Shall thy prevarications make men silent; Shalt thou even scoff, and there be no one to make thee ashamed?"* They are represented as illiberal, contentious, inclined to torture every thing to the worst of purposes: "Doth God pervert judgment? Doth the Almighty pervert justice ?"+ Where observe, Job has not as yet uttered an intemperate expression in disparagement of the divine justice. Nay, thou castest off fear, And thou restrainest prayer before God:"‡ Such is the invective of the other of them. They are also proud, contemptuous, and arrogate too much to their own wisdom: "Why are we accounted as beasts; Let him tear himself in his fury: What, shall the earth be forsaken for thee?"§ Or shall the rock be outrooted from its place? Rather let the light of the wicked be extinguished."|| Nor is Zophar, who takes up the subject after Bildad, more modest : "Verily the impulse of my thoughts incite me to reply, Even because there is some resentment within me: I hear the ignominious reproof that is aimed at me, The conduct of all these malicious censors is much the same through the whole piece. Eliphaz indeed, who begins in the mildest terms, descends afterwards to the severest reproaches; and he directly charges Job with the most atro + Chap. viii. 3. Chap. xv. 4. Chap. xi. 2, 3. S" So the LXX. What! if thou diest, shall the whole earth be desolate? Which version, or rather paraphrase, is most elegant, and in my opinion finely accommodated to the purpose of the sacred writer. When the orientals would reprove the pride or arrogance of any person, it is common for them to desire him to call to mind how little and contemptible he and every mortal is, in these or similar apothegins: What though Mohammed were dead? His Imauns (or ministers) conducted the affairs of the nation. The world does not subsist for one man alone. Nay, this very phrase is still in use among the Arabic writers, "the earth is desolate." Gol. col. 1570.-H. Chap. xviii. 3-5. cious offences: from which intemperance of language, it must be confessed, the others refrain. Bildad, not to be silent, repeats in a brief and florid manner the subject which had already been twice treated of by the others, namely, the majesty and holiness of God; and Zophar, withdrawing from the contest, deserts entirely the cause of his companion, and leaves the field to Job. The business of defamation indeed seems, with great propriety, committed to three persons. It would have been too confined and trivial in the hands of one; and, amongst a crowd of accusers, too confused and clamorous. There appears, however, but little difference in the manners of the three friends; for in them the poet has rather studied to display the progress of the passions than any diversity of character. But though the nice and fastidious criticism of the moderns demand variety in this respect, the simplicity of infant poetry will be excused by every person of real judgment; and I think this deficiency (if such it may be called) is amply compensated by the gravity and importance of the subject and sentiments. The lenity and moderation of Elihu serves as a beautiful contrast to the intemperance and asperity of the other three. He is pious, mild, and equitable; equally free from adulation and severity; and endued with singular wisdom, which he attributes entirely to the inspiration of God: and his modesty, moderation, and wisdom, are the more entitled to commendation when we consider his unripe youth. As the characters of his detractors were in all respects calculated to inflanie the mind of Job, that of this arbitrator is admirably adapted to sooth and compose it: to this point the whole drift of the argument tends; and on this the very purport of it seems to depend. The interposition of the Deity, and its connexion with the general design of the poem, I have formerly noticed. I will only add, that although some critics have really thought the whole address inconsistent, and foreign to the subject, no man has ever accounted it in any respect unworthy of that supreme Majesty to which it is ascribed. Another circumstance deserving particular attention in a poem of this kind, is the sentiment; which must be agreeable to the subject, and embellished with proper expression. It is by Aristotle enumerated among the essentials of a dramatic poem; not indeed as peculiar to that species of poetry alone, but as common, and of the greatest importance to all. Manners or character are essential only to that poetry in which living persons are introduced; and all such poems must afford an exact representation of human manners: but sentiment is essential to every poem, indeed to every composition whatever. It respects both persons and things: as far as it regards persons, it is particularly concerned in the delineation of the manners and passions; and those instances to which I have just been adverting, are sentiments expressive of manners. Those which relate to the delineation of the passions, and to the description of other objects, yet remain unnoticed in this Lecture. As I formerly, however, treated of these subjects in general, I could scarcely avoid producing some examples from this poem; for, in demonstrating the power of the poetic diction in exciting the passions, I could not possibly deduce my instances from a better source. On the present occasion, therefore, I shall study brevity, and avoid as much as possible the tediousness of repetition. * The poem of Job abounds chiefly in the more vehement passions, grief and anger, indignation and violent contention. It is adapted in every respect to the incitement of terror; and, as the specimens already quoted will sufficiently prove, is universally animated with the true spirit of sublimity. It is however not wanting in the gentler affections; the following complaints, for instance, are replete with an affecting spirit of melancholy : "Man, the offspring of a woman, Is of few days, and full of inquietude: He springeth up, and is cut off like a flower; He fleeteth like a shadow, and doth not abide : Upon such a creature dost thou open thine eyes? And wilt thou bring even me into judgment with thee? Turn thy look from him, that he may have some respite, Till he shall, like a hireling, have completed + his day."‡ The whole passage abounds with the most beautiful imagery, and is a most perfect specimen of the Elegiac. His grief afterwards becomes more fervent; but is at the same time soft and querimonious. See Lect. 14, 15, 16, 17. "Or until he shall acquiesce, or shall make satisfaction, (the original will bear either interpretation); for the word in the Arabic dialect sometimes signifies, He did or afforded to another, what he held to be agreeable to himself." -H. "Chap. xiv. 1, 2, 3. 6. 06 How long will ye vex my soul, And tire me with vain harangues? These ten times have ye loaded me with reproaches; For the hand of God hath smitten me. Why will you be my persecutors as well as God, And wherefore will ye not be satisfied with my flesh?"† That self-indulgence which is so natural to the passion of Hope; its ingenuity in drawing pictures of future felicity ; its credulity in cherishing these ideas, and the gaiety and elevation of mind with which it describes them-are finely expressed by Job in the passage immediately following the relation of his past life: "Therefore I said, I shall die in my nest; I shall multiply my days like the sand: My root was spread abroad nigh the waters, And my bow gained strength in my hand. They hearkened to me, nay they waited for me; For my words dropped upon them: And their mouths were open as for the latter rain."§ To this part of the subject, which relates to the delineation of the passions, may be referred those delicate touches which animate almost every description, and which are drawn from the most intimate knowledge of the genuine emotions of the human soul. I shall content myself with one example out of the many which the compass of the work affords. It is exactly copied from Nature; for, when events take place "I think the word 1727 occurs but this once in the Scriptures, and (as is my usual practice when I meet with any such words or phrases) I consulted the Arabic lexicographers. They explain it by two other words; the one is 2, to admire, the other is 187, to wonder, to be astonished. Whence , to wonder in amazement, (to be overcome with astonishment, as Giggeius explains it); and the sense of the passage will be, Are you not ashamed to gaze at me? Kimchi says his father affirmed, that the word 2 signifies in Arabic impudence or forwardness: I do not however find this interpretation confirmed by the Lexicons which I have consulted. But still if we suppose that the word 1 is derived from 5, the explication of Kimchi may be ac cepted, but the form of the verb will be anomalous. It is, however, safest perhaps to adhere to the common translation."-H. Chap. xix. 2, 3. 21, 22. $Chap. xxix. 11–23. according to our ardent wishes, but quite contrary to our expectations, we have the utmost difficulty to believe them real. Job thus expresses himself respecting God: "If I called upon him, and he should answer me, Yet could I scarcely believe that he had heard my voice."* This is admirably expressive both of the majesty of God and of the severity which he exercised towards Job: it is also no less descriptive of the humiliation and despair of the sufferer. "If I were merry with them, they would not believe it,”† says Job of his dependants; in which is expressed his own dignity and gravity united with urbanity, and at the same time their unviolated attachment to him. Thus too, by the same circumstance, is depicted both the ardour and alacrity of the war-horse and his eagerness for the battle: "For eagerness and fury he devoureth the very ground, He believeth it not when he heareth the trumpet. When the trumpet soundeth, he saith, Aha! Yea he scenteth the battle from afar, The thunder of the chieftains, and their shouts."‡ This passage, which has indeed always attracted genéral admiration, will also serve to exemplify the excellence of the descriptive parts of this poem: and from the same circumstance we may fairly conjecture, that the pictures which are exhibited in other parts of the work would appear no less striking resemblances of the realities, were we equally well acquainted with the originals. To judge rightly of a description, we ought to have as clear and distinct ideas of the thing itself as the author. The idea of thunder is familiar to all mankind; observe, therefore, how it is depicted by Elihu : "At this my heart trembleth, And is ready to bound from its place. Hearken attentively, and tremble at his voice; And its blaze to the ends of the earth. After it a voice roareth: He thundereth with the voice of his majesty ; He deceiveth them not when his voice is heard."§ + Chap. xxix. 24. Chap. xxxix. 24, 25. Chap. ix. 16. § That is, "they cannot mistake his voice for any thing beside." Heath. Job xxxvii. 1-4. |