without which, the large mafs of anecdotes, &c. here collected, is of no use for occafional confultation, and can only be re garded as little better than-rudis indigeflaque moles. A. B. ART. IV. Solomon's Song tranflated from the Hebrew. By the Rev. Bernard Hodgson, LL.D. Principal of Hertford College. 4to. 55. Printed at the Clarendon Prefs, Oxford. Sold by Rivington, London. 1785. TH HE learned and ingenious work of the prefent Bishop of Dromore may be fuppofed to have rendered Dr. Hodgson's attempt unneceffary; but whatever tends to illuftrate the beauties, or explain the meaning, of a piece of fuch antiquity (to fay the leaft of it) as the compofition entitled the Song of Solomon, deferves encouragement; and if but a few obfervations are more clearly unfolded than they have hitherto been, the defign is laudable, and the end cannot be faid to be useless. Dr. Hodgson hefitates not to pronounce this antient and beautiful poem to have been an epithalamium, written by Solomon on his marriage; but mentions it as the fuppofition of others *, that it was penned on occafion of that monarch's marriage with the daughter of Pharoah. The learned Principal is merely concerned to illuftrate the literal meaning of this Song: he takes no part in the difputes which have been agitated refpecting its myftical fenfe. It is one of thofe fublime controverfies in which a prudent man would be cautious of engaging; and if fancy is once fet a-flying in the airy regions of fpiritual allegory, no one can circumfcribe its progrefs, or fay, Hitherto halt thou go and no farther;' for myftery and imagination know no end! We will point out fome paffages in which the present tranflation differs from that in common ufe; and that the reader may perceive the difference at one glance, we will place Dr. Hodgfon's and the old verfion in oppofite columns: From the fourth verfe of the third chapter (viz I would not let him go till I had led him into the house of my mother) Dr. Hodgson would infer that this fuppofition is not well founded; for if (iays he) the bride had been Pharoah's daughter, her mother's houfe would have been in Egypt; whereas the fcene lies at Jerufalem; for in the next line the addreffès the daughters of Jerufalem, and defires them not to disturb her fleeping husband!' In a note, Dr. Hodgfon obferves, that the word is in the plural number; and may be literally tranflated thine eyes doves, as is faid in chap. vii. 5. Thine eyes, fifhponds, which cannot mean 'thou haft fishpond's eyes.'- Solomon feems to compare her eyes, not to the eyes of doves, but to doves themselves-the emblems of love,' and it may be added, innocence also. The little foxes that deftroy the foxes that fpoil the vines, for our vines have tender grapes. Thou haft ravished my heart, my fifter, my fpoufe; thou haft ravished my heart with one of thy eyes; with one of the chains of thy neck.' In eighteen of the collated copies the Hebrew word fignifies A falfe reading indeed might naturally be fufpected in the common text; for it conveys a very ludicrous idea to say, that he had ravished his heart with one eye.' C. vi. 12. Unexpectedly methought were I drawn out for me 'Or ever I was aware, my foul made me like the chariots of Amminadib.' The chariots of my loyal people.' If Amminadib be confidered as two words (which is juftified by a great number of MSS.), the meaning is a willing,' or a loyal people;' and in the margin of the bible-tranflation this interpretation is inferted, though fomewhat obfcurely. Dr. Hodgfon's idea of the paffage is this :- Methought there were drawn out for me (or my foul placed for me,' or my fancy conceived), the chariots of my willing people, who, zealous to ferve me, thus enabled me to fly with speed to the Shulamite.' C. vii. 5, 6, 7, 8. The hair of thy head is like The king is bound captive in its The hair of thy head is like purple; the king is held in the galleries. How fair and how pleasant art thou, O love, for delights! This thy nature is like to a palm-tree; and thy breafts to clusters of grapes. I faid, I will That thy ftature is like a palm- go up to the palm tree. I will take hold of the boughs thereof: tree; that of apples.' now alfo thy breafts fhall be as clusters of the vine, and the smell of thy nofe like apples.' Subftituting the face instead of the nose is not an arbitrary improvement of the allufion; but is juftified by feveral MSS. of אפך inftead of אפיך credit, which read C. viii. 2. Dr. Hodgfon fuppofes the word Talmadui to be a proper name; and that the common tranflation of it,' who would inftruct me,' hath no connection with the subject, and encumbers the sense. 6. Merciless as the grave is jealoufy; The coals thereof are coals of fire; the flame of God.' 8. We have a fifter who is little In the day when it fhall be fpoken of concerning her?' Dr. Hodgson illuftrates feveral paffages in this Song by quotations from Anacreon; and, from the fimilarity of allufion fo very characteristic and exact in the following, he would infer marks of imitation; obferving that, as this Song was written between four and five hundred years hefore the time of Anacreon, it was poffible that he might have feen and copied from it. Cap. v. 2. The voice of my beloved knocking! Open to me my fifter, My friend, my dove, my perfect one: For my head is covered with dew, My hair with the drops of night, &c. &c. &e. Anacreon (Ode II.) reprefents Cupid as coming to his gateat night, foliciting entrance, because he was cold and wet. Ο δ' Έρως, ανοιγε, φησί, Βρέφος ειμί. 2. T. λ. Said Cupid, fear not, 'tis a child Who having loft his way, Has wander'd much, is cold and wet, O let me in, I pray. • I rofe 1 The fimilarity in this, and in a few other paffages referred to by the tranflator, is not, in our opinion, fo ftrongly characteriftic as he imagines. If love be perfonified (and Anacreon was not indebted for this idea to Solomon), it might be represented as wet and cold and wandering, by a natural train of metaphor, without having recourfe, either for the original thought, or the embellishment and improvement of it, to any poets out of Anacreon's own country. B--k. ART. V. PHILOSOPHICAL TRANSACTIONS of the Royal Society MATHEMATICAL PAPERS. THE accuracy of quadrants, and other aftronomical inftru tical aftronomer and navigator. When aftronomy was revived in Europe, the neceffity of having inftruments properly adapted for the obfervations that were requifite for determining the relative fituations, &c. of the heavenly bodies, obliged aftronomers to become inftrument-makers, in order to furnish themfelves with a neceffary apparatus: thus we find Tycho Brahe, and others, in his time, applying themselves to the conftruction of quadrants, theodolites, &c. In later times, when navigation became more extenfive, the demand for inftruments was increased; and fince their perfection depends chiefly on the accuracy with which they are graduated, ingenious artifts were encouraged both to contrive and execute inftruments of feveral kinds. It was long, however, before the divifion of circles, or quadrants, was brought to the perfection required. In the paper before us, Mr. Smeaton gives a fhort account of the labours of our moft able artists, in improving thefe inftruments, and then defcribes a method of dividing a circle into a given number of parts (we should have faid equal parts), which in his opinion is more accurate than any thing that has hitherto been proposed. The method is, to drill a number of equidiftant holes in a long brafs bar; the bar is then to be bent into the form of a hoop, and fitted, tight, on a cylindrical block of wood ready turned to receive it, by means of which a circle is formed, whote periphery is divided into a certain number of equal parts. From this original circle the divifions are to be transferred to the plate of a dividing engine. The directions for all these operations are minute and plain, and Mr. Smeaton's ftyle, abounding with the proper technical terms, feems admirably adapted to the capacity of the working mechanic, for whom, diflertations of this kind are chiefly intended. As to the practicability of the plan, we, who are not workmen, can fay little about it: the idea is certainly an ingenious one, but we doubt the poffibility of executing it without error. ** We cannot conclude, without obferving, that in quadrants, and other inftruments for meafuring angles without telescopes, there is no occafion for carrying the divifions farther than a minute, for an angle lefs than 27 feconds is evanefcent to the naked eye Whence Mr. Smeaton's quadrant, divided in the manner he defcribes, fo as to read off an obfervation to 2 feconds, must be furnished with a telescope that magnifies a line at least 14 times, or a fuperfice 230 times. Art. 2. A Series of Obfervations on, and a Discovery of the Period of the Variation of the Light of the Star marked & by Bayer, near the Head of Cepheus. In a Letter from John Goodricke, Efq. From thefe obfervations Mr. Goodricke has determined that this ftar has a periodical variation in its brightnefs of 5 days 8 hours 37 minutes, during which time it undergoes the following changes. ift, It is at its greatest brightnefs about 1 day and 13 hours. 2d, Its diminution is performed in about 1 day and 18 hours. 3d, It is at its greateft obfcuration about 1 day and 12 hours. 4th, It increafes about 15 hours. In its greatest brightnefs it appears to be between the 3d and 4th magnitude, and in its leaft near the fifth. To this Paper Mr. Goodricke has added a number of obfervations made on the fame ftar, by Mr. E. Pigott, from Oct. 25th, 1784, to May 23d, 1785, which confirm the period determined by our Author from the obfervations he made from Oct. 19, 1784, to June 26, 1785. Art. 4. On Infinite Series. By Edward Waring, M. D. F. R. S. Lucalian Profeffor of Mathematics at Cambridge. The great ufe of infinite feries in calculating logarithms, areas of curves, tangents, &c. &c. is a fufficient inducement to engage the attention of the mathematician, independent of the pleasure and fatisfaction which the contemplation of thefe abftrufe fub From this we muft except luminous bodies, which are visible to the naked eye, though less than the fubtenfe of the angle here mentioned. Yet the distances between luminous bodies is not visible when that distance fubtends a fmall angle, witnefs Dr. Herfchel's obfervations on double ftars, &c. the angular diftance between which appeared greater, and was meafured by a greater quantity of a circle, in proportion as his magnifying power was increased. 8 jects |