ges out of the infpired writers: By which it appears, that there is no book in the world fo like the style of the Holy Bible, as Homer. The noble hiftorians abound with moral reflections upon the conduct of human life; and powerfully inftruct both by precepts and examples. They print vice and villainy in horrid coIcurs; and employ all their reafon and eloquence to pay due honours to virtue, and render undiffembled goodness amiable in the eye of mankind. They exprefs a true reverence for the established religion, and a hearty concern for the profperous tate of their native country. Blackwall. § 158. On XENOPHON's Memoirs of SOCRATES. Xenophon's memorable things of Socrates, is a very inftructive and refined iylem of morality: it goes through all points of duty to God and man, with great clearness of fenfe and found notion, and with inexpreffible fimplicity and purity of language. The great Socrates there difcourfes in fuch a manner, as is molt proper to engage and perfuade all forts of readers: he argues with the reafon of a philofopher, directs with the authority of a lawgiver, and addrefies with the familiarities and endearments of a friend. He made as many improvements in true morality, as could be made by the unaflifted ftrength of human reafon; nay, he delivers himfelf in fome places, as if he was enlightened by a ray from heaven. In one of Plato's divine dialogues †, Socrates utters a furprising prophecy of a divine perfon, a true friend and lover of human nature, who was to come into the world to inftruct them in the moft acceptable way of addreffing their prayers to the majesty of God. Ibid. to goodnefs, with vehemence of zeal that can fcarce be diffembled, and ftrength of reafon that cannot easily be refifted. He does not praife virtue and condemn vice, as one has a favourable, and the other a malignant afpect upon a man's fortune in this world only; but he establishes the unalterable distinctions of good and evil; and builds his doctrine upon the immoveable foundations of God and infinite Providence. His morals are fuited to the nature and dignity of an immortal foul: and, like it, derive their original from heaven. How found and ferviceable is that wonderful notion in the thirteenth fatire, That an inward inclination to do an ill thing is criminal: that a wicked thought ftains the mind with guilt, and expofes the offender to the punifhment of heaven, though it never ripen into action! A fuitable practice would effectually crush the ferpent's head, and banish a long and black train of mitchiefs and miferies cut of the world. What a fcene of horror docs he difclofe, when in the fame fatire + he opens to our view the wounds and gafhes of a wicked confcience! The guilty reader is not only terrified' at dreadful cracks and flathes of the heavens, but looks pale and trembles at the thunder and lightning of the poet's awful verfe. The notion of true fortitude cannot be better ftated than it is in the eighth fatire †, where he preflingly exhorts his reader always to prefer his confcience and principles before his life; and not be refrained from doing his duty, or be awed into a compliance with a villainous propofal, even by the prefence and command of a barbarous tyrant, or the nearest prospect of death in all the circumstances of cruelty and terror. Muft not a profeffer of Chriftianity be afhamed of hiafelf for harbouring uncharitable and bloody refentments in his breaft, when he reads and confiders that invaluable paffage againft revenge in the above-mentioned thirteenth fatire§? where he argues againft that fierce and fatal pafiion, from the ignorance and littleness of that mind which is poffeffed with it; from the honour and generofity of paffing by and forgiving injuries; from the example of thole wife and mild men, of Chryfippus and Thales, and efpecially that of Socrates, that undaunted champion and martyr of natural religion; who was fo great a proficient in the best philo ophy, that he was affured his malicious profecutors and murderers could do him no hurt; and had not himfe'f the leaft inclination or rifing wish to do them any; who difcourfed with that chearful gravity, and graceful composure, a few moments before he was going to die, as if he had been going to take poff:tion of a kingdom; and drank off the poifonous bowl, as a potion of Immortality. Bla.kwall. $160. The best Claffics lay down excellent Rules for Converfation. Arcanum neque ta fcrutaberis ullius unquam, Comm flumque teges, & vino tortus & iri: Nec tua laudabis ftudia, aut aliena reprendes: Nec, cum venari volet ille, pɔemata panges”. Horace had an intimate friendship and intereft with men of the chief quality and diftinction in the empire; who then w fitter to lay down rules how to approxi the great, and gain their countenance and patronage? handsomely expreffing his gratitude to his This great man has a peculiar talent of noble benefactors: he juft puts a due va lue upon every favour; and, in fhost, manages that nice fubject of praife with a manly grace, and irreproachable decency. Hor clean is that addrefs to Auguftus abiert from Rome, in the fifth ode of the fourth book! Lucem redde tuæ, dux bore, patriæ; Et foles meliùs nitent. rants; 'tis all feasonable and beatifa!, Here are no forced figures or unnatural poetical and literally trus. The best Chics lay down very valuable rules for the management of converfation, for graceful and proper address to thole perfons with whom we converfe. They int, uct their readers in the methods of engaging and preferving friends; and reveal to them the true fecret of pleafing mankind. This is a large and agreeable fie.d; but I fhall confine myself to a small compa's. While Tully, under the perfon of Craf-161. fus, gives an account of the word ineptus, or impertinent, he infinuates excellent caution to prevent a man from rendering himfelf ridiculous and diftafteful to company. There are his words: "He that either does not observe the proper time "of a thing, or speaks too much, or vaingloriony fets himself off, or has not a rega d to the dignity or intereft of those "he converfes with, or, in a word, is in "any kind indecent or exceffive, is called "impertinent." That is admirable advice in the third book of his Offices, for the predent and graceful regulation of a man's difcourfe (which as to powerful an influence upon the misfortune or happinef of life) that we thould always fpeak with that prudence, candour, and undiffembled compliance, that the perfons we ad refs may be perfuaded that we both love and reverence them. For this perfuafion fettled in their minds, will fecure their friendship, and create us the picature of their mutual love and refpect. Every judicious reader of Horace will allow the juftnefs of Sir William Temple's character of him, That he was the greatest m fer of life, and of true fenfe In the con iust of it. Is it poffible to comprife better advice in fewer lines, than thofe of his to his friend Lollius, which I fhall give you in the original? Directions for reading the Cla Thofe excellencies of the Ancients, which I have accounted for, feem to be fufficient to recommend them to the eflcem and ftudy of all lovers of good and polite learning: and that the young scholar may ftudy them with fuitable fuccefs and inprovement, a few directions may be proper to be obferved; which I thall lay down in this chapter. 'Tis in my opinion a right method to begin with the best and mot approved Claffics; and to read thofe authors firft, which must often be read over. Befides, that the best authors are easiest to be underflood, their noble fenfe and animated expreffion will make ftrong impre.. fions upon the young scholar's mind, and train him up to the carly love and imitation of their excellencies. Plautus, Catullus, Terence, Virgil, Ho race, Ovid, Juvenal, Tibullus, Propertiu, cannot be fludied too much, or geae over too often. One reading may fumce for Lucan, Statius, Valerius Flaccus, Silius Italicus, Claudian; though there will be frequent occafions to con ult fome of their particular paffages. The fame may be faid with refpe&t to the Greek poets: Hemer, Pindar, Anacreon, Ariftophanes, Euripides, Sophocles, Theocritus, Callima chus, muft never be entirely laid aside; Hor. Ep. 18. L. 1. v. 37. and and will recompence as many repetitions as a man's time and affairs will allow. Heliod, Orpheus, Theogonis, Echylus, Lycophron, Apollonius Rhodius, Nicander Aratus, Oppian, Quintus Calaber, Dionyfius, Periegetes, and Nonnus, will amply reward the labour of one careful perufal. Salut, Livy, Cicero, Cæfar, and Tacitus, deferve to be read feveral times; and read them as oft as you pleafe, they will always afford freth pleasure and improve ment. I cannot but place the two Plinys aker thefe illustrious writers, who flourished, indeed, when the Roman language was a little upon the declension: but by the vigour of a great genius, and wondrous indatry, raifed themfelves in a great meafure above the difcouragements and difadvantages of the age they lived in. In quality and learning, in experience of the world, and employments of importance in the government, they were equal to the greatest of the Latin writers, though excelled by one of them in language. The elder Piiny's natural hiftory is a work learned and copious, that entertains you with all the variety of nature ittelf, and is one of the greatest monuments of envertal knowledge, and unwearied appliction, now extant in the world. His go. graphy, and de cription of herbs, trees and aimais, are of great ufe to the undertandisget all the authors of Rome and Greece. Pliny the younger is one of the finest wits that Italy has produced; he is correct and elegant, has a florid and gay fancy, tempered with maturity and foundne.s of judgment. Every thing in him is exquitely ftudied; and yet, in general speaking, every thing is natural and easy. In his incomparable oration in honour of Trajan, he has frequent and furprising turns of true wit, without playing and tinkling upon founds. He has exhaulted the fuoject of panegyric, ufing every topic, and every delicacy of praife. Herodotus, Thucydides, Xenophon, Plato, Demofthenes, are of the fame merit among the Greeks: to which, I think, I may add Polybius, Lucian, and Plutarch. Polybius was nobly born, a man of deep thought, and perfect matter of his fubject: he difcovers all the myteries of policy, and prefents to your view the inmelt fprings of thofe actions which he defcribes: his remarks and maxims have been regarded, by the greatest men both in civil and military affairs, as oracles of prudence: Scipio was his friend and admirer; Cicero, Strabo, and Plutarch, have honoured him with high commendations; Confantine the Great was his diligent reader; and Brutus abridged him for his own conflant ufe. Lucian is an univerfal scholar, and a prodigious wit: he is Attic and neat in lis ftyle, clear in his narration, and wonderfully facetious in his repartees: he furnifhes you with almost all the poetical hiftory in fuch a diverting manner, that you will not cafily forget it; and fuppies the most dry and barien wit with a rich plenty of materials. Plutarch is an aut or of deep fenfe, and vaft lea ning; though he does not reach his ilustrious predeceffors in the graces of his language, his morals are found and noble, illustrated with a perpetual variety of beautiful metaphors and comparifons, and enforced with very remarkable ftories, and pertinent examples: in his Lives there is a complete account of all the Roman and Grecian antiquities, or their customs, and affairs of peace and war: thole writings will furnifh a capable and inquifitive reader with a curious variety of characters, with a very valuable store of wife remarks and found politics. The furface is a little rough, but under lie vaft quantities of precious ore. Blackwall. § 162. The jubordinate Clafus not to be neglected. Every repetition of the fe authors will bring the reader fresh pront and iaiaction. The rest of t e Claires mail by no means be neglected; but ought once to be carefully read over, and may ever afte. be occafionally confulted with much advantage. The Grecian Claffics next in value to thole we have named,a e, Diodorus Siculus, Dionyfius Halicarnaflentis, Strabo, Alian, Arrian's Expedition of Alexander the Great, Polyænus, Herodian; the Latin are, liirtius, Juftin, Quintus Curtius, Fiorus, Nepos, and Suetonius. We may, with a lite allowance, admit that oblervation to be jut, that he who would completely understand one Claffic, mut diligently read all. When a young gentieman is entered upon a courie of thele Audies, I would not have him to be difcouraged at the checks and dificulties he wil fometimes meet with: it upon clofe and due confideration he cannot entirely malter any paffage, let him proceed by conltant and regular reading, he will either find in that author he is upon, or foine other on the tame fubject, a parrallel piace that will clear the doubt. The Greek authors wonderfully explain Hh3 and and illuftrate the Roman. Learning came late to Rome, and all the Latin writers follow the plans that were laid out before them by the great mafters of Greece. They every where imitate the Greeks, and in many places tranflate 'em. Compare 'em together, and they will be a comment to one another; you will by this means be enabled to pats a more certain judgment upon the humour and idiom of both languages; and both the pleasure and advantage of your reading will be double. Blackwall. $163. The Greek and Latin Writers to be compared. what feems difficult in one will be eafy in another; what one expreffes fhort, another will enlarge upon; and if fome of them do not furnish us with all the variety of the dialect and idioms of the language, the reft will fupply thofe defects. It will likewife be neceflary for the young scholar diligently to remark and commit to memory the religious and civil cuftoms of the Ancients: an accurate knowledge of them will make him capable to difcern and relifh the propriety of an author's words, and the elegance and graces of his allufior. When St. Paul fpeaks of his fpeedy 2pproaching martyrdom, he ufes this expre fion, Ἐγὼ γὰρ ἤδη σπενδομαι*; which is 21 By a careful comparison of the Greek allufion to that univerial cuftom of the and Latin writers, you will fee how judici- world, of pouring wine or oil on the head oufly the latter imitated the former; and of the victim immediately before it was will yourself be qualified, with greater plea- flain. The apostle's emphatical word fig fure and fuccefs, to read and imitate both. nifies--wine is juft now pouring on my By obferving what advantages Virgil has head, I am just going to be facrificed to made of Homer in his Eneid, and of Theo- Pagan rage and fuperftition. That paffage critus in his Paftorals; how cleanly Horace of St. Paul," For I think that God hath has applied feveral places, out of Anacreon "fet forth us the apoftles laft, as it were and other lyrics, to his own purpofe; you "appointed to death: for we are made a will learn to collect precious flores out of" fpectacle unto the world, and to angels, the Ancients; to transfute their fpirits into and to men +;" is all expreffed in Agoyour language with as little lofs as poffible; and to borrow with fo much modefly and difcretion, as to make their riches your own, without the fcandal of unfair dealing. It will be convenient and pleasant to compare authors together, that were countrymen and fellow-citizens; as Euripides, Thucydides, and Xenophon: that were contemporaries; as Theocritus and Callimachus: that writ in the fame dialect; as Anacreon and Herodotus, in the Ionic; Theocritus, Pindar, and Callimachus, upon Ceres and the Bath of Pallas, in the Doric: that writ upon the fame fubject; as Apollonius, Valerius Flaccus, and Theo- . Thofe judges who put the black critus, on the combat of Pollux and Amy- ones into an urn, paffed fentence of concus, and the death of Hylas. Salluft's po- demnation upon the perfon tried; and those lite and curious hillory of Cataline's con- who put in the white, acquitted and faved. fpiracy, and Tully's four glorious orations Hence we may learn the fignificancy and upon the fame fubject, are the brightest com- beauty of our Saviour's words in St. John, mentaries upon each other. The hiftorian « to him that overcometh I will give a and the orator fcarce difagree in one parti-white ftone ." I, who am the only cular; and Sallust has left behind him an everlasting monument of his candour and impartiality, by owning and commending the conful's vigilance, and meritorious fervices; though thefe two great men had the misfortune to be violent enemies. He that praifes and honours an adverfary, fhews his own gener fity and juftice, by proclaiming his advertary's en inent merits. By comparing authors after this method, nilical terms, and cannot be understood, without taking the allufion that it mani feftly bears to the Roman gladiators, which came laft upon the ftage at noon, and were marked out for certain flaughter and deftruction; being naked, with a fword in one hand, and tearing one another in pieces with the other; whereas, those who fought the wild beasts in the morning were allow ed weapons offenfive and defenfive, and had a chance to come off with life. The moft ancient way of giving fentence among the Greeks, and particularly the Athenians, was by black and white pebbles, called judge of the whole world, will país the fentence of abfolution upon my faithfel fervants, and the champions of my cres and crown them with the incftimable rewards of immortality and glory. There are innumerable places, both in the Sacred Claffics and the others, which are not to • 2 Tim. iv. 6. be be understood without a competent knowledge of antiquities. I call the writers of the New Testament the Sacred Claffics; and fhall, in a proper place, endeavour fully to prove, that they deferve the highest character for the purity of their language, as well as the vigour of their enle, against the ignorance of fome, and the infolence of others, who have fallen very rudely upon them with refpect to their #yle. Every fcholar, and every Chriftian, i obliged to the utmost of his abilities, to defend thofe venerable authors against all erceptions, that may in any refpect tend to diminish their value. I cannot but be of the opinion of thofe gentlemen, who think there is propriety in the expreffion, as well as fublimity in the fentiments of the New Teftament; and eleem that man as bad a critic, who undervalues its language, as he is a Chriftian, who denies its doctrines. Blackwall. 164. On the Study of the New Tefta ment. The claffic fcholar muft by no means be fo much wanting to his on duty, pleafare and improvement, as to neglect the ady of the New Teftament, but must be Perpetually converfant in thofe ineftimable writings, which have all the treafures of divine wisdom, and the words of eternal fe in them. The best way will be to make them the first and last of all your Radics, to open and clofe the day with that cred book, wherein you have a faithful d mott entertaining history of that blei ied and miraculous work of the redemption of the world; and fure directions how to qualify and entitle yourfelf for the great alvation purchafed by Jefus, This exercife will compofe your thoughts into the feeteft ferenity and chearfulnefs; and happily confecrate all your time and adies to God. After you have read the Greek Teftament once over with care and deliberation, I humbly recommend to your frequent and attentive perufal, thefe foljuwing chapters: St Matthew 5. 6. 7. 25. 26. 27. 28. St. Mark 1.13.St Luke 2. 9. 15. 16. 24. 24.--St. John 1. 11. 14. 15. 16. 17. 1). 20.-- -A&ts 26. 27. ——Romans 2. 8. 12-1 Cor. 3.9.13. 15.——2 Cor. 4. 5. 11-Ephef. 4. 5. 6.-Philipp. 1. 2. 3.--Coloff. 1. 3.---1 Theff. 2. 5. Tim. 1.6.—-2 Tim. 2. 3. Phile-Heb. 1. 4. 6. 11. 12.-1 St. Peter all.——2 St. Peter all.--St. Jude. -1 St. John 1. 3.--Revel. 1. 18. 19. 20. In this collection you will find the Book of God, written by the evangelifts, and apofles, comprised in a most admirable and comprehenfive epitome. A true critic will difcover numerous inftances of every ftyle in perfection; every grace and orna nient of fpeech more chafte and beautiful than the most admired and fhining paffages of the fecular writers. In particular, the defcription of God, and the future ftate of heavenly glory, in St. Paul and St. Peter, St. James and St. John, as far tranfcend the defcriptions of Jupiter and Olympus, which Homer, and Pindar, and Virgil, give us, as the thunder and lightning of the heavens do the rattling and mathes of a Salmoneus: or the eternal Jehovah is fuperior to the Pagan deities. In all the New Teftament, efpecially thefe feit paffages, God delivers to mankind laws of mercy, myfteries of wifdom, and rules of happiness, which fools and madmen ftupidly neglect, or impioufly fcorn; while all the belt and brightest beings in the univerfe regard them with facred attention, and contemplate them with wonder and tranfporting delight. Thefe ftudies, with a fuitable Chriftian practice (which they fo loudly call for, and fo pathetically prefs) will raife you above all vexatious fears, and deluding hopes; and keep you from putting an undue value upon either the eloquence or enjoyments Ibid. of this world. $165. The old Critics to be fudied. That we may ftill qualify ourfelves the better to read and relish the Claffics, we muft fericully ftudy the old Greek and Latin critics. Of the first are Ariftotle, Dionyfius Longinus, and Dionyfius of Halicarnaffus: of the latter are Tully, Horace, and Quinctilian. Thefe are excellent authors, which lead their readers to the fountain-head of true fenfe and fublimity; teach them the first and infallible principles of convincing and moving eloquence; and reveal all the mystery and delicacy of good writing. While they judiciously dif cover the excellencies of other authors, they fuccefsfully fhew their own; and are glorious examples of that fublime they praife. They take off the general diftaftefulness of precepts; and rules, by their dexterous management, have beauty as well as ufefulness. They were, what every true critic muft be, perfons of great reading Hh 4 and |