proffligate and impious Men should go unpunish'd and having themselves often seen as well as heard by Tradition from their Forefathers that wicked Nations and Families had frequently by the just Judgment of God been utterly destroy'd concluded that Job notwithstanding the outward Figure he made of a very upright and religious Person must needs be guilty of some great tho' secret Crimes Otherwise they could not conceive how it was consistent with Divine Justice and Mercy to suffer him to be so very miserable Their Opinion was that a good Man such as Job was suppos'd to be could never be so far forsaken of God and abandon'd to such prodigious Sufferings This is the Point they labour to prove They press this very hard on their afflicted Friend hoping thereby to bring him to a Confession of his Sins and a sutable Repentance upon which they believ'd as they often assur'd him God would withdraw his afflicting hand ease his Complaints and restore him to his former Prosperity On the other hand Job who was sure he was no Hypocrite but that he was in good earnest a Lover of God and of his Neighbour and was not conscious of any such conceal'd and secret Guilt as his Friends reproach'd him with asserts in his defence that his Friends proceeded in their Debates on erroneous grounds That they mistook his Case and the Methods of relieving him He affirms that neither their Notions nor their Observations were true For tho' they asserted the contrary he was fully assur'd that God did often afflict even with the greatest Severity many just and upright Men and suffer'd in the mean time the Enemies of God and Man to live in the most flourishing Condition and that therefore there could be no Argument drawnfrom 〈◊〉 Mans Sufferings that he was a wicked and unrighteous Person In some of his Debates on this Head he is so far transported as to censure rashly the Divine Administration as if God had too little regard to the Piety and Righteousness of good Men whom he punish'd with so severe a hand whilst he favour'd the Wicked and prosper'd their Vndertakings or at least that he made not that distinction between them that the Iustice of Righteous Government requires But as to himself his Anguish and Impatience rose to such a degree as vented themselves in many Expressions relating to God's Severity to him unbecoming an humble and patient Sufferer which made a learned Critick say that Job who had a good Cause discomposed by his Impatience manag'd it ill as his Friends had a bad one but manag'd it well Their Debates being ended Elihu a wise young Man that had heard the Arguments on either side undertakes as Moderator to compose the Controversie and set them both right He agrees with Eliphaz and his two Companions that God was a Hater of Wickedness and Irreligion and that he often punished those that were guilty of them but then he will not allow that Job may from thence be justly condemn'd as a wicked Man because a good Man may often be afflicted by God for great and wise Ends. On the other side tho' he does not censure Job for his Hypocrisie or any concealed or secret Guilt yet he condemns him for the Impatience he express'd in his Sufferings and for his bold and rash Expressions that seem'd to charge God with Injustice After this God himself condescends to speak and put an end to their long Debate He condemns Eliphaz and his two Friends for their unjust Censures of Job and Job for his unjust Censures of Divine Providence but on the comparison declares that Job had the better Cause and had spoken better of him than his Friends had done perhaps that Expression of Job's is alluded to The Lord has given and the Lord has taken away blessed be the Name of the Lord. Then he delivers him from his great Afflictions and restores him to his former happy Condition 'T is evident that the Design of the Book is to show that the Providence of God does not only guide and over-rule the highest and most important Affairs The Enterprizes of aspiring Princes and the Rise and Fall of States and Empires but that it interâ—sts and mingles it self with all the Concerns of Humane Life and thereby prepares the Mind of the Reader to acknowledge him as the great Moderator of the World the Director of all our Actions and Disposer of all the Events that happen to Mankind By which Impression he is dispos'd to submit himself and all his Concernments with humble Resignation to the Almighty's Righteous and Unerring Conduct And more particularly the Design is to justifie the Divine Providence in suffering impious and flagitious Men to live in the undisturbed Enjoyment of all the Power and Plenty their Hearts can desire while good and upright Men are often overwhelmed with Poverty and Distress and expos'd to the scorn and outrage of their insulting Enemies The solving of this difficulty which has so often puzled the Understanding and discomposed the Temper of the Wisest and Best of Men seems to be chiefly aim'd at in this Writing And 't is observable that in the Debates between Job and his Friends when they are prest with any difficulty concerning the Divine Administration of Affairs and are at a loss how to reconcile Occurrences with their own Notions of Iustice and Goodness they fly to God's Infinite Greatness and seem to resolve the Controversie into his absolute Sovereignty and uncontroulable Power which occasions many wonderful Descriptions of God's Majesty and Omnipâ—tence They seem to think that when we are puzled and confounded and after all our Attempts can by no means account for the Proceedings of Divine Providence that directly thwart our Opinions of Wisdom and Justice we should enter upon the Contemplation of the Glorious Attributes of God and consider they so far transcend all the low created Perfections in Man that ours are by no means to be a measure of his They may and do assist us in many Instances as faint Representations of the Divine Excellency but whenever we see any Conduct of Divine Providence that we can't reduce to our ways of Reasoning we should humbly adore and not dispute We should fetch a Solution from the Sovereignty and boundless Perfections in God who is always Good and Iust and Wise even when in his Administration he seems to be most the contrary And 't is very plain that when God bespeaks them in the latter end of the Book he insists on no other Justification of his Proceedings with Men than his Dominion and Property his absolute Sovereignty and transcendent Greatness that render him unaccountable able to his Creatures for all his Actions And therefore in the sharpest and severest Trials when Providence seems vigilant and industrious as Job expresses it to find occasions of afflicting when it runs counter to all our Desires defeats our Hopes and disappoints all our Designs in such a hard Case we are to moderate our Passions submit our
middle Opinion that is that this is a Poem founded on a true History as those of Homer probably were But then they say the Conduct the Method the Machines the Incidents and the Episodes which make up a great part of the Poem were form'd in the Poet's Imagination and that therefore this Poem is of the Epick kind As to the first Opinion I think the Scriptures fully confute it by asserting the Person and Patience of Job so plainly that it leaves no room for any tolerable Evasion As to the two last many things of Weight and Importance may be urg'd on either side and therefore I shall not undertake to decide the Controversie but content my self in giving the Reasons that I have read or heard offer'd to support each Assertion Those of the last Opinion in the defence of it alledge that the Frame of the whole Book shews it to be the Work of Imagination and Contrivance and not a relation of a Series of real Actions No Body can believe say they that Satan did really appear before God and that the Discourse recited in the Book was indeed held between them in the Presence of the Holy Angels 'T is not credible that the Messengers that brought an account to Job of so many Sufferings that befel him did really come upon the heels of one another so fast and in such a manner as is there related They think 't is improbable that Job should sit so long upon a Dunghil and that his Acquaintance should wait seven days and nights together without speaking a word to their sorrowful Friend They look on this to be a Poetical way of representing the vast Distress that overwhelmed the patient Sufferer They say 't is incredible that all those prolix Discourses should be actually held between Job and his Friends and that a Man in such sad Circumstances as Job is supposed to be should speak so very long and use so many Poetical Similes Metaphors and beautiful Descriptions as are found in his several Speeches They urge also that it has an Air of Contrivance to sink a Man so suddenly from the most prosperous Condition and to lay him under such grievous Sufferings and the very extremity of Misery and then by a no less sudden and surprizing Revolution in so short a space of time to make him again the most happy Man in the World They urge that in the Catastrophe when this patient Man is rewarded for his inflexible Perseverance the allotting him just the same number of Children as he had lost and just a double quantity of Riches as he enjoyed before seems too nice to be a real Fact The Men of this Opinion do not dispute the reality of the Person of Job They allow there was a Person of that Name eminent for his Righteousness and famous for his Patience for this the Scriptures expresly affirm and they suppose some great Poet under the Guidance and Assistance of Divine Inspiration did for the Instruction of Mankind chuse this Subject and contrive the Poem upon it of which we are now discoursing They affirm that this Poem of Job is of the Epick kind here being found all the essential parts requir'd in the Constitution of such a Poem They add farther as a confirmation of their Opinion that though Machines that is the introducing of Invisible Superiour Beings and the interesting of them in the Business of the Poem are not necessary to an Epick Poem yet as it does greatly heighten and embelish the Narration they can't but take notice that this Conduct is observed here for the chief Apostate Angel and even the Divine Being himself are both introduced in the most proper manner that can be and as this perhaps is the Original of that sort of Writing so it does thereby discover a great Air of the Allegorial Epick Poetry Those on the other side argue thus As according to a settled Maxim of Interpreting the Scriptures we should not without apparent Necessity quit the plain and literal Sense and embrace a foreign more strain'd and less obvious Meaning so without the same necessity we should not turn the Relation of any Fact into Invention and Allegory And to make it appear that there is no such reason in this Case they alledge that there is nothing related in this Book but what may well be suppos'd to have actually happened that though many things appear improbable and hardly credible to the Reader this is no convincing proof that they were not real Facts For all Men that are are verst in History will meet with many wonderful and improbable Occurrences which notwithstanding upon sufficient Evidence they are forc'd to believe and they say that for that reason because the Facts were so extraordinary and surprizing they were recorded in this Book for our Admiration and Instruction They had rather give their Assent to some things that sound only harsh and improbable for many such Relations are undoubtedly true than by departing from the literal Sense encourage and embolden uncautious and wanton Wits to break in upon the Scriptures and turn the History of the Bible into Parables and Allegories for the Consequence of such a licentious way of interpreting the Scriptures they look on as very mischievous They think that the unnecessary Concessions of some Divines in these Points tend mightily to unsettle Men in the Principles of their Religion and weaken their Reverence of Divine Revelation They do indeed alâ—ow the appearance of Satan before the Throne of God and the Discourse on that Occasion to be an Allegory for there are cogent Reasons for it but for the rest of the relations in the Book they see no necessity of making them Allegorical also There is the like Allegory us'd in the History of Ahab where 't is said a Spirit appear'd before the Throne of God and offer'd to be a lying Spirit in the Mouths of Ahab's Prophets to perswade their Master to go down to War to Râ—amath Gilead and he had leave given him to do so But though this be an Allegory yet without doubt all the rest of the Story about this Expedition of Ahab against the King of Syria was real And to be more particular that Almighty God should permit the great Enemy of Mankind to afflict and persecute a great and a good Man for the proof of his Constancy and Uprightness and to make his Vertues more conspicuous and exemplary that he should leave him for a time under this sharp and severe Trial and at last deliver the patient Sufferer and restore him to his former flourishing Condition This has nothing in it but what is very agreeable to the Course of Divine Providence and if there be any Facts in the Book that seem improbable 't is owing to the Poetical manner of representing them in which perhaps the Time Order Place and other Circumstances are not so nicely observed But whether this be an Epick or barely an Historical Poem which I leave undecided the Character of Job
'll be contented to take our old Language in the Condition they found it There is a degree of Vertue necessary to the support of every Civil Society without which the wisest Laws and the most prudent Provisions will be in vain Not many Princes have Vertue enough for themselves but none no not the Best not our Great King himself who has enough for many Kings has enough for himself and his People too For if the Corruption of any Nation should encrease to that degree that there should not be Men of Vertue leâ—t to put the Laws in Execution if the Numbers and Confidence of the Criminals become so great that they stand upon their defence despise the Authority and defy the Power of the Magistrate that Nation for want of Vertue let the Magistrate and Laws be never so good must be certainly undone Whoever therefore as the Poets of the Stage have done shall by any means sink the Vertue and corrupt the Manners of the People do effectually undermine the Foundations and subvert the Pillars of the Government for a profligate and flagitious People will destroy themselves in spite of the best Laws and the wisest Ministers in the World This is the ground of my Controversie with the Stage If a Foreign Enemy should invade the Nation every English-man should take the alarm although he has receiv'd from them no personal Provocation The same Reason will justifie the Opposition I have made to those Poets I have at any time condemn'd and will plainly show that I did not do it unprovok'd Whoever undermines the Goverment provokes every Man that loves It to resist him 'T is a great damage also to the Nation that so much of its finest Spirit is thus wasted or employed to very bad Ends. 'T is plain that many of a Poetical Genius are likewise fit for the greatest and highest Employments both in Church and State and there are but very few that are such meer Poets as only to be capable of being Turners of Verses If therefore our Youth who are Poetically inclin'd would consider the Matter and thereupon apply themselves to Business or severer Studies many of them might arise to eminent Stations and at the same time advance themselves and become very serviceable to their Country and by this means they would acquire greater Honour and Reputation than ever they will do by their Rhimes and Plays For if they would reflect they would soon be convinc'd that tho' Poetry is indeed an Ornament to those that have more noble and more useful Qualities yet when it becomes a Profession 't is one of the meanest and lowest sort 'T is like Dancing and Musick which we value in a Gentleman when a Musician or a Dancing-Master make no considerable Figure So greatly different are the degrees of Esteem which all Men pay and not without good reason to the same Attainment when 't is in one an Accomplishment in another a Trade And that I may not only censure the Performances of others but likewise give a fresh Example of a Writing that may both entertain and instruct the Reader I have made a third which I intend as my last Attempt in Poetry It has been observed by great Judges Parrhasiaâ—â— and I find Mr. Le Clerk of the same Opinion that the Moderns have wholly form'd themselves on the Models of the Ancients and that we have scarce any thing but the Greek and Latin Poetry in the World We have no Originals but all Copiers and Transcribers of Homer Pindar and Theocritus Virgil Horace and Ovid. Their Design their Phrase their Manner and even their Heathen Theology appear in all the Poems that have since their Time been published to the World especially in the Learned Languages 'T is therefore to be wish'd that some good Genius qualify'd for such an Undertaking would break the Ice assert the Liberty of Poetry and set up for an Original in Writing in a way accommodated to the Religion Manners and other Circumstances we are now under But however we write I think 't is high time to leave out our Allusions to the Pagan Divinity for how beautiful soever they might be in in the Pagan Authors who wrote to a People that believ'd in those Deities 't is the most ridiculous and senseless thing in the World for a Christian Poet to bring in upon all Occasions the Rabble and Riffraffe of Heathenish Gods and yet if we reflect on our Modern Poems one would think we were all Pagans to this day What have we to do with Jupiter and Juno Mars and Venus and the rest We know they are a Iest and yet they are brought into all our most grave and chastest Poems Solemn Prayers are made to them by Christian Writers than which there cannot be a more intollerable Absurdity I know 't is said as I have elsewhere obâ—erv'd that the Christian Scheme of Religion is not so well accommodated to Pâ—etical Writings and therefore our Poets are oblig'd to embelish their Works with the Pagan Theology A wretched Apology Are our Poets then so dry and barren have they so little Learning and so poor a stock of Images that they are not able to furnish themselves with proper Allusions surprizing Metaphors and beautiful Similes without reviving the old exploded Idolatry of the Heathens As in this Book of Job they will find a Poem that is indeed an Original and not beholding to the Greek and Latin Springs so they will find if it be not depress'd by the Paraphrase a sublime Stile elevated Thoughts magnificent Expressions where the Subject requires them and great richness and abundance throughout the whole without the Aids of the Pagan System of Divinity It has been generally allow'd that almost all the Book of Job is writ in Metre though a very learned Person famous for his Skill in these Matters has assured me that this is a mistake However that be 't is universally agreed that the Subject of it is treated in a Poetical manner that is the Narration the Allusions the Similes and the Diction are such as are proper only to Poems But 't is a Controversie among learned Men what kind of Poem it is Some are of Opinion that there never was any such Man in Being as Job but that the Person is feigned and all the Sacred Story concerning him is made up of Allegories and Fables composed for the Instruction of Mankind like the Parabolical Relations in the New Testament and of this Opinion were many of the Ancient Jews Others believe that this Book contains a relation of nothing but real Facts without feigned Incidents or Episodes and that therefore it is an Historical Poem like that of Lucan which contains the Narration of a Series of real Actions in a poetical way without interposing any feign'd Stories Most of the Commentators and Criticks that have writ on this Book if not all are of one of these two Opinions But I have in Conversation met with learned Men that are of a
may in my Opinion be every way proper for the first The Hero is indeed a passive one and this perhaps will be made a great Objection against this Assertion because Homer's and Virgil's Heroes are very active â—ersons For the Criticks forming their Model of an Heroick Poem intirely upon the Example of these two famous Writers make great and illustrious Actions necessary to the Hero of the Poem which conâ—orming my self to their Precepts I have formerly asserted But upon what Authority is this imposed on the World What Commission had these two Poets to settle the limits and extent of Epick Poetry or who can prove they ever intended to do so They wrote according to their own Notions and Measures and must all future Ages be bound up to follow their Examples without producing any other Reason Yet this Opinion how groundless and absurd soever it appears some imagine has been the great obstruction to the Improvement of Poetry among the Moderns But it may be urged that the Book of Job was written before Homer and Virgil and the World has as much reason to be governed by this Example as by that of the Pagan Writers And if we look into the Reason of the Matter and reflect on the End and Design of an Epick â—oem which is to instruct the World in some important Moral Truth by the Narration of some great and illustrious Subject-Matter there is no question but the relation of the Sufferings as well as the Actions of great Persons are very conducive to that end and indeed what else is the Subject of the Odysses 'T is true the Iliad is all active and a very fighting Poem but if the Odysses be consider'd 't is of another nature there is more a great deal of the Heroes Sufferings not evaded by Arms but by little Tricks and Subtilties than there is of Action and yet Mr. Rapin accounts this the more perfect Poem In short 't is hard to offer any Reason why the Hero of the Poem may not be as well active as passive If it be said the Authority of Homer is against it for as for Virgil he is but a Copier of Homer's Model the answer is that the Authority of the Book of Job is for it and moreover that Homer is of this Opinion in his second thâ— against it in his first Poem If it be said that Reason is against it let that Reason be produc'd let it be shown that the Sufferings of a great Man manag'd with equal Skill will not equally serve the Ends of Epick Poetry As for what the Criticks say on this Point 't is plain that Homer has been the great Lawgiver to those Men they have done little but turn'd his Examples into Precepts and bringing no Reasons to support what they assert they are of no weight in this Matter Job then is a Hero proper for an Epick Poem an Illustrious Person fit to support the Dignity of that Character He is by the Instigation of Satan brought into miserable Streights and unparalell'd Sufferings to try his Constancy and Integrity He appears brave in Distress and valiant in Affliction maintains his Vertue and with that his Character under the most powerful Temptations and exasperating Provocations that the Malice of Hell could invent and thereby gives a most noble Example of passive Fortitude a Character no way inferiour to that of the active Hero When the various Efforts to break this mighty Man's Invincible Constancy prov'd ineffectual he is at the latter end of the Poem acquitted by God Himself and rewarded highly for his Patience and Perseverance whereby the Justice of Divine Providence is asserted and Mankind encouraged to be stedfast in their Religion and Integrity upon a sure Belief that Vertue will not always be neglected but will at last receive a suitable Reward Whatever others assert in my Judgment the Hero of the Poem ought not to be drawn without some defects for as the representing of a perfect Idea of Vertue which is never to be found in any meer Man offends against the Establish'd Rule in Epick Writings which excludes all things improbable so instead of promoting it rather obstructs the End of that Poetry For a perfect Idea of Vertue and Excellency may amaze and dazle us but when propounded for our Imitation it will rather discourage than excite us But when the Examples of Vertue that are set before us are discern'd to have a mixture of Imperfection we are provok'd and embolden'd to form our selves according to such a Pattern where there appears no Impossibility as there does in the other â—f becoming like it This Poem seems to me to abound in all kinds of Beauties which are admir'd in Poetical Writings What noble strains of Eloquence occurr in every place where they ought to appear especially in the latter part of this Book How tender and moving are the Thoughts in the Passionate how proper just and instructive in the Moral how sublime admirable and majestick in the other Parts What Variety is there of elegant Expression beautiful Similitudes bold and surprizing Metaphors natural strong and lively Images and Descriptions throughout the whole In many of these it exceeds and in all of them it equals the most Celebrated Writings of the Greeks and Romans And if it should hereafter happen that Homer or Virgil should be well Translated into the English Language I am very confident that this Book were it Translated or Paraphrased with equal Skill would outshine them in all sorts of Perfection But as to the chief End and Design of an Epick Poem the giving a noble and true Idea of the Divine Being the Justification of his Providence the Instruction of Mankind in Moral Duties and animating the Reader from proper Motives to imitate the Illustrious Examples of Piety and Vertue set before them in this respect which is infinitely the most considerable this of Job put all the Poems of the Heathen World out of Countenance How will Homer's wretched Tribe of Gods and Goddesses introduc'd with all the Follies and Vices too of corrupt Mankind appear to the World as now instructed and inlighten'd with the Christian Revelation And tho' Virgil is in that as in other things more judicious and cautious than the Greek Poet yet his Theology must be very odious to a Christian Reader and if the Machines of these Poets in which so much of the Beauty of their Poems consists are so contemptible and ridiculous a great part of their Excellency is gone There are indeed some few Moral Sentences interspers'd in these Poets but as they seem inserted only as Embellishments of the Writing so the Body of the Poem carries little Instruction in it For my part when I consider these Poems I am of Mr. Lâ— Clerk's Opinion that the Authors had nothing else in their view than to entertain and please the Reader Ubi supra and that all the Materials and Contrivance were accommodated to that End 'T is true Criticks in after-Ages a sort
of Men who are very apt to discover in Writings many notable things that never enter'd into the Author's Thoughts have found out wise and instructive Morals in the Poems before-mention'd yet this seems an Invention of their own For as the Learned Man before-mentioned observes 't is scarce possible to relate any wonderful Action of a Great Person or any considerable Occurrence but 't will be very easie to draw some Moral Inference from it tho' the Writer never had it in his Imagination And the very same Person has with as great grounds of Probability drawn from the Iliad and the Aencis Morals very different from those that are commonly mention'd and has offer'd sufficient Reasons to make us doubtful whether the Morals attributed to these Poems were ever intended by the Authors And if this be true of these two famous Writers that only the pleasing and amusing not the instructing of Mankind was their Design 't is more apparently true of the greatest part of the Moderns especially the Dramatick Poets Since this Book of Job and other Poetical parts of the Scripture some of which I have likewise undertaken to paraphrase does at least equal the chief Beauties of the Heathens and by their Vsefulness in their excellent Instructions infinitely excel them 't is a Matter of Admiration that the Christian Poets should be so far enamour'd with the Pagan Writings as to form themselves entirely by their Patterns to be taken up with the Study of them to the total neglect of these inspir'd Writings What pains and labour have our Men been at how great a part of their short Lives have they spent what a multitude of Volumes have they publish'd to illustrate the Meaning and discover the Excellencies of Greek and Latin Poets and to translate them into their own Languages If this were the Work of Gentlemen that had nothing else to employ themselves about and had no other Capacity of being useful to Mankind it might perhaps pass for an inoffensive Amusement and a pardonable â—ort of Idleness But 't is indeed wonderful that to give a new Sense to an Expression in an ancient Poet to slop a Period more exactly to rectifie a Word to give a truer Spelling to a Man's Name or to restore a corrupt Sentence should be look'd on as such a Perfection as sets a Man in the first Rank of Learned Men and that a kind of Knowledge which does not make Mankind any ways wiser or better should procure a mighty Reputation and dignifie the Owners of it with the honourable Titles of great Criticks and Masters of polite Learning I would not derogate from the true value of Classical Knowledge The Greek and Latin Poets should be study'd that we may understand those Languages of which there is such a manifest Necessity But 't is most evident that for the Sense for the noble and sublime Thoughts and what is more than all other Considerations for the forming a Man's Mind according to the justest Ideas of Vertue and true Wisdom and thereby promoting his Honour and his Happiness the Poetical parts of the Scripture have as before suggested an infinite advantage above all others put together and therefore one would think should not be less worthy of a Christian's Study and Application than Homer and his Followers The Language in which this Book was written is Hebrew and considering the very great difference there is between the Stilâ— or manner of Expression in the Eastern and Western part of the World their Eloquence as well as their Customs and Habits being of another kind than ours 't is very strange that a literal Translation of this Book as 't is now found in the Bible especially considering how long time since it was written how little the Language is understood and how much the Idiom of it is lost should not sound much more harsh and be less capable of being understood than it is I am confident that if several of the Greek Poets should be verbally translated they would be more obscure if not altogether unintelligible And if in a literal Translation the Book of Job written in an Eastern Language does so much affect us and raises in our Minds such an Admiration of its Beauty and Majesty what a wonderful and inimitable kind of Eloquence must be suppos'd in the Original when we can't translate verbatim a good Poem from one Modern Language into another tho' it be done by the nearest Neighbours without a mighty diminution of its Excellence As to the Time when Job liv'd it is highly probable that he was Moses's Predecessor or at least his Contemporary and that for these Reasons This righteous and devout Man was allow'd to offer Sacrifices to God which only the Priests under the Mosaical Dispensation had Authority to do and that only before the Tabernacle or Temple This devout Person seems intirely ignorant of the Modes of the Jewish Religion and of their manner of asking Counsel of God either by Urim and Thummim or by the Prophets and therefore 't is evident the Mosaical Scheme of Religion was not yet instituted In the whole Book of Job there is no mention made of the Law and the Prophets nor of the many Miracles wrought either in Egypt or in the Passage of the Children of Israel to Canaan though nothing could have been more pertinent and sutable to the Design of the Author of this Book had Job liv'd after that wonderful Deliverance and there is scarce any Writer that follow'd that Time that does not mention or allude to that famous History And this is yet farther confirm'd by the long Life of Job which was protracted to two hundred Years which agrees to the Times of the Old Patriarchs As to the Land of Utz the Country in which this great Man liv'd there are different Opinions occasion'd chiefly by the uncertainty which Utz it was for three are mention'd from whom it receiv'd its Name The first Utz the Son of Aram is mention'd Gen. 10. 23. who is reported to be the Founder of Damascus and Trachonitis and many Writers for this reason conclude the Seat of Job to have been in the Plain of Jordan in the Region of Trachonitis where the Tomb of Job is shown to Strangers at this day Others place it in the Famous Valley of Damascus A second Utz the Son of Nachor is mention'd Gen. 22. 21. from him the Country where he liv'd is call'd Usitis or Ausitis which by Ptolemy is plac'd near Euphrates and the City Babylon and therefore many Authors believe Job had his Habitation in that part of Arabia A third Utz who as Spanhâ—mius observes was a Horite of the Posterity of Sehir and not as commonly accounted of the Race of Esau is mention'd Gen. 36. 28. the Horites being driven out by the Edomites their Country was after that call'd Idumea which has for its bounds Arabia Canaan and the Red Sea and in this Country many believe was the Habitation of Job But if a Man could
the World By this it appears that great Advances may be made in Vertue by a diligent attendance to the Dictates of our Natural Light Would Men but improve their Reason reverence their Consciences and stand in awe of themselves they would become Worshippers of God as well as Sober and Righteous in an eminent degree I refer this to the Consideration of those Gentlemen that do not acknowledge the Divine Authority either of the Mosaick or of the Christian Institution Another â—nd and a very useful one too is by the Example of Job to conâ—ince the Reader of the Instability of a prosperous Condition and the great Vicissitude of Humane Affairs whereby his Mind may be dispos'd to Moderation Humility Temperance Compassion and Charity and preserved from that Pride and Contempt of others from that arrogant cruel and haughty Temper which great Riches and high Stations are too apt to produce especially in Men of a mean and low Spirit I have not attempted a close Translation of this Sacred Book but a Paraphrase For the Original being written in an Eastern Language their Manner and Turns of Expression are as before-mention'd so very different from ours that I thought a Paraphrase more proper and advantageous for a Modern European Language But as I judg'd it would not bear a strict Translation so on the other hand I have endeavour'd that the Paraphrase should not be too loose and wide but that the Reader may all along carry with him the Sense of the Original I have often diffus'd the Sense in other Expression I have amplify'd the Text in many Places that appear'd more Poetical and from General Heads I have descended sometimes to Particulars the Enumeration of which I believ'd would illustrate and enliven the Original I have avoided the immediate Repetition of the same Thought in Words little different from the first which is so very common in this Book as well as in that of the Psalms and other Poetical Places of the Scripture For tho' this was no doubt accounted in the Eastern Countries at that time a great Beauty and Ornament to the Writing yet we have quite another Taste of Eloquence and therefore I have thought it best to accommodate that Matter to the Modern way of Writing The Method of Writing in the Eastern Countries is what the Europeans think irregular the same Matter treated on before frequently recurs and the Connexion is sometimes broken and often obscure The Transitions are sometimes neglected and a new Subject enter'd upon without the preparation for it which we expect should be made We censure these Modes and Customs in Writings as defects and no doubt they would censure ours as much I would not peremptorily condemn their Taste for the Opinion of Beauty and Ornament seems not to be capable of being determin'd by any fixt and unalterable Rule Truth and good Sense are setled upon Eternal and unchangeable Grounds and Reasons but the manner of Expression and the method of conveying them and what concerns the Dress the Pomp and Ornament of them these are perhaps indifferent Ceremonies and every Nation may have Authority to establish which they please 'T is plain the Eastern World have not the same Apprehensions of Beauty and Ornament that we have They believe there is a great Beauty in the neglect of what we call Order and Regularity as is evident in their Gardens and Buildings What we censure as careless wild and extravagant strikes them with more Admiration and gives them greater Pleasure than all our elaborate and orderly Contrivances All that can be said is that our Tasts are different and if they are barbarous to us we are so to them some of which especially the Chinese are or at least have been very Wise and Polite Nations We in this part of the World are all so full of Homer and Virgil and are so bigotted to the Greek and Latin Sects that we are ready to account all Authors Heretical that are without the Pale of the Classicks This seems to me to be a narrow Sectarian Spirit that prompts Men to impose their Fancies and Opinions on all the World besides Whatever high Opinion we have of our own Attainments we should have that Temper and Moderation that might preserve a due regard for the Wisdom and Judgment of other Nations and not with the haughty Air of a Supercilious Critick censure and condemn every thing that deviates from the Examples of the Greek and Latin Authors I have therefore in this Paraphrase proceeded all along from Chapter to Chapter and Verse to Verse in the Order they are set down excepting some very few inconsiderable Transpositions So that I have by no means alter'd the Method and Order of the Narration or any way chang'd the Model And 't will be hard to give a Reason why the Author of this Book has not as great a Right to be made the Standard whereby to try Homer and Virgil as those two Authors have to bring this to their Tribunal If the Knowledge of the Hebrew Language had been look'd on in Europe to have been as necessary as the Greek and Latin had it been as great an Honour and Accomplishment for a Man to understand the first as the last and had there been as great a variety of Authors of all sorts of Learning left in the Language that there might have been an equal Inducement to have study'd and taught it universally in the Schools I say had this been the Grammarians and Criticks might perhaps have â—ixt on this as the best Model of Poetical Writings and have drawn their Rules and Remarks from the Example they found here For 't is plain all their Precepts are founded on Examples and on those Examples with which they were most conversant and in such Languages as were most in vogue and which most of them were oblig'd to profess and teach I have indeed supply'd in some Places the Transitions and other Connexions which according to their manner of Writing are omitted in the Original that the Reader of the Paraphrase who is unaccustomed to that way may not be embarrass'd or interrupted There are many hard and obscure Places about the meaning of which I have consulted the ablest and most famous Writers and have taken that Sense which I look'd on as most natural and supported by the best Reasons And in this I have chiefly been obliged to the Excellent Paraphrase of the Learned Bishop of Ely and the Collection of the Critici I have added a Paraphrase upon several other Poetical Parts of the Bible which in my Opinion are nobler Examples of the true sublime Stile than any can be sound in the Pagan Writers The Images are so strong the Thoughts so great the Expressions so divine and the Figures so admirable bold and moving that the wonderful manner of these Writers is quite inimitable One thing I must advertise the Reader of that in the Prophets 't is common with them that they may represent the Certainty of
their Predictions with the greater Advantage to use the past for the future Tense that is to speak of Things to come as already done so that their Prophecies often seem Historical Narrations of Matters already transacted Therefore the Reader is not to be surpriz'd when in the second Song of Moses he finds that great Prophet speaking of what befel the Children of Israel in Canaan as things past in his own Time which did not happen till long after his Death I am of Mr. Cowley's Judgment who in his Preface declares that there are no more noble Subjects of Poetry to be found than those the Scriptures furnish us withal and therefore I have made this Attempt 'T is true Mr. Sandys a Gentleman of great Merit has done this before but that I did not know till after I had begun this Work and made some Progress in it and when I had perus'd part of his Paraphrase I thought I might be able to supply some Defects especially in relation to Perspicuity and Coherence As to the Leviathan and Behemoth mention'd in the latter Part of this Book I have appropriated the Character of the first to the Crocodile and of the last to the Elephant I believe the Marks enumerated by the Learned Bochart do justly determine the Description of the Leviathan to the Crocodile but I can't see any necessity from what he urges to conclude Behemoth to be the Hippopotamus or River-Horse The Character given in Job is in my Opinion more sutable to the Elephant The Reasons alledg'd on both sides may be seen in the Critici before-cited and whether the one or the other be true is not a Matter of that Importance as should oblige me to transcribe the Arguments in this Place Perswaded by the Reasons of some Learned Commentators I have taken the Unicorn for the Uri or wild Bull and not the Oryx or wild Goat according to Boshart or the Rhinoceros according to others I impose not my Opinion on others These are Matters of small Moment and every Man is at liberty to think as he pleases A PARAPHRASE UPON THE Book of JOB CHAP. I. IN ancient Times e'er Moses Wonders wrought And murmuring Israel back from Egypt brought A Prince of great Renown and wide Command Whose name was Iob dwelt in Arabia's Land He in the Heav'nly Paths of Virtue trod And fear'd to Sin because he fear'd his God Sev'n goodly Sons that Admiration bred And Three Fair Daughters crown'd his Nuptial Bed With gracious Heav'n's peculiar Favour blest The prosp'rous Man unmeasur'd Wealth possest His Fleecy Flocks o'er all the Hills were spred And in his Stalls a Thousand Oxen fed When he decamp'd to find a new Abode Three Thousand Camels bore along the Road His precious Goods and groan'd beneath the Load No Lord was found thro' all the Spicy East Whose Herds and Stores so vastly were increast His Sons to Feast each other did prepare By turns rich Liquors and delicious Fare And to their Treats their Sisters they invite To pass the â—lowing hours in soft delight While Charming Music Dances Sports and Play Gave swifter Wings to Time to fly away Beguil'd the Night and hurried on the Day Conscious that Sin does oft such Mirth attend The Father fear'd his Sons might Heav'n offend For he with mournful Eyes had often spy'd Scatter'd on Pleasure's smooth but treach'rous Tyde The Spoils of Virtue over-power'd by Sense And floating Wrecks of ruin'd Innocence He therefore for his Soâ—s to Heav'n convey'd His Supplications and Atonement made And while they Feasted he devoutly pray'd There was a Time when all the Sons of God Came to th' Allmighty's bright and blest Abode To pay their Adoration at his Throne Which high on Adamantine Pillars shone Around in Throngs the prostrate Seraphs lay Absorpt in Glory and Excess of Day ' Midst the bright Cherubs haughty Lucifer By marks of Guilt distinguish'd did appear To whom th' Eternal thus Apostate whence Com'st thou to these blest Seats of Innocence Th' Apostate said I Lands and Seas have crost And past from Clime to Clime from Coast to Coast Till I the Tour of yon low World had made And all its Empires and its States survey'd My Course compleated to these Seats of Light Mounting th' Aerial Void I wing'd my Flight Th' Allmighty then demanded In thy Way And toilsome Course Ambitious Spirit say Hast thou observ'd good Iob my Servant one In Righteousness and Piety by none Thro' all the wide Terrestrial World out-done Whose perfect Virtue Admiration draws From Men on Earth and finds in Heav'n Applause I 've long observ'd reply'd false Lucifer Thy Favourite and watch'd his Steps with Care Without the Saint is in Perfection seen But is the Saint without a Saint within He serves his God but does he serve for nought Does he thy Glory or his own promote Does he Religion for it's Self regard And Virtue Court not Virtue 's bright Reward Is it his Honour to Revere his God Who has his Smiles but never feels his Rod Hast thou not crown'd the Labour of his Hand Increas'd his Stores extended his Command He can't complain unless with Wealth opprest With Favours over-laden over-blest Entrench'd within th' impenetrable Fence Within the Works and Lines of Providence He can defy the most impetuous Shock And all th' Assaults of Hostile Forces mock With such Abundance blest with Honour Crown'd The Weakest Virtue may maintain its ground But let this Prosp'rous Wealthy Saint be try'd Let this pretended Gold the Test abide Change but the Scene and let thy Frowning Brow The marks of Anger and Displeasure show Extend thy Hand and touch his tender Part Thou 'lt find his Power and Substance next his Heart Despoil'd of these he 'll Curse thee to thy Face And naked Virtue will no more embrace Th' Eternal to th' Apostate thus reply'd Let him Affliction 's sharpest Edge abide The Fence I rais'd around him I remove Go let thy Malice try his Truth and Love Let Righteous Iob thy fiery Tests endure But let his Person be from Pain secure He said Th' Apostate from his Presence went And on his fierce malicious purpose bent He on Arabia made a swift Descent Mean time it happen'd at a splendid Feast Iob's Eldest Son in turn receiv'd the rest The Sisters with their Brothers Drank and Eat All the delightful kinds of Wine and Meat When at Iob's House a Courier did arrive Sweating with Speed Panting and scarce alive Horror and Wildness in his Aspect bred Just Fears of dismal News and thus he said Invading Robbers from Sabea warm'd With hopes of Booty and with Lances arm'd An Inroad made and first the Men destroy'd Who kept thy Herds and then the Spoil enjoy'd I am alone by favourable Fate Escap'd th' unwelcome Tydings to relate While he was speaking with as swift a pace Another came and with as sad a Face And thus he said O Iob a suddain Storm And lowring Clouds did all the Sky deform The bellowing