"the besom of destruction."-But, notwithstanding this dauntless imagery, the Hebrew has its style of prose as well as of poetry; and there are separate terms in the language to designate both kinds of composition. Some books of the Old Testament are so unequivocally poetical, that no dispute can exist as to their title to that character. These are the Psalms, the Proverbs, Lamentations, the Song of Solomon, Ecclesiastes, and the book of Job with the exception of its two introductory chapters *. With respect to the Prophets, there has been some difference of opinion among critics, whether they ought in strictness to be classed as orators or poets. Undoubtedly the whole body of prophecy cannot be pronounced to be poetical, as some parts of it are only recital. But, on the other hand, it is unquestionable that some of the prophets speak to us with the very soul of poetry; and it is known, that prophetic utterance was at times assisted by minstrelsy. The most competent judges also ascribe to the Prophets characteristics of style which it is not easy to reconcile with the idea of prose; so that, in a general view, we may rank the oracular writers as poets. The books of the Old Testament devoted to history, narrative, and the enunciation of laws and ceremonies, are in prose, with this exception, that even in these books, whenever prophecies, blessings, or songs of praise are introduced, the style immediately rises into poetry. Hebrew poetry is distinguished from prose by a bolder use of figures, a more elliptical phraseology, and by peculiar usages in the form, signification, and grammatical junction of words. That it also possessed distinctly measurable verse, cannot be doubted, since many of its strains were adapted to music. There are traces, too, of metrical division apparent in several poems of the Bible, where the initial letters of the successive lines or stanzas follow the order of the alphabet. But the laws of He * De Wette (in his Lehrbuch der Historischen Kritischen Einleitung in die Bibel Alten und Neuen Testaments) ranks the six books above enumerated, as the only strictly poetical parts of the Old Testament. He admits, however, that the elder prophets, i. e. those preceding the Babylonish Captivity, display a high degree of eloquence and imagination, and that their sentences assume a regular balance of members (one great characteristic of Hebrew poetry), whenever their enthusiasm is strongly excited. But he regards them as orators rather than poets, and classes the Prophets after the Captivity, simply as prose-writers. Gesenius reckons the diction of the Prophets as something between prose and poetry. But that excellent scholar allows, that the earlier prophets almost fully reach the characteristics of phraseology which are acknowledged in Hebrew to be peculiar to poetry. He goes even a little farther, for though he describes the later prophets, among whom was Ezekiel, as approaching to prose in their style, yet distinguishing, I suppose, Ezekiel's style from his imagination as a composer, he calls him a most original poet; although he presumes to tax his fancy with wantoning in grotesque and gigantic imagery. Thus the opinion of Gesenius (and it is a weighty one,) is not very widely different from Dr. Lowth's, who treats so many of the prophets as absolute poets. Elisha, when about to prophesy, called for a minstrel. brew prosody have not hitherto been, and are not likely to be; ascertained with certainty.* In one respect its harmony was certainly different from that of Greek and Roman verse, which has no simultaneous pauses in the metre and the meaning, whereas each portion of a Hebrew verse contains a distinct portion of sense. A full period is divided into members generally equal to each other in the number of words, and those members balance each other by thought corresponding to thought, in repetition, in reply, in amplification, or in contrast. Parallel forms of syntax in the different clauses of a sentence also heighten the symmetrical structure of its language. The period of two parallel members is the most common in Hebrew poetry. This form of versification pervades the whole of the 114th Psalm-as * Dr. Lowth insists that all speculation respecting the rhythm and scanning of Hebrew poetry is hopeless and absurd. It is evident (he says) that the true pronunciation of the language is wholly lost. The Hebrew, as it was anciently written, was destitute of marks for vowel sounds.-(Gesenius, by the way, subscribes to the same opinion, that there were no vowel signs known in Hebrew writing whilst it was a living language-Geschichte der Hebraischen Sprache und Schrift, p. 185.)—" Thus," continues Dr. Lowth, "not so much as the syllables, of which each word consisted, could with any certainty be defined, much less the length or quantity of the syllables; and since the regulation of the metre of any language depends on two circumstances, I mean the number and the length of the syllables, he who attempts to restore the genuine Hebrew versification erects an edifice without a foundation." Michaelis was of a different opinion; he conceived that the vowel points were by no means to be rejected as altogether doubtful, and that by comparing Hebrew with the languages nearest akin to it, particularly Arabic, some light might be thrown upon its metres. Dr. Bellermann has since resumed the subject in Germany, and in an elaborate treatise, published at Berlin, 1813, maintains that he has discovered even rhyme in Hebrew verse, and measures not more loose or irregular than the lambics of Plautus and Terence. To those who are acquainted with the literary names of Germany, it will not be necessary to say that Bellermann stands high for Hebrew erudition in his own country. De Wette censures him for having gone too far in his prosodical theory, but admits that he has pointed out many striking concurrences of rhythm. Gesenius himself, though he conceives no syllabic system of prosody to be ascertainable in the poetry of the language, speaks of the rhythmical flow that is perceptible in its poetical books, very differently from the sceptical manner of Dr. Lowth.-It is remarkable that Josephus, who wrote in the time of Vespasian, speaks of the hexameters of Mores, and the trimeters and pentameters of David. His evidence certainly demands attention, from its being so direct; but how far he is a conclusive authority, respecting ancient Hebrew, is another question. When the poetical period extends to three members, they follow like a miniature strophe, antistrophe, and epode:--when there are four, the parallel becomes alternate -as Ps. 33, v. 13, 14. 1. The Lord looketh from Heaven, 2. He beholdeth all the sons of men, 3. From the place of his habitation he looketh 4. Upon all the inhabitants of earth. * Antig. Jud. 4. vii. c. 12 — Απηλλαγμένος δ' ήδη πολέμων ὁ Δαυΐδης καὶ βαθείας ἀπολαύων τὸ λοιπὸν εἰρήνης, ᾠδὰς εἰς τὸν Θεὸν, καὶ ὑμνοὺς συνετάξετο μέτρου ποικίλου, τοὺς μὲν γὰρ τριμέτρους, τοὺς δὲ πενταμμέτρους ἐποιήσεν.—Of course, Josephus could not mean measures strictly like the Greek trimeters and pentameters. But if he understood old Hebrew prosody, it is a pity he had not been more communicative on the subject. 1. 1. When Israel went out of Egypt, 2. The House of Jacob from a strange people. 2. 1. Judah was God's sanctuary, 2. And Israel his dominion. 3. 1. The sea saw and fled: 2. Jordan was driven back. There is thus a rhythm, or harmony of thought, in Hebrew poetry, the distinct appearance of which has survived all doubts and disputes about the structure of its verse. The nervous simplicity and conciseness of the Hebrew Muse prevent this parallelism from degenerating into monotony. In repeating the same idea in different words, she seems as if displaying a fine opal that discovers fresh beauty in every new light to which it is turned. Her amplifications of a given thought are like the echoes of a solemn melody-her repetitions of it like the landscape reflected in the stream-And whilst her questions and responses give a life-like effect to her compositions, they remind us of the alternate voices in public devotion, to which they were manifestly adapted. That the Jewish legislator blended the character of a poet with his other accomplishments, is apparent from his sublime song of triumph after the passage of the Red Sea, as well as-from his prophetic ode in the book of Deuteronomy. But still Moses cannot be regarded as the inventor of Hebrew poetry, since his history contains two poetical fragments, the address of Lamech to his wives, and the predictions of Jacob to his children, which are given as the compositions of a period anterior to his own, and which, in all probability, had been preserved by oral tradition. If the antiquity of the book of Job could be proved, it would offer a most important monument of Hebrew poetry anterior to the age of David. But, from what has been hitherto argued on the subject of that book, the weight of opinion appears to lie against the idea of its antiquity being superior to that of the Psalms.* During the interval between Moses and David, though at a date very close to the days of the latter, the establishment of * Dr. Lowth contended for its patriarchal antiquity. Michaelis thought it as ancient as the age of Moses. Gesenius, De Wette, and the Hebrew scholars of the present German school, place its date, as a composition, close upon the Captivity, aud deny its connexion with Arabian literature. When I speak of the weight of opinions, I mean only those which have been published. Our own eminent Hebraist, Mr. Bellamy, informs me, that he conceives the book of Job to be very ancient, and to have been a translation. schools of prophecy must have been favourable to the growth of poetry, as poetical language was the general vehicle of prophecy. But the gifted influence of David evidently created a new era in the productions of the Hebrew Muse. It is impossible to conceive his example and genius as a poet, combined with the splendid circumstances of his reign, having failed to communicate an enthusiastic impulse to the imaginations of his people. He extended their empire, he subdued their enemies, and founded their capital Jerusalem in Zion, which he had won from the Jebusites; and having brought the ark of the covenant to the consecrated city, he invested the national worship with a pomp of attendance and a plenitude of vocal and instrumental music, calculated to give an inspiring effect to its solemnities. He himself relieved the cares attending a diadem with the harp, which had been the solace of his adversities and the companion of his shepherd days; and leading his people in devotion, as he had led them in battle, he employed his genius in the composition of beautiful strains for the accompaniment of their sacred rites. He must have thus diffused a taste for music and poetry much beyond what the nation had hitherto possessed. There is much in the Psalms, no doubt, which can neither be attributed to David, nor to any of his contemporaries.* But there is still enough to establish his general, and even peculiar character, as a poet. His traits of inspiration are lovely and touching, rather than daring and astonishing. His voice, as a worshipper, has a penetrating accent of human sensibility, varying from plaintive melancholy to luxuriant gladness, and even rising to ecstatic rapture. In grief, "his heart is melted like wax, and deep answers to deep, whilst the waters of affliction pass over him." Or his soul is led to the green pastures by the quiet waters. Or his religious confidence pours forth the metaphors of a warrior in rich and exulting succession. The Lord is my rock, 66 Eichorn (in his Einleitung in das Alte Testament) conceives the highest sublimity of poetical character to belong to those psalms which are ascribed to the Children of Korah. Of these Heman, the Esrachite, was the chief singer. His reputation for wisdom was such that it was thought no dishonour to Solomon to be compared with him. Asaph's name is affixed to several of the Psalms. He is mentioned in the Chronicles as a Seer and a musician, and it marks the simplicity of the times that he did not disdain to perform upon the cymbals. Yet there can be no doubt of his having been a poetical composer; for Hezekiah, in reforming the Temple service, ordered that the words of David and of Asaph should be sung. Of Ethan and Jeduthan, the probable composers of several psalms, very little is known. The latter is described in Chron. i. 25, as prophesying with the harp. It would be unprofitable here to enumerate all the arguments and opinions that have been given respecting the different authors of the Psalms. One psalm, 90th., is ascribed to Moses; two or more have been attributed to Solomon;-some relate to events evidently as late as the Captivity. It may be sufficient to remark, however, that those who are most disposed to abridge the number of David's compositions, still leave that number very considerable, and the very circumstance of so many strains being imputed to him argues the high popularity of his memory as a poet. up and my fortress, and my deliverer my God, my strength, in whom I will trust-my buckler, and the horn of my salvation, and my high power." Some of the sacred writers may excite the imagination more powerfully than David, but none of them appeal more interestingly to the heart. Nor is it in tragic so much as in joyous expression that I conceive the power of his genius to consist. Its most inspired aspect appears to present itself, when he looks abroad on the universe with the eye of a poet, and with the breast of a glad and grateful worshipper. When he looks to the starry firmament, his soul assimilates to the splendour and serenity which he contemplates. This lofty but bland spirit of devotion peculiarly reigns in the 8th and in the 19th Psalm. But above all, it expands itself in the 104th into a minute and richly diversified picture of the creation. Verse after verse, in that Psalm, leads on the mind through the various objects of nature as through a mighty landscape, and the atmosphere of the scene is coloured not with a dim or mystic, but with a clear and warm light of religious feeling. He spreads his sympathies over the face of the world, and rejoices in the power and goodness of its protecting Deity. The impression of that exquisite ode dilates the heart with a pleasure too instinctive and simple to be described. I only forbear to quote its beauties from their being so accessible and familiar. But, in speaking of the History of Poetry, it would have been an omission not to have named so early and so beautiful a relic of her inspiration. (To be continued.) SONNET. WRITTEN IN A BLANK PAPER BOOK GIVEN TO THE My little book, as o'er thy page so white, Thy page and me, a vision of delight? Look on those eyes, by the bright soul made bright, Hath loved; that shape, which might beseem a queen; That blush of purity; that smile of light. 'Tis she. My little book, dost thou not own Thy mistress? She it is, the only she. Dost thou not listen for the one sweet tone |