Beholde, God is mine helpe and stay; And is with suche as do me aide; Oh, cut them of as thou hast saide. Then sacrifice, o Lord, wil I Present ful freely in thy sight; For he me broght fro troubles great, And kept me, from their raging ire: Myne eyes haue sene mine heart's desire.” (Ps. 54.) Pullain is the last name requiring notice, * and being little known as a writer, I shall trespass on the page to give the single omission. Sing vnto the Lord with heartie accord A new ioyful song: His Saintes all among. His maker louing; Be glad in their king. Bothe now and alwayes; Them vtter his prayes. Not willing to start, And humble in heart. . Cox, Norton, &c. may be referred to in any copy. The The saintes more and lesse, bis praise shal expresse, As is good and right; aye, In their beddes at night. In praise of their Lord; A two-edged sworde; The heathen vpon : The people echone; Their nobles also; To their grief and wo; On them to their paine; (Ps. 149.) To render a translation in our vernacular tongue, that should unite all the energetic simplicity and will sublimity of the original, when forced into measure, and fettered with rhime, is perhaps impossible. The pressure of this difficulty might induce Warton, after “ condemning the practice of adulterating this primitive version,” to reprobate “any version at all, more especially if intended for the use of the church.”. Admitting the many objections that must occur to reflection upon this subject; admitting that any translation partakes of the character of “sacred poems;” that “ the reader justly expects, and from good poetry always always obtains, the enlargement of his comprehension, and elevation of his fancy; (and that] this is rarely to be hoped by Christians from metrical devotion;" (since “ whatever is great, desirable, or tremendous, is comprised in the name of the Supreme Being;Omnipotence cannot be exalted; infinity cannot be amplified; perfection cannot be improved ;”) — admitting “all that pious verse can do is to help the memory, and delight the ear;" yet as for these purposes it may be very useful, * let us not entirely reject metrical psalmody. In substituting hymns for this languid versification may be traced the rapid increase of the proselytes to methodism. Rather let the best paraphrastic imitations be selected, under dignified authority, and if those who have wandered do not return, it will at least prove, in part, an antidote to the chanting delusions of modern sectarists. + J. H. . Dr. Johnson's Life of Waller. + In the critical observations, particularly on the ninetieth Psalm, which appear in the last volume of the CINSURA, the name of Sterphold seem's intended to imply the whole version. The passages from psalms translated by him are the 7th and 1 20th, given at p. 403. Subsequent alçerations leave little trace of their earlier translator. “ His : weorde to whet, his bowe to bend, and stryke vs for our sinne. He wyll prepare his killing tooles, and sharpe his arowes preste; 7th. The tonge of suche a lyer ; 120th. Such is the language printed by Whitchurch. ART. C 3 ART. V. Religionis Funus, et Hypocritæ Finis, Quasi vulpes in deserto, Prophetæ tui, O Israel. Ez, xiii. 4. Ede tua, et Momos etiam tu Momus habebis. Londini, Excudit Tho. Whitaker, MDC. XLVII. 410. pp. 22. This rare little volume, which is accompanied by as rare a print of the author, Henry Oxinden, had never been seen by Granger, whose account is erroneous in both editions of his work. He calls the author Sir Henry Oxinden, and says he was ancestor of the present Baronet of that name. But he was only a collateral branch of that family. The print (which is very prettily engraved, and has been lateiy copied by Richardson) is inscribed “ Hen. Oxinden de Barham." Beneath this motto “ Non est mortale quod opto. 1647.” In the upper corners, the arms and cresi, viz. 1 & 4. Arg. a chevron gules between 3 oxen passant Sab. for Oxinden 2 & 3 Az. on a chevron argt. 3 talbots passant sable for Brooker of Maydekin. Crest, a lion's head full faced issuing out of a ducal coronet. He was son of Richard Osinden of Little Maydekin in Barham (or rather Denton, for the house stands in Denton Street at the junction of the two parishes) in East Kent, (which Richard died 1629,) by Katherine daughter of Sir Adam Sprackling of Canterbury, Knt. Richard, the father, was ad son of Sir Henry Oxinden of Dene in Wingham, in East Kent, by Elizabeth daughter and heir of James Brooker Brooker of Maydekin, who died 1588. Henry, the author, was buried at Denton June 17, 1670.* He seems to have been a decided loyalist, which was not the case with the head branch of his family. The book has nothing but its rarity worthy of notice. On this account alone I give the following extracts. 66 Ad Lectorem. “ Lector, conjuro te, ne carmina nostra in obliquum sensum, et extra intentionem nostram torqueas. Minime quidem propositum nostrum est, in ignomimam sanctorum, et hominum vere religiosorum tubam nostram inflare. Absit, absit a nobis hujus farinæ Musica. Nos tantum in cautionem hypocritarum, hominum bicordium, quales A postolus in ultimo hoc sæculo venturos psædixit, meira nostra proferimus; quorum sermones satis prolixi plerunque tendunt ad suorum commodum, ideoque ut ipse dixit CHRISTUS, scratator cordium, in speciem utuntur longis precibus, ut exinde exedant domos viduarum, ut ab hiis caveas, exoptat Amicus tuus, de Barham." “ Hypocritæ Finis. * His descendant and heir, Lee Wailey of Canterbury, Gent. lately died at Canterbury, aged upwards of 90; and left his library of books, many of which were collected by the above H. Oxinden, to the parish of Elham, next Denton; with money to build a room next the church, in which to deposic them. Stercora; C4 |