"I would to God (says he) the composers of our Liturgy, out of a care of avoiding mistakes, and to take away occasion of cavilling our Liturgy, and out of fear of encouraging carnal men to security in sinning, had been so provident as to set down in terms the first sentence, taken out of the 18th of Ezekiel, and not have put in the place of it an ambiguous, and (though not in itself, but accidentally, by reason of the mistake to which it is subject) I fear very often a pernicious paraphrase: for whereas they make it, '_At what time soever ... saith the Lord_;' the plain truth, if you will hear it, is, the Lord doth not say so; these are not the very words of God, but the paraphrase of men." Thus, I think, it is evident that this "sentence" has nothing to do with the passage of Jeremiah to which the editor refers us; and its being read continually in the church explains the application of the word "common" to it in this place. While on this subject I would go on to mention that both Chillingworth and Taylor seemed to have erred in calling it a paraphrase, and saying that it does not occur in the Bible; for according to L'Estrange (c. iii. n. F.) the sentence is taken from the Great Bible, or Coverdale's translation. It is, however, remarkable that this fact should not have been known to these divines. F. A. PARALLEL PASSAGES. I send you two parallels on the subject of Death and Sleep, Nature the art of God, &c. "How wonderful is death-- Death and his brother sleep!" Shelley, _Queen Mab_. "Since the Brother of Death daily haunts us with dying mementoes." Sir T. Browne, _Hydriotaphia_. * * * * * "Oh! what a wonder seems the fear of death, Seeing how gladly we all sink to sleep, Babes, children, youths, and men, Night following night, for threescore years and ten!" Coleridge, _Monody on Chatterton_. "A sleep without dreams, after a rough day Of toil, is what we covet most; and yet How clay slinks back from more quiescent clay!" _Byron_ (reference lost). * * * * * "In brief all things are artificial; for Nature is the art of God." Sir T. Browne, _Religio Medici_, p. 32. (St. John's edit.) "The course of Nature is the art of God." Young, _Night Thoughts_, IX. * * * * * "Princes are like to heavenly bodies, which cause good or evil times, and _which have much veneration, but no rest_." Bacon, _Essay 20._, "Of Empire." "Kings are like stars--they rise and set--_they have The worship of the world, but no repose_." Shelley, _Hellas_. The following are not exactly parallel, but being "in pari materia," are sufficiently curious and alike to merit annotation: