THE SPARROW'S NEST. OCCASIONED BY CRUSHING A NEST WITH THE PLOUGH. BY ROBERT DINSMOOR. [The Rustic Bard, born at Windham, October 7, 1757. Died at Windham, 1830.] POOR innocent and hapless Sparrow! Why should my moul-board gie thee sorrow? The plough has turn'd the mould'ring furrow Five corns o' maize had there been drappit, The drawing nowt could na' be stappit, I quickly foun' Syne frae thy cozie nest thou happit, The sklentin stane beguil'd the sheer, Cam' 'tween my legs An' to the jee side gart me veer, THE SPARROW'S NEST. It may be serves His great design, Omniscience tents wi' eyes divine, A pair more friendly ne'er were married, When all their hope an' treasure's buried, 35 THE BIBLE, AS A HUMAN COMPOSITION. BY Ꭱ Ꭼ Ꮩ . EDWARD PAYSON. [Born at Rindge, July 25, 1783. Died at Portland, Me., October 22, 1827.] Ir is notorious that even among such as profess to venerate the Scriptures, there are not a few, who seem to regard them as deficient in those qualities which excite interest and attention. It may not be improper, therefore, to make a few remarks with a design to show, that, while the Scriptures are incalculably valuable and important, viewed as a revelation from Heaven, they are also in a very high degree interesting and deserving of attention, considered merely as a human composition. Were we permitted to adduce the testimony of the Scriptures in their own favor, as a proof that their contents are highly interesting, our task would be short, and easily accomplished. But it is possible, that to this testimony some might think it a sufficient reply, to apostrophize the sacred volume in the language of the captious Jews to our Saviour: "Thou bearest record of thyself; thy record is not true." No similar objection can be urged, however, against availing ourselves of the testimony which eminent uninspired men have borne in favor of the Scriptures. From the almost innumerable testimonies of this nature, which might easily be adduced, we shall select only that of Sir William Jones, a judge of the supreme court of judicature in Bengal: a man, says his learned biographer, who by the exertion of rare intellectual talents, acquired a knowledge of arts, sciences, and languages, which has seldom been THE BIBLE. 37 equalled, and scarcely, if ever, surpassed. "I have care fully and regularly perused the Scriptures," says this truly great man, "and am of opinion that this volume, independent of its divine origin, contains more sublimity, purer morality, more important history, and finer strains of eloquence, than can be collected from all other books, in whatever language they may have been written." How well he was qualified to make this remark, and how much it implied in his lips, may be inferred from the fact, that he was acquainted with twenty-eight different languages, and with the best works which had been published in most of them. That a volume, which, in the opinion of such a man, is thus superior to all other books united, cannot be so uninteresting and insipid a composition as many seem to imagine, it must be needless to remark; that his commendation of it, though great and unqualified, is in no respect unmerited, it would be easy, were it necessary, to prove, by appropriate quotations from the book which he so highly extols. But its morality will be more properly considered in a subsequent part of this treatise; and its unrivalled eloquence and sublimity are too obvious, and too generally acknowledged, to require illustration. If any imagine that he has estimated too highly the historical information which this volume contains, we would only request them to peruse it with attention; and particularly to consider the assistance which it affords, in accounting for many otherwise inexplicable phenomena in the natural, political, and moral world. A person who has never attended to the subject, will, on recollection, be surprised to find for how large a portion of his knowledge he is indebted to this neglected book. It is the only book which satisfactorily accounts, or even professes to account, for the introduction of natural and moral evil into the world, and for the consequent present situation of mankind. To this book also we are indebted for all our knowledge of the progenitors of our race, and of the early ages of the world; for our acquaintance with the manners and customs of those ages; for the origin and explanation of many remarkable traditions, which have extensively prevailed; and for almost every thing which is known of many once flourishing nations, especially of the Jews, the most singular and interesting people, perhaps, that ever existed. It is the Bible alone, which, by informing us of the Deluge, enables us to account satisfactorily for many surprising appearances in the internal structure of the earth, as well as for the existence of marine exuviæ on the summits of mountains, and in other places, far distant from the sea. By the same volume we are assisted in accounting for the multiplicity of languages. which exist in the world; for the degrading condition of the Africans; for the origin and universal prevalence of sacrifices; and for many other facts of an equally interesting nature. We shall only add, that, while the Scriptures throw light on the facts here alluded to, the existence of the facts powerfully tends, on the other hand, to establish the truth and authenticity of the Scriptures. In addition to these intrinsic excellences of the Bible, which give it, considered merely as a human production, powerful claims to the attention of persons of taste and learning, there are various circumstances of an adventitious nature, which render it peculiarly interesting to a reflecting mind. Among these circumstances we may, perhaps not improperly, mention its great antiquity. Whatever may be said of its inspiration, some of the books which compose it are unquestionably the most ancient literary compositions extant, and perhaps the most ancient that ever were written; nor is it very improbable, that letters were first employed in recording some parts of them, and that they were written in the language first spoken by man. It is also not only the most ancient book, but the most ancient monument of human exertion, the oldest offspring of human intellect, now in existence. Unlike the other works of man, it inherits not his frailty. All the contemporaries of its infancy have long since perished, and are forgotten; yet this wonderful volume still survives. Like the fabled pillars of Seth, which are said to have bid defiance to the Deluge, it has stood for |