5 compaffion, innocent young children. His words, behaviour, and actions were fiiitable to the bene- volent inclinations of his divine mind ; and em- phatically expreflive of tender affection and good- nefs to thofc growing hopes of the Church, ami- able for their humility and innocence, for the grateful dawning of reafbn and religion in them ; f /* for the engaging fimplicity of their manners, and their unaffected (weetnefs and lincerity. St. Mat- [hew, St. Mark and St. Luke give us feveral ex- cellent paflagcs to this purpofe^ but St. Mark is more full than both the other EvaiiLrelifts 7 '. When o N n 2. our 7 Mat. xviii. j|, 4, f. l<\ike xviii. if. Mirk x. i ;, 14, if. Our Saviour's diileafure nt his Oifciplc? .is expifii'd m a ftrong The SACRED CLASSICS our Saviour's difciples check'd and put back perfons who brought their children for the blef- Sing of this divine prophet, he was difpleas'd ac their officioufneis, and with concern and eager- nefs repeats it to 'em,, that they fuffer little chil- dren to come to him, and not to forbid or hinder 'em in the leaft He kindly took 'em in his arms embrac'd and bleffed them, recommending 'em to the imitation of all his difciples, and alluring them that none could embrace the Gofpel, nor be an inheritor of the kingdom of heaven, but thofe who are of the Sweet disposition, and have the innocence, Sincerity, and freedom from ma- lice, which are eminent in young children. . 5. There are innumerable paSTages in the facred writers of the new Tefbment which arife to the utmoft degree of fublimity : And we may obServe that in the divine authors the words are ennobled by the vigour and brightnefi of the fenie contrary to the manner of many other authors , where the diction and ornaments of Speech chiefly contribute to the fublimity. The fublime is a juSt, ftrong word n'yava'xTyjj-s, he conceiv'd indignation againft 'em 9 whicn (till more emphatically fhews his tcnderncfs for the dear children. St. Cbry^Jlom enumerates the amiable qualities of young children: TY'V a'^sXaav, ^ TO aVXacov, ^ raTrovcv. wv T 3 ^/ -ura. r :-] xaOa^u' /? "^'-J^'O TB -uraj^/sjj r^Tr XsKvarri" B fjiv>icrjHax. In St. Mat. p. 398. grand Defended and Illuftrated. 277 grand and marvellous Thought. It {hikes like lightning with a conquering and refifhlefs flame. It appears beautiful either in the plainer figurative ftylej it admits all the ornaments of language 5 yet needs none of 'em j but commands and tri- umphs in its own native majefty. The true fub- iime will bear tranflation into all languages, and will be great and furprifing in all languages, and to all perfbns of underftanding and judg- ment, notwithstanding the difference of their country, education, intereft and party. It car- ries all before it by its own ftrength^ and does not (b much raife perfuafion in the hear- er or reader, as throw him into an extafyj and tranfport him out of himfelf. We admire it at firft without confidering; and upon mature confederation we are convinc'd that we can ne- ver admire it too much. It defies opposition, envy and time ; and is infinitely advanced above, cavil and criticifin*. The poor leper in St. Matthew had a juft no- tion that Jefus was a divine perfbn under that veil and difguife of humility, that he put on during his abode upon this earth 5 adores him as Lord of all power -, and applies to him in his own (acred perfbn for deliverance. Ifthou vilt thou canft make me clean* a Longin. de Sublim. c. i. p. 6, Ed. Tollis. St. Auguft. de Dcct.Chr. Lib. 4. c. 2.0. p. 33. Ed. Colon, Z 278 The SACRED CLASSICS Jefus did not correcl: his (applicant as attributing too much to him, but receiv'd his adoration j and fhew'd he infinitely deferv'd it by anrwering and acting with the power and goodnefs of the Crea- tor and Saviour of all. St. Chryfoftom, that ex- cellent writer and found critic, judicioufly admires and fets forth the force and majeftyof thisexpreffi- on, Iou/7/, be thou clean ! t'Aw Ko8ctgfo$Yrri is parallel to that grand original, fb celebrated and admir'd by Longmus himfelf, TSV^^TU (pug. I ow//, le thou clean, fpoken by Chrift to the leper, was the voice not of man but God j who Jpake and it 'was done -, who commanded and it came to pafs b . The grandeft and moil majeftic figures in Longmus come nothing near to the fublimity of that awful addrefs of the bleffed Jefus, when he chides the iea, and huflies its boifterous waves into an immediate calm. 2 tuna, Trt&ipuo-o. The waters heard that voice which commanded univerfal nature into being. They funk at his command who has the fole privilege of faying to that unruly element, hitherto fliall thou go and no farther 5 here {hall thy proud waves be ftop'd c . fc Cap. viii. v. 3. Mr. Salwey Viiltation Sermon, p. 30. f St. Mark iv. 99. 4- The Defended and llluftrated. 279 The facred Claffics are more noble and fublime upon any fubjed: than the other Claffics 5 but never do the Greek and Latin authors look fb out of countenance upon the comparifon, as when the difcourfe is upon God and divine fubjecb. No human wit cou'd difcover the myfteries of heaven., or difcourfe on 'em with an adequate and proper majelly of language. Pindar, who fpeaks of divine perfbns and things with as much reverence and emphafis as any writer in the pagan world, fays of God, that he can catch the eagle on the wing, and outftrip the fea- dolphin. Which is a pretty thought and neatly drefs'dj but how trifling and infigni- ficant if compar'd with that fblid and glorious piece of fublime God who quickens the dead, and calls things that are not as things that are d / All the lofty defcriptions of the glory and daz- ling drefs of the inferior Gods, and the meflcngers of Jupiter and Juno are nothing comparable to that majeftic defcription of the angel who de- fcended from heaven to wait upon his Lord's tri- umphant refurredion, tho' it is made up of a very few words, and thofe as plain as any in the language : His countenance was like lightning, and his raiment white as fnow e . d Pyth, i, v, zp. Rom. iv, 17. e St. Mat, xxviii. ^ 4 180 The SACRED CLASSICS There is feme refemblance in two or three par- ticulars betwixt a noble paflage of Sophocles and one in St. Paul to St. Timothy. In the firft, among other fine expreffions, the chorus addreffes Jupiter in thofe beautiful terms : o strew The facred writer gives the majefty of God the titles of o fJixxagioG ^ y.ovog ovvoc^r^ o [tovo$ e%uy dQavatn'asv, (tyuq oixuv aTTfoffrroy. Move; in both places raifts the character which the Apoftle gives infinitely fuperior to dy y*ug X?wu dwxsris The Angels and minifters of God (who are lefs than the leaft drop compar'd to that immenfe ocean of ef Fence and eternity) are equal to the Jupiter of Sophocles y they dorit grow old ly time. But the only potentate, 'who only has immortality, is the incommunicable prerogative of the King of Kings, and Lord of Lords, the Father of men and angels *. And to pofTefs the pureft light of Olympus is no way comparable to inhabiting light unapproach- able. Sophoc. Antigone v. 6n, 6\i, Ed. Hen. Steph. p. 238. i Tim. vi. if. The 'Defended and Illuft rated. 181 The defcription of the majefty of Jupiter in the firft Iliad has, as Mr. Pope juill.y obferves, iomething as grand and venerable as any thing cither in the theology or poetry of the pagans. Nothing in the Claflics is fiiperior to the origi- nal ; nor was any paiTage in any author ever bet- ter translated than this by the great man above- mentioned \ Set Homers fublime, adorn'd with all the pomp of good words, heighten'd with all the loftincfs or. grand and raviihing numbers, and place St. Johns defcription of the appearance of the judge ot the world near to it, only exprefs'd in a few plain and vulgar words, and adorn'd with its own native Simplicity; and all the bright- ,nefs of the poet will vanifli and be quite abiorpt by the dazling and rapturous glory of the Apo- ftlc. What is bendine of fable brows, fbakins of c? O ambrofial curls, and Olympus trembling to the center, to the heaven and the earth flying away o * H He fpoke, and awful bends his fable brows-, Shakes 'his ambrofial curb, and gives the nod ; The (lamp of fate, and (auction of :hc God : 3 iigh heaven with trembling the dread iignal took, And all Olympus to the center ihook, rvw. 68;. O (.) bctorr * 8 i The SACRED CLASSICS before the face of the Son of God? I (ay no more ; To enlarge upon and pretend to illultrate this pafiagc woiul be preiumption, as well as bit la- bour. Oy xno TTfGtru-*!* styvysv y r /j? ^ o vgSKio$ i.s Ib plain, that it does not need, Ib majeftic and grand, that it difdains commentary and para* phrafe h . That paflagc of St. Paul, in his fecond Epiftlc to the Corinthians, is a confummate piece of fub~ limity, having both grandeur and mexpreiTible elevation in its thought j true emphahs and mag- nificence in its language, and the nobleft n-imi^ bers and harmony in its contexture or compofi- tion '\ Never were the feme number of words more happily and harmonioufly plac'd together. Turn them into any feet that prolody can bear, and they mull fall into excellent and well-found- ing numbers. The long and iliort (yllables are perfeclly well mixt and duly temper 'd if you mea- fiire them. Thus. %%$ vxeg @o?:/jy eis---j-eo*3~ }:/jy xiwtsv tz*oe co'^'/jcy the numbers will be grand and noble. Every one fees how exaLt and beautiful the oppofition is betwixt afflicliion want, diigrace and pains j, and glory which in the facrcd language is every thing honourable, great and defirable 5 and between the prefent light xx. n. ' Cap, iv. IT, 18. Defended and Illujlrated. 'affliction for a moment $ and tie far more exceeding and eternal weight of glory. Upon this paflage a lliarp Commentator fays, cc What an influence St. Paul's Hebrew had upon fc his Greek is every where vifible. Kalod in He- <c lre r cj fignifies to be heavy and to be glorious $ ff St. Paul in the Greek joins 'cm, and fays 'weight tc f ^l r y> And does not the Helraifm add ilrength and beauty to the phrafe ? Is it any tret pafs againft propriety of language, and rational grammar to put together an afTemblage of agree- able ideas to envigorate the ftyle, and clear the fenfe? The antient and modern tranflators fweat and labour to render this paflage, are forced to ufc irregular cxpreflions, and words and phrafes which exceed all companion . Their efforts, tho' lauda- ble, have very little effect, they fink infinitely below the aftonifhing original k . The plcafiire which the learned and devout rea- der receives from the brightneis of the metaphor, the harmony of the conduction, and the exa6l- nefs of the beautiful oppofition is entirely fwal- low'd up by the fublimity of the thought. ; Mire fupra raodum. Eraf. Supra rnodam in fublimitatc r ulg. Lut. Cultalio is languid tind poor ivitb all his politenefs^ \ r >.nd ;s much outdone by ibe Syriac and Arabic wrjions ; e/ps- >;;aliy the lallcr, wbiJ) is rentier" d tbtt; in ibc Latin. Nam le- vicas triditia: nolb - ;u ftihiti remporis modo emincntiflmio at- one Urgifllmo ^pcrarur r.obis pondus gloii;c xternum. <) o I 2 .S 4 The S A CUED C L A s s i cs -KS^c/ii'j tic, i'Tr/?c//;> almis'* fizgcc Scfyjfy take him off from confiderinc the lefler beauties. He is c? ^ agitated with variety of devout paflions j his heart beats., and he Jlicds tears : He believes and won- ders j his joy and gratitude are mixt with fear and trembling 5 that God thro' his dear and eternal Son fhou'd be fb gracious to human race laps'd into wickednels and rebellion, as to prepare for "cm iuch inimeniity of honour and happinels as no words or thoughts can reach. Here inven- tion is confounded, and eloquence (truck dumb. In the moft celebrated trifles of earth 'tis eafy to over magnify, and ufe hyperboles j but in the glories of heaven there is no place, no poflibility for hyperbole. Pals from one ftrength and lofti- ncfs of language to another j ipeak with the tongues of angels and menj go thro' all the moil triumphant topics of amplification, and you mull itill tor ever fall iliort of the infinite oreatnefs and ^j 1 dienity of the thins:. 'Tis inconceivable, inut- ^i , ^7 terablc joy and happinefs, eternal admiration and rapture '. Upon the account of this noble paflage and innumerable more of the hio;hell grandeur and 00 (ublimity in the facred Evangelifts and Apoftlcs, Vide Rom. xiii. Hcb. iv. 12, 15. Apocal. xix. 1 1^ 12, ad i". Apocal. i. i}. ad ip. 2 Cor. iii 18. Col. ii, 5?, 10. I cam Defended and Illuftraled. 285 I cannot but wonder and be ferry for that un- guarded expreilion of a great man. cc We fhall ff find nothing in facred fcriptures fb fublime in Cf it felf, but it is reach'd and lometimes over- cc topped by the fublimity of the expreflionv" Tho' I entirely agree with the fame learned and excellent perfon, that in facred fcriptures there are the higheft things exprefs'd in the highefl and nobleft language, that ever was addreft to O D mortals m , . 6. We have obferv'd before, and think ID not improper to repeat^ that to be nice and affec- ted in turning and polifhing periods ^ and over curious in artificially ranging figures, and fitting 'em off in gawdy decorations and finery., is the employment of a fbphift, and mere declaimer. This was always efteem'd below the great genius's of all ages j much more muft it be fb with refpecl to thoie writers who were adled by the Spirit of infinite Wifflom -, and therefore fpoke and wrote with that force and majeflyj that prevalent perfua- iion and exaclnefs of decorum that never men fboke or writ. There is nothing of affedlation or fupcr- flnous ornament in the facred books 5 whatever we find there is natural 5 and a graceful and noble ^ Dr. South Ser, Vol. IV. p. 30. Suibc_ inft rutted. 4 fimpli- The SACRED CLASSICS iimplicity adorns the periods. The Apoftles did not nicely mcafure their fentences, nor ftudy fi- gures and artful competition ; they ipoke from their heart, and their noble and animated icnri- ments fill'd out their expreilions, and <2;avc en- largement and dignity to their ftyle. We have already produc'd feveral examples of beauties in all ftyles, which are likewife mftances of vigorous and clean compodtion : but iliall now (elect, a few examples upon this head not before mentioned 5 but fliall firft fay a word of compod- tion. Compaction is fuch a regular and proper uniting and placing of good words together in members and periods, as makes the difcourfe ftrong and graceful. 'Tis like the connexion of the feveral parts of a healthful and vigorous hu- man body, when the vitals are found, the limbs clean, and well-proportion'd, and fit to perform all the animal fuinftions. To (ay nothing of the beautiful metaphors and noble agoniftical terms which we find in the fix firft verfes of the twelfth chapter to the Hebrews, they are compos'd of firm feet and choice numbers, of as much vigor and dignity as the felettcft inftances produc'd and laid open by the critic of Halicarnajjus n . n i Ns^^ /jtapTu'acov as Homer's vt$& -ar^i'v cTxcv ^n5s|utvci tr-^'vra. 1 T^^/^ouv r a7 j cQx.',aJVcv y'-^Tv aycJva a'f^y.cfitS'fiTty From Defended and llhtflratect. 287 From the twelfth verfe of the fixth chapter of the firit Epiitle to St. Timothy to the end we have an admirable piece of eloquence and clean com~ pofition, made up of the belt-founding and hap- pily-iignificant words emphatically expreffing ve- ry fblid and fublime thoughts,, which is naturally and eafily divided into four periods as good and full as any in Tully or Demojihenes . Wou'd you entertain your felf with the choice delicacies oi (weet and harmonious ftructure, diligently read that divine lecture of morality in the twelfth chapter to the Romans. There the members of the periods anfwer one another with a very agree- able variety of fentiments and chriftian doctrines delivered in a few pure and proper words 5 and a wonderful imoothnefs and equality of numbers without nicety or affectation,, eader t\\3.\\Ifocrates 3 rapid and vehement as Demofthenes. The great eloquence of this chapter, and its quick and accu- rate turns the excellent critic St. Auftin admires 5 and after him Erafmusj who lays in conclufion of his juft encomium, that no muiic can be (weeter. That fine pafTagc of the Apoille to the Thefjak- mans p is as admirable for the purity of its moral, The firft from ver. n to 1 5. The fccond from ver. 13 to 17. The third from ver. 17 to 2.0. The fourth from ver. 2.0 to the end. P i Ep. ch. v. y. 14. Ilia.^ciy.aXs/xsv 3 u,a^V duit^sl-) vsOsTf-iV* rar aT^'y.Tas 1 , wap^ujOeTcS's rs'j oXiIc^'J^tfrj- Q3 r t 'i%tc&i r a's^svwv; fXAX^Qu/jifiitTS -ur^jj? wa'v r as - . and a '8 -8 The SACRED CLASSICS and diffufivcnefs of its charitable meaning 5 as for the elegancy and force of its words., and the delicate turn of its ftruthire. The union of the words within each comma or ftop, and their mutual relation and afliftance is exquisitely pro- per and natural. The noble period runs on with ilrength and finoothnefi, and ends clofe and full : both the ear and judgment are fatisfy'd. Let a man of difcernment and tafte in thcfe matters di- ligently read thcfe palTages feleded out of the la- cred writers 3 with thofe fet down below q , and numerous others which he himielf will readily obferve, and he will receive the higheft enter- tainment that the mind can have from true oran- C/ xleur of thought, and noblenefs of expreilion ; from a bold and free conftrudtion, and the har- mony of the (weeteft and heft-founding num- bers. Tollius the editor of Lvnginus obferves., that in the very beginning of the learned and accurate Epiftle to the Hebrews, there are three Paons of the fourth kind a rapid and jftrong foot with a long iyllable after every one of them, to be a further itay and fupport to them 5 while by theie ileps the writer afcends into heaven. <; Ephef. iii. i8 ip, 10, -r iPet. iii. 16, 17, 18. Then Defended and Illuftrated. 189 Then with great truth he tells us, that this mod eloquent Epiftle at lead equals all the fub- limity of the heathen writers. Which Epiftle, fays he, I can prove not to be Paul's by this one ar- gument r . That Gentleman had a ftrange dent at arguing, if he cou'd prove St. Paul not to be the author of a piece, becaufe it was eloquent and fublime. In my poor judgment I fhou'd ra- ther think it wou'd prove juft the contrary. Did not St. Paul write the Epiftles to the Romans, the Corinthians^ Ephejians, Pbilippians, Coloffians, &c. And are there no fublime and eloquent paffages in thofe writings - y no thoughts noble and grand, no numbers ftrong and vigorous as his Paons with their lyllables attending them ? Was not St. Paul a considerable fcholar j was not he admir'd by /Igrippa and Eeftus for his learning ; and ador'd by the Lycaonians for his eloquence ? Had not he abundant meafures of the holy Spirit , was not he carried up into Paradife, and did not he hear the conversion of the bleft I And were not all thefc advantages of education, divine inspiration, and heavenly difcourle capable of ennobling his con- ceptions and elevating his mind upon any occa- fion and (iibjcft that required it, to think, and write., and fpeak with grandeur and fublimity ? \*i'.i. Tellium in Longin, p, 2,17. not. ?.z, -* P p We ?po T%e SACRED CLASSICS We have produced feveral places, iliall take no- nce of a few more before this work be rinifh'd, and are able to produce a great many more, out of the writings of this eloquent and divine au- thor, which entirely expofe and baffle this editor's prefumptuous and ridiculous affertion. There is great judgment in placing the emphatical word or words, on which the ftrefs of the fcntence de- pends, in inch a fituation, as moil agreeably to furprize and ftrike the reader or hearer. Thofe words of St. Paul are well plac'd, and very pa- thetical and moving I would to God, that not only you y king Agrippa, fait alfo all that hear me this day > 'were both almojl and altogether fuch as I am, excepting thefe bonds. Thefe words clofe the difcourle with wonderful grace; furprize the hearers with an agreeable civility , and imprefs upon 'em a ftrong opinion of the Ipeaker's fin- cerity, chanty, and benevolence to mankind. Had nzfezTog rw Jt'^uwy TaVw> been plac'd any where elfe, the patheticalnefs, grace and dignity of the fcntence had been much abated f . No man will think that this is inferior to that milage in Thucidides, fb much admir'd by Uiony- .1 \ , N , J r s fius of HalicamaJJus : T^tf^ IE hsMeSzip c";. T ;- He juftly obferves, that if : Acts xxv f, 2.p, Defended and llluftrated. 191 via and Y] y.ovv sl-ls had been feparated by the interpofition of the other part of the fentence, it wou'd not have retain'd the fame grace and vigour c . 'Tis the obfervation of the learned Scipio Gen- tills on the feventh verfe of the Epiftle to Phi- lemony that the word brother, clofmg the fentencej contributes much to its pathos and effect upon the mind of Philemon. There is a tendernefs and endearing familiarity in the addrefs proper for per- fuafion , and that endearing term being us'd the lafl by St. Pau^ before he directly addrefTes his re- < : juefl to him on behalf of poor Onefimus, it cou'd icarce fail of moving the good man's tendereft paf- fions v . Tho' feveral very fine and regular pe- riods are found in the Apoflles and Evangelifts , they were never fludy'd or anxioufly fought after ; but naturally flow'd from the fervour of their fpi- rit, and the noblenefs and fublime excellencies of their doctrine and fubject, And this is agreeable 1 De ftructura p. f8. per Upton M o-xori;,' o/a:xa>,l- r^.vT^ ? TO ^ai^u^Tov sw $C>K. I Pet. ii.p. is a noble paflagc in feveral refpeb, and 1 think (fws clofes the period with moil advantage. v Magnum tsra'9' habet in line periodi hujus pofita vox 'Ac^Xfcs. Quod non haberer, aut certe efiet hebe- tior oratio, fl in principio vel medio collocata eflet. Scip. Gen- til in loc. p. 4009. Major. Grit. The obfervation of a great crilic is to our purpofe noirflixov -j o^eivcryfl' ^ ^ TO &m rt- O ceiVOTttcvi auavjtvov cv Dcmct Phaler, P p ^ CO 29 1 'The SACRED CLASSICS ro the obfervations of the founded critics,, and the practice of the noblcft and mod valuable writers ^ as we have fliewn with rcfpcdt to other ornaments of fpcech. (jjuintilian blames fome people for neg- lecting the ienie by too much ftudying the ftruo ture and ornaments of words 5 ff which they lay fc they do for the fake of the iirace and decoration * o <c of their diicourfe. That indeed, (ays this great matter, is beautiful, but when it naturally follows, not when 'tis affected. The language of the facred writers is iometimcs not o o to be reduced to periods j but difdains confinement., and extends it {elf to a noble and boundlels liber- ty. But then the great matters among the Greek and Latin ClafEcs have not agreed as to the length of periods, or the number of the members which compofe them 5 eipeciallywithrefpe<5t tohittoriaiis and all other writers in profe except the orators. 'Tis the general doctrine that a period cannot have above four members : But in fyfrintiliatis judg- ment it admits frequently more j and tho' the fame learned critic will not allow one member to make a period 3 yet one may comprehend as full and vi- gorous a fenie as two or more 5 and then it amounts to the lame thing, by what name {beverwecallit w . Thefe lv Habet periodus membra minimum <luo. Mcdius numerus videtur quatuor: fed red pit frequciucr ^c plura-, Inftir. Orat. 1 ! lib. Defended and lllujlrated. Thcfe finall fentences are frequently intcrmixt with the larger in the facred writers of the new Tefla- ment, and nobleft foreign Claflics : and as they are neceilary in fbme cafes, as in precepts, &c. Co they contribute to the plcafure of the reader by adding a grateful variety to the difcourfe. Herodotus and Thucidides take the fame liberty, and as little regard nice and florid periods as St. Paul and the other divine writers: tho' in their writings you may find periods as round and finooth as in Ifocrates himielf. The greatnefs of their ge- nius and fpirit rais'd 'em above the care and anxi- ety of feeking after and labouring for fuperfluous ornaments : and yet there is an infinite and per- petual variety in their noble and moil entertaining works, that you will find every fine turn and eve- ry grace of language, and even the lefler beauties fcitter'd abroad in their immortal writings. Art- o ftotle charges Herodotus with the loofe or unperio- dical way of writing; which, he lays, is implex- lint, becaufc it has no end or bounds x . Which cannot hold with refpecl: to Herodotus. One may appeal to any competent reader, whether both his hiftory and language , notwithftanding its lib. 9. c. 4. p. f f4 driftotk allows that one member mnv make up a period, which he calls fimplc: l~l<(yjoS ! & ji, n c /A c;/ y/jJXojf, [ j a^iXnr. 'A^aXyf j Xtyco /jtoyqxwXov. Rhetor. 3. cap. y. x Rhet. 5. C. 9- loofneis The SACRED CLASSICS loofhefs and neglect of formal periods, don't give him a perpetual entertainment. We are fo far from being difpleas'd that he does not end his periods, prefcrib'd within the bounds and rules of grammarians,, that we go on with expectation of frefh pleafure, and almoft wifli that he wou'd ne- ver end his hiftory. I conclude this chapter with a judicious paiTage of an admirable critic y . cc For my part, (ays he, (i I think that neither the whole difcourfe fhou'd cc be bound and confin'd to periods, as the ftyle fc of Gorgias$ nor be altogether loofe and uncon- C fin'd as the antients : but that it fhou'd rather f f have a mixture of both. For fb it will be at cc the feme time both ftudy'd and fimple 5 and <f pleafiire and fweetnefs will refult from both <c theie characters. And ib it will neither be too <c coarfe and vulgar, nor too affected and fophit f ; tical. y Dem. Phal. c. if. p. 13, CHAP." Defended and llhft rated. COC&O-CQOC.QOCQOPQOCOOCQOC QOCOOQ CHAP. VI. Containing a jhort account of fome of the beautiful and fuUime tropes and figures in the ne r u Tefta- ment. N G o D'S word we have nor only a body of religion, (ays a great man, but alfo a fyilem of the belt rhetoric. Figures are genuine expreilions of the pailions, which powerfully excite men to adl, and exert their abilities towards the procuring their own good and happinefs. They unfeignedly ex- preis all the fentiments of human minds, and lay 'em open with vigour and advantage. The (acred writers of the new Teftament abound with thefe beauties j and they are the voice of nature, and the interpretation of the thoughts. Sublimity of {entiment and good fenfe accompany "em, and ani- mate 'em with lire and fpirit ^ therefore it cannot be againft fuch figures and eloquence that the re- markable paflage of Mr. Lock a muft be under- a Huni-in LJnderdanding B. 3. c. TO. p. 418. fol. 4 flood ; 7% e SACRED CLASSICS itood ; becaufe tho' they move the paffiontf (which are planted in us to enliven the foul to exert its powers with vigour) yet they don't miflead the judgment, nor mfinuate wrong, but right ideas. Ctherwife Mr. Lock himfelf wou'd not nave us'd fo many lively tropes, fo many figurative (peeches and allufions in language > or as he calls 'cm, fi- gurative application or words. And if all figu- rative application of words be perfect cheat, and therefore in all that pretend to inform or inftrucl: wholly to be avoided, 'tis impoflible to vindicate the facred Scriptures, which are compos'd at once to convince the judgment, and move the pafli- ons , and abound with figurative fpecches, as he himfelf very well knew, having writ commenta- ries on thole parts of 'em which have the greateft abundance of lively figures. This fagacious man therefore, when he decries rhetoric and figurative fpcech, means the vanity and impertinence of unnatural and painted orna- ments j of playing upon founds and fyllables to the neglect and injury of the fenfe, and deluding with artificial and forc'd eloquence. In this fenfe likewife might we take that afTer- tion of the famous Bifhop Burnet y that the Apo- flies have no rhetoric $ but that he farther affirms, that they yfe no lively fgures b , which is an affir- b Difcourfe on truth of Ch. Rel. p. <5<5, 67. 4 mation 'Defended and lllnftralecL 297 rnation unaccountably bold and fliocking from io learn'd and intelligent a perfon. Did that great Billiop at that time fix any determinate meaning to the words lively figures ? Or did he ever atten- tively confider Rom. viii. i Cor. xv. 2. Cor. iv, vi, x, xi., xii, &c.? To which may be added innumerable pafla^es that are fet off in the mole fp rightly and grand figures. So far is that observation from the lealt appearance of truth 3 that there are more lively and natural figures in the old and new Teftament, o than in any book written in any language read or fpoken under the fun. The juftice and vengeance which fhall finally overtake and deftroy vile propagators of heretical notions, who have fear'd conlciencts and repro- bate minds, is by St. Peter reprefentcd in an aw- ful Profopdpeia as an Angel of judgment or grim fury watching all the motions of the daring offen- ders j ptirfiung their fteps, and aiming the uner- rino; blow of dellrucrion at them. l-VMs iud<r~ O -' -' r> went now of a long time Ihigretb not , and their damnation (lumlreth not \ After the fame divine author had in his firil V.piftlc exhorted (ervants to fiibmiflion to their 1 2. Pet. ii, ;. This vigorous anr; nr.imitcj v. r av of fpecch ^ us'd in the old Teftamcnt and cbilic amhon. Poll c^uiten: 5 a!ct ana cun. Hor. IT.il w/. v. u, i;, Q v] niallcrs, 298 The SACRED CLASSICS mailers,, and an humble refignation to the will of God, who was pleas'd to place them in thofe low and trotiblefome ftations in this world 3 he re~ prefents to them both for their imitation and en- couragement, the aftoniiliing humility of the Son of the moft High and Lofty One, who inhabits eternity j r xho being in the form of God, took upon him tie nature of a fervant, &c. The digreilioii is very natural and admirable : The good man's foul leaves his firft fubjecl:, paffes on to a nobler topic (which yet has an alliance and relation to it) and lallics out into a loftier and diviner contem- plation d . Our Saviour had a ; grateful and eencrous ienfe c 1 O oi: any rcfpect paid to him on earth ; of any la- bour of love and duty pcrforni'd to his (acred, pcrfon. How obligingly does he defend the de- vout woman againft the covetous pretences of the uaytor : and applaud her zeal and pious refpect ro himiclr^ to Simon his entertainer., who was fur- pnz'J at the Difciplc's unaccountable aclion.. { iov\ r delicate is the thought, how accurate the turn, how charming and emphancal the oppofi- rion thro' the whole difcourfe \ Simon, feeft thoit f !<:s ~^ow nut I came into tby houfe and tbou gave ft IRC "io ~xatw to ?uv \cet\ hut fie has -jjafit r,iy feet i Pet ii iS, &,; with Defended and llkiflralecl. 299 4w'rf ber tears, and vip'd 'em with the hairs of her bead : Thou gavtft me no kifs , but fie, face ;Jjc came h?, bath not ceased to kifs my feet : Thou baft not anointed mine bead with common oyl ; but tins ^oman hath anointed my feet with precious and rich ointment e . The Scribes and Pharifees in oar Saviour's time were a vile generation of men,, who by ianctify'd looks and femblancc of extraordinary devotion endeavour'd to conceal a moil hateful baicnefs, ravenous co vetoumefij and profanenefi of temper. That divine pcrfon was pleas'd to reprove and cxpofe thefe hypocritical wretches. And cou'd any thing cut 'em with juflcr icvcrity than that vigorous .companion wherein our Lord relembles them to w-hited fcfuhher s ^ which arc handfbmly built and much adorn'd on the outfide j but with- in arc full of dead mcns bones., and the moft nau~ icons and fliockiiig filthinefs ? How magnificently are the happy privileges of Chriftians thro' Jcfus let forth in that noble exul- tation of the Apoitlc ff ! Firlt there is a full and e Luke vii. 44, Sec. eft pcrpetua avris-^/a, mulier ilia la- rhrymis Chriili pedcs abluit j Simon quidem aqua. : Ilia afll- dua eft in pedibus Chriili ofculandisj Simon ne uno quideir- oris ofculo Chriftum excepit : Ilia precioib uugusnto non caput tantum, fed 6c pedes perfundit i ilic nc capuc quidem mero oleoj quod perfuncl'oriiv amicitix fuerac. Maldonat- f Matt, xxiii. 17. ff i Cor. iii. ;i, 11, i;. i Cor. iv Q q z vehement ^^ 1 300 "The S A c R E D CLASSICS vehement enumeration of particulars, and then noble gradation which rife up to the heaven of. heavens, and terminates in the blciTed God him- felf. For dll things are yours: whether Paul, or A polios, or Cephas, or the world, or life, or death > or things prefenf, or things to come : all are yours 5 and ye are Chrifis ; and Chrifl is God's. That pafiage of St. Paul to the Efhejlans s is equally to be admir'd for the fublimity of its fenfe, and the beauty and variety of its charming figures, and excellencies of lan^ua^e. Allufion is made O o to the things of nature and art, efpifyfjisvci $ T,=- St-fi?.iti{jrJ'jc! y rooted and grounded. Then by a bold and beautiful metaphor the dimenfions of material lubitances are rais'd above their native ligmfication \ and ennobled by being apply 'd to the myitencs of religion. The goodnefs of God in his clear Son Jefus has its breadth, --it extends to all mankind ; its length, it reaches to all ages its height and depth, he raiies mankind from the lowcit abyfs of mifery and clefpair to the hjgheft eminencies of happineis and glory. \Vherc 'tis remarkable, that tho' the dirneniions of bo- dies are but three, the iacred author adds a fourth, height, whereby he more emphatically cxprclTes the ^reatnefs, the ma jelly., the abfolute and en- ' Kphef. iii. i8 r \<j- arc "Defended and llluftratedf. 301 tire perfection, and the immenfe charity of that wonderful work of our redemption ; or in the better words of the infpir'd writer, the mfearch- able riches of the love of Chrijl. The knowledge of w T hich paffes all other knowledge both in its own immenfe greatnefs, and the grand concern mankind has in it j and can never be fo perfectly known by created underftandings , as that they fhall either fully comprehend, or duly value flich an adorable myitery and infinite blefling. All St. Paul's, difcourfe in the ilxth chapter of the fecond Epiftle to the Corinthians is wonder- fully rapid and fervent 5 it runs into emphatic repetitions, ftirprifing oppofitions, and a great variety of the moil lively and moving figures. Both in this place and one parallel to it in the eleventh chapter, St. Paul gives inch an account of his labours and fufferings for the Goipcl, that it raifes both terror and companion in every Chri- ftian mind. What noble amplifications does he ufe, what variety of forcible expremons, and marvellous cir- ctimftances, to exprefs the power of Jefus work- ing effednally by his meannefi, and triumphing over the pride, malice, and confederacies of earth and hell by the humble and defpis'd doctrine of his Crofs'r As unknown, and yet ^ell known, as dywgj- Mid behold ~j:e live ; as chajlerid, and not 4 The SACRED CLASSICS as forrowful, yet always rejoicing-, as poor, yet making many rich} as having nothing, and yet fo/effing all things h . Thcie noble oppositions , and beautiful appa- rent contradictions reprefent to us the true genius and glorious advantages of the Golpel, and how far its fentiments are liiperior to the maxims of worldly craft and policy. This lofty eloquence in the mod forcible man- ner fhews us the little value of things which men of worldly views alone fb eagerly court and meet (antly purfue, if we regard the affirmation and experience of divinely infpir'd perfbns. And how full of comfort and joyful hopes a Chnflian is in his moil afflicted condition for the fake of his Saviour j and how bleffedly afTur'd that the pro- tnifes of the Gofpel are infallibly fure as they arc infinitely valuable ? When wretches of ungodly paflionsj who have only hope in this life, look upon the troubles that are fuffer'd for a good con- Icience and the love of Jefus as the moil frightful M *> Ver. 10. 'A ou'oVTsr. sV. Vs OU'VTS? .acvcv a'XXa -arT- ro cir/; */.?. T rcviw rcwrr.s 1 cc-j ysvcir av r /;, c> >) V e/rzcvTcov c^er;a)'y, ^ei.^sov rf ^apa y/vsratj St. Chryfot. in loc. With what proper \vords, and itrength of turn, with what graceful boldnels and noblenefs is that oppofition and ieemin contradiction exrcfs'd I 2 Cor. viii. z. cv arc>,/v' ^o- eming contradiction exprcfs' xi.ar, ^>J-\|xwf r. Tj^jareia T^ *)/c>j>'d; sa/TJ l7r?Mixrdc7:; 1 e/r T TTASTCV r evils, 'Defended and llluflrated. 303 evils, and unaccountable folly 5 and the crown of future glory and ineftimable rewards of immorta- lity as the reveries of a heated fiuicy., and the vain wiflics and dreams of fiiperftition. At laft the Apoftle, as carried into an eeftaiy, applies to the Corinthians in that fine apoftrophe, fo vehement, fb full of charity and the tendered; affection ! O ye Corinthians ! our mouth is opend unto you, our heart is enlargd. Te are not Jlraitned in us, lout ye are Jlraitned in your own bowels. Now for a re- commence in the fame (by way of return and reward for my paternal affection for you] I fpeak as unto my children, be ye alfo enlargd \ The parable or allegory of the prodigal ion is as remarkable and beautiful as any of thofe which were deliver'd by our bleffed Saviour j and cannot be parallel'd by any of the apologues or allegorical writings of the heathen authors k . 'Tis adorn Yl and beautify 'd with the molt glowing colours ^ and charming fimilitudes. 'Tis carried on and conducted with admirable wifdom, and proportion in the parts as well as Ver. n, iz, 13. Elucct in verbis prcecedentibus mira. qurcdam c?ci-jlrr,s, quam obfervavit Auguftinus, Li'j. dc Doc- trina Chriitiana Corpus, inquit, variis prematur anguilus licet, vis tainen amoris, &; confidentia mentis benc mihi con- ii'iiu, & os mihi patefacit, 6c cor dilatat ad vos exhortandos ] v ,u;itcr & fufcipiendos. Vid. i Cor. iv. 8, 9. Rom. v z, }. "- St. Luke ch. xv. the 304 The SACRED CLASSICS the whole \ and there is ib exact a relation be- tween the things reprefented, and the reprefenta- tions of them, that the moil elevated underftand- ing will admire, and the loweft capacity difcover the excellent and moil ufeful moral that lies un- der fb thin and fine a veil '. We have here with full evidence and even ocu- lar demonftration reprefented to us the miieries and fatal coniequences of riot and a vicious courie of life. But after our deep concern for the de- bauchery and coniequent miieries of the prodigal, how pleafing is it to every chriilian charitable mind to iee the firil dawning of good ienfe and reformation in the youncr man 1 How heartily and with what good reaibn does every good man re- joice at that unfeigned repentance , and thofe pious reiblutions , which occafion joy even in heaven 1 And then , what an inimitable defcription we have of paternal affection and tenderneis ! The moil powerful and conquering paflions of human nature are drawn with that admirable skill, as to equal life it fclf. With what ea^er attention and pleafure do we read and confider the readineis oi rhe good parent to receive his long-undutiful ion 1 Tc 2^ot iJ.-j L j'Si'j T* a.\r$k? e/ux^uVIeiv TS? /jtsv avcn'rs? v-cCla^w- viv v'x, \x , TsV ;j (nrs^cu^f ^iXcireretv avayx.a'^4- Gregor. ex brillultio in S. Mar. c, xin. v. 9. in Defended and llluftrated. 305 In deplorable circumftances, melting into tears of pious grief and remorfe \ and the exuberance of his goodnefs to the young man upon his humble fubmiflion. The forrowful convert upon his re- turn to his father's houfe propofes to himfelf a form of acknowledgment and fubmiflion to his offended father Father, I have find againjl hea- ven and in thy fight $ and am no more worthy to be called thy fon : make me as one of thy hired fer- vants m . And yet when he falls upon his knees before his venerable parent, he does not repeat all this confeffion out. And what may be the rea- fbn of that ? He was interrupted by the embraces and endearments of his gracious father n , whole goodnefs prevented his petitions, granted him pardon, and admitted him into favour, before he cou'd repeat a very fhort form of words, in which he pray'd for it. But no enlargement or paraphrafe can come any thing near the great original. Hut when he <was yet a great 'way off, his father fa^ him, and and had compaffion, and ran, and fell on his neck and kijjed lrim. And with what condefcenfion and aftonifhing goodnefs does this gracious pa- rent bear with the peevilhnefs, and cure the envy m Ver. 1 8, 19. n Cur non omnia dixit quaz propo* fiterat? Prohibitus cfl patris ofculis 6c ca:teris amoris officiis pluva dicere. Maldormt. in loc, Ver. 20, R r of 306 7%e SACRED CLASSICS of the elder fon ; as well as he pardon'd the rebel- lion, and accepted the return and fubmiffion of the younger p . Before I pafs on to other inflan- ces of ftrong and beautiful figures in the new Te- ftament, I fhall oblige my reader with a curious paflage out of Dr. Fiddes concerning this allego- rical way of fpeech q . Cf At other times our Lord, Cf according to a method of teaching, which had Cf much obtain'd among the eaftern nations, de- " liver 'd his difcourfes in parables, or fenfible cc images and reprefentations of fuch things , f f which if they really did not at any time hap- cf pen in facl:, yet might naturally be fuppo/d Cf to have happen'd. By this means men became <c more defirous of hearing his heavenly doctrine, cf and were inftru&ed by it, at once, after a more Cf eafy and edifying manner. f f Even perfbns who think regularly, or have accuftom'd themfelves to a ftricl: and metaphy- fical way of reafoning, find that figurative or metaphorical expreflions, provided they repre- lent the thing they ftand for in a clear and full light j are generally the moft fignificant and affecting. Now a parable is little more than Cf (C cc <c c crcipra? app^TSj w -sr^ovorar <po^jXrj ^ T a/ ^ Hf c/Vx,oucv oxoXax^jas. xl T i?a.fJJpov s/x. dtyqx ny^ - y ^ r - Fiddes Theologia Spccula- tva, p. 150. " that Defended and llluflrated. 307 <c that figure of fpeech which we call a metaphor, cf drawn out into greater length, and embellifht cc with variety of proper incidents." Thus far this ingenious and judicious Gentleman. Indeed the way of writing by parables and fimilitudes is in many refpects very valuable, and proper to in- fluence the minds, and fix the attentions of man- kind. It is taken from fenfible tilings 5 and nar- rations in the parabolical way eafily imprint them- (elves on the mind, and therefore both learned and ignorant men may be inftrucled. Tis like- wife a pleafure, and very agreeable entertainment to contemplate how the fenfible parable agrees with the fpiritual things, and divine inftrudions which are thereby figur'd and intended r . The eighth chapter to the Romans is a noble piece of divine eloquence, full of the fublime myfteries of Chriftianity, adorn'd and ftrength- en'd with the moil emphatical and beautiful fi- gures. From the tenth to the twentieth verfe there is a perpetual variation of perfbn. He tells 'em of their high privileges in having the Spirit of God inhabiting and infpiring them, which * Fid. Bifhcp Patrick Preface to Canticles^ p. 4, f. The new Teitament is very full of ftrong and beautiful allegories I refer my readers to a few. St. Matt. xi. 18, 29, 30. S: Luke xvni. xvi. vcr. 19. ad finem. 2 Cor. x. 4, f, 6. Ephcf, vi. 11. ad 1 8. R r z wou'd 308 T/oe SACRFD CLASSICS wou'd be their prefent fecurity againft the enemies of their lalvation, and a precious pledge of a happy refurredlion of the body, and immortali- ty f . In the next verfe he joins himfelf in the exhortation, and equal concern he had in leading that good and chriltian life, which {uch precious promifes and privileges require ; which makes ad- vice more eafy and acceptable. Therefore, bre- thren, we are debtors, not to the flejk, to live after the flejh c . Having thus encourag'd and prepar'd them, he alters the manner of his fpeech, and immediately addrefles to 'em, and preiTes 'em to purity of life , and chriftian mortification with boldnefs and a charitable vehemence. For if ye live after the flejh ye ft all die $ hut if through the Spirit ye mortify the deeds of the body, ye Jhall live v . How wonderfully does the eloquent and devout A pottle enlarge upon the ineftimable bleflmg and honour that he and all found Chriftians enjoy 'd thro' the counfcl and comfort of that divine Spirit, which inhabits the chafle minds and bodies of Chriftians as acceptable temples ? How noble is that amplification, how exact, how charming the oppofition / The Spirit it f elf beareth witnefs 'with our fpirit 3 that we are the children of God$ and if children, then heirs : heirs of God, and joint heirs r Ver. 10, 11. r Ver. n. v ' Ver, 13. with Defended and llluftrated. 309 Chrijl : Iffole that we fuffer wifh him, that iue may be alfo glorify d with him w . Whether we take the nineteenth and following verfes to be meant of the reft of mankind befides thoie who had embrac'd the faith of Chrift ^ or of the in- animate creation, to which the actions and paA fions of the rational are by the belt authors with great vigour and vehemence apply'dj the expre lion is proper and very fignificanr, the metaphor clear and fprightly. But if they be apply 'd to the latter ( which in my opinion avoids feveral difficulties attending the other interpretation) 'tis the nobleft Profofofeia in the world. So great is the falvation purchas'd by Chrift, fo infinite the glory of the refurrecrion., and the enjoyments and triumphs of the future flare, that even the ina- nimate world is defcrib'd as an order of rational beings, lifting up their heads with eager expecta- tions of that glorious day, and hoping to fliare in the joys which will attend the renovation of all things j and to be admitted into the full and moft glorious liberty of the ions of God ".. Ver. i<5, 17. x A7rcx#jtc n ox/aj eru?-{vact and are as good words in this cafe as this noble language can afford j and carry very pertinent alluGons and glowing meta- phors in 'em. Mr. Lock puts the twentieth verfe in a paren- thefis, and makes ITT' i/.Tr/^r in the beginning of the lift de- pend upon aTrsxc^eToi, the laft word in the nineteenth, which, I think, u> very natural, and clears the difficulty, which few of the commentators before cou'd clear, i In 3 1 o The SACRED CLASSICS In the twenty ninth and two next verfes all the fteps and methods in which the goodnefi and wit dom of God trains mankind up to the full en- joyment of the falvation purchas'd by Jefus Chrift, are reprefented in a natural and rnoft charming gradation, which raifes up all good Chnftians to the higheft preferments and inward glories of hea- ven. Whom he foreknew, them he appointed to he x conform d to the image of his Sony and <wbom he ap- pointed) them he alfo call'd ; and 'whom he calld, them he alfo juflify d - y and whom he jujlifyd y them he alfo glorify d. Then from the consideration of thefe immenfe favours conferr'd on sood Chri- fj ftians, the Apoftle draws a conclufion in the form of a vigorous interrogation. What Jhall we then fay to thefe things ? We need no further affurance, no ftronger arguments for patience under our fufferings for the Gofpelj and waiting with joy- ful hope of our happinefs in the completion of all the promifes and confummation of all the blef- fings defigii'd for us. If God he for us y who can Joe againft us ? We are fecur'd of the friendihip and protection of God, which will effectually guard us againft fear and danger, and render all the malice and efforts of enemies on earth and in hell impotent and ineffectual. And does not this divine author in the next verfe further affure all Chnftians of their happy intereft in the Father of 3 heaven, Defended and llluft rated. 311 heaven, and the certainty of their fupply of all things really good for them, from his care and bounty, by the moft convincing and endearing argument that ever was us'd , or can be apply a and addrefs'd to creatures capable of being per- fiiaded and oblig'd ? He that fpared not his own Son, lout deliver d him up for us all, how jhall he not with him alfo give us freely all things ? A way of reafoning that at once convinces the judgment, and captivates the heart: That raife all the ten- der and devout paflions that can work in an hu- man foul ; and is a refiftlefs motive to the firmed hope, moft flowing gratitude, - - to all the du- ties and graces of Chriftianity x . There is a great emphafis in the words fpard not his own Son, which cannot with any propriety be apply'd to any mere man, or moft glorious creature what- ever. His own fbn is by way of eminence and diftindion from thofe who were ions of God by adoption, and the grace of his own natural Son : and the Father not {paring him, fuppofes an an- tecedent relation of the higheft kindnefs and moft iacred endearment. Then the facred writer with Vcr. 3 2,. Kou ptsO' >sr<?o\flf ^ nrcXXrjV &t}jLirYir@ J r Xs t'va aJry oyc/W^lax T ayaTria; cvvor^ov srooT)? dy TO ^ T c^/s t| /jt/i ^Vac9j, aXXa ^ cn^avou, ^ c.tc^vou ^ corsXcov, ^ ayvcu/jtovcv, ^ 1^9/^v ^ |3Xacr(p>j- v. Vid. plura auiea apud Chryfoi. in loc. cr rear -D 5ii The SACRED CLASSICS great rapidity and fervour of fpirit proceeds to a great variety of triumphant interrogations, which imply full affurance that nothing can {eparate Chri- ftians from the love of Chrift their Saviour. Who fiall f eparate us from the love of Chrift ? Shall tri- bulation) or dijlrefs) or perfection, or famine, or vakednefs, or peril) orfword? What can be added to this felecl: enumeration of temporal evils, or things terrible in this world ? So far are all things dreadful to human nature from being able to alienate us from our Saviour, that in all of 'em we more than conquer " ] \ a vi- gorous word of noble affurance comprifing the (enfe of a full period. 'Tis well explain'd by Dr. Whltly on the place : cc For we not only bear, cc but glory in our tribulations, Rom. v. 3 . We cc are in deaths often, but ftill deliver'd from cc death, 2, Cor. i. 10. And as the fufferings of * f Chrift abound towards us, fo alfb doth our ff confolation under them abound thro' Chrift. To conclude this moft divine and rapturous portion of Scripture, St. Paul expreffes our una- lienable and eternal intereft in the merits and goodnefs of our blefled Sa\ iour in the affirmative way, by mentioning every thing that might be Xenophon after the fame form has xTDp^ougtv, Cyr. Exp. a dan- p. 1 1. Ox. Grec. Defended and IHuftrated. 5 1 3 a danger or temptation: And when he has enu- merated all things that poflibly might tend to withdraw us from our duty, and ruin us in the favour of our immortal friend, by a very elo- quent and fervent redundance of fpeech, he adds, or any other creature, any other thing or being in univerfal nature. What ftedfaftncfs of faith, what joyfulnefs of hope, what confcioufnefs of integrity, what rapturous flights of divine love are here exprefs'd in the moft exalted fuitable elo- quence? c For I am perfuadecl that neither [fear cc of] death, nor [hope of] life, nor angels of Satan, nor princes, nor potentates, nor fuf- ferings prefent, nor fufferings to come, nor heights of preferment, nor depth of difgrace, cf nor any other creature or thing, fliall be able ' c to {eparate us from the love of God in Chnf t cc Jefus our Lord y . We have in the fifteenth chapter of the firft, Epiftle to the Corinthians the fulleft account of the refurredion of the dead that the whole Scriptures afford plainly defcrib'd, ftrongly prov'd j enno- bled with the moft auguft myfterics and grand y Vid. Dr. Hickes^ and after him Dr. Wbitby I confefs the paraphrafe on the words has crampt the rapidity of the fcntcnce : But always expeft that my reader that loves and underitands the Greek fliou'd read it in the original, where the words found better and are more fignificant, the numbers more harmonious, and the turn more round and delicate. S f lentimcnts ; Ct" 1C cc 314 The SACRED CLASSICS fentiments 5 and adorn'd with all the beauty of compofition, choice of words, vigour, variety, and magnificence of figures. Tis like the richeft and moft delicious paradife in the world, that flourilhes with every beauty which the earth, under the moft favourable influ- ences of the heavens, can produce j and all the rich and falutary fruits which can regale the palate., and 'prefer ve the health of mankind. As to the figures, which are the leaft beauties of this noble difcourfe, they are more numerous and lively than in any piece of eloquence of equal length in any language. Here you have the metaphor with all its fprightlinefs and clear allufion *. The Profo- pofe'ia or creation of a perfbn with all its furprize and wonder 3 : Interrogation with its moft prefling vehemence and rapidity b : Amplification, with its unexhaufted ftores, and entertaining variety": Repetition, with all its emphafis, quicknefs of turn, and charm of harmony d : The Epiphonema- or concluding remark, with all its foimdnefs of ienfe and fagacity, all its dexterity and happinefs of application 6 . The great Apoftle's- entrance upon 2 Ver. 41, &c. a Vcr. f^. b Vcr. 19, &c. c ' Vcr. 31. Kou *^o ^3 M'^fjv O./POS "Trcalw TTCIC.ITCU T otvfyo'iv* CITTSV an x.jyo r iu;db'c f (^y, ir^crfO/iy.sv, CTI -ara'crav co^v, ra ( OTI x.aG 3 ra r on xivc^uuydb'w /^cvov, (pr.o-j, d.K\d dOTo9vr|(rxG>. l. in ioc, a Vcr. 43, &c. f 3, &c. = Vcr. uic. i his Defended and llluflrated. 315 Kis fubjeft and addrefs to his converts, who began to waver, is very prudent and engaging, iet off in the choiceft words and moll perfuafive expreiTi ons. He tells them that he declares no other Go {pel to them than what they receiv'd, flood in, and fliou'd be (av'd by, if they periever'd in the (bund faith. You receiv'd it not only by words, but actions, figns and wonders \ it was deliver'd to you as a depofitum, or facred pledge, which ought to be kept inviolable and undiminifh'd $ becaufe 'tis of infinite value, and a very ftricl; ac- count muft be given of it at the lad day. When the good man magnifies his own labours, to keep up his credit againft a fa&ion in this Church, who endeavour'd to blemifh it, and defeat his miniftry, he takes off the offence of (elf-commendation by the humbled and fincereft acknowledgments of o his former faults 5 by taking all the lhame of his bigottry and fpight to Chriftianity upon himfelf^ and by afcribing his preeminence above others, and his glorious fucceis in preaching the Gofpel, which before he laid wafte, to the mighty powci and free-grace of God. Then the noble champion of Chriftianity pro* duces his variety of ftrong reafbns to eftabliili this fundamental doctrine of it, upon which all our precious hopes reft 5 which the Devil attacks with all his engines, and is the grand fubjecl of the S f z feoffs $16 The SACRED CLASSICS feoffs and ridicule of the Corinthian and other pa- gan philofophers , infpir'd and deluded by that malicious importer. What a clofe chain and connexion of arguments make up this very learn'd and elaborate difcouHe ? How do reafons upon reafbns arife 5 and one beauty and wonder clofe- ly fucceed another f ! There is full fatisfaftion in the ftrength of his reafbnins;, and perpetual plea- C* C? A 1 (lire in the variety of it. " The Apoftle, {ays a learned and eloquent writer * on this fubjecl; , cc with a refiftlefs force and conviction proves, " what was utterly abhorrent to the heathen phi- fc lofbphers 5 that filth and rottennefs are the pre- " parations to glory j and duft and aihes the ieed- cc plots of immortality. What ftrong, what <c joyous affurance does he give us that our grave S( will not fo much be the conclufion as the in- <f terruption of our lives; a iliort interval be- <c tween the prefent and the future ^ and a pat cc facrc to convey us from this life to one of glo- 11- ry and eternal enjoyment i With v/hat becoming ferioufhefi and {blemnity does the great man introduce his difcovery of the moft fublime and important myfteries that ever were reveal'd to angels or men i In what an awful manner he raifcs their attention and reverence ! f 'TTroOjo-iv \fnro(3ftr4 craws^wr av,ui^y's. Sr. Chryf. OH. V. fO- 8 Di. South, SX.T. Vol. IV. p. 2.363 2.5-7, 1 Defended and Illuflrated. 317 No-iu this I fay, brethren, that fleJJj and blood can- not inherit the kingdom of heaven. Behold! I Jhew you a myftery. How many fublime and glorious doctrines does this illuminated man dif cover in one breath! The order of the refurrection : Thofe who die in Chriil fhall rife next to their mailer j by virtue of whofe reftirrection they rife to eter- nal blifs. The end of Chrift's mediatorial king- dom : The agility, brightnefs, and glory of cele- flial or refurredion-bodies. The different degrees of glory in perfbns differently quahfy'd. That fbme Chriilians ihall furvive at the day of judg- ment, and undergo a change equivalent to death, and be transform'd in an inflant into unutterable brightnefs and dignity. Thofe awful expreflions, otyQzXtjLZ h TYJ sc^rrj craATr/yf/, oL vsxfd sysfQijtrwrxi HtyQagToi, ) Qx h , ilrike every attentive reader with furprize and trembling. Towards the clofe the Apoflle, having prepar'd the way and gain'd authority by a firm and refill- left chain of arguments, exhorts his Corinthians to fuitable faith and practice with a noble earneil- nels ; and reproves them with a charitable feverity. Awake to righteoitfnefs Awake and be fober (ib the emphatical word ^y/^sfe fignifies) for it looks like drunkennefs and dillraclion in any one by in- h Vcr. 5-1. fidelity $i% The SACRED CLASSICS .fidelity and vice to extinguish fuch glorious hopes, "fuch joyous expectations, which are only fupport- cd by this gfand article of the refurredtion. In purfiiance of his molt rational and refiftlefi diicourfe St. Paul in the fervour of his fpirit, and firmnefs of his faith, breaks out into a fong of victory and triumph over death and the grave , by him defcnb'd as dreadful tyrants, arm'd, and long victorious over human race. He reprefents the monfters as already fubdu'd, and treads on the necks of thofc univerfal conquerors. l Then he pailes on to adore our blefled Deliverer, the great Captain of our (alvation, and raife a trophy of gratitude to the Lord of hofts, the only giver of all victory, the Refurrection and the Life; who has brought immortality to light by his Gofpel, and triumph'd over hell and death, even upon the Crofs. Then how juft, how moving and emphatica! is the practical conclufion from this doctrine ? Wherefore my loelo^ved brethren, be ye Jtedfajl, un- mowable ; where we have two ftrong words to the fame fenfe to exprefi the importance of the doc- trine, and increafe the vehemence of the exhorta- tion. Always aloundm? in the work of the Lord. J o E; r/jj ^, O^CDV iJVy] cJr ysvHj - r. /.. Sc. Chrlof. in. ,'oc. He Defended and Ifluftrated* 319 He did not barely fay, working, or doing the work of the Lord, but abounding in it k ; govern- ing your own fouls and bodies by an unblame- able conduct, a pure and ftrid difcipline; ferv- ing God with fincerity and fervency of fpirit, and promoting the interefts of mankind with indefa- tigable diligence and unceafing labours of love. What labour can be a trouble, nay what labour can be otherwife than the higheft pleafure to him,. who is aflur'd that his Saviour will change his vile body, that it may he like unto his own glorious loody y will give him perfect consummation and blifs both in body and foul, and beftow on him the ineftima- ble reward of an immortal life of the fweetefl and mojt happy enjoyments?. K O-Jx. eiTSV-, s^ya^/ji^oj TO a' s.lStyXffias curb "sroicaijfyt, ^ TA f. in. loc. CHAP:.'. 310 The SACRED CLASSICS CHAP. VII. Wherein a fhovt account is given of the character and fyle of the federal writers of the new Te- fament. HE facred writers of the new Tc {lament were men of found under- {landing and inflexible uprightnefs- fully aflur'd of the truth and im- portance of thofe doctrines which they publilh'd to mankind, and ventur'd all things dear in the view of worldly men,, for their pro- pagation, tho' they were ridicul'd, hated, and per- lecuted to death. They were not afliam'd to be Confers, nor afraid to be Martyrs for a caufe openly defpis'd and undervalu'd, but {ecretly fear'd by all the powers upon earth. Thofe vile things of which the Apoftles and other Chriftians were accus'd, were nothing but the monftrous fictions of malice greedily {wallow 'd down by the ftupid credulity of a brutal rabble j invtdioufly chared j but not belicv'd by men of fenfe, tho' zealots for the Defended and llluftrated. 321 the old pagan fuperftition. Julian, the mod fharp and mbtil adverfary of the chriftian caufc, admires the chriftian priefts for their diligence k , and the chriftian people for their abftinence, good- nefi and univerfal charity ; and recommends to the imitation of his own priefts and people all thofc excellent virtues and duties which the Chriftian s praclis'd to the juft admiration, and unfpeakablc advantage of mankind. And then how candid and impartial are thefe divine authors in their re lations ? They make no fcruple to acknowledge their own faults, and thofe of their deareft friends, St. Matthew calls himfelf the Publican , tho' he very well knew how odious that profeilion and name was to his countrymen d\zjews. St. Mark is fb far from concealing the fhameful lapfe and denial of St. Peter his dear tutor and mafter, that he (ets it down with fbme fad circumftances and aggravations, which St. Luke and St. John take no notice of. Only St. Matthews relation is as full and circumftantial, which feems not to have been obierv'd by fome learned men ! . St. Paul condemns and deplores his own ficrcc- nefs againft Chriftianity w r ith all the iincerity of penitencej profoundnefs and contrition ofhumi- k Vid. Plin. Ep. 10.97. Eufcb. Eccl. Hift. 4. 8, 9. Eufeb. in vita Conftannni z. fo, f i. ] Mat. xxvi. 69, cc Mark xiv. 67, cxc. Dr. Cave's Life of St. Mark ^ p. 2,2,2 Dr. Jenkins Real", of Chriit. Part i. p. 280. T t [itv.; 3 2 z The SACRED CLASSICS lity, propriety and emphafis of expreffion . St, Chryfoftom equal ro any one either in the chriftian or pagan world for both writing and judging well, juftly admires him for this, as he does for innu- merable other excellencies n . The feeming differences between the facred writers are reconcil'd after the fame manner that Appearances of contradictions moftly are, which are found in the noble Greek and Latin hifto- rians. The Jewijb and Roman cuftoms, the man- ners of the orientals with their rites and ceremo- nies are to be ftudied j the various {ignification of words to be adjufled j literal and figurative expreflions to be carefully diftinguifh'd : and when the difcourfe is of the divine attributes, and God's providential dealings with mankind, allowances in reafbn and found fenfe mull be granted to thofe aftonifhing condefcenfions of language which his gracious Majefty is pleas'd to make to our weak capacities 5 to encourage our faith, and raife our gratitude to our eternal friend and benefactor. Many learned writers have fuccefsfully employ 'd their great abilities in clearing thefe difficulties , m i Cor. xv. 8, 9. i Tim. i. i 3. v ysi/otr* av ^ ^uffls j ma*'i\j tram rcT? jiis 1 pn/>cacn. S. Chryf. in i Cor xv. 10. 3 Defended and llhtflrated. 32,3 and fliewing an excellent harmony in the relations of the divine liflorians . There is fuch a concurrence in the Evafige- lifts as fhews their veracity and agreement 5 and fiich a variety as fhews there was no combiha tion. Their variety ftrengthens rather than weak ens their credibility, for had they by fecret com pad: agreed to put off a lye and cheat upon the world, they wou'd have avoided this variety of re lation j which to fome people, might be fuppos'd, wou'd render their whole relation mfpeded p . And cou'd fuch men as thefe eafily want a natural and genuine eloquence, who were fb honeft and good, mch mafters of their fubjectj fb throughly poffeft of thofe fublime and important truths which they fb firmly believ'd and entirely loved ; by which they conducted, and for which they ventur'd their lives? We have before obferv'd of Tully, (j)mnti- Han, and other mafters, that they ftricUy infift on a perfon being a virtuous and good man, in order to be a true and found orator. Particular- ly the latter of the two nam'd fays, ff That a good (C man will never want handfom language; and, cc whatever is fpoken honeftly, is fpoken elo- Authors excellent this way are Sr, Chryfojlom^ Great critics, Si.Jerotffi Dr. Hammond, Dr, H'hitby^ Dr. Ligbtfoct^ Bilhop Kiddcr'?, Demonftration of the Mclli;ih three parts P Vid. AVer's Dem. ofMefliah, Part If. jv izc. T t 2, <c qucntly. 314 ?% e SACRED CLASSICS " quentlyV \Vemayobferve of the reft of the divine writers, what the excellent Dr. More does peculiarly of St. Paul T : cc 'Trs out of the power <c of man to reach that unaffected fervor, thofe <f natural yet unexpected exprelTions of high and <c ferious zealj that exuberance of weighty fenfe <c and matter (welling out, I had almofl (aid, " beyond the bounds of logical coherence : that -" vigorous pailion and elevation of (pint, that <( cannot be iufpeded of human artifice : So that <c we cannot but be affur'd, that he who wrote cc thefe Epiftles was throughly poiTefs'd and tran- <c {ported with the belief of the. truth and grand rc concernment of the things he wrote. I fhall juft fpeak one word of the method of the facred writers, and conclude this chapter with a fliort eflay on their ftyle. The method of the divine writers is neither precisely Uriel: and formal according to common logic, which wou'd be be- low the majefty of fuch extraordinary authors - y nor fo negligent as to give any diftra&ion to the reader, or hinder his pleafure or improvement. The divine hiftorians generally obferve the order of time, and if fbmetnnes they anticipate a rela- tion, in order to lay all that relates to one fub/e6t ^ Quin. Inftir. Or. 12. I. p. 677. r Myftery of Godli- iifs. ffid. Plato in Gorgias and R$-pub. B. VII. c. 10, together Defended and llluflratecL 325 together and in one view f , 'tis what the beft and moft accurate foreign hiftorians do. And all the difficulties which arife from this,, or any teeming; irregularity, are by a common genius and appli- cation fbon to be accounted for and clear'd. The reflections and morals in the (acred books are beautiful and excellent,, naturally refulting from the grand myfteries and doctrines which the di- vine writer has enlarg'd upon in the former parts of his difcourfe. But thofe divine maxims and precepts of chriilian life, as Mr. Prior fays of the Proverbs of Solomon", are as a great treafure heap'd up together in a confus'd magnificence above all order. Mr. Boyle gives us a large and excellent account of the method of the holy Evangelifts and Apo- (lies, which I think too long to transcribe, but refer my reader to it v . I conclude this l with a noble observation of the learn'd and judicious Bi- ihop G a fir ell : cc Had the Scriptures, fays that ff excellent Prelate, exhibited religion to us in that regular form and method to which other writers have reduc'd it, there wou'd, to me at leaft, have been wanting one great proof of the authority of thofe writings- ; which being f Fid. Mr. Reading Lifc-of Cluift, p. 109. ' Prior's Preface to Solomon on the vanity of the work*, v Style of the holy Scriptures, p. ff, 5*6, cc, \ ff penrul cc $16 The SACRED CLASSICS " penn'd at different times, and upon different <c occafions, and containing in them a great va - < c riety of wonderful events,, furprifing characters " of men, wife rules of life, and new unheard tf of dodrines, all mixt together with an unu- ff fual fimplicity and gravity of narration, do, in tf the very frame and compofure of them, carry f c the marks of their divine original u . St. Matthew has all the characters of a good hiftorian, truth and impartiality, clearnefs of nar- ration, propriety and gravity of language, order of time well obferv'd. The two next Evangelifts often borrow his ve- ry words and forms of expreffion on the fame fubjedj and yet then the variety of their contex- ture, and diipofition of their clifcourfe, diverfifies their manner fb far that they are authors of a dif- ferent ftyle. St. Matthew is efleem'd by fbme low and idiotical in language ; St. Mark fbme- thing fuperior to him , St. Luke fir the mofl elo- quent. For my part 'tis true I can find fome dif- ference, but not fb extraordinary as many ima- gine. They all ufe fignificant and proper words, and a flyle clean, perfpicuous, and unaffected. St. Luke is fbmetimes a little more florid : often there appears to me near a perfect equality j and 11 Preface to Chriilian Inftitutes, p. 2.- fbmetimes Defended and llluflrated. 317 fbmetimes the advantage even in language lies on the fide of St. Matthew and St. Mark. Whoever compares our Saviour's parable of the wife builder laying his foundation upon a rock, and the fooliih man building upon the fand, will find the former little inferior to the latter in the purity and livelinefs of his defcription w . So in the hiflory of Legeon, the parable of the ungrate- ful and cruel husbandman, and the narrative of the glorious transfiguration, and in all the other parallel difcourfes and parables they are amiably perfpicuous, vigorous, and bright j and 'tis hard to judge which has the preeminence x . One has a circumftance not taken notice of by the others j. lay 'em all together, and the reader has a charm- ing variety and high entertainment both as to the language, the great things related, and their won- drous and furprifing circum fiances. St. Matthew is grave without formality or ftiffnefs j plain with dignity 5 and agreeably copious and full in his re- lation of our Lord's moft divine difcourfes and healing works of wonder. St. Mark follows the fleps of St. Matthew, and fbmetimes interprets and explains him '. Like w Mat. vii. 24, cc. Luke vi. 48, &c. x i Lrgron, Mark v. Luke viii. Mat. viii. 2, Husbandmen, M-ir. xx ; Mark xii. Luke xx. 3 Transfiguration, Mat.xvii. Mark ix Luke ix. > Divus M ,rcus ita legit veftigia Mitrhrcij ut f.epc ci prxftct interprctis vicem. Grot, in S. Ma:, xxviii. i, his 32.8 The SACRED CLASSICS his great mailer St. Peter he has a comprehenfive, clear and beautiful brevity. His flyie comes up to what the nobleft critics demand of an hiftorian, that his ftyle be majeftic, and grave, as well as fimple and unaffe&ed His narration fhou'd be animated, fliort and clear ; and fo as often to out- run the impatience of the reader z . He (bme- times ufes the repetition of words of the fame original, and like found, which, as we have above {hewn, the moft vigorous authors do : He- does it fparingly, and whenever he does it, to me it appears very graceful and becoming a . This divine writer, notwithstanding his brevity, makes ieveral noble reflections, and brings in many cu- rious remarks and circumitances, which are omit- ted by the other Evangelifts. After our Saviour's defcent from the Mount, where he was transfigured, when his face fhone as the fun, and his garments became white as the light, all the multitude was aftonifli'd, St. Mark obierves to us. At what? At the icattcr'd rays of glory that (till remain'd in his face after the moft wonderful transfiguration. This circum- itance neglected by the other Evangelists all the oriental verfions take notice of: They were amaz'd, fear'd and admir'd b . 2 Nihil in hiftoria pura 6t illuftri brevitate dulcius, Tull. Mark xiii. i. xii. 25. b Mark ix, if. This Defended and lllitfl rated. 3 19 Tills Evangel ifl comprifcs our Saviour's tempta- tion in a very few words j and then adds a moil choice and excellent remark He r ojas with the wild beajls y and the Angels of God minijlred unto him c , The defien of which is to fliew, that o goodnefs and innocence makes a man fafe and happy in all conditions. A good man is under the care and protection of his heavenly Father, fecurely guarded by his holy Angels in the moft difmal and forlorn place. His remark that when Herodias's daughter had confulted her mother o what flic fhoua ask of the tyrant fhe came back rJ0/ws y.=Tz ?7r%sr,r, immediately with hajle and ea- gernefi, with the bloody demand* fo contrary to the tendernefs of the (ex, and unfeafonable to the fcftivity of the day beautifully iliews what an exact agreement there was between the barbarous o temper of the mother and daughter ; and ftrong- ]y paints the fiercenefs ot their malice, and the impatience of their thiril for the blood of the righteous Baptift d . In fliort, the Gofpel of St. Mjrk, confidering tlie copioufiiefs and majefty of the fubjecl, the variety of great actions, and their furprifing cir- rumftances, the number of found morals and cu - rious remarks compris'd in it, is the fhorteft and Mark i. 1 5. - Mark vi, if. r u cleat-eft, 330 The SACRED CLASSICS cleared, the mod marvellous and fatis factory hi- llory in the whole world. St. Luke is pure, copious and flowing in his; language, and has a wonderful and mod enter- taining variety of lelecl: circumdances in his nar- ration of our Saviour's divine actions. He ac- quaints us with numerous paflages of the evan- gelical hidory not related by any other Evangelift. St. Irenaus particularly mentions many parables., relations, accounts of times and perfbns omitted by all the red e . Both in his Goipel and apofto- Ucal a6ls he is accurate and neat, clear and flow-- ing with a natural and eaiy grace > his dyle is ad- mirably accommodated to the defign of hiftory The narrative of the Affs of the Apodles is per- fpicuous and noble ; the difcourfes inferred cm- phatical, eloquent and fublime. He is judly ap- plauded for his politeneis and elegance by (bine critics j who feem to magnify him in order to depreciate tke red of the Evangelidsj when yet 'tis plain he has as many Hebraifms and peculia- rities as any one of them 5 which they are charg'd. with as faults and blemiflies of dyle. 'Tis a ftrange e S.. Ircn. 3. 14. p. 2-Jf. Ed. Grabe. Plurimos r.6tus Do- mini per huiic didicimus. And p. i]6. after great variery of inlcances w hereby St. Luke enriches the evangelical hiltory., the father adds, E: alia muka flint qiuc inveniri polTliiit a folo Luca did a cdc. complement Defended and Illuflrated. 331 complement that Grotius paffes upon this noble author: Luke, as being afcholar> ufes 'many words purely Greek f . Why don't the reft of the divine authors, tho' no {cholars, ufe many words purely Greek? But this we {poke of before. St. Luke's ftyle has a good deal of refemblance with that of his great mailer St. Paul, and like him he had" a learned and liberal education. I believe he had been very converfant with the belt claflic authors; many of his words and expreflions are exactly parallel to theirs g . The ftyle and character of St. John is grave and fimple, fhort and perfpicuous. What the Wifeman fays of the commandment of God com- par'd to a fliarp (word it touch* d the heaven, lut flood upon the earth h , may be apply 'd to the writ- ing of this great Apoftle, Evangelift, and Pro- phet. As to his language, it is plain and fome- timcs low, but he reaches to the heaven of hea- vens in the fublimity of his notions. cc Who- >** ever, (ays St. Cyril of Alexandria quoted by the f Afts v. 30. Vid. Bczam in Act. Ap. x. 46. 8 'J^u^s 1 Xruos- in St. Luke xv. 14. is the fame as eriTc^a'ii in Herod. I. 40. 1. 2,. So droC'a'XXov fj.^^ St. Luke xv. 1 2.. is the fame as r x^aaTWv TO o^nC'a'X Herod. Gr. 4. if 8. line 17. /*' was mention'd before -o xcXa^XrCTJ Tsracnv 4vw5?v. St. Jjtkc i. "(. tra^xo/'.yOrx.arct rcT^ ^(Ojty.uac-tv clfa^JsV. Dem. de Cor. io/. I. 7. Wifdom oF Solomon xviii. i(5. U u t learned 3 3 2. Tkc SACRED C L A s s i c s learned CKY ', <c looks into the fublimity of his. f( notions., the iliarpncls of his reafbnsj and the cc quick inferences of his difcourfes, conftantly " iucceeding and following one upon another, (( in uft needs confeis that his Goipel exceeds all wc admiration. Dennis of Alexandria allows St. Johns Gofpe! and firft Epiftle to be not only pure and free from the leaft folecifm, barbarifm, or other bleniiili of ipeccli, but to be very eloquent in all his compo- fition, and to have from God the sifts both of o found knowledge, and good language: But that o o o o the Revelation has nothing like either of 'em, no re- femblance in flyle, no fy liable in common vith 'em, is a very harfh and unaccountable cenfure ; and fiiews, even in the judgment of Dr. Mill y that criticism was not that good man's chief excel- lency k . The venerable plarnncfs, the majeftic gravity and beautiful fimplicity of this writer will always by men of judgment be valu'd above all the pomp of artificial eloquence, and the gawdy ornaments of fophiftry, and the declamatory ftyle ! . 1 Life of St. Jobn, p. i6f. k Vid. Eufeb. Eccl. Hifr, I'.b.VII. cap. if. p. i7<S. Valef. Vid. D. Mill Proleg. p. 19, ~~r -I. Ou ^ x/iuTrov p^/jiarcov, fc'a'i Xs|oor y.c/jtTrcv, Jc's ov x.ccr/jtov cruju^Hw o-yc ( u=ja Tr/ vo* ,0 rajjra. qti\cffO$ia. d^r a. ??.<;*) cc >..),' iW-jjJ a;j.a%ov St. Chryf, in S:. fonun, Evaiu T . Horn. z. p. f6-i. This "Defended and IlluJlratecL 33* This infpir'd writer has frequent repetitions to prefs his important doctrines with more clofenefs and vehemence. He often takes one thing two ways, both in the affirmative and negative. He that hath the- o Son y hath life j and he that hath not the Son, hath not life. This part of his character., 'tis hop'd, may efcape the fevere animadverfion of the critics, becaufe the politefb and nobleft writers of Greece life the lame repetitions m . This glorious Gofpel compleats the evangelical hiftory, and enriches it with feveral moft heaven- ly difcourfes and miracles of the world's Saviour,, not recorded by any of the three divine writers before him. The five firffc chapters give an ac- count of his works of wonder before the BaptifYs imprisonment. He enlarges upon the eternal existence of our Saviour , and gives us a moil edifying and delightful account of his converia- i tion for many days upon earth with his Apoftles and feledt Difciples after his victorious and trium- phant refurrection. The ftyle and terms, the {pirit and fentimcnts of his two laft letters., are not only alike, but often the very lame as in the firft. Every line is m Xen. Cyrop. i. p. p, Placo de Repnb- p. zo6. I. 3, 4. Ed. Can, 4 334 T% e SACRED CLASSICS animated with the fpirit of unfeigned chanty, re- commended in divers ways, and by various rea- Ibns ; which is the peculiar character of this tc- lovd Difciple , and the great glory of Chriftia- nity n . The Revelation is writ much in the fame flyle with the Gofpel and Epiftles, and entertains and inftrub the reader with variety of chriftian mo- rals and fublime myfteries. From this noble book may be drawn refiftlefs proofs of our Saviour's eternal exiilence; the incommunicable attributes of eternity and infinite power are there plainly and directly apply'd to Jefus the Son of God . 'Tis in vain to look for more lofty defcriptions or majeftic images than you find in this (acred book. Cou'd the acclamations and halleluiahs of God's houfhold be expreft with more propriety and magnificence than by the fhouts of vaft mul- titudes, the roaring of many waters, and the dreadful found of the loudeft and ftron^eft thun- o ders p ? And how tranlporting an entertainment muft it be to the bleft to have all the ftrength of o found temper 'd with all its fvveetnefs and harmo* * Vid. Du Pin Can. of N. T, Scr. 1 1. p. 76, 77. Apoc. i. T, Sec. x. r. xii. r, z, 3, 4. P r ir ^owLui o^Xs orc/^Xa", ^ a? $&-jljj oVaruv tirc).>.ayj ^ tor ^wvLo) ft^yjTfy -nrcXXwy Xtyovrwy 'AXV.Xsta. Apoc. xix. 6. Vid. Apoc. xiv. 2,, 3. ny * Defended and Ittuftrated. 335: ny, perfectly fuited to their celeftial ear, and moft exalted tafte! The defcription of the Son of God in the nineteenth chapter from ver. i r . to 17. is in all the pomp and grandeur of language, V7e have every circumftance and particular that is moil proper to expreft power and juftice, maje- fty and goodnefs 5 to raife admiration, and high pleafure corrected with awe. St. Jerom {ays of the Revelation, Cf It has as cc many myfteries as words : I (aid too little. In ff -every word there is variety of lenfes, and the " excellency of the book is above all praife q . We have already had feveral occa/ions to (peak of the great St. Paul-, and what can be faid wor- o * thy of him ? How iliall we begin, or where Hull we end? Shall we admire this noble preacher and cham- pion of the Crofs for his perfect knowledge of religion; for the copioufnefs and variety of his itylej for the loftinefs of his thought ; for the dexterity of his addreis j for the wonderful extent of his genius ; or the more- admirable comprc- henfion of his charity? He has every charm of eloquence in his writings 5 and, when there's oc- cafion, {hews himfelf mailer of every ftyle* i ApocalypGs Johannis rot habct Gcramenta, quot verbrj, Paiuitj dixi. In iingulis verbis mukipliccs latent itmliigemKu j & pro rnerito voluminis laus omnis inferior cil. Ep. ad PauH.-i, 4 TllOiC 3 3 f *fbe SACRED CLASSICS Thofe tranipofitions, embarraflments, and, as feme people call them, inconfequenccs , which are found in fome of his Epiftles 5 proceed 3 as St. Irenaus jnftly obferves, from the quicknefs of his arguings, the fluency of his language, and the divine zeal and impetuoufnefs of his ipirit r . Thofc places, which incompetent judges efteem faulty and {bleciftical, are generally ibme of his noblefl and fublimeft pafTages j and proceed from his vehemence, great skill in the old Teftament, the plenty and vivacity of his thoughts. \Y 7 e have parallel'd forms of ipecch in the nobleft Greek and Roman authors j and they are fb far from being prejudicial or difagreeable to a capable reader, that they only raife his cnriofity, and fliarpen his dili- gence j which will always be rewarded with difco- veries of beauties, and improvement in the mod admirable and ufeful notions f . Sometimes St. Paul drops in the objections of others, and gives his anfoers without any change in the fcheme of his language to give notice, as Mr. Lock juftly obferves. And the greater!: mailers in the two r S. Ircn. 5. 7. 2.10, in. Dr. Ca-ve's Life of St. Pau1 9 117, 1 1 8. Hiftoria Literar. Vol. I. p. 8. f Vid. Suiccr. Thefaur. in vnce r^a(f/j, p. 7P<5. "nrt 3 fC'aTov >J^swv n vcy'cnw ex ry v.ar axoX9/av rif, KJ ciovet ^/a/oax-T/jp cvaj'wj'tss ara'S^f. Tlxfig, fats oa^-uVi 2| r v^C^T^" ri {j.'.ij.r&i: cm r ^ ^uV:W> ' . Dion. Longin. bee. zi. p. 13^, 140. Defended and llhtfirated. 337 nobleft languages in the world often do the fame ; particularly Demoftheves , Tully y Horace, Ana- creon. cc If any one has thought St. Paul a loofc wri- / ter, it was only bccauie he was a loofe reader. f< He that takes notice of St. Pauls defign, iliall cc find that there is (carce a word or expreflion fc that he makes ufe of but with relation and Cf tendency to his prefent main purpofe \ The Epiftles of St. Paul, I {peak the i'enle of a great critic u , are inftruclive and learn'd, periualive and noble j his expreilion is grave and lofty, uncon- ftrain'd and methodical, (ententious and full of moving figures. With what winning charity and mildnefs does he temper his rebukes and re- proofs ? The vehemence and force of his di courfe has a happy and equal mixture of prudence and pleafiirej and when he moil exerts his au- thority,, he always molt expreffes his humility. " Had not St. Paul y (ays a very eloquent and learned Gentleman, cc been a man of learning cc and skill in the art and methods of rhetoric, f found reafbning and natural eloquence y he C cou'd not have fuited fuch appoute exhorta- 5* tions to fuch different forts of men 3 as he c Mr. Lock on i Cor. i. 10. 6: Du Pin. on Can. of N. T. 2* Part, p. p8. X x Cf had 33$ The SACRED CLASSICS 4c had to deal with, with (o much dexterity w . Grotlus lays of St. Paul that he was learned r not in the law only, but the traditions which more openly taught the refurrection and good things of a future life. That he knew the He- JWoi;, Syrlacy Greek and Latin tongues ; and that lie had read their poets x . All this is true and jufl : But a great many more excellencies mud enter into St. Paul's character. We have made a little eilay towards his character, efpecially as a writer; but 'tis plain that his merit is fuperior to whatever can be laid. Excellent is the obiervation. of St. Gregory the Great on our divine author, which fliall conclude this lection. When St. Paul fpeaks to God, or of God y he raifes himfelf and his reader to heaven hy the fullimeji contemplations. Erafmus pailes a bold cenfure upon St. James s when he fays, that the Epiftlc under his name does not altogether cxprefs the apoftolical gravity and majefty y . Had that great man read and judg'ci with impartiality and deliberation, he might have found, what very learn'd and judicious Gentle- men 1 have thought they have found in this divins * Dr. South^ Scribe inftructed, Vol IV. Serm. p. 38. 21 Grot, in Act. xxvi. 2.4. >' On St. James v. at the end 2 Du Pin Hid. Can. of N. T. Part'lf. p. 74. Libber, as well as Erafmus^ once fpoke (lightly of ibis (acred piece of Canon, but had the good fenfe and humility afterwards to retract it. jo. Albert. Fabricii Biblioth, Grace. 1.4. c. f. p. irfrt. Epiftlc, Defended and Wuftrctted. 339 Epiftle, vigorous and expreffive words,, a beauti- ful fimplicity, lively figures., natural and engaging thoughts, and (olid eloquence altogether worthy of an apoftolical pen. Is there to be found a more vigorous and beau- tiful defer iption of the mifchiefs and malignity of an unbridled tongue than in the third chapter ? Nothing upon the fubject, that I have feen, comes up to the propriety and vigour of its {Ingle and compound words, the livelinefs of the metaphor, the variety of its all uf ions and illustrations., the quicknefs of the turns, and the fitnefs and force of its companions 3 . Is there not wonderful em- phafis and eloquence in that fublimc defcription of the bountiful and immutable nature of the bleffed God. b Every good and perfect gift /> from above } from the Father of lights: Salutary gifts don't, as ftupid heretics pretend, proceed from the ftars, but far above all worlds, from the Father of all the heavenly inhabitants, and Creator of all the heavenly bodies, with whom there is no vartablenefs or Jhadow of turning. The terms are exactly proper and aftronomical, accord- ing to the appearances of things, and the com- mon notions of mankind. Upon this appear- ance and received opinion the fun, the prince of a Vcr. 2, to 15. b Cap. i. i-. X x z die ! 40 The SACRED CLASSICS the planetary heavens, has his parallaxes or chan- ges, appears different in the Eaft, in his me- ridian height,, and decline to the Weft. He has his annual departures from us, which are the fbl- ilices or -rfc-xl ; according to thele departures he cafts different fliades. But God is the' unchange- able Sun that does not rife or fet, come nearer to, or go farther from any part or fpace of the uni- verfej an eternal unapproachable light", without any variation, cclipfc, or mixture of fliade. St. Peters llyle exprefles the noble vehemence and fervor of his {pint, the full knowledge he had of Chriftiamty, and the ftrong- affufance he had of the truth and certainty of his doctrine j and he writes with the authority of the firft man in the college of the Apoftles. He writes with that quick- neis and rapidity of ftyle, with that noble neglect of fomc of the formal confequences and nicety of grammar, ftill preierving its true reafbn and na- tural analogy (which arc always marks of a fub- lime genius) that you can (carce perceive the pati- fes of his difcourfe, and diftindion of his periods' 1 . The c Vid. Harmon. Apof. i 3 D. Bull, where that judicious author truly explains, and juilly admires that lofty pafHige, Hunc er- rorem dc fatal! vi atlrorum mircl elegant id perftringit cc. Tandem elegant! huic fermoni finem imponic &c. p. 101, lOi. d The critic of Halicarnaffus fpeaking of the Itrong and noble ilyle which he calls auilere, fays, 'Tis oXtycs-juJQ^cr/a^, " cv orcXXoTs" csrcrriy.n f aV.oXbS/ai 5 yix.(>a v Defended and lllufl rated. 341 The great Jofeph Scaliger calls St. Peters firft Epi- ftle majeilic, and I hope he was more judicious than to exclude the fecond, tho* he did not name it. A noble majefty and becoming freedom is what diftinguiilies St. Peter ; a devout and judicious perfon canriot read him without fblemn attention, and awful concern. The conflagration of this lower world;, and future judgment of Angels and men, in the third chapter of the fecond Epiftle, is defcnb'd in fuch ftrong and terrible terms, fuch awful circum fiances, that in the description we fee the planetary heavens and this our earth wrap'd up with devouring flames j hear the groans of an expiring world, and the craflies of nature tum- bling into univerfal ruin e . And what a folemn and moving Epiphonema or practical inference is that! Since therefore all thefe things muft loe difjblvd, 'what manner of per- fon s ought ye to le in holy confer fat ion and godli- nefs - - in all parts of holy and chriftian life, - - in all inftances of juftice and charity f . cc The mean- tc eft foul, and loweft imagination, fays an in- genious man s , fc cannot think of that time., and , tc the awful defcnptions we meet with of it in fjcsyaXo(pq?v Sec. Dion. Halicar. de (Iru6rura, Oiv.t. c, ^i. p. iT6. v^id. ibid, plura vere aurea in hanc fententiam. e 2. Pet. iii. 8. to n. f Ver. 1 1. c 'v dyicas dwrgyfauis ^ cwsCciwr. Mr. Sewers Life of Mr. John Phillip^ p. 17. 4. 4i ' this $ 4 i Tloe SACRED CLASSICS f< this place, and feveral others of holy Writ, with- <f out the grcateft emotion and deepeft imprcfli- c> ' ons. I cannot with fome critics find any great diffe- rence betwixt the ftyle of the firft and (ccond E- piftles ; 'tis to me no more than we find in the ilyle of the fame perfbns at different times. There is much the fame energy and clear brevity 3 the fame rapid run of language, and the lame com- manding majefty in them both. Take 'em to- gether, and they are admirable for fignificant epi- thets and ftrong compound words h $ for beauti- ful and iprightly figures ', adorable and fublime doctrines k j pure and heavenly morals exprefs'd in a chafte, lively, and graceful ftyle l . St.Jude, (ays Origen, writ an Epiftle in few lines indeed, but full of vigorous expreffions of heavenly grace m . He briefly and ftrongly repre- fents the deteftable do&ines and pradices of the impure Gnoftics and followers of Simon Magus, and reproves thofe profligate perverters of (bund principles and patrons of lewdnefs, (which are h i Pet. iii. 8. i. 4. z Pet. iii. 4, 8, 14. ' i Pet. ii. 3. z Pet. ii. 3. i. f. k I Pet. i. 12.. iii. ip, zz, z Pet. iii, TO, 13. l i Pet. iii. p, 10, ii. i. zz. iii. i, z, 5, 4. 2, Pet. i. 10, n. iii. 14, If, 17, 18. m 'IyVa? ft lypu-Lvj vm- i. Mr. tyottotfs Preface to Clem. Romanus^ p. 107. 4 .gene- Defended and Illuftrated. 343 generally tlje fame perfons) with a jufl indigna- tion and feverity i And at the fame time exhorts all found Chriftians, with a genuine apoftolical charity., to have tender compailion for theft de- luded wretches; and vigorously to endeavour to reclaim 'em from the ways of hell , and pluck them as brands out of the fire n . The Apoftle takes the fenfe, and frequently the words of St. Peters iecond chapter of his fecond Epifcle; fomeiimcs he leaves out (ome of St. Pe- ters words , fometimes he enlarges and gives a different turn to the thought p . o Both the divine writers are very near akin in fubjeft, ftyle, vehemence, and juft indignation againft impudence and lewdnels, again/1 iniidious underminers of chaftity, and debauchers ofbund principles. They anrwer one another in the new Teftament, as the prophecy of Oladiab and pare of the [orry ninth chapter of Jeremiah do in the There are no nobler amplifications in any au- thor than in theie two divine writers, when they defcribe the numerous villanies of the Gnoftics in a variety of inftances ; which they fevcrely brand, emphatically expoie, and yet happily cx- " Jude ^. 15. As v.ar^cTY.T^ nfrcr \s^c^-/.y. } Judc 1(5. i Pec. ii. iS. P Jude 10. z Pet. ii. i i . a - Jeremiah Proph. xlix, From vcr. 14. pr rcfs 344 The SACRED CLASSICS prels in all the cleaftnefi and chaflaty of lan- guage r . * By Gnoftics we may underftand all mlfcreants who in the firft times of the Church diflionour'd our holy religion by their antichriftian notions and mofl vile and lewd practices. Thofe abandon'd wretches, whom the Apoftles ftigmatize, were hor- ridly fcandalous for their ravenous avarice, their infatiable lufts, their blafphemotis impudence, and relentlcfs hardnefs of heart, and ftedfaft obftinacy of temper. Which are defcrib'd with all the flrength and vigour of clean and marvellous eloquence. To give a proper and juft account of the various beauties of thefe two glorious chapters wou'd take up a large difcourfr, and require all the Dull and fagacity of criticifm. I refer my reader to the paflages following. With what ftrong expreffion, adequate allufions^ lively figures, and noble vehemence are their covetous and vile practices to bring in filthy lucre de- fcrib'd in i. Pet. ii. 3. Jude n, 16! Their infatiable lufts in Z Pet. ii. 10, .14. Jude 4, 8 ! Their odious impudence and mad blafphemies in z Pet. ii. 10! Their horrid wickednefs in general, and the infupportable vengeance that mud at laft overtake and fink them into ruin in 2, Pet. ii. 1,3, n, 17. Jude 4* 10, 12, 13! CHAP. Defended and llluftrated. CHAP. VIII. Wherein an account is given of federal advantages 'which the facred 'writers of the new Tejlament have over the foreign Claffics. HE facred authors have innumerable advantages from the dignity of their fubjecl:, and the grand confluences of their doctrines ; as well as their au- thority and awful addrefs, and their charity and condefcending goodnefs in delivering their narra- tives and precepts. But thofe which are moll to our prefent pur- pofe are the particulars following. The decency and clearnefs of their expreffions., when there is occafion to mention the neceflities or crimes of mankind. The charming and moft edifying variety of their matter., ftyle and expre fion. The deep fenie and glorious fignifi cation of their language. The admirable and moft ufe- ful moral contain'd in the myftenes of the Go- ipeli and with the cleared and moft convincing reafon inferred and heighten'd from them. Y y . i . The 3 4 ^ ?^ SACKED CLASSICS . i . The Spirit of God is a Spirit of unfpot- ted purity 5 and therefore in the 'old Teilament thofe things., which if exprefs'd too broad and plain might be offenfive and {hocking, are ex- prefs'd with all poiTible decency and deannefs of concealment. The new Teftament writers, which imitate and copy all the excellencies and beauties of the old, have in this cafe us'd wife caution and amiable delicacy. Many of the pagan moralifts have fpoken well upon this fubjecl: of decency, and Tully is admi- rable upon it. In his Offices he (peaks to this purpofe f : That Providence has had a regard to the fliape and frame of human body, and has put thofe parts in open view that have an agreeable and graceful appearance ; but has cover'd and con- ceal'd the parts appointed for the neceiiities of mankind, which cou'd not fo decently be ex- pos'd to view. Which wife care of Providence in the {truct-ure of an human body, the mo- deity of mankind has diligently imitated. Let us therefore follow nature, and the conduit and behaviour of virtuous and modeft perfbns ; and iliun every adion, geflure, and word, which may iliock the tendereft modefty, and be offenfive to f Lib. i. cup. 35-. p, 61, 61. Ed. Cockman. a chafte Defended and llluflrated. 347 a chafte eye and ear. But too many of the heathen writers and moralifts have fail'd in this point : All one (eel: of the grave and (b- lemn Stoics c . Juvenal, tho' in the main very found and moral in his notions, in many places does not at all {pare the modelty, or regard the honour of human nature : but while he de- claims and inveighs againft lewdnefi and villa- nous actions , is guilty cf grofs indecencies of language 5 and opens to the reader fuch fhock- ing fcenes as ought to have been conceal 'd in the blacked darknefs. But when the facred wri- ters correct and chaftife the lewdnefs of vile and profligate wretches., they do it with a juil feveri-> ty,, horror and grief mix'd together. All is chafte and clean j no word us'd that can offend the ten- dered ear, or difcompofe the trued lover of puri- ty. St. Paul particularly with great wifdom and addrefs unites two things which feem contradicto- ry-, he gives his reader a juft abhorrence of vile and deteitable practices by reprefenting them in a lively manner; and yet preferves an irreproacha- ble gravity, an inviolate and amiable chalHty and decency of expreilion v . Good critics always re- quire this decency and regard to the modeily of 1 Tullii Offic. v Ro. i. 24, 2.6, 17. How clean and chafte is that expreflion, dv<j. Y y i human 348 Tie SACRED CLASSICS human nature in their orator. The judicious^r/- Jlotle particularly requires, that impious and lewd things , often necefiary to be mention'd, be al- ways fpoken with horror and caution u . . i. There is in the facred writers of the new Teftament fuch an agreeable and inftructive va- riety of fiirprizing and important hiflories and narrations, fublime doctrines, and flyles that muft highly entertain and improve any man that is not indifpos'd by vice and brutality to relilh the things, or by ignorance to underftand the language. In the precepts and commands there is a venerable and majeftic brevity j in fupplications, entreaties, and lamentation the periods are larger, and the ftyle more flowing and diffufive. The narration is clear j the ftronger paffions are exprefs'd with maj'efty and terror, the gentler and fofter affecti- ons in the fmootheft and moft moving terms : o and all this agreeable to nature, and the rules of the oreatefl: mafters v , tho' in a manner much ex- o celling their bell: compactions. dffin (potius a Xsyv. Ar. Rhen. 5. 0.7. Quic quid prcccipies cfto brevis. Hor. Ar. Poet. To u vmrdoseiv cruxirc/xov ^ 3,o^^u. To jj [XT(^'eiV ^ax^jv, ^ TO p<%. Dem. Phal, p. 6. Defended and Illuftrated. The new and old Teftament are one book j and the nobleft, moft admirable and initruclive book in the whole world. The old Teftament is the firft volume, and the new Teftament the fecond and laft. There is a wonderful harmony and agreement between the two facred volumes. In the firft we have the type and fhadow, in the fecond the antitype and fubftance: What in the firft volume is prophecy, in the laft is hiftory and matter of fact : which at once clears all the obfcu- nties and difficulties of the prophecies; and lets us know the reafbn why they were exprefs'd m obfcure terms x . In the old Teftament we have the moft extenfivc and entertaining hiftorv that O J ever was compris'd in any language : The admi- rable account of the creation, deilrutlion and re- newal of the world j the antiquities of the orien- tals j the {iirp riling adventures and lor tunes of the greateft perions and families upon earth j the ftate of: the jeiuijh people , the miracles in Egypt -, the wildernefs and Red Sea ^ the fublimity of the moft rapturous hymns and poems j the wifdom * The Gofpei is the bed comment upon the Law, and the Law is the bed cxpofitor of the Gofpci. They nre like a pair of indentures, they anfwer in every part: Their harmony is wonderful, and is of it ielf a conviction : No human contri- vance cou'd have reach'd ir. There is a divine majeily ard forefighc in the anfwer of ovcrv ceremony and type to i;s completion. Mr. Lcjlie's Meihods \vitii the Jews, p. 7^ . and. 5jo The SACRED CLASSICS and ufefulnefs of the belt, fhorteft, and moft ele- gant precepts of conduct and happy life, &c. will give the mod delightful entertainment,, the trucft iatisfaclion and improvement to every ca- pable intelligent reader. In the new Teflament we have the completion of proprieties, beautiful allufions to the cuiloms and hiflones of the old, with many of their animated phrafes and exprei- iions j which enrich the {tores of the Greek lan- guage, and add emphafis and ftrcngth to it. We have the miracles of the birth,, life,, fufferings, and higheft exaltation of God incarnate 5 and have a faithful and molt marvellous and ravifhing account of thofe manfions of heavenly glory and eternal happineis j which thro' his infinite condefcenfion and love,, we have a fure right and indefeafible title to. One cannot look into any part of the facred writers of the new Teftament but there are new dodrines and miracles related in the nobleft and moft engagine manner : or if the fame mat- O D D ter be repeated 'tis in a new way j and we are en- tertain'd and inftrucled with delightful circum- o ftances and divine remarks upon our bleffed Lord's works of wonder, and words of wifflom and eter- nal life. The grand defign of infinite wiflom and good- ncfi to train up mankind to a likenejfs to God, and raife him to heavenly happineis, is in this i {acred Defended and Illuflrated. 35-1 {acred book tranladed in all the proper methods and ways of addrefs that can convince the reafon, or move the affections of rational creatures. By- precepts and laws enforc'd by the greateft rewards and punifhments ; by well-attefted relations the nioft furprifing, and of the utmoft confequence to mankind 5 by the fublimity of prophetical fchemes and awful images j by the iiiunuation of lively parables,, and the found inftrudlion of the plaineit and molt convincing diicouries and fer- mons that ever man ipoke : By the familiarity of a letter in which at once you have itrong argu- ment, tendernefs of goodwill ., and fublimity of thought and expreilion. To what we have in ieveral places (aid before to this purpofe, we fhall add a few remarks upon this head of the furprifing and inltr active variety in the new Tefiament writers. Take the firft chapter of St. Mark, how many wonderful things are compris'd in a few lines ! How quick does the reader pais from one divine moral, one won- derful narrative to another! yet all is Co clear and regular, that the furprifing relations and inftruc- tions do not crowd upon you and diftracl: your attention 5 but are preicnted to you in an order- ly fucceflion 5 fb that your plcaiure is not fuf pcnded 5 but you attend v/ith conftant wonder,. and liften to your perpetual gratification and im- provement. 3 j i The SACRED CLASSICS provemcnt. There is a moft charming variety of divine doctrines and miracles in the (ixth, fe- venth and eighth chapters of St. Luke. How ftrong and noble is the moral of the iixth chapter ! The Son of God with convincing arguments proves it a duty to do good on the Jewifl) fab- bath., againft the fupcrftitious and abfurd notions of the Phariiees ; and confirms his healing and bleiled doctrines by the miraculous reftoration of the poor man's withered hand to its firft vigour and frefrmeis. Then the great Hio-h-Prieft and o o Saviour of our fouls after a day {pent in the offices of exemplary piety 3 and moft generous charity, retires in the evening to a mountain and ipends a whole night in prayer before he ordain'd his Apoldes to the holy function and important bufmefs of publilliing his Gofpel, and taking the care of precious fouls. How pleafmgly are the thoughts entertain'd with the contemplation of the Saviour of the world, fitting enccmpafs'd with innumerable peo- ple, diipenfing health and falvation to fouls and bodies ! with what confolations and motives does he encourage his Difciples to bear poverty, (corn, and the moft barbarous ufage in their travels for o the converfion of nations, and their charitable labours to do infinite ood to mankind ? And r> with what vehemence and charitable fcveriry does he Defended and llluft rated. 3^3 he exprcTs the miferable condition of worldly men, who abound in plenty and are diflolv'd in ea(e ; who are oftended at our Saviour's humiliation?, and are afhani'd or afraid of the doctrine of his Crofs l Then the great Teacher lent from God o pafles on to new precepts and exhortations far more exalted than any doctrines taught in the ichools of Pagan or J-'e-iviJJj morality. How mo- vingly docs he prefs the duty of forgiveneis of iiir juries., and fervent charity to the moil; inveterate enemies ! which, if it fully influenc'd human fouls,, wou'd effectually efhblifli the peace and honour of focietyj wou'd moft vehemently raife mens minds to a divine resemblance, and give 'em (Irons afluranccs that they were the genuine t> /, \D and acceptable Diiciples of Jefus Chrift. After variety of other divine precepts and ob- fervations for the inftruclion and caution of his Difciplcs-and Million aries., the chapter is conclud- ed., and all the foregoing morals let off and en- liveivd by a molt' forcible and appofitc compa- rifbn. No landicape upon canh can entertain the eye" with a greater variety of delightful objects than the fevcnth and eighth chapters of this Evange- lift do the mind with wondrous actions 5 in which power and goodnefs are equally conceni'd; where miracles and morals arc happily intcrfpcrs'd Z 7 for 354 Tb e SACRED CLASSICS for the full edification and pleafure of the intel- ligent and devout reader. Firfl we are charm'd with the pious and prudent addrefs of the Centu- rion to our Lord for the recovery of his dying fervant ; and his heroic faith, which he, who knows the {ecrets of all hearts, extremely approves and applauds. Who can forbear being deeply mov'd at the contrition and humiliation of the penitent woman, who kifs'd our Saviour's feet, wafh'd 'em with her tears, and wip'd 'em with the hair of her head ! Here are fuch marks of religious fbrrow and a thoro 3 reformation, as wou'd move the moil rigid difciplinarian to com- paffion. The Son of God gives her his abfolu- tion, defends her againft the (pightful and hypo- critical cavils of the Pharifees -, and exprefles the higheft approbation of her pious zeal and duty. The danger of the ftorm, the confufion and ter- ror of the Apoftles, our Saviour's commanding the winds and feas with godlike majefty, and re- proving his Difciples want of faith with gracious mildnefs, the fiercenefs of the man poflefsd with Legeon, the fury of the fiends driving the herds headlong down a precipice into the fea, the ter- ror and confufion of the brutal inhabitants of the neighbouring countries, are great Icenes of afto- niihment and wonder 5 but have been fpoken to, ( fbmc of them at leaft ) before. After our Sa- 3 viour Defended and llluft rated. 3 y j viour had cur'd the Centurion's (ervant, he goes to Na'in y to meet there an opportunity of doing a gracious and moft {eafbnable miracle. A wi- dow's only (on was carry'd in his coffin $ our Lord met the mournful proceffion, commanded the funeral to be ftopp'd \ went to the difconfolate widow, bad her ceafe to mourn, and by his divine power turn'd her mourning into fuch joy, as 'tis impoilible for any body to exprefs, or imagine, but one in her condition. As this moft divine friend of human race was going to raife the daughter of Jairus, a woman, incurably ill, and undone in her fortune by ex- pcnccs laid out towards her recovery, takes the opportunity to touch his garment in the crowd. According to her faith her trial fucceeded : She immediately feels health and (bundnefs diffus'd thro' her whole conftitution : But her joy for her fpeedy and compleat recovery was checked by her fear of the penalties of the law againft thofe who iliou'd prefume to go in publick during the time of their uncleannefs y . But our Saviour encou- rages her faith, and obliges her to own the mira- cle j to publiih her faith to be an example to the people 5 and his divine power, to induce 'em to become obedient difciples and fubje&s of the y Vid. Leviticus xv. Z z i only } 5 6 The SACRED CLASSICS only Meflias of human race. This one mftance may fcrve for a rcprefcntation of our Lord's whole life upon earth; which had no vacancies or em- pty {paces 5 but was all fill'd up with the waft heavenly exercifes and healing Bonders. But when fefus arriv'd at the ruler's houie, as fbon as he had ipokcn that word of fovereign powder and authority , Damfel artfe , with what unutterable rranfport wou'd the mourning parents receive their dear child from the dead ? What folemn re- verence, what awful gratitude to their divine be- nefactor,, wou'd pofiefs their over-joy *d fouls 1 What adoration and wonder and fear mixt with joy wou'd fuccecd the rude laughter and fcorn of thofe who derided our Lord I He gave a refiftlefs proof, that with refpect to his power, which extended to all perfons and all dates, the damfcl was not dead, but flcpt. All thefe admirable accounts of our Saviours infinite power and goodncfs have not only a choice copioufnefs of very valuable reflections and morals mixt and mtcrlpcrfl; by the Evangelift, fo as to diverdfy ; the facred hiftory with all the moil agreeable and improving ways of addreiling hu- man minds 5 but from the miracles and narra- tion it ielf naturally arife great numbers of the moil entertaining and profitable obfervations and remarks. From Defended and llluflratecl. 3 j 7 From the circumftances of the great fads we learn the fublimeft dodrrines 5 and the miracles, which confirm the truth of Chriftianity, infer and lay open to a thoughtful reader rhofe vene- rable myfteries and heavenly truths which are the glory and dignity of it. How many ftrong proofs have we of our Redeemer's almighty power and eternal divinity in thefe three chapters : 'Tis hence plain that he knew the hearts and fecret thoughts of men, which is always appropriated to the di- vine Omniscience. Thou, even thou only kno-uoejl the hearts of the children of men' 1 '. He in his own name and by his own authority calms the ft onus, and rage of the winds and feas a ; pardons fins, and commands the dead to arife b . From the terror of the infernal fpirits, and their {applica- tions to him not to torment them before their time, we learn that there is a great abyfs to which evil Spirits are not yet confin'dj a ftate of rcme- dilcfs mifery and full punifliment referv d for the rebel-angels at the judgment of the lafl day\ 2 Luke vi.8. i Kings viii. 39. a How noble and majeftic, and fall of fpirir, is the cxpreiTion, ?7r^'/jt/i7t TcJavt- /a&) ^ T$ y./.-j^cuvi rS u'jV.r ; ^>, be chid the 'wln.l and flurm? - j/uke viii. 14. 'Tis in the old Teftament apply'd to God alone, 'ATTO B^rn,uiiiTa 0-5" $<&cnuc TO. U^.XT, Pfal. ciii, according to Sepcuaginr, ver. 7. b Luke vii. 48, 14. ' Luke viii. 51. St. Jade vcr. 6. In ^ 5 8 The SACRED CLASSICS In the cafe ofjairuss daughter we learn that the human foul does not die with the body, but may lubiift in a feparate fbte : and that Jedis is the Lord and giver of life, and has {bvereign O <3 power over all fouls and in all worlds. He has the keys of hell and paradife, and of ens and none fluts, and fiuts and none opens d . . 3, There is a deep meaning and copious fenfe in the (acred writers of the new Teftament ; which you will in vain feck for in the moft ju- dicious and clofe writers of the heathen world. There are many beautiful references to the ftupen- dious providences related in the old Teftament -, allufions to the laws, (acrifices, and rites of the Jewijh church and nation, and to the cuftoms ci- vil and religious of other eaftern people j which are furprifingly agreeable and nobly emphatical. Numerous paflages have a retrofpecl: to the hifto- ry of ancient times 5 and many a profpecl: towards the coming ages and ftates of Chriftianity$ which are not now underftood in their full extent and fignificancy -, but will be open'd for the inftruc- tion and wonder of Chriftians nearer to the day of judgment. a Luke viii. f4, ff. Apoc. iii. 7. Upon this fe&ion of the variety of facred writers lee an excellent paflage out of Dr. Knighfs Preface to his fermons on theDivinity of our Saviour and the holy Ghoft, p. 2, 3. Divinely- Defended and llluflrated. 359 Divinely-infpir'd writers, according to the great Perulams obfervation , ought not altogether to be expounded after the fame manner that human compofitions are. The (carets of hearts and fuc- ceilion of times are only known to the immortal King, and only wife God who infpir'd thefe au- thors : therefore fmce the precepts and dictates of infinite wifdom were addrefs'd to the hearts of men, and comprehend the viciflitudes of all ages with a certain forefight of all contradictions, he- refies, and different ftates of the Church, they are to be interpreted according to this latitude. When we come to know thefe compleat treafures of divine eloquence and wifHom to more perfec- tion, how fhall we admire them j what incompa- rable inftruction and fatisfadlion fhall we receive from them ? How valuable does that paffage of St. Paul about the paper and parchments, ridicul'd by fbme fhallow wretches, and wrefted to an he- retical fenfe by others, appear from the juft inter- pretation of it, and the valuable inferences drawn from it by the excellent Bifhop Bull f ? In the beginning of Chriitianity the value of that obfervation of the Evangelift, Jefus frayed the third time, faying the fame words, mip-ht not e Inftauratio rmgm, 1. 4. p. 475-. f Sermon on zTim iv. 15. 360 'The SACRED CLASSICS be Co fully imderftood : but the maclneis and Fide of latccr ases have open'd its full fimiifican- i i r T-I 1 r r r cy and empnaiis. The dehgn or it ieems to be to encourage modeft and found Chriftlans in the life of venerable and eftablifh'd forms of prayer, that are more ufeful and valuable, as Come other bleilmgs are, for being common and us'd every day -, and likewise to. confute hot -headed fedlaries, who naufeate all forms of prayer, even that moft divine one of our Saviour, priding themfclv.es and entertaining their deluded followers with their own raw and extempore efrufions f . In diat grand defcription of the Son of God in St. Paul's admirable Epiftle to the Colqfftans g , 'tis not only exprefs'd in the loftieft terms and molt, triumphant manner, that all things 'were created by him in heaven and earth, <vijible and' in- wifibh} but after an enumeration of the nobleft of all the beings in the univerfe, 'tis added, all things ^uuere created by him and for him. Which was added by divine wifdom to confute the blaf- phemics of heredcs, who deny our Saviour's eter- nal Divinity. f Mar. xxvi. 44. g CololT. i. if, itf, IT, 18, ip. Our Saviour and his Apoftlcs exprcily call the elemcnrs bread and wine after the confecnuion is perform'd; for 'tis certain the elements are not to be cat or drank till they be confccrated ; .and thai we are not partakers of the elements till we eat or drink 'em , whereas the Apoftle fays 'tis bread even after or at the participation, i Cor.x. 17. xi. 2.6. Mark xiv. if. D. Bennct. 4 Thefe Defended and llluftr cited. Thefe fubtil depravers of (bund Christianity pretend that the Son in making the world was us'd only in the quality of a fervant or inftru- ment h : For upon this fenfc how true (bever it might be that all things were created by him, yet it cou'd not poflibly be true that all thino-s were created for him too : Since he for whom all things were made is true God omnipotent and eternal. For God made all things for himfelf 1 . In the eleventh chapter of the Epiftle to the Romans there is as concife and magnificent a defcription of God the Father as any where in the facred writings : For of him, and thro him, and to him are all things k . Every part of which defcaption is fully and frequently apply'd to the Son of God's love and bofbm. * Vid. Dr. Stanhope Ep. and Gofp. Vol. I. p. rj-p. That learned man has given us a very noble explication of that ma- ieftic chara&er of the Son of God : of wv dTrowyaa-^a ? eMfijc (a-S ZErar^jf) ^ ^a^^T^ ? vzroraVgwr OK?T x. T. \. On which, he clearly fhews the ritnefs and divine propriety of thefe words to exprefs the unity of nature and diftindion of perfon betwixt 'em, ibid. p. 160, 161, 162.. Prov. xvi. 4. k Vr. 36. 'Ej OW'T ^ eAi* owiw, ^ f OWTOV T -oravra, are a noble and full character of the true and eternal God , the Creator and Lord, Benefactor and Preferver of the univerfe, And are thefe expreilions apply'd to the Son blcfled for ever of lefler force and majefty ? T oravra Ji oJ-rS, ^ r UUTOV ex- rifixc, ^ owror Iff ^^ -nra'vTwv, ^ rd tsravra ov oJ-n^ o-ujuf Col. i. id, 17. Heb. i. 3, 10, 12.. John xiv. p. xii. Phil. ii. ^, 6cc. i Cor, viii. 6". Aa a The SACRED CLASSICS The great accuracy us'd in the Goipel-expref- fions of the holy Ghoft defending upon our blet fed Saviour at his baptifm., obviates at once a great blunder in a Socinian objection, and expo- ks the idolatry and folly of thofe people who paint the holy Ghoft like a dove \ Grammar and plain fenfe ilicw that the words have no rela- tion to the bodily fhape, but the motion of the dove, ffufJLccriKto si'fei rivel itsi^s^&v 3 descending as a dove does, leifurely and hovering, otherwife it muft have been 7tfi<regoi$ m . In all the wondrous fights at Horeb there was no appearance of God. The Jews faw many other limilitudes, as fire^ {moke, &c. but were to make no refemblance of God from any thing they law 5 and the fowls of the air are particularly mentioned n . 1 Mat. iii. 16. Luke iii. 23. m Fid. Mr. LeJIefs third Socinian dialogue, p. ip. Dr. Scot gives the fame account of this glorious defcent with his ufual found fenfe and noble eloquence. " The holy Ghoft, as St. Luke tells us, defcended " on our Saviour in a bodily form or appearance, which St. " Matthew thus exprefles, The Spirit of God defcended like " a dove and lighted upon him 5 not as if he defcended in " the form of a dove, but, as it feems moft probable, he af- " fum'd a body of light or fire, and therein came down from u above j jurt as a dove with its wings fpread forth is ob- " ferv'd to do, and gathering about our Saviour's head crown'd " it with a vifible glory, Mediator, c. 7. p. no. n Deut. iv. ii, 17. 4. All Defended and llluftr cited. 3 63 . 4. All the myfleries of the new Teflament are pure and noble, auguft and becoming the majefty of the God of Gods : not like the Pagan myfteries and ceremonies > which like fbme of their temples were pompous and irately on the outfide, but within contain 'd nothing but fbme vile and contemptible creature. Lewdnefs, or foppery at beil were at the bottom of all their {hew and folemnity : .and generally thofe who were initiated into the {acred rites and nearer fer- vices of their Gods, were much more profane and wicked than thoie who were commanded to de- part from their temples for being fo in their no- tion. The venerable myfteries of the incarna- tion, the {acred Trinity., the refurrection and glo- rification of human bodies, are not vain {pecu- lations to amufe the fancy-, but are the eiTential doctrines and fundamentals of the pureft religion in the world 5 that are gracioufly defign'd and di- rectly tend to improve the underitanding and re- ctify the will 3 to raife gratitude, and all duty and devout affections to God. They have a certain and full influence on the prefent and future hap- pineis of mankind. Tis obfervable that in the Epiftles that treat moil fully and magnificently of the fublime doctrines and awful objects of our faith, there is always in the conclufion a choice A a a z collection SACRED CLASSICS collection of morak and found precepts of pure life -, which, are the true confluences of tnofe mod lofty and venerable truths and effentials of the chriftian creed . Thofe awful and venerable fecrets, which the Angels defire to look into, as we fhall fee more fully hereafter, are by Free-thinkers and profane pretenders to philofophy made to be no fecrets at all 5 and fb the majefty of the thoughts of the facred writers , and the propriety and noblenefs* of their language are debas'd, and comparatively funk into meannefs and contempt : the goodnefe of God the Father, and the condefcenfion of our Saviour in redeeming human race, are depredated and infinitely undervalu'd \ and by confluence, the obligations of mankind to love, obedience,, and gratitude for infinite mercies are horridly weaken'd and leffen'd. Ill principles and hereti- cal depravations of the Gofpel myfteries naturally tend to vice and corruption of manners. But iF Jefus Chrift, according to the plain language, the whole contexture and deficni of the facred books o be true, natural^ eternal God without any quib- ble or evafion, then how adorable is the love of God the Father,, who fpar'd not his own Son for our falvation- ? how infinitely great and obliga-- Vid, Ep. to ColofT, Ephef. Hebrews, &c. torv Defended and Illuftrated. tory the condefcenfion of God the Son who took our nature, and fuffer'd for us ? how flupendous the charity and grace of God the holy Ghoil who infpires Chriftians with a due fenfe of this great falvation ; and with qualifications to entitle us ta it, and make us capable fully and with eternal fatisfadion to enjoy it p ? Mr. Lock is pleas'd to obferve that St. Paul is in pain, and labours for words to exprefs the myfteries of the Gofpel. And fo he might well be upon the foot of the old and found dodtrine of our Redeemer being true eternal God5 then no language that mortals can underftand or utter can reach the magnificence and infinite glories o of that myftery : But if the my fiery of the Go- fpel lies only in Jefus being only an exalted crea- ture, and great prophet ; and all the divine tri- umphs, rapturous exultations and praifes of St. Paul rife no higher than to the mercy vouch- faf'd to the Gentiles to fhare with the Jews in the privileges of the Gofpel j and have no rela- tion to the great myftery of godlinefs, God ma* nifefted in the flefh, but rather exclude and deny that, according to this Gentleman's interpretation ? Fid. omninb Bifhop 7!y/w's Life of hcly Jefus 2 . Part Sec, j, p, i<5, 6* $66 The SACRED CLASSICS againft it in fome places % and filence in all the reft -, then the great Apoftle has overdone his fiibjecl: ; has been dangeroufly bold in applying the fiiblimeft and incommunicable titles and at- tributes of God .blefled for ever to a mere crea- ture. i One of the cleared and ftrongeft proofs of our Saviour's eternal Divinity, Rom.'ix. v. is daringly fet aiide, ftriptof all its grandeur and fublimity, and turn'd into a low and odd fenfej of whom is Chrift as to the flefii^ ivho is over all, God blejjed for ever^ Amen* He (Mr. Lock) zealoujjy follows the blunder of Erafmus^ and contrary to the natural fenfe and ufage of that phrafe among the Hebrew^ the interpretation of almoft all the fathers, with unnatural force and wire-draw- ing racks it into this diflorted form Of whom was Chrift, who is over all. God be blefled for ever, Amen. He fays not a fyllable to excule this mod horrid perverfion. V, Whit- by, Hammond, St. Chryfoftoru. CON- Defended and llluft rated. $67 CONCLUSION. I Am fenfible that there are innumerable noble and beautiful paffages in the new Teftament which I have not mention'd, and been far from let- ting forth thofe in their belt, light and full advantage, which I have mention'd $ and indeed no man can do that 5 tho' I doubt not we have many learn'd and judicious men, who arc better qualify'd for fucb a great work than I am. But I am in hopes that what I have done on the fubjccl: will contribute fbmething to the illuftration of the facred book, and the honour of Chriftianity. That was the thing I ail along aim'd at j and the fenie of my integrity and honeft intentions will diffidently comfort and fupport me under the pcevifhnefs and prejudices of Come friends,, who are regardlefs of the language of the divine writers ; and the rancour O c> and malice of enemies,, who hate and ridicule the doctrines. I muft defire the friends of this facred book to read it carefully and ftudy it in the origi- nal i and to efteem it as an immenfe treafurc of learning., that requires all their abilities, and all their reading. In order to illuftratc and explain this heavenly book there is occafion for a good skill in the Jewijh , Greek ^ and Roman hiltones and The SACRED CLASSICS and antiquities^ a readinefs in theclaflic authors, and the Greek interpreters of the old Teftamentj and a competent knowledge of the Hebrew Ian- guage. To which mufl be added chronology and geography. Scarce any part of learning but will be of fbme ufe and advantage in the ftudy of thefe divine writers. The pleafure and improvement of a clofe and regular ftudy of the new Teftament, all along compar'd with the old y will be greater than we our (elves cou'd have imagined before we Jet upon it. Befides the pleafure and agreeable- nefs of fuch an employment, 'tis of the utmoft importance and moil abfblute neceffity for us all to ftudy the infpir'd book in order to practice. In it is the grand charter of our eternal happinefs. What a noble employment, what raviftiing fatis- faction muft it be to fee there our fure title to the heavenly inheritance, and have before our eyes in Elain and legible characters infallible directions ow to avoid the lofs or forfeiture of it ! The (iiblime myfteries and doctrines here deliver *d are the rnoft auguft and venerable truths that ever were reveal'd to mankind $ that {hew us the dignity of our own nature, in order to teach us purity and a generous contempt of trifles, and difHain of vile and little a&ions \ and reprefent to us the infinite generofity and magnificence of the divine nature, in order to entertain our contemplations and raife z our Defended and llluftrated. 369 our wonder and gratitude to the higheft pitch. The terrors there denounced againft ail unbelievers o and wicked defpifers of the divine majefty and au- thority of our Saviour are flrong and awful mo- tives to all reafbnable people to fly from the wrath to come, and take care not to neglect fo great a falvation. The precious promifcs of the Gofpel, as they are demonftrations of the infinite gene- rofity and mercy of God, fo they are to men the immoveable baiis and fupport of their faith and all their joyous hopes of immortality. This is the book by which our lives muft here be regulated, and be examin'd, in order to our full abfolution, at the lajl day. This is the book that makes all who duly ftudy it Jearn'd and happy ; wife to fal- vation. The temptations and fuggeftions of the Devil are check'd and conquer'd by the facred text. Our Saviour fhews us the great value and excel- lency of the holy Scriptures, when out of them he draws arguments to confound the infernal fo- phifter q . And as the ever-venerable myfteries and refining; doctrines of the Gofpel raife men to heaven and happinefs j fo 'tis highly probable the ftudy of 'em ihall be one part of the entertainment of blefled fpirits : What glorious {cenes will then open, q Mat. iv. 4, 7, 10. B b b whew 370 The SACRED CLASSICS when we (hall fee face to face, and know as we are known ! when we fliall underftand the mani- fold wifHom and grace of God in his conduct of the great myilery of our redemption ! How will the illuminated fpirits of juft men made perfect be charm'd with the propriety and divine pathos, be aftonifh 'd at the fublime ienfe and myftery that were compriz'd in the plaineft and commonefl \vords and expreffions, which dry and preiumptu- ous critics have cavill'd at, as idiotical, low, &c. ? When Moies and Elias, fays the great Mr. Boyle, left their local not real heaven, and appear d in glory to confer fe with our transfigurd Saviour on the mount , the ir difcourfe 'was not of the government of kingdoms, ike engagement of great armies, conquejls and revo- lutions, of empire $ thofe are the folemn trifles that a- mufe mortals : But they difcourfe upon the chief fub- jeiJ of the infpir'd look the deceafe ivhich-hejkwd accompHjh at Jerufalem j thofe meritorious pajpons, that miraculous death , that were to redeem and fave a whole world r . The dignitaries of heaven are defcrib'd by St. J^ohn as finging the fbng of Mofes and the tamb, and, paying their adorations in the words of the facred writers/. St. Peter T Fid. Mr^Boyk ftyle of H. S. zitf, 117. Rev. xv. 3. f Exod. xv. Mofis canticum applicatum Chrifto & rebus Chrilli. Compare $v ^, 4. of St. John's Apocalypfe with Exod. xv. 1 1, &c. Pfal. cxlv. 17. ffa. Ixvi. 25. Jsr. x. 7. And cou'd Defended and llltiftrated. 371 St* Peter represents this matter in a very glori- ous piece of fublime ; slg a srf$vpi8<rt,v ayfo-w Tttxf&r xityaiy *which things the Angels dejtre to look info*. Learned men take this expreflion to be a beautiful allufion to the golden chenibims looking towards the mercy-feat v . It very property fignifies to pry narrowly into thofe glorious revelations y to ftoop dowm arid look earned! y y as St. John into our Saviour's fepulcher w j o* elfc to bo\V tfiemfelves in adoration of fo great a myftery. 'Tis certadit that pride was the condemnation of the Devil ; and 'tis argued iritaar fak ptcibability that his pride was provok'd by his foreknowledge of our Savi- our's incarnation. The offence of the Croft is certainly the ruin 6f haughty fpiri-ts, who are teftipted by the apofliaoe Arigels 3 arid follow their example in endeavouring to ddftroy in the minds of men that fundamental article of our faith x . But thofe good Spirits,, who(e nature and excel- lencies fo far trankrend ours, think this adorable inftance of the divinefl charity and humiliation worthy their bowing as well as defire to look into. The Angels which preferv'd their allegiance,, and cou'd the devotions of the triumphant Church be exprefs'J fo properly, fo fublimely, as in thoughts and terms dictated by the eternal Spirit? i Pet. i. it. v Exod. xx. 18, 19, 2.0. Myfterium hoc cernui venerantur angeli. w John xx. f. Mr Lejlcyy Dial. i. p. 140. x Fid. Mr. Lejley uti prius. Bbbz ftations SACRED CLASSICS, Sec. illations in glory, willingly fubmitted to adore the humanity join'd in one perfbn with the Godhead 7 . Submit did I fay ? They glory 'd in it with all their powers. It was their moft natural fervice, the moft ftupendous and noble demonftration of divine love, which will occafion the eternal feli- city and preferment of human race, and be the unexhaufted fubjecl: of the wonder and joyful praifcs of all the glorify 'd fervants and fbns of God. Now to the ever-llefied and adorable Trinity, God the Father y God the Son, and God the holy Ghoft, three Perfons and one eternal Divinity y te afcriVd ly the Church militant and trium* phant, all majefty, dominion^ worjhip, praife and glory. Amen. y Mr. Lejlefs Hid. of Herefy and Sin, p. 781. Mr. Norn's Rel. and Rca. Pare I. Con. 8. Sec. i-i. p. 8p. Jenkins Reaf. Part I. p. 318, jap. THE END, INDEX T O T H E FIRST PART. A Bl&tive cafe of con* frequence, common- ly caWd abfolute, 86 Abftra6t for con- crete, 7f Accufative cafe of confidence ^ commonly call d absolute y 86 A&sii. if. 116 . i v. 3 . defended again ft Ca- faubon, 2.1 iv. I p. pp . iv. 27. 137 vii. 2. 18 vii. 34. 14 vii. 40. f2 viii. 39, 1 14 -x. 4. 7 xi. 17. 120 xxi. i6> 9 xxvi. 22. 1.9 xxvii. 10. 134 Adjective agrees with fubftan- tive contained in the fenfe of the fubjett difcours'd on^ 88. put for fubjiantive^ 127 34 141 1 27 1 46 if Antecedent ^^ relative, diffi* culties about in facred and foreign daffies ^ 97, p8 'AVTJ ;' a peculiar Signification^ 186 sco, 10 oppofition to yW, M4 ^z^ a'5^ pleonafti- 1 8, 19 Aorift ^r/? for frefent tenfe^ 1 06 for pluperfetJ, 1 07 INDEX. ''Air't^n, 133 Collective nouns, p3, 94 J\poculypfe, wW. Revelation. Colof. Ep. to iii. 16". 81 'A7TcXXu/jto, 149 Comparatives, pleonafm in 'em Aptote,fometimes femininely noble and emphatical, 6\ I4f put for pofitives and fu~ no* perlatives, and vice versa, 3f 77> 78 >, 149 Conftru&ion, variation of, 84 or an equivalent word Contradictions firming in heft elegantly pleonaftical, 66 authors, i$6 ' : -^X a &-> ! 44 l Cor. x i- I0 *- fp 2 Cor. x. 12. 24 B THfi[j.a. for ^^arcij 137 Critics pretended, forward and Mr. Bakei'jyVy?'#0// offtylc-> raJJj in cenfuring tiie ftyle of 70 the new Teftament, 12, 13 Barbarifms. $> Foreign words. neither write well them- BezaV _;'/? character of the pro- fehes, nor judge well either priety and excellency of the of faults or beauties in good language of the new frfta* authors, if8 r ij-p went, 40, 41 X^v' under/load, po He gives up the notion of C\-uci\ymgthefte/h,theftrength fokcifms in the new Tefta- and noble emphajis of that ment, fo, f i phrafe, 31, 32 Bold exjprejfions in f acred Claf- Jics, and in foreign writers, D iff, if 6, if 7, if 8 Brow of a mountain, if 6 Dative cafe remarkable, 130, j / C As pleonaftical, 1 20 At^ra ^w^/ J&lpcn falfly diftin- Cafe, variation c/ 5 <s^ ^(^~ gttijh'd, zp culties in change^ 84 A] # particle of inference or con- Caitalio, 83 clufion, 110 dailies Greek and Latin, the 2^a w///^ i?w accusative cafe in noble ft charged with folecifms -the fame fenfe as with a ge- by falfe-narnd critics, 43,44 nitive, iif ' approach nearer to folc- -fignificsfpace of time, ibid. r/fms than the writers of the the fame as ct>, ibid. 8V, 85 / N D E conflruftion of it un- common^ 135* elegantly pleonaftical^ fp E Ei for on, 1 1 f ETirtfor tKsX<&cr, p8 Els for w in beji Greek author /,. for 'EnXeiTroo, Galatians iv. 17. 134 Fag m\l abruptly in the begin- ning of a difcourfe, 1 1 3 ' ' clofes a period agreeably, ibid. JT"' I .; Ev yar^/ s^w, i 34 Gataker, ' 8, p, 10, 1 1 Genders exchanges of, pf , p<5, 97 neuter for mafculine, 87 God, /^ wcr*/ us'd to exprefs fomething great , extraordi- nary ', 78' Grammar /r/#/# ^<^ vulgar mofl clofely adhered to by men of low genius^ 48 Grammar plain and figurative^ 48, 49 Grammar figurative, ignorance of has occafiotf.d blunders, bereJieS). pf Grotius, 20 H Dr. Hammond, 8r, 8z Hebraifms in the new I'ejia- F went, i 7X?V great vigour and Foreign words in the new Te- beauty, 6 ftament, 57, 38, 3p Hebrew language effential, m- Future tenfe for vrefent, lop, cejfary, excellent, i, 3,4, 6tc. J 10 Hebrew idioms imitated by the old Greek Clajfcs^ and tranf- plantcd n<$ 2,6 zV; admirable 2.7 23 j 2,4 Elliptis, fi 'Ev for r , common with left Greek authors^ 115* 3 Ev, mi flakes about its peculiar fignificationS) ip 'EvTiufisv ^ ovTJuOsv, 138 Ephcf. iii. 2.0, ii. 67 - - iv. i, 2,, 3. 80 - v. 4. 145 Epithets translated from tfo mop proper to a ixwd more remotely related^ ji^jt. Eraimus, iff INDEX. planted into their own lan- guage, 102 Herodotus, defended by Faber agatnft Longinus, 14.4, 145* Horfe, defcription of, 6 St. fames i. ii. vindicated a- gainft Erafmus, iff, if<5 St. [erom unjuftly cenfures the Septuagint, 2.6 St. Paul, p2 "lv<x peculiar ufe of, 133 Inconfiftencies feeming in the new Teftament and beft Claf- fics eajily reconciled, i f 6, i f 7 Indicative w00<^ for potential , lOf Infinitive mood for imperative, 104 Interruption of ftyle in the new 'T'eftament for better reafons than in the Greek and Latin writers, 72, 74 / jr /i Job, 1^77 o^/^ <7W^ fublime book, f, <S <SV. John'j language vindicated againft Dennis Bifhop of A- lexandria, #</ Z)r. Mill, 121, 123 St. JohnV Gofpel, i. if. */<?/<?#- r/(?^/ againft Erafmus, 108 St. John's Go fpel, i.2o. ^0,61 ii. i o. defended againft Ca- faubon, 20, 21 iv. 6. lip viii. f. 1 16 - vfii. 1.6, JIT Vlll. 44. sf . viii. f 5. 3 4 > ix. 30. Ill, 117 xi. 2. 107 xvii. 2. 128 St. John'; i Ep. ii. 8. 1 2p ii. 2,7. loo St. Jude'i Ep. v. 7. 148, 149 14. 137 Julian weakly compares The- ognis and Ifoc rates to Solo- mon in point of morality and ivifdom, 3, 4 expofes bimfelf by ridicu- ling Scripture, 23, 24 K Kocc y<?wf o/ ;V; particular fen- Jes, 121 Kag7r/xot, 148 Kara, /o#Z o/ //; particular Jignifications, 116, 1 17 Kspc^ou'vco, 148 Kuller Ludolph rejecls the no- tion of folecifm in the new Te/famenf. 1 40 Lamentations of the prophet Jeremy, 4, f Leflening expreffions fometimes very feafonable and emphati- cal, 143 Air. LockV cenfure on the idi- om and turn of phrafes in St. Paul, 3p, 40 on his ufage of verbs, 101,102 Lucian Lucian isftupidly infolent,tranf~ grejfts his own rules, 24, 2f St. Luke has as many noble Hebraifms as any of the fa- cred writers of the new Te- ftament, 42, 43 St. LukeV Gofpel) i. f f . 84 viii. f4- ^4 M lip St. Mark vii. 28. ix. 20. P<S Marcu, I 4<* 5V. Matthew ii. 10. defended againft Gataker 17 iv. 3. p8 v. 13. if 4, iff v. 21. defended againft Grotius, 20 vii. 12. up, 1 20 xii. 36. i4f xix. 10. 134, i3f xxi. 42. 88 Met^oTEg', pure and emphati- cal againft CEcumenius, 27 Mev and 3 don't always anfwer one another in the pure ft and be ft Clajffics, i$p Metaphors bold in the new Te- ftament, i f 4 Mill Dr. anfwer'd, 112, Stc. menty 147 Movov under ft ood, f 6 Moods, changes of 'em, 104 Moral precepts often repeated in the new 'Teftament and fo~ reign daffies ', ij-j Mortification of hfts and paf- fions required in all religions., by Plato and all wife N Not , a particle of entreating up Nazianzen St. Gregory, 124 Nominative cafe without a Nominative cafe for vocative, 84 Nonnus, poetical paraphraft of St. JohnV Gofpel) his egre- gious miftake) pf Nouns, exchange of them and their accidents^ 74 Noun principal for pronoun, 7$ Number furprijing change of, 88, 8p 1'ranfition from one to an- other the fame in Hebrew Bible, New Te/tament, and Greek and Roman authors, pr, P2 Numerals, exchange of the fpe- cies of them,, j$ O CEcumenius weakly ccnfurcs Sf Luke, 10, ir St John, 26" Ofx* a family pure againft Gataker, 16 'O7TS, I 22 'Or i by way of queflion, 1 17 C c c "On INDEX. 'Ort pleonaftical, 1 1 8, 134 own way , and pretends to Ou v pleonzftical, up impofe falfe rules of criti- Dr. Potter Bifiop of Oxford, 1 36 Parenthefis in the new Tefta- Pronoun, om fpecies put for ment. See Interruption of another, j$ ftyle. Prefcnt and future tenfe loth in Paronornafia:, 15*1, if i one claufe, and relate to the Participles in Greek , various fame time. ufes and exchanges of them, PrcterimperfecT: tenfe for pre- 1 1 3 fent , and vice versa. Vid. us" } d for all parts offpeech, Tenfe. 1 8, 7p, 80 n^q^/]Tnr, 14 "Bar'tgis both parents, po n^r, peculiar fignificaticns , Peculiarities in words and phra- 1 18 y^j /'fl//^ /' //?e new 'Te/ia.ment and foreign Clajjics, 21, 22, R Perfon, tranjlation from one to Relatives, two injlsad of on^ another ', 110, ill 60 i Ep. St. Peter, i. 13. iff Vid. Antecedent. i. if. 116, 117 Repetitions, vigorous and no- l Pet. ii. 4, f, 6. ff ^ *' ^^ ^"^ Teftament , iii. i> 8p 6 1, 6z Pfochenius, 8 common in all languages, Philemon Ep. /0, ver.f. 71 63 P h i 1 i p . i . 8 . 7,8 f principal wor/l in a fen- Phrynichus egregioujly blunders, tence, $^ z , infacred writers more em- Pindar, 4, 10, 146 phatical than in common Claf- Plato, 31, if 4, ij-f fees, tff , 68 OyXa'arWj 1 6 f one thing as if it were nxyi underjloodi 88 fwo ? 6$, 66 Poetical words and phrafes fea- Revelation of St. John defen- fonably us\-l, beautiful and ^ againfl Dennis Bijbop of proper in profe-writcrs, 1 1 Alexandria, 140 Hoico SCT[WJ> ^jcr/ay, pure Revelation ii. 24. 131 Greek, 12, iv. p, 10. lop Pollux Julius mijlakes in his v. 10, 12, 13. 141 Reve- I N D EX. Revelation xvii. 16. xviii. 1 1. n, 13. xxii. i. Rhiming, ifi Romans Ep. to vi. xvii. vii. 4. ' ' xiii. 13, 14. Scholiafts old-) often confident and trifling, 44 Scholiaft of Thucidides, his juft and noble char after of the ftyle of St. John, 123, 114 Scriptures attacked by people un- qualify' 'd to under fl and 'em, 44 Sacred Scriptures, their divine beauties, various excellencies. Vid. old and newTeftament. 2s/xvos in a bad fenfe, 148 Senfes, put one for another in the beft authors, 76" Signification of one word va- rious in beft authors. Vid. Words. Solecifm, 44, 4f none in the new Tefta- ment, 46* the notion that there are folecifms in that ineftimable book of dangerous conference to learning and religion, 1 60, i<5i, 164, i<5f appearance of folecijm in the new feftament, and all the nobleft authors in the 47 1 eftc-enfd beauties and grit* c-es of language by Beza, fo Solomon's divine fong or pa- floral^ Proverbs, Ecclefia- , Sophilts Greek, injudicious , vain^ 28, ip Subftantivc for adjecJive, 7$ Synonymous words often mill- tiptyd in ths new 'Teftament and other noble authors^ 66^ ^7 Syntaxis pure and rational, no violation of it in facred wri- ters of the new Teftament y Technical words, 1 2,8 Tenfes, exchange of one for an- other, i Of, ic<5, 107, 108, i op, no Tn'gjjjrir, 21 w<; fometimes feminine, pr i Thefl: iv. 8. 155- Titus ii. i 3. i 3j- Tranfpofition of words and members of periods, 69 V U Verb, that feems mcejfary to fenfe, fome times wanting, fz Verbs, fpecies of excbangd, p8 active for pzjfive, 105 intranji-tive turn to tran- 101 Verfes C c c JND EX. Verfes whole fometitnes in left went protfd pr&per profe-writers, lyi Tits 'Aoucov, if too weak, &c. 145 a double ftgnification) Words of two contrary Jignifi- 147 cations, 146, 147, 148 W Words reckoned too ftrong for the fubjett in the new fefta- iop, no INDEX INDEX TO THE SECOND PART. x. . xii. 23. xvi. if. xvii. i 5. xxvi. 1 1. xxvii. 12. Angels contemplate and admire A the wyfteries of the Go/pel^ 189, 190 Bfurdity horrid to Apocalypfe, vid. Revelation. afcribe to ftyle of 'A7roxa$cc A cx/a, 198 new Teftament , Ariitotle, 293, 348 230 Articles, 189, 190 v. 41. 1 86 Attic elegancies in nriv Tefta* 197 went) 191, 192 198 St. Auilin admires the ehquence 1 86 of St. Paul, 219 1 24 c f facred wit en of the 202 new Teftament in general , 172 242 Affliaion fitffer'd for the Go- f pel matter of joy ^ 182, 183 facred Claffics exprefs and describe that ^oy in a manner triumphant incomparable, \ 8 3 184 Allegories in neiv Teftament beautiful^. 305 B Bucon Lord Verulam 5 his htfr obfervation of the fulnefs of Script tire-fenfe^ ^9 BczaV juft and noble character of the ftyh of the new 7 eft a - ment, 28, 217, 218 Bifiop INDEX. Burnet boldly affirms that there are no lively fi- gures in the new Teftament, v. ip, 20. 106 Charity Chriftian, 103 Children young, onr Lord's ten- der regard and goodnefs to 'cm, 27 r, 2,76 St. Chryfoftom admires and fets forth St. PaulV great and noble eloquence, 234 he admires St. John, 332 Coloffians Ep. to i. i r. 2fp i. if, 16, 185 ip. 360 iii. 22. 201 Comparifons in the new <Tefta- me'nt appo/ite, excellent, 199 parallel to comparifons in noble ft daffies, i/f, 176 Compofition in the new T'efta- ment clean, ftrong, excellent, 287, 188 Compound words in the new I'ejlament fine , fi^ong, em- phatical, 198 Conflagration of this world, 34i Contradictions, appearances of, in thv new Teftament how foltfd, 311, 313 i Cor. iii. 21, ii } 13. 2,pp vii. 3f. 199 ix. 17. 199, zoo ch. xv. a rapturous piece of eloquence, fub limit y, live- ly figures, 313, 314 z Cor. iv. 17, 1 8. 182, vi. 10. 301 xi. 2p. 271 Critics great, differ in their opinions, 2.91 D Decency and cleannefs of the exprejfion of the new Tefta- ment, 3 46 Dialects of Greek tongue feafo- nably and agreeably mix'd in the new fajtament, ipi iP7 ipp E Eloquence falfe, 212,213 Eloquence true, found, 214 in the new Teftament. vid. New Teft/iment. , for bjj a clajjical word, Enjedin a bold Socinian, 25- f Ephefians Ep. to, i. IP, 20. 263 iii. 18, ip. 300 iv. 14. 26*0 vi. 6. 201 Epiftles of the new Teftament admirable, 222, 223 Epithets in the new 'Teftament accurately proper, fignificant, noble, ip4, &c. Erafmus, his bold and raft) ac- count INDEX. count of the ftyle of the new Teftament, lop ~ character of bis favourite author iSY.Jerom, 143, 144 Expletives in the new 'Tefta- ment feafonable, beautiful, 118 Fathers, their judgment of the ftyle of the new Teftament, lip, cc. Dr. Fiddes his juft and noble character of the ne-w Tefta- went fa creel writers, if 8, ifp Figure?, their nature, ufe$ iif Figures beautiful, grand, mar- velous in the new Teftament, Gagneius a 0/V/Socinian, iff, if6 Galat. i. 13. 197 -- v. if. Galtrell his excellent ac- count of the method of facred Scriptures, 3 if, 316 Holy Ghoft defcended on our Saviour as a dove,. 361 God, his infinite and mo ft ado- rable goo dne ft, 103, 184, 310 fublime defer ipt tons of him, 33P, 340 Gofpels, their ftyle, pure, fro.- $er^ noble, no Gregory the Great his noble character of Sf. Paul, 3 3 8 H Hebraifms in the new Tefta- ment never violate the ana- logy and rcafon of grammar, and particularly of the gram- war of the Greek language, 169, 170, 171 Hebrews Ep. to, iv. 13. ipf vii. z6-, 104 viii. p. 103 xii. i, i, 3,4, f, 6. 186 xiii. f . ipi Hiitorian good, his ftyle, 318 Homer, 'weakly blam'd for his frequent nfe of expletive par- ticles, i 88, 189 his excellencies, 178, 18 L Hunger and thlrft- after righ- teoufnefs, 174 St. James his ftyle and chara- cter, 3 1-8 vindicated againft the rajh cenfure of Erafmus ibid. St. James i. 17. 3 }p \\\. from ver. i. to 1 3. ibid. iii. 17. ip<5 Idiotical ftyle fometimes ncccf~ fary y proper, beautiful, 141, 146 St. Jerom inconftanf y variable in his cha-raSlcn of tie fared INDEX. writers of the new Tefiament, St. John's Go/pel chap. xi. a perfpicuous , lively and mov- ing narrative, 2f 2 bis ftyle and character, 331 Si. John, his Go/pel ownd to be pure , eloquent, fublime, Jjy Dennis of Alexandria, As to bis Epiftles and Apo- calypfe unjuftly cenfur'd by him, 333, 334 St. Irenjeus, bis char after of St. Luke, 330 Ifidore Peleufiota, his jitft cha- racter of facred daffies, 249 St. JudeV ftyle and cbaracJer, 342- his Epiftle ver. i 3. 2,64 ] ulian apojlate, gives a high cha- racter and encomium of pri- mitive ChriftianS) 3 2 r Juvenal, 25*4 Keys of David, bell, death, Vid. St. John xi. Legeon, account of, fttrprifing* ly entertaining, grand, ifo Mr. Lefley his judicious and excellent account of the flyle and beauties of the facred Scriptures, 22.5, 227 Mr. Lock, his notion of tro- pical and figurative expreffi- ons explained, 2pf takes prodigious liberty in altering and perverting St. Paul'-f noble pajfage, Rom. ix. f. 366 - By his interpretation of many places of facred 'writers of the new fa/lament, depre- ciates and weakens their no- ble fenfe, ^6f St. Luke, his ftyle and char a- Rer, 330, 231 St.L>ukc'sGo/feI 9 iii. 23. 352 - vi. 38. ip 4 , ipj- - vii. 44. 2p8, 299 - xiv. 14. 1 80 Chap. xv. a great piece of natural and noble eloquence, Bifoop KidderV juft character of the divinely infpir'd wri- ters, 22f Language plain and common fometimes neccffary and beau- tiful. Vid. idiotical ftyle. Lazarus, biftory- of his death and refurreklion admirable. XIX. 41 2f4 M St. Mark'j ftyle and character, 226, 327 St. Mark'; Gofpel, i. 1 3 . 3 2p - iv. 39. J 278 -- vi. if. 32p -- ix. if. 328 St. Matthew'/ ftyle and chara- cter, 3 2.6 St. INDEX. St. Matthew'; Gofpel, viri. $. 277, 278 xxm. 37. i 7f , i 7 <j xx vi. 44. $60 xxviii. 3, 4. 279 "Metaphors bold and beautiful in the new Tejlament, 300 Method of the facred writers of the new Tejlament proper^ excellent^ 3 14 Morals of the Gofpel, and Greek and Roman Clajfics compa- red, 177, 178 The former faperior, 178, '7P Mount, our Saviour's Sermon on it) 220 Myfteries of the Gofpel pure, noble, edifying, require and encourage good life and true piety, 32f, 36$ in Denial of them tends to weaken and dejlroy Chriftian morality, 364 N Negative particles in the new Teftament emphatical, i po New-Tettament language in the main the fame with that of the pureft antient Greeks, impartial, ferhtis, pious, charitable; in all refpe&s qualify' d to write well, 310, 311 Their mode fly, 346, 347 - fheir furprizing and yfiofl agreeable variety, 348 Their fenfe deep, full, Excel all other writers in feveral refpefts, 204, 2of, 27p, 310, 321, 34J-. - The ftudy and knowledge of them pleafant-y of the greate/l importance, 368 1 Appearance of contra- diction in 'cm eafily recon- ctrd, ^ 11 o Old and New Teftament, vid. Teftament. Oppofition, Figure, mbls in new Teftament, 301 Orators fometimes prudently conceal their art, 2ip Origcn fpeaks with honour of the language of the facrcd writers, 140 201 New-Teftament Jlyle. Vid. P. Style. New-Teftament writers, lo- Particles agreeably and beauti- quent, up, 223 fully inter fpers'd in new Te- inan Ufe no Hebraifms that are ftament, 1 8 8 contrary to the approved con- St. Paul, his ftyle and char ac- ftruftion of the pure Greek ter. D d d A dole INDEX. in . A clofe confidential writer^ 337 . His epiftles dated from prifon eloquent^ marvellous^ tranfporting) 183 Period : may conftft of one member , 2p2 may have more than four , ibid. Periods regular and noble in new 'Teflament writers^ 286 - often negletted by and the beft foreign 2p2, Perfon, Creation of, 2p8 St. PeterV flyk and character, 340 He is fublime and grand^ 222, 340 St. Peter i Ep. i. f . ip6 1. 22. 270, 271 i. 7. 177 iii. 4. i So, 181 St. Peter 2 Ep. iii. 8. to 12. 341. Philemon, Epiftle /<?, admir- able , 271, 272, 273 Philippians i. 2p. 184 ii. 17, 1 8. 184 iii. 1 8, ip. 2.6$ Picus, Earl of Mirandola, his charatter of the flyk of the new Teftament^ 22f, 226 Du Pin his char a tier of the ftyle of the new Of St. Paul, Of St. James, Pliny Pindar 2. zp. W ^l 338 1 80 Plato, 173, 174, 177, 178 Mr. Pope bis juft character of the pcrfpicuity and noble fimplicity of the ne-iv I'efta- Prodigal Son, Parable^ of ad- mirable^ 303 Profopopeia, *vid. Perfon. Proverbial ExprefHons in new I'eftament) 1 74 Quin&ilian, 223, 2p, 323, 3*4 Reproof fevere^ when to- bs us'dy 263 Revelation, ftyle of the fame with the Gofpel and Epiftles of St. John, 3 34 Full of heavenly doftrines^ awful image S) fublime de- fer ipt ions ^ ibid. St. ] Corn's juft encomium of that divine book, 335* Revelation i. 7, 8. 334 xix.from 1 1. to 17. 335- ' xix. 6. XX. II. Rom. ii: 4, y iv. 17. 3-34 282 261, 262 2-79 184 v. 2, 3, 4, f. viii. ip. viii. chapter grand, live- 307, 308 ix. 5*. 366 I N D EX. Rom. xii. admirable,. 287 xii 10. 203 i xii. 13. ipf - xii. ult. 181 fublime, marvellous, 2 Suffering for the caufe of God and the Gofpel of his Bleffcd Son glorious, &:c. Vid. Af- fliction. i P4 Our Bleffed Saviour, bis farc- qvel difcourfe gracious, mov- ing, admirable,. 221 is infinitely good, merci- ful, 2fl,2f 4 , 274, 27 f is eternal , true, God by nature, if i,zf7, 277, 311, S'34> 3f7> 3<*j ^4 Scriptures facred, their grand and moft gracious dejign, 3 f o, 3H . Contemplation of them the employment of Angels, one in- gredient in the happinefs of heaven, 3<5p, 370 Simon Father, 231, 232, zff Solecifms, fuch as are thought to be fo by injudicious people, generally the grandest and fublimeft pa/ages, 336, 337 Sophocles, 280 Stanhope , his noble and judi- cious account of Heb. i. 3. 361 Style iV/0/fV07, 242 Styles all in perfection in the new 'Teftament, 248 clear , perfpicuons , 248, 249 vigorous, 2fp foarp, cutting^ 363 delicate, tender, moving, ^6 7 Teftament old, a moft glorious, eloquent , infiru5lii'e book , i6p, 170, &c. perfeflly agrees with the new, 34P, 3fo Teftament, old and new, pro- perly make up one cow pie at and per f eft book , ths moft 'wonderful, fublime, engaging,- and edifying in the whole ivorld, 34p, &c. i Theff. i. 6. ii. 17, ip, 20. iii. 8. 26-, v. 14. 2 Their, i. n, 1 Tim. i. 1 3. iv. 10. vi. if. 280 Chap. vi. from ver. 12. to end, a noble piece of found fenfe, beautiful, cmphatical language, and graceful ftruc- ture, 287 2 Tim. iii. i, 2. 266 Titus i. 13. 263. Tongue cvi/ 9 . the mifchiefs of it admirably reprefented, 339 Tollius, editor of Longinus, his injurious criticifm on St. Paul 268 268 176 287 204 322 20f INDEX. Paul confuted, 288, 28p placed in a difcourfe^ Transfiguration of our Blejftd Words Jingle , vigorous and j^ . O I /* T? -T-w-. Saviour ', 518 Tranfition, figure^ noble in the (fw feftament) U 2p8 200 w Words emphatical properly wonderfully empbatical in the new feftamenti ip$, ip4 Words compound. Vid. Com- pound. Writers of a great genius de- fpife a trifling and fuperfti- tious accuracy^ 224 Writers of the new faftament Vid. New Teftament, f I N i s. UNIVERSITY OF~ CALIFORNIA LIBRARY Los Angeles This book is DUE on the last date stamped below. DEC 19 1985 REC'D UHl-10 AU6 MAY 5 1 975 ^- ; * II X i Form L9-40w-7,'56(C790s4)444 THE LIUKAK\ LTSIVERSITY OF CALIFORNIA LOS ANGELES AA 000025277 5