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    is not a i ' tean , but a Scolion . In no part < . \ f this little production is Ilernivuis ' said , or so fur as I can perceive implied , to be " invested with a form splendid as the sun ; " and popl > r } is applied , not to him , but to Virtue . The supposed parallelism of is

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    the hi * fr ° ^ ^ erk I am well aware of the " obscurity" which , as Mr . Locke remarks , has been " unavoidably brought upon the writings of men who have lived in remote ages and different countries , '— " wherein the speakers and writers had very different notions , tempers , customs , ornament ? , and figures of speech , every

    one of which influenced the signification of their words then , though to us now they are lost and unknown , '''—so that " it would become us to be charitable one to another , in our

    interpretation or misunderstanding of ancient writing . " ( Ess . Hum . Und . Book JJI . ch ix . § 10 , 22 . ) I do not therefore take upon me absolutely to contradict the supposition of an infamous concealed meaning in . this celebrated

    little poem ; but I own that it appears to me altogether improbable , and that I am disposed to regard the revolting imputation upon the philosopher and

    the unfortunate ruler of Atarneus , as a calumny . The charge of impiety , brought by an obscure person against Aristotle , appears to have referred solely to his having been in the habit of sinning this hvmn , in honour of the memory of his murdered friend ,

    patron and relative , though it was deemed a Paean , and , consequently , was considered as an affront to . Apollo : very unreasonably , for a Paean was et homitium ct dv . orum laudesy and was not restricted to its primary application . Athenians , however , maintains that it

    or dpirocy ^ ioq and Orjpocfxcc not very close , and is at least too weak a circumstance on which to build the belief of an allusion : for more striking coincidences are often to be found , where 110 desi gn of reference could have

    cxinted . As for the honour which the poet sings as conferred by the Muses upon the patron of letters and victim of Persian treachery , the idea ll so common to the classic poets that f cannot see any propriety in taking 11 the correlative of the apostle ' s Jjoctrine of the exaltation of Jesus . 1 enumeration of persons or things

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    in heaven , and on earth , and under the earth / ' is , I conceive , nothing more than a Jewish idiomatical expression to denote the whole created universe . The same phraseology , with an unimportant variation , occurs in Rev . v . 3 , 13 ; where surely no one will dream of an allusion to the

    Heathen crods , daemons and heroes . We are , therefore , under no necessity or accepting Dr . Jones ' s alternative , either that the apostle is treading in the steps of Aristotle , or that his language i ( might be deemed the rant of a

    mystagogue . But , to form a proper judgment upon Dr . Jones's opinion , it is necessary to have the whole hymn in view . Your learned readers are probably well acquainted with this beautiful little poem . Those who are not , will find it in Stobaeus , in Athenaeus , in Diogenes

    Laertius , in the first volume of Brunck's Anthology , and in other collections . For the sake of readers who have not the opportunity of consulting any of those authorities , and as the poem is very short , I subjoin a literal translation " . Virtue , thou object of severe labour to our mortal race , fairest { Or ) poc . fA . ee ) acquisition in life ! For thy ([ AopcfjYj ) beauty , O virgin , even to die , or to undergo glowing , unwearied

    toils , is in Greece an envied destiny . Such immortal fruit thou castest into the mind , nobler than riches or ancestors , or gentle sleep . For thy sake , Hercules the child of Jove , and the sons of Leda , bore their many toils ,

    eagerly pursuing ( aypeuovrfs , hunting ' chasin <>\ which accounts for the use ot Oyprxucc ) thine excellence . From desire of thee , Achilles and Ajax went to the abodes of the dead . For the sake of

    thy friendly (^ o / h / mj ) form , the favourite of Atarneus widowed the rays of the sun : thus , for his deeds , renowned in song . And the Muses , daughters of Memory , will advance him to immortality , as they celebrate the glory of Jove , the guardian of the hospitable , and [ celebrate ] the recoinpence of constant friendship . "

    [ 4 < Widowed the rays of the sun " I follow Hrunck , liuhle , and Sehweighijeuser in reading cLvydq . Dr . Jones prefers the genitive singular avy £ <; , * is was given by the older editors . But this requires a harsh ellipsis , aud

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    on his " Scripture Testimony * " 155

• Citation
  • Monthly Repository (1806-1838) and Unitarian Chronicle (1832-1833), March 2, 1822, page 155, in the Nineteenth-Century Serials Edition (2008; 2018) ncse-os.kdl.kcl.ac.uk/periodicals/mruc/issues/vm2-ncseproduct2510/page/27/