nefs than the approbation and confent of her relations. Chance brought them both on the very fame day to the parents of their be loved. But how great was their astonishment on their meeting each other! As foon as the father appeared, each addreffed him for his daughter. He affured them that he had but one child, of whofe virtue he was fully convinced, that she never, in oppofition to the laws of the land, could favour two lovers at once. He, however, concluded, from the perfect likeness that fubfifted between the two brothers, that fome mistake had happened, and fent for his daughter to clear up the matter. She immediately appeared, decorated with the four flowers fhe had received, in the complete conviction, that the two full-blown had been prefented her by one and the fame hand.

"Venus herself, attended by the graces, could not have fhone more lovely than Berilla-for thus was the damfel called. Her form was noble and majeftic; and her complexion furpaffed the blooming rose. No fooner did fhe perceive the great refemblance between her lovers, and the tokens they wore of her inclination, than the exclaimed, "I am deceived! Thou knoweft my innocence, O almighty Sun!" She was unable to utter more, but fell motionlefs on the earth. Her beautiful cheeks were covered with the veil of death. The father, frantic with agony, held her in his arms, and preffed her to his heart. My dear, my only daughter, live, or I muft die with thee; I know that thou art innocent. Her mother and the fervants were fetched to her relief, and with much difficulty reflored her to herself.

"She lifted up her eyes, raised a deep figh, clofed them again, and faid: "Unhappy Berilla, thou art now dishonoured! Thou wert the comfort of thy parents, who loved thee in their hearts; and, as the reward of their tendernefs, thou art become the caufe of their diftrefs!" On uttering thefe words, fhe burst into a flood of tears. Her father, himself oppreffed with forrow, ftrove to calm her tortured mind by every endearing expreffion, and by giving her repeated affurances that he was convinced of her innocence. "O my father, (faid fhe) am I ftill worthy of thee?" "That thou art (he replied); thy forrow indicates, which at once is thy juftification, and the triumph of thy fenfibility. Compose thy fpirit (added he with fighs) I know thy innocence." The two brothers flood fpeechlefs at this mournful fcene; they alternately caft on each other looks of diftruft, of anger, and then of compafiion.

"In the mean time the amiable maiden completely revived; at leaft fo far as to be able to reply to fome queftions that were made to her. She declared that the first, who led her to the altar, was the perfon that made impreffion on her heart; that the, prefently after, as the believed, accepted from him the first token of his inclination, and at length confented to become his; that thereupon fhe wore the fullblown flower: but she was totally ignorant which of the two brothers it was by whom it was given her. She concluded by faying, that the was ready to abide by the judgment of the elders, and to fubmit to any punishment they fhould think fit to inflict.

"As the marriage engagement is among the weightieft concerns of the empire, and as there was no law already provided in regard to fo peculiar a cafe, it was neceffarily left to the decifion of the pophar,

or prince of the country. The caufe was propounded in prefence of him and the elders. The likeness of the two brothers was in reality fo great, that they were fcarcely to be diftinguished afunder. The prince asked, which of the two it was that led her to the altar? The eldeft replied, that it was he. Berilla confeffed, that indeed he pleafed her at first; but the impreffion he made on her was but flight. Upen this it was afked, who gave the firft flower? and it proved to be the youngeft. Berilla faid fhe loft that; but, fhortly after, her lover returned it to her, though at this moment he appeared lefs amiable to her than before; however, the conftantly thought it had been the fame. The point which moft perplexed the judge, was, that the maiden had received the full-blown flower from both the lovers. They looked ftedfastly on each other, without daring to utter a word. The pophar interrogated the young lady, whether, at the time she gave her confent, fhe did not believe the was giving it to him who had led her to the altar? She affirmed, that she did; but likewife declared, that her greatest inclination had fallen on him from whom the received the firft flower. Both the brothers were now fet before her, and the queftion was put to her, which of the two fhe would chufe if the election were now freely left to herfelf? She blushed; and, after a few moments of confideration, replied: "The youngest feems to have the greatest inclination for me;" at the fame time darting him a look, that betrayed the fecret wishes of her foul.

All men now waited with impatier.ce for the decree of the prince, and eagerly ftrove to read in his eyes the judgment he was going to pronounce: but particularly the two lovers, who feemed expecting the fentence of life and death. At length the prince addrefied himself to Berilla with a ftern and gloomy countenance: "Thy misfortune, or rather thy imprudence, prevents thee for ever from poffeffing either of the brothers. Thou haft given to each of them an inconteftible right to thy perfon. One hope alone remains for thee; and that is, if one of them will forego his pretenfions. And now, my fons, (continued he) what have you to fay? Which of you is difpofed to facrifice his own fatisfaction to the happiness of his brother?" They both made anfwer, that they would fooner lofe their lives. The prince turned again to the damfel, who feemed on the point of finking to the earth, and faid: "Thy cafe excites my compaflion; but, as neither of the two will yield, I am obliged to condemn thee to a single state, till one of thy lovers fhall change his opinion or die."

"The lot was cruel; for in Mezzorania the state of celibacy was a heavy difgrace. The whole affembly was about to feparate, when the younger brother threw himself on his knees before the judge: “ I inplore your patience for a moment (faid he); I will rather facrifice my right, than fee Berilla fo feverely doomed. Take her, O my brother; and may ye live long and happily together! And thou, the delight of my life, forgive the trouble my innocent love has caufed thee! This is the fole request I have to make thee." The affembly rofe up, and the mignanimous lover was about to depart, when the prince commanded him to ftay. "Son, remain where thou art (faid he); thy magnanimity deferves to be rewarded. The damfel is thine; for, by this facrifice,

facrifice, thou haft merited her love. Give her thy hand, and live hap pily with her!"

They were married fhortly after, and the prince acquired great re nown by this decree." P. 6.

We note fome inaccuracies of expreffion, evidently the confequence of a carclefsnefs, from which the most practifed writers are not always exempt. Such as imaginary for imaginable, &c. The lovers of fimplicity and nature will be delighted with fome of the fpecimens of Efthonian Poetry; and they whofe imagination glows with the fictions of romance, will be amply gratified with the tale of Grimaldi. It muft indeed be a faftidious tafte which may not, in its progrefs through thefe volumes; find fome of the viands it approves. Wieland's dialogues have been partially tranflated by another hand, of whofe performance an account will be found in our monthly Catalogue. We fhould with pleafure recommend this Mifcellany, were it not injudiciously, and very unneceffarily, made a vehicle for the moft pernicious opinions. What call there is for reafonings. against miracles, or farcaftic dialogues against the Trinity, or even for Wieland's political dialogues, in a publication generally calculated to fupply a liberal amufement, it is not eafy to fay. But fo it is; and confiderable pains are taken to difjoin the evidence of miracles from Chriftianity, and to give new force and currency to the fophiftry of Hume, Rouffeau, and T. Paine, on that fubject. Such is the misfortune of the age, that this infection pervades where it might be leaft expected.

ART. IX. Dr. Macknight's Tranflation of the Apoftolic Epifiles.

THE

(Concluded from our laft, p. 614.)

HE extent and importance of this work would require, for doing justice to the writer or the subject, a confiderable volume of remarks, the refult of a long, patient, and learned examination. Unable to devote curfelves to a task of that nature, we have attempted rather to excite others to weigh and to examine than to undertake it ourselves; rather to point out the work to the attention of the learned, by fpecimens of paffages wherein we concur with Dr. Macknight in opinion, or diffent from him, than to pronounce any general decifion upon the toil of fo many years, the produce of fo much learning.

and

and fo much piety. Dr. M. published his fpecimens of this work, in the Translation of the two Epiftles to the Theffalonians, about the year 1786. On the additional labour of near 20 years we should be forry to give a hafty judgment.

Romans ii. 14. Dr. Macknight paffes over, without noticing them, the controverfies with refpect to the punctuation of this very remarkable verse; and he retains the comma after xola. We do not mean here to enter into an elaborate difcuffion of the fubject: but we are much inclined to connect çu with exo, and then add the comma. See Mr. Willats's Sermon on this celebrated text, in the collection of tracts recently published, and entitled "The Scholar armed against the Errors of the Time," vol. i. p. 197*.

Romans iii. 2. Thoyiz. This word, as Leigh remarks, (Critica Sacra, p. 248) is ufed by profane writers to fignify thofe refponfes of the deity which are ftri&tly and properly called Oracles but in the Scriptures it denotes every word of God delivered mediately to man. Conf. Eft. in loc. Oraculum is fo called, not according to Toltatus, because ibi orabatur, because prayer was there ufed, but ab oratione, because of the diviae fpeech there uttered by audible voice: as the speech of man is called an oration, becaufe delivered ore, with the mouth. Hoyia, the feminine fubftantive, is a word which the learned critic, above quoted, fays was new to the language when St. Paul wrote, and which probably originated with him. It is borrowed figuratively from gathering in the fruits of the earth, and from thence is applied to charitable contributions. Thus legumen is derived from lego.

Dr. Macknight, on the authority of Beza, draws a line of diftinction between Aéyia, the profe oracles, and xenoμoi, thofe in verfe. The derivation of xenouds very strongly favours this opinion. Conf. Strabo. 1. 9. p. 419.

On the feminine λoyia, 1 Cor. xvi. 1. the learned writer makes no remarks.

Romans vii. 9. Thus paraphrafed by Dr. M. "Accordingly I was, in my own imagination, entitled to life, while without the knowledge of the law formerly; but when the commandment, with its curfe, came to my knowledge in their full extent, fin, which I fancied had no existence in me, lived again, and I died by the curfe." This is ingenious: but we would venture to propofe a commentary, which ftrikes us as coming nearer to the fenfe and meaning of the apostle. "1

* In our review of this work in the British Critic for November, 1795, p. 490, the text is mifquoted. It ftands there Rom, xi, 14.

was alive without the law once: I, as a Jew, being circumcifed the 8th day, and by virtue of that rite brought immediately. under the law, and, through the covenant, being in a state of favour during my infancy, was all that time alive, and yet, (though I was under the law) not being arrived at an age to difcern good from evil, I was, properly fpeaking, without the law, [xweis voe] and confequently the condemning power of the law had no force over me. But when I grew up to an age

to understand, and to obey or difobey, [afeons as įvrodās] fin, which before lay dormant, taking occafion by the commandment, began its attack; and grew on to fuch rebellicus ftrength, as to bring me again to a state of condemnation and death." Compare v. II and v. 13.

Romans vii. 25. “Açz Ev aðlós ¿yw x. T. 1. The new translation of this verse by Dr. M. feems one of the boldest, and, at the fame time, leaft neceffary, of any of the alterations he has introduced. And, the violence done to the text by the infertion of the fupplemental words, by no means, furely requires fome more ftrong and cogent reafons for its adoption. The drift of St. Paul's argument is clear; and the verfe in queftion, which concludes the feventh chapter, is neither more nor less than a corollary, drawn from the facts ftated in the preceding verfes; a fummary of the evidence they contain, to prove, that the Apoftle could fay of himfelf (without the af fiftance of divine grace) See ch. viii. 1.

While he was convinced of the neceffity for finlefs obedience, the weakness of human nature occafioned him to fall fhort of that abfolute perfection, which rigid juftice, untempered by mercy, requires. Hence he bemoans his own infirmity (Tanainwgos iyù äv‡gwños, not "O ego infelix," but " Vir infelix ego," "I am a poor, weak, miferable man-who fhall deliver me?" and feems ready to fink under the fense of it, till he is revived by faith in the Redeemer, and exclaims in triumph, εὐχαρισῷ τῷ θεῷ, διὰ Ιησέ Χρισῦ τῷ Κυρίῳ ἡμῶν.

Ch.

The aga which follows, fee Hoogeveen, ch. v. § 1. is cer tainly illative, and has not in this inftance the uoft remote affinity to the negativing interrogation. It deviates not in the fmalleft degree from the fenfe in which we meet with it in the very next verse. Οὐδὲν ἄρα νῦν κατάκριμα τοῖς ἐν Χειςῷ Ἰησε. viii. 1. To Dr. M. who does not print with the accents, it is perhaps not a fatisfactory argument to urge, that the interrogative aga has always a circumflex; the illative, as in the prefent inftance, an acute on the penultimate; in this cafe, "hoc