With crimson Foam; and, when the Banquet's o'er,'
They ftride away, and paint their Steps with Gore;
In Flight alone the Shepherd puts his Truft,
And fhudders at the Talon in the Duft.
Mild is my Behemoth, tho' large his Frame;
Smooth is his Temper, and repreft his Flame;
While unprovok'd. This Native of the Flood
Lifts his broad Foot, and puts afhore for Food;'
Earth finks beneath him, as he moves along
To feek the Herbs, and mingle with the Throng.
See, with what Strength his harden'd Loins are bound,
All over Proof, and shut against a Wound.
How likera Mountain Cedar moves his Tail!
Nor can his complicated Sinews fail.
Built high and wide, his folid Bones furpafs
The Bars of Steel; his Ribs are Ribs of Brafs;
His Port majeftic, and his armed Jaw,
Give the wide Foreft, and the Mountain, Law.
The Mountains feed him; there the Beafts admire
The mighty Stranger, and in Dread retire:
At length his Greatnefs nearer they furvey,
Graze in his Shadow, and his Eye obey.bl
The Fens and Marthes are his cool Retreat,
His Noontide Shelter from the burning Heat;
Their fedgy Bofoms his wide Couch are made,
And Groves of Willows give him all their Shade.
His Eya drinks Fordan up, when, fir'd with Drought,
He trufts to turn its Current down his Throat;
In leffen'd Waves it creeps along the Plain:
He finks a River, and he thirfts again.
Go to the Nile, and, from its fruitful Side,
Caft forth thy Line into the fwelling Tide:
With flender Hair Leviathan command,
And ftretch-his Vaftness on the loaded Strand.
Will he become thy Servant? Will he own
Thy Lordly Nod, and tremble at thy Frown?
Or with his Sport amuse thy leifure Day,
And, bound in Silk, with thy foft Maidens play?
Shall pompous Banquets fwell with fuch a Prize?
And the Bowl journey round his ample Size ?
Or the debating Merchants fhare the Prey,
And various Limbs to various Marts convey?
Thro' his firm Skull what Steel its Way can win ?
What forceful Engine can fubdue his Skin ?
Fly far, and live; tempt not his matchlefs Might;
The Braveft fhrink to Cowards in his Sight;
The Rashest dare not rouse him up? Who then
Shall turn on Me, amongst the Sons of Men?
Am I a Debtor? Haft thou ever heard
Whence come the Gifts which are on me conferr'd?
My lavish Fruit a thoufand Valleys fills,
And mine the Herds, that
Earth, Sea, and Air, All Nature is my own;
And Stars and Sun are Duft beneath my Throne.
And dar'st thou with the World's great Father vye,
Thou, who doft tremble at my Creature's Eye?
At full my large Leviathan shall rife, Boaft all his Strength, and fpread his wond'rous Size. Who, great in Arms, e'er ftripp'd his shining Mail, Or crown'd his Triumph with a fingle Scale? Whose Heart fuftains him to draw neart Behold, Destruction yawns; his fpacious Jaws unfold, And, marshal'd round the wide Expanfe, difclofe Teeth edg'd with Death, and crouding Rows on Rows: What hideous Fangs on either Side arife! And what a deep Abyfs between them lies! Mete with thy Lance, and with thy Plumbet found, The One how long, the Other how profound.
His Bulk is charg`d with fuch a furious Soul,
That Clouds of Smoke from his spread Noftrils roll,
As from a Furnace; and, when rous'd his Ire,
Fate iffues from his Jaws in Streams of Fire.
The Rage of Tempefts, and the Roar of Seas,
Thy Terror, this thy great Superior please;
Strength on his ample Shoulder fits in State;
His well join'd Limbs are dreadfully complete;
His Flakes of folid Flefh are flow to part;
As Steel his Nerves, as Adamant his Heart.
When, late-awak'd, He rears him from the Floods,
And, ftretching forth his Stature to the Clouds,
Writhes in the Sun aloft his fcaly Height,
And ftrikes the diftant Hills with tranfient Light,
Far round are fatal Damps of Terror spread;
The Mighty fear, nor blush to own their Dread.
Large is his Front; and, when his burnish'd Eyes,
Lift their broad Lids, the Morning feems to rife.
In vain may Death in various Shapes invade,
The swift-wing'd Arrow, the defcending Blade;
His naked Breaft their Impotence defies;
The Dart rebounds, the brittle Faulchion flies.
Shut in Himself, the War without he hears,
Safe in the Tempeft of their rattling Spears;
The cumber'd Strand their wafted Vollies ftrow ;
His Sport, the Rage and Labour of the Foe.
His Paftimes like a Caldron boil the Flood,
And blacken Ocean with the rifing Mud;
The Billows feel him, as he works his Way;
His hoary Footsteps fhine along the Sea;
The Foam high-wrought, with White, divides the Green,
And diftant Sailors point where Death has been.
His Like Earth bears not on her fpacious Face:
Alone in Nature ftand his dauntless Race,
For utter Ignorance of Fear renown'd, In Wrath he rolls his baleful Eyes around; Makes ev'ry fwoln, difdainful Heart, fubfide, And holds Dominion o'er the Sons of Pride. Then the Chaldean eas'd his lab'ring Breast, With full Conviction of his Crime opprest. "Thou canft accomplish All Things, Lord of Might! "And ev'ry Thought is naked to thy Sight.. "But oh! Thy Ways are wonderful, and lie 66 Beyond the deepest Reach of mortal Eye. "Oft have I heard of thine Almighty Pow'r ; "But never faw Thee till this dreadful Hour. "O'erwhelm'd with Shame, the Lord of Life I fee, "Abhor myself, and give my Soul to Thee. "Nor fhall my Weakness tempt Thine Anger more: “Man was not made to Question, but Adore.”
I of the Book of yon bone give it to Mofes, fome to
T is difputed among the Critics who was the Author
Others. As I was engag'd in this little Performance, fome Arguments occur'd to me, which favour the former of thefe Opinions; which Arguments I have flung into the following Notes, where little elfe is to be expected.
Page 296. Thrice happy Job, &c.] The Almighty's Speech, Chapter xxxviii. &c. which is what I paraphrafe in this little Work, is by much the fineft Part of the bleft, and most antient Poem in the World. Bishop Patrick fays, its Grandeur is as much above all other Poetry, as Thunder is louder than a Whifper. In order to fet this diftinguish'd Part of the Poem in a fuller Light, and give the Reader a clearer Conception of it, I have abridg'd the preceding and subsequent Parts of the Poem, and join'd them to it; fo that this Piece is fort of an Epitome of the whole Book of Job.
I use the Word Paraphrafe, becaufe I want another which might better answer to the uncommon Liberties I have taken. I have omitted, added, and transpos'd. The Mountain, the Comet, the Sun, and other Parts, are intirely added: The Peacock, the Lion, &c. are much inlarg'd: And I have thrown the Whole into a Method more fuitable to our Notions of Regularity. The Judicious, if they compare this Piece with the Original, will, I flatter myself, find the Reasons for the great Liberties I have indulg'd myself in through the Whole.
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