Sociable Letters 265 



ON PARAPHRASING THE SCRIPTURES 



Madam, — ^You were pleased to tell me in your last 

 letter, that you had spent most of the morning in 

 reading a new work, which is highly commended, 

 viz. paraphrases on the life of some of the holy pro- 

 phets and kings : I cannot say but it may be pleasing 

 to read, but I doubt whether it will be well to write 

 it ; for whosoever doth heighten the sacred scriptures, 

 by poetical expressions, doth translate it to the nature 

 of a romance ; for the ground of a romance is for the 

 most part truth, but upon those truths are feignings 

 built ; and certainly the Scripture and feignings ought 

 not to be mixed together, for so holy a truth ought 

 not to be expressed fabulously; wherefore in my 

 opinion no subject is so unfit for poetical fancies as 

 the Scripture, for though poetry is divine, yet it ought 

 not to obstruct and obscure the truth of sacred histori- 

 cal prose. 'Tis true, divine poetical raptures, such as 

 David's psalms, are commendable and admirable, 

 being an effect of a devout soul, and zealous spirit, 

 which flames into poetical raptures, and is inspired 

 with a divine influence, delivering it self through 

 harmonious numbers, sympathetical rithmes, elegant 

 phrases, and eloquent language ; all which is presented 

 to God from the heart, as an offering, or sacrifice of 

 thanksgiving, or an imploring of mercy, or an humble 

 acknowledgment of sins, and promise of amendment, 

 which sacred poems are expressed in a tragic vein 

 concerning sins, and in a comick vein concerning 

 blessings, and poets in their morning hymns are like 

 the larks that begin the day, and in their evening 

 hymns like the nightingals which begin the night. 

 Thus divine poets are Heaven's birds, that sing to 



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