'TIS much to be lamented that the most ancient and excellent Art, or rather gift of Poetry, shou'd be so much despised, and neglected on the one hand, and abused and corrupted on the other. Indeed the great abuses to which it has been expos'd, and the disservice that men have thereby done to Religion and Vertue, are the only Apology that can be made, for those affronts and reproaches which have been cast upon this, otherwise noble and useful way of expressing our thoughts; and which can only account for the con­tempt, under which it labours at present, in the esteem of some men. For certainly when good sense and vertuous admonitions are decently express'd, in smooth and elegant language, when the periods of our discourse are clos'd, with a pleasing sort of Har­mony, and there is a gratefull cade [...]e [...] in every sen­tence; when manly and becoming sentiments and representations of things are set off with these, and all the other advantages of Poetick numbers, and in­vention; they must needs address themselves more pow'rfully to our minds, and have a greater force upon our affections, either to excite, or quell our Love and Fear, which are the springs of most other p [...]ssions, [Page]than when our conceptions are propounded naked, and destitute of this advantageous clothing. To which purpose the admired M ^r Waller writes excellently to the Earl of Roscommon:

And without question, it was by delivering good pre­cepts of morality, in numerous and tunefull Verses, and not with the sound of his Hary alone, that Or­pheus wrought such wonders amongst his country men, as to reduce them from a savage barbarity, to a civil and vertuous conversation; which is understood by his drawing Trees after him, by the charming Musick of his Lyre. It seems to appear from this instance, as well as from several others, which might be produc'd, that the Light of Nature taught this manner of writing, as the most commodious and easie way of infusing her precepts into our tender minds; which are more apt to imbibe those rules which are gently instill'd into them, by the soft and insinuating distillations of Poetical numbers, than when they are dictated with a Magisterial authority, and enjoyn'd with severe threats, in harsh and ruggid language: For [Page]men have naturally a good opinion of themselves, and are jealous of anothers ufurping authority over them, and therefore do not like so well to be forc'd into their duty, as to be won with mild and alluring methods. Seeing then this way of writing is apt to have such an influence upon our minds, as to raise in them pas­sions, and affections correspondent to the matter it treats of, and the instructions it inclucates, we ought to be the more concern'd to regulate the abuse of it, and endeavour to imploy it about such subjects, which may render it useful and beneficial to our selves, as well as to the publick; instead of being dangerous and pernicious unto them both. Now there is nothing which is so likely to effect this design, as well as to retrieve its credit, as a serious application of it to that end and purpose, for which it was design'd by Nature and its Author God himself: for to set forth his praise, to record his Judgements and his mercies, was the first matter about which Poetry was employ'd, as we find from the songs of Moses, the most ancient Poetick Hymns that it may be ever were; but for certain none that are now extant can compare with them for Antiquity: for that divine Anthem which Moses, and the children of Israel Sang, after they had pass'd the red Sea, in which the Egyptians were drown'd, was made and rehears'd above Five Hundred years before Homer was born, as appears from com­putation of the Time in the exactest Chronologers. Thus did Poetry serve its apprentiship in the Temple, and was very early dedicated to the offices of religious worship; and for a long time kept it self free from [Page]the vile Arts of flattery, and the viles offices of being instrumental in exciting men to Lewdess and irreli­gion. But as the Devil loves to dance upon holy ground, and to play his magick tricks in imitation of divine miracles, so he envying the service that was done to religion, by the help of divine Hymns, attempted to deflowr the chast virgin, and to divert his sacred, and unpolluted stream into prophare and muddie chan­nels. The Learned need not be instructed how he was wont, of old, to dress his oracular Responses in a Poetical garb; as well to make them look more august and solemn, as by the Harmony of their Num­bers, to charm his credulois Devoto's, into a belief of their Divinity and prophetick inspiration: And since those Oracles have been silenc'd, by the Son of God, as they themselves were forc'd to confess, he has been industrious to convey his poyson into the minds of men, through other pipes, in a no less pernicious, tho in a less pompous manner; by exciting men to the composition of Atheistical Poems, lewd Songs, and scurrilous Rhimes; Tribe of Le­vi, &c. in which inglorious sort of Wit some of our modern Poets have only exceeded their forefathers; and in which they have vented so much spite and rancour against an Order of men, whose but siness it is to promote Religion, that any one with half an Eye may see, that the Authors of those abu­sive Satyrs, strike at Religion, whilest they wound the credit and reputation of those men who are chiefly imploy'd in its service: for the readiest way to bring a contempt upon that, is to vilifie those who imme­diately attend upon it; and by more than ordinary [Page]obligations, are engag'd to stand up in its vindication. Methinks if no other restraints cou'd bridle the petu­lancy of such licentious writers, yet the indecency, and unmannerlyness of being rude and scurrilous, might have some effect upon men who pretend to good breeding; and that the supposed faults of a few, shou'd not provoke them to spit such venom against the whole order, lest others of as good sense as them­selves, make use of their own weapon to wound them­selves with, and take the same method of arguing against them, that they do against others, thus, that, by the same way of reasoning, a man might write Satyrs against all mankind, who, if they be not very Cyphers of the Creation, are listed, and to be reck'ned into some profession, rank, or denomination; in which it will not be difficult to find many irregularities, and offences: but if upon this account men of different degrees and stations, shou'd take the liberty to expose each others party, to be worried with slanders, and re­proaches, what strife, disorder, and confusion must needs follow from such inhuman, and irrational pro­ceedings? it wou'd be more eligible to spend our lives in a retired solitude, remote from all company, and to forego, all the advantages of human society, rather than to be loaded with all the crimes, and reproaches, which perhaps one in some Hundreds may deserve to be accus'd off, and with which he may without in­justice be upbraided. I shall close my reflections upon this point, with the words of one of the best Poets, M ^r W. this age has produc'd, which afford both matter of instruction, and reproof.

'Tis needless to enlarge in the commendation of divine Poetry, especially to those who have any reve­rence for Religion; seeing that God has been pleas'd that so considerable a part of holy Scripture shou'd be indited in this way of writing; or to spend Time in setting forth its deserved praise to those, who have any respect or esteem for Antiquity. In other cases we have usually a great veneration for it, and men pore upon the broken letters of an old, and rusty inscription, as if they had been written with the pen of an An­gel; whenas after much pains taken, perhaps they find, by the poorness of its fancy, and expression, that 'tis some rude composure of an illiterate Monk; or a barbarous relique of the Goths and Vandals: how much more worthy of our study and regard, are those divine Songs, recorded in the Scripture; which for Antiquity, exceed the most antient Monuments ex­tant; and in sublimity of expression, and profoundness of sense, excell all human compositions, as do all the o­ther [Page]writings of their inspired Authors. And thô the two Hymns I have at present undertook to para­phrase, be no part of canonical Scripture, yet are they so full of divine sense, and affectionate devotion, as to be thought worthy to deserve a place in our pub­lick Liturgy. The first beyond question being as antient as S ^t Ambrose; and a faithfull record of or­thodox Divinity, and sincere Piety. The Church of Rome indeed, without sufficient ground, admits the Song of the Three children into the Canon of holy Writ, and places it in the Third Chapter of Daniel; where it was not to be found, either in the Hebrew Text; or Transtation of the Seventy Interpreters, when S ^t Hierom translated the Bible into Latin: for he says himself in his Comments upon this song, that he turn'd it from the version of Theodotion, which he wou'd not have done, if it had been to be found in either of the foremention'd copies of Hebrew, or Greek; which at the same time, both shows that it is of good Antiquity, and also disproves the pretences of the Roman party, of its being an authentick portion of canonical Scripture. But zeal and prejudice have so blinded the Ʋnderstandings of some, in other respects, Judicious men, that rather then they will forego their false, but preconceiv'd opinions, and notions, they run into gross mistakes, and commit intolerable blunders; and are so intent upon gaining their point, that they skip over all the little niceties of probabili­ty and proof. Otherwise how cou'd it happen, that so learned a Man as Morinus, in his Edition of the Septuagint at Paris, with Nobilius his Notes, shou'd [Page]place this Song in the Third Chapter of Daniel, as part of the Seventy's translation, without offering any reason, or making any Apology for his so doing: which he cou'd not but be convinc'd was a cheat put upon the world: except he imagin'd, that the vulgar Latin, which stands over against it, and is made the only authentick Text, by the Council of Trent, by the vertue of its usurped authority, cou'd, as Chy­mists are said to transmute Metals, change the Greek of Theodotion into that of the Septuagint: for as hath been show'd before, this Canticle was not in the Seventy's Translation in S ^t Hierom's time: for if it had he wou'd certainly have translated his Latine from thence, it being of more authority than the Greek of Theodotion. A man may venture to guess at the reason, without fear of being reputed a conjurer, that induc'd the Council of Trent, to receive those books into the Canon of holy Scripture, which we, accor­ding to the Judgment of the ancient council of Lao­dicea, and the sense of the learnedest Fathers, in the best ages, account to be but Apocryphal: because they being destitute of better proofs to maintain some do­ctrines, in which they dissent from us, and the Ca­tholick church, fancy they find a colourable authority to support them in these books; as for Instance, be­cause Ananias, Azarias, and Misael are call'd upon in this Canticle, to praise God, therefore from thence they frame an argument for the Invocation and wor­ship of Saints: but it much betrays the badness of a cause, to endeavour to establish it by such infirm props, and invalid reasons, which unlike to Rome of old [Page]don't ruin themselves by their own strength, but by their own weakness: for by a parity of reason, they may as well bring an argument for the lawfulness of wor­shiping the Sun, Moon, and Stars, which are likewise call'd upon, and excited to praise God in this Song. I am sensible of having trespass'd upon the candid Readers patience, by prefixing so large a prelude, to so slender a performance: but whilst I was thinking to say sowewhat to the purpose, one thing brought in another, and I cou'd not without some reluctancy, suppress the conceptions, and resentments which offer'd themselves to my meditation. I shall only beg the fa­vour of adding a few Lines more, concerning my present undertaking. In the first Hymn, I have en­deavour'd to keep close to the sense of it, and hope I have not omitted, or misinterpreted any thing ma­terial therein. Where the Song seems to begin afresh, Thou art the King of Glory O Christ— I have inserted Four lines to usher it in; Thus whilst on Earth, &c. In the latter I have had respect to Ho­race his rule, to which all other rules must be subject, as to the most Essential, as Rapin well observes, viz. Reddere convenientia cuique, Hor. de Arte Poet. by endeavouring to ob­serve a Decorum in bringing in every creature prai­sing God, after that manner, which seems most a­greeable to its Nature, wherein if I have at any time fail'd, the defect was in my Judgement not in my will. I must confess the difficulty of expressing the same sence, almost in every Stanza, with different Phrases, and of concluding each with Three Rhimes, to which I at first tyed my self, has forc'd me to [Page]make use of some words, not altogether so fit, and proper, as I cou'd have chosen, if I had not been fetter'd with this threefold chain; but yet, I hope, I have not distorted the sense of any word so far, or used any phrase so uncouthly, but that a candid in­terpretation, and Poetical liberty may be fairly al­low'd to plead my excuse.