various ftyles that I have obferved in reading, and placed them in the following catalogue. He who would ftudy the point farther, may read to good purpose what Tully and Quintilian have wrote on this fubject.

A CATALOGUE of the various STYLES of Authors.

THE Plain or Simple Style; i. e. fuch as is levelled to the capacity of moft men, having the thoughts ranged in fuch order, and expreffed in fuch words, as that most men will with ease understand them. It may be called the Eafy or Clear Style, and is very remarkable in the historical books of the Old and New Teftament.

2. The Affected, or Rhetorical Style, oppofite to the former, viz. That which is laboured and abounds with words of uncommon use, and placed differently from the common way of speech; what the Latins call Oratio luxurians, Voces fonora, Pompa & Lepor Verborum. This, St. Paul fays, he avoided, 1 Cor. ii. 1, 4. calling it excellency of speech, and enticing words of man's wisdom.

3. The Perplexed and Involved Style, having the thoughts placed in fo uncommon an order, that it will require confiderable pains to connect them; different from the former, in that it may be in very common and intelligible words, and also natural without affectation. This was the style of Tacitus and Tertullian among the antients, and Mr. Selden among the moderns.

4. The Ruftick, or Homely Style, i. e. fuch as is below the common ftandard of the country, or what we call in Latin Barbarous. This more respects the words than the thoughts, and is the ftyle of the Latin Vulgate Bible, and many of the Latin tranflations of the Greek Fathers.

5. The Strong or Nervous Style, i. e. fuch in which there are the most just reasonings expreffed in the most cogent words, or fuch words as powerfully and fully convey all the ideas the author had. Such was certainly the ftyle of St. Paul and Justin Martyr among the antients, and Archbishop Tillotson and Mr. Locke among the moderns.

6. The Languid, or Weak Style, the oppofite of the former, which does but faintly or in part convey the ideas of the author, or whofe reasonings are scarce conclufive. I need not produce inftances of this fort.

7. The Sublime Style, i. e. fuch as leads the reader into uncommon fpeculations about divine things. This may fully coincide with the Simple, as to the expreffion, but must in fome measure differ from it as to the thoughts, being uncommon, and fuch as will require pains to take in; such is the ftyle of Ifaiah's Prophecy, in respect of the book of Efther or Ruth.

8. The Mystical or Typical Style, i. e. fuch as makes use of former events to prove any point. This was the ftyle much in ufe among the Jews in our Saviour's time, and was a style much affected and reputed by their learned men, and accordingly taught in their schools. Hence they had their Doctors,

whofe bufinefs it ,בעלי הדרש and דרשנים whom they called

was to find out myftical and allegorical fenfes of Scripture ; and their win, i. e. the schools where this fort of learning was taught. Hence perhaps we may account for there being fo much of this ftyle in St. Paul's writings, he having had his education in the Jewish academy at Jerufalem. This ftyle is principally visible in his Epiftle to the Hebrews, and the fourth chapter of his Epiftle to the Galatians; and it is remarkable, that those two Epiftles, above the rest which he wrote, concerned the Jewish converts. This ftyle is also very much used in the Talmud, in Irenæus, Tertullian, and moft of the first Christian writers, especially Origen. I wish those who are so fond of this ftyle, were able to give as good reason for their using it, as St. Paul could.

9. The Parabolical Style, i. e. fuch as abounds with parables and fimilitudes, as our Saviour's difcourses in the Gospels.

Vid. Fuller. Mifcell. Sacr. 1. 3. c. 7. Scal. Elench. Trihær. c. II. Camero in Myrothec. ad 1 Cor. i. 20. Thofe authors, in the places

cited, think St. Paul meant thefe Doctors by the word Συζητητής, I Cor. i. 20.

10. The

10. The Theatrical Style, i. e. fuch in which there are frequent interlocutions, or dialogues. Of this there are many examples in St. Paul's writings, and more common and evident ones in Solomon's, efpecially in his Ecclefiaftes. Under this may be included the ftyle in which there are many Profopopœiæ; i. e. when inanimate things are introduced in the discourse, and addreffed to as perfons: This is frequent in Mofes, David', and the Prophets *.

11. The Humorous Style, i. e. fuch as abounds either with what they call wit, or what is an affectation of it, though quite different from it, viz. puns and jingles of words. Many of our practical writers of divinity in the last age dealt much in the latter of these, as too many of our best writers on the same subject have of late in the former: both of these may justly be faid, ludere cum facris.

12. The Interrogatory Style, i. e. fuch in which are frequent addreffes in the fecond person; of which there are fome examples in St. Paul's Epiftles, and many in our warm writers of practical divinity.

13. The Style in which are many Repetitions: this is very remarkable in St. John".

14. The Style in which are many Proverbs or Apophthegms recited. Those who are acquainted with the Jewish books, will know there is much more of this in our Saviour's ftyle, than is commonly imagined *.

15. The Style which abounds with Parentheses, i. e. breaks off the sentence with the interjection of other things, that do not properly belong to the argument, for its farther illustration: this is very common in St. Paul, and among later writers in Mr. Selden and Dr. Owen.

15. The Concife or Sententious Style; fuch as Solomon's Proverbs.

16. The Prolix Style, which is too common to need the producing any inftances. Under this I include, not only length of periods, but multiplying of words.

17. The Connected, or Coherent Style, which regards the Senfe, and is commonly the ftyle of mathematicians, and all good reafoners: i. e. fuch in which a sentence depends upon the former, as the links of a chain, and in which nothing can be left out without fpoiling the whole argument.

18. The Connected, or Coherent Style, which respects the Words, and indeed in some sense (though very different from the former) the Thoughts; i. e. fuch in which the last thought of the preceding fentence gives occafion to the thoughts of the enfuing fentence, and fo the laft word of the preceding period is the first of the next, and so on. This ftyle can feldom be used in arguing; it is very evident in the first Epistle of St. Peter, and the first chapter of St. Paul's Epiftle to the Coloffians.

19. The Loofe or Rambling Style is too well known. Left it should be thought, that this and the seventeenth coincide with the fifth and fixth, viz. the Nervous and the Languid; I obferve, that every coherent Style is not nervous, nor every languid Style incoherent.

20. The Efficacious or Powerful Style, peculiar to the Scriptures; i. e. the inward efficacy and power which is in them to reach and imprefs the consciences of stupid finners. By this I mean fomewhat different from any yet mentioned, and no other than what these books claim for themselves, and are experienced to have, by thofe who have felt the power of religion on their hearts. And though I own this Style is not of itself visible till the Spirit and Grace of God make it fo, and confequently cannot (according to my Propofition) be made ufe of to determine certainly concerning any author, as the others may, yet I mention it for the fake of thofe who allow,

1. That they have a greater aptness and tendency to imprefs men's minds, according to their intention, than any other books have.

2. That

2. That as David fays 2, The Law of the Lord is perfect, converting the foul, &c. or, as Paul expreffes it, That the Word of God is quick and powerful, and sharper than any twoedged fword; piercing even to the dividing afunder of foul and pirit, and of the joints and marrow; and is a difcerner of the thoughts and intents of the heart.

CHAP. XIII.

Several Propofitions whereby the Spuriousness of a Book may be

difcovered.

PRO P. XII.

That Book is Spurious and Apocryphal, whofe Idiom and Dialect is different from the known Idiom or Dialect of the Author whofe Name it bears, or the Country where he lived.

THE

HE idiom or dialect of a language is fomewhat very different from the style of a writer, inasmuch as all languages are fufceptible of all forts of styles; the idiom of a language being what is common to a whole country, and differing from others only by fome accidents; but the style of a writer is somewhat that is peculiar to himself, arifing only from the vast and inexpreffible variety of nature and conftitution. Thus this Propofition differs from the foregoing, but is proved by the fame fort of medium, viz. that as each particular perfon has one ftyle, which another cannot imitate; fo each country, or the language of each country, has its own idiom or peculiarities, which those of another country can fcarcely imitate to that perfection, but that the difference will be difcernible. I confefs, indeed, it feems to me a more easy matter to imitate a dialect, than a style; yet notwithstanding this, the criticks in languages know well, there is

z Pfal. xix. 7, 8.

a Heb. iv. 12.