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far as Chriftians can, look at the queftion without prejudice, allowing 

 fomething for the diftinftive genius of the two languages, and we fliaH 

 find that the odes of Pindar, in their frame and form, bear a ftriking 

 refemblance to the hymns of the Hebrew bards, whofe long and fhort, 

 and broken numbers, carry with them all the character of the Thebaa 

 mufe ; the fame abrupt tranfitions, the fame graceful negligence, the 

 fame happy omiffions, the fame headlong metaphors, the fame fury of 

 conception, animate the one and the other with the fame enthufiafm of 

 foul. The daring Dithyrambic of the Greek, equalled alone by the 

 Thunder of the Hebrew, fweeps with precipitous arm all nature before 

 it. Methinks I fee the bard feated on his throne of gold in the temple 

 of Apollo, pouring like the God himfelf the torrent of his fong, and like 

 him regarded as the genius of the fane. Who will deny, that had the 

 author of the Grecian hymns been an Hebrew celebrating the One Eter- 

 nal God, he would have kindled the firings of his lyre with the fame 

 lofty fuccefs, and infpiration too, that the royal prophet " awaked his 

 lute and harp" ? And who is it will fay, that had David been doomed 

 to fmg the praifes of Theron and Hiero, with thofe of their horfe 

 Pherenicus, this highly favoured bard would have tranfcended the flights 

 or furpaflfed the mufic of the Theban fwan ? In a word, the ideas of the 

 profane bard, through his ignorance of the divine nature, are neceffa- 

 rily reflrifted to fenfible objcfts, and the fphere in which humanity moves : 

 while the " Prophet of the Moll High," drawing his infpiration from 

 the immediate fource of truth, not from the imaginary fountain of the 

 mufes, is as neceflarily tranfported into the bofom of the Deity. Let 

 the Grecian bard become the prophet of the Moll High, let him ce- 

 lebrate the wonders he had witnelTed, and the favours he had found ; 

 what then would be his language ? Inftead of fetting forth the Ionian 

 philofophy, with A^irov i^i' fSiui^, his language would be this, " Thou fendeft 

 the fprings into the rivers, and the waters rulh through the midft of 

 the hills." Inftead of Hiero's viftories, with his horfes and his chariots, 

 that raifed him to a god, we fhould have this triumphal addrefs to the 

 Fcither of all viftory, " Thou makeft the clouds thy chariots, and walkeft 



L 7. "poiJ 



