T

*

HRICE happy Joв + long liv'd in Regal State
Nor faw the fumptuous Eaft a prince fo great;

Whofe worldly ftores in fuch abundance flow`d,
Whofe heart with fuch exalted virtue glow'd.

At

*It is difputed among the criticks who was the author of the book of Job; fome give it to Mofes, fome to others. As I was engaged in this little performance, fome arguments occurred to me which favour the former of thefe opinions; which arguments I have flung into the following notes, where little elfe is to be expected.

The Almighty's fpeech, chapter, xxxviii, &c. which is what I paraphrafe in this little work, is by much the finest part of the nobleft, and most antient Poem in the world. Bishop Patrick fays, its grandeur is as much above all other poetry, as thunder is louder than a whifper. In order to fet this diftinguished part of the poem in a fuller light, and give the reader a clearer conception of it, I have abridged the preceding and fubfe

K 6

quent

At length misfortunes take their turn to reign,
And ills on ills fucceed; a dreadful train!
What now but deaths, and poverty, and wrong,
The fword wide-wafting, the reproachful tongue,
And fpotted plagues, that mark'd his limbs all o'er
So thick with pains, they wanted room for more?
A change fo fad what mortal heart could bear?
Exhausted woe had left him nought to fear;
But gave him all to grief. Low earth he prest,
Wept in the duft, and forely fmote his breast.
His friends around the deep affliction mourn'd,
Fe't all his pangs, and groan for groan return'd;
In anguish of their hearts their mantles rent,
And fev'n long days in folemn filence spent;

quent parts of the poem, and joined them to it; fo that this piece is a fort of an epitome of the whole book of Job.

I use the word paraphrafe, because I want another which might better answer to the uncommon liberties I have taken. I have omitted, added, and tranfpofed. The mountain, the comet, the fun, and other parts, are entirely added: thofe upon the peacock, the lion, &c. are much enlarged and I have thrown the whole into a method more fuitable to our notions of regularity. The judicious, if they compare this piece with the original, will, I flatter myself, find the reasons for the great liberties I have indulged myself in through the whole.

:

Longinus has a chapter on interrogations, which fhews that they contribute much to the fublime. This speech of the Almighty is made up of them. Interrogation feems indeed the proper style of majesty incenfed. It differs from other manner of reproof, as bidding a perfon execute himself, does from a common execution; for he that afks the guilty a proper queftion, makes him, in effect, pass sentence on himself.

A

A debt of rev'rence to diftrefs fo great!

Then Joв contain'd no more; but curs'd his fate.
His day of birth, its inauspicious light,

He wishes funk in fhades of endless night,
And blotted from the year; nor fears to crave
Death, inftant death; impatient for the grave,
That feat of peace, that manfion of repose,
Where reft and mortals are no longer foes;
Where counfellors are hufh'd, and mighty kings
(O happy turn!) no more are wretched things.
His words were daring, and difpleas'd his friends;
His conduct they reprove, and he defends 3
And now they kindled into warm debate,
And fentiments oppos'd with equal heat;
Fix'd in opinion, both refufe to yield,
And fummon all their reason to the field:
So high at length their arguments were wrought,
They reach'd the laft extent of human thought:
A paufa enfa'd.-When, lo! heav'n interpos'd,
And awefully the long contention clos'd.

Full o'er their heads, with terrible furprize,

A fudden whirlwind blacken'd all the fkies:

(They faw, and trembled !)* From the darkness broke A dreadful voice, and thus th' Almighty (poke.

Who

* The book of Job is well known to be dramatick, and, like the tragedies of old Greece, is fiction built on truth. Probably this moft noble part of it, the Almighty fpeaking out of the whirlwind (fo fuitable to the afterpractice of the Greek ftage, when there happen'd dignus vindice nodus) is fictitious; but it is a fiction more agree

able

Who gives his tongue a loose fo bold and vain,
Cenfures my conduct, and reproves my reign?
Lifts up his thought against me from the duft,
And tells the World's Creator what is just ?
Of late fo brave, now lift a dauntless eye,
Face my demand, and give it a reply:
Where didft Thou dwell at nature's early birth?
Who laid foundations for the fpacious earth?
Who on its furface did extend the line,
Its form determine, and its bulk confine?
Who fix'd the corner-stone? What hand, declare,
Hung it on nought, and fasten'd it in air;
When the bright morning stars in concert fung,
When heav'n's high arch with loud hofanna's rung;
When fhouting fons of God the triumph crown'd,
And the wide concave thunder'd with the found?
Earth's num'rous kingdoms, haft Thou view'd them all?
And can thy fpan of knowlege grafp the ball?
Who heav'd the mountain, which fublimely ftands,
And cafts its fhadow into diftant lands?

Who, ftretching forth his fceptre o'er the deep,
Can that wild world in due fubjection keep?
I broke the globe, I fcoop'd its hollow'd fide,
And did a bafon for the floods provide;
I chain'd them with my word; the boiling fea,
Work'd up in tempefts, hears my great decree;

"Thus

able to the time in which Job liv'd, than to any fince. Frequent before the Law were the appearances of the Almighty after this manner, Exod. c. 19. Ezek. c. 1. &c. Hence is He faid to dwell in thick darkness: And bave his way in the whirlwind.

"Thus far, thy floating tide fhall be convey'd;
"And here, O main, be thy proud billows ftay'd."
Haft Thou explor'd the fecrets of the deep,

Where, shut from use, unnumber'd treasures sleep;
Where, down a thousand fathoms from the day,
Springs the great fountain, mother of the fea?
Those gloomy paths did thy bold foot e'er tread,
Whole worlds of waters rolling o'er thy head?

Hath the cleft centre open'd wide to Thee?
Death's inmoft chambers didft Thou ever fee?
E'er knock at his tremendous gate, and wade
To the black portal thro' th'incumbent shade?
Deep are those fhades; but bades ftill deeper hide
My counfels from the ken of human pride.

Where dwells the light? In what refulgent dome?
And where has darkness made her dismal home?
Thou know'st, no doubt, fince thy large heart is fraught
With ripen'd wisdom thro' long ages brought,
Since nature was call'd forth when Thou waft by,
And into being rose beneath thine eye!

Are mifts begotten? Who their father knew? From whom defcend the pearly drops of dew?

Το

*There is a very great air in all that precedes, but this is fignally fublime. We are ftruck with admiration to see the vaft and ungovernable ocean receiving commands, and punctually obeying them; to find it like a managed horfe, raging, toffing, and foaming, but by the rule and direction of its master. This paffage yields in fublimity to that of Let there be light, &c. fo much only, as the abfolute government of nature yields to the creation of it.

The like spirit in these two paffages is no bad concurrent argument, that Mofes is author of the boɔk of Job.