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Others, fenfible that this firft principle of our Religion, far from concentring within itself the faith of believers, lays them under the ftrongeft obligation to learn, as they have opportunity, and believe every truth of Revelation, and every fact in Sacred Hiftory, have been for eftablishing every facred fact, and every revealed truth as of neceffary belief to all. Thus, whilft our faith is by one party un⚫ reasonably contracted, it is by another extended beyond all bounds. Some would never suffer it to overflow its first fountain head, whilst others leave it to diffufe itself at large, with" out keeping any certain channel. Both overlook the effential . difference of tines, and on one hand the fimpleft form of faith; on the other, its moft enlarged plan is made the common standard for all. Whereas, by an attention to the increase of knowlege, the characters of different ages are no longer confounded, the diftinction is maintained between that wherein Chriftianity is fully eftablifhed, and that when the heavenly ftranger firft made its appearance on earth; ignorance is no longer put upon a level with knowlege, but faith fpreads with the Gospel, and is ever the brighteft where the world is most enlightned.

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Thefe principles were to be applied to the Athanafian Creed. And the truth of the general doctrine of the Trinity being first affumed, (as never called in queftion by thole whofe fatisfaction was principally aimed at,) it was fhewn, that the members of our Church have before them every motive that can prompt to an enquiry after this doctrine, and every help that can lead to the knowlege of its truth: the paffages which were fuppofed to involve the • doctrine in obfcurity, and refine it into diftinctions never ⚫ to be comprehended, were found big with arguments to inform the understanding; and those which had passed for the dictates of furious and intemperate zeal, were found to be no more than a reference to that fanction which our Sa•viour himself hath placed to guard the Chriftian Faith. Thus is the mind of the believer eafed of that burthen which was fuppofed to be laid upon it; Truth remains unobfcured, and Charity unwounded.

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The whole terminates here, and is directed to this one. point; "Whoever believes the doctrine of the Trinity "as revealed in the Scriptures, may fafely affent to the Atha"nafian Creed." It belongs to others to judge whether this propofition hath here been properly fupported. Where it is admitted, then it is hoped that the use of this Creed • will occafion no longer uneafinefs. Harder is the talk, inREV. Mar. 1760. • deed,

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deed, to reconcile thofe to the use of it, whofe difficulties are complicated with doubts about the doctrine itself. tafk is harder, but it hath been long fince attempted by * much abler hands. Let me only recommend it to fuch impartially to confider the many paffages of Scripture which relate to this doctrine; and not only to confider them one by one, but to lay them all together, and to look upon them as fo many kindred parts of a Revelation all dictated by the fame fpirit. This is the way to understand them, and the only way to form a true judgment of their force. For though any one of them fingly might feem too weak to be made the foundation of our faith, yet when they appear • in one body fustaining each other, their united voice may • amount to a clear revelation: juft as the union of feveral • fainter founds makes one full and harmonious found.

Let us, in conclufion, call to mind the ftrong obligations. that lie upon us to keep the Catholic Faith whole and undefiled. He who having all the means of information that • Providence hath put into our hands, born amidst the light of Chriftianity, having the holy Scriptures freely laid open to us, and every opportunity, every help to affift us in the understanding them; he that with all these advantages shall neglect to learn our common faith, or having known it fhall, to fuit it to his own vain imagination, or his own bad difpofition, hold it impure or imperfect, without doubt he' can have no claim to the benefits of it, without doubt he fhall perifh everlaftingly. It is not ATHANASIUS, it is not the CHURCH, it is our merciful SAVIOUR himself that hath denounced, and will not fail to inflict, this punifhment. We have charity enough to believe that our Author has not been induced to affert this dreadful doctrine, from any correfponding vindictiveness in his own difpofition: which, he feems to think, may be the cafe with the anti-Athanafians.

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JOB, a Poem. In three Books. By William Langhorne, M. A. 4to, 2s. 6d. Griffiths.

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HIS fmooth and elegant Writer, equally declining all enquiries concerning the real Author, or the Era, of this fublime poem, and the truth or fiction of its fubject, (circumftances on which the Learned are divided) introduces Job, immediately after a fhort moral exordium of his own, under the accumulated anguifh of his unparalleled afflictions, of all his mental and corporeal mifery. He terms his verfion a free paraphrafe, in a fhort Advertisement at the end of his book:

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book: we find, however, he has preferved the order and fucceffion of the different Speakers, and the fubftance of the dialogue in the biblical tranflation, contracting fome paffages, and indulging himself fometimes in the diffufion of others. His first book terminates with the conclufion of the fourteenth chapter his fecond, with that of the thirty-firft, where the words of Job are faid to be ended; and his laft with the happy catastrophé, or re-establishment of Job in his health, with redoubled wealth, and as many fons and daughters as before.

As Mr. Langhorne has verfified much the greater part of this fcriptural poem, and, upon the whole, very agreeably, we could with he had not omitted, in his verfion, that difapprobation which God is faid to have declared of the fentiments of Job's three friends, in comparison with what Job himself had faid of him. They had generally argued on the erro neous fuppofition, that Job was afflicted because he was finful, deeming the manifeft virtues of his past life to have been hypocrify; when the text promises, that he was a juft man, and that his affliction was fent as an extraordinary trial of his fingular virtue and integrity. Indeed, the condefcenfion of the Deity in making that allowance, (which Job's friends had not made) from his unparalleled mifery, for any extravagance, or even impiety, in his expoftulations with God, and his juftification of himself; appeared fo divinely benign, and amiable; fuch a diftinguishing prelude to, and augmentation of Job's enfuing bleffings; (who had fuffered fo much, and, humanly speaking, fupported it fo well) that we imagin ed the catastrophé the lefs compleat for the fuppreffion of it: especially as it contains fo excellent an admonition, against our judging too haftily and uncharitably of the unfortunate or afflicted. Befides, as our Author has verfified the Almighty's reprehenfion of Job's temerity in expoftulating with him, and reasoning against his vifitation, there was the lefs reafon for overlooking his displeasure against Job's miferable Comforters, as he justly calls them, who were fuch confiderable Interlocutors in this facred drama; who had erred in their fentiments of the exercise of God's power more than Job, and had not been fubjected to the like pungent experience of his fovereignty. In fhort, this circumftance does not appear to us to have been one of thofe which our Author may have judiciously difpenfed with, (as he hints) for the better modernizing of his verfion, but comprizes part of the very lesson and moral of the book; and concurs with the happy event, in determining the argument, by an infallible Judge, between Job and his friends, in favour of the heroic fufferer: to whom may fignally be applied the-Vincit qui patitur,

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Though we do not pretend to interest ourselves about thofe contefted* circumftances of the reality of Job, or concerning the Writer of the book, which our Author has avoided, we fhall obferve, that whoever the Writer was, he has happily accomplished a fublime and animated piece; the prefence of Omnipotence himself, being, humanly speaking, not ill fuftained, according to our probably not diffimilar, 'tho' inadequate conceptions of him. As Dr. Young has felected this most majeftic and poetical scene to verfify, and has executed it with great fpirit, his performance must appear with fuperior fplendor to Readers who do not reflect, that he has omitted thefe parts of Job, which were lefs fufceptible of poetical embellishment, and, at the fame time, not the leaft difficult. But, we imagine, our prefent Author may be faid to have equalled him in fome parts of that scene; to have nearly approached him in others; and, upon the whole, to have excelled the other poetical verfions of this book: even, while he modeftly allures us, if that Gentleman had verfified the whole, he would never have attempted it after him."

Before we entertain our Readers with any fpecimens of this performance, we hope the ingenious Author's pardon for mentioning an 'efcape or two, as fo many exceptions to his proper and elegant expreffion in general. We cannot difcover any beauty then, or even any diftinct and certain meaning in his ufe of the word unneeded, which is introduced in the following diflich, where, after obferving, that trees when ftript of their branches, or even felled, will exert a fresh vegetation from their roots,' he thus contrafts to them the lefs prolific and lefs durable ftate of man.

But man, this lower world's unneeded boast,
Drops into death, and all his memory's loft.

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Now as reflection and experience convince us, that man was defigned the principal inhabitant of this planet, which he cultivates; may, in fome fente, be faid to adorn; and which abounds in productions ufelefs to other animals, the application of unneeded here feems obfcure and infignificant, to fay little of the word itfelf, as not very poetical. Perhaps, the beft apology to be made for it is, our Author's fuppofing, that

*The most modern English treatifes on this fubject, are Peters' Critical Diflertation on the book of Job; and Heath's Effay and Commentary. For fome account of the former, fee Review, vol. IV. page 401-of the latter, vol. XIV. page 155, and page

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Job might be apt to eftimate the fmall importance, and great unhappinefs, of the whole fpecies, from his own extrem depreffion and pain; and thence conclude, that the earth might rather be ashamed than proud of fuch a fugitive and afflicted, tho" principal, inhabitant." But even this conftruction, and we cannot conceive a clofer, feems remote and forced, and confequently infers a blemish at least.

A fecond uncouth expreffion occurs in the following verfe, book I. line 333, 334.

Thefe ftriking truths I feel, thefe truths I know;

Why should I rev'rence your prefuming show?

which last two words, tho' not wholly unintelligible, foem neither apt nor elegant here; but make a feeble and expletive appearance, feeming as if preffed in for the fake of rhyme, a circumftance always difgufting to a Reader of taste. We own with pleasure, at the fame time, that fuch blemishes appear but rarely throughout this verfion, which has fufficient merit to favour the Author with an opportunity of correcting them, and of polishing a few other more venial inequalities, in a fecond edition. In the mean time we shall present our Readers with two fpecimens from the prefent. The agony, together with the refignation and piety of Job, are not unpathetically expreffed in the following verfes.

On feas of pain reclines this breaft forlorn,
Toft with fell anguish till the rifing morn.
The beams of morn this fhrivell'd form furvey,
O'erfpread with worms, and to disease a prey.
My days of hope are vanish'd into wind,
And leave no print of happiness behind.

Will HEAV'N the mouldering duft of man restore?
By Nature's common laws he breathes no more.
Is Joв fome monfter of the furious flood,
That countless fhafts of poifon drink his blood?
Hence these pale looks, this forrow breathing strain,
Hence fighs unnumber'd to the winds complain.

If Sleep, long-courted, clofe thefe aching eyes,
Then hideous forms, terrific vifions rife.

Parent of finlefs Beings, what is man,

That thou to mighty hopes fhould'ft ftretch his fpan?
That thou his works, his errors fhould it regard,
And give to ev'ry foul its juft reward?

Oh, fpare, my GOD!-withdraw thy hand again!
Let not each heaving pulse be rack'd with pain!
My foul has finn'd; I feek thy mercy's throne:
Ah! shall not humble PENITENCE atone?
Still threats thy fword ?-Ah! let it ftrike me dead,
Strike to the yawning grave this willing head!

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