of the enemies, and fuffering fome indignities from them. How much nobler was the refo lution of Darius, who, finding himfelf betrayed, and that he was to be either murdered by his own fubjects, or delivered into the hands of Alexander, would not, however, be his own executioner! I had rather (fays he) die by another's guilt, than my own (Curt. 1. 5. cap. 12.).

A TRULY brave man would have died fighting as Jonathan did, or would, at worst, glory in being abused, and even tortured for having done his duty! Saul then died, not as an hero, but a deferter. Self-murder is demonftrably the effect of cowardice; and it is as irra tional and iniquitous, as it is base. God, whose creatures we are, is the fole Arbiter, as he is the fole Author, of life: our lives are his property ; and he hath given our country, our family, and our friends, a fhare in them. And therefore, as Plato fincly obferves in his Phado, GoD is as much injured by Self-murder, as I fhould be by having one of my flaves killed without my confent not to infift upon the injury done to others, in a variety of relations, by the fame act.

:

IN the next place, I beg leave to obferve, That Saul and his armour-bearer died by the fame fword, which was the armour-bearer's.

THAT this armour-bearer died by his own fword, is out of all doubt; the text exprefly tells us fo. And that Saul perifhed by the fame fword, is, I think, fufficiently evident: Draw

thy fword, fays he to him, and thrust me through. Which when he refused, Saul (fays the text) took the fword* (habereb), and fell upon it. What

fword? (Not his own; for then the text would have faid fo) Why, in the plain, natural, grammatical construction, the fword before mentioned must be the fword now referred to; that is, his armour-bearer's.

Now it is the established tradition of the Jewish nation, that this armour-bearer was Doeg (and I see no reason why it should be difcredited); and if fo, then Saul and his executioner both fell by that very weapon, with which they had before maffacred the priefts of God. Remarks of this kind have fometimes fallen from the wifest and best hiftorians, upon like occafions; with whom I fhall be contented, fhall be proud to be ridiculed.

Ir were easy to furnish the reader with fufficient instances: I fhall only trouble him with three, all taken from Plutarch.

BRUTUS and Caffius killed themselves with the fame fwords with which they treacherously murdered Cæfar: I fay, treacherously murdered; because they lay in his bofom at the fame time that they meditated his death. And Calippus was ftabbed with the fame fword wherewith he ftabbed Dio.

So the English tranflation renders that word in the 5th verfe; and in the foregoing verfe, Afword, 1 Chron. x. 4, 5. A negligence, which I am a good deal furprised at. My pofition, however, is clear from this paffage. It is alfo clear, that the Engli tranflators thought fo; viz. that Saul and his armour-bearer perifhed by the fame fword.

ANOTHER

ANOTHER Circumftance relating to this battle, is, that the Philistines gained it, as I apprehend by the advantage of their archers. And my reafons for thinking fo, are thus founded:

THERE is no mention of any archer in any of the Philiftine armies or battles before this *. And, in this battle, these are the persons that preffed fo hard upon Saul: And the archers hit him, (fays the text) and he was fore wounded of the archers. Now, what we render wounded, the best critics interpret frighted: which ftill confirms the opinion, that he killed himself through fear. It was a way of fighting for which he was not prepared, and therefore it threw him into a confternation.

IN the next place, after this battle, David had the Ifraelites taught the use of the bow: which, doubtlefs, he would have done much fooner, when he commanded the armies of Saul against the Philiftines, had they then gained any advantage over the Ifraelites by means of thefe weapons.

Now thefe archers were, doubtless, of vaft advantage to the Philistines, in their attack upon Saul's camp: 1ft, because an affault with that kind of weapon was new and surprising; and all fuch are generally fuccefsful: and, 2dly, because the arrows beat off all that defended

It was not, indeed, unknown to them; for Jonathan is celebrated for his skill and dexterity in it; and fo are fome of the wor thies who reforted to David: but it feems not to have been yet brought into common use.

the

the fences of the camp, and destroyed them at a distance, before they could come to a close fight; which might naturally throw them into terror and confufion.

SIR Ifaac Newton tells us, that those mighty numbers of men, who aided the Philistines against Saul, in the beginning of his reign, were the fhepherds expulfed from Egypt by Amafis, fome of whom fled into Phanicia, and others into Arabia Petraa. Now his fon Ammon conquered Arabia: Why then may,we not fairly prefume, that these archers, who now aided the Philiftines, were either Arabs, who fled thither from Ammon, or those Egyptians who fled before to Arabia, and learnt arching there from the natives, who are allowed the best bowmen in the world? Since the time and circum-. ftances fuit, the conjecture will not, I believe, be thought ill-grounded.

IN the laft place; if this attack upon Saul's camp was encouraged by the intelligence of Saul's having ftolen out of the camp the evening before; then his applying to the Pythonefs, was the immediate caufe of his deftruction. And this gives light to that paffage, 1 Chron. x. 13. and at the fame time receives light from it, that Saul died for his tranfgreffion which he committed against the Lord, even against the word of the Lord, which he kept not; and also for asking one, who had a familiar fpirit, to inquire.

VOL. I.

S

С НА Р.

С НА Р. XXVI.

A fhort Effay upon the Character of JONATHAN.

WHEN we meet with any person in hi

ftory of a very extraordinary character, whofe death is, as we think, untimely; and his fate, in appearance, unworthy of his virtue; instead of submitting with profound humility to the difpenfations of Providence, and revering the unfearchable ways of infinite Wisdom, we find a kind of impulse upon the mind, to inquire into the occafions of it. And, if we are disappointed in our fearch, we are too much tempted to repine at the divine decifions, or, it may be, to impeach them; especially if the character be amiable and interesting, and such as we cannot help admiring and loving. This, I think, hath, in fome measure, been the cafe of every commentator that hath confidered the fate of Jonathan; and one of them, I find, hath confidered him in the fame light that Virgil does Ripheus :

---Cadit & Ripheus, juftiffimus unus

Qui fuit in Teucris, & fervantiffimus aqui. Dis aliter vifum.--

A man,