who has a good inclination, but wants ability to perform a generous action. Obferv. IV. "A flothful man hideth his hand in his bofom, and will not fo much as bring it to his mouth again," xix. 24. Dr. Hunt's verfion: A flothful man hideth his hand in the dish; even to his own mouth he will not return it*." Obferv. V. "Prepare thy work without, and make it fit for thyself in the field: and afterwards build thine house," xxiv. 27. Dr. Hunt's translation: Prepare thy work without; and fit it up in the field: go afterwards, and build thine house.' Obferv. VI. "As the cold of fnow in the time of harvest: fo is a faithful meffenger to them that fend him; for he refrefheth the foul of his mafters." xxv. 13. Inftead of the word cold, for which there dos not seem to be in Hebrew the leaft foundation, Dr. Hunt fubftitutes the word veel, and tranflates the sentence thus: As a veffel of snow, in the time of harvest; fo is a trufty meffenger to them that fend him; for he reviveth the spirit of his masters.' To understand the full import of this paffage, we are to recollect, what we are, often told by travellers, that the inhabitants of the hot climates of the Eaft, who make use of snow to cool and dilute their liquors in the fummer season, have their fnow-houses, which are certain underground vaults or cellars, where they lay-up vaft quantities of it, either in earthen veffels, or baskets, be kept the year round: as well for fale, as for their own private use †. Obferv. VII." The north wind driveth away rain: fo doth an angry countenance backbiting tongue." xxv. 23. The marginal reading is, the north wind bringeth forth rain; the Septuagint verfion has, psi, raiseth up rain; the Syriac, is pregnant with rain; Aquila, Junius, Houbigant, and others, explain the word in the fame manner. Dr. Hunt prefers this interpretation, and renders the passage thus: The north wind bringeth forth rain; and a fecret tongue, angry countenances.' The picture, which the text exhibits is this: as the wind, in paffing over a large tract of land, or fpace of fea, collects a multitude of thick vapours and foul exhalations; which afterwards forming themselves into clouds, and obfcuring the face of the heavens, fall to the earth with great noife and precipitancy; fo it fares with fecret calumny. When it is once put in motion, and a very small thing does See Crit. Rev. for Jan. laft, p. 45. + See Rauwolff's Trav. p. 95. in Ray's Collection. Pococke's Trav. vol. ii. part i. p. 125. The north wind produces rain at Jerufalem. Levi Ben Gerhom. Vid. Houbigant on this place. it, it takes a large circuit, and picking up a variety of malicious stories, and aggravating circumftances, gradually forms a dreadful appearance of angry looks and threatning countenances, in the many persons, who may be hurt by the progreffive and accumulative fcandal. Obferv. VIII. "A righteous man falling down before the wicked, is as a troubled fountain, and a corrupted fpring." xxv. 26. -Dr. Hunt fays, A troubled fountain and a corrupted spring, fo is the righteous man, fwerving from juftice, in prefence of the wicked.' The fentiment is this: whenever a righteous man is prevailed upon, (and Mofes himself has told us, Deut. xvi. 19. he may be prevailed upon) either through the favours or the frowns of a wicked perfon, to proftitute his integrity, and confound the rules of right and wrong; he very justly falls under Solomon's comparifon. For, inftead of being what he pretends to be, the fource of juftice, and the oracle of truth, he is like a fountain, whose fides are fo trodden down, and waters difturbed by mud and dirt, that it is no longer capable of refreshing those, who refort to it, but is, on the contrary, become offenfive and loathfome. Obferv. IX. "The legs of the lame are not equal: fo is a parable in the mouth of fools." xxvi. 7. Dr. Hunt conftrues the Hebrew in this manner: The legs fail through lameness; and a parable in the mouth of fools.' That is: put a parable, the faying of a wife man, one of the maxims of the philofophers, into the mouth of a fool, and fee what ufe he will make of it! It will be of no more fervice to him in the conduct of his life, than legs are to a cripple. He has, indeed, the words, but he knows neither the meaning of them, nor how to apply them. Obferv. X. "Burning lips, and a wicked heart, are like a potfherd covered with filver drofs." xxvi. 23. These words our author tranflates, Refined filver, fpread over a potsherd; so are ardent lips, and a wicked heart." The words ' that is, filver of drosses, he obferves, will fignify here filver frequently purified, and well refined: and thus will the correspondance between this and the former phrafe be extremely evident; the luftre of well-refined filver anfwering to the ardour and warmth of flattering lips. 6 Obferv. XI. "Faithful are the wounds of a friend: but the kiffes of an enemy are deceitful." xxvii. 6. The antithefis of thefe two hemiftics is clear at first fight; but the following verfion makes it more fo: Better is reproof, that layeth open (a fault); than love, that concealeth (it). Faithful are the wounds [reproofs] of one, who loveth: but deceitful are the kiffes of one, who hateth." Obferv. Obferv. XII." A continual dropping in a very rainy day, and a contentious woman are alike." xxvii. 15. The profeffor obferves, that the original word fignifies vehement and intenfe, holding on without intermiflion, and abating nothing of its former impetuofity. This kind of dropping gives us a juft notion of the violent, intenfe, uninterrupted clamour of a scolding tongue.-He therefore renders the paffage, with fome little variation, thus: Continued is the dropping in a very rainy day; and a woman of contentions maketh herfelf like to it.' Obferv. XIII. "Though thou shouldft bray a fool in a mortar among wheat with a peftle, yet will not his foolishness depart from him," xxvii, 22. Our author gives us an image fomewhat different from this; though the general fenfe is the fame : Though thou thresh a fool on the floor among corn with a threshing inftrument; yet will thou not remove his folly from him.' Obferv. XIV. " A poor man, that oppreffeth the poor, is like a sweeping rain, which leaveth no food." xxviii. 3.. * vir pauper, &c. our author renders, A man who hath been poor, and oppreffeth the weak, is a rain that sweepeth away, fo that there is no food.' This verfe, he obferves, gives us a lively image of a hungry, tyrant, newly got into power; who, not content with making moderate depredations on thofe he has to do with, as one who fhould come into the fame office in better circumstances would be, bears down all before him, overthrows the bounds of common justice and humanity, fwallows up both the present poffeffions and future hopes of whole families, and spreads mifery and deftruction wherever he goes. [ To be concluded in our next. ] XIII. A Poetical Epifle from the late lord Melcombe to the Earl of Bute; with Corrections by the Author of the Night Thoughts. 4to. Is. 6d. Becket. THIS HIS Epiftle bears date the 26th of October 1761; and to confirm its authenticity, we are told that the original manufcript, in lord Melcombe's hand writing, with the corrections, in that of Dr. Young, is left for infpection at the fhop of the publisher. The epiftle is introduced with a Proemiam, confifting of a few pages, in which the author makes a high and elegant eulogium on John duke of Argyle the uncle of lord Bute. The Proemium thus begins: * Geber likewife fignifies potens, gigas, dominus. • Fol Pollio, to thee, my patron and my friend, The Epiftle is of the moral kind, and the defign of it is to fhew the errors which are committed in the pursuit of worldly greatness, by those who aim at the attainment of that distinction. The first words of the Proemium form likewise the commencement of the Epistle. Pollio, to thee; thy well-conducted youth For the gratification of our readers we fhall present them with a few paffages from this excellent epiftle, which does equal honour to the virtue, wisdom, and genius of the noble author. The corrections of Dr. Young are marked at the bottom of the page, • When men unfit for greatness will be great, Whoe'er in life mistakes his deftin'd place How thirst of pow'r o'er all alike prevails, Is private life, then, void of graceful aims? The rule that leads us with unerring pace To guard the plain good man, and grace the wit, This, well obferv'd, fhall fhield the weak from blame, Failings and faults from diff'rent fprings proceed; And tread life's labyrinths with judgment's clue, Her guardian influence then, § feverely kind, To genius this fecures immortal fame, • When wifdom's eye survey's the guilty great, They scorn their flaves, and most they scorn their friends. Lefs ftrange that thirft of pow'r o'er all prevails, And calls to vice for aid, when genius fails. † ignoble + which § to none unkind, I which • Friend |