Sternhold and Hopkins have succeeded in their version of this place, not only beyond all their other efforts, but also beyond every antient and modern poet on a similar subject. Their version conveys the true spirit of the original; and, by those who understand it, will be found to be surprisingly literal : "On cherub and on cherubim Full royally he rode; And on the wings of all the winds But the most complete and striking examples of ⚫ the combination of sense and sound which I recollect to have met with in the Sacred Writings are the two following:-the first is taken from Psalm lxxxi. 14. לו עמי שמע לי Loo ghammee shomeagh lee O that my people had hearkened unto me, ישראל בדרכי יהלכו Yisrael biderakee yehallekoo! The deep hollow sounds in these words interspersed and interrupted at proper distances, with strong gutturals, shew a mind so much penetrated with sorrow and distress, that every accent forcibly expresses the anguish of the heart; and the sounds as strongly as the sense unite in a last effort of sorrowful affectionate eloquence, to call back an ungrateful and rebellious, but tenderly beloved people, to a sense of their duty and in terest. The second is contained in Isa. xxiv. 16. ויאמר רזי לי רזי לי Wayomer razee lee, razee lee. And I said, My leanness! my leanness! אוי לי בגדים בגרו Auce lee, bogedeem bagadoo, Woe is me! the treacherous dealers have dealt treacherously! ובנר בגדים בגדו Oobeged bogedeem, bagadoo. Yea, the treacherous dealers have dealt treacherously! Were ever plaintive sobbings more forcibly expressed than in the two last hemistichs? That the Greek and Latin poets were not insensible to the beauty and influencé of this ornament of verse, when employed in describing such incidents as they wished to bring before their readers' eyes, their writings sufficiently testify. To produce a great effect, they often combined sense and sound; and thus in some sort gave their descriptions a body, and rendered them palpable. A few instances may not be unacceptable to those who admire the above extracts from the Hebrew poets. Homer, describing the pace of the mules traversing the hilly country of the Troad, to bring wood from Mount Ida, to burn the body of Patroclus, contrives to put a set of words in one line, which admirably express the very sound of their feet, and their tripping motion through an uneven country : Πολλα δ' αναντα καταντα παραντα τε δοχμια τ' ήλθον. Iliad. lib. xxiii. ver. 16. "much uneven space They measured, hill and dale, right onward now, And now circuitous." COWPER. Whoever examines Gell's plates of the Troad will at once see, from the nature of the country, that Homer describes in this verse a tract of land which he had before his eyes. Virgil felt the beauty of this line, and has most happily transferred all its power and elegance into the following verse: Quadrupedante putrem sonitu qualit ungula campum. Through clouds of dust, and pato the trembling ground." where the numbers of the verse perfectly express the prancing or trotting of the steeds. The following line has been ever admired by all who have read it; and have ever witnessed the rolling of the waves toward the shore, and their consequent dash on the beach : Βη δ' ακεων παρα θινα πολυφλοίσβοιο θαλασσης. Iliad, lib. i. ver. 32. The sound of the two last words admirably expresses the rolling swell of the wave, and its broken dash upon the shore. I need not apprize the learned reader that the translation in all the above cases bears scarcely any resemblance to the original. This, however, is no fault of the version; for even the Greek itself would lie under the same difficulty in rendering a similar beauty from the English. No. IV. Supplement to Chap. XVII. concerning the Fasts of the Hindoos and Mohammedans. Referred to in page 136. AS the Hindoos and Mohammedans approach nearest in their religious austerities to the antient Hebrews, the following concise view of the fasts practised among them, taken from the best authorities, will not be considered an unprofitable digressiou in this place. There are twelve kinds of fasts among the Hindoos. In the first, the person neither eats nor drinks for a day and night. This fast is indispensable, and occurs twenty-nine times in the year. In the second, the person fasts during the day, and eats at night. In the third, the person eats nothing but fruits, and drinks milk or water. In the fourth, he eats once during the day and night. In the fifth, he eats one particular kind of food during the day and night, but as often as he pleases. In the sixth, called Chanderaym, the person is to eat one mouthful only on the first day; two on the second; and thus continue increasing one mouthful every day for a month, and then decreasing one mouthful every day till he leave off where he began. In the seventh, the person neither eats nor drinks for twelve days. How such a fast can be supported I cannot tell. Though it be prescribed in their law, it is not likely that it is ever observed, at least rigidly. The eighth lasts twelve days. The first three he eats a little once in the day; the next three the person eats only once in the night; the next three he eats nothing unless it be brought to him; and during the last three days he neither eats nor drinks. The ninth lasts fifteen days. For three days and three nights the person eats only one handful at night; the next three days and nights he eats one handful if it be brought to him; if not, he takes nothing. He then eats nothing for three days and three nights. The three next days and nights he takes only a handful of warm water each day. The three next days and nights he takes only a handful of warm milk each day. In the tenth, for three days and nights, the person neither eats nor drinks: he lights a fire and sits at a door where there enters a hot wind, which he draws in with his breath, The eleventh lasts fourteen days. Three days and three nights the person eats nothing but leaves; three days and three nights nothing but the Indian fig; three days and three nights nothing but the seed of the lotus; three days and three nights |