2. Antithetic Parallelism. There is no more forcible illustration than that of contrast. The Hebrew poets made frequent use of this figure of speech. Sentences are opposed to sentences, words to words, syllables to syllables, &c. It is almost impossible to translate from one language to another, and retain their peculiarities. Yet our common English Bible is so faithful and excellent a transcript of the original, that most of these beauties are accessible to the English reader. It is indeed wonderful that the parallelism of sentences, and the point of sentiment could be so correctly transferred. Still no one can fully appreciate the methodical arrangement of the poetic dialect, and the sublimity of poetic conception, without familiarity with the original language. All the sentiments of Homer are faithfully conveyed to the pages of Cowper and Pope; but the true genius of Homer can never flash from the words of any other language than that which he originally used. There are a thousand nameless shades of meaning, and delicate turns of thought, the "lights and shadows" of language, which defy the skill of the translator. And there are many passages in the Bible, where, though the sense is perfectly conveyed, the peculiarity of structure, and some portion of the life and vividness of the original expression, is necessarily lost. In Proverbs 27:6, we read, 1. "Faithful are the wounds of a friend. 2. But the kisses of an enemy are deceitful." The peculiarity of antithesis would be more perfectly preserved, and the version would better accord with the construction of the original, did we read, 1. "The wounds of a friend are faithful. 2. But the kisses of an enemy are deceitful." 1. "The full soul loatheth the honey-comb. 2. But to the hungry soul, every bitter thing is sweet." Here "full soul" is contrasted with "hungry soul;" "honeycomb," with "bitter thing;" "loatheth" with "sweet." Perhaps the following arrangement may more distinctly exhibit the contrast. 1. "The full soul loatheth the honey-comb; 2. But to the hungry soul, sweet is every bitter thing." "There is, that scattereth, and yet increaseth; And there is, that withholdeth more than is meet, but it tendeth to poverty."- Prov. 11: 24. Any one may, by turning to the book of Proverbs, observe very many instances of a similar nature. The exactness of the antithesis contributes very much to the force and elegance of sententious expressions. This species of composition is not usual in the elevated strains of poetry; still there are instances where it is introduced with sublime effect. There is much sweetness in the following passage from Isaiah: "For a small moment have I forsaken thee. But with great mercies will I gather thee. In a little wrath I hid my face from thee for a moment. But with everlasting kindness will I have mercy on thee." Is. 54: 8. There is energy and power in the following prophetic announcement, pointed with antithesis: "Behold my servants shall eat, but ye shall be hungry; But ye shall cry for sorrow of heart, And shall howl for vexation of spirit." 3. Constructive Parallelism. The third species of parallelism is called synthetic or constructive. It will be understood that these three divisions have been made by modern writers, for the sake of convenient classification. They observed that there were many poetical passages, where the sentences corresponded to each other in construction, but where there was not the repetition of the same image or idea, nor the opposition of antithesis. All these they classed together, as constructive parallelism. This species may be illustrated by a few examples. The 19th Psalm contains a good specimen, "The law of the Lord is perfect, converting the soul. The testimony of the Lord is sure, making wise the simple. The commandment of the Lord is pure, enlightening the eyes." There is great variety in this species of parallelism. Sometimes the verses are very long, as the following: "Hell from beneath is moved for thee, to meet thee at thy coming. Sometimes three short lines are constructively connected. Sometimes one line or member contains two distinct ideas: "The nations raged; the kingdoms were removed. Says Lowth: "The variety in the form of this synthetic parallelism is very great, and the resemblance almost infinite: so that sometimes the scheme of the parallelism is very subtle and obscure, and must be developed by art and ability in distinguishing the different members of the sentences, and in distributing the points, rather than by depending upon the obvious construction. How much this principle pervades the Hebrew Poetry, and how difficult of explication it is, may in some degree be illustrated by one example. This appears to consist of a single line, if the sentiment only be considered : "I also have anointed my king on Zion, the mountain of my sanctity." But the general form or nature of the Psalm requires. that it should be divided into two parts, as if it were; I also have anointed my king; I have anointed him in Zion, the mountain of my sanctity." In this peculiar conformation or parallelism of sentences it is supposed that a considerable part of the Hebrew poetical construction consisted; though it is not improbable that some regard was also paid to the numbers and feet. But of this particular we have at present so little information, that it is utterly impossible to determine whether it were modulated by the ear alone, or according to any settled or definite rules of prosody. Since, however, this and other marks or vestiges, as it were, of the metrical art, have alike disappeared from the writings of the prophets, and in the books which are commonly allowed to be poetical, we think there is sufficient reason to rank them in the same class. Many of the prophecies of Jeremiah, and his pathetic lamentations, may be included in the class of constructive paralellism. In the 9th chapter of Jeremiah, there is a funeral dirge, which is mournful and pathetic in the extreme. Jehovah of hosts is represented as sending for the mourners, to weep and lament over the ruin of his people. The affecting sentiments of the poet are given in poetical language, by Bishop Lowth. The following are the lines: "Let those well taught in sorrow's school And mournful music through the land In solemn concord flow; Till tears shall stream from every eye, Till every heart shall fear.— Hark! 'tis the mourner's voice that sounds, 'Tis Zion's dirge I hear; Vanquished, enthralled, to plunder given, To rove from shore to shore; These long-loved seats no more to view, Yet hear!-'tis Heaven's most high decree, Let Zion's daughters raise the dirge, Replete with wild despair; The regal dome, the sacred fane, Stern death invades, and wastes the land; The pride of Israel strews the plain, Like sheaves beneath the reaper's hand." We have quoted the above, on account of the beauty of the poetry, rather than as a striking example of constructive parallelism. Yet, if the reader will turn to the Bible, he will find that, though the harmony of rhyme and numbers is wanting, there is evidently a peculiar conformation of the sentences, unknown in inere prose composition. The elevation of sentiment, and pathos of feeling, and splendor of imagery, give it a rank at once among the most elevated specimens of human composition. "Yet hear the word of the Lord, oh ye women, And let your ear receive the word of his mouth; And every one her neighbors, lamentation. For death is come up into our windows, It will be observed, that some of this is synonymous parallelism. Other verses are merely constructive. The union of the several kinds of parallelism is often found in one short poem. An acquaintance with the peculiarities of style and manner, of any writer, is of great avail in aiding us to the full comprehension of his meaning. And he who reads the poetical parts of the Old Testament acquainted with this peculiarity of its con struction, will read to greater advantage, and with far more intense gratification. II. ACROSTIC, OR ALPHABETIC POETRY. To aid the memory, the Hebrew poets were accustomed to a species of poetry, in which the initial letters of the lines followed the order of the alphabet. In poems of this kind, the lines or verses are so definitely marked, that it is impossible to mistake them. This peculiarity, however, cannot be perceived in the English Bible. The Hebrew alphabet consists of con sonants only, and they are not arranged as in the English alphabet. A is the first letter, called Aleph: B, the second, called Betti; G, the third; D, the fourth; H, the fifth; V, the sixth, &c. Now, in many poems, we find this order observed in the initial letter of each line. The first line commencing with A; the second with B, and so on to the end of the alphabet. The object of this style of writing was, evidently, to assist the memory, for it was generally confined to those species of composition, which consisted of detached sentences or sentiments, without any express order or connexion. The lamentations of Jeremiah, however, are written in this manner; a poem, more rich in imagery, and more overflowing with pathetic feeling, than any other, perhaps, within the compass of human languages. The English reader may observe, that each chapter, with the exception of the third, contains twenty-two verses, the number of the Hebrew alphabet. The third chapter contains sixty-six verses, or three repetitions of the alphabet. This acrostic or alphabetic poetry is still common among many nations of the East. The alphabetic poems of the Old Testament are the following Psalms:- 25, 34, 37, 111, 112, 119, 155. Proverbs 31, from the tenth verse to the end; and Lamentations 1—4. Such attention to an artificial structure has a tendency to preclude that glow of feeling, so essential to the higher kinds of poetry. A wonderful command of language, and great skill is manifested in the above mentioned poems. If the reader will turn to the 119th Psalm, he will find it divided into twenty-two parts, each part containing eight verses. Over each of these divisions, he will find written that letter of the Hebrew alphabet, with which each line in the division commenEach of the first eight verses commences with the letter Aleph; the next eight with Beth; and so on to the end of the alphabet. To the English reader of the Bible, this division has often been a matter of perplexity. ces. God has presented us his will in a form adapted to the human mind. And the influence of the Holy Spirit upon the writers, did by no means extinguish the originality of natural genius, or the characteristic traits of individual character; and the mind of the Spirit is conveyed to the mind of man by all the varieties of human composition. It is this which gives a beauty and a richness to the pages of the Bible, which they could not possess, if the construction were conveyed in the dry style of didactic narration. The alphabetic forin of poetry is not retained in our English translation. III. DRAMATIC POETRY. This term is now usually applied to the two species of composition, tragedy and comedy. It was, however, originally of VOL. I. 24 |