JVIonthl^ Review of Literature, 



394 



with much ability every circumstance which 

 lias been handed down to us connected 

 with the star of the Magi. M. Link pre- 

 sented an outline ol' a new system of plants. 



GERMANT. 



Gottingen. — In an excellent memoir, on 

 the sources from which Suetonius the his- 

 torian drew his information, read to the 

 Royal Society of Gottingen by Dr. Soeltl, 

 it is concluded, that the work of Suetonius 

 may be relied on — that in the life of Julius 

 Caesar, for example, he cites as his autho- 

 rity Tamisius Geoninus the historian ; the 

 edicts of Bibulus, the discourses of Curio. 



[March, 



Moreover, it is evident tVat he employed 

 the letters of Cicero and those of Ccesar to 

 the senate, and that he borrowed from Vel- 

 leius Paterculus. Dr. Soeltl further re- 

 marks, that the oral tradition commences 

 with Nero ; the memoirs of this prince are 

 only once cited. After this, written docu- 

 ments are no longer mentioned, the biogra- 

 phical notices are shorter, as if the histo- 

 rian did not wish to enlarge upon facts of 

 recent occurrence and universally known. 

 Here he is his own authority, and he seems 

 to have been as careful in the narration of 

 contemporary facts, as he was in the selec- 

 tion of his ancient documents. 



MONTHLY REVIEW OF LITERATURE, DOMESTIC AND FOREIGN. 



A Key to the Booh of Pialnn, h;/ the 

 Riw. Thos. Bova. — Every attempt to illus- 

 trate the structure of the Sacred Volume 

 deserves attention. The writer of this 

 book is the author of a work, entitled, 

 " Tactica Sacra;" it is now before us; 

 but we do not deem it necessary to speak 

 of it particulariy, as the " Key to the 

 Psalms" appears a recapitulation of that 

 system of composition, which the learned 

 author considers as constituting a consider, 

 able portion of the Testaments, and con- 

 sequently adapts to the Psalms. Mr. 

 Boys emphutically cautions all periodical 

 writers of '" th-c responsiliiiity which they 

 will incur, if, in dealing with a sutiject of 

 such importance, they betray injustice, 

 prejudice, or e\en carelessness." We are 

 pleased at his warning, because it shows 

 that he is in earnest, and courts examina- 

 tion. We shall never purposely be guilty 

 of injustice ; let our pages tell the world if 

 we are prejudiced ; and ^ve would not be 

 wilfully careless. We must not suppose, 

 that in a limited periodical work, it is pos- 

 sible to enter fully and deeply into so ab- 

 struse a subject as the structure of Hebr.io 

 verse ; or discuss with minuteness of detail 

 the merits of a discovery which he claims. 



some of the fundamental characteristics" of 

 the structuie of the com|)usition of the 

 Bible are mentioned. The younger Bux- 

 torf is considered by the Bishop of Lime- 

 rick (Dr. Jebb), to have given the "tech- 

 nical basis" of the system of Lowth : Scho- 

 ettgen followed Buxtorf, and stated \\ith 

 some accuracy the laws of Ilelirew paralle- 

 lism treated by Lowth. Whether Buxtorf 

 was aware of what Azarias had written 

 we do not presume to say — examinations, 

 pursued hy erudite men, of a similar subject 

 might lead to similar results. It is liighly 

 probable that Schoettgen was not acquaint- 

 ed with what Buxtorf had published. 

 Lowth acknowledges no obligation from 

 Buxtorf and Schoettgen. Mr. Boys re- 

 marks, that " he does not conceal his obli- 

 gation" to Azarias ; he should have been 

 more explicit on this jjoint, and given the 

 reference to his readers, lest any uiference 

 unfavourable to the prelate should be de- 

 duced from this remark. Lovv'th, in his 

 nineteenth lecture, quotes the Rabbi's 

 words, which are : — 



" Without doubt the sacred songs have measures 

 and proportions, but these do not consist in the 

 number of the syllables perfect or imperfect, accord- 

 ing to the form of modern verse ; but in the num- 



To facilitate our labour, we shall give a very \ ber of things, and of the parts of things; that is, the 



brief outline of what has been effected in 

 this branch of learning, previous to the pub- 

 licaiions of IMr. Boys, and then offer our 

 opinion on his claims to additional discove- 

 ries. 



Josephus appears to be the earliest writer 

 who bas spoken of the poetry of his coxm- 

 try, and Mr. Boys mentions him, and gives 

 an example of his using one of the parallels 

 or " correspondencies." O^igen was, with- 

 out doubt, aware, that many parts of the 

 Scripture were written under certain r ules ; 

 but his fancy led him to su])pose, that the 

 Greek measiu-es were to be foinid in Scrip- 

 ture, and so he rather confused than eluci- 

 dated the subject. Rabbi Azarias pub- 

 lished at Mantua in 1754 " Meor Ena- 

 jim"— The Light of the Eyes—" in which 



subject and the predicate, and their adjuncts, in 

 every sentence and proposition. Thus a phrase, 

 containing two parts of a proposition, consists of 

 two measures; add another containing four, and 

 they become four measures : another again, con- 

 taining three parts of a proposition, consists of three 

 measures ; add to it another of the like, and you 

 have six measures ; for you are not to number the 

 wwds or syllallcs, but the sentences." 



There is no doubt, as will be seen in the 

 sequel, that this si)ecification of Rabbi 

 Azarias opened the way to that knowledge 

 which Lowth attained— and possesses the 

 germ of what Mr. Boys claims as his dis- 

 covery ; for the latter clause is exemplified 

 by the tabular view in the Tactica Sacra, 

 and by the examples in the work under 

 examination. Lowth, as Mr^ Boys says, 



