On this page
-
Text (1)
-
Untitled Article
Note: This text has been automatically extracted via Optical Character Recognition (OCR) software. The text has not been manually corrected and should not be relied on to be an accurate representation of the item.
-
-
Transcript
-
Note: This text has been automatically extracted via Optical Character Recognition (OCR) software. The text has not been manually corrected and should not be relied on to be an accurate representation of the item.
Additionally, when viewing full transcripts, extracted text may not be in the same order as the original document.
Untitled Article
death . " ( 4 ) " Streapwi break forth from their sources unknown to the feet , " ( i , e . subterraneous streams with -which the ordinary paths of men never bring them acquainted , ) 4 * they are drawn away and dispersed a-
mongst men / ' ( that is , by the skill of the miner , they are drawn out to the light , and flow on the surface . ) ( 5 ) " This earth out of which groweth bread , is entirely undermined as by fire , ' ( the plough turneth up its surface , and it yields corn , but more
than this , men are always employed in tearing its entrails . ( 6 ) " For its rocks are the place of sapphires , and it hath the dust of gold . " ( 7 ) " This is a path which the bird of prey know' " eth not , and which the vulture ' s eye hath not seen . * ' ( 8 ) " The wild beast
liave not tracked it , nor the fierce lion come upon it . Man penetrateth the hard rock , he overturneth mountains by the roots , he cutteth out channels amongst the rocks , and his eye seeth every precious gem . He xestraineth waters from oozing . A nd
t \ te thing that was hid bringeth he forth to light . —But O , where is wisdom to be found , and where is the piajce of understanding > Man knoweth not the spring thereof , neither is it found in the land of the living , the deep saith it is not in me , and the sea saith it is not with me . Solid
gold shall not be given in exchange ibr it . Neither shall silver be weighed out for the price thereof . It cannot be valued which the gold of Ophir , with the precious onyx , or the
sapphire . The gold and the elirystal cannot equal it . Nor shall vessels of pure gold be its exchange . No mention shall be made of corals , or of pearls ; for the attraction of wisdom is above rubies , the topaz of Ethiopia shall not equal it , neither shall it be valued
-with the wedge of pure gold . "— Whence then cometh wisdom , &c . The train of thought to which we are indebted for this noble passage seems to be the following : Great are the powers of man , to attain an object wfiivii he knows to be valuable . He
not only possesses himself of every desirable object , which is accessible By the ordinary use of his senses , but lie enters the region of darkness , and is not' afro id to penetrate into the vast and gloomy abodes of subterranean jbature in search of its precious stores . in vain da streams break forth from
Untitled Article
their secret sources to impede hie progress . In vain does the earth offer the rich fruits of her surface to satisfy his wishes , and place her massy bars of stone to protect her hidden treasures . By the power of his mind , bv
the strength of his desires , he pursues a course , he walketh in a path , not discerned by the piercing eye of eagles * not ventured into by the bold and ferocious beasts of prey * . The vulture sees no path like this amidst the inaccessible rocks , where she has her abode . Nor does the fierce lion that
prowls in deep and gloomy caves betake himself to the path man ventures . In his ordinary pursuits , he possesses great natural advantages ; the sun enables him to proceed in any direction ; but in those enterprises he seems almost to imitate the creative
powers of the Almighty ; he makes inroad upon the dominions of chaos and eternal night ; he appoints the nature and describes the boundaries of a new kingdom of order , which he hangs by a golden chain to the rest of extensive empire . —But , great as his powers are , where can he discover the abode of Wisdom > Can he attaia
to the secrets of the Almighty ? No , there is nothing in all this habitable globe Which can yield to man the knowledge of this incomprehensible attribute of the Deity . Deeps far more profound than those into which his art or skill penetrates , the central abyss
of waters , and the unfathomable bed of ocean , plainly and unequivocally declare that they do not contain it , and justly ; for the caves of the oceaji and the vast abyss far less exceed the trodden paths of the miner than the perfections and treasures of Divine Wisdom overcome in value all the
precious geins and rich minerals of the earth . Every beautiful and valur able possession for which man toils , he might gladly give in exchange for that comprehension and wise understanding of all things , which would
give him comfort and happiness under every circumstance , which would demonstrate to him the constant , neverfailing goodness of Jehovah . What , then , is the source of Wisdom , and where is its dwelling-place ? No on £ that lives can discover it . It is but a
report of it which is heard in those dreary regions into which all living must shortly p * iss . —Of this be sure ; God undmtandeth the way of wfe-
Untitled Article
644 On the %$ ih CJtapter of the Book of Job .
-
-
Citation
-
Monthly Repository (1806-1838) and Unitarian Chronicle (1832-1833), Oct. 2, 1815, page 644, in the Nineteenth-Century Serials Edition (2008; 2018) ncse.ac.uk/periodicals/mruc/issues/vm2-ncseproduct1765/page/44/
-