were at first the peculiar subjects treated of in this sort of verse; but as we know not who was the inventor of elegiac verse, so we cannot guess from hence at what time to fix the composing this elegiac poem.

It will perhaps be said, that we are so uncertain about the true pronunciation of the Hebrew tongue, and that the same Hebrew word may be so differently writ ten in our modern letters, according to the fancy of the writer; that it is pretty easy to make a Hebrew sentence fall into any measure, and bear the resemblance of any sort of verse, which we have a mind to call it. But to this I answer, any one who makes the experi ment, will not find this to be true. Let any one try to reduce the words of the song of Moses to this measure of the verse in Job, or let him try to reduce the song of Deborah and Barak," and any part of Job to one and the same measure, and he will presently see an irreconcileable difference in the structure of the words and syllables, sufficient to convince him, that any Hebrew sentence cannot be made appear to be any verse, according to the fancy of the reader. Upon the whole, in the book of Job, the words fall so naturally into the measures I have hinted, and the short verse so commonly ends a period in sense; that, though I cannot deny, but that any other person, who might take a fancy to write over any number of the verses in Job in our letters, might probably spell the words

f Quis tamen exiguos elegos emiserit auctor Grammatici certant, et adhuc sub judice lis est. Hor. Lib. de Arte Poeticâ. * Exodus xv. h Judges v.

differently; nay, and perhaps sometimes measure the particular feet of some verses differently from me; yet still I am apt to think that no one could bring the whole, or a considerable part of the book, to bear so remarkable an appearance of this measure, as it evidently may be made to exhibit, if it really was not a poem of this sort; especially when other parts of the Hebrew Scriptures, which are not of this composure, can by no way of writing be reduced to seem to have such a resemblance. However, I can by no means pretend to any thing more than conjecture upon so nice a subject. St. Jerome has given a hint; and I have endeavoured to examine how far it may be true. I acknowledge, that many writers have been of opinion, that the book of Job is not composed in this sort of measure, and I must intirely submit their opinion, St. Jerome's, and what I have ventured to offer, to the judgment of the reader.

Moses is by St. Stephen said to have been learned in all the learning of the Egyptians. The sacred. writings bear abundant testimony to the Egyptian learning; both in these and in succeeding ages. As St. Stephen thought it remarkable in Moses' time; so we find, it was as famous in the days of Solomon, of whom it was said, that his wisdom excelled the wisdom of all the children of the East-Country, and all the wisdom of Egypt. Agreeably to which sentiment of the Eastern and Egyptian learning, all the ancient profane writers suppose that these countries had been

Acts vii. 22.

1 Kings iv, 30.

the seats of learning in the early ages. It may not be improper to enquire what the Egyptian learning in the days of Moses might be. Sir John Marsham puts the question thus, "What was this learning of the Egyptians, when the second Mercury had not deciphered the remains of Thyotli?" By this query, this learned gentleman seems to have been of opinion, that the Egyptian learning was but in a low state in these days; and it may be thought very reasonable to imagine, that when the pastor-kings broke in upon' Egypt, and having enslaved the country, forced the priests to fly into other nations, as has been said; such a revolution might probably put a stop to the progress of their arts and learning; but it is not likely, that it should altogether suppress and extirpate them. The tillage of the ground made the study of astronomy absolutely necessary, in order to know from the lights of heaven, the times and seasons for the several parts of agriculture; and the nature of their country, overflowed yearly by the Nile, made it of continual use for them to study land-measuring, and geometry." And though several of the priests might fly from the pastors, upon their invading the land; yet doubtless they must encourage a great many to stay amongst them for the public good, and to cultivate and carry on the Egyp

1 Marsham Can. Chron. p. 137.

• Γεωμετριαν δε και Αριθμητικήν επι πλείον εκπονησιν° ο μεν γαρ ποταμος κατ' ενιαυτον ποικίλως μετασχηματίζων την χωραν, πολλας και πανοίας αμφισβητήσεις ποιες περί των όρων τοις γειτνιωσι. Diodor. Sic. lib. 1. p. 51.

tian studies, of which foreign nations had so high an opinion, and most probably were not entirely strangers to it. It is not indeed to be supposed, that the Egyptians had thus early carried the study of astronomy or geometry to a great height. They had observed, as well as they could, the times of the rising and setting of some particular stars; and they had acquired such a knowledge of geometry, as gave them the reputation of being very learned, in comparison of other nations who had not proceeded so far as the Egyptians in these studies. But if we consider that the Egyptians did not as yet apprehend the year to consist of more than three hundred and sixty days, and that Thales was the first who attempted to foretel an eclipse ;" and that both Thales and Pythagoras, many ages after these times, were thought to have made vast improvements in geometry, beyond all that they had learned in Egypt; the one by his invention of the forty-seventh proposition of the first book of Euclid; the other by his finding out how to inscribe a rectangled triangle within a circle; we must think, that neither astronomy nor geometry were as yet carried to any great perfection. The distinction which Plato made between Asgovoμes and Asgovoμтas, may not be improper to be kept in mind, when we treat of these early astronomers or geometricians. They compiled registers of the appearances of the stars and lights of Heaven, took ac counts of the weather and seasons which followed their

"Laert. in Vit. Thalet. Cic. de Divin. lib. 1. Plin. lib. 2. c. 12. • Laert. ubi sup. Plat. in Epinomide.

several observations; recorded the best times of sowing or reaping this or that grain; and by the experimental learning and observation of many years, became able prognosticators of the weather, of the seasons, and good directors for the tillage of the ground. And in geometry, they found out methods of marking out and describing the several parts of their country; and probably were exceeding careful in making draughts of the flow and ebb of the river Nile every year; for they formed many theories and speculations from their observations made upon it. We may say of their skill in these sciences, what Plutarch said of Numa's astronomy. It was not such as would have been extolled in ages of greater learning; but it was considerable for the times in which they lived. One part of the Egyptian learning undoubtedly consisted in physiology, or the study of the traditions, which their learned men had amassed together, about the creation of the world. Of these I imagine the Egyptians had a very rich store; and the commenting upon these, and forming notions of the natural powers of the several parts of the universe, according to their maxims, and way of thinking, was undoubtedly one great part of that philosophy, in which their men of learning exer cised themselves." Before Moses' time, the Egyptian

Diodor. Sic. lib. 1. p. 51. r See Plut. de Isid. et Osirid. • Ήψατο δε και της περι τον ερανόν πραγματείας, στε ακριβώς και πανάπασιν αθεωρήτως. Plut. in Numa, p. 71.

See Diod. Sic. lib. 1. Pref. to vol, i.