inftruction and confolation have in all ages been neceffary to the good and juft. A preacher of genius and elocution, finding himself in the midft of these immenfe riches, of which he is allowed to take whatever he pleases, can he fail of delivering himself in a great noble, majeftic, and, at the fame time, folid and inftructive manner? A person, who is a little converfant with the Fathers, immediately difcovers whether a difcourfe flows from thofe fources; whether the proofs and principles were taken from thence; and, though the preacher be ever fo eloquent, or folid, in other respects, yet, if he is deficient in this part, he wants fomething very effential.

I again repeat, that this advantage is of ineftimable value, and does not require infinite pains or time. Some years of retirement would fuffice for this study, how extenfive foever it may appear: and that man, who should have made himself mafter only of the homilies of St. John Chryfoftom, and St. Áuftin's fermons on the Old and New Teftament, with some other little treatifes of the latter, would find in them all that is neceffary to form an excelleut preacher. These two great masters would alone fuffice to teach him in what manner he is to instruct his flock, by teaching them religion thoroughly, and from principles, and by clearly explaining to them its tenets and morality; but, above all, by making them perfectly acquainted with Chrift, his doctrine, actions, fufferings, myfteries; and annexing thefe feveral inftructions to the text of Scripture itself, the explication of which is equally adapted to the capacities, and the tafte, both of the learned and unlearned; and fixes the truths in the mind, in a more eafy and agreeable manner.

One cannot inculcate too much to young men, after St. Auftin's example, the neceffity they will be under, in cafe God should one day call them to the ecclefiaftical miniftry, of going through a courfa ei folid ftudies, of making the Scriptures familiar to them

felves,

selves, and of taking the holy Fathers for their guides and masters, before they undertake to teach others.

XXXX

SECT. V.

Of the Eloquence of the Sacred Writings. WHEN I propofe to make fome reflections here on the Eloquence of the Scriptures, I am far from being willing to confound them with those upon profane authors, by remarking to youth only upon fuch things as please the ear, delight the imagination, and form the taste. The defign of God, in speaking to mankind by the Scriptures, was not undoubtedly to foment their pride and curiofity, or to make them orators and learned men, but to amend their hearts. His intention, in those Sacred Books, is not to please the imagination, or to teach us to move that of others, but to purify and convert us, and to recal us from abroad, whither our fenfes lead us, to our heart, where his grace enlightens and instructs us.

It is certain that the Divine wisdom has every kind of bleffing in her train, and that all the qualities which the world refpect, and can only receive from her, are at her disposal. And how would it be poffible for her not to be eloquent, fhe who opens the mouth of the dumb, and makes little children eloquent? Who hath made man's mouth? fays he, speaking to Mofes, who thought himfelf not poffeffed of a good utterance: Who maketh the dumb, or deaf, or the Jeeing, or the blind; have not I the Lord?

But the Divine Wisdom, in order to make itself more acceffible and more eligible, has condescended

h Sapientia aperuit os mutorum, & linguas infantium fecit difertas, Sap. x. 21.

i Obfecro, Domine: non fum eloquens ab heri & nudius tertius VOL. II.

....

Quis fecit os hominis, aut quis fabricatus eft mutum & furdum, videntem & cæcum? Nonne ego? Exod. iv. 10 & 11,

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to

to floop to our language, to affume our tone of voice, and to ftammer, as it were, with children. Hence it is, that the chief and almoft univerfal characteristic of the Scriptures is fimplicity.

This is ftill more apparent in the New Teftament, and St. Paul difcovers to us a very fublime reason of it. The Creator's defign, at firft, was to win over men to the knowledge of himfelf by the use of their reafon, and by contemplation on the wisdom of his works. In this firft plan, and manner of teaching, every thing was great and magnificent, every thing anfwered to the majefty of the God who spoke, and the greatnefs of him who was inftructed. But fin has deftroyed that order, and occafioned a quite oppofite method to be used: For, after that, in the wifdom of God, the world by wisdom knew not God, it pleafed God, by the foolishness of preaching, to fave them that believe. Now part of this folly confifts in the fimplicity of the evangelical word and doctrine. God was determined to difcredit the vanity of eloquence, of knowledge, and the wifdom of philofophers; and to bring into contempt the pomp of human pride, in dictating the books of Scripture, by which only mankind are to be converted, in a ftyle quite different from that of the Heathen writers. These seem ftudious only of heightening their difcourfes by ornaments, whereas the Sacred Penmen never endeavour to display wit in their writings, that they may bereave Chrift's cross of the honour of converting the world, by giving it either to the charms of eloquence, or to the force of human reafon.

If therefore, notwithstanding the fimplicity, which is the true characteristic of the Scriptures, we meet with fuch beautiful, fuch fublime paffages in them; it is very remarkable, that this beauty, this fimplicity, do not arrive from a far-fetched, laboured elocution, but from the things which are fo great, fo lofty in them

k I Cor. i, 21,

felves, that they must neceffarily appear magnificent, when clothed in words.

Furthermore, the Divine Wisdom has employed the fame method in fpeaking to men, as he did in the incarnation, by which the wrought their falvation. She was indeed veiled and darkened by the difagreeable outside of infamy, filence, poverty, contradictions, humiliations, and fufferings: but then fhe always fuffered rays of majesty and power to efcape through thofe veils, which clearly difcover her divinity. This double character of fimplicity and majefty is confpicuous also in every part of the Sacred Writings: and, when we ferioufly examine, what this Wisdom fuffered for our falvation, and caufed to be wrote for our inftruction, we difcover equally in both the eternal Word, by whom all things were made, In principia erat Verbum: this is the fource of its grandeur; but its affuming the flesh for our fakes, & Verbum care. fallum eft; this is the caufe of its weakness.

It was neceffary to ufe thefe precautions, and to lay down these principles, before I undertook to point out in the Scriptures, fuch particulars as relate to eloquence. For otherwife, by fetting too high a value on this kind of beauties, we should expofe young people to the danger of having lefs veneration for those paffages of Scripture, where it is more acceffible to little ones, although it be as divine in thofe places as. in any other, and often conceals more profound things: or we fhould expofe them to another danger, equally to be avoided, which is to neglect thofe very things which Wifdem fays to us, and to attend only to the manner in which the fays them; and by that means to fet a lefs value on the falutary counfel the gives us, than on the ftrokes of eloquence which fall from her. Now, it is injurious to her to admire only her train, and not to look upon herfelf; or to be more touched with the gift fhe often beftows on her enemics, than with the graces which he referves for her children. and difciples.

P 2

I fhall

I fhall run over different matters, but not in a very exact order. I have obferved elsewhere, that most of the reflections the reader will find here on the Scriptures are not mine; which indeed their beauty of ftyle will fhew.

I. Simplicity of the myfterious Writings. *They crucified him there.

The more we reflect on the inimitable character of the evangelifts, the more we difcover that they were not directed by the spirit of man. Thefe barely fay in few words, that their mafter was crucified, without difcovering the leaft furprife, compaffion, or acknowledgment. Who would have fpoke in this manner of a friend that had laid down his life for him? What fon would have related in fo fhort, fo unaffected a manner, how his father had faved him from death, by fuffering in his ftead? But it is in this that the finger of God appears confpicuous; and the lefs, man appears in a conduct fo little human, the more evident is the operation of God.

'The prophets defcribe Chrift's sufferings, in a lively, affecting, and pathetic manner, and abound with fentiments and reflections; but the evangelifts relate them with fimplicity, without emotion, or reflections; without breaking out into admiration or teftimonies of gratitude; or difcovering the leaft defign to make their readers the difciples of Chrift. It was not natural, that perfons who lived fo many years before Chrift fhould be fo touched with his fufferings: nor that men who were eye-witneffes of his crofs, and fo zealous for his glory, fhould speak with so much calmness of the unheard of crime that was perpetrated against him. The ftrong zeal and affection of the apoftles might have been fufpected, which that of the prophets could not be. But, had not the evangelifts

Luke xxii. 33.

David P. x, xi, & lxviii.

Ifai. c. 1. & liii. Jer, c. xviii, &c.

and