with cloths, carpets, cushions, or any of the usual comforts of a Turkish bath. The whole establishment, indeed, is of the poorest kind, and the sight of the interior is rather disgusting than inviting.

Ammianus Marcellinus, in his brief description of Palestine, after remarking the number of fine cities it contains, and observing that the whole region did not possess a navigable river, mentions, however, that there were a number of places within it which were celebrated for their natural hot springs, whose waters were considered favourable to the cure of many maladies, and of which this of Tiberias was then probably one of the most celebrated.1 Besides the spring which supplies the present baths, there are several others near it, all rising close to the edge of the lake, and all equally hot, finely transparent and slightly sulphureous, resembling exactly the spring at El-Hamé. There are also extensive ruins around, which are most probably the remains of Roman edifices, though that which has been taken for the remains of a theatre appears rather to have been the choir of an early Christian church. Among them all, there is nothing, however, either interesting or definite We quitted this spot to return to the town."

2

Mr. Burckhardt states the situation of Tiberias to be extremely hot and unhealthy, as the mountain impedes the free course of the westerly winds, which prevail throughout Syria, during the summer. Hence, intermittent fevers, especially those of the quartan kind, are very common in the town in that season. Little rain falls in winter, snow is almost unknown on the borders of the lake, and the temperature, on the whole, appears nearly the same as that of the Dead Sea.

Jolliffe and Burckhardt report the population of Tiberias to be about 4000; Mr. Buckingham, however, thinks it does not exceed 2000; while Mr. Jowett supposes 1000 to be nearer the amount. The number of Jewish families here, are stated by Burckhardt to be about 200. The quarter which they occupy is in the middle of the town, and it had been much enlarged just before Mr. Burckhardt's visit, by the purchase of several streets: it is separated from the rest of the town by a high wall, and has only one gate of entrance, which is regularly shut at sunset, after which no person is allowed to pass. The number of Christians here is very small. Mr. Buckingham says about twenty families, of the Catholic communion. The Mahommedans are probably more numerous than the Jews.3

[To be continued.]

1 Ammianus Marcellinus, 1. xiv. c. 8.

2 Mr Jowett placed a thermometer in different spots where these springs gush out, and found it to rise to the various heights of 131°, 132°, 136o, and 139o, of Fahrenheit.

3 Buckingham's Travels, p. 476, &c. Burckhardt's Travels, p. 320, &c. Jowett's Researches in Syria, &c. p. 174. Modern Traveller, Palestine, p. 268. Hasselquist's Travels, i. 158. Clarke's Travels, iv. 213.

I TAKE the liberty of sending you a few extracts, translated from the notes in Bengel's Gnomon, on the first chapter of St. Matthew. Bengel was not the soundest of scholars; his latinity is by no means of the choicest kind, and his conjectures have not all the same degree of plausibility. Nevertheless, with all these faults, his work is an unknown storehouse of valuable matter; consisting of acute remarks, striking illustrations of the text by the context, just inferences, and practical observations; the whole offered in a strain of true piety and Christian simplicity. I know of no commentator, except Quesnel, who is calculated to offer so much assistance to preachers of the Gospel and expounders of Scripture. He does not, indeed, comment upon every word, but a single remark of his, upon a text, is orten like a rap of a hammer, which breaks it in pieces, so as to lay open its contents in a way that at once delights and surprises. I must observe, however, that there is some need of judgment in selecting from him; and it may be proper to add, that he does not appear to the very best advantage in the first chapter of St. Matthew, as much of his strength is spent in genealogical disquisitions, which, though not of an uninteresting or unedifying description, cannot easily be made available for general purposes. However, I thought it best to begin at the beginning. With best wishes for the prosperity of your work,

I remain, &c.

T. B.

MATTHEW, CHAP. I.

Ver. 1. B.Cλos poews, The book of the generation. This expression is taken from the LXX. Gen. ii. 4; ch. v. 1. Those books of the New Testament which were first written will be found to contain the most Hebraisms; and Divine wisdom provided, by means of the Greek version of the Old Testament, a language peculiarly adapted to convey the doctrine of the New Testament.

'Ingou Xgistov, of Jesus Christ. The compound name, Jesus Christ, and Christ Jesus, did not come into general use till after the descent of the Holy Ghost. Hence, the gospels have it only in their prefaces and conclusions; the epistles, &c. throughout.

David—'A¤gaaμ, David-Abraham. Christ is here called "the Son of David," and "the Son of Abraham," because promised to both. Abraham was the first man, David the last, to whom Christ was promised in the character of a son; hence he is called "the Son of David," as if David had been immediately his father. Throughout the whole of this genealogy, each progenitor might have known those who preceded, but not those who should follow him. O, with what delight would they have read this introduction to St. Matthew's gospel, which we regard so little! The former part of this verse contains the sum of the New Testament; the latter, that of the Old Testament.

Ver. 3. 'Ex rns @aμzę, of Thamar. Matthew introduces in his genealogy only those women, in whose connexion with the line of Abraham there was something extraordinary. "Thamar was to have been the wife of Shelah, Gen. xxxviii. 11, 26. Yet of her Judah himself begat Phares and Zara. "Rachab" was a woman of Canaan, and yet became the wife of Salmon. "Ruth" was a Moabitess, and yet was married to Booz. She that became the wife of David, was originally "the wife of Urias.”

Ver. 4. Naasov, Naasson.-In Moses' time. The silence respecting Moses, throughout this genealogy, is very remarkable.

Ver. 5. Boo ix rns 'Paxal, Booz of Rachab. That the Rachab here mentioned was Rachab, or Rahab of Jericho, is apparent, not to mention other reasons, from the use of the article rns, which refers us to something previously known.1

Ver. 8. 'lagan di eyevvnaɛ tov 'Ohiav, and Jerom begat Ozias. To account for the omission of Ahaziah, Joash, and Amaziah, we may observe, that as, in telling a person the way, we are generally most particular when the road forks, but leave him to find it where there is but one, so St. Matthew makes a point of naming those progenitors of the Messiah who had brothers, and is less exact with respect to those who stood alone.-Joash, for instance, in whose case there was no ambiguity.

16. 'Iwong Tov avòga Magias, Joseph the husband of Mary. When Matthew wrote, there was no want of public records, by which the truth of this genealogy might be ascertained. Accordingly, we find that the chief men of the Jews, though they neglected no available method of assailing Christ, never called his lineage in question. Thus, formerly, Christ was proved to be the son of David, by the abundance of testimony; but now, since all public records perished at the destruction of Jerusalem, the absence of testimony ought to convince the Jews that their Messiah is come. For should they hereafter acknowledge any one in that character, they will not, after all, be able to establish his descent from David, as we can that of Jesus.

1 It is as if St. Matthew had said, "the well-known Rachab," "the celebrated Rachab." For similar reasons, rns is prefixed to the names of Thamar and Ruth, and not to that of Mary, (ver. 16.)—Tr.

On the Sacred Poetry of the Hebrews.'

OF SUBLIMITY OF SENTIMENT.

If we consider the very intimate connexion which on all occasions subsists between sentiment and language, it will perhaps appear, that the peculiar quality, of which we have treated, under the title of Sublimity of Expression, might ultimately be referred to that of Sentiment. In the strictest sense, however, Sublimity of Sentiment may be accounted a distinct quality, and may be said to proceed, either from a certain elevation of mind, and a happy boldness of conception; or from a strong impulse of the soul, when agitated by the more violent affections. The one is called by Longinus, Grandeur of Conception; the other, Vehemence or Enthusiasm of Passion. To each of these we must have recourse in the present disquisition, and, in applying them to the sacred Poets, we shall endeavour to detract nothing from the dignity of that inspiration which proceeds from higher causes, while we allow to the genius of each writer his own peculiar excellence and accomplishments. We are indeed of opinion, that the Divine Spirit by no means takes such an entire possession of the mind of the Prophet, as to subdue or extinguish the character and genius of the man: the natural powers of the mind are in general elevated and refined, they are neither eradicated nor totally obscured; and though the writings of Moses, of David, and of Isaiah, always bear the marks of a divine and celestial impulse, we may nevertheless plainly discover in them the particular characters of their respective authors.

That species of the Sublime which proceeds from a boldness of spirit and an elevation of the soul, whether inherent in the author, or derived from a divine impulse and inspiration, is displayed first, in the greatness and sublimity of the subject itself; secondly, in the choice of the adjuncts or circumstances (by the importance and magnitude of which a degree of force and elevation is added to the description;) and lastly, in the splendour and magnificence of the imagery by which the whole is illustrated. In all these the Hebrew writers have obtained an unrivalled pre-eminence. As far as respects the dignity and importance of the subject, they not only surpass all other writers, but even exceed the confines of human genius and intellect. The greatness, the power, the justice, the immensity of God; the infinite wisdom of his works and of his dispensations, are the subjects in which the Hebrew

1 Continued from p. 123.

Poetry is always conversant, and always excels. If we only consider with a common degree of candour how greatly inferior the poetry of all other nations appears, whenever it presumes to treat of these subjects; and how unequal to the dignity of the matter the highest conceptions of the human genius are found to be; we shall, not only acknowledge the sublimity, but the divinity of that of the Hebrews. Nor does this greatness and elevation consist altogether in the subjects and sentiments, which, however expressed, would yet retain some part at least of their native force and dignity; but the manner in which these lofty ideas are arranged, and the embellishments of description with which they abound, claim our warmest admiration: and this, whether we regard the adjuncts or circumstances, which are selected with so much judgment as uniformly to contribute to the sublimity of the principal subject; or the amplitude of that imagery which represents objects the most remote from human apprehension in such enchanting colours, that, although debased by human painting, they still retain their genuine sanctity and excellence. Since, therefore, the sublimity of the sacred Poets has been already exemplified in a variety of instances, it will probably be sufficient, in addition to these, to produce a few examples as illustrations of these remarks, chiefly taken from those parts of Scripture in which a delineation of the Divine Majesty is attempted.

With what solemnity and magnificence is the power of God in the creation of the universe depicted? "And God said, Let there be light; and there was light." 1 The more words were accumulated upon this thought, the more would its sublimity be detracted from: for the understanding quickly comprehends the Divine power from the effect, and perhaps most completely, when it is not attempted to be explained; the perception in that case is the more vivid, inasmuch as it seems to proceed from the proper action and energy of the mind itself. The Prophets have also depicted the same conception in poetical language, and with no less force and magnificence of expression. The whole creation is summoned forth to celebrate the praise of the Almighty:

Let them praise the name of JEHOVAH;

For he commanded, and they were created. 2

And in another place;

For he spoke, and it was;

He commanded, and it stood fast. 3

The same subject is frequently treated more diffusely, many circumstances being added, and a variety of imagery introduced for the pur

1 Gen. i. 3.

2 Ps. cxlviii. 5.

3 Ps. xxxiii. 9.