Some angel say, where ran proud Asia's bound? Or where with fruits was fair Europa crown'd? Where stretch'd waste Lybia? where did India's store Sparkle in diamonds, and her golden ore? Each lost in each, their mingling kingdoms glow, And all dissolv'd, one fiery deluge flow: Thus earth's contending monarchies are join'd, And a full period of ambition find.

And now whate'er or swims, or walks, or flies, Inhabitants of sea, or earth, or skies;

All on whom Adam's wisdom fix'd a name,
All plunge, and perish in the conquering flame.
This globe alone would but defraud the fire,
Starve its devouring rage; the flakes aspire,
And catch the clouds,and make the heavens their prey;
The sun, the moon, the stars, all melt away;
All, all is lost; no monument, no sign,
Where once so proudly blaz'd the gay machine.
So bubbles on the foaming stream expire;
So sparks that scatter from the kindling fire;
The devastations of one dreadful hour
The great Creator's six days' work devour:
A mighty, mighty ruin! yet one soul

Has more to boast, and far outweighs the whole;
Exalted in superior excellence,

Casts down to nothing such a vast expense.
Have ye not seen th' eternal mountains nod,
An earth dissolving, a descending God?
What strange surprises through all nature ran?
For whom these revolutions but for man?
For him Omnipotence new measures takes,
For him through all eternity awakes;
Pours on him gifts sufficient to supply
Heaven's loss, and with fresh glories fill the sky.
Think deeply then, O Man! how great thou art;
Pay thyself homage with a trembling heart;
What angels guard no longer dare neglect,
Slighting thyself, affront not God's respect.
Enter the sacred temple of thy breast,
And gaze and wander there, a ravish'd guest;

Gaze on those hidden treasures thou shalt find,
Wander through all the glories of thy mind.
Of perfect knowledge, see, the dawning light
Foretels a noon most exquisitely bright!
Here springs of endless joy are breaking forth!
There buds the promise of celestial worth!
Worth which must ripen in a happier clime,
And brighter sun, beyond the bounds of time.
Thou, minor, canst not guess thy vast estate,
What stores on foreign coasts, thy landing wait;
Lose not thy claim, let virtue's paths be trod,
Thus glad all Heav'n, and please that bounteous God,
Who, to light thee to pleasures, hung on high
Yon radiant orb, proud regent of the sky:
That service done, its beams shall fade away,
And God shine forth in one eternal day.

THRICE happy Job + long liv'd in regal state,

Nor saw the sumptuous East a prince so great; Whose worldly stores in such abundance flow'd, Whose heart with such exalted virtue glow'd. At length misfortunes take their turn to reign, And ills on ills succeed, a dreadful train! What now but deaths, and poverty, and wrong, The sword wide-wasting, the reproachful tongue,

It is disputed, among the critics, who was the author of the book of Job: some give it to Moses, some to others. As I was engaged in this little performance, some arguments occurred to me which favour the former of these opinions; which arguments I have flung into the following Notes, where little else is to be expected.

+ The Almighty's speech, chap. xxxviii. &c. which is what I paraphrase in this little work, is by much the finest part of the noblest and most ancient poem in the world. Bishop Patrick says its grandeur is as much above all other poetry, as thunder is louder than a whisper. In order to set this distinguished part of the poem in a fuller light, and give the reader a clearer conception of it, I have abridged the preceding and subsequent parts of the poem, and joined them to it; so that this piece is a sort of an epitome of the whole book of Job.

I use the word paraphrase, because I want another which might better answer to the uncommon liberties I have taken. I have omitted, added, and transposed. The mountain, the comet, the sun, and other parts, are entirely added: those upon the peacock, the lion, &c. are much enlarged; and I have thrown the whole into a method more suitable 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 my self in through the whole.

Longinus has a chapter on Interrogations, which shows that they contribute much to the sublime. This speech of the Almighty is made up of them. Interrogation seems, indeed, the proper style of majesty incensed. It differs from other manner of reproof, as bidding a person execute himself does from a common execution; for he that asks the guilty a proper question, makes him, in effect, pass sentence on himself.

And spotted plagues, that mark'd his limbs all o'er
So thick with pains, they wanted room for more?
A change so sad what mortal heart could bear?
Exhausted woe had left him nought to fear,
But gave him all to grief. Low earth he press'd,
Wept in the dust, and sorely smote his breast.
His friends around the deep affliction mourn'd,
Felt all his pangs, and groan for groan return'd;
In anguish of their hearts their mantles rent,
And seven long days in solemn silence spent ;
A debt of reverence to distress so great!
Then Job contain'd no more, but curs'd his fate.
His day of birth, its inauspicious light,
He wishes sunk in shades of endless night,
And blotted from the year; nor fears to crave
Death, instant death, impatient for the grave,
That seat of peace, that mansion of repose,
Where rest and mortals are no longer foes;
Where counsellors are hush'd, and mighty kings
(O happy turn!) no more are wretched things.
His words were daring, and displeas'd his friends;
His conduct they reprove, and he defends;
And now they kindled into warm debate,
And sentiments oppos'd with equal heat:
Fix'd in opinion, both refuse to yield,
And summon all their reason to the field:

So high, at length, their arguments were wrought,
They reach'd the last extent of human thought:
A pause ensued:-when, lo! Heav'n interpos'd,
And awfully the long contention clos'd.
Full o'er their heads, with terrible surprise,
A sudden whirlwind blacken'd all the skies:
(They saw and trembled!) From the darkness broke
A dreadful voice, and thus th' Almighty spoke.

The book of Job is well known to be dramatic; and, like the tragedies of Old Greece, is fiction built on truth. Probably the most noble part of it, the Almighty speaking out of the whirlwind (so suitable to the after practice of the Greek stage, when there happened dignus vindice nodus) is fictitious; but it is a fiction more agreeable to the time in which Job lived than to any since. Frequent before the

* Who gives his tongue a loose so bold and vain,
Censures my conduct, and reproves my reign;
Lifts up his thought against me from the dust,
And tells the world's Creator what is just?
Of late so brave, now lift a dauntless eye,
Face my demand, and give it a reply.

Where didst thou dwell at Nature's early birth?
Who laid foundations for the spacious earth?
Who on its surface 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 sung,
When Heaven's high arch with loud hosannas rung,
When shouting sons of God the triumph crown'd,
And the wide concave thunder'd with the sound?
Earth's numerous kingdoms,hast thou view'd them all?
And can thy span of knowledge grasp the ball?
Who heav'd the mountain which sublimely stands,
And casts its shadow into distant lands?

'Who, stretching forth his sceptre o'er the deep,
Can that wild world in due subjection keep?
I broke the globe, I scoop'd its hollow side,
And did a bason for the floods provide:
I chain'd them with my word; the boiling sea,
Work'd up in tempests, hears my great decree:
"Thus far thy floating tide shall be convey'd;
And here, O main! be thy proud billows stay'd."

law were the appearances of the Almighty after this man. ner, Exod. ch. xix. Ezek. ch. i. &c. Hence is he said to dwell in thick darkness: and have his way in the whirlwind."

There is a very great air in all that precedes, but this is signally sublime. We are struck with admiration to see the vast and ungovernable ocean receiving commands, and punctually obeying them; to find it like a managed horse, raging, tossing, and foaming, but by the rule and direction of its master. This passage yields in sublimity to that of Let there be light, &c. so much only as the absolute government of nature yields to the creation of it.

The like spirit in these two passages is no bad concurrent argument that Moses is author of the book of Job.