* stoms, and Perfons, no fenfible man reads * Quod ficui non videtur Linguæ gratiam interpretatione mutari, Homerum ad verbum exprimat in Latinum. Plus aliquid dicam: eundem in fuâ linguâ profæ verbis interpretetur, videbit ordinem ridiculum,& Poetam eloquentiffimum vix loquentem. Hieron. Præf. in Chron. Eufeb. or or thought of without being moved by them: with what Life then, with what Zeal and Flame must they have been delivered? And what a mighty Blefling was fuch a Prophet to his own Age, and to all fucceeding Generations? Of Royal Blood, and of a Style and Behaviour fuitable to his Birth; of Divine Virtues, and of Divine Eloquence! He declares things, which were not to be fulfilled till many Ages afterwards, as plainly as if he had feen them before his eyes, and would make all others to fee them; he speaks of Christ as clearly, as if with Simeon he had had his Saviour in his arms, or with the Wife men had been kneeling down before him, and prefenting him with more precious Gifts,than any they had to offer; and defcribes his Paffion as fully, as if he had followed him through every part of it, and having been Crucified with him, had been juft entring with him into Paradice. If this be thought a Digreffion from my fubject, I hope it may easily be excufed for who can fpeak of Ifaiah without a Digreffion, when men choose the food of Swine, and trample upon Pearls, as things of no value, as if he and the other Prophets had always the hard fate to preach to the Rulers of Sodom, and the People of Gomorrha. But if the style of the Scriptures be not in all places alike, excellent and exact, let it be confidered, that 1. The same stile is not fuitable to all subjects, and the ftile and dialect is different, according to the difference of the matter, or of the persons, for whofe ufe it was immediately defigned. What concerns the Affyrian Monarchy in the Prophet Daniel, is in the Chaldee Tongue, and what relates directly to the Jews is in the Hebrew. Part of Ezra is in Chaldee, being a relation of Matter of Fact contained in the Chaldee Chronicles ; and Jer. 10. 11. is in the fame Tongue, that the Jews might reject the Idolatry of the Chaldeans in their Language, and openly profess their own abhorrence of it. And as upon these occafions the Language of Scripture is changed, with refpect to the fubject and the perfons concerned, fo the ftyle must be fometimes altered upon the fame account. 2. Artificial ftrains of Rhetorick, whereby the paffions are moved to the utmost heighth, were very neceffary to gain a prefent point, and carrry a Caufe by a violent and fudden transport, before Reafon could interpofe. But Religion being to be propounded upon reafonable motives, there could be no need of Rhetorick, when the evidence of those Miracles by which it was established, afforded fo many other more certain and powerful means of perfwafion. The Scriptures are not written in the enticing words of mans wisdom, but in truth and fimplicity, and therefore might well have been without any advantages of Elo quence, quence, as needing no fuch helps to recom mend them to ferious and impartial Minds : And tho God has been pleased to condefcend fo far to the infirmities of men, as to convey very much of his Revealed Will to us, in fuch a style, as for its own fake is highly to be esteemed and admired. Yet it was fit that other parts of the Scriptures fhould have the bare force and evidence of truth only, to convince men, that it might appear that our Religion was propagated not by any Arts of humane Eloquence, but by its own Worth and Excellency For Eloquence was not used, where it would have been moft neceffary, if any humane means could be fo, in afferting and propagating the Divine Truth. In the propagation of the Gospel all the Eloquence, as well as the Power, and Prejudices, and Vices of Mankind were combined against it, and yet lefs elegancy and accuracy of ftyle was employed by the Apoftles and Evangelists, than had been before ufed by Mofes and the Prophets, who yet had nothing which feemed fo strange and wonderful to deliver. Which is one great argument of the Power and Efficacy of the Gospel, that it could prevail fo much against all the oppofition in the world, only by telling a plain Truth, and in the plaineft manner. For where the thing is evident, the feweft and plainest words are best, as in Mathematical Demonstrations, it is enough if men make themselves to be understood: this likewife Τὴν δὲ γλώτταν ἰδιωτεύοντες yeμny reis T Σaτñers avtoïs τῇ γε μήν πρὸς τὸ Σωτῆρος αντοῖς δεδωρημένη θείᾳ καὶ παράδοξαποιῷ ανοία και όχι λόγων τὰ τὰ δι δυνάκει θαρσέντες, τὸ μὲν ἐν ποι ei Tix!! Nógv Tá deδασκάλα μαθήματα πρεσβεύον Te ndecar, ἤδεσαν ἅτε ενεχείρον. Eufeb. Hift. lib.iii.c.24. their Rhetorick likewife was all that the Apostles aimed at, their Caufe and Do&trine was fo certain and demonftrable, that any words, which did but fully and clearly exprefs their meaning, were fufficient for their purpose; lay in the things themselves, not in words: there is no great Art required to prove that to any man, which he fees with his eyes, and therefore as the power of Miracles was greater under the Gospel, than under the Law, fo there was lefs need of Eloquence in the New Testament than in the Old. Yet it cannot be denied, as a † Learned Critick has declared,+ Mer. that St Paul in fome kind and upon fome Subjects Enthus. c. Cafaub.of is as eloquent as ever man was; not inferiour to 4. Demofthenes (in whose writings he believes that Apostle had been much converfant) or Æfchines, or any other anciently moft admired. 3. It is reasonable to believe, that the Scriptures may be written in the Words and Phrases of the Penmen of the several parts of them, and that the Holy Ghoft might permit them to use their own ftyle, fo directing them ftill, and over-ruling them in every word and fentence, that it should infallibly express his own full fenfe and meaning, and speak the Truth, which he infpired. And therefore tho there be divers ftyles in the Scriptures, yet this is no prejudice to the Authority and Cer |