30 contribute to the corruption of our manners, may be an inquiry not unworthy the civil magi citations from their own Poets? How learnedly does he characterize the Cretans, with humour quoting a verse from a prophet, as he there calls the religious poet Epimenides? Κρῆτες ἀεὶ ψεῦσαι, κακὰ θηρία, γατέρες αργός. [not agyai.] Nor fhould the elegant addrefs of the Apoftle to the Corinthian women be paffed over. 1 Cor. XI. io, Διὰ τῦτο ὀφείλει ἡ γυνὴ ἐξεσίαν ἔχειν ἐπὶ τῆς κεφαλῆς, ΔΙΑ ΤΟΥΣ ΑΓΓΕΛΟΥΣ. There were books in vogue among them (a fort of romances) that told them tales of angels falling in love with women. This is alluded to by Jofephus in his antiquities, L. I. c. IV. "Αγγελοι θεῖ γυναιξὶ συμμιγένιες υβρισὰς ἐγίνησαν παΐδας, from a miftaken text in Gen. c. vi. *. 4. which Milton has rightly explained Par. Loft, XI. 621. &c. And hinted at the other opinion. V, 446. If ever, then, Then had the Sons of God excufe t' have been Some of the Rabbins fay Eve was fo beautiful, that the prince of angels fell in love with her, which occafioned his fall. Now these ftories were believed by the women in the Apoftle's time; he puts them in mind therefore of these received opinions, and condescends to reafon on their own hypothefis for the angels fake then veil your faces, &c. From a like hypothefis the Apostle, Ephef. ii. 2. calls Satan a prince of the air. But above all will be feen the learned elegance of Paul, when he came to Mars's court strate: lawgivers of old did not deem it beneath their care and caution. You may fee what a ftrefs is ous. laid court at Athens; for even then, tho' their fortune was changed, the Athenians were renowned for arts and sciences: *Ανδρες ̓Αθηναῖοι, καλὰ πάνα ὡς δεισιδαιμονετέρες ὑμᾶς θεωρῶ. Ye men of Athens, I fee that in all things you are very religi There is great art in the Apostle's using a word of a middle fignification: Sodapoveséges. This the Athenians took as a complement; and for this zeal in religion they were praised by their orators and poets. Then mentioning the inscription he saw on an altar, TO THE UNKNOWN GOD, [fee Paufan. in Eliacis, Lucian in Philop. Philoftrat. de vitâ Apoll. VI, 2.] he takes occasion to speak to them of God; and he speaks to them in such a manner, that they imagined one of their own philofophers difcourfing to them. Οὐκ ἐν χειροποιήτοις ναοῖς κατοικεῖ. God dwells not in temples made by the hands of men. This was what Zeno had often faid, whofe opinion is juft hinted at in Laertius VII, 33. and in Plutarch's treatise concerning the contradictions of the Stoics. So the Stoic in Lucan IX. Eftne Dei fedes nifi terra, et pontus, et aer, Et caelum, et virtus ? [i. e. nifi rò Пav, et fapientis animus] and Hierocles, p. 24. edit. Needh. Ψυχῆς καθαρᾶς τόπον οἰκειότερον ἐπὶ γῆς θεὸς ἐκ x. Milton I, 17. And chiefly thou, O Spirit! that doft prefer, The See 1 Cor. iii. 16, 17. 1 Cor. vi. 19. 2 Cor. vi. 16. apofle goes on, Εποίησέ τε ἐξ ἑνὸς αἵματος πᾶν ἔθνα. This common relationship between mankind was a constant topic of 2 laid on musical entertainments alone, in Plato's republic. Nor did the statesman Cicero, in his laws, think Plato's an idle notion. Quamobrem ille quidem fapientiffimus Graeciae vir, longeque doctiffimus, valde hanc labem veretur: negat enim mutari poffe muficas leges fine immutatione legum publicarum. Ego autem nec tam valde id timendum, nec plane contemnendum puto. (Matters of thefe con of the academy and porch. Hence the Emperor Marcus Anton. XII, 26. ὅση ἡ συγγένεια ἀνθρώπε πρὸς πᾶν τὸ ανθρώπειον γένω· ἐ γὰρ αἱματία καὶ σπερμαλία, ἀλλὰ νὰ κοινωνία. [where & is for & μóvor] Even Lucretius could fay, Denique caelefti fumus omnes femine oriundi ; The apoftle however does not cite the philofophers, but even a poet to witness this truth, Aratus. So far they liftened and acquiefced. But when he began to introduce his grand doctrine, of one, not only being fent into the world to teach mankind the will of God, but of this divine perfon's being raised from the dead: this avaraos they could not bear; their old poet Aefchylus had told them, Απαξ θανόνῳ ἔτις ἔς' ἀνάςασις. Eumen. 651. The hubbub began, and the Apostle was obliged abruptly to break off his difcourfe. - 'Tis a fubject deferving confideration, how blind zeal and fuperftition on one hand, and open profligacy and contempt of religion on the other, tend equally alike to lead us the fame road to ignorance. 2. Cicero de Leg. II, 15. Plato's words are, Eido yàp ΚΑΙΝΟΝ [lego, ΚΟΙΝΟΝ] μεσικῆς μεταβάλλειν εὐλαβητέον, ὡς ἐν concernments are now left to the management of our women of fashion: and even our poets, whofe end is profit and delight, are exceeding cautious how they incur the cenfure of these fair umpires and critics. Hence what we call honor, love, and gallantry, make up the chief parts of modern tragedies; and our Wicherlys and Congreves, well knowing their audience, took the fureft way to please them. A corruption of taft eafily makes way for a corruption of morals and manners; and these once depraved foon fit us for the groffeft fervitude both of body and mind. They who can read history somewhat beyond the common chronologer's and antiquarian's obfervation; and can trace the progrefs of national manners, are very fenfible of the reciprocal dependence and mutual connexion between civil liberty and polite literature. However half-feeing critics may extol ἐν ὅλῳ κινδυνέυοντα. Οὐδαμε γὰρ κινῶναι μεσικῆς τρόποι ἄνευ πολιτικῶν νόμων τῶν μεγίσων, ὡς φησί τε Δάμων, καὶ ἐγὼ webopa. De Repub. L. IV. p. 424. Edit. Steph. To the fame purpose the philologift Dio, Orat. 33. p. 411. Παρὰ δὲ τοῖς Ἕλλησι πρότερον δεινὸν ἐδόκει τὸ μετακινεῖν τὴν μεσικὴν, καὶ καλεβόων πάνες τῶν ῥυθμὸν εἰσαγόνιων ἕτερον, καὶ τὰ μέλη ποικιλώτερα ποιένων, ὡς διαφθειρομένης τῆς ̔Ελλάδα ἐν τοῖς θεάτροις. Οὕτω σφόδρα τὰ ὦτα ἐφύλατιον, καὶ τηλικαύτην ἡγῦντο δύναμιν τὴν ἀκοὴν ἔχειν, ὥσε θηλύνειν τὴν διάνοιαν, καὶ ἀδικεῖσθαι τὰ τῆς σωφροσύνης, εἰ παρὰ μικρὸν ἐνδώῃ τὸ τῆς ἁρμονίας. D the the golden age of Auguftus, yet all that blaze of wit was kindled during the struggle for liberty: 'twas then indeed they had leisure to exert their fa culties, when their country had a little respite from civil commotions. But this was the last effort of expiring politeness and literature. Barbarifm, with gigantic strides, began to advance; and to check its progrefs there was but one effectual way; and that was, to alter the whole conftitution of affairs. Thus they went on from bad to worse, 'till the finishing stroke was given by St. Gregory the Great, who in a pious fury fet fire to the3 Palatine library. In the eastern empire, by the influence of the 4 Greek fathers of the church, all reading of the Attic writers was not only discouraged, 3. Sapientiffimus ille Gregorius non modo mathefin juffit ab aula recedere, fed ut traditur à majoribus incendio dedit probata lectionis Scripta, Palatinus quæcunque tenebat Apollo, Joannes Sarefberienfis de nugis curial. 1. 2. c. 26. Fertur tamen beatus Gregorius bibliothecam combufiffe gentilem, quo divinæ pagina gratior effet locus, et major autoritas, et diligentia ftudiofior. Idem 1. 8. c. 19. 4. Audiebam etiam puer ex Demetrio Chalcondyla Graecarum rerum peritiffimo, facerdotes Graecos tanta floruisse auctoritate apud Caefares Byzantinos, ut integra (illorum gratia) complura de veteribus Graecis poemata combufferint, inprimifque ea ubi amores, turpes lufus et nequitiae amantium continebantur, atque ita Menandri, Diphili, Apollodori, Philemonis, Alexis fabellas |