English

" O BITTER change! now boys my groans deride,
The wretched object of their scorn and pride;
Whose fathers I unworthy held to keep,
With less contemned dogs, my flocks of sheep.
How could their youth to my advantage turn,
Or elder age with weak'ning vices worn?
Who, pale with famine, to the desert fled,
On roots of juniper and mallows fed;
Whom men from their society exclude,
Detested, and like thieves with cries pursu'd;
Conceal'd in hollow rocks, in gloomy caves,
And cliffs deep vaulted by the fretting waves;

Job paus'd: forthwith these words his sighs pursue:
" O that those happy days would now renew,
When God beneath His shield my safety plac'd!
When His clear lamp a sacred splendour cast
About my brows, by whose directing light
I trod securely through the shades of night!
That now I had what I in youth possess'd,
When He my mansion with His presence bless'd!
When those who from my veins deriv'd their blood,
Like springing laurels round about me stood!
When butter wash'd my steps, when streams of oil

There are rich veins of gold, and silver mines,
Whose ore the fire in crucibles refines.
So digg'd up iron is in the furnace blown,
And brass extracted from the melting stone.
Men through the wounded earth enforce their way,
And show the under shades an unknown day,
While from her bowels they her treasure tear,
And to their avarice subject their fear.
There they with subterranean waters meet,
And currents never touch'd by human feet;
These by their bold endeavours are made dry,
And from the industry of mortals fly.

They silenc'd, Job proceeds in his defence:
" As the Lord lives, Who knows my innocence,
Yet will not judge, but hath my soul depriv'd
Of all her joys, to misery long-liv'd.
While these my vital spirits shall receive
The food of air, and through my nostrils breathe,
No falsehood shall defile my lips with lies,
Or with a veil the face of truth disguise.
Nor will I wound my clear integrity
By yielding to your wrongs, but rather die.
Shall I myself betray, my strength refuse,
Desert my justice, and my truth accuse?

All tongues, " said Job, " of thy perfections speak;
Thou he that renders vigour to the weak;
Thy strength the feeble arm with nerves supplies,
Thou by thy counsel mak'st the foolish wise;
No secret from thy knowledge is conceal'd;
Celestial oracles by thee reveal'd.
To whom art thou so prodigal of breath,
Or by what virtue dost thou raise from death?
God's works, O Bildad, we admire no less,
His prudence in their government confess.
Dead things within the deep were form'd by Him;
And all that in the curled ocean swim,

S HUETIAN Bildad made this short reply:
" Dominion and awful majesty
To Him belong, Who, crown'd with sacred rays,
The host of heav'n in perfect concord sways.
Who can His armies number, infinite,
And full of fate! On whom shines not His light?
Can mortals righteous in His eyes appear?
Can they be spotless whom frail women bear?
To Him the radiant sun is but obscure,
The moon still in eclipse, the stars impure.
What then is man, polluted in his birth,
An unclean worm that crawls upon the earth? "

Why are the punishments by God decreed
To wicked men and their rebellious seed,
Since times to come are present in His sight,
Conceal'd from those who in His laws delight?
Some slily marks remove from bord'ring lands,
Feed on the flocks they purchase; with strange hands
The orphan's only ass they drive away,
And make the widow's mortgag'd ox their prey.
Who force the frighted poor to turn aside,
Whom milder rocks in their dark caverns hide.
Like asses in the desert they their toil
With day renew, and rise betimes for spoil.

Then Job: " Though my complaints observe no bounds,
Yet O, how far less bitter than my wounds!
Would His divine recess to me were known,
That I at length might plead before His throne!
I would such weighty arguments enforce
As should convert His fury to remorse.
Then should my longing soul His answer hear:
Would he object His pow'r, or daunt with fear?
O no, His goodness rather would impart
New vigour and repair my broken heart.
He would the plea of innocence admit,
And me for ever by His sentence quit.

" CAN man his Maker benefit, " replied
The Temanite, " as he by wisdom's guide
May his own joys advance? Can he delight
From Him receive, because his heart's upright?
Avails it Him that thou from vice art clear?
Makes He thee guilty, or condemns for fear?
No, Job, thy sins these punishments beget,
Thy sins which are as infinite as great.
Thou of their garments oft hast stript the poor,
Thy brother's pledge refusing to restore;
No water wouldst unto the thirsty give,
Nor with thy bread the hungry soul relieve;

The Huzite sigh'd, and said: " My words attend!
Afford this only comfort to your friend.
Suffer my tongue to speak my thoughts, and then
Renew your scoffs: do I complain to men?
Since God such dreadful arms against me bears,
O, why should I suppress my sighs and tears!
My suff'rings with astonishment survey,
And on your silent lips your fingers lay.
For should my enemy endure the like,
The story would my soul with horror strike.
Why live the wicked? they by vices thrive,
Sail on smooth seas, and at their port arrive;