Part 5

By these Passages, and innumerable others that might be produc'd, it appears that the _English Bible_ is translated in such a manner as I have mentioned above: And as we see many Places in the _Paradise Lost_, which are exactly taken from this Translation, Why may we not conclude _Milton_ acquir'd much of his Stile from this Book? I can give an Instance of another very learned Person, who certainly learnt his way of Writing from it. I mean the late Dr. _Clarke_. Nothing can be more clear than his _Stile_, and yet nothing can be more like the _Greek_ or _Latin_, agreeably to the _English Bible_. I beg leave to produce one Instance from his _Exposition of the Church Catechism_.

"_Next after the Creed are in natural Order plac'd the Ten Commandments._

Is there any thing in _Demosthenes_ or _Tully_ more inverted than this Passage? And yet the meanest Persons understand it, and are not at all shock'd at it; and this cannot possibly, with respect to them, proceed from any thing else, but their having been from their Childhood accustomed to this Language in the _Bible_, and their still continuing frequently to hear it in the publick Offices of the Church, and elsewhere: From whence I am apt to think Mr. _Pope_'s Opinion is not to be subscrib'd to, when he says,

"_And what now_ Chaucer _is, shall_ Dryden _be_."

It did not occur to that ingenious Writer, that the State of the _English_ Language is very different at this time from what it was in _Chaucer_'s Days: It was then in its Infancy: And even _the publick Worship of God was in a foreign Tongue_, a thing as fatal to the _Language_ of any Country, as to _Religion_ itself. But now we have all that Service in the vernacular Tongue; and besides that, the _Bible_ in _English_, which may be properly called the _Standard_ of our Language: For this Book contains a Variety of every kind of _Stile_, the _Poetick_, the _Historick_, the _Narrative_, and all framed after the manner of the most learned Tongues. So that whilst this _Book_ continues to be as publickly used among us as it is at present, the _English_ Language cannot receive any great Alteration; but all sorts of learned Men may write, either in Verse or Prose, in the most learned manner in their native Tongue, and at the same time be perfectly understood by the common People. Indeed, if ever we should be so unhappy as to be depriv'd of the _publick Use_ of that _Book_, all that came with it, must go with it; and then Farewel the _English Language_, Farewel _Milton_, Farewel _Learning_, and Farewel all that distinguishes Man from Beasts.

Decemb. 9. 1736.

_I am_, SIR, _&c._

_FINIS._

[Transcriber's Notes:

Several sequential lines of poetry had opening quotes; these have been removed for clarity.

Several lines have no closing quotes. These have not been corrected.

LETTER I: Superfluous opening quote removed: "Subject-matter

LETTER V.: Section numbered '3.' in original; changed to 'III' for consistency.

LETTER X.: Corrected typo: 'primns' changed to 'primus']