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Further, there are parallel triplets; when three lines correspond together, and form a kind of stanza; of which, however, only two commonly are synonymous:

"The wicked shall see it, and it shall grieve him;

He shall gnash his teeth, and pine away;
The desire of the wicked shall perish."
"That day, let it become darkness;
Let not God from above inquire after it;
Nor let the flowing light radiate upon it.
That night, let utter darkness seize it;
Let it not be united with the days of the year;
Let it not come into the number of the months.
Let the stars of its twilight be darkened:
Let it look for light, and may there be none;
And let it not behold the eyelids of the morning."

Ps. cxii. 10.

JOB iii. 4, 6, 9.

"And he shall snatch on the right, and yet be hungry;
And he shall devour on the left, and not be satisfied;
Every man shall devour the flesh of his neighbour.”4

ISAIAH ix. 20.

"Put ye in the sickle, for the harvest is ripe;
Come away, get you down, for the wine-press is full;
The vats overflow; for great is their wickedness."

JOEL iii. 13.

There are likewise parallels consisting of four lines: two distichs being so connected together, by the sense and construction, as to make one stanza. Such is the form of the xxxviith Psalm; which is evidently laid out by the initial letters in stanzas of four lines; though in regard to that disposition some irregularities are found in the present copies. From this Psalm, which gives a sufficient warrant for considering the union of two distichs as making a stanza of four lines, I shall take the first example:

"Be not moved with indignation against evil-doers;
Nor with zeal against the workers of iniquity:
For like the grass they shall soon be cut off;
And like the green herb they shall wither."

"The ox knoweth his possessor;
And the ass the crib of his lord;
But Israel doth not know Me ;5
Neither doth my people consider.”

" And I said, I have laboured in vain ;

4 See the note on the place.

* See the note on the place.

PSALM XXXvii. 1, 2.

ISAIAH i. 3.

For nought and for vanity I have spent my strength :

Nevertheless my cause is with Jehovah ;

And the reward of my work with my God."

"Jehovah shall roar from Sion;

And shall utter his voice from Jerusalem :

And the habitations of the shepherds shall mourn;
And the head of Carmel shall wither."

ISAIAH xlix. 4.

AMOS, i. 2.

In like manner some periods may be considered as making stanzas of five lines; in which the odd line, or member, either comes in between two distichs, or after two distichs makes a full close:

"If thou wouldst seek early unto God;
And make thy supplication to the Almighty;
If thou wert pure and upright :

Verily now would he rise up in thy defence;

And make peaceable the dwelling of thy righteousness." Joв viii. 5, 6.

"They bear him on the shoulder; they carry him about;

They set him down in his place, and he standeth;
From his place he shall not remove;

To him, that crieth unto him, he will not answer;
Neither will he deliver him from his distress."
"Who is wise, and will understand these things?
Prudent, and will know them?

For right are the ways of Jehovah ;
And the just shall walk in them;
But the disobedient shall fall therein."

"And Jehovah shall roar out of Sion;
And from Jerusalem shall utter his voice ;

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And the heavens and the earth shall tremble:
But Jehovah will be the refuge of his people ;
And a strong defence to the sons of Israel."
"Who establisheth the word of his servant;
And accomplisheth the counsel of his messengers:
Who sayeth to Jerusalem, Thou shalt be inhabited;
And to the cities of Judah, Ye shall be built;
And her desolate places I will restore."

ISAIAH xlvi. 7.

HOSEA xiv. 9.

JOEL iii. 16.

ISAIAH xliv. 26.

In stanzas of four lines sometimes the parallel lines answer to one another alternately; the first to the third, and the second to the fourth:

"As the heavens are high above the earth;

So high is his goodness over them that fear him:

As remote as the east is from the west;

So far hath he removed from us our transgressions." Ps. ciii. 11, 12.

67; compare the next verse; and see Isar. lv. 9, and the note there.

And ye said: Nay, but on horses will we flee;

Therefore shall ye be put to flight:

And on swift coursers will we ride;

Therefore shall they be swift, that pursue you." ISAIAH XXX. 16.

And a stanza of five lines admits of the same elegance:

"Who is there among you, that feareth Jehovah ?

Let him hearken unto the voice of his servant:
That walketh in darkness, and hath no light?
Let him trust in the name of Jehovah ;

And rest himself on the support of his God."

ISAIAH 1. 10.

The second sort of parallels are the antithetic: when two lines correspond with one another by an opposition of terms and sentiments; when the second is contrasted with the first, sometimes in expressions, sometimes in sense only. Accordingly the degrees of antithesis are various; from an exact contraposition of word to word through the whole sentence, down to a general disparity, with something of a contrariety, in the two propositions.

Thus in the following examples:

"A wise son rejoiceth his father;

But a foolish son is the grief of his mother."

PROV. X. 1.

Where every word hath its opposite: for the terms father and mother are, as the logicians say, relatively opposite.

"The memory of the just is a blessing;
But the name of the wicked shall rot."

PROV. X. 7.

Here there are only two antithetic terms: for memory and name are synonymous.

"There is that scattereth, and still increaseth;

And that is unreasonably sparing, yet groweth poor." PROV. xi. 24. Here there is a kind of double antithesis; one between the two lines themselves; and likewise a subordinate opposition between the two parts of each.

66 Many seek the face of the prince;

But the determination concerning a man is from Jehovah."

PROV. XXIX. 26.

Where the opposition is chiefly between the single terms the prince and Jehovah: but there is an opposition likewise in the general sentiment; which expresses, or intimates, the vanity of depending on the former, without seeking the favour of the latter. In the following there is much the same opposition of sentiment, without any contraposition of terms at all:

"The lot is cast into the lap;

But the whole determination of it is from Jehovah."

PROV. xvi. 33.

That is, the event seems to be the work of chance; but is really the direction of Providence.

The foregoing examples are all taken from the proverbs of Solomon, where they abound: for this form is peculiarly adapted to that kind of writing; to adages, aphorisms, and detached sentences. Indeed the elegance, acuteness, and force of a great number of Solomon's wise sayings arise in a great measure from the antithetic form, the opposition of diction and sentiment. We are not therefore to expect frequent instances of it in the other poems of the Old Testament; especially those, that are elevated in the style, and more connected in the parts. However, I shall add a few examples of the like kind from the higher poetry.

"These in chariots, and those in horses;

But we in the name of Jehovah our God will be 7strong.
They are bowed down, and fallen;

But we are risen, and maintain ourselves firm."

PSALM XX. 7, 8.

"For his wrath is but for a moment, his favour for life;
Sorrow may lodge for the evening, but in the morning gladness.”

"Yet a little while, and the wicked shall be no more; Thou shalt look at his place, and he shall not be found: But the meek shall inherit the land;

And delight themselves in abundant prosperity."

PSALM XXX. 5:

PSALM XXXVii. 10, 11.

In the last example the opposition lies between the two parts of a stanza of four lines, the latter distich being opposed to the former. So likewise the following.

"For the mountains shall be removed;

And the hills shall be overthrown:

But my kindness from thee shall not be removed;

And the covenant of my peace shall not be overthrown. ISAIAH liv. 10, "The bricks are fallen, but we will build with hewn stone;

The sycamores are cut down, but we will replace them with cedars.” ISAIAH ix. 10.

Here the lines themselves are synthetically parallel; and the opposition lies between the two members of each.

The third sort of parallels I call synthetic or constructive; where the parallelism consists only in the similar form of con

77, so LXX. STR. ETHIOP.

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struction; in which word does not answer to word, and sentence to sentence, as equivalent or opposite; but there is a correspondence and equality between different propositions, in respect of the shape and turn of the whole sentence, and of the constructive parts; such as noun answering to noun, verb to verb, member to member, negative to negative, interrogative to interrogative.

"Praise ye Jehovah, ye of the earth;

Ye sea-monsters, and all deeps:
Fire and hail, snow and vapour;

Stormy wind, executing his command :>
Mountains, and all hills;

Fruit trees, and all cedars :

Wild beasts, and all cattle;

Reptiles and birds of wing:

Kings of the earth, and all peoples;
Princes, and all judges of the earth:
Youths, and also virgins;

Old men, together with the children:

Let them praise the name of Jehovah ;

For his name alone is exalted:

His majesty, above earth and heaven." PSALM cxlviii. 7—13.
"With him is wisdom and might;

To him belong counsel and understanding.

Lo! he pulleth down, and it shall not be built;

He incloseth a man, and he shall not be set loose.

Lo! he withholdeth the waters and they are dried up;

And he sendeth them forth, and they overturn the earth.

With him is strength, and perfect existence;

The deceived, and the deceiver, are his." JOB xii. 13—16.
Is such then the fast which I choose?

That a man should afflict his soul for a day?

Is it, that he should bow down his head like a bulrush;
And spread sackcloth and ashes for his couch?

Shall this be called a fast;

And a day acceptable to Jehovah ?

Is not this the fast that I choose?

To dissolve the bands of wickedness;

To loosen the oppressive burthens:

To deliver those that are crushed by violence;
And that ye should break asunder every yoke?
Is it not to distribute thy bread to the hungry;
And to bring the wandering poor into thy house?
When thou seest the naked, that thou clothe him ;
And that thou hide not thyself from thine own flesh
Then shall thy light break forth like the morning;

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