STUDY VIII. 159 



ferable. The unfortunate Bard himfelf fell a vic- 

 tim to this, for he died in the very prime of life, 

 either from exceffive indulgence, according to 

 fome, or poifoned, according to others, by an 

 amorous potion adminiftred by the hand of a 

 woman. 



In the paffage above quoted, he afcribes to 

 Fenus the creation of the world; he addreffes 

 prayers to her ; he bellows on her perfon the epi- 

 thet of facred ; he invefts her with a charaâ:er of 

 goodnefs, of juftice, of intelligence, and of power, 

 which belongs to GOD only; in a word, the at- 

 tributes are fo exactly the fame, that, fupprcffing 

 only the word Fenns^ in the invocation of his 

 Poem, you may apply it almoft entirely to the 

 Divine Wifdom. There are even points of re- 

 femblance, fo ftriking, to the reprefentation given 

 of it in the Book of Ecclefiafticus, that I cannot 

 refrain from exhibiting the counterpart, that the 

 Reader may have it in his power to mxake the 

 comparifon. 



Ecclefiaft. chap. xxiv. 

 Vulgate Lailn Ferjion. Co-mmon Englifo Verfion. 



3, 4, 5. Ego ex ore Altiffinni 3 I came out of the mouth 



prodivi, primogenita ante om- of the Moil High, and covered 



nem creaturam ; ego feci in the earth as a cloud. 



ccelis ut oriritur lumen indefi- 4. I dwelt in high places, 



cicns, and 



