7. “The prophet, after predicting the liberation of the Jews from their captivity in Babylon, and their restoration to their own country, introduces the song, in which the earth itself triumphs, with the inhabitants thereof; the fir-trees and the cedars of Lebanon exult with joy, and reproach the humbled power of a ferocious enemy. Even the ghosts of princes, and the departed spirits of kings, rise up from Hades to insult and deride the fallen monarch of Babylon, and comfort themselves with the view of his calamity."-But one must read this prophetic song, to appreciate its beauties. II.-Israel's Song of Triumph over Babylon.-Isaiah. 1. How hath the oppressor ceased, the golden city ceased! The Lord hath broken the staff of the wicked, and the sceptre of the rulers. He who smote the people in wrath with a continual stroke, he that ruled the nations in anger, is persecuted, and none hindereth. 2. The whole earth is at rest, and is quiet: they break forth into singing. Yea, the fir-trees rejoice at thee, and the cedars of Lebanon, saying, Since thou art laid down, no feller is come up against us. Hell from beneath is moved for thee, to meet thee at thy coming: it stirreth up the dead for thee, even all the chief ones of the earth: it hath raised up from their thrones all the kings of the nations. All they shall speak and say unto thee, Art thou also become weak as we? Art thou become like unto us? 3. Thy pomp is brought down to the grave, and the noise of thy viols: the worm is spread under thee, and the worms cover thee. How art thou fallen from heaven, O Lucifer, son of the morning! How art thou cut down to the ground, which didst weaken the nations! For thou hast said in thine heart, I will ascend into heaven, I will exalt my throne above the stars of God: I will sit, also, upon the mount of the congregation, in the sides of the north: I will ascend above the heights of the clouds; I will be like the Most High. 4. Yet thou shalt be brought down to hell, to the sides of the pit. They that see thee shall narrowly look upon thee, and consider thee, saying, Is this the man that made the earth to tremble, that did shake kingdoms? that made the world as a wilderness, and destroyed the cities thereof; that opened not the house of his prisoners? All the kings of the nations, even all of them, lie in glory, every one in his own house. But thou art cast out of thy grave like an abominable branch, and as the raiment of those that are slain, thrust through with a sword, that go down to the stones of the pit; as a carcass trodden under feet. 5. Thou shalt not be joined with them in burial, because thou hast destroyed thy land, and slain thy people: the seed of evil-doers shall never be renowned. Prepare slaughter for his children for the iniquity of their fathers; that they do not rise, nor possess the land, nor fill the face of the world with cities. For I will rise up against them, saith the Lord of hosts, and cut off from Babylon the name, and remnant, and son, and nephew, saith the Lord. I will also make it a possession for the bittern, and pools of water: and I will sweep it with the besom of destruction, saith the Lord of hosts. 6. Bishop Lowth has the following remarks upon the style and composition of this wonderful poem : "How forcible is its imagery, how diversified, how sublime! How elevated the diction, the figures, the sentiments! The Jewish nation, the cedars of Lebanon, the ghosts of departed kings, the Babylonish monarch, the travellers who find his corpse, and, last of all, JEHOVAH himself, are the characters which support this beautiful lyric drama. One continued action is kept up, or rather a series of interesting actions are connected together in an incomparable whole. This, indeed, is the principal and distinguished excellence of the sublime ode,-and is displayed in its utmost perfection in this poem of Isaiah, which may be considered as one of the most ancient, and certainly the most finished specimen of that species of composition which has been transmitted to us. 7. "The personifications here are frequent, yet not confused; bold, yet not improbable: a free, clevated, and truly divine spirit pervades the whole; nor is there anything in this ode to defeat its claim to the character of perfect beauty and sublimity. If, indeed, I may be indulged in the free declaration of my own sentiments, I do not know a single instance in the whole compass of Greek and Roman poetry, which, in every excellence of composition, can be said to equal, or even to approach it." 8. We find in the following lines similar sentiments regarding Hebrew poetry in general:— Let those, who will, hang rapturously o'er Winnow from Seneca's sententious lore. Not these, but Judah's hallowed bards, to me The temperate grief of Job; the artless strain INDEX: WITH BRIEF SKETCHES OF AUTHORS FROM WHOM THERE ARE SELEC- FOREGOING PAGES. ADDISON, Joseph, 1672-1717. [pp. 7, Aldrich, Thomas Bailey,-b. at Ports- Alison, Sir Archibald, 1792-1867,-a Brit- Ames, Fisher, 1758-1808,-an American Arnold, Edwin, an English journalist, Arnold, Matthew, an English critic and Baine, William. [p. 334.] "The Archery Bancroft, George, LL.D., an American Bayne, Rev. Peter, a Scottish writer of Beattie, Dr. James, 1735-1803,-a Scottish Beers, Mrs. E. L., author of the well- Bethune, Rev. Geo. W., 1805-1862,-a Blair, Hugh, 1718-1800,-a Scottish di- Bowen, Francis, b. at Charlestown, Brontë, Charlotte, 1824-1855,-daughter Brougham, (Lord) Henry, 1778-1868,-a BROWNING, Mrs. Elizabeth Barrett, BROWNING, Robert,-b. in 1812. [pp. BRYANT, William Cullen, 1794-1878. BULWER, Sir Edward George Lytton, BUNYAN, John, 1628-1688. [pp. 121, Burke, Edmund, 1730-1797,-a celebrated BURNS, Robert, 1759-1796. [pp. 7, 8, Butterworth, Hezekiah. "The Con- Byrom, John, 1691-1763,-an English Calhoun, John C., 1782-1850,-an Ameri- Carlyle, Thomas, 1795-1881,-a Scottish Cary, Alice, 1820-1871,-an American Chateaubriand (shä-to-bre-äng'), Fran- Chaucer, Geoffrey,-b. in London, proba- Choate, Rufus, 1799-1860,-a celebrated Cicero, Marcus Tullius, 106-43 B.C.,-a COLERIDGE, Samuel Taylor, 1772-1834. Collier, Thomas S. [p. 109.] "Haroun Collins, William, 1721-1759,-an English COWPER, William, 1731-1800. [pp. 7, Coxe, Rev. Arthur Cleveland,-b. in 1818,- Croly, Rev. George, 1780-1860,-an Eng- Cunningham, Allan, 1784-1842,-a Scot- Curtis, George William,-b. in Provi- Palms." Demosthenes, 385-322 B.C.,-a celebra- Derzhavin, 1743-1816,-a Russian lyric Dimitry, Charles,-b. in 1838,-an Ameri- Dorr, Mrs. Julia C. R.,-b. in Charleston, Ellis, Rev. Geo. E.,-b. in Boston in EMERSON, Ralph Waldo, 1803-1882. EVERETT, Edward, 1794-1865. [pp. 7, Farrar, Frederic W., D.D., Canon of Felton, Cornelius Conway, 1807-1862,— Flammarion, Camille, a French scientific Froissart, Jean, 1337-1410,-b. in France, Froude, James Anthony, an English his- Garrick, Darid, 1716-1777,-the greatest Gilfillan, Rec. George,-b. in 1813,-an Goethe, Johann Wolfgang von, 1749-1832. GOLDSMITH, Oliver, 1728-1774. [pp. 7, Gough, John B.,-b. in England in 1817, Grattan, Henry, 1746-1820,-an Irish GRAY, Thomas, 1716-1771. [pp. 7, 21, Greene, Albert G.,-b. in Providence, |