BOOK VII. 1 Descend from heav'n Urania, 2 4 6 One of the nine muses: the daughters of Jupiter and Mnemosyne. Urania presided over astronomy. whose voice divine Following, above th' Olympian hill I soar, Doth not Wisdom cry; and Understanding put forth her voice? When there were no depths, I was brought forth; when there were no foundations abounding with water. Then I was by him, as one brought up with him; and I was daily his delight, rejoicing always before him: rejoicing in the habitable parts of his earth; and my delights were with the sons of men. Prov. viii. 1, 24, 30. Above the flight of Pegasean wing. Pegasus, a winged horse, who fixed his residence on Mount Helycon: the poets say, that, on striking the earth with his foot, he raised a fountain called Hyppocrene; he was given to Bellerophon to conquer the Chimera: no sooner was this monster destroyed, than Pagasus threw his rider; because he attempted to fly to heaven. Pagasus was placed among the constellations. Nor of the muses nine, Unutterably bless'd He whom the muses love! a melting voice T Flows ever from his lip; and is there one Awakes the strain; he sings the mighty deeds Of men of yore; the praise of blessed gods In heaven; and, strait, though stricken to the He shall forget, nor aught of all his griefs Of old Olympus dwell'st. HESIOD, The A mountain of Macedonia and Thessaly. ancients supposed that it touched the heavens with its top; and, from that circumstance, they have placed the residence of the gods there, and have made it the court of Jupiter. 13 Into the heaven of heavens I have presum'd, They dwell in mansions beautified, and shine The melody of their hummings; and, beneath Arises, as, tumultuous, they pass on, To greet their awful sire. 18 Bellerophon HESIOD The son of Glaucus, king of Emphyre, being at the court of Prœtus, king of Argos, gave him some cause for displeasure; but Proetus, unwilling to violate the laws of hospitality by punishing Bellerophon, sent him to Jobates, king of Lycia with a letter, in which he requested the king to punish, with death, the man who had so dishonourably treated his family. Jobates, to satisfy his son in law, sent Bellerophon to conquer the Chimera; in which dangerous expedition he hoped that he should perish. But Minerva supported him; and, with the aid of the winged horse, Pegasus, he conquered the monster and returned victorious. Jobates sent him in many perils; but the gods protected him. Jobates no longer sought to destroy him; but gave him his daughter in marriage, and made him successor to the throne of Lycia. 19 Dismounted, on the Aleian field I fall A field in Cilicia; where, it is reported, Perseus wandered after his fall from heaven, and died of hunger. 33 Of Bacchus and his revelers, The festivals of Bacchus, generally called orgies. Bachanalia, or Dyonysia, were introduced into Greece, from Egypt, by Danaus and his daughters. 34 Of that wild rout that tore the Thracian bard Orpheus lost his wife Eurydice; and the Thra cian women, whom he had offended by his coldness, while they were celebrating the orgies of Bacchus, tore him in pieces and threw his head into the Hebrus. 35 In Rodope, A mountain in Thrace. 79 Immutably his sov'reign will, 121 Thou art worthy, O Lord, to receive glory and honour and power; for thou hast created all things, and for thy pleasure they were created, (Rev. iv. 11.) And infinitely worthy he is to receive it: he who is the Almighty Creator: he who is the ever-present and ever-gracious supporter of all! Thou art worthy, O Lord; thou alone art worthy. and, though thou with-holdest from us the face of thy throne, while we dwell iu these tabernacles of clay; yet, as we are thy creatures, thy rational creatures, we partake of thy protection and bounty; and, feeble as our faculties are, and dark as the world is in which they dwell, we are able to discover thee as our Almighty Creator, our constant preserver, our never-failing benefactor. nor let thine own inventions hope Things not reveal'd, 121 Lo, this only have I found, that God made man upright; but they have sought out many inventions. Eccles. viii. 29. which th' invisible king Only omniscient hath suppressed in night, Of that day and that hour knoweth no man ; no, not the angels which are in heaven; neither the Son, but the Father only. Matt. xxiv. 39. 133 143. than that star the stars among Lucifer, the name of the planet Venus, or morning star. It is called Lucifer when appearing in the morning before the sun: but when it follows it, and appears some time after its setting, it is called Hesperus. Friend to mankind, she glitters from afar, Now the bright evening, now the morning star. and into fraud BAKER. Drew many, whom their place knows here no more; There was a man in the land of Uz, whose name was Job, and that man was perfect and upright, and one that feared God and eschewed evil. Now there was a day when the sons of God came to present themselves before the Lord, and Satan came also among them. And the Lord said unto Satan, Hast thou considered my servant Job, that there is none like him on earth. Then Satan answered the Lord; and said, Doth Job fear God for nought? But put forth thine hand now, and touch all that he hath, and he will curse thee to thy face. And the Lord said unto Satan, Behold, all that he hath is in thy power; only upon himself put not forth thine hand. With this authority the evil spirit went forth from the Divine presence, and put all his engines in motion against Job, managing them with dexterity, in order to destroy his integrity and confidence in God. What a climax of miseries, and how dreadfully are they poured one on another, with fury, like the crash |