For right are the ways of Jehovah ;
And the just shall walk in them;
But the disobedient shall fall therein."

Hos. xiv. 9.

"And Jehovah shall roar out of Sion;
And from Jerusalem shall utter his voice;
And the heavens and the earth shall tremble:
But Jehovah will be the refuge of his people;
And a strong defence to the sons of Israel."

Joel iii. 16.

"Who establisheth the word of his servant;
And accomplisheth the counsel of his messengers:
Who sayeth to Jerusalem, Thou shalt be inhabited;
And to the cities of Judah, Ye shall be built;

And her desolate places I will restore."

Isa. xliv. 26.

In stanzas of four lines sometimes the parallel lines answer to one another alternately; the first to the third, and the second to the fourth:

"As the heavens are high above the earth;

So high a is his goodness over them that fear him: As remote as the east is from the west;

So far hath he removed from us our transgressions."
Psal. ciii. 11, 12.

"And ye said: Nay, but on horses will we flee; Therefore shall ye be put to flight:

a; compare the next verse; and see Isa. lv. 9. and the note there.

And on swift coursers will we ride;

Therefore shall they be swift, that pursue you.'

And a stanza of five lines admits of the same elegance:

"Who is there among you, that feareth Jehovah?

Let him hearken unto the voice of his servant:
That walketh in darkness, and hath no light?
Let him trust in the name of Jehovah ;
And rest himself on the support of his God."

Isa. 1. 10.

The second sort of parallels are the antithetic: when two lines correspond with one another by an opposition of terms and sentiments; when the second is contrasted with the first, sometimes in expressions, sometimes in sense only. Accordingly the degrees of antithesis are various; from an exact contraposition of word to word through the whole sentence, down to a general disparity, with something of a contrariety, in the two propositions.

Thus in the following examples:

"A wise son rejoiceth his father;

But a foolish son is the grief of his mother."

Prov. x. 1.

Where every word hath its opposite: for the terms father and mother are, as the logicians say, relatively opposite.

"The memory of the just is a blessing;

But the name of the wicked shall rot."

Prov. x. 7.

Here there are only two antithetic terms: for memory and name are synonymous.

"There is that scattereth, and still increaseth;

And that is unreasonably sparing, yet groweth poor." Prov. xi. 24.

Here there is a kind of double antithesis; one between the two lines themselves; and likewise a subordinate opposition between the two parts of each.

"Many seek the face of the prince;

But the determination concerning a man is from Jehovah." Prov. xxix. 26.

Where the opposition is chiefly between the single terms the prince, and Jehovah: but there is an opposition likewise in the general sentiment; which expresses, or intimates, the vanity of depending on the former, without seeking the favour of the latter. In the following there is much the same opposition of sentiment, without any contraposition of terms at all:

"The lot is cast into the lap:

But the whole determination of it is from Jehovah."

Prov. xvi. 33.

That is, the event seems to be the work of chance; but is really the direction of providence.

The foregoing examples are all taken from the Proverbs of Solomon, where they abound: for this form is peculiarly adapted to that kind of writing; to adages, aphorisms, and detached sentences. Indeed the elegance, acuteness, and force of a great number of Solomon's wise sayings arise in a great measure from the antithetic form, the opposition of diction and sentiment. We are not therefore to expect frequent instances of it in the other poems of the Old Testament; especially those, that are elevated in the style, and more connected in the parts. However, I shall add a few examples of the like kind from the higher poetry.

"These in chariots, and those in horses;

But we in the name of Jehovah our God will be strong. a

They are bowed down, and fallen;

But we are risen, and maintain ourselves firm."

Psal. xx. 7, 8.

"For his wrath is but for a moment, his favour for

life; Sorrow may lodge for the evening, but in the morning gladness." Psal. xxx. 5.

"Yet a little while, and the wicked shall be no more; Thou shalt look at his place, and he shall not be found: But the meek shall inherit the land

And delight themselves in abundant prosperity."

Psal. xxxvii. 10, 11.

a

73 so LXX. Syr. Æthiop.

In the last example the opposition lies between the two parts of a stanza of four lines, the latter distich being opposed to the former. So likewise the following.

"For the mountains shall be removed;
And the hills shall be overthrown:

But my kindness from thee shall not be removed;
And the covenant of my peace shall not be overthrown."
Isa. liv. 10.

"The bricks are fallen, but we will build with hewn stone;

The sycamores are cut down, but we will replace them with cedars."

Isa. ix. 10.

Here the lines themselves are synthetically parallel; and the opposition lies between the two members of each.

The third sort of parallels I call synthetic or constructive: where the parallelism consists only in the similar form of construction; in which word does not answer to word, and sentence to sentence, as equivalent or opposite; but there is a correspondence and equality between different propositions, in respect of the shape and turn of the whole sentence, and of the constructive parts; such as noun answering to noun, verb to verb, member to member, negative to negative, interrogative to interrogative.