Affailant on the perched roofts, And nests in order rang'd Of tame villatic fowl; but as an eagle His cloudlefs thunder bolted on their heads. So virtue giv'n for loft, Deprefs'd, and overthrown, as feem'd, Like that self-begotten bird In the Arabian woods imboft, That no fecond knows nor third, 1695 1700 From out her ashy womb now teem'd, Revives, reflorifhes, then vigorous most When moft unactive deem'd, 1705 And though her body die, her fame furvives A fecular bird ages of lives. MANO A Н. Come, come, no time for lamentation now, Nor much more caufe; Samfon hath quit himself Like Samfon, and heroicly hath finish'd A life heroic on his enemies 1710 Fully out her afhy womb, revives, reflorishes, and though her body die which was the cafe of Samfon, yet her fame furvives a phoenix many ages for the comma after furvives in all the editions fhould be omitted, as Mr. Calton has obferved as well as myfelf. The phœnix, fays he, liv'd a thousand years ac Hierozoicon. Pars fecunda, p.817 1 cording to fome [See Bochart's and hence it is called here a fecular bird. Ergo quoniam fex diebus cuneta Dei opera perfecta funt; per fecula fex, id eft annorum sex millia, manere hoc ftatu mundum neceffe eft. Lactantius Div. Inft. Lib. 7. 6. 14. The fame of virtue (the Semichorus faith) Jurvives, outlives this fecular bird many ages. The comma, which is in all the editions after survives, breaks the construction. years of mourning, Fully reveng'd, hath left them 1715 1720 Or knock the breaft, no weakness, no contempt, 1725 Sok'd in his enemies blood, and from the stream 1713.to the fons of Caphtor] Caphtor it should be, and not Chaptor as in feveral editions: and the fons of Caphtor are Philistines, originally of the iland Caphtor or Crete. The people were called Caphtorim, Cherethim, Ceretim, and afterwards Cretians. A colony Will of them fettled in Palestine, and there went by the name of Philiftim. Meadowcourt. 1730. Will fend for all my kin dred, all my friends, &c] This is founded upon what the Scripture faith, Judg. XVI. 31. which the poet has finely improved. Then bis Will fend for all my kindred, all my friends, 1730 To fetch him hence, and folemnly attend With filent obfequy and funeral train Home to his father's houfe: there will I build him A monument, and plant it round with shade All is beft, though we oft doubt, his brethren, and all the house of his father, came down and took him, and brought him up, and buried him between Zorah and Efhtaol in the burying-place of Manaoh his fa ther. 1745. All is beft, though we oft doubt, &c] There is a great 1735 1740 1745 Of highest wisdom brings about, And ever best found in the close. Oft he seems to hide his face, But unexpectedly returns, And to his faithful champion hath in place Bore witnefs gloriously; whence Gaza mourns 1750 His uncontrollable intent; His fervants he with new acquist Of true experience from this great event 1755. His fervants he with new acquift] It is bis fervant in most of the editions, but the first edition has it rightly his fervants, meaning the Chorus and other" perfons prefent. Acquift, the fame as acquifition, a word that may be found in Skinner, but I do not remember to have met with it elfewhere. 1755 of which he hath expreffed in the preface, that "tragedy is of power by raising pity and fear, or terror, to purge the mind of those and fuch like paffions, &c." and he exemplifies it here in Manoah and the Chorus, after their various agitations of paffion, acquiefcing in the divine difpenfations, and thereby inculcating a moft inftructive leffon to the reader. As this work was not intended for the ftage, it is not divided into acts, but if any critic fhould be difpofed fo to divide it, he may eafily do it by beginning the fecond act at the entrance of Manoah, the third at the entrance of Dalila, the fourth at the entrance of Harapha, and the fifth at the entrance of the public officer: but the ftage |