neighbouring prince, and who appears to have been most ardently desirous to guard him against vice, to establish him in the principles of justice, and to unite him to a wife of the best qualities. Of Agur we know nothing; nor have any of the commentators offered so much as a plausible conjecture respecting him. Some critics have supposed that Agur and Lemuel are different names for Solomon; but this hypothesis has been satisfactorily refuted by Mr. Holden.1 The contents. of these two chapters strongly militate against it.

IV. The proverbs of Solomon afford a noble specimen of the didactic poetry of the Hebrews; they abound with antithetic parallels; for this form is peculiarly adapted to adages, aphorisms, and detached sentences. Much, indeed, of the elegance, acuteness, and force, which are discernible in Solomon's wise sayings, is derived from the antithetic form, the opposition of diction and sentiment. Hence a careful attention to the parallelism of members (which topic has already been largely discussed)2 will contribute to remove that obscurity in which some of the proverbs appear to be involved. Sometimes also one member or part of a proverb must be supplied from the other; or, as Glassius has expressed it in other words, sometimes one thing is expressed in one member, and another in the other, and yet both are to be understood in both members. Thus in Prov. x. 14. we read,

Wise men lay up knowledge;

But the mouth of the foolish is near destruction.

The meaning of which is, that wise men communicate, for the benefit of others, the wisdom they have acquired and preserved; while fools, being destitute of that knowledge, soon exhaust their scanty stock, and utter not merely useless but even injurious things. Again,

A wise son maketh a glad father:

But a foolish son is the heaviness of his mother. Prov. x. 1. Both the father and mother are to be understood in the two members of this passage, although in the first the father only is noticed, and in the second the mother only is mentioned. Lastly, many things which are spoken generally, are to be restrained to particular individuals and circumstances: as however this rule has already been illustrated at length, it will not be necessary to multiply additional examples. The author, with much pleasure, refers his readers to the Rev. Mr. Holden's Attempt towards an Improved Translation of the Proverbs of Solomon,' with Notes, as the best critical help to an exact understanding of this fine compendium of Ethics that is extant in the English language.

1 See his Attempt towards an improved Translation of the Book of Proverbs, 'Preliminary Dissertation,' pp. xviii.-xxv.

2 See Vol. II. Part II. Chapter III. Section II. § IV. pp. 521–526.

3 See Vol. II. Part II. Chap. X.

SECTION IV.

ON THE BOOK OF ECCLESIASTES.

I. Title, author, and canonical authority.-II. Scope and synopsis.— III. Observations.

I. THE title of this book in our Bibles is derived from the Septuagint version, EKKAHƐIAΣTHƐ signifying a preacher, or one who harangues a public congregation. In Hebrew it is termed, from the initial words, (DIBRY KOHELеTH) the Words of the Preacher;" by whom may be intended, either the person assembling the people, or he who addresses them when convened. Although this book does not bear the name of Solomon, it is evident from several passages that he was the author of it. Compare ch. i. 12. 16. ii. 4— 9. and xii. 9, 10. The celebrated Rabbi Kimchi, however, ascribes it to the prophet Isaiah; and the Talmudical writers to Hezekiah. Grotius, from some foreign expressions which he thinks are discoverable in it, conceives that it was composed by order of Zerubbabel for his son Abihud; Jahn, after some later German critics, for the same reason, thinks it was written after the Babylonish captivity; and Zirkel imagines that it was composed about the time of Antiochus Epiphanes, from some traces of the notions of the Pharisees and Sadducees which he conceives he has discovered in this book, and against which he supposes it to be directed. But it is not likely that those Jewish sects would permit a work levelled against themselves to be inserted in the sacred canon and with regard to the foreign expressions alleged by Grotius, their appearance may be accounted for by the circumstance of Solomon's having indulged in sinful intercourse "with strange women," (1 Kings xi. 1, 2.) whose language he probably acquired.

The beautiful descriptions, which this book contains, of the phenomena in the natural world, and their causes, of the circulation of the blood (as the late Bishop Horsley thought),2 and of the economy of the human frame, all show it to be the work of a philosopher. It is generally supposed to have been written by Solomon in his old age, after he had repented of his sinful practices, and when, having seen and observed much, as well as having enjoyed every thing that he could wish, he was fully convinced of the vanity of every thing except piety towards God. The Rabbinical writers inform us, and their account is corroborated by Jerome, that the Jews, who, after the captivity, collected the inspired writings into the canon, at first refused to admit this book into the sacred code, in consequence of some heresies and contradictions, which, from inattention to the author's scope

1 The opinions of these and of other writers are satisfactorily refuted by the Rev. Mr. Holden in his Attempt to illustrate the Book of Ecclesiastes' (8vo. London 1822). Preliminary Discourse, pp. v.—xxviii.

2 Bp. Horsley's Sermons, vol. iii. pp. 189, 190. Mr. Holden has refuted this hypothesis, Ecclesiastes, pp 173, 174.

and design, they imagined to exist in it. But, after considering the expressions it contains towards the close, relative to the fear of God and the observation of his laws, they concluded to receive it; and its canonical authority has been recognised ever since. There can, indeed, be no doubt of its title to admission: Solomon was eminently distinguished by the illumination of the divine Spirit, and had even twice witnessed the divine presence. (1 Kings iii. 5. ix. 2. xi. 9.) The tendency of the book is excellent when rightly understood: and Solomon speaks in it with great clearness of the revealed truths of a future life and of a future judgment.1

Bishop Lowth has classed this book among the didactic poetry of the Hebrews: but Mr. Des Voeux considers it as a philosophical discourse written in a rhetorical style, and interspersed with verses, which are introduced as occasion served; whence is obtained a place among the poetical books. To this opinion Bishop Lowth subsequently declared his assent.

II. The SCOPE of this book is explicitly announced in ch. i. 2. and xiii. 13., viz. to demonstrate the vanity of all earthly objects, and to draw off men from the pursuit of them, as an apparent good, to the fear of God, and communion with him, as to the highest and only permanent good in this life, and to show that men must seek for happiness beyond the grave. We may therefore consider it as an inquiry into that most important and disputed question,-What is the Sovereign Good of man, that which is ultimately good, and which in all its bearings and relations is conducive to the best interests of man? What is that good for the sons of men, which they should do under the heaven all the days of their Life? (ii. 3.) "This is the object of the Preacher's inquiry; and, after discussing various erroneous opinions, be finally determines that it consists in TRUE WISDOM. The scope of the whole argument, therefore, is the praise and recommendation of WISDOM, as the supreme good to creatures responsible for their actions. In this wisdom is not included a single particle of that which is worldly and carnal, so frequently possessed by men addicted to vice, the minions of avarice, and the slaves of their passions; but that which is from above, that which is holy, spiritual, undefiled, and which, in the writings of Solomon, is but another word for Religion. Guided by this clue, we can easily traverse the intricate windings and mazes in which so many commentators upon the Ecclesiastes have been lost and bewildered. By keeping steadily in view the Preacher's object, to eulogise Heavenly Wisdom, the whole admits an easy and natural interpretation; light is diffused around its obscurities; connection is discovered in that which was before disjointed; the argument receives additional force, the sentiments new beauty; and every part of the discourse, when considered in reference to this object, tends to develope the nature of True Wisdom, to display its excellence, or to recommend its acquirement.

1 Carpzov. Introd. ad Libros. Vet. Test. part ii. p. 222. Dr. Gray's Key, p. 292. 2 In his "Philosophical and Critical Essay on the Book of Ecclesiastes," 4to. London, 1760.

"Hence he commences with the declaration that all is vanity;1 which is not to be understood as implying any censure upon the works of creation, for God does nothing in vain, every thing being properly adapted to its end, and excellently fitted to display the power, wisdom, and goodness of the Almighty. Yet when the things of this world are applied to improper purposes; when they are considered as the end, while they are only intended to be the means; and are rested in as the source of happiness which they were not designed to afford, vanity is discovered to be their character; that which is most excellent becomes useless, if not injurious, by the abuse; and the works of Omnipotence, however wise and good in themselves, are unprofitable to those who misuse and pervert them. It were a kind of blasphemy to vilify whatever has proceeded from Omniscient Power; and Solomon can only be supposed to pronounce all things here below vain, when they are applied to a wrong use, by the ignorance and wickedness of man. Nor does he so denominate all things universally and without any exception, but only all earthly things, as wealth, pleasure, pomp, luxury, power, and whatever is merely human and terrestrial. If these are placed in competition with divine and heavenly things, or are foolishly regarded as the means of real happiness, they become useless and unprofitable, because they are uncertain and transitory, never fully satisfying the desires of the soul, nor producing permanent felicity.

"If worldly things are vain in these respects, it would, nevertheless, be presumption and impiety to represent them as actually bad. They are good in themselves, and, when rightly used, tend only to good, since they contribute to the enjoyment of life, and, in an eminent degree, to the ultimate and real interest of man. But if they are pursued as the only portion in this life,' as constituting the happiness of beings formed for immortality, they are not estimated on right principles, and the result will be vexation and disappointment. Their vanity, then, arises from the folly and baseness of men, who, in forgetfulness of eternity, are too apt to regard this world as their sole and final abode, and to expect that satisfaction from them which they cannot give. Nor are they to be condemned on this account. That they are insufficient to render man happy is itself the ordination of Infinite Wisdom, and, consequently, best suited to a probationary state; wisely calculated for the trial of man's virtue, and, by weaning him from too fond attachment to things on earth, to stimulate his desires and exertions after the blessedness of another life.

"In prosecuting his inquiry into the Chief Good, Solomon has divided his work into two parts. The first, which extends to the tenth verse of the sixth chapter, is taken up in demonstrating the vanity of all earthly conditions, occupations, and pleasures; the second

1 The finest commentary on this aphorism, Vanity of vanities, all is vanity, was unintentionally furnished by the late celebrated Earl of Chesterfield, in one of his posthumous letters. See the passage at length in Bishop Horne's Works, vol. v. discourse xiii. pp. 185-187., where the frightful picture, exhibited by a dying man of the world, is admirably improved to the edification of the reader.

part, which includes the remainder of the book, is occupied in eulogising WISDOM, and in describing its nature, its excellence, its beneficial effects. This division, indeed, is not adhered to throughout with logical accuracy; some deviations from strict method are allowable in a popular discourse; and the author occasionally diverges to topics incidentally suggested; but, amidst these digressions, the distinctions of the two parts cannot escape the attentive reader. It is not the mauner of the sacred writers to form their discourses in a regular series of deductions and concatenated arguments: they adopt a species of composition, less logical indeed, but better adapted to common capacities, in which the subject is still kept in view, though not handled according to the rules of dialectics. Even St. Paul, whose reasoning powers are unquestionable, frequently digresses from his subject, breaks off abruptly in the middle of his argument, and departs from the strictness of order and arrangement. In the same way has the royal Preacher treated the subject; not with exact, philosophical method, but in a free and popular manner, giving an uncontrolled range to his capacious intellect, and suffering himself to be borne along by the exuberance of his thoughts and the vehemence of his feelings. But, though the methodical disposition of his ideas is occasionally interrupted, his plan is still discernible; and perhaps he never wanders more from his principal object than most of the other writers in the Sacred Volume."

For the preceding view of the scope of this admirably instructive book, the author is indebted to Mr. Holden's learned and elaborate Attempt to illustrate this Book. The following Synopsis (which is also borrowed from Mr. Holden) will give the reader a clear view of its design.

PART I. THE VANITY OF ALL EARTHLY CONDITIONS, OCCUPATIONS, AND PLEASURES.

SECT. I. The vanity of all earthly things. (i. 2.)

SECT. II. The unprofitableness of human labour, and the transitoriness of human life. (i. 3-11.)

SECT. III. The vanity of laborious inquiries into the ways and works of man. (i. 12—18.)

SECT. IV. Luxury and pleasure are only vanity and vexation of spirit. (ii. 1-11.)

SECT. V. Though the wise excel fools, yet, as death happens to them both, human learning is but vanity. (ii. 12-17.)

SECT. VI. The vanity of human labour, in leaving it they know not to whom. (ii. 18-23.)

SECT. VII. The emptiness of sensual enjoyments. (ii. 24—26.) SECT. VIII. Though there is a proper time for the execution of all human purposes, yet are they useless and vain; the Divine counsels, however, are immutable. (iii. 1—14.)

SECT. IX. The vanity of human pursuits proved from the wicked

VOL. IV.

1 Prelim. Diss. pp. lxv. Ixviii.-lxxii.

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