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SECT. II.-Of Picture-writing; and of its Influence in plex moral modes, and other mental conceptions, which the Formation of the Primitive Languages.

In the early ages, after men had acquired any branch of useful knowledge, either by research or by observation, they naturally wished to communicate that knowledge to their contemporaries, and even to transmit it to posterity. But this they could not do effectually, till they contrived a method of making speech the object of sight. When this was accomplished, the knowledge which they conveyed to the ears of a few by pronounced speech, it was in their power to convey to multitudes, even in the most distant countries, by the eye.

The first method of rendering speech visible, was that which history informs us was practised by all the ancient nations we have any knowledge of, from the Chinese in the east to the Mexicans in the west, and from the Egyptians in the south to the Scythians in the north. All these, taught by nature, formed images or pictures, on wood, or stone, or clay, of the sensible objects for which they had invented names, and of which they had occasion to discourse. By these pictures they represented not only the things themselves, but the articulate sounds or names also by which they were called. Thus, to express in that kind of writing a man, or a horse, that is, to express both the name and the thing, they drew its picture on some permanent substance, whereby, not only the thing itself, but its name, was immediately suggested to those who looked on its picture. But this method being tedious, the Egyptians, who it is supposed were the inventors of picture-writing, shortened it by converting the picture into a symbol, which as Warburton, to whom I am indebted for many particulars in this section, observes in his Divine Legation, they did in three ways. 1. By making the principal part of the symbol stand for the whole of it, and by agreeing that that part should express the character of the thing represented by the symbol. Thus, they expressed a fuller by two feet standing in water; and a charioteer, by an arm holding a whip. This is what is called the Curiologic Hieroglyphic.-2. From this the Egyptians proceeded to a more artful method of rendering speech visible and permanent; namely, by putting the instruments, whether real or metaphorical, by which a thing was done. Thus, they expressed a battle by two hands, the one holding a shield, the other a bow: a siege by a scaling-ladder : the divine omniscience by an eye eminently placed a monarch by an eye and a sceptre. Sometimes they represented the agent without the instrument, to show the quality of the action. Thus a judge was expressed by a man without hands looking downwards, to shew that a judge ought not to be moved either by interest or pity. This method was called The Tropologic Hieroglyphic.-3. Their third, and most artificial method of abridging picture-writing, was to make one thing stand for another, where any resemblance or analogy, however far-fetched, could be observed between the thing represented and the thing by which it was represented, whether that resemblance was founded in nature or in popular opinion only. Thus a serpent, on account of its vigour and spirit, its longevity and revirescence, was made the symbol of the divine nature: a mouse was used to represent destruction: a wild-goat, uncleanness : a fly, impudence: an ant, knowledge: a serpent in a circle, the universe: and the variegated spots of the serpent's skin, the stars. This method of writing was called The Allegorical, Analogical, or Symbolical Hieroglyphic. And being formed on their knowledge of physics, the marks of which it was composed increased in number, as the Egyptians, the inventors of picture-writing, increased in science.

But, in regard there are many qualities and relations of things which are not objects of sense, and many com

cannot be likened to any object of sense, consequently, which cannot be expressed by any picture, natural or symbolical, it became necessary, in all kinds of picturewriting, to introduce arbitrary marks for expressing these qualities, relations, and modes. Yet, even with this aid, picture-writing was still very defective and obscure. The Chinese, therefore, to improve the method of rendering speech visible and permanent by writing, threw away the images or pictures altogether, and substituted in their place new marks, formed, it is said, from the images. However, as in this way of writing every word required a distinct character or mark, and as the greatest part of these characters were arbitrary, the difficulty of acquiring the knowledge of the meaning of such a multitude of characters was so great, that very few could attain to it. Meanwhile, the Chinese method of denoting the separate words of which speech consisteth, by separate marks, is supposed by some to have suggested to the ingenious in other nations the idea of expressing, by separate marks, the distinct articulate sounds of which words are composed. Hence the alphabetical or literal method of writing arose, which, on account of its great facility and utility, hath come into general use among all civilized nations, except the Chinese themselves.

The literal method of writing is generally said to have been first practised by the Phoenicians. But whether they, or whoever else first used that method of rendering speech visible, were the inventors of the art; or whether, as Plato and Tully thought, De Leg. lib. iv. sect. 4. they were supernaturally assisted in the invention, is hard to determine. This however is certain, that the books of Moses were written in the literal method. And some learned men have thought, the first specimen of literal writing was that which God himself engraved on the two tables of stone, and gave to Moses on the Mount; who, being taught the meaning of the characters by inspiration, communicated the knowledge of the same to the Israelites, from whom it passed to the Phoenicians. Perhaps it may be some confirmation of this conjecture to observe, that the Chinese, though they have long possessed the art of writing by characters, have never been able to attain the method of writing by letters.

I have given the above account of the art of rendering speech visible and permanent by picture-writing, not as a matter of curiosity, but to shew the influence which the hieroglyphical manner of writing had on the ancient languages. For the symbols used in that kind of writing denoting the names of things as well as the things themselves, in speaking, men would naturally give to the things represented both the name and the qualities of the symbol by which it was represented. Hence arose a new species of metaphor, altogether unknown in the speech of modern nations, and forming a kind of language which, although it may appear to us fanciful and dark, was well understood, and made a strong impression on those who were accustomed to it.-This higher kind of metaphorical language claims particular attention, because it is that in which the divine revelations, especially those concerning future events, were communicated to mankind, and in which they still remain recorded in scripture. Wherefore, to shew the influence which picturewriting, particularly of the symbolical kind, had to introduce into the ancient languages the boldest, and in the opinion of modern nations the most extravagant metaphors, the following examples are proposed to the reader's consideration.

1. A supreme ruler being represented in symbolical writing by a man with four wings, and his lieutenants or princes by one with two wings; and the stretching out of his wings signifying action or design, (Divine Leg, b. iv. sect. 4.), the names of these symbols were naturally used

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in the ancient languages for the things signified by them. Hence Isaiah, predicting the invasion of Judea by the king of Assyria, hath termed it the stretching out of his wings so as to cover and desolate the whole land, Isa. viii. 8. The stretching out of his wings shall fill the breadth of thy land, O Immanuel.' By the like metaphor Jeremiah predicted the desolation of Moab, chap. xlviii. 40. He shall Ay as an eagle, and shall spread his wings over Moab.' In the same highly figurative language, Isaiah denounced destruction to a kingdom which oppressed other countries by the greatness of its power, chap. xviii. 1. Wo to the land shadowing with wings.' This use of the symbol shews the propriety of giving the wings of a fowl to two of the four beasts, which in Daniel's vision represented the four great monarchies. By that symbol, the devastation which these monarchies were to bring on other nations, and the speed and force with which they would act, were strongly and beautifully represented to those who understood symbolical picture-writing.-It shews us, likewise, how the power of God in protecting his people came to be termed his feathers and his wings; and the confidence of his people in his power to protect them, by their trusting in the covert of his wings.

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2. A crocodile was one of the symbols by which, in the ancient picture-writing, the kingdom of Egypt was represented; Divine Leg. b. iv. sect. 4. Hence the Egyptians are called, Psal. lxxiv. 13. Dragons in the waters; and, ver. 14. their king is called leviathan; and the great dragon that lieth in the midst of his rivers,' Ezek. xxix. 3. So also Isa. xxvii. 1. 'In that day the Lord, with his sore, and great, and strong sword, shall punish leviathan, the piercing serpent, even leviathan that crooked serpent, and he shall slay the dragon.'

The king of Ethiopia was termed a fly, and the king of Assyria a bee, probably because in picture-writing they were represented by these symbols: Isa. vii. 18. The Lord shall hiss for the fly that is in the uttermost part of the rivers of Egypt, and for the bee that is in the land of Assyria,' that is, the Lord shall call the Ethiopian and Assyrian kings to avenge his quarrel.

3. In the picture-writing, a sword and a bow being symbols of war, the prophets use the names of these warlike instruments to denote great warriors; and arms in general, to denote a powerful warlike nation, such as the Romans, Dan. xi. 31.; and gigantic stature, for a mighty leader of an army; and balances, weights, and measures, for a judge or a magistrate. In like manner, because in picture-writing a sceptre denoted the administration of government, the word is used in that signification by Jacob, in his prophecy, Gen. xlix. 10. 'The sceptre shall not depart,' &c.; and the annihilation of the power of Moab, by the breaking of his sceptre, Jer. xlviii. 17. All ye that are about him, bemoan him; and all ye that know his name say, How is the strong staff broken, and the beautiful rod!

4. The figure of a star being used in picture-writing as a symbol of the Deity, that word was used by Balaam to denote the Jewish Messiah, of whose divine nature and government he seems to have had some obscure conception. Numb. xxiv. 17. There shall come a star out of Jacob, and a sceptre shall arise out of Israel.' Also, a star in picture-writing denoted the image of a god. Thus, Amos v. 26. The star of your god, which ye made to yourselves,' means the material image of your God. Lastly, the sun, moon, and stars, were used in picturewriting as symbols of the founders of nations, and of the fathers of tribes, and as the symbols also of mighty kings. Thus the king of Babylon is called, Isa. xiv. 12. 'Lucifer, son of the morning.' Thus also, in ordinary discourse, the sun, moon, and stars, were used to denote patriarchs and princes. Accordingly, when Joseph, Gen.

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xxxvii. 9. said, I have dreamed a dream, and behold the sun, and the moon, and the eleven stars made obeisance to me,' his father, understanding his words in their symbolical and true meaning, 'rebuked him, and said to him, Shall I and thy mother and brethren indeed come to bow down ourselves to thee, to the earth?' But as the heavenly bodies mentioned by Joseph could not appear, even in a dream, as making obesiance to him, we may believe that he saw in his dream, not the heavenly bodies, but a visionary representation of his parents and brethren making obesiance to him; and that, in relating this to his father, he chose from modesty to express it in symbolical rather than in plain language. Besides, as there never was any collection of stars called the eleven stars, the application which Jacob made of that appellation to Joseph's eleven brethren shews clearly, that the word star, in common speech, was used to signify the father of a tribe. 5. That the use of ensigns, for distinguishing tribes and nations, was very ancient, we learn from Moses's command, Numb. ii. 2. Every man of the children of Israel shall pitch by his own standard, with the ensign of their father's house.' What the ensigns of the Israelitish tribes were, Moses hath not told us. But because our Lord, who sprang from Judah, is called, Rev. v. 5. The lion of the tribe of Judah,' it is conjectured, that the tribe of Judah had for its ensign a lion; that Judah assumed that device because Jacob, in blessing his children before his death, had termed Judah a lion's whelp; and that the other tribes assumed for their ensigns the pictures of the animals and trees to which Jacob had likened them. But be this as it may, it is probable, that in the ensigns by which tribes and nations anciently distinguished themselves, they painted the figures of such animals, trees, &c. as were emblematical of the qualities, circumstances, and events, by which they thought themselves most honoured.-Hence it was natural in picturewriting, to represent à nation or tribe by the thing which it carried as its ensign; and in speaking of a nation or tribe, to call it by the name of its ensign. Accordingly, Jeremiah likens Egypt to a very fair heifer, chap. xlvi. 20. either because the Egyptians carried in their ensigns the image of a heifer, which was the symbol of Isis, their tutelary divinity; or because they were represented in sculpture by that device. And this perhaps is the reason that in Pharaoh's dream Egypt was symbolically represented by kine.-In like manner, because the Roman armies had for their ensign the image of an eagle, they are called, in our Lord's prophecy of the destruction of Jerusalem, eagles, Matt. xxiv. 28. Wheresoever the carcass is, there will the eagles be gathered together.'Since, then, it was customary to call a nation by the name of its ensign, the burden of the beasts of the south,' Isa. xxx. 6. means, the prophecy concerning the destruction of the nations of the south, who had beasts for their ensigns.-And since the Assyrians are called by the prophet Isaiah, chap. viii. 7.The waters of the river, it is not improbable that their armies carried in their ensigns a picture of the Euphrates, not only on account of the advantages which their country derived from that river, but because it was a fit emblem of the irresistible force of their armies. Wherefore, the Assyrians being represented in picture-writing by the waters of the Euphrates and Tigris, the great whore, who is said, Rev. xvii. 2. to sit upon many waters,' signifies an idolatrous power which ruled over many populous nations.

6. The symbols by which nations and cities were anciently represented in picture-writing, were commonly formed on some remarkable quality belonging to them. Thus, because the laws, institutions, and discipline peculiar to a city or nation, were intended to form the manners of their people, it was natural to consider that nation or city as a mother. This I suppose was the rea

son that, on coins and in sculpture, nations and cities were symbolically represented by a young woman sitting on a throne, magnificently attired, and surrounded with emblems expressive of the qualities by which that nation was distinguished. Hence the Jewish prophets, in the discourses which they addressed to nations and cities, termed them daughters, and virgin daughters, in allusion to the above described symbol. Isa. xxii. 4. 'I will weep bitterly, because of the spoiling of the daughter of my people.' Zech. ii. 7. Deliver thyself, O Zion, that dwellest with the daughter of Babylon.' Jer. xiv. 17. Let mine eyes run down with tears night and day, -for the virgin daughter of my people is broken with a great breach.' Jer. xlvi. 11. Go up into Gilead and take balm, O virgin, the daughter of Egypt. In vain shalt thou use many medicines, for thou shalt not be cured.'

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7. In the ancient picture-writing, it would seem that persons and things were represented by the figures of the things to which they were metaphorically likened. Hence, in speaking of them, they were called by the names of these things. For example, because anciently men were metaphorically likened to trees, (Cant. ii. 3. v. 15.), princes and great men, in the animated language of the eastern nations, were called by the name of such trees as were remarkable for their magnitude and beauty; and had the properties of these trees ascribed to them. Thus the great men of Judah were called by Sennacherib the tall cedars of Babylon, and the common people the choice fir trees thereof. Isa. xxxvii. 24. By the inultitude of my chariots am I come up to the sides of Lebanon, and I will cut down the tall cedars thereof, and the choice fir trees thereof.' Zech. xi. 1. Open thy doors, O Lebanon, that the fire may devour thy cedars. Howl, fir trees, for the cedar is fallen; because the mighty are spoiled! Howl, O ye oaks of Bashan.' See also Isa. ii. 13-16. In like manner, Jeremiah calls the whole people of a country a forest, chap. xxi. 14. 'I will kindle a fire in the forest thereof, and it shall devour all things round about it.' The same prophet, speaking to Judah, saith, chap. xi. 16. The Lord called thy name a green olive tree, fair and of goodly fruit.' Hence Messiah is foretold under the idea of a branch of a tree. Jer. xxiii. 5. Behold the days come, saith the Lord, that I will raise unto David a righteous branch. Zech. vi. 12. 'Behold the man whose name is the branch,' and he shall grow up out of his place, and he shall build the temple of the Lord.' Suitably to the same idea, the place out of which this branch was to grow is thus described, Isa. xi. 1. There shall come forth a rod out of the stem of Jesse, and a branch shall grow out of his root, and the Spirit of the Lord shall rest upon him.'

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8. Anciently princes were metaphorically called shepherds, and their subjects sheep, because the care which they took of their people resembled the care which shepherds take of their flocks. 2 Sam. xxiv. 17. I have sinned, I have done wickedly; but these sheep, what have they done?' Homer likewise often calls his princes shepherds of the people.-Among the Jews the priests also were called shepherds, because it was a part of their office to teach the people the law. Ezek. xxxiv. 2. Wo to the shepherds of Israel that do feed themselves; should not the shepherds feed the flock ?'-This phraseology passed from the Jewish into the Christian church. For Christ is called the chief shepherd, and the ministers of the gospel are considered as subordinate shepherds employed by him to take care of the people. 1 Pet. v. 2. Feed the flock of God;' ver. 4. And when the chief shepherd shall appear, ye shall receive the crown of glory which fadeth not away.'

9. Because it is usual, in all languages, metaphorically to ascribe to men the qualities of beasts, and to call them by the name of such beasts as they resemble in their dis

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positions, the Psalmist, in predicting Christ's suffering, termed his enemies strong bulls of Bashan, the country most famous for its breed of kine. Psal. xxii. 12. Many buils have compassed me: strong bulls of Bashan have beset me round about. They gaped upon me with their mouths as a ravening and roaring lion. In like manner the prophet Amos, to mark the stupidity and brutality of the great men of Samaria who oppressed the people, reproved them under the name of Kine of Bashan, chap. iv. 1. Hear this word, ye Kine of Bashan, that are in the mountain of Samaria, which oppress the poor,' &c. Upon the same foundation the Israelitish nation is spoken of as a beast of prey in Balaam's prophecy; and hath the actions of a beast of prey ascribed to it. Numb. xxiv. 8. God brought him forth out of Egypt; he hath as it were the strength of an unicorn. He shall eat up the nations his enemies, and shall break their bones, and pierce them through with his arrows. 9. He couched, he lay down as a lion; and who shall stir him up?'

SECT. III. Of the allegorical Manner of Writing. WHEN the custom, described in the preceding section, of substituting the symbol, the device, and the metaphor, for the thing signified thereby, took place, and the thing signified obtained the name of the thing by which it was signified, it was natural to describe the condition, the qualities, and the actions of the thing signified, by the condition, the qualities, and the actions of its symbol. Hence arose that species of composition which is called allegory, because therein one thing was expressed, and another entirely different from it was meant; and which, for reasons to be mentioned immediately, was of great fame and use anciently among the eastern nations. In mentioning metaphors as the foundation of allegories, I am authorized by Quinctilian, who thus writes, lib. viii. c. 6. "Ut modicus atque opportunus translationis usus illus. trat orationem, ita frequens et obscurat et tædio complet : Continuus vero in allegoriam et ænigmata transit."

The Egyptians, who are supposed to have invented picture-writing, are thought also to have invented the allegorical method of communicating their sentiments. But by whomsoever invented, it came early into general use, and was greatly delighted in by the orientals, for the following reasons:-1. A well-formed allegory, by its striking images and vivid colouring, never failed, when understood, to make a strong impression on those to whom it was addressed. 2. Being a narration of things which are objects of sense, and between which there is a natural or supposed connexion, it was easily remembered, and could be translated from one language into another with the greatest precision. 3. Professing to contain an important hidden meaning, those to whom it was proposed were led by curiosity to search out that meaning. 4. The discovery of the meaning of an allegory, as an exercise of one's mental powers, afforded great pleasure to the discoverer, especially if it contained a moral lesson useful for regulating life and manners: For a person, by the discovery, being led to instruct himself, he was spared the pain of having instruction forced upon him. 5. Allegory being a kind of speech which none but the learned understood, it was an excellent vehicle for conveying to them the knowledge of such matters as were thought improper for the common people to know. -These reasons led the priests, with whom the whole learning of Egypt was lodged, to teach their religion, their laws, and their politics, under the veil of allegory, both to their own countrymen and to those strangers who came to be instructed in the wisdom of Egypt. And such well-informed strangers, on their return to their own country, in imitation of their teachers, communicat

ed the knowledge which they had acquired in Egypt to their disciples in allegories: by which means allegory came in a little time to be the most approved method of instruction all over the cast.

Allegories being in great repute when the Jewish prophets were commissioned to instruct the people, and to foretell future events, it need not surprise us to find them delivering most of their prophecies in allegories; especially when we consider, that at the time these were delivered, it was proper to conceal the events foretold under the veil of allegory, that they might not be understood till they were explained by their accomplishment.But, notwithstanding the ancient Egyptian allegory was attended with the advantages above-mentioned, its extreme darkness occasioned it to be laid aside after the gift of prophecy ceased. A new species, however, hath been substituted in its room, better fitted to convey instruction, because it is formed on symbols more obvious than those used in the ancient allegory. Of this new species the writings of the moderns furnish many beautiful examples, none of which need be mentioned here, in regard they are generally known.

Of the ancient allegory there were four kinds :-1. The proper allegory; 2. The apologue, or fable; 3. The parable; 4. The enigma.

The proper Allegory was a discourse, in which the condition, the qualities, and the actions of a person, or thing, were represented by the condition, the qualities, and the actions of the symbol, device, or metaphor, by which it was represented in picture-writing. It was therefore a representation of real matters of fact under feigned names and feigned characters.

The Apologue or Fable was a narration of speeches and actions attributed sometimes to men, sometimes to brute animals, and sometimes to things inanimate, according to their natural or supposed qualities. But these speeches and actions had no existence, except in the imagination of the author of the fable, who contrived them in the manner he judged fittest for conveying the moral he had in view to inculcate. Of this kind was Jotham's fable of the trees going forth to anoint a king, Judges ix. 8; and Joash's fable of the thistle, which desired the cedar to give his daughter as a wife to his son, 2 Chron. xxv. 18.

The Parable or Similitude was a discourse in which one thing was compared with another which had a resemblance to it; so that the thing compared was more clearly understood by means of the qualities of the thing to which it was compared, and made a strong impression on the minds of the hearers. Of this kind were many of our Lord's parables. But although the apologue and parable were thus distinguished, we find them sometimes confounded with each other.

Lastly, the Enigma or Riddle was a mysterious assemblage of different symbols, set forth either in a verbal discourse, or by presenting the symbols themselves to the eye. Either way exhibited, the meaning of the assemblage was so dark, that it required the greatest ingenuity to discover it. Of the verbal enigma, Samson's riddle is an example. Of the symbolical enigma, Herodotus hath recorded a remarkable instance, Hist. lib. iv. 128. 130. where he tells us, that when Darius Hystaspes invaded Scythia, the Scythian king sent him a present of a bird, a mouse, a frog, and five arrows. This Gobyras, one of Darius's generals, considering as an enigma, interpreted in the following manner:-That unless the Persians could fly through the air like birds, or hide themselves in the earth like mice, or swim through the lakes like frogs, they should not return to their own country, but be slain by the arrows of the Scythians.

All allegories have two senses; First, The literal sense exhibited in the verbal description, or in the visible sym

bol; secondly, The remote sense, concealed under the literal sense, or under the visible symbol. Wherefore, in every allegory, the first or literal sense is itself the sign of the second or hidden meaning, called the figurative sense of the allegory. And this figurative sense should be as distinctly represented by the literal sense of the allegory, as the literal sense is exhibited, whether by the verbal description, or by the visible symbol. Properly speaking, therefore, the first or literal sense constitutes the body of the allegory, and the second or figurative sense, its soul. In compositions of this kind, if rightly formed, the literal sense ought to be perfectly plain, and the only exercise of one's ingenuity ought to lie, not in understanding the literal sense, but in finding out its concealed meaning.

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In the beginning of this section, the proper allegory was said to be that in which persons and things, together with the accidents befalling them, are set forth by the name of the symbol used in picture-writing to represent them: and by such accidents as may naturally be supposed to befall that symbol. According to this account of the proper allegory, the symbols of which it was composed, together with the accidents befalling these symbols, might be set forth in a verbal description addressed to the ear, or by presenting the symbol either to the eye of a person awake or to his imagination while asleep. Hence of the proper allegory there were three kinds, of which it is proposed to treat separately.

A.-Of the Proper Allegory, as set forth in a Verbal Description.

WHEN the allegory set forth in a verbal description was intended to convey immediate information to the persons to whom it was addressed, it was commonly formed on a symbol which was well known to belong to the persons or things which were the subjects of the allegory; and the circumstances and qualities of the symbol, together with the accidents befalling it, were such as naturally suggested the designed information. Of this species of allegory we have an example, Ezek. xxxii., where, because the dragon or crocodile was one of the well-known symbols by which Egypt was represented in the ancient picture-writings, (Sect. 2. No. 2.), the pride of the kings of Egypt, and the mischiefs which their insolence brought on the neighbouring nations, are allegorically represented by the actions of a dragon or crocodile; and the destruction of the kingdom of Egypt is represented by the taking and killing of a dragon, and by the bringing it to land, and filling all the fowls of the air, and the beasts of the whole earth with its flesh. Ver. 2. 'Son of man, take up a lamenta. tion for Pharaoh, king of Egypt, and say to him, Thou art as a dragon in the seas, and thou camest forth with thy rivers, and troubledst the waters with thy feet, and fouledst their rivers. Thus saith the Lord God, I will therefore spread out my net over thee with a company of many people, and they shall bring thee up in my net. Then will I leave thee upon the land.-And will cause all the fowls of the heaven to remain upon thee,' &c.

Because nations and cities anciently were represented on coins, and on sculptured stone, by the image of a young woman splendidly attired and seated on a throne, (Sect. 2. No. 6.), the prophet Isaiah hath formed an allegorical prediction on that emblem, in which he hath described the judgment and punishment of the Chaldeans for oppressing the Jews by the pulling down of a tender and delicate virgin from her throne, and stripping her of her ornaments, and making her a slave, and forcing her to perform the offices of a slave, and treating her with the utmost indignity. Isa. xlvii. Come down and sit in the dust, O virgin daughter of Babylon. There is no throne, O daughter of the Chaldeans; for thou shalt no more be called tender and delicate. 2. Take the millstones and grind meal; uncover the locks; make bare the leg; uncover the thigh; pass over the rivers. 3. Thy nakedness shall be uncovered, yea thy shame shall be seen. I will take vengeance, and I will not meet thee as a man. As for our Redeemer, the Lord of Hosts is his name. 5. Sit thou silent, and get thee into darkness, O daughter of the Chaldeans, for thou shalt no more be called the lady of kingdoms. 8. Therefore hear now this, thou that are given to pleasures, that dwellest carelessly, that sayest in thine heart, I am, and none else besides me; I shall not sit as a widow, neither shall I know the loss of children,' &c.

Upon the same symbol Ezekiel, to make the Israelites sensible of their sin in forsaking the true God and worshipping idols, hath formed an allegory, in which he represents God's choosing the Israelites to be his people, and his giving them his statutes, under the idea of his taking up a female infant, which, when born, had been exposed naked and helpless; his nourishing it till it grew up; his making her his own by marriage, after her breasts were fashioned, and her hair was grown, Ezek. xvi. 4-8.; and then clothing her with fine raiment, and adorning her with costly jewels, so that the fame of her beauty went forth among the heathen, ver. 9-14. But this beloved married wife, forgetting her obligations and vows, played the harlot, by making images of men, which she worshipped with the flour, and the oil, and the honey wherewith her husband fed her, ver. 17. 19., and by sacrificing the sons and the daughters which she had brought forth to him, ver. 20.-This adultery she committed with the Egyptians, the Assyrians, and the Chaldeans, ver. 26. 28.-Wherefore, in the same figurative language, God thus addressed the Israelites :-Ver. 35. 'Oharlot, hear the word of the Lord. 38. I will judge thee as women that break wedlock and shed blood are judged; and I will give thee blood and fury in jealousy. 39. They shall strip thee also of thy clothes, and shall take thy fair jewels, and leave thee naked and bare. 40. They shall also bring up a company against thee, and they shall stone thee with stones, and thrust thee through with their sword.'

On the other hand, in allusion to the same symbol, the prosperity of a city or nation, after great affliction, is represented by a woman's cleansing herself from filth, and adorning herself with beautiful garments. Isa. lii. 1. Awake, awake, put on thy strength, O Zion, put on thy beautiful garments, O Jerusalem, the holy city. 2. Shake thyself from the dust; arise, and sit down, O Jerusalem, loose thyself from the bands of thy neck, O captive daughter of Zion.'-In like manner, a nation expressing its joy for being delivered from oppression, is represented by a woman's singing and shouting. Zeph. iii. 14. Sing, O daughter of Zion, shout, O Israel; be glad and rejoice with all thy heart, O daughter of Jerusalem. 15, The Lord hath taken away thy judgments, he hath cast out thine enemy; the king of Israel, even the Lord, is in the midst of thee; thou shalt not see evil

any more.'

In allusion to the same symbol, Isaiah foretold the restoration of Tyre to her former wealth, and pride, and wickedness under the image of an harlot's resuming her former manners. Isa. xxiii. 15. After the end of seventy years shall Tyre sing as an hariot. 16. Take an harp, go about the city, thou harlot that hast been forgotten; make sweet melody, sing many songs, that thou mayest be remembered. 17. The Lord will visit Tyre, and she shall turn to her hire, and shall commit fornication with all the kingdoms of the world upon the face of the earth.'

In the ancient picture-writing, (Sect. 2. No. 4.), the sun, moon, and stars, being used as symbols to denote cities and kingdoms as well as princes and great men, the temporary disasters of cities and kingdoms, in allusion to these symbols, are in the prophetic writings represented by the extinction of the sun and moon; and the destruction of the cities and states, by the falling of the stars from heaven. Thus Isaiah, foretelling the destruction of Babylon by the Medes, saith, chap. xiii. 10. The stars of heaven and the constellations thereof shall not give their light; the sun shall be darkened in his going forth, and the moon shall not cause her light to shine." Chap. xxxiv. 4. All the host of heaven shall be dissolved, and the heavens shall be rolled together as a scroll, and all their hosts shall fall down as the leaf falleth off from the vine, and as a falling fig from the fig tree.'-In like manner, the destruction of Egypt is thus allegorically described, Ezek. xxxii. 7. When I shall put thee out, I will cover the heaven, and make the stars thereof dark; I will cover the sun with a cloud, and the moon shall not give her light. 8. All the bright lights of heaven will I make dark over thee, and set darkness upon thy land, saith the Lord.'-Joel also, upon the same symbols, hath formed an allegorical prophecy concerning the overturning of the Jewish state, and the destruction of the heathen idolatry. Chap. ii. 30. 'I will shew wonders in the heavens, and in the earth blood, and fire, and pillars of smoke. 31. The sun shall be turned into darkness and the moon into blood, before the great and the terrible day of the Lord come. 31. And it shall come to pass, that whosoever shall call on the name of the Lord shall be delivered.'-These grand events our Lord hath foretold in the same allegorical language, Matt. xxiv. 20.

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On the other hand, national prosperity is allegorically represented by an increase of the light of the heavenly bodies: Isa. xxx. 26. Moreover, the light of the moon shall be as the light of the sun, and the light of the sun shall be seven-fold, as the light of seven days, in the day that the Lord bindeth up the breach of his people, and healeth the stroke of their wound.'

In picture-writing, tribes and nations being represented by the figures of the things which they carried in their ensigns, (Sect. 2. No. 5.), various allegorical prophecies were formed on these symbols. Thus, because the Assyrians, it is supposed, had the river Euphrates painted on their standards, Isaiah foretells their invasion of Judea by an allegory formed on that symbol. Isa. viii. 7. Behold the Lord bringeth up upon them the waters of the river strong and many, even the king of Assyria, and all his glory; and he shall come up over all his channels, and go over all his banks. 8. And he shall pass through Judah, he shall overflow and go over, he shall reach even to the neck.'

Sect. 2, No. 2. In picture-writing, a crocodile being one of the symbols by which Egypt was denoted, Ezekiel upon that symbol hath formed the following beautiful allegorical prophecy, chap. xxix. 2. Son of man, set thy face against Pharaoh king of Egypt, and prophesy against him, and against all Egypt. 3. Speak and say, Thus saith the Lord God, Behold I am against thee, Pharaoh king of Egypt, the great dragon that lieth in the midst

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