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now from what they were in the time of Solomon: that they have evidently undergone a change in fome particulars, and therefore may be prefumed to have fuffered the fame in others.

But if they had not, the veiling, the marriage fupper, the confummation, are according to the prefent ritual all finished on the marriage night: whereas this poem does not commencé before the next morning. The Jews obferve feven days of feftivity exclufive of that in which the ceremony is performed.

With regard to the objection, of the Bridegroom's feeding his flock, and being abfent from the Bride and the guests: this may appear formidable. But who is the Bridegroom?-A young and fprightly Monarch, whofe paftoral employment could not have been a serious labour, but an agreeable relaxation from the toils of government. To one encumbered with the trappings of greatnefs, the foft and innocent amufements of rural life, muft afford the most delightful of all entertainments. How could an eastern Monarch have paft the nuptial week in a more pleafing manner? To give the higher relish to his enjoyments, he throws off all the encumbrances of pomp, and affumes the eafe and fimplicity of paftoral manners: and then his friends, the children of the Bridechamber, become fhepherds his companions: and though they do not always interpofe in the dialogue, we have no reason to conclude that they are ever abfent from him. With regard to the nuptial banquets, &c. as these Eclogues defcribe only part of each day's employment, there are intervals enough in which to affign time for feafting: for as the Poet has thrown all into dialogue, and never fpeaks in his own. perfon, nothing is defcribed except what the interlocutors occahonally mention. With refpect to the Bridegroom's paffing many of the nights apart from the Bride; we have already feen that this is even now the Jewish ufage.

"That the common rites of marriage are not the formal subject of this poem, is allowed; nor will it be wondered at, if we confider who is the Poet.-A lively and ingenious Monarch, who, it fhould feem, had already gone through all these ceremonies a great many times: and this being the cafe, what could there be engaging in them? what could there be in them of novelty to excite his genius, or deferve his defcription?-Let us only suppose, that he had for once a mind to enliven and diverfify the nuptial feftivity, by celebrating it in a paftoral manner, and under the affumed character of a fhepherd; to which he was probably invited by the Bride's having spent some part of her life in rural occupations.

The royal Paet, in this cafe, would only touch upon the old established forms delicately, and by infinuation. It would

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be fufficient if these were not neglected, but ingeniously adapted to the paftoral character. The proceffion, the wedding fupper, the nuptial banquets, would be objects too common, and too well known, to need a formal defcription. These a Writer of genius would leave to the Reader's imagination to fupply. He would chiefly select such incidents as were new and not familiar, the rest he would either entirely omit, or barely allude to them in a delicate manner, and by implication.

Allow but this to have been the cafe, and we have at once a clue to the whole poem. Then we fhall fee why it is not a regular nuptial fong on the one hand, nor a pure pastoral on the other. And why the youthful Monarch, having chofen to diverfify the nuptial feftivities by incidents taken from rural life, and affuming paftoral manners, does not wholly lay aside his regal character, but fometimes blends them together: an union which in those early ages was not unfrequent, when Princes often fed their flocks, and even his own father was taken from the sheep-fold.'

Having been thus explicit with regard to the defign and plan of this work, we shall give our Readers a fpecimen of its execution, in the Commentary, Text, and Annotations of the third Eclogue.

COMMENTARY.

The Third Day's Eclogue.

Opens with the introduction of the bridal bed or pavilion, and concludes with the ceremony of taking off the Bride's veil.

I. One or more of the Virgins (or perhaps the Spouse herfelf) feeing fomewhat at a diftance, fupported on pillars, and furrounded with a cloud of incenfe, according to the manner of the eastern nations, who were wont to use ftrong fumigations by way of perfumes, and probably to drive away the infects whofe bite is fo troublesome in hot countries, very naturally afks, "What is this which approaches from yonder quarter of "the gardens, that lies towards the wildernefs?" Others of the Virgins, who by this time perceived it more diftinctly, anfwered (with fome abruptnefs, like perfons who had been in doubt, but now fuddenly difcover what it is), "See! 'tis Solomon's bed," &c. Upon this a third, &c. takes occafion to defcribe the fuperb manner of its ftructure. All this feems to pafs in the Bride's apartment, whence the Bride fends them forth to meet the Bridegroom, who, with his grand retinue, was now approaching very near.

II. King Solomon enters the Bride's apartment, not as ufual in the fimplicity of his paftoral drefs, but in all the gay ornaments of a Bridegroom; and here it should feem, that in

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the presence of all his friends, he performs the ceremony of tak ing off the Bride's veil. Which done, ravifh'd with her beauties, he falls into a rapturous descant on them, and runs over her feveral features in an extafy of admiration, naturally expreffed by bold and fwelling figures.'

TEXT.

The Third Day.

VIRGINS, SPOUSE, BRIDEGROOM, COMPANIONS.
I. VIRGINS.

***What is this, that cometh up from towards the wilderness, as it were columns of smoke, fuming with myrrhe and frankincenfe, with all the powders of the merchant?

OTHER VIRGINS.

Behold his bed, which is Solomon's! Threefcore valiant men are about it, of the valiant of Ifrael.

They are all begirt with fwords, being expert in war: every man "hath" his fword upon his thigh, because of fear in the night.

OTHER VIRGINS.

King Solomon hath made himself a bridal bed of the wood of Lebanon.

He hath made the pillars thereof of filver: the infide thereof of gold: the covering of it of purple.

The middle thereof is wrought in needlework" by her, whom he loveth "best" among the daughters of Jerufalem. SPOUSE.

Go forth, O daughters of Zion, and behold King Solomon, with the crown wherewith his mother crowned him in the day of his espousals, and in the day of the gladness of his heart. II. BRIDEGROOM (having removed her veil).

+ Behold thou art fair, my Love; behold thou art fair. Thine eyes are "sparkling, as the eyes" of doves, “now” thy veil is removed.

Thy hair is "fine" as "that" of a flock of goats, which come up" fleek" from mount Gilead.

Thy teeth are as a flock of fheep," that are "even" fhorn; which come up from the wafhing; which are all of them twins, and none hath loft its fellow,

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Thy lips are like a brede of fcarlet; and thy fpeech is charming.

As the flower of the pomegranate, fo are thy cheeks, "now" thy veil is removed.

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• Thy neck is like the tower of David, built upon an eminence: whereon hang a thousand bucklers, all shields of mighty men,

Thy two paps are like two young roes, that are twins, which feed among the lilies.

• Until the day breathe, and the fhades flee away, I will get me to "this" mountain of myrrhe, and to "this" hill of frankincenfe.

Thou art all fair, my love, there is no spot in thee."

ANNOTATION S.

• What is this, &c.] We here venture to propose an emendation of the original, and inftead of who, fcruple not to read what. That this was the true original word we have all the internal evidence that the context can afford. For not to mention how uncouth it founds to compare any fingle perfon to pillars of smoke; the reply which follows, evidently thews that the question was WHAT? Had it been WHO IS THIS? to have answered Solomon's bed, would have been foreign to the purpofe; the proper reply could only have been, 'Tis fuch or such a perfon: whereas if we read WHAT? the answer is proper and pertinent. The corruption was made very early, being copied in all the ancient verfions, but is eafily accounted for, by fuppofing in fome ancient copy the He was almoft effaced, and the tranfcriber seeing only a small veftige of the letter, mistook it for a jod, thus :::

בו :

• From towards the wilderness.] is here, and in p. 42, rendered with fome latitude FROM TOWARDS, and not strictly FROM, as I think it must be interpreted in Deut. xi. 24. and perhaps in fome other places,

• Behold his bed, &c.] The reafon for this bed's being introduced, will be seen hereafter, when we come to explain the fixth day's Eclogue, and to confider the folemn confummation of the 'marriage.

But befides the ufe of it there affigned, the ingenious Friend whofe remarks are diftinguifhed by the letter B, thinks "this piece of furniture may have been alfo intended for a prefent to the Bride. This at least was the cuftom of ancient Greece, On the third day called amauxía, (defcribed before) the Bride and her relations prefented gifts to the Bridegroom, and the Bridegroom and his friends made prefents to the Bride. Thefe

The late Reverend Mr. Binnel, of Newport in Shropshire.

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prefents confifted of golden veffels, beds, couches, plates, ointment boxes, &c. which were carried in great state to the houfe of the new married couple. See Potter, vol. ii. p. 294."

· A bridal bed.] The word (no where found but in this place) is by fome rendered a chariot, by others a bed, or ·bridal bed (from fructum protulit), perhaps it partook of the nature of both, was a kind of Lectica geftatoria, as it is called by Mercer, a fort of moveable bed, drawn or carried about in ftate, not unlike the Palanquins ufed in other parts of Afia," which answer at once both the purposes of rest and conveyance. For it fhould feem that Solomon comes in it, not, as ufual, in his paftoral fimplicity, but in the highest nuptial fplendor†.

Is wrought-by her whom he loveth among, &c.] This is the interpretation of P. Houbigant: which, however, it must be confeffed, feems a little forced. Upon looking back we are in- ' clined to follow the verfion of Le Clerc, and thus render the words, "The middle thereof is wrought in needle-work' by "the daughters of Jerufalem, as a teftimony of their love, "(or out of regard)." Le Clerc's words are "Mediamque "ftratam puellarum Jerofolymitarum amore." Intelligo hæc de ftragulis, &c. quibus Salomo donatus fuerat a puellis Ferofolymitanis, ut obfervantiam et amorem fuum erga eum oftenderent.

• With the crown, &c.] It was ufual with many nations to put crowns, or garlands, on the heads of new-married perfons. The Mifnah informs us, that this cuftom prevailed among the Jews; and it should feem from the paffage before us, that the ceremony of putting it on was performed by one of the parents: among the Greeks, the Bride was crowned by her mother, as is inferred from the inftance of Iphigenia in Euripides, v. 903. See Bochart in his Geograph. Sacra, p. 2. l. 1. c. 25, who fupposes the nuptial crown, and other ornaments of a bride alluded to in Ezek. xvi. 8-12. The nuptial crowns used among the Greeks and Romans, were only chaplets of leaves or flowers. Among the Hebrews they were not only of thefe, but also occafionally of richer materials, as gold, filver, &c. according to the rank or wealth of the parties. See Selden's Uxor Hebraica, lib. ii. cap. 15. The original word used in the text is y (derived from circumcinxit, circumtexit,) which is the fame that is used to exprefs a kingly crown, 2 Sam. xii. 30. 1 Chron. xx. 2. and is often defcribed to be of gold, Efth. viii. 15. Pfal. xxi. 4. but appears to have been worn by thofe that were No Kings, Job xix. 9, &c. and was probably often composed of

† After all, perhaps, the word ought to be rendered a bridal pavilion.

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